Has behaviour of desert rodents evolved to show convergences in the same way as morphological and physiological traits? To answer this question, I compared social behaviour and communication of rodents from deserts in North America, Africa, Eurasia and Australia, Most desert rodents, except those from Australia, sandbathe and footdrum as primary modes of communication. In contrast, social behaviour in desert rodents has evolved across a wide spectrum of sociality. The most highly evolved social organisation in mammals occurs in two species of eusocial mole-rats from arid deserts in Africa, Asian gerbils live in stable family groups, and jerboas in northern Africa may be socially tolerant. The heteromyid rodents from North America, however, live alone in a social structure maintained by neighbour recognition. These communication convergences and social divergences may be explained by the evolutionary history of the rodents and by contrasts in resources, predation and climate. Mole-rats must cooperate to harvest dispersed underground tubers in arid environments. Varied diets and cold climates possibly selected for group living in the highly social gerbils. The long and successful evolution of heteromyid rodents as solitary granivores may explain why they have not taken the next step in social evolution.
OBJECTIVES: Cost-utility analyses need a measure to summarize the quality of life in a single index. A single score is often obtained by the EQ-5D questionnaire which is adaptable to each country with score tariffs. In clinical studies it is common to use questionnaires that measure the quality of life profile, such as the SF-36 psychometric questionnaire and then realized the mapping technique to obtain this utility score. Today no specific regression method has been recommended for a such mapping. The purpose of the study is to compare the different regression methods for the conversion of SF-36 into EQ-5D with a French database. METHODS: The EMOCAR study was a French cohort of patients with carotid endarterectomy where 904 adults completed both EQ-5D and SF-36 questionnaires. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and multinomial logit models were implemented to predict the overall score and the response to each of the 5 categories of EQ-5D with two types of specifications: item-based and summary score-based of SF-36. The performance of each model was determined by the estimated average score, the absolute and mean squared errors as well as the percentage of errors. RESULTS: The model including SF-36 items using OLS method has the most accurate predictions comparing to other models. This mapping performance was indicated by a significant prediction of EQ-5D score of 0.7327 and by MAE (0.116), MSE (0.026), R 2 (0.67) and the percentage of an absolute error > 0.1 (43.71%). The model including SF-36 dimensions scores predicted an EQ-5D score significantly different from the EQ-5D observed score. OLS models predicted better EQ-5D score of younger subgroups and multinomial model with SF-36 items older subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Our models suggest that models using OLS method have good performance for mapping SF-36 onto EQ-5D. Low scores are underpredicted with both models which is already present in the existing literature.
Results: 527 interviews have been conducted up to May 2019. The average age was 49 (SD=16) and 41% of respondents were male. 71.7% of respondents reported having no problems in the mobility dimension, 86.3% in the self-care dimension and 77.2% in the usual activities domain. 51.6% of the sample reported no problems with pain/ discomfort and 70% were neither depressed nor anxious. The mean value for the EQ-VAS was 81.4, SD=14.4. The preliminary model for EQ-5D-3L yielded values from 1 to-0.1, mean 0.55 (SD=0.2). The preliminary main effects hybrid model for EQ-5D-5L provided utility scores ranging from 0.33 (health state 55555) to 1 (health state 11111), mean 0.76 (SD=0.1). Conclusions: These preliminary results can support reimbursement decisions in Romania and allow regional crosscountry comparisons. Once completed, this study will provide the largest data set on health-related quality of life in Romania and lay a stepping stone in the development of a health-technology assessment process more driven by locally relevant data.
Objectives: Crohn's disease (CD) significantly impairs patients' Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) affecting physical, emotional and social domains. We examined whether a tailored Mindfulness-based cognitive intervention (MBCI) can improve HRQoL in adult CD patients. Methods: Adult patients ($18 years) with active CD (HBI in range of 5-16) attending for routine follow-up at a teaching hospital were enrolled consecutively and randomized to either Intervention (MBCI) or Control groups. MBCI was delivered in 8 weekly one-hour sessions by trained therapists on-line via SKYPE application; daily practice was monitored. Patients' HRQoL and utility weights were assessed using EQ-5D-3L and SF-12 at two time points: at study entry and after 3 months follow-up. Results: The preliminary analysis included a cohort of 41 patients: 20 in the MBCI and 21 in the Control group. Patients' mean (SD) age was 36 (14.4) and 34 (10.8), mean (SD) disease duration was 9.7 years (10.1) and 9.7 years (8.9), mean HBI was 9.1 and 8.5, for the Intervention and Control groups, respectively. Both utility scores significantly improved over 3 months of follow-up in the MBCI group while showing decrease or slight increase in the Control group. EQ-5D-3L utility index increased by 0.11 in the MBCI group (p,0.01) vs 0.03 in Controls (p=0.54). EQ VAS increased from 54.4 to 62.6 in the MBCI group (p=0.09) while decreased from 55.5 to 50 in the Controls (p=0.39). SF-12 Mental Health Composite increased by 2.9 points in the MBCI group (p=0.03) vs 2.5 decrease in Controls (p=0.15). SF-12 Physical Health Composite increased by 7.3 in the MBCI group (p,0.01) vs 2.5 increase in Controls (p=0.17). Conclusions: An interim analysis of this RCT demonstrated a trend for improved HRQoL following MBCI intervention. The full study results involving 200 patients could likely demonstrate a clinically and statistically significant improvement in HRQoL in adult CD patients receiving MBCI.
A759(6±3 weeks after V1), final visit (12±3 weeks after V1). HRU data are collected via validated patient questionnaires and clinical charts. Student's T-test (continuous variables), chi-square test or Fisher's exact test (categorical variables) were used for group comparisons. Results: At data cut-off (29 May 2017), 123 patients were eligible: CNS metastases cohort n= 49 and non-CNS metastases cohort n= 74. Baseline characteristics were similar between cohorts: mean age 63 vs 67 years; 53% vs 66% male; mean BMI 23.6 vs 24.9 kg/m2; ex-smoker status 51% vs 47%; mean time since diagnosis 6.1 vs 5.4 months; ECOG PS 1 55% vs 54%, and 1-2 chronic comorbidities 51% vs 49%. At V1, 41% (CNS metastases cohort) and 14% (non-CNS metastases cohort) had ≥ 3 metastatic sites (p= 0.002). Dyspnoea (16% vs 31%, p= 0.07), cough (14% vs 28%, p= 0.07) and pain (12% vs 28%, p= 0.03) were more common in the non-CNS metastases cohort. Similar HRU patterns were recorded in the cohorts before V1; no significant differences in number of hospitalizations (p= 0.75), emergency room (p= 0.22) or outpatient visits (p= 0.22). Length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the CNS metastases cohort (p< 0.001). ConClusions: Interim data from a small sample suggest that the CNS and non-CNS metastases cohorts have similar HRU, except length of hospital stay. Final analyses including the full patient cohort will help understand the economic impact of this difference.
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