Category: Statistics

J Oral Rehabil. 2026 Mar 7. doi: 10.1111/joor.70178. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Taste sensitivity declines with age, adversely affecting dietary intake and quality of life. However, the effects of oral health and function on gustatory ability in older adults remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between oral health characteristics and taste sensitivity in older adults using solution and strip-based gustatory tests.

METHODS: One hundred older adult participants (age: ≥ 65) were assessed for dental status, denture use, salivary flow, swallowing function, and subjective taste impairment. Taste sensitivity for five modalities was measured using solution and taste strip tests. Statistical analyses included group comparisons and correlation coefficients.

RESULTS: Participants reporting subjective hypogeusia exhibited significantly lower total taste scores in solution and strip tests than those without (p < 0.01). Those with < 20 remaining teeth and users of mandibular dentures had lower umami scores than those with more teeth and no mandibular dentures (p < 0.05). Hyposalivation did not affect solution-based scores but was associated with lower total strip test scores (p < 0.05). Swallowing impairment was correlated with lower solution test scores, particularly for salty and umami (p < 0.01). Women had higher salivary flow and umami sensitivity, but overall gustatory function did not differ by sex. Solution and strip test scores were moderately correlated.

CONCLUSION: Taste perception in older adults is differentially influenced by salivary and swallowing functions, and the concordance between solution- and strip-based tests varies according to oral functional status and taste modality. Our results suggest that these methods capture complementary aspects of gustatory function and should be interpreted based on oral function in this population.

PMID:41793219 | DOI:10.1111/joor.70178

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2026 Mar 7. doi: 10.1002/jmri.70286. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although deep learning reconstruction (DLR) has been shown to improve image quality in MRI, its impact on quantitative physiologic parameters derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion in brain tumor imaging remains unclear.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of DLR on quantitative parameters derived from DWI and DSC in patients with brain tumors.

STUDY TYPE: Retrospective.

SUBJECTS: Sixty-two patients (33 male) with post-radiation brain metastasis.

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0 T; T2, FLAIR, T1WI, DWI, DSC perfusion, and contrast-enhanced T1WI.

ASSESSMENT: DWI and DSC images were reconstructed at three DLR levels (high, medium, and low). Agreement between original and DLR images for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), and time to peak (TTP) was assessed using the coefficient of variation, repeatability coefficient (RC), and concordance correlation coefficient. For DSC time-series, signal-to-noise ratio, root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) were computed within tumor masks. DWI comparisons used mean signal intensity at b = 0 and b = 1000.

STATISTICAL TESTS: Paired t-tests compared ADC, relative CBV, and DWI signals. RMSE and MAE were compared using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS: ADC (p = 0.955-0.979) and CBV (p = 0.341-0.708), CBF (p = 0.684-0.983), and MTT (p = 0.403-0.971) values showed no significant differences between original and DLR images, while high-level DLR showed significantly higher TTP than original images. RCs demonstrated high reproducibility across DLR levels for ADC (21.78-22.20), CBV (0.88-0.96), CBF (27.98-34.18), MTT (1.26-1.50), and TTP (3.40-3.99). DSC analysis showed the best noise reduction with high-level DLR (lowest RMSE, 254.62 and MAE, 253.18 of DSC) without compromising CBV quantification.

DATA CONCLUSION: DLR effectively reduced noise in DWI and DSC while preserving quantitative accuracy of ADC, CBV, CBF, and MTT. DLR may enable robust physiological MRI when applied in brain tumor imaging.

TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

PMID:41793218 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.70286

Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2026 Mar 7. doi: 10.1111/aogs.70145. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: In women with a history of one extremely preterm birth, the current literature suggests that ultrasound cervical length screening offers a more favorable risk-benefit ratio than history-indicated cerclage. However, some of the women included in previous studies were at a low risk of cervical insufficiency. Therefore, the efficacy of history-indicated cerclage may have been underestimated. Our objective was to compare history-indicated cerclage with ultrasound cervical length screening in women with a history of one second-trimester loss or extremely preterm birth suggestive of cervical insufficiency.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing two centers with different management strategies for women with a history of one second-trimester loss or extremely preterm birth suggestive of cervical insufficiency. This study was conducted from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2022 in two French tertiary care maternity units. In the first center, women were offered a cerclage in the first trimester (cerclage center). In the second center, women were offered an ultrasound screening with cerclage only for women with cervical shortening (ultrasound center). To target a population at high risk for cervical insufficiency, we included women with a history of one second-trimester loss or spontaneous preterm birth before 28 weeks of gestation. We excluded women who had any of the following complications in their previous pregnancy: bleeding from placenta previa or placental abruption, intrauterine fetal death, or delivery after invasive prenatal testing. We also excluded women with a history of more than one preterm delivery. Our primary outcome was delivery before 34 weeks. A multivariable analysis was performed.

RESULTS: The rate of delivery before 34 weeks was significantly lower in the cerclage center compared with that in the ultrasound center (26/165 (15.8%) vs. 38/149 (25.5%), p = 0.032). After adjusting for confounding factors, history-indicated cerclage was associated with a twofold decreased risk of delivery before 34 weeks compared with ultrasound cervical length screening (aOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.95).

CONCLUSIONS: In women with a history of one second-trimester loss or extremely preterm birth suggestive of cervical insufficiency, history-indicated cerclage is associated with a lower risk of delivery before 34 weeks compared with ultrasound cervical length screening.

PMID:41793210 | DOI:10.1111/aogs.70145

Public Health Rep. 2026 Mar 7:333549261421896. doi: 10.1177/00333549261421896. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Some refugee children in the United States have an elevated blood lead level (EBLL), which can result in neurologic disease and developmental delays. Little has been published on EBLLs in immigrant infants and children whose families are seeking humanitarian protections outside the refugee program. We evaluated lead testing and anemia in this population.

METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of lead testing and anemia in infants and children whose families were seeking humanitarian protection (eg, asylum) and treated in clinics in Chelsea, Massachusetts (September 30, 2022-June 30, 2024) and New York City (January 1-November 30, 2023). We extracted demographic and clinical data from the medical records of clinics serving families who received emergency assistance with sheltering. We evaluated the proportion who completed lead testing and the prevalence of EBLL (≥3.5 µg/dL). We used Pearson χ² and Kruskal-Wallis tests to determine factors significantly associated with EBLL.

RESULTS: Among 882 children (most from Venezuela [29.5%], Ecuador [22.0%], Colombia [16.2%], and Peru [6.7%]), 693 (78.6%) completed testing for lead. Lead testing was more common among children aged <5 years than among older children (P < .001). Nine of 693 children (1.3%; 95% CI, 0.6%-2.5%) had EBLL; the mean blood lead level was 5.31 µg/dL. Eight of the 9 children with EBLL were boys (P = .06). Of 882 children, 146 (16.6%) had anemia; 2 children with EBLL had anemia. We did not find a statistically significant association between country of origin and EBLL (P = .23).

CONCLUSION: Clinicians and public health professionals serving newcomer populations should enhance efforts to prevent and screen for EBLL and anemia.

PMID:41793175 | DOI:10.1177/00333549261421896

Ecology. 2026 Mar;107(3):e70300. doi: 10.1002/ecy.70300.

ABSTRACT

Quantifying animal movements is necessary for answering a wide array of research questions in ecology and conservation biology. Consequently, ecologists have made considerable efforts to identify the best way to estimate an animal’s home range, and many methods of estimating home ranges have arisen over the past half a century. Most of these methods fall into two distinct categories of estimators that have only recently been described in statistical detail: those that measure range distributions (methods such as kernel density estimation that quantify the long-run behavior of a movement process that features restricted space use) and those that measure occurrence distributions (methods such as Brownian bridge movement models and the Correlated Random Walk Library that quantify uncertainty in an animal movement path during a specific period of observation). In this paper, we use theory, simulations, and empirical analysis to demonstrate the importance of appropriately using these two categories of distributions and their estimators. Conflating range and occurrence distributions can have serious consequences for ecological inference and conservation practice. For example, in most situations, home ranges estimated using estimators of occurrence distributions are too small, and this problem is exacerbated by ongoing improvements in tracking technology that enable more frequent and more accurate data on animal movements. We encourage researchers to use estimators of range distributions to quantify home ranges and estimators of occurrence distributions to answer other questions in movement ecology, such as when and where an animal crossed a linear feature, visited a location of interest, or interacted with other animals.

PMID:41793168 | DOI:10.1002/ecy.70300

Rev Med Virol. 2026 Mar;36(2):e70125. doi: 10.1002/rmv.70125.

ABSTRACT

Small randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in COVID-19 meta-analyses have been associated with more favourable treatment effects and reduced result stability. This study assessed how trial size impacts effect estimates, statistical stability, and risk of bias. Following PRISMA guidelines, we identified meta-analyses of COVID-19 treatments included in WHO, NIH, and the LIVING Project. Trials were classified by log-scale sample size, and separate pooled meta-analyses were conducted for large-only, small-only, and combined trials. Comparative metrics included the Ratio of Odds Ratios (ROR), Kappa statistics, Fragility Index (FI), Reverse Fragility Index (RFI), and Cochrane Risk of Bias assessments. Sensitivity analyses applied alternative size thresholds (≥ 1000 participants and median-based cutoffs) and stratified results by treatment and outcome type. Across 25 meta-analyses including 221 RCTs (46 large, 175 small), small trials produced more extreme estimates in 19 analyses and wider confidence intervals in 23. The pooled ROR was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.76-0.95; P = 0.004), decreasing to 0.81 (95% CI: 0.68-0.95; P = 0.011) when limited to small trials published before the first large trial. RORs remained below 1 across treatment and outcome types. Agreement between small and large trials was minimal, while large trials showed substantial agreement with overall estimates. Stability and bias profiles favoured large trials (FI: 14.0 vs. 4.0; RFI: 10.0 vs. 5.0). In conclusion, small RCTs tend to overestimate treatment effects and yield less precise, less stable results. Meta-analyses should prioritise large, high-quality trials and interpret small-study findings with caution, particularly in rapidly evolving research contexts.

PMID:41793162 | DOI:10.1002/rmv.70125

Int J Lab Hematol. 2026 Mar 7. doi: 10.1111/ijlh.70068. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The study aims to provide reference ranges of complete blood count (CBC) parameters in healthy children in Türkiye.

METHODS: Children aged 1 month to -18 years who were administered to the Well Child Outpatients Clinics of Department/Unit of Social Pediatrics in 10 centers in different regions of Türkiye were included in the study. Complete blood count measurements were collected from these centers.

RESULTS: A total of 24 115 healthy infants and children (12 204 males and 11 911 females) aged 1 month-18 years old were enrolled. Mean and median values of the red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet parameters according to the age groups are presented in this study. In addition, the nonparametrically determined CBC reference intervals (RIs) corresponding to the 2.5th to 97.5th percentile, stratified by age and sex were provided.

CONCLUSION: This is the first study that established RIs for hematological parameters in Turkish children younger than 18 years old. These data provide a more reliable basis for hematological evaluation across all pediatric healthcare disciplines in Türkiye.

PMID:41793156 | DOI:10.1111/ijlh.70068

J Intensive Care Med. 2026 Mar 7:8850666261425642. doi: 10.1177/08850666261425642. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PurposeSurvivors of critical illness often acquire significant physical, cognitive, and psychological burdens following their intensive care unit (ICU) stay, termed “post-intensive care syndrome” (PICS). Screening for PICS is generally not performed outside of research settings largely due to lack of a simple assessment tool and time constraints.MethodsThis was a prospective cohort study at a single academic medical center in the USA. We included adults (18 years or older) who spent greater than 48 h in any ICU within the medical center. Following transfer out of the ICU and at 3 months, psychological, cognitive, and physical functioning were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Montreal Cognitive Assessment-blind, and Barthel Index. We compared these validated questionnaires to a brief, 15-item PICS screening tool (5 questions/domain) that was developed by our multidisciplinary study team and administered to study participants after ICU discharge to general care. The primary objectives of this study were to assess the ability of validated screening tools administered at ICU discharge to predict PICS at 3 months and develop a novel screening tool for identifying patients at risk of PICS.Major Findings191 participants completed the initial questionnaire, and 109 (56%) completed the 3-month follow-up. PICS tool scores were compared to 3-month follow-up data from validated questionnaires to evaluate predictive performance. Overall, the screening tool weakly-to-moderately correlated with continuous outcomes of the validated measures at 3-month follow-up. When evaluating sensitivity and specificity for individual domains, the screening tool had an area under curve of >0.7 for all three domains, indicating moderate-to-good sensitivity and specificity.ConclusionsWe developed a brief PICS screening tool that is feasible to use without prior training that modestly predicted the development of PICS following ICU stay.

PMID:41793150 | DOI:10.1177/08850666261425642

Int J Lab Hematol. 2026 Mar 7. doi: 10.1111/ijlh.70086. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Platelet clumping is a pre-analytical artifact that leads to spurious thrombocytopenia, complicating laboratory interpretation and triggering unnecessary clinical interventions. Vortexing has been proposed as a corrective measure, yet the optimal duration, its applicability to transported samples, and its impact on WBC and RBC parameters remain poorly defined. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vortexing across different durations to establish it as a standardized intervention in hematology laboratories.

METHODS: A total of 730 EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples were analyzed. Samples were vortexed at 3200 rpm for 30 s, 1, or 2 min, using a fixed-speed vortex mixer. Platelet counts and interpretative messages were compared before and after vortexing using the Sysmex XN-10 platform. Stability of WBC and RBC parameters was also assessed.

RESULTS: Vortexing significantly reduced platelet clumping flags, with 66% overall resolution and the highest effect in the 101-150 × 10⁹/L group (74%). Platelet counts improved across all durations, with 2 min yielding the highest median increase (+39.0 × 10⁹/L, p = 2.70 × 10^-12). The Kruskal-Wallis test confirmed statistically significant differences among vortexing durations (p = 1.24 × 10^-5). WBC and RBC parameters remained stable post-vortexing, supporting the method’s safety.

CONCLUSION: Vortexing is a reliable, reproducible, and practical method for resolving platelet clumping in EDTA samples without compromising sample integrity. Its implementation can reduce redraws, minimize manual smear reviews, and streamline sample processing in high-volume hematology laboratories.

PMID:41793128 | DOI:10.1111/ijlh.70086

Proc Inst Mech Eng H. 2026 Mar 7:9544119261426440. doi: 10.1177/09544119261426440. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Excessive heat generation during bone drilling causes thermal osteonecrosis, posing a significant risk in orthopedic and dental procedures. While various aspects of drill design have been studied, the specific influence of margin geometry remains underexplored in the context of thermal engineering. This study integrates drilling simulation, experimental validation, and statistical optimization to evaluate the thermal impact of drill margin width (M_w) and height (M_h) during cortical bone drilling. A validated thermo-mechanical model was developed using commercial software DEFORM-3D. The simulation results were validated with experimental bone drilling with small temperature prediction errors (2.4% and 8.0%). Key thermal metrics (maximum temperature (T_max), osteonecrosis diameter (OD), and osteonecrosis depth (OH)) were optimized using a central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) and desirability-based multi-objective optimization. Results revealed that M_w had the most significant second-order influence on T_max (47.2%), while M_h dominated OD (41.1%) and OH (47.8%). The optimal drill margins (M_h = 0.05 mm and M_w = 0.22 mm), which achieved a desirability score of 0.985, could reduce T_max by up to 44.8°C, which is below the osteonecrosis threshold. This work highlights drill margins as a critical yet previously underutilized design variable, offering an alternative pathway for the thermally optimized development of surgical tools and next-generation robotic-assisted drilling systems.

PMID:41793124 | DOI:10.1177/09544119261426440