Pancreatoscopy-guided electrohydraulic lithotripsy in a patient with calcific chronic pancreatitis

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Endometriosis: A Rare Cause of Large Bowel Obstruction.

Large bowel obstruction can result in significant morbidity and mortality, especially in cases of acute complete obstruction. There are many possible causes, the most common in adults being colorectal cancer. Endometriosis is a benign disease, and the most affected extragenital location is the bowel, especially the rectosigmoid junction. However, transmural involvement and acute occlusion are very rare events. We report an exceptional case of acute large bowel obstruction as the initial presentation of endometriosis. The differential diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma may be challenging, and this case emphasizes the need to consider intestinal endometriosis in females at a fertile age presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms and an intestinal mass causing complete large bowel obstruction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Complex Case of Cholestasis in a Patient with ABCB4 and ABCB11 Mutations

The low-phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a form of symptomatic cholelithiasis occurring in young adults, characterized by recurrence of symptoms after cholecystectomy and presence of hepatolithiasis. The case refers to a healthy 39-year-old Caucasian male who presented with abdominal pain and jaundice. His blood tests showed conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and elevated liver enzymes (total bilirubin 6.65 mg/dL, γ-glutamyltransferase 699 IU/L) and abdominal computed tomography revealed dilation of common bile duct and left intrahepatic ducts. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography identified choledocholithiasis, retrieved by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, after which there was a worsening of jaundice (total bilirubin 23 mg/dL), which persisted for several weeks, possibly due to ciprofloxacin toxicity. After an extensive workup including liver biopsy, the identification of two foci of hepatolithiasis on reevaluation abdominal ultrasound raised the hypothesis of LPAC syndrome and the patient was started on ursodeoxycholic acid, with remarkable improvement. Genetic testing identified the mutation c.1954A>G (p.Arg652Gly) in ABCB4 gene (homozygous) and c.1331T>C (p.Val444Ala) in ABCB11 gene (heterozygous). In conclusion, we describe the unique case of an adult male with choledocholithiasis, hepatolithiasis, and persistent conjugated hyperbilirubinemia after retrieval of stones, fulfilling the criteria for LPAC syndrome and with possible superimposed drug-induced liver injury, in whom ABCB4 and ABCB11 mutations were found, both of which had not been previously described in association with LPAC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Strongest 100 Point Radio Sources in the LMC at 1.4 GHz

We present the 100 strongest 1.4 GHz point sources from a new mosaic image in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The observations making up the mosaic were made over a ten year period and were combined with Parkes single dish data at 1.4 GHz to complete the image for short spacing. An initial list of co-identifications within 10" at 0.843, 4.8 and 8.6 GHz consisted of 2682 sources. Elimination of extended objects and artifact noise allowed the creation of a refined list containing 1988 point sources. Most of these are presumed to be background objects seen through the LMC; a small portion may represent compact H II regions, young SNRs and radio planetary nebulae. For the 1988 point sources we find a preliminary average spectral index of -0.53 and present a 1.4 GHz image showing source location in the direction of the LMC.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Organisational factors and academic research agendas: an analysis of academics in the social sciences

The demands for academic research placed on contemporary universities are closely related to the levels of innovative research they are expected to produce. Concurrently, both governments and university management strive to make the production of academic research more cost-efficient and have implemented measures to ensure this. Top-down policies influenced by the concepts of new public management and managerialism have been introduced, pushing for competitiveness and increased performativity in academic research setups. These policies and guidelines have been criticised by academics as having eroded collegiality and autonomy, which are considered necessary to achieve quality research. The focus of this study is on the social sciences and aligns with this critique, demonstrating that autonomy and collegiality are the key organisational features fostering multidisciplinary, collaborative and riskier research agendas that lead to breakthroughs. Academics with high levels of organisational commitment are more likely to create research agendas that assume more conservative, discipline-bound and risk-averse traits, with less potential to achieve the intended innovative research outcomes.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Multi-frequency study of Local Group Supernova Remnants The curious case of the Large Magellanic Cloud SNR J0528-6714

Aims. Recent ATCA, XMM-Newton and MCELS observations of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) cover a number of new and known SNRs which are poorly studied, such as SNR J0528-6714 . This particular SNR exhibits luminous radio-continuum emission, but is one of the unusual and rare cases without detectable optical and very faint X-ray emission (initially detected by ROSAT and listed as object [HP99] 498). We used new multi-frequency radio-continuum surveys and new optical observations at H{\alpha}, [S ii] and [O iii] wavelengths, in combination with XMM-Newton X-ray data, to investigate the SNR properties and to search for a physical explanation for the unusual appearance of this SNR. Methods. We analysed the X-ray and Radio-Continuum spectra and present multi-wavelength morphological studies of this SNR. Results. We present the results of new moderate resolution ATCA observations of SNR J0528-6714. We found that this object is a typical older SNR with a radio spectral index of {\alpha}=-0.36 \pm 0.09 and a diameter of D=52.4 \pm 1.0 pc. Regions of moderate and somewhat irregular polarisation were detected which are also indicative of an older SNR. Using a non-equilibrium ionisation collisional plasma model to describe the X-ray spectrum, we find temperatures kT of 0.26 keV for the remnant. The low temperature, low surface brightness, and large extent of the remnant all indicate a relatively advanced age. The near circular morphology indicates a Type Ia event. Conclusions. Our study revealed one of the most unusual cases of SNRs in the Local Group of galaxies - a luminous radio SNR without optical counterpart and, at the same time, very faint X-ray emission. While it is not unusual to not detect an SNR in the optical, the combination of faint X-ray and no optical detection makes this SNR very unique.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

The research agenda setting of higher education researchers

Research agenda setting is a critical dimension in the creation of knowledge since it represents the starting point of a process that embeds individual researchers’ (and the communities that they identify themselves with) interest for shedding light on topical unknowns, intrinsic and extrinsic factors underpinning that motivation, and the ambition and scope of what a research endeavor can bring. This article aims to better understand the setting of individual research agendas in the field of higher education. It does so by means of a recently developed framework on research agenda setting that uses cluster analysis and linear modeling. The findings identify two main clusters defining individual research agenda setting—cohesive and trailblazing—each with a different set of determining characteristics. Further analysis by cross-validation through means of sub-sampling shows that these clusters are consistent for both new and established researchers, and for frequent and “part-time” contributors to the field of higher education. Implications for the field of higher education research are discussed, including the relevance that each research agendas cluster has for the advancement of knowledge in the field.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The Multi-Dimensional Research Agendas Inventory – Revised (MDRAI-R): factors shaping researchers’ research agendas in all fields of knowledge

This study creates a novel inventory that characterizes factors influencing the research agendas of researchers in all fields of knowledge: the Multi-dimensional Research Agendas Inventory-Revised (MDRAI-R). The MDRAI-R optimizes an initial inventory designed for the social sciences (the MDRAI) by reducing the number of items per dimension, improving the inventory’s psychometric properties, and including new dimensions (“Academia Driven” and “Society Driven”) that reflect the greater influence of social and organizational structures on knowledge production and demands for research impact. This inventory enhances our ability to measure research activities at a time when researchers’ choices matter more than ever, and it will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, research funding agencies, and university and research organizations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The association between researchers’ conceptions of research and their strategic research agendas

In studies of the research process, the association between how researchers conceptualize research and their strategic research agendas has been largely overlooked. This study aims to address this gap. This study analyzes this relationship using a dataset of more than 8,500 researchers across all scientific fields and the globe. It studies the associations between the dimensions of two inventories: the Conceptions of Research Inventory (CoRI) and the Multi-Dimensional Research Agenda Inventory - Revised (MDRAI-R). The findings show a relatively strong association between researchers' conceptions of research and their research agendas. While all conceptions of research are positively related to scientific ambition, the findings are mixed regarding how the dimensions of the two inventories relate to one another, which is significant for those seeking to understand the knowledge production process better. The study relies on self-reported data, which always carries a risk of response bias. The findings provide a greater understanding of the inner workings of knowledge processes and indicate that the two inventories, whether used individually or in combination, may provide complementary analytical perspectives to research performance indicators. They may thus offer important insights for managers of research environments regarding how to assess the research culture, beliefs, and conceptualizations of individual researchers and research teams when designing strategies to promote specific institutional research focuses and strategies. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to associate research agendas and conceptions of research. It is based on a large sample of researchers working worldwide and in all fields of knowledge, which ensures that the findings have a reasonable degree of generalizability to the global population of researchers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio