Tag: pubmed

Addiction. 2022 Nov 18. doi: 10.1111/add.16091. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To estimate associations between e-cigarette flavour and smoking cessation and study product use at 6 months or longer.

METHODS: Secondary analysis of data from a living systematic review, with meta-analyses and narrative synthesis, incorporating data up to Jan 2022. Included studies provided people who smoked combustible cigarettes with nicotine e-cigarettes for the purpose of smoking cessation, compared with no treatment or other stop smoking interventions. Measurements included smoking cessation and study product use at 6 months or longer reported as risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI); flavour use at any time points.

RESULTS: We included 16 studies (n=10,336); 14 contributed to subgroup analyses and 10 provided participants with a choice of e-cigarette flavour. We judged nine, five and two studies at high, low, and unclear risk of bias, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed no clear associations between flavour and cessation or product use. In all but one analysis tests for subgroup differences resulted in I² values between 0% and 35%. In the comparison between nicotine e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (I² =65.2% for subgroup differences), studies offering tobacco flavour e-cigarettes showed evidence of a greater proportion of participants still using at six-months or longer (RR=3.81; 95% CI=1.45 to 10.05; 3 studies; n=1181; I² =84%), whereas there was little evidence for greater 6-month use when studies offered a choice of flavours (RR=1.44; 95% CI=0.80 to 2.56; 2 studies; n=454; I² =82%). However, substantial statistical heterogeneity within subgroups makes interpretation of this result unclear. In the 10 studies where participants had a choice of flavours and this was tracked over time some switching between flavours occurred, but there were no clear patterns in flavour preferences.

CONCLUSIONS: There does not appear to be a clear association between e-cigarette flavours and smoking cessation or longer-term e-cigarette use, possibly due to a paucity of data. There is evidence that people using e-cigarettes to quit smoking switch between e-cigarette flavours.

PMID:36399154 | DOI:10.1111/add.16091

Ann Med. 2022 Dec;54(1):3299-3305. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2108132.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether unintentional ingestion of povidone-iodine following its application to the oropharyngeal space could affect thyroid function.

OBJECTIVE: To examine thyroid function among individuals who regularly apply povidone-iodine throat spray for SARS-CoV-2 prophylaxis.

METHODS: We designed a case-control study to compare thyroid function among participants who received povidone-iodine throat spray three times a day for 42 days (‘cases’) and those who received vitamin C (‘controls’). Thyroid function was assessed by profiling serum TSH, free T3, and free T4; iodine status was estimated using serum thyroglobulin level, while infection status was determined by measuring anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody against the nucleocapsid antigen. All measurements were performed in pairs, at baseline and 42 days later. Pre-post changes in thyroid function were compared between groups, before and after stratification according to baseline TSH quartiles.

RESULTS: A total of 177 men (117 cases and 60 controls) (mean age, 32.2 years) were included. Despite comparable demographics and clinical profiles, no clinically or statistically significant differences were observed in thyroid indices between ‘cases’ and ‘controls’ before and after stratification according to TSH quartiles. None of the participants developed symptomatic hypo- or hyperthyroidism throughout the study. Post-hoc analysis did not reveal differences in thyroid function according to infection status.

CONCLUSIONS: Data from this study support the overall safety of povidone-iodine use in the oropharyngeal space for SARS-CoV-2 prophylaxis among individuals with normal thyroid function and subclinical thyroid disease.

PMID:36399104 | DOI:10.1080/07853890.2022.2108132

Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2022 Dec;30(1):2135728. doi: 10.1080/26410397.2022.2135728.

ABSTRACT

A positive experience of sexuality during youth is key to good sexual health later in life. Addressing young people’s sexual health needs and sexual and reproductive rights is thus essential. This study aimed to identify unmet sexual health needs among youth in the city of Barcelona (Spain) through mixed methods research. We analysed the narratives of young people (n = 50) aged 14-24 years with different genders, origins, sexualities and socioeconomic backgrounds, collected from January to April 2019. A descriptive statistical analysis was also conducted on the records of visits to sexual health services and reasons for consultation. We found that 21% (n = 32,161) of young people aged 14-24 years had used sexual healthcare services in Barcelona between 2015 and 2017, while the reasons for consultation differed across sex, gender and socioeconomic background. Young people declared that they needed more information to enjoy their sexuality, to know where to go in case of an unexpected situation and to learn how to combat gender-based violence. They stated that the sexuality education they had received was sparse and focused on risks. We found that formal sex education is scarce, with informal sex education thus acquiring a major role. Current services can be improved by expanding coverage, training professionals and reducing acceptability and accessibility barriers. Sexism is ubiquitous in young people’s sexual, dating and personal relationships. We recommend planning sexual health care services and formal sexual education, in which a strong gender strategy is embedded, as part of the same strategy.

PMID:36399103 | DOI:10.1080/26410397.2022.2135728

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022 Nov 18. doi: 10.1002/jmri.28517. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Renal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) involves microstructure and microcirculation, quantified with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and hybrid models. A better understanding of their contrast may increase specificity.

PURPOSE: To measure modulation of DWI with cardiac phase and flow-compensated (FC) diffusion gradient waveforms.

STUDY TYPE: Prospective.

POPULATION: Six healthy volunteers (ages: 22-48 years, five females), water phantom.

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3-T, prototype DWI sequence with 2D echo-planar imaging, and bipolar (BP) or FC gradients. 2D Half-Fourier Single-shot Turbo-spin-Echo (HASTE). Multiple-phase 2D spoiled gradient-echo phase contrast (PC) MRI.

ASSESSMENT: BP and FC water signal decays were qualitatively compared. Renal arteries and velocities were visualized on PC-MRI. Systolic (peak velocity), diastolic (end stable velocity), and pre-systolic (before peak velocity) phases were identified. Following mutual information-based retrospective self-registration of DWI within each kidney, and Marchenko-Pastur Principal Component Analysis (MPPCA) denoising, combined IVIM-DTI analysis estimated mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), and eigenvalues (λi) from tissue diffusivity (D_t ), perfusion fraction (f_p ), and pseudodiffusivity (D_p , D_p,axial , D_p,radial ), for each tissue (cortex/medulla, segmented on b0/FA respectively), phase, and waveform (BP, FC). Monte Carlo water diffusion simulations aided data interpretation.

STATISTICAL TESTS: Mixed model regression probed differences between tissue types and pulse sequences. Univariate general linear model analysis probed variations among cardiac phases. Spearman correlations were measured between diffusion metrics and renal artery velocities. Statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS: Water BP and FC signal decays showed no differences. Significant pulse sequence dependence occurred for λ₁ , λ₃ , FA, D_p , f_p , D_p,axial , D_p,radial in cortex and medulla, and medullary λ₂ . Significant cortex/medulla differences occurred with BP for all metrics except MD (systole [P = 0.224]; diastole [P = 0.556]). Significant phase dependence occurred for D_p , D_p,axial , D_p,radial for BP and medullary λ₁ , λ₂ , λ₃ , MD for FC. FA correlated significantly with velocity. Monte Carlo simulations indicated medullary measurements were consistent with a 34 μm tubule diameter.

DATA CONCLUSION: Cardiac gating and flow compensation modulate of measurements of renal diffusion.

EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 2.

PMID:36399101 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.28517

J Sex Res. 2022 Nov 18:1-11. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2120597. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We aimed to test whether the association between same-sex marriage and common mental health diagnoses was explained by shared genetic and environmental familial influences using sibling comparison and adoption analyses. For the sibling comparison analysis, participants (1,177,712 men and 1,266,917 women) were individuals born in Sweden between 1932 and 1994 and had ever been recorded as married (in opposite-sex or same-sex marriages). For the adoption analysis, participants were 147,164 and 1,298 female-female full sibling and adoptive sibling pairs, respectively. Based on medical records, prescribed medication, and death certificates, depression, substance abuse, and suicide (completed and attempted) from age 18 years were identified. For both sexes, being in a same-sex marriage was associated with greater risk of depression, substance abuse, and suicide, compared with being in an opposite-sex marriage. Controlling for shared familial confounding reduced this difference by less than 20% in magnitude, but overall mental health disparities for individuals in same-sex marriages remained statistically significant. Among women, only the genetic correlation between same-sex marriage and depression was statistically significant (r = .33). Same-sex marriage, as a proxy for sexual orientation, was associated with increased risk of certain mental health diagnoses and shared familial confounding explained a small component of this association, depending on the diagnosis. The findings indicate that sexual orientation disparities in mental health outcomes may involve unmeasured factors, and a relatively small proportion should be considered that may be due to shared familial confounding relevant to both sexual orientation and psychopathology.

PMID:36399099 | DOI:10.1080/00224499.2022.2120597

J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci. 2022 Nov 18. doi: 10.1002/jhbp.1275. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The 2018 Tokyo Guidelines (TG18) recommend urgent endoscopic biliary drainage based on acute cholangitis (AC) severity. Therefore, we evaluated the safety and mortality benefits of urgent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in different age groups.

METHODS: Using International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) codes, we sampled adult AC patients from National Inpatient Sample. TG18 definition of cholangitis severity was used to identify patients with severe and non-severe (mild or moderate) AC. Age categories were 18 to 64, 65 to 79, and 80 and above. Multivariate linear or logistic regression was used as appropriate. We used Stata, version 14.2, to perform analyses considering 2-sided P< 0.05 as statistically significant.

RESULTS: Among 137,100 patients, there were 93,365 (68.09%) patients with non-severe cholangitis and 43,735 (31.91%) patients with severe cholangitis. Urgent ERCP (within 24 hours) resulted in decreased mortality in all age groups for both severe and non-severe AC. Post-sphincterotomy bleeding was more common in patients ≥80 years of age, whereas post-ERCP acute cholecystitis was more common in patients 65-79 years. The rates of post-ERCP pancreatitis, bile duct perforation, and duodenal perforation did not differ among the age groups. In addition, there were no differences in the rate of sedation-related complications between different age groups who underwent urgent ERCP.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the mortality benefit from urgent ERCP for AC in different age groups and describes the safety of performing urgent ERCP in patients of various ages. Therefore, we recommend that urgent ERCP be performed according to the TG18 guidelines regardless of age.

PMID:36399089 | DOI:10.1002/jhbp.1275

Altern Ther Health Med. 2022 Nov 18:AT7779. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT: The main pathological features of jaw cysts are bone defects. Obtaining autologous bone for transplantation repair has been associated with postoperative complications, and the amount of bone that dentist can collect is limited. Studies have found that autologous tooth bone powder is safe and has good bone-formation ability and stability.

OBJECTIVE: The study intended to examine the efficacy of implantation of autologous tooth bone powder and inorganic bovine bone powder, after marsupialization and second-stage curettage for large jaw cysts that dentist can’t directly remove by surgery in clinical practice.

DESIGN: The research team designed a prospective randomized controlled trial.

SETTING: The study took place in the Head and Neck Surgery Department at Chongqing University Cancer Hospital in Chongqing, China.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 60 patients at the hospital between 2016 and 2018 who had mandibular cysts that surgical operation couldn’t directly remove by surgery in clinical practice.

INTERVENTION: At 4 months after curettage, the research team randomly divided participants into three groups: (1) an intervention group who received implants of autologous tooth bone powder into the bone defects, (2) a positive control group who received implants of inorganic bovine bone powder, and (3) a negative control group who received no implants of any material.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The research team performed: (1) periodontal probing at a fixed anatomical point for the intervention and both control groups postintervention at one day and 4 months after surgery and recorded the changes in probing depth and (2) computed tomography (CT) scans at baseline one day before and postintervention at 4 months after the implantation to determine changes in the bone mineral density and compared them among the three groups.

RESULTS: The change in the height of the intervention group’s fixed anatomical point postintervention at 4 months after surgery was significantly smaller than that of the positive control group (P < .05). In the CT scan analysis, the differences between the intervention and negative control groups and between the positive and negative control groups were statistically significant (P < .05); however, the difference between the intervention and positive control groups wasn’t significant (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Autologous tooth bone powder and inorganic bovine bone powder can effectively repair bone defects caused by large jaw cysts and that the repaired effect may be better than that of spontaneous osteogenesis. The autologous tooth bone powder was associated with lower levels of bone loss than those seen with use of inorganic bovine bone powder.

PMID:36399081

Gigascience. 2022 Nov 18;11:giac104. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giac104.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The alignment of large numbers of protein sequences is a challenging task and its importance grows rapidly along with the size of biological datasets. State-of-the-art algorithms have a tendency to produce less accurate alignments with an increasing number of sequences. This is a fundamental problem since many downstream tasks rely on accurate alignments.

RESULTS: We present learnMSA, a novel statistical learning approach of profile hidden Markov models (pHMMs) based on batch gradient descent. Fundamentally different from popular aligners, we fit a custom recurrent neural network architecture for (p)HMMs to potentially millions of sequences with respect to a maximum a posteriori objective and decode an alignment. We rely on automatic differentiation of the log-likelihood, and thus, our approach is different from existing HMM training algorithms like Baum-Welch. Our method does not involve progressive, regressive, or divide-and-conquer heuristics. We use uniform batch sampling to adapt to large datasets in linear time without the requirement of a tree. When tested on ultra-large protein families with up to 3.5 million sequences, learnMSA is both more accurate and faster than state-of-the-art tools. On the established benchmarks HomFam and BaliFam with smaller sequence sets, it matches state-of-the-art performance. All experiments were done on a standard workstation with a GPU.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that learnMSA does not share the counterintuitive drawback of many popular heuristic aligners, which can substantially lose accuracy when many additional homologs are input. LearnMSA is a future-proof framework for large alignments with many opportunities for further improvements.

PMID:36399060 | DOI:10.1093/gigascience/giac104

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2022 Nov 18. doi: 10.1039/d2cp03823d. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We examine the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of different polyacenes, such as anthracene, tetracene, pentacene, etc., under the influence of arbitrarily polarized light. The irradiation effect produces an anisotropy in the system and acenes may therefore be employed as molecular rectifiers. We find that the rectification efficiency can be more than 90% with a specific set of light parameters. The phase of rectification (positive or negative) can suitably be engineered by controlling the light conditions. The effect of light irradiation is incorporated through the Floquet-Bloch ansatz with the minimal coupling scheme. The transport properties are calculated using Green’s function technique following the Landauer-Büttiker formalism. Given the promising rectification results, the present prescription may be useful in designing functional elements, employing several other single/complex molecular structures in digital circuit design with the possibility of immense applications.

PMID:36399012 | DOI:10.1039/d2cp03823d

Orbit. 2022 Nov 18:1-6. doi: 10.1080/01676830.2022.2146727. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports that investigate trends in ophthalmology residents’ exposure to oculoplastic procedures without Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) minimum requirements. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated publicly available ACGME ophthalmology residency case logs from 2009 to 2021.

METHODS: National resident averages and standard deviations were collected for the following oculoplastic procedures without minimum ACGME requirements: eye removal and implant, lacrimal surgery, other orbital surgery (e.g. orbitotomy), tarsorrhaphy, entropion/ectropion repair, temporal artery biopsy, and other oculoplastic surgery. We also collated average yearly surgical volumes of all oculoplastic procedures, “Total Oculoplastic Surgery,” which includes procedures with minimum requirements and procedures without requirements. Finally, we collected the average yearly volumes of all ophthalmic procedures. Linear regressions were used to characterize trends in resident oculoplastic surgical volume.

RESULTS: We provide evidence that the average yearly volumes of all but one oculoplastic procedure without ACGME minimum requirements have been decreasing. The decreases in volume for these procedures are driven by residents having fewer cases both as primary surgeon and as assistant. In addition, while the total number of ophthalmic procedures logged by residents on average increased (β = 7.519, p = 0.0163), the average volume of total oculoplastic procedures did not demonstrate any statistically significant trends.

CONCLUSIONS: Volumes of oculoplastic procedures without ACGME minimum requirements between 2009 and 2021 have been decreasing among ophthalmology residents.

PMID:36398702 | DOI:10.1080/01676830.2022.2146727