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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Implicit bias toward people with disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Rehabil Psychol. 2023 Apr 20. doi: 10.1037/rep0000493. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: People with disabilities (PWD) experience barriers to accessibility and employment, harming their quality of life. Strategies aimed at reducing disparity for PWD have not changed key statistics such as unemployment rates. Previous research has focused on explicit attitudes, generally found to be positive, prompting investigation into factors such as implicit bias. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated implicit bias toward PWD and associated factors.

METHOD: Forty-six peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and April 2020 utilizing the Implicit Association Test were included. Of these, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis.

RESULTS: A significant moderate pooled effect (mean difference = 0.503, 95% CI [0.497-0.509], p < .001) was found, suggesting moderate negative implicit attitudes toward general disability. Negative implicit attitudes were also found toward physical, and intellectual disability. PWD were implicitly stereotyped as incompetent, cold, and “child-like.” Findings were inconsistent for factors associated with bias including age, race, sex, and individual differences. Contact with PWD may be associated with implicit bias; however, measures were inconsistent.

CONCLUSION: This review has found moderate negative implicit biases toward PWD, however, factors associated with this bias remain unclear. Further research should investigate implicit bias toward specific disability groups and strategies to shift such biases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37079819 | DOI:10.1037/rep0000493

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Frank L. Schmidt (1944-2021)

Am Psychol. 2023 Apr 20. doi: 10.1037/amp0001161. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Frank L. Schmidt was born on a dairy farm outside Louisville, Kentucky, on April 29, 1944, the oldest of six children to Swiss German parents with a grade-school education. At his first faculty job at Michigan State University, he met John (Jack) Hunter, with whom he began a prolific, impactful collaboration that lasted until Hunter’s 2002 death. Together, they invented the methods of psychometric meta-analysis. He believed that the goal of science is to establish universal principles. Schmidt and Hunter’s pioneering development of validity generalization (VG) methods showed that statistical artifacts were responsible for study-to-study differences in cognitive ability tests’ validities. Schmidt’s influential articles included research on selection, bias, utility, job performance, employee engagement, smoking cessation, psychopathology, and corporate social responsibility. But psychometric meta-analysis was his most far-reaching contribution. Schmidt coauthored four widely cited and used books on the technique. Meta-analysis transformed hundreds of fields, where it became the bedrock of scientific knowledge. Schmidt received many prestigious awards for his significant contributions. Schmidt was a paradigm-shifting scientist, a father of modern meta-analytic techniques, and an ardent and intellectually honest researcher of individual differences. He leaves behind a legacy that will continue to shape the future of psychology and management, but also more broadly, science in general. He offered an elegant and quantitative way of knowing. His legacy will live in those whose intellects continue to be shaped by the ideas that he introduced. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37079817 | DOI:10.1037/amp0001161

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Careless responding in online studies is associated with alcohol use: A mega-analysis

Psychol Addict Behav. 2023 Apr 20. doi: 10.1037/adb0000924. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of research conducted online in the addiction field has increased rapidly over the past decade. However, little focus has been given to careless responding in these online studies, despite the issues it may cause for statistical inference and generalizability. Our aim was to examine whether alcohol use is associated with careless responses.

METHOD: Raw data were requested from online studies examining alcohol use and related problems which also addressed careless responding. We obtained 13 data sets of 12,237 participants (Mage = 42.16, SD = 15.65, 50.5% female). The sample had an average Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 10.88 (SD = 7.77). Predictors included demographic information (age, gender) and AUDIT total scores. The primary outcome was whether an individual was classed as a careless responder, for example, by failing an explicit attention check question.

RESULTS: AUDIT total scores were associated with careless responding (OR = 1.07, 95% CI [1.06, 1.08], p < .001). Hazardous drinking or worse was associated with 2.21 greater odds (OR = 2.21, 95% CI [1.81, 2.71] of careless responding, whereas harmful drinking or worse was associated with 3.43 greater odds (OR = 3.43, 95% CI [2.83, 4.17]) and probable dependence was associated with 3.63 greater odds (OR = 3.63, 95% CI [2.95, 4.48]).

CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use and related problems are positively associated with careless responding in online research. Removal of individuals identified as careless responders may lead to issues of generalizability, and more care should be taken to identify and handle careless responder data. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37079806 | DOI:10.1037/adb0000924

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Statistically Optimal Force Aggregation for Coarse-Graining Molecular Dynamics

J Phys Chem Lett. 2023 Apr 20:3970-3979. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00444. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Machine-learned coarse-grained (CG) models have the potential for simulating large molecular complexes beyond what is possible with atomistic molecular dynamics. However, training accurate CG models remains a challenge. A widely used methodology for learning bottom-up CG force fields maps forces from all-atom molecular dynamics to the CG representation and matches them with a CG force field on average. We show that there is flexibility in how to map all-atom forces to the CG representation and that the most commonly used mapping methods are statistically inefficient and potentially even incorrect in the presence of constraints in the all-atom simulation. We define an optimization statement for force mappings and demonstrate that substantially improved CG force fields can be learned from the same simulation data when using optimized force maps. The method is demonstrated on the miniproteins chignolin and tryptophan cage and published as open-source code.

PMID:37079800 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00444

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Risk Prediction Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in Healthy Adults and Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review

Prev Chronic Dis. 2023 Apr 20;20:E30. doi: 10.5888/pcd20.220380.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health problem. In 2017, the global prevalence was estimated at 9.1%. Appropriate tools to predict the risk of developing CKD are necessary to prevent its progression. Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of CKD; screening the population living with the disease is a cost-effective solution to prevent CKD. The aim of our study was to identify the existing prediction scores and their diagnostic accuracy for detecting CKD in apparently healthy populations and populations with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: We conducted an electronic search in databases, including Medline/PubMed, Embase, Health Evidence, and others. For the inclusion criteria we considered studies with a risk predictive score in healthy populations and populations with type 2 diabetes. We extracted information about the models, variables, and diagnostic accuracy, such as area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), C statistic, or sensitivity and specificity.

RESULTS: We screened 2,359 records and included 13 studies for healthy population, 7 studies for patients with type 2 diabetes, and 1 for both populations. We identified 12 models for patients with type 2 diabetes; the range of C statistic was from 0.56 to 0.81, and the range of AUC was from 0.71 to 0.83. For healthy populations, we identified 36 models with the range of C statistics from 0.65 to 0.91, and the range of AUC from 0.63 to 0.91.

CONCLUSION: This review identified models with good discriminatory performance and methodologic quality, but they need more validation in populations other than those studied. This review did not identify risk models with variables comparable between them to enable conducting a meta-analysis.

PMID:37079751 | DOI:10.5888/pcd20.220380

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

A Tiered Testing Strategy Based on In Vitro Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Data for Selecting Representative Petroleum UVCBs for Toxicity Evaluation in Vivo

Toxicol Sci. 2023 Apr 20:kfad041. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfad041. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Hazard evaluation of substances of “unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products and biological materials” (UVCBs) remains a major challenge in regulatory science because their chemical composition is difficult to ascertain. Petroleum substances are representative UVCBs and human cell-based data has been previously used to substantiate their groupings for regulatory submissions. We hypothesized that a combination of phenotypic and transcriptomic data could be integrated to make decisions as to selection of group-representative worst-case petroleum UVCBs for subsequent toxicity evaluation in vivo. We used data obtained from 141 substances from 16 manufacturing categories previously tested in six human cell types (induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived hepatocytes, cardiomyocytes, neurons, and endothelial cells, and MCF7 and A375 cell lines). Benchmark doses for gene-substance combinations were calculated, and both transcriptomic and phenotype-derived points of departure (PODs) were obtained. Correlation analysis and machine learning were used to assess associations between phenotypic and transcriptional PODs and to determine the most informative cell types and assays, thus representing a cost-effective integrated testing strategy. We found that two cell types-iPSC-derived-hepatocytes and -cardiomyocytes-contributed the most informative and protective PODs and may be used to inform selection of representative petroleum UVCBs for further toxicity evaluation in vivo. Overall, while the use of new approach methodologies to prioritize UVCBs has not been widely adopted, our study proposes a tiered testing strategy based on iPSC-derived hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes to inform selection of representative worst-case petroleum UVCBs from each manufacturing category for further toxicity evaluation in vivo.

PMID:37079747 | DOI:10.1093/toxsci/kfad041

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Total Ankle Arthroplasty for Posttraumatic Fracture Versus Primary Osteoarthritis: An Analysis of Complications, Revisions, and Prosthesis Survival

J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2023 Apr 20. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-22-01192. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Most outcome studies of total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) do not discriminate by arthritis etiology. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the complications of TAA between posttraumatic fracture osteoarthritis (fracture PTOA) and primary osteoarthritis (POA).

METHODS: Ninety-nine patients who underwent TAA were retrospectively evaluated with a mean follow-up of 3.2 years (range 2 to 7.6 years). 44 patients (44%) had a diagnosis of POA while 55 patients (56%) had a diagnosis of fracture PTOA (40 malleolar fractures [73%], 14 pilon fractures[26%], and 1 talar fracture [1%]). Patient demographics, preoperative coronal plane alignment, postoperative complications, and revision surgery data were collected. Categorical variables were compared with chi square and Fisher exact tests and means with the Student t-test. Survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analyses.

RESULTS: A higher overall complication rate was associated with fracture PTOA (53%) compared with POA (30%) (P = 0.04). No difference was observed in rates of any specific complication by etiology. Survival, defined as revision surgery with TAA prosthesis retention, was comparable between POA (91%) and fracture PTOA (87%) (P = 0.54). When defined as failure requiring prosthesis explant, POA demonstrated significantly greater survival (100%) as compared with fracture PTOA (89%) (P = 0.03). A higher rate of talar implant subsidence and loosening was noted in TAA with prior pilon (29%) as compared to malleolar fractures (8%) that was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Fracture PTOA was associated with preoperative valgus deformity (P = 0.04). Compared with varus and normal alignment, preoperative valgus deformity was associated with the need for any revision surgery (P = 0.01) and prosthesis explant (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with POA, fracture PTOA was associated with a markedly higher complication rate after TAA and was at higher risk of failure requiring prosthesis explant. Fracture PTOA was markedly associated with preoperative valgus malalignment, an identified risk factor in this series for revision surgery and prosthesis explant. Pilon fractures may represent a group at risk of complications related to talar implant subsidence and loosening compared with malleolar fractures and thus warrants additional investigation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

PMID:37079718 | DOI:10.5435/JAAOS-D-22-01192

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Factors associated with receipt of adequate antenatal care among women in Rwanda: A secondary analysis of the 2019-20 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey

PLoS One. 2023 Apr 20;18(4):e0284718. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284718. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Every year, antenatal care (ANC) remains a life-saving health intervention for millions of pregnant women worldwide. Yet, many pregnant women do not receive adequate ANC, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The study aimed to determine the factors associated with the receipt of adequate ANC among pregnant women in Rwanda.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2019-2020 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey data. The study included women aged 15-49 years who had a live birth in the previous five years (n = 6,309). Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS: Overall, 27.6% of participants received adequate ANC. The odds of receiving adequate ANC were higher among those in the middle household wealth index (AOR 1.24; 1.04, 1.48) and rich index (AOR 1.37; 1.16, 1.61) compared to those in the poor wealth index category. Similarly, having health insurance was positively associated with receiving adequate ANC (AOR 1.33; 1.10, 1.60). The odds of receiving adequate ANC were lower among urban dwellers compared to rural (AOR 0.74; 0.61, 0.91); for women who wanted pregnancy later (AOR 0.60; 0.52, 0.69) or never wanted pregnancy (AOR 0.67; 0.55, 0.82) compared to those who wanted pregnancy; for women who perceived distance to a health facility as a big problem (AOR 0.82; 0.70, 0.96) compared to those that did not; and for women whose ANC was provided by nurses and midwives (AOR 0.63; 0.47, 0.8), or auxiliary midwives (AOR 0.19; 0.04, 0.82) compared to those who received ANC from doctors.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of women who receive adequate ANC remains low in Rwanda. Effective interventions to increase access and utilization of adequate ANC are urgently needed to further improve the country’s maternal and child health outcomes.

PMID:37079648 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0284718

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Explaining refugee flows. Understanding the 2015 European refugee crisis through a real options lens

PLoS One. 2023 Apr 20;18(4):e0284390. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284390. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

In 2015 the unprecedented arrival of refugees in Europe posed serious challenges for the EU and its member countries on how to deal with such an influx. A key element in better managing refugee flows is to understand what drives these flows in a certain direction. A refugee who comes to Europe has to make trade-offs in terms of cost and benefits, duration, uncertainty and the multi-staged character of the journey. Real options models are a suitable tool for modelling these kind of decision dynamics. On the basis of a case-study, that compares three routes from Syria to Europe, we demonstrate how well the real options analysis is in line with the development of the refugee flows.

PMID:37079636 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0284390

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Are we seeing the unseen of human trafficking? A retrospective analysis of the CTDC k-anonymized global victim of trafficking data pool in the period 2010-2020

PLoS One. 2023 Apr 20;18(4):e0284762. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284762. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Human trafficking is considered a hidden global crime with unsubstantiated numbers. Despite the challenges in counting or measuring this crime, reports revealed the presence of around 40.3 million victims worldwide. Human trafficking results in severe detrimental impacts on both mental and physical health. Given the sensitivity and negative consequences of human trafficking on the global system and victims, and considering the scarce research in this area, our current study aimed at describing the (i) Sociodemographic profiles of anonymized victims, (ii) Means of control, and (iii) Purpose of trafficking, utilizing the largest anonymized and publicly available dataset on victims of human trafficking.

METHODS: This is a retrospective secondary analysis of the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) data pool in the period from 2010 to 2020. The utilized dataset is called the k-anonymized global victim of trafficking dataset, and it is considered the largest global dataset on victims of human trafficking. Data from the k-anonymized data pool were extracted and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS® version 27.0 for Windows (IBM Corp. Version 27.0. Armonk, NY) for quality check and analysis using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: A total of 87003 victims of human trafficking were identified in the period from 2010 to 2020. The most age category encountered among victims was 9-17 years with 10326 victims (11.9%), followed by 30-38 years with 8562 victims (9.8%). Females comprised 70% of the sample with 60938 victims. The United States (n = 51611), Russia (n = 4570), and the Philippines (n = 1988) comprised the most countries of exploitation/trafficking. Additionally, the year 2019 witnessed the greatest number of victims registered for assistance by anti-trafficking agencies with around 21312 victims (24.5%). Concerning means of control, threats, psychological abuse, restriction of the victim’s movement, taking the victim’s earnings, and physical abuse were the most reported means. 42685 victims (49.1%) reported sexual exploitation as the purpose of their trafficking, followed by forced labor with 18176 victims (20.9%).

CONCLUSION: Various means and methods can be used by traffickers to control the victims to be trafficked for many purposes, with sexual exploitation and forced labor being the most common ones. Global anti-trafficking efforts should be brought together in solidarity through utilizing the paradigm of protection of victims, prosecution of traffickers, prevention of trafficking, and inter-sectoral partnerships. Despite being a global concern with various reports that tried to capture the number of trafficked victims worldwide, human trafficking still has many unseen aspects that impose a significant challenge and adds to the global burden in combatting this threat.

PMID:37079616 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0284762