scholarly journals Increasing power in the analysis of responder endpoints in rheumatology: a software tutorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina McMenamin ◽  
Michael J. Grayling ◽  
Anna Berglind ◽  
James M. S. Wason
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Lupus Erythematosus ◽  
Risk Difference ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Point Estimates ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
R Packages ◽  
User Friendly

Abstract Background Composite responder endpoints feature frequently in rheumatology due to the multifaceted nature of many of these conditions. Current analysis methods used to analyse these endpoints discard much of the data used to classify patients as responders and are therefore highly inefficient, resulting in low power. We highlight a novel augmented methodology that uses more of the information available to improve the precision of reported treatment effects. Since these methods are more challenging to implement, we developed free, user-friendly software available in a web-based interface and as R packages. The software consists of two programs: one that supports the analysis of responder endpoints; the second that facilitates sample size estimation. We demonstrate the use of the software to conduct the analysis with both the augmented and standard analysis method using the MUSE study, a phase IIb trial in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Results The software outputs similar point estimates with smaller confidence intervals for the odds ratio, risk ratio and risk difference estimators using the augmented approach. The sample size required in each arm for a future trial using the novel approach based on the MUSE data is 50 versus 135 for the standard method, translating to a reduction in required sample size of approximately 63%. Conclusions We encourage trialists to use the software demonstrated to implement the augmented methodology in future studies to improve efficiency.

scholarly journals Increasing power in the analysis of responder endpoints in rheumatology: a software tutorial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina McMenamin ◽  
Michael J Grayling ◽  
Anna Berglind ◽  
James MS Wason
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Lupus Erythematosus ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
User Friendly

Background: Composite responder endpoints feature frequently in rheumatology due to the multifaceted nature of many of these conditions. Current analysis methods used to analyse these endpoints discard much of the data used to classify patients as responders; they are therefore highly inefficient and result in low power. Methods: We highlight a novel augmented methodology that uses more of the information available to improve the precision of reported treatment effects. Since these methods are more challenging to implement, we have developed free, user friendly software available in a web-based interface. The software consists of two programs: one that supports the analysis of responder endpoints; the second is used for sample size estimation. We demonstrate the augmented analysis method and its software using the MUSE study, a phase IIb trial in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Results: We show the software can be used to analyse the trial with efficiency gains translating to a reduction in required sample size of 63%. Furthermore, we illustrate how the software can be used to choose the sample size needed in a future trial that will use the novel approach as the primary analysis method. Conclusion: We encourage trialists to utilise the software we have developed to implement augmented methodology in future studies to improve efficiency.

Null Hypothesis Significance Testing: Ramifications, Ruminations and Recommendations

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K. Huysamen
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Significance Testing ◽  
Population Parameter ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Null Hypothesis Significance Testing ◽  
Point Estimates ◽  
Size Estimates

Criticisms of traditional null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) became more pronounced during the 1960s and reached a climax during the past decade. Among others, NHST says nothing about the size of the population parameter of interest and its result is influenced by sample size. Estimation of confidence intervals around point estimates of the relevant parameters, model fitting and Bayesian statistics represent some major departures from conventional NHST. Testing non-nil null hypotheses, determining optimal sample size to uncover only substantively meaningful effect sizes and reporting effect-size estimates may be regarded as minor extensions of NHST. Although there seems to be growing support for the estimation of confidence intervals around point estimates of the relevant parameters, it is unlikely that NHST-based procedures will disappear in the near future. In the meantime, it is widely accepted that effect-size estimates should be reported as a mandatory adjunct to conventional NHST results.

Development of a Web-Based System for Diagnosing Student Learning Problems on English Tenses

2010 ◽  
pp. 1825-1843
Author(s):  
Gwo-Jen Hwang ◽  
Hsiang Cheng ◽  
Carol H.C. Chu ◽  
Judy C.R. Tseng ◽  
Gwo-Haur Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Learning ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
Web Based System ◽  
English Verb

In the past decades, English learning has received lots of attention all over the world, especially for those who are not native English speakers. Various English learning and testing systems have been developed on the Internet. Nevertheless, most existing English testing systems represent the learning status of a student by assigning that student with a score or grade. This approach makes the student aware of his/her learning status through the score or grade, but the student might be unable to improve his/her learning status without further guidance. In this paper, an intelligent English tense learning and diagnosticsystem is proposed, which is able to identify studentlearning problems on English verb tenses and to provide personalized learning suggestions in accordance with eachstudent’s learning portfolio. Experimental results on hundreds of college students have depicted the superiority of the novel approach.

Development of a Web-Based System for Diagnosing Student Learning Problems on English Tenses

2011 ◽  
pp. 324-341
Author(s):  
Gwo-Jen Hwang ◽  
Hsiang Cheng ◽  
Carol H.C. Chu ◽  
Judy C.R. Tseng ◽  
Gwo-Haur Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Learning ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Web Based System

In the past decades, English learning has received lots of attention all over the world, especially for those who are not native English speakers. Various English learning and testing systems have been developed on the Internet. Nevertheless, most existing English testing systems represent the learning status of a student by assigning that student with a score or grade. This approach makes the student aware of his/her learning status through the score or grade, but the student might be unable to improve his/her learning status without further guidance. In this paper, an intelligent English tense learning and diagnostic system is proposed, which is able to identify student learning problems on English verb tenses and to provide personalized learning suggestions in accordance with each student’s learning portfolio. Experimental results on hundreds of college students have depicted the superiority of the novel approach.

scholarly journals ECX: An R Package for Studying Sensitivity of Antimicrobial Substances Using Spiral Plating Technology

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Andrés Torres-Londoño ◽  
Mary Hausbeck ◽  
Jianjun Hao
Keyword(s):  
R Package ◽  
Large Datasets ◽  
Graphical Interface ◽  
Commercial Software ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Plating Technique ◽  
Antimicrobial Substances ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
R Packages ◽  
User Friendly

Spiral plating technique is reliable, repeatable, and more efficient than dilution plating methods in studying the efficacy of antimicrobial products. In this method, the concentration of chemicals can be varied at different positions on agar plates, but its calculation requires using a commercial software. To establish a user-friendly and cost-free platform, the R package ECX was developed to calculate chemical concentrations in spiral plating technique. Mathematical models were established for calculating dispensed volume on agar plates using variables (molecular weight and agar height) that affect diffusion. In addition to the R packages, the web-based Shiny extensions ECX, multi, and ppm were developed to provide a graphical interface for calculating individual concentrations, multiple concentrations, and stock concentrations, respectively. No significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) when ECX was compared with the commercial software. The ability to import and process large datasets makes the ECX package a better option for spiral plating technique studies. Furthermore, the multiplatform nature of the ECX package overcomes limitations presented in other software. Therefore, these ECX characteristics can increase the use of the spiral plating technique for sensitivity studies. Accepted for publication 21 June 2016.

Simplified Analytical Determination of Bending Moments in a Two-Way Slab Using a Web-Based Application

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Jakub Holan ◽  
Radek Štefan
Keyword(s):  
Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Analytical Methods ◽  
Analytical Determination ◽  
Correction Coefficient ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Bending Moments ◽  
Web Based ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Analytical Approaches

In the last decade, the computing power of computers has significantly increased, which enabled very detailed and accurate numerical static non-linear analyses of reinforced concrete structures to be carried out using sophisticated commercial software. However, higher risk of errors, both in the calculation inputs and algorithm, is linked with the increased detail and accuracy of numerical modelling. For this reason, it is convenient to verify the results provided by sophisticated software using simplified analytical approaches. In order to provide a tool for quick and easy verification of results provided by sophisticated software, a novel web-based application employing simplified analytical methods has been developed by the authors of this paper. This web-based application is capable of quick and easy calculations of bending moments in reinforced concrete two-way slabs. For the calculation of bending moments, the Marcus Method is employed. This method introduces a correction coefficient to the Rankine-Grashoff Theory of Equal Deflections in order to account for the torsional restraints at the corners of the slab. These analytical methods are algorithmized and implemented using the JavaScript programming language. A graphical user interface for the input of data and for the interpretation of results is created using the HTML markup language. The novel web-based application is freely available and works on all common devices and operating systems. From the presented results, it is clear that the novel web-based application is quick, easily available, user-friendly, and intuitive. The web-based application can be used for the verification of the calculated bending moments during the design of a reinforced concrete two-way slab.

The Role of Web Based Accounting Online System 2.0 as the Company's Income and Expense Management

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
Nur Azizah ◽  
Dedeh Supriyanti ◽  
Siti Fairuz Aminah Mustapha ◽  
Holly Yang
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Bank Account ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Online System ◽  
Version 2.0 ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Company

In a company, the process of income and expense of money must have a profit-generating goal base. The success of financial management within the company, can be monitored from the ability of the financial management in managing the finances and utilize all the opportunities that exist with as much as possible with the aim to control the company's cash (cash flow) and the impact of generating profits in accordance with expectations. With a web-based online accounting system version 2.0, companies can be given the ease to manage money in and out of the company's cash. It has a user friendly system with navigation that makes it easy for the financial management to use it. Starting from the creation of a company's cash account used as a cash account and corporate bank account on the system, deletion or filing of cash accounts, up to the transfer invoice creation feature, receive and send money. Thus, this system is very effective and efficient in the management of income and corporate cash disbursements.   Keywords:​Accounting Online System, Financial Management, Cash and Bank

Exploring normative perceptions and misperceptions of private, environmentally impactful behaviours

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Gallagher ◽  
Bas Verplanken ◽  
Ian Walker
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Normative Influence ◽  
Change Mechanism ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Classical Studies ◽  
Referent Group

Social norms have been shown to be an effective behaviour change mechanism across diverse behaviours, demonstrated from classical studies to more recent behaviour change research. Much of this research has focused on environmentally impactful actions. Social norms are typically utilised for behaviour change in social contexts, which facilitates the important element of the behaviour being visible to the referent group. This ensures that behaviours can be learned through observation and that deviations from the acceptable behaviour can be easily sanctioned or approved by the referent group. There has been little focus on how effective social norms are in private or non-social contexts, despite a multitude of environmentally impactful behaviours occurring in the home, for example. The current study took the novel approach to explore if private behaviours are important in the context of normative influence, and if the lack of a referent groups results in inaccurate normative perceptions and misguided behaviours. Findings demonstrated variance in normative perceptions of private behaviours, and that these misperceptions may influence behaviour. These behaviours are deemed to be more environmentally harmful, and respondents are less comfortable with these behaviours being visible to others, than non-private behaviours. The research reveals the importance of focusing on private behaviours, which have been largely overlooked in the normative influence literature.

Web-Based Peer and Self-Assessment System Design and Development for Elementary School Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet EMIN KORTAK
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Elementary School Students ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
School Students ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
User Friendly

This research aimed at designing and improving the web-based integrated peer and self- assessment. WesPASS (web-based peer-assessment system), developed in this research, allows students to assess their own or their peers’ performance and project assignments and to report about the result of these assessments so that they correct their assignments. This study employed design-based research. The participants included 102 fourth grade primary school students and their 4 teachers from 2 state and 2 private primary schools in Ankara, Kecioren (Turkey) who employed the system and were engaged in a questionnaire survey to assess its quality. The findings were analyzed through quantitative data analysis. The findings revealed that the system can be used by elementary school students for peer and self-assessment system. The participants stated that WesPASS is simple and user-friendly, and it accelerates the assessment process by employing information technology and allows to share opinions 

Clinical characteristics and epidemiology survey of lung transplantation recipients accepting surgeries during COVID-19 pandemic：from area near Hubei Province (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingxiao Qiu ◽  
Shanshan Chen ◽  
Cong Wang ◽  
Caihong Liu ◽  
Huaqi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Transplantation ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Lung Transplant ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Transplant Program ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Wbc Count ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

BACKGROUND Lung transplantation recipients (LTx) are more susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome-corona virus-2 (SARS-Cov-2) and suffer severer outcomes than healthy subjects. OBJECTIVE Here we aim to analyze whether it was appropriate to maintain lung transplant programs in medical institutions accepting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. METHODS Methods: the clinical characteristics, laboratory testing, and epidemiology survey results of 10 LTx recipients undergoing allograft lung transplantation surgeries in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University during the COVID-19 pandemic were collected. A web-based epidemiology questionnaire was used to collect the information of LTx recipients after discharge. RESULTS A total of 10 LTx recipients were identified. The main cause of lung transplantation was idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (60%), with another rare case of cystic fibrosis. Comorbidities involved hyperlipidemia, subclinical hyperthyroidism, diabetes, viral hepatitis of type B. The average white blood cell (WBC) count and average lymphocyte count were 9.5±3.9×109 cells/liter and 1.7±1.1×109 cells/liter, respectively. 40% of the LTx recipients had lymphopenia. Impaired alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) were observed in LTx recipients. Good habitats of hand hygiene (100%), wearing protective masks behaviors (100%), indoor ventilation behaviors (100%), indoor disinfection measures (83%), personal tableware (67%), separate room (100%), personal bedsheets/ quilts (100%) and drinking glasses (100%) were observed during the follow-up. None of the LTx recipients or their family members get infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the novel coronavirus pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Under the premise of taking appropriate preventive measures during hospitalization and after discharge, the lung transplant program can be maintained in the medical institution that accepts patients with COVID-19. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.06.20147264

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