Publications by authors named "McDowell G"

Motivation: Missing values are prevalent in high-throughput measurements due to various experimental or analytical reasons. Imputation, the process of replacing missing values in a dataset with estimated values, plays an important role in multivariate and machine learning analyses. The three missingness patterns, including missing completely at random, missing at random, and missing not at random, describe unique dependencies between the missing and observed data.

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Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is an important risk factor for multiple chronic diseases, increasing mortality and reducing life expectancy. The associations between emerging surrogates for IR, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) and TyG-related indicators, with all-cause mortality and life expectancy in middle-aged and older patients in primary care are unclear.

Methods: This study originated from the Polish primary care cohort LIPIDOGRAM2015, including patients aged ≥45 years.

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  • The study investigates the impact of the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) on mortality rates in ICU patients who experienced their first-ever strokes.
  • It utilizes data from a large database and local ICUs, employing statistical models to analyze the relationship between TyG levels and both ICU and hospital mortality as well as length of stay.
  • Findings indicate that higher TyG levels significantly correlate with increased mortality risk, and machine learning models based on TyG demonstrate promising predictive capabilities for ICU outcomes.
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  • The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a significant scientific study using a dual-phase xenon chamber located underground in South Dakota to search for dark matter interactions.
  • The study extends existing theories to include relativistic effects, providing new constraints on the interactions between weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons based on their electric and magnetic dipole moments.
  • Results include 90% confidence level limits on the coupling strength of five different interactions, analyzed over a specific energy range, which advances our understanding in particle physics beyond previous nonrelativistic effective field theories.
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Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently experience multimorbidity. Cluster analysis, a machine learning method for classifying patients with similar phenotypes, has not yet been used in South Asian AF patients.

Methods: The Kerala Atrial Fibrillation Registry is a prospective multicentre cohort study in Kerala, India, and the largest prospective AF registry in South Asia.

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  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in the ICU experience significant mortality risks, heavily influenced by glycaemic variability (GV), which relates to poor sugar control and can worsen their prognosis.
  • Higher GV levels correlate with increased all-cause mortality at 30, 90, and 360 days after ICU admission, indicating a need for better glycaemic management.
  • Machine learning models, particularly using light gradient boosting, show promise in predicting 30-day mortality among AF patients based on GV and other clinical features.
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  • * An observational study of 74,372 pwMS over 5 years found that 9% had deficient and 18% had inadequate vitamin D levels, both associated with a higher incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
  • * Vitamin D supplementation (cholecalciferol) did not reduce the elevated CVD risk in pwMS with deficient or inadequate vitamin D levels compared to those with adequate levels.
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Introduction: The International Neuromodulation Society convened a multispecialty group of physicians based on expertise with international representation to establish evidence-based guidance on using intrathecal drug delivery in chronic pain treatment. This Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC)® project's scope is to provide evidence-based guidance for clinical pharmacology and best practices for intrathecal drug delivery for cancer pain.

Materials And Methods: Authors were chosen on the basis of their clinical expertise, familiarity with the peer-reviewed literature, research productivity, and contributions to the neuromodulation literature.

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Rationale & Objective: Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are prolific in CKD. The risk of MACE in GN cohorts is multifactorial.

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  • * Effective management of hypertension aims to prevent organ damage and reduce mortality, emphasizing the importance of monitoring blood pressure and assessing for associated organ harm.
  • * Plasma biomarkers, including natriuretic peptides, can serve as non-invasive tests to identify organ damage in hypertensive patients, and combining multiple biomarkers may enhance early detection and treatment optimization.
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  • The International Neuromodulation Society organized a diverse group of experts to create guidelines for using intrathecal drug delivery in chronic pain management based on two decades of research.
  • Authors were selected for their expertise and conducted thorough literature reviews to ensure the recommendations were evidence-based.
  • The resulting guidelines aim to improve the safety and effectiveness of intrathecal drug delivery, with plans for future updates as new research becomes available.
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Stroke confers a severe global healthcare burden, hence exploring risk factors for stroke occurrence and prognosis is important for stroke prevention and post-stroke management strategies. Endogenous fibrinolysis is a spontaneous physiological protective mechanism that dissolves thrombus to maintain vascular patency. Recently, impaired endogenous fibrinolysis has been considered as a potential novel cardiovascular risk factor, but its link with ischaemic stroke in the past has been underappreciated.

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Background: Glomerulonephritis inherently leads to the development of chronic kidney disease. It is the second most common diagnosis in patients requiring renal replacement therapy in the United Kingdom. Metabolomics and proteomics can characterise, identify and quantify an individual's protein and metabolite make-up.

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Aims: Sarcopenia is linked to impaired physical function and exercise tolerance. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the association of sarcopenia and low appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) with biomarkers of cardiac function, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal fragment (NT-proBNP), in patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: From inception until May 2023, a systematic literature search of observational studies was undertaken utilizing the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases.

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Background: Pancreatic cancer, ranking seventh in global cancer-related deaths, poses a significant public health challenge with increasing incidence and mortality. Most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, resulting in low survival rates. Early diagnosis significantly impacts prognosis, making symptom awareness crucial.

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a significant risk factor for stroke. Based on the higher stroke associated with AF in the South Asian population, we constructed a one-year stroke prediction model using machine learning (ML) methods in KERALA-AF South Asian cohort. External validation was performed in the prospective APHRS-AF registry.

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Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) fields change rapidly and are increasingly interdisciplinary. Commonly, STEMM practitioners use short-format training (SFT) such as workshops and short courses for upskilling and reskilling, but unaddressed challenges limit SFT's effectiveness and inclusiveness. Education researchers, students in SFT courses, and organizations have called for research and strategies that can strengthen SFT in terms of effectiveness, inclusiveness, and accessibility across multiple dimensions.

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Education about scientific publishing and manuscript peer review is not universally provided in undergraduate science courses. Since peer review is integral to the scientific process and central to the identity of a scientist, we envision a paradigm shift where teaching peer review becomes integral to undergraduate science education. We hypothesize that teaching undergraduates how to peer review scientific manuscripts may facilitate their development of scientific literacy and identity formation.

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Purpose: Digital tools may improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management, but further evidence of significant, persisting benefits are required. The RECEIVER trial was devised to evaluate the Lenus COPD support service by determining if people with severe COPD would continue to utilize the co-designed patient web application throughout study follow-up and to explore the impact of this digital service on clinical outcomes with its adoption alongside routine care.

Patients And Methods: The prospective observational cohort hybrid implementation-effectiveness study began in September 2019 and included 83 participants.

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The role of inflammation in predicting early cardiac complications among stroke patients is unclear. Electronic medical records from TriNetX, a global federated health research network, were used for this retrospective analysis. Patients with ischemic stroke and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels measured within 24 h post-stroke were categorized into three groups: (i) < 1 mg/L, (ii)1-3 mg/L and (iii) > 3 mg/L.

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Background: Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are effective anti-diabetic drugs improving cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. This study investigated cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and cognitive outcomes of SGLT2i therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and T2DM.

Methods: Observational study using TriNetX, a global health research network of anonymised electronic medical records from real-world patients between January 2018 and December 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intrathecal therapy has lacked rigorous studies, especially for non-cancer patients, with no prior randomized studies on its effectiveness or safety.
  • In a study involving 54 patients, those receiving intrathecal drug delivery (IDD) showed early and sustained pain improvement compared to conventional management (CMM), with no adverse effects reported.
  • This research is significant as it highlights the potential benefits and cost-effectiveness of using off-label medications in intrathecal therapy, marking a step toward establishing clear guidelines for treatment.
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