Case-control designs are an important tool in contrasting the effects of well-defined treatments. In this paper, we reconsider classical concepts, assumptions and principles and explore when the ...results of case-control studies can be endowed a causal interpretation. Our focus is on identification of target causal quantities, or estimands. We cover various estimands relating to intention-to-treat or per-protocol effects for popular sampling schemes (case-base, survivor, and risk-set sampling), each with and without matching. Our approach may inform future research on different estimands, other variations of the case-control design or settings with additional complexities.
A fast hardware tracker for the ATLAS trigger system Anderson, J.; Andreani, A.; Andreazza, A. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
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The Fast Tracker (FTK) processor is an approved ATLAS upgrade that will reconstruct tracks using the full silicon tracker at Level-1 rate (up to 100KHz). FTK uses a completely parallel approach to ...read the silicon tracker information, execute the pattern matching and reconstruct the tracks. This approach, according to detailed simulation results, allows full tracking with nearly offline resolution within an execution time of 100μs. A central component of the system is the associative memories (AM); these special devices reduce the pattern matching combinatoric problem, providing identification of coarse resolution track candidates. The system consists of a pipeline of several components with the goal to organize and filter the data for the AM, then to reconstruct and filter the final tracks. This document presents an overview of the system and reports the status of the different elements of the system.
Joint misclassification of exposure and outcome variables can lead to considerable bias in epidemiological studies of causal exposure-outcome effects. In this paper, we present a new maximum ...likelihood based estimator for the marginal causal odd-ratio that simultaneously adjusts for confounding and several forms of joint misclassification of the exposure and outcome variables. The proposed method relies on validation data for the construction of weights that account for both sources of bias. The weighting estimator, which is an extension of the exposure misclassification weighting estimator proposed by Gravel and Platt (Statistics in Medicine, 2018), is applied to reinfarction data. Simulation studies were carried out to study its finite sample properties and compare it with methods that do not account for confounding or misclassification. The new estimator showed favourable large sample properties in the simulations. Further research is needed to study the sensitivity of the proposed method and that of alternatives to violations of their assumptions. The implementation of the estimator is facilitated by a new R function in an existing R package.
We present new direct constraints on a general Wtb interaction using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb-1 collected by the D0 detector at the Tevatron p p macr collider. The ...standard model provides a purely left-handed vector coupling at the Wtb vertex, while the most general, lowest dimension Lagrangian allows right-handed vector and left- or right-handed tensor couplings as well. We obtain precise limits on these anomalous couplings by comparing the data to the expectations from different assumptions on the Wtb coupling.
Colonoscopic surveillance is recommended in patients with colonic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) given their increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to develop and validate a dynamic ...prediction model for the occurrence of advanced colorectal neoplasia (aCRN, including high-grade dysplasia and CRC) in IBD.
We pooled data from 6 existing cohort studies from Canada, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Patients with IBD and an indication for CRC surveillance were included if they underwent at least 1 follow-up procedure. Exclusion criteria included prior aCRN, prior colectomy, or an unclear indication for surveillance. Predictor variables were selected based on the literature. A dynamic prediction model was developed using a landmarking approach based on Cox proportional hazard modeling. Model performance was assessed with Harrell’s concordance-statistic (discrimination) and by calibration curves. Generalizability across surveillance cohorts was evaluated by internal–external cross-validation.
The surveillance cohorts comprised 3731 patients, enrolled and followed-up in the time period from 1973 to 2021, with a median follow-up period of 5.7 years (26,336 patient-years of follow-up evaluation); 146 individuals were diagnosed with aCRN. The model contained 8 predictors, with a cross-validation median concordance statistic of 0.74 and 0.75 for a 5- and 10-year prediction window, respectively. Calibration plots showed good calibration. Internal–external cross-validation results showed medium discrimination and reasonable to good calibration.
The new prediction model showed good discrimination and calibration, however, generalizability results varied. Future research should focus on formal external validation and relate predicted aCRN risks to surveillance intervals before clinical application.
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We present a search for the production of neutral Higgs bosons decaying into tau + tau - pairs in p p macr collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated ...luminosity of 5.4 fb-1, were collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We set upper limits at the 95% C.L. on the product of production cross section and branching ratio for a scalar resonance decaying into tau + tau - pairs, and we interpret these limits as limits on the production of Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) and as constraints in the MSSM parameter space.
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