Network plots can clearly present the relationships among the direct comparisons of various interventions in a network meta-analysis. Currently, there are some methods of drawing network plots. However, the information provided by a network plot and the interface-friendly degree to a user differ in the kinds of software. This article briefly introduces how to draw network plots using the network package and gemtc package that base on R Software, Stata software, and ADDIS software, and it also compares the similarities and differences among them.
The association between single nucleotide polymorphism and disease is a typical representation of genetic association studies. Compared with the traditional dichotomous data, single nucleotide polymorphism data has its own characteristics, and 5 genetic models are commonly performed in meta-analysis. In this paper, we show how to use the " meta” package in R software to conduct meta-analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism research through examples.
Stata is statistical software that combines programming and un-programming, which is easy to operate, of high efficiency and good expansibility. In performing meta-analysis, Stata software also presents powerful function. The mvmeta package of Stata software is based on a multiple regression model to conduct network meta-analysis, and it also processes "multiple outcomes-multivariate" data. Currently, the disadvantages of mvmeta package include relatively cumbersome process, poor interest-risk sorting, and lack of drawing function in the process of conducting network meta-analysis. In this article, we introduce how to implement network meta-analysis using this package based on cases.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effect of 3D computed tomography bronchial bronchography and angiography (3D-CTBA) and guidance of thoracoscopic anatomic pulmonary segmentectomy by Mimics software system. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent thoracoscopic segmentectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University from June 2020 to December 2022. The patients who underwent preoperative 3D-CTBA using Materiaise's interactive medical image control system (Mimics) were selected as an observation group, and the patients who did not receive 3D-CTBA were selected as a control group. The relevant clinical indicators were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 59 patients were included, including 29 males and 30 females, aged 25-79 years. There were 37 patients in the observation group, and 22 patients in the control group. The operation time (163.0±48.7 min vs. 188.8±43.0 min, P=0.044), intraoperative blood loss [10.0 (10.0, 20.0) mL vs. 20.0 (20.0, 35.0) mL, P<0.001], and preoperative puncture localization rate (5.4% vs. 31.8%, P=0.019) in the observation group were better than those in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in the thoracic tube placement time, thoracic fluid drainage volume, number of intraoperative closure nail bin, postoperative hospital stay, or postoperative air leakage incidence (P>0.05) between the two groups. ConclusionFor patients who need to undergo anatomical pulmonary segmentectomy, using Mimics software to produce 3D-CTBA before surgery can help accurately identify pulmonary arteriovenous anatomy, reduce surgical time and intraoperative blood loss, help to determine the location of nodules and reduce invasive localization before surgery, and alleviate patients' pain, which is worthy of clinical promotion.
R Software is an open, free of use and charge statistical software which has a powerful graphic capability; however, it requires more complex codes and commands to perform network meta-analysis, which causes errors and difficulties in operation. WinBUGS software is based on Bayesian theory, which has a powerful data processing capability, and especially its codes are simple and easy to operate for dealing with network meta-analysis. However, its function of illustrating statistical results is very poor. In order to fully integrate the advantages of R software and WinBUGS software, an R2WinBUGS package based on R software has been developed which builds a “bridge” across two of them, making network meta-analysis process conveniently, quickly and result illustration more beautiful. In this article, we introduced how to use the R2WinBUGS package for performing network meta-analysis using examples.
ObjectiveTo fabricate the bionic scaffolds of rat spinal cord by combining three dimensional (3D) printer and 3D software, so as to lay the foundation of theory and technology for the manufacture of scaffolds by using biomaterials. MethodsThree female Sprague Dawley rats were scanned by 7.0T MRI to obtain the shape and position data of the cross section and gray matter of T8 to T10 spinal cord. Combined with data of position and shape of nerve conduction beam, the relevant data were obtained via Getdata software. Then the 3D graphics were made and converted to stereolithography (STL) format by using SolidWorks software. Photosensitive resin was used as the materials of spinal cord scaffolds. The bionic scaffolds were fabricated by 3D printer. ResultsMRI showed that the section shape of T8 to T10 segments of the spinal cord were approximately oval with a relatively long sagittal diameter of (2.20±0.52) mm and short transverse diameter of (2.05±0.24) mm, and the data of nerve conduction bundle were featured in the STL format. The spinal cord bionic scaffolds of the target segments made by 3D printer were similar to the spinal cord of rat in the morphology and size, and the position of pores simulated normal nerve conduction of rat spinal cord. ConclusionSpinal cord scaffolds produced by 3D printer which have similar shape and size of normal rat spinal cord are more bionic, and the procedure is simple. This technology combined with biomaterials is also promising in spinal cord repairing after spinal cord injury.
Objective To evaluate the predictive performance of the geometric characteristics, centerline (CL) of pulmonary nodules for prognosis in patients with surgically treatment in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). MethodsCT images of 178 patients who underwent surgical treatment and were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the low-dose CT (LDCT) cohort from the NLST image database were selected, including 99 males and 79 females, with a median age of 64 (59, 68) years. CT images were processed using commercial software Mimics 21.0 to record the volume, surface area, CL and the area perpendicular to the centerline of pulmonary nodules. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare the predictive performance of LD, AD and CL on prognosis. Univariate Cox regression was used to explore the influencing factors for postoperative disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), and meaningful independent variables were included in the multivariate Cox regression to construct the prediction model. ResultsThe area under the curve (AUC) of CL for postoperative recurrence and death were 0.650 and 0.719, better than LD (0.596, 0.623) and AD (0.600, 0.631). Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression analysis showed that pulmonary nodule volume (P=0.010), the maximum area perpendicular to the centerline (MApc) (P=0.028) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001) were independent risk factors for DFS. Meanwhile, age (P=0.010), CL (P=0.043), lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), MApc (P=0.022) and the average area perpendicular to the centerline (AApc) (P=0.016) were independently associated with OS. ConclusionFor the postoperative outcomes of NSCLC patients in the LDCT cohort of the NLST, the CL of the pulmonary nodule prediction performance for prognosis is superior to the LD and AD, CL can effectively predict the risk stratification and prognosis of lung cancer, and spheroid tumors have a better prognosis.
ObjectiveTo introduce the method of meta-analysis for effect combination of regression coefficient conducted with the metafor package in R software. MethodsBy using the data of a published meta-analysis as an example, the detailed process of meta-analysis for regression coefficient was presented with metafor package in R. ResultsThe results of meta-analysis conducted with metaphor package in R were the same as the published literature. ConclusionAs a completely free open source software for statistical analysis, R can conduct meta-analysis for effect combination of regression coefficient flexibly and precisely, and should be expanded in the future meta-analysis.
ITC (Indirect Treatment Comparison) software and indirect procedure of Stata software are especially used for indirect comparison nowadays, both of which possess the characteristics of friendly concise interface and support for menu operation. ITC software needs the application of other software to yield effect estimation and its confidence interval of direct comparison firstly; while Stata-indirect procedure can complete direct comparison internally and also operate using commands, which simplifies complicated process of indirect comparison. However, both of them only perform "single-pathway" of data transferring and pooling, which is a common deficiency. From the results, their results are of high-degree similarity.
The "bnma" package is a Bayesian network meta-analysis software package developed based on the R programming language. The network meta-analysis was performed utilizing JAGS software, which yielded relevant results and visual graphs. Moreover, this software package provides support for various data structures and types, while also providing the advantages of flexible utilization, user-friendly operation, and deliver of rich and accurate outcomes. In this paper, using a network meta-analysis example of different therapies for androgenetic alopecia, the operational process of conducting network meta-analysis using the "bnma" package is briefly introduced.