100 research outputs found
Outpatient Psychiatry Utililzation Management
Refine and implement a standard process that provides clinical evaluation at admission, review and discharge for each patient. Clinical evaluation will lend to appropriate length of stay for patients with common diagnoses allowing for easier access into care and smoother transition back to the Primary Medical Home. Target reduction in length of stay (engaging those with less than 7 appointments that need longer treatment while shifting those who exceed standard 7 sessions back to PCP when appropriate such as primary dx ADHD)
Relaxing the independent censoring assumption in the Cox proportional hazards model using multiple imputation.
The Cox proportional hazards model is frequently used in medical statistics. The standard methods for fitting this model rely on the assumption of independent censoring. Although this is sometimes plausible, we often wish to explore how robust our inferences are as this untestable assumption is relaxed. We describe how this can be carried out in a way that makes the assumptions accessible to all those involved in a research project. Estimation proceeds via multiple imputation, where censored failure times are imputed under user-specified departures from independent censoring. A novel aspect of our method is the use of bootstrapping to generate proper imputations from the Cox model. We illustrate our approach using data from an HIV-prevention trial and discuss how it can be readily adapted and applied in other settings
Mentoring Academy
White paper proposing creation of IUPUI Mentoring AcademyIUPUI’s Strategic Plan, “Our Commitment to Indiana and Beyond,” places faculty and staff talent development among its highest priorities. The goal is to position IUPUI as an “employer of choice” through a number of actions, including improved workplace culture and communication and more robust developmental opportunities across all categories of faculty and staff. Based on feedback received during the strategic planning process, the completed implementation plan will articulate career paths for staff and faculty, identify and inventory a variety of campus resources, and provide relevant professional development opportunities. In addition, policies and procedures will be created to foster work/life balance and flexibility for IUPUI’s entire workforce. In order for IUPUI to reach the level of excellence expected in the plan, we must be assured that our investment in faculty will lead to greater success and productivity. The Mentoring Academy goals and objectives outlined below provide a means to engage faculty within each school and create a pathway for achievement of successful mentoring
Strategic planning evaluation of creating a new professional association
A reoccurring question examined by the Working Group has been “why change?” This long report has carefully explored the pros and cons of creating a new association and provided numerous suggestions for its services and organization structures. A better question than “why change?” is “what kind of change is demanded by postsecondary education and needed by these professionals?” Perhaps others can provide a paradigm for us when considering the future. When writing a dialogue among several of his characters in a play discussing the future, Shakespeare penned the expression “The Undiscovered Country” to describe this place. While everyone will visit the future, no one can come back and tell others exactly what it will be like. However, all of us will walk into The Undiscovered Country. We have the choice regarding how we walk into the future. Change can be proactively managed or simply reacted to. The best of past traditions can be brought into the future and merged with new structures and traditions or all can be left to chance. The most important element that moves forward into the new association are members of the current organizations. They form the core of the new future and bring forward the history and traditions of the previous organizations. Let us encourage new members to join these veterans as we walk together into The Undiscovered Country as colleagues and friends. Let’s build a new future together
OR13-1 Burosumab Improves the Biochemical, Skeletal, and Clinical Symptoms of Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia Syndrome
Tumor-induced Osteomalacia (TIO) and Epidermal Nevus Syndrome with osteomalacia (ENS) are rare conditions in which ectopic production of FGF23 by tumor (TIO) and bone (ENS) lead to renal phosphate wasting, impaired 1,25(OH)2D synthesis, osteomalacia, fractures, weakness, fatigue and decreased mobility. In an ongoing open-label Phase 2 study (NCT02304367), 17 adults were enrolled and treated with burosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against FGF23. Key endpoints were change in serum phosphorus and osteomalacia as assessed from trans-iliac crest bone biopsies. The per protocol (PP) analysis included 14/17 subjects who received 0.3-2.0 mg/kg burosumab every 4 weeks (W). Three subjects were excluded: 1 received subthreshold dosing (0.3 mg/kg at Day 0 and 0.15 mg/kg at W8, W32, and W72); 2 were diagnosed with X-linked hypophosphatemia post-enrollment. Ten subjects in the PP group had paired bone biopsies at baseline and W48. Mean ± SE histomorphometric values for the 8/10 subjects with osteomalacia at baseline were 20.4 ± 4.2 µm for osteoid thickness (OT), 23.0 ± 7.2% for osteoid volume/bone volume (OV/BV), and 66.1 ± 10.6% for osteoid surface/bone surface (OS/BS); baseline median (Q1, Q3) for mineralization lag time (MLT) was 1672 (1102, 2929) days. At W48, histomorphometric indices improved as shown by mean percentage changes in OT (37%), OV/BV (40%), OS/BS (-5%), and MLT (median percentage change -78%). Serum phosphorus, fatigue, and physical functioning are reported for the PP group. Mean (SD) serum phosphorus was 1.5 (0.3) mg/dL at baseline and 2.6 (0.8) mg/dL when averaged across the mid-point of the dose interval through W24. After W24, serum phosphorus, assessed only at the end of the dose interval, maintained this increase through W72. Mean (SD) Global Fatigue Score decreased from 5.3 (2.8) at baseline to 3.6 (2.9) at W48 (p=0.020) and to 3.3 (2.7) at W72 (p=0.004). The SF-36 mean (SD) physical component summary score increased from 34 (11) at baseline to 39 (10) at W48 (p=0.059) and to 42 (10) at W72 (p=0.003). Mean (SD) vitality score increased from 41 (14) to 47 (12) at W48 (p=0.075) and to 49 (12) at W72 (p=0.012). The mean (SD) number of sit-to-stand repetitions increased from 6.9 (4.0) at baseline to 8.6 (4.2) at W48 (n=10; p=0.004). By W72, all 17 subjects had ≥1 adverse event (AE). There were 13 serious AEs in 6 subjects, none were considered drug-related. Tumor progression occurred only in subjects with a history of tumor progression prior to enrollment. One subject discontinued treatment prior to W48 to treat tumor progression with chemotherapy. There was 1 death, considered unrelated to treatment. In adults with TIO Syndrome, burosumab was associated with improvements in serum phosphorus, osteomalacia, mobility, quality of life, and reductions in fatigue
Training and capacity building in medical statistics in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impact of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine MSc in Medical Statistics, 1969 to 2021.
Since its inception in 1969, the MSc in medical statistics program has placed a high priority on training students from Africa. In this article, we review how the program has shaped, and in turn been shaped by, two substantial capacity building initiatives: (a) a fellowship program, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, and run through the International Statistical Epidemiology Group at the LSHTM, and (b) the Sub-Saharan capacity building in Biostatistics (SSACAB) initiative, administered through the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science in Africa (DELTAS) program of the African Academy of Sciences. We reflect on the impact of both initiatives, and the implications for future work in this area
Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Compared to Psychoeducational Support for Persistently Fatigued Breast and Colorectal Cancer Survivors
Purpose
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a disruptive symptom for many survivors. Despite promising evidence for efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in reducing CRF, no trials comparing it to an active comparator for fatigued survivors have been published. The purpose of this trial was to compare MBSR to psychoeducation for CRF and associated symptoms.
Methods
Breast (n=60) and colorectal (n=11) cancer survivors (stage 0–III) with clinically significant CRF after completing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy an average of 28 months prior to enrollment were randomized to MBSR or psychoeducation/support groups (PES). MBSR focused on mindfulness training; PES focused on CRF self-management. Outcomes included CRF interference (primary), CRF severity and global improvement, vitality, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and pain. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3) using intent-to-treat analysis.
Results
Between-group differences in CRF interference were not significant at any time point; however, there was a trend favoring MBSR (d=−0.46, p=0.073) at T2. MBSR participants reported significantly greater improvement in vitality (d=0.53, p=0.003) and were more likely to report CRF as moderately-to-completely improved compared to the PES group (χ2 (1)=4.1765, p=0.041) at T2. MBSR participants also reported significantly greater reductions in pain at T2 (d=0.53, p=0.014). In addition, both MBSR and PES produced moderate-to-large and significant within-group improvements in all fatigue outcomes, depression, anxiety, and sleep at T2 and T3 compared to T1.
Conclusion
MBSR and PES appear efficacious for CRF and related symptoms. Larger trials including a usual care arm are warranted
Creating a new vision for the future: A report from the Blue Ribbon Commission
Many opportunities have been presented to coordinate, collaborate, and to create new activities, services, and structures to better meet the needs of current and potential members. Rather than attempting to evaluate the merits of each of these three avenues in this report, the goal is foster an informed conversation about the future. The choices made by the organizations may include a combination of activities among these three categories. The critical next step is for a wider conversation among members of the organizations to take place concerning the future of the profession
The Inhibition of Polo Kinase by Matrimony Maintains G2 Arrest in the Meiotic Cell Cycle
Many meiotic systems in female animals include a lengthy arrest in G2 that separates the end of pachytene from nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). However, the mechanisms by which a meiotic cell can arrest for long periods of time (decades in human females) have remained a mystery. The Drosophila Matrimony (Mtrm) protein is expressed from the end of pachytene until the completion of meiosis I. Loss-of-function mtrm mutants result in precocious NEB. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments reveal that Mtrm physically interacts with Polo kinase (Polo) in vivo, and multidimensional protein identification technology mass spectrometry analysis reveals that Mtrm binds to Polo with an approximate stoichiometry of 1:1. Mutation of a Polo-Box Domain (PBD) binding site in Mtrm ablates the function of Mtrm and the physical interaction of Mtrm with Polo. The meiotic defects observed in mtrm/+ heterozygotes are fully suppressed by reducing the dose of polo+, demonstrating that Mtrm acts as an inhibitor of Polo. Mtrm acts as a negative regulator of Polo during the later stages of G2 arrest. Indeed, both the repression of Polo expression until stage 11 and the inactivation of newly synthesized Polo by Mtrm until stage 13 play critical roles in maintaining and properly terminating G2 arrest. Our data suggest a model in which the eventual activation of Cdc25 by an excess of Polo at stage 13 triggers NEB and entry into prometaphase
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