The present study applied taxometric analyses to the Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students (WARNS)-an instrument designed to assess multiple domains of functioning related to justice system involvement arising from school disengagement-a trajectory referred to as . Previous taxometric studies of constructs related to juvenile justice system involvement found dimensional rather than taxonic (dichotomous) latent structures. Participants were 5008 students from 89 Washington school districts who completed the WARNS as part of standard educational practices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHarmful algal blooms are increasing globally and pose serious health concerns releasing cyanotoxins. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), one of the most frequently produced cyanotoxins, has recently been detected in aerosols generated by the normal motions of affected bodies of water. MC-LR aerosol exposure has been linked to a pro-inflammatory influence on the airways of mice; however, little is understood about the underlying mechanism or the potential consequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere has been an emphasis on effect sizes for differential item functioning (DIF) with the purpose to understand the magnitude of the differences that are detected through statistical significance testing. Several different effect sizes have been suggested that correspond to the method used for analysis, as have different guidelines for interpretation. The purpose of this simulation study was to compare the performance of the DIF effect size measures described for quantifying and comparing the amount of DIF in two assessments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Mouse models of hindlimb ischemia (HLI) are used to study peripheral arterial disease and evaluate novel therapies. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a noninvasive perfusion measurement technique that is increasingly being employed in these models. The objective of this study was to evaluate two models of severe HLI by CEUS to characterize perfusion recovery and muscle perfusion patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper reports on the growing issues experienced when conducting web-based-based research. Nongenuine participants, repeat responders, and misrepresentation are common issues in health research posing significant challenges to data integrity. A summary of existing data on the topic and the different impacts on studies is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverexpression of cardiac reprogramming factors, including GATA4, HAND2, TBX5, and MEF2C (GHT/M), can directly reprogram cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs). Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are widely used clinically, and vectors targeting cardiomyocytes (CMs) have been extensively studied. However, safe and efficient AAV vectors targeting CFs for in vivo cardiac reprogramming remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Post thrombolytic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with higher rate of death or disability in acute ischemic stroke patients. We investigated the relationship between post thrombolytic ICH volume and change in volume and death or disability at 90 days in acute ischemic stroke patients.
Methods: We analyzed 110 patents recruited in the Safety Evaluation of 3K3A-APC in Ischemic Stroke (RHAPSODY) trial who received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) followed by mechanical thrombectomy (if indicated) and 3K3A-APC or placebo.
Objective: This follow-up study of uranium processing workers at the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center examines the relationship between radiation exposure and cancer and non-cancer mortality among 6403 workers employed for at least 30 days between 1951 and 1985.
Methods: We estimated cumulative, individual, annualised doses to 15 organs/tissues from external, internal and radon exposures. Vital status and cause of death were ascertained in 2017.
Background: The UK medical education system faces a complex landscape of specialty training choices and heightened competition. The Factors Affecting Specialty Training Preference Among UK Medical Students (FAST) study addresses the need to understand the factors influencing UK medical students' specialty choices, against a backdrop of increasing challenges in health care workforce planning.
Objective: The primary objectives of the FAST study are to explore UK medical students' preferred specialties and the factors that influence these choices.
Purpose: Epidemiological studies of stochastic radiation health effects such as cancer, meant to estimate risks of the adverse effects as a function of radiation dose, depend largely on estimates of the radiation doses received by the exposed group under study. Those estimates are based on dosimetry that always has uncertainty, which often can be quite substantial. Studies that do not incorporate statistical methods to correct for dosimetric uncertainty may produce biased estimates of risk and incorrect confidence bounds on those estimates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandardized neuropsychological instruments are used to evaluate cognitive impairment, but few have been psychometrically evaluated in American Indians. We collected Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in 403 American Indians 70 to 95 years, as well as age, sex, education, bilingual status, depression symptoms, and other neuropsychological instruments. We evaluated inferences of psychometric validity, including scoring inference using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, generalizability inference using reliability coefficient, and extrapolation inference by examining performance across different contexts and substrata.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this article we review the history of key epidemiological studies of populations exposed to ionizing radiation. We highlight historical and recent findings regarding radiation-associated risks for incidence and mortality of cancer and non-cancer outcomes with emphasis on study design and methods of exposure assessment and dose estimation along with brief consideration of sources of bias for a few of the more important studies. We examine the findings from the epidemiological studies of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors, persons exposed to radiation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, those exposed to environmental sources including Chornobyl and other reactor accidents, and occupationally exposed cohorts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends Cognitive-Behavioural therapy (CBT) as the psychotherapeutic treatment of choice for adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the UK. However, the literature often refers to adapted CBT programs tailored for ADHD and provides limited insight into how adults with ADHD experience and perceive this form of treatment in routine clinical practice.
Methods: This mixed-methods study aims to explore ADHD individuals' experience and perception of CBT delivered in routine clinical practice, to gain a better understanding of this treatment's helpfulness and perceived effectiveness.
Neuroendovascular rescue of patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by a large arterial occlusion has evolved throughout the first quarter of the present century, and continues to do so. Starting with the intra-arterial instillation of thrombolytic agents via microcatheters to dissolve occluding thromboembolic material, the current status is one that includes a variety of different techniques such as direct aspiration of thrombus, removal by stent retriever, adjuvant techniques such as balloon angioplasty, stenting, and tactical intra-arterial instillation of thrombolytic agents in smaller branches to treat no-reflow phenomenon. The results have been consistently shown to benefit these patients, irrespective of whether they had already received intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator or not.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKRAS G12C is the most common KRAS mutation in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), for which targeted therapy has recently been developed. From the 732 cases of NSCLC that underwent next-generation sequencing at the Department of Anatomical Pathology, Liverpool Hospital, between July 2021 and May 2023, we retrieved 83 (11%) consecutive cases of KRAS G12C mutated NSCLC, and analysed their clinical, pathological, and molecular features. Of the 83 cases of KRAS G12C mutated NSCLC, there were 46 (55%) men and 37 (45%) women, with mean age of 72 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized adults. Guidelines recommend use of a risk-prediction model to estimate HA-VTE risk for individual patients. Extant models do not perform well for broad patient populations and are not conducive to automation in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The diagnosis of chronic increased intracranial pressure (IIP)is often based on subjective evaluation or clinical metrics with low predictive value. We aimed to quantify cranial bone changes associated with pediatric IIP using CT images and to identify patients at risk.
Methods: We retrospectively quantified local cranial bone thickness and mineral density from the CT images of children with chronic IIP and compared their statistical differences to normative children without IIP adjusting for age, sex and image resolution.