Article
Anesthesiology
Peter R. Kamerman, Jan Vollert
Summary: This study modeled the effects of different pain intensity inclusion thresholds on the magnitude of the regression to the mean effect in clinical trials for chronic pain management. The results showed that higher inclusion thresholds increased the mean pain intensity and magnified the regression to the mean effect. The impact of increasing inclusion thresholds on the regression to the mean effect was influenced by baseline mean pain values, intermeasurement correlations, and sample variance. The study suggests that a threshold of 3/10 provides the best compromise between assay sensitivity and the size of the regression to the mean effect.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Berend Terluin, Ewa M. Roos, Caroline B. Terwee, Jonas B. Thorlund, Lina H. Ingelsrud
Summary: Testing MIC baseline dependency by stratification on the baseline PROM score results in biased subgroup MIC estimates, and alternative methods should be used to evaluate MIC baseline dependency instead.
QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Carlotta Lega, Luigi Cattaneo, Giulio Costantini
Summary: Behavioral effects of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques can vary depending on different factors, raising the importance of considering inter-individual differences in baseline performance. However, assessing the association between baseline performance and brain stimulation effects poses methodological challenges.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Evi Triwulandari, Widya Fatriasari, Apri Heri Iswanto, Melati Septiyanti, Eko Fahrul Umam, Muhammad Ghozali
Summary: This paper investigated the synthesis of polyurethane modified epoxy through varying reaction time and analyzed its properties. The results showed that reaction time affected the molecular weight and distribution of the modified epoxy, and increasing reaction time enhanced certain performance indicators.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY-JMR&T
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Zhuye Jie, Xinlei Yu, Yinghua Liu, Lijun Sun, Peishan Chen, Qiuxia Ding, Yuan Gao, Xukai Zhang, Maomao Yuye, Yuan Liu, Yong Zhang, Karsten Kristiansen, Huijue Jia, Susanne Brix, Kaiye Cai
Summary: The baseline gut microbiota plays a crucial role in individual weight loss trajectories and can predict the relationship between dietary factors and weight loss. Changes in abundances of certain bacterial species during weight loss are associated with changes in body weight.
Article
Water Resources
Alison L. Kay
Summary: Climate change is likely to result in significant changes in river flows, with large decreases in summer flows and possible increases in winter flows across Great Britain. Up-to-date information on flow changes is essential for developing appropriate adaptation strategies, and comparisons with previous projections can help in updating existing plans, although such comparisons are often not straightforward.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Tatiana Plisko, Katsiaryna Burts, Anastasia Penkova, Mariia Dmitrenko, Anna Kuzminova, Sergey Ermakov, Alexandr Bildyukevich
Summary: Membrane fouling is a serious issue in membrane technology that can be reduced by the technique of membrane modification through the addition of hydrophilic polymers or polyelectrolytes. This study systematically investigated the effect of different molecular weights of polyacrylic acid (PAA) on the structure and properties of polysulfone membranes. It was found that higher molecular weight PAA resulted in membranes with smaller pore size, higher hydrophilicity, and better antifouling performance. The addition of PAA also led to a decrease in water contact angle and an increase in rejection for humic acid solutions.
Article
Thermodynamics
Min Li, Qiwen Chen, Caiqian Yang
Summary: Ultrasonic dispersion and surface chemical modification were used to prepare modified MWNTs/paraffin composite PCMs, in which the diameter and content of MWNTs were found to influence the phase-change temperature and latent heat. The addition of SiO2@MWNTs improved the thermal stability and thermal conductivity of the composite PCMs.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dennis Anheyer, Till Johannes Bugaj, Rainer Luedtke, Sebastian Appelbaum, Hubert Truebel, Thomas Ostermann
Summary: In drug studies, regression towards the mean (RTM) can bias treatment effects. However, for patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), the impact of RTM is minor. Placebo effects in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for PAH are negligible. Non-randomized observational studies can provide valid clinical effects for PAH patients.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xinchuang Chen, Feng Li, Xiaoqian Li, Yinhong Hu, Panpan Hu
Summary: The main factors affecting forest land changes in the Pearl River Delta region include social and economic factors, with deforestation mainly occurring at urban growth boundaries. The study results provide a theoretical basis for land management and urban planning.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cheng Li, Ziqi Liu, Min Zhao, Cheng Zhang, Pascal Bovet, Bo Xi
Summary: This study examined the association between changes in weight status from birth to childhood and high blood pressure (BP) in children. The findings suggest that childhood weight has a greater impact on BP than birth weight, and children who had incident or persistently high weight from birth to childhood had increased odds of high BP. However, children who had high birth weight but changed to normal weight in childhood did not have significantly increased odds of high BP. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining appropriate weight in early life for the prevention of high BP and related diseases, especially for those with high birth weight.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Haoli Wang, Baozhu Wu, Xikai Wu, Qiangqiang Zhuang, Tong Liu, Yu Pan, Gejun Shi, Huimin Yi, Pu Xu, Zhennan Xiong, Shu-Lei Chou, Baofeng Wang
Summary: Silicon is considered a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity, but its application is limited by vast volume change and low electrical conductivity. In the silicon anode system, binders play a crucial role in mechanical performance and conductive integrity. This review summarizes key factors affecting binders' performance and provides commonly used modification methods to improve binder performance.
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Ravi Varadhan, Jiafeng Zhu, Karen Bandeen-Roche
Summary: Many older adults experience major stressors in their lives and recovering well from these stressors, known as resilience, is an important goal of geriatric research. The simplistic approach of regressing change versus baseline yields biased estimates, so we developed a method to correct this bias and extend it to include covariates. Our approach considers a counterfactual control group and involves sensitivity analyses with minimal distributional assumptions. The method was validated through simulation studies and illustrated using a large registry of older adults who underwent total knee replacement.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
K. L. Hsieh, R. H. Neiberg, K. M. Beavers, W. J. Rejeski, S. P. Messier, B. J. Nicklas, D. P. Beavers
Summary: Previous research has shown that caloric restriction can improve physical function in elderly individuals with obesity, but the impact of starting weight and inflammatory burden on these improvements is unclear. This study aimed to determine if changes in gait speed as a result of caloric restriction varied based on body mass index and plasma interleukin 6 levels at baseline. The findings suggest that individuals with class 2+ obesity and high IL-6 levels are most likely to experience improved gait speed with caloric restriction, primarily driven by reductions in BMI.
JOURNAL OF NUTRITION HEALTH & AGING
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Yueting Ji, Qianyao Huang, Haiyang Liu, Caleb Phillips
Summary: The study found that supervisor perceptions of employee weight change significantly influenced their evaluation of employee performance, particularly following low and high initial performance evaluations. The level of supervisor anti-fat bias served as boundary conditions for this performance evaluation alteration. Significant interaction between initial performance evaluations and the impact of supervisor perception of employee weight change on subsequent performance evaluations only occurred when supervisors held stronger anti-fat bias.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Yijia Zhang, Xiwei Chen, David B. Allison, Pengcheng Xun
Summary: By pooling data from nine randomized controlled trials, this study found that Herbalife high-protein meal replacement products can significantly reduce body weight, body mass index, and fat mass. In terms of safety outcomes, there were no significant differences in alanine aminotransferase or creatinine, but aspartate aminotransferase levels decreased significantly in the treatment group and blood urea nitrogen levels increased significantly in both groups.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Cynthia M. Kroeger, Keisuke Ejima, Bridget A. Hannon, Tanya M. Halliday, Bryan McComb, Margarita Teran-Garcia, John A. Dawson, David B. King, Andrew W. Brown, David B. Allison
Summary: The use of classic nonparametric tests in the presence of unequal variance can lead to increased false positive rates and decreased statistical power. This study found that the Type I error rates for Fisher's ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis deviated from expected levels as heterogeneity increased, especially with imbalanced sample sizes. Authors, editors, and reviewers are provided with guidance for selecting appropriate statistical tests when assumptions are violated.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION
(2021)
Editorial Material
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yasaman Jamshidi-Naeini, Andrew W. Brown, Tapan Mehta, Deborah H. Glueck, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, Keith E. Muller, Carmen D. Tekwe, David B. Allison
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Colby J. Vorland, Xiwei Chen, Daniella E. Chusyd, Luis M. Mestre, Stephanie L. Dickinson, David B. Allison, Andrew W. Brown
Editorial Material
Endocrinology & Metabolism
David B. Allison, Dennis M. Bier, Julie L. Locher
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY
(2023)
Letter
Education & Educational Research
Yasaman Jamshidi-Naeini, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, Colby J. Vorland, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Deborah H. Glueck, David B. Allison
JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH
(2023)
Editorial Material
Nutrition & Dietetics
Beate Henschel, Xiwei Chen, Stephanie L. L. Dickinson, Andrew W. W. Brown, David B. B. Allison
Letter
Sport Sciences
Jean Michel R. S. Leite, Jasmine Jamshidi-Naeini, Colby J. Vorland, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, David B. Allison
SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN FOOTBALL
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yasaman Jamshidi-Naeini, Susan B. Roberts, Stephanie Dickinson, Arthur Owora, Jon Agley, Roger S. Zoh, Xiwei Chen, David B. Allison
Summary: This study assessed the preference for two behavioral weight loss programs (DPP and HWL) in adults with obesity. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and the results showed no significant difference in the choice of the two programs. Participants' expectations and characteristics were associated with their program choice.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Kevin C. Maki, Carol F. Kirkpatrick, David B. Allison, Kishore M. Gadde
Summary: Obesity in the U.S. is associated with increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Lifestyle interventions and older antiobesity drugs have limited effectiveness in reducing MACE risk, while bariatric surgery shows substantial weight reduction and lower subsequent MACE risk. Newer antiobesity drugs, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, have shown promising efficacy for weight reduction and are being evaluated for their impact on MACE risk in cardiovascular outcomes trials.
EXPERT REVIEW OF ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2023)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David B. Allison