A Comparative Study of India and Australia Open Access Repositories in OpenDOAR

An open access repository or open archive is a digital platform that holds research output and provides free, immediate, and permanent access to research results for anyone to use, download and distribute. To facilitate open access such repositories must be interoperable according to the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Search engines harvest the content of open access repositories, constructing a database of worldwide, free of charge available research. OpenDOAR is the quality-assured, global Directory of Open Access Repositories. Its repositories provide free, open access to academic outputs and resources. This paper deals with Comparative analysis of India and Australia repositories listed in OpenDOAR in terms of their growth, type, operational status, content type, software, subject coverage, language, and policies regarding content, submission, and preservatio

Surgical treatment of stage IV colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases : a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background: The ideal treatment approach for colorectal cancer (CRC) with synchronous liver metastases (SCRLM) remains debated. We performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) comparing the 'bowel-first' approach (BFA), simultaneous resection (SIM), and the 'liver-first' approach (LFA). Methods: A systematic search of comparative studies in CRC with SCRLM was undertaken using the Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and CENTRAL databases. Outcome measures included postoperative complications, 30- and 90-day mortality, chemotherapy use, treatment completion rate, 3- and 5-year recurrence-free survival, and 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS). Pairwise and network meta-analysis were performed to compare strategies. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Higgins I-2 statistic. Results: One prospective and 43 retrospective studies reporting on 10 848 patients were included. Patients undergoing the LFA were more likely to have rectal primaries and a higher metastatic load. The SIM approach resulted in a higher risk of major morbidity and 30-day mortality. Compared to the BFA, the LFA more frequently resulted in failure to complete treatment as planned (34% versus 6%). Pairwise and network meta-analysis showed a similar 5-year OS between LFA and BFA and a more favorable 5-year OS after SIM compared to LFA (odds ratio 0.25-0.90, p = 0.02, I-2 = 0%), but not compared to BFA. Conclusion: Despite a higher tumor load in LFA compared to BFA patients, survival was similar. A lower rate of treatment completion was observed with LFA. Uncertainty remains substantial due to imprecise estimates of treatment effects. In the absence of prospective trials, treatment of stage IV CRC patients should be individually tailored. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd, BASO similar to The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved

A CONFEDERATIVE MODEL OF STATE STRUCTURE AS A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE IRAQI-KURDISH PROBLEM

Purpose: The article is devoted to the search for a possible resolution of the Kurdish question in modern Iraq. Methods: Author used the comparative, historical and legal methods to research the situations in the Kurdish question in modern Iraq and the Tatar problem in post-Soviet Russia. Results: Aside from general recommendations, the paper presents an approbation of a historical and legal approach to the analysis of the current political situations in various countries. The established questions were examined specifically from the point of relationships between the formal-legal schemes and the historical-political reality believing that this approach will allow formulating the most practical recommendations. Conclusion: The only commonality between the Iraqi Kurds and the Russian Tatars in the ethnopolitical processes of recent times is that they are the second largest and historically important national groups in their countries, and their relations with the title nation are not free from the factor of the burdened heredity of conflicts and other similar factors

‘Trying to pin down jelly’ - exploring intuitive processes in quality assessment for meta-ethnography

Background: Studies that systematically search for and synthesise qualitative research are becoming more evident in health care, and they can make an important contribution to patient care. However, there is still no agreement as to whether, or how we should appraise studies for inclusion. We aimed to explore the intuitive processes that determined the ‘quality’ of qualitative research for inclusion in qualitative research syntheses. We were particularly interested to explore the way that knowledge was constructed. Methods: We used qualitative methods to explore the process of quality appraisal within a team of seven qualitative researchers funded to undertake a meta-ethnography of chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain. Team discussions took place monthly between October 2010 and June 2012 and were recorded and transcribed. Data was coded and organised using constant comparative method. The development of our conceptual analysis was both iterative and collaborative. The strength of this team approach to quality came from open and honest discussion, where team members felt free to agree, disagree, or change their position within the safety of the group. Results: We suggest two core facets of quality for inclusion in meta-ethnography - (1) Conceptual clarity; how clearly has the author articulated a concept that facilitates theoretical insight. (2) Interpretive rigour; fundamentally, can the interpretation ‘be trusted?’ Our findings showed that three important categories help the reader to judge interpretive rigour: (ii) What is the context of the interpretation? (ii) How inductive is the interpretation? (iii) Has the researcher challenged their interpretation? Conclusions: We highlight that methods alone do not determine the quality of research for inclusion into a meta-ethnography. The strength of a concept and its capacity to facilitate theoretical insight is integral to meta-ethnography, and arguably to the quality of research. However, we suggest that to be judged ‘good enough’ there also needs to be some assurance that qualitative findings are more than simply anecdotal. Although our conceptual model was developed specifically for meta-ethnography, it may be transferable to other research methodologies

LEXICAL COLLOCATION PRODUCTIVITY OF INDONESIAN L2 WRITERS IN ESSAY: A COMPARATIVE CORPUS-BASED STUDY

The richness of collocation usage reflects the language mastery of English users. However, it has been recognized that L2 users often have problems with collocations due to several reasons. This study reports on lexical collocation productivity of Indonesian L2 writers   to English-native writers in  essays. The corpora were taken from 20 essays written by Indonesian L2 writers and English-native writers in English newspaper opinion column. To conduct the analysis, this study employed corpus-based comparative analysis   suggested by Gonzales and Ramos. This is done by extracting all lexical collocation from the text by utilizing AntConc, a corpus analysis software. Then, collocations were sorted out from free combinations and collocation errors by using https://skell.sketchengine.eu, a reference corpora search-engine. The average use of lexical collocation of Indonesian L2 writers in essays was compared with lexical collocation of English-native writers. The results showed that Indonesian L2 writers is less productive than English-native writers in utilizing lexical collocation in their essays. Of the 4481 token in Indonesian L2 essays, there were 226 collocation in use or 50 collocations per 1000 token. That result was much lower than English-native collocation in essays which reports 80 collocations per 1000 token or 320 collocations of 3968 token

Motion capture systems: medical and technical assessment of the current stage of technology development. Literature review

Objective: to conduct a comparative medical and technical analysis of existing motion capture systems.Materials and methods: open data sources (e-library, Scopus, PubMed, etc.) were used as a scientific base to achieve this aim. The search depth is not limited.Results: information about marker-free and marker motion capture systems, including inertial, mobile, mechanical, optoelectronic, magnetic and systems using virtual reality technology, is consistently presented. A comparative analysis of the medical and technical characteristics of the presented systems was carried out.Conclusion: it is shown that motion capture systems are a promising direction for the development of a whole group of tools for the diagnosis of locomotor function, which can be successfully integrated into a sports medicine clinic. Motion capture systems vary in their technical parameters, which requires a deep analytical approach in their use to solve different clinical problems

Platforms, Power, and the Antitrust Challenge: A Modest Proposal to Narrow the U.S.-Europe Divide

Big platforms dominate the new economy landscape. Colloquially known as GAFA [Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple] or FAANG [Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google], the high tech big data companies are charged with using the power of their platforms to squelch start-ups, appropriate rivals’ ideas, and take and commercialize the personal data of their users. Are the platforms violating the antitrust laws? Should they be broken up? Or are they the agents of progress in the new economy? On these points, the United States antitrust law and the European Union competition law may diverge. The Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission has brought proceedings against or is investigating Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. Germany, under its own competition law, has condemned Facebook’s conduct. Meanwhile, in the United States, authorities are skeptical, but they have commenced investigations. This Article is a comparative analysis of U.S. and EU law regarding monopolization/abuse of dominance as background to understanding why EU law is aggressive and U.S. law may be meek in the treatment of the big tech platforms. First, it examines the factors that underlie the two perspectives. Second, it considers three cases or problems—Google/Comparative Shopping (EU), Facebook-Personal Data (Germany), and dominant platforms’ acquisitions of start-ups that are inchoate competitive threats, such as Facebook’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. The Article considers what lessons the latest Supreme Court antitrust decision, Ohio v. American Express (AmEx), holds for the analysis of the big data antitrust issues. Third, it asks what U.S. antitrust law and enforcement should do. It concludes that U.S. antitrust law should reclaim its role as watchdog to stop abuses of economic power, and makes suggestions for U.S. antitrust law to meet the big-platform challenge in a modest but meaningful and practicable way. I. Introduction II. A Brief Comparison of U.S. and EU Law of Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance ... A. The United States ... B. Europe ... C. Presumptions and Divergences III. Implications for High Tech, Big Data IV. Three Examples of Alleged Platform Abuse ... A. Google/Comparative Shopping ... 1. EU Law ... 2. U.S. Law ... B. Facebook—Abuse of Data ... 1. German Law ... 2. U.S. Law ... C. Start-Ups: Nipping Competition in the Bud V. Proposals VI. Conclusio

Influence of viral hepatitis status on prognosis in patients undergoing hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis of observational studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The influence of viral hepatitis status on prognosis in patients undergoing hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a matter of debate. This study is a meta-analysis of the available evidence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature search was performed to identify comparative studies reporting postoperative survival of HCC in different types of viral hepatitis. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and weighted mean differences (WMD with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using either the fixed effects model or random effects model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty studies matched the selection criteria and reported on 4744 subjects, of whom 2008 in the HBV-positive (B-HCC) group, 2222 in the HCV-positive (C-HCC) group, and 514 in the hepatitis B- and C-negative (NBNC-HCC). Meta-analysis showed that patients with HBV or HCV infection had a worse 5-year disease-free survival when compared to patients with NBNC-HCC (respectively: OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.53, P < 0.001; WMD: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.64, P < 0.001). There was a tendency toward higher 5-year overall survival rates in the NBNC-HCC group compared to those in the other two groups, although these differences were not statistically significant. Both the 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival were not different among the B-HCC and C-HCC groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with positive serology for hepatitis B or C undergoing resection for HCC had a poor prognosis compared to patients with negative serology.</p