Large-scale analysis of association between GDF5 and FRZB variants and osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, and hand.

Objective: GDF5 and FRZB have been proposed as genetic loci conferring susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA); however, the results of several studies investigating the association of OA with the rs143383 polymorphism of the GDF5 gene or the rs7775 and rs288326 polymorphisms of the FRZB gene have been conflicting or inconclusive. To examine these associations, we performed a large-scale meta-analysis of individual-level data.

Methods: Fourteen teams contributed data on polymorphisms and knee, hip, and hand OA.

Non-replication of association for six polymorphisms from meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of Parkinson's disease: large-scale collaborative study.

Early genome-wide association (GWA) studies on Parkinson's disease (PD) have not been able to yield conclusive, replicable signals of association, perhaps due to limited sample size. We aimed to investigate whether association signals derived from the meta-analysis of the first two GWA investigations might be replicable in different populations. We examined six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1000291, rs1865997, rs2241743, rs2282048, rs2313982, and rs3018626) that had reached nominal significance with at least two of three different strategies proposed in a previous analysis of the original GWA studies.

Contact angles of diiodomethane on silicon-doped diamond-like carbon coatings in electrolyte solutions.

The influence of surrounding electrolyte type and concentration on the contact angle of hydrophobic diiodomethane on silicon-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings was examined to provide insight into how the presence of electrolytes in the solution influences adhesion of hydrophobic material to doped DLC surfaces. There was a small but statistically significant increase of contact angle with increasing electrolyte concentration over the range from 0 to approximately 0.01 M, after which the contact angle was virtually unaffected by further increase in the concentration of electrolyte.

Doctors' versus patients' global assessments of treatment effectiveness: empirical survey of diverse treatments in clinical trials.

Objective: To examine whether doctors' global assessments of treatment effects agree with patients' global assessments.

Design: Survey of trials included in systematic reviews of treatments for diverse conditions.

Data Sources: Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

Reporting of human genome epidemiology (HuGE) association studies: an empirical assessment.

Background: Several thousand human genome epidemiology association studies are published every year investigating the relationship between common genetic variants and diverse phenotypes. Transparent reporting of study methods and results allows readers to better assess the validity of study findings. Here, we document reporting practices of human genome epidemiology studies.

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography to evaluate cervical node metastases in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

Background: Positron emission tomography using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG PET) has been proposed to enhance preoperative assessment of cervical lymph node status in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Management is most controversial for patients with a clinically negative (cN0) neck. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET in detecting lymph node metastases in patients with HNSCC.

Sensitivity of between-study heterogeneity in meta-analysis: proposed metrics and empirical evaluation.

Background: Several approaches are available for evaluating heterogeneity in meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses are often used, but these are often implemented in various non-standardized ways.

Methods: We developed and implemented sequential and combinatorial algorithms that evaluate the change in between-study heterogeneity as one or more studies are excluded from the calculations.

Falsified papers in high-impact journals were slow to retract and indistinguishable from nonfraudulent papers.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate papers retracted due to falsification in high-impact journals.

Study Design And Setting: We selected articles retracted due to allegations of falsification in January 1, 1980 to March 1, 2006 from journals with impact factor >10 and >30,000 annual citations. We evaluated characteristics of these papers and misconduct-involved authors and assessed whether they correlated with time to retraction.

Uncertainty in heterogeneity estimates in meta-analyses.

, , and argue that, although meta-analyses often measure heterogeneity between studies, these estimates can have large uncertainty, which must be taken into account when interpreting evidence

International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal.

Background: Ranking of universities and institutions has attracted wide attention recently. Several systems have been proposed that attempt to rank academic institutions worldwide.

Methods: We review the two most publicly visible ranking systems, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University 'Academic Ranking of World Universities' and the Times Higher Education Supplement 'World University Rankings' and also briefly review other ranking systems that use different criteria.

Heterogeneity in meta-analyses of genome-wide association investigations.

Background: Meta-analysis is the systematic and quantitative synthesis of effect sizes and the exploration of their diversity across different studies. Meta-analyses are increasingly applied to synthesize data from genome-wide association (GWA) studies and from other teams that try to replicate the genetic variants that emerge from such investigations. Between-study heterogeneity is important to document and may point to interesting leads.

Meta-analysis in genome-wide association datasets: strategies and application in Parkinson disease.

Background: Genome-wide association studies hold substantial promise for identifying common genetic variants that regulate susceptibility to complex diseases. However, for the detection of small genetic effects, single studies may be underpowered. Power may be improved by combining genome-wide datasets with meta-analytic techniques.

The effect of hypoxemic resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock on hemodynamic stabilization and inflammatory response: a pilot study in a rat experimental model.

Background: Resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock is associated with tissue injury. The effect of hypoxemia during resuscitation was investigated.

Methods: Shock was induced by withdrawing blood to mean arterial pressure (MAP) 40 mm Hg and maintained for 60 minutes in 25 Wistar rats.

Family-based versus unrelated case-control designs for genetic associations.

The most simple and commonly used approach for genetic associations is the case-control study design of unrelated people. This design is susceptible to population stratification. This problem is obviated in family-based studies, but it is usually difficult to accumulate large enough samples of well-characterized families.

Unavailability of online supplementary scientific information from articles published in major journals.

Printed articles increasingly rely on online supplements to store critical scientific information, but such data may eventually become unavailable. We checked the current availability of online supplementary scientific information published in six top-cited scientific journals (Science, Nature, Cell, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA). Here we show that in 4.

Brief report: What types of Internet guidance do patients want from their physicians?

Objectives: To understand what patients expect from physicians regarding information seeking on the Internet.

Design: Self-administered survey.

Setting/participants: Waiting rooms of 4 community-based primary care offices.

Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of lymphatic endothelium markers: Bayesian approach.

Tumor lymphatic density is evaluated by means of specific lymphatic endothelium markers, and is a potential predictor of clinically meaningful outcomes. There are many claims on the postulated superiority of some of these markers to identify lymphatics, always in the absence of quantitative data. We therefore compared the diagnostic accuracy of the antibody against podoplanin and the commercially available D2-40, employing Bayesian statistics to account for the absence of a gold standard.

Intraclass correlation coefficients for cluster randomized trials in primary care: the cholesterol education and research trial (CEART).

Cluster randomization trials are increasingly being used in primary care research. The main feature of these trials is that patients are nested within large clusters such as physician practices or communities and the intervention is applied to the cluster. This study design necessitates calculation of intraclass correlation coefficients in order to determine the required sample size.

Hypoxemic reperfusion after 120 mins of intestinal ischemia attenuates the histopathologic and inflammatory response.

Objective: It has been suggested that reactive oxygen species play a pivotal role in the initial organ-tissue injury during reperfusion, eliciting inflammatory reaction and multiple organ failure. It was investigated if hypoxemic reperfusion attenuates tissue injury and inflammatory response.

Design: Randomized animal study.

Health-related quality of life and disability in survivors of multiple trauma one year after intensive care unit discharge.

Objective: To evaluate health-related quality of life and disability in multiple-trauma patients requiring intensive care unit management.

Design: A total of 87 survivors of multiple trauma, with a median age of 31 yrs and a median Injury Severity Score of 22, were enrolled in the present study. The Nottingham Health Profile, Glasgow Outcome Scale, and Rosser Disability Scale were used to assess the functional consequences of trauma 1 yr after intensive care unit discharge.

Myocardial ischemia in intestinal postischemic shock: the effect of hypoxemic reperfusion.

Objective: The circulatory shock following intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury has been attributed to hypovolemia. The purpose of the current study is to clarify the pathophysiology of this type of shock and to test the hypothesis that hypoxemic compared with normoxemic reperfusion improves hemodynamics.

Design: Randomized animal study.

CRD-BP: a c-Myc mRNA stabilizing protein with an oncofetal pattern of expression.

The Coding Region Determinant-Binding Protein (CRD-BP) is an RRM and KH-domain-containing protein that recognizes specifically at least three RNAs. It binds to one of the two c-myc mRNA instability elements, to the 5'Un Translated Region (UTR) of the leader 3 IGF-II mRNA and to the oncofetal H19 RNA. CRD-BP has been assigned a role in stabilizing c-myc mRNA by preventing its endonucleolytic cleavage and in repressing the translation of the leader 3 IGF-II mRNA, the major embryonic species of this message.

Does the Y chromosome make a difference? Gender differences in attempts to change cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if gender differences exist in attempts to change cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor behaviors, specifically cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and overweight, and if the success of these attempted behavior changes also differs by gender in the Pawtucket Heart Health Program (PHHP).

Methods: The risk factors were considered in reference to individuals who needed to change a particular risk factor behavior. Data were gathered from three different sources within the PHHP (the contact card registry of participants and both cross-sectional and cohort household surveys).

Prediction of prolonged ventilatory support in blunt thoracic trauma patients.

Objective: To identify predictors of prolonged (>7 days) mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with blunt thoracic trauma.

Design: Prospective analysis of consecutive patients.

Setting: Adult intensive care unit (ICU) in a teaching, tertiary-care hospital.