Report Quality of Generalized Linear Mixed Models in Psychology: A Systematic Review

Feasibility and Effects of a Neuromuscular Warm-Up Based on the Physical Literacy Model for 8-12-Year-Old-Children

Background: Physical literacy and injury prevention strategies use similar movement-related constructs and can be connected to develop comprehensive interventions. We aimed to test the feasibility and effects of a neuromuscular warm-up based on physical literacy and injury prevention strategies for 8-12-year-old children. Methods: We conducted a cluster non-randomized controlled trial. We defined a priori feasibility criteria and studied the effects of the intervention on physical literacy constructs, movement competence, and neuromuscular performance. We used generalized linear mixed models controlling for covariates and clustering with a significance level of 0.001. Results: We recruited 18 groups (n = 363) and randomly allocated nine to intervention (n = 179; female = 63.7%, age = 9.8 ± 1 years) and nine to control (n = 184, female = 53.3%, age = 9.9 ± 0.9 years). We met four of seven feasibility criteria (i.e. recruitment, adherence, enjoyment, perceived exertion). The three feasibility criteria that were not met (i.e. compliance, fidelity, follow-up) were slightly below the predefined threshold (90%). Model-adjusted mean differences for physical literacy constructs, movement competence, vertical jump height, horizontal jump distance, 20-m sprint time, and dynamic balance favored the intervention (p < .001). Conclusion: The feasibility evidence indicates that the intervention should be slightly modified before implementing it in a larger study. The observed mean differences are promising and can be used in planning future interventions.

Use of Ordered Beta Regression Unveils Cognitive Flexibility Index and Longitudinal Cognitive Training Signatures in Normal and Alzheimer's Disease Pathological Aging

Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) are a cornerstone data analysis strategy in behavioral research because of their robustness in handling non-normally distributed variables. Recently, their integration with ordered beta regression (OBR), a novel statistical tool for managing percentage data, has opened new avenues for analyzing continuous response data. Here, we applied this combined approach to investigate nuanced differences between the 3xTg-AD model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their C57BL/6 non-transgenic (NTg) counterparts with normal aging in a 5-day Morris Water Maze (MWM) test protocol. Our longitudinal study included 22 3xTg-AD mice and 15 NTg mice (both male and female) assessed at 12 and 16 months of age. By identifying and analyzing multiple swimming strategies during three different paradigms (cue, place task, and removal), we uncovered genotypic differences in all paradigms. Thus, the NTg group exhibited a higher percentage of direct search behaviors, while an association between circling episodes and 3xTg-AD animals was found. Furthermore, we also propose a novel metric-the "Cognitive Flexibility Index"-which proved sensitive in detecting sex-related differences. Overall, our integrated GLMMs-OBR approach provides a comprehensive insight into mouse behavior in the MWM test, shedding light on the effects of aging and AD pathology.

A longitudinal study of factors associated with cognitive frailty in middle-aged and elderly population based on the health ecology model

BACKGROUND

Cognitive frailty (CF) is an important geriatric syndrome and is reversible. It is crucial to develop preventive interventions for CF. We aimed to explore the associations between CF and its associated factors in Chinese aged 45 years and above.

METHODS

Based on the available data of 3 waves in China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015, 16,071 individuals aged 45 years and above from 3 waves were included. Based on the health ecology model, the associated factors were classified as downstream, midstream and upstream factors. Generalized hierarchical linear model including time level, individual level, and province level was applied to analyze the associations between factors and CF.

RESULTS

Multilevel factors have different effects on physical and cognitive function. In the downstream, old age, female, underweight, chronic diseases, and depression were risk factors of reversible CF and potentially reversible CF, and overweight was their protective factor. In the midstream, short or long night sleep duration was their risk factor, and > 30 and ≤ 60 min afternoon naps, alcohol drinking, and participation in social activities were their protective factors. In the upstream, living in rural areas was their risk factor, and high educational level, household consumption and GDP per capita were their protective factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical function and cognitive function are affected differently by multiple factors. The occurrence and development of physical frailty and cognitive impairment may have some common mechanisms. CF can be influenced by multilevel factors, and multilevel and comprehensive management of CF should be achieved.

KEY POINTS

Cognitive frailty was correlated with multilevel factors, including downstream, midstream, and upstream factors. It is crucial to focus on individual interventions such as physiological factors, psychological factors and health behaviors, especially the elderly, women and those with depression. Socioeconomic status was associated with the lower prevalence of cognitive frailty.

Early predictor for differentiation syndrome in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukaemia patients treated with single-agent arsenic trioxide

Differentiation syndrome (DS) is the second leading cause of death in acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) patients. Few studies have tested predictors of DS events. This study aimed to identify optimized predictors of DS events related to APL. The data of 298 consecutive patients who were newly diagnosed with APL between December 2012 and June 2023 were retrospectively investigated. A systematic review of computer-based patient medical records was conducted to obtain clinical data, including baseline characteristics, routine blood examination findings, biochemical indices and clinical manifestations of DS. Among the 298 patients, 158 were classified into the no-DS group, while 140 had DS. Compared with those of patients without DS, the peripheral blast count, age, and WBC count at each time point were significantly different in patients with DS (P < 0.05 for all time points). Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) revealed that WBC Double (Coeff. 0.442, P = 0.000) and WBCPeak (Coeff. 0.879, P = 0.000) were independent risk factors for DS. The frequencies of clinical manifestations of unexplained fever (P = 0.003), dyspnoea (P = 0.002), weight gain of more than 5 kg (P = 0.006), pleural effusion (P = 0.001), pulmonary infiltrates (P < 0.001), pericardial effusion (P = 0.002) and renal failure (P = 0.006) were considerably lower in moderate DS patients than in severe DS patients. The WBCDouble occurs earlier than the WBCpeak occurrence, so WBC Double might be a new indicator of DS.

Locomotor-cognitive dual-tasking in children with developmental coordination disorder

Introduction

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) demonstrate deficits in predictive motor control and aspects of cognitive control compared with their typically developing (TD) peers. Adjustment to dynamic environments depends on both aspects of control and the deficits for children with DCD may constrain their ability to perform daily actions that involve dual-tasking. Under the assumption that motor-cognitive integration is compromised in children with DCD, we examined proportional dual-task costs using a novel locomotor-cognitive dual-task paradigm that enlisted augmented reality. We expect proportional dual-task performance costs to be greater for children with DCD compared to their TD peers.

Methods

Participants were 34 children aged 6-12 years (16 TD, 18 DCD) who walked along a straight 12 m path under single- and dual-task conditions, the cognitive task being visual discrimination under simple or complex stimulus conditions presented via augmented reality. Dual-task performance was measured in two ways: first, proportional dual-task costs (pDTC) were computed for cognitive and gait outcomes and, second, within-trial costs (p-WTC) were measured as the difference on gait outcomes between pre- and post-stimulus presentation.

Results

On measures of pDTC, TD children increased their double-limb support time when walking in response to a dual-task, while the children with DCD increased their locomotor velocity. On p-WTC, both groups increased their gait variability (step length and step width) when walking in response to a dual-task, of which the TD group had a larger proportional change than the DCD group. Greater pDTCs on motor rather than cognitive outcomes were consistent across groups and method of dual-task performance measurement.

Discussion

Contrary to predictions, our results failed to support dramatic differences in locomotor-cognitive dual-task performance between children with DCD and TD, with both groups tending to priorities the cognitive over the motor task. Inclusion of a within-trial calculation of dual-task interference revealed an expectancy effect for both groups in relation to an impending visual stimulus. It is recommended that dual-task paradigms in the future continue to use augmented reality to present the cognitive task and consider motor tasks of sufficient complexity to probe the limits of performance in children with DCD.

Understanding Individual Subject Differences through Large Behavioral Datasets: Analytical and Statistical Considerations

A core feature of behavior analysis is the single-subject design, in which each subject serves as its own control. This approach is powerful for identifying manipulations that are causal to behavioral changes but often fails to account for individual differences, particularly when coupled with a small sample size. It is more common for other subfields of psychology to use larger-N approaches; however, these designs also often fail to account for the individual by focusing on aggregate-level data only. Moving forward, it is important to study individual differences to identify subgroups of the population that may respond differently to interventions and to improve the generalizability and reproducibility of behavioral science. We propose that large-N datasets should be used in behavior analysis to better understand individual subject variability. First, we describe how individual differences have been historically treated and then outline practical reasons to study individual subject variability. Then, we describe various methods for analyzing large-N datasets while accounting for the individual, including correlational analyses, machine learning, mixed-effects models, clustering, and simulation. We provide relevant examples of these techniques from published behavioral literature and from a publicly available dataset compiled from five different rat experiments, which illustrates both group-level effects and heterogeneity across individual subjects. We encourage other behavior analysts to make use of the substantial advancements in online data sharing to compile large-N datasets and use statistical approaches to explore individual differences.

Playing hide and seek: Contextual regularity learning develops between 3 and 5 years of age

The ability to acquire contextual regularities is fundamental in everyday life because it helps us to navigate the environment, directing our attention where relevant events are more likely to occur. Sensitivity to spatial regularities has been largely reported from infancy. Nevertheless, it is currently unclear when children can use this rapidly acquired contextual knowledge to guide their behavior. Evidence of this ability is indeed mixed in school-aged children and, to date, it has never been explored in younger children and toddlers. The current study investigated the development of contextual regularity learning in children aged 3 to 5 years. To this aim, we designed a new contextual learning paradigm in which young children were presented with recurring configurations of bushes and were asked to guess behind which bush a cartoon monkey was hiding. In a series of two experiments, we manipulated the relevance of color and visuospatial cues for the underlying task goal and tested how this affected young children's behavior. Our results bridge the gap between the infant and adult literatures, showing that sensitivity to spatial configurations persists from infancy to childhood, but it is only around the fifth year of life that children naturally start to integrate multiple cues to guide their behavior.

European anesthesiologists' experiences with gender-based mistreatment in the workplace: a secondary multilevel regression analysis

BACKGROUND

Workplace gender-based mistreatment (GBM) refers to negative or harmful behaviors directed towards employees. In healthcare settings, this can lead to job dissatisfaction and underperformance and potentially compromise patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine workplace GBM among European anesthesiologists and produce the first European Gender-based Mistreatment Rank in Anesthesiology.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary analysis from a worldwide cross-sectional survey database consisting of a 46-item questionnaire exploring, among other outcomes, gender bias attributable to workplace attitudes. The survey completion rate was 80.8%. All respondents were selected from European countries. Associations between mistreatment and the remaining variables were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. A generalized linear mixed model was then used to quantify the impact of mistreatment in each European country. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

This study included 5,795 respondents from 43 European countries. The independent predictors of GBM were as follows: female gender, younger age, perceiving gender as a disadvantage for leadership, and perceiving gender as a disadvantage for research. The full model was statistically significant, indicating an ability to distinguish between those who experienced GBM and those who did not (P < 0.001). Thus, 26 European countries were ranked based on the prevalence of mistreatment, with Italy showing the best performance (lowest prevalence).

CONCLUSIONS

The aim of our study was to provide preliminary insight into GBM in anesthesiology in Europe, function as a key benchmark for gender equity, and chart the evolution of disparities over time.

Responsible Behavior With Younger Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Evaluation of a School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Perpetration Prevention Program

Many efforts to prevent child sexual abuse (CSA) aim to teach children strategies for recognizing, resisting, and reporting victimization. There is limited evidence that victimization-focused efforts actually prevent CSA. Moreover, these efforts often overlook the fact that many children and adolescents engage in problem sexual behavior against younger children. Responsible Behavior with Younger Children (RBYC) is a novel universal school-based perpetration-focused intervention that aims to prevent the onset of inappropriate, harmful, or illegal sexual behavior by adolescents against younger children.1 Responsible behavior with younger children was designed to provide adolescents and their parents with the knowledge and tools to help adolescents interact appropriately with younger children and avoid CSA behaviors. In this paper we describe intervention development, summarize lessons learned from implementing RBYC in four urban schools, and report results from our pilot randomized waitlist-controlled trial (RCT) with 160 6th and 7th grade students. Results indicate RBYC was associated with increased accuracy in youth knowledge about CSA and CSA-related laws, and with increased behavioral intention to avoid or prevent CSA with younger children and peer sexual harassment. Although the sample was small and the effects were relatively modest, the findings do suggest that RBYC holds promise for preventing the onset of problem sexual behavior.

Development and assessment of a novel servo-controlled spraying system for real time adjustment of the orientation angle of the nozzles of a boom sprayer

BACKGROUND

Pesticide spray drift, which is the movement of pesticide by wind to any location other than the intended area, is hazardous to human, animal, food safety and environmental health. It is not possible to completely eliminate spray drift during spraying with field crop sprayers, but spray drift can be reduced by developing new technologies. The most common methods to reduce spray drift are carrying the droplets to the target with air-assisted spraying, electrostatic spraying, preferring air induction nozzles and boom shields. With these methods, it is not possible to make a change on the sprayer depending on the wind intensity during spraying. In this study, a novel servo-controlled spraying system was designed and developed to change the nozzle orientation angle in the reverse direction of the wind current to reduce the ground spray drift in real time and automatically in a wind tunnel. The displacement in the spray pattern (Dc ) was used as a ground drift indicator for each nozzle to evaluate the spray drift.

RESULTS

The developed system, operated by LabVIEW software, calculated different nozzle orientation angles depending on nozzle types, wind velocities and spraying pressures. Orientation angles calculated for different test conditions achieved in reduction were up to 49.01% for XR11002 nozzle, 32.82% for AIXR11002 nozzle and 32.31% for TTJ6011002 nozzle at 400 kPa spray pressure and 2.5 m s-1 wind velocity.

CONCLUSION

The developed system, which has a self-decision mechanism, calculated the nozzle orientation angle instantaneously according to the wind velocity. It has been observed that the adjustable spraying nozzle system, sprayed with high precision towards the wind in the wind tunnel, and the developed system have advantages compared to conventional spraying systems. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Survival processing and directed forgetting: enhanced memory for both to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten information

In a recently published study, (Parker, A., Parkin, A., & Dagnall, N. (2021). Effects of survival processing on list method directed forgetting. Memory (Hove, England), 29(5), 645-661) examined directed forgetting in a survival processing context using the list-method directed forgetting procedure. (Parker, A., Parkin, A., & Dagnall, N. (2021). Effects of survival processing on list method directed forgetting. Memory (Hove, England), 29(5), 645-661) found that the costs of directed forgetting were greater when engaging in survival processing than when making moving relevance or pleasantness ratings. However, according to most current accounts of directed forgetting, engaging in survival processing should not have enhanced the directed forgetting effect but rather should not have impacted the directed forgetting effect. In the present study, we further investigated how survival processing impacts directed forgetting using both the list (Experiment 1) and item method of directed forgetting (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, we did not replicate the findings of (Parker, A., Parkin, A., & Dagnall, N. (2021). Effects of survival processing on list method directed forgetting. Memory (Hove, England), 29(5), 645-661) - that the directed forgetting effect is enhanced when engaging in survival processing. Rather, we demonstrated that making survival ratings and moving ratings yielded a similar cost of directed forgetting for List 1 items. In Experiment 2, survival processing provided an overall memory benefit (but not when recalling to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten items in separate recall tests) but did not differentially impact to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten words. Thus, we did not find evidence that survival processing influences directed forgetting.

The successes and pitfalls: Deep-learning effectiveness in a Chernobyl field camera trap application

Camera traps have become in situ sensors for collecting information on animal abundance and occupancy estimates. When deployed over a large landscape, camera traps have become ideal for measuring the health of ecosystems, particularly in unstable habitats where it can be dangerous or even impossible to observe using conventional methods. However, manual processing of imagery is extremely time and labor intensive. Because of the associated expense, many studies have started to employ machine-learning tools, such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs). One drawback for the majority of networks is that a large number of images (millions) are necessary to devise an effective identification or classification model. This study examines specific factors pertinent to camera trap placement in the field that may influence the accuracy metrics of a deep-learning model that has been trained with a small set of images. False negatives and false positives may occur due to a variety of environmental factors that make it difficult for even a human observer to classify, including local weather patterns and daylight. We transfer-trained a CNN to detect 16 different object classes (14 animal species, humans, and fires) across 9576 images taken from camera traps placed in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. After analyzing wind speed, cloud cover, temperature, image contrast, and precipitation, there was not a significant correlation between CNN success and ambient conditions. However, a possible positive relationship between temperature and CNN success was noted. Furthermore, we found that the model was more successful when images were taken during the day as well as when precipitation was not present. This study suggests that while qualitative site-specific factors may confuse quantitative classification algorithms such as CNNs, training with a dynamic training set can account for ambient conditions so that they do not have a significant impact on CNN success.

Factors influencing stigma among healthcare professionals towards people who use illicit drugs in Japan: A quantitative study

Aim

Stigma among healthcare professionals toward people who use drugs (PWUDs) must be addressed for recovery. However, research on this topic is limited in Japan, therefore we developed a brand-new scale through coproduction with PWUDs to measure stigma and conducted a survey using the developed scale to examine what influences stigma towards PWUDs in Japanese healthcare settings.

Methods

Based on interviews with PWUDs and their families, we developed a survey containing 24 questions on stigma toward PWUDs. The survey was sent to healthcare professionals working in the public sector. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to determine the factor construct. Generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) analyses with each factor of the stigma questions set as a dependent variable were conducted to discover the specific contribution of each variable to professionals' stigma.

Results

The six factors suggested by the EFA showed a good fit, as confirmed by the CFA of the stigma questions. GLMM discovered that "currently providing treatment services to PWUDs," "having PWUDs close to themselves," and "experiencing violence by the client when providing treatment services" were significantly associated with higher stigma scale scores. "Experience in receiving support," "attending self-help groups," and "using peer-based recovery support with PWUDs" were significantly associated with lower stigma scale scores.

Conclusion

The scale coproduced with local PWUDs can be a reliable tool to measure the stigma PWUDs face in Japan. Further results indicate that interaction with recovered PWUDs should be promoted.

Frontline work and racial disparities in social and economic pandemic stressors during the first COVID-19 surge

OBJECTIVE

To assess the magnitude of racial-ethnic disparities in pandemic-related social stressors and examine frontline work's moderating relationship on these stressors.

DATA SOURCES

Employed Californians' responses to the Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS) poll from April 16-20, 2020, were analyzed. The Pandemic Stressor Scale (PSS) assessed the extent to which respondents experienced or anticipated problems resulting from the inability to pay for basic necessities, job instability, lacking paid sick leave, unavailability of childcare, and reduced wages or work hours due to COVID-19.

STUDY DESIGN

Mixed-effects generalized linear models estimated (1) racial-ethnic disparities in pandemic stressors among workers during the first COVID-19 surge, adjusting for covariates, and (2) tested the interaction between race-ethnicity and frontline worker status, which includes a subset of essential workers who must perform their job on-site, to assess differential associations of frontline work by race-ethnicity.

DATA COLLECTION

The IGS poll data from employed workers (n = 4795) were linked to the 2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index at the zip code level (N = 1068).

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

The average PSS score was 37.34 (SD = 30.49). Whites had the lowest PSS score (29.88, SD = 26.52), and Latinxs had the highest (50.74, SD = 32.61). In adjusted analyses, Black frontline workers reported more pandemic-related stressors than White frontline workers (PSS = 47.73 vs. 36.96, p < 0.001). Latinxs reported more pandemic stressors irrespective of frontline worker status. However, the 5.09-point difference between Latinx frontline and non-frontline workers was not statistically different from the 4.6-point disparity between White frontline and non-frontline workers.

CONCLUSION

Latinx workers and Black frontline workers disproportionately reported pandemic-related stressors. To reduce stress on frontline workers during crises, worker protections like paid sick leave, universal access to childcare, and improved job security are needed, particularly for those disproportionately affected by structural inequities, such as racially minoritized populations.

Can the robot "see" what I see? Robot gaze drives attention depending on mental state attribution

Mentalizing, where humans infer the mental states of others, facilitates understanding and interaction in social situations. Humans also tend to adopt mentalizing strategies when interacting with robotic agents. There is an ongoing debate about how inferred mental states affect gaze following, a key component of joint attention. Although the gaze from a robot induces gaze following, the impact of mental state attribution on robotic gaze following remains unclear. To address this question, we asked forty-nine young adults to perform a gaze cueing task during which mental state attribution was manipulated as follows. Participants sat facing a robot that turned its head to the screen at its left or right. Their task was to respond to targets that appeared either at the screen the robot gazed at or at the other screen. At the baseline, the robot was positioned so that participants would perceive it as being able to see the screens. We expected faster response times to targets at the screen the robot gazed at than targets at the non-gazed screen (i.e., gaze cueing effect). In the experimental condition, the robot's line of sight was occluded by a physical barrier such that participants would perceive it as unable to see the screens. Our results revealed gaze cueing effects in both conditions although the effect was reduced in the occluded condition compared to the baseline. These results add to the expanding fields of social cognition and human-robot interaction by suggesting that mentalizing has an impact on robotic gaze following.

Are symptoms assessed differently for schizophrenia and other psychoses in legal insanity evaluations of violent crimes?

BACKGROUND

Forensic evaluations of legal insanity include the experts' assessment of symptoms present at the mental state examination (MSE) and the mental state at the time of offense (MSO). Delusions and hallucinations are most important. We explored how often symptoms were recorded in written forensic reports.

DESIGN

This exploratory, cross-sectional study included 500 reports of legal insanity written in 2009-2018 from cases of violent crimes in Norway. The first author read all reports and coded symptoms recorded from the experts' assessments of the offenders. Two co-authors repeated this procedure for 50 randomly selected reports. Interrater reliability was calculated with Gwet's AC1. Generalized Linear Mixed Models with Wald tests for fixed effects and Risk Ratios as effect sizes were used for the statistical analyses.

RESULTS

Legal insanity was the main conclusion in 23.6% of the reports; 71.2% of these were diagnosed with schizophrenia while 22.9% had other psychotic disorders. Experts recorded few symptoms from MSO, but more from MSE, although MSO is important for insanity. We found a significant association between delusions and hallucinations recorded present in the MSO and legal insanity for defendants with other psychotic disorders, but no association for defendants with schizophrenia. The differences in symptom recordings between diagnoses were significant.

CONCLUSION

Few symptoms were recorded from the MSO. We found no association between presence of delusions or hallucinations and legal insanity for defendants with schizophrenia. This may indicate that a schizophrenia diagnosis is more important to the forensic conclusion than the symptoms recorded in the MSO.

Social and environmental determinants influencing injection drug use and HIV risk among two sister cities on the US-Mexico border: a comparative cross-sectional study, 2016-2018

The economic, social, cultural and political milieus that influence injection drug-related HIV risk behaviors along the US-Mexico border in the previous decade have been studied comparing cities on an East-West axis. In an effort to inform interventions targeting factors beyond the individual level, we used a cross-sectional study design comparing people who inject drugs during 2016-2018, living on a North-South axis, in two cities-Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, USA-situated at the midpoint of the 2000 US-Mexico borderland stretch. We conceptualize injection drug use and its antecedents and consequences as influenced by factors operating at various levels of influence. Results of analysis comparing samples recruited from each border city indicated significant differences in demographic, socioeconomic, micro- and macro-level factors that affect risk. Similarities emerged in individual-level risk behaviors and some dynamics of risk at the drug use site most frequented to use drugs. In addition, analyses testing associations across samples indicated that different contextual factors such as characteristics of the drug use sites influenced syringe sharing. In this article, we reflect on the potential tailored interventions needed to target the context of HIV transmission risk among people who use drugs and reside in binational environment.

Integrated circulating tumour DNA and cytokine analysis for therapy monitoring of ALK-rearranged lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Detection of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in biological fluids is a minimally invasive alternative to tissue biopsy for therapy monitoring. Cytokines are released in the tumour microenvironment to influence inflammation and tumorigenic mechanisms. Here, we investigated the potential biomarker utility of circulating cytokines vis-à-vis ctDNA in ALK-rearranged+ lung adenocarcinoma (ALK + NSCLC) and explored the optimal combination of molecular parameters that could indicate disease progression.

METHODS

Longitudinal serum samples (n = 296) were collected from ALK + NSCLC patients (n = 38) under tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy and assayed to quantify eight cytokines: IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, MCP1 and TNF-α. Generalised linear mixed-effect modelling was performed to test the performance of different combinations of cytokines and previously determined ctDNA parameters in identifying progressive disease.

RESULTS

Serum IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were elevated at progressive disease, with IL-8 having the most significant impact as a biomarker. Integrating changes in IL-8 with ctDNA parameters maximised the performance of the classifiers in identifying disease progression, but this did not significantly outperform the model based on ctDNA alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum cytokine levels are potential disease progression markers in ALK + NSCLC. Further validation in a larger and prospective cohort is necessary to determine whether the addition of cytokine evaluation could improve current tumour monitoring modalities in the clinical setting.

Models for Zero-Inflated and Overdispersed Correlated Count Data: An Application to Cigarette Use

INTRODUCTION

Count outcomes in tobacco research are often analyzed with the Poisson distribution. However, they often exhibit features such as overdispersion (variance larger than expected) and zero inflation (extra zeros) that violate model assumptions. Furthermore, longitudinal studies have repeated measures that generate correlated counts. Failure to account for overdispersion, zero inflation, and correlation can yield incorrect statistical inferences. Thus, it is important to familiarize researchers with proper models for such data.

AIMS AND METHODS

Poisson and Negative Binomial models with correlated random effects with and without zero inflation are presented. The illustrative data comes from a study comparing a mindfulness training app (Craving to Quit [C2Q], n = 60) with a control app (experience sampling-only app, n = 66) on smoking frequency at 1, 3, and 6 months. Predictors include app, time, the app-by-time interaction, and baseline smoking. Each model is evaluated in terms of accounting for zero inflation, overdispersion, and correlation in the data. Emphasis is placed on evaluating model fit, subject-specific interpretation of effects, and choosing an appropriate model.

RESULTS

The hurdle Poisson model provided the best fit to the data. Smoking abstinence rates were 33%, 32%, and 28% at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively, with variance larger than expected by a factor >7 at each follow-up. Individuals on C2Q were less likely to achieve abstinence across time but likely to smoke fewer cigarettes if smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

The models presented are specifically suited for analyzing correlated count outcomes and account for zero inflation and overdispersion. We provide guidance to researchers on the use of these models to better inform nicotine and tobacco research.

IMPLICATIONS

In tobacco research, count outcomes are often measured repeatedly on the same subject and thus correlated. Such outcomes often have many zeros and exhibit large variances relative to the mean. Analyzing such data require models specifically suited for correlated counts. The presented models and guidelines could improve the rigor of the analysis of correlated count data and thus increase the impact of studies in nicotine and tobacco research using such outcomes.

Toward a more nuanced understanding of probability estimation biases

In real life, we often have to make judgements under uncertainty. One such judgement task is estimating the probability of a given event based on uncertain evidence for the event, such as estimating the chances of actual fire when the fire alarm goes off. On the one hand, previous studies have shown that human subjects often significantly misestimate the probability in such cases. On the other hand, these studies have offered divergent explanations as to the exact causes of these judgment errors (or, synonymously, biases). For instance, different studies have attributed the errors to the neglect (or underweighting) of the prevalence (or base rate) of the given event, or the overweighting of the evidence for the individual event (‘individuating information’), etc. However, whether or to what extent any such explanation can fully account for the observed errors remains unclear. To help fill this gap, we studied the probability estimation performance of non-professional subjects under four different real-world problem scenarios: (i) Estimating the probability of cancer in a mammogram given the relevant evidence from a computer-aided cancer detection system, (ii) estimating the probability of drunkenness based on breathalyzer evidence, and (iii &amp; iv) estimating the probability of an enemy sniper based on two different sets of evidence from a drone reconnaissance system. In each case, we quantitatively characterized the contributions of the various potential explanatory variables to the subjects’ probability judgements. We found that while the various explanatory variables together accounted for about 30 to 45% of the overall variance of the subjects’ responses depending on the problem scenario, no single factor was sufficient to account for more than 53% of the explainable variance (or about 16 to 24% of the overall variance), let alone all of it. Further analyses of the explained variance revealed the surprising fact that no single factor accounted for significantly more than its ‘fair share’ of the variance. Taken together, our results demonstrate quantitatively that it is statistically untenable to attribute the errors of probabilistic judgement to any single cause, including base rate neglect. A more nuanced and unifying explanation would be that the actual biases reflect a weighted combination of multiple contributing factors, the exact mix of which depends on the particular problem scenario.

Changes in occupational class differences in leisure-time physical activity and the contribution of retirement

Occupational class differences in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) are well recognized. Less is known about how these differences develop as individuals age, and how retirement is associated with this change. We investigated how occupational class differences in LTPA change in a cohort over a 15-17 years follow-up. We further examined, how the transition into mandatory or disability retirement contributed to the change in LTPA levels and occupational class differences. We used the data from the Helsinki Health Study surveying the aging City of Helsinki employees. In all, 8773 individuals were included in the analyses. We evaluated LTPA levels using weekly metabolic equivalent task (MET) hours and used generalized linear mixed effect models (GLMM) to estimate the development of LTPA levels. Commuting was included in the LTPA measure. Occupational class differences in LTPA emerged and widened during the follow-up. The physical activity levels decreased in the lower occupational class and slightly increased in the higher occupational class, resulting in a difference of 4.3 MET-hours at the end of follow-up, accounting for 50 min of brisk walking per week. The occupational class differences emerged during transition into mandatory retirement and persisted after this. Transition into disability retirement temporarily widened the occupational class differences in LTPA levels, but the differences diminished during the follow-up. Research on interventions to counteract the declining LTPA is needed to discover ways to prevent the widening of occupational health disparities during aging. The transition into old-age retirement could be an optimal period for focusing these interventions.

Cetacean responses to violation of expectation paradigm in a free-swim context

The investigation of individual responses to unexpected stimuli or outcomes provides insights into basic cognitive processes, such as mental representations, emotional states of surprise, and detections of anomalies. Three experiments using a violation of expectation paradigm were conducted with 12 belugas and 17 bottlenose dolphins in managed care to test two classes of stimuli (humans and objects) in manipulated sequences of familiar and unfamiliar humans (Study 1, trainers and strangers), familiar and unfamiliar objects (Study 2, typical enrichment devices and new objects), and finally objects and humans (Study 3). Gaze durations were assessed for each condition in a given study during free-swim contexts. The results supported previous findings that visual stimuli, regardless of class, were stimulating and intriguing for both belugas and bottlenose dolphins. Belugas were more likely to gaze longer at human and object stimuli and tended to gaze longer at unexpected experiences than control or expected experiences. Bottlenose dolphins showed similar trends except when objects were involved. Individual variability was present for both species with some individuals showing stronger patterns of responses for expected experiences than others. After 2 years of intermittent experiments, belugas and bottlenose dolphins in managed care maintained their curiosity about visual stimuli, for which they received no primary reinforcement. Investigating responses to unexpected stimuli with animals in managed care may provide insight into how these animals respond to biologically relevant conditions, such as boat presence, predators, and unfamiliar conspecifics.

The association of chronic pain and opioid withdrawal in men and women with opioid use disorder

BACKGROUND

Approximately 2.7 million individuals in the United States had an opioid use disorder (OUD) in 2020. Chronic pain may exacerbate opioid withdrawal severity, yet most research on opioid withdrawal has not collected data on chronic pain status. Moreover, there is limited evidence that women tend to experience greater opioid withdrawal severity than men, but large, confirmatory studies on this topic have not been published. The goal of this study was to examine the roles of chronic pain and gender on opioid withdrawal severity using a large, multi-site database.

METHODS

Data were collected from N = 1252 individuals with OUD entering eight residential addiction treatment facilities. Demographic, drug use behaviors, and chronic pain status were collected at treatment intake, and self-reported opioid withdrawal and craving were measured at intake and 1-3 days, 4-6 days, and 7-9 days after intake. Regression analyses were used to predict withdrawal and craving severity at intake and across the four timepoints.

RESULTS

At intake, withdrawal was higher in persons who were older, had greater SUD severity, women, had chronic pain, and used > 1 substance (p-values ≤.007) and craving was higher in persons with greater SUD severity (p < .001) and women (p = .033). Withdrawal remained higher in women and persons with chronic pain across timepoints but decreased at a similar rate relative to comparators.

CONCLUSIONS

Women and persons with chronic pain would benefit from earlier engagement in treatment and may require a more intensive strategy to mitigate opioid withdrawal in early treatment.

The Italian epistemic marker mi sa [to me it knows] compared to so [I know], non so [I don’t know], non so se [I don’t know whether], credo [I believe], penso [I think]

The two studies presented in this paper concern the Italian epistemic marker mi sa [lit. to me it knows], which seems to have no equivalent in other European languages and has received very little attention in the literature. No analysis of the occurrences of mi sa in contemporary spoken corpora can be found (first gap) as well as no investigation on the epistemic relationship between mi sa and (1) the other modal expressions that use the verb sapere [to know] in the first person singular of the simple present, i.e., so [I know], non so [I do not know], non so se [I do not know whether] as well as (2) its supposed synonyms credo [I believe] and penso [I think] (second gap). The two studies are closely intertwined, the first being an exploratory, qualitative pilot study for the second. Study 1 aims to fill the first gap through the analysis of the contemporary Italian spoken corpus KIParla. The quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed five types of occurrences (theoretically reducible to two main ones), the most numerous of which are ‘mi sa che + proposition’. Study 2 aims to fill the second gap through a questionnaire administered online. The quantitative and statistical results showed the epistemic relationships between the six markers: for the majority of the participants, in the epistemic continuum that goes from unknowledge to uncertainty and then to knowledge, (1) non so refers to unknowledge; non so se, mi sa, credo and penso refer to uncertainty; so refers to knowledge; (2) mi sa, credo, penso confirm to be synonyms; (3) non so se is evaluated as much more uncertain than mi sa, credo, penso. These four epistemic markers seem to occupy a different position along the uncertainty continuum ranging between two poles: doubt (high uncertainty) and belief (low uncertainty).

Who goes where in couples and pairs? Effects of sex and handedness on side preferences in human dyads

There is increasing evidence that inter-individual interaction among conspecifics can cause population-level lateralization. Male-female and mother-infant dyads of several non-human species show lateralised position preferences, but such preferences have rarely been examined in humans. We observed 430 male-female human pairs and found a significant bias for males to walk on the right side of the pair. A survey measured side preferences in 93 left-handed and 92 right-handed women, and 96 left-handed and 99 right-handed men. When walking, and when sitting on a bench, males showed a significant side preference determined by their handedness, with left-handed men preferring to be on their partner's left side and right-handed men preferring to be on their partner's right side. Women did not show significant side preferences. When men are with their partner they show a preference for the side that facilitates the use of their dominant hand. We discuss possible reasons for the side preference, including males prefering to occupy the optimal "fight ready" side, and the influence of sex and handedness on the strength and direction of emotion lateralization.

Improvement of liver fibrosis, but not steatosis, after HCV eradication as assessment by MR-based imaging: Role of metabolic derangement and host genetic variants

Significant liver fibrosis regression occurs after hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy. However, the impact of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) on steatosis is less clear. This study was aimed at evaluating serial fibrosis and steatosis alterations in patients with HCV genotype 1, who achieved sustained virological response (SVR). We enrolled 55 HCV mono-infected and 28 HCV/HIV co-infected patients receiving elbasvir/grazoprevir from a clinical trial. Fibrosis and steatosis were assessed at baseline, follow-up week-24 (FUw24) and week-72 (FUw72) by magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and proton density fat fraction (PDFF), respectively. Patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) rs738409, transmembrane six superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) rs58542926 and membrane bound O-acyltransferase domain-containing 7 (MBOAT7) rs641738 polymorphisms were determined by allelic discrimination. Overall, mean MRE decreased significantly from baseline to FUw24 and FUw72. At FUw72, patients with baseline F2-F4 had higher rate of ≥30% MRE decline compared with individuals with baseline F0-F1 (30.2%vs.3.3%, P = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, significant fibrosis was associated with MRE reduction. The prevalence of steatosis (PDFF≥5.2%) at baseline was 21.7%. Compared to baseline, there were 17 (20.5%) patients with decreased PDFF values at FUw72 (<30%), while 23 (27.7%) patients had increased PDFF values (≥30%). Regarding the overall cohort, mean PDFF significantly increased from baseline to FUw72, and displayed positive correlation with body mass index (BMI) alteration. In multivariate analysis, the presence of diabetes, PNPLA3 CG+GG genotypes and increased BMI at FUw72 were significantly associated with progressive steatosis after SVR. Other genetic variants were not related to fibrosis and steatosis alteration. This study concluded that HCV eradication was associated with fibrosis improvement. However, progressive steatosis was observed in a proportion of patients, particularly among individuals with metabolic derangement and PNPLA3 variants. The combined clinical parameters and host genetic factors might allow a better individualized strategy in this sub-group of patients to alleviate progressive steatosis after HCV cure.

Does similarity trigger cooperation? Dyadic effect of similarity in social value orientation and cognitive resources on cooperation

Although a considerable amount of research has demonstrated a robust relationship between social value orientation and cooperation, these studies may be limited by focusing solely on the individual. Building on the growing literature documenting the effect of group formation on cooperation and personality similarity on negotiation, the present study explored whether similarity in social value orientation (both being pro-social or pro-self) leads to more cooperation in social dilemmas among dyad members. Drawing from expectancy theory and the concept of cognitive resources, we further predicted that the relationship between similarity in social value orientation and cooperation uniquely depends on whether the individual is cognitively busy. To test our hypothesis, we grouped our participants according to their social value orientation into three different dyads (similar-pro-self, similar-pro-social, and pro-self-pro-social) to complete a repeated prisoner's dilemma task, and controlled their cognitive resources using a simultaneous digit memory task. The results suggested that (1) heterogeneous dyads' (pro-self-pro-social) cooperation possibility experience a steeper decay as the number of rounds increases compared with the two homogeneous dyads (similar-pro-self, similar-pro-social). In addition, (2) similarity in social value orientation, interacting with participants' cognitive resources, significantly influenced individual-level cooperation. Specifically, both pro-selfs and pro-socials, paired with unlike-minded counterparts, were more cooperative when they had abundant cognitive resources. However, cognitive resources had no significant influence on dyads with similar social value orientation. Overall, these findings demonstrate the importance of considering personality configuration when attempting to understand cooperation in social dilemmas among dyads.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03276-8.

Your Money or Your Sense of Smell? A Comparative Analysis of the Sensory and Psychological Value of Olfaction

In public discourse, the sense of smell is typically characterized as the least important of the five senses. However, there are very little empirical data on this topic. Recently, much more attention has been brought to the sense of smell since olfactory dysfunction is a primary and often long-term symptom of COVID-19 infection. It was therefore of interest to expand research on the perceived value of olfaction in the current cultural condition. We developed a survey that directly compared the value of the senses of smell, hearing, and vision with each other and in relation to nine common items representing digital, material, personal, and physical commodities of varying social and emotional meaningfulness (phone, $10,000, favorite social media, online shopping, favorite streaming service, dream vacation, pet, hair, little left toe). In total, four hundred and seven female and male respondents comprising two life-stage groups (college students, general public adults) participated in our online survey study during winter–spring of 2021. The results reveal that the sense of smell was perceived as vastly less important than vision and hearing and much less valuable than various common commodities. We also found that life-stage and gender mediated our findings. For example, one-quarter of the college student respondents would give up their sense of smell in order to keep their phone and nearly half of all women would give up their sense of smell to keep their hair. Our data further illustrate that the senses of vision and hearing are valued relatively similarly. A number of questions arise from the present data and suggestions for ways in which our survey can be expanded and altered to address further research are discussed.

For Better or Worse: Self-reported Changes in Kratom and Other Substance Use as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background:

Kratom is taken to self-treat pain and symptoms of psychiatric disorders, including substance-use disorders (SUDs) and opioid withdrawal. Before COVID-19, kratom use was increasing in the US, however, there are few published data on whether that trend continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have affected kratom use in multiple ways.

Aim:

To examine COVID-19-related changes in kratom use and how these changes were experienced, relative to changes in other commonly used substances.

Methods:

Using Amazon Mechanical Turk, 2615 evaluable surveys were completed between September 2020 and March 2021. Responses from past-month and past-year kratom-using adults (N = 174) indicating changes for the better or worse were examined using generalized linear mixed effects models, and relevant open-text responses (n = 85) were thematically coded.

Results:

For kratom 33% (n = 58) reported a Covid-related increase and 24% (n = 42) reported a Covid-related decrease. Controlling for changes in amount used, alcohol (OR = 5.02), tobacco (OR = 4.72), and nonmedical opioid use (OR = 3.42) were all more likely to have changed for the worse, compared with kratom use. Relative to decreases in kratom use, decreases in alcohol (OR = 3.21) and tobacco (OR = 6.18) use were more likely to be changes for the better. Cannabis use was the only substance to display a probability lower than 50% of being a decrease for the better, and of the increases, cannabis use displayed the highest probability of being for the better.

Conclusions:

Increases in kratom and cannabis use were less likely than alcohol and tobacco to be reported as changes for the worse, and decreases in kratom and cannabis use were more likely than alcohol and tobacco to be reported as changes for the better. These findings indicate that people differently conceptualize their relationships with kratom and cannabis, compared to their relationships with alcohol and tobacco.