Tau Values Research Articles

Determination of Factors Affecting Farmers' Preference for Corn Seed by Conjoint Analysis

Modeling consumer preferences among multi-attribute alternatives has been one of the main activities in consumer research. Conjoint analysis is a multivariate statistical analysis technique that reveals the acceptance of criteria such as yield, price and adaptability that are important in consumers' usage habits and preferences. In this study, it was aimed to determine the degree of importance given by grain corn growers to seed traits in corn seed purchase. For this purpose, conjoint analysis was applied and preferences in seed purchase were determined according to the data obtained from the survey conducted among farmers. The survey questions used in the research were applied to 123 farmers. Kendall's Tau value, which is the representativeness of the model, was 0.935 (p

The relationship between radiation oncology department NIH funding and institutional community inclusion/investment.

153 Background: Disparities in healthcare access and funding allocation persist among racial minorities and low-income populations. Radiation Oncology departments play a crucial role in cancer treatment, yet the extent to which these departments serve historically underrepresented communities following receipt of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding remains unclear. This study accessed the relationship between radiation oncology departments that are awarded National Institute of Health (NIH) funding and Lown Institute Hospitals Index rankings for community benefit and inclusivity. Methods: Radiation oncology departments awarded funding from the NIH from 2019-2021 were retrospectively studied. The 2023 Lown Institute Hospital Index rankings for community benefit and inclusivity were examined. The community benefit metric measures financial assistance spending, community investment spending, and Medicaid as a portion of patient revenue. The inclusivity metric measures the similarities of income, race, and education level between the hospital patient population and the surrounding community. Kendall’s correlation coefficient (tau value) and linear regression were used to evaluate the relationship between measures of community benefit and inclusivity and NIH radiation oncology department research funding. Results: Twenty-two radiation oncology departments that received NIH funding (median = $ 419,555.00) were included. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between the amount of radiation oncology NIH research funding received and institutional rankings for overall community benefit (tau = 0.378; P < 0.034), with a trend towards significance for institutional rankings for community investment spending (tau = 0.497; P < 0.053). No significant correlation was observed between the amount of radiation oncology department funding and institutional rankings for charity care spending (P = 0.430), Medicaid as a portion of patient revenue (P = 0.837), and service of patients from racial and or ethnic minorities (P = 0.505), with low income (P = 0.612), or with lower levels of education (P = 0.700). Conclusions: Our study highlights the relationship between recent NIH funding received by Radiation Oncology departments and their commitment to community health and inclusivity. Our findings indicate a significantly positive correlation between NIH funding received by radiation oncology departments and overall community benefit. This suggests that departments receiving NIH funding may be incentivized to allocate resources towards initiatives to improve community health outcomes beyond direct patient care. This study prompts further exploration into the mechanisms through which NIH-funded radiation oncology departments allocate resources and engage with their surrounding communities.

Insights from a 7-Year Dementia Cohort (VALCODIS): ApoE Genotype Evaluation.

Background: The VALCODIS (Valencian Cognitive Diseases Study) cohort was designed and studied at the Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (Valencia, Spain) for the research of cognitive diseases, especially in the search for new biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Participants in the VALCODIS cohort had cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological tests. The ApoE genotype was evaluated to identify its relationship with CSF biomarkers and neuropsychological tests in AD and non-AD participants. Results: A total of 1249 participants were included. They were mainly AD patients (n = 547) but also patients with other dementias (frontotemporal lobar dementia (n = 61), Lewy body dementia without AD CSF signature (n = 10), vascular dementia (n = 24) and other specific causes of cognitive impairment (n = 442), and patients with subjective memory complaints (n = 165)). In the ApoE genotype evaluation, significant differences were found for Aβ42 levels between genotypes in both AD and non-AD patients, as well as a negative correlation between tau values and a cognitive test in non-carriers and ε4 heterozygous. Conclusions: The VALCODIS cohort provides biologically diagnosed patients with demographical, clinical and biochemical data, and biological samples for further studies on early AD diagnosis. Also, the ApoE genotype evaluation showed correlations between CSF biomarkers and neuropsychological tests.

Discriminant analysis for valuing voluntary work among university youth in the United Arab Emirates

This study aimed at identifying the extent to which university youth value voluntary work by using discriminant analysis to compare two groups of people who value and who don't value voluntary work according to a number of variables, referred to as discrimination variables. The study sample consisted of 250 male and female students from social departments in some universities in the United Arab Emirates, where an electronic questionnaire was distributed to the sample individuals. The results revealed that most male and female university students generally value voluntary work, and that there was a significant difference between the study groups in most independent variables, except for the variable of monthly income of the youth or their families. Discrimination variables accounted for 44.6% of variance between the two groups, with Wilks' Lambda (λ) =0.554. The percentage of the right classification of those who value and who don't value voluntary work was 88%. The results of (Tau) value revealed that the respondents with positive attitudes towards voluntary work who have a good social and health status, good educational level, a younger age, higher affiliation and citizenship, good economic status, and belong to larger families agree with the opinion stating that the university youth in the United Arab Emirates value voluntary work with a percentage of 76%. The study concluded with a number of recommendations.

Climate Change, Trend Analysis of Temperature in Yola, North East Nigeria

Climate change is causing temperature and rainfall patterns to change in most parts of the globe. Consequently, a trend analysis of temperature in Yola, North East Nigeria, between 1975 and 2018 was carried out using the Mann-Kendall trend test to determine the trend of temperature in the region and hence determine the impact of climate change in the region. The data on temperature was obtained from the archive of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). The Mann Kendall’s statistics of maximum temperature showed that the highest maximum temperature recorded within the period is 38.7˚C while the lowest maximum temperature is 33.3˚C, the test also showed a Kendall’s tau value of -0.392 with a P value of 0.000 indicating that maximum temperature is decreasing while the Mann Kendall’s statistics on minimum temperature showed that the highest minimum temperature recorded within the period was 24.0˚C while the lowest minimum temperature recorded is 21.4˚C. The results revealed that climate change is not very pronounced in the region as the maximum temperature is decreasing while the minimum temperature is increasing in the region. This result implies that the region is becoming warmer and is likely to experience an increase in rainfall. It is therefore recommended that residences build houses that allow for good ventilation to minimise heat stress, and residences should not build or farm on waterways to avoid flooding and destruction of houses and farm produce during the rainy season.

Computing balanced solutions for large international kidney exchange schemes

To overcome incompatibility issues, kidney patients may swap their donors. In international kidney exchange programmes (IKEPs), countries merge their national patient–donor pools. We consider a recently introduced credit system. In each round, countries are given an initial “fair” allocation of the total number of kidney transplants. This allocation is adjusted by a credit function yielding a target allocation. The goal is to find a solution that approaches the target allocation as closely as possible, to ensure long-term stability of the international pool. As solutions, we use maximum matchings that lexicographically minimize the country deviations from the target allocation. We perform, for the first time, a computational study for a large number of countries. For the initial allocations we use two easy-to-compute solution concepts, the benefit value and the contribution value, and four classical but hard-to-compute concepts, the Shapley value, nucleolus, Banzhaf value and tau value. By using state-of-the-art software we show that the latter four concepts are now within reach for IKEPs of up to fifteen countries. Our experiments show that using lexicographically minimal maximum matchings instead of ones that only minimize the largest deviation from the target allocation (as previously done) may make an IKEP up to 54% more balanced.

A Pilot Study of Observation Poisoning on Selective Reincarnation in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

This research explores the vulnerability of selective reincarnation, a concept in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL), in response to observation poisoning attacks. Observation poisoning is an adversarial strategy that subtly manipulates an agent’s observation space, potentially leading to a misdirection in its learning process. The primary aim of this paper is to systematically evaluate the robustness of selective reincarnation in MARL systems against the subtle yet potentially debilitating effects of observation poisoning attacks. Through assessing how manipulated observation data influences MARL agents, we seek to highlight potential vulnerabilities and inform the development of more resilient MARL systems. Our experimental testbed was the widely used HalfCheetah environment, utilizing the Independent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient algorithm within a cooperative MARL setting. We introduced a series of triggers, namely Gaussian noise addition, observation reversal, random shuffling, and scaling, into the teacher dataset of the MARL system provided to the reincarnating agents of HalfCheetah. Here, the “teacher dataset” refers to the stored experiences from previous training sessions used to accelerate the learning of reincarnating agents in MARL. This approach enabled the observation of these triggers’ significant impact on reincarnation decisions. Specifically, the reversal technique showed the most pronounced negative effect for maximum returns, with an average decrease of 38.08% in Kendall’s tau values across all the agent combinations. With random shuffling, Kendall’s tau values decreased by 17.66%. On the other hand, noise addition and scaling aligned with the original ranking by only 21.42% and 32.66%, respectively. The results, quantified by Kendall’s tau metric, indicate the fragility of the selective reincarnation process under adversarial observation poisoning. Our findings also reveal that vulnerability to observation poisoning varies significantly among different agent combinations, with some exhibiting markedly higher susceptibility than others. This investigation elucidates our understanding of selective reincarnation’s robustness against observation poisoning attacks, which is crucial for developing more secure MARL systems and also for making informed decisions about agent reincarnation.

Transforming Landslide Prediction: A Novel Approach Combining Numerical Methods and Advanced Correlation Analysis in Slope Stability Investigation

Landslides cause significant economic losses and casualties worldwide. However, robust prediction remains challenging due to the complexity of geological factors contributing to slope stability. Advanced correlation analysis methods can improve prediction capabilities. This study aimed to develop a novel landslide prediction approach that combines numerical modeling and correlation analysis (Spearman rho and Kendall tau) to improve displacement-based failure prediction. Simulations generate multi-location displacement data sets on soil and rock slopes under incremental stability reductions. Targeted monitoring points profile local displacement responses. Statistical analyses, including mean/variance and Spearman/Kendall correlations, quantified displacement-stability relationships. For the homogeneous soil slope, monitoring point 2 of the middle section of the slope showed a mean horizontal displacement of 17.65 mm and a mean vertical displacement of 9.72 mm under stability reduction. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients ranged from 0.31 to 0.76, while Kendall’s tau values ranged from 0.29 to 0.64, indicating variable displacement–stability relationships. The joint rock slope model had strong positive total displacement correlations (Spearman’s and Kendall’s correlation ranges of +1.0 and −1.0) at most points. Horizontal and vertical displacements reached mean maxima of 44.13 mm and 22.17 mm, respectively, at the unstable point 2 of the center section of the slope. The advanced correlation analysis techniques provided superior identification of parameters affecting slope stability compared to standard methods. The generated predictive model dramatically improves landslide prediction capability, allowing preventive measures to be taken to mitigate future losses through this new approach.

Analysis of Rainfall Trend in North Interior Karnataka (NIK) Meteorological Subdivision of Karnataka by Non-Parametric Methodologies

The present study analyzed the trend in the month-wise, seasonal and annual rainfall employing three non-parametric tests viz. Mann-Kendall (M-K), Modified Mann-Kendall (MM-K) tests and Sen’s slope estimator for North Interior Karnataka (NIK) meteorological subdivision of Karnataka using 60 years (1960-2019) rainfall data. The M-K test results revealed that there is no monotonic trend in all data sets which indicates that there may exist the influence of serial correlation in the rainfall data. The MM-K test was applied to rainfall data of the NIK subdivision, the result of the test revealed that January, February, March and August months have a monotonic increasing trend whereas April, May, July and September months have a monotonic decreasing trend whereas June, October, November and December have no monotonic trend in monthly rainfall data. The winter season has a monotonic increasing trend, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons have a monotonic decreasing trend, and the pre-monsoon season has no monotonic trend in seasonal rainfall data. The MM-K test statistic (Tau) value for the NIK (-0.12) subdivision was found to be significant and negative indicating that there is a monotonic decreasing trend. Larger negative Sen’s slope values for NIK (-1.40) subdivision indicate the high decreasing rate of change of rainfall for annual rainfall data. Therefore, to know the trend in rainfall data most accurately in the presence of outliers and serial correlation, the Modified Mann-Kendall (MM-K) test and Sen’s slope estimator are recommended instead of Mann-Kendall (M-K) and Sen’s slope estimator.

Analyzing the Impact of Land Cover Changes on Spatio-Temporal Temperature Dynamics in the Kara Region of Togo

This comprehensive study delves into the intricate interplay between temperature trends and land cover dynamics in the Kara region, offering robust insights into the evolving climate and environmental patterns. Employing the Mann-Kendall trend test, our analysis reveals a statistically significant and consistent warming trend over the study period. The observed low p-values, positive Tau values, and upward-sloping regression lines emphasize the urgent need for proactive measures to address the climate-related challenges faced by the region. Simultaneously, a meticulous correlation analysis explores the relationships between land surface temperature (LST) and key land metrics- farms, barelands, built-ups, forests, and water bodies. Farmlands exhibit a noteworthy and statistically significant negative correlation of −0.74 with LST (p < 0.05), indicating a cooling influence and supported by a substantial 43.8% predictive power. Conversely, barelands and built-ups demonstrate strong positive correlations of 0.89 and 0.78, respectively, with LST both statistically significant at the 95% confidence level (p < 0.05), emphasizing their considerable warming impact. Forests and water bodies, with moderate negative correlations of −0.65 and −0.54, maintain statistical significance (p < 0.05), indicating their role in temperature moderation, supported by 8.5% and 13% significance. The inclusion of Sen’s slope values further enriches the analysis, providing quantitative insights into the rate of temperature change. The positive slope values underscore the increasing trend in temperatures over each respective decade. The observed statistical significances, Tau values, and Sen’s slope values accentuate the importance of these relationships for effective land management and environmental planning. Recognizing the cooling influence of farmlands suggests their potential use in strategic urban planning to mitigate temperature increases. Conversely, the warming impact of barelands and built-ups emphasizes the need for sustainable urban development practices to counteract rising temperatures in urbanized regions. Additionally, the cooling influence of forests and water bodies underscores their crucial role in temperature moderation.

Early systemic insults following traumatic brain injury: association with biomarker profiles, therapy for intracranial hypertension, and neurological outcomes—an analysis of CENTER-TBI data

PurposeWe analysed the impact of early systemic insults (hypoxemia and hypotension, SIs) on brain injury biomarker profiles, acute care requirements during intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and 6-month outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsFrom patients recruited to the Collaborative European neurotrauma effectiveness research in TBI (CENTER-TBI) study, we documented the prevalence and risk factors for SIs and analysed their effect on the levels of brain injury biomarkers [S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neurofilament light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), and protein Tau], critical care needs, and 6-month outcomes [Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE)].ResultsAmong 1695 TBI patients, 24.5% had SIs: 16.1% had hypoxemia, 15.2% had hypotension, and 6.8% had both. Biomarkers differed by SI category, with higher S100B, Tau, UCH-L1, NSE and NfL values in patients with hypotension or both SIs. The ratio of neural to glial injury (quantified as UCH-L1/GFAP and Tau/GFAP ratios) was higher in patients with hypotension than in those with no SIs or hypoxia alone. At 6 months, 380 patients died (22%), and 759 (45%) had GOSE ≤ 4. Patients who experienced at least one SI had higher mortality than those who did not (31.8% vs. 19%, p < 0.001).ConclusionThough less frequent than previously described, SIs in TBI patients are associated with higher release of neuronal than glial injury biomarkers and with increased requirements for ICU therapies aimed at reducing intracranial hypertension. Hypotension or combined SIs are significantly associated with adverse 6-month outcomes. Current criteria for hypotension may lead to higher biomarker levels and more negative outcomes than those for hypoxemia suggesting a need to revisit pressure targets in the prehospital settings.

Amyloid and Tau as cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in anti-N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

Neuroinfection is associated with the deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, and subsequent decrease in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid levels. However, whether autoimmune encephalitis involves extracellular deposition of Aβ peptides in the brain is unreported. We examined CSF amyloid and tau values in adults with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDAR-E). Forty-two patients with NMDAR-E, 35 patients with viral and bacterial neuroinfections, and 16 controls were included. We measured CSF Aβ1-42 (cAβ1-42), Aβ1-40 (cAβ1-40), t-Tau (ct-Tau), and p-Tau181 (cp-Tau181) levels and assessed their efficacies regarding differential diagnosis and predicting prognosis. NMDAR-E patients had lower cAβ1-42 levels; however, they were higher than those of patients with bacterial meningitis. ct-Tau levels in NMDAR-E patients were lower than those in patients with neuroinfections. No changes were observed in controls. cAβ1-42 and ct-Tau were combined as an excellent marker to distinguish NMDAR-E from neuroinfections. cAβ1-42 levels in NMDAR-E patients were positively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. We observed an inverse relationship between cAβ1-42 levels and modified Rankin Scale scores. Patients with poor outcomes exhibited low cAβ1-42 levels and high levels of several blood parameters. cAβ1-42 was the highest quality biomarker for assessing NMDAR-E prognosis. Correlations were found between cAβ1-42 and some inflammatory indicators. cAβ1-42 was decreased in NMDAR-E patients. cAβ1-42 levels indicated NMDAR-E severity and acted as a biomarker for its prognosis. Combining cAβ1-42 and ct-Tau levels could serve as a novel differential diagnostic marker for NMDAR-E.

Recurrence-free survival as a surrogate for overall survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Nationwide real-world data from Japan.

269 Background: One of the limitations of the established gold standard, overall survival (OS), is that it requires an extended follow-up period. Addressing this challenge involves investigating appropriate statistically and clinically relevant surrogate endpoints. However, there is a paucity of studies using real-world data (RWD) to explore surrogacy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Our study aims to investigate whether recurrence-free survival (RFS) is a valid surrogate endpoint for OS in surgically resectable advanced ESCC patients, utilizing a comprehensive nationwide database in Japan. Methods: The ESCC patients who received neoadjuvant CF (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) or DCF (docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) at 58 Japanese esophageal centers certified by the Japan Esophageal Society were retrospectively reviewed. Kendall's tau between RFS and OS was used at the individual level, and the coefficient of determination was used at the institutional level to assess surrogacy. Additionally, surrogacy between each short-term postoperative endpoint (pathological complete response [pCR] or pathological grade) and OS was investigated using novel statistical methods. Results: Our study encompassed 3154 ESCC patients who underwent subtotal esophagectomy from 2010 to 2015. The cStage I/II/III/IVA/IVB (due to supraclavicular lymph node metastasis) was 224 (7.1%), 1008 (32.0%), 1664 (52.8%), 117 (3.7%), and 140 (4.4%), respectively. The 5-year OS and RFS rate for the entire cohort was 56.6% and 47.7%, respectively. In the primary analysis, a strong correlation between RFS and OS was found (Kendall's tau = 0.797, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.782 to 0.812) at the individual level. Subgroup analysis revealed that the better the pathological response, the higher the tau value. An adjusted R2 of 100.0% (95% CI: 40.2 to 100.0) was obtained with the meta-regression model at the institutional level. The surrogate threshold effect was 0.703. Tau between pCR or pathological grade and OS were -0.025 (95% CI: -0.335 to 0.285) and 0.062 (95% CI: -0.086 to 0.209), respectively. Conclusions: The present study was the first nationwide RWD investigation to demonstrate a strong correlation between RFS and OS in surgically resectable ESCC patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Notably, this correlation was more pronounced in patients who had a more effective response to NAC. These findings hold promise for expediting the development of novel neoadjuvant treatment by shortening the duration of clinical trials.

Trend analysis of precipitation, temperature and snow water equivalent in Lombardy region, northern Italy

The analysis of precipitation, temperature, and snow water equivalent (SWE) trends offers a scientific approach for understanding the impacts of climate change. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of climate change indicators in Lombardy, Italy, covering the yearly and monthly trends of precipitation and temperature from 1990 to 2020. Additionally, the yearly and monthly SWE variations. For this purpose, a range of statistical tests have been used including Mann–Kendall, Pettitt’s change point detection and Sen’s slope estimator. Precipitation trend shows a slight annual increase of around 5.42 mm per year. This trend is not statistically significant with a Mann–Kendall p value of 0.1448 and no changing point has been detected. Moreover, seasonal precipitation patterns show minor variations, with Kendall’s Tau values ranging from − 0.0431 to 0.1761. However, none of these trends are statistically significant, as reflected in Mann–Kendall p values ranging from 0.1679 to 0.7339. Conversely, Lombardy is experiencing a significant annual temperature increase of 0.0436 °C. Notably, in Autumn, temperatures rise at a rate of 0.0565° per year. Summer also shows a significant warming trend, with temperatures increasing by 0.0421° per year. In Winter and Spring, there are milder, non-significant temperature trends, with Kendall’s Tau values around 0.17. SWE trend shows minor annual variations (5–10%) and monthly shifts. Winter shows a slight decrease (2–3%), implying delayed snow accumulation, while Spring indicates minor change (1–2%) suggesting earlier snowmelt. This study emphasizes temperature's strong impact on SWE and stresses the importance of climate monitoring and collaboration for understanding changing climate patterns.

PAWG pilot study on quantification of total haemoglobin in blood

Main textUnder the auspices of the Protein Analysis Working Group (PAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a pilot study, CCQM-P201, was organised. Five National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) participated in this pilot study and provided a total of eleven measurement results using six different methods based on three different measurement principles. The purpose of this pilot study was to develop measurement capabilities for the accurate quantification of intact haemoglobin (Hb) whereby measurement results could be made directly traceable to the SI. The choice of protein resulted from its ability to be quantified via different measurement principles providing different routes of traceability. Hb also provided a model of an intact protein with a complex tetrameric structure which is often measured via quantification of a specific subunit or the incorporated haem group. To achieve appropriate results for the chosen measurand, it was necessary to distinguish between the whole protein and fragments of the tetrameric structure, such as dimers or monomers. The participants were encouraged to investigate several of the measurement methods available. This was considered particularly advantageous in this instance as various methods applied to the same analyte may assist in identifying possible previously unknown biases or interferences of the various methods. Hb is being used as a model system to build capacity in methods for the quantification of proteins with a molar mass ≤ 100 kDa in biological fluids in a concentration range > 1∙106 pmol/g.This was the first pilot study for the quantification of an inherent protein in blood with all the natural variations that protein shows in a clinical sample. The different methods applied by the participants included isotopic dilution (ID) organic mass spectrometry (MS) of specific peptides after tryptic digestion, species-specific ID inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), post-column ID ICP-MS, quantification via total iron after chromatographic isolation of Hb and acid digestion as well as two optical methods. One of the latter was the reference method proposed by the International Committee for Standardisation in Haematology (ICSH) based on the conversion of Hb to hemiglobincyanide (HiCN), the other used the conversion of Hb with alkaline haematin detergent both followed by the measurement of spectroscopic absorbance.Considering the use of very different measurement techniques for the quantification of total Hb, the results are in good agreement with a reference value with corresponding expanded uncertainty of (120.6 ± 1.2) mg/g calculated as DerSimonian-Laird mean. However, the observed differences between the results are not completely reflected in the reported measurement uncertainties. The calculated interlaboratory standard deviation or Tau value (dark uncertainty) was approximately 3 % whilst the average reported measurement uncertainty was approximately half this (1.4 %). A possible reason for this large difference may lie in the underestimation of any necessary conversion factors and their uncertainty contributions, between the target analyte measured and the requested measurand.To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/.The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Clinical value of plasma brain-derived tau and p-tau217 in acute ischemic stroke

Clinical value of plasma brain-derived tau and p-tau217 in acute ischemic stroke

Public Interest in Psilocybin and Psychedelic Therapy in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Google Trends Analysis.

Psychedelic substances have demonstrated promise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Significant media coverage has been dedicated to psychedelic medicine, but it is unclear whether the public associates psilocybin with its potential therapeutic benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in the general population. This study attempts to link increases in interest in these disorders with increases in interest in psilocybin using Google Trends. Weekly interest-over-time Google Trends data for 4 years, from the week of March 11, 2018, to the week of March 6, 2022, were obtained for the following terms: "psilocybin," "psychedelic therapy," "cannabis," "cocaine," "antidepressant," "depression," "anxiety," and "addiction." Important psilocybin-related news and the declaration of the pandemic were noted. Trends data for each of the queried terms were plotted, and multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the slope of the prepandemic and postpandemic data with 95% CIs. Nonparametric Tau-U analysis was performed correcting for baseline trends. Results from this test were used to make inferences about the pre- and postpandemic trends and inferences about the change in overall level of searches between the 2 groups. Tau values for prepandemic data were significant for stable trends, all ranging -0.4 to 0.4. Tau values for postpandemic data showed positive trends for "psilocybin," "psychedelic therapy," and "antidepressant." All other trends remained stable in the range of -0.4 to 0.4. When comparing Tau values for pre- and postpandemic data, overall increases in relative search volume (RSV) were seen for "psilocybin," "psychedelic therapy," and "anxiety," and overall decreases in RSV were seen for "depression," "addiction," and "cocaine." Overall RSVs for "cannabis" and "antidepressant" remained stable as Tau values ranged between -0.4 and 0.4. In the immediate aftermath of the declaration of the pandemic, drop-offs in interest were seen for all terms except for "anxiety" and "cannabis." After the initial shock of a global pandemic, "psilocybin" and "psychedelic therapy" groups demonstrated increases in interest trends and overall RSV. These data suggest that overall interest in "psilocybin" and "psychedelic therapy" increased at higher rates and to higher levels after than before the declaration of the pandemic. This is consistent with our hypothesis that interest increased for these treatments after the pandemic as incidence of depression, anxiety, and addiction increased. However, there may be other drivers of interest for these topics, since interest in antidepressants-the typical pharmacologic treatments for depression and anxiety-followed the expected pattern of drop-off and accelerated interest back to prepandemic levels. Interest in "psilocybin" and "psychedelic therapy" may have also been partially driven by popular culture hype and novelty, explaining why interest increased at a higher rate post pandemic and continued to grow, surpassing prior interest.

THE BENEFITS OF FAMILY ANNUITY CALCULATION WITH VINE’S COPULA AND FUZZY INTEREST RATE

One example of a multiple life annuity product (covering more than one person) is a reversionary annuity, which is a life annuity product for two or more annuitants whose annuity payments will begin after one of the annuitants specified in the contract dies first until the other annuitant also dies. This type of annuity is modified into a family annuity consisting of husband, wife, and child. The marginal distribution is constructed from a combined model of several mortality models such as Heligman-Pollard, Costakis, and Kannisto-Makeham models to capture mortality at young and old ages.This study takes this dependency into account when modeling the joint distribution of remaining life expectancy between the parties. The joint distribution of remaining lifetime between annuitants is modeled with a Vine’s copula constructed from the marginal distribution of each annuitant. This research also takes account the actuarial margin rate using BI-7-day (reverse) repo rate data estimated with fuzzy sets. The annuity benefits calculation is assumed with some Kendall's tau () values. The result shows the value of annuity benefits increases as the value of increases.

Level of blood Tau and p‐Tau : a non‐invasive approach for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease(AD)

AbstractBackgroundProminent expression of Tau and phosphorylated Tau in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is one of the well‐known hallmarks of the Alzheimer’s disease (AD). High levels of p‐Tau can easily differentiate AD from other neurodegenerative disease. However, the serum levels of these proteins in AD patients are not well explored. This study provides an alternative non‐invasive approach to diagnose the disease by evaluating the level of Tau and p‐Tau181 in serum samples.MethodBlood samples were collected from 39 AD patients, 37 MCI patients and 37 elderly individuals as controls. Quantification of tau and pTau in serum samples was done with the help of a label free real time Surface Plasmon Resonance technology, and further validated by Western Blot. Statistical analysis, including Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), was done for further affirmation.ResultThe concentrations of serum Tau and p‐Tau181 were significantly higher (p&lt;0.00001) in AD (Tau; 47.49±9.00ng/µL, p‐Tau181; 0.161±0.04 ng/µL) compared to MCI (Tau; 39.26±7.78 ng/µL, p‐Tau181; 0.135±0.02 ng/µL) and were further compared to elderly controls (Tau; 34.92±6.58 ng/µL, p‐Tau181; 0.122±0.01 ng/ µL). A significant (p&lt;0.0001) downhill correlation was found between Tau as well as p‐Tau181 levels with HMSE and MoCA score.ConclusionThis study for the first time reports the concentration of Tau and p‐Tau181 in serum of AD and MCI patients. The cut‐off values of Tau and p‐Tau181 of AD and MCI patients with sensitivity and specificity reveal that serum level of these proteins can be used as a predictive marker for AD and MCI.

Examining the overlap between patterns of tau deposition and cortical neurite microstructure in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBackgroundIncreased Amyloid‐beta (Aβ) is associated with the neuropathological features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and it has been suggested to amplify tau spreading in the brain that leads to neurodegeneration. However, little is known about how the pattern of tau spreading overlaps with that of cortical microstructural neurodegeneration in the preclinical stages of the disease. Here, we utilized molecular imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to identify the spreading pattern of tau pathology with the disease progression in cross‐sectional data and interaction with the degradation of cortical neurite microstructures.MethodsThe study consisted of normal controls (CN) and patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCI) from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (Table 1). All participants had structural and multi‐shell diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) scans using 18F‐florbetapir (AV45) for and 18F‐flortaucipir (AV1451) for tau. The preprocessed PET images were used to generate the standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) values in each hemisphere consisting of 180 cerebral cortical brain regions defined by the Glasser atlas. The preprocessed dMRI data were used to compute cortical NODDI coefficients (neurite density (intracellular volume fraction; ICVF), orientation dispersion index (ODI), and isotropic volume fraction (FISO)). The tau and NODDI microstructural values are then normalized compared to the Aβ− CN group by adjusting the values for age and sex. The tau spreading order was defined based on the frequencies of the normalized tau values that exceeded the given threshold and compared the patterns with the neurite microstructures.ResultsWe found a sharp increase of tau deposition in patients with Aβ+ MCI, and the medial temporal regions were identified as the earliest region to become tau positive and continue to spread to inferior temporal and inferior parietal regions. Most importantly, we found significant patterns of cortical ODI degradation with the tau spreading in the right entorhinal cortex (p = 0.004) and the right hippocampus (p = 0.02).ConclusionThe findings of this cross‐sectional study provide that regional cortical neurite imaging could provide higher sensitivity to changes in the pathological process of tau spreading in tau epicenters in AD.