Tag: nevin manimala

J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 2024 Dec 6:S1010-5182(24)00329-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jcms.2024.11.019. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the different outcomes of mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) using computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) surgical guides accompanied by pre-bent distractors versus CAD/CAM surgical guides with commercial distractors.

METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with severe dentofacial deformities secondary to unilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJA) were retrospectively enrolled. Ten parameters associated with MDO were measured preoperatively, virtually, and postoperatively. The hard-tissue digital model was reconstructed using Mimics Research 17.0, and imaging data were collected and analyzed using Freeform Plus software 12.0, Geomagic Studio 12.0, and IBM SPSS Version 20.0.

RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients underwent MDO with subsequent adjunctive surgery and were evaluated. Thirteen patients underwent CAD/CAM surgical guides with pre-bent distractors (group A), while fifteen underwent CAD/CAM guides with commercial distractors (group B). Both techniques achieved optimal occlusion and satisfactory appearance. Statistical analysis showed group A demonstrated a more accurate control of vector direction during MDO compared to group B (p < 0.05). Additionally, group A also exhibited a shorter subsequent treatment duration and less relapse compared to group B (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: CAD/CAM surgical guides with pre-bent distractors can significantly enhance surgical accuracy in controlling the vector direction of MDO for correcting dentofacial deformities secondary to TMJA, leading to a reduction in subsequent treatment duration and occurrence.

PMID:39645421 | DOI:10.1016/j.jcms.2024.11.019

Hipertens Riesgo Vasc. 2024 Dec 6:S1889-1837(24)00111-9. doi: 10.1016/j.hipert.2024.10.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study investigates the perceptions and knowledge of specialized Argentine physicians regarding renal denervation (RDN) as a treatment for resistant hypertension (R-HT).

METHOD: A survey was conducted among 206 physicians, mainly cardiologists and internists, to assess their awareness and perceptions of RDN. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s Rho correlation.

RESULTS: The survey revealed that 83% of the responders are aware of RDN. Despite this high awareness, only 60% believe in its safety, while 33.2% are uncertain, and 6.8% consider it unsafe. Significant correlations were found between the awareness of RDN and perceptions of its efficacy and safety.

CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights a gap between knowledge and confidence in RDN among specialized Argentine physicians. Continuous education and shared decision-making are crucial to improve the adoption of RDN in clinical practice. Long-term safety and efficacy data support RDN as a valuable tool for managing R-HT. Addressing safety concerns through targeted educational initiatives is essential.

PMID:39645419 | DOI:10.1016/j.hipert.2024.10.003

Clin Transl Med. 2024 Dec;14(12):e70119. doi: 10.1002/ctm2.70119.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:39644148 | DOI:10.1002/ctm2.70119

J Comput Chem. 2025 Jan 5;46(1):e27518. doi: 10.1002/jcc.27518.

ABSTRACT

Predicting drug target binding affinity has huge relevance in Modern drug discovery and drug repositioning processes which assist doctors to come up with new drugs or even use the existing drugs for new target proteins. In silico models, using advanced deep learning techniques could further assist these prediction tasks by providing most prominent drug target pairs. Considering these factors, a deep learning based algorithmic framework is developed in this study to support drug target interaction prediction. The proposed SeqDPI model extract the relevant drug and protein features from the one dimensional Sequential representation of the dataset considered using optimized CNN networks that deploy convolutions on varying length of amino acid subsequence’s to capture hidden pattern, the convolved drug- protein features obtained are then used as an input to L2 penalized feed forward neural network which matches the local residue patterns in protein classes with molecular fingerprints of drugs to predict the binding strength for all drug target pairs. The proposed model reduces the convolution strain typically encountered in existing in silico models that utilize complex 3D structures of drug protein datasets. The result shows that the SeqDPI model achieves a mean square error MSE of (0.167) across cross validation folds, outperforming baseline models such as KronRLS (0.406), Simboost (0.226), and DeepPS (0.214). Additionally, SeqDPI attains a high CI score of 0.9114 on the benchmark KIBA dataset, demonstrating its statistical significance and computational efficiency compared to existing methods. This gives the relevance and effectiveness of SeqDPI model in accurately predicting binding affinities while working with simpler one-dimensional data, making it a robust and computationally cost-effective solution for drug-target interaction prediction.

PMID:39644133 | DOI:10.1002/jcc.27518

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2024 Dec 7. doi: 10.1002/jmri.29675. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) could offer information about the morphological properties of tissue. Diffusion microstructure imaging has been widely used, but the applicability of NODDI in skeletal muscle imaging remains to be explored.

PURPOSE: To evaluate microstructure parameters variations in skeletal muscle as indicators of age-related changes.

STUDY TYPE: Prospective, cross-sectional.

POPULATION: A total of 108 asymptomatic volunteers, divided into three age groups: 20-39 years (N = 34), 40-59 years (N = 40), and over 60 years (N = 34).

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3-T, three-dimensional (3D) gradient echo sequence.

ASSESSMENT: T1-weighted imaging, T2-weighted imaging with spectral adiabatic inversion recovery, and NODDI were used to image the thigh skeletal muscles. Four thigh skeletal muscle groups were analyzed, including bilateral thigh quadriceps femoris and hamstrings. The microstructure parameters included orientation dispersion index (ODI), intra-myofibrillar water volume fraction (V-intra), free-water fraction (V-csf), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD). These parameters were quantified using NODDI images and compared among different age, body mass index (BMI), and skeletal muscle index (SMI) subgroups.

STATISTICAL TESTS: Segmentation measurement reliability was assessed using a two-way mixed intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Shapiro-Wilk tests were used to assess data distribution. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare ODI, V-intra, V-csf, FA, and MD values among different age, BMI, and SMI subgroups. The Spearman correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the strength of the correlation between the age and microstructure parameters, as well as between age and SMI. Additionally, Bonferroni post hoc tests were conducted on microstructure parameters that exhibited significant differences across various age groups. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Significant differences in ODI, V-csf, FA, and MD values were observed among age, BMI, and SMI subgroups.

DATA CONCLUSION: NODDI may be used to reveal information about microstructure integrity and local physiological changes of thigh skeletal muscle fibers in relation to age.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

PMID:39644126 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.29675

Nurs Open. 2024 Dec;11(12):e70115. doi: 10.1002/nop2.70115.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To examine the reliability and construct validity of the Spanish adaptation of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) within the nursing professionals’ context.

DESIGN: Observational and descriptive cross-sectional study.

METHODS: The sample consisted of N = 325 nursing professionals from various healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics and community healthcare centres. Following translation and cultural adaption of the SSCRS, the scale underwent psychometric assessment of its construct validity through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency analysis was also performed using a McDonald’s omega. The reporting in this investigation adhered to the STROBE checklist.

RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a two-factor structure, with one factor closely aligning with one religiosity dimension and the other factor combining the spirituality, spiritual care and personalised care dimensions. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis did not provide an adequate fit to the data for both the two-factor solution found in the EFA and the four-factor solution proposed by McSherry, Draper, and Kendrick (2002). Even though the four-factor solution showed a slightly better fit than the two-factor solution, neither model achieved a satisfactory fit. The lack of formal education and confusion between religion and spirituality among healthcare professionals could have influenced the responses and interpretation of the results.

CONCLUSION: The findings showed that the SSCRS-Sp demonstrated good internal consistency, indicating that the items in the scale are reliably measuring the targeted constructs. Further refinement and validation of the scale are needed to establish a robust factor structure in the target population.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The SSCRS-Sp can be used to assess the nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. The availability of this tool represents a significant step towards greater integration of the spiritual dimension of care within a holistic nursing care framework in Spanish-speaking countries.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Nursing professionals responded to the research scale.

PMID:39644124 | DOI:10.1002/nop2.70115

J Sci Food Agric. 2024 Dec 7. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.14060. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fish smoking is a traditional fish preservation method that is affordable, and hence employed by most artisanal fish processors in Ghana. Traditional kilns are used but are less fuel efficient and the end-product has lower quality. This study therefore sought to test and compare the efficiency and quality of smoked fish for two improved kilns, the Cabin and Abuesi gas fish smoker (AGFS), against the traditional Chorkor smoker.

RESULTS: The results showed that the AGFS and Cabin had specific fuel consumption of 0.31 ± 0.02 and 0.67 ± 0.01 g kg^-1 of smoked fish, respectively, which were significantly lower than that of the Chorkor (6 ± 0.12 g kg^-1 smoked fish). Again, the AGFS and Cabin had significantly higher processing rates (251.18 ± 10.65 and 156.80 ± 8.30 g min^-1, respectively) compared to the Chorkor (135.20 ± 5.60 g min^-1). Smoking improved the nutritional, microbiological and sensory quality of mackerel, with only the sensory quality being statistically different between the products from the AGFS and Cabin. The Cabin-smoked products had more traditional smoked fish attributes while the gas-smoked products had a pronounced fried appearance and taste.

CONCLUSION: The AGFS and Cabin were more efficient than the Chorkor. There were no significant differences in the nutritional and microbial quality between the AGFS and the Cabin. Cabin-smoked products, however, had the more traditional qualities of smoked fish (appearance and flavor) that the gas-smoked products lacked. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

PMID:39644123 | DOI:10.1002/jsfa.14060

Int J Stroke. 2024 Dec 6:17474930241308458. doi: 10.1177/17474930241308458. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine the association between alcohol consumption and stroke in Nigeria and Ghana.

METHODS: The study is a multicentre, case-control study. Cases included consenting adults 18 years of age and older with acute stroke. The controls were age- and gender-matched, stroke-free adults. Alcohol consumption was self-reported. The participants were classified into three alcohol-drinking status groups, which included abstainers, former drinkers, and current drinkers. The current drinkers were further classified into different alcohol drinking levels, including infrequent drinkers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, heavy drinkers, and binge drinkers. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine associations between the drinkers’ status and stroke, respectively, as well as the association between the different levels of current drinkers and strokes, respectively. Five models were evaluated. Model 1 was unadjusted. Model 2 had adjustments for demographic characteristics. Model 3 included Model 2, lifestyle and psychosocial function adjustments. Model 4 includes Model 3 and dietary factor adjustments. Model 5 included Model 4 and metabolic factor adjustments.

RESULTS: A total of 7,368 participants took part in the study. Half were stroke participants, and half were control participants. On the associations between drinking status and strokes, respectively, former drinkers showed no significant association with strokes; however, there were significant associations between current drinkers and strokes in models 1 and 2, and the odds ratio of stroke risk was 1.19 (95% CI: 1.04-1.38; p<0.05) and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.01-1.36; p<0.05), respectively. Regarding the various levels of current drinkers and their association with stroke, no significant association was observed between light drinkers and stroke in model 5. In contrast, moderate drinkers, binge drinkers, and heavy drinkers showed a persistent and significant association with stroke, respectively.

CONCLUSION: There is a significant association between strokes and current alcohol consumption, especially among heavy, binge, and moderate drinkers.

PMID:39644097 | DOI:10.1177/17474930241308458

Arch Oral Biol. 2024 Nov 29;170:106137. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2024.106137. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate whether a multi-strain probiotic formula affects blood parameters (hematologic, calcium, and phosphorus levels) and alters the expression of β-defensin-2, β-defensin-3, and toll-like receptor 4 in male rats with induced apical periodontitis (AP).

DESIGN: Wistar rats were divided into two groups (n = 8 each): (1) rats with AP on a regular diet (Control) and (2) rats with AP on a regular diet supplemented with the multi-strain probiotic GNC Probiotic Complex (GCP) at one billion CFU. AP was induced by exposing the dental pulp of the first molars to the oral environment. GCP was administered daily via gavage for 30 days during AP development. After 30 days, animals were anesthetized, a cardiac puncture was performed, and 5 mL of blood was collected for hematologic, calcium, and phosphorus analysis. Animals were then euthanized, and mandibles were removed for histological and immunochemical analysis of β-defensin-2, β-defensin-3, and toll-like receptor 4. Statistical analyses used Mann-Whitney U and Student’s t-tests, with significance at P < 0.05.

RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in blood parameters between the Control and GCP groups (P > 0.05). In AP, the Control group showed more intense inflammatory infiltrates and higher median severity scores than the GCP group (P < 0.05). Immunoreactivity levels for β-defensin-2, β-defensin-3, and toll-like receptor 4 were significantly increased in the GCP group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Probiotic complex reduces inflammation and enhances immunolabeling of β-defensin-2, β-defensin-3, and toll-like receptor 4 in AP.

PMID:39643956 | DOI:10.1016/j.archoralbio.2024.106137

J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2024 Nov 28;87:127573. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2024.127573. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Accumulating evidence suggests that exposure to single heavy metal can facilitate the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, the effects of exposure to mixtures of heavy metals on AMD remain largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate both the joint and individual impacts of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) on AMD within a co-exposure framework.

METHODS: Data from subjects participating the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2005-2008) were analyzed. Concentrations of As, Hg, Cd, and Pb were determined in urine by inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS) for As and Hg, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for Cd and Pb. The weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were employed to assess the effects of heavy metal mixtures on AMD risk.

RESULTS: Both WQS and BKMR analyses consistently revealed a significant overall association between heavy metal mixtures and the risk of all types of AMD. The combined effect was more evident among patients with early AMD compared to those with late AMD. Cd and Hg were the main contributors driving these combined effects within the context of metal mixtures. Elevated urinary levels of Cd were positively correlated with an increased risk for all types as well as early AMD. Higher exposure to Hg corresponded with an elevated risk for early AMD. Furthermore, BKMR analysis indicated that the influence of Cd on early AMD exhibited a non-linear pattern.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that co-exposure to As, Hg, Cd, and Pb is associated with an elevated risk for developing AMD, particularly in its early stages. Furthermore, excessive exposure to Cd and Hg has been identified as key contributing factors in this process.

PMID:39643952 | DOI:10.1016/j.jtemb.2024.127573