Nevin Manimala

J Nutr. 2021 Nov 23:nxab398. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab398. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although the role of diet is increasingly acknowledged in psychiatry, data are still scarce regarding its early impact on the most significant behavioral disorders of childhood (i.e., hyperactivity-inattention and conduct problems).

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore the relation between children’s dietary patterns at 2 years and developmental trajectories of hyperactivity-inattention and conduct problems between 3 and 8 years.

METHODS: We recruited 1432 mother-child dyads from the French EDEN (etude sur les déterminants pré- et postnatals du développement et de la santé de l’enfant) mother-child cohort to conduct the analyses. Three dietary patterns, labeled guidelines, processed and fast foods, and baby foods, were identified using an FFQ in children aged 2 years in a previous study. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess hyperactivity-inattention and conduct problems at 3, 5, and 8 years of age and build related trajectories from 3 to 8 years. The relation between children’s dietary patterns at 2 years and the worst developmental trajectories of hyperactivity-inattention and conduct problems were determined with multivariable logistic regressions adjusted for potential socioeconomic, maternal, and child confounders.

RESULTS: The score on the guidelines dietary pattern was negatively associated with the risk of hyperactivity-inattention problems (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60-0.94), contrary to adherence to the baby foods dietary pattern (OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.16-1.71).

CONCLUSIONS: Distinct patterns of children’s diet at 2 years were predictive of developmental trajectories of hyperactivity-inattention problems between 3 and 8 years. These results highlight the relevance of conducting further studies to clarify the mechanisms involved.

PMID:35051294 | DOI:10.1093/jn/nxab398

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262638. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vertical transmission of HIV remains one of the most common transmission modes. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) decreases the risk of transmission to less than 2%, but maintaining adherence to treatment remains a challenge. Some of the commonly reported barriers to adherence to ART include stress (physical and emotional), depression, and alcohol and drug abuse. Integrating screening and treatment for psychological problem such as depression was reported to improve adherence. In this study, we sought to determine the prevalence of depression and its association with adherence to ART among HIV-positive pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey from March through November 2018. Participants were conveniently sampled from 12 health institutions offering ANC services. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to screen for depression and the Center for Adherence Support Evaluation (CASE) Adherence index to evaluate adherence to ART. Descriptive statistics was used to estimate the prevalence of depression during third-trimester pregnancy and nonadherence to ART. A bivariate logistic regression analysis was used to get significant predictors for each of the two outcome measures. The final multivariable logistic regression analysis included variables with a P<0.25 in the bivariate logistic regression model; statistical significance was evaluated at P<0.05.

RESULTS: We approached 397 eligible individuals, of whom 368 (92.7%) participated and were included in the analysis. Of the total participants, 175(47.6%) had depression. The participants’ overall level of adherence to ART was 82%. Pregnant women with low income were twice more likely to have depression (AOR = 2.10, 95%CI = 1.31-3.36). Women with WHO clinical Stage 1 disease were less likely to have depression than women with more advanced disease (AOR = 0.16, 95%CI = 0.05-0.48). There was a statistically significant association between depression and nonadherence to ART (P = 0.020); nonadherence was nearly two times higher among participants with depression (AOR = 1.88, 95%CI = 1.08-3.27).

CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence of depression among HIV-positive pregnant women in the selected health facilities in Addis Ababa, and what was more concerning was its association with higher rates of nonadherence to ART adversely affecting the outcome of their HIV care. We recommend integrating screening for depression in routine ANC services.

PMID:35051244 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262638

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262701. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262701. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Anthropometry is a Greek word that consists of the two words “Anthropo” meaning human species and “metery” meaning measurement. It is a science that deals with the size of the body including the dimensions of different parts, the field of motion and the strength of the muscles of the body. Specific individual dimensions such as heights, widths, depths, distances, environments and curvatures are usually measured. In this article, we investigate the anthropometric characteristics of patients with chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes) and find the factors affecting these diseases and the extent of the impact of each to make the necessary planning. We have focused on cohort studies for 10047 qualified participants from Ravansar County. Machine learning provides opportunities to improve discrimination through the analysis of complex interactions between broad variables. Among the chronic diseases in this cohort study, we have used three deep neural network models for diagnosis and prognosis of the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as a case study. Usually in Artificial Intelligence for medicine tasks, Imbalanced data is an important issue in learning and ignoring that leads to false evaluation results. Also, the accuracy evaluation criterion was not appropriate for this task, because a simple model that is labeling all samples negatively has high accuracy. So, the evaluation criteria of precession, recall, AUC, and AUPRC were considered. Then, the importance of variables in general was examined to determine which features are more important in the risk of T2DM. Finally, personality feature was added, in which individual feature importance was examined. Performing by Shapley Values, the model is tuned for each patient so that it can be used for prognosis of T2DM risk for that patient. In this paper, we have focused and implemented a full pipeline of Data Creation, Data Preprocessing, Handling Imbalanced Data, Deep Learning model, true Evaluation method, Feature Importance and Individual Feature Importance. Through the results, the pipeline demonstrated competence in improving the Diagnosis and Prognosis the risk of T2DM with personalization capability.

PMID:35051240 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262701

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262763. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

The mouse has dichromatic color vision based on two different types of opsins: short (S)- and middle (M)-wavelength-sensitive opsins with peak sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV; 360 nm) and green light (508 nm), respectively. In the mouse retina, cone photoreceptors that predominantly express the S-opsin are more sensitive to contrasts and denser towards the ventral retina, preferentially sampling the upper part of the visual field. In contrast, the expression of the M-opsin gradually increases towards the dorsal retina that encodes the lower visual field. Such a distinctive retinal organization is assumed to arise from a selective pressure in evolution to efficiently encode the natural scenes. However, natural image statistics of UV light remain largely unexplored. Here we developed a multi-spectral camera to acquire high-quality UV and green images of the same natural scenes, and examined the optimality of the mouse retina to the image statistics. We found that the local contrast and the spatial correlation were both higher in UV than in green for images above the horizon, but lower in UV than in green for those below the horizon. This suggests that the dorsoventral functional division of the mouse retina is not optimal for maximizing the bandwidth of information transmission. Factors besides the coding efficiency, such as visual behavioral requirements, will thus need to be considered to fully explain the characteristic organization of the mouse retina.

PMID:35051230 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262763

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262724. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262724. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risk of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) persistent infection and disease. This study aimed to evaluate HPV seroprevalence, cervical HPV prevalence, genotype distribution, and frequency of HPV-related cervical lesions in SOT recipients in comparison to immunocompetent women.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study including SOT and immunocompetent women aged 18 to 45 years who denied previous HPV-related lesions. Cervical samples were screened for HPV-DNA by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA microarray system (PapilloCheck®) and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) by liquid-based cytology. A multiplexed pseudovirion-based serology assay (PsV-Luminex) was used to measure HPV serum antibodies.

RESULTS: 125 SOT and 132 immunocompetent women were enrolled. Cervical samples were collected from 113 SOT and 127 immunocompetent women who had initiated sexual activity. HPV-DNA prevalence was higher in SOT than in immunocompetent women (29.6% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.112), but this difference was not statistically significant. High-risk (HR)-HPV was significantly more frequent in SOT than in immunocompetent women (19.4% vs. 7.9%, p = 0.014). Simultaneous infection with ≥2 HR-HPV types was found in 3.1% of SOT and 0.9% of immunocompetent women. HPV seropositivity for at least one HPV type was high in both groups: 63.8% of 105 SOT and 69.7% of 119 immunocompetent women (p = 0.524). Low-grade (LSIL) and high-grade SIL (HSIL) were significantly more frequent in SOT (9.7% and 5.3%, respectively) than in immunocompetent women (1.6% and 0.8%, respectively) (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: These results may reflect the increased risk of HPV persistent infection and disease progression in SOT women due to chronic immunosuppression.

PMID:35051227 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262724

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0260916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260916. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Temperature is a key factor influencing plant growth and productivity, but its sudden rise can cause severe consequences on crop performances. Early sowing and application of growth promoting agents as a foliar spray can be a sustainable approach to cope with high temperature stress at grain filling stage of cereal crops. Therefore, a test was designed to explore the potential of different growth helping agents including sorghum water extract (SWE, 10 ml L-1), moringa leaf extract (MLE, 3%), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 2 μM), salicylic acid (SA, 50 mg L-1) and ascorbic acid (ASA, 50 mg L-1) as foliar agents at different sowing dates (early and optimum) to cope with temperature stress in maize. The results stated that foliar application of growth promoting substances successfully persuaded high temperature tolerance at reproductive phase of maize in early and optimum sowings when compared to control. However, SWE + ASA, MLE + H2O2 and SWE + ASA + SA + H2O2 were the best combinations for improving growth, development, and physiological variables under both sowing dates even under suboptimal temperature. All foliar applications significantly increased maize grain and biological yields while maximum was observed in SWE + ASA followed by SWE + ASA + SA + H2O2 or MLE + H2O2 that were statistically at par with ASA + SA + H2O2 but plants without spray or distilled water application did not improve grain and biological yields. Overall, the foliar applications of growth promoting substances enable the plant to enhance its growth, development, morphology, yield and biochemical variables.

PMID:35051214 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260916

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262656. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262656. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, requires reliable diagnostic methods to track the circulation of this virus. Following the development of RT-qPCR methods to meet this diagnostic need in January 2020, it became clear from interlaboratory studies that the reported Ct values obtained for the different laboratories showed high variability. Despite this the Ct values were explored as a quantitative cut off to aid clinical decisions based on viral load. Consequently, there was a need to introduce standards to support estimation of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in diagnostic specimens. In a collaborative study, INSTAND established two reference materials (RMs) containing heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 with SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads of ~107 copies/mL (RM 1) and ~106 copies/mL (RM 2), respectively. Quantification was performed by RT-qPCR using synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA standards and digital PCR. Between November 2020 and February 2021, German laboratories were invited to use the two RMs to anchor their Ct values measured in routine diagnostic specimens, with the Ct values of the two RMs. A total of 305 laboratories in Germany were supplied with RM 1 and RM 2. The laboratories were requested to report their measured Ct values together with details on the PCR method they used to INSTAND. This resultant 1,109 data sets were differentiated by test system and targeted gene region. Our findings demonstrate that an indispensable prerequisite for linking Ct values to SARS-CoV-2 viral loads is that they are treated as being unique to an individual laboratory. For this reason, clinical guidance based on viral loads should not cite Ct values. The RMs described were a suitable tool to determine the specific laboratory Ct for a given viral load. Furthermore, as Ct values can also vary between runs when using the same instrument, such RMs could be used as run controls to ensure reproducibility of the quantitative measurements.

PMID:35051208 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262656

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0262483. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262483. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is currently widely used for research and clinical purposes in many countries. However, its applicability and validity have not been evaluated in the Ethiopian context so far. Therefore, we designed this study to assess the reliability and validity of Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale to detect major neurocognitive disorder among older people in Ethiopia.

METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among selected older people residing in Macedonia institutional care center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The gold standard diagnosis was determined using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for major neurocognitive disorders. Stata v16 statistical software was used for data analysis. Receivers operating curve analysis, correlations, linear regression, and independent t-test were performed with statistically significant associations declared at a p-value of <0.05. Inter-rater, internal consistency reliabilities, content, criterion and construct validities were also determined.

RESULTS: A total of 116 individuals participated in the study with a 100% response rate. Most (52.7%) of the participants were male and the mean age in years was 69.9± 8. The Cronbach’s alpha for RUDAS was 0.7 with an intra-class correlation coefficient value of 0.9. RUDAS has an area under the receivers operating curve of 0.87 with an optimal cutoff value of ≤ 22. At this cutoff point, RUDAS has sensitivity and specificity of 92.3 and 75.3 with positive and negative likelihood ratios as well as positive and negative predictive values of 3.7, 0.1, 65.5%, and 91.5%, respectively. There has also been a significant difference in the mean scores of RUDAS among the two diagnostic groups showing good construct validity.

CONCLUSION: The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale has been demonstrated to be a valid and reliable tool to detect major neurocognitive disorder. Policy makers and professionals can incorporate the tool in clinical and research practices in developing countries.

PMID:35051198 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0262483

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0261162. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261162. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In resource-limited settings, underlying causes of death (UCOD) often are not ascertained systematically, leading to unreliable mortality statistics. We reviewed medical charts to establish UCOD for decedents at two high volume mortuaries in Kisumu County, Kenya, and compared ascertained UCOD to those notified to the civil registry.

METHODS: Medical experts trained in COD certification examined medical charts and ascertained causes of death for 456 decedents admitted to the mortuaries from April 16 through July 12, 2019. Decedents with unknown HIV status or who had tested HIV-negative >90 days before the date of death were tested for HIV. We calculated annualized all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates grouped according to global burden of disease (GBD) categories and separately for deaths due to HIV/AIDS and expressed estimated deaths per 100,000 population. We compared notified to ascertained UCOD using Cohen’s Kappa (κ) and assessed for the independence of proportions using Pearson’s chi-squared test.

FINDINGS: The four leading UCOD were HIV/AIDS (102/442 [23.1%]), hypertensive disease (41/442 [9.3%]), other cardiovascular diseases (23/442 [5.2%]), and cancer (20/442 [4.5%]). The all-cause mortality rate was 1,086/100,000 population. The highest cause-specific mortality was in GBD category II (noncommunicable diseases; 516/100,000), followed by GBD I (communicable, perinatal, maternal, and nutritional; 513/100,000), and III (injuries; 56/100,000). The HIV/AIDS mortality rate was 251/100,000 population. The proportion of deaths due to GBD II causes was higher among females (51.9%) than male decedents (42.1%; p = 0.039). Conversely, more men/boys (8.6%) than women/girls (2.1%) died of GBD III causes (p = 0.002). Most of the records with available recorded and ascertained UCOD (n = 236), 167 (70.8%) had incorrectly recorded UCOD, and agreement between notified and ascertained UCOD was poor (29.2%; κ = 0.26).

CONCLUSIONS: Mortality from infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, is high in Kisumu County, but there is a shift toward higher mortality from noncommunicable diseases, possibly reflecting an epidemiologic transition and improving HIV outcomes. The epidemiologic transition suggests the need for increased focus on controlling noncommunicable conditions despite the high communicable disease burden. The weak agreement between notified and ascertained UCOD could lead to substantial inaccuracies in mortality statistics, which wholly depend on death notifications.

PMID:35051186 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0261162

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0260579. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260579. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

With the advancement in machine learning, researchers continue to devise and implement effective intelligent methods for fraud detection in the financial sector. Indeed, credit card fraud leads to billions of dollars in losses for merchants every year. In this paper, a multi-classifier framework is designed to address the challenges of credit card fraud detections. An ensemble model with multiple machine learning classification algorithms is designed, in which the Behavior-Knowledge Space (BKS) is leveraged to combine the predictions from multiple classifiers. To ascertain the effectiveness of the developed ensemble model, publicly available data sets as well as real financial records are employed for performance evaluations. Through statistical tests, the results positively indicate the effectiveness of the developed model as compared with the commonly used majority voting method for combination of predictions from multiple classifiers in tackling noisy data classification as well as credit card fraud detection problems.

PMID:35051184 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260579