scholarly journals The Impact of Daily Urinary Volume Variations and Prostate Volume on Prostate Position During Radiotherapy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Nishioka ◽  
Takayuki Hashimoto ◽  
Takashige Abe ◽  
Takahiro Osawa ◽  
Ryuji Matsumoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Structure ◽  
Prostate Volume ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Proton Beam Therapy ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Urinary Volume ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Portable Ultrasound ◽  
Tumor Tracking ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundDaily variations in bladder volumes are thought to be a major cause of prostate position changes during radiotherapy, however, the impact of such changes on prostate position is not fully established. We hypothesized that prostate volume (PV) could also be related to the susceptibility of prostate movement to changes in urinary volume (UV). The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of daily UV variations and PV on the prostate position during radiotherapy.MethodsA total of 268 treatment sessions in 12 consecutive prostate cancer patients who were treated with proton beam therapy in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were instructed to void urine and feces one hour before the treatment and the UV was measured by a portable ultrasound device just before the treatment. After the positional registration based on bone structure, the prostate positional difference from the planned position was measured using fiducial markers in the prostate and a real-time tumor tracking system. The measurements were for the differences in the left-right (LR), cranial-caudal (CC), and anterior-posterior (AP) directions. The PV was measured by ultrasound imaging before every treatment. The impact of the UV variations on the prostate position was evaluated by the linear mixed effect model, and including PV (<20ml and ≥20ml) as covariates. ResultsThere was significant movement of the prostate in the posterior direction with increasing UV in patients with PV ≥ 20 ml (p=0.04, estimated coefficient of regression -0.436 mm/100ml, 95% CI from -0.854 to -0.018). However, there was no significant correlation between UV changes and movement of the prostate in either of the LR, CC, or AP directions in all cases and patients with PV < 20 ml.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the increase of UV could result in posterior prostate movement in patients with prostatic hyperplasia, however, the clinical impact is thought to be small. There is however a need for further research to identify other factors that could affect the daily changes in prostate position as well as a need for a more ideal preparation protocol to improve the reproducibility of the treatment-planning CT.

scholarly journals The Associations of Lymphocyte Ratio and Neutrophil Ratio on Liver Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Liu ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Wen-Yan Yu ◽  
Zhan Liu ◽  
Xia Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Dysfunction ◽  
Piecewise Linear ◽  
Smooth Curve ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Severe Liver ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Severe Liver Dysfunction ◽  
The Impact

Data on the impact of lymphocytes and neutrophils on the incidence of liver dysfunction in COVID-19 patients are limited. This study aimed to investigate the lateral and longitudinal associations of lymphocyte ratio (LR) and neutrophil ratio (NR) on liver dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. We tested 1,409 blood samples from 245 COVID-19 patients in China between January 2020 and June 2021. The lateral U-shaped relationships, determined by smooth curve fitting and the piecewise-linear mixed-effect model, were observed between LR, NR, and AST and the incidence of AST-linked liver dysfunction, with the threshold cutoffs of 26.1 and 62.0, respectively. Over the 1,409 tests, the LR ≤ 26.1 and NR ≥ 62.0 related to the occurrence of mild liver dysfunction (HR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.82), moderate liver dysfunction (HR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.85), and severe liver dysfunction (HR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.90). For the patients with preexisting AST ≥ 35 U/L, the baseline LR ≤ 26.1 and NR ≥ 62.0 (b.LLCHN) groups had a fully adjusted 8.85-, 7.88-, and 5.97-fold increased risk of mild and moderate liver dysfunction after being hospitalized of 3, 6, and 9 days compared to the baseline LR &gt; 26.1 and NR &lt; 62.0 (b.normal) groups. Severe liver dysfunction only presents significant differences after being adjusted for age, sex, and BMI. Consistently, Kaplan–Meier analyses showed that b.LLCHN reflects a better predictive value for different subsequent magnitude liver dysfunctions after admission of 3 and 6 days. To improve liver function in patients with preexisting AST ≥35 U/L, future management strategies should pay more attention to baseline LR ≤ 26.1 and NR ≥ 62.0 patients.

Social Perception of Self-Enhanced Photographs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keon M. Parsa ◽  
Karina Charipova ◽  
Eugenia Chu ◽  
Michael J. Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Social Perception ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Age Range ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe use of appearance manipulating applications on our smartphones has increased in popularity. As the aim of this study is to determine the impact of self-directed appearance manipulation on perceptions of personality and examine the influence of respondent age and gender on the various personality domains. This cross-sectional cohort study included 20 subjects between the ages of 18 to 34 who had headshots taken and were provided an introduction on the use of the Facetune2 app. After 1 week of engaging in digital appearance manipulation, subjects submitted their self-determined most attractive edited photograph. Four surveys were constructed with 10 sets of photographs each. Each of these surveys were then sent to lay people via a web-based survey tool. Anonymous blinded respondents used a 7-point Likert scale to rate their perception of each patient's aggressiveness, likeability, sociability, trustworthiness, attractiveness, authenticity, and masculinity or femininity. A multivariate linear mixed effect model was applied to analyze the overall patient trait data as well as to assess the impact of rater age and gender. A total of 288 respondents (mean age range, 25–34 years [43%]; 202 [70%] female) completed a survey. Overall, digitally enhanced photographs were perceived as more attractive (0.22; 95% CI, 0.06–0.38). Analysis based on gender of the study subjects revealed increased attractiveness scores for men (0.19; 95% CI, 0.07–0.33). Females were also perceived as being more attractive (0.16; 95% CI, 0.03–0.40), but less authentic (−0.24; 95% CI, −0.36 to −0.12). Females rated enhanced photographs of men as less masculine (−0.23; 95% CI, −0.46 to −0.04). Raters aged 35 to 64 rated altered photos as less attractive (0.31; 95% CI, 0.09–0.52), authentic (0.20; 95% CI, 0.01–0.38), and gender enhancing (0.42; 95% CI, 0.24–0.61) compared with individuals aged 18 to 34. Patients and surgeons should be aware of the ways in which self-enhanced photographs may affect social perception.

The effect of executive control ability on the comprehension of second language metaphor

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Junmei Lü ◽  
Lijuan Liang ◽  
Baoguo Chen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Metaphor Comprehension ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Stimulus Materials ◽  
The Impact

Aims: The present study examined the effect of language-related executive control ability on second language (L2) metaphor comprehension in L2 learners. Design: All participants were Chinese–English bilinguals. The Stroop task was used to measure language-related executive control ability. Three types of sentences were used as stimulus materials, including familiar metaphoric sentences, unfamiliar metaphoric sentences and literal sentences. Participants were asked to determine whether the sentence presented was metaphoric or not. Data and analysis: Both response latencies and accuracy scores were obtained. Linear mixed effect model was used for statistical analysis. Findings: The effect of executive control ability on L2 metaphor comprehension is modulated by the familiarity of the metaphor. Specifically, for familiar metaphor sentences, the response time of participants with higher executive control ability was significantly faster than those with lower executive control ability. However, for the unfamiliar metaphor sentences and literal sentences, the effect of executive control ability was not significant. Originality: This study directly explored the impact of language-related executive control on metaphor comprehension in L2 learners. Significance/Implications: Our results found that the Predication Model is also applicable to L2 learners.

scholarly journals The impact of social anxiety on feedback-based go and nogo learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jutta Peterburs ◽  
Christine Albrecht ◽  
Christian Bellebaum
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Outcome Valence ◽  
Feedback Learning ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Social Anxiety ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe term “Pavlovian” bias describes the phenomenon that learning to execute a response to obtain a reward or to inhibit a response to avoid punishment is much easier than learning the reverse. The present study investigated the interplay between this learning bias and individual levels of social anxiety. Since avoidance behavior is a hallmark feature of social anxiety and high levels of social anxiety have been associated with better learning from negative feedback, it is conceivable that the Pavlovian bias is altered in individuals with high social anxiety, with a strong tendency to avoid negative feedback, especially (but not only) in a nogo context. In addition, learning may be modulated by the individual propensity to learn from positive or negative feedback, which can be assessed as a trait-like feature. A sample of 84 healthy university students completed an orthogonalized go/nogo task that decoupled action type (go/nogo) and outcome valence (win/avoid) and a probabilistic selection task based upon which the individual propensity to learn from positive and negative feedback was determined. Self-reported social anxiety and learning propensity were used as predictors in linear mixed-effect model analysis of performance accuracy in the go/nogo task. Results revealed that high socially anxious subjects with a propensity to learn better from negative feedback showed particularly pronounced learning for nogo to avoid while lacking significant learning for nogo to win as well as go to avoid. This result pattern suggests that high levels of social anxiety in concert with negative learning propensity hamper the overcoming of Pavlovian bias in a win context while facilitating response inhibition in an avoidance context. The present data confirm the robust Pavlovian bias in feedback-based learning and add to a growing body of evidence for modulation of feedback learning by individual factors, such as personality traits. Specifically, results show that social anxiety is associated with altered Pavlovian bias, and might suggest that this effect could be driven by altered basal ganglia function primarily affecting the nogo pathway.

scholarly journals Comparable viral decay with initial dolutegravir plus lamivudine versus dolutegravir-based triple therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 2365-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Gillman ◽  
Patrick Janulis ◽  
Roy Gulick ◽  
Carole L Wallis ◽  
Baiba Berzins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Therapy ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Triple Therapy ◽  
Therapy Group ◽  
Dual Therapy ◽  
Baseline Viral Load ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives To expand understanding of the virological potency of initial dolutegravir plus lamivudine dual therapy (dolutegravir/lamivudine), we compared the viral decay seen in the pilot ACTG A5353 study with the decay observed with dolutegravir plus two NRTIs in the SPRING-1 and SINGLE studies, while also exploring the impact of baseline viral load (VL). Methods Change in VL from baseline was calculated for timepoints shared by A5353 (n = 120, including 37 participants with pretreatment VL >100000 copies/mL), SPRING-1 (n = 51) and SINGLE (n = 417). The 95% CIs of change from baseline were determined for each observed week, using the mean log10-transformed VL, and compared between the dolutegravir/lamivudine and triple therapy groups using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test for non-inferiority (δ = 0.5). To assess the impact of baseline VL on viral decay, we examined a bi-exponential non-linear mixed-effect model. Results The mean VL change from baseline to week 24 was −2.9 log10 copies/mL for dolutegravir/lamivudine versus −3.0 log10 copies/mL for dolutegravir-based three-drug therapy (P < 0.001). In the decay model, baseline VL >100000 copies/mL was associated with a slower initial decay rate (d1). A faster initial decay rate was seen with dolutegravir/lamivudine, which was partially offset when baseline VL was >100000 copies/mL as indicated by a significant interaction between baseline VL and drug therapy group. The secondary decay rate (d2) was not significantly different from zero, with no significant associations. Conclusions Viral decay with dolutegravir/lamivudine was comparable to viral decay with dolutegravir-based triple therapy, even in individuals with higher pretreatment VL (>100000 copies/mL).

scholarly journals Uninterrupted Classroom Sitting is Associated with Increased Discomfort and Sleepiness Among College Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 2498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie R. Hosteng ◽  
Alison Phillips Reichter ◽  
Jacob E. Simmering ◽  
Lucas J. Carr
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Sitting Time ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Single Class ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
Stanford Sleepiness Scale ◽  
The Impact

Acute bouts of uninterrupted sitting has been associated with discomfort and fatigue in adult populations. However, little is known regarding the impact of uninterrupted sitting on such outcomes among college students. Understanding these relations would be useful for informing best practice and future interventions. The present study explored the relation between uninterrupted sitting and perceived levels of physical discomfort and sleepiness among college students in a real classroom setting. We recruited 54 undergraduate students enrolled in a single class at a Midwestern university. Participants remained seated throughout a 2.5 h lecture while completing the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and General Comfort Scale (GCS) every 15 min. Linear mixed effect model analyses were used to determine the relations between the independent and dependent variables and the duration at which students reported significant impairments in discomfort and/or sleepiness. Classroom sitting time was associated with increases in discomfort (r = 0.28, p < 0.01) and sleepiness (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). Students reported significant impairments in discomfort and sleepiness after 75 and 15 min, respectively. These findings support further research into the acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of interventions designed to interrupt classroom sitting on discomfort, sleepiness and measures of academic performance.

How Does Public Debt Affect the Indian Macroeconomy? A Structural VAR Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-284
Author(s):  
Ranjan Kumar Mohanty ◽  
Sidheswar Panda
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Interest Rate ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Structural Var ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Domestic Debt ◽  
The Impact

The study investigates the macroeconomic effects of public debt in India during 1980–2017 using a structural vector autoregression framework. The objective is to examine the impact of public debt on the interest rate, investment, inflation and economic growth in India. The results of the impulse response functions show that public debt has an adverse impact on economic growth but a positive impact on the long-term interest rate in the short run and a mixed effect (both negative and positive) on investment and inflation. We also find that domestic debt has a more adverse impact on the economy than external debt. The estimated variance decomposition analysis finds that much of the variation in selected macro variables are explained by public debt and growth in India. This study suggests that public debt especially domestic debt should be controlled and channelled productively to have a favourable impact on the economy. JEL Classification: H63, O40, C40

scholarly journals MegaLMM: Mega-scale linear mixed models for genomic predictions with thousands of traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Runcie ◽  
Jiayi Qu ◽  
Hao Cheng ◽  
Lorin Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Prediction ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Human Genetics ◽  
Linear Mixed Effect Model ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
Plant Data ◽  
Genetic Value

AbstractLarge-scale phenotype data can enhance the power of genomic prediction in plant and animal breeding, as well as human genetics. However, the statistical foundation of multi-trait genomic prediction is based on the multivariate linear mixed effect model, a tool notorious for its fragility when applied to more than a handful of traits. We present , a statistical framework and associated software package for mixed model analyses of a virtually unlimited number of traits. Using three examples with real plant data, we show that can leverage thousands of traits at once to significantly improve genetic value prediction accuracy.

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