Association between the variability of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with coronary heart disease

BackgroundLowering lipid variability may be a potential strategy for improving the inflammatory state in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). This study investigated the association between the variability of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).MethodsThis study enrolled 2,711 CHD patients subjected to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). During the 1-year follow-up period after PCI, the variability of non-HDL-C was assessed using standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and variability independent of mean (VIM). NLR was calculated as the ratio of absolute neutrophil count to absolute lymphocyte count. The relationship between the non-HDL-C variability and the average NLR level during follow-ups was examined using a linear regression analysis.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 64.4 ± 10.8 years, with 72.4% being male. The average NLR level was 2.98 (2.26–4.14) during the follow-up (1 year after PCI). The variability of non-HDL-C was 0.42 (0.26–0.67) for SD, 0.17 (0.11–0.25) for CV, and 0.02 (0.01–0.03) for VIM. A locally weighted scatterplot smoothing curve indicates that the average levels of NLR increased with increasing variability of non-HDL-C. Regardless of the variability assessment method used, non-HDL-C variability was significantly positively associated with the average NLR level during follow-ups: SD [β (95% CI) = 0.681 (0.366–0.996)], CV [β (95% CI) = 2.328 (1.458–3.197)], and VIM [β (95% CI) = 17.124 (10.532–23.715)]. This association remained consistent across subgroups stratified by age, gender, diabetes, and hypertension.ConclusionThe variability of non-HDL-C was positively associated with NLR in patients with CHD, suggesting that reducing non-HDL-C variability may improve the low-grade inflammatory state in CHD patients

A Temporal-Spatial Iteration Method to Reconstruct NDVI Time Series Datasets

Reconstructing normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series datasets is essential for monitoring long-term changes in terrestrial vegetation. Here, a temporal–spatial iteration (TSI) method was developed to estimate the NDVIs of contaminated pixels, based on reliable data. The NDVIs of contaminated pixels were first computed through linear interpolation of adjacent high-quality pixels in the time series. Then, the NDVIs of remaining contaminated pixels were determined based on the NDVI of a high-quality pixel located in the same ecological zone, showing the most similar NDVI change trajectories. These two steps were repeated iteratively, using the estimated NDVIs as high-quality pixels to predict undetermined NDVIs of contaminated pixels until the NDVIs of all contaminated pixels were estimated. A case study was conducted in Inner Mongolia, China. The accuracies of estimated NDVIs using TSI were higher than the asymmetric Gaussian, Savitzky–Golay, and window-regression methods. Root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percent error (MAPE) decreased by 16.7%–86.6% and 18.3%–33.0%, respectively. The TSI method performed better over a range of environmental conditions, the variation of performance by the compared methods was 1.4–5 times that of the TSI method. The TSI method will be most applicable when large numbers of contaminated pixels exist

Detecting Different Types of Directional Land Cover Changes Using MODIS NDVI Time Series Dataset

This study proposed a multi-target hierarchical detection (MTHD) method to simultaneously and automatically detect multiple directional land cover changes. MTHD used a hierarchical strategy to detect both abrupt and trend land cover changes successively. First, Grubbs’ test eliminated short-lived changes by considering them outliers. Then, the Brown-Forsythe test and the combination of Tomé’s method and the Chow test were applied to determine abrupt changes. Finally, Sen’s slope estimation coordinated with the Mann-Kendall test detection method was used to detect trend changes. Results demonstrated that both abrupt and trend land cover changes could be detected accurately and automatically. The overall accuracy of abrupt land cover changes was 87.0% and the kappa index was 0.74. Detected trends of land cover change indicated high consistency between NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), change trends from LTS (Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus time series dataset), and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) time series datasets with the percentage of samples indicating consistency of 100%. For cropland, trends of millet yield per unit and average NDVI of cropland indicated high consistency with a linear regression determination coefficient of 0.94 (p < 0.01). Compared with other multi-target change detection methods, the changes detected by the MTHD could be related closely with specific ecosystem changes, reducing the risk of false changes in the area with frequent and strong interannual fluctuations

Trends in Flowering Phenology of Herbaceous Plants and Its Response to Precipitation and Snow Cover on the Qinghai—Tibetan Plateau from 1983 to 2017

Based on limited controlled experiments, both advanced and delayed shifts in flowering phenology induced by precipitation and snow cover have been reported on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). To clarify the impact of precipitation and snow cover on flowering phenology, we conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis of the temporal change in flowering phenology and its responses to precipitation and snow cover changes using regression models built on the largest collection of ground phenological observation data on the QTP. We found that first flowering date (FFD) for the early-flowering time series significantly advanced at the rate of −0.371 ± 0.149 days/year (p < 0.001), whereas FFD mid-to-late-flowering time series showed no trend at the rate of 0.158 ± 0.193 days/year (p = 0.108). Cumulative pre-season precipitation regressed with FFD positively for early-flowering time series, with the explained variation ranging from 11.7 to 49.4% over different pre-season periods. The negative impact of precipitation on flowering phenology is unexpected, because an increase in precipitation should not hamper plant growth in the semi-arid and arid environments on the QTP. However, precipitation was found to be inversely correlated with temperature. Thus, it is likely that temperature, and not precipitation, regulated flowering phenology over the study period. No relationship was found between FFD and snow-cover melt date or duration. This result indicated that snow cover may not affect flowering phenology significantly, which may be because plant flowering time was much later than the snow-cover melt date on the QTP. These findings contrast the results of controlled experiments on the QTP, which showed that precipitation regulated flowering phenology, and with other studies that showed that snow-cover melting time determined flowering dates of early-flowering species in high latitude and Arctic zones in Europe and North America, where the low-temperature environment is similar to the QTP. These findings can improve flowering phenology models, assist in the prediction of phenological responses of herbaceous plants to climate change, and forecast changes in the structure and function of the grassland ecosystem on the QTP

Risk Factors for Depression in Empty Nesters: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Coastal City of Zhejiang Province and China

The elderly are susceptible to depression, especially empty nesters. This study investigated the risk factors associated with depression in empty nesters. The participants were selected via multi-stage random cluster sampling. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. The questionnaire surveyed demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, behaviors and lifestyles, negative life experiences, social support, self-care ability, etc. Chronic health conditions, such as being overweight/obese, smoking cessation, cancer, and chronic pain, as well as negative life experiences, such as the death of a loved one and financial loss, increased the risk of depression in empty nesters. In addition, the incapability of performing self-care also increased the risk of depression in empty nesters. The prevalence of depression in empty nesters was high. Being overweight/obese, cancer, chronic pain, smoking cessation, the death of a loved one, financial loss, and the incapability to deliver self-care were risk factors for depression in empty nesters. It is recommended that comprehensive measures be taken to enhance health interventions for this population, including encouraging a proper diet and physical activity for weight control, providing psychological counseling after negative life experiences, and teaching correct methods of smoking cessation

Real-world effectiveness of a new powered stapling system with gripping surface technology on the intraoperative clinical and economic outcomes of gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Abstract Background Surgical staplers have been widely used to facilitate surgeries, and this study aimed to examine the real-world effectiveness of a new powered stapling system with Gripping Surface Technology (GST) on intraoperative outcomes of gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Method The data were extracted from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University’s (FHHMU) medical records system. Participants (N = 121 patients) were classified into the GST (n = 59) or non-GST group (n = 62), based on the use of the GST system. The intraoperative outcomes such as bleeding were assessed by reviewing video records. T-tests, Chi-square tests, and Mann–Whitney-U tests were used to compare the baseline characteristics between groups. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted for adjusting outcomes to study the effect of variables. Results Compared with the non-GST group, the GST group had significantly lower risks for intraoperative bleeding, intraoperative anastomosis intervention rate, intraoperative suture, and intraoperative pression (aORs: 0.0853 (p < 0.0001), 0.076 (p = 0.0003), 0.167 (p = 0.0012), and 0.221 (p = 0.0107), respectively). The GST group also consumed one fewer cartridge than the non-GST group (GST:5 vs non-GST: 6, p = 0.0241). Conclusion The use of the GST system was associated with better intraoperative outcomes and lower cartridge consumption in Chinese real-world settings