Chemometric assessment of bioaccumulation and contamination pathways for toxic metals in diet and environment: implications for chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lankan agricultural regions.

Prolonged consumption of foods containing toxic metals can elevate the risk of noncommunicable diseases, including chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology (CKDu). Despite the increasing number of CKDu cases in Maradankulama and Mahakanadrawa Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN) in Sri Lanka, no prior studies have examined the accumulation of heavy metal(loid)s and their potential association with CKDu prevalence. Furthermore, there is an absence of comprehensive analyses using chemometric techniques such as PCA and hierarchical studies regarding CKDu and heavy metal contamination in Sri Lanka.

A Novel One-Sample Mendelian Randomization Approach for Count-Type Outcomes That Is Robust to Correlated and Uncorrelated Pleiotropic Effects.

We propose two novel one-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches to causal inference from count-type health outcomes, tailored to both equidispersion and overdispersion conditions. Selecting valid single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables (IVs) poses a key challenge for MR approaches, as it requires meeting the necessary IV assumptions. To bolster the proposed approaches by addressing violations of IV assumptions, we incorporate a process for removing invalid SNPs that violate the assumptions.

MetaHD: A multivariate meta-analysis model for metabolomics data.

Motivation: Meta-analysis methods widely-used for combining metabolomics data do not account for correlation between metabolites or missing values. Within- and between-study variability are also often overlooked. These can give results with inferior statistical properties, leading to misidentification of biomarkers.

Perinatal risk factors and neurocognitive outcomes in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease.

Background: The literature on cognitive and academic outcomes for children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who experience perinatal risk factors is limited. We aimed to evaluate if low birthweight (LBW), gestational age, and history of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission were associated with neurocognitive functioning, grade retention, or receipt of early intervention or formal educational support in children with SCD.

Procedures: This prospective birth cohort study included 336 participants, ages 8-18, with SCD, who received cognitive testing as part of standard of care and whose caregivers completed behavioral rating scales.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) to Sinhala language.

Background: Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) is a widely used tool to assess functional capacity among patients, but there is no Sinhala version validated for patients in Sri Lanka. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and test the validity and reliability of the Sinhala version of DASI (DASI-S).

Methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the DASI questionnaire were conducted following the standard guidelines.