Nevin Manimala

J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2022 Jun 24:1-16. doi: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00482. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to use speech resynthesis to investigate the effects of changes to individual acoustic features on speech-based gender perception of transmasculine voice samples following the onset of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with exogenous testosterone. We hypothesized that mean fundamental frequency (f _o) would have the largest effect on gender perception of any single acoustic feature.

METHOD: Mean f _o, f _o contour, and formant frequencies were calculated for three pairs of transmasculine speech samples before and after HRT onset. Sixteen speech samples with unique combinations of these acoustic features from each pair of speech samples were resynthesized. Twenty young adult listeners evaluated each synthesized speech sample for gender perception and synthetic quality. Two analyses of variance were used to investigate the effects of acoustic features on gender perception and synthetic quality.

RESULTS: Of the three acoustic features, mean f _o was the only single feature that had a statistically significant effect on gender perception. Differences between the speech samples before and after HRT onset that were not captured by changes in f _o and formant frequencies also had a statistically significant effect on gender perception.

CONCLUSION: In these transmasculine voice samples, mean f _o was the most important acoustic feature for voice masculinization as a result of HRT; future investigations in a larger number of transmasculine speakers and on the effects of behavioral therapy-based changes in concert with HRT is warranted.

PMID:35749662 | DOI:10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00482

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022 Jun 24. doi: 10.1002/jmri.28240. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Perihematomal edema (PHE) is an important determinant of outcome in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) due to cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). However, it is not known to date whether the severity of CSVD is associated with the extent of PHE progression in the acute phase.

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) marker of severe chronic-ischemia cerebral small vessel changes (sciSVC) and PHE growth or hematoma absorption among ICH patients with hypertension.

STUDY TYPE: Retrospective.

POPULATION: Three hundred and sixty-eight consecutive hypertensive ICH patients without surgical treatment.

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3 T; spin-echo echo-planar imaging-diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI); T2-weighted, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), T2*-weighted gradient-recalled echo and T1-weighted.

ASSESSMENT: The hematoma and PHE volumes at 24 hours and 5 days after symptom onset were measured in 121 patients with spontaneous ICH who had been administered standard medical treatment. Patients were grouped into two categories: those with sciSVC and those without. The imaging marker of sciSVC was defined as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) Fazekas 2-3 combined cavitating lacunes.

STATISTICAL TESTS: Univariable analyses, χ² test, Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple linear regression.

RESULTS: The presence of sciSVC (multiple lacunes and confluent WMH) had a significant negative influence on PHE progress (Beta = -5.3 mL, 95% CI = -10.3 mL to -0.3 mL), and hematoma absorption (Beta = -3.2 mL, 95% CI = -5.9 mL to -0.4 mL) compared to that observed in the absence of sciSVC, as determined by multivariate linear regression analysis.

DATA CONCLUSIONS: The presence of sciSVC (multiple lacunes and confluent WMH) negatively influenced hematoma absorption and PHE progress in ICH patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

PMID:35749634 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.28240

Cancer. 2022 Jun 24. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34341. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There has been limited evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in rectal cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. HRQOL outcomes in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project R-04 trial are examined in this article.

METHODS: Between 2004 and 2010, R-04 patients were invited to enroll in the HRQOL substudy, with questionnaires administered before randomization, after completion of chemoradiotherapy, and 1-year after surgery. HRQOL measures included: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for colorectal cancer (FACT-C); Short Form-36v.2 Vitality scale; a treatment-specific symptom scale; and the FACT neurotoxicity scale. A 5-year postsurgery assessment was added to the protocol in 2012. Mixed-effects models examined neoadjuvant therapy treatment effects in the 1-year sample and models that explored associations of host factors and treatment impact on 5-year HRQOL.

RESULTS: A total of 1373 patients completed baseline HRQOL and at least one additional assessment. The average age was 58 years (range, 23-85 years), male (68%), and 59% Stage II. There were no statistically significant differences in HRQOL outcomes by treatment arm, but HRQOL worsened from baseline to postneoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, with statistically significant effect sizes changes ranging from 0.6 (Vitality) to 0.9 (FACT-C Trial Outcome Index). Neurotoxicity was greater in the oxaliplatin-treated groups. Obese/overweight patients had statistically significantly worse FACT-C Trial Outcome Index scores than did underweight/normal weight groups. At 5 years, younger patients and those with normal baseline weight had statistically significantly better physical function scores and older patients had better mental health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: HRQOL did not differ across the four R-04 treatment arms; however, host factors explained significant variation in posttreatment HRQOL.

CLINICALTRIALS: gov: NCT00058474 (https://ClinicalTrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00058474).

LAY SUMMARY: This article reports on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes of patients treated with four different chemotherapy regimens combined with radiation in rectal cancer patients before definitive surgical treatment. There were no significant differences in HRQOL by treatment regimen, but all patients experienced decreased vitality (energy) and physical functioning. By 1 year after treatment, most patients had returned to pretreatment vitality and physical functioning, with the exception of increased neurotoxicity. In a subsample of patients assessed at 5 years after surgery, physical function was better in those who at pretreatment were younger, normal weight, and had better performance status. Mental function was better in those who at pretreatment were older and had better performance status.

PMID:35749631 | DOI:10.1002/cncr.34341

Klin Lab Diagn. 2022 Jun 20;67(6):374-379. doi: 10.51620/0869-2084-2022-67-6-374-379.

ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, the frequency of abdominal delivery in Russia has increased to an average of 25 %. The widespread use of abdominal delivery has not been without an increase in the incidence of complications. Among them is an infectious complication of a surgical obstetric wound (ICD O86.1) on the anterior abdominal wall after a caesarean section, which in some regions reaches 43 %. The development of complications is facilitated by various clinical and laboratory risk factors, the analysis of which in women of the Kirov region is the subject of this article. The analysis of clinical and laboratory risk factors was carried out on the basis of the data presented in the case histories of women hospitalized in the gynecological departments of the city of Kirov. Statistical data processing was carried out on a personal computer using the R-4.0.2 statistical program and Excel spreadsheets. When assessing the relevance of the problem for the Kirov region, it was found that the frequency of caesarean section over the past 10 years from 2011 to 2021 increased from 27,0 % to 34,0 %. The incidence of infectious complications in the Kirov region can be presented as follows: infection of the surgical obstetric wound (ICD O86.1) on the anterior abdominal wall after caesarean section – 27,0 %; peritonitis after caesarean section – 0,94 %-1,01 %; diffuse sepsis – 0,93 %-0,97 %. An important role, according to reports, in the addition of an infection of a surgical obstetric wound after cesarean section is played by the general morbidity and obstetric history in women with abdominal delivery, a detailed statistical analysis of which is presented in the materials of the article. The results of the study substantiated the problem of the development of an infection of a surgical obstetric wound after a caesarean section for the healthcare of the Kirov region, comparable to that for the healthcare of the entire Russian Federation. The analysis of clinical and laboratory risk factors showed the feasibility of using a comprehensive analysis of infection of a surgical wound after cesarean section at an early stage of its development to quickly resolve complications, reduce the duration of hospitalization of women after cesarean section, and subsequently preserve the reproductive function of a woman.

PMID:35749604 | DOI:10.51620/0869-2084-2022-67-6-374-379

PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Jun 24;18(6):e1010241. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010241. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Hi-C is a genome-wide chromosome conformation capture technology that detects interactions between pairs of genomic regions and exploits higher order chromatin structures. Conceptually Hi-C data counts interaction frequencies between every position in the genome and every other position. Biologically functional interactions are expected to occur more frequently than transient background and artefactual interactions. To identify biologically relevant interactions, several background models that take biases such as distance, GC content and mappability into account have been proposed. Here we introduce MaxHiC, a background correction tool that deals with these complex biases and robustly identifies statistically significant interactions in both Hi-C and capture Hi-C experiments. MaxHiC uses a negative binomial distribution model and a maximum likelihood technique to correct biases in both Hi-C and capture Hi-C libraries. We systematically benchmark MaxHiC against major Hi-C background correction tools including Hi-C significant interaction callers (SIC) and Hi-C loop callers using published Hi-C, capture Hi-C, and Micro-C datasets. Our results demonstrate that 1) Interacting regions identified by MaxHiC have significantly greater levels of overlap with known regulatory features (e.g. active chromatin histone marks, CTCF binding sites, DNase sensitivity) and also disease-associated genome-wide association SNPs than those identified by currently existing models, 2) the pairs of interacting regions are more likely to be linked by eQTL pairs and 3) more likely to link known regulatory features including known functional enhancer-promoter pairs validated by CRISPRi than any of the existing methods. We also demonstrate that interactions between different genomic region types have distinct distance distributions only revealed by MaxHiC. MaxHiC is publicly available as a python package for the analysis of Hi-C, capture Hi-C and Micro-C data.

PMID:35749574 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010241

J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2022 Jun 24:1-6. doi: 10.1080/0167482X.2022.2089555. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background: Most studies of fear of childbirth (FOC) are conducted on heterosexual cisgender pregnant populations of birth-giving parents. Among lesbian and bisexual women, as well as transgender and queer people (LBTQ), minority stress can add an extra layer to FOC. Gender binary and cisnormative assumptions leave it to the patient to educate and navigate healthcare providers, which can increase mental health problems.Objective: The aim of this study is to compare FOC and mental illness among expecting birth-giving parents and their partners in an LBTQ population.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 80 self-identified pregnant LBTQ persons and their 54 non-pregnant partners at a LBTQ specialized antenatal clinic in a large Swedish city of over one million inhabitants. The survey included socio-demographic characteristics, sexual and gender orientation, obstetric history, previous mental health, previous trauma exposure and measures of FOC and mental health.Results: Levels of FOC were significantly higher for the pregnant participants (median W-DEQ 67.5) than for partners (median W-DEQ 60.0). The proportion of severe FOC was higher for pregnant participants (20.3%) than for partners (9.4%), although this difference was not statistically significant. Mental illness was significantly associated with FOC.Conclusion: The results add valuable information to our understanding of the specific needs of pregnant LBTQ people and their partners and may help us to develop healthcare in the future.

PMID:35749572 | DOI:10.1080/0167482X.2022.2089555

PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Jun 24;18(6):e1010234. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010234. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) interact within their host posing the concern for impacts on heterologous viruses following vaccination. We aimed to estimate the population level impact of their interaction. We developed a dynamic age-stratified two-pathogen mathematical model that includes pathogen interaction through competition for infection and enhanced severity of dual infections. We used parallel tempering to fit its parameters to 11 years of enhanced hospital-based surveillance for acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) in children under 5 years old in Nha Trang, Vietnam. The data supported either a 41% (95%CrI: 36-54) reduction in susceptibility following infection and for 10.0 days (95%CrI 7.1-12.8) thereafter, or no change in susceptibility following infection. We estimate that co-infection increased the probability for an infection in <2y old children to be reported 7.2 fold (95%CrI 5.0-11.4); or 16.6 fold (95%CrI 14.5-18.4) in the moderate or low interaction scenarios. Absence of either pathogen was not to the detriment of the other. We find stronger evidence for severity enhancing than for acquisition limiting interaction. In this setting vaccination against either pathogen is unlikely to have a major detrimental effect on the burden of disease caused by the other.

PMID:35749561 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010234

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 24;17(6):e0267711. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267711. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

The competition and physical fitness test results of the 2020 National Taekwondo Championship Series were analyzed using curve fitting, linear regression, and other statistical methods. As far as we know, it is the first Taekwondo competition that uses physical fitness test (PFT) scores as the 8-in-4 selection criteria. The results show that the probability of the final total score of the series of championships entering the top 8 or top 3 is exponentially related to PFT results. It finds that athletes with better PFT scores are more likely to enter the quarterfinals. Among athletes entering the semifinals, the athlete with the best physical fitness has the greatest probability of winning the championship. The difference in physical fitness between athletes is mainly reflected in the 30-meter sprint. Overall, the competitive performance of professional Taekwondo athletes is significantly positively correlated with their physical fitness, especially for female Taekwondo athletes. Through the results obtained, it is concluded that Taekwondo athletes need to strengthen physical training, specifically enhancing the explosive power.

PMID:35749558 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0267711

J Fish Dis. 2022 Jun 24. doi: 10.1111/jfd.13675. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Pseudoloma neurophilia is a critical threat to the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model, as it is the most common infectious agent found in research facilities. In this study, our objectives were two-fold: (1) compare the application of diagnostic tools for P. neurophilia and (2) track the progression of infection using PCR and histology. The first experiment showed that whole-body analysis by qPCR (WB-qPCR) can be a standardized process, providing a streamlined diagnostic protocol, without the need for extraction of specific tissues. Evaluating the course of infection in experimentally infected fish, we showed key dynamics in infection. Starting with a low dose exposure of 8000 spores/fish, the prevalence remained low until 92 days post-exposure (dpe), followed by a 30%-40% prevalence by histology or 40%-90% by PCR until the end of the experiment at 334 dpe. WB-qPCR positively detected infection in more fish than histology throughout the study, as WB-qPCR detected the parasite as early as 4 dpe, whereas it was undetected by histology until 92 dpe. We also added a second slide for histologic analyses, showing an increase in detection rate from 24% to 26% when we combined all data from our experiments, but this increase was not statistically significant.

PMID:35749556 | DOI:10.1111/jfd.13675

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 24;17(6):e0270527. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270527. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Structural durability of screw-cement-retained implant-supported zirconia-based restorations is an important factor in choosing the best type of restoration for clinical use. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of thermocycling on the fracture resistance of different types of screw-cement-retained implant-supported zirconia-based restoration. Two experimental groups (monolithic zirconia and porcelain-veneered zirconia) and a control group of porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations were fabricated via CAD-CAM (n = 14 per group). Half of the specimens of each group (n = 7) were subjected to 10000 thermal cycles. The compressive force was applied and the force leading to fracture was measured by using a Universal Testing Machine. The fractured modes were classified under a scanning electron microscope. The data were analyzed through two-way ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and independent samples t-test (α = 0.05). Among the non-thermocycled subgroups, the monolithic zirconia specimens were significantly more fracture-resistant than the porcelain-veneered zirconia and porcelain-fused-to-metal groups (P<0.05); but it was not the same with aging (P>0.05). Thermocycling decreased the fracture resistance of all groups; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P<0.05). The monolithic zirconia presented higher fracture resistance than the bilayered restorations for screw-cement retained implant-supported restorations. Thermocycling decreased the fracture resistance of all types of restorations insignificantly which can be clinically important.

PMID:35749553 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0270527