Tag: nevin manimala

Attach Hum Dev. 2023 Mar 18:1-11. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2187851. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Intergenerational transmission of attachment is one of the core hypotheses of attachment theory. How parents or other caregivers look back on their childhood attachment experiences is suggested to shape their infants’ attachments. In the current paper, we show that a new twist to correspondence analysis (Canonical Correlation Analysis [CCA]) of cross-tabulated attachment classifications with oblique rotation Correspondence Analysis (CA) may uncover the latent structure of intergenerational transmission showing the unique role of parental Unresolved representations in predicting infant Disorganized attachments. Our model of intergenerational transmission of attachment supports predicted associations between parental and infant attachments. Despite growing skepticism about the validity of parental Unresolved trauma and infant Disorganized attachment, we come to an evidence-based statistical defense of these generative clinical components of attachment theory awaiting a substantive experimentum crucis.

PMID:36933237 | DOI:10.1080/14616734.2023.2187851

J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023 Mar 17:1-8. doi: 10.2460/javma.22.09.0419. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of radiographic abnormalities of the interspinous spaces (ISSs) in the thoracolumbar vertebral column of unbroken yearlings and to compare these findings with a group of older trained Thoroughbred horses without perceived back pain.

ANIMALS: Yearlings (n = 47) and trained horses (55); 102 total.

PROCEDURES: Each horse underwent a digital radiographic study of the thoracolumbar vertebral column (T7-L3) and each space graded for narrowing of the ISSs, increased opacity, radiolucency, and modeling of the cranial and caudal margins of 2 contiguous dorsal spinous processes (DSPs). This generated both an individual anatomical space score for each space and a total score for each horse for subsequent comparison. Statistical analysis of the results was then undertaken.

RESULTS: Narrowing and impingement were detected in a third of the examined ISSs, while DSP increased opacity, radiolucencies, and modeling were found in over half of the yearlings. The median total score per horse was 33 (0 to 96) in the yearlings and 30 (0 to 101) in trained horses, indicating no significant difference in radiographic abnormalities (P = .91). Likewise, the median total score per anatomical space was 112 (25 to 259) and 127.5 (24 to 284) in the yearlings and trained horses (P = .83). No differences were found between the groups for number of radiographic abnormalities, scores, and total score.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study reported the incidence of DSP radiographic abnormalities in Thoroughbred horses. The absence of difference in occurrence between yearlings and older horses supported a developmental rather than acquired etiology.

PMID:36933209 | DOI:10.2460/javma.22.09.0419

Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s40368-023-00793-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare pain perception associated with two computer-controlled local anesthesia devices, the WAND™ STA (Milestone Scientific Inc., Livingston, NJ, USA) and the Calaject (Rønvig dental MFG, Daugaard, Denmark) in young children.

METHODS: A split-mouth randomized clinical trial comprising 30 patients, aged 6-12 years, received randomly, in two separate sessions, a local anesthesia injection in the maxillary using either the wand STA or the Calaject. Pain perception was evaluated using the patient’s heart rate, an 11-point numerical scale (NRS), and the Sound, Eye, and Motor (SEM) body movements. Statistical difference was set at p = 0.05. Repeated measures analysis of variance were conducted to compare the mean pulse for Calaject and STA at different times. It was followed by univariate analysis and Bonferroni multiple comparisons tests. Wilcoxon tests were performed to compare NRS, SEM, and injection duration between Calaject and STA.

RESULTS: There was no significant statistical difference between Calaject and STA in pulse rate before injection (p = 0.720), during injection (p = 0.767), and after injection (p = 0.757). The mean NRS score was significantly greater with STA in comparison with Calaject (p = 0.017). The mean SEM score was also significantly greater with STA in comparison with Calaject (p = 0.002). However, the mean duration was significantly longer with Calaject (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Calaject was more effective than STA in reducing pain perception associated with periapical injection in young children.

PMID:36933183 | DOI:10.1007/s40368-023-00793-3

Angiogenesis. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s10456-023-09870-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis have been intensely studied, but many genes that control endothelial behavior and fate still need to be described. Here, we characterize the role of Apold1 (Apolipoprotein L domain containing 1) in angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Single-cell analyses reveal that – across tissues – the expression of Apold1 is restricted to the vasculature and that Apold1 expression in endothelial cells (ECs) is highly sensitive to environmental factors. Using Apold1^-/- mice, we find that Apold1 is dispensable for development and does not affect postnatal retinal angiogenesis nor alters the vascular network in adult brain and muscle. However, when exposed to ischemic conditions following photothrombotic stroke as well as femoral artery ligation, Apold1^-/- mice display dramatic impairments in recovery and revascularization. We also find that human tumor endothelial cells express strikingly higher levels of Apold1 and that Apold1 deletion in mice stunts the growth of subcutaneous B16 melanoma tumors, which have smaller and poorly perfused vessels. Mechanistically, Apold1 is activated in ECs upon growth factor stimulation as well as in hypoxia, and Apold1 intrinsically controls EC proliferation but not migration. Our data demonstrate that Apold1 is a key regulator of angiogenesis in pathological settings, whereas it does not affect developmental angiogenesis, thus making it a promising candidate for clinical investigation.

PMID:36933174 | DOI:10.1007/s10456-023-09870-z

Drugs Real World Outcomes. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s40801-023-00360-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cardiac glycosides such as digoxin, digitoxin and ouabain are still used around the world to treat patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and/or atrial fibrillation (AF). However, in the US, only digoxin is licensed for treating these illnesses, and the use of digoxin for this group of patients is increasingly being replaced in the US by a new standard of care with groups of more expensive drugs. However, ouabain and digitoxin, and less potently digoxin, have also recently been reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus penetration into human lung cells, thus blocking COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 is known to be a more aggressive disease in patients with cardiac comorbidities, including heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: We therefore considered the possibility that digoxin might provide at least a measure of relief from COVID-19 in digoxin-treated heart failure patients. To this end, we hypothesized that treatment with digoxin rather than standard of care might equivalently protect heart failure patients with regard to diagnosis of COVID-19, hospitalization and death.

METHODS: To test this hypothesis, we conducted a cross-sectional study by using the US Military Health System (MHS) Data Repository to identify all MHS TRICARE Prime and Plus beneficiaries aged 18-64 years with a heart failure (HF) diagnosis during the period April 2020 to August 2021. In the MHS, all patients receive equal, optimal care without regard to rank or ethnicity. Analyses included descriptive statistics on patient demographics and clinical characteristics, and logistic regressions to determine likelihood of digoxin use.

RESULTS: We identified 14,044 beneficiaries with heart failure in the MHS during the study period. Of these, 496 were treated with digoxin. However, we found that both digoxin-treated and standard-of-care groups were equivalently protected from COVID-19. We also noted that younger active duty service members and their dependents with HF were less likely to receive digoxin compared with older, retired beneficiaries with more comorbidities.

CONCLUSION: The hypothesis of equivalent protection by digoxin treatment of HF patients in terms of susceptibility to COVID-19 infection appears to be supported by the data.

PMID:36933173 | DOI:10.1007/s40801-023-00360-8

J Clin Monit Comput. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s10877-023-00988-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the effect of preoperative education using virtual reality (VR) on preoperative anxiety and information desire. The participants were randomly assigned to the VR group and control group. The VR group received preoperative education using VR content describing preoperative and postoperative processes and their management, and the control group received preoperative education with traditional verbal education. Preoperative anxiety and information desire were measured using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). Additionally, patient satisfaction was investigated. Preoperative anxiety (APAIS-A) and information desire (APAIS-I) scores were statistically significantly different between the VR group and the control group (p < 0.001). Patient satisfaction was not statistically significant (p = 0.147). Preoperative education using VR effectively reduced preoperative anxiety and information desire.Trial registration CRIS, KCT0007489. Registered 30 June 2022. http://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/ .

PMID:36933168 | DOI:10.1007/s10877-023-00988-5

Endocrine. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s12020-023-03341-7. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Using machine learning (ML) to explore the noninvasive differential diagnosis of Cushing’s disease (CD) and ectopic corticotropin (ACTH) secretion (EAS) model is the next hot research topic. This study was to develop and evaluate ML models for differentially diagnosing CD and EAS in ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome (CS).

METHODS: Two hundred sixty-four CD and forty-seven EAS were randomly divided into training and validation and test datasets. We applied 8 ML algorithms to select the most suitable model. The diagnostic performance of the optimal model and bilateral petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) were compared in the same cohort.

RESULTS: Eleven adopted variables included age, gender, BMI, duration of disease, morning cortisol, serum ACTH, 24-h UFC, serum potassium, HDDST, LDDST, and MRI. After model selection, the Random Forest (RF) model had the most extraordinary diagnostic performance, with a ROC AUC of 0.976 ± 0.03, a sensitivity of 98.9% ± 4.4%, and a specificity of 87.9% ± 3.0%. The serum potassium, MRI, and serum ACTH were the top three most important features in the RF model. In the validation dataset, the RF model had an AUC of 0.932, a sensitivity of 95.0%, and a specificity of 71.4%. In the complete dataset, the ROC AUC of the RF model was 0.984 (95% CI 0.950-0.993), which was significantly higher than HDDST and LDDST (both p < 0.001). There was no significant statistical difference in the comparison of ROC AUC between the RF model and BIPSS (baseline ROC AUC 0.988 95% CI 0.983-1.000, after stimulation ROC AUC 0.992 95% CI 0.983-1.000). This diagnostic model was shared as an open-access website.

CONCLUSIONS: A machine learning-based model could be a practical noninvasive approach to distinguishing CD and EAS. The diagnostic performance might be close to BIPSS.

PMID:36933156 | DOI:10.1007/s12020-023-03341-7

Int J Colorectal Dis. 2023 Mar 18;38(1):73. doi: 10.1007/s00384-023-04353-5.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Recent evidence-based publications disclosed that negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may reduce the incidence rate of surgical site infection (SSI) and length of stay (LOS) compared with conventional drainage in patient status post abdominoperineal resection (APR) and extralevator abdominoperineal excision (ELAPE).

METHODS: Data sources: Eligible randomized controlled trials and retrospective and prospective studies published before January 2023 were retrieved from databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase).

STUDY SELECTION: (a) The study involved patients undergoing ELAPE or APR with postoperative NPWT; (b) the study compared NWPT with conventional drainage and reported at least one outcome of interest (i.e., SSI); and (c) the study provided adequate information to calculate the effect estimated for meta-analysis.

INTERVENTIONS: We calculated the odds ratio (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The measure outcomes included surgical site infection(SSI) and length of stay (LOS).

RESULTS: Eight articles, involving 547 patients, met the selection criteria. Compared to conventional drainage, NPWT was associated with a significantly lower SSI rate (fixed effect, OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.18-0.45; I² = 0%) in eight studies and 547 patients. Besides, NPWT was associated with a shorter LOS (fixed effect, MD – 2.00; CI – 2.60 to – 1.39; I² = 0%) than conventional drainage in three studies and 305 patients. In a trial sequential analysis, the cumulative number of patients in the analyses of both outcomes exceeded the required information size and surpassed the significance boundary in favor of NPWT, suggesting conclusive results.

CONCLUSION: NPWT is superior to conventional drainage in both SSI rate and LOS, and the statistical power of SSI and LOS are confirmed by trial sequential analysis.

PMID:36933148 | DOI:10.1007/s00384-023-04353-5

Esophagus. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s10388-023-00995-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of oropharyngoesophageal scintigraphy (OPES) in the assessment of dysphagia in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to compare OPES results with those of barium esophagogram.

METHODS: Adult SSc patients who underwent OPES for the assessment of dysphagia were enrolled. OPES was performed with both liquid and semisolid boluses and provided information regarding oropharyngeal transit time, esophageal transit time (ETT), oropharyngeal retention index (OPRI), esophageal retention index (ERI), and site of bolus retention. Barium esophagogram results were also collected.

RESULTS: Fifty-seven SSc patients (87.7% female, mean age 57.7 years) with dysphagia were enrolled. OPES identified at least one alteration in each patient and findings were generally worse for the semisolid bolus. Esophageal motility was widely impaired with 89.5% of patients with an increased semisolid ERI, and middle-lower esophagus was the most frequent site of bolus retention. However, oropharyngeal impairment was highlighted by widespread increased OPRI, especially in anti-topoisomerase I positivity. Older patients and with longer disease duration presented slower semisolid ETT (p = 0.029 and p = 0.002, respectively). Eleven patients with dysphagia had a negative barium esophagogram: all of them presented some alterations in OPES parameters.

CONCLUSION: OPES revealed a marked SSc esophageal impairment, in terms of both slowed transit time and increased bolus retention, but also shed light on oropharyngeal swallowing alterations. OPES showed high sensitivity, being able to detect swallowing alterations in dysphagic patients with negative barium esophagogram. Therefore, the use of OPES for the assessment of SSc-related dysphagia in clinical practice should be promoted.

PMID:36933137 | DOI:10.1007/s10388-023-00995-0

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-26451-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Epidemiological evidence for the relationship between cadmium exposure and mortality in specific chronic kidney disease (CKD) populations remains scarce. We aimed to explore the relationships between cadmium concentrations in urine and blood and all-cause mortality among CKD patients in the USA. This cohort study was composed of 1825 CKD participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (1999-2014) who were followed up to December 31, 2015. All-cause mortality was ascertained by matching the National Death Index (NDI) records. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality in relation to urinary and blood cadmium concentrations by Cox regression models. During an average follow-up period of 82 months, 576 CKD participants died. Compared with the lowest quartiles, HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality associated with the fourth weighted quartiles of urinary and blood cadmium concentrations were 1.75 (1.28 to 2.39) and 1.59 (1.17 to 2.15), respectively. Furthermore, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality per ln-transformed IQR increment in cadmium concentrations in urine (1.15 μg/g U_Cr) and blood (0.95 μg/L) were 1.40 (1.21 to 1.63) and 1.22 (1.07 to 1.40), respectively. Linear concentration-response relationships between urinary and blood cadmium concentrations and all-cause mortality were also found. Our findings suggested that increased cadmium concentrations in both urine and blood significantly contributed to enhanced mortality risk in CKD patients, thus highlighting that efforts to reduce cadmium exposure may reduce mortality risk in high-risk populations with CKD.

PMID:36933131 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-023-26451-1