Category: Statistics

Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Dec 7:24784. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24784. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Beta-thalassemia major is an inherited disorder that can cause bone deformity and loss of bone mineral density. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cortical and trabecular mandibular bone morphology of children and adolescents who have beta-thalassemia major (ß-TM) using a fractal dimension (FD) analysis and different panoramic radiomorphometric indices with digital panoramic radiographic images (DPRIs).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 80 patients (with 40 patients each of ß-TM and control). The mandibular cortical width (MCW), panoramic mandibular index (PMI), mandibular cortical index (MCI), and simple visual estimation (SVE) were evaluated, and an FD analysis of five regions of interest (ROIs) (ROI 1: in basal cortical bone; ROI 2: in premolar region; ROI 3: in molar region; ROI 4: in angulus mandible and ROI 5: in condyle region) was obtained in all DPRIs. Quantitative variables were analyzed using the student’s t-test , Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.

RESULTS: When the ß-TM groups were compared with controls, there were no statistically significant differences found in the mean FD values, the ROIs of the trabecular bone, or the SVE. There was a significant correlation in the mean MCW, PMI, ROI of cortical bone (ROI 1), and MCI between ß-TM and control groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.047, and p = 0.046, respectively). The mean MCW values correlated with the SVE in both the ß-TM and control groups (p = 0.031 and p < 0.001, respectively). While the mean MCW values correlated with the MCI (p = 0.04) in the control group, the mean MCW values were not correlated with the MCI (p = 0.493) in ß-TM group.

CONCLUSIONS: The current study revealed lower MCW and PMI values in the ß-TM group. While the mean FD values of trabecular bone is similar to the control groups, the mean FD value is lower in cortical bone in the ß-TM group. MCW, PMI, FD of cortical bone and MCI may be key indicators in individuals with beta-thalassemia major.

PMID:34874929 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24784

Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Dec 7:24725. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24725. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The professional Burnout Syndrome (BOS) or Burnout is considered a professional disease made up of three interrelated dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal fulfillment). BOS has been documented to most severely affect the healthcare professions, especially dentists. On the other hand, its appearance has been documented at an early age, during dental training. However, there are no studies that analyze its incidence in professionals dedicated to Oral Surgery and Implantology, determining the age of onset and related factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The modified Maslach questionnaire was carried out anonymously among the professors and students of the Master of Oral Surgery and Implantology at the Complutense University of Madrid. A total of 36 participants were enrolled in this study and the results of the modified Maslach Questionnaire were established into four groups [1st year (n=6), 2nd year (n=6), 3rd year (n=6) postgraduate students and clinical teachers (n=18)]. The following variables were recorded: Age, sex, years of experience, weekly hours of work, dedication on weekends and scope of work. The statistical analysis performed included Pearson’s correlation, analysis of variance, Student’s t-test, F-Anova, Chi-Square and Gamma correlation. Statistical Significance of the tests was established of p≤0.05.

RESULTS: 36 questionnaires were analyzed, of which 22.2% (n = 8) presented BOS, and 77.8% (n = 28) a medium risk of suffering it. The mean values and standard deviation ​​of emotional exhaustion (7.50 ± 2.43; 9.83 ± 4.12; 15.83 ± 6.21; 30.22 ± 7.86), depersonalization (5.50 ± 1.23; 50 ± 3.27; 11.33 ± 1.75; 17.56 ± 4.13), low personal fulfillment (39.67 ± 3.72; 39.33 ± 2.34; 43.17 ± 3, 55; 37.33 ± 5.51) and professional burnout (54.33 ± 2.66; 61.67 ± 2.88; 70.33 ± 5.43; 85.11 ± 9.05) in the four groups respectively. A significant association was found in the appearance of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, years of experience, weekly work hours and the work environment.

CONCLUSIONS: BOS is a disease that can appear from 30 years of age, after 5 years of professional experience and when there is a clinical consultation of 40 hours a week. Oral Surgery and Implantology seems to be a risk activity for the manifestation of depersonalization.

PMID:34874925 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24725

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 6;11(1):23454. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02326-8.

ABSTRACT

This article aims to investigate the heat and mass transfer of MHD Oldroyd-B fluid with ramped conditions. The Oldroyd-B fluid is taken as a base fluid (Blood) with a suspension of gold nano-particles, to make the solution of non-Newtonian bio-magnetic nanofluid. The surface medium is taken porous. The well-known equation of Oldroyd-B nano-fluid of integer order derivative has been generalized to a non-integer order derivative. Three different types of definitions of fractional differential operators, like Caputo, Caputo-Fabrizio, Atangana-Baleanu (will be called later as [Formula: see text]) are used to develop the resulting fractional nano-fluid model. The solution for temperature, concentration, and velocity profiles is obtained via Laplace transform and for inverse two different numerical algorithms like Zakian’s, Stehfest’s are utilized. The solutions are also shown in tabular form. To see the physical meaning of various parameters like thermal Grashof number, Radiation factor, mass Grashof number, Schmidt number, Prandtl number etc. are explained graphically and theoretically. The velocity and temperature of nanofluid decrease with increasing the value of gold nanoparticles, while increase with increasing the value of both thermal Grashof number and mass Grashof number. The Prandtl number shows opposite behavior for both temperature and velocity field. It will decelerate both the profile. Also, a comparative analysis is also presented between ours and the existing findings.

PMID:34873194 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-02326-8

Neurologist. 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/NRL.0000000000000396. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We investigate the probable effect of anatomic asymmetry of transverse sinus (TS) on the outcomes of acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), to provide reference for customized treatment.

METHODS: Consecutive patients with imaging-confirmed acute ICH were enrolled from October 2015 through October 2019, and divided into 2 groups: symmetrical and unilateral (left or right) slender TS groups, based on the status of TS in imaging maps. Brain computed tomography (CT) maps of all patients at baseline and half-month post-ICH were obtained, and the volumes of hematoma and the perihematomal edemas (PHE), as well as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at the month-3 post-ICH between the 2 groups were assessed and analyzed.

RESULTS: A total of 46 eligible patients entered into final analysis, including 18 cases in the slender TS group (14 cases involved the left side while 4 cases involved the right side), and 28 cases in the symmetrical TS group. The mRS scores, hematoma absorption rates, and the residual volumes of PHE of all patients in the 2 groups at half-month post-ICH showed no statistical significance (all P>0.05), and all of the items mentioned above were related to the hematoma volume at baseline (all P<0.001). At the month-3 follow-up post-ICH, the mRS scores between the 2 groups showed no statistical significance as well (P=0.551).

CONCLUSIONS: Anatomic asymmetry of TS may not affect the prognosis of PHE and clinical outcome after ICH.

PMID:34873112 | DOI:10.1097/NRL.0000000000000396

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 6;11(1):23458. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02528-0.

ABSTRACT

Functional enrichment analysis is an analytical method to extract biological insights from gene expression data, popularized by the ever-growing application of high-throughput techniques. Typically, expression profiles are generated for hundreds to thousands of genes/proteins from samples belonging to two experimental groups, and after ad-hoc statistical tests, researchers are left with lists of statistically significant entities, possibly lacking any unifying biological theme. Functional enrichment tackles the problem of putting overall gene expression changes into a broader biological context, based on pre-existing knowledge bases of reference: database collections of known expression regulation, relationships and molecular interactions. STRING is among the most popular tools, providing both protein-protein interaction networks and functional enrichment analysis for any given set of identifiers. For complex experimental designs, manually retrieving, interpreting, analyzing and abridging functional enrichment results is a daunting task, usually performed by hand by the average wet-biology researcher. We have developed reString, a cross-platform software that seamlessly retrieves from STRING functional enrichments from multiple user-supplied gene sets, with just a few clicks, without any need for specific bioinformatics skills. Further, it aggregates all findings into human-readable table summaries, with built-in features to easily produce user-customizable publication-grade clustermaps and bubble plots. Herein, we outline a complete reString protocol, showcasing its features on a real use-case.

PMID:34873191 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-02528-0

Neurologist. 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/NRL.0000000000000394. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) have established an association between HLA-DQ alpha 1 (DQA1) and risk for NMOSD. Though ethnicity is generally considered a major influencing factor in genetic analyses, little is known regarding the association of HLA-DQA1 polymorphisms with NMOSD in the Han population, especially the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at HLA-DQA1.

METHODS: We genotyped SNP at loci rs28383224 in a case-control study consisting of 137 subjects (51 patients with NMOSD and 86 unrelated controls were recruited) of Han ethnicity. Logistic regression was used to test the association of SNP with NMOSD susceptibility, the sex and age were adjusted, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

RESULTS: The rs28383224 polymorphism and susceptibility to NMOSD were not statistically associated (P>0.05) in the Han population in the current study. No significant difference was found in allelic frequencies or genotypic distributions among different subsets of NMOSD patients (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: In the current study, there is no evidence that polymorphism of rs28383224 in the HLA-DQA1 gene is associated with the risk of NMOSD in the Han Chinese population.

PMID:34873111 | DOI:10.1097/NRL.0000000000000394

Chin Med J (Engl). 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000001705. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: As one of the most common endocrinal disorders for women at childbearing age, the diagnostic criteria of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been defined differently among different international health organizations. Phenotypic heterogeneity of PCOS also brings about difficulties for its diagnosis and management assessment. Therefore, more efficient biomarkers representing the progression of PCOS are expected to be integrated into the monitoring of management process using metabolomic approaches.

METHODS: In this prospective randomized controlled trial, 117 PCOS patients were enrolled from December 2016 to September 2017. Classical diagnostic parameters, blood glucose, and metabolome were measured in these patients before and at 2 months and 3 months of different medical interventions. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were built based on multivariate statistical analysis using data at baseline and 3 months’ management, and combinational biomarkers with appreciable sensitivity and specificity were selected, which then validated with data collected at 2 months.

RESULTS: A set of metabolites including glutamic acid, aspartic acid, 1-methylnicotinamide, acetylcarnitine, glycerophosphocholine, and oleamide were filtered out with high performance in representing the improvement through 3-month management of PCOS with high sensitivity and specificity in ROC analysis and validation with other two groups showed an appreciable area under the curve over 0.96.

CONCLUSIONS: The six metabolites were representative of the remission of PCOS through medical intervention, making them a set of potential biomarkers for assessing the outcome of PCOS management.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03264638.

PMID:34873082 | DOI:10.1097/CM9.0000000000001705

AIDS. 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003140. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether molecular cluster membership was associated with public health identification of HIV transmission potential among named partners in Chicago.

DESIGN: Historical cohort study.

METHODS: We matched and analyzed HIV surveillance and partner services data from HIV diagnoses (2012-2016) prior to implementation of cluster detection and response interventions. We constructed molecular clusters using HIV-TRACE at a pairwise genetic distance threshold of 0·5% and identified clusters exhibiting recent and rapid growth according to the CDC’s definition (3 new cases diagnosed in past year). Factors associated with identification of partners with HIV transmission potential were examined using multivariable Poisson regression.

RESULTS: There were 5,208 newly diagnosed index clients over this time period. Average age of index clients in clusters was 28; 47% were Black, 29% Latinx/Hispanic, 6% female and 89% men who have sex with men (MSM). Of the 537 named partners, 191 (35·6%) were linked to index cases in a cluster and of those 16% were either new diagnoses or viremic. There was no statistically significant difference in the probability of identifying partners with HIV transmission potential among index clients in a rapidly growing cluster versus those not in a cluster (adjusted Relative Risk 1·82, (0·81-4·06)).

CONCLUSION: Partner services that were initiated from index clients in a molecular cluster yielded similar new HIV case finding or identification of those with viremia as did interviews with index clients not in clusters. It remains unclear whether these findings are due to temporal disconnects between diagnoses and cluster identification, unobserved cluster members, or challenges with partner services implementation.

PMID:34873085 | DOI:10.1097/QAD.0000000000003140

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Dec 7;118(49):e2108395118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2108395118.

ABSTRACT

We hypothesized that cross-protection from seasonal epidemics of human coronaviruses (HCoVs) could have affected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission, including generating reduced susceptibility in children. To determine what the prepandemic distribution of immunity to HCoVs was, we fitted a mathematical model to 6 y of seasonal coronavirus surveillance data from England and Wales. We estimated a duration of immunity to seasonal HCoVs of 7.8 y (95% CI 6.3 to 8.1) and show that, while cross-protection between HCoV and SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to the age distribution, it is insufficient to explain the age pattern of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the first wave of the pandemic in England and Wales. Projections from our model illustrate how different strengths of cross-protection between circulating coronaviruses could determine the frequency and magnitude of SARS-CoV-2 epidemics over the coming decade, as well as the potential impact of cross-protection on future seasonal coronavirus transmission.

PMID:34873059 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2108395118

J Physiol Pharmacol. 2021 Jun;72(3). doi: 10.26402/jpp.2021.3.13. Epub 2021 Dec 3.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of propofol (PR) pretreatment inducing high heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression to protect alveolar type II epithelial cells (AEC-II) in rats with acute lung injury (ALI) induced by oleic acid (OA). In this study, 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats (250 – 300 g) were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 in each group) as follows: group C (the normal control group), the OA group (the oleic acid injury control group), the OA + PR group (the PR pretreatment group), and the OA + IX group (the zinc porphyrin IX pretreatment group). Arterial blood gases, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and serum pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) were measured in each group. The changes in the AEC-II ultrastructure were observed under an electron microscope. The HO-1 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry, and HO-1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was detected by polymerase chain reaction. The results of this study showed that there were significant differences in PO₂, pCO₂, and PaO₂/FiO₂ among the different groups (p < 0.05). The difference between BALF and SP-A in each group was statistically significant (p < 0.01). There were also significant differences in the integrated optical density of the HO-1 protein expression and HO-1 mRNA in the pulmonary tissue of the different groups (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). The results of the electron microscopy showed that AEC-II were relatively irregular in the OA group. The cells degenerated and even disintegrated, the microvilli on the cell surface decreased, the lamellar bodies in the cytoplasm were evacuated, and some were discharged into the alveolar cavity. The above-mentioned changes in the OA + PR group were lower than in the OA group, while the changes were greater in the OA + IX group, compared with those in the OA group. We conclude that PR can significantly increase the expression of HO-1 in pulmonary tissues and reduce pulmonary injury, and, therefore, protect the AEC-II.

PMID:34873068 | DOI:10.26402/jpp.2021.3.13