Nevin Manimala

J Clin Lab Anal. 2022 Jan 31:e24263. doi: 10.1002/jcla.24263. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death among women around the world. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newly discovered group of non-coding RNAs that their roles are being investigated in BC and other cancer types. In this study, we evaluated the association of hsa_circ_0005986 and hsa_circ_000839 in tumor and adjacent normal tissues of BC patients with their clinicopathological characteristics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from tumors and adjacent non-tumor tissues by the Trizol isolation reagent, and cDNA was synthesized using First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Thermo Scientific). The expression level of hsa_circ_0005986 and hsa_circ_000839 was quantified using RT-qPCR. Online in silico tools were used for identifying potentially important competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks of these two circRNAs.

RESULTS: The expression level of hsa_circ_0005986 and hsa_circ_000839 was lower in the tumor as compared to adjacent tissues. The expression level of hsa_circ_0005986 in the patients who had used hair dye in the last 5 years was significantly lower. Moreover, a statistically significant negative correlation between body mass index (BMI) and hsa_circ_000839 expression was observed. In silico analysis of the ceRNA network of these circRNAs revealed mRNAs and miRNAs with crucial roles in BC.

CONCLUSION: Downregulation of hsa_circ_000839 and hsa_circ_0005986 in BC tumors suggests a tumor-suppressive role for these circRNAs in BC, meriting the need for more experimentations to delineate the exact mechanism of their involvement in BC pathogenesis.

PMID:35098570 | DOI:10.1002/jcla.24263

Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Jan 30. doi: 10.1111/apt.16778. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been applied to endoscopy and questionnaires for the evaluation of oesophageal diseases (ODs).

AIM: We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the performance of AI in the diagnosis of malignant and benign OD.

METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMBASE Classic and the Cochrane Library. A bivariate random-effect model was used to calculate pooled diagnostic efficacy of AI models and endoscopists. The reference tests were histology for neoplasms and the clinical and instrumental diagnosis for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The pooled area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR and NLR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were estimated.

RESULTS: For the diagnosis of Barrett’s neoplasia, AI had AUROC of 0.90, sensitivity 0.89, specificity 0.86, PLR 6.50, NLR 0.13 and DOR 50.53. AI models’ performance was comparable with that of endoscopists (P = 0.35). For the diagnosis of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the AUROC, sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR were 0.97, 0.95, 0.92, 12.65, 0.05 and DOR 258.36, respectively. In this task, AI performed better than endoscopists although without statistically significant differences. In the detection of abnormal intrapapillary capillary loops, the performance of AI was: AUROC 0.98, sensitivity 0.94, specificity 0.94, PLR 14.75, NLR 0.07 and DOR 225.83. For the diagnosis of GERD based on questionnaires, the AUROC, sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR and DOR were 0.99, 0.97, 0.97, 38.26, 0.03 and 1159.6, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: AI demonstrated high performance in the clinical and endoscopic diagnosis of OD.

PMID:35098562 | DOI:10.1111/apt.16778

Hepatology. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1002/hep.32372. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35098558 | DOI:10.1002/hep.32372

Prostate. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1002/pros.24302. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent cancer among males. This study attempted to develop a clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) risk nomogram including Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score and other clinical indexes for initial prostate biopsy in light of the different prostate regions, and internal validation was further conducted.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed including 688 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided transperineal magnetic resonance imaging fusion prostate biopsy from December 2016 to July 2019. We constructed nomograms combining PI-RADS score and clinical variables (prostate-specific antigen [PSA], prostate volume (PV), age, free/total PSA, and PSA density) through univariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify patients eligible for biopsy. The performance of the predictive model was evaluated by bootstrap resampling. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was appointed to quantify the accuracy of the primary nomogram model for csPCa. Calibration curves were used to assess the agreement between the biopsy specimen and the predicted probability of the new nomogram. The χ² test was also applied to evaluate the heterogeneity between fusion biopsy and systematic biopsy based on different PI-RADS scores and prostate regions.

RESULTS: A total of 320 of 688 included patients were diagnosed with csPCa. csPCa was defined as Gleason score ≥7. The ROC and concordance-index both presented good performance. The nomogram reached an AUC of 0.867 for predicting csPCa at the peripheral zone; meanwhile, AUC for transitional and apex zones were 0.889 and 0.757, respectively. Statistical significance was detected between fusion biopsy and systematic biopsy for PI-RADS score >3 lesions and lesions at the peripheral and transitional zones.

CONCLUSION: We produced a novel nomogram predicting csPCa in patients with suspected imaging according to different locations. Our results indicated that PI-RADS score combined with other clinical parameters showed a robust predictive capacity for csPCa before prostate biopsy. The new nomogram, which incorporates prebiopsy data including PSA, PV, age, and PI-RADS score, can be helpful for clinical decision-making to avoid unnecessary biopsy.

PMID:35098557 | DOI:10.1002/pros.24302

J Clin Psychol. 2022 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23318. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Much of the research on hoarding is focused on cognition and behavior, with less focus on emotion and its regulation.

METHOD: A comprehensive search yielded nine studies (out of 5581) from which to draw data for the current study. Across the eight studies (nine independent effect sizes) which provided data for 1595 total participants (Mean_age = 34.46, SD = 8.78; 64.26% females).

RESULTS: Emotion dysregulation had a medium association with hoarding symptoms (r = 0.43). The effect was strong (r = 0.61) in some populations and weaker (r = 0.19) in others. However, it was higher in nonclinical samples than in clinical samples. Also, the strength of the association between hoarding and emotion regulation differed by the type of hoarding measures adopted in the individual studies. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences between emotion dysregulation facets and hoarding.

CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the importance of studying emotions and emotion regulation in hoarding.

PMID:35098535 | DOI:10.1002/jclp.23318

Thromb Haemost. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1055/a-1754-7551. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on hemodialysis (HD) are at increased risk for bleeding. However, despite relevant clinical implications regarding dialysis modalities or anticoagulation, no bleeding risk assessment strategy has been established in this challenging population. Methods Analyses on bleeding risk assessment models were performed in the population-based Vienna InVestigation of Atrial fibrillation and thromboemboLism in patients on hemoDialysIs (VIVALDI) study including 625 patients. In this cohort study, patients were prospectively followed for a median observation period of 3.5 years for the occurrence of major bleeding. First, performances of existing bleeding risk scores (i.e., HAS-BLED, HEMORR2HAGES, ATRIA, and four others) were evaluated in terms of discrimination and calibration. Second, four machine learning-based prediction models that included clinical, dialysis-specific, and laboratory parameters were developed and tested using Monte-Carlo cross-validation. Results Of 625 patients (median age: 66 years, 38% women), 89 (14.2%) developed major bleeding, with a 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year cumulative incidence of 6.1% (95%CI 4.2-8.0), 10.3% (95%CI 8.0-12.8), and 13.5% (95%CI 10.8-16.2), respectively. C-statistics of seven contemporary bleeding risk scores ranged between 0.54 and 0.59 indicating poor discriminatory performance. The HAS-BLED score showed the highest C-statistics of 0.59 (95% 0.53-0.56). Similarly, all four machine learning-based predictions models performed poorly in internal validation (C-statistics ranging from 0.49-0.55). Conclusions Existing bleeding risk scores and a machine learning approach including common clinical parameters fail to assist in bleeding risk prediction of patients on HD. Therefore, new approaches, including novel biomarkers, to improve bleeding risk prediction in patients on HD are needed.

PMID:35098518 | DOI:10.1055/a-1754-7551

Gesundheitswesen. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1055/a-1709-1011. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This article compares the results of two health literacy (HL) surveys of the population in Germany over time. The first survey was conducted in 2014, the second in 2020. The changes in GK, measured by the degree of subjectively assessed difficulties in individual information tasks in the three areas of health care, prevention, health promotion, in the total population and in subgroups are examined.

METHODOLOGY: The analyses were based on population-representative cross-sectional data collected in 2014 and 2020. An internationally coordinated questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) was used to measure GK. Changes in the population groups were analysed uni- and bivariately as well as multivariately in a trend analysis.

RESULTS: The HL of the German population has worsened statistically significantly within six years. This can be observed in all three overall domains. This effect was particularly evident among people with low social status and financial deprivation.

CONCLUSION: Over time, dealing with health and disease-related information has become more difficult. As this development is mainly driven by socioeconomically disadvantaged population groups, it has apparently increased social inequality in the health sector. Promoting HL – as this and other studies show – is more important for the society than ever and should be given special attention in relation to the above-mentioned population groups.

PMID:35098501 | DOI:10.1055/a-1709-1011

J Cancer Surviv. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1007/s11764-021-01157-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to describe current survivor services provided by COG institutions.

METHODS: A 190-question online survey was distributed to 209 COG member institutions over a 5-month period in 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to describe survivor services and explore their changes between 2007 and 2017.

RESULTS: Representatives from 153 (73%) institutions completed the survey. Of these, 96% of institutions reported that they provide pediatric cancer survivor care either in a specialized late effects program (75%) or a regular pediatric oncology clinic (24%). However, only 29.8% of institutions reported that > 75% of eligible patients were seen in a survivorship clinic. The most prevalent reported barriers to survivor care were lack of dedicated time (58%) and lack of funding for program development (41%). In 2017, 88% of institutions provided a treatment summary compared to 31% in 2007.

CONCLUSION: The majority of COG institutions have dedicated care for pediatric and young adult survivors of childhood cancer; however, at most institutions, < 75% of eligible patients access this care. Research into more efficient technology strategies is needed to ensure all survivors the opportunity to receive appropriate follow-up care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This survey provides a snapshot of the status of late effects services within COG institutions and provides information on residual gaps in services. Next steps should focus on the importance of attendance in a survivorship clinic on the physical health and psychosocial outcomes in cancer survivors.

PMID:35098485 | DOI:10.1007/s11764-021-01157-w

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-18326-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Malaria is one of the most widespread communicable diseases in the southeast regions of Iran, particularly the Chabahar County. Although the outbreak of this disease is a climate-related phenomenon, a comprehensive analysis of the malaria-climate relationship has not yet been investigated in Iran. The aims of this study are as follows: a) analyzing the seasonal characteristics of the various species of the infection; b) differentiating between number of patients during El Niño and La Niña and also during the wet and dry years. The monthly malaria statistics collected from twelve health centers were firstly averaged into seasonal scale and then composited with the corresponding data of the ground-based meteorological records, Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and the satellite-based rainfall data. The proper statistical tests were used to detect differences in the number of patients between El Niño and La Niña and also between the adopted wet and dry episodes. Infection rate from the highest to the lowest was associated with summer, autumn, spring, and winter, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and the other species were responsible for 22%, 75%, and 3% of the sickness, respectively. The outbreak of P. falciparum/P. vivax occurs during autumn/summer. Due to the malaria eradication programs in urban areas, infection statistics collected from the rural areas were found to be more climate-related than that of urban regions. For rural/urban areas, the infection statistics exhibited a significant decline/increase during El Niño episodes. In autumn, spring, and winter, the patient number has significantly increased/decreased during the dry/wet years, respectively. These relationships were, however, reversed in summer.

PMID:35098475 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-18326-0

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-18262-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The tourism industry is undoubtedly among the largest contributors to economic growth and employment generation in most economies of the world, and Africa is not an exception as outlined by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Thus, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are paying more attention to tourism development as alternative growth path to boost their economies. However, the tourism-induced growth is not void of its environmental issues. To this end, this study using recent econometrics analysis explored the nexus between tourism arrival GDP growth, urbanization, carbon dioxide emission, and foreign direct investment for oil and non-oil sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, that is, to ascertain the real impacts of tourism and FDI on the environmental performance of the regions. Empirical results show that tourism, GDP growth, and FDI dampen the quality of the environment. For instance, a 1% increase in tourism activities worsens the quality of the environment by 1.09%. Interestingly, renewable energy shows statistical strength to improve environmental quality. The causality analysis resonates with the outcomes of the regression by giving credence to one-way causality between tourism and carbon dioxide emission. A similar trend of causality is seen between FDI and carbon dioxide emission and urbanization and carbon dioxide emission. Thus, as a policy prescription, strict environmental guidelines and regulations are necessary for controlling the unhealthy and undue economic activities that are suspected to impact environment negatively.

PMID:35098470 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-18262-z