Despite previous attempts to define mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), a scoping review by our group highlighted the lack of consensus definition for MSC accepted by the research community, in both ...preclinical and clinical studies, rising concerns about transparency and reproducibility. To address this issue, we conducted a modified Delphi study to establish an international consensus definition for MSC.
Methods. We conducted a three-round international modified Delphi survey (https://osf.io/3dsqx/). A scoping review looking at how MSC were defined and reported in preclinical and clinical studies was used to inform items for the initial survey. A Core group of international experts including stakeholders from different MSC research fields (e.g., developmental biology, translational science, research methods, regulatory practices, journal editing, etc.) participated in the 3 rounds. The first 2 rounds were done online (Surveylet, Calibrum®) and the 3rd round consisted of a virtual meeting with anonymous digital polling. Participants were asked to vote on different items and consensus was reached when at least 80% of the participants rated the item in the same category of importance. During the 2 online rounds, participants had the opportunity to share comments and provide new items to discuss in subsequent rounds. For the first round, to obtain a broad perspective, authors identified from the aforementioned scoping review, and additional investigators recommended by the core group, were invited to participate.
Eighty-seven international participants voted during the first online round (Spring 2023) and 17 Core group members participated in the 2nd online round (Fall 2023). Fifteen core group members participated in the final virtual consensus meeting (January 2024). For the MSC definition, on the 20 items from the initial survey, a total of 9 items were included in the consensus definition, on themes including terminology (1 item), cell marker expression (5 items), tissue origin (1 item), stemness (1 item) and description of critical quality attributes (1 item).
This project applied a Delphi method to reach a consensus definition for MSC. This work serves as an important first step in an ongoing behavior change initiative needed within the community to improve transparency and reproducibility in MSC research.
The definition and diagnostic criteria of dry eye disease (DED) proposed by the Japan Dry Eye Society and other countries are reviewed. The first definition and criteria of DED in Japan were proposed ...in 1995. In that report, DED was considered a disease of tears, which subsequently damaged ocular epithelia. The presence of subjective symptoms was not included in the criteria. In 2006, a new definition proposed that interactions between the tear film and ocular surface epithelia play important roles in DED. The presence of subjective symptoms, including visual disturbances, changes in tears, and epithelial damage were proposed to be major components of DED, and eyes positive for all three components were diagnosed as "definitive dry eye." A third version was proposed in 2016, which emphasized unstable tear films as a core finding in DED. Following this guideline, eyes with an abnormally low tear film breakup time and the presence of subjective symptoms are considered to have DED. The current definition and criteria are different from those proposed in other countries. For example, the recently published DED definition by the Dry Eye WorkShop II (DEWS II) of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) focuses more on the underlying pathogenesis of DED, including inflammation, hyperosmolarity of tears, and neurosensory abnormalities, as well as unstable tear films.
Background and Aim
The utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in colonoscopy has gained popularity in current times. Recent trials have evaluated the efficacy of deep convolutional neural network ...(DCNN)‐based AI system in colonoscopy for improving adenoma detection rate (ADR) and polyp detection rate (PDR). We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the available studies to assess the impact of DCNN‐based AI‐assisted colonoscopy in improving the ADR and PDR.
Methods
We queried the following database for this study: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, and Computers and Applied Sciences. We only included randomized controlled trials that compared AI colonoscopy to standard colonoscopy (SC). Our outcomes included ADR and PDR. Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random effects model and DerSimonian–Laird approach for each outcome.
Results
A total of three studies with 2815 patients (1415 in SC group and 1400 in AI group) were included. AI colonoscopy resulted in significantly improved ADR (32.9% vs 20.8%, RR: 1.58, 95% CI 1.39–1.80, P = < 0.001) and PDR (43.0% vs 27.8%, RR: 1.55, 95% CI 1.39–1.72, P = < 0.001) compared with SC.
Conclusion
Given the results and limitations, the utility of AI colonoscopy holds promise and should be evaluated in more randomized controlled trials across different population, especially in patients solely undergoing colonoscopy for screening purpose as improved ADR will ultimately help in reducing incident colorectal cancer.
The common use of Shannon’s information, specified for the needs of telecommunications, gives rise to many misunderstandings outside of this context. (e.g. in conceptions of such well-known theorists ...as C.F. Weizsäcker and J. A. Wheeler). This article shows that the terms of the general definition of information meet the structural information, and Shannon’s information is a special case of it. Similarly, complexity is misunderstood today as exemplified by the concepts of reputable computer scientists, such as S. Lloyd, S. Wolfram and J. Schmidhuber. These theorists use an algorithmic definition of complexity and the so-called logical depth, neither of which meets the intuitive criterion of complexity. Hence, their misconceptions of beauty, art and the universe. It will be shown that the intuitive criterion is met by Abstract Complexity Definition. This definition also fulfils the criterion for a general complexity definition, as it defines complexity of the most general/abstract structure of our reality, that is, binary structure. It also explains such fundamental issues of information theory as the information–energy relationship and the value of information, which are still discussed and need to be clarified.
Introduction: To the authors’ knowledge, no systematic review has examined the definition of safety leadership in the academic literature to date. A review was therefore carried out to determine how ...safety leadership was defined in the peer reviewed empirical literature and thematic analysis was employed to identify patterned meanings across the data. Method: Thirty-seven primary definitions, or definitions that were not borrowed from other studies, were identified. Of these 37, seven conceptual definitions were found to be evidence-based, six of which were endorsed by their operational counterpart definitions and one which was derived using exploratory research. Results: These seven definitions showed strong alignment with the three themes that emerged from the thematic analysis that capture the why, how, and who of safety leadership. Transformational leadership theory formed the foundation for many of the definitions in the academic literature, despite recent evidence suggesting that adopting multiple forms of leadership styles would be more effective for improving workplace safety. Practical Applications: Gaps in the current evidence base are explored and suggestions for future research are discussed.
There is no consensus regarding the terminology, definition, classification, diagnostic criteria, and algorithm, or reporting standards for the disease of infective native aortic aneurysm (INAA), ...previously known as mycotic aneurysm. The aim of this study was to establish this by performing a consensus study.
The Delphi methodology was used. Thirty-seven international experts were invited via mail to participate. Four two week Delphi rounds were performed, using an online questionnaire, initially with 22 statements and nine reporting items. The panellists rated the statements on a five point Likert scale. Comments on statements were analysed, statements revised, and results presented in iterative rounds. Consensus was defined as ≥ 75% of the panel selecting “strongly agree” or “agree” on the Likert scale, and consensus on the final assessment was defined as Cronbach’s alpha coefficient > .80.
All 38 panellists completed all four rounds, resulting in 100% participation and agreement that this study was necessary, and the term INAA was agreed to be optimal. Three more statements were added based on the results and comments of the panel, resulting in a final 25 statements and nine reporting items. All 25 statements reached an agreement of ≥ 87%, and all nine reporting items reached an agreement of 100%. The Cronbach’s alpha increased for each consecutive round (round 1 = .84, round 2 = .87, round 3 = .90, and round 4 = .92). Thus, consensus was reached for all statements and reporting items.
This Delphi study established the first consensus document on INAA regarding terminology, definition, classification, diagnostic criteria, and algorithm, as well as reporting standards. The results of this study create essential conditions for scientific research on this disease. The presented consensus will need future amendments in accordance with newly acquired knowledge.
The theory of essential definitions is a fundamental anti‐sceptic element of the Aristotelian‐Avicennian epistemology. In this theory, when we distinguish the genus and the specific differentia of a ...given essence we thereby acquire a scientific understanding of it. The aim of this article is to analyse systematically the sceptical reasons, arguments and conclusions against real definitions of three major authorities of twelfth‐century Arabic philosophy: Faḫr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī, Šihāb al‐Dīn al‐Suhrawardī and Abū l‐Barakāt al‐Baġdādī. I focus on showing how their refutation of our capacity to provide essential definitions of things is rooted in their semantic theory: we only know things under certain descriptions which are identical to the meanings of the words that we use to refer to them, yet these descriptions do not capture the essences of things in themselves. The best result one can achieve with Aristotelian‐Avicennian scientific definitions is a “nominal definition”. With this, Rāzī, Suhrawardī and Abū l‐Barakāt will put some serious epistemic limitations on our capacity to attain scientific knowledge of things, at least as Aristotle and Avicenna would have it.
Versatile Video Coding (VVC) was finalized in July 2020 as the most recent international video coding standard. It was developed by the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) of the ITU-T Video Coding ...Experts Group (VCEG) and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) to serve an ever-growing need for improved video compression as well as to support a wider variety of today's media content and emerging applications. This paper provides an overview of the novel technical features for new applications and the core compression technologies for achieving significant bit rate reductions in the neighborhood of 50% over its predecessor for equal video quality, the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard, and 75% over the currently most-used format, the Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard. It is explained how these new features in VVC provide greater versatility for applications. Highlighted applications include video with resolutions beyond standard- and high-definition, video with high dynamic range and wide color gamut, adaptive streaming with resolution changes, computer-generated and screen-captured video, ultralow-delay streaming, 360° immersive video, and multilayer coding e.g., for scalability. Furthermore, early implementations are presented to show that the new VVC standard is implementable and ready for real-world deployment.
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