Tag: nevin manimala

BMC Cancer. 2022 Aug 10;22(1):871. doi: 10.1186/s12885-022-09951-0.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: EphrinA (EFNA) are Eph receptor ligands that regulate various disease processes. Nonetheless, the expression characteristics of EFNAs in pan-cancer, their relationship with tumor immune microenvironment, and prognostic value landscape remain unknown.

METHODS: A comprehensive landscape of EFNAs was created using various statistical data extracted from 33 cancers. Subsequently, we identified differential expression, genetic variations, potential function enrichment, tumor immune-related analysis, and drug sensitivity. Further, we investigated the clinical features and diagnostic prognostic value of EFNAs. RT-qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to validate the expression level and significant clinical value of EFNA5 in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines and tissues.

RESULTS: EFNAs were highly mutated in various cancers. Genomic and epigenetic alterations of EFNAs were observed in various tumors, where an oncogenic mutation in specific cancer types potentially affected EFNA expression. Moreover, tumor-derived EFNAs were significantly related to the tumor immune microenvironment, suggesting that they are promising therapeutic targets. The majority of EFNA family genes were significantly linked to patient prognosis. Eventually, EFNA5 was an independent prognostic factor in lung adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSION: In summary, EFNAs are crucial in tumor immune regulation, and EFNA5 is a prognostic marker in lung adenocarcinoma. Our findings provide new insights into EFNAs from a bioinformatics standpoint and highlight the significance of EFNAs in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

PMID:35945523 | DOI:10.1186/s12885-022-09951-0

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022 Aug 9;22(1):633. doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04966-8.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A fast adoption of a non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in clinical practice is a global tendency last years. Firstly, in Russia according a new regulation it was possible to perform a widescale testing of pregnant women in chromosomal abnormality risk. The aim of the study-to assess efficiency of using NIPT as a second-line first trimester screening test in Moscow.

METHODS: Based on the first trimester combined prenatal screening results 12,700 pregnant women were classified as a high-risk (cut-off ≥ 1:100) and an intermediate-risk (cut-off 1:101 – 1:2500) groups followed by whole genome NIPT. Women from high-risk group and those who had positive NIPT results from intermediate-risk group were considered for invasive prenatal diagnostic.

RESULTS: 258 (2.0%) samples with positive NIPT results were detected including 126 cases of trisomy 21 (T21), 40 cases of T18, 12 cases of T13, 41 cases of sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) and 39 cases of rare autosomal aneuploidies (RAAs) and significant copy number variations (CNVs). Statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) were revealed for fetal fraction (FF) and both for some patient’s (body mass index and weight) and fetus’s (sex and high risk of aneuploidies) characteristics. NIPT showed as a high sensitivity as specificity for common trisomies and SCAs with an overall false positive rate 0.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: NIPT demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. As a second-line screening test it has shown a high efficiency in detecting fetus chromosomal anomalies as well as it could potentially lower the number of invasive procedures in pregnant women.

PMID:35945516 | DOI:10.1186/s12884-022-04966-8

BMC Med Imaging. 2022 Aug 9;22(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12880-022-00870-x.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the application value of magnetic resonance (MR)-perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) in the early imaging diagnosis of rabbit spinal tuberculosis.

METHODS: Spinal tuberculosis model was established using ATCC25177 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain in the lumbar spine of rabbits. Forty rabbits were divided into 2 groups: rabbits in the experiment group were injected with 0.2 ml of 5.0 mg/ml tuberculosis suspension (n = 30) and those in the control group were injected with 0.2 ml of normal saline (n = 10) after vertebrae drilling surgery. Routine MRI and MR-PWI were performed at 4, 6, and 8 weeks after surgery. The statistical difference in terms of perfusion parameter values in the early MR-PWI scan of spinal tuberculosis between two groups was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted for the accuracy of MR-PWI parameters in the early diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis.

RESULTS: Except time to peak, the other perfusion parameters in the experiment group were all increased with time. In addition, the difference between the two groups, as well as the differences at each time point was statistically significant (all P < 0.05). First-pass enhancement rate (Efirst), early enhancement rate (Ee), peak height (PH), maximum slope of increase (MSI), maximum signal enhancement rate (Emax) and signal enhancement rate (SER) showed high values in early diagnosing spinal tuberculosis.

CONCLUSION: The parameters including Efirst, Ee, PH, MSI, Emax and SER may provide valuable imaging evidence for the early diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis in clinical application.

PMID:35945512 | DOI:10.1186/s12880-022-00870-x

Med Phys. 2022 Aug 9. doi: 10.1002/mp.15916. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the dependency of dose-volume histogram behavior (DVH) and precision on underlying DICOM discretization using shapes and dose distributions with known analytical DVHs for five commercial DVH calculators.

METHODS: DVHs and summary metrics were extracted from all five systems using synthetic DICOM cone and cylinder objects for which the true volume and DVH curves were known. Trends in the curves and metrics were explored by varying the underlying voxelization of the CT image, structure set, and dose grid as well by varying the geometry of the structure and direction of a linear dose gradient. Using synthetic structures allowed for comparison with ground-truth DVH curves to assess their accuracy while an algorithm was additionally developed to assess the precision of each system. The precision was calculated with a novel algorithm that treats any “stair step” behavior in a DVH curve as an uncertainty band and calculates the width, characterized as a percent difference, of the band for various DVH metrics. The underlying voxelization was additionally changed and DVHs were extracted for two clinical examples. The details of how each system calculated DVHs were also investigated and tendencies in the calculated curves, metrics, and precision were related to choices made in the calculation methodology.

RESULTS: Calculation methodology differences that had a noticeable impact on the DVH curves and summary metrics include supersampling beyond the input grids and interpretation of the superior and inferior ends of the structures. Amongst the systems studied, the median precision ranged from 0.902% to 3.22%, and interquartile ranges varied from 1.09% to 3.91%.

CONCLUSIONS: Commercial dose-evaluation solutions can calculate different DVH curves, structure volume measures, and dose statistics for the same input data due to differences in their calculation methodologies. This study highlights the importance of understanding and investigating the DVH calculation when considering a new clinical system and when using more than one system for data transfer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35943829 | DOI:10.1002/mp.15916

Perspect Psychol Sci. 2022 Aug 9:17456916221083277. doi: 10.1177/17456916221083277. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Rational numbers (i.e., fractions, percentages, decimals, and whole-number frequencies) are notoriously difficult mathematical constructs. Yet correctly interpreting rational numbers is imperative for understanding health statistics, such as gauging the likelihood of side effects from a medication. Several pernicious biases affect health decision-making involving rational numbers. In our novel developmental framework, the natural-number bias-a tendency to misapply knowledge about natural numbers to all numbers-is the mechanism underlying other biases that shape health decision-making. Natural-number bias occurs when people automatically process natural-number magnitudes and disregard ratio magnitudes. Math-cognition researchers have identified individual differences and environmental factors underlying natural-number bias and devised ways to teach people how to avoid these biases. Although effective interventions from other areas of research can help adults evaluate numerical health information, they circumvent the core issue: people’s penchant to automatically process natural-number magnitudes and disregard ratio magnitudes. We describe the origins of natural-number bias and how researchers may harness the bias to improve rational-number understanding and ameliorate innumeracy in real-world contexts, including health. We recommend modifications to formal math education to help children learn the connections among natural and rational numbers. We also call on researchers to consider individual differences people bring to health decision-making contexts and how measures from math cognition might identify those who would benefit most from support when interpreting health statistics. Investigating innumeracy with an interdisciplinary lens could advance understanding of innumeracy in theoretically meaningful and practical ways.

PMID:35943825 | DOI:10.1177/17456916221083277

Mycoses. 2022 Aug 9. doi: 10.1111/myc.13517. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There has been an emergence of recalcitrant, recurrent, and difficult-to-treat tinea. Monotherapy with oral antifungals leads to partial clearance or high recurrence of lesions. Isotretinoin is a good adjuvant to systemic antifungals in chronic dermatophytosis. Voriconazole could be a future alternative due to its efficacy against dermatophytes and little resistance.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral itraconazole, combined itraconazole/isotretinoin therapy, and voriconazole for recalcitrant tinea.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study included 90 patients with chronic, recurrent, and/or recalcitrant tinea. They were equally divided into 3 groups: itraconazole monotherapy, combined itraconazole/isotretinoin therapy, and voriconazole monotherapy. All patients received treatments for 6 weeks. The clinical response was classified as either a complete or incomplete clinical cure. Potassium hydroxide microscopy and culture were performed to identify mycological cure. Patients with complete cure were followed up for another 6 months to detect any recurrence.

RESULTS: Complete clinical cure was observed in 53.3% of the itraconazole group, 70% of the itraconazole/isotretinoin group, and 83.3% of the voriconazole group. Mycological cure was detected in 56.7% of the itraconazole group, 83.3% of the itraconazole/isotretinoin group, and 86.7% of the voriconazole group. There was a statistically significant difference between the three groups in favor of voriconazole, then the combined group. No significant adverse effects were observed. The recurrence rate was significantly lower in the voriconazole group compared to the other two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Voriconazole could be a future alternative for the treatment of recalcitrant dermatophytosis.

PMID:35943822 | DOI:10.1111/myc.13517

Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Aug 9:1945998221116563. doi: 10.1177/01945998221116563. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In 1981, Danish physician Jens Thomsen conducted the first and only documented sham-controlled surgical trial in the history of otolaryngology. This trial is historically significant as it was the first in the field to use a methodologically sound study design to address a frustratingly complex disorder such as Ménière’s disease. Despite this, historical interpretations of this work have varied, and questions about the results have been raised. We review the fascinating historical context of this landmark trial and detail how it was influenced by the rise of the randomized controlled trial. We examine how subsequent statistical analyses and interpretations of this historical work have affected surgical treatment paradigms in Ménière’s disease, and we look forward to suggest the legacy of this work as a sham-controlled surgical trial in otolaryngology.

PMID:35943804 | DOI:10.1177/01945998221116563

Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Aug 9:1945998221118251. doi: 10.1177/01945998221118251. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze graft success rates and hearing outcomes in patients with a history of cleft palate (CP) repair undergoing tympanoplasty.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL.

REVIEW METHODS: Per PRISMA guidelines, the databases were searched from date of inception through December 14, 2021. Studies of patients with previous CP repair who underwent tympanoplasty were included. Meta-analysis of proportions, continuous measures, odds ratios (ORs), and meta-regression were used to analyze graft success and hearing outcomes after tympanoplasty.

RESULTS: A total of 323 patients with CP repair and 1169 controls were included. The proportion of graft success was 86.7% (95% CI, 76.1%-94.5%) in patients with CP repair and 88.8% (95% CI, 76.9-96.8) in controls. There was no difference in odds of graft success between patients with CP repair and controls (OR, 1.0 [95% CI, 0.5-1.8]; P = .870). Age was not a significant moderator of graft success in patients with CP repair (r = 0.1 [95% CI, -0.2 to 0.3]; P = .689) or controls (r = -0.0 [95% CI, -0.1 to 0.1]; P = .952). Comparing mean differences between pre- and postoperative air-bone gap was not statistically significant in patients with CP repair and controls (0.2 dB [95% CI, -3.1 to 3.4]; P = .930). Odds of functional success (postoperative air-bone gap <20 dB) were not different between the groups (OR, 0.8 [95% CI, 0.5-1.4]; P = .450).

CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis does not endorse anatomic or functional differences between patients with CP repair and controls after tympanoplasty. However, there is a paucity of evidence for younger children. Further studies are warranted to elucidate specific risk factors for tympanoplasty outcomes in young patients with previous CP repair.

PMID:35943797 | DOI:10.1177/01945998221118251

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2022 Aug 9;8(8):e37039. doi: 10.2196/37039.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a global epidemic causing at least 2.8 million deaths per year. This complex disease is associated with significant socioeconomic burden, reduced work productivity, unemployment, and other social determinants of health (SDOH) disparities.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of SDOH on obesity prevalence among adults in Shelby County, Tennessee, the United States, using a geospatial machine learning approach.

METHODS: Obesity prevalence was obtained from the publicly available 500 Cities database of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and SDOH indicators were extracted from the US census and the US Department of Agriculture. We examined the geographic distributions of obesity prevalence patterns, using Getis-Ord Gi* statistics and calibrated multiple models to study the association between SDOH and adult obesity. Unsupervised machine learning was used to conduct grouping analysis to investigate the distribution of obesity prevalence and associated SDOH indicators.

RESULTS: Results depicted a high percentage of neighborhoods experiencing high adult obesity prevalence within Shelby County. In the census tract, the median household income, as well as the percentage of individuals who were Black, home renters, living below the poverty level, 55 years or older, unmarried, and uninsured, had a significant association with adult obesity prevalence. The grouping analysis revealed disparities in obesity prevalence among disadvantaged neighborhoods.

CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to examine links between geographical location, SDOH, and chronic diseases. The findings of this study, which depict a significantly higher prevalence of obesity within disadvantaged neighborhoods, and other geospatial information can be leveraged to offer valuable insights, informing health decision-making and interventions that mitigate risk factors of increasing obesity prevalence.

PMID:35943795 | DOI:10.2196/37039

JMIR Serious Games. 2022 Aug 9;10(3):e35202. doi: 10.2196/35202.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Memory, one of the main cognitive functions, is known to decline with age. Serious games have been used for improving memory in older adults. The effectiveness of serious games in improving memory has been assessed by many studies. To draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of serious games, the findings of these studies need to be pooled and aggregated.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of serious games in improving memory in older adults with cognitive impairment.

METHODS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was carried out. The search sources included 8 databases, the reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews, and the studies that cited the included studies. In total, 2 reviewers (AA and MH) independently carried out the study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality of evidence appraisal. Extracted data were synthesized using a narrative approach and a statistical approach (ie, multilevel meta-analysis), as appropriate.

RESULTS: Of the 618 citations retrieved, 18 (2.9%) met the eligibility criteria for this review. Of these 18 studies, 15 (83%) randomized controlled trials were included in 10 multilevel meta-analyses. We found that serious games were more effective than no or passive interventions in improving nonverbal memory (P=.02; standardized mean difference [SMD]=0.46, 95% CI 0.09-0.83) and working memory (P=.04; SMD=0.31, 95% CI 0.01-0.60) but not verbal memory (P=.13; SMD=0.39, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.89). The review also showed that serious games were more effective than conventional exercises in improving verbal memory (P=.003; SMD=0.46, 95% CI 0.16-0.77) but not nonverbal memory (P=.30; SMD=-0.19, 95% CI -0.54 to 0.17) or working memory (P=.99; SMD=0.00, 95% CI -0.45 to 0.45). Serious games were as effective as conventional cognitive activities in improving verbal memory (P=.14; SMD=0.66, 95% CI -0.21 to 1.54), nonverbal memory (P=.94; SMD=-0.01, 95% CI -0.32 to 0.30), and working memory (P=.08; SMD=0.37, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.78) among older adults with cognitive impairment. Finally, the effect of adaptive serious games on working memory was comparable with that of nonadaptive serious games (P=.08; SMD=0.18, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.37).

CONCLUSIONS: Serious games have the potential to improve verbal, nonverbal, and working memory in older adults with cognitive impairment. However, our findings should be interpreted cautiously given that most meta-analyses were based on a few studies (≤3) and judged to have a low quality of evidence. Therefore, serious games should be offered as a supplement to existing proven and safe interventions rather than as a complete substitute until further, more robust evidence is available. Future studies should investigate the short- and long-term effects of serious games on memory and other cognitive abilities among people of different age groups with or without cognitive impairment.

PMID:35943792 | DOI:10.2196/35202