Category: Statistics

Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Dec 4;197(1):19. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-13495-0.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the potentially toxic elements (PTEs) contamination of Betoya Bay surface sediments to assess the degree of pollution and identify the source of these contaminants. Average PTE levels as mg/kg in Betoya Bay are ranked in descending order as Zn (22.68) > Cr (8.64) > Pb (7.24) > Ni (6.82) > As (6.62) > Cu (5.78) > Co (2.45) > Cd (0.20). The sampling sites show an increase in PTEs at station 5, probably due to runoff from the wadi, and at the first station, where fishing activity is particularly intense. At all stations throughout the year, PTE levels were unpolluted as evaluated by the geoaccumulation index (I_geo) and the pollution load index (PLI). Almost all PTEs showed a “low contamination factor” according to the contamination factor index (CF). As assessed by the contamination degree (CD), all PTE levels at all stations and seasons were “low contamination degree”. The ecological risk indices (Eⁱ_r and RI) indicated low to moderate ecological risk. In line with sediment quality requirements, the M-ERM-Q calculation suggests there is only a 9% chance that this particular combination of metals poses a threat. The non-carcinogenic health risk assessment showed that beach sand in the study area is entirely safe, presenting no additional health risk to children or adults. However, the carcinogenic risk showed a low to moderate carcinogenic risk for adults and a moderate to high carcinogenic risk for children. In addition, statistical analysis revealed that all PTEs are likely to have common sources, which may be related to the geology of the area.

PMID:39630323 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-13495-0

Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Dec 4;197(1):14. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-13436-x.

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the surface water quality in Dong Thap province during 2013-2023 using multivariate statistical techniques. Water quality index (WQI), Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) were determined based on monitoring data for parameters. The findings showed that only some water samples had pH values below the permissible standard, while 95.5% of samples exceeded the standard of Escherichia coli in surface water. In some years, 100% samples having BOD₅, TSS, NH₄⁺, and E. coli exceeded the permissible limits. The PCA identified four, five, and seven major potential sources during 2013-2015, 2016-2020, and 2021-2023, respectively, explaining 75.9%, 63.0%, and 63.0% of variation in the corresponding duration times. For heavy metals, the number of water samples containing As, Cu, and Pb exceeding the water permissible limits were 15.5%, 21.4%, and 2.8% samples in 2021, respectively, but no heavy metal was above standard in 2022 and 2023. The evaluation of average water quality based on WQI showed that 79.31% and 76.19% of the sample sites were classified to be average during 2016-2020 and 2021-2023, respectively, and others were bad water quality. However, the water quality showed an improving trend with 70% of monitoring positions considered as good water quality in 2023. The results showed that anthropogenic activities and hydrological regime were the main source of pollution. This study provides guidance to policymakers in developing water management strategies to have proper actions to prevent water pollution.

PMID:39630307 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-13436-x

Sleep Breath. 2024 Dec 4;29(1):45. doi: 10.1007/s11325-024-03212-z.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Stroke survivors are at risk of sleep disturbance, which can be reflected in discrepancies between objective and subjective sleep measures. Given there are limited studies on this phenomenon and using portable monitoring devices is more convenient for stroke survivors to monitor their sleep, this study aimed to compare objectively measured (Belun Ring) and subjectively reported (sleep diary) sleep metrics (total sleep time (TST) and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO)) in stroke survivors.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, thirty-five participants wore a ring-shaped pulse oximeter (Belun Ring) and kept a sleep diary for three consecutive nights in one week. The effects of various factors on TST and WASO were analyzed by linear mixed models. Systematic bias between two measures was examined by the Bland-Altman analysis.

RESULTS: TST and WASO were significantly affected by measures (p <.001), but not night. TST was significantly lower and WASO was significantly higher in the Belun Ring than in the sleep diary (p <.05). Age was the only covariate that had a significant effect on WASO (p <.05). The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated positive bias in TST (29.55%; 95% CI [16.57%, 42.53%]) and negative bias in WASO (-117.35%; 95% CI [-137.65%, -97.06%]). Proportional bias was exhibited in WASO only (r =.31, p <.05).

CONCLUSION: The findings revealed discrepancies between objective and subjective sleep measures in stroke survivors. It is recommended that objective measures be included when assessing and monitoring their sleep conditions.

PMID:39630297 | DOI:10.1007/s11325-024-03212-z

J Comput Aided Mol Des. 2024 Dec 4;39(1):2. doi: 10.1007/s10822-024-00581-1.

ABSTRACT

Although small molecule superposition is a standard technique in drug discovery, a rigorous performance assessment of the corresponding methods is currently challenging. Datasets in this field are sparse, small, tailored to specific applications, unavailable, or outdated. The newly developed LOBSTER set described herein offers a publicly available and method-independent dataset for benchmarking and method optimization. LOBSTER stands for “Ligand Overlays from Binding SiTe Ensemble Representatives”. All ligands were derived from the PDB in a fully automated workflow, including a ligand efficiency filter. So-called ligand ensembles were assembled by aligning identical binding sites. Thus, the ligands within the ensembles are superimposed according to their experimentally determined binding orientation and conformation. Overall, 671 representative ligand ensembles comprise 3583 ligands from 3521 proteins. Altogether, 72,734 ligand pairs based on the ensembles were grouped into ten distinct subsets based on their volume overlap, for the benefit of introducing different degrees of difficulty for evaluating superposition methods. Statistics on the physicochemical properties of the compounds indicate that the dataset represents drug-like compounds. Consensus Diversity Plots show predominantly high Bemis-Murcko scaffold diversity and low median MACCS fingerprint similarity for each ensemble. An analysis of the underlying protein classes further demonstrates the heterogeneity within our dataset. The LOBSTER set offers a variety of applications like benchmarking multiple as well as pairwise alignments, generating training and test sets, for example based on time splits, or empirical software performance evaluation studies. The LOBSTER set is publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12658320 , representing a stable and versioned data resource. The Python scripts are available at https://github.com/rareylab/LOBSTER , open-source, and allow for updating or recreating superposition sets with different data sources.

PMID:39630291 | DOI:10.1007/s10822-024-00581-1

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2024 Dec 4;151(1):4. doi: 10.1007/s00432-024-06049-x.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTB) are associated with improved outcomes. Yet, most patients in Western countries receive cancer care at non-academic medical centers. Guideline adherence of MTB recommendations in non-academic medical centers as well as factors contributing to non-adherence remain largely unexplored.

METHODS: This retrospective study followed the STROBE recommendations. All cases discussed at the MTB of the Landesklinikum Baden-Moedling, Austria, were eligible for inclusion. Guideline non-adherence was assessed by two reviewers independently using the AWMF S3 guidelines. Factors associated with guideline non-adherence were investigated using multivariable ordinal regression.

RESULTS: In total, 579 patients were included in the final analysis: 486 were female (83.9%) and 93 were male (16.1%), with a median age of 70 years (IQR 60-80). Most had breast cancer (n = 451; 77.9%), while 128 had colorectal cancer (22.1%). Complete adherence to guidelines was observed in 453 patients (78.2%), major deviations in 60 (10.4%), and minor deviations in 66 (11.4%) patients. Non-adherence was primarily due to patient preferences (n = 24; 40.0%), lack of surgical treatment recommendation (n = 24; 40.0%), and comorbidities (n = 9; 15.0%). After adjusting for relevant variables, predictors of non-adherence included older age at diagnosis (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04), colorectal cancer (OR 3.84, 95% CI 1.99-7.42), higher ECOG status (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.18-2.16), and a more recent MTB conference (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.41).

CONCLUSION: Overall, guideline adherence was high for colorectal and breast cancer and comparable to results from academic medical centers. However, results need to be confirmed in other tumor entities.

PMID:39630280 | DOI:10.1007/s00432-024-06049-x

Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Dec 4;197(1):16. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-13358-8.

ABSTRACT

Soil biological characteristics are highly sensitive to land use changes, making them valuable indicators of soil quality. This study assesses the effects of three land use types (agriculture, rangeland, and forest) and elevation variations on soil microbial parameters and their spatial distribution in the Khaneghah region. Standard physicochemical and biological properties of the soil were measured on a total of 72 soil samples collected using systematic and random sampling techniques. Spatial distribution maps of the biological indices were generated using geostatistical techniques, specifically the Kriging method, within a geographic information system (GIS). The results revealed significantly higher values for microbial biomass carbon (MBC = 900 mg C_mic-CO₂ kg^-1), nitrogen (MBN = 8.97 mg N_mic kg^-1), basal respiration (BR = 25.1 mg C-CO₂ g^-1 day^-1), and the total microbial population (MPN = 0.63 × 10⁹ cells g^-1) in forest soils compared to rangeland and agricultural soils. The alignment between land use maps and biological index maps reinforced these findings. Although the correlations between biological indices and physicochemical properties were generally weak (positive or negative), organic matter content, field capacity moisture, and silt percentage exhibited a slight positive correlation with most of the microbial indices evaluated. The comparison of soil microbial indices with the digital elevation model map indicated higher levels of MBC, MBN, BR, and MPN at elevated regions. However, the microbial quotient and metabolic quotient (qCO₂) did not show significant changes with increasing elevation. The study also confirmed the effectiveness of Kriging interpolation in mapping specific soil microbial indices, as the correlation between Kriging estimates and measured values at sampling points exceeded 0.2, demonstrating statistical significance at a 5% confidence level.

PMID:39630273 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-13358-8

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2024 Dec 4. doi: 10.1007/s00127-024-02799-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of childhood mental and emotional health concerns and care seeking patterns among foreign-born MENA children compared to US- and foreign-born White children before and after adjusting for covariates.

METHODS: Data from the 2000-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were analyzed. Poor toddler mental health in the past two months (2-3 years) and childhood emotional difficulties (4-17 years) in the past six months were measured. Parents also reported whether (yes/no) their child saw a doctor for behavioral or emotional concerns in the past 12 months.

RESULTS: Parents of foreign-born MENA young children (ages 2-3 years) were less likely to report mental health concerns (44.8%) compared to US-born White counterparts (67.3%; p <.05). Parents of foreign-born MENA children were less likely to report emotional difficulties compared to US- and foreign-born White children (21.9% and 19.3%, respectively; p’s < 0.05). Foreign-born MENA children with mental or emotional health concerns had lower odds of seeing a doctor in the last 12 months for emotional/behavioral problems (OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.24-0.86) or mental health concerns (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.27-0.83) compared to their US-born White counterparts after adjusting for sociodemographic factors.

CONCLUSION: Parents of foreign-born MENA children reported fewer mental and emotional health concerns compared to US-born Whites. Those with mental and emotional health concerns were less likely to seek mental health care compared to their US-born White counterparts. Further research is needed to confirm and expand on these findings once a unique racial/ethnic identifier for MENA children is made available for measuring national mental health statistics.

PMID:39630271 | DOI:10.1007/s00127-024-02799-8

Eur J Pediatr. 2024 Dec 4;184(1):63. doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05900-0.

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown posed a number of unprecedented problems. Accidents to children are a major public health concern. This study sought to determine the impact of France’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown on hospital admissions for paediatric accidents. This study was a retrospective cohort analysis of data from the French national inpatient database. Children admitted to a French hospital for an accident from January to July 2020 and 2019 were included. The number of admissions for accidents between January and July in 2020 (the study period) vs. the same period (the control period) in 2019 was recorded. Hospital admission rate ratios (HRRs) comparing 2020 with 2019 were calculated for three periods in 2020 and 2019: before lockdown (P1, January 1 to March 15), during lockdown (P2, March 16 to May 10), and after lockdown (P3, May 11 to July 31). A total of 72,089 children were admitted to hospital for accidents between January and July 2020 (mean (SD) age, 8.7 (5.8)), and 84,961 between January and July 2019 (mean (SD) age, 9.2 (5.7)). A total of 12,864 children (18%) were admitted during the lockdown period (P2) in 2020, and 23,098 (27%) during the equivalent period in 2019 (HRR, 0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.55-0.57; p < .001). There were significantly fewer admissions for accidents in 2020 than in 2019; the HRR was 0.97 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99; p = .003) for P1 and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93-0.96; p < .001) for P3. During the 2020 lockdown period (P2), the risk of accident-related paediatric admissions with critical care lasting for at least 1 day was lower than in 2019 (HRR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.62-0.73; p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Further research could usefully examine how parents create a safe home environment for their children.

WHAT IS KNOWN: • During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown posed a number of unprecedented problems. Accidents to children are a major public health concern. This study sought to determine the impact of France’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown on hospital admissions for paediatric accidents.

WHAT IS NEW: • The first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in France was associated with a decrease in the absolute number of hospital admissions for paediatric accidents, for all age groups, as well as the number of accident-related paediatric hospital stays involving critical care.

PMID:39630265 | DOI:10.1007/s00431-024-05900-0

Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2024 Dec 4. doi: 10.1007/s00103-024-03986-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

National mortality registers provide important data for monitoring population health. Analyses of cardiovascular mortality in particular-and especially mortality from coronary heart disease-are frequently the basis for conclusions about the quality of healthcare and prevention. To be able to interpret disease-specific mortality differences between countries and changes in mortality over time, it is necessary to know the basics of monocausal cause-of-death statistics and the associated limitations in comparative statements.Conclusions from disease-specific mortality data can be problematic due to the highly subjective selection of diseases that are entered on a death certificate after a post-mortem examination. In death certification, unawareness of the different “roles” of specific diseases-known at the time of death-within the causal chain leading to death can result in incomplete death certificates as a data basis for mortality statistics. Comparisons of disease-specific mortality rates are difficult due to different proportions of non-informative-including unknown-causes of death and due to country-specific preferences for which diseases are recorded on a death certificate-especially in the prevalence of multimorbidity. A population’s morbidity is therefore only reflected to a limited extent by mortality rates. Conceptual ambiguities with regard to the concepts of lethality and mortality when describing mortality rates can also lead to erroneous conclusions.Training of medical staff on how to complete a death certificate and the introduction of an electronic death certificate can improve the quality of mortality data. Irrespective of this, knowing potential pitfalls when analyzing mortality data will improve the quality of health reporting.

PMID:39630243 | DOI:10.1007/s00103-024-03986-3

Pediatr Radiol. 2024 Dec 4. doi: 10.1007/s00247-024-06105-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Accurate and early prediction of neurodevelopmental impairment is a crucial endeavor in caring for very preterm infants (<31 weeks’ gestation). Sequential cranial ultrasound is the standard of care for the evaluation of preterm brain injury. However, there is no consensus on the timing and frequency of ultrasound screening. At Izaak Walton Killam (IWK) Health Centre, Halifax, Canada, four-time points for routine ultrasound of very preterm infants are performed at weeks 1, 2, 6, and term age. The hypothesis behind this work is that a three-time-point model will be appropriate for neurodevelopmental impairment prognostication.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort, all very preterm infants (22⁰-30⁶ weeks) born between January 2004 and December 2018 with a neurodevelopmental assessment at 36 months corrected age were included. Three prediction models of neurodevelopmental impairment were compared: 1. A reference model including the gestational age, infant sex, and 2-week and 6-week ultrasound 2. A model including the gestational age, infant sex, and 6-week ultrasound 3. A model including the gestational age, infant sex, and 2-week ultrasound RESULTS: Of 786 eligible preterm infants born during the study period, 656/786 survivors were included in the analysis (mean gestational age 27⁵ weeks, mean birth weight 1,133 g, and 55% male infants). At 36 months of corrected age, 30% developed neurodevelopmental impairment. All three models provided comparable discrimination areas under the curve (AUC) of neurodevelopmental impairment at 36 months of corrected age. Both the 6-week and the reference model had similar AUC of 0.68 (95% CI 0.63-0.72) and were not noticeably different from the 2-week model (AUC 0.66 (95% CI 0.61-0.70)). The 6-week model provided the best prediction with the lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) of 766 for the 6-week-only model, AIC 769 for combined weeks 2 and 6 (reference model), and AIC 784 for the 2-week-only model.

CONCLUSION: In this cohort of very preterm infants, a model including 6-week ultrasound only was comparable to a reference model combining 2-week and 6-week ultrasound and showed nearly identical predictive performance of neurodevelopmental impairment at 36 months corrected age across a broad set of metrics; thus, it is redundant to do both the 2-week and 6-week ultrasound.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Late ultrasound at 6 weeks of age provided comparable diagnostic and prognostic information to a reference model combining 2-week and 6-week ultrasound and, if anything, was slightly superior to the 2-week ultrasound model, across a broad set of metrics. The 2-week ultrasound can be eliminated with no impact on the prediction of neurodevelopmental impairment at 36 months, promoting prudent resource allocation and stewardship in healthcare.

PMID:39630240 | DOI:10.1007/s00247-024-06105-1