Category: Statistics

Adv Ther. 2024 Jul 3. doi: 10.1007/s12325-024-02913-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This analysis examined the baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and rapid or non-rapid estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, using retrospective data from DISCOVER CKD (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04034992).

METHODS: Data (2008-2020) were extracted from UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, US TriNetX, US Limited Claims and Electronic Health Record Dataset, and Japan Medical Data Vision. Patients with CKD (two consecutive eGFR measures < 75 mL/min/1.73 m² recorded 90-730 days apart) were included. Rapid eGFR decline was defined as an annual decline of > 4 mL/min/1.73 m² at 2 years post-index; non-rapid eGFR decline was defined as an annual decline of ≤ 4 mL/min/1.73 m². Clinical outcomes assessed included all-cause mortality, kidney outcomes (composite risk of kidney failure [progression to CKD stage 5] or > 50% eGFR decline, and kidney failure alone), cardiovascular events-including major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; non-fatal myocardial infarction/stroke and cardiovascular death)-and all-cause hospitalization.

RESULTS: Across databases, rapid eGFR decline occurred in 13.7% of 804,237 eligible patients. Mean annual eGFR decline ranged between – 6.21 and – 6.86 mL/min/1.73 m² in patients with rapid eGFR decline versus between – 0.11 and – 0.77 mL/min/1.73 m² in patients with non-rapid eGFR decline. Rapid eGFR decline was associated with increased comorbidity burden and medication prescriptions. Across databases, the composite risk of kidney failure or > 50% decline in eGFR was significantly greater in patients with rapid versus non-rapid eGFR decline (P < 0.01); all-cause mortality, kidney failure alone, MACE, and all-cause hospitalization each significantly increased in two databases (P < 0.01-0.05).

CONCLUSION: Understanding patient factors associated with rapid eGFR decline in patients with CKD may help identify individuals who would benefit from proactive management to minimize the risk of adverse outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT04034992.

PMID:38958839 | DOI:10.1007/s12325-024-02913-x

Trop Anim Health Prod. 2024 Jul 3;56(6):194. doi: 10.1007/s11250-024-04052-5.

ABSTRACT

Seasonal scarcity of quality feed continues to be a bottleneck for agro-pastoralists and is the most important limitation to livestock production in agro-pastoral systems in the West African Sahel. In this regard, diverse promising technologies to increase the production and availability of quality feed have been introduced. Despite the introduction of various feed technologies in the region, the adoption rate by smallholder farmers is very low. The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting the likelihood of using improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households in two regions of Niger. A logit model was employed using data collected from randomly selected 218 agro-pastoral households between February and April 2023. The study revealed low awareness and use of improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households. The findings suggested the positive impact of education level, membership of farmer groups and ownership of small ruminant on enhancing the probability of using improved livestock feed technologies. Households’ geographical area was one of the determinant factors in using improved livestock feed technologies. The use of improved livestock feed technologies was also influenced by family size. The study provides guidance to inform strategies by the decision-makers to enhance the utilization of improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households in the West African Sahel. Suggested strategies may in turn alleviate the current problem of low productivity of livestock, contribute to improving household food security and nutrition among agro-pastoral communities.

PMID:38958837 | DOI:10.1007/s11250-024-04052-5

Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Jul 3;196(8):690. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-12808-7.

ABSTRACT

Kolonnawa marsh (KM) is an important wetland ecosystem in Colombo district, Sri Lanka that provides essential ecosystem services, and has undergone significant changes over recent decades due to continuous exploitation and reclamation. The values of wetlands are disregarded by decision-makers, despite the fact that they are crucial for improving the quality of water and offer chances for relaxation and amusement in metropolitan areas. Underestimation of the value of wetlands contributes to their continuing deterioration and inevitable loss. Investigating the changes in wetlands can provide crucial information for decision-making. This study aimed to monitor the spatiotemporal land-cover dynamics of KM with the prospect prediction as reduced total extent of KM gradually with time and marsh area being transformed into terrestrial vegetation with time. The collective images from Google Earth (2000 to 2021) and drone data (2022) were analyzed with the GIS application. Subsequently, 50-m² grid squares with unique cell IDs are designed to link among land cover maps for spatiotemporal land-cover change analysis. Then, we calculate land cover category: surface water, marsh, and terrestrial vegetation proportions for each map in 50-m² grid cells. Statistical comparison of the land cover changes in grid square cells shows that each land cover category has significant change with the time. The results showed that the reduction of KM marsh resulting in land cover changes has a positive implication on wetland degradation. Thus, interventions should be made for the restoration and sustainable management of KM.

PMID:38958832 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-12808-7

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024 Jul 3:e202410734. doi: 10.1002/anie.202410734. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Since the discovery in 2000, conversion-type materials have emerged as a promising negative-electrode candidate for next-generation batteries with high capacity and tunable voltage, limited by low reversibility and severe voltage hysteresis. Heterogeneous construction stands out as a cost-effective and efficient approach to reducing reaction barriers and enhancing energy density. However, the second term introduced by conventional heterostructure inevitably complicates the electrochemical analysis and poses great challenges to harvesting systematic insights and theoretical guidance. A model cell is designed and established herein for the conversion reactions between Na and TMSA-SnO2, where TMSA-SnO2 represents single atom modification of eight different 3d transition elements (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu or Zn). Such a model unit fundamentally eliminates the interference from the second phase and thus enables independent exploration of activation manifestations of the heterogeneous architecture. For the first time, a thermodynamically dependent catalytic effect is proposed and verified through statistical data analysis. The mechanism behind the unveiled catalytic effect is further elucidated by which the active d orbitals of transition metals weaken the surface covalent bonds and lower the reaction barriers. This research provides both theoretical insights and practical demonstrations of the advanced heterogeneous electrodes.

PMID:38958047 | DOI:10.1002/anie.202410734

Aging Cell. 2024 Jul 3:e14266. doi: 10.1111/acel.14266. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Age-related chronic inflammatory lung diseases impose a threat on public health, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, their etiology and potential targets have not been clarified. We performed genome-wide meta-analysis for IPF with the largest sample size (2883 cases and 741,929 controls) and leveraged the summary statistics of COPD (17,547 cases and 617,598 controls). Transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) designs, together with genetic colocalization, were implemented to find robust targets. The mediation effect was assessed using leukocyte telomere length (LTL). The single-cell transcriptome analysis was performed to link targets with cell types. Individual-level data from UK Biobank (UKB) were used to validate our findings. Sixteen genetically predicted plasma proteins were causally associated with the risk of IPF and 6 proteins were causally associated with COPD. Therein, genetically-elevated plasma level of SCARF2 protein should reduce the risk of both IPF (odds ratio, OR = 0.9974 [0.9970, 0.9978]) and COPD (OR = 0.7431 [0.6253, 0.8831]) and such effects were not mediated by LTL. Genetic colocalization further corroborated these MR results of SCARF2. The transcriptome-wide MR confirmed that higher expression level of SCARF2 was associated with a reduced risk of both. However, the single-cell RNA analysis indicated that SCARF2 expression level was only relatively lower in epithelial cells of COPD lung tissue compared to normal lung tissue. UKB data implicated an inverse association of serum SCARF2 protein with COPD (hazard ratio, HR = 1.215 [1.106, 1.335]). The SCARF2 gene should be a novel target for COP.

PMID:38958042 | DOI:10.1111/acel.14266

J Cell Sci. 2024 Jul 2:jcs.262146. doi: 10.1242/jcs.262146. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Cellular heterogeneity is a well-accepted feature of tissues, and both transcriptional and metabolic diversity have been revealed by numerous approaches, including optical imaging. However, the high magnification objective lenses needed for high-resolution imaging provides information from only small layers of tissue, which can result in poor cell statistics. There is therefore an unmet need for an imaging modality that can provide detailed molecular and cellular insight within intact tissue samples in 3D. Using GFP-tagged GLUT4 as proof of concept, we present here a novel optical mesoscopy approach that allows precise measurement of the spatial location of GLUT4 within specific anatomical structures across the myocardium in ultrathick sections (5 mm x 5 mm x 3 mm) of intact mouse heart. We reveal distinct GLUT4 distribution patterns across cardiac walls and highlight specific changes in GLUT4 expression levels in response to high fat diet-feeding, and we identify sex-dependent differences in expression patterns. This method is applicable to any target that can be labelled for light microscopy, and to other complex tissues when organ structure needs to be considered simultaneously with cellular detail.

PMID:38958032 | DOI:10.1242/jcs.262146

J Minim Access Surg. 2024 Jul 1. doi: 10.4103/jmas.jmas_11_24. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Intraperitoneal instillation of local anaesthetic agents alone or in combination with opioids, α2 agonists such as Dexmedetomidine have been found to reduce postoperative pain following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The study was designed to compare the better drug among Bupivacaine alone and Bupivacaine with Dexmedetomidine with respect to their analgesic efficacy and safety profile. in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was carried out on sixty patients of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-II of either sex with ages ranging from 18 to 60 years posted for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under General Anaesthesia, equally divided into two groups, randomly allocated to one of the Groups using the table of randomization. Group B received Intraperitoneal Bupivacaine 40 ml 0.25% +5 ml normal saline and Group BD received Intraperitoneal Bupivacaine 40 ml 0.25% + Dexmedetomidine1 μg/kg diluted in 5 ml Normal saline.

RESULTS: The mean heart rate and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and mean) readings were significantly lower in Group BD than in Group B. The mean duration of analgesia in our study was longer in Group BD (7.5 ± 0.73 hours) when compared to Group B (5.9 ± 0.55 hours) with p-value & 0.0001 and CI 1.27 to 1.9, which was statistically significant. However, the post-operative analgesic requirement (rescue/demand) in Group B was clinically earlier and statistically significant as compared to Group BD. Postoperative VAS score ≥3 was considered the benchmark for providing rescue analgesia in the form of injection of Diclofenac 75 mg IV. In our study, we observed the pain scores via VAS/NRS at 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 10 h, 12 h, 14 h, 16 h, 18 h, 20 h, 22 h and 24 h postoperatively. A comparison of pain scores from 30 min to 10hrs postoperatively showed a significant difference in both Groups with Group B having significantly higher VAS scores and lower VAS scores with Group BD.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that there is a shorter duration of action of 0.25% Bupivacaine alone as compared to 0.25% Bupivacaine + Dexmedetomidine. Since the laparoscope is still inside the abdominal cavity the drugs are easy to administer with no adverse effects and with a good safety profile because of the visualization of drug deposition in the right place. Intraperitoneal instillation of Bupivacaine with Dexmedetomidine for postoperative analgesia was very promising as a part of multimodal analgesia in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PMID:38958008 | DOI:10.4103/jmas.jmas_11_24

Ther Apher Dial. 2024 Jul 3. doi: 10.1111/1744-9987.14182. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the 30 and 60-day survival of critically ill patients with COVID-19 and AKI.

METHODS: Inflammatory and biochemical biomarkers, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and mortality at Day 30 and Day 60 after ICU admission were analyzed. A total of 44 patients treated with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) with cytokine adsorber (CA group) were compared to 58 patients treated with CRRT alone (non-CA group).

RESULTS: Patients in CA group were younger, had better preserved kidney function prior to the beginning of CRRT and had higher levels of interleukin-6. There were no statistically significant differences in their comorbidities and in other measured biomarkers between the two groups. The number of patients who died 60 days after ICU admission was statistically significantly higher in non-CA group (p = 0.029).

CONCLUSION: Treatment with CRRT and cytokine adsorber may have positively influenced 60-day survival in our COVID-19 ICU patients with AKI.

PMID:38958006 | DOI:10.1111/1744-9987.14182

Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2024 Jul 3. doi: 10.1089/sur.2023.382. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between pre-operative body mass index (BMI) and surgical infection in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) patients treated with curative resection. Methods: Consecutive pCCA patients were enrolled from four tertiary hospitals between 2008 and 2022. According to pre-operative BMI, the patients were divided into three groups: low BMI (≤18.4 kg/m²), normal BMI (18.5-24.9 kg/m²), and high BMI (≥25.0 kg/m²). The incidence of surgical infection among the three groups was compared. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the independent risk factors associated with surgical infection. Results: A total of 371 patients were enrolled, including 283 patients (76.3%) in the normal BMI group, 30 patients (8.1%) in the low BMI group, and 58 patients (15.6%) in the high BMI group. The incidence of surgical infection was significantly higher in the patients in the low BMI and high BMI groups than in the normal BMI group. The multivariable logistic regression model showed that low BMI and high BMI were independently associated with the occurrence of surgical infection. Conclusions: The pCCA patients with a normal BMI treated with curative resection could have a lower risk of surgical infection than pCCA patients with an abnormal BMI.

PMID:38957995 | DOI:10.1089/sur.2023.382

J Comput Biol. 2024 Jul 3. doi: 10.1089/cmb.2023.0211. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The estimation of haplotype structure and frequencies provides crucial information about the composition of genomes. Techniques, such as single-individual haplotyping, aim to reconstruct individual haplotypes from diploid genome sequencing data. However, our focus is distinct. We address the challenge of reconstructing haplotype structure and frequencies from pooled sequencing samples where multiple individuals are sequenced simultaneously. A frequentist method to address this issue has recently been proposed. In contrast to this and other methods that compute point estimates, our proposed Bayesian hierarchical model delivers a posterior that permits us to also quantify uncertainty. Since matching permutations in both haplotype structure and corresponding frequency matrix lead to the same reconstruction of their product, we introduce an order-preserving shrinkage prior that ensures identifiability with respect to permutations. For inference, we introduce a blocked Gibbs sampler that enforces the required constraints. In a simulation study, we assessed the performance of our method. Furthermore, by using our approach on two distinct sets of real data, we demonstrate that our Bayesian approach can reconstruct the dominant haplotypes in a challenging, high-dimensional set-up.

PMID:38957993 | DOI:10.1089/cmb.2023.0211