Tag: statistics

J Am Coll Health. 2022 Mar 24:1-9. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2052078. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the influence of grit on physical activity, sleep and diet in undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: 125 undergraduate students participated in the study. Participants completed an online survey while enrolled in an online class during June, 2020. Methods: The online questionairre featured the following validated survey instruments: International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants Short Form and the grit short form. Effects of grit on lifestyle behaviors were explored using several statistical approaches. Results: We found that individuals with more grit reported better eating and sleeping behaviors compared to those with less grit. However, we did not find an influence of grit on physical activity or sitting time. Conclusion: Our findings support that personality traits encompassed in grit contribute to college students reporting healthier dietary habits and better sleep quality during a global pandemic.

PMID:35325588 | DOI:10.1080/07448481.2022.2052078

Diabetes Technol Ther. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.1089/dia.2021.0566. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Artificial intelligence-based decision support systems (DSS) need to provide decisions not inferior to those given by experts in the field. Recommended insulin dose adjustments on the same individual data set were compared among multinational physicians, and to recommendations made by automated Endo.Digital DSS (ED-DSS).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a non-interventional study surveying twenty physicians from multinational academic centers. The survey included 17 data cases of individuals with type 1 diabetes who are treated with multiple daily insulin injections. Participating physicians were asked to recommend insulin dose adjustments based on glucose and insulin data. Insulin dose adjustments recommendations were compared among physicians and to the automated ED-DSS. The primary endpoints were the percentage of comparison points for which there was agreement on the trend of insulin dose adjustments.

RESULTS: The proportion of agreement and disagreement in the direction of insulin dose adjustment among physicians was statistically non-inferior to the proportion of agreement and disagreement observed between ED-DSS and physicians for basal rate, carbohydrate-to insulin ratio, and correction factor (P<0.001 and P≤0.004 for all three parameters for agreement and disagreement, respectively). The ED-DSS magnitude of insulin dose change was consistently lower than that proposed by the physicians.

CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for insulin dose adjustments made by automatization did not differ significantly from recommendations given by expert physicians regarding the direction of change. These results highlight the potential utilization of ED-DSS as a useful clinical tool to manage insulin titration and dose adjustments.

PMID:35325567 | DOI:10.1089/dia.2021.0566

Evolution. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.1111/evo.14473. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In socially monogamous species, extra-pair paternity (EPP) is predicted to increase variance in male reproductive success beyond that resulting from genetic monogamy, thus increasing the ‘opportunity for selection’ (maximum strength of selection that can act on traits). This prediction is challenging to investigate in wild populations because lifetime reproduction data are often incomplete. Moreover, age-specific variances in reproduction have been rarely quantified. We analysed 21 years of near-complete social and genetic reproduction data from an insular population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis). We quantified EPP’s contribution to lifetime and age-specific opportunities for selection in males. We compared the variance in male genetic reproductive success (RS) vs. social (‘apparent’) reproductive success (RS_ap ) to assess if EPP increased the opportunity for selection over that resulting from genetic monogamy. Despite not causing a statistically significant excess (19%) of the former over the latter, EPP contributed substantially (27%) to the variance in lifetime RS, similarly to within-pair paternity (WPP, 39%) and to the positive WPP-EPP covariance (34%). Partitioning the opportunity for selection into age-specific (co)variance components, showed that EPP also provided a substantial contribution at most ages, varying with age. Therefore, despite possibly not playing the main role in shaping sexual selection in Seychelles warblers, EPP provided a substantial contribution to the lifetime and age-specific opportunity for selection, which can influence evolutionary processes in age-structured populations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35325482 | DOI:10.1111/evo.14473

J Biophotonics. 2022 Mar 24:e202200045. doi: 10.1002/jbio.202200045. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Single-pixel imaging (SPI) enables the use of advanced detector technologies to provide a potentially low-cost solution for sensing beyond the visible spectrum and has received increasing attentions recently. However, when it comes to sub-Nyquist sampling, the spectrum truncation and spectrum discretization effects significantly challenge the traditional SPI pipeline due to the lack of sufficient sparsity. In this work, a deep compressive sensing (CS) framework is built to conduct image reconstructions in classical SPIs, where a novel compression network is proposed to enable collaborative sparsity in discretized feature space while remaining excellent coherence with the sensing basis as per CS conditions. To alleviate the underlying limitations in an end-to-end supervised training, e.g., the network typically needs to be re-trained as the basis patterns, sampling ratios, etc. change, the network is trained in an unsupervised fashion with no sensing physics involved. Validation experiments are performed both numerically and physically by comparing with traditional and cutting-edge SPI reconstruction methods. Particularly, fluorescence imaging is pioneered to preliminarily examine the in-vivo biodistributions. Results show that the proposed method maintains comparable image fidelity to a sCMOS camera even at a sampling ratio down to 4%, while remaining the advantages inherent in SPI. The proposed technique maintains the unsupervised and self-contained properties that highly facilitate the downstream applications in the field of compressive imaging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35325512 | DOI:10.1002/jbio.202200045

Spec Care Dentist. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.1111/scd.12715. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To describe oral cavity changes in patients who underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

METHODS AND RESULTS: A group of 32 patients was studied after a mean period of 48.8 months (±11.22) from HSCT; oral, dental, and periodontal status were collected and compared with those of healthy matched controls. Unstimulated whole salivary flow (UWS) and salivary pH were also measured. A validated questionnaire (EORTC QLQH&N-35) was used for reported quality of life. Fifty-nine percent of patients were affected by chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Dental health and periodontal status were statistically worse than in controls (P = .003 and P = .008, respectively). Regarding the HSCT group, UWS was statistically lower, and EORTC QLQH&N-35 significantly higher than those reported in controls (P = .000 for both). There was no statistical correlation between hypo-salivation and conditioning, presence of cGVHD, type of medication used before and after transplantation, and time of follow-up. A reduction in salivary pH has been noted only for patients with erosive oral lesions.

CONCLUSION: The oral cavity of HSCT patients appeared to undergo substantial modifications and the quality of life was deeply compromised.

PMID:35325475 | DOI:10.1111/scd.12715

CA Cancer J Clin. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.3322/caac.21723. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Twenty years after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, the association between exposures present at the World Trade Center (WTC) site and the risk of several specific types of cancer has been reported among rescue and recovery workers. The authors’ objective was to conduct an updated review of these data. Most studies have found elevated rates of both prostate and thyroid cancers compared with rates in the general population, and some have reported statistically significant differences for the rates of all cancers as well. Studies including a larger combined cohort of WTC-exposed rescue and recovery workers from 3 main cohorts have since replicated findings for these cancers, with additional years of follow-up. Among this combined cohort, although a lower-than-expected standardized incidence ratio for all cancers was observed, WTC exposure was also related to an increased risk of cutaneous melanoma and tonsil cancer. Importantly, another study found that WTC-exposed rescue and recovery workers who are enrolled in the federally funded medical monitoring and treatment program experienced improved survival post-cancer diagnosis compared with New York state patients with cancer. On the basis of these combined cohort studies, the full effect of WTC exposure on cancer risk is becoming clearer. Consequently, the authors believe that surveillance of those with WTC exposure should be continued, and in-depth analysis of epidemiologic, molecular, and clinical aspects of specific cancers in these workers should be pursued.

PMID:35325473 | DOI:10.3322/caac.21723

Int J Dermatol. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.1111/ijd.16167. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Severe nail lichen planus (NLP) does not respond well to treatment and is often poorly considered and described in detail.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the characteristics of severe NLP.

METHODS: A retrospective data analysis was performed, including the photographic records of the most compromised nails of patients with NLP over 18 years old, who consulted between 2009 and 2019 at the Instituto de Dermatologia Professor Rubem David Azulay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Descriptive and statistical analysis using Fisher’s exact test was performed to verify the hypothesis of independence between characteristics (P < 0.05).

RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were included. Anonychia was associated with severe thinning of the nail plate, retraction of the nail bed or nail plate, residual nail plate, loss of proximal nail fold limits, and onychoatrophy. Dorsal pterygium was associated with loss of proximal nail fold limits, onychoatrophy, and distal splitting greater than 50%.

CONCLUSION: We provide descriptions of the most severe signs in order to facilitate the clinical diagnosis when a biopsy is not feasible and suggest an update of current NLP classifications.

PMID:35325468 | DOI:10.1111/ijd.16167

Am J Disaster Med. 2022 Fall;14(4):255-261. doi: 10.5055/ajdm.2021.0409.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the pattern of ophthalmic emergencies after Hurricane Harvey (HH).

DESIGN: A retrospective chart review.

SETTING: University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients who presented to UTMB emergency room (ER) during the month before (47 patients) and the month after (39 patients) HH landfall and were seen by the ophthalmology service.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ocular injuries before and after hurricane landfall were classified by duration of symptoms (acute, subacute, and chronic), type of injury (hurricane related, traumatic, and infectious), region of injury (corneal/anterior segment, glaucoma, vitreoretinal, orbital-oculoplastic, and neuro-ophthalmologic), and level of involvement of injury (limited to eye, a manifestation of systemic disease, and associated with other bodily injuries).

RESULTS: Patient demographics were similar before and after the storm. Three direct hurricane-related injuries from rescue and cleanup activities were identified. Only patients with acute/subacute ophthalmic injuries presented after HH. A trend for more traumatic injuries (from 28 to 41 percent of patients), corneal/anterior segment injuries (from 38 to 46 percent of patients), and vitreoretinal injuries (from 17 to 23 percent of patients) was observed after HH. A greater proportion of patients presented with localized injuries limited to the eye (from 49 to 56 percent of patients). Fewer patients had ocular manifestations of systemic disease (from 38 to 31 percent of patients) after HH. None of the changing trends reached statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: The low incidence of hurricane-related injuries was likely due to victims’ evacuation to surrounding nonimpacted areas and limited access to ER facilities within the affected area. ERs and eye care professionals should be prepared for future environmental disasters.

PMID:35325461 | DOI:10.5055/ajdm.2021.0409

Am J Disaster Med. 2022 Fall;14(4):271-295. doi: 10.5055/ajdm.2021.0411.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the training and readiness levels of Collegiate Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers to respond to mass casualty incidents (MCIs).

METHODS: An anonymous cross-sectional survey of Collegiate EMS providers was performed.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants were US-based EMS providers affiliated with the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were levels of EMS experience and MCI training, subjective readiness levels for responding to various MCI scenarios, and analyzing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on MCI response capabilities.

RESULTS: Respondents had a median age of 21 years (interquartile range IQR 20, 22), with 86 percent (n = 96/112) being trained to the Emergency Medical Technician-Basic level. Providers reported participating in an average of 1.6 MCI trainings over the last four years (IQR, 1.0, 2.2). Subjective MCI response readiness levels were highest with active assailant attacks followed by large event evacuations, natural disasters, hazardous material (HAZMAT) incidents, targeted automobile ramming attacks, explosions, and finally bioweapons release. Disparate to this, only 18 percent of participants reported training in the fundamentals of tactical and disaster medicine. With respect to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on MCI readiness, 27 percent of respondents reported being less prepared, and there was a statistically significant decrease in subjective readiness to respond to HAZMAT incidents.

CONCLUSION: Given low rates of MCI training but high rates of self-assessed MCI preparedness, respondents may overestimate their readiness to adequately respond to the complexity of a real-world MCI. More objective assessment measures are needed to evaluate provider preparedness.

PMID:35325463 | DOI:10.5055/ajdm.2021.0411

Updates Surg. 2022 Mar 24. doi: 10.1007/s13304-022-01267-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The liver-gut axis has been identified as crucial mediator of liver regeneration. Thus, the use of a T-tube in liver transplantation (LT), which interrupts the enterohepatic bile circulation, may potentially have a detrimental effect on the early allograft functional recovery. We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 261 patients transplanted with a whole liver graft, with a duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis, who did not develop any surgical complication within postoperative day 14. Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) was defined according to the criteria of Olthoff et al. (EAD-O), and graded according to the Model for Early Allograft Function (MEAF) score. EAD-O developed in 24.7% of recipients and the median MEAF score was 4.0 [interquartile range 2.9-5.5]. Both MEAF and EAD predicted 90-day post-LT mortality. A T-tube was used in 49.4% of cases (n = 129). After a propensity score matching for donor age, cold and warm ischemia time, donor risk index, balance of risk score, Child-Pugh class C, and MELD score, the T-tube group showed a significantly higher prevalence of EAD-O and value of MEAF than the no-T-tube group (EAD-O: 29 [34.1%] vs 16 [19.0%], p = 0.027; MEAF 4.5 [3.5-5.7] vs 3.7 [2.9-5.0], p = 0.014). In conclusion, T-tube use in LT may be a risk factor for EAD and higher MEAF, irrespective of graft quality and severity of pre-LT liver disease.

PMID:35325442 | DOI:10.1007/s13304-022-01267-9