Continuously Accelerating Research

Science is facing a software reproducibility crisis. Software powers experimentation, and fuels insights, yielding new scientific contributions. Yet, the research software is often difficult for other researchers to reproducibly run. Beyond reproduction, research software that is truly reusable will speed science by allowing other researchers to easily build upon and extend prior work. As software engineering researchers, we believe that it is our duty to create tools and processes that instill reproducibility, reusability, and extensibility into research software. This paper outlines a vision for a community infrastructure that will bring the benefits of continuous integration to scientists developing research software. To persuade researchers to adopt this infrastructure, we will appeal to their self-interest by making it easier for them to develop and evaluate research prototypes. Building better research software is a complex socio-technical problem that requires stakeholders to join forces to solve this problem for the software engineering community, and the greater scientific community. This vision paper outlines an agenda for realizing a world where the reproducibility and reusability barriers in research software are lifted, continuously accelerating research

Echocardiographic assessment and percutaneous closure of multiple atrial septal defects

Atrial septal defect closure is now routinely performed using a percutaneous approach under echocardiographic guidance. Centrally located, secundum defects are ideal for device closure but there is considerable morphological variation in size and location of the defects. A small proportion of atrial septal defects may have multiple fenestrations and these are often considered unsuitable for device closure. We report three cases of multiple atrial septal defects successfully closed with two Amplatzer septal occluders

Flecainide overdose – support using an intra-aortic balloon pump

BACKGROUND: Flecainide is an antiarrhythmic agent which is being used increasingly for the management of super-ventricular arrhythmias. Overdose with flecainide is frequently fatal with mortality reported as high as 22% due to arrhythmias, myocardial depression and conduction defects leading to electro-mechanical dissociation and asytole. Supportive measures are often required during the case and previously have included inotropes, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and cardiopulmonary bypass. CASE PRESENTATION: A 47 year old lady presented to the emergency department with a four hour history of severe central chest pain. Her ECG showed atrial fibrillation and broad QRS complexes with a sine wave appearance. She had a past history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and significant psychiatric history. Following thrombolysis for a presumed myocardial infarction she developed cardiogenic shock with severely impaired left ventricular function. An intra-aortic balloon pump was inserted and coronary angiography demonstrated normal coronary arteries. With inotropic support she improved over 48 hours, with both her QRS duration and left ventricular function returning to normal. Biochemical testing following her discharge demonstrated significantly elevated levels of flecainide. CONCLUSION: The use of an intra-aortic balloon pump is a useful supportive measure during the acute phase of flecainide overdose associated with severe myocardial depression

Advice on assistance and protection from the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons : Part 2. On preventing and treating health effects from acute, prolonged, and repeated nerve agent exposure, and the identification of medical countermeasures able to reduce or eliminate the longer term health effects of nerve agents

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has provided advice in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention on assistance and protection. We present the SAB’s response to a request from the OPCW Director-General in 2014 for information on the best practices for preventing and treating the health effects from acute, prolonged, and repeated organophosphorus nerve agent (NA) exposure. The report summarises pre- and post-exposure treatments, and developments in decontaminants and adsorbing materials, that at the time of the advice, were available for NAs. The updated information provided could assist medics and emergency responders unfamiliar with treatment and decontamination options related to exposure to NAs. The SAB recommended that developments in research on medical countermeasures and decontaminants for NAs should be monitored by the OPCW, and used in assistance and protection training courses and workshops organised through its capacity building programmes.Peer reviewe

Advice from the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on riot control agents in connection to the Chemical Weapons Convention

Compounds that cause powerful sensory irritation to humans were reviewed by the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in response to requests in 2014 and 2017 by the OPCW Director-General to advise which riot control agents (RCAs) might be subject to declaration under the Chemical Weapons Convention (the Convention). The chemical and toxicological properties of 60 chemicals identified from a survey by the OPCW of RCAs that had been researched or were available for purchase, and additional chemicals recognised by the SAB as having potential RCA applications, were considered. Only 17 of the 60 chemicals met the definition of a RCA under the Convention. These findings were provided to the States Parties of the Convention to inform the implementation of obligations pertaining to RCAs under this international chemical disarmament and non-proliferation treaty.Peer reviewe

advice from the scientific advisory board of the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons on isotopically labelled chemicals and stereoisomers in relation to the chemical weapons convention

AbstractThe Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international disarmament treaty that prohibits the development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. This treaty has 193 States Parties (nations for which the treaty is binding) and entered into force in 1997. The CWC contains schedules of chemicals that have been associated with chemical warfare programmes. These scheduled chemicals must be declared by the States that possess them and are subject to verification by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW, the implementing body of the CWC). Isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of the scheduled chemicals have presented ambiguities for interpretation of the requirements of treaty implementation, and advice was sought from the OPCW's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in 2016. The SAB recommended that isotopically labelled compounds or stereoisomers related to the parent compound specified in a schedule should be interpreted as belonging to the same schedule. This advice should benefit scientists and diplomats from the CWC's State Parties to help ensure a consistent approach to their declarations of scheduled chemicals (which in turn supports both the correctness and completeness of declarations under the CWC). Herein, isotopically labelled and stereoisomeric variants of CWC-scheduled chemicals are reviewed, and the impact of the SAB advice in influencing a change to national licensing in one of the State Parties is discussed. This outcome, an update to national licensing governing compliance to an international treaty, serves as an example of the effectiveness of science diplomacy within an international disarmament treaty

innovative technologies for chemical security

AbstractAdvances across the chemical and biological (life) sciences are increasingly enabled by ideas and tools from sectors outside these disciplines, with information and communication technologies playing a key role across 21st century scientific development. In the face of rapid technological change, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention ("the Convention"), seeks technological opportunities to strengthen capabilities in the field of chemical disarmament. The OPCW Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) in its review of developments in science and technology examined the potential uses of emerging technologies for the implementation of the Convention at a workshop entitled "Innovative Technologies for Chemical Security", held from 3 to 5 July 2017, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event, organized in cooperation with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine of the United States of America, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and the Brazilian Chemical Society, was attended by 45 scientists and engineers from 22 countries. Their insights into the use of innovative technological tools and how they might benefit chemical disarmament and non-proliferation informed the SAB's report on developments in science and technology for the Fourth Review Conference of the Convention (to be held in November 2018), and are described herein, as are recommendations that the SAB submitted to the OPCW Director-General and the States Parties of the Convention. It is concluded that technologies exist or are under development that could be used for investigations, contingency, assistance and protection, reducing risks to inspectors, and enhancing sampling and analysis

The socioecological benefits and consequences of oil palm cultivation in its native range: the sustainable oil palm in West Africa (SOPWA) project

Agriculture is expanding rapidly across the tropics. While cultivation can boost socioeconomic conditions and food security, it also threatens native ecosystems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), which is grown pantropically, is the most productive vegetable oil crop worldwide. The impacts of oil palm cultivation have been studied extensively in Southeast Asia and – to a lesser extent – in Latin America but, in comparison, very little is known about its impacts in Africa: oil palm's native range, and where cultivation is expanding rapidly. In this paper, we introduce a large-scale research programme – the Sustainable Oil Palm in West Africa (SOPWA) Project – that is evaluating the relative ecological impacts of oil palm cultivation under traditional (i.e., by local people) and industrial (i.e., by a large-scale corporation) management in Liberia. Our paper is twofold in focus. First, we use systematic mapping to appraise the literature on oil palm research in an African context, assessing the geographic and disciplinary focus of existing research. We found 757 publications occurring in 36 African countries. Studies tended to focus on the impacts of palm oil consumption on human health and wellbeing. We found no research that has evaluated the whole-ecosystem (i.e., multiple taxa and ecosystem functions) impacts of oil palm cultivation in Africa, a knowledge gap which the SOPWA Project directly addresses. Second, we describe the SOPWA Project's study design and—using canopy cover, ground vegetation cover, and soil temperature data as a case study—demonstrate its utility for assessing differences between areas of rainforest and oil palm agriculture. We outline the socioecological data collected by the SOPWA Project to date and describe the potential for future research, to encourage new collaborations and additional similar projects of its kind in West Africa. Increased research in Africa is needed urgently to understand the combined ecological and sociocultural impacts of oil palm and other agriculture in this unique region. This will help to ensure long-term sustainability of the oil palm industry—and, indeed, all tropical agricultural activity—in Africa

Increasing frailty is associated with higher prevalence and reduced recognition of delirium in older hospitalised inpatients: results of a multi-centre study

Purpose: Delirium is a neuropsychiatric disorder delineated by an acute change in cognition, attention, and consciousness. It is common, particularly in older adults, but poorly recognised. Frailty is the accumulation of deficits conferring an increased risk of adverse outcomes. We set out to determine how severity of frailty, as measured using the CFS, affected delirium rates, and recognition in hospitalised older people in the United Kingdom. Methods: Adults over 65 years were included in an observational multi-centre audit across UK hospitals, two prospective rounds, and one retrospective note review. Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), delirium status, and 30-day outcomes were recorded. Results: The overall prevalence of delirium was 16.3% (483). Patients with delirium were more frail than patients without delirium (median CFS 6 vs 4). The risk of delirium was greater with increasing frailty [OR 2.9 (1.8–4.6) in CFS 4 vs 1–3; OR 12.4 (6.2–24.5) in CFS 8 vs 1–3]. Higher CFS was associated with reduced recognition of delirium (OR of 0.7 (0.3–1.9) in CFS 4 compared to 0.2 (0.1–0.7) in CFS 8). These risks were both independent of age and dementia. Conclusion: We have demonstrated an incremental increase in risk of delirium with increasing frailty. This has important clinical implications, suggesting that frailty may provide a more nuanced measure of vulnerability to delirium and poor outcomes. However, the most frail patients are least likely to have their delirium diagnosed and there is a significant lack of research into the underlying pathophysiology of both of these common geriatric syndromes

Contrast echocardiography and semi-automatic boundary detection for the assessment of cardiac disease

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