Tag: pubmed

J Cataract Refract Surg. 2024 Jul 15. doi: 10.1097/j.jcrs.0000000000001523. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare the long-term refractive outcomes and visual quality after KLEx and EVO-ICL implantation for high myopia.

SETTING: Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

DESIGN: A retrospective study.

METHODS: This study included 31 KLEx-treated patients (31 eyes, spherical equivalent: -7.62D ± 1.22) and 32 ICL-treated patients (32 eyes, spherical equivalent: -8.22D ± 1.18). Refractive outcomes and objective visual quality were examined. Subjective visual quality was evaluated by a customized questionnaire. Patients’ satisfaction was graded.

RESULTS: Five-year postoperatively, the efficacy (KLEx: 0.96 ± 0.20; ICL: 1.03 ± 0.20; P = 0.164) and safety indices (KLEx:1.12 ± 0.20; ICL: 1.21 ± 0.19; P = 0.067) were comparable. Statistically higher proportions of ICL-treated eyes achieved a postoperative UDVA of 20/20 or better (P = 0.035). Refractive predictability was similar between the two groups (P = 0.947), whereas more KLEx-treated eyes had myopic refractive errors (P < 0.001). Total coma was significantly higher after KLEx (P = 0.020), and greater total trefoil was observed after ICL implantation (P = 0.006). Haloes were the primary visual disturbance in both groups (KLEx: 64.5%; ICL: 93.8%). The incidences of haloes (P < 0.001), glare (P = 0.004), and starbursts (P = 0.043) were notably higher after ICL implantation. The patient’s satisfaction scores were similar (KLEx: 9.10 ± 1.27; ICL: 9.10 ± 1.27; P = 0.894).

CONCLUSIONS: For high myopia, EVO-ICL yielded better long-term refractive outcomes than KLEx. Haloes were the chief complaint in both groups, with a significantly higher incidence after ICL implantation.

PMID:39025652 | DOI:10.1097/j.jcrs.0000000000001523

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2024 Jul 18. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8306. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Myelin maturation occurs in late fetal life to early adulthood, with the most rapid changes observed in the first few years of infancy. To quantify the degree of myelination, a specific MR imaging sequence is required to measure the changes in tissue proton relaxivity (R1). R1 positively correlates with the degree of myelination maturation at a given age. Similar to head circumference charts, these data can be used to develop normal growth charts for specific white matter tracts to detect pathologies involving abnormal myelination.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using normal clinical pediatric brain MR images with the MP2RAGE sequence to generate T1 maps. The T1 maps were segmented to 75 brain regions from a brain atlas (white matter and gyri). Statistical modeling for all subjects across regions and the age range was computed, and estimates of population-level percentile ranking were computed to describe the effective myelination rate as a function of age. Test-retest analysis was performed to assess reproducibility. Logistic trendline and regression were performed for selected white matter regions and plotted for growth charts.

RESULTS: After exclusion for abnormal MR imaging or diseases affecting myelination from the electronic medical record, 103 subject MR images were included, ranging from birth to 17 years of age. Test-retest analysis resulted in a high correlation for white matter (r = 0.88) and gyri (r = 0.95). All white matter regions from the atlas had significant P values for logistic regression with R ² values ranging from 0.41 to 0.99.

CONCLUSIONS: These data can serve as a myelination growth chart to permit patient comparisons with normal levels with respect to age and brain regions, thus improving detection of developmental disorders affecting myelin.

PMID:39025639 | DOI:10.3174/ajnr.A8306

Lancet Psychiatry. 2024 Aug;11(8):611-619. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00184-6.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Understanding of ethnic disparities in suicide in England and Wales is poor as ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates. Using linked data, we examined variations, by sex, in suicide rates in England and Wales by ethnicity and migrant and descendant status.

METHODS: Using the Office for National Statistics 2012-19 mortality data linked to the 2011 census from the Public Health Research Database, we calculated the age-standardised suicide rates by sex for each of the 18 self-identified ethnicity groups in England and Wales. We present rates by age, sex, and methods used for suicide by ethnic group. We estimated age-adjusted and sex-adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using Poisson regression models for each minority ethnic group compared with the majority population. We involved people with lived experience in the research.

FINDINGS: Overall, 31 644 suicide deaths occurred over the study period, including 3602 (11%) in people from minority ethnic backgrounds, with a mean age of death of 43·3 years (SD 17·0, range 13-96). Almost all minority ethnic groups had a lower rate of suicide than the White British majority, apart from individuals who identified as being from a Mixed heritage background or White Gypsy or Irish Travellers. In females who identified as Mixed White and Caribbean, the suicide IRR was 1·79 (95% CI 1·45-2·21) compared with the White British majority; in those who identified as White Gypsy or Irish Travellers, the IRR was 2·26 (1·42-3·58). Rates in males identifying as from these two groups and those identifying as White Irish were similar to the White British majority. Compared with the non-migrant population, migrants had a lower rate of suicide regardless of ethnicity, but in the descendant population, people from a Mixed ethnicity background had a higher risk of suicide than the White British majority.

INTERPRETATION: There are ethnic disparities in suicide mortality in England and Wales, but the reasons for this are unclear. The higher rate in previously overlooked minority ethnic groups warrants further attention.

FUNDING: Wellcome Trust.

PMID:39025632 | DOI:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00184-6

Lancet Psychiatry. 2024 Aug;11(8):592-600. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00143-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although studies have suggested a high risk of suicide in people with eating disorders, most studies have focused on suicidal ideation and attempts. There is little research on the characteristics of people with eating disorders who died by suicide, nor investigation of trends over time. We aimed to compare the characteristics of patients with eating disorders who died by suicide versus patients with other mental health diagnoses who died by suicide in England and to examine the trends in rates.

METHODS: In this national retrospective cohort study, data on all people (aged ≥10 years) who died by suicide in England, UK, between Jan 1, 1997, and Dec 31, 2021, while under the care (within the previous 12 months) of mental health services were obtained from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH), in which clinical information is collected via a questionnaire completed by the mental health professional responsible for the patient’s care. Incidence of suicide in, and demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics of, patients with a diagnosis of eating disorder (as recorded by the treating clinician) who died by suicide were compared with patients with other mental health diagnoses who died by suicide within the same timeframe using univariable logistic regression analysis. People with related lived experience were involved in the study design, implementation, interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.

FINDINGS: Of 119 446 people for whom NCISH were notified of dying by suicide in England, 30 795 were under the recent care of mental health services, of whom 30 246 had known diagnoses and were included in analyses. Of these individuals, 10 373 (34%) were female and 19 873 (66%) were male; 2236 (8%) were of minority ethnicity; 382 (1%) had a diagnosis of eating disorder and 29 864 (99%) had another mental health diagnosis. Compared with patients with other mental health diagnoses who died by suicide, patients with eating disorders were younger (median age 33 years [range 15-90] vs 45 years [10-100]), more often female (343 [90%] female and 39 [10%] male in the eating disorders group; 10 030 [34%] female and 19 834 [66%] male in the other diagnoses group), and less likely to have evidence of conventional risk factors for suicide such as living alone (odds ratio [OR] 0·68, 95% CI 0·55-0·84). 22 (6%) of 382 were from a minority ethnic group. Patients with an eating disorder were characterised by a greater clinical complexity (eg, self-harm [OR 2·31, 95% CI 1·78-3·00], comorbidity [9·79, 6·81-14·1], and longer duration of illness [1·95, 1·56-2·43]), and were more likely to have died following overdoses (2·00, 1·62-2·45) than patients with other diagnoses. Childhood abuse (52 [37%] of 140) and domestic violence (18 [20%] of 91) were common in patients with eating disorders. Similar to patients with other diagnoses, most (244 [75%] of 326) of those with eating disorders who died by suicide were rated as low risk by clinicians at last contact. The number of suicide deaths in patients with eating disorders rose between 1997 and 2021 (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1·03, 95% CI 1·02-1·05; p<0·0001), but rates fell when accounting for the greater number of patients entering mental health services (IRR 0·97, 0·95-1·00; p=0·033).

INTERPRETATION: This study was focused on people who sought help from mental health services. It did not consider subtypes of eating disorders or include a control group, but it does highlight possible areas for intervention. The comprehensive provision of evidence-based treatment for eating disorders and underlying conditions to address the clinical complexity in these patients might help to reduce suicide. Recognising limitations in clinical risk assessment, addressing early life experiences and current adversities, and appropriate prescribing might also be of benefit. Suicide prevention must remain a priority for eating disorder services and mental health care more widely.

FUNDING: The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership.

PMID:39025631 | DOI:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00143-3

Lancet Psychiatry. 2024 Aug;11(8):577-578. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00218-9.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:39025625 | DOI:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00218-9

Lancet Psychiatry. 2024 Aug;11(8):574-575. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00181-0.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:39025624 | DOI:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00181-0

Methods Enzymol. 2024;701:83-122. doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.04.008. Epub 2024 May 17.

ABSTRACT

The lateral stress profile of a lipid bilayer constitutes a valuable link between molecular simulation and mesoscopic elastic theory. Even though it is frequently calculated in simulations, its statistical precision (or that of observables derived from it) is often left unspecified. This omission can be problematic, as uncertainties are prerequisite to assessing statistical significance. In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the statistical error analysis for the lateral stress profile. We detail two relatively simple but powerful techniques for generating error bars: block-averaging and bootstrapping. Combining these methods allows us to reliably estimate uncertainties, even in the presence of both temporal and spatial correlations, which are ubiquitous in simulation data. We illustrate these techniques with simple examples like stress moments, but also more complex observables such as the location of stress profile extrema and the monolayer neutral surface.

PMID:39025584 | DOI:10.1016/bs.mie.2024.04.008

Methods Enzymol. 2024;701:1-46. doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.03.006. Epub 2024 Apr 4.

ABSTRACT

A widely known property of lipid membranes is their tendency to undergo a separation into disordered (L_d) and ordered (L_o) domains. This impacts the local structure of the membrane relevant for the physical (e.g., enhanced electroporation) and biological (e.g., protein sorting) significance of these regions. The increase in computing power, advancements in simulation software, and more detailed information about the composition of biological membranes shifts the study of these domains into the focus of classical molecular dynamics simulations. In this chapter, we present a versatile yet robust analysis pipeline that can be easily implemented and adapted for a wide range of lipid compositions. It employs Gaussian-based Hidden Markov Models to predict the hidden order states of individual lipids by describing their structure through the area per lipid and the average S_CC order parameters per acyl chain. Regions of the membrane with a high correlation between ordered lipids are identified by employing the Getis-Ord local spatial autocorrelation statistic on a Voronoi tessellation of the lipids. As an example, the approach is applied to two distinct systems at a coarse-grained resolution, demonstrating either a strong tendency towards phase separation (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), 1,2-dilinoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DIPC), cholesterol) or a weak tendency toward phase separation (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), 1-palmitoyl-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PUPC), cholesterol). Explanations of the steps are complemented by coding examples written in Python, providing both a comprehensive understanding and practical guidance for a seamless integration of the workflow into individual projects.

PMID:39025569 | DOI:10.1016/bs.mie.2024.03.006

Sci Justice. 2024 Jul;64(4):389-396. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2024.05.003. Epub 2024 May 23.

ABSTRACT

DNA technology is the gold standard with respect to the identification of individuals from biological evidence. The technology offers the convenience of a universally similar approach and methodology for analysis across the globe. However, the technology has not realised its full potential in India due to the lack of a DNA database and lacunae in sample collection and preservation from the scene of crime and victims (especially those of sexual assault). Further, statistical interpretation of DNA results is non-existent in the majority of cases. Though the latest technologies and developments in the field of DNA analysis are being adopted and implemented,very little has been enacted practically to improve optimise sample collection and preservation. This article discusses current casework scenarios that highlight the pitfalls and ambiguous areas in the field of DNA analysis, especially with respect DNA databases, sampling, andstatistical approaches to genetic data analysis. Possible solutions and mitigation measures are suggested.

PMID:39025564 | DOI:10.1016/j.scijus.2024.05.003

Sci Justice. 2024 Jul;64(4):360-366. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2024.05.002. Epub 2024 May 11.

ABSTRACT

The impact of contextual bias has been repeatedly demonstrated across forensic domains; however, research on this topic in China is scarce. To examine the prevalence of contextual bias in pattern feature-comparison disciplines, we conducted an experiment involving 24 forensic document examination students. The aim was to determine whether knowledge of different contextual information influenced their forensic decision-making. Participants were divided into different context groups and tasked with examining whether questioned signatures with ambiguous features matched reference signatures. The results of independent-samples t-tests for their decision score data in the two context groups exhibited a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05, Cohen’s d > 0.8). Moreover, the submitted forensic reports by participants disclosed a biased evaluation of handwriting features. These findings show how contextual information can bias forensic decision-making in handwriting examination. Context management with complementary strategies such as case triage, cognitive training and decision-making transparency must be implemented to minimize bias in handwriting examination.

PMID:39025561 | DOI:10.1016/j.scijus.2024.05.002