Stature estimation for Saudi men based on different combinations of upper limb part dimensions

Estimating stature based on body/limb parts can help define the characteristics of unidentified bodies. The most studied upper limb part is the hand, although few studies have examined whether stature can be estimated using fingers plus other hand dimensions. Moreover, there is paucity in anthropometric studies that determined whether bilateral whole limb parts (e.g., arms, forearms, and hands) are related to stature among the living subjects.This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the relationship between different upper limb measurements and the stature of Saudi men. Furthermore, I assessed whether upper limb asymmetry was present, and developed regression models to estimate stature based on different available measurements. Stature and 13 upper limb parameters were measured for 100 right-handed Saudi men who were 18 to 24 years old.All measurements were positively correlated with stature (P < .001), and the best single predictor was the bilateral ulnar length. Asymmetry was more pronounced in the hand measurements. A multiparameter model provided reasonable predictive accuracy (±3.77–5.68 cm) and was more accurate than single-parameter models. Inclusion of the right-side fingers improved the model''s accuracy.This study developed potential models for estimating stature during the identification of bodies of Saudi men.     

Redox active or thiol reactive? Optimization of rapid screens to identify less evident nuisance compounds

Compounds that exhibit assay interference or undesirable mechanisms of bioactivity are routinely encountered in assays at various stages of drug discovery. We observed that assays for the investigation of thiol-reactive and redox-active compounds have not been collected in a comprehensive review. Here, we review these assays and subject them to experimental optimization to improve their reliability. We demonstrate the usefulness of our assay cascade by assaying a library of bioactive compounds, chemical probes, and a set of approved drugs. These high-throughput assays should complement the array of wet-lab and in silico assays during the initial stages of hit discovery campaigns to pursue only hit compounds with tractable mechanisms of action.     

Quantile regression and empirical likelihood for the analysis of longitudinal data with monotone missing responses due to dropout,with applications to quality of life measurements from clinical trials

The analysis of quality of life (QoL) data can be challenging due to the skewness of responses and the presence of missing data. In this paper, we propose a new weighted quantile regression method for estimating the conditional quantiles of QoL data with responses missing at random. The proposed method makes use of the correlation information within the same subject from an auxiliary mean regression model to enhance the estimation efficiency and takes into account of missing data mechanism. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator have been studied and simulations are also conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed estimator. The proposed method has also been applied to the analysis of the QoL data from a clinical trial on early breast cancer, which motivated this study.     

Changes in the Management of Patients having Radical Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK

AimsIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines on reduced fractionation for patients treated with curative-intent radiotherapy were published, aimed at reducing the number of hospital attendances and potential exposure of vulnerable patients to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection. We describe the changes that took place in the management of patients with stage I–III lung cancer from April to October 2020.Materials and methodsLung Radiotherapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVID-RT Lung) is a prospective multicentre UK cohort study. The inclusion criteria were: patients with stage I–III lung cancer referred for and/or treated with radical radiotherapy between 2nd April and 2nd October 2020. Patients who had had a change in their management and those who continued with standard management were included. Data on demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, diagnostic work-up, radiotherapy and systemic treatment were collected and reported as counts and percentages. Patient characteristics associated with a change in treatment were analysed using multivariable binary logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 1553 patients were included (median age 72 years, 49% female); 93 (12%) had a change to their diagnostic investigation and 528 (34%) had a change to their treatment from their centre's standard of care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Age ≥70 years, male gender and stage III disease were associated with a change in treatment on multivariable analysis. Patients who had their treatment changed had a median of 15 fractions of radiotherapy compared with a median of 20 fractions in those who did not have their treatment changed. Low rates of COVID-19 infection were seen during or after radiotherapy, with only 21 patients (1.4%) developing the disease.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes to patient treatment in line with national recommendations. The main change was an increase in hypofractionation. Further work is ongoing to analyse the impact of these changes on patient outcomes.     

Outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with heart failure with a midrange ejection fraction

BackgroundCoronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improves survival in patients with heart failure and severely reduced left ventricular systolic function (LVEF). Limited data exist regarding adverse cardiovascular event rates after CABG in patients with heart failure with midrange ejection fraction (HFmrEF; LVEF > 40% and < 55%).MethodsWe analyzed data on isolated CABG patients from the Veterans Affairs national database (2010-2019). We stratified patients into control (normal LVEF and no heart failure), HFmrEF, and heart failure with reduced LVEF (HFrEF) groups. We compared all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalization rates between groups with a Cox model and recurrent events analysis, respectively.ResultsIn 6533 veterans, HFmrEF and HFrEF was present in 1715 (26.3%) and 566 (8.6%) respectively; the control group had 4252 (65.1%) patients. HFrEF patients were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (59%), insulin therapy (36%), and previous myocardial infarction (31%). Anemia was more prevalent in patients with HFrEF (49%) as was a lower serum albumin (mean, 3.6 mg/dL). Compared with the control group, a higher risk of death was observed in the HFmrEF (hazard ratio [HR], 1.3 [1.2-1.5)] and HFrEF (HR, 1.5 [1.2-1.7]) groups. HFmrEF patients had the higher risk of myocardial infarction (subdistribution HR, 1.2 [1-1.6]; P = .04). Risk of heart failure hospitalization was higher in patients with HFmrEF (HR, 4.1 [3.5-4.7]) and patients with HFrEF (HR, 7.2 [6.2-8.5]).ConclusionsHeart failure with midrange ejection fraction negatively affects survival after CABG. These patients also experience higher rates myocardial infarction and heart failure hospitalization.     

2009-2019年西安市肺结核流行特征及治疗转归分析

目的 了解2009-2019年西安市肺结核的流行特征及治疗转归情况，为完善西安市肺结核防治策略提供依据。方法 收集2009-2019年《传染病信息管理系统》中登记的肺结核患者病案信息数据，通过描述性研究方法对肺结核流行病学特征和治疗转归情况进行分析。结果 2009-2019年间西安市肺结核年平均发病率为49.06/10万。郊县、郊区、城区肺结核年平均发病率分别为54.13/10万、47.46/10万和46.19/10万；男性发病率是女性的1.85倍。职业分布排在前5位的为农民（47.48%），家政、家务及待业（14.65%），离退人员（9.55%），学生（8.63%）和工人（5.23%）。利福平敏感或耐药性未知患者的成功治疗率平均为98.03%，利福平耐药患者治疗成功率为51.47%。结论 西安市近年来肺结核发病率和治疗率呈增长趋势，利福平耐药患者治疗成功率较低，要加强对重点人群的健康促进工作，加大肺结核发现力度及患者治疗管理工作。     

新生儿重症监护病房中重症肺炎多种菌感染相关因素分析

目的分析新生儿重症监护病房(NICU)中重症肺炎新生儿多种菌感染危险因素。方法回顾分析2014年1月至2019年5月收入NICU的1 057例重症细菌肺炎新生儿的临床资料,分析其多种菌感染的危险因素。结果单因素分析显示,胎龄(37周)、出生体质量(2 500 g)、发病日龄(7 d)、羊水污染(Ⅱ、Ⅲ度)、感染类型(医院感染)、住院时间(≥14天)、机械通气、Apagar评分(7分)、胎膜早破、抗菌药物使用天数(≥10天)、更换抗菌药物(≥3种)、联合使用抗菌药物(≥3种)12个因素是NICU中重症肺炎新生儿多种菌感染的危险因素,差异有统计学意义(P均0.05)。多因素分析显示,更换抗菌药物(≥3种)、Apagar评分(7分)、感染类型(医院感染)、机械通气、羊水污染(Ⅱ、Ⅲ度)是NICU中重症肺炎新生儿多种菌感染的独立危险因素(P0.05)。结论临床应针对主要危险因素采取综合防控措施,减少NICU新生儿重症肺炎多种菌感染。     

Differentiating benign from malignant cardiac tumors with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

Background

The purpose of this analysis is to describe the differences in cardiac magnetic resonance characteristics between benign and malignant tumors, which would be helpful for surgical planning.