Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform

The United States economy is struggling to recover from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. After several huge doses of conventional macroeconomic stimulus - deficit-spending and monetary stimulus - policymakers are understandably eager to find innovative no-cost ways of sustaining growth both in the short and long runs. In response to this challenge, the Kauffman Foundation convened a number of America’s leading legal scholars and social scientists during the summer of 2010 to present and discuss their ideas for changing legal rules and policies to promote innovation and accelerate U.S. economic growth. This meeting led to the publication of Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform, a comprehensive and groundbreaking volume of essays prescribing a new set of growth-promoting policies for policymakers, legal scholars, economists, and business men and women. Some of the top Rules include: • Reforming U.S. immigration laws so that more high-skilled immigrants can launch businesses in the United States. • Improving university technology licensing practices so university-generated innovation is more quickly and efficiently commercialized. • Moving away from taxes on income that penalize risk-taking, innovation, and employment while shifting toward a more consumption-based tax system that encourages saving that funds investment. In addition, the research tax credit should be redesigned and made permanent. • Overhauling local zoning rules to facilitate the formation of innovative companies. • Urging judges to take a more expansive view of flexible business contracts that are increasingly used by innovative firms. • Urging antitrust enforcers and courts to define markets more in global terms to reflect contemporary realities, resist antitrust enforcement from countries with less sound antitrust regimes, and prohibit industry trade protection and subsidies. • Reforming the intellectual property system to allow for a post-grant opposition process and address the large patent application backlog by allowing applicants to pay for more rapid patent reviews. • Authorizing corporate entities to form digitally and use software as a means for setting out agreements and bylaws governing corporate activities. The collective essays in the book propose a new way of thinking about the legal system that should be of interest to policymakers and academic scholars alike. Moreover, the ideas presented here, if embodied in law, would augment a sustained increase in U.S. economic growth, improving living standards for U.S. residents and for many in the rest of the world

Impact diagnostique de la normalisation de l'échogénicité des nodules thyroïdiens

Thyroid nodules are usually explored non-invasively by ultrasonography followed by an invasive cytopunction in case of suspected cancer. Echogenicity of the thyroid nodule is a key parameter to differentiate benign and malignant nodules but its visual determination lacks reproducibility. The objective of this r.tudy was to define and evaluate a standardized measurement cf thvroid natures' echogenicity. In this monocentric study, ultrasound data .(2D recorded images, echogenicity and EU-TIRADS (European Thyroid Imaging Reporting And Data System) score determined visually by an experienced physician) and cytological results of cytopunctions performed between June 2016 and January 2019 were retrieved retrospectively. A manual segmentation on the 20 recorded images of the nodules, the healthy thyroid and the cervical muscles was performed to measure the nodules' echogenicity normalized by the healthy thyroid (Nt) and the muscles (Nm). Spearman's correlations were used to compare the parameters and a comparative analysis of diagnostic performance by ROC (Receiving Operator Characteristic) curves by using cytological Bethesda results as reference. 201 patients (224 nodules) with thyroid cytopunctions were included and analyzed. Concerning the Spearman's correlations, the measured parameters were moderately correlated to the EU-TIRADS (maximal p=-0,60, p<0.05 for Nt). On ROC curve analysis, echogenicity of the nodules normalized by the healthy thyroid showed an area under the curve comparable to the EU-TIRADS score, equal to 0.64 and 0.62 respectively to differentiate benign (Bestheda II) versus others (Bethesda III, iV, V and VI) cytologies. Results were equal to 0.76 and 0.79 respectively to differentiate benign (Bestheda II) versus highly suspicious (Bethesda V and VI) cytologies with an high accuracy in this case (0.88 and 0.85). Nodular edhoperficity quantified and normalized by beaIthy. thyroid echogenicity provides diagnostic -performance comparable 'to the -EU-T1RADS score While offering the possibility of being determined simply and retrospectively on 2D recorded images. It could provide an objective additional support to the current EU-TIRADS classification, in particular for non-specialist teams.Les nodules thyroïdiens sont explorés de manière non invasive par échographie, suivie d'une éventuelle cytoponction. L'évaluation de leur échogénicité, paramètre clé pour différencier les bénins des malins, manque de reproductibilité. L'objectif de cette étude était de définir et évaluer une méthode de mesure normalisée de l'échogénicité des nodules thyroïdiens et d'évaluer son impact sur la prédiction du score cytologique. Dans cette étude monocentrique, les données échographiques (images, échogénicité visuelle, score EU-TIRADS par médecin expérimenté) et cytologiques (Bethesda) ont été recueillies de façon rétrospective , entre juin 2016 et janvier 2019. Une segmentation manuelle sur ces images de la thyroïde saine, des muscles cervicaux et des nodules a été réalisée afin de mesurer l'échogénicité nodulaire normalisée par la thyroide saine (Nt) et les muscles (Nm). Un test de corrélation entre ces mesures et le score EU-TIRADS puis une analyse comparative des performances diagnostiques par courbes ROC ont été réalisés en utilisant pour référence les cytologies. 201 patients avec cytoponction étaient inclus (224 nodules) et analysés. Les paramètres étudiés étaient modérément corrélés (valeur max p=-0.60 pour Nt) mais de façon significative avec le score visuel EU-TIRADS (p<0,05). La comparaison des courbes ROC retrouvait une aire sous la courbe de l'échogénicité normalisée à la thyroïde comparable à celle du score EU-TIRADS (respectivement 0,64 et 0,62). pour distinguer les cytologies bénignes (Bethesda II) des autres (III à VI). Les aires sous la courbe étaient respectivement de 0,76 et 0,79 pour différencier les cytologies bénignes (Bethesda Il) des fortement suspectes (Bethesda V et VI) avec une bonne exactitude diagnostique (0,88 et 0,85). L'échogénicité nodulaire quantifiée-normalisée par la thyroïde saine présente des performances diagnostiques comparables au score EU-TIRADS tout en offrant la possibilité d'être déterminée de façon simple et rétrospective sur des images enregistrées. Elle pourrait constituer une aide supplémentaire objective à la classification EU-TIRADS, notamment pour les équipes non spécialisées

Impact diagnostique de la normalisation de l'échogénicité des nodules thyroïdiens

Thyroid nodules are usually explored non-invasively by ultrasonography followed by an invasive cytopunction in case of suspected cancer. Echogenicity of the thyroid nodule is a key parameter to differentiate benign and malignant nodules but its visual determination lacks reproducibility. The objective of this r.tudy was to define and evaluate a standardized measurement cf thvroid natures' echogenicity. In this monocentric study, ultrasound data .(2D recorded images, echogenicity and EU-TIRADS (European Thyroid Imaging Reporting And Data System) score determined visually by an experienced physician) and cytological results of cytopunctions performed between June 2016 and January 2019 were retrieved retrospectively. A manual segmentation on the 20 recorded images of the nodules, the healthy thyroid and the cervical muscles was performed to measure the nodules' echogenicity normalized by the healthy thyroid (Nt) and the muscles (Nm). Spearman's correlations were used to compare the parameters and a comparative analysis of diagnostic performance by ROC (Receiving Operator Characteristic) curves by using cytological Bethesda results as reference. 201 patients (224 nodules) with thyroid cytopunctions were included and analyzed. Concerning the Spearman's correlations, the measured parameters were moderately correlated to the EU-TIRADS (maximal p=-0,60, pDans cette étude monocentrique, les données échographiques (images, échogénicité visuelle, score EU-TIRADS par médecin expérimenté) et cytologiques (Bethesda) ont été recueillies de façon rétrospective , entre juin 2016 et janvier 2019. Une segmentation manuelle sur ces images de la thyroïde saine, des muscles cervicaux et des nodules a été réalisée afin de mesurer l'échogénicité nodulaire normalisée par la thyroide saine (Nt) et les muscles (Nm). Un test de corrélation entre ces mesures et le score EU-TIRADS puis une analyse comparative des performances diagnostiques par courbes ROC ont été réalisés en utilisant pour référence les cytologies. 201 patients avec cytoponction étaient inclus (224 nodules) et analysés. Les paramètres étudiés étaient modérément corrélés (valeur max p=-0.60 pour Nt) mais de façon significative avec le score visuel EU-TIRADS (p<0,05). La comparaison des courbes ROC retrouvait une aire sous la courbe de l'échogénicité normalisée à la thyroïde comparable à celle du score EU-TIRADS (respectivement 0,64 et 0,62). pour distinguer les cytologies bénignes (Bethesda II) des autres (III à VI). Les aires sous la courbe étaient respectivement de 0,76 et 0,79 pour différencier les cytologies bénignes (Bethesda Il) des fortement suspectes (Bethesda V et VI) avec une bonne exactitude diagnostique (0,88 et 0,85). L'échogénicité nodulaire quantifiée-normalisée par la thyroïde saine présente des performances diagnostiques comparables au score EU-TIRADS tout en offrant la possibilité d'être déterminée de façon simple et rétrospective sur des images enregistrées. Elle pourrait constituer une aide supplémentaire objective à la classification EU-TIRADS, notamment pour les équipes non spécialisées

Determination of the Lesion Size in Laser-Induced Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) using a Low-Field MRI.

International audienceThis study aimed to compare MR thermal mapping during Laser-induced Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) to thermal lesions observed macroscopically, in order to estimate the 3D size of the coagulative necrosis. Laser irradiation was performed ex-vivo with a 980 nm laser in pig liver in a open low-magnetic field (0.2T) scanner. The laser light was transmitted through a 1040/600 ¿m (outer/core diameter) bare-tip silica fiber. The laser energy was applied on a pulsed mode (10 s laser-on, 10 s laser-off) for 12 minutes, power: 6W, energy: 2160 J. MR thermal mapping used T1 method for its simplicity and its efficiency at low magnetic field

Les chiffres du sport professionnel : Dossier économie

Dossier sur l'analyse des données économiques des sports collectifs professionnels français en 2014. Contient les articles suivants : Méthodologie et données de cadrage ; Football, une ligue 1 plus que jamais bipolaire ; L'Euro 2016 sera essentiel, interview de Benjamin Viard responsable du service stades de la LFP ; Le rugby à la croisée des chemins ; Il faut remettre le sportif au cœur des préoccupations, interview de Patrick Wolff vice-président de la ligue nationale de rugby ; Basket et hand au rebond ; Le volley pro en quête de structuration

Nationalism in Winter Sports Judging and Its Lessons for Organizational Decision Making

This paper exploits nationalistic biases in Olympic winter sport judging to study the problem of designing a decision making process that uses the input of potentially biased agents. Judges score athletes from their own countries higher than other judges do, and they appear to vary their biases strategically in response to the stakes, the scrutiny given the event, and the degree of subjectiveness of the performance aspect being scored. Ski jumping judges display a taste for fairness in that they compensate for the nationalistic biases of other panel members, while figure skating judges appear to engage in vote trading and bloc judging. Career concerns create incentives for judges: biased judges are less likely to be chosen to judge the Olympics in ski jumping but more likely in figure skating; this is consistent with judges being chosen centrally in ski jumping and by national federations in figure skating. The sports truncate extreme scores to different degrees; both ski jumping and, especially, figure skating are shown to truncate too aggressively; this may contribute to the vote trading in figure skating. These findings have implications for both the current proposals for reforming the judging of figure skating and for designing decision making in organizations more generally

Crowdsourcing-based Annotation of the Accounting Registers of the Italian Comedy

International audienc

Evaluation of the capability and reproducibility of RECIST 1.1. measurements by technologists in breast cancer follow-up: a pilot study

Abstract The evaluation of tumor follow-up according to RECIST 1.1 has become essential in clinical practice given its role in therapeutic decision making. At the same time, radiologists are facing an increase in activity while facing a shortage. Radiographic technologists could contribute to the follow-up of these measures, but no studies have evaluated their ability to perform them. Ninety breast cancer patients were performed three CT follow-ups between September 2017 and August 2021. 270 follow-up treatment CT scans were analyzed including 445 target lesions. The rate of agreement of classifications RECIST 1.1 between five technologists and radiologists yielded moderate (k value between 0.47 and 0.52) and substantial (k value = 0.62 and k = 0.67) agreement values. 112 CT were classified as progressive disease (PD) by the radiologists, and 414 new lesions were identified. The analysis showed a percentage of strict agreement of progressive disease classification between reader-technologists and radiologists ranging from substantial to almost perfect agreement (range 73–97%). Analysis of intra-observer agreement was strong at almost perfect (k > 0.78) for 3 technologists. These results are encouraging regarding the ability of selected technologists to perform measurements according to RECIST 1.1 criteria by CT scan with good identification of disease progression