Final report on the force key comparison CCM.F-K3

In the Force Key Comparison CCM.F-K3 the measurand force was compared at the two force steps 500 kN and 1 MN. 12 laboratories participated in this comparison which was organised by PTB as the pilot laboratory in two laboratory groups (group A and B). In group A, the comparison was carried out with two 1 MN compression force transducers at the two force steps 500 kN and 1 MN (CCM.F-K3a) and with 6 participating laboratories. In group B, the comparison was carried out with two 500 kN compression force transducers at one force step of 500 kN (CCM.F-K3b) and with 9 participating laboratories. The key comparison reference values were determined as the weighted mean of all results for the two force steps and set to 500 kN and 1 MN, respectively, with the associated uncertainties. The degrees of equivalence were determined for all 12 laboratories for 500 kN compression force and for 6 laboratories for 1 MN compression force

Jamming in complex networks with degree correlation

We study the effects of the degree-degree correlations on the pressure congestion J when we apply a dynamical process on scale free complex networks using the gradient network approach. We find that the pressure congestion for disassortative (assortative) networks is lower (bigger) than the one for uncorrelated networks which allow us to affirm that disassortative networks enhance transport through them. This result agree with the fact that many real world transportation networks naturally evolve to this kind of correlation. We explain our results showing that for the disassortative case the clusters in the gradient network turn out to be as much elongated as possible, reducing the pressure congestion J and observing the opposite behavior for the assortative case. Finally we apply our model to real world networks, and the results agree with our theoretical model

Ers international congress 2022:Highlights from the respiratory infections assembly

The European Respiratory Society International Congress took place both in person, in Barcelona, Spain, and online in 2022. The congress welcomed over 19 000 attendees on this hybrid platform, bringing together exciting updates in respiratory science and medicine from around the world. In this article, Early Career Members of the Respiratory Infections Assembly (Assembly 10) summarise a selection of sessions across a broad range of topics, including presentations on bronchiectasis, nontuberculous mycobacteria, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis and coronavirus disease 2019

Final report on the force key comparison CCM.F-K3

In the Force Key Comparison CCM.F-K3 the measurand force was compared at the two force steps 500 kN and 1 MN. 12 laboratories participated in this comparison which was organised by PTB as the pilot laboratory in two laboratory groups (group A and B). In group A, the comparison was carried out with two 1 MN compression force transducers at the two force steps 500 kN and 1 MN (CCM.F-K3a) and with 6 participating laboratories. In group B, the comparison was carried out with two 500 kN compression force transducers at one force step of 500 kN (CCM.F-K3b) and with 9 participating laboratories. The key comparison reference values were determined as the weighted mean of all results for the two force steps and set to 500 kN and 1 MN, respectively, with the associated uncertainties. The degrees of equivalence were determined for all 12 laboratories for 500 kN compression force and for 6 laboratories for 1 MN compression force. KEY WORDS FOR SEARCH Force Key Comparison, high force, 500 kN, 1 MN Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA)

The development of a new approach for the harmonized multi-sectoral and multi-country cost valuation of services: the PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) templates

Background Increasing healthcare costs require evidence-based resource use allocation for which assessing costs rigorously and comparably is crucial. Harmonized cross-country costing methods for evaluating interventions from a societal perspective are lacking. This study presents the development process and content of the service costing templates developed as part of the European project PECUNIA. Methods The six developmental steps towards technological readiness of the templates included (1) a common conceptual costing framework and review of methodological costing issues, (2) harmonization strategy formulation, (3) proof-of-concept with expert feedback, (4) piloting, (5) validation, and (6) demonstration in six European countries. Results The PECUNIA Reference Unit Cost (RUC) Templates for service costing are three new self-completion tools to be used with secondary or primary data for top-down micro-costing or top-down gross-costing approaches. Complementary data collection and unit cost aggregation/weighting templates are available. The applications leading to the final versions including (4) piloting through calculation of 15-unit costs, (5) validation within a Health Technology Assessment framework, and (6) RUC calculations mostly based on secondary data demonstrated the templates’ general feasibility, with feedback for improved usability incorporated and a supplementary user guide developed. Conclusion The validated PECUNIA RUC Templates for multi-sectoral and multi-country service costing allow for harmonized RUC development while incorporating flexibility and transparency in the choice of costing approaches, data sources and magnitude of remaining heterogeneity. The templates are expected to significantly improve the quality, comparability and availability of unit costs for economic evaluations, and promote the transferability of service cost information across Europe

Efficacy of weekly docetaxel in locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma

Background: Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is extremely aggressive; however, it is often misdiagnosed because of its rarity. For locally advanced tumors, doxorubicin-based chemotherapy regimens are the standard of treatment, even if the gain in term of progression-free survival is limited and is no longer than 5 months. Case presentation: We report the case of a Caucasian 23-year-old man with locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma who underwent radical surgical resection after a prolonged response to weekly docetaxel and complementary radiotherapy. Conclusion: Combined treatment with weekly docetaxel and radiotherapy may be a valid alternative for the treat-ment of locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma; the combination can lead to radical surgical resections, avoiding the cumulative cardiotoxicity of antracycline-based regimens

In search for comparability: the PECUNIA reference unit costs for health and social care services in Europe

Improving the efficiency of mental healthcare service delivery by learning from international best-practice examples requires valid data, including robust unit costs, which currently often lack cross-country comparability. The European ProgrammE in Costing, resource use measurement and outcome valuation for Use in multi-sectoral National and International health economic evaluAtions (PECUNIA) aimed to harmonize the international unit cost development. This article presents the methodology and set of 36 externally validated, standardized reference unit costs (RUCs) for five health and social care services (general practitioner, dentist, help-line, day-care center, nursing home) in Austria, England, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Spain based on unambiguous service definitions using the extended DESDE PECUNIA coding framework. The resulting PECUNIA RUCs are largely comparable across countries, with any causes for deviations (e.g., country-specific scope of services) transparently documented. Even under standardized methods, notable limitations due to data-driven divergences in key costing parameters remain. Increased cross-country comparability by adopting a uniform methodology and definitions can advance the quality of evidence-based policy guidance derived from health economic evaluations. The PECUNIA RUCs are available free of charge and aim to significantly improve the quality and feasibility of future economic evaluations and their transferability across mental health systems

Inhibition of BET proteins and epigenetic signaling as a potential treatment for osteoporosis

International audienceHistone modifications are important for maintaining the transcription program. BET proteins, an important class of " histone reading proteins " , have recently been described as essential in bone biology. This study presents the therapeutic opportunity of BET protein inhibition in osteoporosis. We find that the pharmacological BET protein inhibitor JQ1 rescues pathologic bone loss in a post-ovariectomy osteoporosis model by increasing the trabecular bone volume and restoring mechanical properties. The BET protein inhibition suppresses osteoclast differentiation and activity as well as the osteoblastogenesis in vitro. Moreover, we show that treated non-resorbing osteoclasts could still activate osteoblast differentiation. In addition, specific inhibition of BRD4 using RNA interference inhibits osteoclast differentiation but strongly activates osteoblast mineralization activity. Mechanistically, JQ1 inhibits expression of the master osteoclast transcription factor NFATc1 and the transcription factor of osteoblast Runx2. These findings strongly support that targeting epigenetic chromatin regulators such as BET proteins may offer a promising alternative for the treatment of bone-related disorders such as osteoporosis

Author Correction: Mendelian neurodegenerative disease genes involved in autophagy

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper