Map and Group Subjects

This step within the task creation process is common to all analysis types, although the options available may vary depending on the analysis type selected. The purpose of this step is to map the dataset columns to the correct variable names that the application understands, as well as select the columns from the dataset that will be used to group the subjects.

Mapping Required Variables

This section lists the variables that are required for the analysis to be run. Each dropdown menu corresponds to a variable that is required for the analysis. A ? icon appears next to each of the variable names which specifies the column type required for mapping a column to that variable.

By default the application will attempt to automatically map the columns to the required variables based on commonly used column names. If the application is unable to automatically map the columns, the user will need to manually map the remaining columns that were not automatically mapped.

Depending on whether the analysis is an NCA Urine or NCA Plasma analysis, the option at the top right of this section should be set to either Urine or Plasma. Switching between these two options will change the required variables that must be mapped, since a Urine analysis requires a start time and end time, while a plasma analysis requires a single time. Other non-NCA analysis types do not have this option available.

Note that a column can only be mapped to a single variable.

Grouping Subjects

Selection of grouping columns is typically critical to being able to progress with an analysis since without sufficient grouping information the analysis may not be able to construct valid subjects.

To group a population select one or more columns from those listed. If there are a large number available the search bar may be used to filter the list. Once columns have been selected they will appear in the section below the selection menu. Here you can drag and drop the column names to reorder them. The order of the columns can be important as it will determine the order in which the subjects are grouped.

If a population is valid then the area to the right of the grouping columns will show a tabular summary of the population to help you verify that the grouping is correct. When no summary is shown that means that the population is not valid and the analysis cannot be run. Review your mapping and grouping selections to verify that they are correct.

Subject grouping is only shown for analysis types that require NCA. Other types will not display this section.

Mapping Other Variables

This section is similar to the required variables section, but it lists all the other non-essential variables that can be mapped. Typically an analysis can still be run without setting these variables, but some results may not be available without the information that these variables provide.

More Options

For NCA analysis types this section allows for deciding whether an analysis should be considered as a sparse analysis or not. In addition the value used for LLQ (Lower Limit of Quantification) can be set here.