Tag: statistics

Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2259:297-308. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1178-4_19.

ABSTRACT

Shotgun proteomics is the inferential analysis of proteoforms using peptide proxies produced by enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of entire proteomes. Such peptides are usually identified by nanoflow liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry analysis (nLC-MS/MS). Traditionally, MS/MS analysis is performed in data-dependent acquisition (DDA) mode, which usually produces a pattern of fragment masses unique to a single peptide’s fragmentation. Here, I describe a statistically rigorous qualitative and quantitative computational analysis for shotgun proteomics DDA analysis using free open-source software tools. MS/MS data are used to identify peptides, and the area of peptide mass/charge over chromatographic elution is used to quantify peptides. All peptides that uniquely map to a protein sequence predicted from the genome are combined into a single protein quantity, which can then be compared across experimental conditions. Statistically significant protein changes can be summarized using gene ontology or pathway term enrichment analysis.

PMID:33687723 | DOI:10.1007/978-1-0716-1178-4_19

Adv Ther. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s12325-021-01652-7. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Splenectomy and splenic artery embolization are major treatment options for hypersplenism and portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis, but may lead to splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT), which is potentially lethal. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the incidence of SVT in liver cirrhosis after splenectomy or splenic artery embolization and the risk factors for SVT.

METHODS: All relevant studies were searched through the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. The incidence of SVT in liver cirrhosis after splenectomy or splenic artery embolization was pooled. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

RESULTS: Sixty-six studies with 5632 patients with cirrhosis were included. The pooled incidence of SVT after splenectomy and splenic artery embolization was 24.6% (95% CI 20.2-29.3%) and 11.7% (95% CI 7.1-17.3%), respectively. A meta-analysis of three comparative studies demonstrated that the incidence of SVT after splenectomy was statistically similar to that after splenic artery embolization (OR 3.15, P = 0.290). Platelet count, mean platelet volume, preoperative splenic or portal vein diameter, preoperative or postoperative portal blood velocity, splenic volume and weight, and periesophagogastric devascularization were significant risk factors for SVT after splenectomy. Postoperative use of preventive antithrombotic therapy was a significant protective factor against SVT after splenectomy.

CONCLUSIONS: SVT is common in liver cirrhosis after splenectomy and splenic artery embolization. Coagulation and hemostasis factors, anatomical factors, and surgery-related factors have been widely identified for the assessment of high risk of SVT after splenectomy. Prophylactic strategy after splenectomy, such as antithrombotic therapy, might be considered in such high-risk patients.

STUDY REGISTRATION: This study was registered in PROSPERO with a registration number of CRD42019129673.

PMID:33687650 | DOI:10.1007/s12325-021-01652-7

Eat Weight Disord. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s40519-021-01107-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Personality functioning is strongly linked to well-being in the general population. Yet, there is a lack of scientific knowledge about the pathways between personality trait facets and emotional, psychological and social well-being in ED patients. The general aim was to examine potential associations between maladaptive personality trait facets and the three main dimensions of well-being.

METHODS: Participants were 1187 female eating disorder patients who were referred for specialized treatment. Patients were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (31.7%), bulimia nervosa (21.7%), binge eating disorder (11%) and other specified eating disorders (35.5%). The Personality Inventory for the DSM 5 (PID-5) was used to measure 25 trait facets, and well-being was measured with the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF). Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were applied to examine potential associations between personality and well-being while controlling for background and illness characteristics.

RESULTS: Personality trait facets led to a statistically significant increase of the explained variance in emotional (38%), psychological (39%), and social well-being (26%) in addition to the background and illness characteristics. The personality trait facets anhedonia and depression were strongly associated with all three well-being dimensions.

CONCLUSION: Personality traits may play an essential role in the experience of well-being among patients with EDs. To promote overall mental health, it may be critical for clinicians to address relevant personality trait facets, such as anhedonia and depression, associated with well-being in treatment.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

PMID:33687655 | DOI:10.1007/s40519-021-01107-6

J Ultrasound. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s40477-021-00564-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonographic estimation of gestational age is done routinely by using fetal biometric parameters, such as the biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), abdominal circumference (AC), and head circumference (HC). Gestational dating by ultrasound is reliable in the 1st trimester, but discrepancies increase to more than 3 weeks in the 3rd trimester.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the accuracy of gestational age estimation by the transcerebellar diameter (TCD) in the 3rd trimester of singleton pregnancies whose gestational age is known.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NDMC Medical College and Hindu Rao Hospital, Delhi, India, from October 2017 to May 2019 after obtaining clearance from the ethical committee. The study included 100 women aged 18-35 years with singleton pregnancies in the 3rd trimester with a gestational age ≥ 28 weeks; the women provided informed consent and filled in an F-form to rule out any sex determination of the baby. Only those women who had regular menstrual cycles 6 months before conception, who were sure of their last menstrual period (LMP), who had a gestational dating scan done up to 14 weeks, and for whom congenital malformation of the fetus had been ruled out by mid-trimester ultrasound were included. Gestational age was obtained for the measured BPD, HC, AC, FL, and TCD. A paired t-test was used for the comparison between the period of gestation (POG) by the 1st ultrasonography (USG) and that by the AC, BPD, FL, HC, and TCD.

RESULTS: The estimation of gestational age by the BPD becomes gradually less reliable after 32 weeks of pregnancy, that by the HC and FL after 36 weeks, and that by the AC after 28 weeks. Regression analysis was used to find a correlation of the various parameters, such as the POG by the 1st USG, BPD, HC, AC, FL, and TCD, with the POG by LMP. The correlation coefficient (r), coefficient of determination (R²), and p values were calculated. Of all the sonographic parameters for the estimation of gestational age, the TCD showed the highest correlation (r = 0.979; p < 0.0001) and the AC the lowest correlation.

CONCLUSION: The mean difference between the estimate of gestational age by the TCD and that by the 1st trimester USG increased from ± 1 day at weeks 28-32 to ± 1-2 days at weeks 32-36 and further increased to ± 6 days after 36 weeks of pregnancy, which was statistically significant. This indicated that the TCD could estimate gestational age within 6 days of near-term pregnancy. Thus, the TCD was a reliable parameter for the estimation of gestational age within 6 days of near-term pregnancy along with routine biometry and an alternative parameter for the evaluation of gestational age when the LMP is not known.

PMID:33687690 | DOI:10.1007/s40477-021-00564-0

Front Med. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s11684-020-0824-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Tocilizumab has been reported to attenuate the “cytokine storm” in COVID-19 patients. We attempted to verify the effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab therapy in COVID-19 and identify patients most likely to benefit from this treatment. We conducted a randomized, controlled, open-label multicenter trial among COVID-19 patients. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either tocilizumab in addition to standard care or standard care alone. The cure rate, changes of oxygen saturation and interference, and inflammation biomarkers were observed. Thirty-three patients were randomized to the tocilizumab group, and 32 patients to the control group. The cure rate in the tocilizumab group was higher than that in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (94.12% vs. 87.10%, rate difference 95% CI-7.19%-21.23%, P = 0.4133). The improvement in hypoxia for the tocilizumab group was higher from day 4 onward and statistically significant from day 12 (P = 0.0359). In moderate disease patients with bilateral pulmonary lesions, the hypoxia ameliorated earlier after tocilizumab treatment, and less patients (1/12, 8.33%) needed an increase of inhaled oxygen concentration compared with the controls (4/6, 66.67%; rate difference 95% CI-99.17% to-17.50%, P = 0.0217). No severe adverse events occurred. More mild temporary adverse events were recorded in tocilizumab recipients (20/34, 58.82%) than the controls (4/31, 12.90%). Tocilizumab can improve hypoxia without unacceptable side effect profile and significant influences on the time virus load becomes negative. For patients with bilateral pulmonary lesions and elevated IL-6 levels, tocilizumab could be recommended to improve outcome.

PMID:33687643 | DOI:10.1007/s11684-020-0824-3

Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01678-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the depression, anxiety and stress status of health sector and community service workers who were actively working during the pandemic period.

METHODS: This is a descriptive study. A total of 735 people consisting of 426 health sector employees and 309 service sector employees, constituted the study sample. In this study, the data were collected using the personal information form and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). A regression model was established to test the effect of socio-demographic characteristics on depression, anxiety, and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS: While there was no difference in working a second job across different sectors (p = 0.450), the household income (p < 0.001) and the increase in expenditures during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001) were different across the sectors. The scores of the overall scale and its sub-dimensions were significantly different across the sectors (p < 0.001). The DASS-21 scores were higher in the participants, who started to smoke more and who had their sleep duration decreased (p < 0.001). There is a statistically significant difference between social media use and the DASS-21 score (p < 0.001). There is a significant difference across all DASS-21 subgroups by the daily working hours in the health sector (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Our study provides significant findings regarding the mental health of individuals who continued working during the pandemic. To implement effective mental health interventions to risk groups and affected people in the COVID-19 pandemic, the recommendations of leading organizations, including WHO and ILO, should be implemented effectively concerning occupational health.

PMID:33687541 | DOI:10.1007/s00420-021-01678-y

Clin Oral Investig. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-03841-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The mechanical disruption and removal of the subgingival biofilm represent the most important step in the treatment of periodontitis. However, in deep periodontal pockets, mechanical removal of the subgingival biofilm is difficult and frequently incomplete. Preliminary findings indicate that the use of amino acid buffered sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) gel may chemically destroy the bacterial biofilm and facilitate its mechanical removal.

OBJECTIVES: To clinically evaluate the efficacy of minimally invasive nonsurgical therapy (MINST) of periodontal pockets with or without local application of an amino acid buffered sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) gel.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty untreated patients diagnosed with severe/advanced periodontitis (i.e. stage III/IV) with a slow/moderate rate of progression (i.e. grade A/B) were randomly allocated in two treatment groups. In the test group, the periodontal pockets were treated by means of MINST and NaOCl gel application, while in the control group, treatment consisted of MINST alone. Full-mouth plaque scores (FMPS), full-mouth bleeding scores (FMBS), probing depths (PD), clinical attachment levels (CAL) and gingival recessions (GR) were assessed at baseline and at 6 months following therapy. The primary outcome variable was PD reduction at sites with PD ≥ 5 mm at baseline.

RESULTS: At 6 months, statistically significant differences between the two groups were found (p = 0.001) in terms of PD and CAL change. No statistically significant differences were found in terms of GR (p = 0.81). The number of sites with PD ≥ 5 mm and BOP (+) decreased statistically significantly (p = 0.001), i.e. from 85.3 to 2.2% in the test group and from 81.6 to 7.3% in the control group, respectively. Statistically significant differences between test and control groups were recorded at 6 months (p = 0.001). MINST + NaOCl compared to MINST alone decreased statistically significantly (p = 0.001) the probability of residual PDs ≥ 5 mm with BOP- (14.5% vs 18.3%) and BOP+ (2.2% vs. 7.2%).

CONCLUSIONS: Within their limits, the present results indicate that (a) the use of MINST may represent a clinically valuable approach for nonsurgical therapy and (b) the application of NaOCl gel in conjunction with MINST may additionally improve the clinical outcomes compared to the use of MINST alone.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In patients with untreated periodontitis, treatment of deep pockets by means of MINST in conjunction with a NaOCl gel may represent a valuable approach to additionally improve the clinical outcomes obtained with MINST alone.

PMID:33687555 | DOI:10.1007/s00784-021-03841-8

Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s00508-021-01831-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and postresuscitation care in the intensive care unit (ICU) are standardized procedures; however, there is evidence suggesting sex-dependent differences in clinical management and outcome variables after cardiac arrest (CA).

METHODS: A prospective analysis of patients who were hospitalized at a medical ICU after CPR between December 2018 and March 2020 was conducted. Exclusion criteria were age < 18 years, hospital length of stay < 24 h and traumatic CA. The primary study endpoint was mortality after 6 months and the secondary endpoint neurological outcome assessed by cerebral performance category (CPC). Differences between groups were calculated by using U‑tests and χ²-tests, for survival analysis both univariate and multivariable Cox regression were fitted.

RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were included and the majority were male (71.7%). No statistically significant difference regarding 6‑month mortality between sexes could be shown (hazard risk, HR 0.68, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.35-1.34; p = 0.27). Neurological outcome was also similar between both groups (CPC 1 88% in both sexes after 6 months; p = 1.000). There were no statistically significant differences regarding general characteristics, pre-existing diseases, as well as the majority of clinical and laboratory parameters or measures performed on the ICU.

CONCLUSION: In a single center CPR database no statistically significant sex-specific differences regarding post-resuscitation care, survival and neurological outcome after 6 months were observed.

PMID:33687563 | DOI:10.1007/s00508-021-01831-0

Arch Dermatol Res. 2021 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s00403-021-02211-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The association between bullous pemphigoid (BP) and melanoma is yet to be investigated. We aimed to assess assess the bidirectional association between BP and melanoma and to delineate the epidemiological features of patients with both diagnoses. A population-based cohort study was performed comparing BP patients (n = 3924) with age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched control subjects (n = 19,280) with regard to incident cases of melanoma. A case-control design was additionally adopted to estimate the risk of BP in individuals with a preexisting diagnosis of melanoma. The prevalence of preexisting melanoma was higher in patients with BP than in control subjects (1.5% vs. 1.0%, respectively; P = 0.004). A history of melanoma confers a 50% increase in the risk of subsequent BP (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.14-2.06). This risk was higher among males (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.09-2.54) and individuals older than 80 years (OR 1.63; 95% CI 1.11-2.38), and persisted after adjustment for multiple putative confounders including PD-1/PDL-1 antagonists (adjusted OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.14-2.06). Conversely, the risk of melanoma among patients with BP was slightly elevated, but did not reach the level of statistical significance (adjusted HR 1.13; 95% CI 0.73-1.74). Patients with a dual diagnosis of BP and melanoma were older at the onset of BP and had lower body mass index. A history of melanoma is associated with a 50% increase in the incidence of subsequent BP. Physicians managing patients with both conditions should be aware of this association. Further research is warranted to reveal the underlying mechanism of these findings.

PMID:33687539 | DOI:10.1007/s00403-021-02211-4

Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2021 Mar 8. doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01681-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To identify the factors affecting teachers’ vocal acoustic parameters, with the aim of detecting individuals at risk of phonotrauma.

METHOD: The voicing time, voice sound pressure level [SPL] and fundamental frequency [f_o] of 87 teachers were measured during one workweek using a voice dosimeter. We retrospectively investigated the impact of 10 factors (gender, age, teaching experience, teaching level, tobacco, gastro-esophageal problems, nonoccupational voice activity, voice education, past voice problems, and biopsychosocial impact of voice problems measured using the Voice Handicap Index [VHI]) on each voice parameter.

RESULTS: None of the above factors affected voicing time or SPL. f_o depended significantly on gender, teaching level, nonoccupational voice activity and VHI score. Specifically, f_o was higher in women (Δ = 69 Hz), in individuals without nonoccupational voice activities (Δ = 11 Hz), and in individuals with a lower VHI score (increase of 0.7 Hz for each additional point). For females, post hoc comparisons revealed a substantial impact of teaching level on f_o: university instructors had deeper voices than kindergarten (Δ = 66 Hz), elementary (Δ = 52 Hz), or secondary teachers (Δ = 41 Hz).

CONCLUSIONS: Since higher f_o increases the mechanical stress related to vocal fold vibration, the screening and prevention of phonotrauma should focus primarily on women, particularly those who teach at lower levels, and teachers with more self-rated voice problems. The lower f_o of teachers who engage in nonprofessional voice activities may suggest acute inflammation or muscle fatigue due to voice overload.

PMID:33686473 | DOI:10.1007/s00420-021-01681-3