Proportional likelihood ratio mixed model for discrete longitudinal data.

Rathouz and Gao [2] and Luo and Tsai [3] proposed valuable extensions to the generalized linear model for modeling a nonlinear monotonic relationship between the mean response and a set of covariates. In their extensions for discrete data the baseline response distribution is unspecified and is estimated from the data. We propose to extend this model for the analysis of longitudinal data by incorporating random effects into the linear predictor, and using maximum likelihood for estimation and inference.

PD-1 Blockade in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.

Purpose: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is an aggressive malignancy that is almost always fatal and lacks effective systemic treatment options for patients with -wild type disease. As part of a phase I/II study in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors, patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma were treated with spartalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor.

Methods: We enrolled patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in a phase II cohort of the study.

A first-in-human phase 1 dose escalation study of spartalizumab (PDR001), an anti-PD-1 antibody, in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Background: Spartalizumab is a humanized IgG4κ monoclonal antibody that binds programmed death-1 (PD-1) and blocks its interaction with PD-L1 and PD-L2. This phase 1/2 study was designed to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of spartalizumab in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

Methods: In the phase 1 part of the study, 58 patients received spartalizumab, intravenously, at doses of 1, 3, or 10 mg/kg, administered every 2 weeks (Q2W), or 3 or 5 mg/kg every 4 weeks (Q4W).

Public health application of predictive modeling: an example from farm vehicle crashes.

Background: The goal of predictive modelling is to identify the likelihood of future events, such as the predictive modelling used in climate science to forecast weather patterns and significant weather occurrences. In public health, increasingly sophisticated predictive models are used to predict health events in patients and to screen high risk individuals, such as for cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. Although causal modelling is frequently used in epidemiology to identify risk factors, predictive modelling provides highly useful information for individual risk prediction and for informing courses of treatment.

Prevalence of alcohol impairment and odds of a driver injury or fatality in on-road farm equipment crashes.

Objective: The objective of this article was to estimate the prevalence of alcohol impairment in crashes involving farm equipment on public roadways and the effect of alcohol impairment on the odds of crash injury or fatality.

Methods: On-road farm equipment crashes were collected from 4 Great Plains state departments of transportation during 2005-2010. Alcohol impairment was defined as an involved driver having blood alcohol content of ≥0.

A comparative analysis of child passenger restraint use in China and the United States.

Background: Few published studies have examined child passenger safety practices across countries. This study compared the prevalence and associated factors of child passenger restraint use among children, aged 0 to 17 in the state of Iowa in the United States, and the city of Shantou in China.

Methods: Child restraint use observations were conducted in Iowa and in Shantou in 2012, respectively, among child passengers.

Longitudinal beta-binomial modeling using GEE for overdispersed binomial data.

Longitudinal binomial data are frequently generated from multiple questionnaires and assessments in various scientific settings for which the binomial data are often overdispersed. The standard generalized linear mixed effects model may result in severe underestimation of standard errors of estimated regression parameters in such cases and hence potentially bias the statistical inference. In this paper, we propose a longitudinal beta-binomial model for overdispersed binomial data and estimate the regression parameters under a probit model using the generalized estimating equation method.

Lighting and marking policies are associated with reduced farm equipment-related crash rates: a policy analysis of nine Midwestern US states.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of roadway policies for lighting and marking of farm equipment in reducing crashes in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Methods: In this ecological study, state policies on lighting and marking of farm equipment were scored for compliance with standards of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). Using generalized estimating equations negative binomial models, we estimated the relationships between lighting and marking scores, and farm equipment crash rates, per 100 000 farm operations.

Disaster Preparedness in Rural Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe disaster preparedness strategies and behaviors among rural families who have children with special health care needs and to examine the effect of self-efficacy and response-efficacy on disaster preparedness.

Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the baseline surveys of 287 rural families with children with special health care needs who were part of a randomized controlled trial examining the impact of an intervention on disaster preparedness. Distributions of child, parent, and family characteristics were examined by preparedness.

Video-Enhanced Telemedicine Improves the Care of Acutely Injured Burn Patients in a Rural State.

The acute care of burn patients is critical and can be a daunting experience for emergency personnel because of the scarcity of burn injuries. Telemedicine that incorporates a visual component can provide immediate expertise in the treatment and management of these injuries. The authors sought to evaluate the addition of video telemedicine to our current telephone burn transfer program.

The effect of field condition and shoe type on lower extremity injuries in American Football.

Background/aim: Considerable improvement has been made in football field surfaces and types of shoe, yet relatively few epidemiological studies have investigated their roles in the risk of football injuries. This study examined the effects of field surface, surface condition and shoe type on the likelihood of lower extremity football injuries.

Methods: Deidentified data from 188 players from one division I university football team during the 2007-2010 seasons were analysed.