Joint Predictor Research Articles

The prognostic value of prognostic nutritional index and renal function indicators for mortality prediction in severe COVID-19 elderly patients: A retrospective study.

Identifying prognostic factors in elderly patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial for clinical management. Recent evidence suggests malnutrition and renal dysfunction are associated with poor outcome. This study aimed to develop a prognostic model incorporating prognostic nutritional index (PNI), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and other parameters to predict mortality risk. This retrospective analysis included 155 elderly patients with severe COVID-19. Clinical data and outcomes were collected. Logistic regression analyzed independent mortality predictors. A joint predictor "L" incorporating PNI, eGFR, D-dimer, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was developed and internally validated using bootstrapping. Decreased PNI (OR = 1.103, 95% CI: 0.78-1.169), decreased eGFR (OR = 0.964, 95% CI: 0.937-0.992), elevated D-dimer (OR = 1.001, 95% CI: 1.000-1.004), and LDH (OR = 1.005, 95% CI: 1.001-1.008) were independent mortality risk factors (all P < .05). The joint predictor "L" showed good discrimination (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.863) and calibration. The bootstrapped area under the curve was 0.858, confirming model stability. A combination of PNI, eGFR, D-dimer, and LDH provides useful prognostic information to identify elderly patients with severe COVID-19 at highest mortality risk for early intervention. Further external validation is warranted.

Analysis of pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing ultrasound-indicated cerclage and identification the influence factors for predicting preterm birth: A retrospective study of 87 cases.

To investigate the factors influencing preterm birth in patients after ultrasound-indicated cerclage with different cervical lengths (CL), and explore the optimal cut-off value of CL. The retrospective study included 87 pregnant women with a history of preterm birth and second-trimester loss that received ultrasound-indicated cerclage in our hospital between January 2004 and April 2021. Groups were divided by CL at the demarcation point of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0cm respectively. The pregnancy outcomes were compared. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent influence factors. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed and the area under the curve (AUC) was used to compare the prediction capability of the associated factors. Significant difference was found in terms of patients delivered at ≥32 weeks of gestation (19 [55.9%]vs. 41 [77.4%], p<0.05) and neonatal birth weight (2495 [1138,3185]vs. 2995 [2155,3235] g, p<0.05), when the CL was categorized at the demarcation point of 1.5cm. Body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR]=1.224, p<0.05), a history of preterm birth and second-trimester loss (OR=3.153, p<0.05), and C-reactive protein (CRP)>5mg/L (OR=8.097, p<0.05) were independent risk factors for gestational age more than 28 weeks. The AUC of joint predictor A included those factors was 0.849 (95% CI: 0.701-0.998, p<0.05). CRP>5mg/L was found to be a significant independent risk factor for different gestational age at delivery. A CL of 1.5cm was the optimal cut-off value that could help women who underwent serial CL surveillance choose ultrasound-indicated cerclage at an appropriate time. High BMI, more history of preterm birth and second-trimester loss and abnormal CRP could be used as combined predictors to recognize the risk of preterm birth (<28 weeks) post-surgery.

Joint clinical and socio-demographic determinants of CD4 cell count and body weight in HIV/TB co-infected adult patients on HAART

BackgroundTuberculosis is one of the most lethal communicable diseases in the world. In tuberculosis patients, HIV speeds up the course of the infection from latent to active illness. This study aimed to identify joint clinical and socio demographic determinant factors of CD4+ cell count and body weight in HIV/TB co-infected adult patients. MethodsFrom January 2013 to December 2019, 374 HIV/TB co-infected individuals were treated and had follow-ups. This study used descriptive data analysis, a linear mixed effects model for longitudinal data, and joint modeling of the two longitudinal outcome variables. ResultsIn this study, 51.1% of the 374 HIV-TB co-infected patients were women, 47.1% were rural dwellers, and 71.9% developed extra pulmonary TB. Females made up 54.3% of all patients who died. To detect the presence of correlation among repeated measured data, the AR (1) structure was chosen. The joint model was more appropriate for analysing and interpreting current data. ConclusionsBaseline age, follow-up time, baseline weight, place of residence, adherence level, educational background, functional status, WHO clinical stage, smoking status and type of TB developed were identified as significant joint factors in CD4 cell count and weight of HIV/TB co-infected patients from potential joint predictor variables. Therefore, the concerned bodies, specifically the FMOH and regional health staffs, should enhance public awareness about the factors that lead to a drop in CD4 count and weight gain, as well as an increased risk of death from HIV/TB co-infection. Furthermore, special attention should be paid to women and patients with poor adherence. Medication and treatment must be affordable and accessible to all co-infected patients in order to maximize their CD4 count and proportional body weight to their height, and to lengthen the lives of individuals who are co-infected.

The value of ultrasound elastography combined with multi-parameters in the diagnosis of BI-RADS 4 breast lesions.

Female breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases (11.7%) in the global cancer statistics 2020. To evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography combined with multi-parameters in differentiating category 4 benign and malignant lesions in the breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS). This study retrospectively analyzed 206 patients (213 breast lesions) who visited the Department of Breast Surgery and underwent a breast core needle biopsy in the Department of Ultrasound in Peking University First hospital from April to December 2019. The shear wave velocity (SWV) values were collected at the following locations by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ): breast lesion interior, breast lesion margin, surrounding glands, and surrounding fat. Simultaneously, the strain ratio (SR) of breast lesions to glands and the area ratio (AR) of breast lesions were collected under strain elastography and a two-dimensional ultrasound mode. Univariate analysis found that the SWV value, measured by ultrasound elastography parameters, and the AR between the elasticity and the two-dimensional ultrasound breast lesions showed statistical differences when differentiating benign and malignant lesions (p< 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis found that the SWV values of the lesion interior and the surrounding glands were statistically significant. The joint predictors were calculated and analyzed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), and it was found that the joint predictors and the SWV values of the lesion interior have great diagnostic value. The cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity of the joint predictor and the SWV value of the lesion interior were > 3.65, 88.35% and 76.36% and > 5.55 m/s, 79.61% and 82.73%, respectively. Ultrasound elastography combined with multi-parameters has good diagnostic value in differentiating BI-RADS 4 breast lesions.

Capturing additional genetic risk from family history for improved polygenic risk prediction

Family history of complex traits may reflect transmitted rare pathogenic variants, intra-familial shared exposures to environmental and lifestyle factors, as well as a common genetic predisposition. We developed a latent factor model to quantify trait heritability in excess of that captured by a common variant-based polygenic risk score, but inferable from family history. For 941 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort, a joint predictor combining a polygenic risk score for height and mid-parental height was able to explain ~55% of the total variance in sex-adjusted adult height z-scores, close to the estimated heritability. Marginal yet consistent risk prediction improvements were also achieved among ~400,000 European ancestry participants for 11 complex diseases in the UK Biobank. Our work showcases a paradigm for risk calculation, and supports incorporation of family history into polygenic risk score-based genetic risk prediction models.

Joint prediction on security event and time interval through deep learning

Recently, sophisticated attacks on cyberspace have occurred frequently, causing severe damage to the Internet. Predicting potential threats can assist security engineers in deploying corresponding defenses in advance to reduce the damage. Thus, threat prediction has drawn attention in communities recently. Previous works utilized merely historical security event sequences to predict the subsequent event through the recurrent neural network (RNN), yielding inaccurate results when the input sequence is corrupted by false reports from underlying detection logs. In this paper, we develop a joint predictor for security events and time intervals through attention-based LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory). To enhance the event predicting performance for corrupted input sequences, time intervals between events are incorporated into the input tuple, providing more distinguishing features. Moreover, a time discretization method is proposed to transform the skewed long-tail dwell time distribution into a predictable distribution of the time interval. In addition, the joint optimization function enables the model to predict the occurrence time of the next event simultaneously, which is supportive for security managers to select appropriate defenses. Our model is proved to be effective on four real-world datasets, outperforming previous methods on both event and time prediction. Moreover, the empirical results also validate the model’s stability.

Risk Analysis of Severe Thrombocytopenia in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma During Concurrent Radio-Chemotherapy.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors and predictive indexes of severe thrombocytopenia during concurrent radio-chemotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinomas.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed from the hospitalized patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma from August 2014 to July 2017, and induction chemotherapy and concurrent radio-chemotherapy were completed. According to the lowest platelet count during concurrent chemotherapy, patients were divided into observation and control groups. General information and laboratory examinations were recorded and analyzed by univariate analysis, multivariate regression analysis, and ROC curve analysis.ResultsFactors, including age, PLT, IBIL, APTT at first visit, WBC, RBC, HGB, PLT, NEUT, APTT, IBIL, FFA, Crea, and urea before radio-chemotherapy, which are significant in univariate analysis into multivariate regression analysis, were taken. It turned out that RBC (OR = 10.060, 95% CI 2.679–37.777, p = 0.001), PLT (OR = 1.020, 95% CI 1.006–1.034, p = 0.005), and IBIL (OR = 0.710, 95% CI 0.561–0.898, p = 0.004) are independent predictors of severe TP in NPC. ROC analysis showed that the AUC of RBC, IBIL, PLT, and AGE is 0.746 (p < 0.001), 0.735 (p < 0.001), 0.702 (p = 0.001), and 0.734 (p < 0.001). New variables called joint predictors were calculated by a regression equation (Y = 2.309 * RBC - 0.343 * IBIL + 0.02 * PLT - 10.007), the AUC of which is 0.8700 (p < 0.001); best truncation value is >5.87 mmol/l.ConclusionsLower RBC, PLT, and higher IBIL before concurrent radio-chemotherapy are independent risk factors causing severe TP during concurrent radio-chemotherapy of NPC. The RBC, PLT, and IBIL before concurrent radio-chemotherapy and joint predictor have a good predictive value to evaluate the risk of severe TP during concurrent radio-chemotherapy of NPC.

Occupational Stress as a Predictor of Mental Health Status of Universities Lecturers in South-East Nigeria

The focus of this study was to determine occupational stress as a predictor of mental health status of universities lecturers in south-east Nigeria. three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted the correlation survey research design. A sample of 940 lecturers were selected using the multistage sampling procedure. The instrument adopted for data collection is the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition (OSI-R) which was developed by Samuel H. Osipow in 1998 and The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) developed by Lovibond and Lovibond in 1983. The administration of the instrument was done through direct delivery approach to the Lectures, in administering the instrument, A total of 920 (100%) questionnaires were administered with a retrieval rate of 902 (98%). Data collected were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The study revealed that occupational stress of lecturers between 20-40 years of age had contributed to 51.0 percent and is a significant predictor of their mental health, occupational stress of lecturers within 40 years and above had contributed to 72.0 percent of their mental health and occupational stress of lecturers within 40 years of age is a significant predictor of their mental health. the findings further revealed that that occupational stress of lecturers jointly with age had contributed to 72.0 percent and 6.2 percent respectively of their mental health and occupational stress and age of lecturers is a significant joint predictor of their mental health. Based on the strength of this findings, conclusions were drawn and recommendations made among others that Routine medical check on the mental health status of lecturers should be sponsored by federal and state governments for lecturers in federal and state institutions respectively. Keywords: Occupation, Stress, Occupational Stress, Mental Health, Lecturers, Universities DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-34-04 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

Relationship between the Quantitative Indicators of Cranial MRI and the Early Neurodevelopment of Preterm Infants.

Aim To explore the relationship between the quantitative indicators (biparietal width, interhemispheric distance) of the cranial MRI for preterm infants at 37 weeks of postmenstrual age (PMA) and neurodevelopment at 6 months of corrected age. Methods A total of 113 preterm infants (gestational age < 37 weeks) delivered in the Obstetrics Department of the First People's Hospital of Lianyungang from September 2018 to February 2020 and directly transferred to the Neonatology Department for treatment were enrolled in this study. Based on their development quotient (DQ), the patients were divided into the normal (DQ ≥ 85, n = 76) group and the abnormal (DQ < 85, n = 37) group. Routine cranial MRI (cMRI) was performed at 37 weeks of PMA to measure the biparietal width (BPW) and interhemispheric distance (IHD). At the corrected age of 6 months, Development Screening Test (for children under six) was used to assess the participants' neurodevelopment. Results Univariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in BPW, IHD, and the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia between the normal and the abnormal groups (P < 0.05), while no statistically significant differences were found in maternal complications and other clinical conditions between the two groups (P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences in IHD and BPW between the normal and the abnormal groups (95% CI: 1.629-12.651 and 0.570-0.805, respectively; P = 0.004 and P < 0.001, respectively), while no significant differences were found in the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia between the two groups (95% CI: 0.669-77.227, P = 0.104). Receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that the area under the curve of BPW, IHD, and the joint predictor (BPW + IHD) were 0.867, 0.805, and 0.881, respectively (95% CI: 0.800-0.933, 0.710-0.900, and 0.819-0.943, respectively; all P values < 0.001). Conclusion BPW and IHD, the two quantitative indicators acquired by cMRI, could predict the neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants at the corrected age of 6 months. The combination of the two indicators showed an even higher predictive value.

Value of PET/CT Combined with CT Three-dimensional Reconstruction in Distinguishing Different Pathological Subtypes of Early Lung Adenocarcinoma

背景与目的早期肺腺癌中病理亚型以贴壁为主型的浸润性腺癌（lepidic predominant invasive adenocarcinoma, LPA）与原位腺癌（adenocarcinoma in situ, AIS）、微浸润性腺癌（microinvasive adenocarcinoma, MIA）的良好预后相似，临床上也迫切需要能够区分LPA与非LPA型浸润性腺癌（non-lepidic predominant invasive adenocarcinoma, non-LPA）的手段，本研究拟通过正电子发射型计算机断层显像（positron emission computed tomography, PET）/计算机断层扫描（computed tomography, CT）的最大标准化摄取值（maximal standard uptake value, SUVmax）和CT三维重建后参数探讨术前影像学表现为部分实性结节（part-solid nodules, PSNs）的早期肺腺癌不同病理亚型间的关系。方法回顾性分析2016年1月-2019年1月于江苏省苏北人民医院胸外科行解剖性肺切除术且影像学表现为PSNs的早期肺腺癌患者资料，所有患者胸部增强CT和PET/CT资料完整可获取，利用Mimics软件行三维重建，获取肿瘤体积、肿瘤三维平均CT值（3-dimensional mean-CT value, 3Dm-CT）、SUVmax等数据，采用SPSS 25.0进行统计分析，GraphPad Prism 8.3.0绘制受试者工作曲线（receiver operating curve, ROC），P < 0.05为差异有统计学意义。结果最终共计67例患者纳入本研究，按病理亚型不同将所有患者分为两组，AIS、MIA及浸润性腺癌（invasive adenocarcinoma, IAC）中的LPA归为低危组28例（41.8%），其余non-LPA如腺泡型（acinar pattern-predominant adeno-carcinoma, APA）、乳头型（papillary pattern-predominant adenocarcinoma, PPA）、微乳头型（micropapillary pattern-predominant adeno-carcinoma, MPA）归为高危组39例（58.2%），两组间SUVmax（t=3.153, P=0.002）、肿瘤体积（t=3.331, P=0.001)、实性/磨玻璃成分体积（t=2.74, P=0.006) /（t=3.127, P=0.002）、实性/磨玻璃成分3Dm-CT（t=3.655, P < 0.001) /（t=7.082, P < 0.001) 均具有显著统计学意义。ROC曲线提示：SUVmax[曲线下面积（area under curve, AUC）=0.727]、肿瘤体积（AUC=0.740）、磨玻璃成分体积（AUC=0.725）、实性成分3Dm-CT（AUC=0.763）、磨玻璃成分3Dm-CT（AUC=0.756）预测效能最佳。将上述AUC > 0.7的协变量纳入多因素ROC曲线分析，获得联合预测因子（AUC=0.835）具有中等以上预测价值。结论PET/CT中SUVmax和CT三维重建参数与影像学表现为PSNs的早期肺腺癌的不同病理亚型具有显著相关性，联合SUVmax、肿瘤体积、磨玻璃成分体积和实性/磨玻璃成分3Dm-CT对鉴别表现为PSNs的早期肺腺癌的病理亚型具有一定价值。

Early Weight Loss after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Predicts Sustained Weight Maintenance Among Chinese Individuals with a BMI < 35kg/m2.

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in Chinese individuals with a body mass index (BMI) under 35kg/m2 and to explore the association between early weight loss and sustained weight maintenance. Patients whose BMI < 35kg/m2 were recruited. Changes in BMI, total weight loss (%TWL), and excess weight loss (%EWL) were evaluated, with successful weight loss being a %EWL of > 50% and a %TWL of > 25%. Binary logistic regression was employed to assess relationships between %EWL and %TWL and to calculate a joint predictor. The association between early weight loss and sustained weight maintenance was assessed as a function of %EWL, %TWL, and this joint predictor, with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves being used for optimal cutoff threshold identification. In total, 143 individuals with average preoperative weight and BMI values of 88 (82, 95) kg and 31.99 (29.41, 33.15) kg/m2, respectively, were enrolled in present study. At 5years, 48.00% of patients achieved successful weight loss. Both 3-month %EWL and %TWL were significantly related to sustained weight loss at 5years (P < 0.05). ROC curves were used to identify %TWL of 19.54% at 3months as the most reliable predictor of weight loss at a 5-year follow-up (sensitivity: 61.11%, specificity: 76.92%). LSG had long-term safety and efficacy, and %TWL at 3months can predict sustained 5-year weight loss in Chinese individuals with BMI < 35kg/m2.

Factors Predicting Severe Myelosuppression and Its Influence on Fertility in Patients with Low-Risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia Receiving Single-Agent Methotrexate Chemotherapy.

PurposeTo investigate the potential factors to predict severe myelosuppression among low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients with single-agent methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy. To analyze reproductive outcomes of patients with or without severe myelosuppression after achieving complete remission (CR).Patients and MethodsThe retrospective study included 319 low-risk GTN patients registered from January 2008 to December 2018 in our hospital. Patients were divided into two groups according to myelosuppression grading. Their clinical data and reproductive outcomes were compared and analyzed.ResultsA higher proportion of patients in group A received second-line chemotherapy than group B (P<0.001). The number of total chemotherapy courses was more in group A than group B (P=0.001), while the number of MTX chemotherapy courses was more in group B than group A (P=0.001). When the joint predictor of pretreatment albumin (ALB) was not more than 44.5 g/L, pretreatment serum creatinine (Scr) was not less than 75.6 μmol/L, and the number of MTX chemotherapy courses was not less than four, there was a moderate predictive value. There was no significant difference of reproductive outcomes between the two groups after achieving CR.ConclusionAlthough some patients developed severe myelosuppression, MTX was still the effective first-line treatment for low-risk GTN patients. Patient’s pretreatment ALB was not more than 44.5 g/L, pretreatment Scr was not less than 75.6 μmol/L, and the number of MTX chemotherapy courses not less than four could be used as combined predictors to recognize the risk of severe myelosuppression. Severe myelosuppression had no significant adverse influence on fertility after achieving CR.

Prediction of the Severity of the Coronavirus Disease and Its Adverse Clinical Outcomes.

This study aims to investigate blood and biochemical laboratory findings in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to develop a joint predictor for predicting the likelihood of severe COVID-19 and its adverse clinical outcomes and to provide more information for treatment. We collected the data of 88 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Further, the patients were divided into a non-severe group and a critical group (including critically ill cases). Univariate analysis showed that the absolute lymphocyte count, albumin level, albumin/globulin ratio, lactate dehydrogenase level, interleukin-6 (IL-6) level, erythrocyte count, globulin level, blood glucose level, and age were significantly correlated with the severity of COVID-19. The multivariate binary logistic regression model revealed that age, absolute lymphocyte count, and IL-6 level were independent risk factors in patients with COVID-19. The receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that the combination of IL-6 level, absolute lymphocyte count, and age is superior to a single factor as predictors for severe COVID-19, regardless of whether it is in terms of the area under the curve or the prediction sensitivity and specificity. Early application is beneficial to early identification of critically ill patients and timing individual treatments to reduce mortality.

RMTL: an R library for multi-task learning.

Multi-task learning (MTL) is a machine learning technique for simultaneous learning of multiple related classification or regression tasks. Despite its increasing popularity, MTL algorithms are currently not available in the widely used software environment R, creating a bottleneck for their application in biomedical research. We developed an efficient, easy-to-use R library for MTL (www.r-project.org) comprising 10 algorithms applicable for regression, classification, joint predictor selection, task clustering, low-rank learning and incorporation of biological networks. We demonstrate the utility of the algorithms using simulated data. The RMTL package is an open source R package and is freely available at https://github.com/transbioZI/RMTL. RMTL will also be available on cran.r-project.org. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Organizational Climate as Determinant of Sustainable Peace Culture in Higher Institutions in Cross River State, Nigeria

The purpose of the study was to find out the extent to which organizational climate predicted sustainable peace culture in higher institutions in Cross River State, Nigeria. A survey research design was used and a sample of 500 lecturers randomly selected from 4 higher institutions was used for the study. Two hypotheses guided the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire titled “Organizational Climate and Sustainable Peace Culture Questionnaire” (OCSPCQ). Data were analyzed using multiple regressions and t-test statistics. The result of the study revealed that organizational climate had a significant effect on sustainable peace culture in higher institutions. There was a significant correlation between the joint predictor variables and sustainable peace culture. The organizational climate variables made significant relative contributions to the determinacy of sustainable peace culture in higher institutions. Premised on the findings of the study, it was recommended that institutional administrators should encourage a healthy interpersonal relationship and create a disciplined school environment to promote sustainable peace culture in higher institutions. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3p467

Predictive analysis on Shenmai injection-induced adverse reactions with Logistic model and ROC curve

To study relevant risk factors of Shenmai injection induced adverse reactions by using Logistic model and ROC curve, and made the prediction for the occurrence of relevant adverse reactions/events. Case data of patients treated with Shenmai injection were collected by using the prospective, multi-center, large-sample, nested-case control method, in order to analyze the risk factors of Shenmai injection-induced adverse reactions/events, establish the logistic model and draw the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for risk factors. During the study, 7632 patients (including 3 477 males and 4 155 females) were included, and eight of them suffered adverse reactions/events. Based on a multi-factor Logistic model analysis, the age (> or = 50 years) (OR = 5.061, 95% CI: 2.197-7.924; P = 0.001), the total number of medication days (OR = -1.020, 95% CI: -l.652 - 0.388; P = 0.002) and the single dose (OR = 0.245, 95% CI: 0.127-0.364; P = 0.000) were significant independent risk factors for Shenmai injection-induced adverse reactions/events. According to the results, ROC curves were drawn with age (> or = 50 years), the total number of days of inedication and single dose; The area under ROC curves the joint predictor (0.9753, 95% CI: 0.9443-1.000, P < 0.005) was larger than that of the other three single indexes, with a higher risk prediction value. The independent risk factors for Shenmai injection-induced adverse reactions/events included the age (> or = 50 years), the total number of days of medication and single dose. In clinical practice, the age (> or = 50 years), the total number of days of medication and the medication dose can be substituted in the joint predictor calculation formula (P = 1 / [1 + e(-(-21.58 + 5.061 x Xage - 1.020 x Xd + 0.245 x X(mL)] to predict the potential adverse reactions of patients and adjust the dosage regimen.

Methylation of viral and host genes and severity of cervical lesions associated with human papillomavirus type 16.

Methylation of human papillomavirus (HPV) and host genes may predict cervical cancer risk. We examined the methylation status of selected sites in HPV16 and human genes in DNA extracted from exfoliated cervical cell samples of 244 women harboring HPV16-positive cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancy (NILM). We quantified the methylation of CpG sites in the HPV16 L1 gene (CpG 6367 and 6389) and in the human genes EPB41L3 (CpG 438, 427, 425) and LMX1 (CpG 260, 262, 266, 274) following bisulfite treatment and pyrosequencing. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the diagnostic utility of methylation level for the different sites and for a joint predictor score. Methylation in all sites significantly increased with lesion severity (p < 0.0001). Area under the curve (AUC) was highest among the CIN2/3 vs. cancer ranging from 0.786 to 0.853 among the different sites. Site-specific methylation levels strongly discriminated CIN2/3 from NILM/CIN1 and cancer from CIN2/3 (range of odds ratios [OR]: 3.69-12.76, range of lower 95% confidence bounds: 1.03-4.01). When methylation levels were mutually adjusted for each other EPB41L3 was the only independent predictor of CIN2/3 vs. NILM/CIN1 contrasts (OR = 9.94, 95%CI: 2.46-40.27). High methylation levels of viral and host genes are common among precancerous and cancer lesions and can serve as independent risk biomarkers. Methylation of host genes LMX1 and EPB41L3 and of the viral HPV16 L1 sites has the potential to distinguish among precancerous lesions and to distinguish the latter from invasive disease.

Wrist actimetry circadian rhythm as a robust predictor of colorectal cancer patients survival

The disruption of the circadian timing system (CTS), which rhythmically controls cellular metabolism and proliferation, accelerated experimental cancer progression. A measure of CTS function in cancer patients could thus provide novel prediction information for outcomes, and help to identify novel specific therapies. The rest-activity circadian rhythm is a reliable and non-invasive CTS biomarker, which was monitored using a wrist watch accelerometer for 2 days in 436 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The relative percentage of activity in-bed versus out-of-bed (I < O) constituted the tested CTS measure, whose prognostic value for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was determined in a pooled analysis of three patient cohorts with different treatment exposures. Median OS was 21.6 months [17.8–25.5] for patients with I < O above the median value of 97.5% as compared to 11.9 months [10.4–13.3] for those with a lower I < O (Log-rank p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses retained continuous I < O as a joint predictor of both OS and PFS, with respective hazard ratios (HR) of 0.954 (p < 0.001) and 0.970 (p < 0.001) for each 1% increase in I < O. HRs had similar values in all the patient subgroups tested. The circadian physiology biomarker I < O constitutes a robust and independent quantitative predictor of cancer patient outcomes, that can be easily and cost-effectively measured during daily living. Interventional studies involving 24-h schedules of clock-targeted drugs, light intensity, exercise and/or meals are needed for testing the relevance of circadian synchronization for the survival of patients with disrupted rhythms.

Same‐ and Other‐Sex Victimization: Are the Risk Factors Similar?

Risk factors for same- and other-sex victimization were examined in a longitudinal data set involving 9- to 14-year-old students. The findings regarding same-sex victimization supported the view that bullies select personally and interpersonally vulnerable targets in order to maximize their gains in status while minimizing loss of affection within their same-sex peer group. Although low self-esteem was a joint predictor of same- and other-sex victimization, rejection and lack of friends among other-sex peers failed to predict victimization by other-sex bullies, and being perceived as popular among other-sex peers increased the risk. Although the findings suggests that interpersonal risk factors for other-sex victimization differ from those found for same-sex victimization, they do not provide strong support for heterosexual interest being the basis for other-sex target selection, as suggested by some previous literature. As about half of the study participants were involved in the KiVa antibullying program, we had the possibility to examine whether the program effects were similar for same- and other-sex victimization. It turned out that in middle schools the program decreased only same-sex victimization, whereas in elementary school the decrease was observed regardless of the sex composition of bully-victim dyads.

Evaluating Job Knowledge Criterion Components for Use in Classification Research

In this study, we examined the potential of job knowledge tests as surrogates for hands-on criteria in the development of classification systems that use the tests of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (McLaughlin, Rossmeisel, Wise Brandt, & Wang, 1984). Based on U.S. Army data for 15 Military Occupational Specialties, the study compared the outcomes of an assignment simulation using 2 criterion measures: one containing only job knowledge and the other containing both job knowledge and hands-on components. In this study we found comparable predictive validities for the Army operational job families and a high positive mean correlation between the 2 types of criterion in the joint predictor–criterion space. Similarities also exist in the mean predicted performance produced by the assignment simulation using each criterion measure. This outcome equivalence suggests that job knowledge measures could be useful, affordable surrogates for hands-on criteria in developing classification procedures.