Category: Statistics

Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2021 Jul 24;90:8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2021.07.021. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Levodopa-induced dyskinesia is a complication of levodopa therapy and negatively impacts the quality of life of patients. We aimed to elucidate white matter alterations in Parkinson’s disease with levodopa-induced dyskinesia using advanced diffusion magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

METHODS: The enrolled subjects included 26 clinically confirmed Parkinson’s disease patients without levodopa-induced dyskinesia, 25 Parkinson’s disease patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia, and 23 healthy controls. Subjects were imaged using a 3-T magnetic resonance scanner. Diffusion tensor imaging, diffusion kurtosis imaging, and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging findings were compared between groups with a group-wise whole brain approach and a region-of-interest analysis for each white matter tract. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios for levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

RESULTS: Group-wise tract-based spatial statistical analysis revealed significant white matter differences in isotropic diffusion, complexity, or heterogeneity, and neurite density between healthy controls and Parkinson’s disease patients without levodopa-induced dyskinesia and between patients with and without levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Region-of-interest analysis revealed similar alterations using a group-wise whole-brain approach in the external capsule, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus. These tracts had an odds ratio of approximately 2.3 for the presence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that Parkinson’s disease with levodopa-induced dyskinesia produces less white matter microstructural disruption, especially in temporal lobe fibers, than Parkinson’s disease without levodopa-induced dyskinesia. These fibers has a more than 2-fold odds ratio for the presence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia and might be associated with the pathogenesis of the sequela.

PMID:34325387 | DOI:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2021.07.021

Lung Cancer. 2021 Jul 17;159:111-116. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2021.07.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The association between the morphological characteristics and survival outcome of lung cancer associated with cystic airspaces (LCCAs) is unclear due to rarity of this disease. The current study attempted to compare the survival outcome between LCCAs and non-LCCAs and investigate the correlation between imaging features and prognosis of LCCA.

METHOD: Of 10,835 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) between January 2015 and December 2016, 123 patients with LCCA were included. The non-LCCA group comprised 3136 patients with primary solitary adenocarcinoma or squamous cell lung cancer. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed for age, sex, tumor size, tumor stage, and lymph node involvement in a 1:1 ratio between the LCCAs and non-LCCAs, and the correlation between radiological features and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was analyzed.

RESULT: The computed tomography (CT) lesion size was found to be higher in all LCCA subtypes, particularly in Type III (a cystic airspace with a mural nodule) and Type IV (mixed) LCCAs (3.09 and 3.65 cm, respectively), than in non-LCCAs (2 cm) after PSM. Three-year RFS in the LCCA group was higher than in the non-LCCA group (Type I- IV LCCAs: 100%, 84%, 77% and 83%, respectively vs. non-LCCAs: 77%). However, statistically significant difference was only found in comparison between LCCA Type I (thin-walled) and non-LCCA groups (P = 0.026). Type III lung cancer exhibited the worst survival among all four LCCA subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS: The CT lesion size and pathologic tumor size varied significantly across LCCAs. Type I LCCAs exhibited better survival than non-LCCAs, whereas Type III LCCAs exhibited the worst survival rate among the four LCCA subtypes.

PMID:34325317 | DOI:10.1016/j.lungcan.2021.07.003

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2021 Jul 10;208:106818. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106818. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to compare the efficacy and safety of angioplasty alone with acute stenting for acute tandem occlusions (TO) due to internal carotid artery atherosclerotic.

METHODS: We identified 112 patients who underwent an endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute tandem internal carotid artery occlusions from the prospectively maintained registries 5 comprehensive stroke centers. The study cohort included 75 patients with underlying atherosclerotic lesion of the extracranial internal carotid artery, forty-five in the balloon angioplasty (BA) alone group and 30 in the acute stenting (AS) group. Using propensity score matching analysis, forty-four patients were matched. Clinical characteristics and outcome data were compared between two groups.

RESULTS: The successful reperfusion immediately post procedure [72.7% (16/22) vs. 77.3% (17/22), P = 1.0] and 90-days good functional outcome [54.5% (12/22) vs. 59.1% (13/22), P = 0.761] were not significantly different between the BA group and AS group. There was also no significant difference in the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage [13.6% (3/22) vs. 9.1% (2/22), P = 1.00] and restenosis of ICA (>50%)[27.3% (6/22) vs. 22.7% (5/22), P = 0.728] between 2 groups. Patients in the BA group appear to have a numerically lower rate of asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage [40.9% (9/22) vs. 50% (11/22), P = 0.545] and mortality [0 vs. 9.1% (2/22), P = 0.488] than in the AS group, although there were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Among TO patients with etiology of large vessel atherosclerosis, no statistical differences in outcome are identified between balloon angioplasty alone versus acute stenting. Future randomized controlled trials are warranted.

PMID:34325333 | DOI:10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106818

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2021 Jun 26;122:104654. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104654. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fracture resistance of cervical lesion centered access cavity restored with short glass fibre reinforced resin materials in human mandibular premolars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty freshly extracted human mandibular premolars were collected and assigned to positive control group (G1- Intact teeth) and other experimental groups (G2, G3. G4, G5, G6), Traditional Access Cavity(TAC) and Cervical Lesion Centered Access Cavity(CLCAC). Following endodontic therapy, samples were grouped accordingly, G2-CLCAC without restoration (Negative Control), G3-CLCAC restored with conventional nano-hybrid composite (Tetric-N-Ceram), G4-TAC restored with short glass fibre reinforced resin composite (Ever-X Posterior), G5-CLCAC restored with short glass fibre reinforced resin composite (Ever-X Posterior), G6- CLCAC restored with individually formed unidirectional fibre-reinforced post (Everstick post) and short glass fibre-reinforced resin composite (Ever-X Posterior). The samples were thermocycled (35 °C/28s, 15 °C/2s, 35 °C/28s, 45 °C/2s/10,000 cycles) and cyclically fatigued(2,50,000 cycles/15-30N/2 Hz) and then subsequently loaded to failure. The mean load to fracture (Newtons) were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post HOC test and failure mode analysis was also done.

RESULTS: The mean fracture resistance of the CLCAC design restored with fibre reinforced materials was higher when compared to the TAC design but the difference was not statistically significant. The negative control group (CLCAC without restoration) showed significantly the least fracture resistance (P < 0.05) when compared to all the other groups except for group 3 (CLCAC restored with conventional composites).

CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the study, it can be concluded that short glass fibre reinforced resin composites improved the fracture resistance of endodontically treated mandibular premolars irrespective of the type of access cavity designs. Favourable fractures were seen more in cervical lesion centered access cavity restored with short glass fibre reinforced composite materials. Nevertheless, the applicability of this design in multirooted teeth, canal cleanliness efficacy, and long term clinical performance are yet to be explored to complement this new access design.

PMID:34325237 | DOI:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104654

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2021 Jul 3;1179:122820. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2021.122820. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Untargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) was used to investigate the differences in cage duck eggs and sea duck eggs that from different poultry breeding system, which could help to combat fraud within the egg industry. High dimensions and complex data collected by UHPLC-HRMS were analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis. Identification model of sea duck eggs based on was established. After matching with the chemical databases, four potential markers were putatively matched. Further analysis showed that three of them were confirmed by reference standards. All these three markers (n-behenoyl-d-erythro-sphingosine, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and n-nervonoyl-d-erythro-sphingosine) have higher content in sea duck eggs. The quantitative analysis showed that the content difference of three markers in farm samples were in highly consistent with the concentration changes measured in experimental samples, which indicate that these three markers are reliable.

PMID:34325310 | DOI:10.1016/j.jchromb.2021.122820

J Environ Radioact. 2021 Jul 26;237:106704. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106704. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The source term of ¹³⁷Cs from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident was estimated from the results of local-scale atmospheric dispersion simulations and measurements. To confirm the source term’s validity for reproducing the large-scale atmospheric dispersion of ¹³⁷Cs, this study conducted hemispheric-scale atmospheric and oceanic dispersion simulations. In the dispersion simulations, the atmospheric-dispersion database system Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (WSPEEDI)-DB and oceanic dispersion model SEA-GEARN-FDM that were developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency were used. Compared with the air concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs measured by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, overall, the WSPEEDI-DB simulations well reproduced the measurements, whereas the simulation results partly overestimated some measurements. Furthermore, the validity of the deposition of ¹³⁷Cs by WSPEEDI-DB was investigated using SEA-GEARN-FDM and concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in seawater sampled from the North Pacific. Seawater concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs by the oceanic dispersion simulation, in which the deposition flux of ¹³⁷Cs by WSPEEDI-DB was used as input from the atmosphere to oceans, were statistically consistent to the measurement. However, the simulated seawater concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs were underestimated regionally in the North Pacific. Both the overestimation of air concentrations and underestimation of seawater concentrations could be attributed to the less amounts of ¹³⁷Cs deposition by less precipitation over the North Pacific. The overestimation and underestimation could be improved without contradiction between the air and seawater concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs using more realistic precipitation in atmospheric dispersion simulations. This shows that the source term validated in this study could reproduce the spatiotemporal distribution of ¹³⁷Cs from the FDNPS accident in both local and large-scale atmospheric dispersion simulations.

PMID:34325219 | DOI:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106704

Comput Biol Med. 2021 Jul 22;136:104679. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104679. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The appearance of high-density root obturating materials, such as gutta-percha and intracanal posts, on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans is substantially different from that seen in the specimen. This study evaluated the effectiveness of different CBCT software in the reduction of blooming artifacts when examining teeth with intracanal posts.

METHOD: The sample included 42 human single-rooted teeth with two types of posts: G1 – low-fusion alloy posts; G2 – gold alloy posts. CBCT scans were obtained using two scanners, PreXion 3D Elite® and Carestream 9000C 3D®. First, the posts were measured using a digital micrometer (standard reference, control). Post diameters were determined using the Blooming Artifact Reduction (BAR) tool of the e-Vol DX software and of the PreXion3D Image Analysis System. Statistical data were evaluated using the van Der Waerden nonparametric analysis of variance and, after that, normalized data were analyzed using the Tukey test. The level of significance was set at α = 5 %.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the diameters of intracanal posts on the CT scans when the e-Vol DX was used, or when these results were compared with those obtained using a micrometer. There were significant differences in post diameters determined using the PreXion3D Image Analysis System when compared with the e-Vol DX and the micrometer values (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The use of the e-Vol DX BAR filter eliminated blooming artifacts. There were no dimensional changes in the CBCT images of the low-fusion and gold alloy intracanal posts using the e-Vol DX BAR filter.

PMID:34325229 | DOI:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104679

Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Jul 26;122:108202. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108202. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In patients with epilepsy, regular follow-up is vital for adequate seizure control, antiseizure drugs’ (ASDs) side effects, psychiatric comorbidities, and planning for epilepsy surgery. Non-attendance creates barriers to adequate patient care, inefficient allocation of resources, loss of income, and unnecessary emergency department visits due to lack of seizure control. This study aimed to determine the causes and sociodemographic characteristics of the non-attendant population at the Epilepsy Clinic.

METHODS: A prospective and observational study was carried out on patients treated at the Epilepsy Clinic of the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery (NINN) in Mexico from August 2015 to June 2016. A phone interview was made with all those patients who did not attend the epilepsy consultation. This call incorporated ad hoc questions to meet the objectives of this study.

RESULTS: During the study period, 1299 patients had an appointment at the epilepsy clinic, where 233 (17.9%) patients missed their consultation, 123 (52.8%) were male, mean age was 35.9 ± 14.42 years. The most frequent cause of non-attendance was forgetfulness of the appointment in 62 patients (26.6%). Two patients died; no patient was reported to have experienced SUDEP. Non-attendant patients showed statistically significant overall prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities (41.6%), particularly depression, anxiety, and interictal psychosis.

CONCLUSION: Information on non-attendance at various specialist consultations is scarce, and to our knowledge, this is the first study to address non-attendance in patients with epilepsy in Latin America. Improving hospital protocols to reduce non-attendance can increase patient adherence to follow-up, ultimately improving the quality of care in the epilepsy clinic.

PMID:34325158 | DOI:10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108202

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2021 Jul 22;263:120214. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.120214. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), meaning functional or structural brain damage which appear as a result of the application of the external physical force, constitutes the main cause of death and disability of individuals and a great socioeconomic problem. To search for the new therapeutic strategies for TBI, better knowledge about posttraumatic pathological changes occurring in the brain is necessary. Therefore in the present paper the Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy and Raman microscopy were used to examine local and remote biochemical changes occurring in the rat brain as a result of focal cortex injury. The site of the injury and the dorsal part of the hippocampal formation together with the above situated cortex and white matter were the subject of the study. The topographic and quantitative biochemical analysis followed with the statistical study using principal component analysis showed significant biomolecular anomalies within the lesion site but not in the area of the dorsal hippocampal formation and in the above situated white matter and cortex. The observed intralesional anomalies included significantly decreased accumulation of lipids and their structural changes within the place of injury. Also the levels of compounds containing phosphate and carbonyl groups were lower within the lesion site comparing to the surrounding cortex. The opposite relation was, in turn, found for the bands characteristic to proteins and cholesterol/cholesterol esters.

PMID:34325168 | DOI:10.1016/j.saa.2021.120214

Sex Med. 2021 Jul 26;9(5):100409. doi: 10.1016/j.esxm.2021.100409. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Male sexual dysfunction is a common problem, and there are many self-report questionnaires for measuring sexual function among men; however, the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI) is a tool that has 5 subscales, which is more complete than others. a validated self-report questionnaire, in the local language with modest expressions is required for men.

AIM: To determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the BSFI among men.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 males. The sampling process was performed in several stages from health centers. After the accomplishment of the standard process of back-translating the questionnaire from English to Persian, its face, content, and construct validity were evaluated. The collected data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient. To determine the reliability of the instrument, the test-retest method was used with 2 weeks interval and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient method was applied to check the internal homogeneity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) and validity were assessed RESULTS: According to the research findings, confirmatory factor analysis had an acceptable fit. By modifying the measurement model and fitting the final model, the fitting indices were obtained as the following: Chi-square statistic = 21.63, NPAR = 36, P = .001 > 0.05; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.956; comparative fit indices = 0.976; Normed Fit Index = 0.952; and root mean square error of approximation = 0.068. These values indicated that the obtained model had a good fit for the data. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha and intra-cluster correlation coefficients of the whole questionnaire were calculated at 0.893 and 0.893, respectively (confidence interval between 0.811-0.950), showing the internal consistency of the items in the whole questionnaire and domain.

CONCLUSION: The BSFI questionnaire showed a 5-factor structure similar to the original structure and the 11-item Persian version of the questionnaire of male sexual function can be considered a valid and reliable tool to assess the level of male sexual function. Rezaei N, Sharifi N, Fathnezhad-Kazemi A, et al. Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory: A Cross-Sectional Study. Sex Med 2021;XX:XXXXXX.

PMID:34325191 | DOI:10.1016/j.esxm.2021.100409