Comparison of Diffusion Signal Models for Fiber Tractography in Eloquent Glioma Surgery-Determination of Accuracy Under Awake Craniotomy Conditions.

Objective: Fiber tractography (FT) has become an important noninvasive tool to ensure maximal safe tumor resection in eloquent glioma surgery. Intraoperatively applied FT is still predominantly based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). However, reconstruction schemes of high angular resolution diffusion imaging data for high-resolution FT (HRFT) are gaining increasing attention.

Is antibiotic prophylaxis expendable in parotid gland surgery? A retrospective analysis of surgical site infection rates.

Objectives: To evaluate the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) and associated risk factors after parotid gland surgery including the impact of antibiotic prophylaxis.

Design: Retrospective single-centre clinical study.

Setting: Tertiary referral centre for head and neck surgery.

Mental Health Specialist Video Consultations Versus Treatment-as-Usual for Patients With Depression or Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care: Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial.

Background: Most people affected by depression or anxiety disorders are treated solely by their primary care physician. Access to specialized mental health care is impeded by patients' comorbidity and immobility in aging societies and long waiting times at the providers' end. Video-based integrated care models may leverage limited resources more efficiently and provide timely specialized care in primary care settings.

Robotic-Assisted Versus Conventional Open Partial Nephrectomy (Robocop): A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of 249 Patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare open partial nephrectomy (OPN) and robotic-assisted PN (RAPN) based on a propensity score-matched sample and to test the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI) as an end point for complications.

Methods: Patients undergoing PN from 2010 to 2018 at a university care center were included. OPN and RAPN cases were matched in a 2:1 ratio using propensity score-matching with age, gender, BMI, RENAL score, and tumor size as confounders.

Gallstones, Body Mass Index, C-Reactive Protein, and Gallbladder Cancer: Mendelian Randomization Analysis of Chilean and European Genotype Data.

Background And Aims: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a neglected disease with substantial geographical variability: Chile shows the highest incidence worldwide, while GBC is relatively rare in Europe. Here, we investigate the causal effects of risk factors considered in current GBC prevention programs as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) level as a marker of chronic inflammation.

Approach And Results: We applied two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) using publicly available data and our own data from a retrospective Chilean and a prospective European study.

Cluster-randomised trial evaluating a complex intervention to improve mental health and well-being of employees working in hospital - a protocol for the SEEGEN trial.

Background: Health care employees in Germany and worldwide are exposed to a variety of stressors. However, most of the hospitals in Germany lack a systematic workplace health management. Thus, this study aims at the evaluation of the effects of a behavioural as well as organisational (´complex´) intervention on the mental health and well-being of hospital staff.

Going Beyond Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography in Eloquent Glioma Surgery-High-Resolution Fiber Tractography: Q-Ball or Constrained Spherical Deconvolution?

Objective: As a result of the resolution of intravoxel fiber crossing, high-resolution fiber tractography (HRFT) provides advantages over conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for fiber tractography (FT). Nevertheless, neurosurgically applied FT is still predominantly based on DTI. Although the application of HRFT is evolving, there is still a lack of data about which method should be preferred.

Validating the Xerostomia Inventory in a radiation-induced xerostomia population in German language.

Objectives: Though xerostomia is a frequent oral symptom, there is no validated disease-specific questionnaire in German. The purpose of this study was to translate and validate versions of the Xerostomia Inventory and the Summated Xerostomia Inventory in a German-speaking population.

Participants And Methods: Thirty-nine patients including 18 patients suffering from radiation-induced xerostomia enrolled in this study.

Optimal selection of genetic variants for adjustment of population stratification in European association studies.

Population stratification is usually corrected relying on principal component analysis (PCA) of genome-wide genotype data, even in populations considered genetically homogeneous, such as Europeans. The need to genotype only a small number of genetic variants that show large differences in allele frequency among subpopulations-so-called ancestry-informative markers (AIMs)-instead of the whole genome for stratification adjustment could represent an advantage for replication studies and candidate gene/pathway studies. Here we compare the correction performance of classical and robust principal components (PCs) with the use of AIMs selected according to four different methods: the informativeness for assignment measure ($IN$-AIMs), the combination of PCA and F-statistics, PCA-correlated measurement and the PCA weighted loadings for each genetic variant.

Methods and results from the genome-wide association group at GAW20.

Background: This paper summarizes the contributions from the Genome-wide Association Study group (GWAS group) of the GAW20. The GWAS group contributions focused on topics such as association tests, phenotype imputation, and application of empirical kinships. The goals of the GWAS group contributions were varied.

Control procedures and estimators of the false discovery rate and their application in low-dimensional settings: an empirical investigation.

Background: When many (up to millions) of statistical tests are conducted in discovery set analyses such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS), approaches controlling family-wise error rate (FWER) or false discovery rate (FDR) are required to reduce the number of false positive decisions. Some methods were specifically developed in the context of high-dimensional settings and partially rely on the estimation of the proportion of true null hypotheses. However, these approaches are also applied in low-dimensional settings such as replication set analyses that might be restricted to a small number of specific hypotheses.