Universities’ social responsibility through the lens of strategic planning: A content analysis

This paper examines the degree of social responsibility integration in Italian public universities’ medium and long-term planning documents. We adopted a qualitative approach, applying the content analysis technique to a selected sample of 20 strategic plans issued by Italian large and mega universities. The coding instrument was developed considering the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Therefore, we identified 17 categories and 103 key symbols. The analysis undertaken showed that to date, Italian public universities still pay little attention in their planning documents to objectives regarding the multiple dimensions of Social Responsibility, mainly in relation to environmental issues, a failure detrimental to University Social Responsibility implementation and achievement. However, there is a greater sensitivity to Social Responsibility issues in some universities’ planning documents, therefore also more mature practices can be identified, showing universities that have institutionalized the concept of sustainability in their planning documents

Nonlinear Quantum Photonics with a Tin-Vacancy Center Coupled to a One-Dimensional Diamond Waveguide

Color-centers integrated with nanophotonic devices have emerged as a compelling platform for quantum science and technology. Here we integrate tin-vacancy centers in a diamond waveguide and investigate the interaction with light at the single-photon level. We observe single-emitter induced extinction of the transmitted light up to 25% and measure the nonlinear effect on the photon statistics. Furthermore, we demonstrate fully tunable interference between the reflected single-photon field and laser light back-scattered at the fiber end and show the corresponding controlled change between bunched and anti-bunched photon statistics in the reflected field

Risk assessment-led characterisation of the SiteChar UK North Sea site for the geological storage of CO2

Risk assessment-led characterisation of a site for the geological storage of CO2 in the UK northern North Sea was performed for the EU SiteChar research project as one of a portfolio of sites. Implementation and testing of the SiteChar project site characterisation workflow has produced a ‘dry-run’ storage permit application that is compliant with regulatory requirements. A site suitable for commercial-scale storage was characterised, compatible with current and future industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) sources in the northern UK. Pre-characterisation of the site, based on existing information acquired during hydrocarbon exploration and production, has been achieved from publicly available data. The project concept is to store captured CO2 at a rate of 5 Mt per year for 20 years in the Blake Oil Field and surrounding Captain Sandstone saline aquifer. This commercial-scale storage of 100 Mt CO2 can be achieved through a storage scenario combining injection of CO2 into the oil field and concurrent water production down-dip of the field. There would be no encroachment of supercritical phase CO2 for more than two kilometres beyond the field boundary and no adverse influence on operating hydrocarbon fields provided there is pressure management. Components of a storage permit application for the site are presented, developed as far as possible within a research project. Characterisation and technical investigations were guided by an initial assessment of perceived risks to the prospective site and a need to provide the information required for the storage permit application. The emphasis throughout was to reduce risks and uncertainty on the subsurface containment of stored CO2, particularly with respect to site technical performance, monitoring and regulatory issues, and effects on other resources. The results of selected risk assessment-led site characterisation investigations and the subsequent risk reassessments are described together with their implications for the understanding of the site. Additional investigations are identified that could further reduce risks and uncertainties, and enable progress toward a full storage permit application. Permit performance conditions are presented as SiteChar-recommended useful tools for discussion between the competent authority and operator

Parallel centerline extraction on the GPU

Centerline extraction is important in a variety of visualization applications including shape analysis, geometry processing, and virtual endoscopy. Centerlines allow accurate measurements of length along winding tubular structures, assist automatic virtual navigation, and provide a path-planning system to control the movement and orientation of a virtual camera. However, efficiently computing centerlines with the desired accuracy has been a major challenge. Existing centerline methods are either not fast enough or not accurate enough for interactive application to complex 3D shapes. Some methods based on distance mapping are accurate, but these are sequential algorithms which have limited performance when running on the CPU. To our knowledge, there is no accurate parallel centerline algorithm that can take advantage of modern many-core parallel computing resources, such as GPUs, to perform automatic centerline extraction from large data volumes at interactive speed and with high accuracy. In this paper, we present a new parallel centerline extraction algorithm suitable for implementation on a GPU to produce highly accurate, 26-connected, one-voxel-thick centerlines at interactive speed. The resulting centerlines are as accurate as those produced by a state-of-the-art sequential CPU method [40], while being computed hundreds of times faster. Applications to fly through path planning and virtual endoscopy are discussed. Experimental results demonstrating centeredness, robustness and efficiency are presented

Effectiveness of TNF-inhibitors, abatacept, IL6-inhibitors and JAK-inhibitors in 31 846 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in 19 registers from the 'JAK-pot' collaboration

Background JAK-inhibitors (JAKi), recently approved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), have changed the landscape of treatment choices. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of four current second-line therapies of RA with different modes of action, since JAKi approval, in an international collaboration of 19 registers. Methods In this observational cohort study, patients initiating tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), interleukin-6 inhibitors (IL-6i), abatacept (ABA) or JAKi were included. We compared the effectiveness of these treatments in terms of drug discontinuation and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) response rates at 1 year. Analyses were adjusted for patient, disease and treatment characteristics, including lines of therapy and accounted for competing risk. Results We included 31 846 treatment courses: 17 522 TNFi, 2775 ABA, 3863 IL-6i and 7686 JAKi. Adjusted analyses of overall discontinuation were similar across all treatments. The main single reason of stopping treatment was ineffectiveness. Compared with TNFi, JAKi were less often discontinued for ineffectiveness (adjusted HR (aHR) 0.75, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.83), as was IL-6i (aHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.85) and more often for adverse events (aHR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33). Adjusted CDAI response rates at 1 year were similar between TNFi, JAKi and IL-6i and slightly lower for ABA. Conclusion The adjusted overall drug discontinuation and 1 year response rates of JAKi and IL-6i were similar to those observed with TNFi. Compared with TNFi, JAKi were more often discontinued for adverse events and less for ineffectiveness, as were IL-6i.Peer reviewe

Differences and similarities between the EULAR/ASAS-EULAR and national recommendations for treatment of patients with psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis across Europe

This is the first report comparing EULAR and national treatment recommendations for PsA patients across Europe, and the first this decade to compare ASAS-EULAR and national treatment recommendations in axSpA patients. An electronic survey was completed from October 2021–April 2022 by rheumatologists in 15 European countries. One and four countries followed all EULAR and ASAS-EULAR recommendations, respectively. Five countries had no national treatment recommendations for PsA and/or axSpA, but followed other regulations. In several countries, national treatment recommendations predated the most recent EULAR/ASAS-EULAR recommendations. Entry criteria for starting biologic/targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs varied considerably. In several countries, for PsA patients with significant skin involvement, interleukin-17 inhibitors were not given preference. The positioning of Janus Kinase inhibitors differed and Phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors were not in use/reimbursed in most countries. This study may motivate European countries to update their national treatment recommendations, to align them better with the latest international recommendations

Deep-learning enhancement of large scale numerical simulations

Computational astrophysic

Infliximab plus methotrexate is superior to methotrexate alone in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis in methotrexate-naive patients: the RESPOND study

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate with methotrexate alone in methotrexate-naive patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: In this open-label study, patients 18 years and older with active PsA who were naive to methotrexate and not receiving disease-modifying therapy (N=115) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either infliximab (5 mg/kg) at weeks 0, 2, 6 and 14 plus methotrexate (15 mg/week); or methotrexate (15 mg/week) alone. The primary assessment was American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response at week 16. Secondary outcome measures included psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) and dactylitis and enthesitis assessments. Results: At week 16, 86.3% of patients receiving infliximab plus methotrexate and 66.7% of those receiving methotrexate alone achieved an ACR20 response (p<0.02). Of patients whose baseline PASI was 2.5 or greater, 97.1% receiving infliximab plus methotrexate compared with 54.3% receiving methotrexate alone experienced a 75% or greater improvement in PASI (p<0.0001). Improvements in C-reactive protein levels, DAS28 response and remission rates, dactylitis, fatigue and morning stiffness duration were also significantly greater in the group receiving infliximab. In the infliximab plus methotrexate group, 46% (26/57) had treatment-related adverse events (AE) and two patients had serious AE, compared with 24% with AE (13/54) and no serious AE in the methotrexate-alone group. Conclusions: Treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate in methotrexate-naive patients with active PsA demonstrated significantly greater ACR20 response rates and PASI75 improvement compared with methotrexate alone and was generally well tolerated. This trial is registered in the US National Institutes of Health clinicaltrials.gov database, identifier NCT00367237