Tag: pubmed

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Oct 2. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14484. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is defined as recurrent attacks of urticaria present for more than six weeks. The monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E antibody, omalizumab, was approved for the treatment of CSU in patients who remain refractory to H1-antihistamines. Biologic agents are shown not to increase the risk of COVID-19 infection in different studies.

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we aimed to determine the prevalance of COVID-19 infection in relation to the age, gender, presence of other comorbidities, and treatment given for CSU.

METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of 233 patients diagnosed with CSU in a tertiary referral hospital. Demographical data, treatment given for CSU, the presence of COVID-19-related symptoms, history of close contact to a person with COVID-19 and COVID-19 real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results were determined via a telephone survey and checked from medical data records.

RESULTS: One hundred sixty patients were female; whereas 73 were male. The mean age was 44.76. Out of 233 patients with chronic urticaria, 125 had symptoms related to COVID-19 infection. RT-PCR testing for COVID-19 was performed in 156 patients. Of 156 patients with COVID-19 RT-PCR test, RT-PCR result was positive in 15 cases.

CONCLUSIONS: No statistically significant relationship was found between COVID-19 RT-PCR positivity and the type of treatment administered for chronic urticaria when the patients are divided into omalizumab ± oral antihistamines and only oral antihistamines treatment groups (p = 0.150). Omalizumab seems to be safe in the era of COVID-19.

PMID:34599630 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.14484

Evolution. 2021 Oct 2. doi: 10.1111/evo.14369. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The theoretical literature predicts that parentage differences between the sexes, due to females mating with multiple males, select males to provide less parental care and females to care more for the offspring. We formulate simple evolutionary games to question the generality of this prediction. We find that the relationship between paternal care and fitness gained from extra-pair matings is important. A trade-off between these two quantities is required for partial paternity and complete maternity to bias the ESS towards more female care. We argue that this trade-off has been implicitly or explicitly assumed in most previous theories. However, if there is no trade-off between paternal care and extra-pair matings, parentage differences do not influence the ESS sex roles. Moreover, it is also possible for these two quantities to have a positive relationship, in which case we predict selection for male care is possible. We support these predictions using agent based simulations. We also consider the possibility that caring males have greater opportunities to guard their paternity, and find that this mechanism can also select for male biased care. Hence we derive the conditions under which male care may be selected despite partial paternity and complete maternity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34599602 | DOI:10.1111/evo.14369

Allergy. 2021 Oct 2. doi: 10.1111/all.15117. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) may require up to five years to complete. These lengthy trials may be complicated by high and potentially differential dropouts, especially among participants who perceive that they are receiving placebo. We propose a three-stage design in which the placebo group in Stage 1 crosses over to receive active treatment in Stage 2. In Stage 3, AIT is discontinued to determine whether benefit is maintained post-treatment. We apply inferential statistics to support the three-stage design for clinical trials to determine clinical efficacy, treatment response over time, and sustained response to AIT.

METHODS: The proposed framework constitutes a series of hypothesis tests for comparing treatment responses at the end of each stage. A simulation study was performed to illustrate the statistical properties under varying statistical missing mechanisms and effect sizes.

RESULTS: The statistical properties in terms of bias and statistical power were consistent with what are expected from conventional analyses. Specifically, the extent of bias depended on the missing mechanism and magnitude. The statistical powers were largely driven by effect and sample sizes as well as pre-specified success margins. As an illustration, assuming relative treatment differences of 25% and stagewise dropout rate of 15%, a sample size of 200 per group may achieve 93% power to demonstrate a treatment effect and 60% power to demonstrate a maintained response post-treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: Inferential statistics support our proposed study design for evaluating benefits of AIT over time and inform clinical understanding and decisions.

PMID:34599605 | DOI:10.1111/all.15117

Pest Manag Sci. 2021 Oct 1. doi: 10.1002/ps.6668. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

P-values, binary hypothesis tests, and statistical significance are too often overused or used incorrectly in pest management reports. These statistical results are not the point of an analysis, they are just a by-product that can sometimes be informative. The point of the analysis is always a biological interpretation of the data focusing on whether something new has been learned and then quantifying what was learned in terms of biological effects or supported hypotheses. The term “statistical significance” should be retired if only because of the common misunderstanding that it implies biological relevance; these terms are not equivalent. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34599550 | DOI:10.1002/ps.6668

Acta Gastroenterol Belg. 2021 Jul-Sep;84(3):467-476. doi: 10.51821/84.3.012.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic functional constipation is a highly prevalent disorder in which, when conservative measures fail to relieve symptoms, surgical interventions are sometimes indicated. In recent years, neuromodulation for the treatment of functional constipation has gained interest but its role and effectiveness are still unclear. The purpose of this review is to provide a systematic overview on the current literature on the different modalities of neurostimulation and their effect on chronic functional constipation in adults as reported in the literature.

METHODS: A search in the literature for articles concerning the effect of different types of neuromodulation on constipation was performed in PubMed using extensive search terms for the different modalities of neuromodulation. Studies and trials were checked for eligibility. For all types of neuromodulation together, 27 articles were included.

RESULTS: 17 studies were included on SNM (sacral nerve modulation). Although multiple studies show positive results on the effect of SNM in constipation, double-blind crossover RCT’s (randomised controlled trials) showed no significant effect. 3 studies were included for tSNS (transcutaneous sacral nerve stimulation), 2 for PTNS (percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation) and 2 for TTNS (transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation). Studies and trials on these modalities of neuromodulation reported ambiguous results on statistical significance of the effect. For transcutaneous IFC (interferential current therapy) 2 studies were included, which both reported a statistically significant effect on all outcomes.

CONCLUSION: The beneficial effect of neuromodulation in chronic functional constipation remains questionable. However, neuro-modulation might be worth considering in patients refractory to treatment before turning to more invasive measures. Future research should shed more light on the effects of neuromodulation in constipation.

PMID:34599572 | DOI:10.51821/84.3.012

Andrologia. 2021 Oct 2:e14262. doi: 10.1111/and.14262. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Reciprocal translocation and Robertsonian translocation are known to be causative factors of male infertility. However, the association between autosomal reciprocal translocation, Robertsonian translocation and semen parameters remains controversial. We performed a retrospective study and systematic review to investigate semen parameters in patients with autosomal reciprocal translocation or Robertsonian translocation. We recruited a total of 1,033 controls, 723 reciprocal translocation carriers and 326 Robertsonian translocation carriers. Men in the control, reciprocal translocation and Robertsonian translocation groups had a median age of 32.0 (95% CI, 32.0-33.0), 32.0 (95% CI, 32.0-33.0) and 33.0 (95% CI, 32.0-33.0) years respectively. Results showed that sperm concentration, total number per ejaculate, total motility, progressive motility of autosomal reciprocal translocation and Robertsonian translocation carriers were statistically lower than controls (p < .001). Eleven studies featuring 794 patients were enrolled in this systematic review. Compared with controls, autosomal reciprocal translocation and Robertsonian translocation carriers showed lower sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility and normal morphology. Our results support the conclusion that sperm concentration, total number per ejaculate, total motility and progressive motility are significantly lower in autosomal reciprocal translocation and Robertsonian translocation carriers than in controls.

PMID:34599520 | DOI:10.1111/and.14262

J Periodontol. 2021 Oct 1. doi: 10.1002/JPER.21-0301. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Poor oral health may be a significant risk factor for gastric cancer (GC), however, previous results are not consistent. Here, we investigated the effect of oral health on GC and effect modification by other factors.

METHODS: We conducted a population-based case-control study in Taixing, China. Participants aged between 40 and 85 years and who had lived in Taixing for at least 5 years were included. The GC cases were confirmed by endoscopy and pathological diagnosis, and the controls were randomly selected using the frequency-matching method. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to derive odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of oral health for GC risk after adjusting for confounders and risk factors.

RESULTS: Overall, 901 GC cases and 1972 controls were included. Tooth loss was not significantly associated with an increased risk of GC (yes vs. no, OR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.88-1.33). Compared with toothbrushing at least twice per day, toothbrushing once per day or less was associated with an increased risk of GC (OR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.94-2.94), and was more pronounced in esophagogastric junction cancer and intestinal-type GC. There was no significant interaction between the indicators of oral health and age, sex, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and Helicobacter pylori seropositivity.

CONCLUSION: Poor oral hygiene behavior is associated with an increased risk of GC, and this positive association is consistent across all GC subgroups classified by anatomy and histology. Further studies are needed to explore the possible mechanisms behind this association. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34599526 | DOI:10.1002/JPER.21-0301

Mikrochim Acta. 2021 Oct 1;188(10):359. doi: 10.1007/s00604-021-05024-4.

ABSTRACT

Multiplex detection of emerging pollutants is essential to improve quality control of water treatment plants, which requires portable systems capable of real-time monitoring. In this paper we describe a flexible, dual electrochemical sensing device that detects nonylphenol and paroxetine in tap water samples. The platform contains two voltammetric sensors, with different working electrodes that were either pretreated or functionalized. Each working electrode was judiciously tailored to cover the concentration range of interest for nonylphenol and paroxetine, and square wave voltammetry was used for detection. An electrochemical pretreatment with sulfuric acid on the printed electrode enabled a selective detection of nonylphenol in 1.0-10 × 10^-6 mol L^-1 range with a limit of detection of 8.0 × 10^-7 mol L^-1. Paroxetine was detected in the same range with a limit of detection of 6.7 × 10^-7 mol L^-1 using the printed electrode coated with a layer of carbon spherical shells. Simultaneous detection of the two analytes was achieved in tap water samples within 1 min, with no fouling and no interference effects. The long-term monitoring capability of the dual sensor was demonstrated in phosphate buffer for 45 days. This performance is statistically equivalent to that of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for water analysis. The dual-sensor platform is generic and may be extended to other water pollutants and clinical biomarkers in real-time monitoring of the environment and health conditions. Silver pseudo-reference electrodes for paroxetine (REP) and nonylphenol (REN), working electrodes for paroxetine (WP) and nonylphenol (WN), and auxiliary electrode (AE). USP refers to the University of Sao Paulo. “Red” is reduced form and “Oxi” is oxidized form of analytes.

PMID:34599426 | DOI:10.1007/s00604-021-05024-4

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Oct 1. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-16538-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Due to the limited studies dealing with isotopes levels in benthic macroinvertebrates other than Mytilus sp. in period 2011-2018, macroinvertebrates and seawater samples from the southern Baltic Sea were collected. Activity of ¹³⁷Cs was measured in most common benthic macroinvertebrates inhabiting southern Baltic Sea in the context of choosing the best bioindicators. Taking into account the narrow range of CR coefficients, statistically significant correlation between ¹³⁷Cs activities in seawater and species, a high frequency of occurrence and thus high biomass and the common occurrence, only Limecola balthica could potentially serve as indicators for shallow and deep-sea areas accordingly. Widely spread Mytillus trossulus was characterised by large size variability in samples and shows no significant correlation between activities in species and seawater and appears not so common as L. balthica.

PMID:34599444 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-16538-y

Sci Rep. 2021 Oct 1;11(1):19534. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98985-8.

ABSTRACT

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have been applied in bacterial flora analysis. However, there is no standardized protocol, and the optimal clustering threshold for estimating bacterial species in respiratory infection specimens is unknown. This study was conducted to investigate the optimal threshold for clustering 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) by comparing the results of NGS technology with those of the Sanger method, which has a higher accuracy of sequence per single read than NGS technology. This study included 45 patients with pneumonia with aspiration risks and 35 patients with lung abscess. Compared to Sanger method, the concordance rates of NGS technology (clustered at 100%, 99%, and 97% homology) with the predominant phylotype were 78.8%, 71.3%, and 65.0%, respectively. With respect to the specimens dominated by the Streptococcus mitis group, containing several important causative agents of pneumonia, Bray Curtis dissimilarity revealed that the OTUs obtained at 100% clustering threshold (versus those obtained at 99% and 97% thresholds; medians of 0.35, 0.69, and 0.71, respectively) were more similar to those obtained by the Sanger method, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). Clustering with 100% sequence identity is necessary when analyzing the microbiota of respiratory infections using NGS technology.

PMID:34599245 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-98985-8