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Bidur Banjara,1,2 Nabin Poudel,1 Kimberly B Garza,1 Salisa Westrick,1 Heather P Whitley,3 David Redden,4 Surachat Ngorsuraches1 1Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Auburn University, Harrison College of Pharmacy, Auburn, AL, USA; 2Cytel Inc, Waltham, MA, USA; 3Department of Pharmacy Practice, Auburn University, Harrison College of Pharmacy, Auburn, AL, USA; 4Department of Biomedical Affairs and Research, Auburn University, Edward via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, AL, USACorrespondence: Surachat Ngorsuraches, Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Auburn University, Harrison College of Pharmacy, 4306A Walker Building, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA, Tel +1 334 844 8357, Fax +1 334 844 8307, Email surachat@auburn.eduPurpose: To determine patients’ preferences for sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs).Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based discrete choice experiment was conducted among US adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in May 2021. Six attributes—the route and frequency of administration, the chance of reaching target HbA1c in six months, the percentage reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), the chance of gastrointestinal side effects, the chance of genital infection, and out-of-pocket cost per month—were identified from literature review and consultation with patients and clinicians. A Bayesian efficient design was used to generate choice sets. Each choice set contained two hypothetical SGLT-2i and GLP-1 RA alternatives described by the attributes and an opt-out alternative. A total of 176 patients were asked to select the most preferred option from each choice set. Mixed logit (ML) and latent class (LC) models were developed. The conditional relative importance of each attribute was determined.Results: The ML model showed the out-of-pocket cost had the highest conditional relative importance, followed by the chance of reaching the target HbA1c. The best LC model revealed two patient classes. All attributes were significantly important to the patients in both classes, except the chance of genital infection in class 2. Compared to the patients in class 2, the patients in class 1 were older (approximately 65 vs 56 years) and had a higher number of comorbidities (approximately three vs two).Conclusion: T2DM patients placed different preference weights or importance across SGLT-2i and GLP-1 RA attributes. Preference heterogeneity was found among patients with different ages and numbers of comorbidities.Keywords: diabetes, discrete choice experiment, patient preference, second-line antihyperglycemic agents

Ellen L Terry,1 M Dottington Fullwood,2 Staja Q Booker,1 Josue S Cardoso,3 Kimberly T Sibille,2 Toni L Glover,4 Kathryn A Thompson,5 Adriana S Addison,6 Burel R Goodin,5 Roland Staud,7 Laura B Hughes,6 Laurence A Bradley,6 David T Redden,8 Emily J Bartley,9 Roger B Fillingim3,9 1Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States; 2Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States; 3Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE), Gainesville, Florida, United States; 4Oakland University, School of Nursing, Rochester, MI, United States; 5Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States; 6University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, Birmingham, Alabama, United States; 7Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States; 8Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States; 9University of Florida, Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science, Gainesville, Florida, United StatesCorrespondence: Ellen L TerryDepartment of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, University of Florida, PO Box 100197, Gainesville FL 32610-0197 Tel ( +352) 273-6441Email elterry@ufl.eduPurpose: Research indicates pain-related disparities in the impact of knee osteoarthritis (OA) across both sex and ethnicity/race. While several factors likely contribute to these disparities, experiences of discrimination are associated with poor OA-related pain, disability, and functional performance. However, the mechanisms that mediate experiences of discrimination and OA-related outcomes are unclear. The current cross-sectional study examined the associations between everyday experiences of discrimination and clinical pain, disability and functional performance among non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) persons with or at risk of knee OA and assessed the serial mediated model of perceived stress and pain catastrophizing on these relationships in women only.Patients and Methods: Participants were 188 community-dwelling adults who presented with unilateral or bilateral knee pain and screened positive for clinical knee pain. Participants completed several measures including experiences of discrimination, Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Strategies Questionnaire-Revised (CSQ-R): Pain Catastrophizing subscale, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS), and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB).Results: As compared to NHW participants, NHB individuals reported experiencing significantly higher levels of discrimination (F(1, 175)=26.660, p< 0.001), greater levels of pain catastrophizing (F(1, 180)=12.919, p< 0.001), higher levels of clinical pain and disability, and lower levels of physical function (ps< 0.05). However, perceived stress was positively correlated with discrimination in the NHW group only (NHW females: r=0.40, p< 0.01; NHW males: r=0.37, p< 0.05). Further, perceived stress and pain catastrophizing mediated the relationship between discrimination and outcome variables (WOMAC pain, GCPS interference [pain disability], and SPPB function) in female participants after controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables (study site, age, race, income, and body mass index).Conclusion: These results may have implications for the treatment of perceived stress and catastrophizing as a means to reduce the negative impact of experiences of discrimination on the experience of chronic pain, particularly for women.Keywords: experiences of discrimination, Perceived Stress Scale, pain catastrophizing, knee osteoarthritis, pain, disability, physical function

Phase II trials often test the null hypothesis H0: p ⩽ p0 versus H1: p ⩾ p1, where p is the true unknown proportion responding to the new treatment, p0 is the greatest response proportion which is deemed clinically ineffective, and p1 is the smallest response proportion which is deemed clinically effective. In order to expose the fewest number of patients to an ineffective therapy, phase II clinical trials should terminate early when the trial fails to produce sufficient evidence of therapeutic activity (i.e. if p ⩽ p0). Simultaneously, if a treatment is highly effective (i.e. if p⩾ p1), the trial should declare the drug effective in the fewest patients possible to allow for advancement to a phase III comparative trial. Several statistical designs, including Simon's minimax and optimal designs, have been developed that meet these requirements. In this paper, we propose three alternative designs that rely upon stochastic curtailment based on conditional power. We compare and contrast the properties of the three approaches: (1) stochastically curtailed (SC) binomial tests, (2) stochastically curtailed (SC) Simon's optimal design, and (3) SC Simon's minimax design to those of Simon's minimax and Simon's optimal designs. For each of these designs we compare and contrast the number of opportunities for study termination, the expected sample size of the trial under the null hypothesis ( p ⩽ p0), and the effective type I and type II errors. We also present graphical tools for monitoring phase II clinical trials with stochastic curtailment using conditional power. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on research concerning the blood pressure and blood flow in the internal maxillary artery of dogs. It states an electromagnetic blood flowmeter was used to measure the volume of blood flow, while a strain gauge and strain analyzer were used to record blood pressure. It mentions that radiographs of the internal maxillary artery were taken following an infusion of thorium dioxide. It comments that epinephrine injections resulted in a decrease of blood flow.