Logistic regression models for predicting physical and mental health-related quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis patients

The aim of this work was to develop two logistic regression models capable of predicting physical and mental health related quality of life (HRQOL) among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In this cross-sectional study which was conducted during 2006 in the outpatient rheumatology clinic of our university hospital, Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used for HRQOL measurements in 411 RA patients. A cutoff point to define poor versus good HRQOL was calculated using the first quartiles of SF-36 physical and mental component scores (33.4 and 36.8, respectively). Two distinct logistic regression models were used to derive predictive variables including demographic, clinical, and psychological factors. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of each model were calculated. Poor physical HRQOL was positively associated with pain score, disease duration, monthly family income below 300 US$, comorbidity, patient global assessment of disease activity or PGA, and depression (odds ratios: 1.1; 1.004; 15.5; 1.1; 1.02; 2.08, respectively). The variables that entered into the poor mental HRQOL prediction model were monthly family income below 300 US$, comorbidity, PGA, and bodily pain (odds ratios: 6.7; 1.1; 1.01; 1.01, respectively). Optimal sensitivity and specificity were achieved at a cutoff point of 0.39 for the estimated probability of poor physical HRQOL and 0.18 for mental HRQOL. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the physical and mental models were 73.8, 87, 83.7% and 90.38, 70.36, 75.43%, respectively. The results show that the suggested models can be used to predict poor physical and mental HRQOL separately among RA patients using simple variables with acceptable accuracy. These models can be of use in the clinical decision-making of RA patients and to recognize patients with poor physical or mental HRQOL in advance, for better management.     

Bandgaps of noble and transition metal/ZIF-8 electro/catalysts: a computational study

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are designed with metals as center atoms, connected by imidazole-like linkers. The created structures have been employed considerably in the field of advanced energy materials, including catalysis/electrocatalysis and energy storage and harvesting applications. In the present study, the bandgaps of pristine and doped ZIF-8 (using noble and transition metal dopants such as Pd, Pt, Ni, Mn, Co, Cu, Fe, and Ti) are determined. This can result in a promising approach to enhance the corresponding electronic properties while applying noble metal-free dopants. To determine the bandgap values, a quantum mechanical modeling based on density functional theory (DFT) was applied. Then, due to the time-consuming and complicated nature of this approach, the obtained results from the DFT study were then employed to develop the support vector machine (SVM) model to estimate the bandgap of the resulting nanostructure. The outcomes of the proposed model showed its high accuracy, with R² of 0.98 and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.04. The developed model could have great value in designing various ZIF-8-based nanostructures, particularly when applied in electro/catalytic reactions, e.g., electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction or catalytic hydrogenation reaction, through a simple approach.

Band gap estimation for metal/ZIF-8 framework electro/catalysts by hybrid DFT and machine learning technique.     

Effects of visual and cognitive interference on joint contributions in perturbed standing: a temporal and spectral analysis

Postural balance requires using joint strategies which may be changed from normal conditions by interfering with the sensory information. The goal of the present study was to quantitatively evaluate the role of the joint mechanisms during perturbed stance. Visual and cognitive interference was imposed to sixteen healthy young males under rotational toes-down or up perturbations. Power spectral analysis was employed to distinguish the joint contribution and their in- or out-phase co-works. Results showed that addition of cognitive loads reduce the stability by increasing the center of mass (CoM) power to three times greater. Besides the CoM, the knee and hip powers were also significantly enhanced by the cognitive loads (p?<?.004), but the ankle was not influenced by cognition involvement (p?>?.05). Elimination of the vision had lower effect on the time and spectral functions of the knee and hip while the ankle rotations were increased due to the lack of visual feedback (p?=?.001). The toes-down perturbations resulted in more prominent contribution of the knee while the toes-up evoked the hip joint to keep the balance more than the other joints. Addition of the cognitive loads hindered the reactions of the joint mechanisms and vision caused more conservative responses of the joints.     

Application of CMAP scan for the evaluation of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy: a prospective study

AimsWe aimed to assess the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) scan in the follow-up of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) patients and investigate the correlation of CMAP scan parameters with functional and standard electrodiagnostic tests.MethodsWe evaluated four parameters of abductor pollicis brevis (APB) CMAP scan (i.e., step numbers, step percentage, S10, S90), functional measures (e.g., Medical Research Council Sum Scores), and electrodiagnostic tests, including nerve conduction study (NCS) and motor NCS of the median nerve in the baseline and after six months of treatment.ResultsTwenty patients completed baseline clinical and electrodiagnostic studies. However, sixteen patients completed the follow-up study. The median of step numbers at baseline was 3.5 (2–4.2), which decreased to 2.5 (0–3) (p = 0.005). After the treatment, step percentage reduced from 28.6 (23.9–38.7) to 13.4 (0–23.6) (p = 0.001). The scores obtained from the clinical scales showed significant recovery of most of the functions, while the alterations of NCSS and NCS of the median nerve were not significant.ConclusionsWe found a significant reduction in step number and step percentage after follow-up. This alteration was not reflected in standard electrodiagnostic values. The improvement of functional scales alongside the CMAP scan parameters suggests that the CMAP scan could be considered an appropriate outcome measurement in research and clinical fields.     

锥形束CT在颌骨囊性疾病诊断中的意义

目的探讨锥形束计算机体层摄影术(CBCT)在口腔颌面部囊性疾病诊断中的临床价值。方法收集53例颌骨囊性病变病例的CBCT影像资料,利用CBCT三维影像重建技术,观察颌骨囊性病变与牙根累及的关系、牙根吸收情况、病变内含牙、以及病变与下颌神经管、鼻底、上颌窦的关系等,并在术中进行验证。结果 CBCT能清晰的显示颌骨囊性病变与牙根的相互累及关系,埋伏牙相关信息以及病变与颌骨内重要结构的空间位移情况。结论 CBCT扫描能够全面提供颌骨囊性病变的影像学信息,可为颌面外科的临床手术提供可靠依据。     

Oral care interventions in critical care: frequency and documentation.

BACKGROUND: No data have been collected to describe the products, methods, and frequency of oral care needed to reduce dental plaque, oral colonization, and ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency of use of oral care interventions reported by nurses in several intensive care units in a large southeastern medical center. METHODS: Staff members completed a written survey describing their oral care practices, and oral care interventions were recorded from the unit's flow sheet for the previous 24 hours for all patients at 5 randomly selected times during 1 month. RESULTS: Most respondents (75%) reported providing oral care 2 or 3 times daily for nonintubated patients, and 72% reported providing care 5 times daily or more for intubated patients. However, oral care was documented on the unit's flow sheet a mean of 1.2 times per patient. Reported use of toothpaste and a toothbrush was significantly greater in nonintubated patients (P < .001), and use of a sponge toothette was significantly greater in intubated patients (P < .001). Nurses' mean rating of oral care priority was 53.9 on a 100-point scale. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence that they are ineffective for plaque removal, sponge toothettes remain the primary tool for oral care, especially in intubated patients in intensive care units. Nurses report frequent oral care interventions, but few are documented. Education and focus on good oral care strategies are required; nursing research to delineate the best procedure for all patients in intensive care units is needed.