Plos One
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Historical Article
Engaging with change: Information and communication technology professionals' perspectives on change in the context of the 'Brexit' vote.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been a key agent of change in the 21st century. Given the role of ICT in changing society this research sought to explore the responses and attitudes to change from ICT professionals and ICT academics in dealing with the potentially far reaching political challenge triggered by the UK's 2016 European Union Referendum and its decision to leave the European Union (referred to as Brexit). Whilst the vote was a UK based decision its ramifications have global implications and as such the research was not confined to the UK. ⋯ Data was collected through a survey launched on the first working day after the Brexit referendum vote to leave the EU and kept open for four weeks. The survey contained qualitative and quantitative questions. It sought to understand the opportunities and threats that would exist post-Brexit for ICT professionals and academics triggered by the decision. The research captured a complex rich picture on ICT professionals' responses to the potential challenge of change triggered by the Brexit vote. Immediately after the Brexit decision the research reveals uncertainties amongst ICT professionals regarding what the decision would mean, with just under half of the participants not identifying any opportunities or threats. For those who did, threats outweighed opportunities by just more than double. Whilst understanding the global possibilities and dangers, participants saw their position from national and organizational perspectives. The highest frequency coded threats related to areas outside the participants' control and the highest frequency opportunities related to areas where there was the potential for ICT interventions. This survey is part of longitudinal piece of research. Using the same methodological approach two further surveys are planned. The second survey will be one year after Article 50 was triggered on 29 March 2017. The final survey will be one year after the UK exit from the EU, assuming this occurs.
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Investigating the diagnostic accuracy of histogram analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for determining non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor grades, lymphovascular invasion, and pleural invasion. ⋯ ADC histogram analyses on the basis of the entire tumor volume are able to stratify NSCLCs' tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion and pleural invasion.
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Multicenter Study
Overall survival in EGFR mutated non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with afatinib after EGFR TKI and resistant mechanisms upon disease progression.
To determine survival in afatinib-treated patients after treatment with first-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and to study resistance mechanisms in afatinib-resistant tumors. ⋯ No differences in survival were observed in patients with EGFR-T790M treated with afatinib compared to those without T790M. Tumors from patients who had progressive disease during afatinib treatment were enriched for mutations in genes involved in Wnt and PI3K-AKT pathways.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The role of treatment timing and mode of stimulation in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea with acupuncture: An exploratory randomised controlled trial.
We examined the effect of changing treatment timing and the use of manual, electro acupuncture on the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. ⋯ Acupuncture treatment reduced menstrual pain intensity and duration after three months of treatment and this was sustained for up to one year after trial entry. The effect of changing mode of stimulation or frequency of treatment on menstrual pain was not significant. This may be due to a lack of power. The role of acupuncture stimulation on menstrual pain needs to be investigated in appropriately powered randomised controlled trials.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is evidence to support a connection between COPD and diabetes mellitus (DM), another common medical disorder. However, additional research is required to improve our knowledge of these relationships and their possible implications. In this study, we investigated the impact of DM on patient outcomes through the clinical course of COPD. ⋯ DM, either pre-existing or incident, was associated with worse outcomes in COPD patients. Targeted surveillance and management of DM may be important in clinical care of the COPD population.