Nevin Manimala

Neuron. 2021 Nov 9:S0896-6273(21)00845-X. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.030. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In basic neuroscience research, data are often clustered or collected with repeated measures, hence correlated. The most widely used methods such as t test and ANOVA do not take data dependence into account and thus are often misused. This Primer introduces linear and generalized mixed-effects models that consider data dependence and provides clear instruction on how to recognize when they are needed and how to apply them. The appropriate use of mixed-effects models will help researchers improve their experimental design and will lead to data analyses with greater validity and higher reproducibility of the experimental findings.

PMID:34784504 | DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.030

Public Health. 2021 Oct 18;201:55-60. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.10.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To develop a critical appraisal tool for non-computational-specialist public health professionals to assess the quality and relevance of modelling studies about Test and Trace (and Protect – TTP) programmes’ impact on COVID-19 transmission.

STUDY DESIGN: Decision-making tool development.

METHODS: Using Tugwell et al.’s 1985 Health Care Effectiveness equation as a conceptual framework, combined with a purposive search of the relevant early modeling literature, we developed six critical appraisal questions for the rapid assessment of modeling studies related to the evaluation of TTP programmes’ effectiveness.

RESULTS: By applying the critical appraisal tool to selected recent COVID-19 modeling studies, we demonstrate how models can be evaluated using the six questions to evaluate internal and external validity and relevance.

CONCLUSIONS: These six critical appraisal questions are able to discriminate between modeling studies of higher and lower quality and relevance to evaluating TTP programmes’ impact. However, these questions require independent validation in a larger and systematic sample of relevant modeling studies which have appeared in later stages of the pandemic.

PMID:34784502 | DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2021.10.003

Leg Med (Tokyo). 2021 Nov 11;54:101991. doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2021.101991. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Age estimation is a mandatory procedure when the chronological age is unknown or uncertain. Dental development is the preferred characteristic for estimating a child’s age. There are many methods for dental age estimation, but their reliability can differ between populations. This study compared the accuracy of three of these methods-the London Atlas (LA), Haavikko’s method (HM), and Cameriere’s European formula (CF)-in Turkish children living in northwestern Turkey. Panoramic radiographs of 980 children from northwestern Turkey aged between 6.00 and 14.99 years were examined for the whole study group and separately for different ages and sexes by all three methods. Statistical differences between chronological age and dental age were tested using the paired sample t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The LA, HM, and CF accuracies were determined based on the mean absolute error. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient showed that the correlation between chronological age and dental age for both sexes was linear for all methods. The LA overestimated the chronological age by 0.09 years, while HM and CF underestimated it by 0.49 and 0.11 years, respectively. The difference between dental age and chronological age was significant in all samples, for all methods, except for the LA in boys. When boys, girls, and the total sample were evaluated, values with the lowest mean absolute error were obtained by HM and were statistically significant in all three groups. Therefore, HM is more accurate than the LA and CF for dental age estimation in Turkish children living in northwestern Turkey.

PMID:34784498 | DOI:10.1016/j.legalmed.2021.101991

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c15727. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We investigated the effect of the Si/graphite weight ratio in half-cells on the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer’s chemistry. The nominal concentrations of active materials were (wt % Si/wt % Gr) 15/73, 30/58, 60/28, and 80/0. The electrolyte in the cells consisted of either 1.2 M LiPF₆ in ethylene carbonate/ethyl methyl carbonate (3:7 by wt) or 1.2 M LiPF₆ in ethylene carbonate:ethyl methyl carbonate (3:7 by wt) + 10 wt % fluoroethylene carbonate. These coin cells were cycled five times at the C/10 rate. As expected, the addition of silicon to the electrode significantly increased the measured capacity. Examination of the aged composite material showed that the electrolyte influenced the concentration of chemical environments on the surface. Depth profiling revealed that these concentrations of surface environments changed with sputtering time. A statistics-of-mixtures model was used to deconvolute how silicon and graphite interacted during the formation of these species and how the interaction changed with depth.

PMID:34784472 | DOI:10.1021/acsami.1c15727

BJU Int. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1111/bju.15647. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prognostic utility of reporting neuroendocrine staining at prostate cancer diagnosis, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. Specifically, we aimed to understand the variability in reporting of neuroendocrine staining, and determine whether different reporting approaches impact the correlation between staining and patient outcome.

METHODS: Medical databases were searched to identify studies where adenocarcinoma specimens were stained with any of four neuroendocrine markers: Chromogranin A (CgA), Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), synaptophysin and CD56. Prevalence of neuroendocrine staining and correlation to patient outcomes were analysed using a random-effects model. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS: Sixty-two studies spanning 7,616 patients were analysed. The pooled prevalence for the most common marker, CgA (41%), was similar to NSE (39%) and higher than synaptophysin (31%). Prevalence of CgA staining was significantly influenced by reporting criteria, where objective thresholds reduced the variation in prevalence to 26%. No correlation was found between CgA prevalence and tumour grade. Patients positive for CgA staining using objective criteria had more rapid biochemical progression (hazard ratio 1.98 (95% CI = 1.49 to 2.65)) and poorer prostate cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio: 7.03 (95% CI = 2.55 to 19.39)) compared to negative patients, even among those with low risk cancers.

CONCLUSION: Discrepancies in the reported prevalence of neuroendocrine cells in adenocarcinoma are driven by the inconsistent scoring criteria. This study unequivocally demonstrates that when neuroendocrine cell staining is assessed with objective criteria it identifies patients with poor clinical outcomes. Future studies need to determine the exact quantifiable thresholds to report neuroendocrine cell staining, to identify patients at higher risk of progression.

PMID:34784097 | DOI:10.1111/bju.15647

Transfusion. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1111/trf.16739. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The demand and supply of blood are highly variable over time. Blood inventory management that relies heavily on experience-based decisions may not be adaptive to real demand, leading to high operational costs, wastage, and shortages.

METHODS: We combined statistical modeling, machine learning, and optimization methods to develop a data-driven demand forecasting and inventory management strategy for red blood cells (RBCs). We then used the strategy to inform daily blood orders. A secondary semi-weekly (twice per week) ordering strategy was developed to handle the last-mile split delivery problem for blood suppliers, characterized by multi-deliveries to the same location multiple times during a short period of time. Both strategies were evaluated using the TRUST database including all patient data across four hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario.

RESULTS: We identified 227,944 RBC transfusions for 40,787 patients in Hamilton, Ontario from 2012 to 2018. The predicted daily demand from the hybrid demand forecasting model was not significantly different from the actual daily demand (paired t-test p-value = 0.163); however, the proposed daily ordering quantity from the model was significantly lower than the actual ordering quantity (p-value <0.001). The proposed daily ordering strategy reduced inventory levels by 38.4% without risk of shortages, leading to an overall cost reduction of 43.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 42.3%, 43.7%) compared with the actual cost. The semi-weekly ordering strategy reduced ordering frequency by 62.6% (95% CI: 61.5%, 63.7%).

CONCLUSION: The proposed data-driven ordering strategy combining demand forecasting and inventory optimization can achieve significant cost savings for healthcare systems and blood suppliers.

PMID:34784053 | DOI:10.1111/trf.16739

Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2414:75-96. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1900-1_6.

ABSTRACT

High-density protein microarray is an established technology for characterizing host antibody profiles against entire pathogen proteomes. As one of the highest throughput technologies for antigen discovery, proteome microarrays are a translational research tool for identification of vaccine candidates and biomarkers of susceptibility or protection from microbial challenge. The application has been expanded in recent years due to increased availability of bacterial genomic sequences for a broader range of species and strain diversity. Panproteome microarrays now allow for fine characterization of antibody specificity and cross-reactivity that may be relevant to vaccine design and biomarker discovery, as well as a fuller understanding of factors underlying themes of bacterial evolution and host-pathogen interactions. In this chapter, we present a workflow for design of panproteome microarrays and demonstrate statistical analysis of panproteomic human antibody responses to bacterial vaccination and challenge. Focus is particularly drawn to the bioinformatics and statistical tools and providing nontrivial, real examples that may help foster hypotheses and rational design of panproteomic studies.

PMID:34784033 | DOI:10.1007/978-1-0716-1900-1_6

Diabetes Ther. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1007/s13300-021-01179-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Gender differences in risk factors and treatment outcomes for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may exist. We used the REALI European database to investigate whether there were gender-specific differences in baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes among patients with inadequately controlled T2DM initiated on insulin glargine 300 U/ml (Gla-300).

METHODS: Data were pooled from 14 multicentre, prospective, interventional and non-interventional studies. Impact of gender on glycaemic control, insulin dose, body weight and hypoglycaemia was evaluated after 12 and 24 weeks of Gla-300 treatment.

RESULTS: Women (N = 3857) were older than men (N = 4376) (median age, 65.0 versus 63.0 years), with greater mean body mass index (32.5 versus 31.6 kg/m²) and lower median estimated glomerular filtration rate (77.5 versus 84.0 ml/min/1.73 m²). Peripheral arterial disease and a history of myocardial infarction were more frequent in men (20.1% versus 11.7% and 12.0% versus 5.8%, respectively). At baseline, mean haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was 8.74% in men and 8.79% in women. Least square (LS) mean (95% CI) reduction in HbA1c from baseline to week 24 was – 1.17% (- 1.21 to – 1.13) in men and – 1.07% (- 1.11 to – 1.02) in women, resulting in a LS mean difference of – 0.10% (- 0.15 to – 0.05; p < 0.0001). At 24 weeks, 21.6% of women and 27.2% of men achieved target HbA1c of < 7.0% (p < 0.001; chi-square). Reported incidence for symptomatic (8.5% versus 8.7%) and severe (0.3% versus 0.5%) any-time-of-the-day or symptomatic (2.4% versus 1.8%) and severe (0.1% versus 0.2%) nocturnal hypoglycaemia was overall low and comparable between men and women. Changes in daily Gla-300 dose and body weight were also similar.

CONCLUSION: Despite some gender differences in baseline characteristics, Gla-300 treatment improved glycaemic control, with overall low hypoglycaemia incidences in both men and women. However, women had statistically significantly lower HbA1c reductions than men, although these differences were clinically modest.

PMID:34784005 | DOI:10.1007/s13300-021-01179-8

Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1007/s11748-021-01732-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Pectus Excavatum’s (PE) surgical treatment should be patient specific. In this article, we aimed to compare parallel and cross bar variations of the Nuss method and analyze if there is any difference in results.

METHODS: In this study, a total of 891 patients treated with the Nuss method between August 2005 and February 2018 were considered. These were retrieved from a prospectively recorded PE database. Of these, 276 double-bar patients were included in the study. Patients with parallel bars (225 cases) and patients with crossed bars (51 cases) were compared in terms of age, gender, symmetry, family history, additional anomalies, mean operation time, postoperative hospital stay (days) and hospital readmission rate.

RESULTS: The mean age was measured at 20.7 for parallel bar patients and 20.1 for crossed bars patients. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, gender, and mean operation time between two groups. On the other hand, statistical significance was found between two groups when analyzing the deformities’ symmetry, patients’ family history and additional anomalies. The statistically significant difference of postoperative hospital stay between two groups is clinically negligible. Postoperative hospital readmission rates due to serous pleural effusion were found to be significantly increased in patients with crossed bars (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: While pleural effusion requiring readmission was statistically more frequent in cross bars, in centers where thoracentesis can be managed, Nuss method can still be applied safely, even in cases with difficult, complex deformities.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III. Treatment study.

PMID:34784003 | DOI:10.1007/s11748-021-01732-z

Biol Futur. 2021 Nov 16. doi: 10.1007/s42977-021-00104-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The development of cities and urban sprawl has made room for wildlife inhabiting human environments. Among birds, feral pigeons (Columba livia domestica) are often present in large numbers in the cities. Problems related to pigeon occurrence result in economic loss and health issues for humans. There are different methods of controlling pigeon populations in urban areas. In this study, we compared three techniques that can be used for pigeon pest control. In two urban industrial sites in Hungary, we used trapping, falconry (in both Study Area 1 and 2) and mist-netting (only in Study Area 2) to remove pigeons. We compared the effectiveness and limitations of each method. Our results show that over 105 days in Study Area 1, we managed to remove 173 individual pigeons. We did not find a significant difference between the effectiveness of trapping or falconry. In Study Area 2, the overall number of pigeons removed was 1412 over a period of 150 days. There, we managed to catch significantly more birds by netting than by trapping or falconry, but the latter two did not differ statistically. We recommend a combination of techniques for pigeon control. Mist-netting can be the most effective way for direct pigeon removal, whereas trapping is an easier but less efficient method to catch pigeons. Falconry is the least efficient in pigeon catching and requires the most investments, but the bird of prey may chase the pigeons away for a short time.

PMID:34784001 | DOI:10.1007/s42977-021-00104-1