Long-Term Outcomes of Early Surgery vs Endoscopy First in Chronic Pancreatitis: Follow-Up Analysis of the ESCAPE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Patients with painful chronic pancreatitis and a dilated pancreatic duct can be treated by early surgery or an endoscopy-first approach.

Objective: To compare long-term clinical outcomes of early surgery vs an endoscopy-first approach using follow-up data from the ESCAPE randomized clinical trial.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Between April 2011 and September 2018, 88 patients with painful chronic pancreatitis were randomly assigned to early surgery or an endoscopy-first approach in 30 hospitals in the Netherlands collaborating in the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group as part of the ESCAPE randomized clinical trial.

Adjusted Residuals for Evaluating Conditional Independence in IRT Models for Multistage Adaptive Testing.

The key assumption of conditional independence of item responses given latent ability in item response theory (IRT) models is addressed for multistage adaptive testing (MST) designs. Routing decisions in MST designs can cause patterns in the data that are not accounted for by the IRT model. This phenomenon relates to quasi-independence in log-linear models for incomplete contingency tables and impacts certain types of statistical inference based on assumptions on observed and missing data.

Influence of Parylene F Coatings on the Wetting Properties of Soft Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

Understanding the wettability of soft surfaces is of key importance for the development of protective and repellent coatings and controlling droplet dynamics when required. There are many factors that affect the wetting and dynamic dewetting behavior of soft surfaces, such as the formation of wetting ridges, the adaptive behavior of the surface caused by the interaction of the fluid with the surface, or the presence of free oligomers that are washed out of the soft surface. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of three soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces with elastic moduli ranging from 7 kPa to 56 kPa.

Temporal trends in the incidence of malignant and nonmalignant primary brain and central nervous system tumors by the method of diagnosis in England, 1993-2017.

Background: Several studies report increases in the incidences of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. The reasons for this are unclear.

Methods: Data on all 188 340 individuals diagnosed with a primary CNS tumor in England (1993-2017) were obtained from the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service.

Superrepellent Porous Polymer Surfaces by Replication from Wrinkled Polydimethylsiloxane/Parylene F.

Superrepellent surfaces, such as micro/nanostructured surfaces, are of key importance in both academia and industry for emerging applications in areas such as self-cleaning, drag reduction, and oil repellence. Engineering these surfaces is achieved through the combination of the required surface topography, such as porosity, with low-surface-energy materials. The surface topography is crucial for achieving high liquid repellence and low roll-off angles.

Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Apixaban and Warfarin in the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Meta-Analysis.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heart rhythm, and it is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias. It is associated with a five times increase in the risk of stroke. Anti-coagulants are prescribed routinely to prevent strokes, especially in patients with atrial fibrillation for many years decreasing the risk of stroke among patients with atrial fibrillation.

Colon-specific tablets containing 5-fluorouracil microsponges for colon cancer targeting.

Most anticancer medications undergo major first-pass metabolism in the intestinal wall, the liver, or both. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is known to have erratic oral bioavailability due to first-pass metabolism. The present study aimed to develop 5-FU-loaded microsponges (MS) compressed in enteric-coated tablets as a new colon targeting to colorectal cancer.

Evaluation of the implementation of the Back Skills Training (BeST) programme using online training: a cohort implementation study.

Objectives: 1) Evaluate implementation of the Back Skills Training (BeST) programme, a group cognitive behavioural approach for patients with low back pain (LBP) developed for a clinical trial, into the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom; 2) Compare patient outcomes with the BeST Trial results.

Design: Two stage observational cohort implementation study.

Participants: Stage 1: NHS Clinicians enrolled in BeST online training.

Multidimensional Test Assembly Using Mixed-Integer Linear Programming: An Application of Kullback-Leibler Information.

Many educational testing programs require different test forms with minimal or no item overlap. At the same time, the test forms should be parallel in terms of their statistical and content-related properties. A well-established method to assemble parallel test forms is to apply combinatorial optimization using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP).

Optimizing Patient Selection for Laparoscopic and Open Colorectal Cancer Resections: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Matched Analysis.

The aim of this study was to identify patients undergoing colorectal cancer (CRC) resection who might benefit specifically from either an open or laparoscopic approach. From the NSQIP database (2012-2013), patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy (LC) or open colectomy (OC) for CRC were identified. The two groups were matched and compared in terms of , , and complications.

Sample size calculations are poorly conducted and reported in many randomized trials of hip and knee osteoarthritis: results of a systematic review.

Objectives: To review the methodology and reporting of sample size calculations in a contemporary sample of trials in osteoarthritis.

Study Design And Setting: Randomized trials in hip and/or knee osteoarthritis published in 2016 were identified by searching MEDLINE, Cochrane library, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PEDro, and AMED until March 31, 2017. Data were extracted on study characteristics, methods used to calculate the sample size, and the reporting and justification of components used in the sample size calculation.

Web-based rehabilitation interventions for people with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review.

Background: Rehabilitation approaches for people with rheumatoid arthritis include joint protection, exercises and self-management strategies. Health interventions delivered via the web have the potential to improve access to health services overcoming time constraints, physical limitations, and socioeconomic and geographic barriers. The objective of this review is to determine the effects of web-based rehabilitation interventions in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.

A Generalized Speed-Accuracy Response Model for Dichotomous Items.

We propose a generalization of the speed-accuracy response model (SARM) introduced by Maris and van der Maas (Psychometrika 77:615-633, 2012). In these models, the scores that result from a scoring rule that incorporates both the speed and accuracy of item responses are modeled. Our generalization is similar to that of the one-parameter logistic (or Rasch) model to the two-parameter logistic (or Birnbaum) model in item response theory.

Correction: Worldwide trends in volume and quality of published protocols of randomized controlled trials.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

A comparison of item response models for accuracy and speed of item responses with applications to adaptive testing.

We compare three modelling frameworks for accuracy and speed of item responses in the context of adaptive testing. The first framework is based on modelling scores that result from a scoring rule that incorporates both accuracy and speed. The second framework is the hierarchical modelling approach developed by van der Linden (2007, Psychometrika, 72, 287) in which a regular item response model is specified for accuracy and a log-normal model for speed.

An Evaluation of Different Statistical Targets for Assembling Parallel Forms in Item Response Theory.

Assembly of parallel forms is an important step in the test development process. Therefore, choosing a suitable theoretical framework to generate well-defined test specifications is critical. The performance of different statistical targets of test specifications using the test characteristic curve (TCC) and the test information function (TIF) was investigated.