Tag: statistics

Cryo Letters. 2021 Jul-Aug;42(4):227-232.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Biodiversity conservation by germplasm maintenance by cryobanks is an accepted way of saving species. The edible fish Glossogobius giuris is reported to be threatened in India and needs rehabilitation measures to improve their numbers in natural waters.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the standardization of cryoprotectants for the preservation of male gametes of this species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four different cryoprotectants were used: DMSO, glycerol, ethylene glycol and methanol. Different combinations of diluents and milt were processed inside a cold handling unit at -5 degree C and stored for the short-term.

RESULTS: Prior to exposure to cryoprotectants, the motility of fresh sperm was 98.3 ± 2.5%. After 10 min equilibration at room temperature in 7.5 % glycerol, sperm motility was 95.6 1.5%, and 93 , 3.2% after 180 min at -5 degree C in this cryoprotectant. In contrast, motility was 65C3% after equilibration in 12.5 % methanol, and survivability fell to 30.7 0.9% after 180 min storage at -5 degree C. Analysis by Bonferroni and Holm Multiple Comparison showed highly significant variations between the effect of methanol and the other cryoprotectants. There was a statistically significant fall in motility when using methanol compared to glycerol.

CONCLUSION: Glycerol provides greater protection to spermatozoa during cold storage at -5 degree C, possibly as a result of its membrane stabilizing power.

PMID:35363842

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0265971. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265971. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Intravenous regional limb perfusions (RLP) are widely used in equine medicine to treat distal limb infections, including synovial sepsis. RLPs are generally deemed successful if the peak antibiotic concentration (Cmax) in the sampled synovial structure is at least 8-10 times the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the bacteria of interest. Despite extensive experimentation and widespread clinical use, the optimal technique for performing a successful perfusion remains unclear. The objective of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect of technique on synovial concentrations of antibiotic and to assess under which conditions Cmax:MIC ≥ 10. A literature search including the terms “horse”, “equine”, and “regional limb perfusion” between 1990 and 2021 was performed. Cmax (μg/ml) and measures of dispersion were extracted from studies and Cmax:MIC was calculated for sensitive and resistant bacteria. Variables included in the analysis included synovial structure sampled, antibiotic dose, tourniquet location, tourniquet duration, general anesthesia versus standing sedation, perfusate volume, tourniquet type, and the concurrent use of local analgesia. Mixed effects meta-regression was performed, and variables significantly associated with the outcome on univariable analysis were added to a multivariable meta-regression model in a step-wise manner. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of our findings. Thirty-six studies with 123 arms (permutations of dose, route, location and timing) were included. Cmax:MIC ranged from 1 to 348 for sensitive bacteria and 0.25 to 87 for resistant bacteria, with mean (SD) time to peak concentration (Tmax) of 29.0 (8.8) minutes. Meta-analyses generated summary values (θ) of 42.8 x MIC and 10.7 x MIC for susceptible and resistant bacteria, respectively, though because of high heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 98.8), these summary variables were not considered reliable. Meta-regression showed that the only variables for which there were statistically significant differences in outcome were the type of tourniquet and the concurrent use of local analgesia: perfusions performed with a wide rubber tourniquet and perfusions performed with the addition of local analgesia achieved significantly greater concentrations of antibiotic. The majority of arms achieved Cmax:MIC ≥ 10 for sensitive bacteria but not resistant bacteria. Our results suggest that wide rubber tourniquets and concurrent local analgesia should be strongly considered for use in RLP and that adequate therapeutic concentrations (Cmax:MIC ≥ 10) are often achieved across a variety of techniques for susceptible but not resistant pathogens.

PMID:35363825 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0265971

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0266006. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266006. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) often experience anxiety, but the current studies on anxiety mostly focused on a certain point in time. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes of peri-procedure anxiety, status of post-procedure quality of life, and cardiovascular readmission rates in patients with CHD who undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and to analyze the influence of peri-procedure anxiety on quality of life and readmission rate after PCI.

METHODS: This prospective study was conducted at Changshu NO.1 People’s Hospital. A total of 220 patients with CHD undergoing elective PCI were selected as study subjects. The general information, clinical data, anxiety, quality of life and readmission of patients were collected. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine the effect of peri-procedure anxiety on quality of life, and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of peri-procedure anxiety on readmission rate.

RESULTS: This study showed the anxiety scores at hospitalization appointment(T1), 3 days before procedure(T2), 1 day before procedure(T3), 1 day after procedure(T4) were 57(55,61),64(61,68),54(51.58), and 54(50,60), respectively. And, at 3 months and 6 months after PCI, the scores of Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) were 346.61(319.06,366.52) and 353.34(334.18,372.84) respectively. During 6 months follow-up, 54 cases were readmitted, with a readmission rate of 25.5%. Statistical analysis showed that T1 with anxiety (P = 0.002) and T2 with anxiety (P = 0.024) were independent risk factors for treatment satisfaction at 3 months after PCI. Anxiety in T4 (P = 0.005) was an independent risk factor on the angina frequency at 6 months after PCI. T2 with anxiety (B = 1.445, P = 0.010, 95%CI:1.409-12.773) and T4 without anxiety (B = -1.587, P = 0.042, 95%CI:-0.044-0.941) were risk factors affecting readmission for cardiovascular reasons within 6 months.

CONCLUSION: Patient anxiety at T1 and T2 affects the treatment satisfaction dimension of the SAQ at 3 months after PCI, and anxiety at T4 affects the angina frequency dimension of the SAQ at 6 months after PCI. Anxiety at T2 and no anxiety at T4 increase short-term readmission rates. In the future, interventions should be strengthened at various time points in the peri-procedure period to improve post-procedure rehabilitation effect.

PMID:35363813 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266006

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0266378. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266378. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Many rural American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) veterans receive care from the Indian Health Service (IHS). United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reimbursement agreements with some IHS facilities and tribal programs and seeks to expand community partnerships in tribal areas, but details of how AIAN veterans use IHS are unknown. We aimed to assess the health status, service utilization patterns, and cost of care of veterans who use IHS.

METHODS: We used comprehensive and integrated IHS data to compare health status, health service utilization and treatment cost of veterans (n = 12,242) to a matched sample of non-veterans (n = 12,242). We employed logistic, linear, or negative binomial regressions as appropriate, by sex and overall.

FINDINGS: Compared to non-veterans, veterans had lower odds of having hypertension, renal disease, all-cause dementia, and alcohol or drug use disorders, but had similar burden of other conditions. In service utilization, veterans had lower hospital inpatient days; patterns were mixed across outpatient services. Unadjusted treatment costs for veterans and non-veterans were $3,923 and $4,145, respectively; veteran adjusted treatment costs were statistically lower. Differences in significance by sex were found for health conditions and service use.

CONCLUSIONS: AIAN veterans, compared to AIAN non-veterans, were not less healthy, nor did they require more intensive or more costly care under IHS. Our results indicate the viability and importance of expanding IHS-VA partnerships in community care.

PMID:35363822 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266378

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0266158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266158. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

An infant’s everyday visual environment is composed of a complex array of entities, some of which are well integrated into their surroundings. Although infants are already sensitive to some categories in their first year of life, it is not clear which visual information supports their detection of meaningful elements within naturalistic scenes. Here we investigated the impact of image characteristics on 8-month-olds’ search performance using a gaze contingent eye-tracking search task. Infants had to detect a target patch on a background image. The stimuli consisted of images taken from three categories: vegetation, non-living natural elements (e.g., stones), and manmade artifacts, for which we also assessed target background differences in lower- and higher-level visual properties. Our results showed that larger target-background differences in the statistical properties scaling invariance and entropy, and also stimulus backgrounds including low pictorial depth, predicted better detection performance. Furthermore, category membership only affected search performance if supported by luminance contrast. Data from an adult comparison group also indicated that infants’ search performance relied more on lower-order visual properties than adults. Taken together, these results suggest that infants use a combination of property- and category-related information to parse complex visual stimuli.

PMID:35363809 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266158

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0266418. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266418. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Multiple conditions are more prevalent in some minoritised ethnic groups and are associated with higher mortality rate but studies examining differential mortality once conditions are established is US-based. Our study tested whether the association between multiple conditions and mortality varies across ethnic groups in England.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: A random sample of primary care patients from Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) was followed from 1st January 2015 until 31st December 2019. Ethnicity, usually self-ascribed, was obtained from primary care records if present or from hospital records. Long-term conditions were counted from a list of 32 that have previously been associated with greater primary care, hospital admissions, or mortality risk. Cox regression models were used to estimate mortality by count of conditions, ethnicity and their interaction, with adjustment for age and sex for 532,059 patients with complete data. During five years of follow-up, 5.9% of patients died. Each additional condition at baseline was associated with increased mortality. The direction of the interaction of number of conditions with ethnicity showed a statistically higher mortality rate associated with long-term conditions in Pakistani, Black African, Black Caribbean and Other Black ethnic groups. In ethnicity-stratified models, the mortality rate per additional condition at age 50 was 1.33 (95% CI 1.31,1.35) for White ethnicity, 1.43 (95% CI 1.26,1.61) for Black Caribbean ethnicity and 1.78 (95% CI 1.41,2.24) for Other Black ethnicity.

CONCLUSIONS: The higher mortality rate associated with having multiple conditions is greater in minoritised compared with White ethnic groups. Research is now needed to identify factors that contribute to these inequalities. Within the health care setting, there may be opportunities to target clinical and self-management support for people with multiple conditions from minoritised ethnic groups.

PMID:35363804 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266418

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0266352. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266352. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

High utilizers (HU) are patients with an above-average use of psychiatric inpatient treatment. A precise characterization of this patient group is important when tailoring specific treatment approaches for them. While the current literature reports evidence of sociodemographic, and socio-clinical characteristics of HU, knowledge regarding their psychological characteristics is sparse. This study aimed to investigate the association between patients’ psychological characteristics and their utilization of psychiatric inpatient treatment. Patients from the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) Basel diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum or bipolar affective disorders participated in a survey at the end of their inpatient treatment stay. The survey included assessments of psychological characteristics such as quality of life, self-esteem, self-stigma, subjective experience and meaning of psychoses, insight into the disease, and patients’ utilization of psychiatric inpatient treatment in the last 30 months. The outcome variables were two indicators of utilization of psychiatric inpatient treatment, viz. “utilization pattern” (defined as HU vs. Non-HU [NHU]) and “length of stay” (number of inpatient treatment days in the last 30 months). Statistical analyses included multiple regression models, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) method, and the random forest model. We included 112 inpatients, of which 50 were classified as HU and 62 as NHU. The low performance of all statistical models used after cross-validation suggests that none of the estimated psychological variables showed predictive accuracy and hence clinical relevance regarding these two outcomes. Results indicate no link between psychological characteristics and inpatient treatment utilization in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum or bipolar affective disorders. Thus, in this study, the examined psychological variables do not seem to play an important role in patients’ use of psychiatric inpatient treatment; this highlights the need for additional research to further examine underlying mechanisms of high utilization of psychiatric inpatient treatment.

PMID:35363806 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0266352

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0265931. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265931. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Since the Yellow River is a main source of water in Ningxia China, maintaining its healthy ecological environment is vital to Ningxia and the neighboring areas. Changes of land use caused by human activities such as population growth, urbanizing process, and industrial and mining construction would affect the balance and cycle of water in the Basin. Therefore, investigating hydrological responses of land use changes can provide insights into the characteristics and evolution of runoff the Yellow River Basin in the Ningxia section. This has imperative and practical significance to the rational use, allocation, and planning of water resources in a changing environment. In this paper, we analyzed the meteorological and hydrological elements of changing characteristics of the Yellow River Basin in the Ningxia section. Then we selected a distribution-based hydrology model of SWAT in combination with GIS to simulate annual and monthly runoff under different land use scenarios. Finally, we analyzed the influence caused by the changes of land use on runoff. We concluded that it is appropriate to lay a decision-making foundation to manage water resources of the Yellow River Basin in the Ningxia section.

PMID:35363797 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0265931

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0265238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265238. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

This research article presents the magnetohydrodynamic Casson fluid flow through an extending surface embedded in a porous medium. Furthermore, the Casson fluid flow is investigated under the effects of thermal radiation, Joule heating, viscous dissipation, and chemical reaction. The analytical solution of the modeled problem is utilized with the help of homotopy analysis method (HAM). The convergence region of the applied technique is portrayed graphically. The impacts of the embedded factors on the flow profiles are exhibited with the help of figures. Furthermore, numerical values of the surface drag force, heat, and mass transfer rates are highlighted via table. The results show that the augmented Darcy number, Casson and magnetic parameters have declined the velocity profile of the Casson fluid flow. Growth in Brownian motion augments the chaotic motion amongst the particles due to which the kinetic energy of the particles transforms to heat energy which consequently augmented the thermal profile, while reduced the concentration profile. The mass and energy profiles are positively effects with the increment of thermophoresis term. And the growing values of chemical reaction and Lewis number cause a reduction in the diffusivity of mass of fluid due to which less transfer of mass takes place that weakens the concentration layer thickness and declines the concentration profiles.

PMID:35363789 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0265238

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 1;17(4):e0264732. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264732. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infection is a major public health problem in developing countries among immunocompromized populations where there are limited health-care services. People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are more likely to develop urinary tract infections (UTI) due to the suppression of their immunity. There is no single representative figure as well as the presence of significant heterogeneity among studies conducted on people living with HIV in Ethiopia. Hence, this study tried to pool the magnitude of UTI among people living with HIV in Ethiopia.

METHOD: To find relevant studies, researchers looked through Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Worldwide Science. The I2 statistic was used to examine for heterogeneity among the studies that were included. To evaluate the pooled effect size across studies, a random-effects model was used. The presence of publication bias was determined using a funnel plot and Egger’s regression test. STATATM version 14.0 software was used for all statistical analyses.

RESULTS: A total of 7 studies with 2257 participants were included in this meta-analysis. UTI was shown to be prevalent in 12.8% (95% CI: 10.8-14.79, I2 = 50.7%) of HIV patients. Being male (0.35, 95% CI:0.14, 1.02), rural residents(OR:1.41,95% CI: 0.85, 2.34), no history of catheterization (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.06, 1.85), had no history of DM (OR:0.84, 95% CI:0.12, 0.597) and having CD4 count greater than 200 (OR:0.36 95% CI: 0.06, 2.35) were the factors which were the associated factors assessed and having association with UTI among people living with HIV but not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: In Ethiopia, one in every eight HIV-positive people is at risk of acquiring UTI. Regardless, we looked for a link between sex, residency, CD4, catheterization history, and DM and UTI, but there was none. To avoid this phenomina, every HIV patient should have a UTI examination in every follow-up.

PMID:35363782 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0264732