Reliability and validity of the simplified Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Immune Checkpoint Modulator.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the immune checkpoint modulator (ICM) subscale of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Immune Checkpoint Modulator (FACT-ICM) scale and to validate the FACT-ICM scale in Chinese cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) treatment. METHODS: In total, 354 cancer patients treated with ICIs were included in our cross-sectional study including 2 phases. Firstly, the ICM subscale was translated and culturally adapted by standardized procedures. Then the FACT-ICM scale was validated, which included item analysis, content validity, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity, convergent/divergent validity, and known-group validity. RESULTS: The content validity indexes at the item and scale level of the ICM subscale were greater than 0.8. No floor and ceiling effects were found. The Cronbach's α and McDonald's omega coefficients of the simplified Chinese version of the FACT-ICM scale were 0.935 and 0.936, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.833 (95% confidence interval: 0.574-0.940). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 5-subscale structure of the simplified Chinese version of the FACT-ICM scale (χ2/df = 2.144, RMSEA = 0.057, SRMR = 0.072, and CFI = 0.848). Convergent and divergent validity further supported the construct validity of the simplified Chinese version of the FACT-ICM scale. The known-group validity of the simplified Chinese version of the FACT-ICM scale was confirmed in patients with different physical statuses. CONCLUSIONS: The simplified Chinese version of the FACT-ICM scale is a valid and reliable instrument and can be used in clinical practice and research on cancer patients receiving ICIs treatment.

Comparison of 2013 and 2009 versions of Caprini risk assessment models for predicting VTE in Chinese cancer patients: a retrospective study.

This study aimed to compare the predictive value of 2009 and 2013 version of Caprini risk assessment models (RAM) for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in cancer patients by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. This retrospective study reviewed a total of 1439 VTE and 1439 non-VTE Chinese cancer inpatients. The baseline demographic data of these patients were recorded. 2009 and 2013 versions Caprini RAMs were applied, and cumulative risk scores were obtained by adding the scores of each risk factor. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of these two models were analyzed. ROC curve was drawn to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) and the Youden index. Significant differences were observed in the risk factors between VTE and non-VTE Group. The specificity and negative predictive value of 2013 version were higher than those of 2009 version (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in the sensitivity or positive predictive value between 2009 and 2013 versions of the Caprini RAM (P > 0.05). The AUC and Youden index of 2013 Caprini RAM were significantly higher than those of 2009 Caprini RAM (P < 0.001), whereas the Youden index of the 2009 Caprini RAM at critical point 4 was higher than that at critical point 3 (0.362 vs 0.067, P < 0.05). Compared with 2009 version, 2013 version of the Caprini RAM provides a more accurate and efficacious method for the risk assessment of VTE in Chinese cancer patients.

The items in the Chinese version of the Montreal cognitive assessment basic discriminate among different severities of Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: To determine whether items of the Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Basic (MoCA-BC) could discriminate among cognitively normal controls (NC), and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), and moderate-severe (AD), as well as their sensitivity and specificity. METHODS: MCI (n = 456), mild AD (n = 502) and moderate-severe AD (n = 102) patients were recruited from the memory clinic, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, China. NC (n = 329) were recruited from health checkup outpatients. Five MoCA-BC item scores were collected in interviews. RESULTS: The MoCA-BC orientation test had high sensitivity and specificity for discrimination among MCI, mild AD and moderate-severe AD. The delayed recall memory test had high sensitivity and specificity for MCI screening. The verbal fluency test was efficient for detecting MCI and differentiating AD severity. CONCLUSIONS: Various items of the MoCA-BC can identify MCI patients early and identify the severity of dementia.

Suicidality among young adults: Unique and cumulative roles of 14 different adverse childhood experiences.

BACKGROUND: College students with suicidal ideation (SI) are at high risk of suicide. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are important risk factors for suicidal behavior. Most research in this area has been restricted to 10 conventional ACEs and suggests negative long-term developmental effects from other common childhood adversities such as peer victimization, peer isolation/rejection, exposure to community violence, and low socioeconomic status. OBJECTIVE: To test the unique and cumulative associations of 14 different ACEs with SI among young adults. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 989 college students from two universities in China's provincial-leveled Hui Autonomous Region. METHODS: Associations between ACEs and SI were analyzed by logistic regression. A Chi-square trend test was used to examine the association between cumulative ACEs and SI. RESULTS: The rates of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts among the cohort were 11.9%, 3.7%, and 1.6%, respectively; 43.9% had experienced at least one ACE. The strongest predictor of SI in adulthood was peer isolation/rejection, followed by emotional neglect, then low socioeconomic status. There was a cumulative effect of ACEs and SI, whereby the greater the number of ACEs, the greater the likelihood of SI. CONCLUSION: Peer isolation/rejection, emotional neglect, and low socioeconomic status were associated with increased risk of SI in adulthood. Two (peer isolation/rejection and low socioeconomic status) of the three factors that emerged from the analysis are not typically included in ACEs research. There was a cumulative effect of 14 kinds of ACEs on SI among young adults. Early recognition of risk factors is therefore important.

A noncontact FMCW radar sensor for displacement measurement in structural health monitoring.

This paper investigates the Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar sensor for multi-target displacement measurement in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). The principle of three-dimensional (3-D) displacement measurement of civil infrastructures is analyzed. The requirements of high-accuracy displacement and multi-target identification for the measuring sensors are discussed. The fundamental measuring principle of FMCW radar is presented with rigorous mathematical formulas, and further the multiple-target displacement measurement is analyzed and simulated. In addition, a FMCW radar prototype is designed and fabricated based on an off-the-shelf radar frontend and data acquisition (DAQ) card, and the displacement error induced by phase asynchronism is analyzed. The conducted outdoor experiments verify the feasibility of this sensing method applied to multi-target displacement measurement, and experimental results show that three targets located at different distances can be distinguished simultaneously with millimeter level accuracy.

Quantitative assessment of the association between MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism and risk of liver cancer.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is one of the most important enzymes for folate metabolism which plays a key role in cell metabolism. MTHFR rs1801131 (A1298C) polymorphism can decrease in vitro MTHFR enzyme activity and has been hypothesized to be associated with liver cancer risk. This study aimed to quantify the strength of the association between MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism and liver cancer risk by performing a meta-analysis. We searched the PubMed and Wanfang databases for studies relating on the association between MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism and risk of liver cancer. Seven studies with 2,030 cases of liver cancer and 3,096 controls were finally included into the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of a total of seven studies showed that the homozygote genotype CC of MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism was significantly associated with decreased risk of liver cancer (for CC versus AA: odds ratio (OR) = 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.89, P = 0.007; for CC versus AA + AC: OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.48-0.89, P = 0.006). Subgroup by race showed that the homozygote genotype CC of MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism was significantly associated with decreased risk of liver cancer in Asians (CC versus AA: OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.46-0.90, P = 0.010; for CC versus AA + AC: OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.45-0.88, P = 0.007). However, the association in Caucasians was still unclear owing to the limited data available now. Thus, Asian individuals with the homozygote genotype CC of MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism are significantly associated with decreased risk of liver cancer. The association in Caucasians needs further studies.

[A revolution led by ideas: the analysis of the Flexner medical educational revolution in America].

The medical education of America gradually became one of the models of the advanced medical education throughout the world in the beginning of 20th century. The medical educational revolution in America led by the report of Flexner was an important foundation for the successful development of medical education in America. The occurrence of the Flexner Revolution was closely connected with the transformation of medical concepts and educational ideas which were led by the revolution in various social factors. So we can say that the Flexner Revolution was led by ideas.

[Standardization for sharing and utilization of Chinese genetic resources].

National Infrastructure of Chinese Genetic Resources is a part of National Infrastructure of Natural Resources for Science and Technology. To strengthen and standardize the collection, integration, conservation, sharing and utilization of Chinese Genetic Resources, we have been carrying out the research on standardization of trimming, integration and sharing of Chinese Genetic Resources, according the advanced experiences abroad on that and abiding by the related laws and regulations. In the paper, National Infrastructure of Chinese Genetic Resources will be introduced on the standardization of integration, database construction and sharing of Chinese Genetic Resources.

[Exact logistic regression and its performance to SAS system].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of exact logistic regression, used as a complemental method for the maximum liklihood estimation, and to analyse with data small sample, unbalanced structure and highly stratal nature under the situations of questionable results or inexistence of the maximum likelihood estimation. METHODS: Data from 37 postoperative breast cancer cases were analyzed in 1997 by exact logistic regression under SAS system. RESULTS: Data calculated by SAS software showed that Quasi-complete separation of data points was detected but the results of maximum likelihood estimation did not exist, SAS outputs conflicted the results of the last maximum likelihood iteration (likelihood Chi-square and score Chi-square have similar P, less than 0.05, but the Wald chi-square had a larger P, more than 0.05). Under conditional exact parameter estimation, it appeared that: (1) the joint effect of conditional score statistics was 21.12 with P = 0.000 3; (2) for individual parameters, the effect conditional score statistics of histological classification (grades) was 5.80 with P = 0.020 8; axillary node metastasis (diversion) was 5.74 with P = 0.019 5; tumor size (size) was 0.79, with P = 0.647 6. The effects of tumor histological classification and axillary node metastasis were statistically significant on breast cancer tumour. CONCLUSION: Exact logistic regression seemed to be a very useful method in analyzing data from small sample when the maximum likelihood estimation was either with no effect or did not exist.