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Using the 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (weighted population size = 35,460,209; 8–18 years old; 52.1% males), we compared the obesity prevalence in children and adolescents between body mass index-based (BMI-based) and total percent body fat-based (BF%-based, measured by the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) cutoffs. The BMI-based cutoffs exhibited closer alignments (k,.88–.97) in the childhood obesity prevalence, while the absolute (sex-specific) BF% cutoffs had higher prevalence rates than the relative (age- and sex-specific) BF% cutoffs (k =.43 [95% CI, 0.38–0.49]), overly labeling Non-Hispanic white and Other race/ethnicity females with obesity. The BF%-based cutoffs had higher prevalence rates in most sex, age, and race/ethnicity groups than the BMI-based cutoffs. Furthermore, the absolute BF% cutoffs overly labeled Hispanic and Other race/ethnicity females with obesity. In summary, childhood obesity prevalence varied by sex, age, race/ethnicity across different cutoffs, with the BMI-based cutoffs showing closer alignments than the BF%-based cutoffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the diagnostic performance of the Reid colposcopic index (RCI) and establish the optimal cutoff value to predict a histology of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+).Methods: A retrospective analysis was undertaken of the medical records of women who underwent colposcopy with RCI scoring at a center in Bangkok, Thailand, between 2003 and 2014. Only patients for whom histology reports were available were included. Cases had been scored according to three criteria: margin, color, and vascular pattern. The performance of this three-criterion score (abbreviated RCI) was assessed for sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values at every cutoff level. Receiver operation characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal cutoff value to distinguish between women with CIN2+ and others.Results: Among 349 included patients, 158 (45.3%) had CIN2+. The most appropriate cutoff score was 3, which had a sensitivity of 72.7%, a specificity of 86.9%, and positive and negative predictive values of 82.1% and 79.4%, respectively. The area under ROC curve was 0.857 (95% confidence interval 0.815-0.898).Conclusion: The performance of the abbreviated RCI seems satisfactory. The optimal cutoff value was 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combinations of 2 nucleic acid extractions and 3 Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MHP) PCRs (namely Protocol 1, 2, 3, and 4) were compared in terms of the probability of detecting DNA in pen-based oral fluid samples as a function of within-pen MHP prevalence. Oral fluid samples were created by randomly assigning 39 7-week old pigs to one of 5 pens, i.e., negative control pen (3 pigs) and 4 pens of 9 pigs each that differed in the proportion of MHP -inoculated pigs (1, 3, 6, or 9). Deep tracheal swabs were collected twice weekly to establish individual pig MHP infection status and derive within-pen prevalence estimation. On DPI 3, tracheal swabs from 15 of 19 inoculated pigs were MHP DNA positive. Oral fluids (n = 320) were collected daily from − 4 to 59 days post inoculation (DPI). Using a piecewise exponential model to account for within-pen transmission dynamics followed by a mixed-effect logistic regression, the probability of detecting MHP DNA in oral fluids was positively associated with within-pen prevalence (P < 0.0001) and differed among test protocols. MHP DNA was detected in 173 oral fluid samples with Protocol 3 versus 148, 134, and 101 with Protocols 4, 2, and 1, respectively. At 100% within-pen prevalence, the probability of detecting MHP DNA in oral fluids was highest using Protocol 3 (95.7%), followed by Protocols 4 (70.1%), 2 (60.1%), and 1 (34.0%). The fact that PCR protocols performed differently suggests that further improvements in extraction methods and MHP PCRs are possible. In the field, the dynamics of MHP infections should be taken into account if using oral fluid samples in surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torsades de pointes (TdP) is a major safety concern with drugs that are submitted for regulatory approval. The study aimed to identify the electrophysiological, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic values indicating a higher risk of TdP. A number of QT-prolonging drugs were assigned to 2 groups. Group 1 consisted of drugs that had been withdrawn or suspended from the market because of unacceptable TdP risk or for which numerous reports of TdP had been published. Group 2 included drugs for which there had been isolated reports or no report. The results showed that drugs in group 1 induced greater inhibition of human ether-a-go-go–related gene (HERG) potassium current or the rapid component of the delayed rectifier potassium current (Ikr), had lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for inhibition of HERG/Ikr, and induced greater QTc increases in humans. The cutoff values indicating a higher risk of TdP included an increase in action potential duration greater than 10% at concentration lower than 300 nM, inhibition of HERG/Ikr greater than 30% at therapeutic concentration, IC50 lower than 2 µM, a mean QTc increase greater than 15.5 milliseconds in monotherapy and 12.0 milliseconds with concurrent use of metabolic inhibitors, and an upper bound of its 95% confidence interval greater than 21 milliseconds in monotherapy and 19.4 milliseconds in the presence of metabolic inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]