Tag: statistics

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 29;16(9):e0256216. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256216. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and the challenges in accepting the diagnosis can bring a devastating emotional impact on the patient’s mental and psychological wellbeing. Issues related to illness acceptance among cancer patients are not well studied in Malaysia. To date, the Acceptance of Illness Scale has not been translated to the Malay language (Bahasa Malaysia) nor validated for use in the oncology setting. The objective of the study is to translate, validate and determine the reliability of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale among Malaysian patients with cancer. A total of 129 patients newly diagnosed with cancer were consecutively sampled and the scale was administered via face-to-face interviews. A pilot test (n = 30) was conducted and test-retest reliability was determined. The Bartlett Test of Sphericity was statistically significantly (p<0.001), while the Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was adequate at 0.84. Scale item mean scores ranged between 3.02 and 4.33, while the item-total correlation ranged between 0.50 to 0.66 (p<0.05). The internal reliability coefficient was 0.84. The test-retest reliability indicated a high correlation, r = 0.94 with p = 0.001. The Bahasa Malaysia version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale is a valid and reliable instrument that is appropriate for use in Malaysian patients with cancer. Use of this scale to assess illness acceptance among the Malay-speaking patients with cancer can act as a guide for delivery of psycho-oncological services to help patients have a better mental wellbeing and life adjustment in living with cancer.

PMID:34587199 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0256216

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 29;16(9):e0257546. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257546. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze trends in urinary tract infection hospitalization (cystitis, pyelonephritis, prostatitis and non-specified UTI) among patients over 65 years in Spain from 2000-2015.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study using the Spanish Hospitalization Minimum Data Set (CMBD), with codifications by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9). We collected data on sex, age, type of discharge, main diagnosis, comorbid diagnosis, length of stay, and global cost. All the hospitalizations were grouped by age into three categories: 65-74 years old, 75-84 years old, and 85 years old and above. In the descriptive statistical analysis, crude rates were defined as hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants aged ≥65. To identify trends over time, we performed a Joinpoint regression.

RESULTS: From 2000-2015, we found 387,010 hospitalizations coded as UTIs (54,427 pyelonephritis, 15,869 prostatitis, 2643 cystitis and 314,071 non-specified UTI). The crude rate of hospitalization for UTIs between 2000 and 2015 ranged from 2.09 in 2000 to 4.33 in 2015 Rates of hospitalization were higher in men than in women, except with pyelonephritis. By age group, higher rates were observed in patients aged 85 years or older, barring prostatitis-related hospitalizations. Joinpoint analyses showed an average annual percentage increase (AAPC) in incidence rates of 4.9% (95% CI 3.2;6.1) in UTI hospitalizations. We observed two joinpoints, in 2010 and 2013, that found trends of 5.5% between 2000 and 2010 (95% CI 4.7;6.4), 1.5% between 2010 and 2013 (95% CI -6.0;9.6) and 6.8% between 2013 and 2015 (95% CI -0.3;14.4).

CONCLUSIONS: The urinary infection-related hospitalization rate in Spain doubled during the period 2000-2015. The highest hospitalization rates occurred in men, in the ≥85 years old age group, and in non-specified UTIs. There were increases in all types of urinary tract infection, with non-specified UTIs having the greatest growth. Understanding these changing trends can be useful for health planning.

PMID:34587191 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0257546

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 29;16(9):e0255281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255281. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

This paper uses data from a community cross-sectional survey to examine the factors that are associated with justification of physical violence against women. Results indicate that respondents who were married at the time of the survey were less likely (OR = 0.29; CI = 0.17-0.52) to agree that it is justified for a man to physically assault his partner that their counterparts who were single. The likelihood to justify physical violence was less likely to happen among respondents with primary education (OR = 0.49; CI = 0.39-0.62), secondary education (OR = 0.40; CI = 0.31-0.53) and vocation or tertiary education (OR = 0.28; CI = 0.19-0.41) than among respondents with no education. Protestants were less likely (OR = 0.77; CI = 0.64-0.94) to justify physical violence than the Catholics. Respondents who were not formally employed were more likely (OR = 1.66; CI = 1.32-2.08) to justify physical violence than their counterparts who were in formal employment in the last three months preceding the survey. Respondents who agreed that it is okay for a man to control his partner’s movements (OR = 1.27; CI = 1.04-1.55), it is okay for a man to have sex with his wife anytime (OR = 2.28; CI = 1.87-2.78), alcohol is the main reason for violence against women (OR = 1.67; CI = 1.33-2.10), men need sex more than women (OR = 1.57; CI = 1.23-1.99) and women know where to obtain support in case of violence (OR = 1.42; CI = 1.00-2.02) were more likely to justify physical violence than respondents who disagreed. The likelihood to justify physical violence was less among respondents who agreed that: violence is not the only way to deal with disagreements (OR = 0.54; CI = 0.33-0.86), it is possible for men to stop violence (OR = 0.62; CI = 0.47-0.82) and it is acceptable for a woman to ask her partner to use a condom (OR = 0.61; CI = 0.51-0.73) than their counterparts who disagreed. There is need to increase investment in social norms change programmes in order to strengthen contestation of tolerance of physical violence among men and women in Uganda.

PMID:34587182 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0255281

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 29;16(9):e0256661. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256661. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to assess potential feeding effect of camel milk curd mass and its mixes to experimental rat’s blood serum biochemical parameters, enzymatic activity and the peptide toxicity. Fifty healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 10 each). Each group was fed with camel milk pure curd mass and its mixes for 16 days. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed to collect the samples from the blood serum. Blood serum biochemical parameters total protein, cholesterol, glucose, albumin, triglycerides; the enzymatic activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase were determined on the A25 automatic analyser, and peptide toxicity analysed by the reference method. The statistical data have shown no significant differences in body weight gain in all groups. Total protein decreased in group II, IV, and V; however, it increased in group III compared to the control group. Cholesterol grew up in group II and it slightly increased in group V, dropped in groups III and IV compared to group I result. Glucose increased in groups II, III, IV compared to group I; still, group V results show a slight decrease. Albumin decreased in group IV, yet in group V it increased than the group I result. Simultaneously, groups II and III results were changed with less percentage. Triglyceride grew up in groups II, V, and it dropped significantly in groups III, IV compared to the control group. De Ritis ratio of enzymes in groups II, III, and IV fluctuated between 1.31 and 0.98 IU/L; however, group V demonstrated significant data versus group I. Diets peptide toxicity in all groups was lower than control group data. The experimental results indicated that curd mass from camel milk could be used as a pure or with additives and it did not discover the observed side effects.

PMID:34587186 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0256661

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 28;11(1):19246. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98494-8.

ABSTRACT

Nanoglass (NG) as a new structure-tunable material has been investigated using both experiments and computational modeling. Experimentally, inert gas condensation (IGC) is commonly employed to prepare metallic glass (MG) nanoparticles that are consolidated using cold compression to generate an NG. In computational modeling, various methods have been used to generate NGs. However, due to the high computational cost involved, heretofore modeling investigations have not followed the experimental synthesis route. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to generate an NG model by consolidating IGC-prepared Cu₆₄Zr₃₆ nanoparticles following a workflow similar to that of experiments. The resulting structure is compared with those of NGs produced following two alternative procedures previously used: direct generation employing Voronoi tessellation and consolidation of spherical nanoparticles carved from an MG sample. We focus on the characterization of the excess free volume and the Voronoi polyhedral statistics in order to identify and quantify contrasting features of the glass-glass interfaces in the three NG samples prepared using distinct methods. Results indicate that glass-glass interfaces in IGC-based NGs are thicker and display higher structural contrast with their parent MG structure. Nanoparticle-based methods display excess free volume exceeding 4%, in agreement with experiments. IGC-prepared nanoparticles, which display Cu segregation to their surfaces, generate the highest glass-glass interface excess free volume levels and the largest relative interface volume with excess free volume higher than 3%. Voronoi polyhedral analysis indicates a sharp drop in the full icosahedral motif fraction in the glass-glass interfaces in nanoparticle-based NG as compared to their parent MG.

PMID:34584145 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-98494-8

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 28;11(1):19260. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98691-5.

ABSTRACT

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system characterized by myelin loss and axonal dysfunction. Increased production of inflammatory factors such as cytokines has been implicated in axon destruction. In the present study, we compared the expression level of IL7R, NFATc2, and RNF213 genes in the peripheral blood of 72 MS patients (37 familial MS, 35 sporadic MS) and 74 healthy controls (34 individuals with a family history of the disease, 40 healthy controls without a family history) via Real-time PCR. Our results showed that the expression level of IL7R was decreased in the sporadic patients in comparison with other groups. Additionally, there was an increased NFATc2 expression level in MS patients versus healthy controls. Increased expression of NFATc2 in sporadic and familial groups compared to the controls, and familial group versus FDR was also seen. Our results also represented an increased expression level of RNF213 in familial patients as compared to the control group. The similar RNF213 expression between sporadic and control group, as well as FDR and familial group was also seen. Diagnostic evaluation was performed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and area under the curve (AUC) calculation. The correlation of clinical parameters including onset age and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) with our gene expression levels were also assessed. Overall, decreased expression level of IL7R in the sporadic cases and increased expression level of NFATc2 may be associated with the pathogenesis of MS disease. Confirmation of the effects of differential expression of RNF213 gene requires further studies in the wider statistical populations.

PMID:34584155 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-98691-5

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 28;11(1):19196. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98109-2.

ABSTRACT

The association between ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) and mortality in patients supported by continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) remains controversial. To evaluate the association between pre-implantation, early (≤ 30 day) post-implantation VAs and mortality in bridge to transplant (BTT) and destination therapy (DT) LVAD patients, separately. The risk factors for post LVAD VAs were also investigated. In this observational cohort study, we included 341 patients who received a first time, continuous flow LVAD between January 1st 2010 and July 30th 2018. We used Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable cox regression analyses to study the association between VAs and mortality in the BTT and DT populations. The mean age of the cohort was 58 ± 14 years, with 82% males, 53% had ischemic cardiomyopathy, and 45% were DT. The mean follow-up was 2.2 ± 2.1 years. In both BTT and DT cohorts, pre LVAD VAs were not associated with mortality after LVAD implantation (log-rank p = 0.95 and p = 0.089, respectively). In the BTT population, early post-LVAD VAs were not statistically associated with increased mortality (log rank p = 0.072). In the DT patients, early post LVAD VAs were associated with a 67% increase in the hazards rate of mortality on LVAD support (HR 1.67 [1.05-2.65], p = 0.029). The final model was adjusted for type of cardiomyopathy, INTERMACS profile, glomerular filtration rate, post LVAD atrial fibrillation, age and cerebrovascular events. Early post-LVAD VA is common after LVAD implantation and is an independent predictor of mortality in the DT LVAD population.

PMID:34584108 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-98109-2

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 28;11(1):19238. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98411-z.

ABSTRACT

The extent to which women differ in the course of blood cell counts throughout pregnancy, and the importance of these changes to pregnancy outcomes has not been well defined. Here, we develop a series of statistical analyses of repeated measures data to reveal the degree to which women differ in the course of pregnancy, predict the changes that occur, and determine the importance of these changes for post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) which is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. We present a prospective cohort of 4082 births recorded at the University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland between 2009 and 2014 where full labour records could be obtained, along with complete blood count data taken at hospital admission. We find significant differences, at a [Formula: see text] level, among women in how blood count values change through pregnancy for mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean platelet volume, platelet count and red cell distribution width. We find evidence that almost all complete blood count values show trimester-specific associations with PPH. For example, high platelet count (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.53), high mean platelet volume (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.04-2.08), and high erythrocyte levels (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.01-1.57) in trimester 1 increased PPH, but high values in trimester 3 decreased PPH risk (OR 0.85, 0.79, 0.67 respectively). We show that differences among women in the course of blood cell counts throughout pregnancy have an important role in shaping pregnancy outcome and tracking blood count value changes through pregnancy improves identification of women at increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage. This study provides greater understanding of the complex changes in blood count values that occur through pregnancy and provides indicators to guide the stratification of patients into risk groups.

PMID:34584125 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-98411-z

Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 28;12(1):5692. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25960-2.

ABSTRACT

Differential expression analysis in single-cell transcriptomics enables the dissection of cell-type-specific responses to perturbations such as disease, trauma, or experimental manipulations. While many statistical methods are available to identify differentially expressed genes, the principles that distinguish these methods and their performance remain unclear. Here, we show that the relative performance of these methods is contingent on their ability to account for variation between biological replicates. Methods that ignore this inevitable variation are biased and prone to false discoveries. Indeed, the most widely used methods can discover hundreds of differentially expressed genes in the absence of biological differences. To exemplify these principles, we exposed true and false discoveries of differentially expressed genes in the injured mouse spinal cord.

PMID:34584091 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-25960-2

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 28;11(1):19241. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-97394-1.

ABSTRACT

Behavioral gender differences have been found for a wide range of human activities including the way people communicate, move, provision themselves, or organize leisure activities. Using mobile phone data from 1.2 million devices in Austria (15% of the population) across the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis, we quantify gender-specific patterns of communication intensity, mobility, and circadian rhythms. We show the resilience of behavioral patterns with respect to the shock imposed by a strict nation-wide lock-down that Austria experienced in the beginning of the crisis with severe implications on public and private life. We find drastic differences in gender-specific responses during the different phases of the pandemic. After the lock-down gender differences in mobility and communication patterns increased massively, while circadian rhythms tended to synchronize. In particular, women had fewer but longer phone calls than men during the lock-down. Mobility declined massively for both genders, however, women tended to restrict their movement stronger than men. Women showed a stronger tendency to avoid shopping centers and more men frequented recreational areas. After the lock-down, males returned back to normal quicker than women; young age-cohorts return much quicker. Differences are driven by the young and adolescent population. An age stratification highlights the role of retirement on behavioral differences. We find that the length of a day of men and women is reduced by 1 h. We interpret and discuss these findings as signals for underlying social, biological and psychological gender differences when coping with crisis and taking risks.

PMID:34584107 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-97394-1