The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new method for fitting item response theory models with the latent population distribution estimated from the data using splines. A spline-based density estimation system provides a flexible alternative to existing procedures that use a normal distribution, or a different functional form, for the population distribution. A simulation study shows that the new procedure is feasible in practice, and that when the latent distribution is not well approximated as normal, two-parameter logistic (2PL) item parameter estimates and expected a posteriori scores (EAPs) can be improved over what they would be with the normal model. An example with real data compares the new method and the extant empirical histogram approach.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11336-004-1175-8 | DOI Listing |
Int J Lang Commun Disord
December 2024
Hearing, Speech & Language Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is amongst the 10 most common cancers worldwide and has a major effect on patients' quality of life. Given the complexity of this unique group of patients, a multidisciplinary team approach is preferable. Amongst the debilitating sequels of HNC and/or its treatment, swallowing, speech and voice impairments are prevalent and require the involvement of speech-language pathologists (SLPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRheumatol Int
December 2024
Department of General Practice N2, South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
We discuss the paper recently published in Rheumatology Internationa. This article reflects on the prevalence of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023) and compares the same with the pre-pandemic period (2016-2019). We assume that SARS-CoV-2 triggers ARD.
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December 2024
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Sorlandet Hospital, Kristiansand, Norway.
Axial spondyloarthritis (ax-SpA) causes pain, fatigue, stiffness, loss of physical function, and poor health status, which can influence sexual activity and enjoyment. To explore whether patients with ax-SpA perceive that their health status effects their sexual activity and to identify predictors of these perceived effects on sexual activity after a 5-year follow-up. Data about demographics, disease, medication, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and sexual quality of life (SQOL) were collected at the baseline and 5-year follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Department of Anesthesiology, The First Hospital of Putian City, Putian, China.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between unintentional weight loss and 30-day mortality in sepsis patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). A retrospective cohort study sepsis patients in the ICU was conducted using data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database, involving 1842 sepsis patients in the ICU. We utilized multivariate Cox regression analysis to evaluate the association between unintentional weight loss and the risk of 30-day mortality.
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December 2024
Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, South Korea.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely used drugs worldwide. However, their influence on the progression of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in established chronic kidney disease (CKD) cases is unclear. Using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment database encoded by the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership-Common Data Model (OMOP-CDM), patients with stage 3 or 4 CKD initiating PPIs or histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) for over 90 days were enrolled from 2012 through 2021.
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