Tag: nevin manimala

J Math Biol. 2023 Aug 2;87(2):36. doi: 10.1007/s00285-023-01967-9.

ABSTRACT

We prove that it is possible to obtain the exact closure of SIR pairwise epidemic equations on a configuration model network if and only if the degree distribution follows a Poisson, binomial, or negative binomial distribution. The proof relies on establishing the equivalence, for these specific degree distributions, between the closed pairwise model and a dynamical survival analysis (DSA) model that was previously shown to be exact. Specifically, we demonstrate that the DSA model is equivalent to the well-known edge-based Volz model. Using this result, we also provide reductions of the closed pairwise and Volz models to a single equation that involves only susceptibles. This equation has a useful statistical interpretation in terms of times to infection. We provide some numerical examples to illustrate our results.

PMID:37532967 | DOI:10.1007/s00285-023-01967-9

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Jul 31;194(Pt B):115293. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115293. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the sediment transport pathways and geochemical parameters in the Izmir Gulf to determine the heavily impacted areas by natural and anthropogenic parameters. The grain size trend analysis was used to determine sediment transport patterns and, statistical methods were employed to identify the sources and distribution of chemical elements in sediments. The main factors that were affecting the area were identified as lithogenic, anthropogenic, maritime traffic, biogenic and shipyard activities. The tannery industry (Cr), maritime traffic and shipyard/dock activities (Cu and Zn), road traffic run-offs (Pb and Zn), and untreated domestic waste discharges (TOC and S) were identified as the sources of metals. Contamination rankings based on metal concentrations indicated higher pollution levels in the Inner Gulf compared to the Central Gulf. Zinc and chromium were found to pose significant risks to benthic organisms. The pollutants tended to accumulate in deposition zones, following sediment transport directions.

PMID:37531664 | DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115293

J Infect Dis. 2023 Aug 2:jiad305. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad305. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of respiratory viral infections is complex. How infection with one respiratory virus affects risk of subsequent infection with the same or another respiratory virus is not well described.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from a longitudinal household cohort study from October 2019-June 2021. Enrolled households completed active surveillance for acute respiratory illness (ARI), and participants with ARI self-collected nasal swabs; after April 2020, participants with ARI or laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and their household members self-collected nasal swabs. Specimens were tested via multiplex RT-PCR for respiratory viruses. A Cox regression model with a time-dependent covariate examined risk of subsequent detections following a specific primary viral detection.

RESULTS: Rhinovirus was the most frequently detected pathogen in study specimens (n=406, 9.5%). Among 51 participants with multiple viral detections, rhinovirus to seasonal coronavirus (8, 14.8%) was the most common viral detection pairing. Relative to no primary detection, there was a 1.03-2.06-fold increase in risk of subsequent virus detection in the 90 days following primary detection; risk varied by primary virus: parainfluenza, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Primary virus detection was associated with higher risk of subsequent virus detection within the first 90 days after primary detection.

PMID:37531658 | DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiad305

J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023 Aug;54(8):367-376. doi: 10.3928/00220124-20230711-07. Epub 2023 Aug 1.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: New nurses report feeling unprepared and having low levels of self-confidence. High-fidelity simulation (HFS) is frequently used to increase confidence and improve patient safety. This study assessed whether HFS training increased new nurses’ self-confidence and activation of the rapid response team (RRT) when caring for patients with clinical deterioration.

METHOD: A quality improvement design was used. New nurses on two units at a Level I trauma center completed a 70-minute HFS. The change in self-confidence was measured by Grundy’s C-Scale, and the change in percentage of staff-initiated RRT calls versus auto-triggered calls was calculated 3 months after HFS.

RESULTS: All 12 nurses who participated in the HFS showed improved self-confidence immediately after simulation. A Wilcox-on signed-rank paired data test showed statistically significantly improved confidence scores for all five items of the C-Scale from preintervention to immediately postintervention as well as 5 months later. One unit showed an increase in percentage of staff-initiated RRT calls 3 months postsimulation, and the other unit showed a decline in staff-initiated versus auto-triggered RRT calls.

DISCUSSION: The HFS increased self-confidence scores from preintervention to immediately postintervention, with the increase sustained 5 months later. However, how this increase translated into practice when activating RRT calls cannot be determined because many factors can influence RRT call patterns.

CONCLUSION: The literature review and study results suggest that HFS training embedded into an existing nurse residency program can build self-confidence in caring for patients with clinical deterioration. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(8):367-376.].

PMID:37531656 | DOI:10.3928/00220124-20230711-07

J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2023 Aug 3. doi: 10.1097/RCT.0000000000001517. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the utility of texture analysis in detecting osseous changes associated with hyperparathyroidism on neck CT examinations compared with control patients and to explore the best regions in the head and neck to evaluate changes in the trabecular architecture secondary to hyperparathyroidism.

METHODS: Patients with hyperparathyroidism who underwent a 4D CT of the neck with contrast were included in this study. Age-matched control patients with no history of hyperparathyroidism who underwent a contrast-enhanced neck CT were also included. Mandibular condyles, bilateral mandibular bodies, the body of the C4 vertebra, the manubrium of the sternum, and bilateral clavicular heads were selected for analysis, and oval-shaped regions of interest were manually placed. These segmented areas were imported into an in-house developed texture analysis program, and 41 texture analysis features were extracted. A mixed linear regression model was used to compare differences in the texture analysis features contoured at each of the osseous structures between patients with hyperparathyroidism and age-matched control patients.

RESULTS: A total of 30 patients with hyperparathyroidism and 30 age-matched control patients were included in this study. Statistically significant differences in texture features between patients with hyperparathyroidism and control patients in all 8 investigated osseous regions. The sternum showed the greatest number of texture features with statistically significant differences between these groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Some CT texture features demonstrated statistically significant differences between patients with hyperparathyroidism and control patients. The results suggest that texture features may discriminate changes in the osseous architecture of the head and neck in patients with hyperparathyroidism.

PMID:37531643 | DOI:10.1097/RCT.0000000000001517

Biostatistics. 2023 Aug 2:kxad015. doi: 10.1093/biostatistics/kxad015. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) often enroll large numbers of participants; yet due to resource constraints, only a subset of participants may be selected for outcome assessment, and those sampled may not be representative of all cluster members. Missing data also present a challenge: if sampled individuals with measured outcomes are dissimilar from those with missing outcomes, unadjusted estimates of arm-specific endpoints and the intervention effect may be biased. Further, CRTs often enroll and randomize few clusters, limiting statistical power and raising concerns about finite sample performance. Motivated by SEARCH-TB, a CRT aimed at reducing incident tuberculosis infection, we demonstrate interlocking methods to handle these challenges. First, we extend Two-Stage targeted minimum loss-based estimation to account for three sources of missingness: (i) subsampling; (ii) measurement of baseline status among those sampled; and (iii) measurement of final status among those in the incidence cohort (persons known to be at risk at baseline). Second, we critically evaluate the assumptions under which subunits of the cluster can be considered the conditionally independent unit, improving precision and statistical power but also causing the CRT to behave like an observational study. Our application to SEARCH-TB highlights the real-world impact of different assumptions on measurement and dependence; estimates relying on unrealistic assumptions suggested the intervention increased the incidence of TB infection by 18% (risk ratio [RR]=1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-1.63), while estimates accounting for the sampling scheme, missingness, and within community dependence found the intervention decreased the incident TB by 27% (RR=0.73, 95% CI: 0.57-0.92).

PMID:37531621 | DOI:10.1093/biostatistics/kxad015

Biostatistics. 2023 Aug 2:kxad019. doi: 10.1093/biostatistics/kxad019. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Modeling longitudinal and survival data jointly offers many advantages such as addressing measurement error and missing data in the longitudinal processes, understanding and quantifying the association between the longitudinal markers and the survival events, and predicting the risk of events based on the longitudinal markers. A joint model involves multiple submodels (one for each longitudinal/survival outcome) usually linked together through correlated or shared random effects. Their estimation is computationally expensive (particularly due to a multidimensional integration of the likelihood over the random effects distribution) so that inference methods become rapidly intractable, and restricts applications of joint models to a small number of longitudinal markers and/or random effects. We introduce a Bayesian approximation based on the integrated nested Laplace approximation algorithm implemented in the R package R-INLA to alleviate the computational burden and allow the estimation of multivariate joint models with fewer restrictions. Our simulation studies show that R-INLA substantially reduces the computation time and the variability of the parameter estimates compared with alternative estimation strategies. We further apply the methodology to analyze five longitudinal markers (3 continuous, 1 count, 1 binary, and 16 random effects) and competing risks of death and transplantation in a clinical trial on primary biliary cholangitis. R-INLA provides a fast and reliable inference technique for applying joint models to the complex multivariate data encountered in health research.

PMID:37531620 | DOI:10.1093/biostatistics/kxad019

J Thorac Imaging. 2023 Aug 2. doi: 10.1097/RTI.0000000000000731. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of quantitative features of intranodular vessels based on deep learning in distinguishing pulmonary adenocarcinoma invasiveness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 512 confirmed ground-glass nodules from 474 patients with 241 precursor glandular lesions (PGL), 126 minimally invasive adenocarcinomas (MIA), and 145 invasive adenocarcinomas (IAC). The pulmonary blood vessels were reconstructed on noncontrast computed tomography images using deep learning-based region-segmentation and region-growing techniques. The presence of intranodular vessels was evaluated based on the automatic calculation of vessel prevalence, vascular categories, and vessel volume percentage. Further comparisons were made between different invasive groups by the Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test, χ2 test, and analysis of variance.

RESULTS: The detection rate of intranodular vessels in PGL (33.2%) was significantly lower than that of MIA (46.8%, P = 0.011) and IAC (55.2%, P < 0.001), while the vascular categories were similar (all P > 0.05). Vascular changes were more common in IAC and MIA than in PGL, mainly in increased vessel volume percentage (12.4 ± 19.0% vs. 6.3 ± 13.1% vs. 3.9 ± 9.4%, P < 0.001). The average intranodular artery and vein volume percentage of IAC (7.5 ± 14.0% and 5.0 ± 10.1%) was higher than that of PGL (2.1 ± 6.9% and 1.7 ± 5.8%) and MIA (3.2 ± 9.1% and 3.1 ± 8.7%), with statistical significance (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative analysis of intranodular vessels on noncontrast computed tomography images demonstrated that the ground-glass nodules with increased internal vessel prevalence and volume percentages had higher possibility of tumor invasiveness.

PMID:37531613 | DOI:10.1097/RTI.0000000000000731

Chem Biodivers. 2023 Aug 2:e202300881. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.202300881. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study analysed some physicochemical and quality parameters of 176 royal jelly (RJ) samples from different regions of Türkiye, collected over different years and seasons. According to the obtained results, the moisture percentage varied between 47.36% and 69.58%, with no statistically significant differences seen across various seasons and areas (p>0.05). The average value of 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), which varies according to factors such as season, region, and year, was determined to be 2.32%. It was also seen that this value was close to the international standard. The values of total acidity ranged from 28-58 mL 1N NaOH/100 g. Furthermore, statistical significance (p<0.001) was observed for the year-region interaction in relation to 10-HDA and total acidity. The pH measurement results for all samples confirmed the acidic nature of the samples and resulted in a range between 3.45 and 3.80. And the pH variability was also found to be statistically significant for years (p=0.002) and regions (p=0.011). Finally, the correlation analysis between moisture (%), 10-HDA (%), total acidity, and pH revealed no statistically significant or strong differences. This comprehensive study, supported by statistical analyses, is thought to be a useful reference for future research on RJ.

PMID:37531600 | DOI:10.1002/cbdv.202300881

J Clin Oncol. 2023 Aug 2:JCO2300697. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.00697. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) adherence among breast cancer survivors is often suboptimal, leading to higher cancer recurrence and mortality. Intervention studies to promote AET adherence have burgeoned, more than doubling in number since this literature was last reviewed. The current aim is to provide an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to enhance AET adherence and to identify strengths and limitations of existing interventions to inform future research and clinical care.

METHODS: Systematic searches were conducted in three electronic databases. Studies were included in the systematic review if they examined an intervention for promoting AET adherence among breast cancer survivors. Studies were further included in the meta-analyses if they examined a measure of AET adherence (defined as compliance or persistence beyond initiation) and reported (or provided upon request) sufficient information to calculate an effect size.

RESULTS: Of 5,045 unique records, 33 unique studies representing 375,951 women met inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Interventions that educated patients about how to manage side effects generally failed to improve AET adherence, whereas policy changes that lowered AET costs consistently improved adherence. Medication reminders, communication, and psychological/coping strategies showed varied efficacy. Of the 33 studies that met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, 25 studies representing 367,873 women met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed statistically significant effects of the adherence interventions overall relative to study-specified control conditions (number of studies [k] = 25; odds ratio, 1.412; 95% CI, 1.183 to 1.682; P = .0001). Subgroup analyses showed that there were no statistically significant differences in effect sizes by study design (randomized controlled trial v other), publication year, directionality of the intervention (unidirectional v bidirectional contact), or intervention type.

CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first known meta-analysis to demonstrate a significant effect for interventions to promote AET adherence. The systematic review revealed that lowering medication costs and a subgroup of psychosocial and reminder interventions showed the most promise, informing future research, policy, and clinical directions.

PMID:37531593 | DOI:10.1200/JCO.23.00697