Factorial Invariance of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) for Adults of Mexican Descent across Nativity Status, Language Format, and Gender

The cultural equivalence of psychological outcome measures remains a major area of investigation. The current study sought to test the factor structure and factorial invariance of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) with a sample of adult individuals of Mexican descent (N = 923) across nativity status (U.S.- vs. foreign-born), language format (English vs. Spanish), and gender. The results show that 1-factor and 3-factor measurement models provided a good fit to the data; however, a single-factor model was deemed more appropriate and parsimonious. Tests of measurement invariance and invariance of factor variances (i.e., structural invariance) indicated at least partial measurement invariance across gender, nativity status, and language format. These findings suggest that the BSI-18 operates in a similar fashion among adults of Mexican descent regardless of nativity status, language format of the survey, and gender. Clinical and practical implications for use of the BSI-18 with Latino populations are discussed

Simulation-assisted control in building energy management systems

Technological advances in real-time data collection, data transfer and ever-increasing computational power are bringing simulation-assisted control and on-line fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) closer to reality than was imagined when building energy management systems (BEMSs) were introduced in the 1970s. This paper describes the development and testing of a prototype simulation-assisted controller, in which a detailed simulation program is embedded in real-time control decision making. Results from an experiment in a full-scale environmental test facility demonstrate the feasibility of predictive control using a physically-based thermal simulation program

Application of Time-to-Event Methods in the Assessment of Safety in Clinical Trials

Since randomized controlled trials (RCT) are typically designed and powered for efficacy rather than safety, power is an important concern in the analysis of the effect of treatment on the occurrence of adverse events (AE). These outcomes are often time-to-event outcomes which will naturally be subject to right-censoring due to early patient withdrawals. In the analysis of the treatment effect on such an outcome, gains in efficiency, and thus power, can be achieved by exploiting covariate information. We apply the targeted maximum likelihood methodology to the estimation of treatment specific survival at a fixed end point for right-censored survival outcomes. This approach provides a method for covariate adjustment, that under no or uninformative censoring, does not require any additional parametric modeling assumptions, and, under informative censoring, is consistent under consistent estimation of the censoring mechanism or the conditional hazard for survival. Thus, the targeted maximum likelihood estimator has two important advantages over the Kaplan-Meier estimator: 1) It exploits covariates to improve efficiency, and 2) It is consistent in the presence of informative censoring. These properties are demonstrated through simulation studies. Extensions to the methodology are provided for non randomized post-market safety studies and also for the inclusion of time-dependent covariates

Covariate Adjustment in Randomized Trials with Binary Outcomes: Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation

Covariate adjustment using linear models for continuous outcomes in randomized trials has been shown to increase efficiency and power over the unadjusted method in estimating the marginal effect of treatment. However, for binary outcomes, investigators generally rely on the unadjusted estimate as the literature indicates that covariate-adjusted estimates based on logistic regression models are less efficient. The crucial step that has been missing when adjusting for covariates is that one must integrate/average the adjusted estimate over those covariates in order to obtain the marginal effect. We apply the method of targeted maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), as presented in van der Laan and Rubin (2006), to obtain estimators for the marginal effect using covariate adjustment for binary outcomes. We show that the covariate adjustment in randomized trials using logistic regression models can be mapped, by averaging over the covariate(s), to obtain a fully robust and efficient estimator of the marginal effect, which equals the targeted maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). We present simulation studies that show the targeted MLE increases efficiency and power over the unadjusted method, particularly for smaller sample sizes, even when the regression model is mis-specified

Recognising Desire: A psychosocial approach to understanding education policy implementation and effect

It is argued that in order to understand the ways in which teachers experience their work - including the idiosyncratic ways in which they respond to and implement mandated education policy - it is necessary to take account both of sociological and of psychological issues. The paper draws on original research with practising and beginning teachers, and on theories of social and psychic induction, to illustrate the potential benefits of this bipartisan approach for both teachers and researchers. Recognising the significance of (but somewhat arbitrary distinction between) structure and agency in teachers’ practical and ideological positionings, it is suggested that teachers’ responses to local and central policy changes are governed by a mix of pragmatism, social determinism and often hidden desires. It is the often underacknowledged strength of desire that may tip teachers into accepting and implementing policies with which they are not ideologically comfortable

Keypad mobile phones are associated with a significant increased risk of microbial contamination compared to touch screen phones

The use of mobile phones in the clinical environment by healthcare workers has become widespread. Despite evidence that these devices can harbour pathogenic micro-organisms there is little guidance on how to reduce contamination. Recently touchscreen phones with a single flat surface have been introduced. We hypothesise that bacterial contamination of phones used in hospitals will be lower on touchscreen devices compared to keypad devices. Sixty seven mobile phones belonging to health care workers were sampled. The median colony count for touchscreen phones and keypad devices was 0·09 colony forming units (cfu)/cm2 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.05–0·14) and 0·77 cfu/cm2 (IQR range 0·45–3.52) respectively. Colony counts were significantly higher on the keypad phones (Fisher’s exact test p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed the type of phone (keypad vs. touch screen) was associated with increased colony counts (F-statistic 14.13: p<0.001). Overall, nine (13%) phones grew either meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or vancomycin resistant enterococci. Eight (24%) keypad phones were contaminated with these organisms compared with one touch screen phone (3%). Our data indicate that touchscreen mobile phones are less contaminated than their keypad counterparts, and they are less likely to harbour pathogenic bacteria in the clinical setting

Temporal Migration Patterns Between Natal Locations of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (\u3ci\u3eArchilochus colubris\u3c/i\u3e) and Their Gulf Coast Stopover Site

Background Autumn latitudinal migrations generally exhibit one of two different temporal migration patterns: type 1 where southern populations migrate south before northern populations, or type 2 where northern populations overtake southern populations en route. The ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species with an expansive breeding range, which allows opportunities to examine variation in the timing of migration. Our objective was to determine a relationship between natal origin of ruby-throated hummingbirds and arrival at a Gulf coast stopover site; and if so, what factors, such as differences in body size across the range as well as the cost of migration, might drive such a pattern. To carry out our objectives, we captured hummingbirds at a coastal stopover site during autumn migration, at which time we collected feathers from juveniles for analysis of hydrogen stable isotopes. Using the hydrogen stable isotope gradient of precipitation across North America and published hydrogen isotope values of feathers from populations of breeding ruby-throated hummingbirds, we assigned migrants to probable natal latitudes. Results Our results confirm that individuals from across the range (30–50° N) stopover along the Gulf of Mexico and there is a positive relationship between arrival day and latitude, suggesting a type 1 migration pattern. We also found no relationship between fuel load (proxy for migration cost) or fat-free body mass (proxy for body size) and natal latitude. Conclusions Our results, coupled with previous work on the spatial migration patterns of hummingbirds, show a type 1 chain migration pattern. While the mechanisms we tested do not seem to influence the evolution of migratory patterns, other factors such as resource availability may play a prominent role in the evolution of this migration system

SYSTEMS-2: a randomised phase II study of radiotherapy dose escalation for pain control in malignant pleural mesothelioma

SYSTEMS-2 is a randomised study of radiotherapy dose escalation for pain control in 112 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Standard palliative (20Gy/5#) or dose escalated treatment (36Gy/6#) will be delivered using advanced radiotherapy techniques and pain responses will be compared at week 5. Data will guide optimal palliative radiotherapy in MPM

KAJIAN KEBUTUHAN INTEGRASI LAYANAN ANGKUTAN UMUM MASSAL DI KOTA SEMARANG DAN SEKITARNYA

Angkutan umum massal berbasis jalan telah dikembangkan oleh Pemerintah Kota Semarang sejak tahun 2009 hingga kini (Trans Semarang). Disisi lain, Pemerintah Provinsi Jawa Tengah sejak tahun 2017 juga melakukan hal yang sama di Wilayah Aglomerasi Kedungsepur (Trans Jateng). Namun terkesan berjalan sendiri-sendiri dan terjadi tumpang tindih layanan di ruas-ruas jalan tertentu. Dengan demikian, perlu dilakukan penelitian kebutuhan pengintegrasian layanan angkutan umum massal di Kota Semarang dan sekitarnya. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan analisis statistik deskriptif dan analisis spasial untuk mengetahui karakteristik dan pola permintaan perjalanan penggunanya. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pengguna Koridor 1 dan 2 Trans Semarang dari luar Kota Semarang mencapai 39,14% dan 60,86% berasal dari dalam Kota Semarang. Pengguna dengan tujuan ke luar Kota Semarang mencapai 42,23% dan 57,77% tujuan di dalam Kota Semarang. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa Koridor 1 dan 2 mengakomodasi penumpang yang asal tujuannya cukup besar dari luar Kota Semarang. Terdapat tumpang tindih layanan mencapai 60% dari panjang lintasan di Koridor 1 Trans Jateng dan Koridor 2 Trans Semarang. Moda first mile pengguna Koridor 2 didominasi oleh Trans Jateng sebesar 51,51% dan last mile didominasi oleh penggunaan motor sebesar 48,10%. Penelitian ini menyarankan bahwa rute layanan Trans Jateng kedepannya dapat mengakomodir permintaan perjalanan di dalam kawasan penyangga dengan konsep layanan loop (mengelilingi), berbeda dari kondisi saat ini. Selanjutnya, layanan Trans Jateng yang menuju ke Kota Semarang dapat berhenti di titik perbatasan, dimana pergerakan kemudian dilayani oleh Trans Semarang dan diharapkan dapat memberikan layanan yang lebih baik kepada masyarakat di Kota Semarang dan sekitarnya.

Causal Inference in Epidemiological Studies with Strong Confounding

One of the identifiabilty assumptions of causal effects defined by marginal structural model (MSM) parameters is the experimental treatment assignment (ETA) assumption. Practical violations of this assumption frequently occur in data analysis, when certain exposures are rarely observed within some strata of the population. The inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) estimator is particularly sensitive to violations of this assumption, however, we demonstrate that this is a problem for all estimators of causal effects. This is due to the fact that the ETA assumption is about information (or lack thereof) in the data. A new class of causal models, causal models for realistic individualized exposure rules (CMRIER), introduced in van der Laan and Petersen (2007), is based on dynamic interventions. CMRIER generalize MSM, and their parameters remain fully identifiable from the observed data, even when the ETA assumption is violated, if the dynamic interventions are set to be realistic. Examples of such realistic interventions are provided. We argue that causal effects defined by CMRIER may be more appropriate in many situations, particularly those with policy considerations. Through simulation studies, we examine the performance of the IPTW estimator of the CMRIER parameters in contrast to that of the MSM parameters. We also apply the methodology to a real data analysis in air pollution epidemiology to illustrate the interpretation of the causal effects defined by CMRIER