Using Statistical and Judgmental Reviews to Identify and Interpret Translation Differential Item Functioning

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the equivalence of two translated tests using statistical and judgmental methods. Performance differences for a large random sample of English- and French-speaking examinees were compared on a grade 6 mathematics and social studies provincial achievement test. Items displaying differential item functioning (DIF) were flagged using three popular statistical methods—ManteTHaenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test, and logistic regression—and the substantive meaning of these items was studied by comparing the back-translated form with the original English version. The items flagged by the three statistical procedures were relatively consistent, but not identical across the two tests. The correlation between the DIF effect size measures were also strong, but far from perfect, suggesting that two procedures should be used to screen items for translation DIF. To identify the DIF items with translation differences, the French items were back-translated into English and compared with the original English items by three reviewers. Two of seven and six of 26 DIF items in mathematics and social studies respectively were judged to be nonequivalent across language forms due to differences introduced in the translation process. There were no apparent translation differences for the remaining items, revealing the necessity for further research on the sources of translation differential item functioning. Results from this study provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of how three popular DIF statistical methods compare and contrast. The results also demonstrate how statistical methods inform substantive reviews intended to identify items with translation differences.Le but de cette étude était d'évaluer l'équivalence de deux examens traduits avec des méthodes basées sur les statistiques et d'autres reposant sur le jugement. On a comparé les différences dans la performance d'un grand échantillon aléatoire de sujets anglophones et francophones qui avaient complété des examen provinciaux de sixième année en mathématiques et en études sociales. Les items démontrant une divergence par rapport aux autres (differential item functioning - DIF) ont été marqués d'un indicateur dans le contexte de trois méthodes statistiques bien connues - Mantel-Haenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test et la régression logistique. La signification de fond de ces items a été étudiée en comparant la version traduite de l'examen avec l'original en anglais. Les items marqués par les trois procédures statistiques étaient relativement constants mais pas identiques d'une version à l'autre. Alors que la corrélation entre les mesures de l'effet DIF étaient aussi forte, elle était loin d'être parfaite, ce qui suggère que l'on devrait avoir recours à deux procédures dans le dépistage du DIF en traduction. Pour identifier les items DIF présentant des différences en traduction, trois réviseurs ont comparé les items français retraduits en anglais avec les originaux en anglais. Ceux-ci ont jugé que deux sur sept items en mathématiques et six sur vingt-six items en études sociales n'étaient pas équivalents d'une langue à l'autre à cause des différences introduites par le processus de traduction. Les autres items ne présentaient pas de différences apparentes de traduction, ce qui révèle le besoin de poursuivre la recherche sur les sources du DIF en traduction. Les résultats de cette étude aideront les chercheurs et les praticiens à mieux comprendre les similarités et les différences entres trois méthodes statistiques DIF souvent employées. De plus, ils démontrent comment les méthodes statistiques contribuent aux études de signification dont le but est l'identification des items présentant des différences de traduction

The role of mirroring and mentalizing networks in mediating action intentions in autism

Abstract Background The ability to interpret agents’ intent from their actions is a vital skill in successful social interaction. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to have difficulty in attributing intentions to others. The present study investigated the neural mechanisms of inferring intentions from actions in individuals with ASD. Methods Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from 21 high-functioning young adults with ASD and 22 typically developing (TD) control participants, while making judgments about the means (how an action is performed) and intention (why an action is performed) of a model’s actions. Results Across both groups of participants, the middle and superior temporal cortex, extending to temporoparietal junction, and posterior cingulate cortex, responded significantly to inferring the intent of an action, while inferior parietal lobule and occipital cortices were active for judgments about the means of an action. Participants with ASD had significantly reduced activation in calcarine sulcus and significantly increased activation in left inferior frontal gyrus, compared to TD peers, while attending to the intentions of actions. Also, ASD participants had weaker functional connectivity between frontal and posterior temporal regions while processing intentions. Conclusions These results suggest that processing actions and intentions may not be mutually exclusive, with reliance on mirroring and mentalizing mechanisms mediating action understanding. Overall, inferring information about others’ actions involves activation of the mirror neuron system and theory-of-mind regions, and this activation (and the synchrony between activated brain regions) appears altered in young adults with ASD

Rule-Based Category Learning in Down Syndrome

Rule-based category learning was examined in youths with Down syndrome (DS), youths with intellectual disability (ID), and typically developing (TD) youths. Two tasks measured category learning: the Modified Card Sort task (MCST) and the Concept Formation test of the Woodcock-Johnson-III ( Woodock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001 ). In regression-based analyses, DS and ID groups performed below the level expected for their nonverbal ability. In cross-sectional developmental trajectory analyses, results depended on the task. On the MCST, the DS and ID groups were similar to the TD group. On the Concept Formation test, the DS group had slower cross-sectional change than the other 2 groups. Category learning may be an area of difficulty for those with ID, but task-related factors may affect trajectories for youths with DS

Contribution of fibrinolysis to the physical component summary of the SF-36 after acute submassive pulmonary embolism

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) can diminish patient quality of life (QoL). The objective was to test whether treatment with tenecteplase has an independent effect on a measurement that reflects QoL in patients with submassive PE. This was a secondary analysis of an 8-center, prospective randomized controlled trial, utilizing multivariate regression to control for predefined predictors of worsened QoL including: age, active malignancy, history of PE or deep venous thrombosis (DVT), recurrent PE or DVT, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure. QoL was measured with the physical component summary (PCS) of the SF-36. Analysis included 76 patients (37 randomized to tenecteplase, 39 to placebo). Multivariate regression yielded an equation f(8, 67), P<0.001, with R2 = 0.303. Obesity had the largest effect on PCS (β = −8.6, P<0.001), with tenecteplase second (β = 4.73, P = 0.056). After controlling for all interactions, tenecteplase increased the PCS by +5.37 points (P = 0.027). In patients without any of the defined comorbidities, the coefficient on the tenecteplase variable was not significant (−0.835, P = 0.777). In patients with submassive PE, obesity had the greatest influence on QoL, followed by use of fibrinolysis. Fibrinolysis had a marginal independent effect on patient QoL after controlling for comorbidities, but was not significant in patients without comorbid conditions

Immunoglobulin and T Cell Receptor Gene High-Throughput Sequencing Quantifies Minimal Residual Disease in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Predicts Post-Transplantation Relapse and Survival

AbstractMinimal residual disease (MRD) quantification is an important predictor of outcome after treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Bone marrow ALL burden ≥ 10−4 after induction predicts subsequent relapse. Likewise, MRD ≥ 10−4 in bone marrow before initiation of conditioning for allogeneic (allo) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) predicts transplantation failure. Current methods for MRD quantification in ALL are not sufficiently sensitive for use with peripheral blood specimens and have not been broadly implemented in the management of adults with ALL. Consensus-primed immunoglobulin (Ig), T cell receptor (TCR) amplification and high-throughput sequencing (HTS) permit use of a standardized algorithm for all patients and can detect leukemia at 10−6 or lower. We applied the LymphoSIGHT HTS platform (Sequenta Inc., South San Francisco, CA) to quantification of MRD in 237 samples from 29 adult B cell ALL patients before and after allo-HCT. Using primers for the IGH-VDJ, IGH-DJ, IGK, TCRB, TCRD, and TCRG loci, MRD could be quantified in 93% of patients. Leukemia-associated clonotypes at these loci were identified in 52%, 28%, 10%, 35%, 28%, and 41% of patients, respectively. MRD ≥ 10−4 before HCT conditioning predicted post-HCT relapse (hazard ratio [HR], 7.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0 to 30; P = .003). In post-HCT blood samples, MRD ≥10−6 had 100% positive predictive value for relapse with median lead time of 89 days (HR, 14; 95% CI, 4.7 to 44, P < .0001). The use of HTS-based MRD quantification in adults with ALL offers a standardized approach with sufficient sensitivity to quantify leukemia MRD in peripheral blood. Use of this approach may identify a window for clinical intervention before overt relapse

Electrochemical sulfidation of WS2 nanoarrays:strong dependence of hydrogen evolution activity on transition metal sulfide surface composition

The activity of transition metal sulfides for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can be increased by sulfur-enrichment of active metal-sulfide sites. In this report, we investigate the electrochemical sulfidation of atmospherically aged WS2 nanoarrays with respect to enhancing HER activity. In contrast to MoS2, it is found that sulfidation diminishes HER activity. Electrochemical and XPS experiments suggest the involvement of insoluble tungsten oxides in the altered HER and electron transfer properties. This demonstrates the strong dependence of the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) composition with the successful sulfur incorporation and subsequent HER activity

Impact of the TCR Signal on Regulatory T Cell Homeostasis, Function, and Trafficking

Signaling through the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) is important for the homeostasis of naïve and memory CD4+ T cells. The significance of TCR signaling in regulatory T (Treg) cells has not been systematically addressed. Using an Ox40-cre allele that is prominently expressed in Treg cells, and a conditional null allele of the gene encoding p56Lck, we have examined the importance of TCR signaling in Treg cells. Inactivation of p56Lck resulted in abnormal Treg homeostasis characterized by impaired turnover, preferential redistribution to the lymph nodes, loss of suppressive function, and striking changes in gene expression. Abnormal Treg cell homeostasis and function did not reflect the involvement of p56Lck in CD4 function because these effects were not observed when CD4 expression was inactivated by Ox40-cre.The results make clear multiple aspects of Treg cell homeostasis and phenotype that are dependent on a sustained capacity to signal through the TCR

Resolving the homology-function relationship through comparative genomics of membrane-trafficking machinery and parasite cell biology

With advances in DNA sequencing technology, it is increasingly common and tractable to informatically look for genes of interest in the genomic databases of parasitic organisms and infer cellular states. Assignment of a putative gene function based on homology to functionally characterized genes in other organisms, though powerful, relies on the implicit assumption of functional homology, i.e. that orthology indicates conserved function. Eukaryotes reveal a dazzling array of cellular features and structural organization, suggesting a concomitant diversity in their underlying molecular machinery. Significantly, examples of novel functions for pre-existing or new paralogues are not uncommon. Do these examples undermine the basic assumption of functional homology, especially in parasitic protists, which are often highly derived? Here we examine the extent to which functional homology exists between organisms spanning the eukaryotic lineage. By comparing membrane trafficking proteins between parasitic protists and traditional model organisms, where direct functional evidence is available, we find that function is indeed largely conserved between orthologues, albeit with significant adaptation arising from the unique biological features within each lineage