Rank Order Research Articles

A new FRAX model for Brazil

SummaryFracture probabilities derived from the original FRAX model for Brazil were compared to those from an updated model based on more recent regional estimates of the incidence of hip fracture. Fracture probabilities were consistently lower in the updated FRAX model. Despite large differences between models, differences in the rank order of fracture probabilities were minimal.ObjectiveRecent epidemiological data indicate that the risk of hip fracture in Brazil is lower than that used to create the original FRAX model. This paper describes the epidemiology of hip fracture in Brazil and the synthesis of an updated FRAX model with the aim of comparing this new model with the original model.MethodsHip fracture rates from three cities in three regions were combined, weighted by the population of each region. For other major fractures, incidence rates for Brazil were estimated using Swedish ratios for hip to other major osteoporotic fracture (humerus, forearm or clinical vertebral fractures). Mortality estimates were taken from the UN.ResultsCompared to the original FRAX model, the updated model gave lower 10-year fracture probabilities in men and women at all ages. Notwithstanding, there was a very close correlation in fracture probabilities between the original and updated models (r > 0.99) so that the revisions had little impact on the rank order of risk.ConclusionThe disparities between the original and updated FRAX models indicate the importance of updating country-specific FRAX models with the advent of significant changes in fracture epidemiology.

Deferred Benefits and Employee Retention in Tier-One Deposit Money Banks in South-South, Nigeria

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between deferred benefits and employee retention in tier-one deposit money banks in South-South, Nigeria. The study adopted the cross-sectional research survey design.
 Materials and Methods: Primary data was generated through structured questionnaire. The population of this study was 135 employees in the regional offices of 5 tier-one deposit money banks in located in Port Harcourt from where all the activities of the banks covering Rivers, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers are coordinated. The sample size of 101 was determined using Taro Yamane sample size determination formula. The reliability of the instrument was achieved by the use of the Cronbach Alpha coefficient with all the items scoring above 0.70. The hypotheses were tested using the Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient. The tests were carried out at a 0.05 significance level.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between deferred benefits and employee retention in tier-one deposit money banks in South-South, Nigeria. Thus, the study conclude deferred benefits positively enhances employee retention in tier-one deposit money banks in South-South, Nigeria.
 Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Therefore, it was recommended that deposit money banks should develop a comprehensive deferred benefits package that includes various components such as retirement plans, pension schemes, stock options, profit-sharing, and long-term incentives. The package should be tailored to meet the needs and preferences of employees while aligning with the bank's financial capabilities.

Investigation into the impact of proton pump inhibitors on sertraline transport across the blood-brain barrier

As a widely used antidepressant that works by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, sertraline exerts an antidepressant effect depending on its concentration in the brain, which might be limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It is highly possible to combine proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) with sertraline in clinical trials. Nevertheless, the role played by PPIs in regulating the transport of sertraline across the BBB remains unclear. Here, the impact of PPIs on the distribution of sertraline in the brain and the mechanisms involved were investigated. A mouse brain distribution study showed that Omeprazole (OME), Pantoprazole (PAN), Ilaprazole (ILA), and Esomeprazole (ESO) increased the area under the brain concentration-time curves (AUC) for sertraline by 2.02-, 3.18-, 3.04-, and 4.21-fold, respectively, after the 14-day administration of PPIs. Besides, PPIs significantly increased the permeability of sertraline in brain perfusion experiments, with PAN having the highest rank order, followed by ILA, OME, and ESO. In the tail suspension test (TST), co-administration PPI groups showed significantly shorter immobility time than the control group. In vitro, four PPIs inhibited sertraline efflux in breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP)-overexpressing MDCKII cells, and showed a mixed inhibition type. In this study, PPIs were further found to inhibit the mRNA and protein expression of brain BCRP. To sum up, the findings of this study revealed that PPIs could enhance the brain distribution and antidepressant effect of sertraline, which may be attributed to the inhibition of BCRP expression at the BBB by PPIs.

Can renewable energy work for rural societies? Exploring productive use, institutions, support systems, and trust for solar electricity in the Navajo Nation

Reliable electricity and water access remain major challenges in rural communities worldwide. Standalone renewable energy systems show promise in improving access, but successful long-term outcomes remain infrequent in practice. To achieve sustainable outcomes, planners and decision makers should place a greater emphasis on understanding community context to determine the technological and social appropriacy of renewable energy technology. This article investigates a case study of renewable energy systems in the Navajo Nation to develop an understanding of what technical and social considerations may be necessary. A qualitative exploratory data analysis approach is used to perform a comparative analysis of two programs that deployed solar home systems (SHS) and atmospheric water generation (AWG) systems to address electricity and water needs in the Nation, respectively. The findings reveal that renewable energy programs should critically evaluate four factors related to technological and procedural appropriacy. These four factors are (1) an understanding of the productive use of the technology in context, (2) the need to operate within extant institutional paradigms, (3) the capacity to develop and maintain a support network, and (4) the need for trust building. The findings indicate that productive use of renewable energy is determined by end-user application and its usefulness in the community’s rank order of priorities. It also demonstrates that social acceptance of renewable energy is affected by the willingness of programs to conform to existing institutional paradigms. This article refines and expands upon existing themes of social acceptance, making them more application oriented by focusing on the planning phase.

A 2 °C difference affecting the spatiotemporal distribution of small demersal fish assemblages in shallow tropical and subtropical waters of Western Taiwan

Two OR3 research vessel cruises were conducted at seven nearshore sites from north to south in the western coastal waters off Taiwan in May (late spring) and November (late autumn) 2019 in order to gain insights into the 2 °C difference in the tropical-subtropical fish fauna. Totally, 37 families, 72 genera, and 99 taxas were recorded for the 1809 fishes. Three fish assemblages, the North, South, and Fall-Zhuoshui River (ZRf) groups, were identified as eurythermal, stenothermal, and croaker communities. Their dominants, in rank order, were Tarphops oligolepis, Liachirus melanospilosa, Ostorhinchus fasciatus, and Trachinocephalus myops for the Northern eurythermal group, Arnoglossus tenuis, Eubleekeria splendens, and Ostorhinchus pleuron for the Southern stenothermal group, and Johnius taiwanensis, Chrysochir aureus, and Pennahia macrocephalus for the croaker-ZRf group. Their distribution was markedly correlated with the bottom water temperature, seafloor grain size, and concentration of suspended solids. The influence of a 2 °C difference on the tropical and subtropical demersal fish could indicate how rising temperatures due to climate change are shaping fish communities. The flatfish, Liachirus melanospilos, was distributed northward by 0.5oN and is suggested to be considered as an ecological indicator of the tropicalization of subtropical marine ecosystems in the future.

Electrogelation: Controlled Fast Formation of Micrometer-Thick Films from Low-Molecular Weight Hydrogelators.

The controlled electrochemical deposition of hydrogels from low-molecular weight hydrogelators (LMWHGs) allows for the defined formation of thin films on electrodes. Here, the deposition of fibrillar networks consisting of N,N',N″-tris(4-carboxyphenylene)-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxamide (BTA) onto ultraflat gold electrodes has been studied. This process, also termed electrogelation, is based on a local change in the pH due to electrolysis of water at the electrode. The protonation of the BTA sodium salt leads to self-assembly into supramolecular fibrillar structures mainly via hydrogen bonding of the uncharged molecules. The resulting hydrogel film was characterized in terms of its thickness by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Two different AFM-based techniques have been used: ex situ imaging of dried films and in situ nanoindentation of the hydrated hydrogel films. The deposition process was studied as a function of gelator concentration, applied potential, and gelation time. These parameters allow control of the film thickness to a high degree of accuracy within a few tenths of nanometers. Film formation takes place in a few seconds at moderate applied potentials, which is beneficial for biomedical applications. The results obtained for the BTA presented here can be transferred to any type of pH-responsive LMWHG and many reversibly formed hydrogel films.

Selection of a viable blockchain service provider for data management within the internet of medical things: An MCDM approach to Indian healthcare

Health 4.0 is gaining significant attention globally to support better treatment and care for people. Digital technologies such as the IoMT “(”Internet of Medical Things“”) and blockchain substantially promote quality health services. Literature shows that embedding blockchain in IoMT is an effective way to attain secure and quality healthcare. Selecting a viable blockchain service provider (BSP) becomes a complex task and can be considered an MCDM “(”Multi-Criteria Decision-Making“”) problem. Earlier studies on BSP selection indicate that complex expressions cannot be well-modelled and methodical estimation of decision parameters by capturing hesitation and interaction of entities is not adequately explored. Driven by the issues, authors put forward a novel MCDM framework with (i) a double hierarchy linguistic structure for data collection in natural expressions; (ii) regret measure for experts' reliability calculation; (iii) a weighted CRITIC approach for criteria weight determination, and (iv) CRADIS-Copeland algorithm for ranking BSPs. Finally, a case example from Recent Indian healthcare is exemplified to demonstrate the framework's applicability. Recently, the Indian healthcare sector launched initiatives/plans as part of Health 4.0 to promote data management for a better quality of treatment by seeking support from digital technologies such as IoMT and blockchains to ensure data privacy and improved customer experience. Sensitivity analysis and comparison with extant methods infer that (i) BC1, BC5, and BC3 are the top three BSPs for the considered problem; (ii) criteria such as privacy aspects, intercommunication capability, global accessibility, and total cost constitute 58% importance in the supposed decision problem; (iii) developed model reduces human intervention/biases; (iv) developed model is robust to weight alteration and yields unique rank orders with both personalised and cumulative ordering of BSPs; and (v) proposed model produces broader rank values that aid in effective backup planning.

Research Method for Ship Engine Fault Diagnosis Based on Multi-Head Graph Attention Feature Fusion

At present, there are problems such as low fault data, insufficient labeling information, and poor fault diagnosis in the field of ship engine diagnosis. To address the above problems, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis method based on probabilistic similarity and rank-order similarity of multi-head graph attention neural networks (MPGANN) models. Firstly, the ship engine dataset is used to explore the similarity between the data using the probabilistic similarity of T_SNE and the rank order similarity of Spearman’s correlation coefficient to define the neighbor relationship between the samples, and then the appropriate weights are selected for the early fusion of the two graph structures to fuse the feature information of the two scales. Finally, the graph attention neural networks (GANN) incorporating the multi-head attention mechanism are utilized to complete the fault diagnosis. In this paper, comparative experiments such as graph construction and algorithm performance are carried out based on the simulated ship engine dataset, and the experimental results show that the MPGANN outperforms the comparative methods in terms of accuracy, F1 score, and total elapsed time, with an accuracy rate of 97.58%. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper can still fulfill the ship engine fault diagnosis task well under unfavorable conditions such as small samples and insufficient label information, which is of practical significance in the field of intelligent ship cabins and fault diagnosis.

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Children’s Moral Development PAUD Asmaul Husna Padang City

This research is motivated by the low moral development of children, this is thought to be caused by parents are less involved in their child’s development. This study aims to (1) describe parental involvement (2) describe moral development of children (3) describe the relationship between parental involvement and the moral development of children in PAUD Asmaul Husna Kota Padang City. This study uses a quantitative approach with a correlational type. The population of this study were parents whose children attended PAUD Asmaul Husna Padang City, totaling 21 people. The sampling technique using cluster random sampling was taken 75% of the population, namely 16 people. Dta collection techniques and data collection tools in the form a list of statements. Data analysis techniques use percentage and rank orders. The result of this study indicate that (1) parental involvement in children in PAUD Asmaul Husna Padang City is categorized as low. (2) Moral development of children in PAUD Asmaul Husna Padang City is categorized as low. (3) The result of data processing show that there is a significant relationship between parental involvement and children’s moral development in PAUD Asmaul Husna Padang City, this is proven and it is found that the results of rcount are greater than rtabel.Keywords: parental involvement, moral development children

The Relationship Between Pastry and Bakery Training Strategies and Participants' Entrepreneurial Interests At The LKP IBTI Learning Center Bukittinggi

This research was motivated by the low interest in entrepreneurship in pastry and bakery training participants. This research aims to look at pastry and bakery training strategies, the entrepreneurial interest of pastry and bakery training participants, and to see the relationship between training strategies and the entrepreneurial interest of pastry and bakery training participants at the LKP IBTI Learning Center Bukittinggi. This research uses a quantitative approach with a correlational type of research. The population in this study was 31 trainees who took part in pastry and bakery training at the LKP IBTI Learning Center Bukittinggi. Meanwhile, 80% of the population was taken as a sample, namely 25 people using cluster random sampling techniques. The data collection technique uses a questionnaire. Data analysis techniques use percentage formulas and rank order correlation formulas. The results of this research show that (1) pastry and bakery training strategies are still less effective, (2) interest in entrepreneurship in pastry and bakery training participants is still low, (3) there is a relationship between training strategies and interest in entrepreneurship, the relationship is declared significant because it is categorized as very high. It is recommended that instructors pay attention to the diversity of training participants so that participants feel appreciated and are serious about carrying out the training, so that training results are obtained as expected. It is recommended for LKP managers to increase the development of the PKW program implemented by LKP in the future in an effort to make graduates more interested in entrepreneurship. Future researchers will be able to identify other characteristics or variables that have not been studied in this research for further research.Keywords: Training Strategy, Interest in Entrepreneurship

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Learning Outcomes of Economic Subjects in The Package C Program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar

The background to this research is the low learning outcomes of students studying economics in the package C learning program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar. This is thought to be due to the low emotional intelligence of students studying. This research aims to: 1) describe the description of the emotional intelligence of students studying package C at SKB 1 Tanah Datar, 2) describe the description of the learning outcomes of students studying economics in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar, 3) to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence residents study with the results of studying economics subjects in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar. This research was carried out with a correlational quantitative approach which aims to test the relationship between emotional intelligence and learning outcomes in economics subjects in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar consisting of 39 students. The sampling technique was simple random sampling and 80% were taken. namely 30 people studied and as many as 20% were used as trials, namely 9 people. The data collection method uses a questionnaire with a statement list format as a data collection tool, the data analysis technique uses a percentage formula and to find correlations uses the Rank Order formula. The results of the research illustrate that: 1) the emotional intelligence of students studying in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar is categorized as low, 2) the learning outcomes for economic subjects in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar are categorized as low because many students' grades are below the KKM, and 3) there is a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and learning outcomes in economics subjects in the package C program at SKB 1 Tanah Datar. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence; Learning outcomes

The Relationship Between The Use Of Media and The Learning Activities of Training Participants at Uptd BLK Padang Pariaman

This research was motivated by the active learning of training participants in the learning process at UPTD BLK Padang Pariaman, which was thought to be because the instructor used learning media that was less than optimal. This research aims to see a description of the use of media used by instructors in the learning process. The learning activity of trainees in the learning process and the relationship between the use of media and the learning activity of trainees at UPTD BLK Padang Pariaman. This type of research uses a correlational quantitative approach. The population in this study was all training participants at UPTD BLK Padang Pariaman, totaling 32 people. Meanwhile, samples were taken using the cluster random sampling technique as much as 75% of the population of 32 people so that the sample taken was 24 people. Data collection techniques use a questionnaire which will be distributed via Google Form. Meanwhile, the data analysis technique uses a percentage formula and to look for relationships using the rank order formula. The results of this research indicate that instructors have not used media optimally in the learning process so that the trainees' active learning in the learning process is low. There is a significant relationship between media use and the active learning of training participants at UPTD BLK Padang Pariaman.Keywords: use of media, learning activity

Effect of salinity on the germination of three species of the Acacia genus (A. karroo, A. saligna, and A. tortilis)

Abstract This scientific paper explores the impact of soil salinity on plant growth, with a particular focus on the relationship between salt tolerance and seed germination. To investigate this, three species of Acacia (Fabaceae), namely A. karroo, A. saligna, and A. tortilis, were selected, and their seeds were collected from Algeria. To overcome seed coat inhibition, seeds were treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, followed by a wash with distilled water before being sown in a culture medium containing varying concentrations of salt, specifically sodium chloride (NaCl) ranging from 0 to 600 mM. The germination tests were conducted over a 21-day period, with measurements taken at intervals of three days, and both the final germination percentage (FGP) and mean germination time (MGT) were calculated. The results showed that at 600 mM NaCl concentration no germination occurred during the experiment. The germination rates exhibited three phases, an initial latency phase, a second exponential phase of accelerated germination, and a third plateau phase. A. karroo seeds demonstrated the highest salt tolerance, germinating under high salinity conditions of 400 mM NaCl, with a FGP of 66%. In contrast, A. tortilis showed significantly lower salt tolerance, with only 20% germination at the same concentration. A. saligna had the lowest salt tolerance, with germination only occurring under 150 mM NaCl concentration and with a FGP of only 18%. Based on these findings, the rank order of the studied species in terms of decreasing tolerance to high salinity conditions, as determined by their respective germination capacities, is as follows: A. karroo > A. tortilis > A. saligna. Although A. saligna was the most sensitive species, it was still categorized as a salt-tolerant glycophyte. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the impact of salt stress on Acacia species and could contribute to the development of salt-tolerant crops in the future.

The Relationship Between Students' Understanding of PIR-R Organization With its Activity at Sma N 1 Koto XI Tarusan

This research was motivated by student activity in the PIK-R organization at SMA N 1 Koto This research aims to see a picture of students' understanding of the PIK-R organization, see a picture of students' activity in the PIK-R organization, and see the relationship between students' understanding of the PIK-R organization and their activity at SMA N 1 Koto XI Tarusan. This research uses a quantitative, correlational type approach. The population of this research is all students who are members of PIK-R at SMA N 1 Koto XI Tarusan, totaling 24 respondents. Meanwhile, samples were taken using a total sampling technique, namely 100% (24) and trials were carried out at other schools that had the same characteristics. Data collection techniques using tests and questionnaires distributed directly to respondents. Meanwhile, the data analysis technique uses percentage formulas and rank order formulas. The research results show that students' understanding of the PIK-R organization is still relatively low. Students in organizations have low activity, and there is a significant relationship between students' understanding of the PIK-R organization and their activity. This means that the higher the student's understanding of the PIK-R organization, the more active the student is in the organization, but conversely, the lower the student's understanding of the PIK-R organization, the lower the student's activeness. Keywords : Understanding, PIK-R organization, activeness

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE APPLICATION OF THE PROBLEM METHOD BASED LEARNING WITH PARTICIPANT LEARNING OUTCOMES COMPUTER COURSE AT SMART COLLEGE PADANG

This research was motivated by the low learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKP Smart College Padang. This is thought to be due to the poor application of problem based learning methods so that the learning outcomes of course participants are low. The research objectives are: 1) To find out the description of the application of the Problem Based Learning method to the learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKP Smart College Padang, 2) To find out the description of the learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKPSmart College Padang, 3) To find out the relationship between the application of the Problem Based Learning method to learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKP Smart College Padang.This type of research is correlational, with a quantitative approach. The population in this study was 30 people and a sample of 21 people whose sample was determined using the Simple Random Sampling method. Then a questionnaire is used to collect data. As well as data analysis techniques using percentage and rank order formulas. The results of the research show that: 1) The description of the application of the Problem Based Learning method among computer course participants at Smart College Padang is categorized as low; 2) A description of the learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKP Smart College Padang is categorized as low. 3) A description of the significant relationship between the application of the problem based learning method and the learning outcomes of computer course participants at LKP Smart College Padang.The research suggestions are: 1) It is hoped that instructors can innovate regarding learning methods so that they can become good and appropriate learning methods for course participants to learn. 2) It is hoped that course participants will be able to learn and adapt learning methods so that they can maximize learning outcomes. 3) It is hoped that future researchers will innovate and research new variables to add variables and complete them.Keywords: Problem Based Learning, Learning Outcomes.

Strategic Leadership and Project Management Sustainability in Enugu, Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between strategic leadership and project management sustainability in Enugu, Nigeria, with a particular focus on construction projects in the State. The study aimed to achieve two specific objectives: first, to determine the relationship between visionary project coordination and resource efficiency of construction projects in Enugu State, Nigeria; and second, to establish the relationship between innovative thinking and waste reduction in construction projects in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive research design, collecting primary data with a structured questionnaire from forty-five registered Architectural firms in the study area. The data collected were analyzed using Spearman Rank Order Correlation due to the nonparametric nature of the data. The results show that visionary project coordination had a significant positive effect on resource efficiency in construction projects by Architecture firms in Enugu State, Nigeria (r = .849; p<.001), and innovative thinking had significant effect on waste reduction in construction projects by Architecture firms in Enugu State, Nigeria (r = .849; p<.001). It was concluded that strategic leadership had significant effect on project management sustainability, and it was thus recommended that project managers should anticipate, prepare and clearly communicate present and future developments to project staff to ensure that the goal of sustainable initiatives such as recycling and reuse are implemented in construction projects. Keywords: Strategic, Leadership, Project, Management and Sustainability

Burnout, workaholism and their consequences

Burnout and workaholism, known to decrease efficiency and lead to depersonalisation, have negative effects on both employees and organisations. The survey aimed to analyse the correlation between burnout and workaholism among selected employees in the public and private sectors in Slovenia. The goal was to compare the results obtained in the administrative units and at the two selected banks. Various methodological approaches were employed, including statistical tests such as multivariate analysis, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests, Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Survey results indicate statistically significant differences between employees in administrative units and those in two banks. Workaholism is higher among employees in administrative units than at banks. Positive correlations were found between workaholism and the two dimensions of burnout, both among employees in administrative units and in the selected banks.

Adaptive constraints at the range edge of a widespread and expanding invasive plant.

Identifying the factors that facilitate and limit invasive species' range expansion has both practical and theoretical importance, especially at the range edges. Here, we used reciprocal common garden experiments spanning the North/South and East/West range that include the North American core, intermediate and range edges of the globally invasive plant, Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) to investigate the interplay of climate, biotic interactions (i.e. competition) and patterns of adaptation. Our results suggest that the rapid range expansion of Johnsongrass into diverse environments across wide geographies occurred largely without local adaptation, but that further range expansion may be restricted by a fitness trade-off that limits population growth at the range edge. Interestingly, plant competition strongly dampened Johnsongrass growth but did not change the rank order performance of populations within a garden, though this varied among gardens (climates). Our findings highlight the importance of including the range edge when studying the range dynamics of invasive species, especially as we try to understand how invasive species will respond to accelerating global changes.

Noise reduction algorithm of GPR data based on MMSE‐PDS

AbstractGround‐penetrating radar (GPR) technology is widely used in tunnel engineering detection; however, various factors, such as environmental interference and low signal‐to‐noise ratio characteristics of the echo data, limit the detection accuracy. A noise and interference suppression algorithm based on improved singular value decomposition is proposed in this paper. Compared with traditional filtering methods, the proposed method has the advantages of thorough denoising, no clutter, efficient improvement of profile resolution and less dependence on parameters. The main features of the proposed algorithm are as follows. (1) Given the global characteristics of the noise disturbance on the signal space, the minimum mean square error estimation is employed to approximate the effective signal, introducing the correction factor to suppress the larger singular value from the noise output in the reconstructing process of the effective signal subspace and to eliminate the strong direct wave interference to avoid producing false signals. (2) A positive difference sequence search algorithm based on rank order variance as well as the method of selecting correction factors are proposed to improve the processing accuracy. In order to verify the design, the tunnel lining simulation model and the actual tunnel lining detection data are used. The results show good performance for noise and interference suppression, providing technical support for improving GPR data quality and tunnel detection accuracy.

The statistical challenge of analysing changes in dual energy computed tomography (DECT) urate volumes in people with gout

BackgroundDual energy computed tomography (DECT) allows direct visualization of monosodium urate crystal deposition in gout. However, DECT urate volume data are often highly skewed (mostly small volumes with the remainder considerably larger), making statistical analyses challenging in longitudinal research. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of various analysis methods to normalise DECT urate volume data and determine change in DECT urate volumes over time. MethodsSimulated datasets containing baseline and year 1 DECT urate volumes for 100 people with gout were created from two randomised controlled trials. Five methods were used to transform the DECT urate volume data prior to analysis: log-transformation, Box-Cox transformation, log(X-(min(X)-1)) transformation; inverse hyperbolic sine transformation, and rank order. Linear regression analyses were undertaken to determine the change in DECT urate volume between baseline and year 1. Cohen's d were calculated as a measure of effect size for each data treatment method. These analyses were then tested in a validation clinical trial dataset containing baseline and year 1 DECT urate volumes from 91 people with gout. ResultsNo data treatment method successfully normalised the distribution of DECT urate volumes. For both simulated and validation data sets, significant reductions in DECT urate volumes were observed between baseline and Year 1 across all data treatment methods and there were no significant differences in Cohen's d effect sizes. ConclusionsNormalising highly skewed DECT urate volume data is challenging. Adopting commonly used transformation techniques may not significantly improve the ability to determine differences in measures of central tendency when comparing the change in DECT urate volumes over time.