Category: Statistics

Neurosci Lett. 2023 Jul 10:137394. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137394. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the levels of serum neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and PD patients with sleep disorders (PD-SD), as well as the relationship between these proteins and sleep disorders in PD patients.

METHODS: A total of 96 PD patients and 38 healthy controls (HC) were included in this study, of which 70 PD patients experienced sleep disorders. Both motor symptoms and sleep conditions were assessed in all PD patients. The ultrasensitive single molecule array (SIMOA) technique was used to quantify NFL and GFAP in the serum. All data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 23.0.

RESULTS: Serum NFL and GFAP levels were significantly higher in PD patients than in HC. Similarly, PD-SD patients exhibited higher levels of these two proteins than PD patients without sleep disorders (PD-NSD). In addition, both serum GFAP and NFL were significantly associated with sleep-related scales in PD patients. After covariate-adjusted binary logistic regression analysis, NFL remained statistically significant in PD patients with or without sleep disorders, unlike GFAP.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings substantiate that serum NFL and GFAP levels are elevated in PD and PD-SD, suggesting neurological axon damage in PD patients, which may be more severe in PD-SD than in PD-NSD. These findings may affect disease diagnosis and provide the foothold for future studies on the underlying mechanisms.

PMID:37437874 | DOI:10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137394

Environ Res. 2023 Jul 10:116611. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116611. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The current study aims to investigate the influence of seasonal changes on the pollution loads of the sediment of a coastal area in terms of its physicochemical features. The research will focus on analyzing the nutrients, organic carbon and particle size of the sediment samples collected from 12 different sampling stations in 3 different seasons along the coastal area. Additionally, the study discusses about the impact of anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and urbanization and natural activities such as monsoon on the sediment quality of the coastal area. The nutrient changes in the sediment were found to be: pH (7.96-9.45), EC (2.89-5.23 dS/m), nitrogen (23.98-57.23 mg/kg), phosphorus (7.75-11.36 mg/kg), potassium (217-398 mg/kg), overall organic carbon (0.35-0.99%), and sediment proportions (8.91-9.3%). Several statistical methods were used to investigate changes in sediment quality. According to the three-way ANOVA test, the mean value of the sediments differs significantly with each season. It correlates significantly with principal factor analysis and cluster analysis across seasons, implying contamination from both natural and man-made sources. This study will contribute to developing effective management strategies for the protection and restoration of degraded coastal ecosystem.

PMID:37437863 | DOI:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116611

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 10:110823. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110823. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of folate and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) metabolism disturbances have been detected in patients with schizophrenia.Data were obtained that disturbances in the pterins (folates and BH4) metabolism can be associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, but has not yet been confirmed in clinical studies in schizophrenia. Within the framework of this study, a correlation and factor analysis of biochemical markersof pterin metabolism, inflammation and redox imbalance in patients with schizophrenia was performed in order to test the hypothesis of the single etiopathogenetic node, including the studied biochemical processes. Methods: 125 patients with schizophrenia and 95 healthy volunteers were randomly selected and evaluated with a biochemical examination of BH4, folate, B12, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, reduced glutathione levels in the blood serum; activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase – in erythrocytes; malondialdehyde – in blood plasma. All patients underwent an examination using standardized psychopathology rating scales. Spearman rank coefficient (ρ) with Benjamini-Hochberg correction was used for the correlation analysis. The principal components analysis (PCA) was used as a factor analysis. Results: Significant correlations were found within groups of pterin metabolism, inflammatory markers and redox-imbalance, and also between separate inflammation, oxidative stress and markers of pterin metabolism. The performed factor analysis made it possible to distinguish two components: 1 – pterin metabolism, 2 – oxidativeinflammatory markers. Despite the weak statistical associations and, possibly, functional relationships between pterin metabolism and oxidative/inflammation markers, each of the components has its own clinical correlates and, probably, a separate contribution to the pathology of schizophrenia.

PMID:37437837 | DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110823

Protist. 2023 May 9;174(4):125967. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2023.125967. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Parasitic euglenids have rarely been studied. We found parasitic euglenids in two species of ostracods (Cyprinotus cassidula, Dolerocypris sinensis) and two species of rhabdocoels (Mesostoma lingua, Microdalyellia armigera) in a rice field. These parasites grew and proliferated inside the host body. These parasites had pellicle strips, one emergent flagellum, and a red stigma, but no chloroplasts, and showed euglenoid movement. Inside the living host, they did not have emergent flagella and moved only by euglenoid movement, but when the host died or the parasites were isolated from the host, they extended their flagella and switched to swimming movement. We conclude that the parasites found in the four hosts that we examined are of the same species, considering the morphological characteristics and identities in the nSSU and nLSU rDNA sequences of those parasites. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the parasite formed a clade with the free-living photoautotrophic species of Euglenaformis, with moderate statistical support. Therefore, the parasite is a secondary osmotroph derived from a photoautotrophic ancestor. Based on the results of morphological observation and molecular phylogenetic analysis, we propose a new species of parasitic euglenid, Euglenaformis parasitica sp. nov.

PMID:37437401 | DOI:10.1016/j.protis.2023.125967

Ultrasonics. 2023 Jul 5;134:107103. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107103. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of combined segmentation for the separation of lesions from non-ablated regions, which allows surgeons to easily distinguish, measure, and evaluate the lesion area, thereby improving the quality of high-intensity focused-ultrasound (HIFU) surgery used for the non-invasive tumor treatment. Given that the flexible shape of the Gamma mixture model (GΓMM) fits the complex statistical distribution of samples, a method combining the GΓMM and Bayes framework is constructed for the classification of samples to obtain the segmentation result. An appropriate normalization range and parameters can be used to rapidly obtain a good performance of GΓMM segmentation. The performance values of the proposed method under four metrics (Dice score: 85%, Jaccard coefficient: 75%, recall: 86%, and accuracy: 96%) are better than those of conventional approaches including Otsu and Region growing. Furthermore, the statistical result of sample intensity indicates that the finding of the GΓMM is similar to that obtained by the manual method. These results indicate the stability and reliability of the GΓMM combined with the Bayes framework for the segmentation of HIFU lesions in ultrasound images. The experimental results show the possibility of combining the GΓMM with the Bayes framework to segment lesion areas and evaluate the effect of therapeutic ultrasound.

PMID:37437399 | DOI:10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107103

Epilepsy Behav. 2023 Jul 10;145:109351. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2023.109351. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) milestones state that neurology residents should be able to “interpret common EEG abnormalities, recognize normal EEG variants, and create a report.” Yet, recent studies have shown that only 43% of neurology residents express confidence in interpreting EEG without supervision and can recognize less than half of normal and abnormal EEG patterns. Our objective was to create a curriculum to improve both confidence and competence in reading EEGs.

METHODS: At Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), adult and pediatric neurology residents have required EEG rotations in their first and second years of neurology residency and can choose an EEG elective in their third year. A curriculum consisting of specific learning objectives, self-directed modules, EEG lectures, epilepsy-related conferences, supplemental educational material, and tests was created for each of the three years of training.

RESULTS: Since the implementation of an EEG curriculum at VUMC from September 2019 until November 2022, 12 adult and 21 pediatric neurology residents completed pre- and post-rotation tests. Among the 33 residents, there was a statistically significant improvement in post-rotation test scores, with a mean score improvement of 17% (60.0 ± 12.9 to 77.9 ± 11.8, n = 33, p < 0.0001). When differentiated by training, the mean improvement of 18.8% in the adult cohort was slightly higher than in the pediatric cohort, 17.3%, though it was not significantly different. Overall improvement was significantly increased in the junior resident cohort with a 22.6% improvement in contrast to 11.5% in the senior resident cohort (p = 0.0097 by Student’s t-test, n = 14 junior residents and 15 senior residents).

DISCUSSION: With the creation of an EEG curriculum specific to each year of neurology residency, adult and pediatric neurology residents demonstrated a statistically significant mean improvement between pre- and post-rotation test scores. The improvement was significantly higher in junior residents in contrast to senior residents. Our structured and comprehensive EEG curriculum objectively improved EEG knowledge in all neurology residents at our institution. The findings may suggest a model which other neurology training programs may consider for the implementation of a similar curriculum to both standardize and address gaps in resident EEG education.

PMID:37437392 | DOI:10.1016/j.yebeh.2023.109351

J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2023 Jun 30;79:127257. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127257. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Lead is a ubiquitous element found in the earth crust. There is no known physiologic role of lead in human body and hence any amount of lead present in human tissue considered as a contamination. Several studies on lead toxicity show that, occupational exposure remains the main source for lead toxicity and is emerging as important public health problem. Burden and severity of occupational exposure of lead and its clinical significance are gaining more interest in the field of toxicology. Only limited studies are available and there is scarcity of epidemiology data to assess the blood lead levels of workers and the contribution of common workplace practices to lead exposure in India especially from our region. So, the current study is designed to assess the blood lead levels (BLL) and its clinical significance among high risk workers especially painters working in the construction and public private sector in Chennai based population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional case control study included 122 painters and 122 healthy individuals. A detailed questionnaire about demographic details, personal habits, work related safety precautions, presenting symptoms of lead toxicity were given to painter followed by detailed medical examination and blood investigations including blood lead levels were collected and statistically analyzed. The t-test were used to compare mean blood lead levels and to investigate the associations between specific job type, use of self-protection device,sex, service years and occurrence of non-specific symptoms with BLLs.

RESULTS: The mean BLL of the painters were less than the recommended threshold level. Among painters 13.1% were categorized under BLL > 10 μg/dL. The higher BLL among the painters were directly proportional to year of experience and poor usage of personal protective materials. The levels of Hb, HCT and eosinophil were much correlated with lead toxicity. A marginal significance were observed in some parameters especially urea and creatinine when compared with control. The Cognitive dysfunction, hypertension and renal dysfunction were also observed among the painters.

CONCLUSION: The BLL in painters among our group were minimal compared to biological reference value. Duration of exposure and association of patient’s clinical features like cognitive dysfunction, hypertension and renal dysfunction conditions were observed and this should be carefully monitored and study on huge population of painters with longitudinal aspect is recommended to rule out the clinical correlation of lead toxicity.

PMID:37437390 | DOI:10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127257

Environ Int. 2023 Jun 8;178:108005. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108005. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Many United States (US) cities are experiencing urban heat islands (UHIs) and climate change-driven temperature increases. Extreme heat increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, yet little is known about how this association varies with UHI intensity (UHII) within and between cities. We aimed to identify the urban populations most at-risk of and burdened by heat-related CVD morbidity in UHI-affected areas compared to unaffected areas. ZIP code-level daily counts of CVD hospitalizations among Medicare enrollees, aged 65-114, were obtained for 120 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) between 2000 and 2017. Mean ambient temperature exposure was estimated by interpolating daily weather station observations. ZIP codes were classified as low and high UHII using the first and fourth quartiles of an existing surface UHII metric, weighted to each have 25% of all CVD hospitalizations. MSA-specific associations between ambient temperature and CVD hospitalization were estimated using quasi-Poisson regression with distributed lag non-linear models and pooled via multivariate meta-analyses. Across the US, extreme heat (MSA-specific 99th percentile, on average 28.6 °C) increased the risk of CVD hospitalization by 1.5% (95% CI: 0.4%, 2.6%), with considerable variation among MSAs. Extreme heat-related CVD hospitalization risk in high UHII areas (2.4% [95% CI: 0.4%, 4.3%]) exceeded that in low UHII areas (1.0% [95% CI: -0.8%, 2.8%]), with upwards of a 10% difference in some MSAs. During the 18-year study period, there were an estimated 37,028 (95% CI: 35,741, 37,988) heat-attributable CVD admissions. High UHII areas accounted for 35% of the total heat-related CVD burden, while low UHII areas accounted for 4%. High UHII disproportionately impacted already heat-vulnerable populations; females, individuals aged 75-114, and those with chronic conditions living in high UHII areas experienced the largest heat-related CVD impacts. Overall, extreme heat increased cardiovascular morbidity risk and burden in older urban populations, with UHIs exacerbating these impacts among those with existing vulnerabilities.

PMID:37437316 | DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108005

J Chem Theory Comput. 2023 Jul 12. doi: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00387. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We report a Monte Carlo simulation study of length-scale-dependent density fluctuations in cavities in the coarse-grained mW representation of water at ambient conditions. Specifically, we use a combination of test particle insertion and umbrella sampling techniques to examine the full range of water occupation states in spherical cavities up to 6.3 Å radius in water. As has previously been observed, water density fluctuations are found to be effectively Gaussian in nature for atomic-scale cavities, but as the cavities get larger, they exhibit a non-Gaussian “fat-tail” distribution for lower occupancy states. We introduce a new statistical thermodynamic approach to analyze non-Gaussian fluctuations based on the radial distribution of waters about cavities with varying numbers of waters within its boundaries. It is shown that the onset of these non-Gaussian fluctuations is a result of the formation of a bubble within the cavity as it is emptied, which is accompanied by the adsorption of waters onto its interior surface. We revisit a theoretical framework we previously introduced to describe Gaussian fluctuations within cavities to incorporate bubble formation by including surface tension contributions. This modified theory accurately describes density fluctuations within both atomic and meso-scale cavities. Moreover, the theory predicts the transition from Gaussian to non-Gaussian fluctuations at a specific cavity occupancy, in excellent agreement with simulation observations.

PMID:37437298 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00387

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Jul 13:dgad414. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad414. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT: The inclusion of transgender people in elite sport has been a topic of debate. This narrative review examines the impact of gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) on physical performance, muscle strength and markers of endurance.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: MEDLINE and Embase were searched using terms to define the population (transgender), intervention (GAHT) and physical performance outcomes.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Existing literature is comprised of cross-sectional or small uncontrolled longitudinal studies of short duration. In non-athletic trans men starting testosterone therapy, within 1 year, muscle mass and strength increased, and by 3 years, physical performance (push-ups, sit-ups, run time) improved to the level of cisgender men.In non-athletic trans women, feminising hormone therapy increased fat mass by approximately 30% and decreased muscle mass by approximately 5% after 12 months and steadily declined beyond 3 years. Whilst absolute lean mass remains higher in trans women, relative percentage lean mass and fat mass (and muscle strength corrected for lean mass), hemoglobin and VO2 peak corrected for weight was no different to cisgender women. After 2 years of GAHT, no advantage was observed for physical performance measured by running time or in trans women. By 4 years, there was no advantage in sit-ups. Whilst push-ups performance declined in trans women, a statistical advantage remained relative to cisgender women.

CONCLUSIONS: Limited evidence suggests that physical performance of non-athletic trans people who have undergone GAHT for at least 2 years approaches that of cisgender controls. Further controlled longitudinal research is needed in trans athletes and non-athletes.

PMID:37437247 | DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgad414