Search results for " Bias"
showing 10 items of 437 documents
Familial HDL deficiency due to ABCA1 gene mutations with or without other genetic lipoprotein disorders
2004
Mutations in ABCA1 have been shown to be the cause of Tangier disease (TD) and some forms of familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia (HA), two genetic disorders characterized by low plasma HDL levels. Here we report six subjects with low HDL, carrying seven ABCA1 mutations, six of which are previously unreported. Two mutations (R557X and H160FsX173) were predicted to generate short truncated proteins; two mutations (E284K and Y482C) were located in the first extracellular loop and two (R1901S and Q2196H) in the C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of ABCA1. Two subjects found to be compound heterozygotes for ABCA1 mutations did not have overt clinical manifestations of TD. Three subjects, all with prema…
Do we truly see what we think we see? The role of cognitive bias in pathological interpretation
2008
In the histomorphological grading of prostate carcinoma, pathologists have regularly assigned comparable scores for the architectural Gleason and the now-obsolete nuclear World Health Organization (WHO) grading systems. Although both systems demonstrate good correspondence between grade and survival, they are based on fundamentally different biological criteria. We tested the hypothesis that this apparent concurrence between the two grading systems originates from an interpretation bias in the minds of diagnostic pathologists, rather than reflecting a biological reality. Three pathologists graded 178 prostatectomy specimens, assigning Gleason and WHO scores on glass slides and on digital im…
The Intracranial Distribution of Gliomas in Relation to Exposure From Mobile Phones: Analyses From the INTERPHONE Study
2016
When investigating the association between brain tumors and use of mobile telephones, accurate data on tumor position are essential, due to the highly localized absorption of energy in the human brain from the radio-frequency fields emitted. We used a point process model to investigate this association using information that included tumor localization data from the INTERPHONE Study (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Our main analysis included 792 regular mobile phone users diagnosed with a glioma between 2000 and 2004. Similar to earlier results, we found a statistically significant association …
Comparison of electromyographic pattern of sensory experts and untrained subjects during chewing of Mahon cheese
2002
Use of electromyography (EMG) to monitor mastication is a relatively new concept in assessing food physical and sensory properties. Although expert assessment of cheese characteristics is widely used, the effect of training in sensory analysis on mastication patterns, as assessed using EMG is not well known. Nine samples of the same Mahon cheese (60 days ripening) were given to 24 subjects (8 experts, 16 untrained) and EMG recorded for each chewing sequence. Three samples were tested in a single session by each subject, and three sessions carried out on different days. EMG was recorded from four masticatory muscles for each subject. From EMG records the following was extracted: number of ch…
Tactile perceptual processes and their relationship to medically unexplained symptoms and health anxiety
2011
Abstract Objective The Somatic Signal Detection Task (SSDT; Lloyd, Manson, Brown and Poliakoff, 2008) is an innovative paradigm to study perceptual processes related to physical symptoms. It allows examining touch illusions as a laboratory analog of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) according to the cognitive model of MUS proposed by Brown (2004). The present study compared psychopathologic measures of MUS and health anxiety with SSDT parameters. Furthermore, we aimed to define a reliable measurement of tactile perception threshold. Methods 67 participants of a student population reported whether they detected tactile stimuli at their fingertip which were presented in half of the test tr…
Epidemiology of depressive disorders in people living with hypertension in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
2020
ObjectivesBetter knowledge of epidemiology of depressive disorders in people living with hypertension can help to implement pertinent strategies to address its burden. The objective was to estimate the prevalence of depressive disorders and symptoms in people living with hypertension in Africa.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesPubMed, EMBASE, African Index Medicus, African Journals OnLine were searched up to 31 January 2020, regardless of the language of publication.Eligibility criteriaWe included studies conducted among adult patients with hypertension (≥18 years) living in Africa and reporting the prevalence of depressive disorders and symptoms.Data extraction and synt…
Trait anxiety and autonomic indicators of the processing of threatening information: a cued S1-S2 paradigm.
2004
Abstract The aim of this study was to use autonomic parameters in a cued S1–S2 task to examine associations between the processing of threatening information and trait anxiety in normal individuals. Forty-six student volunteers were designated high- or low-anxious due to pre-defined cutoff scores on the STAI. A cued S1–S2 task was presented in which the type of warning signal (S1) was consistently related to either threatening or non-threatening pictures (S2). Ten threat and 10 non-threat pictures were randomly presented. Heart rate and electrodermal activity were recorded in the time interval between S1 and S2. Results indicated deeper heart rate decelerations on threatening trials in high…
Self-reported health versus biomarkers: does unemployment lead to worse health?
2020
Abstract Objectives This paper examines the relationship between unemployment and health using both subjective and biometric information on health status. Study design Longitudinal panel data. Methods We compare the results of regressions of unemployment on self-reported health with those of regressions of unemployment on health as measured with biomarkers (hypertension and levels of blood glucose and C-reactive protein). Using the panel structure of our data, we account for selection bias with respect to unemployment by controlling for health before exposure to unemployment. Results We observe a striking pattern. Using self-reported health as the outcome variable, we find a link between un…
Careless responses and construct validity of Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale.
2021
Careless response in the investigation of emotional intelligence has not been explicitly addressed. In a sample of 180 Spanish adults responding to the Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, a small prevalence (7.2%) was detected. The impact was small on the psychometric parameters, but they were less inflated, more realistic, and precise.
Evidence of bias in randomized clinical trials of hepatitis C interferon therapies
2017
Introduction: Bias may occur in randomized clinical trials in favor of the new experimental treatment because of unblinded assessment of subjective endpoints or wish bias. Using results from published trials, we analyzed and compared the treatment effect of hepatitis C antiviral interferon therapies experimental or control. Methods: Meta-regression of trials enrolling naïve hepatitis C virus patients that underwent four therapies including interferon alone or plus ribavirin during past years. The outcome measure was the sustained response evaluated by transaminases and/or hepatitis C virus-RNA serum load. Data on the outcome across therapies were collected according to the assigned arm (exp…