bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA)-based approach for risk assessment of scientific processes in non-regulated research laboratories
Authors: Mascia A. , Cirafici A. M. , Bongiovanni A. , Colotti G. , Lacerra G. , Di Carlo M. , Digilio F. A. , Liguori G. L. , Lanati A. , Kisslinger A.
Published: August 2020

Nowadays, Quality Management tools such as failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) are widely used throughout the aeronautical, automotive, software, food services, health care and many other industries to sustain and improve quality and safety. The increasing complexity of scientific research makes it more difficult to maintain all activities under control, in order to guarantee validity and reproducibility of results. Even in non-regulated research, scientists need to be supported with management tools that maximize study performance and outcomes, while facilitating the research process. Frequently, steps that involve human intervention are the weak links in the process. Risk analysis therefore gives considerable benefit to analytical validation, assessing and avoiding failures due to human error, potential imprecision in applying protocols, uncertainty in equipment function and imperfect control of materials. This paper describes in detail how FMEA methodology can be applied as a performance improvement tool in the field of non-regulated research, specifically on a basic Life Sciences research process. We chose as “pilot process” the selection of oligonucleotide aptamers for therapeutic purposes, as an example of a complex and multi-step process, suitable for technology transfer. We applied FMEA methodology, seeking every opportunity for error and its impact on process output, and then, a set of improvement actions was generated covering most aspects of laboratory practice, such as equipment management and staff training. We also propose a useful tool supporting the risk assessment of research processes and its outputs and that we named “FMEA strip worksheet.” These tools can help scientists working in non-regulated research to approach Quality Management and to perform risk evaluation of key scientific procedures and processes with the final aim to increase and better control efficiency and efficacy of their research.
Assessment of the heterogeneity of hydraulic properties in gravelly outwash plains: a regionally scaled sedimentological analysis in the Munich gravel plain, Germany
Authors: Theel Markus , Huggenberger Peter , Zosseder Kai
Published: August 2020

The favorable overall conditions for the utilization of groundwater in fluvioglacial aquifers are impacted by significant heterogeneity in the hydraulic conductivity, which is related to small-scale facies changes. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of hydraulically relevant hydrofacies types (HF-types), derived by sedimentological analysis, helps to determine the hydraulic conductivity distribution and thus contribute to understanding the hydraulic dynamics in fluvioglacial aquifers. In particular, the HF-type “open framework gravel (OW)”, which occurs with the HF-type “bimodal gravel (BM)” in BM/OW couplings, has an intrinsically high hydraulic conductivity and significantly impacts hydrogeological challenges such as planning excavation-pit drainage or the prognosis of plumes. The present study investigates the properties and spatial occurrence of HF-types in fluvioglacial deposits at regional scale to derive spatial distribution trends of HF-types, by analyzing 12 gravel pits in the Munich gravel plain (southern Germany) as analogues for outwash plains. The results are compared to the reevaluation of 542 pumping tests. Analysis of the HF-types and the pumping test data shows similar small-scale heterogeneities of the hydraulic conductivity, superimposing large-scale trends. High-permeability BM/OW couples and their dependence on recognizable discharge types in the sedimentary deposits explain sharp-bounded small-scale heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity distribution from 9.1 × 10−3to 2.2 × 10−4 m/s. It is also shown that high values of hydraulic conductivity can be interpolated on shorter distance compared to lower values. While the results of the HF-analysis can be transferred to other fluvioglacial settings (e.g. braided rivers), regional trends must be examined with respect to the surrounding topography.
The incidences of metachronous multiple gastric cancer after various types of gastrectomy: analysis of data from a nationwide Japanese survey
Authors: Kinami Shinichi , Aizawa Masaki , Yamashita Hiroharu , Kumagai Koshi , Kamiya Satoshi , Toda Makoto , Takahata Takaomi , Fujisaki Muneharu , Miyamoto Hiroshi , Kusanagi Hiroshi , Kobayashi Kenta , Washio Marie , Hosoda Kei , Kosaka Takeo
Published: August 2020

Background

The incidence of metachronous multiple gastric cancer (MMGC) after gastrectomy remains unclear. This study evaluated the incidences of MMGC according to specific gastrectomy types, including pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG), proximal gastrectomy (PG), and function-preserving gastrectomy (FPG), which was categorized as segmental gastrectomy and local resection.

Methods

We conducted a questionnaire survey of the Japanese Society for Gastro-Surgical Pathophysiology members, who were asked to report their institutional numbers of radical gastrectomy cases for cancer between 2003 and 2012. The cases were categorized according to whether the remnant stomach’s status was followed for > 5 years, confirmation of MMGC, time to diagnosis, and treatment for MMGC. We calculated the “precise incidence” of MMGC by dividing the number of MMGC cases by the number of cases in which the status of remnant stomach was followed up for > 5 years.

Results

The responses identified 33,731 cases of gastrectomy. The precise incidences of MMGC were 2.35% after distal gastrectomy (DG), 3.01% after PPG, 6.28% after PG (p < 0.001), and 8.21% after FPG (p < 0.001). A substantial proportion of MMGCs (36.4%) was found at 5 years after the initial surgery. The rates of MMGC treatment using endoscopic submucosal dissection were 31% after DG, 28.6% after PPG, 50.8% after PG (p < 0.001), and 67.9% after FPG (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The incidence of MMGC was 2.4% after DG, and higher incidences were observed for larger stomach remnants. However, the proportion of cases in which MMGC could be treated using endoscopic submucosal dissection was significantly higher after PG and FPG than after DG.
Septic acute kidney injury: a review of basic research
Authors: Nakano Daisuke
Published: August 2020

Sepsis is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients in the intensive care unit. However, the numbers of basic science papers for septic AKI account for only 1% of all publications on AKI. This may be partially attributable to the specific pathophysiology of septic AKI as compared to that of the other types of AKI because it shows only modest histological changes despite functional decline and often requires real-time functional analysis. To increase the scope of research in this field, this article reviews the basic research information that has been reported thus far on the subject of septic AKI, mainly from the viewpoint of functional dysregulation, including some knowledge acquired with multiphoton intravital imaging. Moreover, the efficacy and limitation of the potential novel therapies are discussed. Finally, the author proposes several points that should be considered when designing the study, such as monitoring the long-term effects of the intervention and reflecting the clinical settings for identifying the molecular mechanisms and for challenging the intervention effects.
Landslides after wildfire: initiation, magnitude, and mobility
Authors: Rengers Francis K. , McGuire Luke A. , Oakley Nina S. , Kean Jason W. , Staley Dennis M. , Tang Hui
Published: August 2020

In the semiarid Southwestern USA, wildfires are commonly followed by runoff-generated debris flows because wildfires remove vegetation and ground cover, which reduces soil infiltration capacity and increases soil erodibility. At a study site in Southern California, we initially observed runoff-generated debris flows in the first year following fire. However, at the same site three years after the fire, the mass-wasting response to a long-duration rainstorm with high rainfall intensity peaks was shallow landsliding rather than runoff-generated debris flows. Moreover, the same storm caused landslides on unburned hillslopes as well as on slopes burned 5 years prior to the storm and areas burned by successive wildfires, 10 years and 3 years before the rainstorm. The landslide density was the highest on the hillslopes that had burned 3 years beforehand, and the hillslopes burned 5 years prior to the storm had low landslide densities, similar to unburned areas. We also found that reburning (i.e., two wildfires within the past 10 years) had little influence on landslide density. Our results indicate that landscape susceptibility to shallow landslides might return to that of unburned conditions after as little as 5 years of vegetation recovery. Moreover, most of the landslide activity was on steep, equatorial-facing slopes that receive higher solar radiation and had slower rates of vegetation regrowth, which further implicates vegetation as a controlling factor on post-fire landslide susceptibility. Finally, the total volume of sediment mobilized by the year 3 landslides was much smaller than the year 1 runoff-generated debris flows, and the landslides were orders of magnitude less mobile than the runoff-generated debris flows.
Analysis of direct capture of $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$ from ambient air via steam-assisted temperature–vacuum swing adsorption
Authors: Stampi-Bombelli Valentina , van der Spek Mijndert , Mazzotti Marco
Published: August 2020

In this work, direct air capture (DAC) via adsorption is studied through the design and analysis of two temperature–vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) cycles. In the first part, a novel way of describing the adsorption of $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

in presence of water vapor is proposed for co-adsorption kinetic and thermodynamic data gathered from the literature. Secondly, two TVSA cycle designs are proposed: one with a desorption step via external heating, and one with a steam purge. A schematic method for the determination of the cycle step times is proposed and a parametric study on the operating conditions is performed via cycle simulations using a detailed, first principles model. Finally, the two cycles are compared in terms of $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

production and energy consumption. The parametric study on the desorption time shows that there is a desorption time yielding the highest $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

production at low energy consumptions. Low evacuation pressures are necessary to reach high $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

production, but higher evacuation pressures show to be always favorable in terms of specific electrical energy requirements. A steam purge requires an additional thermal energy cost, but it not only allows decreasing the specific electrical energy consumptions, it also enhances $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

desorption kinetics and allows reaching higher $${\hbox {CO}}_{2}$$

CO
2

productions at milder evacuation pressures. The results of this work present the possibility to directly relate the availability of power and heat to the design of the cycle.
Treatment effect of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy by prognostic and intrinsic subtype and biomarker analysis in patients with bone-only disease: a joint analysis of PALOMA-2 and PALOMA-3 clinical trials
Authors: Finn Richard S. , Cristofanilli Massimo , Ettl Johannes , Gelmon Karen A. , Colleoni Marco , Giorgetti Carla , Gauthier Eric , Liu Yuan , Lu Dongrui R. , Zhang Zhe , Bartlett Cynthia Huang , Slamon Dennis J. , Turner Nicholas C. , Rugo Hope S.
Published: August 2020

Purpose

This analysis evaluated the relationship between treatment-free interval (TFI, in PALOMA-2)/disease-free interval (DFI, in PALOMA-3) and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS, in PALOMA-3), treatment effect in patients with bone-only disease, and whether intrinsic subtype affects PFS in patients receiving palbociclib.

Methods

Data were from phase 3, randomized PALOMA-2 and PALOMA-3 clinical studies of hormone receptor‒positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2‒negative (HR+ /HER2−) advanced breast cancer (ABC) patients receiving endocrine therapy plus palbociclib or placebo. Subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot (STEPP) analysis evaluated the association between DFI and PFS and OS. PFS by luminal subtype and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 or endocrine pathway gene expression levels were evaluated in patients with bone-only disease; median PFS and OS were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method.

Results

Median durations of TFI were 37.1 and 30.9 months (PALOMA-2) and DFI were 49.2 and 52.0 months (PALOMA-3) in the palbociclib and placebo groups, respectively. Among the PALOMA-2 biomarker population (n = 454), 23% had bone-only disease; median PFS was longer with palbociclib versus placebo (31.3 vs 11.2 months; hazard ratio, 0.41; 95% CI 0.25‒0.69). The interaction effect of bone-only versus visceral disease subgroups on median PFS with palbociclib was not significant (P = 0.262). Among the PALOMA-3 biomarker population (n = 302), 27% had bone-only disease. STEPP analyses showed that palbociclib PFS benefit was not affected by DFI, and that palbociclib OS effect may be smaller in patients with short DFIs. Among patients who provided metastatic tumor tissues (n = 142), regardless of luminal A (hazard ratio, 0.23; 95% CI 0.11‒0.47;P = 0.0000158) or luminal B (hazard ratio, 0.26; 95% CI 0.12‒0.56;P = 0.000269) subtype, palbociclib improved PFS versus placebo.

Conclusions

These findings support palbociclib plus endocrine therapy as standard of care for HR+ /HER2− ABC patients, regardless of baseline TFI/DFI or intrinsic molecular subtype, including patients with bone-only disease.

Trial registration

Pfizer (clinicaltrials.gov:NCT01740427, NCT01942135).
Commons Organizing: Embedding Common Good and Institutions for Collective Action. Insights from Ethics and Economics
Authors: Albareda Laura , Sison Alejo Jose G.
Published: August 2020

In recent years, business ethics and economic scholars have been paying greater attention to the development of commons organizing. The latter refers to the processes by which communities of people work in common in the pursuit of the common good. In turn, this promotes commons organizational designs based on collective forms of common goods production, distribution, management and ownership. In this paper, we build on two main literature streams: (1) the ethical approach based on the theory of the common good of the firm in virtue ethics and (2) the economic approach based on the theory of institutions for collective action developed by Ostrom’s research on common-pool resources to avert the tragedy of the commons. The latter expands to include the novel concepts of new commons, “commoning” and polycentric governance. Drawing on the analysis of what is new in these forms of organizing, we propose a comprehensive model, highlighting the integration of two sets of organizing principles—common good and collective action – and five problem-solving processes to explain the main dimensions of commons organizing. We contribute to business ethics literature by exploring the convergence between the ethical and economic approaches in the development of a commons organizing view.
Genetic monitoring of the greater stick-nest rat meta-population for strategic supplementation planning
Authors: White Lauren C. , Thomson Vicki A. , West Rebecca , Ruykys Laura , Ottewell Kym , Kanowski John , Moseby Katherine E. , Byrne Margaret , Donnellan Stephen C. , Copley Peter , Austin Jeremy J.
Published: August 2020

Translocation is an increasingly common component of species conservation efforts. However, translocated populations often suffer from loss of genetic diversity and increased inbreeding, and thus may require active management to establish gene flow across isolated populations. Assisted gene flow can be laborious and costly, so recipient and source populations should be carefully chosen to maximise genetic diversity outcomes. The greater stick-nest rat (GSNR,Leporillus conditor), a threatened Australian rodent, has been the focus of a translocation program since 1985, resulting in five extant translocated populations (St Peter Island, Reevesby Island, Arid Recovery, Salutation Island and Mt Gibson), all derived from a remnant wild population on the East and West Franklin Islands. We evaluated the genetic diversity in all extant GSNR populations using a large single nucleotide polymorphism dataset with the explicit purpose of informing future translocation planning. Our results show varying levels of genetic divergence, inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity in all translocated populations relative to the remnant source on the Franklin Islands. All translocated populations would benefit from supplementation to increase genetic diversity, but two—Salutation Island and Mt Gibson—are of highest priority. We recommend a targeted admixture approach, in which animals for supplementation are sourced from populations that have low relatedness to the recipient population. Subject to assessment of contemporary genetic diversity, St Peter Island and Arid Recovery are the most appropriate source populations for genetic supplementation. Our study demonstrates an effective use of genetic surveys for data-driven management of threatened species.
Conflict on the Northern Front: Archaeological Perspectives on the Spanish Civil War at Monte Bernorio, Palencia, Spain
Authors: Torres-Martínez Jesús F. , Fernández-Götz Manuel , Hernández-Tórtoles Alicia , Martínez-Velasco Antxoka
Published: August 2020

The archaeology of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) has experienced an important development over the last two decades. Several field projects have studied aspects such as mass graves, forced labor camps, and battlefields. In this paper, we present a case study from the so-called “Northern Front” (Frente Norte). The impressive mountain of Monte Bernorio, situated at the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains, controls one of the main communication routes between the central Spanish plateau (Meseta) and the Cantabrian Sea. Due to this strategic position, the site has played an important military role during two episodes of war separated by nearly 2,000 years: the Roman conquest of northern Iberia under Emperor Augustus in the 20s BCE, and the Spanish Civil War in the years 1936-37. The ongoing archaeological excavations and surveys are uncovering abundant remains of trenches, battering positions, barracks, and munitions belonging to the Civil War period, when Bernorio was a highly disputed position in the confrontation between “Republicans” and “Nationalists.” Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this paper combines archaeological evidence, oral history, and written documents that shed light on one of the main episodes of Franco’s conquest of northern Spain.
German V2 and Doubly Filled COMP in West Germanic
Authors: Bacskai-Atkari Julia
Published: August 2020

The paper addresses the issue of Doubly Filled COMP effects in embedded interrogatives in West-Germanic languages, with particular attention paid to German: in these patterns, an overt interrogative operator co-occurs with an overt complementiser. Such configurations are ruled out from standard West-Germanic varieties, while they are attested in non-standard dialects. The paper argues that there are both theoretical and empirical arguments against the postulation of a Doubly Filled COMP Filter, proposing instead that the insertion of a visible complementiser in non-standard dialects in fact follows from the properties of the general syntactic paradigm in which empty complementisers are generally not possible. It is shown that doubling is not restricted to embedded constituent questions, but it may occur in polar questions as well. Further, the finiteness feature can be checked off by verb movement, as is the case in V2 patterns in German (and generally in Germanic, including historical English) and in T-to-C-movement in English. In this way, the property of V2 is linked to Doubly Filled COMP; in either case, there is no need to postulate a cartographic template with multiple projections but a minimal, merge-based model is sufficient and in fact favourable. The proposed model aims at accounting for the possible correlations between the properties of the head element and the properties of the fronted element merged as a specifier (if there is any). Finally, the observed syntactic differences between standard varieties and dialects in West Germanic can be attributed to minimal lexical differences.
Within-class multimodal classification
Authors: Wan Huan , Wang Hui , Scotney Bryan , Liu Jun , Ng Wing W. Y.
Published: August 2020

In many real-world classification problems there exist multiple subclasses (or clusters) within a class; in other words, the underlying data distribution is within-class multimodal. One example is face recognition where a face (i.e. a class) may be presented in frontal view or side view, corresponding to different modalities. This issue has been largely ignored in the literature or at least under studied. How to address the within-class multimodality issue is still an unsolved problem. In this paper, we present an extensive study of within-class multimodality classification. This study is guided by a number of research questions, and conducted through experimentation on artificial data and real data. In addition, we establish a case for within-class multimodal classification that is characterised by the concurrent maximisation of between-class separation, between-subclass separation and within-class compactness. Extensive experimental results show that within-class multimodal classification consistently leads to significant performance gains when within-class multimodality is present in data. Furthermore, it has been found that within-class multimodal classification offers a competitive solution to face recognition under different lighting and face pose conditions. It is our opinion that the case for within-class multimodal classification is established, therefore there is a milestone to be achieved in some machine learning algorithms (e.g. Gaussian mixture model) when within-class multimodal classification, or part of it, is pursued.
Analysis of RGB-D camera technologies for supporting different facial usage scenarios
Authors: Ulrich Luca , Vezzetti Enrico , Moos Sandro , Marcolin Federica
Published: August 2020

Recently a wide variety of applications has been developed integrating 3D functionalities. Advantages given by the possibility of relying on depth information allows the developers to design new algorithms and to improve the existing ones. In particular, for what concerns face morphology, 3D has led to the possibility to obtain face depth maps highly close to reality and consequently an improvement of the starting point for further analysis such as Face Detection, Face Authentication, Face Identification and Face Expression Recognition. The development of the aforementioned applications would have been impossible without the progress of sensor technologies for obtaining 3D information. Several solutions have been adopted over time. In this paper, emphasis is put on passive stereoscopy, structured light, time-of-flight (ToF) and active stereoscopy, namely the most used technologies for the cameras design and fulfilment according to the literature. The aim of this article is to investigate facial applications and to examine 3D camera technologies to suggest some guidelines for addressing the correct choice of a 3D sensor according to the application that has to be developed.
Low cost and effective reduction of formaldehyde in gross anatomy: long throw nozzles and formaldehyde destruction using InfuTrace™
Authors: Pfeil Sonja , Hieke Hans , Brohmann Petra , Wimmer Monika
Published: August 2020

Formaldehyde is extraordinarily effective for fixation of human corpses and is routinely used in embalming solutions in anatomical dissection courses all over the world. High concentrations in vapors emitted from corpses embalmed with formaldehyde make it necessary to reduce the emission from cadavers for fulfilling tightening permissible exposure limits (PEL) worldwide. The study provides possible solutions to a problem faced by many anatomy labs. The emission of 50 human corpses was examined using 240 active personal and stationary samples with sampling tubes placed in the breathing area of probands or directly above the corpses. For measuring formaldehyde exposures along the dissection course, air samples were collected during the progress of dissection. Best results were achieved by a combination of post-embalming treatment with InfuTrace™, a formaldehyde binding solution applied to corpses fixed with 3% formaldehyde, and a modified ventilation system consisting of three long throw nozzles mounted vertically at the ceiling above the longitudinal axis of each dissection table. In this scenario, the inhalative exposure for students and teachers did not exceed 0.1 ppm during muscle dissection and 0.041 ppm during organ dissection, which are both dissection steps linked to high emission rates. The data emphasizes the necessity to use a combination of different methods — chemical polymerization of formaldehyde combined with a modified ventilation system — to reduce formaldehyde air loads far below the German PEL (0.3 ppm) and even the Japanese PEL (0.1 ppm) when using a standard 3%-formaldehyde fixation.
The 2010s in clinical drug-eluting stent and bioresorbable scaffold research: a Dutch perspective
Authors: Kawashima H. , Zocca P. , Buiten R. A. , Smits P. C. , Onuma Y. , Wykrzykowska J. J. , de Winter R. J. , von Birgelen C. , Serruys P. W.
Published: August 2020

Dutch researchers were among the first to perform clinical studies in bare metal coronary stents, the use of which was initially limited by a high incidence of in-stent restenosis. This problem was greatly solved by the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES). Nevertheless, enthusiasm about first-generation DES was subdued by discussions about a higher risk of very-late stent thrombosis and mortality, which stimulated the development, refinement, and rapid adoption of new DES with more biocompatible durable polymer coatings, biodegradable polymer coatings, or no coating at all. In terms of clinical DES research, the 2010s were characterised by numerous large-scale randomised trials in all-comers and patients with minimal exclusion criteria. Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) were developed and investigated. The Igaki-Tamai scaffold without drug elution was clinically tested in the Netherlands in 1999, followed by an everolimus-eluting BRS (Absorb) which showed favourable imaging and clinical results. Afterwards, multiple clinical trials comparing Absorb and its metallic counterpart were performed, revealing an increased rate of scaffold thrombosis during follow-up. Based on these studies, the commercialisation of the device was subsequently halted. Novel technologies are being developed to overcome shortcomings of first-generation BRS. In this narrative review, we look back on numerous devices and on the DES and BRS trials reported by Dutch researchers.
Defibrillation testing during implantation of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: a necessary standard or becoming redundant?
Authors: van der Stuijt W. , Quast A. B. E. , Knops R. E.
Published: August 2020

Since the publication of the SIMPLE and NORDIC trials, defibrillation testing (DFT) is rarely performed during routine implantation of transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD). However, the results of these trials cannot be extrapolated to the later introduced subcutaneous ICD (S-ICD) and a class I recommendation to perform DFT during the implantation of these devices remains in the current guidelines. Due to the high conversion success rate of DFT on one hand, and the risk of complications on the other, a significant number of physicians omit DFT in S‑ICD recipients. Several retrospective analyses have assessed the safety of the omission of DFT and report contradicting results and recommendations. It is known that implant position, as well as device factors and patient characteristics, influence defibrillation success. A better comprehension of these factors and their relationship could lead to more reliable and safer alternatives to DFT. An ongoing randomised clinical trial, which is expected to end in 2023, is the first study to implement a method that assesses implant position to identify patients who are likely to fail their DFT.
Heart teams in the Netherlands: From teamwork to data‑driven decision-making
Authors: Wierda E. , van Veghel D. , Hirsch A. , de Mol B. A. J. M.
Published: August 2020

For all patients with cardiovascular disease requiring an intervention, this is a major life event. The heart team concept is one of the most exciting and effective team modalities to ensure cost-effective application of invasive cardiovascular care. It optimises patient selection in a complex decision-making process and identifies risk/benefit ratios of different interventions. Informed consent and patient safety should be at the centre of these decisions. To deal with increased load of medical data in the future, artificial intelligence could enable objective and effective interpretation of medical imaging and decision support. This technical support is indispensable to meet current patient and societal demands for informed consent, shared decision-making, outcome improvement and safety. The heart team should be restructured with clear leadership, accountability, and process and outcome measurement of interventions. In this way, the heart team concept in the Netherlands will be ready for the future.
On the Asymptotic Properties of SLOPE
Authors: Kos Michał , Bogdan Małgorzata
Published: August 2020

Sorted L-One Penalized Estimator (SLOPE) is a relatively new convex optimization procedure for selecting predictors in high dimensional regression analyses. SLOPE extends LASSO by replacing theL1penalty norm with a SortedL1norm, based on the non-increasing sequence of tuning parameters. This allows SLOPE to adapt to unknown sparsity and achieve an asymptotic minimax convergency rate under a wide range of high dimensional generalized linear models. Additionally, in the case when the design matrix is orthogonal, SLOPE with the sequence of tuning parametersλBHcorresponding to the sequence of decaying thresholds for the Benjamini-Hochberg multiple testing correction provably controls the False Discovery Rate (FDR) in the multiple regression model. In this article we provide new asymptotic results on the properties of SLOPE when the elements of the design matrix are iid random variables from the Gaussian distribution. Specifically, we provide conditions under which the asymptotic FDR of SLOPE based on the sequenceλBHconverges to zero and the power converges to 1. We illustrate our theoretical asymptotic results with an extensive simulation study. We also provide precise formulas describing FDR of SLOPE under different loss functions, which sets the stage for future investigation on the model selection properties of SLOPE and its extensions.
Education Competencies for Integrative Oncology—Results of a Systematic Review and an International and Interprofessional Consensus Procedure
Authors: Witt Claudia M. , Balneaves Lynda G. , Carlson Linda E. , Cohen Misha , Deng Gary , Fouladbakhsh Judith M. , Kinney Anita Y. , Mehta Ashwin , Mailman Josh , Pole Laura , Rogge Alizé A. , O’Toole Carole , Zick Suzanna M. , Helmer Stefanie M.
Published: August 2020

Integrative oncology is a burgeoning field and typically provided by a multiprofessional team. To ensure cancer patients receive effective, appropriate, and safe care, health professionals providing integrative cancer care should have a certain set of competencies. The aim of this project was to define core competencies for different health professions involved in integrative oncology. The project consisted of two phases. A systematic literature review on published competencies was performed, and the results informed an international and interprofessional consensus procedure. The second phase consisted of three rounds of consensus procedure and included 28 experts representing 7 different professions (medical doctors, psychologists, nurses, naturopathic doctors, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, yoga practitioners, patient navigators) as well as patient advocates, public health experts, and members of the Society for Integrative Oncology. A total of 40 integrative medicine competencies were identified in the literature review. These were further complemented by 18 core oncology competencies. The final round of the consensus procedure yielded 37 core competencies in the following categories: knowledge (n = 11), skills (n = 17), and abilities (n = 9). There was an agreement that these competencies are relevant for all participating professions. The integrative oncology core competencies combine both fundamental oncology knowledge and integrative medicine competencies that are necessary to provide effective and safe integrative oncology care for cancer patients. They can be used as a starting point for developing profession-specific learning objectives and to establish integrative oncology education and training programs to meet the needs of cancer patients and health professionals.
Guidance and Standards for Breast Cancer Care in Europe
Authors: De Wilde Rudy Leon , Devassy Rajesh , Torres-de la Roche Luz Angela , Krentel Harald , Tica Vlad , Cezar Cristina
Published: August 2020

The increasing incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer have led to the necessity of initiating and developing clinical practice guidelines in order to optimize cancer control and provide patients with the best care. These guidelines are either national or issued by reputed relevant European societies—like European Society for Medical Oncology. Many of the recommendations are concordant in-between the guidelines. However, there are still considerable discrepancies to be noted between guidelines from different European countries, which could hinder physicians from implementing their recommendations. The present paper summarizes and compares the recommendations included in the various European guidelines.
A human circulating immune cell landscape in aging and COVID-19
Authors: Zheng Yingfeng , Liu Xiuxing , Le Wenqing , Xie Lihui , Li He , Wen Wen , Wang Si , Ma Shuai , Huang Zhaohao , Ye Jinguo , Shi Wen , Ye Yanxia , Liu Zunpeng , Song Moshi , Zhang Weiqi , Han Jing-Dong J. , Belmonte Juan Carlos Izpisua , Xiao Chuanle , Qu Jing , Wang Hongyang , Liu Guang-Hui , Su Wenru
Published: August 2020

Age-associated changes in immune cells have been linked to an increased risk for infection. However, a global and detailed characterization of the changes that human circulating immune cells undergo with age is lacking. Here, we combined scRNA-seq, mass cytometry and scATAC-seq to compare immune cell types in peripheral blood collected from young and old subjects and patients with COVID-19. We found that the immune cell landscape was reprogrammed with age and was characterized by T cell polarization from naive and memory cells to effector, cytotoxic, exhausted and regulatory cells, along with increased late natural killer cells, age-associated B cells, inflammatory monocytes and age-associated dendritic cells. In addition, the expression of genes, which were implicated in coronavirus susceptibility, was upregulated in a cell subtype-specific manner with age. Notably, COVID-19 promoted age-induced immune cell polarization and gene expression related to inflammation and cellular senescence. Therefore, these findings suggest that a dysregulated immune system and increased gene expression associated with SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility may at least partially account for COVID-19 vulnerability in the elderly.
Plasmonic Refractive Index Sensors Based on One- and Two-Dimensional Gold Grating on a Gold Film
Authors: Zhu Jiankai , Wang Xiangxian , Wu Yuan , Su Yingwen , Jia Tianxu , Yang Hua , Zhang Liping , Qi Yunping , Wen Xiaolei
Published: August 2020

In this paper, we propose two kinds of composite structures based on the one- and two-dimensional (1D&2D) gold grating on a gold film for plasmonic refractive index sensing. The resonance modes and sensing characteristics of the composite structures are numerically simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method. The composite structure of the 1D gold semi-cylinder grating and gold film is analyzed first, and the optimized parameters of the grating period are obtained. The sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) can reach 660RIU/nm and 169RIU−1, respectively. Then, we replace the 1D grating with the 2D gold semi-sphere particles array and find that the 2D grating composite structure can excite strong surface plasmon resonance intensity in a wider period range. The sensitivity and FOM of the improved composite structure can reach 985RIU/nm and 298 RIU−1, respectively. At last, the comparison results of the sensing performance of the two structures are discussed. The proposed structures can be used for bio-chemical refractive index sensing.
The Funk–Radon transform for hyperplane sections through a common point
Authors: Quellmalz Michael
Published: August 2020

The Funk–Radon transform, also known as the spherical Radon transform, assigns to a function on the sphere its mean values along all great circles. Since its invention by Paul Funk in 1911, the Funk–Radon transform has been generalized to other families of circles as well as to higher dimensions. We are particularly interested in the following generalization: we consider the intersections of the sphere with hyperplanes containing a common point inside the sphere. If this point is the origin, this is the same as the aforementioned Funk–Radon transform. We give an injectivity result and a range characterization of this generalized Radon transform by finding a relation with the classical Funk–Radon transform.
Foundation Giving and Economics Research Productivity at HBCUs: Empirical Evidence from the Koch Foundation
Authors: Deng Shuyi , Lai Yufeng , Myers Samuel L. , Xu Man
Published: August 2020

Existing research on funding disparities between historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and non-HBCUs primarily focuses on government funding and pays little attention to foundation giving. This paper helps to fill this gap by examining the effects of funding by the Charles Koch Foundation—a major funder of economics research in the USA—on the economics research productivity at HBCUs. Using data from the foundation’s tax forms, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and Scopus, this paper examines factors that explain the foundation’s grant results and how the foundation’s money affects economics research productivity at HBCUs. The paper estimates the effects of Koch funding on three different measures of HBCU productivity: number of publications, citations, and publications in top economics journals. We report ordinary least squares, two-step generalized linear model, and Poisson results that show little or no impact from (a) recipiency of a Koch grant, (b) the total amount of grant dollars, or (c) the average amount of grant dollars on research productivity. We also obtain event study and difference-in-differences estimates of the effects of Koch grants to HBCUs on publications and publications per faculty member and again find no statistically significant impacts. The evidence obtained—consistent across different model specifications and estimation techniques—does not support the hypothesis that Koch’s funding to HBCUs is primarily geared towards enhancing the research productivity of these colleges and universities. The paper discusses alternative explanations for the Charles Koch Foundation’s targeting strategy and its involvement with particular HBCUs.
Impact on clinical practice of the preoperative screening of Covid-19 infection in surgical oncological patients. Prospective cohort study
Authors: Castellvi J. , Jerico C. , DeMiguel A. , Camacho D. , Mullerat J.M. , Catala J. , Cliville R. , Videla S.
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:

In the oncological patient, an COVID-19-Infection, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, a surgical procedure may carry a higher postoperative morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe the impact on clinical practice of sequential preoperative screening for COVID-19-infection in deciding whether to proceed or postpone surgery.

Methods:

Prospective, cohort study, based on consecutive patients’ candidates for an oncological surgical intervention. Sequential preoperative screening for COVID-19-infection: two-time medical history (telematic and face-to-face), PCR and chest CT, 48 h before of surgical intervention. COVID-19-infection was considered positive if the patient had a suggestive medical history and/or PCR-positive and/or CT of pneumonia.

Results:

Between April 15th and May 4th, 2020, 179 patients were studied, 97 were male (54%), mean (sd) age 66.7 (13,6). Sequential preoperative screening was performed within 48 h before to surgical intervention. The prevalence of preoperative COVID-19-infection was 4.5%, 95%CI:2.3–8.6% (8 patients). Of the operated patients (171), all had a negative medical history, PCR and chest CT. The complications was 14.8% (I-II) and 2.5% (III-IV). There was no mortality. The hospital stay was 3.1 (sd 2.7) days.

In the 8 patients with COVID-19-infection, the medical history was suggestive in all of them, 7 presented PCR-positive and 5 had a chest CT suggestive of pneumonia. The surgical intervention was postponed between 15 and 21 days.

Conclusion:

Preoperative screening for COVID-19-infection using medical history and PCR helped the surgeon to decide whether to go ahead or postpone surgery in oncological patients. The chest CT may be useful in unclear cases.

Highlights:
A Bioarchaeological Study of African American Health and Mortality in the Post-Emancipation U.S. South
Authors: Franklin Maria , Wilson Samuel M.
Published: August 2020

After emancipation, most African Americans remained tethered to agricultural economies, while others migrated to cities seeking better opportunities. Although bioarchaeologists have made significant interventions in researching people of African descent, there are relatively few published comparative studies that address their morbidity and mortality after slavery. This study compares the bioarchaeological evidence for rural and urban southern United States populations to address disparities in health and longevity. It considers the biological effects of racism, including the health impacts of poverty, disease, and malnourishment. Although historians and demographers argue that urban life was especially detrimental to health, the results of this research suggest greater complexity in African American well-being. Whereas urban adults had higher midlife mortality and reduced longevity compared to their rural counterparts, both rural and urban children experienced poor health. Rural child mortality and morbidity varied significantly, suggesting differences in diet and disease exposure across rural communities. With regard to gender, rural and urban women died at younger ages than men. This disparity in mortality is partly attributed to black women's working and reproductive lives within the context of racism and gender inequality.
Beyond choice architecture: a building code for structuring climate risk management decisions
Authors: ÁRVAI JOSEPH , GREGORY ROBIN
Published: August 2020

Although the need for urgent climate change action is clear, insights about how to make better climate risk management decisions are limited. While significant attention from behavioral researchers has focused on choice architecture, we argue that many of the contexts for addressing climate risks require increased attention to the needs of a deliberative and dynamic choice environment. A key facet of this kind of decision is the need for decision-makers and stakeholders to identify and balance conflicting economic, social and environmental objectives. This recognition of difficult, context-specific trade-offs highlights the need for structuring the decision-making process so that objectives are clearly articulated and prioritized. Equally, policy analyses and deliberations must effectively link priorities with climate risk management options. This restructuring of decision-making about climate change calls for more than a nudge. Scientific and technical efforts must be redirected to help stakeholders and decision-makers better understand the diverse implications of climate change management alternatives and to become better equipped to take actions commensurate with the urgency of the problem.
‘An Irish Louvain’: memories of 1914 and the moral climate in Britain during the Irish War of Independence
Authors: Madigan Edward
Published: August 2020

When the British government declared war against Germany in August 1914, a great drive to gain popular support by presenting the conflict to the public as a morally righteous endeavour began in earnest. Stories of German violence against French and Belgian civilians, largely based in fact, were central to this process of ‘cultural mobilisation’. The German serviceman thus came to be widely regarded in Britain as inherently cruel and malevolent while his British counterpart was revered as the embodiment of honour, chivalry and courage. Yet by the autumn of 1920, less than two years after the Armistice, the conduct of members of the crown forces in Ireland was being publicly drawn into question by British commentators in a manner that would have been unthinkable during the war against Germany. Drawing on contemporary press reports, parliamentary debates and personal narrative sources, this article explores and analyses the moral climate in Britain in 1920 and 1921 and comments on the degree to which memories of atrocities committed by German servicemen during the Great War informed popular and official responses to events in Ireland.
Sacco and Vanzetti, Mary Donovan and transatlantic radicalism in the 1920s
Authors: Whelehan Niall
Published: August 2020

In 1927 the Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston following a murder trial that was widely denounced for its anti-labour and anti-immigrant bias. From 1921 the campaign to save the two men powerfully mobilised labour internationalism and triggered waves of protests across the world. This article examines the important contributions made by Irish and Irish-American radicals to the Sacco-Vanzetti campaign. Mary Donovan was a leading member of the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee, and a second-generation Irish union organiser and member of Boston's James Connolly Club. In the 1920s she travelled to Ireland twice and appealed to Irish and Irish American labour to support the campaign. At the same time, Donovan and many of the activists considered here held ambiguous personal and political relationships with Ireland. Transnational Irish radicalism in the early-twentieth century is most commonly considered in nationalist terms. Taking a distinctly non-Irish cause – the Sacco-Vanzetti case of 1920–7 – allows us to look from a different perspective at the global Irish Revolution and reveals how radical labour currents reached into Irish and Irish-American circles during the revolutionary era, though the response to the campaign also indicates a receding internationalism in the immediate aftermath of Irish independence.