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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Impact of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status on Symptom Severity at Time of Urologic Referral

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s40615-022-01357-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Dysfunctional Voiding and Incontinence Scoring System (DVISS) is a validated tool to evaluate lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) severity in children. DVISS provides a quantitative score (0-35) including a quality-of-life measure, with higher values indicating more/worse symptoms. Clinically, variability exists in symptom severity when patients present to pediatric urology with LUTD. We hypothesized that symptom severity at consultation varied based on race, gender, and/or socioeconomic status.

METHODS: All urology encounters at a single institution with completed modified DVISS scores 6/2015-3/2018 were reviewed. Initial visits for patients 5-21 years old with non-neurogenic LUTD were included. Patients with neurologic disorders or genitourinary tract anomalies were excluded. Wilcoxon rank sum tests compared scores between White and Black patients and between male and female patients. Multiple regression models examined relationships among race, gender, estimated median household income, and insurance payor type. All statistics were performed using Stata 15.

RESULTS: In total, 4086 initial patient visits for non-neurogenic LUTD were identified. Median DVISS scores were higher in Black (10) versus White (8) patients (p < 0.001). Symptom severity was higher in females (9) versus males (8) (p < 0.001). When estimated median income and insurance payer types were introduced into a multiple regression model, race, gender, and insurance payer type were significantly associated with symptom severity at presentation.

CONCLUSIONS: Race, gender, and socioeconomic status significantly impact LUTS severity at the time of urologic consultation. Future studies are needed to clarify the etiologies of these disparities and to determine their clinical significance.

PMID:35960437 | DOI:10.1007/s40615-022-01357-9

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Real-Time Measurements of Relative Tidal Volume and Stroke Volume Using Electrical Impedance Tomography with Spatial Filters: A Feasibility Study in a Swine Model Under Normal and Reduced Ventilation

Ann Biomed Eng. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s10439-022-03040-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Continuous monitoring of both hemodynamic and respiratory parameters would be beneficial to patients, e.g., those in intensive care unit. The objective of this exploratory animal study was to test the feasibility of simultaneous measurements of relative tidal volume (rTV) and relative stroke volume (rSV) using an electrical impedance tomography (EIT) device equipped with a new real-time source separation algorithm implemented as two spatial filters. Five pigs were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. The supplied tidal volume from a mechanical ventilator was reduced to 70, 50 and 30% from the 100% normal volume to simulate hypoventilation. The respiratory volume signal and cardiac volume signal were generated by applying the spatial filters to the acquired EIT data, from which values of rTV and rSV were extracted. The measured rTV values were compared with the TV values from the mechanical ventilator using the four-quadrant concordance analysis method. For changes in TV, the concordance rate in each animal ranged from 81.8% to 100%, while it was 92.5% when the data from all five animals were pooled together. When the measured rTV values for each animal were scaled to the absolute TVEIT values in mL using the TVVent data from the mechanical ventilator, the smallest 95% limits of agreement (LoA) were – 6.04 and 7.44 mL for the 70% ventilation level, and the largest 95% LoA were – 18.1 and 19.4 mL for the 50% ventilation level. The percentage error between TVEIT and TVVent was 10.3%. Although similar statistical analyses on rSV data could not be performed due to limited intra-animal variability, changes in rSV values measured by the EIT device were comparable to those measured by an invasive hemodynamic monitor. In this animal study, we were able to demonstrate the feasibility of an EIT device for noninvasive and simultaneous measurements of rTV and rSV in real time. However, the performance of the real-time source separation method needs to be further validated on animals and human subjects, particularly over a wide range of SV values. Future clinical studies are needed to assess the potential usefulness of the new method in dynamic cardiopulmonary monitoring and explore other clinical applications.

PMID:35960417 | DOI:10.1007/s10439-022-03040-w

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Concordance of the Deuterium Dose to Mother Method and 24-Hour Recall to Measure Exclusive Breastfeeding at 6 Weeks Postnatally in Rural/Urban Setting in Jamaica

Matern Child Health J. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s10995-022-03465-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The 2030 health agenda for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals promote exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life as a central step towards ensuring the survival of infants. As Jamaica attempts to achieve this goal, monitoring the rates of EBF is desirable. Currently, EBF rate is measured by questionnaires which are subject to recall and social desirability biases. We determined the rate of EBF using the Deuterium-oxide dose-to-mother (DTM) method and 24-h recall. The concordance of both methods and urban-rural differences of EBF were evaluated. Additionally, the growth of infants who were exclusively breastfed was compared to the infants who were mixed-fed.

METHODS: Sixty-one healthy mother-child pairs were followed from birth. EBF was measured at 6 weeks. Growth was determined using standard anthropometric measurements. Differences in means were assessed by independent t-test or ANOVA. The agreement between the DTM and 24-h recall method was assessed with the kappa statistic. Differences in anthropometry and location were determined using a repeated measure model approach.

RESULTS: Thirty (49%) women exclusively breastfed their infants with mean breast milk intake of 1024.3 ± 256.9 g/day. There was moderate agreement between the methods (Agreement 69%, kappa 0.37, p = 0.002). Rural women (65%) were more likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding. There was no significant difference between the growth of the exclusively breastfed infant and mixed-fed infants.

CONCLUSION: EBF rate was successfully measured using the DTM method. Women from urban settings are less likely to practice EBF. Further research may be needed to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors affecting breastfeeding practices in urban Jamaica.

PMID:35960420 | DOI:10.1007/s10995-022-03465-8

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Positive predictive value of noninvasive prenatal testing for sex chromosome abnormalities

Mol Biol Rep. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s11033-022-07754-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Early and intermediate serological screening cannot detect sex chromosome abnormalities. Currently, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is the only procedure available for screening such disorders; however, its use is controversial.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 47,855 pregnant women underwent NIPT at our referral center from January 2014 to December 2020. Of the 314 patients with a positive NIPT indicating sex chromosome abnormalities, 260 were screened via karyotype analysis and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array after amniotic fluid extraction; 96 cases were confirmed. Karyotype analysis and SNP array were consistent in the diagnosis of 88 out of the 96 fetuses. The positive predictive value (PPV) for sex chromosome abnormalities was found to be 36.9%. The PPV in patients aged 30-34 years was significantly higher than that in patients aged < 30 years. No statistically significant difference was observed on the PPV among patients with or without previous adverse pregnancy outcomes. Moreover, 83 women carrying fetuses were diagnosed with a sex chromosome abnormality terminated their pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in detection and analytical technologies are needed to increase the accuracy of sex chromosome abnormalities detection. Pregnant women with a positive NIPT for these abnormalities may require invasive diagnostic procedures such as karyotype analysis and SNP array for better genetic counseling.

PMID:35960415 | DOI:10.1007/s11033-022-07754-x

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Screening for Depression in Cardiovascular Patients in Albania: Findings from the Country Check-Up Program

J Clin Psychol Med Settings. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s10880-022-09904-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This is a retrospective study conducted in Vlora from January 2016 to April 2017 and the aim was to report the prevalence of depression in cardiovascular (CVD) patients. Depression assessment was done using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 (PHQ-9). Data were derived from the patient records and the standard recommended cut-off point of PHQ-9 ≥ 10 was used. In total, data of 300 patients were analyzed. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) were observed at 6% of the participants. Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or sleeping too much, feeling tired or having little energy and having little interest or pleasure in doing things were the most common symptoms reported. In multivariate analysis, only family status showed statistical significance. Unmarried (mean rank = 207.22) are more likely to have moderate or severe depression level (OR 3.529; C.I. 95% 1.017-12.238). Future research should focus on the needed actions after depression screening (i.e. referral, treatment etc.).

PMID:35960399 | DOI:10.1007/s10880-022-09904-6

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Cross-sectional comparisons of dietary indexes underlying nutrition labels: nutri-score, Canadian ‘high in’ labels and Diabetes Canada Clinical Practices (DCCP)

Eur J Nutr. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s00394-022-02978-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the cross-sectional association between dietary indexes (DI) that underlie, respectively, the Nutri-score (NS), the proposed Canadian ‘High In’ Symbol (CHIL) and the Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines (DCCP) with food consumption, nutrient intakes and metabolic markers.

METHODS: 1836 adults (18-74 years) participating in the representative ESTEBAN study, conducted in mainland France in 2014-2016, were included in the analysis. Food consumption was assessed with three repeated 24 h dietary recalls. Anthropometric measurements and biomarkers of metabolic risk (cholesterol-total, LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), HDL (High Density Lipoprotein)-triglycerides, glucose) were obtained through a clinical examination and fasting blood draw. The DI were assessed for their association with food consumption, dietary intakes and metabolic biomarkers as quintiles and continuous variables using multi-adjusted linear regression. Heathier diets were assigned to lower scores.

RESULTS: Correlations between scores ranged from + 0.62 between CHIL-DI and NS-DI to + 0.75 between NS-DI and DCCP-DI. All DIs discriminated individuals according to the nutritional quality of their diets through food consumption and nutrient intakes (healthier diets were associated with lower intakes of energy, added sugars and saturated fat; and with higher intakes of fiber, vitamins and minerals). NS-DI was associated with blood glucose (adjusted mean in Q1 = 5 vs. Q5 = 5.46 mmol/dl, ptrend = 0.001) and DCCP-DI was associated with BMI (Q1 = 24.8 kg/m2 vs. Q5 = 25.8 kg/m2, ptrend = 0.025), while CHIL showed no significant association with any anthropometric measures or biomarkers.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides elements supporting the validity of the nutrient profiling systems underlying front-of-package nutrition labellings (FOPLs) to characterize the healthiness of diets.

PMID:35960367 | DOI:10.1007/s00394-022-02978-w

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Stability-instability transition in tripartite merged ecological networks

J Math Biol. 2022 Aug 12;85(3):20. doi: 10.1007/s00285-022-01783-7.

ABSTRACT

Although ecological networks are typically constructed based on a single type of interaction, e.g. trophic interactions in a food web, a more complete picture of ecosystem composition and functioning arises from merging networks of multiple interaction types. In this work, we consider tripartite networks constructed by merging two bipartite networks, one mutualistic and one antagonistic. Taking the interactions within each sub-network to be distributed randomly, we consider the stability of the dynamics of the network based on the spectrum of its community matrix. In the asymptotic limit of a large number of species, we show that the spectrum undergoes an eigenvalue phase transition, which leads to an abrupt destabilisation of the network as the ratio of mutualists to antagonists is increased. We also derive results that show how this transition is manifest in networks of finite size, as well as when disorder is introduced in the segregation of the two interaction types. Our random-matrix results will serve as a baseline for understanding the behaviour of merged networks with more realistic structures and/or more detailed dynamics.

PMID:35960362 | DOI:10.1007/s00285-022-01783-7

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Pembrolizumab, radiotherapy, and an immunomodulatory five-drug cocktail in pretreated patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical or endometrial carcinoma: Results of the phase II PRIMMO study

Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s00262-022-03253-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A phase II study (PRIMMO) of patients with pretreated persistent/recurrent/metastatic cervical or endometrial cancer is presented. Patients received an immunomodulatory five-drug cocktail (IDC) consisting of low-dose cyclophosphamide, aspirin, lansoprazole, vitamin D, and curcumin starting 2 weeks before radioimmunotherapy. Pembrolizumab was administered three-weekly from day 15 onwards; one of the tumor lesions was irradiated (8Gyx3) on days 15, 17, and 19. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate per immune-related response criteria (irORR) at week 26 (a lower bound of the 90% confidence interval [CI] of > 10% was considered efficacious). The prespecified 43 patients (cervical, n = 18; endometrial, n = 25) were enrolled. The irORR was 11.1% (90% CI 2.0-31.0) in cervical cancer and 12.0% (90% CI 3.4-28.2) in endometrial cancer. Median duration of response was not reached in both cohorts. Median interval-censored progression-free survival was 4.1 weeks (95% CI 4.1-25.7) in cervical cancer and 3.6 weeks (95% CI 3.6-15.4) in endometrial cancer; median overall survival was 39.6 weeks (95% CI 15.0-67.0) and 37.4 weeks (95% CI 19.0-50.3), respectively. Grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events were reported in 10 (55.6%) cervical cancer patients and 9 (36.0%) endometrial cancer patients. Health-related quality of life was generally stable over time. Responders had a significantly higher proportion of peripheral T cells when compared to nonresponders (p = 0.013). In conclusion, PRIMMO did not meet its primary objective in both cohorts; pembrolizumab, radiotherapy, and an IDC had modest but durable antitumor activity with acceptable but not negligible toxicity.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT03192059) and EudraCT Registry (number 2016-001569-97).

PMID:35960332 | DOI:10.1007/s00262-022-03253-x

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Effect of four premolar extractions on the vertical dimension of the face : A retrospective cephalometric study

J Orofac Orthop. 2022 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/s00056-022-00418-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Adequate control of the vertical dimension is of great importance in orthodontic treatment. Although existing evidence is very limited, extraction of four premolars is thought to contribute towards improved control of anterior facial height compared with non-extraction treatment protocols. Thus, the aim of this retrospective cohort study was to compare the effect of fixed-appliance treatment with extraction of four premolars to non-extraction treatment on the skeletal vertical dimension.

METHODS: A consecutive sample of 76 children with skeletal hyperdivergence (49% male; mean age 11.9 years) was divided into two groups for treatment with either non-extraction (n = 31) or extraction of four premolars (n = 45). Baseline characteristics were comparable: overjet 5.1 ± 2.5 mm, overbite 2.4 ± 1.9 mm, ANB angle 4.6 ± 2.3°, and SN-ML angle 40.2 ± 3.5°. Patients were treated with standard edgewise fixed appliances with closing loops/sliding mechanics. Vertical skeletal and dental outcomes were measured on lateral cephalograms before and after treatment. Data were analyzed with linear regression at 5%.

RESULTS: Compared to non-extraction treatment, treatment with premolar extractions had no significant effect on the SN-ML angle (difference (Δ) = 0.07°; 95% confidence interval -0.90 to 1.01°; P = 0.88). Statistically significant changes between the extraction and non-extraction groups were only found for the parameters SNA (Δ -1.47°; P = 0.003), ANB (Δ -1.17°; P = 0.004), SN-OP (Δ -1.48°; P = 0.04), and L1-ML (Δ -6.39°; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Orthodontic treatment of children with skeletal hyperdivergence using systematic extraction of four premolars had minimal effects on the vertical facial dimension compared to non-extraction treatment.

PMID:35960321 | DOI:10.1007/s00056-022-00418-2

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

The routing of medical evacuation of patients with ruptures of cerebral aneurysms from remote out-of-the-way rural area

Probl Sotsialnoi Gig Zdravookhranenniiai Istor Med. 2022 Jul;30(4):656-665. doi: 10.32687/0869-866X-2022-30-4-656-665.

ABSTRACT

The patients with aneurysm subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) living in remote, inaccessible, rural areas cannot be provided with urgent neurosurgical care on the spot. They require medical evacuation (ME) to neurosurgical hospital. The purpose of the study was to investigate effect of complex (multi-stage) and simple (one-stage) logistic scheme of ME of patients in acute period of aSAH on the outcome of the disease. The retrospective analysis of results of surgical treatment in 145 patients with aSAH hospitalized in regional vascular center (RVC) in Yakutsk in 2017-2018 was carried out. The subjects were allocated into 3 groups: group 1 – patients from regions of the Republic of Sakha, who underwent ME to the RSC using simple transportation scheme; group 2 – patients from regions of the Republic of Sakha who underwent ME using complex transportation scheme; group 3 (control) – patients hospitalized from territory of Yakutsk. The RVC hospitalized 145 patients. The sanitary aviation delivered 91 (62.8%) patients from districts of the Republic to the RVC. The duration of time from the onset of disease to surgical treatment: in group 1-2 days; in group 2-4 days; in group 3, 2 days (p = 0.018). The frequency of re-rupture of cerebral aneurysm in the group 1 and group 2 did had no statistically significant differences (19,1% and 32.7%) (p = 0.142). Mortality: in group 1 7.1%; in group 2 8.2%; in group 3 7.4% and no statistically significant differences between groups 1 and 2 (p = 1,000), between groups 1 and 3 (p = 1,000) and between groups 2 and 3 (p = 0.886). When applying complex logistic scheme of ME, transportation over considerable distance does not deteriorated course of disease and results of surgical treatment of patients with aSAH in acute period of hemorrhage.

PMID:35960298 | DOI:10.32687/0869-866X-2022-30-4-656-665