Category: Statistics

Fam Process. 2022 Feb 11. doi: 10.1111/famp.12756. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The field of relationship science has called for more research on the impact of relationship education on child outcomes, yet studies in this area remain sparse, particularly regarding maternal and infant health at birth. Research on group prenatal care demonstrates that individual-oriented group interventions have a positive impact on infant birth outcomes, suggesting the need to consider the impacts of other forms of group programming for women. The current study examined the impact of MotherWise, an individual-oriented relationship education and brief case management/coaching program for minority and low-income pregnant women, on birth outcomes. The study sample included 136 women who enrolled in a larger randomized controlled trial of MotherWise during early pregnancy. Although statistical power was limited due to the sample size and the effects were not outright significant at p < 0.05, results indicated that the effects of MotherWise on birth outcomes were small to moderate in size (0.23 for birthweight, 0.46 for preterm birth) and suggest important avenues for future tests of relationship education programs and their impacts on maternal and infant health. The current study suggests that relationship education during pregnancy could directly impact women’s and infant’s health.

PMID:35146754 | DOI:10.1111/famp.12756

Int Marit Health. 2021;72(4):259-267. doi: 10.5603/IMH.2021.0050.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The primary aim of this study was to reveal whether the Gendarmerie Coast Guard Academy (GCGA) students caught and went through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) according to their physical activity levels during the COVID-19 pandemic process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research group of the study consisted of 332 volunteer male students studying at the GCGA. International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and personal information form were used as data collection tools in the study. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analysed in the Jamovi 1.8.2 statistical software programme with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error. In the analysis of data, non-parametric correlation test was used for pairwise comparisons and Multinomial and Binomial Logistic Regression test was used for comparisons of subcategories.

RESULTS: According to students’ body mass index scores, 73.49% of the students were of normal weight. The results of the analysis, showed that 29.82% of the GCGA students had COVID-19, and 70.18% of them did not have COVID-19. It was determined that 91.92% of those who had COVID-19 had mild illness and recovered at home. According to the metabolic equivalence classification of students, a negative and significant relationship between students’ physical activity levels (inactive < minimally active < very active) and the risk of getting the positive results for COVID-19 (yes < no) and the severity of COVID-19 (in intensive care < in the hospital < mildly at home) was found.

CONCLUSIONS: It could be said that increasing the physical activity level of students can reduce the possibility of having COVID-19 and also increase the probability of mild illness not requiring hospitalisation in those with positive COVID-19 test result.

PMID:35146742 | DOI:10.5603/IMH.2021.0050

Biol Trace Elem Res. 2022 Feb 11. doi: 10.1007/s12011-021-02892-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The level of heavy metals in vegetables grown in soil irrigated with various sources of water and the health risks associated with the consumption of these vegetables were assessed in this study. Samples of water, soil, and vegetables were collected from farmer fields. After digestion in acidic solution, analytical measurements were made using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean concentration of Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, and Mn in the soil of two sampling area were in the range from 60.00 to 84.00 mg kg^-1, 68.00 to 98.00 mg kg^-1, 1.60 to 2.60 mg kg^-1, 26.10 to 33.20 mg kg^-1, 22.60 to 30.80 mg kg^-1, 50.10 to 78.30 mg kg^-1, 420.00 to 471.00 mg kg^-1, and 270.20 to 340.50 mg kg^-1, respectively. Heavy metals in soil varied significantly at (P ≤ 0.001) among sampling area. The nine heavy metals were divided into two clusters for wastewater and soil, according to cluster analysis. The number of variables was reduced using principal component analysis, which yielded three latent factors, one for wastewater and one for soil. Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, and Mn concentrations were significantly higher at P ≤ 0.001 in nine vegetables grown on soil irrigated with untreated wastewater than in vegetables grown on fresh-tube well-water-irrigated soil. The health risks associated with metal intake were assessed using the estimated daily intake of metals (EDIM), hazard quotients (HQs), and hazard index (HI). The rates of metal transfer to vegetables have been determined. Except for Pb and Cd, all of the elements’ EDMI values were found to be lower than their RfD values. The corresponding HRI values of metals in the various vegetables were found to be below 1, implying that vegetable consumption in the studied region poses no carcinogenic risk. Constant determination of heavy metals in all fruits and vegetables is essential for the assessment of health risks associated with dietary metal exposure. The study has provided valuable information to the general public about the use of wastewater for irrigation of vegetables.

PMID:35146633 | DOI:10.1007/s12011-021-02892-y

Pharm Res. 2022 Feb 10. doi: 10.1007/s11095-022-03175-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate a three-compartmental semi-physiological model for analysis of uptake clearance and efflux from brain tissue of the hydrophilic markers sucrose and mannitol, compared to non-compartmental techniques presuming unidirectional uptake.

METHODS: Stable isotope-labeled [¹³C]sucrose and [¹³C]mannitol (10 mg/kg each) were injected as IV bolus into the tail vein of awake young adult mice. Blood and brain samples were taken after different time intervals up to 8 h. Plasma and brain concentrations were quantified by UPLC-MS/MS. Brain uptake clearance (K_in) was analyzed using either the single-time point analysis, the multiple time point graphical method, or by fitting the parameters of a three-compartmental model that allows for symmetrical exchange across the blood-brain barrier and an additional brain efflux clearance.

RESULTS: The three-compartment model was able to describe the experimental data well, yielding estimates for K_in of sucrose and mannitol of 0.068 ± 0.005 and 0.146 ± 0.020 μl.min^-1.g^-1, respectively, which were significantly different (p < 0.01). The separate brain efflux clearance had values of 0.693 ± 0.106 (sucrose) and 0.881 ± 0.20 (mannitol) μl.min^-1.g^-1, which were not statistically different. K_in values obtained by single time point and multiple time point analyses were dependent on the terminal sampling time and showed declining values for later time points.

CONCLUSIONS: Using the three-compartment model allows determination of K_in for small molecule hydrophilic markers with low blood-brain barrier permeability. It also provides, for the first time, an estimate of brain efflux after systemic administration of a marker, which likely represents bulk flow clearance from brain tissue.

PMID:35146590 | DOI:10.1007/s11095-022-03175-4

J Digit Imaging. 2022 Feb 10. doi: 10.1007/s10278-022-00588-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have demonstrated a frequent occurrence of screw/K-wire malpositioning during surgical fracture treatment under 2D fluoroscopy and a correspondingly high revision rate as a result of using intraoperative 3D imaging. In order to facilitate and accelerate the diagnosis of implant malpositioning in 3D data sets, this study investigates two versions of an implant detection software for mobile 3D C-arms in terms of their detection performance based on comparison with manual evaluation. The 3D data sets of patients who had received surgical fracture treatment at five anatomical regions were extracted from the research database. First, manual evaluation of the data sets was performed, and the number of implanted implants was assessed. For 25 data sets, the time required by four investigators to adjust each implant was monitored. Subsequently, the evaluation was performed using both software versions based on the following detection parameters: true-positive-rate, false-negative-rate, false-detection-rate and positive predictive value. Furthermore, the causes of false positive and false negative detected implants depending on the anatomical region were investigated. Two hundred fourteen data sets with overall 1767 implants were included. The detection parameters were significantly improved (p<.001) from version 1 to version 2 of the implant detection software. Automatic evaluation required an average of 4.1±0.4 s while manual evaluation was completed in 136.15±72.9 s (p<.001), with a statistically significant difference between experienced and inexperienced users (p=.005). In summary, version 2 of the implant detection software achieved significantly better results. The time saved by using the software could contribute to optimizing the intraoperative workflow.

PMID:35146612 | DOI:10.1007/s10278-022-00588-w

Environ Monit Assess. 2022 Feb 10;194(3):168. doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-09843-7.

ABSTRACT

How and to which extent terrain factors affecting the drainage area threshold (DAT) are disputable. This paper uses principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis to study the influence degree of terrain factors on DAT. Firstly, 22 watersheds, locating in the severe soil erosion region (SSER) of Loess Plateau of China, are picked out as the example areas. The purpose of the mean change point method (MCP) to detect the relationship between DAT and gully density (GD) is to get a reasonable DAT. Secondly, nine terrain factors are calculated, and their statistical values are compared and put in the matrix to clear the different effects on DAT. Finally, the effects of statistical eigenvalues of terrain factors on DAT are compared with PCA and the correlation analysis. According to the PCA, the nine terrain factors are summarized into three principal components, which are slope, height variation, and relief factor. By calculating the score weighted by each factor coefficient matrix and eigenvalue, the result states that slope (S), terrain curvatures (K), and surface roughness (SR) are the factors that have great influence on DAT. Meanwhile, the results of correlation analysis indicate that S, SR, and K have exerted a great influence on the DAT, and the significance level was above 0.05. Both the results of PCA and correlation analysis make clear that the slope is the most direct and influential factor affecting DAT, while other factors are more or less related to slope directly and indirectly. The result implies that the vertical variation of terrain has a strong correlation with the slope, and also has a great influence on DAT. This research not only would be of great significance to recognize the mechanism of gully development, but also able to provide a scientific reference for soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau.

PMID:35146588 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-022-09843-7

Abdom Radiol (NY). 2022 Feb 11. doi: 10.1007/s00261-022-03412-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The identification of high recurrence risk stage II colon cancer patients was critical to adjuvant chemotherapy decision. However, current definition of high-risk features remains inadequate. This study aimed to construct a model for predicting recurrence risk based on tumor enhancement ratio (TER) on abdominal contrast-enhanced CT scan.

METHOD: 282 stage II colon cancer patients were included and randomly divided into training and validation sets in the ratio of 7:3. TER was calculated using maximum tumor attenuation value in contrast-enhanced CT scan divided by the minimum. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were adopted to evaluate the prognostic value of variables. A model based on TER was built to predict recurrence risk through the LASSO Cox model. The recurrence risk score of patients was calculated based on this model.

RESULTS: The optimal cut-off value of TER was 1.83 derived from the time-dependent ROC (tdROC) curve. Patients with high-TER showed increasingly poorer disease-free survival (DFS) in both training (p < 0.001) and validation (p < 0.001) sets. A model was built based on TER demonstrated satisfactory performance to recurrence risk prediction (C-index: 0.784 in the training set and 0.725 in the validation set). Patients were regrouped into modified high-risk and non-high risk according to recurrence risk score (cut-off value: 1.75) and a significant DFS difference was observed (training set: p < 0.001; validation set: p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: TER can serve as a high-risk feature of stage II colon cancer. And a model based on TER provided a new approach to assess recurrence risk of stage II disease.

PMID:35146573 | DOI:10.1007/s00261-022-03412-9

Protoplasma. 2022 Feb 10. doi: 10.1007/s00709-022-01741-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Parquetina nigrescens has been used for decades in ethnomedicine for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and aphrodisiac properties. In this study, the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect of aqueous crude leaf extracts of P. nigrescens on the root meristematic cells of Allium cepa was examined. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the plant extract were also identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The extract was prepared with tap water as is locally practised by many Nigerians. Onion bulbs were exposed to 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50% concentrations of the extract for the analysis of root growth inhibition and chromosomal aberration. Lead nitrate (10 ppm) and tap water were used as the positive and negative controls, respectively. The result showed cytotoxicity which was observed as statistically significant (p <p0.05), concentration-dependent inhibition of root growth from 5 to 50% concentrations of the plant extract compared with the negative control. At 10 and 20% concentrations, the extract showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) genotoxicity by inducing different chromosomal aberrations such as fragments, disturbed spindle, delayed, and sticky chromosomes. The GC-MS analysis identified 14 VOCs of which 1, 2-benzenediol, 4H-pyran-4-one, 2, 3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural were believed to be responsible for the observed cytogenotoxicity. These results show that the aqueous crude leaf extracts of P. nigrescens at high concentrations are cytogenotoxic and therefore should be consumed with caution.

PMID:35146572 | DOI:10.1007/s00709-022-01741-6

Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2022 Feb 11;58(2):130-136. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn112142-20210320-00139.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of mitomycin C (MMC) 0.02% for prevention of haze after transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (Trans-PRK) for mild and moderate myopia. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. We reviewed medical records of 295 patients (588 eyes) who underwent Trans-PRK with or without use of MMC. There were 45 patients (90 eyes) in the mild myopia group (aged between 18 and 41 years; 37 males and 8 females; myopia diopter <3.00 D) and 250 patients (498 eyes) in the moderate myopia group (aged between 18 and 46 years; 168 males and 82 females; myopia diopter: 3.00 to 6.00 D). The two groups were divided into subgroups with MMC 0.02% and without MMC, respectively. The time of intraoperative application of MMC, if there was, was 15 s and 30 s in the mild myopia group and the moderate myopia group, respectively. The mean follow-up time was 6 months. Postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spherical equivalent (SE) and haze were analyzed and compared using an independent Student t-test or Mann-Whitney U test between subgroups. Haze variables were compared using chi-square statistics. Results: Haze was quantified with Fantes from grade 0.5 to 4. In the mild myopia group, all haze grades were 0.5 within 3 months. The incidence of haze was 6.25% (2/32) in eyes treated with MMC and 8.62% (5/58) in eyes treated without MMC; there was no statistical significance (χ²=0.00, P>0.999). In the moderate myopia group, the incidence of haze was 9.19% (24/261) in eyes treated with MMC within 3 months; the grade was 0.5 in 91.67% (22/24) of eyes with haze and 1 in 8.33% (2/24). The incidence of haze was 29.53% (70/237) in eyes treated without MMC; the grade was 0.5 in 60.00% (42/70) of eyes with haze, 1 in 18.57% (13/70), and 2 in 5.71% (4/70) within 3 months, and 0.5 in 15.71% (11/70) after 3 months (χ²=12.36, P=0.002). In the mild myopia group, BCVA was 5.0(5.0, 5.1) versus 5.0(5.0, 5.1) in the subgroups with MMC and without MMC (Z=-0.34, P=0.733). In the moderate myopia group, BCVA was 5.0(5.0, 5.1) versus 5.0(5.0, 5.1) in the subgroups with and without MMC (Z=-2.05, P=0.040). In the mild myopia group, SE was (0.33±1.07) D versus (0.32±0.57) D in the subgroups with and without MMC (t=0.25, P=0.805). In the moderate myopia group, SE was (0.66±0.85) D versus (0.53±0.67) D in the subgroups with and without MMC (t=2.97, P=0.003). Conclusions: MMC 0.02% was effective in preventing haze after Trans-PRK in the treatment of moderate myopia. However, it was not effective in mild myopia.

PMID:35144353 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn112142-20210320-00139