​Department of Statistics & Quantitative Methods

Additional file 7: Figure S3. Scatterplots of the within-subject replicates vs mean values and a QQ plot of the differences of between-subjects replicates, Serum.

Additional file 4: Figure S1. The results of ICC estimation obtained by (a) varying the measurement error amount (x-axis of each graph); (b) by considering different strategies for handling limit of detection (LOD) issues; c) by considering three different LOD scenarios (12.5 %, 25% and 50% of values below LOD). The different strategies for handling LOD issues evaluated were: (1) sub W < LOD by E(W|W < LOD) = Richardson and Ciampiâ s method; (2) sub W < LOD by E(W|W > LOD) = Schistermanâ s method; (3) sub W < LOD by Zero and 4) sub W < LOD by LOD/2 (see Supplementary materials and methods for further details).

Purpose: To develop and psychometrically validate a questionnaire to measure patient distress with preoperative fasting related to cataract surgery. Methods: In this single-centered cross-sectional study, consecutive sampling of cataract patients was undertaken immediately preoperatively from February to December 2019. A questionnaire evaluating patient distress with fasting was designed and administered. Questionnaire development occurred in an iterative process and was conducted with consultation from expert investigators and patients. Validation and psychometric evaluation of the questionnaire were performed with Rasch analysis. Results: A preliminary version of the questionnaire was developed by 10 study investigators. Across five iterations of development, the questionnaire was administered to 186 cataract patients. Psychometric evaluation of the 13-item questionnaire demonstrated ordered thresholds, acceptable item calibration and fit, adequate internal consistency, ability to discriminate between three levels of distress from preoperative fasting and no notable differential item functioning. However, issues with mistargeting, clustering of items on the person-item map and multidimensionality remained. Given these concerns, 13 separate re-analyses were conducted via removal of certain items. A 6-item subset was determined to be well targeted, unidimensional, did not display item clustering and was able to discriminate between patients with high and low distress from preoperative fasting. Conclusion: A 6-item questionnaire is a valid, psychometrically robust and reliable measure for the assessment of patient distress with preoperative fasting in cataract surgery. Items include hunger, thirst, hoarseness, weakness, anxiety and nausea. Future studies should seek to validate this questionnaire across a variety of sociodemographic contexts, languages and specialties.

Abstract Background All over the world, especially in the developed countries, maternal age at birth is rising. This study aimed to assess the role of maternal age on the occurrence of preterm birth (PTB) in a large birth cohort of Lombardy Region, Northern Italy. Methods This population-based study used data from regional healthcare utilization databases of Lombardy to identify women who delivered between 2007 and 2017. PTBs were defined as births before 37 completed weeks of gestation and considered according to the gestational age (two categories: 40 age categories). PTB before 32 completed weeks occurred more frequently in the same age categories, except that among multiples no association with advanced maternal age emerged. Conclusion Our study suggested that, after adjustment for potential confounders, both advance and young maternal age were associated with an increased risk of PTB.

Abstract Background Maternal caffeine intake has repeatedly been linked to babies being born small for gestational age (SGA). SGA babies are known to be at increased risk for adverse neonatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between prenatal caffeine exposure and neonatal health. Methods The study is based on 67,569 full-term singleton mother-infant pairs from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Caffeine consumption from different sources was self-reported in gestational week 22. Neonatal compound outcomes, namely (1) morbidity/mortality and (2) neonatal intervention, were created based on the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Adjusted logistic regression was performed. Results Caffeine exposure was associated to SGA (OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.10; 1.23) and being born SGA was significantly associated with neonatal health (OR = 3.09, 95%CI: 2.54; 3.78 for morbidity/mortality; OR = 3.94, 95%CI: 3.50; 4.45 for intervention). However, prenatal caffeine exposure was neither associated with neonatal morbidity/mortality (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 0.96; 1.07) nor neonatal intervention (OR = 1.02, 95%CI: 1.00; 1.05 for a 100 mg caffeine intake increase). Results did not change after additional adjustment for SGA status. Conclusions Moderate prenatal caffeine exposure (

Additional file 2. Cubic spline models. LPA = Leisure time physical activity,TPA = Total physical activity.

Additional file 11: Raw data 2. Raw data for estimating signal sLOD.

Additional file 10: Raw data 1. Raw data of serum MALDI-TOF/MS features, patientsâ diagnosis and age, Gleason grade, PSA and PCA3 values.

Additional file 14: MS-Tag search results. Â MS-MS spectra, peptide lists and MS-Tag search results (including all the configuration parameter)Â for the fragmentation patters of the 12 MALDI-TOF/MS serum features.

Additional file 12: Raw data 3. Data for estimating ICC and biological variation.