Tag: pubmed

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Sep 23;8:749351. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.749351. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

To establish a rabbit animal model of closed globe blast injury with an application of self-developed explosive injury equipment, we tend to explore the anatomic and pathological changes of eyes under different gas pressure. The device comprises of high-pressure air source compression pump, air channel, and gas shock. There were 36 healthy bluish blue rabbits exposed to one of five blast pressures (500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 5,000 Kpa). Slit lamp microscope, B-mode ultrasonography, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and intraocular pressure (IOP) examination were performed at 0-, 1-, 3-, and 7-days post exposure, while gross histopathology was assessed with H&E stain at 7 days. The contralateral eyes and non-blast exposed rabbits were used as controls. Definitive evidence of closed globe blast injury was obtained. Corneal edema and hyphema were observed in the models under all pressures with no full-thickness globe injury, or lens rupture, as the severity was pressure independent. There was no obvious retinal abnormality on B ultrasound or OCT scan, while light vitreous hemorrhage, commotio retinae, and heavy retinal pigmentation presented on one eye, respectively, in the eyes exposed to 5,000 Kpa. Increased retinal thickness with disorganizations on the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer and RGC apoptosis in groups under higher pressure (>500 Kpa). IOP of injured eyes were statistically decreased at day 1 and 7 post injury (p < 0.05). Conclusively, the rabbit animal model induced by self-developed equipment could mimic the clinical features of closed ocular blast injury successfully that was feasible and easy to operate. This will be a new rabbit animal model for investigating mechanisms and new therapeutic interventions of closed globe blast injury in the future.

PMID:34631761 | PMC:PMC8495021 | DOI:10.3389/fmed.2021.749351

Front Nutr. 2021 Sep 17;8:644030. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.644030. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Background: Malnutrition poses a great burden to children in the tropics. However, this seems to be accentuated in children with congenital heart disease. Objectives: The present study is therefore aimed at determining the nutritional status of children with congenital heart disease and to compare them with those without congenital heart disease. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, where congenital heart disease was diagnosed by means of echocardiograph. Anthro software was used to calculate Z scores for weight for age (WAZ), height for age (HAZ), and weight for height (WHZ). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated by the formula BMI = Weight (Kg)/height (M2). Results: The body mass index-for-age z-score (BAZ) and height/length-for-age z-score (HAZ) were calculated for both subjects and controls to determine their nutritional status. It was observed that 38.5% (112/291) of the subjects were wasted (BAZ < -2SD) compared to 6.25% (16/256) of the controls and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 81.2, p < 0.001). Stunting (height/length-for-age z-score < -2SD) was also observed in a greater proportion of subjects than controls as 37.8% (107/291) of subjects were stunted compared with 7.0% (18/256) of the controls (χ2 = 69.9, p < 0.001). The under-five subjects had more cases of malnutrition than the controls of same age group as illustrated in Table 6. Whereas 42.9% (96/224) of the under-five subjects were wasted, only 6.2% (12/192) of the controls were wasted. On the other hand, 4.2% (8/192) of the under-five controls were obese compared to 0.9% (2/224) of the subjects of similar age group. Conclusion: Children with congenital heart disease present with varying degrees of malnutrition that is worse compared with children without congenital heart disease. The impact of malnutrition is worse among children under the age of five. Wasting is more prevalent in children with cyanotic heart disease compared with those with acyanotic congenital heart disease. Overweight and obesity were notable features of malnutrition in children with congenital heart disease, but this is worse in children without congenital heart disease.

PMID:34631762 | PMC:PMC8493332 | DOI:10.3389/fnut.2021.644030

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Sep 23;8:719768. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.719768. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Background/Aims: As risk of colorectal neoplasm is varied even in persons with “average-risk,” risk evaluation and tailored screening are needed. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors of high-risk adenoma (HRA) in healthy individuals and determine the characteristics of advanced neoplasia (AN) among individual polyps. Methods: Asymptomatic adults who underwent the first lifetime screening colonoscopy at the Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center (SNUH GC) were recruited from 2004 to 2007 as SNUH GC Cohort and were followed for 10 years. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared between the subjects with and without AN (≥10 mm in size, villous component, and/or high-grade dysplasia and/or cancer) or HRA (AN and/or 3 or more adenomas). For individual polyps, correlations between clinical or endoscopic features and histologic grades were evaluated using a decision tree method. Results: A total of 6,047 subjects were included and 5,621 polyps were found in 2,604 (43%) subjects. Advanced age, male sex, and current smoking status were statistically significant with regards to AN and HRA. A lower incidence of AN was observed in subjects taking aspirin. In the decision tree model, the location, shape, and size of the polyp, and sex of the subject were key predictors of the pathologic type. A weak but significant association was observed between the prediction of the final tree and the histological grouping (Kendall’s tau-c = 0.142, p < 0001). Conclusions: Advanced neoplasia and HRA can be predicted using several individual characteristics and decision tree models.

PMID:34631743 | PMC:PMC8494773 | DOI:10.3389/fmed.2021.719768

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Sep 24;8:729928. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.729928. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Background: To explore the association and understand gender disparities between nutritional status and quality of life among centenarians. Methods: It was a full-sample survey of centenarians conducted in Hainan that included a total of 1,002 eligible centenarians whose age had been verified. The Mini Nutritional Assessment – Short Form (MNA-SF) questionnaire and the EuroQol five dimensions visual analog scale (EQ-5D-VAS) were used to measure participants’ nutritional status and quality of life, respectively. Findings: In the 1002 centenarians (822 women and 180 men), 797 (79.5%) (79.5%) reported multimorbidity. The adjusted standardized β estimate association between the MNA-SF and EQ-5D scores was 0.508 in the complete sample. With reference to the normal nutrition group, the standardized β estimate of the association between EQ-5D score and nutritional status were -0.179 and -0.583 for the at risk of malnutrition and malnutrition groups, respectively (both P <0.001). Nutritional status significantly affected the five dimensions of quality of life, particularly mobility and self-care. Compared with the normal nutrition group, the malnutrition group had greater odds of low mobility [Odds ratio (OR)=23.15; 95% CI: 9.81-54.64] and low self-care (OR=24.58; 95% CI: 12.62-47.89). Among males, nutritional status was significantly associated with the usual activities and anxiety/depression dimensions after adjustment. Female participants had results similar to the general population. Interpretation: Malnutrition and being at risk of malnutrition is prevalent among centenarians. Maintaining normal nutritional status is an important protective factor and should receive more attention to improve centenarians’ quality of life.

PMID:34631749 | PMC:PMC8498216 | DOI:10.3389/fmed.2021.729928

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Sep 23;8:711809. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.711809. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Background: Quantitative (q) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle threshold (Ct) values represent the number of amplification cycles required for a positive PCR result and are a proxy of pathogen quantity in the tested sample. The clinical utility of Ct values remains unclear for gastrointestinal infections. Objectives: This systematic review assesses the global medical literature for associations between Ct values of gastrointestinal pathogens and patient presentation and clinical outcomes. Data Sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library databases: searched January 14-17, 2020. Study Eligibility Criteria: Studies reporting on the presence or absence of an association between Ct values and clinical outcomes in adult and pediatric populations were included. Animal studies, reviews, meta-analyses, and non-English language studies were excluded. Participants: Humans infected with gastrointestinal pathogens, detected with qPCR. Interventions: Diagnostics assessing Ct values. Extracted data were reported narratively. Results: Thirty-three eligible studies were identified; the most commonly studied pathogens were Clostridioides difficile (n = 15), norovirus (n = 10), and rotavirus (n = 9). Statistically significant associations between low C. difficile Ct values and increased symptom severity or poor outcome were reported in 4/8 (50%) studies, and increased risk of death in 1/2 (50%) studies; no significant associations were found between Ct value and duration of symptoms or length of hospital stay. Among studies of norovirus, 5/7 (71%), mainly genogroup II, reported symptomatic cases with significantly lower median Ct values than controls. Significantly lower rotavirus Ct values were also observed in symptomatic cases vs. controls in 3/7 (43%) studies, and associated with more severe symptoms in 2/2 studies. Contradictory associations were identified for non-C. difficile bacterial and parasitic pathogens. Conclusions: In conclusion, some studies reported clinically useful associations between Ct values and patient or healthcare outcomes; additional, well-designed, large-scale trials are warranted based on these findings. Systematic Review Registration: [PROSPERO], identifier [CRD42020167239].

PMID:34631732 | PMC:PMC8496934 | DOI:10.3389/fmed.2021.711809

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Sep 20;8:715458. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.715458. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Microscopic colitis (MC) is a common cause of chronic diarrhea with limited long-term data. We searched the pathology records at our institution from 2008 to 2018 to identify cases of MC. Total sample included patients with either a diagnosis of MC or incomplete MC (MCi).Chart review was performed and data were summarized for descriptive statistics. Logistic regression was used to estimate the unadjusted effects of predictors on MC. A total of 216 patients (88.32% white, 80.56% females, mean age 67.12 +/- 15.79) were studied; 50.00% had CC, 40.28% had LC and 9.72% had MCi. Majority (52.31%) were smokers and 21.84% of females were using some form of hormonal therapy. The odds of LC in reference to CC were significantly higher for those using tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (OR: 3.23, 95% C.I: 1.18-8.80, p = 0.02). The odds of smoking, statins, aspirin and beta-blocker use were decreased in MCi in reference to CC (all p < 0.05), 29 (74.35%) patients with unresolved symptoms underwent repeat colonoscopies with biopsies. One case of MCi resolved, 8 (72.73%) out of 11 cases of LC resolved, 2 (18.18%) continued to be LC and 1 (9.09%) transformed to CC, 8 (47.06%) out of 17 cases of CC resolved, 8 (47.06%) continued to be CC and 1 (5.88%) transformed to LC. Majority of patients had CC. TCA use resulted in increased odds of LC in reference to CC. Biopsies from repeat colonoscopies in some patients revealed changes in the pathological diagnoses raising the question of interchangeability of MC (CC to LC and vice versa).

PMID:34631738 | PMC:PMC8493955 | DOI:10.3389/fmed.2021.715458

Front Pediatr. 2021 Sep 22;9:715091. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.715091. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Despite clinical improvements in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), prematurity keeps causing several comorbidities. To enhance the management of such conditions, in previous studies we devised the Neonatal Assessment Manual scorE (NAME) model, a structured touch-based assessment that aims to evaluate how newborns respond to gentle touch-based stimuli. The present study aimed to begin assessing the NAME interrater reliability and specific agreements. At the “Vittore Buzzi” Pediatric Hospital NICU ward in Milan, Italy, we enrolled 144 newborns, 85 male and 59 female, with a mean age of 35.9 weeks (±4.1) and a weight of 2,055.3 g (±750.6). Two experienced manual professionals performed the NAME procedure on all the infants. Regarding the total sample and the analysis by sex, we found moderate and statistically significant results for the interrater reliability (p < 0.001) and the specific agreements (p < 0.05), in particular for the “Marginal” score. Furthermore, interrater reliability significantly (p < 0.05) increased as age and weight increased, whereas there was an almost constant moderate and significant (p < 0.05) agreement especially for the “Marginal” score. Therefore, we found preliminary results showing that the NAME could be a reliable diagnostic tool for assessing the newborns’ general condition.

PMID:34631618 | PMC:PMC8492991 | DOI:10.3389/fped.2021.715091

Front Public Health. 2021 Sep 23;9:695141. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.695141. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken more than 1.78 million of lives across the globe. Identifying the underlying evolutive patterns between different countries would help us single out the mutated paths and behavior of this virus. I devise an orthonormal basis which would serve as the features to relate the evolution of one country’s cases and deaths to others another’s via coefficients from the inner product. Then I rank the coefficients measured by the inner product via the featured frequencies. The distances between these ranked vectors are evaluated by Manhattan metric. Afterwards, I associate each country with its nearest neighbor which shares the evolutive pattern via the distance matrix. Our research shows such patterns is are not random at all, i.e., the underlying pattern could be contributed to by some factors. In the end, I perform the typical cosine similarity on the time-series data. The comparison shows our mechanism differs from the typical one, but is also related to each it in some way. These findings reveal the underlying interaction between countries with respect to cases and deaths of COVID-19.

PMID:34631642 | PMC:PMC8495132 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2021.695141

Zhongguo Fei Ai Za Zhi. 2021 Oct 11. doi: 10.3779/j.issn.1009-3419.2021.102.30. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: With the extensive development of minimally invasive surgery for pulmonary nodules, preoperative localization becomes more and more critical. There are some defects in traditional localization methods, so it is necessary to improve. The aim of this study was to compare and analyze the safety and effectiveness of two new methods, namely four-hook needle and memory alloy coil, in the localization of pulmonary nodules.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 152 patients was performed. 76 cases were in four-hook needle group, 76 cases were in memory alloy coil group. Pulmonary nodules were located before operation, and then video-assisted wedge resection was performed. The average procedure time, localization complications and nodule resection time were counted.

RESULTS: The target pulmonary nodules were successfully removed in both groups. In four-hook needle group, 76 patients found localization devices, all the pulmonary nodules were successfully removed, and one case was transferred to open the chest for wedge resection of pulmonary nodules due to severe thoracic adhesion. All 76 patients in memory alloy coil group were successfully resected with pulmonary nodules, and one patient underwent compromising enlarged resection because no lesion was found after the specimen was removed during the operation. There was no significant difference in the incidence of pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage, the success rate of localization and nodule wedge resection time between the two groups. The average time of localization in four-hook needle group was (13.66±3.11) min lower than that of memory alloy coil group (15.51±3.65) min, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). In memory alloy coil group, when the distance from the nodule to the pleura was ≥1.5 cm and <1.5 cm, the average localization time was (17.20±4.46) min and (14.91±3.15) min, respectively, and there was a statistical difference between the two (P=0.044).

CONCLUSIONS: Four-hook needle and memory alloy coil have good safety and effectiveness, and the localization time of four-hook needle is shorter. When using memory alloy coil, the effect of the method is better for pulmonary nodules with a distance less than 1.5 cm to pleura.

PMID:34628780 | DOI:10.3779/j.issn.1009-3419.2021.102.30

Zhongguo Yi Liao Qi Xie Za Zhi. 2021 Sep 30;45(5):473-478. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1671-7104.2021.05.001.

ABSTRACT

We developed a portable non-specific low back pain measurement system EasiLBP and evaluated its performance in collecting EMG signals:during the wearer’s movement without the assistance of a doctor, the collection of EMG signals by portable devices met problems such as large noise interference, difficulty in accurately calibrating the start and end points of the action interval, and imbalanced samples for feature recognition, et al. To challenge these problems, we proposed a small group-based noise removal method, a dynamic dual-threshold automatic method for identifying the start and end points of the motion interval, and a sampling method to balance group samples, respectively. Portable device and a medical EMG acquisition equipment Thought Technology FlexComp Infiniti 10 were used to perform EMG measurements on 15 patients with non-specific low back pain and 15 normal people. Clinical experiments and statistical analysis show that the portable EMG acquisition system has significant differences in EMG signal characteristics between normal people and non-specific low back pain patients, and it has good measurement consistency and accuracy with the medical EMG acquisition equipment.

PMID:34628755 | DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1671-7104.2021.05.001