Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Andrew Ratanatharathorn, Stephen J. Mooney, Benjamin A. Rybicki, Andrew G. Rundle
Summary: Individual matching in case-control studies improves statistical efficiency, but strict matching criteria can lead to selection bias. This study introduces flex matching, an algorithm that selects controls for cases using multiple rounds of control selection with successively relaxed matching criteria. The results show that flex matching produces the least biased estimates with the smallest standard errors, making it a valuable approach in case-control designs.
ANNALS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Kamila Kucharska-Ambrozej, Agnieszka Martyna, Joanna Karpinska, Anna Kieltyka-Dadasiewicz, Aleksandra Kubat-Sikorska
Summary: Mints are valued for their specific essential oil used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Chemical compounds differing between species cause changes in medicinal/pharmacological properties, antioxidant activities or smell sensations. UV-VIS spectrophotometry and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy were used to record spectral fingerprints of mint varieties, and a chemometric approach involving SIMCA was used for quality control. Discrimination of peppermint and spearmint samples was done using PLS-DA or SVM, with model performance ranging from 60 to 80% depending on spectroscopic data and harvest season.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Mohammad Ali Mansournia, Charles Poole
Summary: Matching by a confounder in a case-control study often leads to control-selection bias and net bias, which can be affected by the direction and magnitude of the confounding. Previous assumptions that matching for a single confounder is sufficient to remove all confounding and that associations are monotonic have been challenged. It is now understood that the implications of matching by confounders in case-control studies are more complex and require further methodological research.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Statistics & Probability
Kan Chen, Siyu Heng, Qi Long, Bo Zhang
Summary: One central goal of observational study design is to incorporate non-experimental data into an approximate randomized controlled trial using statistical matching. However, residual imbalance due to imperfect matching of observed covariates often persists. This article presents two generic classes of exact statistical tests for a biased randomization assumption and introduces a quantity called residual sensitivity value (RSV) as a means to quantify the level of residual confounding due to imperfect matching of observed covariates in a matched sample. The proposed methodology is demonstrated through a re-examination of a famous observational study.
JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL AND GRAPHICAL STATISTICS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Pourya Shamsolmoali, Masoumeh Zareapoor, Eric Granger, Huiyu Zhou, Ruili Wang, M. Emre Celebi, Jie Yang
Summary: Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have shown great success in various fields, particularly in image synthesis. This survey provides a comprehensive review of adversarial models for image synthesis, summarizing methods and discussing future research directions. Additionally, all software implementations and datasets of these GAN methods have been collected and made available, which is a unique feature of this review.
INFORMATION FUSION
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Mengqi Zhang, F. Richard Guo
Summary: Single-cell sequencing has revolutionized the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by providing high resolution for heterogeneous cell tissues. However, current analysis mainly focuses on comparing different cell types within the same individual. This study proposes a nonparametric method called barycenter single-cell differential expression (BSDE) to identify DEGs in case-control studies. The method overcomes the limitations of parametric approaches and accurately detects differential expressions. It is demonstrated through simulations and real data analysis that BSDE can effectively identify cell type-specific DEGs. The availability of the R package and datasets further facilitate its application in research.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jung-Wei Chang, Hsin-Chang Chen, Heng-Zhao Hu, Wan-Ting Chang, Po-Chin Huang, I-Jen Wang
Summary: The study shows that low-dose phthalate exposure enhances the immune system response in children with asthma. Monobenzyl phthalate is identified as the main contributing factor.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Luis A. Morales, Frank A. Ruiz, Christian D. Moreno, Jose Aguilar
Summary: This article introduces the LAMDA algorithm and its extensions, analyzes their performance in different classification problems, and aims to determine the correct application context and suitability for each technique, providing specific case studies.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jeremy A. Labrecque, Myriam M. G. Hunink, M. Arfan Ikram, M. Kamran Ikram
Summary: The study highlights the importance of interpreting estimates from different case-control study designs correctly, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of study design and parameters when reporting research findings.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Ling Wang, Minghui Yang, Yandong Liu, Yufeng Ge, Shiwen Zhu, Yongbin Su, Xiaoguang Cheng, Xinbao Wu, Glen M. Blake, Klaus Engelke
Summary: This study found substantial differences in total and cortical volume, as well as cortical thickness, between women with and without hip fracture across the proximal femur. The ratio of Cort/TrabMass showed better performance in discriminating hip fracture risk than cortical thickness.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yifang Wang, Di Liu, Fushan Zhang, Qingling Zhang
Summary: Shale oil/gas development is crucial for the energy market and environmental protection, but tracking its spatio-temporal dynamics is challenging. This study proposes a new NDVI Trajectroy Matching algorithm to accurately track shale oil/gas development and extract its location and time.
Article
Statistics & Probability
Wei Wang, Dylan S. Small, Guy Cafri, Elizabeth W. Paxton
Summary: In observational studies, the matched case-control approach is commonly used to compare treatment effects by matching cases with controls. This approach can be more powerful for testing treatment effects when outcomes are rare. Additionally, it can provide better match quality in studies investigating the effects of certain treatments on specific conditions.
AMERICAN STATISTICIAN
(2022)
Article
Biology
Han Zhang, Lu Deng, William Wheeler, Jing Qin, Kai Yu
Summary: This paper introduces a flexible inference procedure that integrates individual-level data collected from internal studies with summary data borrowed from external studies, addressing the challenges of sharing individual data among studies. The procedure is built on a retrospective empirical likelihood framework, able to be applied to external studies in different populations and showing efficiency advantages over other methods both theoretically and numerically.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xuan Tong, Jingwei Li, Feng Zhang, Wenwen Li, BaoXiang Pan, Jun Li, Husi Letu
Summary: The authors propose a transfer-learning-based deep learning model, transfer-learning-ResUnet, to retrieve the nighttime thermodynamic phase (CP) of clouds from thermal infrared channels. Cloud products of Himawari-8 and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers were used as labels during training. The accuracy of the CP retrieval was confirmed by a benchmark obtained by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations. During three independent months, the daytime and nighttime retrieval accuracy of the CP was 0.867 and 0.816, respectively, which was superior to that of the Himawari-8 operational product in the daytime (0.788).
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amelie Foucault, Nicolas Vallet, Noemie Ravalet, Frederic Picou, Marie C. Bene, Emmanuel Gyan, Olivier Herault
Summary: This study concludes that there is an adverse association between occupational pesticide exposure and acute myeloid leukemia, particularly with insecticides. Analysis of the data also indicates that this association is primarily influenced by specific study conditions and factors.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hilary A. Robbins, Karine Alcala, Elham Khodayari Moez, Florence Guida, Sera Thomas, Hana Zahed, Matthew T. Warkentin, Karl Smith-Byrne, Yonathan Brhane, David Muller, Xiaoshuang Feng, Demetrius Albanes, Melinda C. Aldrich, Alan A. Arslan, Julie Bassett, Christine D. Berg, Qiuyin Cai, Chu Chen, Michael P. A. Davies, Brenda Diergaarde, John K. Field, Neal D. Freedman, Wen-Yi Huang, Mikael Johansson, Michael Jones, Woon-Puay Koh, Stephen Lam, Qing Lan, Arnulf Langhammer, Linda M. Liao, Geoffrey Liu, Reza Malekzadeh, Roger L. Milne, Luis M. Montuenga, Thomas Rohan, Howard D. Sesso, Gianluca Severi, Mahdi Sheikh, Rashmi Sinha, Xiao-Ou Shu, Victoria L. Stevens, Martin C. Tammemaegi, Lesley F. Tinker, Kala Visvanathan, Ying Wang, Renwei Wang, Stephanie J. Weinstein, Emily White, David Wilson, Jian-Min Yuan, Xuehong Zhang, Wei Zheng, Christopher I. Amos, Paul Brennan, Mattias Johansson, Rayjean J. Hung
Summary: The INTEGRAL program aims to develop tools for optimizing LDCT lung cancer screening. It includes the Risk Biomarker and Nodule Malignancy projects, which investigate circulating protein markers for identifying individuals likely to benefit from screening and distinguishing benign versus malignant nodules. A total of 1161 and 1078 proteins were measured, and 21 proteins were selected for performance evaluation in the Risk Biomarker and Nodule Malignancy projects.
ANNALS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Thomas Behrens, Calvin Ge, Roel Vermeulen, Benjamin Kendzia, Ann Olsson, Joachim Schuez, Hans Kromhout, Beate Pesch, Susan Peters, Luetzen Portengen, Per Gustavsson, Dario Mirabelli, Pascal Guenel, Daniele Luce, Dario Consonni, Neil E. Caporaso, Maria Teresa Landi, John K. Field, Stefan Karrasch, Heinz-Erich Wichmann, Jack Siemiatycki, Marie-Elise Parent, Lorenzo Richiardi, Lorenzo Simonato, Karl-Heinz Joeckel, Wolfgang Ahrens, Hermann Pohlabeln, Guillermo Fernandez-Tardon, David Zaridze, John R. McLaughlin, Paul A. Demers, Beata Swiatkowska, Jolanta Lissowska, Tamas Pandics, Eleonora Fabianova, Dana Mates, Vladimir Bencko, Lenka Foretova, Vladimir Janout, Paolo Boffetta, Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Francesco Forastiere, Kurt Straif, Thomas Bruening
Summary: Limited evidence exists regarding the exposure-effect relationship between lung-cancer risk and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) or nickel. This study found that occupational exposure to Cr(VI) and nickel was associated with lung-cancer risks, particularly in men. In men, the highest quartile of cumulative exposure to CR(VI) and nickel were both significantly associated with increased odds ratios for lung cancer.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Mary Pegington, Michelle Harvie, Elaine F. Harkness, Adam Brentnall, Lee Malcomson, Jake Southworth, Jill Fox, Anthony Howell, Jack Cuzick, D. Gareth Evans
Summary: Obesity in early adulthood is associated with lower breast cancer rates later in life, but the broader implications of higher weight are less known. This study examined the association between obesity in early adulthood and body mass index (BMI) change with all-cause mortality. The results showed that women who were overweight or obese at 20 years old had a higher mortality rate compared to those with a healthy weight.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Xia Wei, Samuel Oxley, Michail Sideris, Ashwin Kalra, Adam Brentnall, Li Sun, Li Yang, Rosa Legood, Ranjit Manchanda
Summary: The study aimed to assess the impact of risk-reducing surgery on quality of life for breast cancer and ovarian cancer prevention. The results showed that risk-reducing mastectomy and risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy can reduce cancer-related distress and do not affect health-related quality of life. However, body image problems should be considered after risk-reducing mastectomy, and sexual dysfunction and menopause symptoms after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy. Risk-reducing early salpingectomy and delayed oophorectomy may be a promising alternative to mitigate quality of life-related risks.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
D. Gareth Evans, Lorna McWilliams, Susan Astley, Adam R. Brentnall, Jack Cuzick, Richard Dobrashian, Stephen W. Duffy, Louise S. Gorman, Elaine F. Harkness, Fiona Harrison, Michelle Harvie, Andrew Jerrison, Matthew Machin, Anthony J. Maxwell, Sacha J. Howell, Stuart J. Wright, Katherine Payne, Nadeem Qureshi, Helen Ruane, Jake Southworth, Lynne Fox, Sarah Bowers, Gillian Hutchinson, Emma Thorpe, Fiona Ulph, Victoria Woof, Anthony Howell, David P. French
Summary: The study developed BC-Predict, a risk assessment tool that collects standard risk factor information, mammographic density, and Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) to predict the risk of breast cancer. The results showed that inviting women at high and moderate risk for additional screening and preventive measures can increase the uptake of preventive medication.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Adam R. Brentnall, Chris Mathews, Sandy Beare, Jennifer Ching, Michelle Sleeth, Peter Sasieni
Summary: A computer algorithm was developed to target trial invitations and address healthy volunteer effects and inequity in health research studies. The algorithm sends invitations by sampling from lists generated by the algorithm, with a tilt towards less likely groups to achieve equity, and requires a minimum expected event rate for the primary outcome.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jeremy S. S. Paige, Christoph I. I. Lee, Pin-Chieh Wang, William Hsu, Adam R. R. Brentnall, Anne C. C. Hoyt, Arash Naeim, Joann G. G. Elmore
Summary: This study compared the accuracy and agreement of three breast cancer risk prediction models and found substantial variability in individual risk categorization. Depending on the model and risk threshold used, there were significant differences in breast cancer risk estimates for individuals. This variability can have adverse effects on screening, prevention, and quality of life, and clinicians need to be aware of the differences between models and the false-positive and false-negative rates when discussing with patients.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Celeste Damiani, Grigorios Kalliatakis, Muthyala Sreenivas, Miaad Al-Attar, Janice Rose, Clare Pudney, Emily F. Lane, Jack Cuzick, Giovanni Montana, Adam R. Brentnall
Summary: This study evaluated the accuracy of a deep learning algorithm based on digital mammograms for breast cancer risk assessment. A retrospective observational matched case-control study was conducted using data from the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme in the United Kingdom. The AI model had an average AUC of 0.68 and a calibration slope of 1.13, showing similar accuracy in assessing the risk of early and advanced breast cancer.
Article
Oncology
Samuel Oxley, Ashwin Kalra, Michail Sideris, Nicole Itzkowitz, Olivia Evans, Emma Christine Atakpa, Adam R. Brentnall, Nina Dworschak, Faiza Gaba, Rhian Gabe, Sudha Sundar, Nick Wood, Shibani Nicum, Alexandra Taylor, Stephen Dobbs, W. Glenn McCluggage, Andy Nordin, Rosa Legood, Sean Kehoe, Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami, Ranjit Manchanda
Summary: This study examines the impact of multiple COVID-19 waves on gynaecological cancer services in the UK. Surveys were conducted after each wave, revealing a significant reduction in referrals, staffing shortages, and postponed surgeries during the first wave. Subsequent waves saw improvements in the number of referrals and staffing, but persistent staff shortages remained in 2022. The study highlights the need for adaptations in healthcare practices due to COVID-19.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Eleanor Roberts, Elke M. van Veen, Helen Byers, Ofra Barnett-Griness, Naomi Gronich, Flavio Lejbkowicz, Mila Pinchev, Miriam J. Smith, Anthony Howell, William G. Newman, Emma R. Woodward, Elaine F. Harkness, Adam R. Brentnall, Jack Cuzick, Gad Rennert, Sacha J. Howell, D. . Gareth Evans
Summary: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are an important part of accurate breast cancer risk prediction, but they need to be calibrated for different ethnicities. This study found that commercially available PRSs, which assume that Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) population is of White European (WE) origin, do not accurately predict breast cancer risk in AJ women due to differences in effect allele frequencies. It is necessary to recalibrate PRSs using AJ-specific effect allele frequencies.
GENETICS IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Respiratory System
John K. Field
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Michael P. A. Davies, Takahiro Sato, Haitham Ashoor, Liping Hou, Triantafillos Liloglou, Robert Yang, John K. Field
Summary: The study investigated the potential of plasma proteomes for lung cancer prediction and identified differentially expressed proteins and pathways associated with the presence and prediction of lung cancer.
Review
Oncology
Emma L. O'Dowd, Richard W. Lee, Ahsan R. Akram, Emily C. Bartlett, Stephen H. Bradley, Kate Brain, Matthew E. J. Callister, Yan Chen, Anand Devaraj, Sinan R. Eccles, John K. Field, Jesme Fox, Seamus Grundy, Sam M. Janes, Martin Ledson, Melanie MacKean, Anne Mackie, Kieran G. McManus, Rachael L. Murray, Arjun Nair, Samantha L. Quaife, Robert Rintoul, Anne Stevenson, Yvonne Summers, Louise S. Wilkinson, Richard Booton, David R. Baldwint, Philip Crosbie
Summary: Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT has been recommended by the UK National Screening Committee based on trials showing a reduction in lung cancer mortality. The UK has made significant progress in addressing logistical issues and implementing targeted lung cancer screening through clinical trials and the NHS England Targeted Lung Health Check Programme. This Policy Review provides a summary of the consensus and key requirements for effective implementation of a screening programme, and can serve as a valuable resource for countries planning their own lung cancer screenings.
Article
Oncology
Emma C. Atakpa, Diana S. M. Buist, Erin J. Aiello Bowles, Jack Cuzick, Adam R. Brentnall
Summary: Longitudinal breast density measurement may be more reliable than the most recent observation method for breast cancer risk estimation. It has the potential to improve individual breast cancer risk estimation in women attending mammography screening.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Adam R. Brentnall, Emma C. Atakpa, Harry Hill, Ruggiero Santeramo, Celeste Damiani, Jack Cuzick, Giovanni Montana, Stephen W. Duffy
Summary: This study develops a framework to select risk groups by considering both model performance and available interventions. It applies the framework to guide breast cancer screening intervals and expects to reduce the number of advanced cancers by optimizing the selection strategy for risk groups.
NPJ DIGITAL MEDICINE
(2023)
