Correspondence between HBT radii and the emission zone in non-central heavy ion collisions

In non-central collisions between ultra-relativistic heavy ions, the freeze-out distribution is anisotropic, and its major longitudinal axis may be tilted away from the beam direction. The shape and orientation of this distribution are particularly interesting, as they provide a snapshot of the evolving source and reflect the space-time aspect of anisotropic flow. Experimentally, this information is extracted by measuring pion HBT radii as a function of angle with respect to the reaction plane. Existing formulae relating the oscillations of the radii and the freezeout anisotropy are in principle only valid for Gaussian sources with no collective flow. With a realistic transport model of the collision, which generates flow and non-Gaussian sources, we find that these formulae approximately reflect the anisotropy of the freezeout distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Development of an effective outsourcing strategy for toxicological studies in the chemical industry

The chemical industry has been put under considerable time pressure by the European Community Regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals). The work outlined here has been developed at the BASF SE’s Experimental Toxicology and Ecology Unit with the objective of promoting a faster reaction to the testing demand generated by the new legislation. A considerable increase in forecasted demand for tests has created the necessity to increase the Toxicology Unit’s outsourcing activities. The first goal was to optimize the selection and management process of Contract Research Organizations (CROs), so that toxicological studies can be performed with minimal risk while maximizing quality and cost advantage. A second objective was to develop performance measurement system in form of a balanced scorecard to evaluate contracting efficiency by monitoring major drivers in the outsourcing process to ensure the alignment between strategic objectives and actual performance.<br

Differential Influence of Levodopa on Reward-Based Learning in Parkinson's Disease

The mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system linking the dopaminergic midbrain to the prefrontal cortex and subcortical striatum has been shown to be sensitive to reinforcement in animals and humans. Within this system, coexistent segregated striato-frontal circuits have been linked to different functions. In the present study, we tested patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopaminergic cell loss, on two reward-based learning tasks assumed to differentially involve dorsal and ventral striato-frontal circuits. 15 non-depressed and non-demented PD patients on levodopa monotherapy were tested both on and off medication. Levodopa had beneficial effects on the performance on an instrumental learning task with constant stimulus-reward associations, hypothesized to rely on dorsal striato-frontal circuits. In contrast, performance on a reversal learning task with changing reward contingencies, relying on ventral striato-frontal structures, was better in the unmedicated state. These results are in line with the “overdose hypothesis” which assumes detrimental effects of dopaminergic medication on functions relying upon less affected regions in PD. This study demonstrates, in a within-subject design, a double dissociation of dopaminergic medication and performance on two reward-based learning tasks differing in regard to whether reward contingencies are constant or dynamic. There was no evidence for a dose effect of levodopa on reward-based behavior with the patients’ actual levodopa dose being uncorrelated to their performance on the reward-based learning tasks

Dissecting the Genetic Basis of Local Adaptation in Soybean

Soybean (Glycine max) is the most widely grown oilseed in the world and is an important source of protein for both humans and livestock. Soybean is widely adapted to both temperate and tropical regions, but a changing climate demands a better understanding of adaptation to specific environmental conditions. Here, we explore genetic variation in a collection of 3,012 georeferenced, locally adapted landraces from a broad geographical range to help elucidate the genetic basis of local adaptation. We used geographic origin, environmental data and dense genome-wide SNP data to perform an environmental association analysis and discover loci displaying steep gradients in allele frequency across geographical distance and between landrace and modern cultivars. Our combined application of methods in environmental association mapping and detection of selection targets provide a better understanding of how geography and selection may have shaped genetic variation among soybean landraces. Moreover, we identified several important candidate genes related to drought and heat stress, and revealed important genomic regions possibly involved in the geographic divergence of soybean

Social media for research discourse, dissemination, and collaboration in rheumatology

Social media has become an important venue for rheumatologists, patients, organizations, and other stakeholders to discuss recent research advances in diagnosis and management of rheumatic disorders. In this article, we describe the current state of how social media may enhance dissemination, discourse, and collaboration in rheumatology research. Social media may refer to social platforms like Twitter and Instagram or digital media like podcasts and other websites that are operated for providing as free, open-access medical education (FOAM). Twitter has been one of the most active social media venues and continues to host a vibrant rheumatology community. Examples of research discussions on Twitter include organic user tweets, educational threads ( tweetorials ), live-tweeting academic conferences, and journals posting recently-accepted articles. Some research collaborations have been initiated through social media interactions. Social media may also directly contribute to research by facilitating the recruitment of study participants and the collection of survey-based data. Thus, social media is an evolving and important tool to enhance research discourse, dissemination, and collaboration in rheumatology

Measuring social participation in children with chronic health conditions: validation and reference values of the child and adolescent scale of participation (CASP) in the German context

Background: While ICF-CY-based models of care are promising avenues for improving participation of children with chronic health conditions, feasible and valid instruments to assess participation as an outcome in routine are still needed. We aimed to validate a German parent-report version of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) in children with chronic health conditions of different severity. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected in 327 children (mean age 7.8 years, 55% boys) from two paediatric centres (n = 112) and one population-based sample (n = 215). Cronbach’s alpha, factor analyses, face validity assessments, correlation analyses, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, and parent-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL: KINDL) were used to examine internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and capacity to differentiate between disease severity groups. Disease severity was operationalized according to ICD-diagnosis groups and/or parent-reports on health problems, medical and educational support, and medication. A newly developed item “overall perceived participation” was added to the CASP and evaluated. Results: We found good to excellent content validity, excellent internal consistency, and good-to-excellent test-retest reliability of the instrument. While children with mild disease had a significantly greater extent of participation (higher CASP scores) than children with severe disease, they did not differ from healthy children. Children with mild compared to severe disease much more differed in participation as measured by the CASP compared to the KINDL (area under the ROC curve: 0.92 vs. 0.75). In addition, the item “overall perceived participation” was highly correlated (r = 0.86) with the CASP total score, indicating the potential value of this specific single item. Finally, we provided preliminary reference values for the CASP obtained in a population-based sample of children without chronic health conditions. Conclusions: The German version of the CASP and the new item are efficient, valid and reliable measures of social participation in childhood. The CASP-measured participation focuses more on attendance than on involvement into social circumstances of everyday life. To detect children with a high burden of disease on everyday life, the CASP may be more accurate than HRQoL instruments such as the KINDL. As outcome measurement, the CASP may facilitate the implementation of patient-centred paediatric health care

A rush to judgment? Rapid reporting and dissemination of results and its consequences regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

Funding Information: Disclosures: Dr. Kim reports personal fees from Exagen Diagnostics and GlaxoSmithKline and grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Rheumatology Research Foundation outside the submitted work. Dr. Sparks reports grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Autoimmune Centers of Excellence, National Institutes of Health, during the conduct of the study and personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead, Inova, Janssen, and Optum outside the submitted work. Dr. Berenbaum reports personal fees from Boehringer, Bone Therapeutics, Expanscience, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Merck Sereno, MSD, Nordic, No-vartis, Pfizer, Regulaxis, Roche, Sandoz, Sanofi, Servier, UCB, Peptinov, TRB Chemedica, and 4P Pharma outside the submitted work. Dr. Korsten reports personal fees from GlaxoSmith-Kline, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, AbbVie, Novartis Pharma, Lilly, and Bristol-Myers Squibb outside the submitted work. Dr. Sat-tui reports funding from a Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC)/Vasculitis Foundation Fellowship. The VCRC is part of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, an initiative of the Office of Rare Diseases Research, National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS). The VCRC is funded through collaboration between NCATS and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (U54 AR057319). Dr. Ugarte-Gil reports grants from Pfizer and Janssen outside the submitted work. Dr. Grainger reports nonfinancial support from Pfizer Australia and Janssen Australia and personal fees from Pfizer Australia, Cornerstones, Janssen New Zealand, and Novartis outside the submitted work. Authors not named here have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Disclosures can also be viewed at www .acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?ms Num=M20-1223.publishersversio