Event History Modeling, first published in 2004, provides an accessible guide to event history analysis for researchers and advanced students in the social sciences. The substantive focus of many ...social science research problems leads directly to the consideration of duration models, and many problems would be better analyzed by using these longitudinal methods to take into account not only whether the event happened, but when. The foundational principles of event history analysis are discussed and ample examples are estimated and interpreted using standard statistical packages, such as STATA and S-Plus. Critical innovations in diagnostics are discussed, including testing the proportional hazards assumption, identifying outliers, and assessing model fit. The treatment of complicated events includes coverage of unobserved heterogeneity, repeated events, and competing risks models. The authors point out common problems in the analysis of time-to-event data in the social sciences and make recommendations regarding the implementation of duration modeling methods.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is increasingly recognized as a common cause of dementia in older people. However, its true frequency remains unclear, with previous studies reporting a prevalence ...range from zero to 22.8% of all dementia cases. This review aimed to establish the population prevalence and incidence for DLB and to compare this to its prevalence in secondary care settings.
A literature review of all relevant population and clinical studies was conducted using PubMed. Additional references from papers found during that process were added to this.
DLB accounted for 4.2% of all diagnosed dementias in the community. In secondary care this increased to 7.5%. The incidence of DLB was 3.8% of new dementia cases. There was a significant increase in DLB diagnoses when using the revised (2005) International Consensus Criteria (ICC) for DLB compared to the original (1996) criteria.
DLB currently accounts for around one in 25 dementia cases diagnosed in the community and one in 13 cases in secondary care. The significantly higher rates of DLB in secondary care may reflect enhanced diagnostic accuracy in specialist settings and/or the increased morbidity and carer burden of the DLB syndrome compared to other dementias. However, the true prevalence is likely to be much higher because DLB diagnoses are often missed, although there is evidence that new criteria aid case identification.
This work reports a platinum (Pt) nanoflowers-carbon quantum dots (CQD) composite based electro-catalyst for ultra-high performance methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) wherein CQD was prepared by a ...novel, single-step, inexpensive, environmental-friendly pyrolysis method followed by electro-deposition of Pt nanoflowers homogeneously distributed over CQD modified electrode for excellent electrocatalytic properties and optimum usage of Pt nanostructures. The Pt-CQD composite displayed a significantly enhanced electrocatalytic activity, excellent stability, lower onset potential (0.26 V) with CO tolerance ability (If/Ib = 5.58) which is, to the best of authors' knowledge, ~2.1 times greater than other earlier reported carbon nanomaterials supported catalysts. Values of If and If/Ib of Pt-CQD composite is 5.28 and 2.04 folds higher than only Pt which is ascribed to its greater electrochemical surface area because of the presence of oxygen-rich functional groups in CQD, the synergistic effects of CQD and Pt and excellent utilization of Pt nanoflowers on CQD support. Thus, this binder-free composite exhibits huge potential to be used as an economical, effective and stable electro-catalyst for MOR.
•A green synthesis method of CQD using a natural precursor, chia seeds is developed.•Pt nanoflowers are homogeneously electrodeposited on CQD surface.•Optimum usage of Pt nanostructures over CQD based electrode for effective MOR•Outstanding catalytic efficiency, durability and lower onset potential
We present the next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to the production of a Higgs boson in association with one jet at the LHC including the full top-quark mass dependence. The mass of the bottom ...quark is neglected. The two-loop integrals appearing in the virtual contribution are calculated numerically using the method of sector decomposition. We study the Higgs boson transverse momentum distribution, focusing on the high p_{t,H} region, where the top-quark loop is resolved. We find that the next-to-leading-order QCD corrections are large but that the ratio of the next-to-leading-order to leading-order result is similar to that obtained by computing in the limit of large top-quark mass.
Concerns over fake news have triggered a renewed interest in various forms of media literacy. Prevailing expectations posit that literacy interventions help audiences to be “inoculated” against any ...harmful effects of misleading information. This study empirically investigates such assumptions by assessing whether individuals with greater literacy (media, information, news, and digital literacies) are better at recognizing fake news, and which of these literacies are most relevant. The results reveal that information literacy—but not other literacies—significantly increases the likelihood of identifying fake news stories. Interpreting the results, we provide both conceptual and methodological explanations. Particularly, we raise questions about the self-reported competencies that are commonly used in literacy scales.
We present the calculation of the cross section and invariant mass distribution for Higgs boson pair production in gluon fusion at next-to-leading order (NLO) in QCD. Top-quark masses are fully taken ...into account throughout the calculation. The virtual two-loop amplitude has been generated using an extension of the program GoSam supplemented with an interface to Reduze for the integral reduction. The occurring integrals have been calculated numerically using the program SecDec. Our results, including the full top-quark mass dependence for the first time, allow us to assess the validity of various approximations proposed in the literature, which we also recalculate. We find substantial deviations between the NLO result and the different approximations, which emphasizes the importance of including the full top-quark mass dependence at NLO.
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) expands its impact from China, expanding its catchment into surrounding regions and other countries, increased national and international measures are being taken to ...contain the outbreak. The placing of entire cities in 'lockdown' directly affects urban economies on a multi-lateral level, including from social and economic standpoints. This is being emphasised as the outbreak gains ground in other countries, leading towards a global health emergency, and as global collaboration is sought in numerous quarters. However, while effective protocols in regard to the sharing of health data is emphasised, urban data, on the other hand, specifically relating to urban health and safe city concepts, is still viewed from a nationalist perspective as solely benefiting a nation's economy and its economic and political influence. This perspective paper, written one month after detection and during the outbreak, surveys the virus outbreak from an urban standpoint and advances how smart city networks should work towards enhancing standardization protocols for increased data sharing in the event of outbreaks or disasters, leading to better global understanding and management of the same.
Summary
Background
Epidemiology data regarding hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) are conflicting and prevalence estimates vary 80‐fold, from 0·05% in a population‐based study to 4%.
Objectives
To assess ...the hypothesis that previous population‐based studies underestimated true HS prevalence by missing undiagnosed cases.
Methods
We performed a population‐based observational and case–control study using the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) linked to hospital episode statistics data. Physician‐diagnosed cases in the CPRD were identified from specific Read codes. Algorithms identified unrecognized ‘proxy’ cases, with at least five Read code records for boils in flexural skin sites. Validation of proxy cases was undertaken with general practitioner (GP) questionnaires to confirm criteria‐diagnosed cases. A case–control study assessed disease associations.
Results
On 30 June 2013, 23 353 physician‐diagnosed HS cases were documented in 4 364 308 research‐standard records. In total, 68 890 proxy cases were identified, reduced to 10 146 criteria‐diagnosed cases after validation, extrapolated from 107 completed questionnaires (61% return rate). Overall point prevalence was 0·77% 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·76–0·78%. An additional 18 417 cases had a history of one to four flexural skin boils. In physician‐diagnosed cases, odds ratios (ORs) for current smoker and obesity (body mass index > 30 kg m‐2) were 3·61 (95% CI 3·44–3·79) and 3·29 (95% CI 3·14–3·45). HS was associated with type 2 diabetes, Crohn disease, hyperlipidaemia, acne and depression, and not associated with ulcerative colitis or polycystic ovary syndrome.
Conclusions
Contrary to results of previous population‐based studies, HS is relatively common, with a U.K. prevalence of 0·77%, one‐third being unrecognized, criteria‐diagnosed cases using the most stringent disease definition. If individuals with probable cases are included, HS prevalence rises to 1·19%.
What's already known about this topic?
Previous population‐based studies suggest that the prevalence of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) may be as low as 0·05% but existing studies have not quantified undiagnosed cases.
What does this study add?
Analysis of 4·3 million research‐standard records in the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink demonstrates a HS prevalence of 0·77% using the most stringent disease definition 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·76–0·78%, one‐third being undiagnosed cases, rising to 1·19% (95% CI 1·18–1·20%) if probable cases are included.
Linked Comment: Sbidian. Br J Dermatol 2018; 178:831–832.
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Synchronous recruitment of fast-spiking (FS) parvalbumin (PV) interneurons generates gamma oscillations, rhythms that emerge during performance of cognitive tasks. Administration of ...N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists alters gamma rhythms, and can induce cognitive as well as psychosis-like symptoms in humans. The disruption of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) signaling specifically in FS PV interneurons is therefore hypothesized to give rise to neural network dysfunction that could underlie these symptoms. To address the connection between NMDAR activity, FS PV interneurons, gamma oscillations and behavior, we generated mice lacking NMDAR neurotransmission only in PV cells (PV-Cre/NR1f/f mice). Here, we show that mutant mice exhibit enhanced baseline cortical gamma rhythms, impaired gamma rhythm induction after optogenetic drive of PV interneurons and reduced sensitivity to the effects of NMDAR antagonists on gamma oscillations and stereotypies. Mutant mice show largely normal behaviors except for selective cognitive impairments, including deficits in habituation, working memory and associative learning. Our results provide evidence for the critical role of NMDAR in PV interneurons for expression of normal gamma rhythms and specific cognitive behaviors.
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