Publications by authors named "Leah Welty"

Introduction: To better understand and prevent research errors, we conducted a first-of-its-kind scoping review of clinical and translational research articles that were retracted because of problems in data capture, management, and/or analysis.

Methods: The scoping review followed a preregistered protocol and used retraction notices from the Retraction Watch Database in relevant subject areas, excluding gross misconduct. Abstracts of original articles published between January 1, 2011 and January 31, 2020 were reviewed to determine if articles were related to clinical and translational research.

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Purpose: Investigate if the type of substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescence predicts SUDs in adulthood and examine sex and racial/ethnic differences in the persistence of SUDs.

Methods: Data are from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a 15-year longitudinal study of 1829 youth randomly sampled from detention in Chicago, IL (1995-1998). Interviewers assessed SUDs using structured diagnostic interviews.

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Purpose: To examine the association between substance use disorders (SUDs) and HIV/AIDS risk behaviors in detained youth as they age.

Methods: Prospective longitudinal study of a stratified random sample of 1,829 youth aged 10 to 18 years at baseline, sampled between November 1995 and June 1998 from the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Chicago, Illinois, and reinterviewed up to 13 times (to median age 32); 17,766 interviews overall.

Results: Youth had greater odds of engaging in every risk behavior when they had an SUD compared with when they did not have an SUD.

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Objective: To examine: (1) if youth who have mental health disorders receive needed services after they leave detention-and as they age; and (2) inequities in service use, focusing on demographic characteristics and type of disorder.

Method: We used data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a longitudinal study of 1,829 youth randomly sampled from detention in Chicago, Illinois in 1995. Participants were re-interviewed up to 13 times through 2015.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses the evolving role of collaborative biostatistics units in academic health centers (AHCs) across the U.S., which provide centralized resources and infrastructure for researchers in various fields or within specific disciplines like cancer.
  • A survey of 129 leaders revealed that most are over 45, hold doctoral degrees, and typically have primary appointments in medical schools, with key metrics for career advancement including NIH grant funding and authorship in peer-reviewed journals.
  • The findings offer a benchmark for evaluating collaboration models, serving as a useful reference for institutional administrators looking to enhance or restructure quantitative support infrastructures.
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Importance: Youths, especially Black and Hispanic males, are disproportionately affected by firearm violence. Yet, no epidemiologic studies have examined the incidence rates of nonfatal firearm injury and firearm mortality in those who may be at greatest risk-youths who have been involved with the juvenile justice system.

Objectives: To examine nonfatal firearm injury and firearm mortality in youths involved with the juvenile justice system and to compare incidence rates of firearm mortality with the general population.

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Objective: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) impact 10% of pregnancies in the United States and cause adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes such as prematurity and low birth weight. Aspirin administration to at-risk individuals during pregnancy can reduce risk of HDP.

Study Design: Define-Measure-Assess-Improve-Control methodology was utilized to improve aspirin screening in an outpatient obstetric clinic.

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Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and pain reduction from epidural steroid injections for lumbar radiculopathy.

Methods: The retrospective cohort consisted of patients undergoing epidural steroid injection for lumbar radiculopathy ( n = 544). Numeric Pain Rating Scale was measured at baseline and 2 wks after epidural steroid injection.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the 10-meter walk/run test (10MWRT) in young individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to track changes in walking speed over time and its association with various factors.
  • It examined untreated participants aged 2 to 21 years to establish how 10MWRT time relates to age, SMA type, SMN2 copy number, and body weight.
  • The results indicate that walking speed improves in early childhood, stabilizes for a short period, and then declines in later teenage years, providing important insights for future treatment interpretations.
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Patch clamp recording enabled a revolution in cellular electrophysiology, and is useful for evaluating the functional consequences of ion channel gene mutations or variants associated with human disorders called channelopathies. However, due to massive growth of genetic testing in medical practice and research, the number of known ion channel variants has exploded into the thousands. Fortunately, automated methods for performing patch clamp recording have emerged as important tools to address the explosion in ion channel variants.

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Introduction: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute heart failure syndrome that leads to significant morbidity and mortality. We sought to evaluate the association of cardiac mechanics on presentation with in-hospital adverse outcomes in patients with apical TTS.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 468 patients with TTS based on ICD-9/10 codes between 2006 and 2017.

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Within the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) component of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, we created a mentoring program to complement training provided by the associated Multidisciplinary Career Development Program (KL2). Called Research design Analysis Methods Program (RAMP) Mentors, the program provides each KL2 scholar with individualized, hands-on mentoring in biostatistics, epidemiology, informatics, and related fields, with the goal of building multidisciplinary research teams. From 2015 to 2019, RAMP Mentors paired 8 KL2 scholars with 16 individually selected mentors.

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Introduction: Statistical literacy is essential in clinical and translational science (CTS). Statistical competencies have been published to guide coursework design and selection for graduate students in CTS. Here, we describe common elements of graduate curricula for CTS and identify gaps in the statistical competencies.

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Importance: Previous studies have found that one-half to three-quarters of youths detained in juvenile justice facilities have 1 or more psychiatric disorders. Little is known about the course of their disorders as they age.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, comorbidity, and continuity of 13 psychiatric disorders among youths detained in a juvenile justice facility during the 15 years after detention up to a median age of 31 years, with a focus on sex and racial/ethnic differences.

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Importance: Preventing firearm violence requires understanding its antecedents. Yet no comprehensive longitudinal study has examined how involvement with firearms during adolescence-use, access, and victimization (defined as threatened with a weapon or gunshot injury)-is associated with the perpetration of firearm violence in adulthood.

Objective: To examine the association between firearm involvement during adolescence and subsequent firearm perpetration and ownership in adulthood among youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

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Objectives: To enhance reproducible research by creating a broadly accessible, free, open-source software tool for connecting Microsoft Word to statistical programs (R/R Markdown, Python, SAS, Stata) so that results may be automatically updated in a manuscript.

Materials And Methods: We developed StatTag for Windows as a Microsoft Word plug-in using C# and for macOS as a native application using Objective-C. Source code is available under the MIT license at https://github.

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Background: Structural left atrial and ventricular abnormalities on the electrocardiogram (ECG) and transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) at the time of ischemic stroke have been associated with morbidity and mortality. Yet, the prognostic impact of the same in embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS), a relevant subtype of ischemic stroke with a unique pathophysiology, has not been well studied to date. Our aim was to assess the predictive impact of left atrio-ventricular ECG and TTE abnormalities on one-year hospital readmission after ESUS from an ongoing single center prospective stroke registry in the U.

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Objective: To describe trends in the characteristics of urologic surgeons performing vasectomy over time.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study examining surgeon characteristics for case logs from the American Board of Urology between 2004 and 2013. We used generalized estimating equations with a log link and negative binomial distribution to examine demographic differences (gender, rural location, and surgeon volume) in the number of vasectomies surgeons performed over time.

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Key Points: The activity of local excitatory circuits of the subiculum has been suggested to be involved in the initiation of pathological activity in epileptic patients and experimental animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy. We have taken advantage of multimodal techniques to classify subicular cells in distinct subclasses and have investigated their morphofunctional properties and connectivity in vitro. Our results indicate that local subicular excitatory circuits are connected in a cell type-specific fashion and that synapses are preferentially established on basal vs.

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The cost of prescription drugs has increased at rates far exceeding general inflation in recent history, with topical drugs increasing at a disproportionate rate compared to other routes of administration. We assessed the relationship between net changes in the number of therapeutic options, defined as any approved drug or therapeutic equivalent on the market, and prescription topical drug spending. Drugs were divided based on the category of use through pairing of Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug products databases.

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Purpose: Patients often receive antibiotic prophylaxis after urethroplasty to minimize the risk of urinary tract infection (UTI). The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of UTIs after urethroplasty and its impact on urethral and incisional healing.

Methods: Patients undergoing urethroplasty by a single surgeon from 2000 to 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

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Between 2002 and 2016, 806 million medical devices were recalled. When approving a device, the FDA employs advisory boards organized by medical specialty (e.g.

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Eating disorders cause a number of severely impairing symptoms that may require more intensive intervention that is available through outpatient therapy services. The PHP/IOP level of care may be an effective mode of treatment in these cases, but few studies have examined overall outcomes or treatment moderators for this level of care. Using a large sample from a PHP/IOP specifically designed for the treatment of eating disorders, the current study examines a variety of symptoms (eating disorder severity, quality of life, depression, etc.

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