Using REF results to make simple comparisons is not necessarily responsible. Careful interpretation needed.

What are the implications of the HEFCEmetrics review for the next REF? Is is easy to forget that the REF is already all about metrics of research performance. Steven Hill, Head of Research Policy at HEFCE, reiterates that like any use of metrics, we need to take great care in how we use and interpret the results of the REF. This is part of a series of blog posts on the HEFCE-commissioned report investigating the role of metrics in research assessment. For the full report, supplementary materials, and further reading, visit our HEFCEmetrics section

Acute kidney injury on chronic kidney disease: From congestive heart failure to light chain deposition disease and cast nephropathy in multiple myeloma

Acute on chronic renal failure is a common but notably broad diagnosis. We present a 64-year-old man with a history of diastolic heart failure and chronic kidney disease, admitted for an elevated creatinine. History and physical examination were suggestive of decompensated heart failure; however, the careful interpretation of urinalysis rendered the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. On renal biopsy, the patient was found to have light chain deposition disease with cast nephropathy. Combination lesions in multiple myeloma are rare and require diligent histopathology for detection, including light microscopy, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. These patients portray different demographics, renal manifestations, oncologic characteristics and outcomes, and hence, further studies isolating these combined lesions are warranted

Predicted Colors and Flux Densities of Protostars in the Herschel PACS and SPIRE Filters

Upcoming surveys with the Herschel Space Observatory will yield far-IR photometry of large samples of young stellar objects, which will require careful interpretation. We investigate the color and luminosity diagnostics based on Herschel broad-band filters to identify and discern the properties of low-mass protostars. We compute a grid of 2,016 protostars in various physical congurations, present the expected flux densities and flux density ratios for this grid of protostars, and compare Herschel observations of three protostars to the model results. These provide useful constraints on the range of colors and fluxes of protostar in the Herschel filters. We find that Herschel data alone is likely a useful diagnostic of the envelope properties of young starsComment: Part of HOPS KP papers to the Herschel special A&A issu

Design and performance of a multicentre, randomized controlled trial of teleconsulting.

We have designed and performed a multicentre, randomized controlled trial of teleconsulting. The trial investigated the effectiveness and cost implications in rural and inner-city settings of using videoconferencing as an alternative to general practitioner referral to a hospital specialist. The participating general practitioners referred a total of 3170 patients who satisfied the entry criteria. Of these, 1040 (33%) failed to provide consent or otherwise refused to participate in the trial. Of the patients recruited to the trial, a total of 1902 (91%) completed and returned the baseline questionnaire. Although the trial was successful in recruiting sufficient patients and in obtaining high questionnaire response rates, the findings will require careful interpretation to take account of the limits which the protocol placed on the ability of general practitioners to select patients for referral

Detection and mapping of hydrothermally altered rocks in the vicinity of the comstock lode, Virginia Range, Nevada, using enhanced LANDSAT images

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT images enhanced by the band-ratioing method can be used for reconnaissance alteration mapping in moderately heavily vegetated semiarid terrain as well as in sparsely vegetated to semiarid terrain where the technique was originally developed. Significant vegetation cover in a scene, however, requires the use of MSS ratios 4/5, 4/6, and 6/7 rather than 4/5, 5/6, and 6/7, and requires careful interpretation of the results. Supplemental information suitable to vegetation identification and cover estimates, such as standard LANDSAT false-color composites and low altitude aerial photographs of selected areas is desirable

USDA DATA REVISIONS OF CHOICE BEEF PRICES AND PRICE SPREADS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ESTIMATING DEMAND RESPONSES

Reduced form price equations were estimated to compare market demand responses from two data sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) beef price and price spread data per revisions in 1978 and per revisions in 1990. The latest revisions were necessary to account for changing beef industry technology and product consumption in the 1980s. Results indicate the elasticities of retail and derived demands average about 25 and 17% lower, respectively, when using the 1990 revised data. Trends and lag adjustments played an important role. The analyses suggest careful interpretation of demand responses when time series data lag technology conditions in the market.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

An incidental pancreatic finding at 18F-choline PET/CT: Chronic mass-forming pancreatitis

We present a case of a chronic mass-forming pancreatitis (CMFP) detected by 18F-choline (FCH) PET/CT in a male affected by prostate cancer. FCH PET/CT scan showed a focal uptake in the uncinate process of the pancreas, later diagnosed as a CMFP at biopsy. Although the physiological distribution of FCH in the pancreas, a careful interpretation of the images in this area is warranted

Exploration of the BaSeL stellar library for 9 F-type stars COROT potential targets

The Basel Stellar Library (BaSeL models) is constituted of the merging of various synthetic stellar spectra libraries, with the purpose of giving the most comprehensive coverage of stellar parameters. It has been corrected for systematic deviations detected in respect to UBVRIJHKLM photometry at solar metallicity, and can then be considered as the state-of-the-art knowledge of the broad band content of stellar spectra. In this paper, we consider a sample of 9 F-type stars with detailed spectroscopic analysis to investigate the Basel Stellar Library in two photometric systems simultaneously, Johnson (B-V, U-B) and Stromgren (b-y, m_1, and c_1). The sample corresponds to potential targets of the central seismology programme of the COROT space experiment, which have been recently observed at OHP. The atmospheric parameters T_eff, [Fe/H], and log g obtained from the BaSeL models are compared with spectroscopic determinations as well as with results of other photometric calibrations. For a careful interpretation of the BaSeL solutions, we computed confidence regions around the best $\chi$^2-estimates and projected them on T_eff-[Fe/H], T_eff-log g, and log g-[Fe/H] diagrams. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX2e; version accepted for publication in the new A&A Journal: minor changes + figures in black and white for better readabilit

Continued efforts to translate diabetes cardiovascular outcome trials into clinical practice

Diabetic patients suffer from a high rate of cardiovascular events and such risk increases with HbA1c. However, lowering HbA1c does not appear to yield the same benefit on macrovascular endpoints, as observed for microvascular endpoints. As the number of glucose-lowering medications increases, clinicians have to consider several open questions in the management of type 2 diabetes, one of which is the cardiovascular risk profile of each regimen. Recent placebo-controlled cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) have responded to some of these questions, but careful interpretation is needed. After general disappointment around CVOTs assessing safety of DPP-4 inhibitors (SAVOR, TECOS, EXAMINE) and the GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide (ELIXA), the EMPA-REG Outcome trial and the LEADER trial have shown superiority of the SGLT2-I empagliflozin and the GLP-1RA liraglutide, respectively, on the 3-point MACE outcome (cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke) and cardiovascular, as well as all-cause mortality. While available mechanistic studies largely support a cardioprotective effect of GLP-1, the ability of SGLT2 inhibitor(s) to prevent cardiovascular death was unexpected and deserves future investigation. We herein review the results of completed CVOTs of glucose-lowering medications and suggest a possible treatment algorithm based on cardiac and renal co-morbidities to translate CVOT findings into clinical practice