Nevin Manimala

J Pak Med Assoc. 2023 Feb;73(Suppl 1)(2):S9-S13. doi: 10.47391/JPMA.AKUS-02.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To assess knowledge and awareness of dental healthcare professionals on dental stem cells.

METHODS: A questionnaire survey-based study was conducted using Google forms on a sample of 69 dental healthcare professionals (DHCP) from September – October 2022, after obtaining ethical approval. A validated questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and awareness of dental healthcare professionals on stem cells, which was then divided into three sections. The section A was about demographic statistics, section B assessed knowledge and awareness regarding dental stem cells and section C consisted of 5 score VAS scale to assess the acceptability of future research and increase implication of dental stem cells (DSC) among DHCP. The frequency of each question was reported in percentages. To assess the difference of knowledge and awareness of DSC among different specialties of DHCP, one-way ANOVA test was applied and incase of significant results pairwise comparison was performed by post-hoc Tukey test.

RESULTS: Mean scores of knowledge and awareness of DSC among female DHCP were 54.26 ± 11.73 and males were 53.50 ±8.19. There was a statistically significant difference of knowledge (p= 0.02) among different dental healthcare professionals. On pairwise comparison by post-hoc Tukey HSD we found statistically significant difference (p = 0.03) of knowledge and awareness of dental stem cells among general dentists and operative dentistry specialists.

CONCLUSIONS: We found poor knowledge and awareness of dental healthcare professionals regarding dental stem cells. However, operative and endodontic specialty had more awareness on dental stem cells as compared to any other specialty. There was positive approach for further future researches on stem cells.

PMID:36788385 | DOI:10.47391/JPMA.AKUS-02

Biometrics. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1111/biom.13841. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Researchers across a wide array of disciplines are interested in finding the most influential subjects in a network. In a network setting, intervention effects and health outcomes can spill over from one node to another through network ties, and influential subjects are expected to have a greater impact than others. For this reason, network research in public health has attempted to maximize health and behavioral changes by intervening on a subset of influential subjects. Although influence is often defined only implicitly in most of the literature, the operative notion of influence is inherently causal in many cases: influential subjects are those we should intervene on to achieve the greatest overall effect across the entire network. In this work, we define a causal notion of influence using potential outcomes. We review existing influence measures, such as node centrality, that largely rely on the particular features of the network structure and/or on certain diffusion models that predict the pattern of information or diseases spreads through network ties. We provide simulation studies to demonstrate when popular centrality measures can agree with our causal measure of influence. As an illustrative example, we apply several popular centrality measures to the HIV risk network in the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project and demonstrate the assumptions under which each centrality can represent the causal influence of each participant in the study. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:36788358 | DOI:10.1111/biom.13841

Leukemia. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1038/s41375-023-01839-7. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36788337 | DOI:10.1038/s41375-023-01839-7

Drug Alcohol Rev. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1111/dar.13623. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Community pharmacists (CP) are among the health professionals with closest contact to the general population. They play a key role in delivering public health programs. The aim of this study was to analyse the attitudes, knowledge, preparedness and ability to screen and advise on alcohol of CP in Catalonia and their perceptions about the provision of alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI) in community pharmacies.

METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional study. An online survey on attitudes, knowledge and behaviours was sent to all registered CP in Catalonia, and bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted.

RESULTS: The response rate was 7.96% (639/8027), more than two-thirds of respondents were 41 years of age or older and 79.9% were female. Results showed that CP readiness to offer advice on alcohol problems was higher than their preparedness to screen (37.5% vs. 31.8%, respectively). They also showed that having received 1 h or more of training on alcohol and drug-related health promotion and prevention during the last 5 years increased CP perception of role security and therapeutic commitment related to alcohol.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study showed that involving CP in the provision of alcohol SBIs may be feasible in Catalonia. Furthermore, this and previous research show an association between CP training in alcohol or drugs and preparedness to screen and advise on alcohol use. Consequently, promoting alcohol-related training programs to enhance CP skills is recommended to support successful implementation of alcohol SBI in community pharmacy settings.

PMID:36788307 | DOI:10.1111/dar.13623

Hypertens Res. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1038/s41440-023-01201-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

There is some evidence that nighttime blood pressure varies between seasons. In the present analysis, we investigated the seasonal variation in ambulatory nighttime blood pressure and its associations with target organ damage. In 1054 untreated patients referred for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, we performed measurements of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR, n = 1044), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV, n = 1020) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI, n = 622). Patients referred in spring (n = 337, 32.0%), summer (n = 210, 19.9%), autumn (n = 196, 18.6%) and winter (n = 311, 29.5%) had similar 24-h ambulatory systolic/diastolic blood pressure (P ≥ 0.25). However, both before and after adjustment for confounding factors, nighttime systolic/diastolic blood pressure differed significantly between seasons (P < 0.001), being highest in summer and lowest in winter (adjusted mean values 117.0/75.3 mm Hg vs. 111.4/71.1 mm Hg). After adjustment for confounding factors, nighttime systolic/diastolic blood pressure were significantly and positively associated with ACR, cfPWV and LVMI (P < 0.006). In season-specific analyses, statistical significance was reached for all the associations of nighttime blood pressure with target organ damage in summer (P ≤ 0.02), and for some of the associations in spring, autumn and winter. The association between nighttime systolic blood pressure and ACR was significantly stronger in patients examined in summer than those in winter (standardized β, 0.31 vs 0.11 mg/mmol, P for interaction = 0.03). In conclusion, there is indeed seasonality in nighttime blood pressure level, as well as in its association with renal injury in terms of urinary albumin excretion. Our study shows that there is indeed seasonal variability in nighttime blood pressure, highest in summer and lowest in winter, and its association with renal injury in terms of urinary albumin excretion varies between summer and winter as well.

PMID:36788302 | DOI:10.1038/s41440-023-01201-5

Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 14;13(1):2635. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29659-w.

ABSTRACT

We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors for graft rejection after keratoplasty in Japanese patients. We enrolled 730 cases (566 patients) of penetrating keratoplasty (PK, N = 198), Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK, N = 277), non-Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (nDSAEK, N = 138), and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK, N = 117). The incidence, clinical characteristics, and possible risk factors for graft rejection were analyzed. Graft rejection occurred in 65 cases (56 patients, 8.9%). The incidence rate of rejection was highest with PK (3.45/100 person-years), followed by DSAEK (2.34), nDSAEK (1.55), and DMEK (0.24). Cox regression analysis revealed keratoplasty type, younger age, indications (such as failed keratoplasty and infection), and steroid eyedrop use as possible risk factors. In the multivariate model adjusting baseline characteristics, PK and DSAEK had significantly higher hazard ratios (HRs) than DMEK (HR = 13.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.83, 101] for PK, 7.77 [1.03, 58.6] for DSAEK). Although not statistically significant, the HR estimate of nDSAEK to DMEK (HR = 7.64, 95% CI [0.98, 59.6]) indicated higher HR in nDSAEK than in DMEK. DMEK is the favorable option among the four surgical procedures to avoid graft rejection after keratoplasty.

PMID:36788300 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-29659-w

Mov Disord. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1002/mds.29337. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies that examined the association between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and cancers led to inconsistent results, but they face a number of methodological difficulties.

OBJECTIVE: We used results from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to study the genetic correlation between PD and different cancers to identify common genetic risk factors.

METHODS: We used individual data for participants of European ancestry from the Courage-PD (Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease; PD, N = 16,519) and EPITHYR (differentiated thyroid cancer, N = 3527) consortia and summary statistics of GWASs from iPDGC (International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium; PD, N = 482,730), Melanoma Meta-Analysis Consortium (MMAC), Breast Cancer Association Consortium (breast cancer), the Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (prostate cancer), International Lung Cancer Consortium (lung cancer), and Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (ovarian cancer) (N comprised between 36,017 and 228,951 for cancer GWASs). We estimated the genetic correlation between PD and cancers using linkage disequilibrium score regression. We studied the association between PD and polymorphisms associated with cancers, and vice versa, using cross-phenotypes polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses.

RESULTS: We confirmed a previously reported positive genetic correlation of PD with melanoma (G_corr = 0.16 [0.04; 0.28]) and reported an additional significant positive correlation of PD with prostate cancer (G_corr = 0.11 [0.03; 0.19]). There was a significant inverse association between the PRS for ovarian cancer and PD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.89 [0.84; 0.94]). Conversely, the PRS of PD was positively associated with breast cancer (OR = 1.08 [1.06; 1.10]) and inversely associated with ovarian cancer (OR = 0.95 [0.91; 0.99]). The association between PD and ovarian cancer was mostly driven by rs183211 located in an intron of the NSF gene (17q21.31).

CONCLUSIONS: We show evidence in favor of a contribution of pleiotropic genes to the association between PD and specific cancers. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

PMID:36788297 | DOI:10.1002/mds.29337

Pediatr Res. 2023 Feb 14. doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02479-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Oncometabolism can be targeted for the development of less myelotoxic oncotherapeutics. Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) is central to the Warburg effect, a potential oncometabolic shift in neuroblastoma (NBL). Advanced surgical, cytotoxic and cell-differentiating therapies improved survival of children with NBL. Anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) effectively targeting NBL are also incorporated into complex therapies. However, poor clinical outcomes of high-risk NBL require improvements. Here, we verified the pre-reported prognostic value of LDHA expression in NBL using the R2 onco-genomics platform. Kaplan-Meier curves re-demonstrated that higher tumor LDHA expression correlates with worse survival. Multivariate statistics confirmed LDHA is independent from age, stage, and MYCN amplification. In conclusion, a molecular construct is proposed with anti-GD2 mAbs utilized for the targeted delivery of liposomes containing an LDHA inhibitor, Oxamate. Development and preclinical testing of this immunoliposome may validate targeted inhibition of the Warburg effect for NBL. IMPACT: Development of therapeutics against oncometabolism. Targeted specified drug-delivery with mAb. Sparing normal tissues from profound LDHA inhibition. Immunoliposome loaded with an anti-metabolite. If preclinically successful, has translational potential.

PMID:36788290 | DOI:10.1038/s41390-023-02479-4

Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 14;13(1):2617. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29767-7.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36788260 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-29767-7

Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 14;14(1):832. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36544-7.

ABSTRACT

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) calculated from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Europeans are known to have substantially reduced predictive accuracy in non-European populations, limiting their clinical utility and raising concerns about health disparities across ancestral populations. Here, we introduce a statistical framework named X-Wing to improve predictive performance in ancestrally diverse populations. X-Wing quantifies local genetic correlations for complex traits between populations, employs an annotation-dependent estimation procedure to amplify correlated genetic effects between populations, and combines multiple population-specific PRS into a unified score with GWAS summary statistics alone as input. Through extensive benchmarking, we demonstrate that X-Wing pinpoints portable genetic effects and substantially improves PRS performance in non-European populations, showing 14.1%-119.1% relative gain in predictive R² compared to state-of-the-art methods based on GWAS summary statistics. Overall, X-Wing addresses critical limitations in existing approaches and may have broad applications in cross-population polygenic risk prediction.

PMID:36788230 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-36544-7