Item reduction of the patient-rated wrist evaluation using decision tree modelling

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: The aim of this study is to assess the viability of a decision tree version of an often used questionnaire to measure wrist pain and disability, the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation. Methods: Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores were collected from a cohort of 10394 patients who are part of a routine outcome measurement system. A decision tree version of the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) was created. The intraclass correlation was used to evaluate the inter-version reliability between the original PRWE and the decision tree version. Results: The decision tree reduced the number of questions from 5 to 3 for the pain subscale, and from 10 to 3 for the disability subscale. The intraclass correlation between the original PRWE and the decision tree version was 0.97. The mean difference between the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation and the decision tree Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation total sumscore was 0.35 (95% CI −9.92–10.62). Conclusions: We found that the decision tree was successful at reducing the items of the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation from fifteen to only six questions with very high similarity to the scores of the full questionnaire.Implications for rehabilitation The Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation can reliably be used with 6 instead of 15 questions. Decision trees are useful statistical tools to shorten lengthy questionnaires, especially when large amounts of data are available. Having a shortened Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation saves patients and clinicians time in answering this specific questionnaire

η→π0γγ\eta \to \pi^0 \gamma \gamma decay within unitarized chiral perturbation theory

We improve the calculations of the $\eta \to \pi^0 \gamma \gamma$ decay within the context of meson chiral lagrangians. We use a chiral unitary approach for the meson-meson interaction, thus generating the $a_0(980)$ resonance and fixing the longstanding sign ambiguity on its contribution. This also allows us to calculate the loops with one vector meson exchange, thus removing a former source of uncertainty. In addition we ensure the consistency of the approach with other processes. First, by using vector meson dominance couplings normalized to agree with radiative vector meson decays. And, second, by checking the consistency of the calculations with the related $\gamma \gamma \to \pi^0 \eta$ reaction. We find an $\eta \to \pi^0 \gamma \gamma$ decay width of $0.47\pm 0.10$ eV, in clear disagreement with published data but in remarkable agreement with the most recent measurement.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, published versio

Paternal Diet Defines Offspring Chromatin State and Intergenerational Obesity

The global rise in obesity has revitalized a search for genetic and epigenetic factors underlying the disease. We present a Drosophila model of paternal-diet-induced intergenerational metabolic reprogramming (IGMR) and identify genes required for its encoding in offspring. Intriguingly, we find that as little as 2 days of dietary intervention in fathers elicits obesity in offspring. Paternal sugar acts as a physiological suppressor of variegation, desilencing chromatin-state-defined domains in both mature sperm and in offspring embryos. We identify requirements for H3K9/K27me3-dependent reprogramming of metabolic genes in two distinct germline and zygotic windows. Critically, we find evidence that a similar system may regulate obesity susceptibility and phenotype variation in mice and humans. The findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying intergenerational metabolic reprogramming and carry profound implications for our understanding of phenotypic variation and evolution

Determination of the Michel Parameters rho, xi, and delta in tau-Lepton Decays with tau --> rho nu Tags

Using the ARGUS detector at the $e^+ e^-$ storage ring DORIS II, we have measured the Michel parameters $\rho$, $\xi$, and $\xi\delta$ for $\tau^{\pm}\to l^{\pm} \nu\bar\nu$ decays in $\tau$-pair events produced at center of mass energies in the region of the $\Upsilon$ resonances. Using $\tau^\mp \to \rho^\mp \nu$ as spin analyzing tags, we find $\rho_{e}=0.68\pm 0.04 \pm 0.08$, $\xi_{e}= 1.12 \pm 0.20 \pm 0.09$, $\xi\delta_{e}= 0.57 \pm 0.14 \pm 0.07$, $\rho_{\mu}= 0.69 \pm 0.06 \pm 0.08$, $\xi_{\mu}= 1.25 \pm 0.27 \pm 0.14$ and $\xi\delta_{\mu}= 0.72 \pm 0.18 \pm 0.10$. In addition, we report the combined ARGUS results on $\rho$, $\xi$, and $\xi\delta$ using this work und previous measurements.Comment: 10 pages, well formatted postscript can be found at http://pktw06.phy.tu-dresden.de/iktp/pub/desy97-194.p

Role of Scalar Meson Resonances in $K_{L}^{0} \rightarrow \pi^{0} \gamma \gamma Decay

Corrections to $K_{L}^{0}\rightarrow \pi^{0} \gamma \gamma$ decay induced by scalar meson exchange are studied within chiral perturbation theory. In spite of bad knowledge of scalar-mesons parameters, the calculated branching ratio can be changed by a few percent.Comment: 18 pages of text, 2 figures (available upon request); preprint IJS-TP-16-94 , TUM-T31-63-94

Inclusive V0V^0 Production Cross Sections from 920 GeV Fixed Target Proton-Nucleus Collisions

Inclusive differential cross sections $d\sigma_{pA}/dx_F$ and $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ for the production of \kzeros, \lambdazero, and \antilambda particles are measured at HERA in proton-induced reactions on C, Al, Ti, and W targets. The incident beam energy is 920 GeV, corresponding to $\sqrt {s} = 41.6$ GeV in the proton-nucleon system. The ratios of differential cross sections \rklpa and \rllpa are measured to be $6.2\pm 0.5$ and $0.66\pm 0.07$, respectively, for \xf $\approx-0.06$. No significant dependence upon the target material is observed. Within errors, the slopes of the transverse momentum distributions $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ also show no significant dependence upon the target material. The dependence of the extrapolated total cross sections $\sigma_{pA}$ on the atomic mass $A$ of the target material is discussed, and the deduced cross sections per nucleon $\sigma_{pN}$ are compared with results obtained at other energies.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 5 table

Photoproduction of the f2(1270) resonance

We have performed a calculation of the γp→π+π−p reaction, where the two pions have been separated in D-wave producing the f2(1270) resonance. We use elements of the local hidden gauge approach that provides the interaction of vector mesons in which the f2(1270) resonance appears as a ρ-ρ molecular state in L=0 and spin 2. The vector meson dominance, incorporated in the local hidden gauge approach converts a photon into a ρ0 meson and the other meson connects the photon with the proton. The picture is simple and has no free parameters, since the parameters of the theory have been constrained in the previous study of the vector-vector states. In a second step we introduce new elements, not present in the local hidden gauge approach, adapting the ρ propagator to Regge phenomenology and introducing the ρNN tensor coupling. We find that both the differential cross section as well as the t dependence of the cross section are in good agreement with the experimental results and provide support for the molecular picture of the f2(1270) in the first baryonic reaction where it has been tested

Search for CP Violation in the Decay Z -> b (b bar) g

About three million hadronic decays of the Z collected by ALEPH in the years 1991-1994 are used to search for anomalous CP violation beyond the Standard Model in the decay Z -> b \bar{b} g. The study is performed by analyzing angular correlations between the two quarks and the gluon in three-jet events and by measuring the differential two-jet rate. No signal of CP violation is found. For the combinations of anomalous CP violating couplings, ${\hat{h}}_b = {\hat{h}}_{Ab}g_{Vb}-{\hat{h}}_{Vb}g_{Ab}$ and $h^{\ast}_b = \sqrt{\hat{h}_{Vb}^{2}+\hat{h}_{Ab}^{2}}$, limits of \hat{h}_b < 0.59$and$h^{\ast}_{b} < 3.02$ are given at 95\% CL.Comment: 8 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses here.sty, epsfig.st