Evaluation of validity of the STOP-BANG questionnaire in major elective noncardiac surgery

Background

The STOP-BANG questionnaire screens for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in surgical patients. In prior research, the association of STOP-BANG scores with comorbidities and outcomes was inconsistent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of the STOP-BANG score.

Translation and initial validation of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) in Italian patients with Crohn’s Disease

The MARS-5 (Medication Adherence Report Scale) was developed in English. The aim of this project was to analyse the MARS-5I (© Prof Rob Horne) psychometric properties and to identify whether its Italian translation is suitable for assessing medication adherence in Crohn Disease (CD) Italian patients. The MARS was translated and linguistically validated in Italian. The MARS-5I was used for evaluating medication adherence in the SOLE study, conducted in Italy on 552 subjects with CD. In order to un-bias the questionnaire results from the effects of treatment change and/or effectiveness, the analyses were performed on the 277 patients whose disease activity remained stable, selected among the 371 patients who maintained the same treatment between two consecutive visits. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha of 0.86). Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.50 (p < 0.001) and 0.86 (p < 0.001- outliers removed), indicating satisfactory test-retest. MARS 5I scores were not correlated with Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication but a small and statistically significant correlation was shown with physician-evaluated medication adherence, indicating convergent validity. MARS-5I, the Italian translation of the English MARS, showed satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest, and a low but statistically significant convergent validity. We confirmed the utility of this tool in patients with CD.     

Developmental validation of the Huaxia™ Platinum PCR amplification kit: A 6-dye multiplex direct amplification assay designed for Chinese reference samples

The Huaxia™ Platinum Kit for short tandem repeat (STR) amplification was designed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Chinese forensic database. This PCR multiplex allows simultaneous amplification of the following autosomal loci: D3S1358, vWA, D16S539, CSF1PO, TPOX, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, Penta E, D2S441, D19S433, TH01, FGA, D22S1045, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D6S1043, D10S1248, D1S1656, D12S391, D2S1338, Penta D and the gender-identification markers Yindel, and AMEL.The Huaxia™ Platinum Kit enables direct amplification from blood and buccal samples stored on treated and untreated paper, and features an optimized PCR protocol that yields time to results in less than 45 min. Developmental validation testing followed SWGDAM guidelines and demonstrated that this assay produces reproducible and accurate results. Studies on 798 individuals in 4 major Chinese ethnic groups produced highly concordant results with other commercially available STR genotyping kits. The validation results demonstrate that the Huaxia™ Platinum Kit is a robust and reliable identification system for forensic DNA databasing applications.     

Developmental validation of the ANDE™ rapid DNA system with FlexPlex™ assay for arrestee and reference buccal swab processing and database searching

A developmental validation was performed to demonstrate reliability, reproducibility and robustness of the ANDE System with the FlexPlex assay, including an integrated Expert System, across a number of laboratories and buccal sample variations. Previously, the related DNAscan™/ANDE 4C Rapid DNA System using the PowerPlex^®16 assay and integrated Expert System Software received NDIS approval in March 2016. The enhanced ANDE instrument, referred to as ANDE 6C, and the accompanying 6-dye, 27-locus STR assay, referred to as FlexPlex, have been developed to be compatible with all widely used global loci, including the expanded set of the CODIS core 20 loci.Six forensic and research laboratories participated in the FlexPlex Rapid DNA developmental validation experiments, testing a total of 2045 swabs, including those obtained from 1387 unique individuals. The goal of this extensive and comprehensive validation was to thoroughly evaluate and document the ANDE System and its internal Expert System to reliably genotype reference buccal swab samples in a manner compliant with the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standards and the NDIS Operational Procedures.The ANDE System, including automated Expert System analysis, generated reproducible and concordant results for buccal swabs when testing various instruments at different laboratories by a number of different operators. When testing a number of non-human DNAs, including oral bacteria, the ANDE System and FlexPlex assay demonstrated limited cross-reactivity. Potential PCR inhibitors were evaluated as part of the validation and no inhibition was detected. Reproducible and concordant profiles were generated from buccal swab samples collected with a limit of detection appropriate for buccal swab collections from arrestees. The precision and resolution of the System met industry standards for detection of microvariants and single base resolution.The integrated Expert System appropriately demonstrated the ability to correctly pass or fail profiles for CODIS upload without human review. During this comprehensive developmental validation, the ANDE System successfully interpreted over 2000 samples tested with over 99.99% concordant alleles. The data package described herein led to the ANDE System with the FlexPlex assay receiving NDIS approval in June 2018.     

Multicenter Study of the Psychometric Properties of the New Demoralization Scale (DS-II) in Spanish-Speaking Advanced Cancer Patients

Context

Demoralization is a state of existential distress in patients with advanced illness, typically with coping difficulties, feelings of loss of sense, and purpose in life and despair, among other things. The New Demoralization Scale (DS-II) is an evaluation tool for this syndrome, which has recently been reformulated on a shorter scale.

知母种子质量分级标准的研究

目的:研究制定知母种子的质量分级标准。方法:通过对不同产地20个批次知母种子的净度、千粒质量、含水量、生活力、发芽率等指标测定和外观形态观察,利用Excel 2010、SPSS 20.0软件对以上数据进行相关分析、主成分以及K-均值聚类分析,初步确定知母种子质量分级指标和分级标准,且以各等级知母种子分别在田间对比种植,通过测定1年产苗量,2年药材产量及有效成分含量,验证知母种子质量分级标准的合理性。结果:Ⅰ级知母种子发芽率不低于85%,千粒质量不低于7.5 g,净度不低于95%;Ⅱ级知母种子发芽率不低于70%,千粒质量不低于7.0 g,净度不低于85%;Ⅲ级知母种子发芽率不低于65%,千粒质量不低于6.0 g,净度不低于80%;各级种子含水量均小于10%。结论:发芽率和千粒质量为知母种子质量分级标准的主要指标,净度和含水量为参考指标。不同等级知母种子种植后对知母种苗产量、药材产量及质量会有显著影响。该研究制定的知母种子质量分级标准科学可行、符合生产实际,为知母的种子质量评价和规范化栽培提供参考依据。