Understanding NO2 Concentration Dynamics within Tema Metropolitan Area of Ghana Using Generalized Linear Model

The concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is worsening across the globe alongside growth in industrial and general anthropogenic activities. Due to its serious health implications with long-term exposure, studies on NO2 concentration have gained space in the academic literature. In this study, awareness is created on the levels of NO2 across four (4) locations within the Tema Metropolitan area, with specific interest in selecting locations and periods significantly saturated with NO2 within the study area. NO2 was measured using RKI Eagle, an instrument with a built-in sensor for a specific gas measurement. Measurements were taken day and night at sampling points around 100 meters apart in each location. Data collection was performed over a nine (9)-month period. The Generalized Linear model is explored for selecting locations and periods significantly affected by NO2. From the results, the fourth week (26th–31st) of July 2020, the fourth week (27th–31st) of December 2020, the first week (1st–7th) of January 2021, and the fourth week (24th–31st) of January 2021 recorded severe concentrations of NO2. Additionally, the lives of residents in the Oil Jetty and the VALVO hospital areas were found to be the most endangered, as they recorded significantly high concentrations of NO2. In a developing country such as Ghana, this study is useful for monitoring NO2 concentrations in similar areas to inform decision making and environmental policy formulation.

SLOW GROWTH IN VITRO CULTURE FOR CONSERVATION OF HANCORNIA SPECIOSA GOMES

Hancornia speciosa Gomes is a fruit species endemic to the Cerrado and coastal plains of Northeast of Brazil, with great economic, nutritional, ecological, and medicinal potential. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sorbitol and sucrose as osmotic regulators on the in vitro growth of mangabeira, aiming at conservation by slow growth. The explants were obtained from in vitro germinated seedlings and inoculated in MS medium supplemented with sucrose (15 and 30 g L-1) and sorbitol (0, 5, 10 and 15 g L-1). The experimental design was completely randomized with 20 repetitions in a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement (sorbitol x sucrose concentrations). The evaluations were performed at 30, 60 90 and 120 days of incubation. The analyzed variables were number of nodes/budding, number of leaves, leaf abscission, leaf color and survival of explants. The data were statistically analyzed by generalized linear model analysis. The results indicated a significant difference between the osmotic regulators and the culture time for all variables. Sorbitol showed a more pronounced growth-reducing effect than sucrose. The use of 30 g L-1 sucrose combined with 10 or 20 g L-1 sorbitol reduced the growth in a critical way, making it clear that the water stress caused was not tolerated by the plants, negatively interfering in its development. Treatment with 15 g L-1 sucrose combined with 5 g L-1 sorbitol promoted the best result, allowing the conservation of plants for 120 days.

INFLUENCE OF RAT CENTRAL THALAMIC NEURONS ON FORAGING BEHAVIOR IN A HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT

The basolateral amygdala (BL) is a major regulator of foraging behavior. Following BL inactivation, rats become indifferent to predators. However, at odds with the view that the amygdala detects threats and generate defensive behaviors, most BL neurons have reduced firing rates during foraging and at proximity of the predator. In search of the signals determining this unexpected activity pattern, this study considered the contribution of the central medial thalamic nucleus (CMT), which sends a strong projection to BL, mostly targeting its principal neurons. Inactivation of CMT or BL with muscimol abolished the rats’ normally cautious behavior in the foraging task. Moreover, unit recordings revealed that CMT neurons showed large but heterogeneous activity changes during the foraging task, with many neurons decreasing or increasing their discharge rates, with a modest bias for the latter. A generalized linear model revealed that CMT neurons encode many of the same task variables as principal BL cells. However, the nature (inhibitory vs. excitatory) and relative magnitude of the activity modulations seen in CMT neurons differed markedly from those of principal BL cells but were very similar to those of fast-spiking BL interneurons. Together, these findings suggest that, during the foraging task, CMT inputs fire some principal BL neurons, recruiting feedback interneurons in BL, resulting in the widespread inhibition of principal BL cells.

The Potential Benefits of the Influenza Vaccination on COVID-19 Mortality Rate—A Retrospective Analysis of Patients in Poland

In this study, we used publicly available data from the Centrum e-Zdrowia (CeZ) Polish Databank proposing a possible correlation between influenza vaccination and mortality due to COVID-19. We limited our search to the patients with positive COVID‑19 laboratory tests from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2021 and who filled a prescription for any influenza vaccine during the 2019–2020 influenza season. In total, we included 116,277 patients and used a generalized linear model to analyze the data. We found out that patients aged 60+ who received an influenza vaccination have a lower probability of death caused by COVID-19 in comparison to unvaccinated, and the magnitude of this difference grows with age. For people below 60 years old, we did not observe an influence of the vaccination. Our results suggest a potential protective effect of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 mortality of the elderly. Administration of the influenza vaccine before the influenza season would reduce the burden of increased influenza incidence, the risk of influenza and COVID‑19 coinfection and render the essential medical resources accessible to cope with another wave of COVID-19. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a correlation between influenza vaccination and the COVID-19 mortality rate in Poland.

Early Pupillometry Assessment in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: A Retrospective Study

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the early assessment of neurological pupil index (NPi) values derived from automated pupillometry could predict neurological outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Retrospective observational study including adult (>18 years) TBI patients admitted from January 2018 to December 2020, with available NPi on admission. Abnormal NPi was considered if <3. Unfavorable neurological outcome (UO) at hospital discharge was considered for a Glasgow Outcome Scale of 1–3. Results: 100 patients were included over the study period (median age 48 (34–69) years and median GCS on admission 11 (6–15)); 49 (49%) patients had UO. On admission, 20 (20%) patients had an abnormal NPi (NPi < 3); median worst (i.e., from both eyes) NPi was 4.2 (3.2–4.5). Median worst and mean NPi on admission were significantly lower in the UO group than others (3.9 (1.7–4.4) vs. 4.4 (3.7–4.6); p = 0.005–4.0 (2.6–4.5) vs. 4.5 (3.9–4.7); p = 0.002, respectively). The ROC curve for the worst and mean NPi showed a moderate accuracy to predict UO (AUC 0.66 (0.56–0.77); p = 0.005 and 0.68 (0.57–0.78); p = 0.002). However, in a generalized linear model, the prognostic role of NPi on admission was limited. Conclusions: Low NPi on admission has limited prognostic value in TBI.

The perception threshold of the vestibular Coriolis illusion

BACKGROUND: The vestibular Coriolis illusion is a disorienting sensation that results from a transient head rotation about one axis during sustained body rotation about another axis. Although often used in spatial disorientation training for pilots and laboratory studies on motion sickness, little is known about the minimum required rotation rate to produce the illusion. OBJECTIVE: This study determined the perception threshold associated with the Coriolis illusion. METHODS: Nineteen participants performed a standardized pitching head movement during continuous whole-body yaw rotation at rates varying between 5 to 50 deg/s. The participants reported their motion sensation in relation to three hypothesized perception thresholds: 1) any sense of motion, 2) a sense of rotation, and 3) a sense of rotation and its direction (i.e., the factual Coriolis illusion). The corresponding thresholds were estimated from curves fitted by a generalized linear model. RESULTS: On average threshold 1 was significantly lower (8 deg/s) than thresholds 2 and 3. The latter thresholds did not differ from each other and their pooled value was 10 deg/s. CONCLUSIONS: The Coriolis illusion is perceived at yaw rates exceeding 10 deg/s using a pitching head movement with 40 deg amplitude and 55 deg/s peak velocity. Model analysis shows that this corresponds to an internal rotation vector of 6 deg/s. With this vector the Coriolis perception threshold can be predicted for any other head movement.

Modified Kibria-Lukman (MKL) estimator for the Poisson Regression Model: application and simulation

Background: Multicollinearity greatly affects the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) efficiency in both the linear regression model and the generalized linear model. Alternative estimators to the MLE include the ridge estimator, the Liu estimator and the Kibria-Lukman (KL) estimator, though literature shows that the KL estimator is preferred. Therefore, this study sought to modify the KL estimator to mitigate the Poisson Regression Model with multicollinearity. Methods: A simulation study and a real-life study was carried out and the performance of the new estimator was compared with some of the existing estimators. Results: The simulation result showed the new estimator performed more efficiently than the MLE, Poisson Ridge Regression Estimator (PRE), Poisson Liu Estimator (PLE) and the Poisson KL (PKL) estimators. The real-life application also agreed with the simulation result. Conclusions: In general, the new estimator performed more efficiently than the MLE, PRE, PLE and the PKL when multicollinearity was present.