This paper considers the statistical analysis of entomological count data from field experiments with genetically modified (GM) plants. Such trials are carried out to assess environmental safety. Potential effects on nontarget organisms (NTOs), as indicators of biodiversity, are investigated. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gives broad guidance on the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of GM plants. Field experiments must contain suitable comparator crops as a benchmark for the assessment of designated endpoints. In this paper, a detailed protocol is proposed to perform data analysis for the purpose of assessing environmental safety. The protocol includes the specification of a list of endpoints and their hierarchical relations, the specification of intended levels of data analysis, and the specification of provisional limits of concern to decide on the need for further investigation. The protocol emphasizes a graphical representation of estimates and confidence intervals for the ratio of mean abundances for the GM plant and its comparator crop. Interpretation relies mainly on equivalence testing in which confidence intervals are compared with the limits of concern. The proposed methodology is illustrated with entomological count data resulting from multiyear, multilocation field trials. A cisgenically modified potato line (with enhanced resistance to late blight disease) was compared to the original conventional potato variety in the Netherlands and Ireland in two successive years (2013, 2014). It is shown that the protocol encompasses alternative schemes for safety assessment resulting from different research questions and/or expert choices. Graphical displays of equivalence testing at several hierarchical levels and their interpretation are presented for one of these schemes. The proposed approaches should be of help in the ERA of GM or other novel plants.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4964 | DOI Listing |
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Psychological Institute and Network Aging Research, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Background: Immersive virtual reality (iVR) has emerged as a training method to prepare medical first responders (MFRs) for mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and disasters in a resource-efficient, flexible, and safe manner. However, systematic evaluations and validations of potential performance indicators for virtual MCI training are still lacking.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether different performance indicators based on visual attention, triage performance, and information transmission can be effectively extended to MCI training in iVR by testing if they can discriminate between different levels of expertise.
Assist Technol
January 2025
MAKE+ Applied Research, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Manual wheelchairs can promote independence among users. However, the user's level of disability, strength, stamina, and the environmental conditions within which the wheelchair is used may limit manual wheelchair functionality. The use of power assist add-ons may mitigate these limitations and help individuals to age in place.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Esc Enferm USP
January 2025
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Enfermagem, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Objective: To understand the experience of children with special health needs at school.
Method: Qualitative research using Symbolic Interactionism as a theoretical framework and assumptions of Grounded Theory as a methodological framework. Data collected in a pediatric outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in an inland city of the state of São Paulo.
Pulmonology
December 2025
Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP), Lisbon, Portugal.
Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of lower respiratory tract infection, hospitalisation and death in adults.
Methods: Based on evidence regarding the impact of RSV on adult populations at risk for severe infection and the efficacy and safety of RSV vaccines, the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology, the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine, the Portuguese Society of Cardiology, the Portuguese Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine endorses this position paper with recommendations to prevent RSV-associated disease and its complications in adults through vaccination.
Conclusion: The RSV vaccine is recommended for people aged ≥50 years with risk factors (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, heart failure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, immunocompromise, frailty, dementia, and residence in a nursing home) and all persons aged ≥60 years.
Drug Saf
January 2025
Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 5000, Odense C, Denmark.
Introduction: Large administrative healthcare databases can be used for near real-time sequential safety surveillance of drugs as an alternative approach to traditional reporting-based pharmacovigilance. The study aims to build and empirically test a prospective drug safety monitoring setup and perform a sequential safety monitoring of rofecoxib use and risk of cardiovascular outcomes.
Methods: We used Danish population-based health registers and performed sequential analysis of rofecoxib use and cardiovascular outcomes using case-time-control and cohort study designs from January 2000 to September 2004.
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