Category: Statistics

J Environ Radioact. 2025 May 6;287:107704. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107704. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A harmonized, publicly accessible database of worldwide observations and experiments on radiocaesium transfer from soil to plants is lacking. Such a database is needed for evaluating and establishing transfer models, especially for regions with limited research but operational or planned nuclear reactors. Therefore, we systematically screened the literature for radiocaesium soil-to-plant transfer factors (CR, i.e., concentration ratios), extracted data that met the criteria for experimental soundness, relevance, and traceability, and compiled a harmonized database. The database included 7,182 CR data points and associated variables from 139 source documents. The CRs ranged from 0.000028 to 380 kg kg^-1, with the highest CR observed with soils from tropical climates and the lowest with soils from temperate climates. However, data from tropical (N = 411) and arid climates (N = 335) remained limited. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that CRs were most influenced by the specific study (methods and designs) in which the data were obtained, followed by soil properties and plant species-based categories. On a subset (N = 199) that contained all variables required for semi-mechanistic models, it was found that these models fitted the CR data rather well (R² = 0.42-0.50). Slightly better predictions with the same data were found with a random forest model (R² = 0.51) or a statistical mixed-effects model (R² = 0.58). More adequate machine learning models could not yet be created due to insufficient reliable data. The harmonized database in this study can be further completed and analyzed to support machine learning applications and improve impact assessments of food chain contamination following accidental radiocaesium deposition on agricultural land.

PMID:40334553 | DOI:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107704

Nurse Educ Pract. 2025 May 5;85:104389. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2025.104389. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The aim of the study was to explore midwifery students’ experiences with simulation as pedagogic method when learning management of postpartum haemorrhage patients.

BACKGROUND: Malawi is just starting to implement simulation-based education, even though it is recommended in midwifery education to enhance patient safety. Therefore, to ensure successful incorporation of simulation-based education into midwifery training programs, it is crucial to understand students’ experiences with the pedagogic method.

DESIGN: The study applied a descriptive-mixed-convergent design.

METHOD: One-hundred and seven midwifery students participated in the study. Data were collected through questionnaires and three focus group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively.

RESULTS: Quantitatively, students graded all the questions related to the simulation design elements, educational practices and students’ satisfaction and self-confidence in learning with mean scores above four on a 5-point Likert Scale. One theme and two sub-themes emerged from qualitative data analysis. Main theme: simulation mirrors demanded competence for professional practice; sub-themes: (1) a realistic and active learning method; and (2) a conducive environment for students’ learning.

CONCLUSION: Midwifery students experienced simulation as a valued pedagogical approach to teaching and learning that mirrored postpartum management clinical skills necessary for them to practice as professionals in the resource-limited setting. More research is necessary to explore feasibility for simulation-based education in Malawi and whether students can apply the knowledge and skills acquired during simulation into clinical practice particularly within constrained environment.

PMID:40334551 | DOI:10.1016/j.nepr.2025.104389

Theriogenology. 2025 May 3;243:117417. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117417. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Oxidative stress during oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) is still concerned. Lipoamide (LAM) has been widely studied as an agent for alleviating various diseases associated with oxidative disruption. This work aimed to evaluate the potential effects of LAM on bovine oocyte IVM and its mechanisms. Different concentrations of LAM (0, 10, 50, 100, and 200 μmol/L) were supplemented to bovine oocyte IVM medium. The IVF derived zygote cleavage and blastocyst formation rate in the 100 μmol/L LAM treatment group was increased compared with the control group (P < 0.05).There was no statistical difference in PBI between 100 μmol/L LAM treatment and the control group, although the treatment tended to increase it (P = 0.059). Further revealed that LAM increased the expression of PI3K and phosphorylated-AKT1 (pAKT1), improved mitochondrial profile, and reduced apoptosis in bovine oocytes. Meanwhile, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as the 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, DNA damage-specific marker) displayed lower levels accumulation in LAM-exposed oocytes. Taken together, the results show that administration of LAM (100 μmol/L) during IVM can ameliorate the developmental competence of bovine oocyte through the potential regulation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, DNA damage, and PI3K/AKT signaling.

PMID:40334541 | DOI:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117417

Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2025 May 6;17(7):102325. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102325. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Ensuring the safety and accuracy of compounded sterile preparations (CSPs) is a crucial part of a pharmacist’s role. The purpose of this study was to determine if intravenous (IV) admixture lab course activities improved students’ confidence and comfort levels in compounding sterile preparations across campuses and terms.

METHODS: This study examined pre- and post-survey results collected from third-year pharmacy students (P3s) who enrolled in the 2022 Basic IV Admixtures Lab course, delivered on two campuses, during the 5-week summer term or 10-week fall term. Confidence and comfort levels were measured using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not confident/comfortable at all to 5 = completely confident/comfortable) with seven questions in each category. Helpfulness of required and optional course activities was measured with eleven questions using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = unhelpful to 5 = helpful). Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and ANOVA were used for data analysis.

RESULTS: Ninety-eight students completed both pre- and post-surveys (94.2 % response rate). Student confidence and comfort level improved (p < 0.001) on all measured items after taking the course, with improvement in confidence ranging from 0.62 to 2.35 points and comfort level ranging from 0.62 to 2.18 points. No differences were found in mean improvement scores between terms or between campuses. The majority of required and optional activities had a high mean score of 4 and above on the helpfulness scale.

CONCLUSION: The IV admixture lab course improved confidence and comfort levels in the preparation of CSPs regardless of which term and on which campus students took the course.

PMID:40334477 | DOI:10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102325

Sci Total Environ. 2025 May 6;981:179593. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179593. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Wastewater Based Epidemiology (WBE) has been identified as a tool for monitoring and predicting patterns of SARS-CoV-2 in communities. Several factors may lead to a day-to-day variation in the measurement of viral genetic material. Wastewater samples are systematically collected from the two major wastewater treatment plants in Crete, Greece. Physico-chemical factors were tested, viral concentration was determined by RT-real time PCR and the results were normalized. The influence of restriction measures, rain and physico-chemical agents was addressed. Statistics together with machine learning (ML) were applied to predict human cases. 781 samples were analyzed. RNA concentration was reduced during lockdown and was impacted by rain. Fluctuations in pH and total solids’ concentrations were associated with changes in viral load. Conductivity was mainly related to chloride ions. In Heraklion, wastewater viral load preceded human cases by three days on average. Cross- correlation estimates did not perform likewise in Chania. According to ML, the ratio of sewage RNA measurements to reported cases decreased in comparison to the first wave, due to different variants, climatological parameters, testing rate and behaviors related to seeking healthcare. The model developed showed a close approximation between recorded and predicted cases. Parameters such as total solids, pH, conductivity, rain and inhibitors can significantly impact the recovery of viral RNA. The correlation between viral load in wastewater and human cases is not straightforward. The application of ML may fill some but not every gap. Existing models cannot be directly applied to different Wastewater Treatment Plants or countries.

PMID:40334465 | DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179593

Sci Total Environ. 2025 May 6;981:179578. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179578. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Clothing can act as a barrier and a source of skin exposure to chemicals due to reversible accumulation on and within textile fibers. The partition coefficient quantifies the equilibrium relationship between textile and air for a specific chemical and is a key parameter in models estimating dermal exposure. Here, textiles composed of natural and/or synthetic fibers were exposed for 26 days in environmental test chambers under different climatic conditions to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) that have similar, but not identical, physical and chemical properties. The nine textiles tested included a single fiber type or blends of cotton, polyester, nylon, linen and/or elastane. The seven SVOCs are found commonly indoors and in consumer products: 4-t-octylphenol (4t-OP),4-nonylphenol (4-NP); di-n-butyl adipate (DnBA); galaxolide (HHCB); di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP); benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and 3-(4′-methylbenzylidene)camphor (4-MBC). The chamber air concentrations and masses accumulated on textiles were measured and the mass based (K_m, m³/g), area based (K_a, m) and volume based (K_v, dimensionless) partition coefficients were calculated. Partition coefficients among all chemicals were generally lower for polyester and higher for cotton and blends. A hierarchical cluster analysis combined with fiber specific matrix analysis showed that, across the SVOCs tested, the partition coefficients for nylon/elastane were ~ 7 to 70 times higher than for jeans cotton, while the partition coefficient for jeans cotton were ~ 2 to 7 time higher than for polyester. K_m, K_a and K_v were lowest for HHCB and highest for 4-NP, DnBP and 4-MBC. However, chemical-textile partition coefficients were not statistically correlated with respect to physical and environmental properties of the SVOCs. The values were statistically the same for different chamber air concentrations of the chemicals tested, and from 24 °C to 33 °C there was only a weak reduction in the partition coefficients.

PMID:40334462 | DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179578

Schizophr Res. 2025 May 6;281:132-137. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2025.04.036. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Racially and ethnically minoritized emerging adults in the United States have a higher prevalence of psychotic experiences when compared to their White peers. Racism gives rise to social stressors, including ethno-racial discrimination, which can increase the risk for psychotic experiences. Racism is ever-shapeshifting into new forms of racism, including online racism, yet little research has examined its associations with psychotic experiences.

METHODS: We used Qualtrics panels to recruit emerging adults, including Black (N = 1200) and Asian American/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian (N = 1600). Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the association between online racism (Online Racism Scale – Very Brief) and psychotic experiences (reporting at least one psychotic experience using the WHO CIDI psychosis screen), controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, everyday discrimination, internet usage, and mental health.

RESULTS: Approximately 42 % of the sample reported a lifetime psychotic experience. In multivariable logistic regression models, a one-unit increase on the online racism scale was associated with a 13 % increase in odds of having a lifetime psychotic experience. This association attenuated slightly after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and further attenuated after adjusting for everyday discrimination, total internet usage, and depression and anxiety. After accounting for all covariates, a one-unit increase in online racism was associated with a 5 % increase in odds of psychotic experiences.

CONCLUSION: Online racism is more common than in-person discrimination, and people of color use social media platforms at high rates, where they inevitably face various types of online racism. Online racism is pervasive, often anonymous, and unmoderated, and these exposures are associated with greater odds of psychotic experiences.

PMID:40334439 | DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2025.04.036

J Environ Manage. 2025 May 6;385:125651. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125651. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Coastal areas are one of the most concentrated and fastest urbanizing areas for human activities. Land use carbon emissions (LUCE) related to human activities are recognized as an essential contributor of climate change. Nevertheless, carbon emissions linked to changes in land use in coastal areas remain unclear. While nighttime light images can effectively indicate the human activity intensity in different geographic spaces and monitor the spatio-temporal dynamics of human social activities. Here, we investigated the spatio-temporal changes in LUCE using nighttime light images during 1991-2020 in Shandong Province. The influential drivers of LUCE were detected by employing GeoDetector. The results demonstrated that (1) Carbon emissions from construction land at the city scale can be modeled with nighttime lighting data. (2) Cities with highest carbon emissions were Weifang (27.9 MtCO₂e) and Qingdao (31.63 MtCO₂e) in the study area. Average annual growth rate for LUCE was the highest during 2000-2010 (315.42%), and reached an inflection point in 2013 during the study period. (3) The mean center of LUCE has been in Weifang for most of the last 30 years. (4) GDP had the largest q statistic of 0.781, and was the main factor affecting LUCE. (5) Low-carbon development in coastal areas needs to increase carbon sinks in addition to reducing carbon sources. The results provide a theoretical basis for improving the ecological environment in Shandong Province and a scientific reference for the development of low-carbon in coastal areas.

PMID:40334405 | DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125651

Cytokine. 2025 May 6;191:156945. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2025.156945. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a common symptom in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), yet its precise mechanism remains elusive, and the clinical implications of frailty in MS are uncertain. Moreover, inflammation is closely linked to frailty. This study aims to assess serum cytokine levels in individuals with MS and explore their correlation with frailty.

METHODS: A case-control study included 83 primary MS patients and 100 healthy individuals undergoing health check-ups. Serum cytokine levels were measured, and MS severity was determined using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score. Additionally, a comprehensive frailty index (FI) was calculated based on health deficits from various domains following standardized procedures.

RESULTS: Serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels were significantly higher in the frail group than in the non-frail group, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). After adjusting for disease duration, sex, age, BMI, SBP, and DBP, serum IL-6 independently correlated with frailty in MS patients (OR = 1.46; 95 % CI = 1.02-1.93; P = 0.003). Moreover, increased serum IL-6 levels were associated positively with the frailty index (β = 0.123, P = 0.008).

CONCLUSION: Our initial findings suggest elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in MS patients with frailty, with IL-6 showing a positive correlation with frail indices. These results underscore the potential impact of inflammatory responses on frailty development in MS.

PMID:40334398 | DOI:10.1016/j.cyto.2025.156945

Poult Sci. 2025 May 1;104(7):105242. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105242. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Bacteria are the major component of poultry gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota and play an important role in host health, nutrition, physiology regulation, intestinal development, and growth. Bacterial community profiling based on the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing approach has become the most popular method to determine the taxonomic composition and diversity of the poultry microbiota. The 16S rRNA gene profiling involves numerous steps, including sample collection and storage, DNA isolation, 16S rRNA gene primer selection, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), library preparation, sequencing, raw sequencing reads processing, taxonomic classification, α- and β-diversity calculations, and statistical analysis. However, there is currently no standardized protocol for 16S rRNA gene analysis profiling and data deposition for poultry microbiota studies. Variations in DNA storage and isolation, primer design, and library preparation are known to introduce biases, affecting community structure and microbial population analysis leading to over- or under-representation of individual bacteria within communities. Additionally, different sequencing platforms, bioinformatics pipeline, and taxonomic database selection can affect classification and determination of the microbial taxa. Moreover, detailed experimental design and DNA processing and sequencing methods are often inadequately reported in poultry 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies. Consequently, poultry microbiota results are often difficult to reproduce and compare across studies. This manuscript reviews current practices in profiling poultry microbiota using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and proposes the development of guidelines for protocol for 16S rRNA gene sequencing that spans from sample collection through data deposition to achieve more reliable data comparisons across studies and allow for comparisons and/or interpretations of poultry studies conducted worldwide.

PMID:40334389 | DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2025.105242