Exploring data sharing obligations in the technology sector

This report addresses the question: What is the role of data in the technology sector and what are the opportunities and risks of mandatory data sharing? The answer provides insights into costs and benefits of variants of data sharing obligations with and between technology companies

No de novo sulforaphane biosynthesis in broccoli seedlings

a b s t r a c t The isothiocyanate sulforaphane, present in significant amounts in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) seedlings in the form of its precursor glucoraphanin, has been identified as an inducer of quinine reductase, a phase-II detoxification enzyme known for its anticarcinogenic properties. Its concentration in broccoli seedlings usually decreases during the first 7-14 days after germination. No conclusive data on sulforaphane metabolism in seedlings are available in the literature. Here, we unambiguously demonstrate in 12 C/ 13 C-cross experiments that sulforaphane is not biosynthesised de novo during the first week of seedling development. Both 12 C (99 atom% 12 C) and 13 C (98 atom% 13 C) broccoli seeds were produced and subsequently germinated and grown either in a 13 CO 2 or a 12 CO 2 environment. Afterwards, the labelling degree of sulforaphane in seeds and in seedlings was analysed by HPLC-MS. We conclude that sulforaphane exclusively originates from seed reserves and that de novo biosynthesis is not detectable (<1%) in broccoli seedlings

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

The Mapping of Africa on the Nautical Charts of the Age of Discovery

The shape of Africa on Iberian nautical charts of the late-fifteenth and earlysixteenth century is surprisingly mature. The portrayal of the outline of Africa on the Cantino planisphere of 1502 is so good that it was not surpassed in the next two, possibly three centuries. The African coastline on the Cantino planisphere is a mosaic of accurate regional charts on the plate-carrée projection, each with its own scale and orientation. The same holds for its berian predecessors. The shape of the parts of Africa depicted on these regional charts was essentially correct on the oldest chart (c. 1471) and was copied to later charts. The projective properties of the regional charts are incompatible with the navigation and charting techniques used in that period. Therefore, serious doubt is cast on the established view that Portuguese pilots and cartographers were the original creators of the source charts

Geodetic and methodological aspects of the research into the origin of portolan charts

One of most challenging research elements of medieval Mediterranean porto-lan charts is the matter of their elusive origin. This does not concern the origin of the surviving physical charts, but the origin of their geometrical information content, consisting primarily of the coastal outlines. Particularly challenging are the charts’ evident accuracy and their good agreement with a Mercator(-like) map projection. Key questions are how these charts were constructed and on the basis of what measurement data. While questions regarding the medieval usage of the charts, the economic aspects of chart construction and their fabrication process clearly fall in the domain of the historian, those concerning the construc-tion technique, accuracy and correspondence with a map projection have a very considerable geodetic component. It is my contention that geodetic aspects have not been given sufficient attention in the research into the origin of portolan charts. The almost complete absence of his-torical evidence regarding the charts’ origin requires the researcher to tread carefully and pay adequate attention to the methodological aspects of his or her research. I will discuss several examples where the eagerness to come forward with viable explanations has enticed researchers to step off the narrow path prescribed by the scientific method. Geodetic analysis enables the testing of hypotheses related to the geodetic aspects of portolan charts (construction, accuracy and map projection) with more scientific rigour than would be achievable without such tech-niques. The key questions regarding the origin of the charts can, in my opinion, only be answered with some hope of success by a fruitful synthesis of history, geodesy and cartography. Research-ers from the humanities are faced with a particular challenge to get an adequate understanding of geodetic, mathematical and statistical analysis techniques, in order to be able to understand the results such techniques may yield. Part of this challenge is to understand the importance of the selection of the right method or tool. I will illustrate these issues with the choices I made in my research, which resulted in the surprising and, for the (map-) historical community, unorthodox conclusion that portolan charts are not primitive medieval charts, but instead sophisticated, geodetically-constructed cartographic products

Analysing MapAnalyst and its application to portolan charts

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the distortion grid generated by MapAnalyst, a free software package for the cartometric analysis of historical maps, should be computed and interpreted judiciously and not be seen as revealing the immutable structure of implicit parallels and meridians of the map. Awareness of the limitations as well as the capabilities of this software tool is essential. This paper explains the processing method of MapAnalyst and demonstrates in what way this imposes limitations on the analysis of portolan charts. The paper concludes with recommendations on how MapAnalyst can be successfully applied to the analysis of portolan charts and demonstrates this with an example analysis

The map projection of portolan charts

The sudden appearance of portolan charts, realistic nautical charts of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in the last quarter of the thirteenth century, is considered to be one of the most significant events in the history of cartography. Using analysis techniques available in geodesy, Roel Nicolai showed in dissertation that these charts are mosaics of regional charts that are considerably more accurate than had been assumed earlier. The good agreement of these regional charts with the Mercator map projection is even more remarkable. Map projections were unknown in the Middle Ages and the Mercator projection was developed some three centuries after the appearance of the oldest extant portolan chart. Therefore, virtually unanimous agreement exists among historians of cartography that its map projection must be coincidental. In this article, however, Nicolai shows, using probability calculus, that it is very unlikely that the map projection emerged as an unintentional by-product of the charts’ construction