Constructing bi-plots for random forest: Tutorial.

Current technological developments have allowed for a significant increase and availability of data. Consequently, this has opened enormous opportunities for the machine learning and data science field, translating into the development of new algorithms in a wide range of applications in medical, biomedical, daily-life, and national security areas. Ensemble techniques are among the pillars of the machine learning field, and they can be defined as approaches in which multiple, complex, independent/uncorrelated, predictive models are subsequently combined by either averaging or voting to yield a higher model performance.

Prediction model development of women's daily asthma control using fitness tracker sleep disruption.

Background: Night-time wakening with asthma symptoms is an important indicator of disease control and severity, with no gold-standard objective measurement.

Objective: The study objective was to use fitness tracker sleep data to develop predictive models of daily disease control-related asthma-specific wakening and FEV in working-aged women with poorly controlled asthma.

Methods: A repeated measures panel design included data from 43 women with poorly controlled asthma.

Validation of fitness tracker for sleep measures in women with asthma.

Objective: Nighttime wakening with asthma symptoms is a key to assessment and therapy decisions, with no gold standard objective measure. The study aims were to (1) determine the feasibility, (2) explore equivalence, and (3) test concordance of a consumer-based accelerometer with standard actigraphy for measurement of sleep patterns in women with asthma as an adjunct to self-report.

Methods: Panel study design of women with poorly controlled asthma from a university-affiliated primary care clinic system was used.

Patient travel for bariatric surgery: does distance matter?

Background: Increasingly, patients are faced with greater travel distances to undergo bariatric surgery at high-volume centers.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the impact of travel distance on access to care and outcomes after bariatric surgery.

Setting: Patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at an academic bariatric surgery center from 1985 to 2004 were examined and stratified by patient travel distance.

Type 2 Diabetes Remission Rates After Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass and Gastric Banding: Results of the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery Study.

Objective: The goals of this study were to determine baseline and postbariatric surgical characteristics associated with type 2 diabetes remission and if, after controlling for differences in weight loss, diabetes remission was greater after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) than laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB).

Research Design And Methods: An observational cohort of obese participants was studied using generalized linear mixed models to examine the associations of bariatric surgery type and diabetes remission rates for up to 3 years. Of 2,458 obese participants enrolled, 1,868 (76%) had complete data to assess diabetes status at both baseline and at least one follow-up visit.

Validation of Capturing Sleep Diary Data via a Wrist-Worn Device.

Paper sleep diaries are the gold standard for assessment of sleep continuity variables in clinical practice as well as research. Unfortunately, paper diaries can be filled out weekly instead of daily, lost, illegible or destroyed; and are considered out of date according to the newer technology savvy generations. In this study, we assessed the reliability and validity of using a wrist-worn electronic sleep diary.

Validation of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sleep Questions.

Study Objectives: leep problems may constitute a risk for health problems, including cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, poor work performance, and motor vehicle accidents. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the current Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) sleep questions by establishing the sensitivity and specificity for detection of sleep/ wake disturbance.

Methods: Repeated cross-sectional assessment of 300 community dwelling adults over the age of 18 who did not wear CPAP or oxygen during sleep.

Urinary Incontinence Before and After Bariatric Surgery.

Importance: Among women and men with severe obesity, evidence for improvement in urinary incontinence beyond the first year after bariatric surgery-induced weight loss is lacking.

Objectives: To examine change in urinary incontinence before and after bariatric surgery and to identify factors associated with improvement and remission among women and men in the first 3 years after bariatric surgery.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery 2 is an observational cohort study at 10 US hospitals in 6 geographically diverse clinical centers.

Pulmonary embolism and gastrointestinal leak following bariatric surgery: when do major complications occur?

Background: Complications following bariatric surgery are uncommon but potentially life threatening.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the timing of gastrointestinal leaks (GIL) and pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

Setting: Retrospective analysis of the nationwide American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2006 to 2011.

Delayed repair of obstructing ventral hernias is associated with higher mortality and morbidity.

Background: Patients presenting with ventral hernia-related obstruction are commonly managed with emergent ventral hernia repair (VHR). Selected patients with resolution of obstruction may be managed in a delayed manner. This study sought to assess the effect of delay on VHR outcomes.

Following Bariatric Surgery: an Exploration of the Couples' Experience.

Background: Bariatric surgery is the most effective intervention for morbid obesity, resulting in substantial weight loss and the resolution of co-morbid conditions. It is not clear what impact bariatric surgery and the subsequent life-style changes have on patients' couple relationships. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experience of couples after one member of the couple underwent bariatric surgery.

Bariatric Surgery in Patients with Dialysis-Dependent Renal Failure.

Background: Laparoscopic procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity are commonly offered to patients with comorbidities previously thought to carry prohibitive operative risk. In this study, we reviewed characteristics and perioperative outcomes of patients with dialysis-dependent renal failure (DDRF) who underwent laparoscopic bariatric procedures.

Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database from 2006 to 2011 was reviewed.

Synchronous Ventral Hernia Repair in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery.

Background: Obesity predisposes patients to abdominal wall hernias. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery are not uncommonly found to have ventral hernias. Synchronous ventral hernia repair (S-VHR) has been reported in 2-5% of patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

Hyperinsulinemic syndrome: the metabolic syndrome is broader than you think.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperinsulinemia. In 2011 we showed that gastric bypass (RYGB) corrects these high levels even though insulin resistance remains high, ie, the operation "dissociates" hyperinsulinemia from insulin resistance. RYGB produces reversal of T2DM along with other diseases associated with the metabolic syndrome.

Hepatic pathology among patients without known liver disease undergoing bariatric surgery: observations and a perspective from the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery (LABS) study.

Liver biopsy is not routine during bariatric surgery. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is widely used to screen for liver disease. We assessed the relationship between ALT and pathology in biopsies from Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) patients with normal preoperative ALTs.

Eating behavior and eating disorders in adults before bariatric surgery.

Objective: To describe eating patterns, prevalence of problematic eating behaviors, and determine factors associated with binge eating disorder (BED), before bariatric surgery.

Method: Before surgery, 2,266 participants (median age 46 years; 78.6% female; 86.

Course of depressive symptoms and treatment in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery (LABS-2) study.

Objective: To examine changes in depressive symptoms and treatment in the first 3 years following bariatric surgery.

Methods: The longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery-2 (LABS-2) is an observational cohort study of adults (n = 2,458) who underwent a bariatric surgical procedure at 1 of 10 US hospitals between 2006 and 2009. This study includes 2,148 participants who completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI) at baseline and ≥ one follow-up visit in years 1-3.

Metabolic syndrome prevalence and associations in a bariatric surgery cohort from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 study.

Background: Metabolic syndrome is associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, all common conditions in patients referred for bariatric surgery, and it may predict early postoperative complications. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, defined using updated National Cholesterol Education Program criteria, in adults undergoing bariatric surgery and compare the prevalence of baseline co-morbid conditions and select operative and 30-day postoperative outcomes by metabolic syndrome status.

Methods: Complete metabolic syndrome data were available for 2275 of 2458 participants enrolled in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 (LABS-2), an observational cohort study designed to evaluate long-term safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in obese adults.

The effect of obesity in adolescence on adult health status.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that adolescent obesity would be associated with greater risks of adverse health in severely obese adults.

Methods: Before weight loss surgery, adult participants in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 underwent detailed anthropometric and comorbidity assessment. Weight status at age 18 was retrospectively determined.

Weight change and health outcomes at 3 years after bariatric surgery among individuals with severe obesity.

Importance: Severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥35) is associated with a broad range of health risks. Bariatric surgery induces weight loss and short-term health improvements, but little is known about long-term outcomes of these operations.

Objective: To report 3-year change in weight and select health parameters after common bariatric surgical procedures.

Prevalence of adverse intraoperative events during obesity surgery and their sequelae.

Background: Adverse intraoperative events (AIEs) during surgery are a well-known entity. A better understanding of the incidence of AIEs and their relationship with outcomes is helpful for surgeon preparation and preoperative patient counseling. The goals of this study are to describe the incidence of AIEs during bariatric surgery and examine their impact on major adverse complications.

GLP-1 response to a mixed meal: what happens 10 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB)?

Background: Oral meal consumption increases glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) release which maintains euglycemia by increasing insulin secretion. This effect is exaggerated during short-term follow-up of Roux-en-y gastric bypass (RYGB). We examined the durability of this effect in patient with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) >10 years after RYGB.