Tag: statistics

Int J Nurs Stud. 2021 Sep 8;124:104088. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104088. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Food fortification as part of the food-first approach in nursing homes is a strategy that may increase energy and protein intake.

OBJECTIVES: This review aimed to determine the effect of nutrition interventions using fortification, nutrient-dense or enriched food and/or drinks on energy and protein intake in residents living in nursing homes, compared to the standard menu with or without oral nutritional support products. The secondary aim was to identify and synthesise outcomes of these interventions on weight change, nutritional status, acceptability, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefit.

METHODS: A systematic search of seven databases was undertaken. After reviewing all titles/abstracts then full-text papers, key data were extracted and synthesised narratively and through meta-analysis. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Quality Criteria Checklist for Primary Research.

RESULTS: Of 3,098 articles retrieved, 16 were included, 13 in the meta-analysis. There were 891 participants, with the study duration ranging from four to 26 weeks. The groups receiving the fortified diet had a significantly higher energy intake (Hedges’ g = 0.69 (CI 0.36-1.03), p < 0.0001) and protein intake (Hedges’ g = 0.46 (CI 0.17-0.74), p = 0.003) compared with the groups receiving the standard menu +/- ONS. The meta-analysis revealed I² values of 77% for energy (p < 0.0001) and 60% for protein (p = 0.003), indicating considerable statistical heterogeneity across included studies. Benefits to weight and nutritional status of residents were recorded in some studies. Where reported, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of menu fortification/supplementation were variable.

CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review with meta-analyses has shown that fortified menus may significantly increase energy and protein intakes compared with standard menus in nursing homes. As such, the findings of this review support further use of fortified diets in this setting. Further research is warranted comparing food fortification to standard menus, with a particular focus on evaluating the effect on weight, nutritional status and cost-effectiveness of the intervention.

STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO no. CRD42020162796.

PMID:34717275 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104088

Cognition. 2021 Oct 27;218:104939. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104939. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

How people update their beliefs when faced with new information is integral to everyday life. A sizeable body of literature suggests that people’s belief updating is optimistically biased, such that their beliefs are updated more in response to good news than bad news. However, recent research demonstrates that findings previously interpreted as evidence of optimistic belief updating may be the result of flaws in experimental design, rather than motivated reasoning. In light of this controversy, we conduct three pre-registered variations of the standard belief updating paradigm (combined N = 300) in which we test for asymmetric belief updating with neutral, non-valenced stimuli using analytic approaches found in previous research. We find evidence of seemingly biased belief updating with neutral stimuli – results that cannot be attributed to a motivational, valence-based, optimism account – and further show that there is uninterpretable variability across samples and analytic techniques. Jointly, these results serve to highlight the methodological flaws in current optimistic belief updating research.

PMID:34717257 | DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104939

Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Oct 26;100:103491. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103491. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We investigated the importance of indicators of parental socio-economic status (SES) for getting an official drug charge, while we controlled for self-reported drug law infractions (use of illegal drugs and/or drug trafficking) and potential variables confounding the association.

METHODS: We used data from the long-term, population based longitudinal Young in Norway Study (N = 2,549). Participants were followed up over four survey-based data collections with linkages to crime registers from adolescence to adulthood. Data on drug charges were assessed based on official registers. The use of illegal substances, involvement with drug trafficking and potential covariates such as involvement with other types of crime, academic resources, and risk factors in the family, were assessed by means of self-reports.

RESULTS: Two per cent had been charged for drug-related offences, and 37% reported drug offending. Use of cannabis was the primary infraction statistically related to a criminal charge. Having parents with 4+ years university education (14% of the sample) was associated with lower risk for being charged than having parents with no higher education (OR 4.87; 95% CI: 1.16-20.52) or with a short university education (OR 4.76; 1.05-21.48). The association between parental education and drug charges remained stable when controlling for self-reported drug law infractions and other potential covariates.

CONCLUSION: In Norway, adolescents who have parents with higher university education, may be protected from getting a drug charge, even though they report similar levels of drug law infractions as other adolescents.

PMID:34717258 | DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103491

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2021 Oct 13;98:104558. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2021.104558. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the mental health problems and quality of life of family caregivers of people with dementia, depending on whether they live with people with dementia.

METHODS: The sample was divided into three groups: those without a family member with dementia, those with a family member with dementia but not living with them, and those living with a family member with dementia. Descriptive statistics, ANCOVA, and post-hoc tests were performed on key variables. We included a total of 324,078 people with at least one family member older than 60 years, whose data were extracted from the Korean Community Health Survey. Dependent variables: depressive symptoms, stress recognition, subjective health, happiness, and quality of life.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: family member with dementia (yes/no), cohabitation type. Control variables: Sex, age, region (urban/rural), household income, and education level.

RESULTS: Depressive symptoms and stress recognition were higher in people who live with a family member with dementia. Their subjective health, happiness, and quality of life were the lowest of the three groups. Overall, the indicators for people who lived with a family member with dementia were the most negative, followed by those who did not live with their family member with dementia, and then those who did not have such a family member.

CONCLUSIONS: Family caregivers living with people with dementia must be prioritized in policies regarding dementia; a program that can provide emotional support and reduce the burden of care is needed.

PMID:34717241 | DOI:10.1016/j.archger.2021.104558

Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Oct 27;124:108357. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108357. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

By assessing the cognitive capital, neuropsychological evaluation (NPE) plays a vital role in the perioperative workup of patients with refractory focal epilepsy. In this retrospective study, we used cutting-edge statistical approaches to examine a group of 47 patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), who underwent standard anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL). Our objective was to determine whether NPE may represent a robust predictor of the postoperative status, two years after surgery. Specifically, based on pre- and postsurgical neuropsychological data, we estimated the sensitivity of cognitive indicators to predict and to disentangle phenotypes associated with more or less favorable outcomes. Engel (ENG) scores were used to assess clinical outcome, and picture naming (NAM) performance to estimate naming status. Two methods were applied: (a) machine learning (ML) to explore cognitive sensitivity to postoperative outcomes; and (b) graph theory (GT) to assess network properties reflecting favorable vs. less favorable phenotypes after surgery. Specific neuropsychological indices assessing language, memory, and executive functions can globally predict outcomes. Interestingly, preoperative cognitive networks associated with poor postsurgical outcome already exhibit an atypical, highly modular and less densely interconnected configuration. We provide statistical and clinical tools to anticipate the condition after surgery and achieve a more personalized clinical management. Our results also shed light on possible mechanisms put in place for cognitive adaptation after acute injury of central nervous system in relation with surgery.

PMID:34717247 | DOI:10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108357

Comput Biol Med. 2021 Oct 25;139:104973. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104973. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The automatic identification of mosquito genus, if used together with effective strategies of suppression and control may help reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. In this study, we explored and developed a simple and yet very effective algorithm for processing audio files to determine the presence (or absence) of a mosquito and then identify the correct genus for those involving a mosquito. A dataset of sound recordings from the Humbug Project of Zooniverse, collected by researchers from Oxford University, and actual recordings of mosquitoes in the Philippines were used in this study. Our developed technique involves extracting filter bank values from corresponding spectrograms of the audio files, and we built a classification model based only on three simple statistics from said collected values — maximum, first quartile and third quartile. Specifically, the maximum values were used in defining thresholds for the candidate-elimination phase of the algorithm, and then the first and third quartile values were used in the succeeding nearest centroid computation phase. The proposed algorithm yielded an impressive 97.2% average classification accuracy from a 5-fold stratified cross validation. This is competitive with the 75.55-97.65% accuracy results reported in literature for different mosquito classification tasks run on different datasets. Moreover, the achieved accuracy is significantly higher than the 86.6% that we gathered from applying a CNN architecture from literature to our same dataset. Aside from being more accurate, the proposed algorithm is also significantly more efficient than the CNN model, requiring much less time (in both training and predicting phases) and memory space. The results offer a promising technique that may also simplify the process of solving other sound-based classification problems.

PMID:34717231 | DOI:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104973

J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2021 Oct 27;31(1):106183. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106183. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Patients’ previous disability (PD) is a key factor when considering acute stroke therapy. PD’s exact impact on functional prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke remains not entirely clarified. We aimed to analyze PD’s influence on functional outcome three months after ischemic stroke.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data concerning patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to Stroke Unit of a tertiary center who underwent acute phase therapy between 2017 and 2019. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to define PD (with previous mRS≥3). Patients with PD were selected for treatment based on similar baseline characteristics to patients without PD. Patients were classified into two groups according to previous mRS: mRS<3 and mRS≥3. We defined bad outcome at three months after stroke as mRS≥3 for patients with previous mRS<3, and as a higher score than baseline mRS for patients with previous mRS≥3.

RESULTS: We identified 1169 eligible patients – 1016 patients with previous mRS<3 and 153 patients with previous mRS≥3. Most baseline characteristics did not differ significantly between them. For patients ≤75 years old, PD was associated with worse outcome (odds ratio estimate [OR] 4.50, p < 0.001). For patients >75 years old, PD was protective against worse outcome (OR 0.42, p < 0.001). In patients with previous mRS≥3 and >75 years old, there was a higher proportion of women (p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS: PD might not be a relevant factor when considering acute stroke therapy in selected patients >75 years old, especially women. Further studies are needed to clarify these findings.

PMID:34717228 | DOI:10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106183

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Oct 27;227:112937. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112937. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The impact of heavy metals on pulmonary function among young adults has been scarcely studied, especially by a longitudinal cohort study.

METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 974 young adults (aged 20-45 years) during 2017-2019 and measured pulmonary function and urinary heavy metals, including manganese, copper, chromium, iron, nickel, zinc, cadmium, and lead. Among them, 461 participants had examination of the same urinary heavy metals during 2006-2008, which could be used as a cohort for long-term effect of urinary metals on pulmonary function.

RESULTS: In the 974 enrolled participants, urinary heavy metals were within normal range. The urinary manganese level was the only significant factor for the observed/predicted ratios of forced vital capacity (FVC %)(β coefficient: -1.217, p = 0.030), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%)(β: -1.664, p < 0.001), and FEV1/FVC% of predicted (β: -0.598, p = 0.047) in multivariable linear regression under cross sectional design. In cohort analysis, the urinary manganese level was also negatively associated with the FEV1% (β: -1.920, p = 0.021). There was no significance between other urinary heavy metals and pulmonary function for all participants. The urinary manganese significantly negatively correlated with FVC%, FEV1% and FEV1/FVC% in female subgroup whereas copper and iron were significantly negatively correlated with FVC% in male subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS: Among urinary heavy metals, urinary manganese level was associated with pulmonary function negatively, even the level was within normal range. In addition, women might be more susceptible to manganese. There is emergent need to conduct further investigation to confirm the respiratory hazardous effects of manganese.

PMID:34717218 | DOI:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112937

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Oct 27;227:112875. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112875. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Fuzzy time series (FTS) forecasting models show a great performance in predicting time series, such as air pollution time series. However, they have caused major issues by utilizing random partitioning of the universe of discourse and ignoring repeated fuzzy sets. In this study, a novel hybrid forecasting model by integrating fuzzy time series to Markov chain and C-Means clustering techniques with an optimal number of clusters is presented. This hybridization contributes to generating effective lengths of intervals and thus, improving the model accuracy. The proposed model was verified and validated with real time series data sets, which are the benchmark data of actual trading of Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) and PM₁₀ concentration data from Melaka, Malaysia. In addition, a comparison was made with some existing fuzzy time series models. Furthermore, the mean absolute percentage error, mean squared error and Theil’s U statistic were calculated as evaluation criteria to illustrate the performance of the proposed model. The empirical analysis shows that the proposed model handles the time series data sets more efficiently and provides better overall forecasting results than existing FTS models. The results prove that the proposed model has greatly improved the prediction accuracy, for which it outperforms several fuzzy time series models. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed model is a better option for forecasting air pollution parameters and any kind of random parameters.

PMID:34717219 | DOI:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112875

Accid Anal Prev. 2021 Oct 27;163:106448. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2021.106448. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to assess the effects of snow and ice control operations by investigating the interdependency between weather variables, maintenance operations, pavement friction, and collisions. Using a disaggregated event-based and location-specific framework, and employing the statistical techniques of Structural Equation Modeling and Path Analysis, all the significant direct and indirect effects of weather variables and maintenance operations on pavement friction and collision occurrence during snowstorms have been identified. It was revealed that precipitation, extremely low temperatures, and the potential of black ice formation all had significant negative direct effects on pavement friction and significant indirect negative effects on traffic safety. Moreover, the application of anti-icing agents and plowing operations have been shown to significantly improve pavement friction and in return improve traffic safety indirectly. To illustrate how the maintenance operations improve traffic safety, a hypothetical snowstorm example was considered. According to the model, anti-icing application was associated with a 14% reduction in collisions, plowing operations resulted in a 33% reduction in collisions, and combining the two tools reduced collisions per snowstorm by 42%. The findings of this paper can help transportation agencies make more informed decisions to promote an efficient mobilization of the existing winter road maintenance services and resources while improving the safety of the traveling public during the winter months.

PMID:34717203 | DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106448