Comparative effect sizes in randomised trials from less developed and more developed countries: a meta-epidemiological assessment

Purpose We report on a study that replicates previous treatment studies using Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training (AbSANT), which was developed to help persons with aphasia improve their ability to retrieve abstract words, as well as thematically related concrete words. We hypothesized that previous results would be replicated; that is, when abstract words are trained using this protocol, improvement would be observed for both abstract and concrete words in the same context-category, but when concrete words are trained, no improvement for abstract words would be observed. We then frame the results of this study with the results of previous studies that used AbSANT to provide better evidence for the utility of this therapeutic technique. We also discuss proposed mechanisms of AbSANT. Method Four persons with aphasia completed one phase of concrete word training and one phase of abstract word training using the AbSANT protocol. Effect sizes were calculated for each word type for each phase. Effect sizes for this study are compared with the effect sizes from previous studies. Results As predicted, training abstract words resulted in both direct training and generalization effects, whereas training concrete words resulted in only direct training effects. The reported results are consistent across studies. Furthermore, when the data are compared across studies, there is a distinct pattern of the added benefit of training abstract words using AbSANT. Conclusion Treatment for word retrieval in aphasia is most often aimed at concrete words, despite the usefulness and pervasiveness of abstract words in everyday conversation. We show the utility of AbSANT as a means of improving not only abstract word retrieval but also concrete word retrieval and hope this evidence will help foster its application in clinical practice.

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Effects of radiotherapy and of differences in the extent of surgery for early breast cancer on local recurrence and 15-year survival: An overview of the randomised trials

Yearbook of Oncology ◽

10.1016/s1040-1741(08)70294-x ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2007 ◽

pp. 39-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Morrow

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Local Recurrence ◽

Early Breast Cancer ◽

Randomised Trials ◽

Extent Of Surgery

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The Essential Guide to Effect Sizes

10.1017/cbo9780511761676 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 738

Author(s):

Paul D. Ellis

Keyword(s):

Effect Sizes

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Emerging Nutrition Gaps in a World of Affluence - Micronutrient Intake and Status Globally

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000068 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 238-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Manfred Eggersdorfer ◽

Paul Walter

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Human Health ◽

Old Age ◽

Molecular Basis ◽

Health Benefit ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽

New Science ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Micronutrient Intake

Nutrition is important for human health in all stages of life - from conception to old age. Today we know much more about the molecular basis of nutrition. Most importantly, we have learnt that micronutrients, among other factors, interact with genes, and new science is increasingly providing more tools to clarify this interrelation between health and nutrition. Sufficient intake of vitamins is essential to achieve maximum health benefit. It is well established that in developing countries, millions of people still suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. However, it is far less recognized that we face micronutrient insufficiencies also in developed countries.

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Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Italian Single-Center Study

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000220 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 85 (1-2) ◽

pp. 23-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Aneta Aleksova ◽

Rita Belfiore ◽

Cosimo Carriere ◽

Salam Kassem ◽

Salvatore La Carrubba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽

Vitamin D ◽

Vitamin D Deficiency ◽

Primary Source ◽

Sun Exposure ◽

Female Gender ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Vitamin D Status ◽

High Exposure

Abstract. Background: Hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin deficiency that has been increasing in developed countries; it was also suggested as an emerging risk factor for developing of atherosclerosis and acute myocardial infarction. The primary source of vitamin D is its cutaneous synthesis under exposure to sunlight. It has been suggested that 30 min of sun exposure twice weekly leads to sufficient vitamin D synthesis. The residents of Trieste (Italy) are well-known for their high exposure to sunlight in all seasons. We aimed to investigate the vitamin D status in subjects with acute myocardial infarction living in this area. Methods: Vitamin D status was identified in 478 subjects diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction. Results: The median serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 14.5 [7.8 - 22.7] ng/mL. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were present in 324 (68 %) and 107 (22 %) subjects, respectively. Vitamin D deficiency was less frequent among subjects enrolled in the period from July to the end of September (p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis vitamin D deficiency was predicted by older age (p = 0.02), female gender (p = 0.002), higher body mass index (p = 0.05), autumn/winter sampling (p < 0.001), increased parathyroid hormone (p = 0.03) and alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.003). Conclusions: We observed very high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among subjects with myocardial infarction in all seasons of enrollment. However, it was lower in the summer when sun exposure is higher. The exposure to sunlight may be a cost-saving therapeutic strategy for the management of vitamin D deficiency.

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Quantification of Vitamin A in Fortified Rapeseed, Groundnut and Soya Oils Using a Simple Portable Device: Comparison to High Performance Liquid Chromatography

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000154 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 83 (2) ◽

pp. 122-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cécile Renaud ◽

Jacques Berger ◽

Arnaud Laillou ◽

Sylvie Avallone

Keyword(s):

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Vitamin A ◽

High Performance ◽

Vitamin A Deficiency ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Portable Device ◽

Least Developed Countries ◽

Control Food ◽

Assay Precision

Vitamin A deficiency is still one of the major public health problems in least developed countries. Fortification of vegetable oils is a strategy implemented worldwide to prevent this deficiency. For a fortification program to be effective, regular monitoring is necessary to control food quality in the producing units. The reference methods for vitamin A quantification are expensive and time-consuming. A rapid method should be useful for regular assessment of vitamin A in the oil industry. A portable device was compared to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for three plant oils (rapeseed, groundnut, and soya). The device presented a good linearity from 3 to 30 mg retinol equivalents per kg (mg RE.kg- 1). Its limits of detection and quantification were 3 mg RE.kg- 1 for groundnut and rapeseed oils and 4 mg RE.kg- 1 for soya oil. The intra-assay precision ranged from 1.48 % to 3.98 %, considered satisfactory. Accuracy estimated by the root mean squares error ranged from 3.99 to 5.49 and revealed a lower precision than HPLC (0.4 to 2.25). Although it offers less precision than HPLC, the device estimates quickly the vitamin A content of the tested oils from 3 or 4 to 15 mg RE.kg- 1.

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Clinically Meaningful Change

Methodology ◽

10.1027/1614-2241/a000168 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 97-105

Author(s):

Rodrigo Ferrer ◽

Antonio Pardo

Keyword(s):

Effect Size ◽

False Negative ◽

False Negative Rate ◽

Point Of View ◽

Skewed Distribution ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

False Negatives ◽

Large Size ◽

Before And After ◽

Post Test

Abstract. In a recent paper, Ferrer and Pardo (2014) tested several distribution-based methods designed to assess when test scores obtained before and after an intervention reflect a statistically reliable change. However, we still do not know how these methods perform from the point of view of false negatives. For this purpose, we have simulated change scenarios (different effect sizes in a pre-post-test design) with distributions of different shapes and with different sample sizes. For each simulated scenario, we generated 1,000 samples. In each sample, we recorded the false-negative rate of the five distribution-based methods with the best performance from the point of view of the false positives. Our results have revealed unacceptable rates of false negatives even with effects of very large size, starting from 31.8% in an optimistic scenario (effect size of 2.0 and a normal distribution) to 99.9% in the worst scenario (effect size of 0.2 and a highly skewed distribution). Therefore, our results suggest that the widely used distribution-based methods must be applied with caution in a clinical context, because they need huge effect sizes to detect a true change. However, we made some considerations regarding the effect size and the cut-off points commonly used which allow us to be more precise in our estimates.

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The Limits of Ego Depletion

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000365 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (5-6) ◽

pp. 292-304 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mario Wenzel ◽

Marina Lind ◽

Zarah Rowland ◽

Daniela Zahn ◽

Thomas Kubiak

Keyword(s):

Research Agenda ◽

Statistical Power ◽

Interindividual Variability ◽

Ego Depletion ◽

Crossover Design ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Future Research ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Depletion Effect ◽

Within Subjects

Abstract. Evidence on the existence of the ego depletion phenomena as well as the size of the effects and potential moderators and mediators are ambiguous. Building on a crossover design that enables superior statistical power within a single study, we investigated the robustness of the ego depletion effect between and within subjects and moderating and mediating influences of the ego depletion manipulation checks. Our results, based on a sample of 187 participants, demonstrated that (a) the between- and within-subject ego depletion effects only had negligible effect sizes and that there was (b) large interindividual variability that (c) could not be explained by differences in ego depletion manipulation checks. We discuss the implications of these results and outline a future research agenda.

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