Tag: pubmed

Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2022 Feb 26. doi: 10.1007/s12223-021-00934-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Mucormycosis is a deadly opportunistic disease caused by a group of fungus named mucormycetes. Fungal spores are normally present in the environment and the immune system of the body prevents them from causing disease in a healthy immunocompetent individual. But when the defense mechanism of the body is compromised such as in the patients of diabetes mellites, neustropenia, organ transplantation recipients, and other immune-compromised states, these fungal spores invade our defense mechanism easily causing a severe systemic infection with approximately 45-80% of case fatality. In the present scenario, during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients are on immunosuppressive drugs, glucocorticoids, thus are at high risk of mucormycosis. Patients with diabetes mellitus are further getting a high chance of infection. Usually, the spores gain entry through our respiratory tract affecting the lungs and paranasal sinuses. Besides, they can also enter through damage into the skin or through the gastrointestinal route. This review article presents the current statistics, the causes of this infection in the human body, and its diagnosis with available recent therapies through recent databases collected from several clinics and agencies. The diagnosis and identification of the infection were made possible through various latest medical techniques such as computed tomography scans, direct microscopic observations, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, serology, molecular assay, and histopathology. Mucormycosis is so uncommon, no randomized controlled treatment studies have been conducted. The newer triazoles, posaconazole (POSA) and isavuconazole (ISAV) (the active component of the prodrug isavuconazonium sulfate) may be beneficial in patients who are refractory to or intolerant of Liposomal Amphotericin B. but due to lack of early diagnosis and aggressive surgical debridement or excision, the mortality rate remains high. In the course of COVID-19 treatments, there must be more vigilance and alertness are required from clinicians to evaluate these invasive fungal infections.

PMID:35220559 | DOI:10.1007/s12223-021-00934-5

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05486-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are strikingly more prevalent in males, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for ASD sex-differential risk are poorly understood. Abnormally shorter telomeres have been associated with autism. Examination of relative telomere lengths (RTL) among non-syndromic male (N = 14) and female (N = 10) children with autism revealed that only autistic male children had significantly shorter RTL than typically-developing controls (N = 24) and paired siblings (N = 10). While average RTL of autistic girls did not differ significantly from controls, it was substantially longer than autistic boys. Our findings indicate a sexually-dimorphic pattern of RTL in childhood autism and could have important implications for RTL as a potential biomarker and the role/s of telomeres in the molecular mechanisms responsible for ASD sex-biased prevalence and etiology.

PMID:35220523 | DOI:10.1007/s10803-022-05486-2

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s10554-022-02574-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) can evaluate potential atherosclerosis (AS) and ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV) is a new technique to accurately assess PWV. However, few studies have examined the predictive value of ufPWV for AS risk. We aimed to establish a classification model for AS risk diagnosis based on ufPWV, so that AS can be diagnosed and prevented in advance. We collected imaging data, as well as clinical and laboratory data. A total of 613 patients with 20 attributes were admitted in this study. There were 392 patients with hyperlipidemia (AS risk group) and 221 healthy adults as the control group. In order to build AS risk prediction models, we considered decision tree, five different ensemble learning (EL) models [random forest (RF), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and light gradient boosting machine (LGBM)] and two different feature selection methods [statistical analysis and RF]. Accuracy and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used as the main criterion for model evaluation. In the prediction of AS risk with statistical analysis as the feature selection method, the performances of XGBoost (accuracy: 0.851; AUC: 0.884) and RF (accuracy: 0.844; AUC: 0.889) were better than other models. Besides, in the prediction of AS risk with RF as the feature selection method, the performances of LGBM (accuracy: 0.870; AUC: 0.903) and XGBoost (accuracy: 0.857; AUC: 0.903) were better than other models. In conclusions, EL models with RF as the feature selection method might provide accurate results in predicting AS risk. Besides, ufPWV, especially PWV of left common carotid artery at the end of systole, was an important feature in the AS risk prediction models.

PMID:35220527 | DOI:10.1007/s10554-022-02574-3

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-18671-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the role of financial development (FD) and its distributional effects in explaining consumption-based carbon (ConCO2) emissions, in a framework that also examined the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, in the context of 19 Sub-Saharan African countries. A composite index was used as measure of FD in a set of data spanning over the period 1995-2017, while controlling for population size (PS), energy intensity (EI) and natural resource rents (Nrr). Given that the variables deviate from expected normal distribution as adjudged by results of pre-estimation tests, the method of moments quantile regression (MM-QR) estimation technique was used to account for distributional effects of FD on ConCO2. Results of the fixed-effect regression based on Driscoll-Kray standard errors (FE-DK) which was validated by three other estimators (fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), canonical cointegration regression (CCR)) statistically provided support for FD, PS and EI as drivers of ConCO2. Distributional effects of this show that FD exerts significant positive effect on ConCO2 among countries in the higher quantiles, but insignificant positive effect among those at the lower quantiles. The model provided no support for the EKC hypothesis for SSA; policy implications of these results were presented.

PMID:35220518 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-18671-8

Clin Rheumatol. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s10067-022-06115-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We performed a systematic review of the clinical manifestations and complementary exams of patients with myopathies and systemic sclerosis overlap syndrome (MyoSScOS). Systematic review from January 1976 to November 2021 according PRISMA protocol on three electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Studies were analyzed based on the following eligibility criteria: at least one combination of the terms described in the search strategy appears in the title; written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish; and addresses MyoSScOS. Brief communications, reviews, studies that addressed myopathies in children, congress proceedings, monographs, and dissertations were excluded. Thirty-five articles were selected. MyoSScOS seems to be more common in women. It also commonly affects the esophagus and joints with symmetrical and bilateral muscle involvement, Raynaud’s phenomenon, and impairment of forced vital capacity. Concerning SSc, the most common subtype was the diffuse form. Cardiovascular and pulmonary complications are an important cause of death. Anti-centromere, anti-PM/Scl, anti-Scl70, anti-RNA polymerase III, anti-Ku, and anti-RNP were more correlated with this entity, and muscle biopsies may present a more aggressive pattern. Electroneuromyography patterns are quite similar to those found in inflammatory myopathies. The absence of studies with robust methodologies and the large number of case reports and series make more robust statistical analyses such as meta-analyses unfeasible. The characterization of MyoSScOS is important for the formulation of therapeutic measures and specific treatments aiming at better quality of life and prognosis. Greater and better theoretical contributions are necessary to better characterize it.

PMID:35220464 | DOI:10.1007/s10067-022-06115-0

Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06437-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to construct a reference range for the Lithuanian population for fetal biparietal diameter (BPD), occipitofrontal diameter (OFD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) and to compare them with the old local and current international reference values.

METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in secondary referral centres Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių Klinikos Centro Affiliate in 2008-2009 and Vilnius Maternity Hospital in 2009-2014. The fetal biometry of 556 fetuses between 12 and 42 weeks gestation was performed. BPD, OFD, HC, AC and FL were measured. The data were collected and the analysis was performed using statistical programs MS Excel, SPSS and Matlab. Different regression models were fitted to calculate the mean and standard deviation at each gestational age for each parameter.

RESULTS: The biometric measurements of HC, BPD, OFD as well as AC and FL were performed for 556 fetuses. The centile charts, tables and regression formulae of the biometric parameters were constructed. The comparison of the current charts with those of other two studies revealed no significant differences of HC centiles. AC values were similar to those presented in the international study INTERGROWTH-21 and significantly higher in comparison to the study for the Lithuanian population conducted by Ališauskas (1980). FL values, especially in late pregnancy, were significantly smaller in the INTERGROWTH-21 study compared to our charts; however, there were no significant differences of the 50th centile compared to the results from Ališauskas.

CONCLUSIONS: We have constructed and presented centile charts, tables and regression formulae for fetal biometry for the Lithuanian population and compared them with the results of two other studies. The significant differences between our centile charts and those from INTERGROWTH-21 imply the necessity to have local standards of fetal biometry, while the differences of our results from the older study in the same population show the importance of updating fetal biometry reference charts for every generation.

PMID:35220480 | DOI:10.1007/s00404-022-06437-z

Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s00701-022-05147-4. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35220461 | DOI:10.1007/s00701-022-05147-4

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Feb 26:trac008. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trac008. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Thrombocytopenia is a marker of severity in dengue, and its resolution predicts clinical improvement. The objective was to evaluate mean platelet volume (MPV) trajectories as a predictor of platelet count (PC) recovery in dengue patients.

METHODS: An observational, longitudinal and analytical study was conducted at Fundación Valle del Lili (Cali, Colombia). Patients diagnosed with dengue during 2016-2020 were included. The association between PC and the covariates was evaluated using simple linear, quadratic and non-parametric spline smoothing regression models. A longitudinal linear mixed model was adjusted and then validated for PC measurements.

RESULTS: A total of 71 patients were included. The median age was 27 y, 38.5% were women and half had dengue with warning signs. A statistically significant PC decrease was observed when MPV was 13.87 fL and 4.46 d from the onset of symptoms, while PC displayed a significant constant increase with neutrophils count. Then, PC recovery was achieved with an MPV of 13.58 fL, 4.5 d from the onset of symptoms and a minimum neutrophils count of 150 μL.

CONCLUSION: MPV may be a predictor of PC recovery in dengue patients. PC recovery is expected when a patient has an MPV of 13.58 fL, an onset time of 4.5 d and a neutrophils count of 150 μL.

PMID:35220437 | DOI:10.1093/trstmh/trac008

Hum Reprod. 2022 Feb 27:deac032. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deac032. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

STUDY QUESTION: In a country with supportive funding for medically assisted reproduction (MAR) technologies, what is the proportion of MAR births over-time?

SUMMARY ANSWER: In 2017, 6.7% of births were conceived by MAR (4.8% ART and 1.9% ovulation induction (OI)/IUI) with a 55% increase in ART births and a stable contribution from OI/IUI births over the past decade.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: There is considerable global variation in utilization rates of ART despite a similar infertility prevalence worldwide. While the overall contribution of ART to national births is known in many countries because of ART registries, very little is known about the contribution of OI/IUI treatment or the socio-demographic characteristics of the parents. Australia provides supportive public funding for all forms of MAR with no restrictions based on male or female age, and thus provides a unique setting to investigate the contribution of MAR to national births as well as the socio-demographic characteristics of parents across the different types of MAR births.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This is a novel population-based birth cohort study of 898 084 births using linked ART registry data and administrative data including birth registrations, medical services, pharmaceuticals, hospital admissions and deaths. Birth (a live or still birth of at least one baby of ≥400 g birthweight or ≥20 weeks’ gestation) was the unit of analysis in this study. Multiple births were considered as one birth in our analysis.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: This study included a total of 898 084 births (606 488 mothers) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia 2009-2017. We calculated the prevalence of all categories of MAR-conceived births over the study period. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the association between parental characteristics (parent’s age, parity, socio-economic status, maternal country of birth, remoteness of mother’s dwelling, pre-existing medical conditions, smoking, etc.) and ART and OI/IUI births relative to naturally conceived births.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The proportion of MAR births increased from 5.1% of all births in 2009 to 6.7% in 2017, representing a 30% increase over the decade. The proportion of OI/IUI births remained stable at around 2% of all births, representing 32% of all MAR births. Over the study period, ART births conceived by frozen embryo-transfer increased nearly 3-fold. OI/IUI births conceived using clomiphene citrate decreased by 39%, while OI/IUI births conceived using letrozole increased 56-fold. Overall, there was a 55% increase over the study period in the number of ART-conceived births, rising to 56% of births to mothers aged 40 years and older. In 2017, almost one in six births (17.6%) to mothers aged 40 years and over were conceived using ART treatment. Conversely, the proportion of OI/IUI births was similar across different mother’s age groups and remained stable over the study period. ART children, but not OI/IUI children, were more likely to have parents who were socio-economically advantaged compared to naturally conceived children. For example, compared to naturally conceived births, ART births were 16% less likely to be born to mothers who live in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods after accounting for other covariates (adjusted relative risk (aRR): 0.84 [95% CI: 0.81-0.88]). ART- or OI/IUI-conceived children were 25% less likely to be born to immigrant mothers than births after natural conception (aRR: 0.75 [0.74-0.77]).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The social inequalities that we observed between the parents of children born using ART and naturally conceived children may not directly reflect disparities in accessing fertility care for individuals seeking treatment.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: With the ubiquitous decline in fertility rates around the world and the increasing trend to delay childbearing, this population-based study enhances our understanding of the contribution of different types of MARs to population profiles among births in high-income countries. The parental socio-demographic characteristics of MAR-conceived children differ significantly from naturally conceived children and this highlights the importance of accounting for such differences in studies investigating the health and development of MAR-conceived children.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was funded through Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant: APP1127437. G.M.C. is an employee of The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit (NPESU), UNSW. The NPESU manages the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database with funding support from the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand. C.V. is an employee of The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Director of Clinical Research of IVFAustralia, Member of the Board of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Member of Research Committee of School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW. C.V. reports grants from Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and Merck KGaA. C.V. reports consulting fees, and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers, bureaus, manuscript, writing or educational events or attending meeting or travel from Merck, Merck Sparpe & Dohme, Ferring, Gedon-Richter and Besins outside this submitted work. C.V. reported stock or stock options from Virtus Health Limited outside this submitted work. R.J.N. is an employee of The University of Adelaide, and Chair DSMC for natural therapies trial of The University of Hong Kong. R.J.N. reports grants from NHMRC. R.J.N. reports lecture fees and support for attending or travelling for lecture from Merck Serono which is outside this submitted work. L.R.J. is an employee of The UNSW and Foundation Director of the Centre for Big Data Research in Health at UNSW Sydney. L.R.J. reports grants from NHMRC. The other co-authors have no conflict of interest.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N/A.

PMID:35220435 | DOI:10.1093/humrep/deac032

Int J Health Policy Manag. 2022 Feb 20. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6127. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) aim at increasing transparency and consumers’ awareness of the nutritional composition of pre-packed food products in order to improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. Nevertheless, the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score – the FoPL officially adopted in France and several other European countries – is subject to both technical and political controversy, particularly in Italy. In this study, we investigated how and by whom the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score, recognized by several institutional authorities, could be deconstructed within a specific system of norms, values and beliefs among Italian stakeholders.

METHODS: A netnography completed with qualitative interviews with eight Italian and French nutrition and public health experts were carried out to highlight the dimensions (pragmatic, normative and cognitive) in which the Nutri-Score’s legitimacy is being challenged among the stakeholders involved in FoPLs’ implementation in Italy. The degree of influence and the position of these stakeholders on the debate around the Nutri-Score were assessed through the Stakeholder Theory (SHT), using their respective level of power, legitimacy and urgency. Furthermore, we compared the Italian and the French contexts on the issue.

RESULTS: The direct implication of political parties and media outlets in framing the Italian debate around Nutri-Score as well as the high influence of corporate unions, led to a different political outcome than in France. Results also show that the deconstruction of the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score in Italy pertained mainly to its pragmatic dimension according to the Italian public health experts. Nevertheless, its two other dimensions (normative and cognitive) are also questioned by high-influence stakeholders.

CONCLUSION: Due to the limited mobilization of scientific expertise over the issue, the debate in Italy stayed centered around the “attack” of the Nutri-Score to the Italian way of life, mixing up concepts such as Made in Italy products and the Mediterranean diet.

PMID:35219283 | DOI:10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6127