Category: Statistics

J Neurosci Res. 2022 Feb 22. doi: 10.1002/jnr.25023. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Working memory (WM) encompasses crucial cognitive processes or abilities to retain and manipulate temporary information for immediate execution of complex cognitive tasks in daily functioning such as reasoning and decision-making. The WM of individuals sustaining traumatic brain injury (TBI) was commonly compromised, especially in the domain of WM. The current study investigated the brain responses of WM in a group of participants with mild-moderate TBI compared to their healthy counterparts employing functional magnetic resonance imaging. All consented participants (healthy: n = 26 and TBI: n = 15) performed two variations of the n-back WM task with four load conditions (0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-back). The respective within-group effects showed a right hemisphere-dominance activation and slower reaction in performance for the TBI group. Random-effects analysis revealed activation difference between the two groups in the right occipital lobe in the guided n-back with cues, and in the bilateral occipital lobe, superior parietal region, and cingulate cortices in the n-back without cues. The left middle frontal gyrus was implicated in the load-dependent processing of WM in both groups. Further group analysis identified that the notable activation changes in the frontal gyri and anterior cingulate cortex are according to low and high loads. Though relatively smaller in scale, this study was eminent as it clarified the neural alterations in WM in the mild-moderate TBI group compared to healthy controls. It confirmed the robustness of the phenomenon in TBI with the reproducibility of the results in a heterogeneous non-Western sample.

PMID:35194817 | DOI:10.1002/jnr.25023

Stat Med. 2022 Feb 28;41(5):932. doi: 10.1002/sim.9263.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35194816 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9263

Stat Med. 2022 Feb 28;41(5):835-837. doi: 10.1002/sim.9292.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35194814 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9292

Stat Med. 2022 Feb 28;41(5):847-859. doi: 10.1002/sim.9290.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35194815 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9290

Obstet Gynecol Sci. 2022 Feb 23. doi: 10.5468/ogs.21313. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the incidence and predictive factors of recurrent clear cell ovarian carcinoma (CCC) and evaluate the oncological outcomes after recurrence.

METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 134 CCC cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2020. Clinicopathological data and oncological outcomes were extracted and evaluated. Patients with co-malignancy, mixed pathological type, or incomplete data were excluded. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariable analyses, and Kaplan-Meier survival probability estimates were completed. A proportional hazards model was used to assess the association between the prognostic factors with progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and post-recurrence survival.

RESULTS: A total of 134 patients with CCC were enrolled. The incidence of recurrent CCC was 33.6% (45/134). The median PFS was 12.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.66-18.9) in the recurrence group and 3.3 months (95% CI, 1.15-4.4) in the refractory group. Residual tumor from surgical outcome, ascites cytology, and lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) were independent prognostic factors for PFS. The significant variables were residual tumor (sub-optimal surgery vs. optimal surgery) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.68; 95% CI, 1.48-4.87; P=0.002), ascites cytology (positive vs. negative) (HR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.58-4.98; P=0.002), and LVSI (positive vs. negative) (HR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.18-3.86; P=0.04). The median post-recurrence survival was 13.96 months (95% CI, 10.61-26.2) in the recurrence group.

CONCLUSION: CCC has a high rate of recurrence. Sub-optimal surgery, positive ascites cytology, and LVSI indicated a worse prognosis for PFS. Optimal cytoreductive surgery is an important part of primary treatment to improve survival in patients with CCC.

PMID:35193175 | DOI:10.5468/ogs.21313

HIV Med. 2022 Feb 22. doi: 10.1111/hiv.13261. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to characterize and identify factors associated with HIV care among transgender (trans) women living with HIV (TWLWH) in two urban centres in Canada.

METHODS: Retrospective data were collected from clinic charts of TWLWH aged 16 years and older across seven family medicine, endocrinology and/or HIV clinics in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, from 2018 to 2019 (n = 86). We assessed the proportion of individuals being ever engaged in HIV care [defined as having any recorded antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen and/or viral load], current ART use, and most recent viral load (suppressed [<200 copies/ml] vs. unsuppressed) overall and compared across subgroups using χ² tests.

RESULTS: All TWLWH in our sample [100.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 95.8-100.0%] were engaged in HIV care; most (93.0%, 95% CI: 85.4-97.4%) were currently using ART and most (93.4%, 95% CI: 85.3-97.8%) with complete data (n = 71/76) were virally suppressed. A higher proportion of trans women of colour (100.0%) reported current ART use compared with white trans women (76.9%, p = 0.017). A higher proportion of those with no documented history of injection drug use (IDU; 96.6%) were virally suppressed compared with those with a history of IDU (66.7%, p = 0.022). Although not statistically significant, 96.2% of those currently reporting feminizing hormone use were virally suppressed, compared with 85.0% of those not reporting use (p = 0.202).

CONCLUSIONS: Once engaged in HIV care, TWLWH in Canada appear to have excellent ART use and viral suppression. Findings can be leveraged to identify target populations to enhance HIV care and to further explore the relationship between gender-affirming medical care and HIV care.

PMID:35193172 | DOI:10.1111/hiv.13261

Brief Bioinform. 2022 Feb 22:bbac039. doi: 10.1093/bib/bbac039. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Polygenic scores (PGS) are important tools for carrying out genetic prediction of common diseases and disease related complex traits, facilitating the development of precision medicine. Unfortunately, despite the critical importance of PGS and the vast number of PGS methods recently developed, few comprehensive comparison studies have been performed to evaluate the effectiveness of PGS methods. To fill this critical knowledge gap, we performed a comprehensive comparison study on 12 different PGS methods through internal evaluations on 25 quantitative and 25 binary traits within the UK Biobank with sample sizes ranging from 147 408 to 336 573, and through external evaluations via 25 cross-study and 112 cross-ancestry analyses on summary statistics from multiple genome-wide association studies with sample sizes ranging from 1415 to 329 345. We evaluate the prediction accuracy, computational scalability, as well as robustness and transferability of different PGS methods across datasets and/or genetic ancestries, providing important guidelines for practitioners in choosing PGS methods. Besides method comparison, we present a simple aggregation strategy that combines multiple PGS from different methods to take advantage of their distinct benefits to achieve stable and superior prediction performance. To facilitate future applications of PGS, we also develop a PGS webserver (http://www.pgs-server.com/) that allows users to upload summary statistics and choose different PGS methods to fit the data directly. We hope that our results, method and webserver will facilitate the routine application of PGS across different research areas.

PMID:35193147 | DOI:10.1093/bib/bbac039

Aktuelle Urol. 2022 Feb 22. doi: 10.1055/a-1749-4556. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Decades after the introduction of 5α-reductase inhibitors and α1-adrenoceptor antagonists, new data of practical relevance related to their desired and adverse effects continues to emerge. Some of these novel findings are to be taken seriously but are insufficiently established, for instance associations between drug use and depression or dementia. Multiple combination treatments have been tested. While combination treatment was often statistically superior to monotherapy, the difference was mostly in the range of 1 IPSS point, which raises doubts on the clinical relevance of the findings at the group level. The new evidence enables further personalisation of the treatment of male lower urinary tract dysfunction, but also makes individual risk-benefit considerations more complex.

PMID:35193150 | DOI:10.1055/a-1749-4556

Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2022 Feb 21:1-7. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2021-0222. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the concurrent validity of a continuous blood-glucose-monitoring system (CGM) postbreakfast, preexercise, exercise, and postexercise, while assessing the impact of 2 different breakfasts on the observed level of validity.

METHODS: Eight nondiabetic recreational athletes (age = 30.8 [9.5] y; height = 173.6 [6.6] cm; body mass = 70.3 [8.1] kg) took part in the study. Blood glucose concentration was monitored every 10 minutes using both a CGM (FreeStyle Libre, Abbott, France) and finger-prick blood glucose measurements (FreeStyle Optimum) over 4 different periods (postbreakfast, preexercise, exercise, and postexercise). Two different breakfasts (carbohydrates [CHO] and protein oriented) over 2 days (2 × 2 d in total) were used. Statistical analyses included the Bland-Altman method, standardized mean bias (expressed in standardized units), median absolute relative difference, and the Clarke error grid analysis.

RESULTS: Overall, mean bias was trivial to small at postbreakfast (effect size ± 90% confidence limits: -0.12 ± 0.08), preexercise (-0.08 ± 0.08), and postexercise (0.25 ± 0.14), while moderate during exercise (0.66 ± 0.09). A higher median absolute relative difference was observed during exercise (13.6% vs 7%-9.5% for the other conditions). While there was no effect of the breakfast type on the median absolute relative difference results, error grid analysis revealed a higher value in zone D (ie, clinically unsafe zone) during exercise for CHO (10.5%) compared with protein (1.6%).

CONCLUSION: The CGM device examined in this study can only be validly used at rest, after both a CHO and protein-rich breakfast. Using CGM to monitor blood glucose concentration during exercise is not recommended. Moreover, the accuracy decreased when CHO were consumed before exercise.

PMID:35193110 | DOI:10.1123/ijspp.2021-0222

J Chromatogr A. 2022 Feb 8;1667:462886. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.462886. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Human placental JEG-3 cells conserve a high P450 aromatase activity and are therefore suitable to evaluate how contaminants may interfere with the routes involved in estrogen synthesis during pregnancy. This has been traditionally assessed by measuring aromatase activity through the amount of tritiated water (³H₂O) formed during the aromatization of 1β-³H-androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (³H-AD). This work presents a greener and safer analytical approach for this purpose, which consists of the determination of the trace amounts of the steroids (estradiol, estrone, testosterone, and androstenedione) present in the culture medium. Turbulent flow chromatography coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (TFC-HPLC-MS/MS) delivered the high selectivity and sensitivity (limits of detection between 2 and 5 pg/mL) required for these measurements. Moreover, its automation allows high-throughput of samples with minimum sample handling and achieves high precision in the analysis (relative standard deviation values <6%). As a proof of concept, the method was applied to evaluate the effect of monohaloacetic acid exposure on the steroid profile of JEG-3 cells. Iodoacetic acid showed an estrogenic effect (statistically significant increase of estradiol levels compared to unexposed cells) at the highest concentration level tested (0.5 µM) that deserves further evaluation.

PMID:35193068 | DOI:10.1016/j.chroma.2022.462886