Tag: statistics

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 7;16(12):e0260258. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260258. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Despite those efforts in expanded programs of immunization, nearly one fifth of children in developing countries miss out basic vaccines. Moreover, many children who started vaccination fail to complete immunization.Identifying associated factorswhich is scarce in the study area, is crucial for interventions. This study assessed full-immunization and associated factors among children aged 12-23 months in Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia.

METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from October 1-30, 2018, in selected rural and urban kebeles in Somali regionamong 612 children. Cluster sampling was employed and data was collected using structured questionnaire. Full-immunization was measured by maternal recall and vaccination card.Data entry and analysis was done by EpiData3.1 and SPSSversion.20 respectively. Binary logistic regression with Bivariate and Multivariable model was usedto identify predictors of full-immunization. Odd ratios were computed and P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

RESULTS: Based on maternal recall plus vaccination card 249(41.4%) of children were completed immunization, while vaccination only by card was 87(29.7%). Only 238(39.5%) of participants had good knowledge about vaccination. Not knowing to come back for next visits 197(55.8%) were the major reason for dropout. Residing in urban (AOR = 2.0, 95%CI: 1.0, 3.9),primary educated mothers(AOR = 2.2, 95%CI: 1.0, 5.0), married mothers (AOR = 4.2, 95%CI:1.0, 18), higher average monthly income (AOR = 2.5, 95%CI 1.1, 5.2)and delivered at health facilities (AOR = 3.8, 95%CI 1.9, 7.3)were significantly associated with full-immunization.

CONCLUSION: Coverage of full immunization was found to be low compared to the targets set in the Global Vaccine Action Plan(2011-2020).Two-third of the participants has poor knowledge about vaccination. Urban residence, mother education, higher family income, male child and institutional delivery were factors. This study suggests that awareness creation, behaviour change on vaccination and enhancing utilization of maternal health service including delivery service, should be stressed.

PMID:34874949 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260258

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 7;16(12):e0260751. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260751. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the major public health concern; leading to cardiovascular disease. It is associated with alteration in hematological parameters which may lead to end-organ damage. Thus, this study aimed to compare hematological parameters between hypertensive and normotensive adult groups in Harar, eastern Ethiopia.

METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March, 2020 at Jugel and Hiwotfana Specialized University hospital, Harar, eastern Ethiopia. Convenient sampling technique was used to recruit 102 hypertensive patients from the two hospitals and 102 apparently healthy blood donors. Participant’s socio-demographic and clinical information were collected using pre-tested structured questionnaire. Blood sample were collected and analyzed by Beckman Coulter DxH 500 analyzer for complete blood count. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Independent t-test and Mann Whitney u-test was used for comparison between groups. Spearman’s correlation was used for correlation test. P values less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

RESULT: 102 hypertensive and 102 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The median ± IQR value of white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hgb), hematocrit (HCT), red cell distribution width (RDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) were significantly higher in hypertensive group compared to apparently healthy control group. Additionally, RBC (red blood cell) count, HCT and RDW showed statistically significant positive correlations with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. WBC count and RDW were significantly and positively correlated with body mass index (BMI). Platelet (PLT) count had a significant but negative correlation (r = -0.219, P = 0.027) with duration of hypertension illness while MPV showed positive and significant correlation (r = 0.255, P = 0.010).

CONCLUSION: The median values of WBC, Hgb, HCT, RDW and MPV were significantly higher in hypertensive patient compared to apparently healthy individuals. Hence, it is important to assess hematological parameters for hypertensive individuals which may help to prevent complications associated with hematological aberrations. However, further studies are required to understand hypertensive associated changes in hematological parameters.

PMID:34874952 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260751

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 7;16(12):e0260132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260132. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Understanding how textual information impacts financial market volatility has been one of the growing topics in financial econometric research. In this paper, we aim to examine the relationship between the volatility measure that is extracted from GARCH modelling and textual news information both publicly available and from subscription, and the performances of the two datasets are compared. We utilize a latent Dirichlet allocation method to capture the dynamic features of the textual data overtime by summarizing their statistical outputs, such as topic distributions in documents and word distributions in topics. In addition, we transform various measures representing the popularity and diversity of topics to form predictors for a rolling regression model to assess the usefulness of textual information. The proposed method captures the statistical properties of textual information over different time periods and its performance is evaluated in an out-of-sample analysis. Our results show that the topic measures are more useful for predicting our volatility proxy, the unexplained variance from the GARCH model than the simple moving average. The finding indicates that our method is helpful in extracting significant textual information to improve the prediction of stock market volatility.

PMID:34874945 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260132

Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Dec 7:24836. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24836. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: to analyse the potential risk factors of tongue lesions, comparing the results with a control group.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: An observational, case-control study was designed. The study included a case group comprising 336 patients with tongue lesions and 336 sex and age-matched controls. We recorded tobacco/alcohol habits, presence of dentures, allergies, medical conditions, and medications. Statistical analysis was performed via logistic regression models to estimate the odds ratio (OR) adjusted for gender, age, tobacco, and alcohol using propensity score-matching analysis (PSM).

RESULTS: According to the final PSM model, patients with tongue lesions were more likely to suffer from allergies (OR 2.13; 1.27-3.66) or medical conditions (OR 2.14; 1.19-3.85), and more likely to take medication (OR 1.99; 1.11-3.57). Elderly individuals were more prone to hairy tongue (OR 3.82; 1.53-10.47). Smoking was associated with coated tongue (OR 2.05; 1.12-3.63), hairy tongue (OR 3.77; 1.52-9.22) and median rhomboid glossitis (OR 40.49; 5.84-860.43). Allergic individuals were more likely to exhibit sublingual varices (OR 1.73; 1.02-2.88). Medical conditions increased the chances of having coated tongue (OR 2.44; 1.36-4.64) or crenated tongue (OR 2.70; 1.42-5.30). Arterial hypertension was associated with median rhomboid glossitis (OR 5.85; 1.08-34.18). Individuals on medication showed a higher risk of fissured tongue (OR 1.87; 1.20-2.94) and varices (OR 2.42; 1.58-3.80). Agents acting on the alimentary tract and metabolism increased the probability of fissured tongue (OR 2.31; 1.42-3.79).

CONCLUSIONS: As far as we are aware, this is the first study on lingual pathology to include a PSM analysis. The results suggest that a history of allergies, the presence of medical conditions, and the use of medication are associated with increased probability of tongue lesions. The analysis of diseases and medications by subgroups requires studies matched by habits with larger sample sizes, in order to corroborate our observations.

PMID:34874926 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24836

Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Dec 7:24784. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24784. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Beta-thalassemia major is an inherited disorder that can cause bone deformity and loss of bone mineral density. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cortical and trabecular mandibular bone morphology of children and adolescents who have beta-thalassemia major (ß-TM) using a fractal dimension (FD) analysis and different panoramic radiomorphometric indices with digital panoramic radiographic images (DPRIs).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 80 patients (with 40 patients each of ß-TM and control). The mandibular cortical width (MCW), panoramic mandibular index (PMI), mandibular cortical index (MCI), and simple visual estimation (SVE) were evaluated, and an FD analysis of five regions of interest (ROIs) (ROI 1: in basal cortical bone; ROI 2: in premolar region; ROI 3: in molar region; ROI 4: in angulus mandible and ROI 5: in condyle region) was obtained in all DPRIs. Quantitative variables were analyzed using the student’s t-test , Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.

RESULTS: When the ß-TM groups were compared with controls, there were no statistically significant differences found in the mean FD values, the ROIs of the trabecular bone, or the SVE. There was a significant correlation in the mean MCW, PMI, ROI of cortical bone (ROI 1), and MCI between ß-TM and control groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.047, and p = 0.046, respectively). The mean MCW values correlated with the SVE in both the ß-TM and control groups (p = 0.031 and p < 0.001, respectively). While the mean MCW values correlated with the MCI (p = 0.04) in the control group, the mean MCW values were not correlated with the MCI (p = 0.493) in ß-TM group.

CONCLUSIONS: The current study revealed lower MCW and PMI values in the ß-TM group. While the mean FD values of trabecular bone is similar to the control groups, the mean FD value is lower in cortical bone in the ß-TM group. MCW, PMI, FD of cortical bone and MCI may be key indicators in individuals with beta-thalassemia major.

PMID:34874929 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24784

Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2021 Dec 7:24725. doi: 10.4317/medoral.24725. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The professional Burnout Syndrome (BOS) or Burnout is considered a professional disease made up of three interrelated dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal fulfillment). BOS has been documented to most severely affect the healthcare professions, especially dentists. On the other hand, its appearance has been documented at an early age, during dental training. However, there are no studies that analyze its incidence in professionals dedicated to Oral Surgery and Implantology, determining the age of onset and related factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The modified Maslach questionnaire was carried out anonymously among the professors and students of the Master of Oral Surgery and Implantology at the Complutense University of Madrid. A total of 36 participants were enrolled in this study and the results of the modified Maslach Questionnaire were established into four groups [1st year (n=6), 2nd year (n=6), 3rd year (n=6) postgraduate students and clinical teachers (n=18)]. The following variables were recorded: Age, sex, years of experience, weekly hours of work, dedication on weekends and scope of work. The statistical analysis performed included Pearson’s correlation, analysis of variance, Student’s t-test, F-Anova, Chi-Square and Gamma correlation. Statistical Significance of the tests was established of p≤0.05.

RESULTS: 36 questionnaires were analyzed, of which 22.2% (n = 8) presented BOS, and 77.8% (n = 28) a medium risk of suffering it. The mean values and standard deviation ​​of emotional exhaustion (7.50 ± 2.43; 9.83 ± 4.12; 15.83 ± 6.21; 30.22 ± 7.86), depersonalization (5.50 ± 1.23; 50 ± 3.27; 11.33 ± 1.75; 17.56 ± 4.13), low personal fulfillment (39.67 ± 3.72; 39.33 ± 2.34; 43.17 ± 3, 55; 37.33 ± 5.51) and professional burnout (54.33 ± 2.66; 61.67 ± 2.88; 70.33 ± 5.43; 85.11 ± 9.05) in the four groups respectively. A significant association was found in the appearance of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, years of experience, weekly work hours and the work environment.

CONCLUSIONS: BOS is a disease that can appear from 30 years of age, after 5 years of professional experience and when there is a clinical consultation of 40 hours a week. Oral Surgery and Implantology seems to be a risk activity for the manifestation of depersonalization.

PMID:34874925 | DOI:10.4317/medoral.24725

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 6;11(1):23454. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02326-8.

ABSTRACT

This article aims to investigate the heat and mass transfer of MHD Oldroyd-B fluid with ramped conditions. The Oldroyd-B fluid is taken as a base fluid (Blood) with a suspension of gold nano-particles, to make the solution of non-Newtonian bio-magnetic nanofluid. The surface medium is taken porous. The well-known equation of Oldroyd-B nano-fluid of integer order derivative has been generalized to a non-integer order derivative. Three different types of definitions of fractional differential operators, like Caputo, Caputo-Fabrizio, Atangana-Baleanu (will be called later as [Formula: see text]) are used to develop the resulting fractional nano-fluid model. The solution for temperature, concentration, and velocity profiles is obtained via Laplace transform and for inverse two different numerical algorithms like Zakian’s, Stehfest’s are utilized. The solutions are also shown in tabular form. To see the physical meaning of various parameters like thermal Grashof number, Radiation factor, mass Grashof number, Schmidt number, Prandtl number etc. are explained graphically and theoretically. The velocity and temperature of nanofluid decrease with increasing the value of gold nanoparticles, while increase with increasing the value of both thermal Grashof number and mass Grashof number. The Prandtl number shows opposite behavior for both temperature and velocity field. It will decelerate both the profile. Also, a comparative analysis is also presented between ours and the existing findings.

PMID:34873194 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-02326-8

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 6;11(1):23458. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02528-0.

ABSTRACT

Functional enrichment analysis is an analytical method to extract biological insights from gene expression data, popularized by the ever-growing application of high-throughput techniques. Typically, expression profiles are generated for hundreds to thousands of genes/proteins from samples belonging to two experimental groups, and after ad-hoc statistical tests, researchers are left with lists of statistically significant entities, possibly lacking any unifying biological theme. Functional enrichment tackles the problem of putting overall gene expression changes into a broader biological context, based on pre-existing knowledge bases of reference: database collections of known expression regulation, relationships and molecular interactions. STRING is among the most popular tools, providing both protein-protein interaction networks and functional enrichment analysis for any given set of identifiers. For complex experimental designs, manually retrieving, interpreting, analyzing and abridging functional enrichment results is a daunting task, usually performed by hand by the average wet-biology researcher. We have developed reString, a cross-platform software that seamlessly retrieves from STRING functional enrichments from multiple user-supplied gene sets, with just a few clicks, without any need for specific bioinformatics skills. Further, it aggregates all findings into human-readable table summaries, with built-in features to easily produce user-customizable publication-grade clustermaps and bubble plots. Herein, we outline a complete reString protocol, showcasing its features on a real use-case.

PMID:34873191 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-02528-0

Neurologist. 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/NRL.0000000000000396. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We investigate the probable effect of anatomic asymmetry of transverse sinus (TS) on the outcomes of acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), to provide reference for customized treatment.

METHODS: Consecutive patients with imaging-confirmed acute ICH were enrolled from October 2015 through October 2019, and divided into 2 groups: symmetrical and unilateral (left or right) slender TS groups, based on the status of TS in imaging maps. Brain computed tomography (CT) maps of all patients at baseline and half-month post-ICH were obtained, and the volumes of hematoma and the perihematomal edemas (PHE), as well as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at the month-3 post-ICH between the 2 groups were assessed and analyzed.

RESULTS: A total of 46 eligible patients entered into final analysis, including 18 cases in the slender TS group (14 cases involved the left side while 4 cases involved the right side), and 28 cases in the symmetrical TS group. The mRS scores, hematoma absorption rates, and the residual volumes of PHE of all patients in the 2 groups at half-month post-ICH showed no statistical significance (all P>0.05), and all of the items mentioned above were related to the hematoma volume at baseline (all P<0.001). At the month-3 follow-up post-ICH, the mRS scores between the 2 groups showed no statistical significance as well (P=0.551).

CONCLUSIONS: Anatomic asymmetry of TS may not affect the prognosis of PHE and clinical outcome after ICH.

PMID:34873112 | DOI:10.1097/NRL.0000000000000396

Neurologist. 2021 Dec 6. doi: 10.1097/NRL.0000000000000394. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) have established an association between HLA-DQ alpha 1 (DQA1) and risk for NMOSD. Though ethnicity is generally considered a major influencing factor in genetic analyses, little is known regarding the association of HLA-DQA1 polymorphisms with NMOSD in the Han population, especially the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at HLA-DQA1.

METHODS: We genotyped SNP at loci rs28383224 in a case-control study consisting of 137 subjects (51 patients with NMOSD and 86 unrelated controls were recruited) of Han ethnicity. Logistic regression was used to test the association of SNP with NMOSD susceptibility, the sex and age were adjusted, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

RESULTS: The rs28383224 polymorphism and susceptibility to NMOSD were not statistically associated (P>0.05) in the Han population in the current study. No significant difference was found in allelic frequencies or genotypic distributions among different subsets of NMOSD patients (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: In the current study, there is no evidence that polymorphism of rs28383224 in the HLA-DQA1 gene is associated with the risk of NMOSD in the Han Chinese population.

PMID:34873111 | DOI:10.1097/NRL.0000000000000394