Category: Statistics

J Theor Biol. 2023 Jun 9:111557. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111557. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Species-rich communities, such as the microbiota or microbial ecosystems, provide key functions for human health and climatic resilience. Increasing effort is being dedicated to design experimental protocols for selecting community-level functions of interest. These experiments typically involve selection acting on populations of communities, each of which is composed of multiple species. If numerical simulations started to explore the evolutionary dynamics of this complex, multi-scale system, a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the process of artificial selection of communities is still lacking. Here, we propose a general model for the evolutionary dynamics of communities composed of a large number of interacting species, described by disordered generalised Lotka-Volterra equations. Our analytical and numerical results reveal that selection for scalar community functions leads to the emergence, along an evolutionary trajectory, of a low-dimensional structure in an initially featureless interaction matrix. Such structure reflects the combination of the properties of the ancestral community and of the selective pressure. Our analysis determines how the speed of adaptation scales with the system parameters and the abundance distribution of the evolved communities. Artificial selection for larger total abundance is thus shown to drive increased levels of mutualism and interaction diversity. Inference of the interaction matrix is proposed as a method to assess the emergence of structured interactions from experimentally accessible measures.

PMID:37302465 | DOI:10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111557

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2023 Jun 9:104173. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2023.104173. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Bisphenol A (BPA) can be metabolized by metabolic enzymes and may induce abnormal lipid metabolism. We hypothesized that BPA exposure and its interaction with metabolism-related genes might be associated with serum lipid profiles. We performed a two-stage study among 955 middle-aged and elderly participants in Wuhan, China. Urinary BPA level was estimated without (BPA, μg/L) or with (BPA/Cr, μg/g) adjustments for urinary creatinine and ln-transformed values (ln-BPA or ln-BPA/Cr) were used to normalize the asymmetrical distributions. A total of 412 metabolism-related gene variants were selected and used for gene-BPA interaction analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the interactions between BPA exposure and metabolism-related genes on serum lipid profiles. In the discovery stage, both ln-BPA and ln-BPA/Cr was associated with decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Gene-urinary BPA interaction for IGFBP7 rs9992658 was observed to associate with HDL-C levels in both discovery and validation stages, with P_interaction equal to 9.87×10^-4 (ln-BPA) and 1.22×10^-3 (ln-BPA/Cr) in combined analyses. In addition, the inverse association of urinary BPA with HDL-C levels was only observed among individuals carrying rs9992658 AA genotype, but not in individuals carrying rs9992658 AC or CC genotypes. The interaction between BPA exposure and metabolism-related gene IGFBP7 (rs9992658) was associated with HDL-C levels. AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIAL: Not applicable.

PMID:37302441 | DOI:10.1016/j.etap.2023.104173

J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2023 Jun 9:S0894-7317(23)00300-0. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2023.05.010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fetal echocardiography is widely available but normative data are not robust. In this pilot study, we evaluated 1) the feasibility of pre-specified measurements in a normal fetal echocardiogram to inform study design and 2) measurement variability to assign thresholds of clinical significance and guide analyses in larger fetal echocardiography Z-score initiatives.

METHODS: Images from pre-defined gestational age groups (16-20 weeks; >20-24 weeks; >24-28 weeks; and >28-32 weeks) were retrospectively analyzed. Fetal echocardiography expert raters attended online group training then independently analyzed 73 fetal studies (18 per age group) in a fully crossed design of 53 variables; each observer repeated measures for 12 fetuses. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare measurements across centers and age groups. Coefficients of variation (CoV) were calculated at the subject level for each measurement as the ratio of standard deviation (SD) to mean. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to show inter- and intrarater reliabilities. Cohen’s d>0.8 was used to define clinically important differences. Measurements were plotted against gestational age, biparietal diameter, and femur length.

RESULTS: Expert raters completed each set of measurements in a mean (SD) of 23(9) minutes per fetus. Missingness ranged from 0% to 29%. CoV was similar across age groups for all variables (P<0.05), except ductus arteriosus mean velocity and left ventricular ejection time which were both higher at older gestational age. CoV was >15% for right ventricular systolic and diastolic widths despite fair to good repeatability (ICC>0.5); ductal velocities and 2D measures, left ventricular short axis dimensions, and isovolumic times all had high CoV and high interobserver variability despite good to excellent intraobserver agreement (ICC>0.6). CoV did not improve when ratios (e.g. tricuspid:mitral annulus) were used instead of linear measurements. Overall, 27 variables had acceptable inter- and intraobserver repeatability, while 14 had excessive variability between readers despite good intraobserver agreement.

CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable variability in fetal echocardiographic quantification in clinical practice that may affect the design of multicenter fetal echocardiography Z-score studies, and not all measurements may be feasible for standard normalization. As missingness was substantial, a prospective design will be needed. Data from this pilot study may aid in the calculation of sample sizes and inform thresholds for distinguishing clinically significant from statistically significant effects.

PMID:37302438 | DOI:10.1016/j.echo.2023.05.010

Brain Behav Immun. 2023 Jun 9:S0889-1591(23)00147-2. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.06.005. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Inflammation and depressed mood constitute clinically relevant vulnerability factors for enhanced interoceptive sensitivity and chronic visceral pain, but their putative interaction remains untested in human mechanistic studies. We tested interaction effects of acute systemic inflammation and sad mood on the expectation and experience of visceral pain by combining experimental endotoxemia with a mood induction paradigm.

METHODS: The double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced crossover fMRI-trial in N=39 healthy male and female volunteers involved 2 study days with either intravenous administration of low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.4ng/kg body weight; inflammation condition) or saline (placebo condition). On each study, day two scanning sessions were conducted in an experimentally induced negative (i.e., sad) and in a neutral mood state, accomplished in balanced order. As a model of visceral pain, rectal distensions were implemented, which were initially calibrated to be moderately painful. In all sessions, an identical series of visceral pain stimuli was accomplished, signaled by predictive visual conditioning cues to assess pain anticipation. We assessed neural activation during the expectation and experience of visceral pain, along with unpleasantness ratings in a condition combining an inflammatory state with sad mood and in control conditions. All statistical analyses were accomplished using sex as covariate.

RESULTS: LPS administration led to an acute systemic inflammatory response (inflammation X time interaction effects for TNF-α, IL-6, and sickness symptoms, all p<.001). The mood paradigm effectively induced distinct mood states (mood X time interaction, p<.001), with greater sadness in the negative mood conditions (both p<.001) but no difference between LPS and saline conditions. Significant main and interaction effects of inflammation and negative mood were observed for pain unpleasantness (all p<.05). During cued pain anticipation, a significant inflammation X mood interaction emerged for activation of the bilateral caudate nucleus and right hippocampus (all p_FWE<.05). Main effects of both inflammation and mood were observed in multiple regions, including insula, midcingulate cortex, prefrontal gyri, and hippocampus for inflammation, and midcingulate, caudate, and thalamus for mood (all p_FWE<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Results support an interplay of inflammation and sad mood on striatal and hippocampal circuitry engaged during visceral pain anticipation as well as on pain experience. This may reflect a nocebo mechanism, which may contribute to altered perception and interpretation of bodily signals. At the interface of affective neuroscience and the gut-brain axis, concurrent inflammation and negative mood may be vulnerability factors for chronic visceral pain.

PMID:37302437 | DOI:10.1016/j.bbi.2023.06.005

Ann Anat. 2023 Jun 9:152117. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2023.152117. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the etiology or effective treatments for chronic orofacial pain, the majority diagnosed as temporomandibular disorder (TMD), is limited.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether occlusal equilibration therapy (ET) and decreasing the (higher) angle of the lateral guidance on the nonworking-side leads to a reduction in chronic TMDs intensity.

METHODS: We conducted a randomized, explanatory, single blind with blinded assessment, placebo-controlled trial with strong protection against bias involving patients with chronic TMDs. Patients were randomly assigned to receive equilibration therapy or sham therapy. ET in this study consisted in minimal invasive occlusal remodeling to obtain balanced occlusion with reduction of the steeper angle of lateral mandibular movement with respect to the Frankfort plane. The primary outcome was the change in pain intensity score (on a 0 – 10 point scale, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 the worst possible pain) at month 6. Secondary outcomes include maximum unassisted mouth opening and psychological distress.

RESULTS: A total of 77 participants underwent randomization, 39 of whom received ET and 38 sham therapy. The trial was stopped early for efficacy, according to preestablished rules when 67 participants (n=34, n=33, respectively) had completed the analysis. At month 6, the mean unadjusted pain intensity score was 2.1 in the ET and 3.6 in the sham therapy group (adjusted mean difference, -1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] -.5 to -2.6; P=0.004; ANCOVA model). The mean increase in maximum unassisted mouth opening (main secondary outcome) was significantly higher in the real therapy group (adjusted mean difference 3.1mm, 95% CI 0.5 to 5.7, p=0.02).

CONCLUSION: ET significantly reduced the intensity of facial pain associated with chronic TMDs and increased maximum unassisted mouth opening, as compared with sham therapy, over the course of 6 months. There were no serious adverse events. (Funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III from the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain and European Regional Development Fund, Grant nº PI11/02507; “una manera de hacer Europa”.

DATA AVAILABILITY: Data citation 1. Urbano Santana, José López-Cedrún, Urbano Santana-Mora, Maria Jesús Mora, Fernanda Lorenzo-Franco, Nicolás Carral-Roura, et al. Composite pictures from the two study groups of the MAP Trial. Figshare 2020. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13107953.v1 Data citation 2. Urbano Santana-Penin et al. Dryad Digital Repository 2022. MAP Trial raw data. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zkh189370.

PMID:37302432 | DOI:10.1016/j.aanat.2023.152117

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Jun 9;193:115152. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115152. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:37302205 | DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115152

J Anxiety Disord. 2023 Jun 1;97:102732. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102732. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Sleep disturbance is highly debilitating, and an abundance of research suggests that repetitive negative thinking (i.e., rumination, worry) may contribute to the development and maintenance of maladaptive sleep patterns, such as insomnia symptoms. Although repetitive negative thinking is often conceptualized as a ‘trait’ risk factor for anxiety-related disorders, it is unclear if it consists of time-varying (TV) or state-like features versus time-invariant (TI) or trait-like characteristics. Furthermore, it is unclear if it is the TV or TI components of repetitive negative thinking that contribute to insomnia symptoms that is commonly observed in anxiety-related disorders. In a 6-wave, 5-month longitudinal study, community participants (N = 1219) completed measures of rumination, worry, transdiagnostic repetitive negative thinking, and insomnia symptoms. A latent variable (trait-state-occasion) model was applied to the measures of repetitive negative thinking. The results showed that although estimates of TI factor variance and TV factor variance were both significant for latent repetitive negative thinking, worry, and rumination, the proportion of TI factor variance (0.82-0.89) was greater than the amount of TV factor variance (0.11-0.19). Although TV factor stability was statistically significant for latent repetitive negative thinking, rumination, and worry, the magnitude of the coefficients was small. Furthermore, regression weights for the latent repetitive negative thinking, rumination, and worry TI factor were significant and larger than those for the TV factor in predicting insomnia symptoms at each of the six time points. These findings suggest that repetitive negative thinking is largely TI, and it is this TI component that contributes to insomnia symptoms. Implications for conceptualizations of repetitive negative thinking as a predisposing and perpetuating factor in insomnia for anxiety and related disorders are discussed.

PMID:37302163 | DOI:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102732

Respir Med Res. 2023 Mar 24;84:101013. doi: 10.1016/j.resmer.2023.101013. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: GAP (gender-age-physiology) and TORVAN are multi-parametric prognostication scores for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We compared their prognostic value in patients treated with nintedanib or pirfenidone and explored their effect on patient survival in relation to disease staging.

STUDY DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Retrospective evaluation of 235 naïve IPF patients (M = 179; mean age 69.8 yrs±7.1; 102 treated with nintedanib and 133 with pirfenidone), referred to two Italian academic centers between February 2012 and December 2019.

RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 4.2 years, the incidence rate of death was 14.5 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 12 to 17.4), with no differences between nintedanib and pirfenidone (log-rank p = 0.771). According to time-ROC analysis, GAP and TORVAN showed a similar discrimination performance at 1, 2, and 5 years. Survival of GAP-2/GAP-3 IPF patients treated with nintedanib was worse than that of patients in GAP-1 (HR 4.8, 95% CI: 2.2 to 10.5 and HR 9.4, 95% CI: 3.8 to 23.2). TORVAN I patients treated with nintedanib exhibited better survival than those in stages III (HR 3.1, 95% CI: 1.4 to 6.6) and IV (HR 10.5, 95% CI: 3.5 to 31.6). A significant treatment x stage interaction was observed for both disease staging indexes (p = 0.042 for treatment by GAP interaction and p = 0.046 for treatment by TORVAN interaction). A better survival was associated with nintedanib in patients with mild disease (GAP-1 or TORVAN I stage) and with pirfenidone in GAP-3 or TORVAN IV cases, although these findings did not always reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: GAP and TORVAN similarly perform in IPF patients on anti-fibrotic therapy. However, the survival of patients treated with nintedanib and pirfenidone appears to be differently affected by disease staging.

PMID:37302161 | DOI:10.1016/j.resmer.2023.101013

Sci Prog. 2023 Apr-Jun;106(2):368504231179062. doi: 10.1177/00368504231179062.

ABSTRACT

Whether true inter-individual response differences (IIRD) occur as a result of resistance training on body weight and body composition in older adults with overweight and obesity is not known. To address this gap, data from a previous meta-analysis representing 587 men and women (333 resistance training, 254 control) ≥ 60 years of age nested in 15 randomized controlled trials of resistance training ≥ 8 weeks were included. Resistance training and control group change outcome standard deviations treated as point estimates for body weight and body composition (percent body fat, fat mass, body mass index in kg^.m², and lean body mass) were used to calculate true IIRD from each study. True IIRD as well as traditional pairwise comparisons were pooled using the inverse-variance (IVhet) model. Both 95% confidence intervals (CI) and prediction intervals (PI) were calculated. While statistically significant improvements were found for body weight and all body composition outcomes (p < 0.05 for all), no statistically significant IIRD was observed for any of the outcomes (p > 0.05 for all) and all 95% PIs overlapped. Conclusions: While resistance training is associated with improvements in body weight and body composition in older adults, the lack of true IIRD suggests that factors other than training response variation (random variation, physiological responses associated with behavioral changes that are not the result of resistance training) are responsible for the observed variation in body weight and body composition.

PMID:37302150 | DOI:10.1177/00368504231179062

Int Nurs Rev. 2023 Jun 11. doi: 10.1111/inr.12856. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study examined the level of proactive work behavior and predictability of education level, work engagement, transformational leadership of nurse managers, and organizational support on proactive work behaviors among nurses.

BACKGROUND: Nurses face many challenges to provide quality nursing care as numbers of patients increase in particular as a result of COVID-19 and human resource shortages worldwide, this includes Myanmar. Proactive work behavior is a critical factor in providing quality nursing care.

METHODS: We collected data from 183 registered nurses in four university-affiliated general hospitals in Myanmar by using stratified random sampling. Instruments included the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Global Transformational Leadership Scale, the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, and the Proactive Work Behavior Scale. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used to analyze data. Findings are reported according to the STROBE checklist.

RESULTS: The overall level of proactive work behavior was perceived as moderate. Transformational leadership and work engagement were significant predictors of proactive work behaviors of nurses, explaining 33.0% of the total variance.

CONCLUSION: Findings provide that both transformational leadership and work engagement are significant predictors of proactive work behaviors which are important for improving the quality of patient care and organizational outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: Nurse administrators and hospital directors should encourage nurses to voice ideas for improving the standard of work, provide opportunities for generating ideas, support resources for taking charge and preventing problems whilst also supporting the promotion of nurse managers’ transformational leadership and nurses’ work engagement.

PMID:37302103 | DOI:10.1111/inr.12856