OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of using moxibustion for treating anorexia and improving quality of life in patients with metastatic cancer. METHODS We conducted a randomized sham-controlled trial of moxibustion. Sixteen patients with metastatic cancer were recruited from Daejeon, South Korea. The patients were randomly placed into a...

BACKGROUND Peer review of grant applications has been criticized as lacking reliability. Studies showing poor agreement among reviewers supported this possibility but usually focused on reviewers' scores and failed to investigate reasons for disagreement. Here, our goal was to determine how reviewers rate applications, by investigating reviewer practices and grant assessment criteria. METHODS...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of cooperative training on the pretreatment assessment of the feasibility to perform Ultrasonography (US) guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for patients afflicted with hepatocellular carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS In our prospective study, 146 patients with 200 hepatocellular carcinomas were referred for radiofrequency ...

Background Major postoperative morbidity and mortality remain common despite efforts to improve patient outcomes. Health information technologies have the potential to actualize advances in perioperative patient care, but failure to evaluate the usability of these technologies may hinder their implementation and acceptance. This protocol describes the usability testing of an innovative telemedi...

In this article, we highlight the distinctive features of a feasibility study, identify the main objectives and guiding questions of a feasibility study, and illustrate the use of these objectives. We synthesized the research methods literature related to feasibility studies to identify five overarching objectives of feasibility studies that focus on social and behavioral interventions. Feasibi...

BACKGROUND Given increasing pressures for hazardous chemical replacement, there is growing interest in alternatives assessment to avoid substituting a toxic chemical with another of equal or greater concern. Alternatives assessment is a process for identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives to chemicals of concern (including those used in materials, processes, or technologies) on ...

Comparison of Urine Diverting Systems to Conventional Wastewater Treatment and Assessment of the Feasibility of Replacing the Latter With the Former

BACKGROUND Globally, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are major contributors to maternal and perinatal mortality; of which the vast majority of deaths occur in less developed countries. In addition, a disproportionate number of morbidities and mortalities occur due to delayed access to health services. The Community Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) Trial aims to task-shift to community h...

PURPOSE Investigational and marketed vaccines are increasingly evaluated, and manufacturers are required to put in place mechanisms to monitor long-term benefit-risk profiles. However, generating such evidence in real-world settings remains challenging, especially when rare adverse events are assessed. Planning of an appropriate study design is key to conducting a valid study. The aim of this p...