Statistical Literacy Among Academic Pathologists: A Survey Study to Gauge Knowledge of Frequently Used Statistical Tests Among Trainees and Faculty.

CONTEXT: -Statistical literacy can be defined as understanding the statistical tests and terminology needed for the design, analysis, and conclusions of original research or laboratory testing. Little is known about the statistical literacy of clinical or anatomic pathologists. OBJECTIVE: -To determine the statistical methods most commonly used in pathology studies from the literature and to assess familiarity and knowledge level of these statistical tests by pathology residents and practicing pathologists. DESIGN: -The most frequently used statistical methods were determined by a review of 1100 research articles published in 11 pathology journals during 2015. Familiarity with statistical methods was determined by a survey of pathology trainees and practicing pathologists at 9 academic institutions in which pathologists were asked to rate their knowledge of the methods identified by the focused review of the literature. RESULTS: -We identified 18 statistical tests that appear frequently in published pathology studies. On average, pathologists reported a knowledge level between "no knowledge" and "basic knowledge" of most statistical tests. Knowledge of tests was higher for more frequently used tests. Greater statistical knowledge was associated with a focus on clinical pathology versus anatomic pathology, having had a statistics course, having an advanced degree other than an MD degree, and publishing research. Statistical knowledge was not associated with length of pathology practice. CONCLUSIONS: -An audit of pathology literature reveals that knowledge of about 12 statistical tests would be sufficient to provide statistical literacy for pathologists. On average, most pathologists report they can interpret commonly used tests but are unable to perform them. Most pathologists indicated that they would benefit from additional statistical training.

Origins of Enantioselectivity with Nitrogen-Sulfur Chelate Ligands in Palladium-Catalyzed Allylic Substitution.

The reaction of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate (9) with dimethylmalonate to give the substitution product 10 is effectively catalyzed by Pd complexes containing chiral imine-sulfide chelate ligands derived from amino acids. The ligand of choice, (S)-N-2'-chlorobenzylidene-2-amino-3-methyl-1-thiophenylbutane (6e), prepared in only two steps from (S)-valinol, gave an ee of 94%. Because the explanation of selectivity with the majority of other nitrogen-sulfur chelate ligands in this reaction assumes the selectivity to be controlled by an electronic bias, which contradicts our results, we characterized the Pd-allyl intermediate 14 by X-ray diffraction and solution NMR. The possible mechanism of chirality transfer is discussed. The site of nucleophilic attack on the allyl ligand is not trans to the perceived better pi-acceptor ligand (sulfur), which would be analogous to chiral nitrogen-phosphorus systems. This reaction occurs trans to the imine donor, and the enantioselectivity is ultimately controlled by the subtle steric environment of the chiral imine-sulfur chelate ligand, which predisposes the allyl unit of the reaction intermediate to a preferred reaction trajectory. In light of results that emphasize the power of electronic desymmetrization for chiral recognition, these results suggest that electronically dissimilar ligands may not give rise to chiral recognition through electronic dissimilarity.