Tag: statistics

Sci Rep. 2026 May 28. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-54404-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We aimed to study the relationship between brain network measures and cognitive performance in this population, focusing on hub regions. A sub-cohort of young stroke survivors (ages 18-49) with confirmed cerebral ischemia from the ODYSSEY study underwent MRI and neuropsychological assessments at baseline (n = 60) and follow-up (n = 46) up to 2 years, the discovery cohort. Additionally, a validation cohort of young stroke survivors with confirmed cerebral ischemia who had baseline standard MRI protocol and neuropsychological assessment (n = 423), as well as follow-up neuropsychological assessment (n = 288), was included for validation analysis. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based connectivity matrices for graph analysis. Lesion impact scores (combining affected voxel percentage and mean betweenness centrality) and rich club scores (quantifying affected voxels in rich club areas) were calculated using a normative brain atlas derived from DTI data from 23 stroke-free controls. Participants were categorized having no/mild or major vascular cognitive disorder (VCD) and group differences were examined. Among 60 participants (median age: 39.2 years (IQR 27.9-46.2) and 52% women), 20 were classified as having major VCD. The major VCD group exhibited larger lesion volumes (p = 0.01), lower global efficiency (p = 0.03) and local efficiency (p = 0.05) compared to the no/mild VCD group at baseline and follow-up. However, after adjusting for network density in sensitivity analyses, these differences in global and local efficiency were no longer statistically significant. Univariable logistic regression analyses revealed that the Lesion Impact Score were a significant predictor for VCD at follow-up and the Rich Club Score predicted VCD at baseline and follow-up. However, in multivariable logistic regression, both the Lesion Impact Score and the Rich Club Score did not retain predictive significance. Following validation analysis, no predictive values were observed for any of these scores. Our findings indicate a significant association between brain network measures and cognitive function in young stroke survivors, indicating a role of network disruption in post-stroke cognitive impairment. However, our study did not reveal specific associations with hub regions.

PMID:42204300 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-54404-4

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27;16(1):16417. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-54582-1.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:42204267 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-54582-1

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-55008-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To investigate the frequency of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEXS), its ocular and systemic clinical features in patients scheduled for cataract surgery, and to evaluate surgical complications and outcomes. Data from 585 eyes that underwent cataract surgery were included in this retrospective study. Data retrieved from patient files and our hospital’s electronic medical records were reviewed, including the presence of PEXS, pupil dilation, cataract type, nuclear hardness according to Lens Opacities Classification System III, and glaucoma. Additionally, data on clinical characteristics of pre-existing systemic diseases, surgical outcomes, and intraoperative and postoperative complications were also noted. The data were analyzed between two groups: eyes with PEXS and eyes without PEXS. The frequency of PEXS was 10.7%. The most common type of cataracts in the PEXS group was nuclear cataracts. Nuclear cataracts were harder in eyes with PEXS than in eyes without PEXS. Mean intraocular pressure was significantly higher in eyes with PEXS than in eyes without PEXS (p = 0.001). The prevalence of glaucoma was significantly higher in the PEXS group (p = 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the frequency of intraoperative and postoperative complications. The non-PEXS group showed significantly better best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) compared to the PEXS group at the first week postoperatively (p = 0.001). However, BCVA was comparable between groups at the one-month postoperative visit. The frequency of PEXS was relatively high in our study. Awareness of the potential risks associated with PEXS in cataract surgery is essential, and appropriate preparations, including necessary surgical tools and techniques, should be made to ensure optimal outcomes. Although no differences were observed in the rates of intraoperative complications between the groups, this finding should be interpreted cautiously and should not be considered as evidence of equivalent surgical risk.

PMID:42204261 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-55008-8

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-53896-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Both frailty and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (SKOA) are prevalent among older adults, with a greater incidence noted in women. The present study aimed to classify the trajectory types pertaining to the Frailty Index (FI) in postmenopausal women, explore the longitudinal correlational link among different FI trajectory profiles as well as the likelihood of developing SKOA, and evaluate the predictive value of FI trajectories for SKOA along with the robustness of this association. A long-term prospective follow-up investigation was conducted on the basis of the CHARLS cohort of postmenopausal women. Latent Class Growth Modeling (LCGM) was applied to classify the FI trajectory patterns across five waves from 2011 to 2020. Differences in the cumulative incidence risk of SKOA among trajectory subgroups were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves paired with the log-rank statistical test. The strength of this association was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Model performance across FI trajectories, as well as baseline frailty, was assessed and contrasted using ROC curves, Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI), and Integrated Discrimination Improvement (IDI). E-value estimation, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analyses were performed to gauge the robustness of this association. For this investigation, data pertaining to 4636 postmenopausal women within the CHARLS study cohort were analyzed, with a systematic comparison of the predictive capacity of FI trajectories and baseline frailty status in assessing SKOA. The results showed that both FI trajectories and baseline frailty status showed statistically significant correlations with SKOA. Specifically, in contrast to the low-baseline slight-increase trajectory subgroup (Class 1), the high-baseline consistently rising trajectory subgroup (Class 3) exhibited the greatest likelihood of developing SKOA (HR: 3.86, 95% CI: 3.19-4.68), followed by the moderate-baseline gentle-increase trajectory group (Class 2) (HR: 3.35, 95% CI: 2.98-3.77). In comparison with baseline frailty, FI trajectories exhibited stronger predictive capability, as evaluated by the ROC curve, NRI, and IDI. Additional analyses, such as E-value calculations, subgroup analyses, and multiple sensitivity analyses, validated the stability of these relationships. The findings from this investigation highlight the significance of frailty and FI trajectories in evaluating SKOA among postmenopausal women.

PMID:42204258 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-53896-4

NPJ Digit Med. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41746-026-02796-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis traditionally relies on acid exposure time (AET) obtained from 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH (MII-pH) monitoring, the gold standard for GERD diagnosis. However, a negative result (AET < 4%) does not always exclude GERD, as the limited 24-h monitoring window may fail to capture reflux events in patients with intermittent or low-frequency reflux. To address this limitation, we proposed a complementary machine learning-based framework targeting exclusively patients with negative MII-pH results (AET < 4%) to identify potential false-negative cases within this cohort, by integrating statistical and waveform-derived features from pH signals to enhance anomaly detection. Using one-class support vector machine and support vector data description models trained on real-world MII-pH datasets, the framework achieved an $F_3$ score of approximately 0.9 and identified potential anomalies undetected by the conventional AET criteria. Explainable AI techniques using Shapley additive explanations showed that features such as kurtosis and peak-to-peak amplitude contributed significantly to the identification of subtle reflux patterns within this cohort. These anomalies may indicate additional candidates for clinical reassessment within the AET-negative cohort. This complementary approach, operating downstream of the conventional MII-pH diagnostic system, could help identify potential false-negative cases among patients with negative MII-pH results, potentially assisting in their proper clinical management.

PMID:42204253 | DOI:10.1038/s41746-026-02796-y

Commun Med (Lond). 2026 May 28. doi: 10.1038/s43856-026-01645-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is heterogeneous, making risk stratification essential for clinical care. Although polygenic risk scores (PRSs) with main effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can help identify individuals at high risk before biological and clinical onset, a PRS for predicting PCa aggressiveness remains underdeveloped. The KLK3, which encodes prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is linked to PCa aggressiveness. Recent findings on KLK3 SNP-SNP interactions show promise for predicting PCa aggressiveness. The objective of this study is to develop a PRS (PRS-KLK3int) by examining KLK3 SNP-SNP interaction pairs.

METHODS: The PRS-KLK3int was developed based on a discovery set (10,836 PCa patients) and two validation sets with 14,348 and 16,584 patients of European ancestry. A total of 3145 SNP pairs and two published PRSs were evaluated.

RESULTS: This study developed a PRS-KLK3int with 284 SNPs, combining an existing PRS with 270 SNPs and 12 SNP-SNP interaction pairs with 15 SNPs (one overlapped). All these 12 pairs were involved with at least one SNP from KLK3. The PRS-KLK3int outperformed two existing PRSs in predicting PCa aggressiveness (p-values: 3.5×10^-18, 9×10^-14, and 1.7×10^-20 for the three sets). It effectively distinguished high-risk from low-risk groups across all datasets. The top 1% high-risk group had a higher prevalence of PCa aggressiveness than the middle 50% group (45.5% vs. 25.9%, OR = 2.38, p = 2.2×10^-5) in the discovery set, and similar results were observed in validation sets (OR = 2.56, p = 4.3×10^-6; OR = 2.07, p = 2.1×10^-5).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings support PRS-KLK3int as a valuable tool for PCa severity stratification, especially in identifying extremely high-risk PCa patients.

PMID:42204244 | DOI:10.1038/s43856-026-01645-z

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-54762-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Given the growing concern about how school-based bullying undermines students’ academic success and emotional well-being, especially in high-stakes assessment environments, the study investigated the relationships between bullying frequency, psychological safety during assessments, counselling-based accommodations, and academic performance among senior high school (SHS) students in Ghana, with a focus on gender and regional variations. Guided by Edmondson’s (1999) theory of psychological safety, the research employed a quantitative correlational design involving 585 students from 12 public SHSs across Greater Accra, Central, and Ashanti regions. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to test three hypotheses related to direct, indirect, and interaction effects. Findings indicated that psychological safety significantly mediated the relationship between bullying and academic performance (indirect effect = – 0.775, 95% CI [- 1.23, – 0.43]), while the direct effect of bullying on performance became non-significant when psychological safety was controlled (B = 0.02, p = 0.921). Students who perceived higher psychological safety scored significantly higher in academic performance (B = 3.10, p < .001, η² = 0.049). Counselling-based accommodations were found to moderate the negative impact of bullying on psychological safety (interaction term B = 0.22, p = 0.029, η² = 0.008), suggesting that students with access to counselling reported greater resilience against bullying-induced threats to their assessment environments. Gender moderated the bullying performance link (B = – 0.88, p = 0.010), with female students more adversely affected. MANOVA results showed significant multivariate effects for gender (Wilks’ Λ = 0.934, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.039) and region (Wilks’ Λ = 0.882, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.043), and a smaller but significant interaction effect (Wilks’ Λ = 0.972, p = 0.012). The study advocates for gender-sensitive, regionally tailored interventions and suggests that the Ministry of Education institutionalize counselling-based accommodations during high-stakes assessments.

PMID:42204225 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-54762-z

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-54514-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a reproductive endocrine disorder characterized by amenorrhea, hypergonadotropism, and hypoestrogenism before age 40. This study investigated the association of serum Chemerin, follicle stimulating hormone, lipid profile and cardiometabolic indices with the POI. In this case-control study, 38 women with POI and 38 controls were assessed for anthropometric parameters, serum Chemerin, FSH, lipid profile and cardiometabolic indices. Associations were examined using multivariable logistic regression models. Discriminative performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and a combined multivariable model. POI was significantly associated with educational years, physical activity, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and serum Chemerin levels (P < 0.05). ROC analysis showed moderate discriminative ability for Chemerin, TC, and TG, with optimal cut-offs of 25.14 ng/L for serum Chemerin, 196.0 mg/dL for TC, and 114.5 mg/dL for TG, respectively. The combined multivariable model demonstrated excellent discrimination (AUC = 0.929; 95% CI 0.876-0.981), achieving 94.7% sensitivity and 76.3% specificity. Serum Chemerin showed moderate diagnostic value, while several individual variables also demonstrated moderate discriminative ability. However, the combined multivariable model showed substantially stronger discriminatory performance, indicating that integrating multiple variables improves the ability to identify POI compared with individual variables alone.

PMID:42204224 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-54514-z

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-52684-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The determination of the extent and margins of precancerous or cancerous lesions is still a problem in oncological surgeries today. This is more so with the ‘holy grail’ goal of optimal excision requiring total lesion removal and maximal neighboring tissue conservation especially for an important organ like the cervix. Although frozen section is the gold standard method available for aiding intraoperative diagnosis and surgery decision management, in dysplasia of the cervix where precancer cases are treated, it is not applicable due to various reasons, mainly to avoid over treatment. Still an optimal surgery is highly advocated and currently applying LUGOL dye to cervix is the accepted technique although not always accurate. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy can complement visual inspection after LUGOL application, and several efforts have shown its potential in this regard. Research efforts on the subject, however, have not explored the use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for determining the extent of precancer on fresh cervical biopsies. This work therefore sets out to investigate ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for estimating the extent of precancer on fresh cervical samples using discriminatory features from the fingerprint region, as well as entropy and bound water related markers. Our results show that posterior probabilities were statistically different for precancer and healthy sampling points, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.678 ± 0.094. At a cut-off probability of 0.550, sensitivity and specificity were 70% and 59%, respectively. These results show that ATR-FTIR spectroscopy on fresh tissue can aid spatially resolved determination of the extent of precancer, and that bound water and entropy related spectral biomarkers can provide additional diagnostic information for the ultimate goal of aiding intraoperative decision management.

PMID:42204206 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-52684-4

Sci Rep. 2026 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-46257-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Engineering optical resilience against atmospheric turbulence is essential for robust free-space photonic technologies. Here, we demonstrate that dual partially coherent Bessel-Vortex beams-with engineered topological charge pairing-exhibit unprecedented control over turbulence-induced scintillation beyond what is achievable with single beams or partial coherence alone. Using a spatial light modulator, we generate single and dual partially coherent Bessel-Vortex beams and propagate them through a laboratory turbulence chamber calibrated to Kolmogorov statistics ([Formula: see text]) over a 0.15 m path, corresponding to a 1 km atmospheric propagation with equivalent turbulence strength [Formula: see text]. A key technical innovation of this work is the simultaneous encoding of both the Bessel-Vortex phase profile and the Kolmogorov-distributed random phase onto a single hologram displayed on the SLM-enabling real-time generation of partially coherent structured beams without additional optical components. We find that dual-beam configurations with co-signed topological charges show monotonically increasing resilience with charge difference, whereas counter-signed pairs display a pronounced non-monotonic response with minimal resistance at Δm = 8. Most strikingly, beams with equal-magnitude opposite charges (|m₁| = |m₂|) exhibit monotonic degradation in resilience up to order 14-a behavior absent in single-vortex systems. These results establish dual topological charge pairing as a previously unexplored design parameter for turbulence-resilient optical systems, with direct implications for free-space optical communication, quantum information transfer, and high-precision optical manipulation.

PMID:42204203 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-46257-8