Tag: statistics

Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2022 Feb;14(2):215-221. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.020. Epub 2021 Dec 28.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to implement and assess a telepharmacy simulation for third-year students at two universities.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Using telepharmacy, students completed a prescription verification activity and a patient counseling activity. Students completed surveys at baseline and after both activities. Focus groups were conducted after the second activity. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, paired t-tests, and qualitative analysis were used to evaluate data.

FINDINGS: There was a statistically significant increase in students’ perceptions using telepharmacy to deliver patient education before (mean (M) = 2.68, SD = 0.36) to after the experience (M = 2.97, SD = 0.52). A comparison of attitudes toward and intent to provide telepharmacy services found no differences before and after the experience. Following each activity, students felt somewhat to very confident in their abilities to verify a prescription medication and to counsel a patient using telepharmacy. Students demonstrated slight gains in knowledge pre-/post- regarding the use of telepharmacy. Focus group comments referred to the activities as realistic and of value.

SUMMARY: A purposeful telepharmacy simulation impacted students’ perceptions and knowledge on the use of telepharmacy. Students were confident in their abilities to verify and counsel on medications and felt the simulation helped them better understand the pharmacist’s role in telepharmacy. However, students indicated little intent to explore telepharmacy-based opportunities in the future. The results support the development of a more robust simulation and incorporation of didactic content into pharmacy curricula to train students in the use of telepharmacy.

PMID:35190164 | DOI:10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.020

Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2022 Feb;14(2):159-165. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.013. Epub 2021 Dec 24.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacy students experience high levels of perceived stress. Data regarding the impact of curricular revision on students’ stress level are lacking. The primary objective of this study was to compare perceived stress, academic self-concept, and coping strategies between pharmacy students prior to and following a curricular revision. Secondary objectives included determining university resources used by students to deal with stress.

METHODS: Students in the first, second, and third years of the pharmacy curriculum were asked to complete a survey, including the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), Brief COPE, and Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS), and questions regarding use of university resources. Responses to the PSS-14, Brief COPE, and ASCS were compared to a student cohort prior to the curricular revision.

RESULTS: Perceived stress was reduced to a small, statistically significant degree following a curricular revision. In both cohorts, increased stress was statistically significantly correlated with decreased academic self-concept. Students reported increased use of self-distraction, along with decreased use of active coping, substance abuse, and planning, as coping strategies when compared to the previous cohort. Approximately half of the student cohort reported no use of university resources. The most commonly used resources were financial aid and mental health services.

CONCLUSIONS: Perceived stress decreased following the revision of a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. The most common coping strategies were positive and comparable with strategies reported by students in the former curriculum. The impact of curricular changes on student stress and the use of university resources in health professions students warrant further study.

PMID:35190157 | DOI:10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.013

Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2022 Feb;14(2):153-158. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.024. Epub 2021 Dec 27.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The primary objective was to describe the percentage of physician assistant (PA) programs who utilize pharmacists to lecture on pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics content. Secondary objectives were to describe the percentage of pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics lectures pharmacists deliver, the percentage of programs who employ a full-time pharmacist to coordinate the Pharmacology/Pharmacotherapeutics courses, and the inclusion of pharmacists in other courses in the curricula.

METHODS: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, cohort survey. All PA programs listed on the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) website with an available email address for the Director of Pre-Clinical Education/Didactic Education, Academic Coordinator, or Chair/Director were recruited for the study. A link to an online survey was distributed to each program. The survey collected data on program characteristics as well as utilization of pharmacists in the curriculum. Descriptive statistics were used for all analyses.

RESULTS: Of the 187 programs receiving the survey, 66 completed the survey (35%). Eighty-three percent of programs reported that pharmacists were utilized to deliver pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics content. For those programs who utilize pharmacists, 80% reported pharmacists teach more than 75% of the lectures. Twenty-three (35%) programs reported having a full-time pharmacist on faculty to coordinate these courses. Almost half of respondents also commented that pharmacists were involved in other courses in the curriculum.

CONCLUSIONS: More than 80% of programs responding to the survey utilize pharmacists to deliver pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics content. Studying the utilization of pharmacists and their impact in other health sciences curricula is warranted.

PMID:35190156 | DOI:10.1016/j.cptl.2021.11.024

Stat Med. 2022 Feb 21. doi: 10.1002/sim.9352. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Clinical studies examining the effectiveness of a treatment with respect to some primary outcome often require long-term follow-up of patients and/or costly or burdensome measurements of the primary outcome of interest. Identifying a surrogate marker for the primary outcome of interest may allow one to evaluate a treatment effect with less follow-up time, less cost, or less burden. While much clinical and statistical work has focused on identifying and validating surrogate markers, available approaches tend to focus on settings in which only a single surrogate marker is of interest. Limited work has been done to accommodate the high-dimensional surrogate marker setting where the number of potential surrogates is greater than the sample size. In this article, we develop methods to estimate the proportion of treatment effect explained by high-dimensional surrogates. We study the asymptotic properties of our proposed estimator, propose inference procedures, and examine finite sample performance via a simulation study. We illustrate our proposed methods using data from a randomized study comparing a novel whey-based oral nutrition supplement with a standard supplement with respect to change in body fat percentage over 12 weeks, where the surrogate markers of interest are gene expression probesets.

PMID:35189671 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9352

Semin Liver Dis. 2022 Feb 21. doi: 10.1055/a-1777-6112. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Micro-elimination targets specific sub-populations and/or geographic settings for hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination. This review reports on global HCV micro-elimination literature published from 2013-2020. Data were extracted from publications to report a score based on the four key components defining micro-elimination. Sustained virologic response (SVR) and treatment initiation proportions were calculated for each manuscript and grouped means of these estimates were compared depending on micro-elimination score and care setting. 83% of the studies were from high-income settings and mainly included people who use drugs or those incarcerated. Among manuscripts, 18 had ‘low’ micro-elimination scores, 11 had ‘high’ scores and the differences in mean proportion who initiated treatment and achieved SVR between low and high score groups were statistically significant. Micro-elimination can be a useful complementary strategy for driving engagement in HCV treatment and cure. Our analysis suggests that adhering to more of the core micro-elimination components can improve outcomes.

PMID:35189667 | DOI:10.1055/a-1777-6112

Eur J Dent. 2022 Feb 21. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1742121. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Concentrated growth factor (CGF) is particularly gaining acceptance and popularity in regenerative dentistry. Nonetheless, there are no available studies showing its effect against microorganisms of oral cavity particularly in chronic oral disease-induced biofilms. This in vitro research was conducted to determine the antimicrobial effects of CGF against Staphylococcus aureus sp. (S. aureus) and Streptococcus mutans sp. (S. mutans).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from a healthy volunteer. CGF was then prepared using specialized centrifugation equipment (Medifuge, Silfradent, Santa Sofia FC, Italy) and protocol. Antimicrobial activity of the CGF was observed and recorded on standard strains of S. aureus and S. mutans using a well diffusion method to determine the inhibition zone, broth microdilution to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and crystal violet assay for biofilm assessment, with chlorhexidine (CHX) 0.12% used as a positive control. Statistical analysis was then performed using one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey Test post hoc analysis.

RESULTS: It was observed that there was a presence of clear zones of inhibition around the CGF after 24 hours of incubation. The mean diameter of the inhibition zone was 1.26 ± 0.12 nm and 1.20 ± 0.06 nm for S. aureus and S. mutans, respectively, with significance difference (p < 0.05) against the control group CHX 0.12%. The MIC values of the CGF against S. aureus and S. mutans were 47.9% and 34.17%, respectively, and the MBC values of the CGF against S. aureus and S. mutans were 100%. The viability and the ability in inhibiting the biofilm formation of S. mutans and S. aureus following treatment with CGF showed a reduction in the concentration-dependent manner as compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION: CGF possesses antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity against S. aureus and S. mutans.

PMID:35189641 | DOI:10.1055/s-0041-1742121

Eur J Dent. 2022 Feb 21. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1742122. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the irrigant penetration using iohexol dye with four irrigation techniques.

METHODOLOGY: Single-rooted premolars were recently extracted and preserved in physiological saline solution. All the samples were standardized to 16 mm. Standard endodontic access was prepared using endoaccess bur (Dentsply Maillefer, Switzerland). The initial patency was established using #10 k file (Mani, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan) to the working length. The cleaning and shaping were performed using the file system ProFit S3 in the following sequence: P0 (orifice enlarger), PF1 (yellow), PF2 (red) #25, and PF3 (blue) #30. The samples were randomly allocated in concealed opaque envelopes into four groups. This was performed by a trained dentist. Fifteen samples were allocated to one group. The groups were divided as follows: Group A-conventional needle (CN), Group B-side-vented needle (SVN), Group C-manual dynamic agitation (MDA), and Group D-EndoActivator (EA). The radiopaque dye irrigant agitation/activation was performed by one operator to prevent operator bias. Following irrigation using the different techniques, digital radiographs were taken, and the measurement was taken from the apical foramen to the point where the dye had penetrated apically for each tooth and the data were entered into an Excel sheet for all the four groups.

RESULTS: Comparing the four groups, there was a statistically significant difference among the four groups (p < 0.05), thus, favoring the alternate hypothesis. EA had resulted in better penetration of the irrigant compared with the other three groups (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: It was evident that irrigant penetration was best achieved with the use of an EA followed by MDA, SVNs, and then the CN when the preparation was done till size 30 (PF3 #30) using ProFit S3 rotary file system.

PMID:35189642 | DOI:10.1055/s-0041-1742122

Brief Bioinform. 2022 Feb 21:bbac024. doi: 10.1093/bib/bbac024. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a significant role in nearly all cellular and biological activities. Data-driven machine learning models have demonstrated great power in PPIs. However, the design of efficient molecular featurization poses a great challenge for all learning models for PPIs. Here, we propose persistent spectral (PerSpect) based PPI representation and featurization, and PerSpect-based ensemble learning (PerSpect-EL) models for PPI binding affinity prediction, for the first time. In our model, a sequence of Hodge (or combinatorial) Laplacian (HL) matrices at various different scales are generated from a specially designed filtration process. PerSpect attributes, which are statistical and combinatorial properties of spectrum information from these HL matrices, are used as features for PPI characterization. Each PerSpect attribute is input into a 1D convolutional neural network (CNN), and these CNN networks are stacked together in our PerSpect-based ensemble learning models. We systematically test our model on the two most commonly used datasets, i.e. SKEMPI and AB-Bind. It has been found that our model can achieve state-of-the-art results and outperform all existing models to the best of our knowledge.

PMID:35189639 | DOI:10.1093/bib/bbac024

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Feb 13;59:103687. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103687. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system of potential autoimmune origin that is frequently associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits, as well as with fatigue, stress and psychosocial burden. In the present controlled multi-centre trial we investigated whether two specific neuropsychological interventions (1. metacognitive training (MaTiMS); 2. computerized working memory training (BrainStim) in combination with MaTiMS) applied as add-on therapies to real life standard rehabilitation lead to increased benefit in self-perceived cognitive deficits (the primary outcome) in MS patients compared to standard rehab.

METHODS: 288 adult persons in three German rehab centers with a confirmed diagnosis of MS were sequentially allocated to one of the three intervention groups. 249 (87%) participants completed the post assessment and 187 (63%) the online survey after 12 months. Perceived cognitive deficits, mood, fatigue, coping, and activity were evaluated by self-reports and neuropsychological tests at baseline and 4 weeks postintervention. All self-reports were additionally administered digitally at three, six, and twelve months from baseline.

RESULTS: We could not show differential effects on the primary outcome between the intervention groups and the control group (p=.369, p=.934). Immediately after each intervention we could show beneficial time effects in all three groups on self-perceived cognitive deficits as well as on most of the other outcomes. The reported effects were however not sustained at 6 months follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings could not show an additional effect of specific cognitive training on cognitive deficit perception in MS. However, findings indicate that MS rehabilitation may improve patient reported outcomes in the short term. They also underline the need for concepts to maintain rehabilitation gains when patients return back home.

PMID:35189580 | DOI:10.1016/j.msard.2022.103687

Patient Prefer Adherence. 2022 Feb 11;16:363-372. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S348933. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced dental clinics to shut down indefinitely, leaving thousands of orthodontic patients in unending fear and dismay. The study aimed to assess the attitude, perceptions and mental health status of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment in Saudi Arabia during the lockdown.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among orthodontic patients of different clinics across Saudi Arabia and selected using two-stage clustered sampling. A validated Arabic questionnaire comprising four sections including demographic data, patients’ interactions, attitude and perception, and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was sent via digital means. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied with the level of significance set to p<0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 512 orthodontic patients voluntarily participated in the study. Eighty-four percent of the patients contacted their orthodontist once or twice during this period, 22% percent did not receive any communication from their orthodontist, 18% were very worried about not being able to continue their treatment, 72% were concerned about the treatment duration increasing post lockdown, 18% suffered cuts or lacerations due to their appliance, and 32% had poking wires. Seventy-six percent of patients were willing to visit a clinic post lockdown only with proper preventive measures in place. A mild level of mental distress (22.76 ± 8.69) was reported using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Female orthodontic patients >25 years of age with >1 year of ongoing treatment were associated with higher levels of mental distress.

CONCLUSION: The current pandemic has impacted the mental health status of orthodontic patients in some form or another. Older females with longer treatment times were more affected by the lockdown. The lack of effective communication from the orthodontist led to some negative perceptions about their treatment.

PMID:35189625 | PMC:PMC8848244 | DOI:10.2147/PPA.S348933