Parametric process of a box-counting model for evaluation of fractal compositions

his article seeks to create and evaluate a parametric process that allows identifying the D dimension in fractal compositions through a Box-counting tool. The use of this method in a parametric process allows sequential tests that can confirm whether a composition is a fractal structure. The theoretical survey and the development of a parametric process in a visual algorithm were carried out for the development of this research. The tests with the tool took place in linear fractal compositions already known and developed in another research. As a result, it was possible to compare the D dimension of different compositions, made with fractal geometric patterns. In the conclusion, it was possible to observe that the process through a parametric tool was successful in making it possible to evaluate compositions and arrangements in an agile way. A direct relationship was identified between the iterations used and the proportional increase dimension D.

Psychomotor consequences in children with Tourette’s Syndrome

Background: Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) has a neuropsychiatric aspect and a chronic repertoire of motor-phonic tics. The common onset is in infants and remission in adults. Objective: investigate psychomotor consequences in children with TS. Design and settings: literature review. Methods: eleven studies were selected from a group of 20 after searching the MEDLINE database for “psychomotor performance OR psychomotor development” and “Tourette’s Syndrome”. Only articles with full texts available and published from 2011-2021 were included. Results: the response time (RT) of children with TS was longer. Throughout Do/Don’t tasks, with/without false alarms, the RT was lower while the accuracy of movement (AM) was greater. A study on RT and AM with different levels of complexity showed greater difficulty in ST group (p<0.001) with RT increasing according to complexity. Many children with TS also had ADHD, and when comparing them to the ones only with TS, the ADHD+TS group made more mistakes while having the same RT. The ADHD+TS group also had a response blockage in non-sequential tests and lower TS in sequential tests (p=0.006). Studies showed an association between motor tics and forgetfulness rate (FR), with these being inversely proportional. Conclusion: children with TS have greater RT and the response to uni and bimodal stimuli differ, with greater AM and lower RT to single stimulus. More severe tics were associated with better content retention. Other psychiatric disorders are common, especially ADHD, requiring further studies to link the consequences of each pathology accordingly.

Cost-effectiveness analysis comparing companion diagnostic tests for EGFR, ALK, and ROS1 versus next-generation sequencing (NGS) in advanced adenocarcinoma lung cancer patients

Background The treatment of choice for advanced non–small cell lung cancer is selected according to the presence of specific alterations. Patients should undergo molecular testing for relevant modifications and the mutational status of EGFR and translocation of ALK and ROS1 are commonly tested to offer the best intervention. In addition, the tests costs should also be taken in consideration. Therefore, this work was performed in order to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a unique exam using NGS (next generation sequencing) versus other routinely used tests which involve RT-PCR and FISH. Methods The target population was NSCLC, adenocarcinoma, and candidates to first-line therapy. Two strategies were undertaken, strategy 1 corresponded to sequential tests with EGFR RT-PCR, then FISH for ALK and ROS1. Strategy 2 differed from 1 in that ALK and ROS1 translocation testing were performed simultaneously by FISH. Strategy 3 considered single test next-generation sequencing, a platform that includes EGFR, ALK and ROS1 genes. A decision tree analysis was used to model genetic testing options. From the test results, a microsimulation model was nested to estimate survival outcomes and costs of therapeutic options. Results The use of NGS added 24% extra true cases as well as extra costs attributed to the molecular testing. The ICER comparing NGS with sequential tests was US$ 3479.11/correct case detected. The NGS improved a slight gain in life years and QALYs. Conclusion Our results indicated that, although precise, the molecular diagnosis by NGS of patients with advanced stage NSCLC adenocarcinoma histology was not cost-effective in terms of quality-adjusted life years from the perspective of the Brazilian supplementary health system.

Multiple Comparison Procedures for the Differences of Proportion Parameters in Over-Reported Multiple-Sample Binomial Data

In sequential tests, typically a (pairwise) multiple comparison procedure (MCP) is performed after an omnibus test (an overall equality test). In general, when an omnibus test (e.g., overall equality of multiple proportions test) is rejected, then we further conduct a (pairwise) multiple comparisons or MCPs to determine which (e.g., proportions) pairs the significant differences came from. In this article, via likelihood-based approaches, we acquire three confidence intervals (CIs) for comparing each pairwise proportion difference in the presence of over-reported binomial data. Our closed-form algorithm is easy to implement. As a result, for multiple-sample proportions differences, we can easily apply MCP adjustment methods (e.g., Bonferroni, Šidák, and Dunn) to address the multiplicity issue, unlike previous literatures. We illustrate our procedures to a real data example.