Tag: statistics

Orthod Craniofac Res. 2023 Mar 13. doi: 10.1111/ocr.12651. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The dentition is one of the most accurate features for age estimation in children. However, there is some evidence that timing of dental development varies across populations. Recent research suggests that dental development may also be susceptible to influence by environmental factors, such as obesity. Given that there are also population differences in average body mass, it is possible that this may be a confounding variable that was not accounted for in prior work. We aim to compare the relative association between body mass index (BMI) and ancestry with timing of dental development.

METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional chart review was undertaken using panoramic radiographs of 6 to 12-year-olds (n=281). Age, ancestry, sex, height, and weight were obtained. Dental development was assessed using the Demirjian method, and chronological age was subtracted from estimated dental age to determine relative timing of dental development (ΔAge). BMI was calculated based upon recorded height/weight within 6 months of time of radiograph.

RESULTS: We found no difference in timing of dental development (accelerated/delayed) across ancestry groups (African-American, Euro-American, Hispanic, Asian; p=0.15). Overweight/obese subjects had statistically significantly advanced (precocious) dental development (p<0.001). Compared to normal weight subjects, children who were overweight’s age was overestimated by 5.76 months (0.48 years) and children with obesity by 5.97 months (0.49 years) on average.

CONCLUSIONS: BMI appears to have a greater impact on relative timing of dental development than ancestry in this population. Our results support other findings that obesity results in accelerated growth and development.

PMID:36912715 | DOI:10.1111/ocr.12651

Angle Orthod. 2023 Mar 13. doi: 10.2319/072322-512.1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To compare skeletal and dentoalveolar changes of miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) according to the length of the miniscrews.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This two-arm parallel-randomized controlled trial included 32 adult patients aged 19-35 years who received orthodontic treatment with MARPE. Patients were allocated to two groups, group long (L) and short (S), through block randomization according to the length of the miniscrews installed in MARPE. Cone-beam computed tomography was performed before expansion and after removal of the MARPE; superimposition of the images was conducted. The primary outcome included the amount of bone expansion and the change in the inclination of the anchorage teeth. The secondary outcome included the success rate of midpalatal suture opening and stability of the miniscrews. Blinding was performed during outcome assessment.

RESULTS: The final sample comprised 31 patients. There was no significant difference in patient characteristics between group L (n = 16) and group S (n = 15). The change in the width of the processus zygomaticus (P = .010) and ectocanine (P = .001) was significantly higher in group L. A significantly higher success rate of the posterior miniscrews was seen in group L (P = .024). There was no statistically significant difference in the success rate of suture separation or change in tooth inclination. Notable complications were not reported.

CONCLUSIONS: MARPE with longer miniscrews can increase the amount of expansion of the maxillary basal bone and canine alveolar bone. Although it also aided in miniscrew stability, it did not guarantee successful midpalatal suture separation.

PMID:36912712 | DOI:10.2319/072322-512.1

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 Mar 13:djad044. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad044. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We examined adverse birth outcomes among adolescent and young adult women diagnosed with cancer (AYA women, ages 15-39 years) during pregnancy.

METHODS: We linked data from the Texas Cancer Registry, vital records, and Texas Birth Defects Registry to identify all singleton births to AYA women diagnosed during pregnancy from January 1999 to December 2016. We compared prevalence of adverse live birth outcomes between AYA women and women without cancer (matched 1:4 on age, race and ethnicity, and year). Among AYA women, we used log-binomial regression to identify factors associated with these outcomes. Statistical tests were 2-sided.

RESULTS: AYA women had 1,271 singleton live births and 20 stillbirths. AYA women (n=1,291) were 33.3% Hispanic and 9.8% non-Hispanic Black and most commonly had breast (22.5%), thyroid (19.8%), and gynecologic (13.3%) cancers. Among live births, AYA women had a higher prevalence of low birth weight offspring (30.1% vs. 9.0%), very preterm (5.7% vs. 1.2%) and preterm birth (25.1% vs. 7.2%), cesarean delivery (44.3% vs. 35.2%), and low Apgar score (2.7% vs. 1.5%), compared to women without cancer (n=5,084) (all p<0.05). Prevalence of any birth defect by age 12 months did not statistically differ (5.2% vs. 4.7%, p=0.48), but live births to AYA women more often had heart and circulatory system defects (2.2% vs. 1.3%, p=0.01). In adjusted models, cancer type and chemotherapy were associated with adverse live birth outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: AYA women diagnosed during pregnancy have higher prevalence of adverse birth outcomes and face difficult decisions in balancing treatment risks and benefits.

PMID:36912709 | DOI:10.1093/jnci/djad044

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Mar 13. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15716. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Patients with androgenetic alopecia experience a significant decrease in self-esteem and quality of life. There are several methods by which these factors may be improved.

AIMS: Determining whether patients feel better about themselves with a better quality of life after undergoing hair transplant procedure.

PATIENTS/METHODS: 35 people were chosen from Jordan Skin and Hair Clinic in Tehran, Iran. Following hair transplant, follow-up subjects had their quality of life and level of self-esteem assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), respectively. The means of quantitative results were compared using paired T-test. The chi-square test was done to compare preoperative and postoperative characteristics qualitatively. Differences were regarded significant if p < 0.05. Analysis of covariance was applied to evaluate the effect of marital status and educational level on outcome variables (ANCOVA).

RESULTS: Our findings showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between pre- and post-operative hair transplantation for quality of life, and mean score increased to 2.17. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with an average self-esteem score on RSES rising to 5.35 (p < 0.001). A statistically significant link between educational achievement and quality of life was found (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: This study found postoperative psychological aspects of AGA patients significantly improve than preoperative. Our results show that there is a statistically significant difference between the self-esteem and quality of life of AGA patients before and after hair restoration surgery.

PMID:36912697 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15716

J Orthop Res. 2023 Mar 13. doi: 10.1002/jor.25547. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The assessment of three-dimensional (3D) bony defects is important to inform the surgical planning of hip reconstruction. Mirroring of the contralateral side has been previously used to measure the hip centre of rotation (CoR). However, the contralateral side may not be useful when diseased or replaced. Statistical Shape Models (SSMs) can aid reconstruction of patient anatomy. Previous studies have been limited to computational models only or small patient cohorts. We used SSM as a tool to help derive landmarks that are often absent in hip joints of patients with large acetabular defects. Our aim was to compare the reconstructed pelvis with patients who have previously undergone hip revision. This retrospective cohort study involved 38 patients with Paprosky type IIIB defects. An SSM was built on 50 healthy pelvises and used to virtually reconstruct the native pelvic morphology for all cases. The outcome measures were the difference in CoR for 1) SSM vs diseased hip, 2) SSM vs plan and 3) SSM vs contralateral healthy hip. The median differences in CoR were 31.17 mm (IQ: 43.80 – 19.87 mm), 8.53 mm (IQ: 12.76 – 5.74 mm) and 7.84 mm (IQ: 10.13 – 5.13 mm), respectively. No statistical difference (p > 0.05) was found between the SSM vs plan and the SSM vs contralateral CoRs. Our findings show that the SSM model can be used to reconstruct the absent bony landmarks of patients with significant lysis regardless of the defect severity, hence aiding the surgical planning of hip reconstruction and implant design. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:36912127 | DOI:10.1002/jor.25547

Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Mar 13:gkad157. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad157. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Multimodal single-cell omics technologies enable multiple molecular programs to be simultaneously profiled at a global scale in individual cells, creating opportunities to study biological systems at a resolution that was previously inaccessible. However, the analysis of multimodal single-cell omics data is challenging due to the lack of methods that can integrate across multiple data modalities generated from such technologies. Here, we present Matilda, a multi-task learning method for integrative analysis of multimodal single-cell omics data. By leveraging the interrelationship among tasks, Matilda learns to perform data simulation, dimension reduction, cell type classification, and feature selection in a single unified framework. We compare Matilda with other state-of-the-art methods on datasets generated from some of the most popular multimodal single-cell omics technologies. Our results demonstrate the utility of Matilda for addressing multiple key tasks on integrative multimodal single-cell omics data analysis. Matilda is implemented in Pytorch and is freely available from https://github.com/PYangLab/Matilda.

PMID:36912104 | DOI:10.1093/nar/gkad157

Work. 2023 Mar 8. doi: 10.3233/WOR-220482. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Neck pain (NP) is associated with high disability rates among healthcare workers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the potential risk factors associated with disability due to NP among healthcare staff working in primary care settings.

METHODS: This 30-day prospective cross-sectional study involved a survey of 63 healthcare personnel (55 women and 8 men aged 45.30±12.34 years) of two primary healthcare centers in Serbia, who completed a general questionnaire developed for this purpose along with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), whereby the potential predictors of NP-related disability were assessed using the statistical package SPSS ver. 24.

RESULTS: Female healthcare workers achieved a higher score on the NDI scale (Me = 8.00, p < 0.05), as did older respondents (r = 0.260, p < 0.05), those with longer work experience (r = 0.323, p < 0.05), and those that wear prescription glasses (Me = 9.00, p < 0.01). Higher NDI scores were also achieved by respondents that suffered from neck pain at the time of the study (Me = 12.50, p < 0.001), especially if they relied on pain medication (Me = 13.00, p < 0.05), and topical analgesic creams (Me = 12.50, p < 0.05) for treating neck pain.

CONCLUSION: Female sex, older age, greater work experience, current neck pain, use of pain-relieving medications and creams, and need for prescription glasses to correct vision increase the risk of disability due to pain in the cervical spine among healthcare workers.

PMID:36911959 | DOI:10.3233/WOR-220482

J Vestib Res. 2023 Mar 4. doi: 10.3233/VES-220107. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which sensory integration strategies via head sway, derived from a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), change in people with vestibular disorders following vestibular rehabilitation.

DESIGN: Randomized Controlled TrialSetting:Vestibular Rehabilitation ClinicParticipants:Thirty participants with vestibular dysfunction and 21 age-matched controls.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants experienced two levels of visual surround (static or moving ‘stars’, front to back at 0.2 Hz, 32 mm) and white noise (none or rhythmic) while their head sway was recorded via the HTC Vive. We quantified head sway via Directional Path (DP) and Root Mean Square Velocity (RMSV) in 5 directions: anterior-posterior, medio-lateral, pitch, yaw, and roll and Power Spectral Density in low (PSD 1), medium (PSD 2) and high (PSD 3) frequencies in the anterior-posterior direction.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants performed the assessment prior to being randomized into 8-weeks of contextual sensory integration training in virtual reality or traditional vestibular rehabilitation and once again following completion of the intervention. Controls performed the assessment once. Twelve participants dropped out, half due to covid lock-down. We applied an intention to treat analysis.

RESULTS: We observed significant increases in AP DP, RMSV and all PSDs with change in visual level. Both intervention groups significantly decreased medio-lateral, pitch and roll DP and RMSV and anterior-posterior PSD 2 with no group differences. Vestibular participants were significantly higher than controls on all outcomes pre rehabilitation. Post rehabilitation they were only significantly higher on PSD 2. Sound was not a significant predictor of head sway in this protocol.

CONCLUSIONS: Head sway decreased following vestibular rehabilitation regardless of visual load or type of intervention applied. This change was measured via head kinematics derived from a portable HMD which can serve as a sensitive in-clinic assessment for tracking improvement over time.

PMID:36911951 | DOI:10.3233/VES-220107

Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2023 Mar 8. doi: 10.3233/CH-221444. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 versus hydrocortisone on sublingual microcirculation in septic shock patients.

METHODS: This pilot study enrolled septic shock patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary teaching hospital from February 2019 to January 2020. We randomly assigned the enrolled patients to the treatment group (hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 added to standard care) and the control group (hydrocortisone alone added to standard care) in a 1 : 1 ratio. The primary outcome was perfused small vascular density (sPVD) monitored by a sublingual microcirculation imaging system at 24 hours after treatment.

RESULTS: Twelve patients in the treatment group and ten in the control group completed the study. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the groups. No statistically significant difference was found in the sPVD between the groups at baseline. The sPVD in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 4 hours after treatment (mean difference, 7.042; 95% CI, 2.227-11.857; P = 0.009) and 24 hours after treatment (mean difference, 7.075; 95% CI, 2.390-11.759; P = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone combined with vitamin C and vitamin B1 significantly improves microcirculation in septic shock patients.

PMID:36911931 | DOI:10.3233/CH-221444

Breast Dis. 2023;42(1):45-58. doi: 10.3233/BD-220026.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Multiple lines of evidence suggest that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding components of the microRNA processing machinery may underlie susceptibility to various human diseases, including cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate whether rs6877842, rs642321 and rs10719 SNPs of DROSHA, a key component of the miRNA biogenesis pathway, are associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

METHODS: A total of 100 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 100 healthy women were included. Following extraction of DNA, genotyping was performed by tetra primer- amplification refractory mutation system-PCR (T-ARMS-PCR) technique. Under the co-dominant, dominant and recessive inheritance models, the association between DROSHA SNPs and breast cancer risk was determined by logistic regression analysis. The association of DROSHA SNPs with patients’ clinicopathological parameters was assessed. Also, haplotype analysis was performed to evaluate the combined effect of DROSHA SNPs on breast cancer risk.

RESULTS: We observed a statistically significant association between DROSHA rs642321 polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility (P < 0.05). Under the dominant inheritance model, DROSHA rs642321 polymorphism was significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer (OR: 6.091; 95% CI: 3.291-11.26; P = 0.0001). Our findings demonstrated that DROSHA rs642321 T allele can contribute to the development of breast cancer (OR: 3.125; 95% CI: 1.984-4.923; P = 0.0001). We also found that GTC and GTT haplotypes conferred significant risk for breast cancer (OR: 2.367; 95% CI: 1.453-3.856; P = 0.0001 and OR: 7.944; 95% CI: 2.073-30.43; P = 0.0001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: These results provide the first evidence that DROSHA rs642321 polymorphism is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. However, further studies are needed to firmly validate these findings.

PMID:36911928 | DOI:10.3233/BD-220026