Category: Statistics

Odontology. 2026 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s10266-026-01366-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Remineralization of early carious lesions can prevent their progression to cavitated stages. While cow milk and artificial saliva have demonstrated good remineralization potentials, the effects of goat milk remain unexplored. This study aimed to compare the remineralization capabilities of goat milk, cow milk, and artificial saliva on demineralized enamel surfaces. The tooth specimens were demineralized using citric acid, then split into three groups, each subjected to either artificial saliva, cow milk, or goat milk for remineralization. Surface roughness was measured using a Mitutoyo Surftest (SJ-210 Series), while microhardness was measured by the standard Vickers hardness method using a Wilson hardness tester, before any intervention, after demineralization, and after remineralization. Additionally, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination was performed at baseline, following demineralization, and remineralization. The groups did not significantly differ from one another in roughness and microhardness at baseline and following demineralization. However, following remineralization, there was a statistically significant difference between goat milk and both artificial saliva and cow milk groups, where goat milk revealed the least roughness and the highest microhardness. No significant distinctions were found between the artificial saliva and cow milk groups. A strong negative correlation between roughness and microhardness was established across all three groups. SEM confirmed goat milk to have a comparable surface morphology with the other two groups, showing a homogenous surface with few irregularities. In conclusion, goat milk demonstrated a promising remineralization potential compared to artificial saliva and cow milk. This study emphasizes the value of goat milk as a natural alternative to remineralizing agents, offering a simple yet effective strategy to prevent early carious lesions and combat demineralization.

PMID:41954844 | DOI:10.1007/s10266-026-01366-8

Environ Monit Assess. 2026 Apr 9;198(5):426. doi: 10.1007/s10661-026-15220-5.

ABSTRACT

Methane (CH₄), a Kyoto Protocol-regulated greenhouse gas produced by multiple pathways, remains challenging to characterize regionally due to spatiotemporal limitations of current measurements. In this study, we present a regional-scale CH₄ modeling framework using the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry-transport model over South Korea and evaluate the model performance with ground and aircraft observations. Model performance was evaluated using monthly mean CH₄ concentrations observed at three ground-based monitoring sites (Anmyeondo, Gosan, and Ulleungdo) by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) from 2017 to 2022. The nested regional-scale modeling was conducted at a horizontal resolution of 0.25°×0.3125° using boundary conditions from coarser 2°×2.5° global simulations driven by Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) meteorological fields. The model showed good agreement with surface observations, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 19.63 ppb (0.99% of the mean CH₄) and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.84. Validation against vertical profiles showed a systematic underestimation when evaluated across all observation-model pairs. The RMSE was 32.55 ppb (1.65% of the mean CH₄), with a r of 0.77, with the level of agreement relatively declining at higher altitudes. In addition, we used the KMA aircraft observations to identify regional-scale characteristics in CH₄ concentrations over South Korea often influenced by dominant emissions. The findings are expected to provide a scientific basis for future investigations of the spatiotemporal variability of CH₄ and its key drivers over South Korea.

PMID:41954842 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-026-15220-5

Int Ophthalmol. 2026 Apr 9;46(1):199. doi: 10.1007/s10792-026-04060-4.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), novel systemic inflammatory biomarkers, and lipid profile in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), and to investigate their potential relationship with disease presence.

METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included 59 patients diagnosed with nAMD and 67 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Demographic characteristics, fasting biochemical tests, lipid profile, complete blood count, and serum inflammatory indices were recorded. Triglyceride-glucose index, systemic inflammatory indices derived from various hematological parameters and lipid levels were calculated. Laboratory parameters and calculated indexes were compared between the two groups using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

RESULTS: Triglyceride-glucose index was significantly higher in the nAMD group than in controls (4.84 ± 0.27 vs. 4.69 ± 0.17, p = 0.0001). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were also elevated in the nAMD group (p = 0.0001 for both). Among hematological markers, white blood count (WBC), neutrophil, and monocyte counts were significantly increased in nAMD patients (p = 0.012, p = 0.001, p = 0.015, respectively). Inflammatory indices including neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p = 0.015), monocyte/HDL-C ratio (MHR) (p = 0.003), systemic inflammation aggregate index (AISI) (p = 0.025), and C reactive protein/albumine ratio (CAR) (p = 0.006) were significantly higher in the nAMD group, whereas the systemic immune inflammation index (SII), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). Serum lipid levels and atherogenic lipid ratios did not differ between the groups.

DISCUSSION: Patients with nAMD exhibit increased systemic inflammatory activity and metabolic stress, reflected by elevated NLR, MHR, AISI, and CAR levels. In addition, TyG, a novel indicator of systemic insulin resistance, was found to be elevated in nAMD patients. These findings suggest that metabolic dysregulation and chronic low-grade systemic inflammation may contribute to nAMD pathogenesis independently of serum lipid levels. The TyG and inflammation-derived biomarkers may serve as potential systemic indicators for nAMD risk or disease activity.

PMID:41954837 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-026-04060-4

Geroscience. 2026 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s11357-026-02224-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Normal aging is accompanied by declines in executive function, and regular physical exercise has been proposed as a protective factor. However, the neural correlates linking long-term habitual exercise to executive efficiency in older adults remain unclear. This study combined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) with behavioral assessments to examine whether long-term habitual exercise is associated with executive performance and resting-state neural organization in older adults. A total of 105 older adults (52 long-term habitual exercisers and 53 non-habitual exercisers) completed task-switching, Stroop and N-back paradigms and underwent rs-fMRI scanning. Behavioral outcomes included accuracy, reaction time, task cost and executive efficiency index. Neural measures included amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo) and degree centrality (DC). Older adults with long-term habitual exercise showed higher accuracy and faster responses across tasks, with no group differences in task cost but higher executive efficiency, compared with non-habitual exercisers. They also exhibited higher ALFF, ReHo and DC in frontoparietal, motor and striatal regions, alongside lower resting-state metrics in occipito-cerebellar networks. Mediation models indicated that ALFF in the pallidum, DC in prefrontal and cingulate cortices, and ReHo in frontoparietal regions statistically accounted for the association between exercise status and executive efficiency. Long-term habitual exercise was associated with better executive performance and distinct resting-state functional organization in older adults. Frontoparietal and striatal systems emerged as candidate intrinsic correlates of executive efficiency in physically active older adults.

PMID:41954831 | DOI:10.1007/s11357-026-02224-9

Int Ophthalmol. 2026 Apr 9;46(1):200. doi: 10.1007/s10792-026-04075-x.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of parenteral iron treatment on the choroidal thickness, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and retrobulbar blood flow in females with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and to explore the mediation role of the changes in Doppler flow parameters in this relationship.

METHODS: A total of 55 eyes of 55 females in the reproductive period with a diagnosis of IDA were included in this prospective observational study. The hematologic values and the choroidal thickness at the subfoveal area and 500, 1000, 1500 µm nasal and temporal to the fovea, RNFL thickness, and central retinal artery (CRA) and ophthalmic artery (OA) parameters one day before and 8-12 weeks after parenteral iron treatment were evaluated in the patients.

RESULTS: The choroidal thickness at all measurement points and the RNFL thickness in all quadrants were significantly higher than the pre-treatment values following treatment (p < 0.05). The CRA peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) values and the OA PSV values were statistically significantly lower after treatment compared to the pre-treatment values (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p = 0.05, respectively). According to the mediation analysis, changes in hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), and mean corpuscular volume indirectly affected the superior RNFL thickness via the changes observed in OA EDV and the pulsatile index.

CONCLUSIONS: Parenteral iron treatment leads to significant improvement in both the hematological parameters and the retinal and choroidal circulation. This improvement was found to occur in a balanced manner through the changes in the retrobulbar blood flow parameters.

PMID:41954824 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-026-04075-x

Eur J Epidemiol. 2026 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s10654-026-01393-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Our study aimed to assess potential associations between food colouring additives and cancer incidence in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort. A total of 105,260 adults (78.3% females; mean age 42.0 ± 14.5y) without prevalent cancer and who completed ≥ 2 24-hour dietary records at baseline were followed for > 7 years. Dietary intakes were assessed using repeated brand-specific 24 h records, and cumulative time-dependent exposure to food additives was evaluated through multiple composition databases and ad-hoc laboratory assays in food matrices. Associations between exposures to food colouring additives (sex-specific tertiles if proportion of exposed participants > 2/3, or non-exposed/lower/higher exposed based on sex-specific median otherwise) and cancer incidence were assessed using multivariable Cox models. We identified 4,226 incident cancer cases (508 prostate, 1,208 breast [387 premenopausal and 821 postmenopausal], and 352 colorectal). Total food colouring additives were associated with higher overall [HR_{higher versus non/lower consumers} (95%CI): 1.14 (1.05-1.24); absolute risk at age 60: 13.3% (higher consumers) vs. 12.1% (lower/non-consumers)], breast [1.21 (1.03-1.42); 5.7%, 4.8%], and postmenopausal breast [1.32 (1.09-1.61); 14.9%, 12.5%] cancer incidence. After False Discovery Rate correction, only plain caramel (European code: E150a) was associated with overall cancer [1.15 (1.07-1.25); 14.0%, 12.1%] and beta-carotene (E160a) with overall [1.16 (1.07-1.25); 13.7%, 11.9%] and breast cancer [1.41 (1.23-1.62); 6.2%, 4.4%]. This study provides novel exploratory evidence linking colouring additives to cancer incidence. Further research is needed to elucidate underlying mechanisms. Findings support recommendations to limit exposure to non-essential food additives (i.e. used primarily for sensory or aesthetic purposes rather than for food safety or preservation) and inform regulatory reassessment.

PMID:41954817 | DOI:10.1007/s10654-026-01393-3

Clin Neuroradiol. 2026 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s00062-026-01645-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Evaluation of the impact of Deep Learning Image Reconstruction (DLIR) compared to Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction-Veo (ASIR-V) on image quality and early ischemic changes detection on non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) in stroke suspected patients. A secondary objective was to determine the potential influence of reconstruction algorithm on ASPECT scoring relative to automated e-ASPECT score.

METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing NCCT within 6 hours of symptom onset were retrospectively included. Images were reconstructed using ASIR-V and high-strength DLIR. Four readers with varying experience independently assessed subjective image quality, gray-white matter differentiation, diagnostic confidence, presence of ischemic lesions and ASPECTS scoring. Diagnostic performance (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity) was calculated using e-ASPECTS as reference. Evaluation time was recorded.

RESULTS: DLIR significantly improved subjective image quality and gray-white matter contrast compared with ASIR-V (odds ratios 2.96-3.96; p 0.001). Diagnostic performance for detecting early ischemic changes showed no significant difference, with similar accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Evaluation time did not differ. A trend toward higher specificity and reduced bias for ASPECTS ≥6 was observed with DLIR, but mixed-model analysis did not confirm statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: DLIR improves subjective image quality in acute stroke NCCT but does not significantly improve detection accuracy or ASPECTS scoring compared with ASIR-V. A tendency toward improved specificity was observed; further studies with larger cohorts are needed.

PMID:41954793 | DOI:10.1007/s00062-026-01645-5

J Psycholinguist Res. 2026 Apr 9;55(3):52. doi: 10.1007/s10936-026-10241-0.

ABSTRACT

Most psycholinguistic research on action naming has relied on static pictures, even though actions are by nature dynamic events. To overcome this limitation, the present study introduces the first open-access video database developed for French speakers of Quebec, Canada. The corpus includes 136 short video clips depicting everyday actions. Each video was normed for five psycholinguistic variables: name agreement (NA), entropy (H-statistic), response latency, uniqueness naming point-the moment at which an action becomes unambiguously identifiable-and adjusted response latency. Data were collected from 93 native French speakers of Quebec. Most actions elicited consistent name agreement (mean NA = 80.73%), while the mean entropy value (H-statistic = 0.84) reflected the lexical diversity typical of Quebec French. This freely available video-based normative resource offers a dynamic, culturally adapted tool for studying verb processing and supports both clinical applications and experimental investigations in psycholinguistics.

PMID:41954785 | DOI:10.1007/s10936-026-10241-0

Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2026 Apr 9;313(1):159. doi: 10.1007/s00404-026-08414-2.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Studies on vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES), which provides enhanced endoscopic vision via the vaginal route, are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and perioperative outcomes of vNOTES hysterectomy in symptomatic patients with giant polymyomatous uteri and no prior vaginal delivery.

METHODS: A prospective single-centre case series was conducted between July 2023 and July 2025. Patients with symptomatic uterine myomatosis and a uterine size equivalent to a gestational age of ≥ 20 weeks with no prior vaginal deliveries were included. The operation time, preoperative and postoperative haemoglobin levels, uterine weight, complications, and length of hospital stay were analysed.

RESULTS: Forty patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean operative time was 95 ± 28 min. The mean preoperative haemoglobin concentration was 11.8 ± 1.2 g/dL, whereas it was 10.9 ± 1.1 g/dL postoperatively. The mean uterine weight was 1,012 ± 312 g. The complication rate was 8%. The major complication rate was 4%. No procedures were converted to laparotomy. The median hospitalisation duration was 23.1 h.

CONCLUSION: vNOTES hysterectomy appears to be a feasible minimally invasive approach for giant polymyomatous uteri in patients with no prior vaginal deliveries, with favourable perioperative outcomes in this prospective case series.

PMID:41954781 | DOI:10.1007/s00404-026-08414-2

Environ Manage. 2026 Apr 9;76(5):141. doi: 10.1007/s00267-026-02431-2.

ABSTRACT

The Big Sandy River Basin (BSRB), which comprises the majority of the surface-mined and reclaimed areas, is a key restoration landscape in Eastern Kentucky. BSRB has a long history of coal mining, followed by various policies adopted to restore the post-mining ecosystems. Kentucky designates priority watersheds (PWs) within major river basins to address environmental issues and direct resources for focused implementation through coordinated efforts. However, clear watershed-scale evidence evaluating ecosystem service (ES) patterns in relation to these policy designations remains limited. Therefore, we conducted spatial and temporal mapping of carbon storage (CS) and sequestration (CSE) from 2001 to 2021 across selected PWs and NPWs, utilizing the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) and the InVEST model. The results revealed only a modest net increase in CS in both PWs (+0.93%) and NPWs (+0.16%) from 2001 to 2021. However, CSE patterns exhibited a trajectory towards recovery. Both PWs and NPWs experienced carbon loss during 2006-2011 and followed a gain afterwards until 2021. Between 2001 and 2021, CSE values were nearly 6.5 times higher in PWs (2.27 Mg C/ha) than in NPWs (0.35 Mg C/ha). The economic valuation (EV) of the CS revealed that the landscape offers climate-regulating ES worth more than 6100 USD/ha across years. This study utilized spatial statistics (Moran’s I test) that identified regions with high-high value and low-low value clusters and outliers of CSE across time. These findings support prioritization and monitoring in post-mining watersheds and provide an assessment framework for linking LULCC, ES, and watershed-level policy focus.

PMID:41954775 | DOI:10.1007/s00267-026-02431-2