Some evidences and applications of the randomized response crossed model in a survey of sensitive population behaviors

Surveying human behaviors, especially in demographic, social, medical and public health research, often involves sensitive issues. Posing direct inquiries about stigmatizing or threatening topics may lead survey participants to refuse to answer or to give untruthful responses. Nonresponse and misreporting denote measurement errors that are difficult to treat and are likely to yield unreliable analyses of the surveyed topics. This problem can be mitigated by adopting survey methods that enhance anonymity and respondent cooperation. One possibility is to create a trustful and confidential relationship between the interviewer and the survey participants. Alternatively, it is possible to fully protect privacy by adopting indirect questioning procedures that elicit information without posing sensitive questions directly. We consider both above-mentioned possibilities showing the results of a real study which explores the effectiveness of the randomized response crossed model proposed by Lee et al. (2013) to produce prevalence estimates for two sensitive traits, cannabis use and its legalization.

Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs Cultivated in Greece—Benefits and Drawbacks

The current study investigated and determined the major compounds of six essential oils derived from different plant species cultivated in Greece (Lavandula angustifolia, Origanum vulgare, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus limon and Crithmum maritimum). The results proved that all these essential oils have a high potential for use as food preservatives, since among the compounds determined were sabinene, b-myrcene, a-pinene, carvacrol and limonene, all of which were responsible for the strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. However, the amounts of some compounds, such as linalool and citral, were at high levels, and this can be a danger for some sensitive population groups due to allergic reactions. The essential oil compounds which were identified using GC-MS and quantified through GC-FID represented more than 95% of the total essential oils of the investigated plant species. Finally, all essential oils provided high phenolic content.

Combined State and Parameter Identifiability for a Model of Drug-Resistant Cancer Dynamics

This article analyzes the combined parameter and state identifiability for a model of a cancerous tumor's growth dynamics. The model describes the impact of drug administration on the growth of two populations of cancer cells: a drug-sensitive population and a drug-resistant population. The model's dynamic behavior depends on the underlying values of its state variables and parameters, including the initial sizes and growth rates of the drug sensitive and drug-resistant populations, respectively. The article's primary goal is to use Fisher identifiability analysis to derive and analyze the Cram´er-Rao theoretical bounds on the best-achievable accuracy with which this estimation can be performed locally. This extends previous work by the authors, which focused solely on state estimation accuracy. This analysis highlights two key scenarios where estimation accuracy is particularly poor. First, a critical drug administration rate exists where the model's state observability is lost, thereby making the independent estimation of the drug-sensitive and drug-resistant population sizes impossible. Second, a different critical drug administration rate exists that brings the overall growth rate of the drug-sensitive population to zero, thereby worsening model parameter identifiability.

Resistance Monitoring of Nilaparvata lugens Stall against Pymetrozine Insecticide with Determination of Diagnostic Concentrations

Nilaparvata lugens Stall is one of the main insect pests on rice crops. Intensive control of this pests using insecticides has resulted in the development of insect resistance. This study aimed to find out the level of resistance of the N. lugens population to pymetrozine insecticides by determining the diagnostic concertations. N. lugens was collected from five endemic areas in Central Java Province from October 2019 to June 2020. The data from the bioassay test were analyzed with probit analysis to obtain the LC50 value. The results of the sensitivity test showed that the Kajen population has the highest RF value (2.47), while the Karanganyar population which has the lowest RF value (1) was the most sensitive population. The determined diagnostic concentration was LC95 = 25.52 ppm with the lowest concentration limit of 7.67 ppm and the highest of 30.05 ppm. To conclude, the determined diagnostic concentration (LC95 = 25.52 ppm) is effective for detecting the susceptibililty of N. lugens population. This finding would be beneficial for monitoring resistance of N. lugens population against pymetrozine insecticides in the field.

Perception of musculoskeletal pain in the state of confinement: associated factors

Objective: to describe the perception of musculoskeletal pain in the population and how the state of confinement (adopted as a measure to control contagion by COVID-19) has interfered with it, as well as identifying the sociodemographic, occupational, physical, and psychosocial factors involved. Method: an observational, cross-sectional and analytical study, with simple random probabilistic sampling, aimed at residents in Spain over 18 years old during the confinement period. An ad hoc survey was conducted, consisting in 59 items. Results: a total of 3,247 surveys were answered. Persistent musculoskeletal pain or significant episodes thereof increased 22.2% during confinement. The main location was the spine (49.5%). The related factors were decreased physical activity, increased seated position, and use of electronic devices. The psychological impact of confinement was also related to the perception of musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: the state of confinement causes an increase in the perception of musculoskeletal pain. The identification of a particularly sensitive population profile, as well as that of the related factors, allows establishing multidisciplinary approaches in health promotion.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Patients with Cancer: Retrospective and Transversal Studies in Spanish Population

Background: Studies of patients with cancer affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are needed to assess the impact of the disease in this sensitive population, and the influence of different cancer treatments on the COVID-19 infection and seroconversion. Material and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients hospitalized with RT-PCR positive for COVID-19 in our region to assess the prevalence of cancer patients and describe their characteristics and evolution (Cohort 1). Concurrently, a transversal study was carried out in patients on active systemic cancer treatment for symptomatology and seroprevalence (IgG/IgM by ELISA-method) against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Cohort 2). Results: A total of 215 patients (Cohort 1) were admitted to hospital with a confirmed COVID-19 infection between February 28 and April 30, 2020, and 17 died (7.9%). A medical record of cancer was noted in 43 cases (20%), 6 of them required Intensive care unit ICU attention (14%), and 7 died (16%). There were thirty-six patients (83%) who tested IgG/IgM positive for SARS-CoV-2. Patients on immunosuppressive therapies presented a lower ratio of seroconversion (40% vs. 8%; p = 0.02). In Cohort 2, 166 patients were included in a symptoms-survey and tested for SARS-CoV-2. Any type of potential COVID-19-related symptom was referred up to 67.4% of patients (85.9% vs. 48.2% vs. 73.9%, for patients on chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies respectively, p < 0.05). The seroprevalence ratio was 1.8% for the whole cohort with no significant differences by patient or treatment characteristics. Conclusion: Patients with cancer present higher risks for hospital needs for COVID-19 infection. The lack of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion may be a concern for patients on immunosuppressive therapies. Patients receiving systematic therapies relayed a high rate of potentially COVID-19-related symptoms, particularly those receiving chemotherapy. However, the seroconversion rate remains low and in the range of general population.

Extrahypothalamic oxytocin neurons drive stress-induced social vigilance and avoidance

Oxytocin increases the salience of both positive and negative social contexts and it is thought that these diverse actions on behavior are mediated in part through circuit-specific action. This hypothesis is based primarily on manipulations of oxytocin receptor function, leaving open the question of whether different populations of oxytocin neurons mediate different effects on behavior. Here we inhibited oxytocin synthesis in a stress-sensitive population of oxytocin neurons specifically within the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTmv). Oxytocin knockdown prevented social stress-induced increases in social vigilance and decreases in social approach. Viral tracing of BNSTmv oxytocin neurons revealed fibers in regions controlling defensive behaviors, including lateral hypothalamus, anterior hypothalamus, and anteromedial BNST (BNSTam). Oxytocin infusion into BNSTam in stress naïve mice increased social vigilance and reduced social approach. These results show that a population of extrahypothalamic oxytocin neurons plays a key role in controlling stress-induced social anxiety behaviors.

Extra-hypothalamic oxytocin neurons drive stress-induced social vigilance and avoidance

Oxytocin increases the salience of both positive and negative social contexts and it is thought that these diverse actions on behavior are mediated in part through circuit-specific action. This hypothesis is based primarily on manipulations of oxytocin receptor function, leaving open the question of whether different populations of oxytocin neurons mediate different effects on behavior. Here we inhibited oxytocin synthesis in a social stress-sensitive population of oxytocin neurons specifically within the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTmv). Oxytocin knock-down prevented stress-induced increases in social vigilance and decreases in social approach. Viral tracing of BNSTmv oxytocin neurons revealed fibers in regions controlling defensive behaviors including lateral hypothalamus, anterior hypothalamus, and anteromedial BNST (BNSTam). Oxytocin infusion into BNSTam in stress naïve mice increased social vigilance and reduced social approach. These results show that a population of extra-hypothalamic oxytocin neurons play a key role in controlling stress-induced social anxiety behaviors.