Category: Statistics

Rev Esp Med Nucl Imagen Mol (Engl Ed). 2024 Mar 23:500002. doi: 10.1016/j.remnie.2024.500002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the contribution of 18Fluorine-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (18F-FDG PET) radiomic data obtained from both the tumoral and peritumoral area in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) in patients with locally advanced breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

METHODS: Female patients with a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma who received NAC were evaluated retrospectively. The volume of interest (VOI) of the primary tumor (VOI-_T) was manually segmented, then a voxel-thick VOI was added around VOI-_T to define the peritumoral area (VOI-_PT). Morphological, intensity-based, histogram and texture parameters were obtained from VOIs. The patients were divided into two groups as pCR and non-complete pathological response (npCR). A “radiomic model” was created with only radiomic features, and a “patho-radiomic model” was created using radiomic features and immunohistochemical data.

RESULTS: Of the 66 patients included in the study, 21 were in the pCR group. The only statistically significant feature from the primary tumor among patients with pCR and npCR was Morphological_Compacity-_T (AUC: 0.666). Between response groups, a significant difference was detected in 2 morphological, 1 intensity, 4 texture features from VOI-_PT; no correlation was found between Morphological_Compacity-_PT and NGTDM_contrast-_PT. The obtained radiomic model’s sensitivity and accuracy values were calculated as 61.9% and 75.8%, respectively (AUC: 0.786). When HER2 status was added, sensitivity and accuracy values of the patho-radiomic model increased to 85.7% and 81.8%, respectively (AUC: 0.903).

CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of PET peritumoral radiomic features together with the primary tumor, rather than just the primary tumor, provides a better prediction of the pCR to NAC in patients with breast cancer.

PMID:38527731 | DOI:10.1016/j.remnie.2024.500002

J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Mar 9:S0278-2391(24)00132-0. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.001. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Artificial Intelligence, by answering questions about disease prevention strategies, can contribute to making diseases more treatable in their early stages.

PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the quality of patient information by assessing the responses of the Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT, Open AI, USA) artificial intelligence model to questions related to medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ).

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE: The study was prospective cross-sectional design. The study was conducted within the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The study’s questions were prepared by an experienced oral and maxillofacial surgeon and directed to the artificial intelligence platform. The responses were evaluated by oral and maxillofacial surgeons using the Global Quality Scale (GQS).

PREDICTOR VARIABLE: The predictor variable is question type. A total of 120 questions were categorized into six groups, which encompassed general information about MRONJ (Group 1), queries from patients about to initiate medication therapy (Group 2), questions from patients currently undergoing medication treatment (Group 3), inquiries from patients who had completed medication usage (Group 4), general treatment-related information (Group 5), and case scenarios (Group 6).

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES: The main variable is the GQS score. The GQS rates the quality of information and its utility for the patients. The scores are as follows: Score 1: Poor quality, Score 2: Generally poor quality, Score 3: Moderate quality, Score 4: Good quality, Score 5: Excellent quality.

COVARIATES: Not applicable.

ANALYSES: Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied for intragroup and intergroup analyses. The statistical significance level was determined as P < .05 and P < .01.

RESULTS: The average score for all questions was calculated to be 3.9 ± 0.8, which is above the “moderate quality” threshold. Group 1 had a mean score of 3.4 ± 1.1; group 2 had 4.1 ± 0.7; group 3 had 3.8 ± 0.8; group 4 had 4.3 ± 0.6; group 5 had 4.2 ± 0.7; and group 6 had 4.1 ± 0.5. The variations in mean scores among these groups did not exhibit statistical significance (P > .05).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: The artificial intelligence model has generated responses of moderate quality to questions about MRONJ. The use of the artificial intelligence platform may assist in patients gaining a fundamental understanding of MRONJ.

PMID:38527729 | DOI:10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.001

J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Mar 6:S0278-2391(24)00133-2. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Though the epidemiology of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) fractures has been well documented at urban hospitals, the characteristics of these fractures in rural hospitals have not been well studied.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to report on the epidemiology of CMF fractures at a regional Level 1 trauma center serving a large rural population in central Illinois.

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE: This is a retrospective cohort study at a community-based regional tertiary referral center that serves a predominantly rural population. Inclusion criteria comprised patients with radiologically confirmed CMF fractures between 2015 and 2019. Patients with incomplete medical records were excluded.

PREDICTOR VARIABLE: Predictor variables included demographics (age, admission source, race, and sex) and etiology of CMF fracture (assault/domestic violence, all-terrain vehicle/off-road, falls, farm-related, motor vehicle collisions, gunshot wound, and others).

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLE: The primary outcome variable was the CMF anatomic location including nasal bone, orbit, mandible, malar/maxillary, and other CMF fractures.

COVARIATES: The covariates are not applicable.

ANALYSES: Descriptive statistics were used to summarize a sample of the population characteristics. Wilcoxon ranked sign tests and χ² tests of independence were used to assess for statistically significant associations between select variables of interest. Statistical significance was defined as P < .05.

RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 2,334 patients presented to the emergency department with a CMF fracture. After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, the final sample was composed of 1,844 patients for the management of 2,405 CMF fractures. The majority of patients were male(62.0%) and young adults (aged 18-39) had the highest number of CMF fractures (819) relative to all other age groups. The most common fracture etiology was fall(37.3%), and nasal bone fractures represented the most common fracture location(41.6%). χ² analyses revealed statistically significant associations between the anatomic location of CMF fracture incurred, and differing categories of age, admission source, race, sex, and etiology.

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Our study shows that patients seen at our Midwestern Level 1 trauma center are more likely to present with nasal bone and malar/maxillary fractures due to falls. In studies based in urban centers, patients are likely to present with orbital and mandibular fractures due to falls and assault.

PMID:38527728 | DOI:10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.002

J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Mar 7:S0278-2391(24)00134-4. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vascularized fibula free flap (VFFF) remains gold standard for reconstruction of bony defects of the maxilla or mandible. Research and publications in recent years essentially focused on the evolution and improvement of the recipient reconstructed area but very few concerning the donor site morbidity.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze walking ability of patients following VFFF operation and to determine if there are long term walking disabilities.

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE: The retrospective cohort study involved healthy controls and patients who had undergone VFFF between 2012 and 2019 at the oral and maxillo-facial department of the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. Patients with cardiovascular, pulmonary, neuromuscular or musculoskeletal pathologies that could impair walking were excluded from the study.

PREDICTOR/EXPOSURE/INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Primary predictor is the reconstruction status, VFFF versus healthy patients (controls).

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES: Main outcomes were gait parameters. Objective evaluation of walking abilities was assessed using the Gait up system (Gait Up SA, EPFL Innov’Park-C, Lausanne, Switzerland), which are wearable motion sensors that provides 3D analytics of the gait.

COVARIATES: Covariates implied patient characteristics such as age, sex, time after surgery and subjective evaluation of the gait obtained with two orthopedic validated questionnaires.

RESULTS: This study implied 10 healthy controls and 11 patients who had undergone VFFF. Results showed statistically significant differences in the speed [m/s] (1.3 vs 1.1 for a P value of .001), the stride length [m] (1.4 vs 1.2 for a P value of 0.003), the flat foot phase [%] (55.0 vs 63.3 for a P value of .006) and the pushing phase [%] (34.1 vs 25.1 for a P value of .008).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Reconstruction using vascularized autograft in maxillofacial surgery is substantial and well described. Our attention focusing on donor site morbidity has demonstrated subjective and objective long-term alterations. These results will have to be confirmed with gait analysis in a prospective project including preoperative and postoperative analysis of the gait of the patient acting himself as his own control, with a larger scale of patients.

PMID:38527727 | DOI:10.1016/j.joms.2024.03.003

Environ Res. 2024 Mar 23:118764. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118764. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The primary aim of this research is to comprehensively assess the applicability of chitosan biopolymer towards water treatment application and to enhance its adsorption capacity towards Remazol brilliant blue R-19 dye. This has been achieved through physical modification to obtain the material in hydrogel form and chemical modification by crosslinking it with barbituric acid. The characterization of the resulting Chitosan-barbituric acid hydrogel (CBH) was carried out using various analytical techniques such as SEM-EDX, FT-IR, TGA-DTA, XRD, and BET. CBH was employed as the adsorbent to eliminate R-19 dye from aqueous media. Utilizing response surface methodology (RSM), the parameters were fine-tuned, leading to the achievement of more than a 95% removal for R-19 dye. The adsorption behavior closely adhered to the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics. An interesting observation indicated that the rise in temperature leads to rise in adsorption capacity of CBH. The maximum adsorption capacities evaluated at 301.15 K, 313.15 K, 318.15 K, and 323.15 K were 566.6 mg g^-1, 624.7 mg g^-1, 671.3 mg g^-1, and 713.5 mg g^-1 respectively, in accordance with the Langmuir isotherm model. Examining the thermodynamics of the adsorption process revealed its spontaneous nature (ΔG = -21.14 to -27.09 kJ mol^-1) across the entire temperature range. Furthermore, the assessment of the isosteric heat of adsorption (ΔH_ads) was conducted using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, with results indicating an increase in ΔH_ads from 1.85 to 2.16 kJ mol^-1 with temperature rise from 301.15 K to 323.15 K due to augmented surface loading. This suggested the existence of lateral interactions between the adsorbed dye molecules. The potential of adsorbent for regeneration was investigated, demonstrating the ability to reuse the material. Sustainability parameter calculated for synthesis process reflected a notably low E-factor value of 0.32 demonstrated the synthesis is environment friendly.

PMID:38527722 | DOI:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118764

J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2024 Mar 23:S1553-4650(24)00155-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jmig.2024.03.014. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Fellowship program directors (FPDs) play an important role in the development of fellows and learners, but little is known about their demographics. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the characteristics of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (MIGS) FPDs.

DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Data obtained from publicly available information on official websites of the program directors studied.

SUBJECTS: MIGS fellowship program directors.

INTERVENTIONS: All US-based MIGS programs affiliated with the AAGL in 2023 were included. Information about FPD gender, medical school attended and graduation year, residency program attended and graduation year, any additional graduate degrees earned, fellowship programs completed, and the year of their appointment as FPD was collected through publicly available sources. Scholarly activity was measured by peer-reviewed articles and the Hirsch index.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 54 FPDs, 28 (51.85%) were female and 26 (48.15%) were male. Male FPDs were significantly older (54.6 ± 8.7 years) than female FPDs (46.2 ± 5.0 years), p < 0.05. Average age at appointment was 43.1 ± 6.7 years, with female FPDs being appointed at significantly younger ages (39.4 ± 5.1 years) compared to male FPDs (44.5 ± 6.8 years), p < 0.05. Male FPDs had statistically significant higher Hirsch indices (14 ± 11.4) compared to female FPDs (8 ± 5.8), p < 0.05. Of the FPDs who completed a fellowship, 27 (50.00%) did so in MIGS, eight (14.81%) in Gynecologic-Oncology, six (11.11%) in Urogynecology, and four (7.41%) in Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility.

CONCLUSIONS: MIGS fellowships have a uniquely equal representation of male and female FPDs, as surgical subspecialties historically tend to be male dominant. Notably, there is diversity in the type of fellowship pursued by MIGS FPDs, with nearly half of FPDs completing a fellowship outside of MIGS. The reasons for differences in scholarly contributions, indicated by Hirsch index, of male versus female FPDs is unclear.

PMID:38527702 | DOI:10.1016/j.jmig.2024.03.014

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Mar 23:131126. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131126. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to explore the potential of Antarctic krill-derived peptides as α-glucosidase inhibitors for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The enzymolysis conditions of α-glucosidase inhibitory peptides were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), a statistical method that efficiently determines optimal conditions with a limited number of experiments. Gel chromatography and LC-MS/MS techniques were utilized to determine the molecular weight (Mw) distribution and sequences of the hydrolysates. The identification and analysis of the mechanism behind α-glucosidase inhibitory peptides were conducted through conventional and computer-assisted techniques. The binding affinities between peptides and α-glucosidase were further validated using BLI (biolayer interferometry) assay. The results revealed that hydrolysates generated by neutrase exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibition rate. Optimal conditions for hydrolysis were determined to be an enzyme concentration of 6 × 10³ U/g, hydrolysis time of 5.4 h, and hydrolysis temperature of 45 °C. Four peptides (LPFQR, PSFD, PSFDF, VPFPR) with strong binding affinities to the active site of α-glucosidase, primarily through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. This study highlights the prospective utility of Antarctic krill-derived peptides in curtailing α-glucosidase activity, offering a theoretical foundation for the development of novel α-glucosidase inhibitors and related functional foods to enhance diabetes management.

PMID:38527682 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131126

Gene. 2024 Mar 23:148409. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148409. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hexokinase, a key enzyme in glycolysis, has isoforms like HK-1, HK-2, HK-3, and Glucokinase. Unpublished exome sequencing data showed that two novel polymorphisms in HK-1 rs201626997 (G/T) and HK-3 rs143604141 (G/A) exist in the Bangladeshi population. We investigated the possible relationship of these SNPs with T2DM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood samples from the study participants were used to isolate their genomic DNA. An allele-specific PCR was standardized that can discriminate between the wild-type and mutant-type alleles of HK-1 (rs201626997) and HK-3 (rs143604141) polymorphisms. The data was analyzed by SPSS for statistics.

RESULTS: We performed allele-specific PCR for 249 diabetic patients and 195 control samples. For HK-1 (rs201626997), 24 (5.4%) have a mutant allele, and for HK-3 (rs143604141), 25 (5.6%) are mutant. There is no significant relationship between the individuals’ disease condition and the HK-1 polymorphism (P value 0.537). But the GA genotype of the HK-3 rs143604141 pertains to an increased risk of diabetes (P value 0.039). HK-3 rs143604141 polymorphism has a moderate correlation (P value 0.078, OR, 3.11, 95% CI, 0.88-10.94) with a family diabetic history. Both polymorphisms showed no significant correlation with gender or BMI. However, hexokinase-1 polymorphism significantly related with diastolic blood pressure (P value 0.048).

CONCLUSION: This study will help us to easily detect the polymorphisms of HK-1 (rs201626997) and HK-3 (rs143604141) in different populations of the world. Further studies with a greater number of participants and more physiological information are required to better understand the underlying genetic causes of T2DM susceptibility in Bangladesh.

PMID:38527673 | DOI:10.1016/j.gene.2024.148409

Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2024 Mar 23:S1063-4584(24)01123-3. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2024.03.110. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:38527665 | DOI:10.1016/j.joca.2024.03.110

Chemosphere. 2024 Mar 23:141787. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141787. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The removal of caffeine (CFN) and acetaminophen (ACT) from water using low-cost activated carbons prepared from artichoke leaves (AAC) and pomegranate peels (PAC) was reported in this paper. These activated carbons were characterized using various analytical techniques. The results showed that AAC and PAC had surface areas of 1203 and 1095 m² g^-1, respectively. The prepared adsorbents were tested for the adsorption of these pharmaceuticals in single and binary solutions. These experiments were performed under different operating conditions to evaluate the adsorption properties of these adsorbents to remove CFN and ACT. AAC and PAC showed maximum adsorption capacities of 290.86 and 258.98 mg g^-1 for CFN removal, 281.18 and 154.99 mg g^-1 for the ACT removal over a wide pH range. The experimental equilibrium adsorption data fitted to the Langmuir model and the kinetic data were correlated with the pseudo-second order model. AAC showed the best adsorption capacities for the removal of these pharmaceuticals in single systems and, consequently, it was tested for the simultaneous removal of these pollutants in binary solutions. The simultaneous adsorption of these compounds on AAC was improved using the central composite design and response surface methodology. The results indicated an antagonistic effect of CFN on the ACT adsorption. AAC regeneration was also analyzed and discussed. A statistical physics model was applied to describe the adsorption orientation of the tested pollutants on both activated carbon samples. It was concluded that AAC is a promising adsorbent for the removal of emerging pollutants due to its low cost and reusability properties.

PMID:38527633 | DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141787