Tag: statistics

Photochem Photobiol. 2022 Apr 10. doi: 10.1111/php.13633. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The current study intended to evaluate the effect of photobiomodulation on the morphology and function of EVs secreted from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from periodontal ligament (PDL) and the buccal fat pad (BFP) in vitro.These cells were irradiated at 660 nm or kept in dark as control. EVs were then isolated from each group using ultracentrifugation. EVs were defined by Flow cytometry and Western blot tests. Electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the morphology of EVs. Then MTT and wound healing scratch assays were applied to compare the cell survival and migration of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells treated with the EVs obtained from the four groups. According to SEM images, isolated EV were round and cup-shaped in all groups showing no destructive effects of laser irradiation on EV morphology. MTT test results revealed statistically significant difference between the HDF cells treated with different EV groups from hPDLSCs-Dark in compared to control (0 μg/mL) (p <0.05) and treated with exosome from hPDLSCs-Irradiation cells compared to dark group (p <0.05). However, scratch wound healing assay did not show significant different between various groups (p ˃0.05). Further studies with different irradiation protocols are recommended to find an optimal strategy.

PMID:35398890 | DOI:10.1111/php.13633

Cancer Nurs. 2022 Apr 1. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001105. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Patients with metastatic cancer have a high symptom burden. Major global and domestic cancer care recommendations advise integration of palliative care services for these patients. Palliative care is specialized care that can decrease cost, improve symptom burden, and improve quality of life. Patient factors driving the use of palliative care remain poorly understood but may include both physiological and psychological needs, namely, pain and depression, respectively.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify patient-level predictors associated with inpatient palliative care use in patients with metastatic cancer.

METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the 2018 New Jersey State Inpatient Database. The sample was limited to hospitalized adults with metastatic cancer in New Jersey. Descriptive statistics characterized the sample. Generalized linear modeling estimated the effects of pain and depression on the use of inpatient palliative care.

RESULTS: The sample included 28 697 hospitalizations for patients with metastatic cancer. Within the sample, 4429 (15.4%) included a palliative care consultation. There was a 9.3% documented occurrence of pain and a 10.9% rate of depression. Pain contributed to palliative care use, but depression was not predictive of an inpatient care consultation. Age, income category, and insurance status were significant factors influencing use.

CONCLUSION: Understanding demographic and clinical variables relative to palliative care use may help facilitate access to palliative care for adults experiencing metastatic cancer.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Increased screening for pain and depression may expand palliative care use for adults with metastatic cancer receiving inpatient care.

PMID:35398871 | DOI:10.1097/NCC.0000000000001105

Cancer Nurs. 2022 Apr 9. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001099. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer patients experience a range of disease- and treatment-related symptoms that seriously threaten their quality of life. Virtual reality (VR), an emerging complementary and integrative therapy, has been increasingly applied in clinical practice. However, there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of VR-based interventions on symptom management in breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: This article aimed to systematically examine the effects of VR on breast cancer-related symptom management.

METHODS: The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, CNKI, Wan Fang, and VIP databases were comprehensively searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs published up to April 10, 2021. Studies using VR-based interventions to manage breast cancer-related symptoms were included. Two investigators independently reviewed and extracted data and evaluated methodological quality. RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis, and heterogeneity was evaluated using Higgins’ I2 (%) statistic.

RESULTS: Eight RCTs and 6 quasi-RCTs with 797 participants were included. Virtual reality-based interventions significantly improved symptoms of anxiety, depression, pain, cognitive function, and shoulder range of motion in breast cancer patients, but no significant improvements in grip and upper extremity function were observed.

CONCLUSION: Virtual reality-based interventions had a positive effect on symptom management for breast cancer patients.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Health professionals, especially nurses, can apply VR in clinical practice to reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life of breast cancer patients. More studies are needed to draw higher quality conclusions and explore the best interventions and cost-effectiveness of VR.

PMID:35398864 | DOI:10.1097/NCC.0000000000001099

Cancer Nurs. 2022 Apr 9. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001089. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Having regular screening tests largely depends on motivational factors. Motivational interviewing (MI) facilitates the movement through the stages of the transtheoretical model of change.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of face-to-face and phone call MI on cervical cancer screening.

METHODS: This experimental study was conducted on 150 eligible women referred to health centers in Tabriz, Iran. The women were assigned into 3 groups (face-to-face MI, phone MI, or control) using blocked randomization. The face-to-face MI group participated in 3 weekly group counseling sessions, and the motivational phone call group received 3 weekly phone calls. The participants completed the demographic and obstetric questionnaire and stages of change checklist. Adherence to Pap smear was checked, according to the health profile, 6 months after the intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS24 software. Chi-square, homogeneity test, and sequential logistic regression by the generalized estimating equations were used.

RESULTS: After the intervention, about 32% women from the face-to-face MI group, 22% from the motivational phone call group, and 4% from the control group underwent Pap smear screening (P = .002). There was no significant difference between the 2 interventional groups in Pap smear frequency (P = .36).

CONCLUSION: The study results indicated that both face-to-face and phone call MI are effective in motivating women to have a Pap smear. Further studies are recommended to consider long-term follow-up (3-5 years).

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: It is recommended that healthcare providers use motivational phone call to encourage cancer screening behaviors.

PMID:35398854 | DOI:10.1097/NCC.0000000000001089

J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2022 Apr 6. doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002458. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study is to examine taste alteration in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing maintenance treatment. The population of the study was comprised of children with ALL between the ages of 7 and 18 who received maintenance treatment. The study sample was included 72 children (children with ALL:36 and healthy children: 36) determined by power analysis. This was a cross-sectional study. The children in both groups were applied to the taste test by the researcher. It was determined that there is a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between sweet (sucrose), salty (sodium chloride), sour (citric acid), and bitter (quinine hydrochloride) taste test score averages of the children with ALL and healthy children and that the 4 taste test score averages are lower in the experiment group. The taste alterations were determined in the present study for children with ALL undergoing maintenance treatment. Problems of children with cancer such as loss of appetite, negative attitude toward food or weight loss can be reduced or prevented when taste alteration is determined in children with cancer thereby improving the feeding of the children thereby increasing their quality of life.

PMID:35398859 | DOI:10.1097/MPH.0000000000002458

Eur Surg Res. 2022 Apr 8. doi: 10.1159/000524431. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound (US) imaging enables tissue visualization in high spatial resolution with short examination times. Thus, it is often applied in preclinical research. Diagnostic US, including contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), are considered to be well tolerated by laboratory animals although no systematic study has been performed to confirm this claim. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen for possible effects of US and CEUS examinations on welfare of healthy mice. Additionally, the potential influence of CEUS and molecular CEUS on well-being and therapy response to regorafenib was investigated in breast cancer-bearing mice.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 40 healthy Balb/c mice were randomly assigned for examination with US or CEUS (3x/week) for four weeks. Untreated healthy mice and mice receiving only isoflurane anesthesia served as controls (n= 10/group). Ninety-four 4T1 tumor-bearing Balb/c mice were allocated randomly to the following groups: no imaging, isoflurane anesthesia, CEUS and molecular CEUS. They either received 10 mg/kg regorafenib or vehicle solution daily by oral gavage. Animals were examined three times within two weeks. CEUS measurements were performed using phospholipid-microbubbles and phospholipid-microbubbles targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 were applied for molecular CEUS. Welfare evaluation was performed by daily observational score sheets, measuring the heart rate, Rotarod performance and fecal corticosterone metabolites twice per week. On the last day, pathological changes of serum corticosterone concentrations, hemograms, and organ weights were obtained. Moreover, a potential influence of isoflurane anesthesia, CEUS and molecular CEUS on regorafenib response in tumor-bearing mice was examined. Analysis of variance and Dunnett post hoc test were performed as statistical analyses.

RESULTS: Severity parameters were not altered after repeated US and CEUS examinations of healthy mice, but spleen sizes were significantly lower after isoflurane anesthesia. In tumor-bearing mice, no effect on animal-welfare after repeated CEUS and molecular CEUS could be observed. However, leukocyte counts and spleen weights of tumor-bearing mice were significantly lower in animals examined with CEUS and molecular CEUS compared to the control groups. This effect was not visible in regorafenib-treated animals.

CONCLUSIONS: Repeated US and (molecular) CEUS have no detectable impact on animal welfare in healthy and tumor-bearing mice. However, CEUS and molecular CEUS in combination with isoflurane anesthesia might attenuate immunological processes in tumor-bearing animals and may consequently affect responses to anti-tumor therapy.

PMID:35398847 | DOI:10.1159/000524431

Caries Res. 2022 Apr 8. doi: 10.1159/000524458. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Visual attention is a significant gateway to a child’s mind, and looking is one of the first behaviours young children develop. Untreated caries and the resulting poor dental aesthetics can have adverse emotional and social impacts on children’s oral health-related quality of life due to its detrimental effects on self-esteem and self-concept. Therefore, we explored preschool children’s eye movement patterns and visual attention to images with and without dental caries via eye movement analysis using hidden Markov models (EMHMM). We calibrated a convenience sample of 157 preschool children to the eye-tracker (Tobii Nano Pro) to ensure standardisation. Consequently, each participant viewed the same standardised pictures with and without dental caries while an eye-tracking device tracked their eye movements. Subsequently, based on the sequence of viewed regions of interest (ROIs), a transition matrix was developed where the participants previously viewed ROI informed their subsequently considered ROI. Hence, an individual’s HMM was estimated from their eye movement data using a variational Bayesian approach to determine the optimal number of ROIs automatically. Consequently, this data-driven approach generated the visual task participants’ most representative eye movement patterns. Preschool children exhibited two different eye movement patterns, distributed (78%) and selective (21%), which was statistically significant. Children switched between images with more similar probabilities in the distributed pattern while children remained looking at the same ROI than switching to the other ROI in the selective pattern. Nevertheless, all children exhibited an equal starting fixation on the right or left image and noticed teeth. The study findings reveal that most preschool children did not have an attentional bias to images with and without dental caries. Furthermore, only a few children selectively fixated on images with dental caries. Therefore, selective eye-movement patterns may strongly predict preschool children’s sustained visual attention to dental caries. Nevertheless, future studies are essential to fully understand the developmental origins of differences in visual attention to common oral health presentations in children. Finally, EMHMM is appropriate for assessing inter-individual differences in children’s visual attention.

PMID:35398845 | DOI:10.1159/000524458

Sex Med. 2022 Apr 7;10(3):100509. doi: 10.1016/j.esxm.2022.100509. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Leptin, which was only discovered in humans in 1994, has recently been shown to have a possible link with premature ejaculation.

AIM: To evaluate whether serum leptin levels differed between patients with premature ejaculation and healthy men, and to analyze the changes in leptin levels before and after treatment.

METHODS: Six studies assessing the relationship between leptin and premature ejaculation published up to October 2021 were identified from multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane) and the data were analyzed by Stata software.

OUTCOMES: Differences in leptin levels in premature ejaculation patients and healthy people, and changes of leptin levels in premature ejaculation population before and after treatment.

RESULTS: Analysis of studies assessing differences in leptin concentrations between patients with PE and healthy men showed that there was a statistically significant difference in leptin levels between PE patients and controls (WMD (95% CI) = 17.89 (8.64, 27.14), P < .001). On the other hand, the analysis of data from 3 studies describing serum leptin levels in PE patients before and after treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) showed that there was a significant decrease with leptin levels in PE patients after treatment (WMD (95%CI) = 22.06 (17.21, 26.92), P < .001).

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: It is possible that leptin can be used as a new marker for premature ejaculation.

STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS: The strength of this study is that it is the first meta- analysis to assess the differences of serum leptin levels between patients with premature ejaculation and healthy subjects and the changes of leptin levels before and after treatment in patients with premature ejaculation. A major limitation is that a greater heterogeneity was identified through our analysis, however we did not find a definitive source of heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant relationship between serum leptin levels and patients with PE. In addition, serum leptin levels in patients with PE decreased significantly after 8 weeks of treatment with SSRIs. Liu G, Zhang Y, Zhang W, et al. Novel Marker for Premature Ejaculation: Serum Leptin Level. Sex Med 2022;XX:XXXXXX.

PMID:35398789 | DOI:10.1016/j.esxm.2022.100509

Water Res. 2022 Mar 25;217:118362. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118362. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Aquatic environments in industrial, and e-waste recycling areas might undergo severe contamination; however, there are few studies comprehensively assessing the pollution status of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in these two areas. Here, we applied both atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electron spray ionization (ESI) sources in our target, suspect, and functional group-dependent screening strategy, which enhanced the confidence for confirmation on precursor ions of OPEs. Then, n=53 sediment samples (30 from the industrial area, and 23 from the e-waste recycling area) were analyzed. Twenty-three out of 30 target OPEs were quantifiable in these analyzed samples. Total OPE concentrations (Σ₃₀OPEs) in samples from e-waste recycling area range from 12.8 to 9250 ng/g dry weight (dw), that are statistically significantly greater (t-test, p < 0.001) than those from industrial area (25.1-5520 ng/g dw). Σ₃₀OPEs in the sediments from industrial, or e-waste recycling area are statistically significantly greater (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001) as compared to those (32.0-369 ng/g dw) from Taihu Lake in our previous study. In sediment from three areas, suspect and non-target analysis fully or tentatively identified other 20 OPEs. Four of them have not been recorded or registered in any of online chemical databases, and they are tentatively named as ((methoxy(phenoxy)phosphoryl)oxy)phenyl diphenyl phosphate (mPPODP), (tert-butyl)phenyl (ethyne-oxidane) bis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate (TPBDTP), bis(dichlorophenyl) propane-1,3-diyl bis(hexylated phosphate) (BDCBHP), and bis(2-hexadecoxyethyl) ethyl phosphate (BHEPP). Overall, this study provided new insights regarding both analytical methodology and pollution status of OPEs, and highlights that elevated concentrations and high diversity of OPEs exist in sediments from industrial, and e-waste recycling areas.

PMID:35398804 | DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2022.118362

EBioMedicine. 2022 Apr 7;79:103986. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.103986. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant evades immunity from past infection or vaccination and is associated with a greater risk of reinfection among recovered COVID-19 patients. We assessed the serum neutralizing antibody (NAb) activity against Omicron variant (Omicron NAb) among recovered COVID-19 patients with or without vaccination.

METHODS: In this prospective cohort study with 135 recovered COVID-19 patients, we determined the serum NAb titers against ancestral virus or variants using a live virus NAb assay. We used the receiver operating characteristic analysis to determine the optimal cutoff for a commercially-available surrogate NAb assay.

FINDINGS: Among recovered COVID-19 patients, the serum live virus geometric mean Omicron NAb titer was statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 recipients compared to non-vaccinated individuals (85.4 vs 5.6,P < 0.0001). The Omicron seropositive rates in live virus NAb test (NAb titer ≥10) were statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 (90.6% [29/32];P < 0.0001) or CoronaVac (36.7% [11/30]; P = 0.0115) recipients when compared with non-vaccinated individuals (12.3% [9/73]). Subgroup analysis of CoronaVac recipients showed that the Omicron seropositive rates were higher among individuals with two doses than those with one dose (85.7% vs 21.7%; P = 0.0045). For the surrogate NAb assay, a cutoff of 109.1 AU/ml, which is 7.3-fold higher than the manufacturer’s recommended cutoff, could achieve a sensitivity and specificity of 89.5% and 89.8%, respectively, in detecting Omicron NAb.

INTERPRETATION: Among individuals with prior COVID-19, one dose of BNT162b2 or two doses of CoronaVac could induce detectable serum Omicron NAb. Our result would be particularly important for guiding vaccine policies in countries with COVID-19 vaccine shortage.

FUNDING: Health and Medical Research Fund, Richard and Carol Yu, Michael Tong (see acknowledgments for full list).

PMID:35398786 | DOI:10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.103986