Search results for "statistical"
showing 10 items of 4960 documents
The symptom of low mood in the prodromal stage of mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a cohort study of a community dwelling elderly population.
2011
Objective: To investigate the symptom of low mood as a predictor of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its progression to dementia, taking into account: i) MCI severity, ii) time of assessment, iii) interaction with other factors. Methods: 764 cognitively healthy elderly living in the community, from the Kungsholmen Project. Participants were assessed by direct interview to detect low mood. Subjects were then followed for six years to identify those who developed MCI. People with incident MCI were followed for a further three years to assess progression to dementia. Results: People with low mood at baseline had a 2.7-fold (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.9-3.7) increased risk of developing …
Predictability of pharmaceutical spending in primary health services using Clinical Risk Groups
2014
Background: Risk adjustment instruments applied to existing electronic health records and administrative datasets may contribute to monitoring the correct prescribing of medicines. Objective: We aim to test the suitability of the model based on the CRG system and obtain specific adjusted weights for determined health states through a predictive model of pharmaceutical expenditure in primary health care. Methods: A database of 261,054 population in one health district of an Eastern region of Spain was used. The predictive power of two models was compared. The first model (ATC-model) used nine dummy variables: sex and 8 groups from 1 to 8 or more chronic conditions while in the second model (…
Quantitative Analysis of Gender Stereotypes and Information Aggregation in a National Election
2013
By analyzing a database of a questionnaire answered by a large majority of candidates and elected in a parliamentary election, we quantitatively verify that (i) female candidates on average present political profiles which are more compassionate and more concerned with social welfare issues than male candidates and (ii) the voting procedure acts as a process of information aggregation. Our results show that information aggregation proceeds with at least two distinct paths. In the first case candidates characterize themselves with a political profile aiming to describe the profile of the majority of voters. This is typically the case of candidates of political parties which are competing for…
Assessing Reliability, Heritability and General Cognitive Ability in a Battery of Cognitive Tasks for Laboratory Mice
2005
This report includes the first sibling study of mouse behavior, and presents evidence for a heritable general cognitive ability (g) factor influencing cognitive batteries. Data from a population of male and female outbred mice (n = 84), and a replication study of male sibling pairs (n = 167) are reported. Arenas employed were the T-maze, the Morris water maze, the puzzle box, the Hebb-Williams maze, object exploration, a water plus-maze, and a second food-puzzle arena. The results show a factor structure consistent with the presence of g in mice. Employing one score per arena, this factor accounts for 41% of the variance in the first study (or 36% after sex regression) and 23% in the second…
Significant divergences between the temporal structure of the behavior in Wistar and in the spontaneously more anxious DA/Han strain of rats tested i…
2013
Abstract The aim of present research is to study the temporal structure of the behavior in two strains of rats with different basal level of emotionality. To this purpose, the temporal profile of the behavior in Wistar rat and in the spontaneously more anxious DA/Han strain was analyzed in the Elevated Plus Maze. Both quantitative and multivariate t-pattern analyses were carried out. In comparison with Wistar, DA/Han subjects showed a significant reduction of the permanence in open arm and a significant increase of the time spent in the central platform of the maze. Mean frequencies of each behavioral element showed significant modifications both in open and in closed arm. Multivariate t-pa…
Qualitative analysis of the Best Possible Self intervention: Underlying mechanisms that influence its efficacy.
2019
BackgroundThe Best Possible Self is a Positive Psychology Intervention which asks participants to write down about themselves in their best possible future. Previous studies have shown its efficacy to enhance wellbeing, but the mechanisms that underlie its efficacy are still unknown.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the content of the essays of the BPS intervention and to examine how this content was related to the efficacy of the intervention to increase positive affect.MethodParticipants (N = 78) were randomized to either the Best Possible Self condition, or one of two variants of the intervention: one's best self in the present, and one's best self in the past. Qualitative an…
Evaluation of remnant cholesterol levels and Monocyte-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio in South Asian patients with acute coronary syndrome.
2021
Abstract Background and aims In the present study, we aimed to compare the clinical and coronary angiography features between South Asian and Caucasian patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). In particular, we focused our analysis on the evaluation of recent cardiovascular risk markers, such as remnant cholesterol, corresponding to all plasma cholesterol minus HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and the Monocyte-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio. We also compared values of several lipoprotein ratios and the Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, accurate predictors of coronary events and coronary artery disease. Methods and results We recruited 4…
Penalized linear discriminant analysis and Discrete AdaBoost to distinguish human hair metal profiles: The case of adolescents residing near Mt. Etna
2016
The research focus of the present paper was twofold. First, we tried to document that human intake of trace elements is influenced by geological factors of the place of residence. Second, we showed that the elemental composition of human hair is a useful screening tool for assessing people's exposure to potentially toxic substances. For this purpose, we used samples of human hair from adolescents and applied two robust statistical approaches. Samples from two distinct geological and environmental sites were collected: the first one was characterized by the presence of the active volcano Mt. Etna (ETNA group) and the second one lithologically made up of sedimentary rocks (SIC group). Chemica…
Levels of trace elements in human hair samples of adolescents living near petrochemical plants
2020
The aim of the study is a comparative analysis to investigate human hair metal profiles of adolescents residing near petrochemical plants (Sicily, Italy). We selected the small town of Augusta, Gela, and Pace del Mela, and a control area made up of the towns characterized by low anthropogenic activity. Twenty trace elements were measured in samples of scalp hair from adolescents (11–14 years old) of both genders. Hair samples were cleaned using a rigorous cleaning method, mineralized, and processed for analyses by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In industrial sites, zinc was always the most abundant element, ranging from186 to 217 μg g−1. Following zinc, the elements …
Patterns of transmitted HIV drug resistance in Europe vary by risk group
2014
BACKGROUND: In Europe, a continuous programme (SPREAD) has been in place for ten years to study transmission of drug resistant HIV. We analysed time trends of transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRM) in relation to the risk behaviour reported. METHODS: HIV-1 patients newly diagnosed in 27 countries from 2002 through 2007 were included. Inclusion was representative for risk group and geographical distribution in the participating countries in Europe. Trends over time were calculated by logistic regression. RESULTS: From the 4317 patients included, the majority was men-having-sex-with-men -MSM (2084, 48%), followed by heterosexuals (1501, 35%) and injection drug users (IDU) (355, 8%). MSM…