Category: Statistics

Eur Radiol. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/s00330-026-12665-7. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:42225996 | DOI:10.1007/s00330-026-12665-7

Strahlenther Onkol. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/s00066-026-02551-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the value of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-based delta radiomics for predicting short-term radiotherapy (RT) response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODS: A total of 132 pathologically confirmed NPC patients receiving RT were retrospectively enrolled. Serial CBCT images during weeks 1-4 were collected. Patients were grouped by therapeutic response and randomly divided into training and test sets (7:3). Radiomic features from fractional CBCTs were extracted via Pyradiomics. Temporal delta-radiomic features were derived from interfraction differences. After applying feature normalization and dimensionality reduction, optimal features were selected using analysis of variance (ANOVA), recursive feature elimination, relevant features, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Ten classifiers, including logistic regression (LR), were trained with 5‑fold cross-validation strategy. Predictive performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, decision curve analysis (DCA), and the DeLong’s test.

RESULTS: The LR model based on the CBCT_1st-3rd temporal interval achieved the optimal predictive performance (balanced accuracy 0.73, area under the curve [AUC] 0.74, sensitivity 0.64, specificity 0.81) in the cross-validation set. DeLong’s tests revealed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) in AUC values within the cross-validation set between the CBCT_1st-3rd model and models based on CBCT_1st-4th or CBCT_2nd-4th intervals. DCA indicated that the LR model based on CBCT_1st-3rd temporal interval provided the highest net clinical benefit within threshold probabilities ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 and exceeding 0.65.

CONCLUSION: The CBCT-based delta radiomics models can dynamically assess short-term RT response in NPC patients. This approach offers potential as an early-warning indicator during the RT course and provides a novel approach to guiding personalized precision radiotherapy for NPC.

PMID:42225987 | DOI:10.1007/s00066-026-02551-y

Psychon Bull Rev. 2026 Jun 1;33(5):165. doi: 10.3758/s13423-026-02933-4.

ABSTRACT

Khvostov et al. (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 32: 2903-2912, 2025) present compelling evidence that observers have explicit access to detailed ensemble feature distributions, challenging the traditional view that only summary statistics are available. Here, we demonstrate that the Target Confusability Competition (TCC) ensemble model (Robinson & Brady, Nature Human Behaviour, 7: 1638-1651, 2023) provides a straightforward process-level account of these results. Without any parameter tuning, the model accurately predicts the observed response patterns across Gaussian, uniform, and bimodal color distributions. This alignment underscores the utility of TCC-ensemble in explaining ensemble perception and highlights the value of similarity-based encoding and integration mechanisms in supporting access to distributional structure.

PMID:42225973 | DOI:10.3758/s13423-026-02933-4

Nat Food. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/s43016-026-01360-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

European agrifood systems face many challenges and dilemmas regarding sustainability, resilience and competitiveness. Through consultations with scientific experts, we identified five systemic lock-ins (governance and policy fragmentation; behavioural and dietary challenges; political economy and market dynamics; unaccountability and environmental degradation; disruption and unpredictability as the new norm) hindering agrifood systems transformation. Based on concrete examples, we propose five guiding principles that, in various combinations, can help address lock-ins and guide effective changes towards more healthy and sustainable food systems. Their successful implementation requires strong, experience-inspired, science-based political and business leadership supported by a revised research and innovation agenda.

PMID:42225970 | DOI:10.1038/s43016-026-01360-x

Nat Immunol. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/s41590-026-02526-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Regulatory factor X 7 (RFX7) nonsense mutations have been found in different human B cell malignancies. We therefore set out to study the role of RFX7 in B cell activation and lymphomagenesis. Here we show that RFX7 truncations cause loss-of-function and dominant-negative effects. Moreover, low RFX7 mRNA levels correlate with worse diffuse large B cell lymphoma prognosis. Accordingly, Rfx7 deletion in B cells accelerates pathogenesis in mouse Bcl6- and p53-loss-driven B cell lymphoma models. Rfx7-deficient B cells exhibit increased Myc activity and enhanced germinal center B cell and plasmablast responses. These alterations are reverted by Myc haploinsufficiency, which provides partial protection from nonsymptomatic p53^-/-Rfx7^-/- B cell lymphoma, but does not prevent detrimental Myc deregulation in aggressive disease. Deletion of Aicda, which favors genomic alterations in activated B cells, limits lymphoma development in the p53^-/-Rfx7^-/- double-hit mouse model. These results indicate that Rfx7 represses B cell activation, Myc activity, and Myc- and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-dependent pro-lymphomagenic processes.

PMID:42225953 | DOI:10.1038/s41590-026-02526-2

Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-55920-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Conventional root canal treatment eliminates infection in necrotic permanent teeth but does not restore the dentin-pulp complex. The clinical predictability of regenerative endodontic treatment in mature teeth remains uncertain. This study evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes of an injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF)-supported regenerative protocol in mature necrotic teeth. This retrospective two-center cohort study included mature permanent teeth presenting with pulp necrosis, closed apices, and periapical lesions with a periapical index (PAI) score ≥ 3 treated between 2022 and 2025 using a standardized i-PRF-supported regenerative endodontic treatment protocol. Periapical healing was assessed using PAI scores, with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images serving as supplementary three-dimensional illustrations. Postoperative pain was recorded using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Friedman test with Dunn post hoc analysis, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. A total of 27 teeth were included, with a mean follow-up of 22.5 months. Clinical success was achieved in 24 teeth (88.9%). Mean PAI scores decreased significantly from 4.3 ± 0.78 preoperatively to 1.07 ± 1.57 at follow-up (p < 0.001). CBCT images showed radiographic evidence of three-dimensional periapical healing. Postoperative pain was minimal, with median scores reaching zero within 72 h and no need for analgesic medication. No significant predictors of treatment failure were identified. Within the limitations of this two-center retrospective study, i-PRF-supported regenerative endodontic treatment in mature necrotic teeth demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes, periapical healing, and low postoperative pain, suggesting its potential as a biologically based management approach.

PMID:42225930 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-55920-z

Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/s00701-026-06930-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Accurate segmentation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is paramount for optimising outcomes under deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Clinically available tools like Brainlab Elements (BL-E) enable automated segmentations for surgical planning, yet their spatial relationship with postoperative volumes of tissue activated (VTAs) remains insufficiently characterised. Using multi-atlas segmentation (MAS) as an external anatomical reference, we compared the spatial correspondence of STN segmentations derived from BL-E with effective VTAs following monopolar contact review.

METHODS: We analysed imaging data from 40 PD patients with chronic STN-DBS. Segmentations were obtained using BL-E based on T1w and T2w scans and MAS derived from a library of 20 manually segmented midbrain nuclei atlases. Spatial correspondence was assessed using Dice Coefficients, Jaccard Indices, and Euclidean centroid distances. Distances between VTA centroids and clinically established settings for STN-DBS were calculated to evaluate targeting consistency. Statistical differences between metrics were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

RESULTS: BL-E segmentations demonstrated superior spatial correspondence with VTAs compared to MAS, with smaller Euclidean distances between centroids (p < 0.001). Dice Coefficients and Jaccard Indices showed no significant differences (p = 0.18). VTA centroid distances to the most efficient stimulation location were consistent across hemispheres (left: 2.54 mm [1.92-3.25]; right: 2.87 mm [1.85-3.82]) MAS targets were positioned more inferiorly and anteriorly compared to BL-E targets.

CONCLUSION: Clinically applied VTAs showed good spatial correspondence with planning segmentations, suggesting within-workflow reproducibility but not superior correspondence to anatomical ground truth per se. Future studies should incorporate connectomic information to more accurately reflect the functional relevance of stimulation and its therapeutic effects.

PMID:42225900 | DOI:10.1007/s00701-026-06930-3

Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-55394-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Muller maneuver (MM) collapses the upper airway and mimics apneic events during sleep. This study aimed to assess the effect of MM on the upper airway (UA) and surrounding structures of patients with OSA using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). This prospective study of 18 moderate-to-severe OSA patients included two CBCT scans, one during gentle breathing and another while performing MM, with standardized head and neck positioning. UA, soft tissue, and hyoid bone were analyzed using linear, area, and volumetric measurements with OnDemand 3D software version 10.0.1 (1008 measurements). Paired t-tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Marginal Homogeneity tests, and two-way repeated-measures ANOVA were performed using SPSS version 27 software. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d. MM statistically significantly decreased the following airway parameters: minimum anterior-posterior (mAP) of nasopharynx (6.41% (P = 0.048)), mAP-oropharynx (38.81% (P = 0.006)), minimum transverse(mT) of oropharynx (38.88% (P = 0.006)), minimum cross-sectional area(mCSA) of oropharynx (42.02%; P = 0.011), volume(V) of oropharynx (27.41%; P = 0.002), mAP-hypopharynx (19.77%;P = 0.039) and mCSA-hypopharynx (11.77%;P = 0.048), V-UA (11.76%;P = 0.048) and minimum axial area (39.01%; P = 0.007). MM also resulted in significant vertical hyoid bone changes and soft tissue length (P = 0.001, P = 0.016, respectively). Effect size analysis demonstrated predominantly moderate-to-large effects across variables, particularly for hyoid bone displacement and oropharyngeal airway narrowing, indicating that the observed changes were not only statistically significant but also clinically meaningful. This noninvasive, low-cost approach, provides comprehensive evaluation of the UA and surrounding structures. It also offers functional insight by capturing airway configuration under negative pressure conditions, enabling a more dynamic assessment of airway behavior and collapsibility.

PMID:42225889 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-55394-z

J Imaging Inform Med. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/s10278-026-02010-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Conventional pixel-wise loss functions fail to enforce topological consistency in coronary vessel segmentation, producing fragmented vascular trees despite high pixel-level accuracy. We present ARIADNE, a two-stage framework coupling preference-aligned perception with RL-based diagnostic reasoning for topologically consistent stenosis detection through an explicit Perception-Reasoning Synergy in which topology-aware segmentation serves as the structural prerequisite for reliable downstream diagnosis. The perception module employs DPO to fine-tune the Sa2VA vision-language foundation model using Betti number constraints as preference signals, aligning the policy toward topologically consistent vessel structures rather than pixel-wise overlap metrics. The reasoning module formulates stenosis localization as a Markov Decision Process with an explicit rejection mechanism that autonomously defers ambiguous anatomical candidates such as bifurcations and vessel crossings, shifting from coverage maximization to reliability optimization and thereby mitigating the clinical alert fatigue that has historically constrained automated decision support. Validated through a conservative patient-level statistical design (n = 35), ARIADNE achieves state-of-the-art Dice of 0.8034 and centerline Dice (clDice) of 0.8378, significantly outperforming generic foundation models including MedSAM3, while attaining a True Positive Rate of 0.867 and reducing False Positives Per Image to 0.85 in stenosis detection. External validation on the public XCAD benchmark confirms generalization across acquisition protocols. This represents the first application of DPO for topological alignment in medical imaging, demonstrating that preference-based learning over structural constraints mitigates topological violations while maintaining diagnostic sensitivity in interventional cardiology workflows. The code is available at https://github.com/qimingfan10/ARIADNE .

PMID:42225888 | DOI:10.1007/s10278-026-02010-1

J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1007/s11606-026-10528-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: High-quality patient-centered communication (PCC) is associated with improved health outcomes. However, individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic communities in the U.S. often experience poor PCC and disproportionately worse health outcomes compared to White individuals. Racial-ethnic-cultural (REC) belonging, defined as a sense of connection to one’s REC group that fosters feelings of value, acceptance, and security, represents an understudied aspect of community-based social support. Unlike related constructs like patient-provider racial concordance, REC belonging emphasizes individuals’ lived experiences of inclusion and may play an important role in moderating PCC, which functions as clinical social support.

OBJECTIVE: To examine potential associations between PCC and REC belonging and explore how REC belonging varies across sociodemographic factors.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of self-reported data from the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey 7 (HINTS 7), a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults. Descriptive statistics identified sociodemographic patterns in REC belonging. Logistic regressions further explored differences in REC belonging across race/ethnicity. Linear regressions examined associations between REC belonging and PCC.

PARTICIPANTS: Respondents to HINTS 7 who reported visiting a healthcare clinician within the 12 months prior to survey completion (n = 5023).

MAIN MEASURES: PCC was assessed using the 7-item Patient-Centered Communication Scale (PCCS). REC belonging was assessed through agreement with a statement regarding a strong sense of belonging to one’s ethnic, racial, or cultural group, with responses categorized as “belonging” or “non-belonging.”

KEY RESULTS: Greater REC belonging was observed among non-White Hispanic (p < 0.001), heterosexual (p = 0.004), older (75+) (p = 0.006), non-liberal (p < 0.001), and non-married (p = 0.04) individuals. REC belonging was also significantly associated with higher PCC overall (β, 95% CI 4.97, 2.63-7.31).

CONCLUSIONS: Results showed an association between higher PCC and REC belonging. Understanding sociodemographic differences in REC belonging may guide community-based strategies to enhance communication, strengthen social support, and improve health outcomes in underrepresented communities.

PMID:42225874 | DOI:10.1007/s11606-026-10528-x