LMM R

Pulse rate variability (PRV) is often used as an alternative to heart rate variability (HRV) to measure psychophysiological function. However, its validity to do so is unclear, especially in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). This study compared PRV and HRV in adults with higher-level SCI (SCI-H, n = 23), lower-level SCI (SCI-L, n = 22), and able-bodied participants (AB n = 44), in a seated position as a function of performance in a reactivity task (Oxford Sleep Resistance Test: OSLER)...

BACKGROUND: Development of children born very preterm (VPT) is evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Early Bayley scores may not predict later outcomes. We studied whether VPT Bayley trajectories in the early years predicted school readiness better than single assessments. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 53 VPT at 4-5 years using standardized measures of school readiness, including the domains of cognition, early mathematical and literacy abilities, and motor skills...

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) seek to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that cause observed phenotypes. However, with highly correlated SNPs, correlated observations, and the number of SNPs being two orders of magnitude larger than the number of observations, GWAS procedures often suffer from high false positive rates. RESULTS: We propose BGWAS, a novel Bayesian variable selection method based on nonlocal priors for linear mixed models specifically tailored for genome-wide association studies...

Multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) methods provide a strategy for applying genome-wide summary statistics to assess simultaneous causal effects of multiple risk factors on a disease outcome. In contrast to univariate MR methods that assumes no horizonal pleiotropy (genetic variants only associate with one risk factor), MVMR allows for genetic variants associate with multiple risk factors and models pleiotropy by including summary statistics with risk factors as multiple variables into the regression model...

Mechanisms governing chemicals' incorporation in hair are incompletely understood, and gaps remain to link the concentration of chemicals in hair to level of exposure and internal dose present in the body. This study assesses the relevance of hair analysis for the biomonitoring of exposure to fast-elimination compounds and investigates the role of pharmacokinetics (PK) in their incorporation in hair. Rats were administered with pesticides, bisphenols, phthalates, and DINCH over 2 months. Hairs were analyzed for 28 chemicals/metabolites to investigate correlations between their concentration in hair and the dose administered to the animals...

We aimed at exploring the plant functional traits whose responses to drought or salinity are altered by the presence of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). We performed a meta-analysis across 114 articles spanning 110 plant species or cultivars. We quantified the size effect of AM symbiosis on the stress response of several functional traits, using linear mixed model analysis (LMM). Correlation analysis between functional traits and total biomass responses to stresses were also performed through LMM. The literature search and further selection yielded seven functional traits, extracted from 114 laboratory studies, including 888 observations and 110 plant species/cultivars...

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupotomy on the fat infiltration degree of lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM) in patients with lumbar disc herniation after percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED). METHODS: A total of 104 patients with lumbar disc herniation treated with PTED were randomly divided into an observation group (52 cases, 3 cases dropped off) and a control group (52 cases, 4 cases dropped off). Patients of both groups received rehabilitation training of two weeks 48 h after PTED treatment...

Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) dynamics throughout childhood are poorly understood. We profiled mtDNAcn from birth through adolescence and evaluated how the prenatal environment influences mtDNAcn across childhood. Data were collected from children from New York City followed through 18 years. Using duplexed qRT-PCR, we quantified mtDNAcn relative to nuclear DNA in blood collected from the umbilical cord (n = 450), children aged 5-7 (n = 510), and adolescents aged 15-18 (n = 278)...

BACKGROUND: There is known to be significant genetic involvement in persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), but to date there is not a clear understanding of this situation, and clarifying that involvement would be of considerable assistance in devising effective treatments for the disease. This case-control study was undertaken to search for genetic variants associated with PPHN in the Thai population using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). METHODS: A 659,184 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 387 participants (54 PPHN cases and 333 healthy participants) were genotyped across the human genome using an Illumina Asian Screening Array-24 v1...

BACKGROUND: Lipomyelomeningoceles (LMMs) are subcutaneous lipomas with dural penetration that often present with spinal cord tethering and may lead to neurological deterioration if untreated. This report describes a rare case of an LMM associated with immature nephroblastic tissue, representing a nephrogenic rest (NR) or, less likely, an immature teratoma. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: An 8-day-old infant girl presented to the clinic with a sacral dimple. Imaging demonstrated a tethered spinal cord with low-lying conus medullaris and an LMM...

PURPOSE: To quantify the association of persistent morbidity with different aspects of quality of life (QOL) in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) survivors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Longitudinal outcome from the EMBRACE-I study was evaluated. Patient-reported symptoms and QOL were prospectively scored (EORTC-C30/CX24) at baseline and regular follow-ups. Physician-assessed symptoms were also reported (CTCAEv.3). Persistent symptoms were defined if present in at least half of the follow-ups...

BACKGROUND: Depression-related negative bias in emotional processing and memory may bias accuracy of recall of temporally distal symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that when responding to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) the responses reflect more accurately temporally proximal than distal mood states. METHODS: Currently, depressed psychiatric outpatients (N = 80) with depression confirmed in semi-structured interviews had the Aware application installed on their smartphones for ecological momentary assessment (EMA)...

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) has evolved to provide increasingly sophisticated investigations of the human brain's structural connectome in vivo. Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) is a method that reconstructs the orientation distribution of diffusion within tissues over a range of length scales. In its original formulation, RSI represented the signal as consisting of a spectrum of Gaussian diffusion response functions. Recent technological advances have enabled the use of ultra-high b-values on human MRI scanners, providing higher sensitivity to intracellular water diffusion in the living human brain...

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) is a debilitating disease manifest by severe cholestasis, intractable pruritus and growth delay that ultimately leads to liver failure or transplantation. Maralixibat (MRX) was recently approved for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients with Alagille syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific changes in the composition of the serum bile acid metabolome could predict pruritus response to treatment. Serum BAs (sBA) and 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (7α-C4), a surrogate marker of BA synthesis, were monitored by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry over 72 weeks in PFIC patients with mild to moderate non-truncating bile salt export pump (BSEP) mutations ( n = 19) treated with MRX...

BACKGROUND: Considerable heterogeneity exists in treatment response to first-line posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Relatively little is known about the timing of when during a course of care the treatment response becomes apparent. Novel machine learning methods, especially continuously updating prediction models, have the potential to address these gaps in our understanding of response and optimize PTSD treatment. METHODS: Using data from a 3-week ( n = 362) CPT-based intensive PTSD treatment program (ITP), we explored three methods for generating continuously updating prediction models to predict endpoint PTSD severity...

Introduction: Low ankle-brachial index (ABI) ≤0. 9 is a marker for generalized atherosclerosis and a risk factor for cognitive decline in the general population. Objective: To evaluate the impact of ABI ≤0.9 on cognitive function up to 3 years after first-ever ischemic stroke. Methods: Data was used from the "PROspective Cohort with Incident Stroke-Berlin" (PROSCIS-B; NCT01363856). ABI was measured at baseline and categorized into normal (1...

The waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator plant located in the Turin area (Italy) started to recover energy from the combustion of municipal solid waste in 2013. A health surveillance program was implemented to evaluate the potential health effects on the population living near the plant. This program included a longitudinal biomonitoring to evaluate temporal changes of some environmental pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in residents living in areas near the Turin incinerator (exposed group, E) compared to those observed in subjects living far from the plant (not exposed group, NE)...

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are common mental disorders among patients with chronic pain. It is hypothesised that patients suffering from these disorders benefit less from cervical spine surgery than mentally healthy patients. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the effect of mental health status on functional outcome after anterior cervical discectomy in a post hoc analysis on RCT data. METHODS: One hundred eight patients from the NECK trial, with radiculopathy due to a one-level herniated disc, underwent anterior cervical discectomy and were included into this analysis...

The integration of known and latent environmental covariates within a single-stage genomic selection approach provides breeders with an informative and practical framework to utilise genotype by environment interaction for prediction into current and future environments. This paper develops a single-stage genomic selection approach which integrates known and latent environmental covariates within a special factor analytic framework. The factor analytic linear mixed model of Smith et al. (2001) is an effective method for analysing multi-environment trial (MET) datasets, but has limited practicality since the underlying factors are latent so the modelled genotype by environment interaction (GEI) is observable, rather than predictable...

This article presents the results of an LMM-R-2019 interlaboratory comparison. Such comparisons of different families of measuring instruments are one of the activities conducted among the calibration laboratories to maintain their ISO 17025 accreditation. Given that the study of surface roughness is becoming increasingly important in the field of dimensional metrology, the comparison focused on determining the Ra parameter on a pseudorandom metallic roughness standard using two types of measuring instruments: physical contact (stylus instruments) and optical (confocal microscopes)...