Category: Nevin Manimala

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Jul 12:glab205. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glab205. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) is a key indicator of physiological decline with age; but age-related declines in a nationally representative older U.S. population have not been previously examined.

METHODS: We examined the trajectory of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) over 8 years of aging, from 2006/2008 to 2014/2016, among 3,528 people over age 50 in the Health and Retirement Study. We used growth curve models to examine change in total CMR as well as in individual cardiometabolic biomarkers to understand how baseline differences and rates of change vary across sociodemographic characteristics, by smoking status, and medication use.

RESULTS: Total CMR did not change among respondents who survived over 8 years. Despite significant differences in CMR across demographic and education groups at baseline, the pace of change with age did not differ by these characteristics. Among individual biomarkers, risk levels of diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, and total cholesterol decreased over 8 years while glycosylated hemoglobin, waist circumference, and pulse pressure increased over that time. Both the statistical significance levels and the magnitudes of the reduction over time with age in diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, and total cholesterol in models adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, gender, smoking, and education were reduced after controlling for blood pressure and cholesterol medication.

CONCLUSIONS: The relatively constant total CMR level over 8 years occurred because some indicators improved with age while some deteriorated in this period. Medication use contributed to the improvement in blood pressure, resting heart rate, and total cholesterol.

PMID:34252185 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glab205

J Circ Biomark. 2021 Jul 7;10:9-13. doi: 10.33393/jcb.2021.2212. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:34252174 | PMC:PMC8267854 | DOI:10.33393/jcb.2021.2212

Eur J Public Health. 2021 Jul 12:ckab114. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab114. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: 5A’s counselling is recommended for screening and treating patients with smoking addiction. The emergency department (ED) setting might be a suitable environment for conducting interventions for smoking cessation. The present study aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness on smoking cessation of 5A’s counselling administered to ED patients by nurses.

METHODS: Parallel group randomized trial assessing 5A’s counselling for smoking cessation vs. usual care at a University Hospital in the North of Italy. The primary end-point was prevalence of tobacco-free patients. The secondary outcomes at 6- and 12-month follow-up were (i) consecutive past 30-day smoking abstinence; (ii) past 7-day 50%, or more, decrease in daily tobacco consumption over baseline; and (iii) number of attempts to quit smoking.

RESULTS: A total of 480 patients were randomized to intervention (n = 262) or usual care (n = 218). Intention to treat analysis displayed no differences in primary and secondary outcomes between groups. A slight but not statistically significant enhancement in cessation was recorded in the intervention group [relative risk (RR) = 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-1.87] at 6 months, whereas a reversed observation at 12 months (RR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.50-1.47). Similar results were obtained for the secondary outcomes. Per protocol analysis increased the size of the results. Of the 126 smokers receiving counselling, 18 were visited and treated at the local smoking cessation centre, with 12 of them successfully completing the treatment.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the ED is not a suited environment for 5A’s counselling.

PMID:34252178 | DOI:10.1093/eurpub/ckab114

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0254418. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254418. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Interannual variability in euphausiid (krill) abundance and population structure and associations of those measures with environmental drivers were investigated in an 11-year study conducted in late August-early September 2005-2015 in offshelf waters (bottom depth > 40 m) in Barrow Canyon and the Beaufort Sea just downstream of Distributed Biological Observatory site 5 (DBO5) near Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Statistically-significant positive correlations were observed among krill population structure (proportion of juveniles and adults), the volume of Late Season Melt Water (LMW), and late-spring Chukchi Sea sea ice extent. High proportions of juvenile and adult krill were seen in years with larger volumes of LMW and greater spring sea ice extents (2006, 2009, 2012-2014) while the converse, high proportions of furcilia, were seen in years with smaller volumes of LMW and lower spring sea ice extent (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2015). These different life stage, sea ice and water mass regimes represent integrated advective responses to mean fall and/or spring Chukchi Sea winds, driven by prevailing atmospheric pressure distributions in the two sets of years. In years with high proportions of juveniles and adults, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were weak and variable while in years with high proportions of furcilia, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were strong, easterly and consistent. The interaction of krill life history with yearly differences in the northward transports of krill and water masses along with sea ice retreat determines the population structure of late-summer krill populations in the DBO5 region near Pt. Barrow. Years with higher proportions of mature krill may provide larger prey to the Pt. Barrow area bowhead whale prey hotspot. The characteristics of prey near Pt. Barrow is dependent on krill abundance and size, large-scale environmental forcing, and interannual variability in recruitment success of krill in the Bering Sea.

PMID:34252123 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0254418

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0254391. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254391. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUNDS: Health professionals are among the frontline of COVID-19 pandemic exposure and identified as a priority target group that need to receive COVID-19 vaccines. However, intention to receive vaccine is still matters the extent of COVID-19 vaccinations among health professionals. This study aimed to assess intention to receive COVID-19 vaccine and the factors that will determine their intention among health professionals working at public hospitals of Illu Aba Bora and Buno Bedelle zone hospitals.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was applied to assess the intention to receive COVID-19 vaccines among health professionals working in public health hospitals of Illu Aba Bora and Buno Bedelle zone hospitals. Self-administered questionnaire were used for assessing intention to receive COVID-19 Vaccine. Multiple linear regressions were performed to identify factors associated with intention to receive COVID-19 vaccine with p-value< 0.05 as cutoff point for statistical significance at 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULT: In this study, almost half of respondents 217(53.1% [95.0%: CI 49.3-58.9]) of study participants scored above the mean. Attitude (β = 0.54, 95% CI: [0.49, 0.63], p<0.01), knowledge (β = 0.27, 95% CI: [0.21, 0.35], p<0.01, perception (β = 0.43, 95% CI: [0.39, 0.56], p = 0.02 and age (β = 0.64, 95% CI: [0.51, 0.72], p<0.01 were variables associated with intention to receive vaccine against COVID-19.

CONCLUSIONS: This study result indicated that the overall magnitude of intention to receive COVID-19 is low. increasing attitudes, knowledge and perception among health professionals related to COVID-19 vaccine will helps to increase the overall intention to receive vaccine against COVID-19.

PMID:34252143 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0254391

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0254603. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254603. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

DS (David’s site) is one of the new archaeological sites documented in the same paleolandscape in which FLK 22 was deposited at about 1.85 Ma in Olduvai Gorge. Fieldwork in DS has unearthed the largest vertically-discrete archaeological horizon in the African Pleistocene, where a multi-cluster anthropogenic accumulation of fossil bones and stone tools has been identified. In this work we present the results of the techno-economic study of the lithic assemblage recovered from DS. We also explore the spatial magnitude of the technological behaviors documented at this spot using powerful spatial statistical tools to unravel correlations between the spatial distributional patterns of lithic categories. At DS, lavas and quartzite were involved in different technological processes. Volcanic materials, probably transported to this spot from a close source, were introduced in large numbers, including unmodified materials, and used in percussion activities and in a wide variety of reduction strategies. A number of volcanic products were subject to outward fluxes to other parts of the paleolandscape. In contrast, quartzite rocks were introduced in smaller numbers and might have been subject to a significantly more intense exploitation. The intra-site spatial analysis has shown that specialized areas cannot be identified, unmodified materials are not randomly distributed, percussion and knapping categories do not spatially overlap, while bipolar specimens show some sort of spatial correlation with percussion activities.

PMID:34252171 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0254603

PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Jul 12;17(7):e1009146. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009146. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 has spread across the world, causing high mortality and unprecedented restrictions on social and economic activity. Policymakers are assessing how best to navigate through the ongoing epidemic, with computational models being used to predict the spread of infection and assess the impact of public health measures. Here, we present OpenABM-Covid19: an agent-based simulation of the epidemic including detailed age-stratification and realistic social networks. By default the model is parameterised to UK demographics and calibrated to the UK epidemic, however, it can easily be re-parameterised for other countries. OpenABM-Covid19 can evaluate non-pharmaceutical interventions, including both manual and digital contact tracing, and vaccination programmes. It can simulate a population of 1 million people in seconds per day, allowing parameter sweeps and formal statistical model-based inference. The code is open-source and has been developed by teams both inside and outside academia, with an emphasis on formal testing, documentation, modularity and transparency. A key feature of OpenABM-Covid19 are its Python and R interfaces, which has allowed scientists and policymakers to simulate dynamic packages of interventions and help compare options to suppress the COVID-19 epidemic.

PMID:34252083 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009146

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0253480. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253480. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Previous work has shown differential predominance of certain Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) lineages and sub-lineages among different human populations in diverse geographic regions of Ethiopia. Nevertheless, how strain diversity is evolving under the ongoing rapid socio-economic and environmental changes is poorly understood. The present study investigated factors associated with M. tb lineage predominance and rate of strain clustering within urban and peri-urban settings in Ethiopia.

METHODS: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) and Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients who visited selected health facilities were recruited in the years of 2016 and 2017. A total of 258 M. tb isolates identified from 163 sputa and 95 fine-needle aspirates (FNA) were characterized by spoligotyping and compared with international M.tb spoligotyping patterns registered at the SITVIT2 databases. The molecular data were linked with clinical and demographic data of the patients for further statistical analysis.

RESULTS: From a total of 258 M. tb isolates, 84 distinct spoligotype patterns that included 58 known Shared International Type (SIT) patterns and 26 new or orphan patterns were identified. The majority of strains belonged to two major M. tb lineages, L3 (35.7%) and L4 (61.6%). The observed high percentage of isolates with shared patterns (n = 200/258) suggested a substantial rate of overall clustering (77.5%). After adjusting for the effect of geographical variations, clustering rate was significantly lower among individuals co-infected with HIV and other concomitant chronic disease. Compared to L4, the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (AOR; 95% CI) indicated that infections with L3 M. tb strains were more likely to be associated with TBLN [3.47 (1.45, 8.29)] and TB-HIV co-infection [2.84 (1.61, 5.55)].

CONCLUSION: Despite the observed difference in strain diversity and geographical distribution of M. tb lineages, compared to earlier studies in Ethiopia, the overall rate of strain clustering suggests higher transmission and warrant more detailed investigations into the molecular epidemiology of TB and related factors.

PMID:34252107 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0253480

Ophthalmic Genet. 2021 Jul 12:1-14. doi: 10.1080/13816810.2021.1933544. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To correlate clinical features, molecular genetic findings, and visual acuity in a cohort of patients clinically diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism.Design: Retrospective chart reviewMethods: 58 charts met the inclusion criteria. Clinical examination, ancillary testing, and molecular genetic diagnoses were extracted. A novel clinical albinism score (CAS) was developed.Results: A least one likely pathogenic mutation was found in 44/58 (75.9%) patients. Mutations in the OCA1 gene were the most common (52.3%), followed by OCA2 (34%), OCA4 (2.3%), OA1 (6.8%), and HPS (4.5%). Thirty-four percentage of patients had a complete genotype, 41% had one mutation found and 24% had negative genetic testing. CAS was statistically significantly higher in patients with complete genotype, versus patients with one or no mutations found (p < .01). Better visual acuity was associated with lower CAS and fewer disease-causing mutations (p < .01). Foveal defects and iris transillumination were associated with a higher number of mutations (p < .01). Patients with nystagmus or anomalous optic nerves had worse visual acuity than those who did not (p < .01, p < .05).Conclusions: Patients with a complete genotype were more likely to have higher CAS. Vision loss correlated with complete phenotype and higher CAS, the presence of nystagmus and anomalous optic nerves. Patients with features of albinism in whom an incomplete genotype was found had better vision than those with complete genotype, suggesting a mild occult mutation or modifier variant. Genetic diagnosis is vital for complete diagnosis, counseling, and family planning.

PMID:34251969 | DOI:10.1080/13816810.2021.1933544

Ophthalmic Genet. 2021 Jul 12:1-5. doi: 10.1080/13816810.2021.1946702. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Genetic factors have been studied to be associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study aimed to investigate the association between the polymorphisms in the osteoproterin (OPG) gene and DR in a Han Chinese population.

METHODS: There were 475 patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR), 478 type 2 diabetes mellitus without retinopathy (DNR) and 469 healthy controls collected in this study. OPG single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs2073618 and rs3134069 were genotyped by Mass ARRAY MALDI-TOF system. The genotype and allele frequencies were evaluated using the χ² tests. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for the risk of genotype and allele.

RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference for OPG SNP rs3134069 between DR cases and healthy controls in the allelic model (P = .036, OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.02-1.73). The C allele frequency of this polymorphism was 0.154 in the DR cases, whereas it was 0.120 in healthy controls, suggesting a risk effect for DR. SNP rs3134069 had a significant association with DR in the dominant model (P = .038, OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.02-1.84), indicating that the CC/AC genotype was more likely to suffer from DR. For rs2073618, no significant difference was identified in the allelic model (P = .632, OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.78-1.16) and the four genetic models.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that OPG SNP rs3134069 was associated with DR in the dominant model, suggesting that the OPG gene variant may be involved in the development of DR.

PMID:34251978 | DOI:10.1080/13816810.2021.1946702