Tag: statistics

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22431-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Many studies have detected a relationship between diarrhea morbidity rates with the changes in precipitation, temperature, floods, droughts, water shortage, etc. But, most of the authors were cautious in their studies, because of the lack of empirical climate-health data and there were large uncertainties in the future projections. The study aimed to refine the link between the morbidity rates of diarrhea in some Egyptian governorates representative of the three Egyptian geographical divisions with the meteorological changes that occurred in the 2006-2016 period for which the medical data are available, as a case study. Medical raw data was collected from the Information Centre Department of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. The meteorological data of temperature and precipitation extremes were defined as data outside the 10th-90th percentile range of values of the period of study, and their analysis was done using a methodology similar to the one recommended by the WMO and integrated in the CLIMDEX software. Relationships between the morbidity rates of diarrhea in seven Egyptian governorates and the meteorological changes that occurred in the period 2006 to 2016 were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis to identify the most effective meteorological factor that affects the trend of morbidity rate of diarrhea in each governorate. Statistical analysis revealed that some meteorological parameters can be used as predictors for morbidity rates of diarrhea in Cairo, Alexandria, and Gharbia, but not in Aswan, Behaira, and Dakahlia where the temporal evolution cannot be related with meteorology. In Red Sea, there was no temporal trend and no significant relationships between the diarrhea morbidity rate and meteorological parameters. The predictor meteorological parameters for morbidity rates of diarrhea were found to be depending on the geographic locations and infrastructures in these governorates. It was concluded that the meteorological data that can be used as predictors for the morbidity rate of diarrhea is depending on the geographical location and infrastructures of the target location. The socioeconomic levels as well as the infrastructures in the governorate must be considered confounders in future studies.

PMID:35976593 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-22431-z

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22476-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We synthesized iron-coated pine-bark biochar (Fe-PBB) and determined the optimal conditions for removing the antibiotic tetracycline from water. The Fe-PBB was synthesized by depositing iron oxide on pyrolyzed pine-bark waste via a facile co-precipitation method. Characterization (SEM, EDX, and TGA) showed successful deposition of a mass of approximately 27% (w/w) iron on the PBB to synthesize Fe-PBB. Fe-PBB exhibited five times higher adsorption capacity (~ 10 mg/g) for tetracycline compared with PBB. The effects of initial tetracycline concentration, pH, temperature, and Fe-PBB dose on the adsorption removal of tetracycline from water were systematically investigated and optimized using a statistical experimental design and response surface methodology. The empirical relationship between the experimental factors and tetracycline removal was modeled, statistically validated through the analysis of variance, and used to predict the optimal conditions for adsorption removal of tetracycline. We found that ≥ 95% of the tetracycline can be removed at a tetracycline concentration of 1 mg/L, pH of 7, temperature of 50 °C, and a Fe-PBB dose of 2 g/L. The adsorption isotherm modeling study suggests that the adsorption of tetracycline can be attributed to the pore filling phenomenon and multilayer adsorption on the Fe-PBB. A thermodynamics study showed that the adsorption occurs spontaneously with an endothermic reaction.

PMID:35976587 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-22476-0

Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s00590-022-03362-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To verify whether robotics was useful for surgeons who had less experience with spinal deformity surgery.

METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 70 consecutive patients who underwent robotic-assisted pedicle screw placements with open procedures using a spine robotic system (Mazor X Stealth Edition) at a single institution from April 2021 to April 2022. Gertzbein-Robbins grades were used to assess the deviation of the 599 pedicle screws in the postoperative CT images. The rate of Grade A was considered the perfect accuracy rate, and the rate of Grades C, D, and E was calculated as the deviation rate. The perfect accuracy rate and deviation rate were compared between the spinal deformity and the non-deformity groups. The perfect accuracy rate, deviation rate, and screw insertion time were compared in the spinal deformity cases between the expert surgeon group and the less-experienced surgeon group.

RESULTS: The deviation rate of the spinal deformity group was higher than that of the non-deformity group even though there was no statistically significant difference (spinal deformity group: 2.3%, non-deformity group: 1.2%, p = 0.350). In the spinal deformity cases, there was no significant difference in the perfect accuracy rate between the expert surgeon group and the less-experienced surgeon group, but the deviation rate was significantly lower in the less-experienced surgeon group (expert surgeon group: 5.0%, less-experienced surgeon group: 0%, p = 0.008). The screw insertion time was significantly shorter in the less-experienced surgeon group.

CONCLUSION: Robotics is particularly useful for surgeons with less experience in spinal deformity surgery.

PMID:35976573 | DOI:10.1007/s00590-022-03362-4

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s10578-022-01410-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Internet use among children is increasing. This requires parents to develop digital parenting competencies as they are responsible for their children’s well-being. In the current study the digital parenting self-efficacy perceptions of Turkish parents are examined with regard to the parental role, educational status, age, number of children, and Internet use experiences. Data were collected from a stratified sample of 7150 Turkish parents (i.e., only the mother or father in each family) from twenty-six provinces through the Digital Parenting Self-Efficacy Perception Scale. Descriptive statistics, comparison tests, and cluster analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the participants’ perceived digital parenting efficacy is high, and that perceptions change in terms of the parental role, educational status, age, number of children, and the Internet use experience.

PMID:35976543 | DOI:10.1007/s10578-022-01410-y

Metabolomics. 2022 Aug 17;18(9):69. doi: 10.1007/s11306-022-01927-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A metabolomic study of hepatolithiasis has yet to be performed. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the metabolite profile and identify potential biomarkers of hepatolithiasis using a metabolomic approach.

METHODS: We comprehensively analyzed the serum metabolites from 30 patients with hepatolithiasis and 20 healthy individuals using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry operated in negative and positive ionization modes. Statistical analyses were performed using univariate (Student’s t-test) and multivariate (orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis) statistics and R language. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to identify potential predictors of hepatolithiasis.

RESULTS: We identified 277 metabolites that were significantly different between hepatolithiasis serum group and healthy control serum group. These metabolites were principally lipids and lipid-like molecules and amino acid metabolites. The steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway was enriched in hepatolithiasis serum group. In all specific metabolites, 75 metabolites were over-expressed in hepatolithiasis serum group. The AUC values for 60 metabolites exceeded 0.70, 4 metabolites including 18-β-Glycyrrhetinic acid, FMH, Rifampicin and PC (4:0/16:2) exceeded 0.90.

CONCLUSIONS: We have identified serum metabolites that are associated with hepatolithiasis for the first time. 60 potential metabolic biomarkers were identified, 18-β-Glycyrrhetinic acid, FMH, Rifampicin and PC (4:0/16:2) may have the potential clinical utility in hepatolithiasis.

PMID:35976530 | DOI:10.1007/s11306-022-01927-2

Prev Sci. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01420-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To evaluate and optimize brief alcohol interventions (BAIs), it is critical to have a credible overall effect size estimate as a benchmark. Estimating such an effect size has been challenging because alcohol outcomes often represent responses from a mixture of individuals: those at high risk for alcohol misuse, occasional nondrinkers, and abstainers. Moreover, some BAIs exclusively focus on heavy drinkers, whereas others take a universal prevention approach. Depending on sample characteristics, the outcome distribution might have many zeros or very few zeros and overdispersion; consequently, the most appropriate statistical model may differ across studies. We synthesized individual participant data (IPD) from 19 studies in Project INTEGRATE (Mun et al., 2015b) that randomly allocated participants to intervention and control groups (N = 7,704 participants, 38.4% men, 74.7% White, 58.5% first-year students). We sequentially estimated marginalized zero-inflated Poisson (Long et al., 2014) or negative binomial regression models to obtain covariate-adjusted, study-specific intervention effect estimates in the first step, which were subsequently combined in a random-effects meta-analysis model in the second step. BAIs produced a statistically significant 8% advantage in the mean number of drinks at both 1-3 months (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = [0.85, 0.98]) and 6 months (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = [0.85, 0.99]) compared to controls. At 9-12 months, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean number of drinks between BAIs and controls. In conclusion, BAIs are effective at reducing the mean number of drinks through at least 6 months post intervention. IPD can play a critical role in deriving findings that could not be obtained in original individual studies or standard aggregate data meta-analyses.

PMID:35976524 | DOI:10.1007/s11121-022-01420-1

Clin Exp Med. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s10238-022-00870-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Numerous pieces of evidence have demonstrated the functional role of miR-548 in various cancers. The expression and function of miR-548 in gastric cancer were investigated in the present study. A total of 123 gastric cancer patients were included and provided paired gastric cancer tissues and matched normal tissues. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-548. CCK8 assay was used to evaluate cell proliferation, and Transwell assay was applied to assess cell migration and invasion. The clinical significance of miR-548 was estimated by a series of statistical analyses. miR-548 was found to be upregulated in gastric cancer, which was associated with the lymph node metastasis and TNM stage of patients. Patients with relatively high miR-548 expression possessed bad survival. miR-548 was identified as a prognostic indicator of gastric cancer. miR-548 was also found to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer. Upregulated miR-548 was involved in the progression of gastric cancer and predicted the prognosis of patients. Inhibition of miR-548 might be a novel therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer.

PMID:35976514 | DOI:10.1007/s10238-022-00870-9

J Math Biol. 2022 Aug 17;85(3):22. doi: 10.1007/s00285-022-01786-4.

ABSTRACT

methods seek to infer a species tree from a set of gene trees. A desirable property of such methods is that of statistical consistency; that is, the probability of inferring the wrong species tree (the error probability) tends to 0 as the number of input gene trees becomes large. A popular paradigm is to infer a species tree that agrees with the maximum number of quartets from the input set of gene trees; this has been proved to be statistically consistent under several models of gene evolution. In this paper, we study the asymptotic behaviour of the error probability of such methods in this limit, and show that it decays exponentially. For a 4-taxon species tree, we derive a closed form for the asymptotic behaviour in terms of the probability that the gene evolution process produces the correct topology. We also derive bounds for the sample complexity (the number of gene trees required to infer the true species tree with a given probability), which outperform existing bounds. We then extend our results to bounds for the asymptotic behaviour of the error probability for any species tree, and compare these to the true error probability for some model species trees using simulations.

PMID:35976512 | DOI:10.1007/s00285-022-01786-4

Int Ophthalmol. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s10792-022-02449-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the preliminary outcomes of inferior oblique (IO) disinsertion-distal myectomy and tucking combined with superior oblique (SO) full tendon advancement in patients with Knapp II or III superior oblique palsy.

METHODS: This single-centered retrospective study included 16 eyes from 13 patients with Knapp Class II or III SO palsy. All patients underwent IO disinsertion-distal myectomy and tucking combined with SO full tendon advancement while under general anesthesia. Pre- and post-operative levels of vertical deviation in the primary position, abnormal head position, IO hyperfunction and SO hypofunction, torsion, as well as the presence of diplopia, were all measured, and the differences were statistically compared.

RESULTS: Pre-operatively, 12 patients had abnormal head positions, and two had diplopia. The pre-and post-operative levels of IO hyperfunction and SO hypofunction, as well as a vertical deviation in the primary position and torsion, all differed statistically significantly (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Inferior oblique disinsertion distal myectomy and tucking combined with SO full tendon advancement surgery appears to be an effective procedure in patients with congenital and acquired Knapp Class II or III SO palsy.

PMID:35976504 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-022-02449-5

Clin Oral Investig. 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1007/s00784-022-04678-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate bleaching efficacy and oral health-related quality of life (ORHQoL) of three bleaching systems with similar hydrogen peroxide (HP) concentration for up to 6 months post-treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was designed with three parallel groups: group A – in-office 6% HP paint-on varnish; group B – at-home 6% HP with adaptable tray; group C – at-home 16% carbamide peroxide with custom tray. At three different stages (baseline, after bleaching, and 6-month follow-up), ORHQoL was evaluated by the OHIP-14 questionnaire and tooth color of the upper canines and central incisors were measured by two shade guides and a spectrophotometer (measuring CIE L*a*b* with respective color/whiteness differences – ΔE₀₀/ΔWI_D). Results were presented as mean and 95% confidence intervals and statistical tests were performed appropriately, considering a significance level of α = 0.05.

RESULTS: All groups presented significant color differences (P < 0.05) between all stages, with ΔE₀₀/ΔWI_D surpassing the perceptibility threshold in 98% cases, with group C’s results being significantly (P < 0.05) higher when compared to other groups, although with significantly (P < 0.05) higher values of color relapse. Significative ORHQoL improvements (P < 0.05) were detected after bleaching in a global analysis with no differences between techniques.

CONCLUSIONS: All techniques presented bleaching efficacy, color stability, and improvements in ORHQoL up to 6 months post-treatment.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Clinicians may consider both at-home and in-office bleaching techniques with 6% HP to attain long-lasting satisfactory clinical results while producing positive changes in ORHQoL.

PMID:35976497 | DOI:10.1007/s00784-022-04678-5