Cochrane Collaboration

About: Cochrane Collaboration is a nonprofit organization based out in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Systematic review & Randomized controlled trial. The organization has 1995 authors who have published 3928 publications receiving 382695 citations.

System and method for manipulating data having spatial coordinates

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for extracting various features from data having spatial coordinates. The systems and methods may identify and extract data points from a point cloud, where the data points are considered to be part of the ground surface, a building, or a wire (e.g. power lines). Systems and methods are also provided for enhancing a point cloud using external data (e.g. images and other point clouds), and for tracking a moving object by comparing images with a point cloud. An objects database is also provided which can be used to scale point clouds to be of similar size. The objects database can also be used to search for certain objects in a point cloud, as well as recognize unidentified objects in a point cloud.

Determinants of male sexual function in inflammatory bowel disease: a survey-based cross-sectional analysis in 280 men.

Abstract: Background: Problems with intimacy and sexual performance are among the major concerns of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study was performed to identify disease-related factors associated with low sexual function in men. Methods: Consecutive patients were surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. A random sample from the national patients' organization was also included. Low sexual function was defined as a score < −1 on a z-normalized scale of the International Index of Erectile Function. Results are presented as adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) based on multiple logistic regression. Results: 280 questionnaires were available for analysis. Scores were similar between the groups and compared with general population means, with the exception of sexual desire. Of the clinical group, 44% felt severely compromised sexually due to their IBD. Erectile function was particularly sensitive to somatic problems (disease activity, OR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.3–4.9; diabetes, OR 7.0, 95% CI: 1.4–35.0). The influence of depressive mood was restricted to aspects of satisfaction (sexual satisfaction, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–4.9; overall satisfaction OR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.7–8.3). Conclusions: Sexual function was relatively better with longer disease duration and was not affected by the long-term severity of the disease. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2007)

Comparison of different human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine types and dose schedules for prevention of HPV‐related disease in females and males

Abstract: BACKGROUND Uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine remains low in many countries, although the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines given as a three-dose schedule are effective in the prevention of precancerous lesions of the cervix in women. Simpler immunisation schedules, such as those with fewer doses, might reduce barriers to vaccination, as may programmes that include males. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy, immunogenicity, and harms of different dose schedules and different types of HPV vaccines in females and males. SEARCH METHODS We conducted electronic searches on 27 September 2018 in Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (in the Cochrane Library), and Ovid Embase. We also searched the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov (both 27 September 2018), vaccine manufacturer websites, and checked reference lists from an index of HPV studies and other relevant systematic reviews. SELECTION CRITERIA We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with no language restriction. We considered studies if they enrolled HIV-negative males or females aged 9 to 26 years, or HIV-positive males or females of any age. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We used methods recommended by Cochrane. We use the term 'control' to refer to comparator products containing an adjuvant or active vaccine and 'placebo' to refer to products that contain no adjuvant or active vaccine. Most primary outcomes in this review were clinical outcomes. However, for comparisons comparing dose schedules, the included RCTs were designed to measure antibody responses (i.e. immunogenicity) as the primary outcome, rather than clinical outcomes, since it is unethical to collect cervical samples from girls under 16 years of age. We analysed immunogenicity outcomes (i.e. geometric mean titres) with ratios of means, clinical outcomes (e.g. cancer and intraepithelial neoplasia) with risk ratios or rate ratios and, for serious adverse events and deaths, we calculated odds ratios. We rated the certainty of evidence with GRADE. MAIN RESULTS We included 20 RCTs with 31,940 participants. The length of follow-up in the included studies ranged from seven months to five years. Two doses versus three doses of HPV vaccine in 9- to 15-year-old females Antibody responses after two-dose and three-dose HPV vaccine schedules were similar after up to five years of follow-up (4 RCTs, moderate- to high-certainty evidence). No RCTs collected clinical outcome data. Evidence about serious adverse events in studies comparing dose schedules was of very low-certainty owing to imprecision and indirectness (three doses 35/1159; two doses 36/1158; 4 RCTs). One death was reported in the three-dose group (1/898) and none in the two-dose group (0/899) (low-certainty evidence). Interval between doses of HPV vaccine in 9- to 14-year-old females and males Antibody responses were stronger with a longer interval (6 or 12 months) between the first two doses of HPV vaccine than a shorter interval (2 or 6 months) at up to three years of follow-up (4 RCTs, moderate- to high-certainty evidence). No RCTs collected data about clinical outcomes. Evidence about serious adverse events in studies comparing intervals was of very low-certainty, owing to imprecision and indirectness. No deaths were reported in any of the studies (0/1898, 3 RCTs, low-certainty evidence). HPV vaccination of 10- to 26-year-old males In one RCT there was moderate-certainty evidence that quadrivalent HPV vaccine, compared with control, reduced the incidence of external genital lesions (control 36 per 3081 person-years; quadrivalent 6 per 3173 person-years; rate ratio 0.16, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.38; 6254 person-years) and anogenital warts (control 28 per 2814 person-years; quadrivalent 3 per 2831 person-years; rate ratio 0.11, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.38; 5645 person-years). The quadrivalent vaccine resulted in more injection-site adverse events, such as pain or redness, than control (537 versus 601 per 1000; risk ratio (RR) 1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.18, 3895 participants, high-certainty evidence). There was very low-certainty evidence from two RCTs about serious adverse events with quadrivalent vaccine (control 12/2588; quadrivalent 8/2574), and about deaths (control 11/2591; quadrivalent 3/2582), owing to imprecision and indirectness. Nonavalent versus quadrivalent vaccine in 9- to 26-year-old females and males Three RCTs were included; one in females aged 9- to 15-years (n = 600), one in females aged 16- to 26-years (n = 14,215), and one in males aged 16- to 26-years (n = 500). The RCT in 16- to 26-year-old females reported clinical outcomes. There was little to no difference in the incidence of the combined outcome of high-grade cervical epithelial neoplasia, adenocarcinoma in situ, or cervical cancer between the HPV vaccines (quadrivalent 325/6882, nonavalent 326/6871; OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.16; 13,753 participants; high-certainty evidence). The other two RCTs did not collect data about clinical outcomes. There were slightly more local adverse events with the nonavalent vaccine (905 per 1000) than the quadrivalent vaccine (846 per 1000) (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.08; 3 RCTs, 15,863 participants; high-certainty evidence). Comparative evidence about serious adverse events in the three RCTs (nonavalent 243/8234, quadrivalent 192/7629; OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.14 to 2.61) was of low certainty, owing to imprecision and indirectness. HPV vaccination for people living with HIV Seven RCTs reported on HPV vaccines in people with HIV, with two small trials that collected data about clinical outcomes. Antibody responses were higher following vaccination with either bivalent or quadrivalent HPV vaccine than with control, and these responses could be demonstrated to have been maintained for up to 24 months in children living with HIV (low-certainty evidence). The evidence about clinical outcomes and harms for HPV vaccines in people with HIV is very uncertain (low- to very low-certainty evidence), owing to imprecision and indirectness. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The immunogenicity of two-dose and three-dose HPV vaccine schedules, measured using antibody responses in young females, is comparable. The quadrivalent vaccine probably reduces external genital lesions and anogenital warts in males compared with control. The nonavalent and quadrivalent vaccines offer similar protection against a combined outcome of cervical, vaginal, and vulval precancer lesions or cancer. In people living with HIV, both the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines result in high antibody responses. For all comparisons of alternative HPV vaccine schedules, the certainty of the body of evidence about serious adverse events reported during the study periods was low or very low, either because the number of events was low, or the evidence was indirect, or both. Post-marketing surveillance is needed to continue monitoring harms that might be associated with HPV vaccines in the population, and this evidence will be incorporated in future updates of this review. Long-term observational studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of reduced-dose schedules against HPV-related cancer endpoints, and whether adopting these schedules improves vaccine coverage rates.

Classrooms for Emotionally and Behaviorally Disturbed Students: Facing the Challenge:

Abstract: There is an increasing consensus among interested groups that the Education for the Handicapped Act has delivered less than was expected for the 374,000 children identified by the schools as having emotional and behavioral disorders (Forness, 1989; Knitzer, 1982). Drawing on a recently completed national study of public education for children la beled emotionally and behaviorally disturbed (EBD) by the schools, At the School House Door: An Examination of Programs and Policies for Children with Behavioral and Emotional Problems (Knitzer, Steinberg, & Fleisch, 1990), this article focuses on daily classroom life of these children and aims to do three things: It describes some of these authors' most prob lematic findings related to curriculum, behavior management, and mental health services; it highlights alternatives to the prevailing current practices that were identified; and it examines the implications of both the problems and the possibilities for practitioners, researchers, and teacher trainers.

Method for recommending indexes and materialized views for a database workload

Abstract: The invention herein provides method and apparatus, including software for determining a set of materialized views or indices of the contents or a subset of the contents of a database in a data processing system to be created for one or more users of the database The method and apparatus provide method and means for evaluating a workload presented by a user to the database; evaluating the data processing system characteristics; evaluating the database characteristics; and, using the above evaluations for recommending a set of suitable materialized views or indices to the user Another aspect of the invention, which may be used for a workload presented by a user of a database in a data processing system, provides method and apparatus, including software for determining a set of materialized views or indices of the contents or a subset of the contents of the database, by: generating a plurality of materialized view candidates from evaluation of the workload, data processing system characteristics and database characteristics; estimating statistics for the materialized view candidates such as the number of rows, row size, and column statistics; generating a plurality of potential index candidates by evaluating the workload, data processing system characteristics, database characteristics and the materialized view candidates; and, from the materialized view candidates and index candidates selecting a set of suitable materialized views and/or indices for submission to the user