Tag: statistics

Int J Legal Med. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00414-023-03055-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate prediction of age older than 18 years in sub-adults using tooth tissue volumes from MRI segmentation of the entire 1st and 2nd molars, and to establish a model for combining information from two different molars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We acquired T2 weighted MRIs of 99 volunteers with a 1.5-T scanner. Segmentation was performed using SliceOmatic (Tomovision©). Linear regression was used to analyse the association between mathematical transformation outcomes of tissue volumes, age, and sex. Performance of different outcomes and tooth combinations were assessed based on the p-value of the age variable, common, or separate for each sex, depending on the selected model. The predictive probability of being older than 18 years was obtained by a Bayesian approach using information from the 1st and 2nd molars both separately and combined.

RESULTS: 1st molars from 87 participants, and 2nd molars from 93 participants were included. The age range was 14-24 years with a median age of 18 years. The transformation outcome (high signal soft tissue + low signal soft tissue)/total had the strongest statistical association with age for the lower right 1st (p= 7.1*10^-4 for males) and 2nd molar (p=9.44×10^-7 for males and p=7.4×10^-10 for females). Combining the lower right 1st and 2nd molar in males did not increase the prediction performance compared to using the best tooth alone.

CONCLUSION: MRI segmentation of the lower right 1st and 2nd molar might prove useful in the prediction of age older than 18 years in sub-adults. We provided a statistical framework to combine the information from two molars.

PMID:37402013 | DOI:10.1007/s00414-023-03055-5

Int J Legal Med. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00414-023-03050-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Due to its peculiar anatomy and physiology, the pericardial fluid is a biological matrix of particular interest in the forensic field. Despite this, the available literature has mainly focused on post-mortem biochemistry and forensic toxicology, while to the best of authors’ knowledge post-mortem metabolomics has never been applied. Similarly, estimation of the time since death or post-mortem interval based on pericardial fluids has still rarely been attempted.

OBJECTIVES: We applied a metabolomic approach based on ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to ascertain the feasibility of monitoring post-mortem metabolite changes on human pericardial fluids with the aim of building a multivariate regression model for post-mortem interval estimation.

METHODS: Pericardial fluid samples were collected in 24 consecutive judicial autopsies, in a time frame ranging from 16 to 170 h after death. The only exclusion criterion was the quantitative and/or qualitative alteration of the sample. Two different extraction protocols were applied for low molecular weight metabolites selection, namely ultrafiltration and liquid-liquid extraction. Our metabolomic approach was based on the use of ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and multivariate statistical data analysis.

RESULTS: The pericardial fluid samples treated with the two experimental protocols did not show significant differences in the distribution of the metabolites detected. A post-mortem interval estimation model based on 18 pericardial fluid samples was validated with an independent set of 6 samples, giving a prediction error of 33-34 h depending on the experimental protocol used. By narrowing the window to post-mortem intervals below 100 h, the prediction power of the model was significantly improved with an error of 13-15 h depending on the extraction protocol. Choline, glycine, ethanolamine, and hypoxanthine were the most relevant metabolites in the prediction model.

CONCLUSION: The present study, although preliminary, shows that PF samples collected from a real forensic scenario represent a biofluid of interest for post-mortem metabolomics, with particular regard to the estimation of the time since death.

PMID:37402012 | DOI:10.1007/s00414-023-03050-w

Childs Nerv Syst. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00381-023-06061-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) occur in 15% of patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Their location renders biopsy or surgical resection difficult because of the risk of vision loss. Therefore, only a few NF1-OPGs have been used for tissue diagnosis, and only a few analyses have been published on the molecular changes that drive tumorigenesis.

METHODS: Due to this reason, we evaluated 305 NF1 patients, 34 with OPG and 271 without OPG for germ line mutations. All subjects underwent clinical examination and DNA analysis of NF1, confirming the diagnosis of NF1.

RESULTS: Clinically, the group with OPG had a significantly higher incidence of bone dysplasia (P < 0.001) and more café-au-lait spots (P = 0.001) compared to those in the group without OPG. The frequency of Lisch nodules was on the borderline of statistical significance (P = 0.058), whereas the frequency of neurofibromas did not differ significantly (cutaneous, P = 0.64; plexiform, P = 0.44). Individuals with OPG mostly had mutations in the first one-third of the NF1 gene compared with that in patients who did not have OPG. Some identical mutations were detected in unrelated families with NF1-OPG.

CONCLUSION: The observation of certain phenotypic features and the correlation between genotype and phenotype might help to determine the risk of developing OPG with NF1.

PMID:37401974 | DOI:10.1007/s00381-023-06061-5

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00402-023-04952-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to determine if operative fixation of clavicle fractures in patients with non-operatively treated ipsilateral rib fractures is associated with a lower overall analgesic requirement and improved respiratory function.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective matched cohort study was conducted involving patients admitted to a single tertiary trauma centre having sustained a clavicle fracture with ipsilateral rib fracture/s between January 2014 and June 2020. Patients were excluded if brain, abdominal, pelvic, or lower limb trauma was identified. 31 patients with operative clavicle fixation (study group) were matched 1:1 to 31 patients with non-operative management of the clavicle fracture (control group) based on age, sex, number of rib fractures and injury severity score. The primary outcome was the number of analgesic types used, and the secondary outcome was respiratory function.

RESULTS: The study group required a mean of 3.50 types of analgesia prior to surgery which decreased to 1.57 post-surgery. The control group required 2.92 types of analgesia, reducing to 1.65 after the date of surgery in the study group. A General Linear Mixed Model indicated that the intervention (operative vs. non-operative management) had statistically significant effects on the number of required analgesic types (p < 0.001, [Formula: see text] = 0.365), oxygen saturation (p = 0.001, [Formula: see text] = 0.341, 95% CI 0.153-0.529) and temporal decline in daily supplemental oxygen requirement (p < 0.001, [Formula: see text] = 0.626, 95% CI 0.455-0.756).

CONCLUSION: This study supported the hypothesis that operative clavicle fixation reduces short-term in-patient analgesia use and improves respiratory parameters in patients with ipsilateral rib fractures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III therapeutic study.

PMID:37401951 | DOI:10.1007/s00402-023-04952-5

Clin Neuroradiol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00062-023-01320-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The 3D time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 3T shows high sensitivity for intracranial aneurysms but is inferior to three-dimensional digital subtraction angiography (3D-DSA) regarding aneurysm characteristics. We applied an ultra-high-resolution (UHR) TOF-MRA using compressed sensing reconstruction to investigate the diagnostic performance in preinterventional evaluation of intracranial aneurysms compared to conventional TOF-MRA and 3D-DSA.

METHODS: In this study 17 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms were included. Aneurysm dimensions, configuration, image quality and sizing of endovascular devices were compared between conventional TOF-MRA at 3T and UHR-TOF with 3D-DSA as gold standard. Quantitatively, contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were compared between TOF-MRAs.

RESULTS: On 3D-DSA, 25 aneurysms in 17 patients were detected. On conventional TOF, 23 aneurysms were detected (sensitivity: 92.6%). On UHR-TOF, 25 aneurysms were detected (sensitivity: 100%). Image quality was not significantly different between TOF and UHR-TOF (p = 0.17). Aneurysm dimension measurements were significantly different between conventional TOF (3.89 mm) and 3D-DSA (4.2 mm, p = 0.08) but not between UHR-TOF (4.12 mm) and 3D-DSA (p = 0.19). Irregularities and small vessels at the aneurysm neck were more frequently correctly depicted on UHR-TOF compared to conventional TOF. Comparison of the planned framing coil diameter and flow-diverter (FD) diameter revealed neither a statistically significant difference between TOF and 3D-DSA (coil p = 0.19, FD p = 0.45) nor between UHR-TOF and 3D-DSA (coil: p = 0.53, FD 0.33). The CNR was significantly higher in conventional TOF (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, ultra-high-resolution TOF-MRA visualized all aneurysms and accurately depicted aneurysm irregularities and vessels at the base of the aneurysm comparably to DSA, outperforming conventional TOF. UHR-TOF with compressed sensing reconstruction seems to represent a non-invasive alternative to pre-interventional DSA for intracranial aneurysms.

PMID:37401949 | DOI:10.1007/s00062-023-01320-z

Clin Neuroradiol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00062-023-01315-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: There is a growing interest in performing coronary artery and neurovascular interventions via the radial artery; however, few studies have examined the outcomes of transradial carotid stenting. Therefore, our study aimed to compare cerebrovascular outcomes and crossover rates in carotid stenting between transradial and traditional transfemoral approaches.

METHODS: A systematic review was performed by searching three electronic databases from inception to June 2022 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. In addition, random effect meta-analysis was used to pool the odds ratios (ORs) for stroke, transient ischemic attack, major adverse cardiac events, death, major vascular access site complications, and procedure crossover rates between the transradial and transfemoral approaches.

RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were included involving a total of n = 567 transradial and n = 6176 transfemoral procedures. The ORs for stroke, transient ischemic attack, and major adverse cardiac events were 1.43 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.72-2.86, I² = 0), 0.51 (95% CI 0.17-1.54, I² = 0), and 1.08 (95% CI 0.62-1.86, I² = 0), respectively. Neither the major vascular access site complication rate (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.32-3.87, I² = 0) nor crossover rate (OR 3.94, 95% CI 0.62-25.11, I² = 57%) showed statistically significant differences between the two approaches.

CONCLUSION: The modest quality of the data suggested comparable procedural outcomes between the transradial and transfemoral approaches when performing carotid stenting; however, high level evidence regarding postoperative brain images and risk of stroke in transradial carotid stenting are lacking. Therefore, it is reasonable for interventionists to weigh up the risks of neurological events and potential benefits, including fewer access site complications, before choosing the radial or femoral arteries as access sites. Future large-scale randomized controlled trials are imperative.

PMID:37401948 | DOI:10.1007/s00062-023-01315-w

Cogn Sci. 2023 Jul;47(7):e13309. doi: 10.1111/cogs.13309.

ABSTRACT

Humans can attribute beliefs to others. However, it is unknown to what extent this ability results from an innate biological endowment or from experience accrued through child development, particularly exposure to language describing others’ mental states. We test the viability of the language exposure hypothesis by assessing whether models exposed to large quantities of human language display sensitivity to the implied knowledge states of characters in written passages. In pre-registered analyses, we present a linguistic version of the False Belief Task to both human participants and a large language model, GPT-3. Both are sensitive to others’ beliefs, but while the language model significantly exceeds chance behavior, it does not perform as well as the humans nor does it explain the full extent of their behavior-despite being exposed to more language than a human would in a lifetime. This suggests that while statistical learning from language exposure may in part explain how humans develop the ability to reason about the mental states of others, other mechanisms are also responsible.

PMID:37401923 | DOI:10.1111/cogs.13309

J Phys Chem A. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c03077. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The bimolecular gas-phase reactions of the phenylethynyl radical (C₆H₅CC, X²A₁) with allene (H₂CCCH₂), allene-d₄ (D₂CCCD₂), and methylacetylene (CH₃CCH) were studied under single-collision conditions utilizing the crossed molecular beams technique and merged with electronic structure and statistical calculations. The phenylethynyl radical was found to add without an entrance barrier to the C1 carbon of the allene and methylacetylene reactants, resulting in doublet C₁₁H₉ collision complexes with lifetimes longer than their rotational periods. These intermediates underwent unimolecular decomposition via atomic hydrogen loss through tight exit transition states in facile radical addition─hydrogen atom elimination mechanisms forming predominantly 3,4-pentadien-1-yn-1-ylbenzene (C₆H₅CCCHCCH₂) and 1-phenyl-1,3-pentadiyne (C₆H₅CCCCCH₃) in overall exoergic reactions (-110 kJ mol^-1 and -130 kJ mol^-1) for the phenylethynyl-allene and phenylethynyl-methylacetylene systems, respectively. These barrierless reaction mechanisms mirror those of the ethynyl radical (C₂H, X²Σ⁺) with allene and methylacetylene forming predominantly ethynylallene (HCCCHCCH₂) and methyldiacetylene (HCCCCCH₃), respectively, suggesting that in the aforementioned reactions the phenyl group acts as a spectator. These molecular mass growth processes are accessible in low-temperature environments such as cold molecular clouds (TMC-1) or Saturn’s moon Titan, efficiently incorporating a benzene ring into unsaturated hydrocarbons.

PMID:37401904 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jpca.3c03077

Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2023 Jul 3. doi: 10.1515/ijamh-2023-0041. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the self-efficacy and healthy lifestyle behavior levels in adolescents with asthma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Socio-demographic questionnaire form, questions about adherence to asthma medication, asthma control test, healthy lifestyle behaviors scale, and self-efficacy scale for children and adolescents with asthma were administered to 150 patients whom age range between 12-18, in follow up with asthma in the pediatric allergy outpatient clinic.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors scale and self-efficacy scale scores between adolescents with controlled and uncontrolled asthma. When patients were grouped regarding the treatment compliance, both healthy lifestyle behaviors scale and asthma self-efficacy scale scores were found to be higher in patients with treatment compliance. When the patients were grouped on the basis of gender, regular follow-up visits, and smoking, there was no significant difference between healthy lifestyle behaviors and self-efficacy scale scores.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed us the importance of the relationship between healthy living and adolescent self-efficacy in adherence to treatment, while there are many more components in asthma control.

PMID:37401610 | DOI:10.1515/ijamh-2023-0041

Br J Math Stat Psychol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1111/bmsp.12314. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The paper proposes a novel model assessment paradigm aiming to address shortcoming of posterior predictive $p$ -values, which provide the default metric of fit for Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM). The model framework presented in the paper focuses on the approximate zero approach (Psychological Methods, 17, 2012, 313), which involves formulating certain parameters (such as factor loadings) to be approximately zero through the use of informative priors, instead of explicitly setting them to zero. The introduced model assessment procedure monitors the out-of-sample predictive performance of the fitted model, and together with a list of guidelines we provide, one can investigate whether the hypothesised model is supported by the data. We incorporate scoring rules and cross-validation to supplement existing model assessment metrics for BSEM. The proposed tools can be applied to models for both continuous and binary data. The modelling of categorical and non-normally distributed continuous data is facilitated with the introduction of an item-individual random effect. We study the performance of the proposed methodology via simulation experiments as well as real data on the ‘Big-5’ personality scale and the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence.

PMID:37401608 | DOI:10.1111/bmsp.12314