Tag: pubmed

JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2329577. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.29577.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: To encourage the appropriate utilization of emergency care, cost-sharing for emergency care was increased from HK$100 (US $12.8) to HK$180 (US $23.1) per visit in June 2017 in all public hospitals in Hong Kong. However, there are concerns that this increase could deter appropriate emergency department (ED) visits and be associated with income-related disparities.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in ED visits after the fee increase.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study used administrative data from June 2015 to May 2019 from all public hospitals in Hong Kong. Participants included all Hong Kong residents aged 64 years and younger, categorized into low-income, middle-income, and high-income groups according to the median household income in their district of residence. Data analysis was performed from May to June 2023.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the ED visit rate per 100 000 people per month, categorized into 3 severity levels (emergency, urgent, and nonurgent). Secondary outcomes include general outpatient (GOP) visit rate, emergency admission rate, and in-hospital mortality rate per month at public hospitals. Segmented regression analyses were used to estimate changes in the level and slope of outcome variables before and after the fee increase.

RESULTS: This study included a total of 5 441 679 ED patients (2 606 332 male patients [47.9%]; 2 108 933 patients [38.5%] aged 45-64 years), with 2 930 662 patients (1 407 885 male patients [48.0%]; 1 111 804 patients [37.9%] aged 45-64 years) from the period before the fee increase. The fee increase was associated with an 8.0% (95% CI, 7.1%-9.0%) immediate reduction in ED visits after June 2017, including a 5.9% (95% CI, 3.3%-8.5%) reduction in urgent visits and an 8.9% (95% CI, 8.0%-9.8%) reduction in nonurgent visits. In addition, a 5.7% (95% CI, 4.7%-6.8%) reduction of emergency admissions was found, whereas no significant changes were observed in in-hospital mortality. Specifically, a statistically significant increase in GOP visits (4.1%; 95% CI, 0.9%-7.2%) was found within the low-income group, but this association became insignificant after controlling for the social security group, who were exempted from payment, as a control.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, the fee increase was not associated with changes in ED visits for emergency conditions, but there was a negative and significant association with both urgent and nonurgent conditions across all income groups. Considering the marginal increase in public GOP services, further study is warranted to examine strategies to protect low-income people from avoiding necessary care.

PMID:37589972 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.29577

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Aug 17:dgad473. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad473. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Large extracellular vesicles (lEV) enriched for endothelial and blood cell markers are increased in metabolic conditions such as obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D), actively contribute to the atherosclerosis process, and have been identified as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although bariatric surgery (BS) in individuals with obesity is related to decreased cardiovascular (CV) risk and increased life expectancy, post-BS these subjects are still at higher CV risk compared to the general population. We aimed to compare the lEV profiles between individuals with obesity, with or without T2D, before and 1-year after BS, and normal-weight controls.

METHODS: Prospective longitudinal study with individuals eligible for BS, with or without T2D (T2D and OB groups, respectively) and healthy controls (HC-group) matched by age and sex. The concentration and phenotype of lEV were assessed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: The study cohort included 108 individuals (age 48.0 ± 10.5 years; 84.3% females). Before BS, the OB-group presented higher concentrations of lEV enriched for endothelial and blood cell biomarkers than the HC, but lower concentrations than those observed in the T2D-group (p < 0.05). BS resulted in a significant reduction in most of the lEV enriched for cell-specific markers in both subgroups. lEV differences between OB and T2D groups were no longer observed post-BS (p > 0.05). However, compared with HC, OB and T2D groups still showed increased concentrations of lEV enriched for platelet and endothelial cell markers (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: At one year after BS, lEV concentrations remain above the physiological range. These abnormalities might contribute to explaining the increased CV risk after BS and underscore the importance of long-term CV risk factor control in post-BS individuals.

PMID:37589958 | DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgad473

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Aug 17:dgad484. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad484. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Few long-term randomized trials have evaluated the efficacy of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in improving sexual function and hypogonadal symptoms in men with hypogonadism and whether effects are sustained beyond 12 months.

OBJECTIVE: Testosterone Replacement therapy for Assessment of long-term Vascular Events and efficacy ResponSE in hypogonadal men (TRAVERSE) study evaluated the effect of TRT on major adverse cardiovascular events in middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism. The Sexual Function Study, nested within the parent trial, determined testosterone’s efficacy in improving sexual activity, hypogonadal symptoms, libido, and erectile function among men reporting low libido.

METHODS: Among 5204 men, 45 to 80 years, with two testosterone concentrations <300 ng/dL, hypogonadal symptoms, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) or increased CVD risk enrolled in TRAVERSE trial, 1161 with low libido were enrolled in the Sexual Function Study (587 randomized to receive 1.62% testosterone gel and 574 to placebo gel for the duration of their participation in the study). Primary outcome was change from baseline in sexual activity score. Secondary outcomes included hypogonadal symptoms, erectile function, and sexual desire.

RESULTS: TRT was associated with significantly greater improvement in sexual activity than placebo [estimated mean (95% confidence interval) between-group difference 0.49 (0.19,0.79) and 0.47 (0.11,0.83) acts per day] at 6 and 12 months, respectively, omnibus test p = 0.011]; treatment effect was maintained at 24 months. TRT improved hypogonadal symptoms and sexual desire, but not erectile function, compared to placebo.

CONCLUSIONS: In middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism and low libido, TRT for two years improved sexual activity, hypogonadal symptoms, and sexual desire, but not erectile function.

PMID:37589949 | DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgad484

Clin Transplant. 2023 Aug 17:e15104. doi: 10.1111/ctr.15104. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The relationship between the Follicular Cytotoxic T cell subgroup and expression levels of PD1/PD-L1 genes and the development of donor specific antibody (DSA) is unknown. In this study, we aimed to examine CD8+CXCR5+PD-1+ follicular cytotoxic T cell levels and expression levels of PD1/PD-L1 genes in peripheral blood lymphocytes in de-novo DSA positive and negative kidney transplant recipients (KTR).

METHODS: In our study, expression of PD-1/ PD-L1 genes by Real-Time Quantitative PCR method and CD8+CXCR5+PD-1+ T cell expression levels by flow cytometric method were obtained from peripheral blood samples. 63 participants were included in the study (de-novo DSA positive recipients (n = 22, group 1), de-novo DSA negative recipients (n = 20, group 2) and healthy control (n = 21, group 3). All patients had negative PRA before kidney transplantation. Expression (%) levels of target cells were evaluated by flow cytometry method. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 22 and R.3.3.2 software were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS: The demographic data of the groups were similar. PD-1 mRNA expression was higher in de-novo DSA positive KTR than negative (respectively, 1.03 ± .29/.82 ± .15, p: .001). CD8+CXCR5+PD-1+ T cell expression levels were found to be higher in the de-novo DSA positive group than in the negative group and similar to the healthy group (respectively, 3.06 ± 1.98/.52 ± .40, p:.001, 3.06 ± 1.98/2.78 ± .59, p:.62). The percentage of CD8+CXCR5+PD-1+ expressing T cells was significantly lower in the HLA-Class II+ group than other groups (HLA CI/II/ I+II, respectively, 3.63 ± 2.72/1.65 ± .50/3.68 ± 1.67, p: .04).

CONCLUSIONS: In our study, a significant relationship was found between DSA formation and PD-1 mRNA level and CD8+CXCR5+PD-1+ follicular cytotoxic T cell in KTR.

PMID:37589946 | DOI:10.1111/ctr.15104

Exp Brain Res. 2023 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s00221-023-06684-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Predicting the time course of motion sickness symptoms enables the evaluation of provocative stimuli and the development of countermeasures for reducing symptom severity. In pursuit of this goal, we present an observer-driven model of motion sickness for passive motions in the dark. Constructed in two stages, this model predicts motion sickness symptoms by bridging sensory conflict (i.e., differences between actual and expected sensory signals) arising from the observer model of spatial orientation perception (stage 1) to Oman’s model of motion sickness symptom dynamics (stage 2; presented in 1982 and 1990) through a proposed “Normalized innovation squared” statistic. The model outputs the expected temporal development of human motion sickness symptom magnitudes (mapped to the Misery Scale) at a population level, due to arbitrary, 6-degree-of-freedom, self-motion stimuli. We trained model parameters using individual subject responses collected during fore-aft translations and off-vertical axis of rotation motions. Improving on prior efforts, we only used datasets with experimental conditions congruent with the perceptual stage (i.e., adequately provided passive motions without visual cues) to inform the model. We assessed model performance by predicting an unseen validation dataset, producing a Q² value of 0.86. Demonstrating this model’s broad applicability, we formulate predictions for a host of stimuli, including translations, earth-vertical rotations, and altered gravity, and we provide our implementation for other users. Finally, to guide future research efforts, we suggest how to rigorously advance this model (e.g., incorporating visual cues, active motion, responses to motion of different frequency, etc.).

PMID:37589937 | DOI:10.1007/s00221-023-06684-9

J Med Syst. 2023 Aug 17;47(1):88. doi: 10.1007/s10916-023-01984-7.

ABSTRACT

As part of a clinical validation of a new brain-dedicated PET system (CMB), image quality of this scanner has been compared to that of a whole-body PET/CT scanner. To that goal, Hoffman phantom and patient data were obtined with both devices. Since CMB does not use a CT for attenuation correction (AC) which is crucial for PET images quality, this study includes the evaluation of CMB PET images using emission-based or CT-based attenuation maps. PET images were compared using 34 image quality metrics. Moreover, a neural network was used to evaluate the degree of agreement between both devices on the patients diagnosis prediction. Overall, results showed that CMB images have higher contrast and recovery coefficient but higher noise than PET/CT images. Although SUVr values presented statistically significant differences in many brain regions, relative differences were low. An asymmetry between left and right hemispheres, however, was identified. Even so, the variations between the two devices were minor. Finally, there is a greater similarity between PET/CT and CMB CT-based AC PET images than between PET/CT and the CMB emission-based AC PET images.

PMID:37589893 | DOI:10.1007/s10916-023-01984-7

Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2023 Aug 17;8(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s41235-023-00510-0.

ABSTRACT

A commonplace sight is seeing other people walk. Our visual system specializes in processing such actions. Notably, we are not only quick to recognize actions, but also quick to judge how elegantly (or not) people walk. What movements appear appealing, and why do we have such aesthetic experiences? Do aesthetic preferences for body movements arise simply from perceiving others’ positive emotions? To answer these questions, we showed observers different point-light walkers who expressed neutral, happy, angry, or sad emotions through their movements and measured the observers’ impressions of aesthetic appeal, emotion positivity, and naturalness of these movements. Three experiments were conducted. People showed consensus in aesthetic impressions even after controlling for emotion positivity, finding prototypical walks more aesthetically pleasing than atypical walks. This aesthetic prototype effect could be accounted for by a computational model in which walking actions are treated as a single category (as opposed to multiple emotion categories). The aesthetic impressions were affected both directly by the objective prototypicality of the movements, and indirectly through the mediation of perceived naturalness. These findings extend the boundary of category learning, and hint at possible functions for action aesthetics.

PMID:37589891 | DOI:10.1186/s41235-023-00510-0

Acta Diabetol. 2023 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s00592-023-02168-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: Between 1985 and 1996, Sweden experienced an “epidemic” of celiac disease with a fourfold increase in incidence in young children. Timing and amount of gluten introduced during infancy have been thought to explain this “epidemic”. We aimed to study whether the cumulative incidence of type 1 diabetes differs between children born during the “epidemic” compared to children born after.

METHODS: This is a national register study in Sweden comparing the cumulative incidence of type 1 diabetes in two birth cohorts of 240 844 children 0-17 years old born 1992-1993, during the “epidemic”, and 179 530 children born 1997-1998, after the “epidemic”. Children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes were identified using three national registers.

RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of type 1 diabetes by the age of 17 was statistically significantly higher in those born after the “epidemic” 0.77% than in those born during the “epidemic” 0.68% (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The incidence of type 1 diabetes is higher in those born after the epidemic compared to those born during the epidemic, which does not support the hypothesis that gluten introduction increases the incidence of T1D. Changes in gluten introduction did not halt the increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in Sweden.

PMID:37589890 | DOI:10.1007/s00592-023-02168-y

J Clin Ultrasound. 2023 Aug 17. doi: 10.1002/jcu.23537. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and clinical effects of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) Doppler indices such as the systole diastole ratio (S/D), Pulsatility (PI), and resistance index (RI) in the diagnosis of hyperechogenic bowel.

METHODS: A total of 133 pregnant women, including 66 with hyperechogenic bowel and 67 controls, were enrolled in the study. All participants were evaluated in the second trimester by an experienced obstetrician. Doppler measurements were performed, including superior mesenteric artery peak systolic velocity, S/D ratio, PI, and RI. Statistical analysis was conducted to compare the Doppler parameters between the hyperechogenic bowel and control groups.

RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the hyperechogenic bowel and control groups in terms of age, body mass index, gestational week, and fetal measurements. While SMA peak systolic velocity (PSV) showed no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.074), the S/D ratio (4.01 ± 0.59 vs. 3.27 ± 0.57, p = 0.0001), PI (1.51 ± 0.15 vs. 1.29 ± 0.06, p = 0.0001), RI (0.76 ± 0.05 vs. 0.67 ± 0.04, p = 0.0001) were significantly higher in the hyperechogenic bowel group compared to the control group. Screening tests based on Doppler parameters also demonstrated significant differences. The S/D ratio, PI, and RI exhibited good to excellent diagnostic accuracy, as indicated by the area under the curve values. Pregnant women with a high RI value of 0.72 were 101 times more likely to be diagnosed with HB. The odds ratio (OR) for diagnosing HB is 101.66 (CI 95%, 31.04-332.97).

CONCLUSION: Doppler indices, specifically the S/D ratio, PI, and RI, showed strong predictive ability and diagnostic accuracy in identifying cases of hyperechogenic bowel. These findings suggest that Doppler ultrasound can serve as a valuable tool for evaluating hyperechogenic bowel and may provide important clinical implications. Further diagnostic tests are warranted to determine the underlying cause of hyperechogenic bowel in individual cases.

PMID:37589231 | DOI:10.1002/jcu.23537

Oncologist. 2023 Aug 17:oyad230. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyad230. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the pan-cancer landscape of MUTYH alterations and the relationship between MUTYH mutations and potentially actionable biomarkers such as specific genomic alterations, tumor mutational burden, and mutational signatures. We used a large pan-cancer comprehensive genomic dataset from patients profiled (tissue next generation sequencing) during routine clinical care. Overall, 2.8% of 229 120 solid tumors had MUTYH alterations, of which 55% were predicted germline. Thirty tumor types had a 2% or greater MUTYH mutation rate. MUTYH-altered versus -WT cancers had significantly higher tumor mutational burden and more frequent alterations in KRAS G12C, but not in KRAS in general; these observations were statistically significant, especially in colorectal cancers. Across cancers, PD-L1 expression levels (immunohistochemistry) were not associated with MUTYH alteration status. In silico computation demonstrated that MUTYH mutational signatures are associated with higher levels of hydrophobicity (which may reflect higher immunogenicity of neoantigens) relative to several other signature types such as microsatellite instability. Survival of patients with MUTYH-altered versus -WT tumors was similar. In conclusion, comprehensive genomic profiling suggests that several features of MUTYH-altered cancers may be pharmacologically targetable. Drugs such as sotorasib (targeting KRAS G12C) and immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeting the increased mutational load and higher neo-antigen hydrophobicity/immunogenicity merit investigation in MUTYH-mutated malignancies.

PMID:37589222 | DOI:10.1093/oncolo/oyad230