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Polish Journal of Radiology 2024To assess the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) recombinant images in detecting malignant lesions in patients with extremely dense breasts compared to...
Comparison of the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced mammography in detecting malignant lesions in patients with extremely dense breasts compared to the all-densities population.
PURPOSE
To assess the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) recombinant images in detecting malignant lesions in patients with extremely dense breasts compared to the all-densities population.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
792 patients with 808 breast lesions, in whom the final decision on core-needle biopsy was made based on CEM, and who received the result of histopathological examination, were qualified for a single-centre, retrospective study. Patient electronic records and imaging examinations were reviewed to establish demographics, clinical and imaging findings, and histopathology results. The CEM images were reassessed and assigned to the appropriate American College of Radiology (ACR) density categories.
RESULTS
Extremely dense breasts were present in 86 (10.9%) patients. Histopathological examination confirmed the presence of malignant lesions in 52.6% of cases in the entire group of patients and 43% in the group of extremely dense breasts. CEM incorrectly classified the lesion as false negative in 16/425 (3.8%) cases for the whole group, and in 1/37 (2.7%) cases for extremely dense breasts. The sensitivity of CEM for the group of all patients was 96.2%, specificity - 60%, positive predictive values (PPV) - 72.8%, and negative predictive values (NPV) - 93.5%. In the group of patients with extremely dense breasts, the sensitivity of the method was 97.3%, specificity - 59.2%, PPV - 64.3%, and NPV - 96.7%.
CONCLUSIONS
CEM is characterised by high sensitivity and NPV in detecting malignant lesions regardless of the type of breast density. In patients with extremely dense breasts, CEM could serve as a complementary or additional examination in the absence or low availability of MRI.
PubMed: 38938658
DOI: 10.5114/pjr/186180 -
Scientifica 2024Arruda (Anacardiaceae), popularly known as umbuzeiro or imbuzeiro, is a fruit tree native to the semiarid region of Brazil. The extractive harvesting of its fruits...
Arruda (Anacardiaceae), popularly known as umbuzeiro or imbuzeiro, is a fruit tree native to the semiarid region of Brazil. The extractive harvesting of its fruits contributes significantly to the economy, generating an annual revenue of approximately $4,2 million. The present study aimed to assess the spatial pattern, allometric variations, fruit measurements, and genetic diversity of trees within a remaining forest of the Caatinga biome, with a focus on intrapopulation analysis. We used intersimple repeated sequence markers and the second-order function density of neighbours to determine the genetic and spatial structure. The density of neighbours was highest within a 10-meter radius. Biometric analyses revealed average fruit lengths of 31.12 mm (±0.22), diameters of 28.68 mm (±0.25), and fresh masses of 15.56 g (±0.33). Diaspores exhibited an average length, diameter, and thickness of 19.27 mm, 13.95 mm, and 11.14 mm, respectively, with a fresh mass of 2.28 g. Notably, the fresh mass demonstrated the highest coefficient of variation. Ten molecular markers were selected, generating 103 highly polymorphic loci (99.03%) with an average informative content of 0.45. Nei's diversity index (0.37) and Shannon's index (0.55) indicated moderate genetic diversity. Furthermore, Bayesian analysis revealed a population structure with two distinct genetic groups. The Infinite Allele and Mutation Step Models suggested a significant historical decline in population size, indicative of a genetic bottleneck. As a result, proactive in situ conservation strategies, including establishing protected natural areas, become essential, considering the socioeconomic significance of the species. Additionally, it is recommended to establish germplasm banks for ex situ conservation and the development of managed cultivation initiatives to reduce the pressure on native populations of caused by extraction.
PubMed: 38938543
DOI: 10.1155/2024/5023974 -
JACC. Advances Oct 2023In recent decades, adults living with congenital heart disease (ACHD) have improved their survival, thus increasing their predisposition to the onset of cardiometabolic...
BACKGROUND
In recent decades, adults living with congenital heart disease (ACHD) have improved their survival, thus increasing their predisposition to the onset of cardiometabolic risk factors and chronic health conditions.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to describe cardiometabolic risk profiles in the ACHD population and their relationship to congenital heart disease (CHD) lesion complexity.
METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study from ACHD in a third-tier referral center in Mexico City. The association between cardiometabolic risk factors and CHD complexity was estimated using logistic regression models.
RESULTS
Our study cohort included 1,171 ACHD patients (median age: 31 [IQR: 23.2-42.7] years, male 63.6%). Cardiac diagnosis was classified as mild (44.9%), moderate (37.8%), and severe (17.2%) CHD complexity. Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (55%) was the most common cardiometabolic risk factor; followed by insulin resistance (54.5%) and prediabetes (52.4%). Patients with mild and moderate CHD had a higher prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, while patients with severe CHD had a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia and subclinical hypothyroidism. In the logistic regression analysis, the severity of CHD was associated with higher odds of hyperuricemia (moderate CHD, OR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.20-2.93; = 0.010; severe CHD, OR: 2.75; 95% CI: 1.64-4.62; < 0.001) and lower risks of metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41-0.91; = 0.010), prediabetes (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.42-0.81; < 0.001), and arterial hypertension (OR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.33-0.74; < 0.001) compared with mild CHD complexity.
CONCLUSIONS
We observed high rates of cardiometabolic risk factors in Mexican ACHD patients and these risk profiles varied by CHD lesion complexity. These results highlight the need for ongoing metabolic health surveillance in the ACHD population.
PubMed: 38938341
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2023.100596 -
Lipids in Health and Disease Jun 2024The final decision to fast or not fast for routine lipid profile examination in a standard, healthy population is unclear. Whereas the United States and European... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
The final decision to fast or not fast for routine lipid profile examination in a standard, healthy population is unclear. Whereas the United States and European protocols state that fasting for regular lipid analysis is unnecessary, the North American and Chinese guidelines still recommend fasting before routine lipid testing.
AIM
This study aimed to unravel the contradiction between the different protocols of lipid profile testing worldwide and clarify the effect of diet on lipid profile testing only in a regular, healthy population.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted through May 2024. The analyses included studies performed from the date 2000 until now because the contradiction of guidelines for lipid profile testing appeared for the first time in this period. A planned internal validity evaluation was performed using the National Institute of Health (NIH) quality measurement tools for observational cohort, case‒control, controlled interventional, and cross-sectional studies. The data were synthesized according to RevMan 5.3.
RESULTS
Eight studies with a total of 244,665 participants were included. The standardized mean difference in cholesterol in six studies showed significant differences in overall effect among fasting and nonfasting states (P < 0.00001), as did high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.00001). At the same time, with respect to triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, there were notable variations in the overall effect between the fasted and nonfasted states (P < 0.00001 and P ≤ 0.001, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
This meta-analysis concluded that fasting for lipid profile testing is preferred as a conservative model to reduce variability and increase consistency in patients' metabolic status when sampling for lipid testing.
Topics: Humans; Fasting; Triglycerides; Cholesterol, LDL; Cholesterol, HDL; Lipids; Female; Male; Adult
PubMed: 38937752
DOI: 10.1186/s12944-024-02169-y -
Experimental & Applied Acarology Jun 2024The adoption of the European Green Deal will limit acaricide use in high value crops like raspberry, to be replaced by biological control and other alternative...
The adoption of the European Green Deal will limit acaricide use in high value crops like raspberry, to be replaced by biological control and other alternative strategies. More basic knowledge on mites in such crops is then necessary, like species, density, and their role as vectors of plant diseases. This study had four aims, focusing on raspberry leaves at northern altitude: (1) identify mite species; (2) study mite population densities; (3) investigate mite intra-plant distribution; (4) investigate co-occurrence of phytophagous mites, raspberry leaf blotch disorder and raspberry leaf blotch virus (RLBV). Four sites in south-eastern Norway were sampled five times. Floricanes from different parts of the sites were collected, taking one leaf from each of the upper, middle, and bottom zones of the cane. Mites were extracted with a washing technique and processed for species identification and RLBV detection. Mites and leaves were tested for RLBV by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with virus-specific primers. Phytophagous mites, Phyllocoptes gracilis, Tetranychus urticae, and Neotetranychus rubi, and predatory mites, Anystis baccarum and Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) pyri were identified. All phytophagous mites in cultivated raspberry preferred the upper zone of floricanes, while in non-cultivated raspberry, they preferred the middle zone. The presence of phytophagous mites did not lead to raspberry leaf blotch disorder during this study. RLBV was detected in 1.3% of the sampled plants, none of them with leaf blotch symptoms, and in 4.3% of P. gracilis samples, and in some spider mite samples, implying that Tetranychids could also be vectors of RLBV.
PubMed: 38937376
DOI: 10.1007/s10493-024-00930-7 -
Journal of Integrative Medicine Jun 2024This study was conducted to identify the number and density of active licensed acupuncturists (LAcs), as well as the number of accredited schools in acupuncture and...
This study was conducted to identify the number and density of active licensed acupuncturists (LAcs), as well as the number of accredited schools in acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM), as of January 1, 2023, in the United States (U.S.). The number of active LAcs as of January 1, 2023 was 34,524, potentially 33,364 after removing license duplication in multiple states, among which the largest three states were California (with 7317 LAcs [21.19% of the total]), New York (5024 [14.55%]) and Florida (2644 [7.66%]). The total number of LAcs decreased by 8.87% from 2018, and fell short of our projected number of LAcs in 2023 by 9037, or 20.75%. The overall LAc density in the U.S.-measured as the number of LAcs per 100,000 population-was 10.36, less than in 2018. There were 56 active, accredited AOM schools which offered a total of 147 programs (121 at the level necessary for licensing [entry-level], 12 for an advanced practicing degree [advanced-level], and 14 for certifications). Broken down further, offerings included 50 master's degrees in acupuncture, 40 master's degrees in Oriental medicine, 31 entry-level doctorate degrees (10 in acupuncture and 21 in acupuncture plus Chinese herbal medicine), and 12 advanced-level doctorate degrees in AOM. The certification programs included one in East-Asian Medical Bodywork and 13 in CHM. Among these schools in 2023, institutions in the West and East Coast states comprised 67.86% (decreased from 77.42% in 2018) of the national total. California, Florida and Illinois represented 39.29%. There were 48 jurisdictions with acupuncture practice laws in place. The data suggests that the acupuncture profession in the U.S. has been significantly impacted during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Please cite this article as: Fan AY, He DG, Sangraula A, Alemi SF, Matecki A. Distribution of licensed acupuncturists and educational institutions in the United States at the start of 2023, during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. J Integr Med. 2024; Epub ahead of print.
PubMed: 38937157
DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2024.06.002 -
Mathematical Biosciences Jun 2024The notion of the fitness of a strategy has been assimilated as the reproductive success in the evolutionary game. Initially, this fitness was tied to the game's pay-off...
The notion of the fitness of a strategy has been assimilated as the reproductive success in the evolutionary game. Initially, this fitness was tied to the game's pay-off and the strategy's relative frequency. However, density dependence becomes exigent in order to make ecologically reliable fitness. However, the contributions of each different type of interaction to the species' overall growth process were surprisingly under-explored. This oversight has occasionally led to either more or less prediction of strategy selection compared to the actual possibility. Moreover, density regulation of the population has always been analyzed in a general way compared to strategy selection. In this context, our study introduces the concept of mean relative death payoff, which helps in assessing interaction intensity coefficients and integrates them into strategic fitness. Based on this fitness function, we develop the frequency-density replicator dynamics, which eventually provides distinguishing criteria for cyandirectional and balancing selection. Our optimized, evolutionarily stable strategy emerges as a superior alternative to the conventional trade-off between selection forces and ecological processes. More significantly, mean relative death pay-off has both conditional and quantitative roles in getting a stable population size. As a case study, we have extensively analyzed the evolution of aggression using the Hawk-Dove game. We have shown that pure Dove selection is always beneficial for species growth rather than pure Hawk selection, and the condition of selection is dependent on external mortality pressure. However, the condition of coexistence is independent of external mortality pressure, representing a strong evolutionary selection that optimizes population density governed by interaction intensity.
PubMed: 38936543
DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2024.109241 -
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology Jun 2024We introduce a model that can be used for the description of the distribution of species when there is scarcity of data, based on our previous work (Ballesteros et al. J...
We introduce a model that can be used for the description of the distribution of species when there is scarcity of data, based on our previous work (Ballesteros et al. J Math Biol 85(4):31, 2022). We address challenges in modeling species that are seldom observed in nature, for example species included in The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2023). We introduce a general method and test it using a case study of a near threatened species of amphibians called Plectrohyla Guatemalensis (see IUCN 2023) in a region of the UNESCO natural reserve "Tacaná Volcano", in the border between Mexico and Guatemala. Since threatened species are difficult to find in nature, collected data can be extremely reduced. This produces a mathematical problem in the sense that the usual modeling in terms of Markov random fields representing individuals associated to locations in a grid generates artificial clusters around the observations, which are unreasonable. We propose a different approach in which our random variables describe yearly averages of expectation values of the number of individuals instead of individuals (and they take values on a compact interval). Our approach takes advantage of intuitive insights from environmental properties: in nature individuals are attracted or repulsed by specific features (Ballesteros et al. J Math Biol 85(4):31, 2022). Drawing inspiration from quantum mechanics, we incorporate quantum Hamiltonians into classical statistical mechanics (i.e. Gibbs measures or Markov random fields). The equilibrium between spreading and attractive/repulsive forces governs the behavior of the species, expressed through a global control problem involving an energy operator.
Topics: Animals; Endangered Species; Mathematical Concepts; Models, Biological; Mexico; Conservation of Natural Resources; Guatemala; Markov Chains; Population Density; Anura; Ecosystem; Animal Distribution; Population Dynamics
PubMed: 38935181
DOI: 10.1007/s11538-024-01315-y -
Journal of the American Heart... Jul 2024The association between soy isoflavones intake and cardiometabolic health remains inconclusive. We investigated the associations of urinary biomarkers of isoflavones...
BACKGROUND
The association between soy isoflavones intake and cardiometabolic health remains inconclusive. We investigated the associations of urinary biomarkers of isoflavones including daidzein, glycitein, genistein, equol (a gut microbial metabolite of daidzein), and equol-predicting microbial species with cardiometabolic risk markers.
METHODS AND RESULTS
In a 1-year study of 305 Chinese community-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years, urinary isoflavones, fecal microbiota, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids, and anthropometric data were measured twice, 1 year apart. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was also measured after 1 year. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze repeated measurements. Logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% CI for the associations for arterial stiffness. Each 1 μg/g creatinine increase in urinary equol concentrations was associated with 1.47%, 0.96%, and 3.32% decrease in triglycerides, plasma atherogenic index, and metabolic syndrome score, respectively (all <0.05), and 0.61% increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (=0.025). Urinary equol was also associated with lower risk of arterial stiffness (aOR, 0.28 [95% CI, 0.09-0.90]; =0.036). We identified 21 bacterial genera whose relative abundance was positively associated with urinary equol (false discovery rate-corrected <0.05) and constructed a microbial species score to reflect the overall equol-predicting capacity. This score (per 1-point increase) was inversely associated with triglycerides (percentage difference=-1.48%), plasma atherogenic index (percentage difference=-0.85%), and the risk of arterial stiffness (aOR, 0.27 [95% CI, 0.08-0.88]; all <0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that urinary equol and equol-predicting microbial species may improve cardiometabolic risk parameters in Chinese adults.
Topics: Humans; Equol; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors; Biomarkers; China; Adult; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Vascular Stiffness; Cardiovascular Diseases; Risk Assessment; Isoflavones; Feces; East Asian People
PubMed: 38934874
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.034126 -
MSystems Jun 2024Gut microbiota of the bumblebee is critical as it modulates the health and fitness of the host. However, the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of the...
UNLABELLED
Gut microbiota of the bumblebee is critical as it modulates the health and fitness of the host. However, the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of the diversity of bumblebee gut bacteria over a long period of evolution have yet to be elucidated. In particular, the gut bacterial diversity and community assembly processes of across the Chinese border remain unclear. In this study, we systematically carried out unprecedented sampling of 513 workers of the species across the Chinese landscape and used full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine their gut microbiota diversity and biogeography. The gut microbiota composition and community structure of from different geographical locations were diverse. On the whole, the gut bacteria and are dominant in bumblebees, but opportunistic pathogens and are dominant in some sampling sites such as Hb15, Gs1, Gs45, Qhs15, and Ssx35. All or part of environmental factors such as latitude, annual mean temperature, elevation, human footprint, population density, and annual precipitation can affect the alpha diversity and community structure of gut bacteria. Further analysis showed that the assembly and shift of bumblebee gut bacterial communities under geographical variation were mainly driven by the stochastic drift of the neutral process rather than by variable selection of niche differentiation. In conclusion, our unprecedented sampling uncovers bumblebee gut microbiome diversity and shifts over evolutionary time.
IMPORTANCE
The microbiotas associated with organisms facilitates host health and fitness, and the homeostasis status of gut microbiota also reflects the habitat security faced by the host. In addition, managing gut microbiota is important to improve bumblebee health by understanding the ecological process of the gut microbiome. Thus, we first carried out an runprecedented sampling of 513 workers of the species across the Chinese landscape and used full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to uncover their gut microbiota diversity and biogeography. Our study provides new insights into the understanding of gut microbiome diversity and shifts for Chinese Bumblebee over evolutionary time.
PubMed: 38934544
DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00459-24