quality criteria
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Abstract Objectives Animal-assisted therapy with dogs is regularly used in children with behavioural and developmental disorders. Aims of this systematic review were threefold: to analyse the methodological quality of studies on dog-assisted therapy (DAT) for children with behavioural and developmental disorders, to determine to which extent the studies on DAT adhere to the quality criteria developed by the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organisation (IAHAIO) and to describe the characteristics of the participants, the intervention and the outcomes. Method Three databases (i.e. PsycInfo, MedLine and Eric) were searched, and 14 studies on DAT were included. The Joanna Briggs Institute checklist (JBIC) and the quality criteria developed by the IAHAIO were used during data extraction. Characteristics of the participants, the intervention, the therapy dogs and the outcomes of the studies were summarised. Results Six of the 14 included studies reported significant outcomes of DAT, whereof six in the social domain and two in the psychological domain. However, scores on the JBIC indicated low to moderate methodological quality and only three of the included studies adhered to the IAHAIO quality criteria. Conclusions DAT is a promising intervention for children with behavioural and developmental disorders, especially for children with autism spectrum disorder. A clear description of the therapy’s components, the role of the therapy dog and analysis of the treatment integrity and procedural fidelity would improve the methodological quality of the studies and the field of dog-assisted interventions.

Abstract Virtual reality technologies hold promise for the therapy based on the science of applied behavior analysis as they can replicate real life environments and allow the user to role-play in a simulated environments. This literature review synthesizes the research base evaluating the effects of behavior analytic interventions delivered via virtual reality (VR) technology to teach adaptive and functional skills for individuals with autism. Method: We conducted a systematic search in four databases followed by a reference search for those articles by the systematic database search. We also conducted a quality review using the Evaluative Method for Evaluating and Determining Evidence-Based Practices in Autism (Reichow, 2008). Results: We identified 24 studies with a majority of the studies (n = 18; 75%) utilizing group experimental or quasi-experiment research design, and the remaining (n = 6; 25%) utilizing single-case research design. Of those studies, ten targeted vocational related skills, seven targeted functional behaviors (e.g., problem behavior treatment, hypersensitivity, phobias), four targeted safety skills (e.g., driving, airplane travel, pedestrian safety), two studies targeted general functional skills, and one targeted exercise engagement. Of the 24 studies, 12 met the quality criteria to be classified as “strong” or “adequate” and can offer evidence on the integration of VR technology into the practice of behavior analysis for teaching adaptive or functional skills. Discussion: Taken as a whole, the three studies (Cox et al., 2017; Hu & Han, 2019; Wade et al., 2013) identified as “strong” quality studies were conducted by three different research teams, at three different locations, with 74 different participants and meet the qualifications to be considered a promising practice.

Crème Brûlée has a short ingredient list and does not require specific skills to make, but to get it right, several steps need to be carefully executed to receive the creme, not a pudding that, that is still grainy or liquid. With a caramel crust that offers a perfectly smooth surface you can break with your spoon like ice when you tap on it. Most Crème Brûlées offer one or the other but to get everything right, requires attention to details in the making. Expected results and quality criteria: 1. Crème Brûlée is served refrigerator-cold and 3-5 min after the blow-torching the sugar. Only then you have a smooth and stable caramel surface that you can crack with your spoon. Ideally, the caramel is still pleasantly warm. 2. The creme needs to be uniform and intense yellow, no gristle-like residues in it to disturb the perfect mouth feeling. While the surface is solid, the creamy consistency remains. 3. Taste: The perfect interplay between caramel and vanilla flavors (if small parts of the crust are slightly burnt -compare image - you add just a few bitter notes that make it more interesting. The added salt intensifies the vanilla flavor. 4. The crust needs to be uniform and requires a soon to be broken up in small pieces.

Abstract This review synthesizes the literature base evaluating the effects of behavior analytic interventions delivered via augmented reality (AR) technology for individuals with autism. We also conducted a quality review. We identified 14 studies with a majority of the studies (n = 11; 79%) utilizing single-case research design. Of the 14 studies, three met the quality criteria to be classified as “strong” and can offer evidence on the integration of AR technology into the practice of behavior analysis. All three studies taught a functional skill (i.e., tooth brushing and navigation). The remaining studies focused on skill acquisition with zero studies utilizing AR within the context of behavior assessment or behavior reduction interventions. This literature base is emerging with additional research required.

AbstractWhile the opportunities of ML and AI in healthcare are promising, the growth of complex data-driven prediction models requires careful quality and applicability assessment before they are applied and disseminated in daily practice. This scoping review aimed to identify actionable guidance for those closely involved in AI-based prediction model (AIPM) development, evaluation and implementation including software engineers, data scientists, and healthcare professionals and to identify potential gaps in this guidance. We performed a scoping review of the relevant literature providing guidance or quality criteria regarding the development, evaluation, and implementation of AIPMs using a comprehensive multi-stage screening strategy. PubMed, Web of Science, and the ACM Digital Library were searched, and AI experts were consulted. Topics were extracted from the identified literature and summarized across the six phases at the core of this review: (1) data preparation, (2) AIPM development, (3) AIPM validation, (4) software development, (5) AIPM impact assessment, and (6) AIPM implementation into daily healthcare practice. From 2683 unique hits, 72 relevant guidance documents were identified. Substantial guidance was found for data preparation, AIPM development and AIPM validation (phases 1–3), while later phases clearly have received less attention (software development, impact assessment and implementation) in the scientific literature. The six phases of the AIPM development, evaluation and implementation cycle provide a framework for responsible introduction of AI-based prediction models in healthcare. Additional domain and technology specific research may be necessary and more practical experience with implementing AIPMs is needed to support further guidance.

The incidence of liver diseases, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and drug-induced liver injury, continues to rise and is one of the leading causes of acute hepatitis. Current trends suggest that these types of conditions will increase in the coming years. There are few drugs available for the prevention or treatment of hepatic diseases, and there is a growing need for the development of safe hepatoprotective agents. The medicinal plant, Turnera diffusa, has many ethnopharmacological uses, one of which is the production of a flavonoid named hepatodamianol, which is the principal component responsible for this plant’s hepatoprotective properties. In the present study, we describe the development and standardization of an active extract obtained from T. diffusa. We conducted nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify hepatodamianol unambiguously in each sample. Using this extract, hepatoprotection could be demonstrated in vivo for the first time. The hepatoprotective effect did not display a significant difference in vivo when compared with silymarin used as a positive control at the same doses. Implementation of quality criteria used for standardization, such as flavonoid and hepatodamianol content, hepatoprotective activity, and absence of residual solvents, will allow future preclinical trials with this herbal drug.

In localized prostate cancer clinicopathologic variables have been used to develop prognostic nomograms quantifying the probability of locally advanced disease, of pelvic lymph node and distant metastasis at diagnosis or the probability of recurrence after radical treatment of the primary tumor. These tools although essential in daily clinical practice for the management of such a heterogeneous disease, which can be cured with a wide spectrum of treatment strategies (i.e., active surveillance, RP and radiation therapy), do not allow the precise distinction of an indolent instead of an aggressive disease. In recent years, several prognostic biomarkers have been tested, combined with the currently available clinicopathologic prognostic tools, in order to improve the decision-making process. In the following article, we reviewed the literature of the last 10 years and gave an overview report on commercially available tissue-based biomarkers and more specifically on mRNA-based gene expression classifiers. To date, these genomic tests have been widely investigated, demonstrating rigorous quality criteria including reproducibility, linearity, analytical accuracy, precision, and a positive impact in the clinical decision-making process. Albeit data published in literature, the systematic use of these tests in prostate cancer is currently not recommended due to insufficient evidence.

Abstract Background Assessing the safety of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is an interdisciplinary and complex process producing huge amounts of information and data. To make such data and metadata reusable for researchers, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities, there is an urgent need to record and provide this information in a structured, harmonized, and digitized way. Results This study aimed to identify appropriate description standards and quality criteria for the special use in nanosafety. There are many existing standards and guidelines designed for collecting data and metadata, ranging from regulatory guidelines to specific databases. Most of them are incomplete or not specifically designed for ENM research. However, by merging the content of several existing standards and guidelines, a basic catalogue of descriptive information and quality criteria was generated. In an iterative process, our interdisciplinary team identified deficits and added missing information into a comprehensive schema. Subsequently, this overview was externally evaluated by a panel of experts during a workshop. This whole process resulted in a minimum information table (MIT), specifying necessary minimum information to be provided along with experimental results on effects of ENMs in the biological context in a flexible and modular manner. The MIT is divided into six modules: general information, material information, biological model information, exposure information, endpoint read out information and analysis and statistics. These modules are further partitioned into module subdivisions serving to include more detailed information. A comparison with existing ontologies, which also aim to electronically collect data and metadata on nanosafety studies, showed that the newly developed MIT exhibits a higher level of detail compared to those existing schemas, making it more usable to prevent gaps in the communication of information. Conclusion Implementing the requirements of the MIT into e.g., electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) would make the collection of all necessary data and metadata a daily routine and thereby would improve the reproducibility and reusability of experiments. Furthermore, this approach is particularly beneficial regarding the rapidly expanding developments and applications of novel non-animal alternative testing methods.

Background: Currently, photon therapy is mainly used for radiotherapy, however, the long-term side effects of photon therapy are sometimes reported, especially in children, including cognitive decline, mental decline, growth retardation, endocrine dysfunction and secondary tumor.Compared with photon radiotherapy, proton therapy is a novel method of radiation therapy, which reduces acute and late radiation damage and improves patients’ quality of life. Therefore, we evaluated proton therapy on medulloblastoma patients by meta-analysis in this study. Materials and Methods: A clinical randomized controlled trial was conducted by retrieving the main databases PubMed (Medline), EMbase, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Zhi-wang (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and VIP Database. We analyzed the literature which matched the quality criteria for the prognostic impact of proton and photon therapy on medulloblastoma patients. Results: Ten articles were included in this study. The overall survival (OS) rate and side effects were comprehensively analyzed. The results showed that proton radiotherapy significantly reduced the side effects and recurrence rate of tumor. Conclusion: Proton therapy could significantly reduce the side effects and recurrence rate of medulloblastoma in patients.