Establishing Visible Interferometer System Responses: Resolved and Unresolved Calibrators

The propagation of errors through the uniform disk visibility function is examined. Implications of those errors upon measures of absolute visibility through optical and near-infrared interferometers are considered within the context of using calibration stars to establish system visibilities for these instruments. We suggest a simple ratio test to establish empirically whether or not the measured visibilities produced by such an instrument are relative (errors dominated by calibrator angular size prediction error) or absolute (errors dominated by measurement error).Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, to be published in the PAS

The United States of America and Scientific Research

To gauge the current commitment to scientific research in the United States of America (US), we compared federal research funding (FRF) with the US gross domestic product (GDP) and industry research spending during the past six decades. In order to address the recent globalization of scientific research, we also focused on four key indicators of research activities: research and development (R&D) funding, total science and engineering doctoral degrees, patents, and scientific publications. We compared these indicators across three major population and economic regions: the US, the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China (China) over the past decade. We discovered a number of interesting trends with direct relevance for science policy. The level of US FRF has varied between 0.2% and 0.6% of the GDP during the last six decades. Since the 1960s, the US FRF contribution has fallen from twice that of industrial research funding to roughly equal. Also, in the last two decades, the portion of the US government R&D spending devoted to research has increased. Although well below the US and the EU in overall funding, the current growth rate for R&D funding in China greatly exceeds that of both. Finally, the EU currently produces more science and engineering doctoral graduates and scientific publications than the US in absolute terms, but not per capita. This study's aim is to facilitate a serious discussion of key questions by the research community and federal policy makers. In particular, our results raise two questions with respect to: a) the increasing globalization of science: “What role is the US playing now, and what role will it play in the future of international science?”; and b) the ability to produce beneficial innovations for society: “How will the US continue to foster its strengths?

Evolution of European Union legislation on emergency research

Aim: Emergency research is necessary to prevent exposure of patients to unvalidated clinical practice (nonmaleficence), and to improve the dismal prognosis of disorders requiring emergent treatment such as cardiac arrest (beneficence). Regulations that govern clinical research should conform to bioethical principles of respect for nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. Our objectives are to review the evolution of European Union (EU) legislation on emergency research, and to identify potentially remaining problems. Data sources: EU legislative sources on clinical research and medical literature describing the impact of EU Regulations on emergency research. Results: Article 5 of EU Directive 2001/20/EC required consent before enrolment in a research study to ensure the autonomy of potentially incapacitated research subjects. However, obtaining such consent is often impossible in emergency situations. Directive 2001/20/EC was criticized for potentially preventing emergency research. Several EU Member States addressed this problem by permitting deferred consent. International ethical guidelines supporting deferred consent were also cited by Good Clinical Practice Directive 2005/28/EC. However, Directive 2001/20/EC was not revised to achieve harmonization of EU emergency research, thus resulting in ongoing “ambiguity” as regards to emergency research legitimacy. This will be definitively addressed by applying EU Regulation No. 536/2014 and repealing Directive 2001/20/EC. The new EU Regulation permits using deferred consent under clearly specified conditions, and may foster emergency research that evaluates interventions posing minimal risk relative to standard practice. Conclusions: Legislation related to emergency research in Europe has evolved to increase concordance with bioethical principles so as to increase evidence-based improvements in emergency care. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

International variation in policies and practices related to informed consent in acute cardiovascular research: Results from a 44 country survey

Background: Research in an emergency setting such as that with an acute cardiovascular event is challenging because the window of opportunity to treat may be short and may preclude time to obtain informed consent from the patient or their representative. Some perceive that requiring informed consent in emergency situations has limited improvements in care. Vulnerable populations including minorities or residents of low-income countries are at greatest risk of need for resuscitation. Lack of enrollment of such patients would increase uncertainties in treatment benefit or harm in those at greater risk of need for resuscitation. We sought to assess international variation in policies and procedures related to exception from informed consent (EFIC) or deferred consent for emergency research. Methods: A brief survey instrument was developed and modified by consensus among the investigators. Included were multiple choice and open-ended responses. The survey included an illustrative example of a hypothetical randomized study. Elicited information included the possibility of conducting such a study in the respondent’s country, as well as approvals required to conduct the study. The population of interest was emergency physicians or other practitioners of acute cardiovascular event research. Results: Usable responses were obtained from 44 countries (76% of surveyed). Community opposition to EFIC was noted in 6 (14%) countries. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers in 8 (20%) countries were judged unable or unwilling to participate. A majority of countries (36, 82%) required approval by a Research Ethics Committee or similar. Government approval was required in 25 (57%) countries. Conclusion: There is international variation in practices and polices related to consent for emergency research. There is an ongoing need to converge regulations based on the usefulness of multinational emergency research to benefit both affluent and disadvantaged populations. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd