Oocyte cryopreservation as an adjunct to the assisted reproductive technologies

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included. See page 2 of PDF for this item.Keith L Harrison, Michelle T Lane, Jeremy C Osborn, Christine A Kirby, Regan Jeffrey, John H Esler and David Mollo

Experimentation in Psychology--Rationale, Concepts and Issues

An experiment is made up of two or more data-collection conditons that are identical in all aspects, but one. It owes its design to an inductive principle and its hypothesis to deductive logic. It is the most suited for corroborating explanatory theries , ascertaining functional relationship, or assessing the substantive effectiveness of a manipulation. Also discussed are (a) the three meanings of 'control,' (b) the issue of ecological validity, (c) the distinction between theory-corroboration and agricultural-model experiments, and (d) the distinction among the hypotheses at four levels of abstraction that are implicit in an experiment

Run Generation Revisited: What Goes Up May or May Not Come Down

In this paper, we revisit the classic problem of run generation. Run generation is the first phase of external-memory sorting, where the objective is to scan through the data, reorder elements using a small buffer of size M , and output runs (contiguously sorted chunks of elements) that are as long as possible. We develop algorithms for minimizing the total number of runs (or equivalently, maximizing the average run length) when the runs are allowed to be sorted or reverse sorted. We study the problem in the online setting, both with and without resource augmentation, and in the offline setting. (1) We analyze alternating-up-down replacement selection (runs alternate between sorted and reverse sorted), which was studied by Knuth as far back as 1963. We show that this simple policy is asymptotically optimal. Specifically, we show that alternating-up-down replacement selection is 2-competitive and no deterministic online algorithm can perform better. (2) We give online algorithms having smaller competitive ratios with resource augmentation. Specifically, we exhibit a deterministic algorithm that, when given a buffer of size 4M , is able to match or beat any optimal algorithm having a buffer of size M . Furthermore, we present a randomized online algorithm which is 7/4-competitive when given a buffer twice that of the optimal. (3) We demonstrate that performance can also be improved with a small amount of foresight. We give an algorithm, which is 3/2-competitive, with foreknowledge of the next 3M elements of the input stream. For the extreme case where all future elements are known, we design a PTAS for computing the optimal strategy a run generation algorithm must follow. (4) Finally, we present algorithms tailored for nearly sorted inputs which are guaranteed to have optimal solutions with sufficiently long runs

Does Aerobic Exercise Increase 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Among Workers With High Occupational Physical Activity?-A RCT.

ObjectiveHigh occupational physical activity (OPA) increases cardiovascular risk and aerobic exercise has been recommended for reducing this risk. This paper investigates the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) among cleaners with high OPA.MethodsHundred and sixteen cleaners between 18 and 65 years were randomized. During the 4-month intervention period, the aerobic exercise group (AE) (n = 57) performed worksite aerobic exercise (2 × 30 minutes/week), while the reference group (REF) (n = 59) attended lectures. Between-group differences in 4-month ABP changes were evaluated by intention-to-treat analysis using a repeated-measure 2 × 2 multiadjusted mixed-models design.ResultsRelative to REF, 24-hour ABP significantly increased in AE: systolic 3.6 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-5.7) and diastolic 2.3 mm Hg (95% CI 0.9-3.8). Cleaners with high aerobic workload exhibited particularly high 24-hour ABP increases: systolic 6.0 mm Hg (95% CI 2.4-9.6), and diastolic 3.8 mm Hg (95% CI 1.3-6.4).ConclusionAerobic exercise increased 24-hour ABP among cleaners. This adverse effect raises questions about the safety and intended benefits of aerobic exercise, especially among workers with high OPA and a demanding aerobic workload. http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN86682076. Unique identifier ISRCTN86682076.Clinical trial registrationTrial Number ISRCTN86682076

Issues in Statistical Inference

The APA Task Force’s treatment of research methods is critically examined. The present defense of the experiment rests on showing that (a) the control group cannot be replaced by the contrast group, (b) experimental psychologists have valid reasons to use non-randomly selected subjects, (c) there is no evidential support for the experimenter expectancy effect, (d) the Task Force had misrepresented the role of inductive and deductive logic, and (e) the validity of experimental data does not require appealing to the effect size or statistical power

A call for the aggressive treatment of oligometastatic and oligo-recurrent non-small cell lung cancer.

Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carries a dismal prognosis. Clinical evidence suggests the existence of an intermediate, or oligometastatic, state when metastases are limited in number and/or location. In addition, following initial curative therapy, many patients present with limited metastatic disease, or oligo-recurrence. Metastasis-directed, anti-cancer therapies may benefit these patients. A growing evidence-base supports the use of hypofractionated, image-guided radiotherapy (HIGRT) for a variety of malignant conditions including inoperable stage I NSCLC and many metastatic sites. When surgical resection is not possible, HIGRT offers an effective alternative for local treatment of limited metastatic disease. Early studies have produced promising results when HIGRT was delivered to all known sites of disease in patients with oligometastatic/oligo-recurrent NSCLC. In a population of patients formerly considered rapidly terminal, these studies report five year overall survival rates of 13-22%. HIGRT for metastatic NSCLC warrants further study. We call for large, intergroup, and even international randomized trials incorporating HIGRT and other metastasis-directed therapies into the treatment of patients with oligometastatic/oligo-recurrent NSCLC

Pacemaker Prevention Therapy in Drug–refractory Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: Reliability of Diagnostics and Effectiveness of Prevention Pacing Therapy in Vitatron™ Selection® device

Introduction. Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common and rising disorder of cardiac rhythm, is quite difficult to control and/or to treat. Non pharmacological therapies for AF may involve the use of dedicated pacing algorithms to detect and prevent atrial arrhythmia that could be a trigger for AF onset. Selection 900E/AF2.0 Vitatron DDDRP pacemaker (1) keeps an atrial arrhythmia diary thus providing detailed onset reports of arrhythmias of interest, (2) provides us data about the number of premature atrial contractions (PACs) and (3) plots heart rate in the 5 minutes preceding the detection of an atrial arrhythmia. Moreover, this device applies four dedicated pacing therapies to reduce the incidence of atrial arrhythmia and AF events. Aim of the Study. To analyze the reliability to record atrial arrhythmias and evaluate effectiveness of its AF preventive pacing therapies. Material and Methods. We enrolled 15 patients (9 males and 6 females, mean age of 71±5 years, NYHA class I–II), with a DDDRP pacemaker implanted for a “bradycardia–tachycardia” syndrome, with advanced atrioventricular conduction disturbances. We compared the number and duration of AF episodes’ stored in the device with a contemporaneous 24h Holter monitoring. After that, we switched on the atrial arrhythmias detecting algorithms, starting from an atrial rate over 180 beats per minute for at least 6 ventricular cycles, and ending with at least 10 ventricular cycles in sinus rhythm. Thereafter, in order to evaluate the possible reduction in PACs number and in number and duration of AF episodes, we tailored all the four pacing preventive algorithms. Patients were followed for 24±8 months (from 20 to 32 months). Results. All 59 atrial arrhythmia episodes occurred in the first part of this trial, were correctly recorded by both systems, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.96. During the follow–up, we observed a significant reduction not only in PACs number (from 83±12/day to 2.3±0.8/day) but also in AF episodes (from 46±7/day to 0.12±0.03/day) and AF burden (from 93%±6% to 0.3%±0.06%). An increase in atrial pacing percentages (from 3%±0.5% to 97%±3%) was also contemporaneously observed. Conclusion. In this pacemaker, detection of atrial arrhythmia episodes is highly reliable, thus making available an appropriate monitoring of heart rhythm, mainly suitable in AF asymptomatic patients. Moreover, the significant reduction of atrial arrhythmia episodes indicates that this might represent a suitable therapeutic option for an effective preventive therapy of AF in paced brady–tachy patients