Category: Statistics

Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2021 Jun;37(3):351-357. doi: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2021.410204.

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the correlation between the abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight, so as to provide reference for prediction methods of normal range of heart weight that is suitable for autopsy in China. Methods The forensic pathology autopsy cases accepted by Center for Medicolegal Expertise of Sun Yat-sen University from 1998 to 2017 were collected. Then the exclusion criteria were determined, and according to them the total case group was selected, and the 6 disease groups and the normal group were further selected from the total case group. The rank sum test was used to compare the heart weight of the normal group and the disease groups to determine the influence of diseases on heart weight. Then the Spearman rank correlation analysis of abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight in different genders and different ages in the total case group and the normal group was conducted to get the correlation coefficient （r_s）. Results In the total case group, correlation between abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight was shown in males of all ages （P<0.05）; while in females, the correlation had no statistical significance （P>0.05） in 15-<20 age and 50-<60 age, but was statistically significant （P<0.05） in other age groups. For the males in the normal group, r_s was respectively 0.411, 0.541 and 0.683 in the 15-<40 age, the 40-<60 age, and the ≥60 age. For the females, r_s was respectively 0.249 and 0.317 in the 15-<40 age and the 40-<60 age. The correlation in the ≥60 age had no statistical significance（P>0.05）. Conclusion In the general population and the normal population, abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness is correlated with the heart weight of males. It is of significance to include the abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness in the prediction of normal range of heart weight for males in China.

PMID:34379904 | DOI:10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2021.410204

N Engl J Med. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2109908. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) is a new syndrome associated with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 adenoviral vector vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Data are lacking on the clinical features of and the prognostic criteria for this disorder.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study involving patients with suspected VITT who presented to hospitals in the United Kingdom between March 22 and June 6, 2021. Data were collected with the use of an anonymized electronic form, and cases were identified as definite or probable VITT according to prespecified criteria. Baseline characteristics and clinicopathological features of the patients, risk factors, treatment, and markers of poor prognosis were determined.

RESULTS: Among 294 patients who were evaluated, we identified 170 definite and 50 probable cases of VITT. All the patients had received the first dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and presented 5 to 48 days (median, 14) after vaccination. The age range was 18 to 79 years (median, 48), with no sex preponderance and no identifiable medical risk factors. Overall mortality was 22%. The odds of death increased by a factor of 2.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4 to 5.2) among patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, by a factor of 1.7 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.3) for every 50% decrease in the baseline platelet count, by a factor of 1.2 (95% CI, 1.0 to 1.3) for every increase of 10,000 fibrinogen-equivalent units in the baseline d-dimer level, and by a factor of 1.7 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.5) for every 50% decrease in the baseline fibrinogen level. Multivariate analysis identified the baseline platelet count and the presence of intracranial hemorrhage as being independently associated with death; the observed mortality was 73% among patients with platelet counts below 30,000 per cubic millimeter and intracranial hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS: The high mortality associated with VITT was highest among patients with a low platelet count and intracranial hemorrhage. Treatment remains uncertain, but identification of prognostic markers may help guide effective management. (Funded by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.).

PMID:34379914 | DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa2109908

Epilepsia Open. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1002/epi4.12534. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe and intractable form of epilepsy with prolonged seizures which may evolve to other seizure types and associated with mild to severe intellectual disabilities. Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF-21) is a stress hormone mediating metabolic and oxidative stress and circulating level of FGF-21 had been shown to increase in some patients with impairment of oxidative phosphorylation in muscles. In DS, FGF-21 is of interest for further study as mitochondrial oxidative stress was identified previously in patients.

METHODS: Plasma FGF-21 levels were compared between 22 DS patients and 22 normal controls and their clinical characteristics of DS patients at the time of plasma sampling were studied retrospectively. Besides, the relationships of FGF-21 level with intellectual development, seizure frequency, valproate treatment and types of SCN1A mutations were analyzed. Logarithmic transformation of FGF-21 levels was performed before comparison and statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Mean of log₁₀ FGF-21 level was significantly higher in DS patients when comparing with normal controls (p = 0.0042). Mean of log₁₀ FGF-21 level was significantly higher in DS patients with normal to mild ID versus mild to severe ID (p = 0.0193) and with valproate treatment versus without valproate treatment (p = 0.015). No significant difference was shown in FGF-21 level in DS patients with missense versus truncating SCN1A variants and no correlation could be demonstrated between seizure frequency and FGF-21 level.

SIGNIFICANCE: Significantly higher level of plasma FGF-21 was identified in DS patients. The high FGF-21 levels were shown to be associated with developmental outcome and valproate treatment. These results support further investigation on the relationship of FGF-21 with the clinical outcomes of DS and other related mechanism which is important for possible therapeutic development for this epileptic encephalopathy.

PMID:34379890 | DOI:10.1002/epi4.12534

Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2021 Jun;37(3):325-331. doi: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.400506.

ABSTRACT

Objective To identify species of common sarcosaprophagous flies based on digital image analysis of veins, in order to provide new idea for fast and accurate species identification of sarcosaprophagous flies in forensic entomology. Methods Random trapping of 226 male and female sarcosaprophagous flies that comprised of 7 common species, including Sarcophaga peregrina, Parasarcophaga ruficornis, Sarcophaga dux, Seniorwhitea reciproca, Bercaea cruentata, Aldrichina grahami, and Synthesiomysia nudiseta with carrion in the field was conducted. The 17 landmarks on the right wing of each fly were digitally processed and the images were analyzed. The effects of allometry were evaluated using a permutation test. Wing shape variations among 7 sarcosaprophagous fly species and female species was analyzed using canonical variate analysis （CVA）. Additionally, cross-validation test was used to evaluate the reliability of classification. Results Among 7 sarcosaprophagous fly species and female species, the effect of allometry had statistical significance （P<0.05）. The CVA results showed that among 7 sarcosaprophagous fly species and female species, differences in the wing shape were significant, and the first two canonical variates accounted for 82.9% and 84.1% of the total variation of vein shape. Vein digital image analysis can be used to separate the 7 common sarcosaprophagous flies, with an overall species identification accuracy of 81.2%-100.0%, and with a species identification accuracy of 75.0%-100.0% to distinguish the female flies of the 7 sarcosaprophagous flies species. Conclusion Vein digital image analysis is a relatively convenient and reliable method for identification of insect species, which can be used for species identification of common sarcosaprophagous flies.

PMID:34379900 | DOI:10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.400506

Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2021 Jun;37(3):332-337. doi: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2021.410201.

ABSTRACT

Objective To test the feasibility and accuracy of with sarcosaprophagous insects postmortem interval （PMI） estimation with sarcosaprophagous insects and provide references for estimation practice. Methods Eleven cases confirmed by the detection results, with complete entomological evidence were selected. The insect species, estimation results and true results involved in the cases were statistically analyzed and compared. Results Thirteen species of insects were found at the criminal scene, including Chrysomya megacephala （Fabricius）, Chrysomya rufifacies （Macquart）, Chrysomya nigripes （Aubertin）, Lucilia sericata （Meigen）, Hydrotaea spinigera Stein, Muscina stabulans （Fallén）, Sarcophagid （species were not identified）, Megaselia scalaris （Loew）, Hermetia illucens （Linnaeus）, Saprinus splendens （Paykull）, Creophilus maxillosus （Linnaeus）, Dermestes maculatus （De Geer） and Necrobia ruficollis （Fabricius）. The PMI of all eleven cases was within the range of estimated PMI. The estimated results of 72.73% cases were on the same day of the true results. Conclusion Sarcosaprophagous insects can estimate the PMI simply and conveniently. In cases where the PMI is within the time range of one generation of flies or beetles, the estimation results are relatively accurate. However, the estimation is less accurate when the PMI is beyond the time range.

PMID:34379901 | DOI:10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2021.410201

Reprod Domest Anim. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1111/rda.14003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of collagenase and two final dimethylformamide (DMF) concentrations (4 and 7%) on alpaca frozen-thawed sperm quality. A total of 25 ejaculates from 5 alpaca were obtained using electroejaculation. Each individual ejaculate was evaluated and then diluted 4:1 in a solution of 1 mg/ml collagenase in HEPES-TALP medium and incubated for 4 min at 37°C. Subsequently, samples were diluted in TRIS-fructose-citric acid-egg yolk and cooled to 5°C. Then, each sample was divided in two aliquots and DMF at final concentration of 4 or 7% was added, equilibrated for 1 h at 5°C and frozen over liquid nitrogen vapors. A Kruskal Wallis test was used to evaluate sperm morphometry and Completely Random Block designs were used to analyze sperm motility, viability, membrane function and acrosome status. After collagenase incubation, none of the samples showed thread formation and sperm parameters were preserved. Non-progressive motile sperm were higher (p < 0.05) in equilibrated samples (4% DMF: 31.8±8.3% and 7% DMF: 36.3±11.8%) compared to raw (10.1±4.3%) and frozen-thawed semen (4% DMF: 9.7±1.8% and 7% DMF: 7.5±3.2%). Sperm membrane function, membrane integrity and intact acrosomes were higher (p < 0.05) in raw semen (40.1±12.2%, 94.6±3.2% and 91.3±8.1%) compared to frozen-thawed samples (4% DMF: 19.8±4.7%, 53.2±2.7%, 65.7±8.7% and 7% DMF: 20.4±4.5%, 54.1±1.4%, 64.6±9.1%). Length of the sperm head was lower in frozen-thawed samples, being statistically different with 4% DMF compared to pre-freezing samples. The ratio between acrosome and head areas was greater (p < 0.05) in frozen-thawed samples. Incubation of raw alpaca semen with collagenase decreased the thread formation without affecting sperm quality. Frozen of collagenase treated alpaca semen with 4 or 7% DMF did not preserve the sperm parameters in thawed samples.

PMID:34379864 | DOI:10.1111/rda.14003

Int J Clin Pract. 2021 Aug 11:e14724. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.14724. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Probiotics may have a promising role in chronic autoinflammatory diseases. The current systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effects of probiotics on disease progression, depression, general health and anthropometric measurements in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients.

METHODS: The English literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Central Cochrane Library through January 2021. Random effect models were used to synthesize quantitative data by STATA₁₄ .

RESULTS: From a total of 152 identified entries, four trials were included in quantitative synthesis (n=213; 106 as intervention, 107 as control). An additional six studies with the same structure and different markers were also systematically reviewed. The pooled effect size showed that Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (WMD=-0.43; 95% CI=-0.65, -0.20; P<0.001), Beck Depression Inventory-Ⅱ (BDI-Ⅱ) (WMD=-3.22; 95% CI=-4.38, -2.06; P<0.001) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (WMD=-4.37; 95% CI=-6.43, -2.31; P<0.001) were improved following probiotics supplementation. However, body weight and body mass index did not statistically change.

CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that probiotics supplementation can improve disease progression, suppress depression, and general health in MS patients; although, further investigations may be needed.

PMID:34379879 | DOI:10.1111/ijcp.14724

Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12927. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the relationship between nurses’ fear levels and their insomnia, influencing sociodemographic factors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN AND METHODS: This study utilized cross-sectional methods and the data were collected between July 15 and August 15, 2020. In the data collection, “Socio-demographic question form,” “Covid-19 Fear Scale,” and “Bergen Insomnia Scale” tools were used. Descriptive statistics, numbers, percentages, independent samples t test, analysis of variance test, and correlation were used on the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 22.0 package program in evaluating the research data. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Batman University.

FINDINGS: A positive correlation was found between COVID-19 Fear Scale and the Bergen Insomnia Scale (r = .392; p = .001). The relationship between COVID-19 Fear and Bergen Insomnia Scale score averages and nurses’ educational status, income level, shift working status, the status of their relatives being diagnosed with COVID-19, the state of being satisfied with the management of the pandemic process by the Ministry of Health, the situation of having resources in the settings where they work, the status of being in quarantine was statistically significant (p < .05).

CONCLUSION: The relationship between the nurses’ fear levels of COVID-19 and their insomnia levels was moderate.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results of this study are important in terms of understanding the nurses’ fear and insomnia during the pandemic and provide data support for the proper interventions. Also, nurses working in Turkey may call for more attention and support from policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PMID:34379794 | DOI:10.1111/ppc.12927

Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2021 Sep;54(5):720-721. doi: 10.1111/apt.16535.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:34379834 | DOI:10.1111/apt.16535

Age Ageing. 2021 Aug 9:afab163. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afab163. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Hospitalization is associated with acute changes in sarcopenia status in older people, but the influencing factors are not fully understood. Pre-admission care dependency level as a risk factor has not yet been investigated.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate if pre-admission care dependency level is an independent predictor of sarcopenia changes following hospitalization.

SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Data came from the Sarcopenia 9+ EAMA Project, a European prospective multi-centre study. For this study, 227 hospitalised older people were included from four different hospitals in Belgium, Spain and Poland, between 18 February 2019 and 5 September 2020.

METHODS: Sarcopenia status at admission and discharge were calculated using a combined score (desirability value) based on muscle mass (calf circumference), strength (grip) and function (walking speed). Ratio of admission to discharge status was the outcome (desirability ratio; 1.00 meaning no difference). Predictor variable was the pre-admission care dependency level, classified into three groups: independent older people living at home, dependent older people living at home and older people living in a care home. Linear regression models were applied, considering potential confounders.

RESULTS: Mean desirability ratio for dependent older people living at home (‘middle dependent group’) was lower (0.89) compared to independent older people (0.98; regression coefficient -0.09 [95% CI -0.16, -0.02]) and care home patients (1.05; -0.16 [95% CI -0.01, -0.31]). Adjusting for potential confounders or using another statistical approach did not affect the main results.

CONCLUSION: Dependent older people living at home were at higher risk of deterioration in sarcopenia status following hospitalization. In-depth studies investigating causes and potential interventions of these findings are needed.

PMID:34379741 | DOI:10.1093/ageing/afab163