Tag: nevin manimala

J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Mar 29:101844. doi: 10.1016/j.jormas.2024.101844. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A novel approach to Le Fort I osteotomy is presented, integrating patient-specific implants (PSIs), osteosynthesis and cutting guides within a minimally invasive surgical framework, and the accuracy of the procedure is assessed through 3D voxel-based superimposition. The technique was applied in 5 cases. Differences between the surgical plan and final outcome were evaluated as follows: a 2-mm color scale was established to assess the anterior surfaces of the maxilla, mandible and chin, as well as the condylar surfaces. Measurements were made at 8 specific landmarks, and all of them showed a mean difference of less than 1 mm. In conclusion, the described protocol allows for minimally invasive Le Fort I osteotomy using PSIs. Besides, although the accuracy of the results may be limited by the small sample size, the findings are consistent with those reported in the literature. A prospective comparative study is needed to obtain statistically significant results and draw meaningful conclusions.

PMID:38556164 | DOI:10.1016/j.jormas.2024.101844

J Mol Diagn. 2024 Mar 27:S1525-1578(24)00062-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2024.03.004. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Applied Artificial Intelligence, particularly Large Language Models, in biomedical research is accelerating, but effective discovery and validation requires a toolset without limitations or bias. On January 30, 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) appointed an ad hoc committee to identify needs and opportunities to advance the mathematical, statistical, and computational foundations of digital twins in applications across science, medicine, engineering, and society. On December 15, 2023, the NAS released a 164 page report, “Foundational Research Gaps and Future Directions for Digital Twins”. This report described the importance of using digital twins in biomedical research. We developed an innovative method that incorporated phenotype ranking algorithms with knowledge engineering via a biomimetic digital twin ecosystem. This ecosystem applied real-world reasoning principles to non-normalized, raw data to identify hidden or “dark data”. We performed a clinical exome sequencing study on patients with endometriosis and were able to identify four VUSs potentially associated with endometriosis-related disorders in nearly all patients analyzed. One VUS was identified in all patient samples and could be a biomarker for diagnostics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to incorporate the recomandations of the NAS to biomedical research. This method can be used to understand the mechanisms of any disease, for virtual clinical trials, and to identify effective new therapies.

PMID:38556123 | DOI:10.1016/j.jmoldx.2024.03.004

Reprod Toxicol. 2024 Mar 29:108582. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2024.108582. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this meta-analysis is to investigate the association between air pollution and the vulnerability of children to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A thorough examination and analysis of data obtained from a compilation of 14 studies was undertaken, with a particular emphasis on investigating the effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), oxide of nitrogen (NO_x), ozone (O₃), and particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) on individuals diagnosed with ASD. The findings demonstrate a moderate association between exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ASD, as indicated by a combined odds ratio (OR) of 1.13 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) spanning from 0.77 to 1.549. O₃ shows a combined odds ratio (OR) of 0.82, along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 0.49 to 1.14. NO_x shows a moderate level of heterogeneity (I² = 75.9%, p = 0.002), suggesting that the impact of NO_x on the risk of ASD. There is a statistically significant relationship between exposure to O₃ and ASD, although the strength of this relationship is diminished. The findings demonstrated a noteworthy correlation between exposure to PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 and the occurrence of ASD. The study found a significant correlation, in relation to PM_2.5, with a combined odds ratio (OR) of 1.22 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 1.11 to 1.34. The findings have significant implications for the formulation of programs aimed at reducing exposure to harmful chemicals, especially among vulnerable groups such as children.

PMID:38556115 | DOI:10.1016/j.reprotox.2024.108582

J Acad Nutr Diet. 2024 Mar 29:S2212-2672(24)00145-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2024.03.012. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between the retail food environment and diet quality has received minimal investigation among weight loss maintainers.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between the residential retail food environment and diet quality in weight loss maintainers from WeightWatchers (WW) in the US.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional data were collected between January 2018 and February 2020. The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI), based on geocoded home addresses, classified the environment: RFEI < 1.6= healthiest; RFEI 1.6- <2.5, = moderately healthy; RFEI 2.5 – <4.0 = moderately unhealthy; RFEI ≥4.0= least healthy. Dietary data was obtained using a food frequency questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS: /setting: Adult participants (n=1,159) who had lost weight using WW and maintained >9.1 kg weight loss for > 1 year (mean 24.7 kg loss for 3.4 years).

OUTCOME MEASURES: HEI-2015 component and total scores (0-100; higher scores indicate better alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020).

STATISTICAL METHODS: Regression models included RFEI category, the independent variable, and HEI-2015 and component scores (outcomes) controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, and household income.

RESULTS: Compared to individuals living in the healthiest food environments (mean HEI-2015 score = 71.5) those in the unhealthiest environments had a mean HEI-2015 score of 70.1 (95% CI = 68.8, 71.3), those in moderately unhealthy environments had a score of 71.3 (95% CI = 70.3, 73.1) and those in moderately healthy environments had a score of 70.3 (95% CI=68.9, 71.2), indicating a non-linear relationship. Compared to those in the healthiest environments, those in the least healthy had approximately a 0.47 lower added sugar HEI-2015 component score (95% CI = -0.86, -0.08), indicating approximately 5% higher added sugar intake.

CONCLUSIONS: Weight loss maintainers maintained high diet quality in diverse retail food environments. Compared to those in healthiest food environments, those in the least healthy had a higher consumption of added sugars.

PMID:38556111 | DOI:10.1016/j.jand.2024.03.012

J Clin Epidemiol. 2024 Mar 29:111338. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111338. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Causal inference methods for observational data represent an alternative to randomised controlled trials when they are not feasible or when real-world evidence is sought. Inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting (IPTW) is one of the most popular approaches to account for confounding in observational studies. In medical research, IPTW is mainly applied to estimate the causal effect of a binary treatment, even when the treatment has in fact multiple categories, despite the availability of IPTW estimators for multiple treatment categories. This raises questions about the appropriateness of the use of IPTW in this context. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of medical publications reporting the use of IPTW in the presence of a multi-category treatment. Our objectives were to investigate the frequency of use and the implementation of these methods in practice, and to assess the quality of their reporting. This systematic review is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022352669). Using Pubmed, Embase and Web of Science, we screened 5660 articles and retained 106 articles in the final analysis that were from 17 different medical areas. The number of treatment groups varied between 3 and 9, with a large majority of articles (90 (84.9%)) including 3 or 4 groups. The most commonly used method for estimating the weights was multinomial regression (51 (48.1%)) and generalized boosted models (48 (45.3%)). The covariates of the weight model were reported in 91 articles (85.9 %). Twenty-six articles (24.5 %) did not discuss the balance of covariates after weighting, and only 16 articles (15.1 %) referred to the assumptions needed to obtain correct inferences. The results of this systematic review illustrate that medical publications scarcely use IPTW methods for more than two treatment categories. Among the publications that did, the quality of reporting was suboptimal, in particular in regard to the assumptions and model building. IPTW for multi-category treatments could be applied more broadly in medical research, and the application of the proposed guidelines in this context will help researchers to report their results and to ensure reproducibility of their research.

PMID:38556101 | DOI:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111338

J Affect Disord. 2024 Mar 29:S0165-0327(24)00501-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.078. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of autistic-like behaviors is increasing worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. With a high disease burden and complex developmental causes, there has been much interest in the etiology of the disease, and there is a lack of evidence on the relationship between caregiver-child interaction and autistic-like behaviors.

AIM/OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between caregiver-child interaction and children’s autistic-like behaviors during early childhood.

METHOD: The subjects of this study were 171 kindergartens selected from the Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS), and a total of 40,237 children around the age of three were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, family income, and frequency of interaction between caregivers and children were all filled in by the child’s primary caregiver, and the adapted Chinese Autism Behavior Checklist was used to assess children’s autism-like behaviors. Tobit Regression and ancovariance analysis (ANCOVA) were used to measure the relationship between caregiver-child interactions (family and social activities) and autism-like behaviors, with a two-tailed p value of <0.05 being significant.

RESULTS: Tobit regression analyses found that in the 0-1 year age group, different frequencies of singing activities by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3-6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of -0.323, -0.381, -0.544, all p < 0.0001); in the 1-3 year age group, different frequencies of reading interactions by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3-6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were also significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of -0.388, -0.632, -0.956, all p < 0.0001), and similar associations were found in singing and chatting interactions.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that higher frequencies of early caregiver-child interactions are associated with lower levers of autistic-like behaviors in children around the age of three years.

PMID:38556097 | DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.078

J Affect Disord. 2024 Mar 29:S0165-0327(24)00568-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.144. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence of comorbid hypertension in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), the relationship between the two diseases has received little attention. Previous observational studies have descripted the association between MDD and hypertension, the causality from MDD on hypertension remained unknown. The present Mendelian randomization (MR) study aimed to assess the causal effect of MDD on hypertension.

METHODS: A set of genetics instrument was used for analysis, derived from publicly available genetic meta-analysis data. A total of 44 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with MDD. The largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) for hypertension (54,358 cases and 408,652 controls) was used to assess the effect of MDD on hypertension. Inverse variance weighted method (IVW), weighted median method (WM), and MR-Egger regression were used for MR analyses. The MR-Egger_intercept test and Cochran’s Q statistic were used to determine the pleiotropy and the heterogeneity, respectively.

RESULTS: A total of 28 independent and effective MDD genetic instrumental variables were extracted from the hypertension GWAS summary statistics. Pleiotropy analysis suggested no significant pleiotropic variant among the 28 selected MDD genetic instrument variants in hypertension GWAS datasets. As MDD based on genetic changes increased, the risk of hypertension increased using MR-Egger (OR = 1.004436, 95%CI 0.9884666-1.020663, P = 0.5932928), WM (OR = 1.000499, 95%CI 1.0000188-1.000980, P = 0.0416871), and IVW (OR = 1.000573, 95%CI 1.0000732-1.001074, P = 0.0246392). Our results were robust, with no obvious bias based on investigating the single MDD SNP on hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS: Our result suggested a causal associated between genetically increased MDD and increased hypertension risk in European population.

PMID:38556096 | DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.144

Am J Transplant. 2024 Mar 29:S1600-6135(24)00248-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ajt.2024.03.038. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Liver transplantation (LT) is crucial for end-stage liver disease, but it is linked to infection risks. Pathobionts, microorganisms potentially harmful under specific conditions, can cause complications post-transplant. Monitoring such pathogens in fecal samples can be challenging and therefore remains underexplored post-LT. This study aimed to analyze the gut microbiome before and after LT, tracking pathobionts and correlating clinical data. The study involved 17 liver transplant recipients, 17 healthy relatives (spouses), and 13 donors. Gut samples collected pre- and post-transplantation underwent bacterial and fungal profiling through DNA sequencing. Quantitative PCR was used to assess microbial load. Statistical analyses included alpha and beta diversity measures, differential abundance analysis, and correlation tests between microbiome and clinical parameters. Microbiome analysis revealed dynamic changes in diversity post-transplant. Notably, high-severity patients showed persistent and greater dysbiosis during the first months post-LT compared to low-severity patients, partly due to an antibiotic treatment pre-LT. The analysis identified a higher proportion of pathogens such as Escherichia coli/Shigella flexneri in high-severity cases post-transplant. Furthermore, butyrate producers including Roseburia intestinalis, Anaerostipes hadrus and Eubacterium coprostanoligenes were positively correlated with levels of albumin. This study offers valuable insights into post-LT microbiome changes, shedding light on the need for tailored prophylactic treatment post-LT.

PMID:38556088 | DOI:10.1016/j.ajt.2024.03.038

J Endod. 2024 Mar 29:S0099-2399(24)00192-4. doi: 10.1016/j.joen.2024.03.010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the feasibility of a novel drilling approach that integrates a pilot trephine into dynamic navigation (DN) for guided osteotomy and root-end resection (RER) with unimanual operation in endodontic microsurgery (EMS).

METHODS: Two operators with varying levels of DN experience performed guided osteotomy and RER using two unimanual drilling methods with DN-aided operation on 3D-printed jaw models. Method 1 (M1) involved drilling with a conventional trephine. Method 2 (M2) involved drilling with a pilot trephine, followed by drilling with a conventional trephine. Accuracy, time, and safety of M1 and M2 were compared. Accuracy measurements included platform deviation (PD), end deviation (ED), angular deviation (AD), resection length deviation (RLD), and resection bevel angle (RBA). Additional parameters included operation time of osteotomy and RER (OT) and bur slippage number (SN). Statistical analyses were conducted using a two-sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, with the significance level set at 0.05.

RESULTS: The PD, AD, RBA, and SN in the M2 group were significantly less than in the M1 group (P < .05). For M1, the novel operator (NO) exhibited significantly higher values of PD, ED, OT, and SN than the experienced operator (EO) (P < .05). For M2, the NO exhibited significantly higher value of ED only (P < .05), and drilling depth > 7 mm was significantly associated with a longer OT (P < .05).

CONCLUSION: In this surgical simulation comparison study, the incorporation of a pilot drill improved the accuracy and safety of DN-aided EMS.

PMID:38556075 | DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2024.03.010

Vopr Pitan. 2024;93(1):72-79. doi: 10.33029/0042-8833-2024-93-1-72-79. Epub 2024 Jan 19.

ABSTRACT

Despite the widespread use of oat β-glucans as ingredient of foods and dietary supplements, there is insufficient data on their effect on the metabolism of vitamins and minerals. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of including oat bran with a high content of β-glucans (β-glucan) in the diet on the absorption of micronutrients and lipid metabolism in growing rats deficient in vitamins D, group B and trace elements (iron, copper, zinc). Material and methods. After the development of micronutrient deficiency (for 23 days), in order to assess the effect of oat bran (5%) with a high content of β-glucans on the correction of the micronutrient status of growing male Wistar rats (with initial body weight of 70.7±0.7 g), the missing micronutrients were introduced in the semi-synthetic diet deficient in vitamins D, group B, iron, copper and zinc within 7 days either along with β-glucan (1.47%) or without its addition. Indicators of micronutrient sufficiency (riboflavin serum concentration, daily urinary excretion of thiamine, riboflavin and 4-pyridoxic acid, measured by fluorometric methods; serum concentration and urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus, measured by the atomic absorption method or using standard methods on a biochemical analyzer) and the biochemical parameters of blood serum were compared with the parameters of rats adequately provided with all micronutrients throughout the experiment. Results. Replenishment of missing micronutrients in the diet of rats with deficiency in vitamins D and group B, iron, copper and zinc for 7 days led to the elimination of deficiency of vitamins B1, B2 and B6, regardless of the presence of β-glucans in the diet. At the same time, against the background of the presence of β-glucans in the feed, an increase in the absorption of iron was observed, as evidenced by an increase by 1.73 times in iron blood plasma level (р<0.05) and a tendency towards its urinary excretion decrease by 1.60 fold (р<0.10) compared to animals from the control group. Adding oat bran with β-glucans to the feed did not lead to a decrease in blood plasma level of total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins cholesterol. The levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides in rats of all three groups did not have statistically significant differences. Conclusion. The presence of β-glucans in the diet had virtually no effect on the absorption of B vitamins and improved the absorption of iron.

PMID:38555611 | DOI:10.33029/0042-8833-2024-93-1-72-79