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BJGP Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. BJGPO.2021.0141
Author(s):  
Anna Ruiz-Comellas ◽  
Pere Roura Poch ◽  
Glòria Sauch Valmaña ◽  
Víctor Guadalupe-Fernández ◽  
Jacobo Mendioroz Peña ◽  
...  

Backgroundamong the manifestations of COVID-19 are Taste and Smell Disorders (TSDs).AimThe aim of the study is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of TSDs and other associated symptoms to estimate predictive values for determining SARS-CoV-2 infection.Design and settingRetrospective observational study.Methodsa study of the sensitivity and specificity of TSDs has been carried out using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 as the Gold Standard value. Logistic regressions adjusted for age and sex were performed to identify additional symptoms that might be associated with COVID-19.Resultsthe results are based on 226 healthcare workers with clinical symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, 116 with positive PCR and 111 with negative PCR. TSDs had an OR of 12.43 (CI 0.95 6.33–26.19), sensitivity 60.34% and specificity 89.09%. In the logistic regression model, the association of TSD, fever or low-grade fever, shivering, dyspnoea, arthralgia and myalgia obtained an area under the curve of 85.7% (CI 0.95: 80.7 % - 90.7 %), sensitivity 82.8 %, specificity 80% and positive predictive values 81.4% and negative 81.5%.ConclusionsTSDs are a strong predictor of COVID-19. The association of TSD, fever, low-grade fever or shivering, dyspnoea, arthralgia and myalgia correctly predicts 85.7% of the results of the COVID-19 test.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thom T. J. Veeger ◽  
Nienke M. Velde ◽  
Kevin R. Keene ◽  
Erik H. Niks ◽  
Melissa T. Hooijmans ◽  
...  

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milka Nicoleta Apostu ◽  
◽  
Octav Sorin Candel ◽  
Maria Nicoleta Turliuc ◽  
◽  
...  

The main purpose of the present research is to explore the influence of religiousness on couple commitment, drawing from previous studies where religiousness was confirmed as a strong predictor for positive relationship outcomes. We also aim to analyze relationship satisfaction as a mediating variable between religiousness and commitment. Furthermore, the study seeks to investigate forgiveness in dyadic romantic relationships, testing its role as a moderator of the association between relationship satisfaction and commitment. The procedure includes the recruitment of heterosexual students enrolled in post-graduate courses and their partners to take part in the present study. The final sample consists of 116 individuals involved in romantic relationships. All participants filled in a series of validated self-reported measures, providing data which was analyzed using parametric statistical tests. Additionally, we conducted mediation and moderation analyses. Results indicate that relationship satisfaction is positively associated with commitment, whereas religiousness is positively associated with relationship satisfaction, thus having an indirect effect on commitment. Additionally, considering overall forgiveness as well as the negative vs. positive components of the construct, we find that positive forgiveness is associated with commitment, when satisfaction is also considered in the equation. The current results have important therapeutic implications, such as using forgiveness-related therapies for couples and enhancing relationship satisfaction as means to consolidate relationship commitment.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linus Andersson ◽  
Marika Jalovaara ◽  
Caroline Uggla ◽  
Jan Saarela

Extensive literature theorizes the role of re-partnering on cohort fertility and whether union dissolution can be an engine for fertility. A large share of higher-order unions is non-marital cohabitations. Yet, most previous completed cohort fertility studies on the topic analyze marital unions only and none have measured cohabitations using population-level data. We use Finnish register data to enumerate every birth, marriage, and cohabitation from ages 18-46 in the 1969–1972 birth cohorts, and analyze the relationship between the number of unions and cohort fertility for men and women using Poisson regression. We show that re-partnering is driven by cohabitations. Re-marriage is positively associated with cohort fertility, compared to individuals in a single intact marriage. However, when measured using marriages as well as non-marital cohabitations, re-partnering is negatively associated with fertility, compared to individuals in a single intact union. This negative association increases with socioeconomic status. “Serial cohabitation” is a strong predictor of low fertility. Men see a slight “re-marriage premium” in fertility and a (non-marital) “re-partnering penalty,” compared to women. Thus, re-partnering is likely not an efficient engine for fertility. Further, marriage and cohabitation are far from indistinguishable in a country often described as a second demographic transition forerunner.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Kurnik ◽  
Helena Božič ◽  
Anže Vindišar ◽  
Petra Kolar ◽  
Matej Podbregar

Abstract BackgroundPoint-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful diagnostic tool for non-invasive assessment of critically ill patients. Mortality of elderly patients with COVID-19 pneumonia is high and there is still scarcity of definitive predictors. Aim of our study was to assess the prediction value of combined lung and heart POCUS data on mortality of elderly critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.MethodsThis was a retrospective observational study. Data of patients older than 70 years, with severe COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to 25-bed mixed, level 3, intensive care unit (ICU) was analyzed retrospectively. POCUS was performed at admission; our parameters of interest were pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and presence of diffuse B-line pattern (B-pattern) on lung ultrasound.ResultsBetween March 2020 and February 2021, 117 patients aged 70 years or more (average age 77±5 years) were included. Average length of ICU stay was 10.7±8.9 days. High-flow oxygenation, non-invasive ventilation and invasive mechanical ventilation were at some point used to support 36/117 (31%), 39/117 (33%) and 75/117 (64%) patients respectively. ICU mortality was 50.9%. ICU stay was shorter in survivors (8.8±8.3 vs 12.6±9.3 days, p=0.02). PASP was lower in ICU survivors (32.5±9.8 vs. 40.4±14.3 mmHg, p=0.024). B-pattern was more often detected in non-survivals (35/59 (59%) vs. 19/58 (33%), p=0.005). PASP and B-pattern at admission were both univariate predictors of mortality. PASP at admission was an independent predictor of ICU (OR 1.0683, 95%CI: 1.0108-1.1291, p=0.02) and hospital (OR 1.0813, 95%CI 1.0125-1.1548, p=0.02) mortality. Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) was a strong predictor of ICU and hospital mortality.ConclusionsPASP at admission is an independent predictor of ICU and hospital mortality of elderly patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. During ICU stay development of VAP was a strong predictor of ICU and hospital mortality.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mohsen Kafi

<p>This is the first systematic study of the selection, promotion, and reception of translated fiction anywhere in New Zealand. The study has two phases. The first draws on the responses of 277 adult readers in Wellington to a questionnaire about their perceptions of translated fiction. The findings reveal that most Wellington readers say they enjoy reading books set in other cultures, but their actual reading is largely English-language oriented. While some respondents expressed a specific interest in reading translated fiction, most prioritised genre and content. Age and ethnicity correlate only weakly with perceptions of translated fiction, but knowledge of one or more second languages is a strong predictor of positive perceptions of translated fiction. The second phase of the study draws on seven semi-structured interviews with representatives from three major book-related entities in Wellington: New Zealand Festival’s Writers Week, Wellington City Libraries (WCL), and Unity Books. The interviews provided first-hand insights into each entity’s policies and practices for selecting and promoting translated fiction. Although its past and current coordinators speak highly of translated literature, Wellington’s Writers Week has seen a significant decline in the number of non-English-speaking writers in the last two decades. Similarly, Unity Books claims to treat all categories of books, including translated fiction, equally, but its commercial practice in fact prioritises certain other categories. Wellington City Libraries, on the other hand, has taken a proactive approach to the promotion of translated fiction, for example through blogs and physical displays. Combined with the survey data, the interview findings demonstrate both the complex nature of reading choices and the challenges of advocating for the enhanced visibility of translated fiction in a largely monolingual context. However, many signs also point to a growing recognition of translated fiction as an important element of eclectic reading. This recognition can lead to positive changes in the future.</p>


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mohsen Kafi

<p>This is the first systematic study of the selection, promotion, and reception of translated fiction anywhere in New Zealand. The study has two phases. The first draws on the responses of 277 adult readers in Wellington to a questionnaire about their perceptions of translated fiction. The findings reveal that most Wellington readers say they enjoy reading books set in other cultures, but their actual reading is largely English-language oriented. While some respondents expressed a specific interest in reading translated fiction, most prioritised genre and content. Age and ethnicity correlate only weakly with perceptions of translated fiction, but knowledge of one or more second languages is a strong predictor of positive perceptions of translated fiction. The second phase of the study draws on seven semi-structured interviews with representatives from three major book-related entities in Wellington: New Zealand Festival’s Writers Week, Wellington City Libraries (WCL), and Unity Books. The interviews provided first-hand insights into each entity’s policies and practices for selecting and promoting translated fiction. Although its past and current coordinators speak highly of translated literature, Wellington’s Writers Week has seen a significant decline in the number of non-English-speaking writers in the last two decades. Similarly, Unity Books claims to treat all categories of books, including translated fiction, equally, but its commercial practice in fact prioritises certain other categories. Wellington City Libraries, on the other hand, has taken a proactive approach to the promotion of translated fiction, for example through blogs and physical displays. Combined with the survey data, the interview findings demonstrate both the complex nature of reading choices and the challenges of advocating for the enhanced visibility of translated fiction in a largely monolingual context. However, many signs also point to a growing recognition of translated fiction as an important element of eclectic reading. This recognition can lead to positive changes in the future.</p>


2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Artuur M. Leeuwenberg ◽  
Maarten van Smeden ◽  
Johannes A. Langendijk ◽  
Arjen van der Schaaf ◽  
Murielle E. Mauer ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Clinical prediction models are developed widely across medical disciplines. When predictors in such models are highly collinear, unexpected or spurious predictor-outcome associations may occur, thereby potentially reducing face-validity of the prediction model. Collinearity can be dealt with by exclusion of collinear predictors, but when there is no a priori motivation (besides collinearity) to include or exclude specific predictors, such an approach is arbitrary and possibly inappropriate. Methods We compare different methods to address collinearity, including shrinkage, dimensionality reduction, and constrained optimization. The effectiveness of these methods is illustrated via simulations. Results In the conducted simulations, no effect of collinearity was observed on predictive outcomes (AUC, R2, Intercept, Slope) across methods. However, a negative effect of collinearity on the stability of predictor selection was found, affecting all compared methods, but in particular methods that perform strong predictor selection (e.g., Lasso). Methods for which the included set of predictors remained most stable under increased collinearity were Ridge, PCLR, LAELR, and Dropout. Conclusions Based on the results, we would recommend refraining from data-driven predictor selection approaches in the presence of high collinearity, because of the increased instability of predictor selection, even in relatively high events-per-variable settings. The selection of certain predictors over others may disproportionally give the impression that included predictors have a stronger association with the outcome than excluded predictors.


Author(s):  
Hatem Kallel ◽  
Stephanie Houcke ◽  
Dabor Resiere ◽  
Thibault Court ◽  
Cesar Roncin ◽  
...  

Intensive care unit–acquired infection (ICU-AI) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase–producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) carriage are a major concern worldwide. Our objective was to investigate the impact of ESBL-PE carriage on ICU-AI. Our study is prospective, observational, and noninterventional. It was conducted over a 5-year period (Jan 2013–Dec 2017) in the medical-surgical intensive care unit of the Cayenne General Hospital (French Amazonia). During the study period, 1,340 patients were included, 271 (20.2%) developed ICU-AI, and 16.2% of these were caused by ESBL-PE. The main sites of ICU-AI were ventilator-associated pneumonia (35.8%) and primary bloodstream infection (29.8%). The main responsible microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-P in 35.8% of isolates), and Enterobacter cloacae (ESBL-P in 29.8% of isolates). Prior ESBL-PE carriage was diagnosed in 27.6% of patients with ICU-AI. In multivariable analysis, the sole factor associated with ESBL-PE as the responsible organism of ICU-AI was ESBL-PE carriage before ICU-AI (P < 0.001; odds ratio: 7.9 95% CI: 3.4-18.9). ESBL-PE carriers (74 patients) developed ICU-AI which was caused by ESBL-PE in 32 cases (43.2%). This proportion of patients carrying ESBL-PE who developed ICU-AI to the same microorganism was 51.2% in ESBL-P K. pneumoniae, 5.6% in ESBL-P Escherichia coli, and 40% in ESBL-P Enterobacter spp. NPV of ESBL-PE carriage to predict ICU-AI caused by ESBL-PE was above 94% and PPV was above 43%. Carriage of ESBL-P K pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. is a strong predictor of ICU-AI caused by these two microorganisms.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Jaroszyński ◽  
T. T. Schlegel ◽  
T. Zaborowski ◽  
T. Zapolski ◽  
W. Załuska ◽  
...  

AbstractPulmonary hypertension (PHT) is associated with increased mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The ventricular gradient optimized for right ventricular pressure overload (VG-RVPO) is sensitive to early changes in right ventricular overload. The study aimed to assess the ability of the VG-RVPO to detect PHT and predict all-cause and cardiac mortality in HD patients. 265 selected HD patients were enrolled. Clinical, biochemical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic parameters were evaluated. Patients were divided into normal and abnormal VG-RVPO groups, and were followed-up for 3 years. Abnormal VG-RVPO patients were more likely to be at high or intermediate risk for PHT, were older, had longer HD vintage, higher prevalence of myocardial infarction, higher parathormone levels, shorter pulmonary flow acceleration time, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, higher values of left atrial volume index, left ventricular mass index, and peak tricuspid regurgitant velocity. Both all-cause and CV mortality were higher in abnormal VG-RVPO group. In multivariate Cox analysis, VG-RVPO remained an independent and strong predictor of all-cause and CV mortality. In HD patients, abnormal VG-RVPO not only predicts PHT, but also all-cause and CV mortality.


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