Category: Statistics

Urol Oncol. 2024 Oct 23:S1078-1439(24)00688-4. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2024.10.007. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies indicate that the gut microbiome is closely associated with prostate cancer (PCa), however, owing to various confounding factors, the causal relationship between gut microbiota and PCa remains unclear.

METHODS: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data on the gut microbiota of 18,340 participants and GWAS summary statistics on PCa involving 46,3010 participants. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) served as the primary method, complemented by the MR-Egger method, weighted median method (WME), simple mode method (SM), and weighted mode method (WM). Finally, to confirm the robustness of the results, heterogeneity test, pleiotropy test, and leave-one-out sensitivity test were conducted.

RESULTS: IVW analysis revealed that 12 specific gut microbial taxa were potentially causally associated with PCa; the genera Victivallis, Akkermansia, Odoribacter, Butyrivibrio, and the families Enterobacteriaceae, Verrucomicrobiaceae, as well as the orders Verrucomicrobiales, Enterobacteriales and the class Verrucomicrobiae, were found to be positively associated with PCa risk. Conversely, the genera Eubacterium ruminantium group, Candidatus Soleaferrea, and RuminococcaceaeUCG003 were negatively associated with PCa risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Our MR study’s results support a genetically predicted causal relationship between the gut microbiota and PCa, and we identified 12 specific gut microbial taxa. These findings could offer new targets for PCa screening and treatment.

PMID:39448300 | DOI:10.1016/j.urolonc.2024.10.007

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2024 Aug 5:S2212-4403(24)00403-6. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2024.07.013. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of illicit cocaine and opioid drug-related facial trauma and determine whether the presence of cocaine or opioid drug use in facial trauma patients influenced the cause of injury, morbidity, or management.

METHODS: A retrospective observational cohort study was performed using records from a state-wide database of all patients who presented to a Victorian hospital with a facial fracture between 2004 and 2014. Data collected included demographics, concomitant opioid and cocaine use, mechanism of injury, facial injuries, and management. Statistical analysis was done using chi-square test, Student’s t tests, binary logistic regression analysis, and multivariable linear regression analysis. Results were considered statistically significant if P < .05.

RESULTS: A total of 54,613 patient presentations for facial trauma were analyzed with 363 patients in the cocaine and opioid-related group, and 54,250 patients in the nondrug-related group. Patients with illicit drug use were more likely to have facial fractures caused by interpersonal violence when compared with nondrug users (47.9% vs 23.5%, OR = 2.23, P < .001). Opioid and cocaine users had 0.3 more total fractures per presentation, which included more midface and skull fractures, and more facial lacerations (P < .001). There was no statistically significant difference in the need for surgical management between the two groups. Opioid and cocaine affected patients also on average had a longer hospital stay of 3.4 days and required 0.9 more allied health inputs during their admission when compared with nondrug users (P < .05). This effect was similarly reflected when controlling for confounding variables (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant cocaine or opioid use in facial trauma patients leads to more violence-related injuries with higher morbidity and healthcare costs.

PMID:39448294 | DOI:10.1016/j.oooo.2024.07.013

Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Oct 23:S0901-5027(24)00405-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijom.2024.10.008. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This retrospective study examined factors influencing labial bone resorption in the anterior maxilla 6 months after implant insertion with simultaneous guided bone regeneration. Involving 79 patients (118 implants), the study measured labial horizontal bone width and vertical dimensions using cone beam computed tomography scans taken immediately after surgery and at 6 months. A generalized linear mixed model analyzed potential influencing factors: age, sex, implant site, timing of placement, buccal bone width at the implant platform level post-surgery, implant connection, and bone defect morphology. Significant bone resorption was noted at 6 months. The statistical analysis revealed that buccal bone width at the implant platform, implant connection, and bone defect morphology significantly impacted labial bone resorption, while patient age, sex, timing of placement, and implant site did not. Implants with a buccal bone width ≥2 mm showed significantly less labial horizontal and vertical bone resorption (horizontal P < 0.001, vertical P = 0.001), and healing abutments reduced resorption compared to cover screws (horizontal P = 0.002, vertical P = 0.034). More significant vertical resorption occurred in non-contained bone defects after guided bone regeneration (P = 0.040).

PMID:39448289 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijom.2024.10.008

J Voice. 2024 Oct 23:S0892-1997(24)00305-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.09.014. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate Turkish patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) used in voice disorders using different readability formulas and to examine the relationship between text-based features and readability values.

STUDY DESIGN: A search was conducted to identify published Turkish PRO questionnaires related to dysphonia that are completed by patients.

METHODS: A search was conducted to identify published PROM related to dysphonia that are completed by patients in a self-administered format. Reading grade levels were analyzed for voice-related PROM using the Ateşman readability and the Bezirci-Yılmaz new readability formulas as computed by a readability calculations software package. Text-based quantitative features are obtained. Descriptive statistics were also computed across the questionnaires.

RESULTS: A total of 14 PROMs were found. In the analysis, the mean of the Ateşman readability values of the PROM was calculated as 70.66 (±5.55). This value is defined as “easy,” according to the Ateşman readability measures. The average Bezirci-Yılmaz new readability value is 6.03 (±1.07). This value corresponds to the sixth-grade reading level in the Turkish education system.

CONCLUSIONS: Results show that more than half of the PROMs in the Turkish language have the recommended reading level. PROMs allow health care professionals to objectively understand the patient’s symptoms, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Therefore, it is critical that patients accurately understand and respond to these outcome measures. This is why developers should consider reading as a testable structure. Speech and language therapists should consider the reading level required to understand a specific PROM to obtain the most useful information for treatment planning and outcome assessments.

PMID:39448277 | DOI:10.1016/j.jvoice.2024.09.014

Conscious Cogn. 2024 Oct 23;125:103768. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103768. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Does the likelihood of us experiencing inattentional blindness depend on whether the scenes are statistically regular (e.g., probable) or not? Previous studies have shown that observers find it harder to perceive real-world statistical irregularities, such as improbable (statistically irregular) scenes (e.g., scenes unlikely to take place in the real world) as opposed to probable (statistically regular) scenes. Moreover, high inattentional blindness rates have been observed for improbable stimuli (e.g., a gorilla on a college campus). However, no one has directly compared noticing rates for probable and improbable scenes. Here we ask if people are more likely to experience inattentional blindness for improbable than probable scenes. In two large-scale experiments in which one group of participants is presented, on the critical trial, with a probable scene and the other group with an improbable scene, we observed higher rates of inattention blindness for participants receiving improbable scenes than those receiving probable scenes.

PMID:39447236 | DOI:10.1016/j.concog.2024.103768

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2024 Oct 19;246:108606. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2024.108606. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Anatomic variations of the thenar motor branch of the median nerve (TMB) that place the nerve more ulnarly in the palm can increase the risk for iatrogenic injury to the nerve during carpal tunnel release. This study examines the prevalence of an origin of the TMB that is more ulnar than its typical branching from the radial aspect of the median nerve and explores whether the appearance of the palmar intrinsic muscles at surgery can predict an unusual TMB origin prior to visualizing the TMB itself.

METHODS: A prospective study of patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery was undertaken to document the take-off point of the TMB along the circumference of the median nerve and the presence or absence of intrinsic muscle obscuring the distal transverse carpal ligament.

RESULTS: Forty-one hands were evaluated. Eleven (26.8 %) demonstrated transverse carpal muscle. The most common origin of the TMB was from the radial aspect of the median nerve (56.1 %). In approximately 20 % of nerves, the TMB originated near its anterior midline. There was a statistically significant relationship between the TMB originating more ulnarly and the presence of transverse carpal muscle.

CONCLUSIONS: This study introduces a new classification system for further defining anatomic variations of the TMB. When transverse carpal muscle is absent, the TMB is highly likely to arise from the radial aspect of the median nerve. In the presence of transverse carpal muscle, the origin of the TMB is unpredictable and is significantly more likely to arise from the median nerve more ulnarly than is typically seen. Under these circumstances, attempts should be made to identify the TMB prior to completing ligament division.

PMID:39447224 | DOI:10.1016/j.clineuro.2024.108606

Plant Genome. 2024 Oct 24:e20519. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20519. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Climate change represents a significant challenge to global food security by altering environmental conditions critical to crop growth. Plant breeders can play a key role in mitigating these challenges by developing more resilient crop varieties; however, these efforts require significant investments in resources and time. In response, it is imperative to use current technologies that assimilate large biological and environmental datasets into predictive models to accelerate the research, development, and release of new improved varieties that can be more resilient to the increasingly variable climatic conditions. Leveraging large and diverse datasets can improve the characterization of phenotypic responses due to environmental stimuli and genomic pulses. A better characterization of these signals holds the potential to enhance our ability to predict trait performance under changes in weather and/or soil conditions with high precision. This paper introduces characterization and integration of driven omics (CHiDO), an easy-to-use, no-code platform designed to integrate diverse omics datasets and effectively model their interactions. With its flexibility to integrate and process datasets, CHiDO’s intuitive interface allows users to explore historical data, formulate hypotheses, and optimize data collection strategies for future scenarios. The platform’s mission emphasizes global accessibility, democratizing statistical solutions for situations where professional ability in data processing and data analysis is not available.

PMID:39447214 | DOI:10.1002/tpg2.20519

J Vet Intern Med. 2024 Oct 24. doi: 10.1111/jvim.17200. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Enteral nutrition (EN) is essential for management of hepatic lipidosis (HL) in cats.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if time to start of EN and other clinicopathologic variables are associated with outcome in cats with HL.

ANIMALS: Forty-eight cats with HL.

METHODS: Retrospective study. Information retrieved from medical records and client communications included clinicopathologic findings, time to start of EN, initial % of resting energy requirements provided, type of feeding tube, duration of hospitalization, and 3-month survival. Variables were compared between surviving and nonsurviving cats and between cats fed ≤12 hours and >12 hours after hospital admission. Multivariable statistical testing was performed to further investigate variables of interest.

RESULTS: Seventeen of 25 (68%) cats fed ≤12 hours and 13 of 23 (57%) of cats fed >12 hours after hospital admission survived (P = .55). Only increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 1.313; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.032-1.671; P = .03) and the presence of ascites (OR, 6.415; 95% CI, 1.354-30.395; P = .02) were associated with death in multivariable analysis. Hospitalization duration (median, interquartile range [IQR]) was shorter in cats fed >12 hours (2.8 days; IQR, 2.1-3.8 days) as compared with cats fed ≤12 hours (4.8 days; IQR, 3.6-6.2 days) after hospital admission (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: An initial stabilization period before EN introduction does not decrease survival or increase duration of hospitalization in cats with HL.

PMID:39447212 | DOI:10.1111/jvim.17200

Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Oct 24. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005772. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in availability of procedural abortion, especially in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022.

METHODS: We used the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health Abortion Facility Database, a national database of all publicly advertising abortion facilities, to document trends in service availability from 2021 to 2023. We calculated summary statistics to describe facility gestational limits for procedural abortion for the United States and by state, subregion, and region, and we examined the number and proportion of facilities that offer procedural abortion in the second or third trimester of pregnancy.

RESULTS: From 2021 to 2023, the total number of publicly advertising facilities providing procedural abortion decreased 11.0%, from 473 to 421. Overall, one-quarter of facilities (n=115) that had been providing procedural abortion in 2021 ceased providing services, and an additional 99 decreased their gestational limits. In contrast, 73 facilities increased their gestational limits, and 64 new facilities began providing or publicly advertising procedural abortion services. The number of facilities offering procedural abortion later in pregnancy decreased (327 to 309 providing 14 weeks of gestation or later, 60 to 50 providing 24 weeks of gestation or later), although the proportion of all facilities providing these services held steady. The greatest changes were in the South, where many facilities closed.

CONCLUSION: There have been substantial reductions in the number and distribution of facilities offering procedural abortion since the Dobbs decision, with critical decreases in the availability of later abortion services. Some facilities are positioning themselves to meet the needs of patients by opening new facilities, publicly advertising their services, or extending their gestational limits.

PMID:39447180 | DOI:10.1097/AOG.0000000000005772

JMIR Form Res. 2024 Oct 24;8:e56376. doi: 10.2196/56376.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: High levels of physical activity are key to improving health outcomes, yet many people fail to take action. Using pedometers to target steps per day and providing financial incentives is a simple and scalable approach to promoting public health. However, conventional pedometers do not account for “intensity” and “duration,” making it challenging to efficiently increase people’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which is expected to improve health outcomes. Based on these rationales, we developed a smartphone app that sets step cadence as a goal (defined as a daily challenge of walking more than 1500 steps in 15 minutes twice a day, which is a heuristic threshold for moderate physical activity) and provides financial incentive when the challenge is met.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of our novel app and explore whether its use can increase users’ daily MVPA.

METHODS: A single-arm pre-post study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of the app. A total of 15 participants used app 1 (an app without financial incentives) for the first period (4 weeks) and then switched to app 2 (an app with financial incentives) for the second period (4 weeks). The primary outcome was the difference between the first and second periods in the number of successful challenge attempts per week. Secondary outcomes were differences between the first and second periods in daily steps and distance walked. Exploratory outcomes included the difference between the first and second periods in daily “heart points” as measured by Google Fit, a publicly available app that measures users’ daily MVPA.

RESULTS: The number of successful challenge attempts per week increased significantly compared to the first period (5.6 times per week vs 0.7 times per week; P<.001). Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward an increase in the mean steps per day and distance walked per day (6586 steps per day vs 5950 steps per day; P=.19; and 4.69 km per day vs 3.85 km per day; P=.09, respectively). An exploratory end point examining daily MVPA by “heart points” collected from Google Fit also showed a significant increase compared to the first period (22.7 points per day vs 12.8 points per day; P=.02).

CONCLUSIONS: Our app using step cadence as a goal and providing financial incentives seemed feasible and could be an effective app to increase users’ daily MVPA. Based on the results of this study, we are motivated to conduct a confirmatory study with a broader and larger number of participants.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN 000050518; https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000057420.

PMID:39447165 | DOI:10.2196/56376