Inverse association between atopy and melanoma: A case-control study

Heightened cutaneous immune surveillance in atopic patients may inhibit development of melanoma. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between atopy and melanoma (development and outcome). A total of 188 cases of melanoma and 596 healthy controls were interviewed by telephone with a standardized questionnaire on atopic, demographic and melanoma characteristics. Cases were matched with controls on important confounders (age, sex, sunburn sensitivity, hair colour, number of moles, sunburn as juvenile, ever sunbed use, familial melanoma). Melanoma outcome data (disease relapse and death) within cases were retrieved. Analysis showed a general inverse association between atopy and melanoma development, but this was statistically significant only for a history of personal atopy (odds ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval: 0.30-0.96, p-value = 0.04). Among melanoma patients, atopy did not affect survival or progression. In conclusion, this study suggests an inverse association between a history of atopy and melanoma development, but not with disease progression

A graphical vector autoregressive modelling approach to the analysis of electronic diary data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, electronic diaries are increasingly used in medical research and practice to investigate patients' processes and fluctuations in symptoms over time. To model dynamic dependence structures and feedback mechanisms between symptom-relevant variables, a multivariate time series method has to be applied.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We propose to analyse the temporal interrelationships among the variables by a structural modelling approach based on graphical vector autoregressive (VAR) models. We give a comprehensive description of the underlying concepts and explain how the dependence structure can be recovered from electronic diary data by a search over suitable constrained (graphical) VAR models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The graphical VAR approach is applied to the electronic diary data of 35 obese patients with and without binge eating disorder (BED). The dynamic relationships for the two subgroups between eating behaviour, depression, anxiety and eating control are visualized in two path diagrams. Results show that the two subgroups of obese patients with and without BED are distinguishable by the temporal patterns which influence their respective eating behaviours.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The use of the graphical VAR approach for the analysis of electronic diary data leads to a deeper insight into patient's dynamics and dependence structures. An increasing use of this modelling approach could lead to a better understanding of complex psychological and physiological mechanisms in different areas of medical care and research.</p

Orthographic effects on phoneme monitoring

Contains fulltext : 29257.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Examined whether an orthographic representation of words is employed in phoneme monitoring. 30 undergraduate students, all of whom are native Dutch speakers, were tested. Ss were monitored for phonemes with either a primary or a secondary spelling in phonologically matched spoken words and nonwords. Ss had to make a speeded detection response to the target phoneme occurring anywhere in spoken words and nonwords. Results show that phoneme monitoring times were slower when the phoneme had a secondary spelling than when it had a primary spelling. The effect was greater after the uniqueness point of the word rather than before. Monitoring times were faster for words than for nonwords. It is concluded that an orthographic representation of words is engaged in phoneme monitoring

Appraisal of optic disc stereo photos pre- and post-training session

PURPOSE: To determine whether the diagnostic accuracy of judging serial optic disc color stereo photographs for glaucomatous change by non-expert ophthalmologists changed after a training session. METHODS: 24 ophthalmologists in training at the University Hospitals Leuven classified 50 eyes with varying severity of glaucoma as stable or progressing based on the appraisal of serial optic disc stereo photographs. A comparison between the diagnostic accuracy of residents (n=18) and trainees (n=6) was made before and after a training session. RESULTS: The mean agreement (kappa) with the reference standard before training was lower for the trainees than for the residents. The mean kappa before training was 0.37 for the residents and 0.29 for the trainees (p = 0.18). The mean agreement with the reference standard improved significantly after a training (from 0.29 to 0.56 [p = 0.031 for the trainees, and from 0.37 to 0.48 for the residents [p = 0.005]). The overall mean kappa was 0.35 pre-training and 0.50 post-training (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The agreement and diagnostic accuracy of residents in training in appraising serial optic disc photos improved significantly after a training session.status: publishe