LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Delphi method as a research tool: an example, design considerations and applications

The Delphi method has proven a popular tool in information systems research for identifying and prioritizing issues for managerial decision-making. However, many past studies have not adopted a systematic approach to conduct a Delphi study. This article provides rigorous guidelines for the process of selecting appropriate experts for the study and gives detailed principles for making design choices during the process that ensure a valid study. A detailed example of a study to identify key factors affecting the diffusion of e-commerce in Sub-Saharan Africa illustrates the design choices that may be involved. We conclude with suggestions for theoretical applications. # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Mercaptopurine and inflammatory bowel disease: the other thiopurine.

BACKGROUND
Data about use and effectiveness of mercaptopurine in inflammatory bowel disease are relatively limited.


AIMS
To assess the possible therapeutic indications, efficacy and safety of mercaptopurine as an alternative to azathioprine in inflammatory bowel disease.


METHODS
Retrospective observational study in patients treated with mercaptopurine in a total cohort of 1,574 patients with inflammatory bowel disease.


RESULTS
One hundred and fifty-two patients received mercaptopurine, 15.7% of these patients as an initial thiopurine, 5.3% after azathioprine failure, and 79% after azathioprine intolerance. In 52.6% of patients (n = 80), adverse effects of mercaptopurine occurred, resulting in withdrawal in 49 of them. Mercaptopurine was effective in 39% of cases (95% CI 31-48%). In the remaining patients, failure was due mainly to withdrawal due to side effects (55.1%) and therapeutic step-up (33.7%). The average total time of mercaptopurine exposure was 36 months (IQR: 2-60). Myelotoxicity with mercaptopurine was more common in patients with intermediate TPMT activity than in those with normal activity (p = 0.046).


CONCLUSIONS
In our setting, mercaptopurine is primarily used as a rescue therapy in patients with azathioprine adverse effects. This could explain its modest efficacy and the high rate of adverse effects. However, this drug is still an alternative in this group of patients, before a therapeutic step-up to biologics is considered.
ChemDB: a public database of small molecules and related chemoinformatics resources

MOTIVATION
The development of chemoinformatics has been hampered by the lack of large, publicly available, comprehensive repositories of molecules, in particular of small molecules. Small molecules play a fundamental role in organic chemistry and biology. They can be used as combinatorial building blocks for chemical synthesis, as molecular probes in chemical genomics and systems biology, and for the screening and discovery of new drugs and other useful compounds.


RESULTS
We describe ChemDB, a public database of small molecules available on the Web. ChemDB is built using the digital catalogs of over a hundred vendors and other public sources and is annotated with information derived from these sources as well as from computational methods, such as predicted solubility and three-dimensional structure. It supports multiple molecular formats and is periodically updated, automatically whenever possible. The current version of the database contains approximately 4.1 million commercially available compounds and 8.2 million counting isomers. The database includes a user-friendly graphical interface, chemical reactions capabilities, as well as unique search capabilities.


AVAILABILITY
Database and datasets are available on http://cdb.ics.uci.edu.
Osseointegration of zirconia implants with different surface characteristics: an evaluation in rabbits.

PURPOSE
Zirconia ceramics are a viable alternative to titanium for use as dental implants. However, the smooth surface of zirconia means that longer healing periods are needed to accomplish osseointegration compared to roughened titanium surfaces. Surface modifications can be used to increase the roughness of zirconia. The aim of this study was to assess histologically and compare the degree of early bone apposition around zirconia dental implants with sandblasted, sintered, or laser-modified surfaces to that seen around surface-modified titanium implants. Removal torque was also measured and compared.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Ninety-six implants--24 each of four types (sintered zirconia, laser-modified zirconia, sandblasted zirconia, and acid-etched titanium)--were placed in 48 New Zealand White female rabbits. One implant was inserted in each distal femur. Half of the specimens were harvested at 6 or 12 weeks and processed for light microscopic analysis; the area of bone-to-implant contact was measured morphometrically. The other half were evaluated for removal torque at 6 and 12 weeks.


RESULTS
No statistically significant differences existed in bone apposition between the different surfaces at either time point. Differences in removal torque were significantly different between titanium and sandblasted zirconia and between sintered zirconia and sandblasted zirconia, with the first mentioned demonstrating a higher torque value at 6 weeks. At 12 weeks, the only significant difference in removal torque was between titanium and sandblasted zirconia, with titanium demonstrating the higher value.


CONCLUSION
Comparable rates of bone apposition in the zirconia and titanium implant surfaces at 6 and 12 weeks of healing were observed. Removal torque values were similar for all implants with a roughened surface.
Functional anatomy of the papilla Vateri

Background: Problems with intubation of the ampulla Vateri during diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic maneuvers are a well-known feature. The ampulla Vateri was analyzed three-dimensionally to determine whether these difficulties have a structural background. Methods: Thirty-five human greater duodenal papillae were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy as well as immunohistochemically. Results: Histologically, highly vascularized finger-like mucosal folds project far into the lumen of the ampulla Vateri. The excretory ducts of seromucous glands containing many lysozyme-secreting Paneth cells open close to the base of the mucosal folds. Scanning electron microscopy revealed large mucosal folds inside the ampulla that continued into the pancreatic and bile duct, comparable to valves arranged in a row. Conclusions: Mucosal folds form pocket-like valves in the lumen of the ampulla Vateri. They allow a unidirectional flow of secretions into the duodenum and prevent reflux from the duodenum into the ampulla Vateri. Subepithelial mucous gland secretions functionally clean the valvular crypts and protect the epithelium. The arrangement of pocket-like mucosal folds may explain endoscopic difficulties experienced when attempting to penetrate the papilla of Vater during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticographic procedures.
The role of primary care in preventing ambulatory care sensitive conditions.

BACKGROUND
To examine the postulated relationship between Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) and Primary Health Care (PHC) in the US context for the European context, in order to develop an ACSC list as markers of PHC effectiveness and to specify which PHC activities are primarily responsible for reducing hospitalization rates.


METHODS
To apply the criteria proposed by Solberg and Weissman to obtain a list of codes of ACSC and to consider the PHC intervention according to a panel of experts. Five selection criteria: i) existence of prior studies; ii) hospitalization rate at least 1/10,000 or 'risky health problem'; iii) clarity in definition and coding; iv) potentially avoidable hospitalization through PHC; v) hospitalization necessary when health problem occurs. Fulfilment of all criteria was required for developing the final ACSC list. A sample of 248,050 discharges corresponding to 2,248,976 inhabitants of Catalonia in 1996 provided hospitalization rate data. A Delphi survey was performed with a group of 44 experts reviewing 113 ICD diagnostic codes (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification), previously considered to be ACSC.


RESULTS
The five criteria selected 61 ICD as a core list of ACSC codes and 90 ICD for an expanded list.


CONCLUSIONS
A core list of ACSC as markers of PHC effectiveness identifies health conditions amenable to specific aspects of PHC and minimizes the limitations attributable to variations in hospital admission policies. An expanded list should be useful to evaluate global PHC performance and to analyse market responsibility for ACSC by PHC and Specialist Care.
A no-prophylaxis platelet-transfusion strategy for hematologic cancers.

BACKGROUND
The effectiveness of platelet transfusions to prevent bleeding in patients with hematologic cancers remains unclear. This trial assessed whether a policy of not giving prophylactic platelet transfusions was as effective and safe as a policy of providing prophylaxis.


METHODS
We conducted this randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial at 14 centers in the United Kingdom and Australia. Patients were randomly assigned to receive, or not to receive, prophylactic platelet transfusions when morning platelet counts were less than 10×10(9) per liter. Eligible patients were persons 16 years of age or older who were receiving chemotherapy or undergoing stem-cell transplantation and who had or were expected to have thrombocytopenia. The primary end point was bleeding of World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2, 3, or 4 up to 30 days after randomization.


RESULTS
A total of 600 patients (301 in the no-prophylaxis group and 299 in the prophylaxis group) underwent randomization between 2006 and 2011. Bleeding of WHO grade 2, 3, or 4 occurred in 151 of 300 patients (50%) in the no-prophylaxis group, as compared with 128 of 298 (43%) in the prophylaxis group (adjusted difference in proportions, 8.4 percentage points; 90% confidence interval, 1.7 to 15.2; P=0.06 for noninferiority). Patients in the no-prophylaxis group had more days with bleeding and a shorter time to the first bleeding episode than did patients in the prophylaxis group. Platelet use was markedly reduced in the no-prophylaxis group. A prespecified subgroup analysis identified similar rates of bleeding in the two study groups among patients undergoing autologous stem-cell transplantation.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study support the need for the continued use of prophylaxis with platelet transfusion and show the benefit of such prophylaxis for reducing bleeding, as compared with no prophylaxis. A significant number of patients had bleeding despite prophylaxis. (Funded by the National Health Service Blood and Transplant Research and Development Committee and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service; TOPPS Controlled-Trials.com number, ISRCTN08758735.).
Hand Gesture Recognition Using Input-Output Hidden Markov Models

A new hand gesture recognition method based on Input– Output Hidden Markov Models is presented. This method deals with the dynamic aspects of gestures. Gestures are extracted from a sequence of video images by tracking the skin–color blobs corresponding to the hand into a body– face space centered on the face of the user. Our goal is to recognize two classes of gestures: deictic and symbolic.
Protection or Vulnerability? A Meta-Analysis of the Relations Between the Positive and Negative Components of Self-Compassion and Psychopathology.

Self-compassion is increasingly explored as a protective factor in relation to psychopathology. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and its Short Form variant (SCS-SF) are the most widely used instruments for measuring this psychological construct, and previous studies have indeed shown that the total score of this scale is negatively associated with psychopathology. In this article, we point out that half of the items of the SCS and SCS-SF are positive indicators of self-compassion and directly refer to the three key components of self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness, while the other half of the items are negative indicators of the construct and reflect the precise opposite of the key components, namely self-judgment, isolation and over-identification. A meta-analysis was conducted including 18 studies that reported on the positive and negative indicators of self-compassion as indexed by the SCS/SCS-SF and their relations to various types of psychopathology. Results showed that positive indicators of self-compassion were negatively associated with psychopathology, which confirms their hypothesized protective influence. However, the negative indicators were positively linked to psychopathology, suggesting that these scales tap increased vulnerability to mental health problems. Moreover, tests comparing the strength of the relations between various SCS/SCS-SF counterparts (i.e., self-kindness versus self-judgment, common humanity versus isolation and mindfulness versus over-identification) and psychopathology showed that the negative indicators were significantly stronger linked to mental health problems than the positive indicators. This provides support for the idea that the use of a total self-compassion score of the SCS or SCS-SF, which typically includes the reversely scored negative subscales, will probably result in an inflated relationship with symptoms of psychopathology. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): a mixed methods RCT using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum.

OBJECTIVES
To report on the design, significance and potential impacts of the first documented human clinical trial assessing the anxiolytic and thymoleptic efficacy of an aqueous mono-extract of Piper methysticum (kava). The significance of the qualitative element of our clinical trial is also explored. The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS) is a 3-week placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial involving 60 adult participants (18-65) with elevated stable anxiety and varying levels of depressive symptoms.


AIMS
The aims of KADSS are: (1) to determine whether an aqueous standardised extract of kava is effective for the treatment of anxiety; (2) to assess the effects of kava on differing levels of depression; and (3) to explore participants' experience of taking kava via qualitative research. The study also provides preliminary assessment of the safety of an aqueous extract of kava in humans.


CONCLUSION
If results reveal that the aqueous kava preparation exerts significant anxiolytic effects and appears safe, potentially beneficial impacts may occur. Data supporting a safe and effective kava extract may encourage a re-introduction of kava to Europe, UK and Canada. This may provide a major socioeconomic benefit to Pacific Island nations, and to sufferers of anxiety disorders.
Planar Small-Size Eight-Band LTE/WWAN Monopole Antenna for Tablet Computers

This work describes a novel small-size monopole antenna with eight-band LTE/WWAN operation in tablet computers by introducing a G-shaped driven monopole strip. The subsequently obtained impedance bandwidths across dual operating bands approach 264/1046 MHz at the LTE and WWAN bands, respectively. Given that the overall antenna size is only 35 ×10 ×0.8 mm3, the proposed planar monopole antenna provides more than 40% reduction in antenna size over that of the conventional ones. Additionally, the measured peak gains and antenna efficiencies are approximately 3.6/5.2 dBi and 67/70% for the LTE/WWAN bands, respectively. Moreover, the proposed planar compact antenna can be deposited inside the tablet computer and fulfills the body specific absorption rate (SAR) requirement (for 1-g body tissue) for mobile device applications.
Automatic Information Retrieval

Advances such as specialized parallel hardware and new algorithms for text searching will improve the effectiveness of information retrieval systems.
Learning from Data of Variable Quality

We initiate the study of learning from multiple sources of limited data, each of which may be corrupted at a different rate. We develop a complete theory of which data sources should be used for two fundamental problems: estimating the bias of a coin, and learning a classifier in the presence of label noise. In both cases, efficient algorithms are provided for computing the optimal subset of data.
Integrated circuit security: new threats and solutions

In this paper, we present new threats to the security of integrated circuits (ICs) and outline a new solution.
A Constrained Probabilistic Petri Net Framework for Human Activity Detection in Video*

Recognition of human activities in restricted settings such as airports, parking lots and banks is of significant interest in security and automated surveillance systems. In such settings, data is usually in the form of surveillance videos with wide variation in quality and granularity. Interpretation and identification of human activities requires an activity model that a) is rich enough to handle complex multi-agent interactions, b) is robust to uncertainty in low-level processing and c) can handle ambiguities in the unfolding of activities. We present a computational framework for human activity representation based on Petri nets. We propose an extension—Probabilistic Petri Nets (PPN)—and show how this model is well suited to address each of the above requirements in a wide variety of settings. We then focus on answering two types of questions: (i) what are the minimal sub-videos in which a given activity is identified with a probability above a certain threshold and (ii) for a given video, which activity from a given set occurred with the highest probability? We provide the PPN-MPS algorithm for the first problem, as well as two different algorithms (naive PPN-MPA and PPN-MPA) to solve the second. Our experimental results on a dataset consisting of bank surveillance videos and an unconstrained TSA tarmac surveillance dataset show that our algorithms are both fast and provide high quality results.
Outcome management in in-patient psychiatric care.

OBJECTIVE
To delineate methods and to describe patient appraisal as well as effect of outcome management in in-patient psychiatric care.


METHOD
Two hundred and ninety-four adults with mental illness receiving in-patient treatment at a psychiatric hospital in rural Bavaria gave informed consent to participate in this cluster-randomised trial. Participants were asked to provide information on treatment outcome via weekly computerised standardised assessments. Patients and clinicians in the intervention group received continuous feedback of outcome.


RESULTS
Patients were willing and able to regularly provide outcome data and valued feedback. However, use of feedback in conversations between patient and clinician was rare. Outcome management failed to impact on patient-rated outcome during in-patient treatment.


CONCLUSION
Outcome management is feasible in people receiving in-patient psychiatric care, but failed to show an overall short-term effect. Strategies need to be developed to improve active use of routinely collected treatment outcome data in mental health care.
The Effectiveness of Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in Emergency Departments: A Multicentre Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND
Alcohol misuse is common in people attending emergency departments (EDs) and there is some evidence of efficacy of alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI). This study investigated the effectiveness of SBI approaches of different intensities delivered by ED staff in nine typical EDs in England: the SIPS ED trial.


METHODS AND FINDINGS
Pragmatic multicentre cluster randomized controlled trial of SBI for hazardous and harmful drinkers presenting to ED. Nine EDs were randomized to three conditions: a patient information leaflet (PIL), 5 minutes of brief advice (BA), and referral to an alcohol health worker who provided 20 minutes of brief lifestyle counseling (BLC). The primary outcome measure was the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) status at 6 months. Of 5899 patients aged 18 or more presenting to EDs, 3737 (63·3%) were eligible to participate and 1497 (40·1%) screened positive for hazardous or harmful drinking, of whom 1204 (80·4%) gave consent to participate in the trial. Follow up rates were 72% (n = 863) at six, and 67% (n = 810) at 12 months. There was no evidence of any differences between intervention conditions for AUDIT status or any other outcome measures at months 6 or 12 in an intention to treat analysis. At month 6, compared to the PIL group, the odds ratio of being AUDIT negative for brief advice was 1·103 (95% CI 0·328 to 3·715). The odds ratio comparing BLC to PIL was 1·247 (95% CI 0·315 to 4·939). A per protocol analysis confirmed these findings.


CONCLUSIONS
SBI is difficult to implement in typical EDs. The results do not support widespread implementation of alcohol SBI in ED beyond screening followed by simple clinical feedback and alcohol information, which is likely to be easier and less expensive to implement than more complex interventions.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN 93681536.
Evolution of the entire arthropod Hox gene set predated the origin and radiation of the onychophoran/arthropod clade

BACKGROUND
Dramatic changes in body size and pattern occurred during the radiation of many taxa in the Cambrian, and these changes are best documented for the arthropods. The sudden appearance of such diverse body plans raises the fundamental question of when the genes and the developmental control systems that regulate these designs evolved. As Hox genes regulate arthropod body patterns, the evolution of these genes may have played a role in the origin and diversification of the arthropod body plan from a homonomous ancestor. To trace the origin of arthropod Hox genes, we examined their distribution in a myriapod and in the Onychophora, a sister group to the arthropods.


RESULTS
Despite the limited segmental diversity within myriapods and Onychophora, all insect Hox genes are present in both taxa, including the trunk Hox genes Ultrabithorax and abdominal-A as well as an ortholog of the fushi tarazu gene. Comparative analysis of Hox gene deployment revealed that the anterior boundary of expression of trunk Hox genes has shifted dramatically along the anteroposterior axis between Onychophora and different arthropod classes. Furthermore, we found that repression of expression of the Hox target gene Distal-less is unique to the insect lineage.


CONCLUSIONS
A complete arthropod Hox gene family existed in the ancestor of the onychophoran/arthropod clade. No new Hox genes were therefore required to catalyze the arthropod radiation; instead, arthropod body-plan diversity arose through changes in the regulation of Hox genes and their downstream targets.