Opening up the societal debate on climate engineering: How newspaper frames are changing

The use of climate engineering or geoengineering technologies to combat climate change has been a controversial topic, even in the scientific debate. In recent studies, it has been claimed that the debate on climate engineering technologies may be closing down prematurely, with detrimental effects on the possibility of social and ethical reflection in appraising these controversial technologies. We examined the extent to which the debate on climate engineering is opening up or closing down, analyzing the diversity of English-speaking newspaper frames in the period 2006–2011. The results provide strong support for an opening of the debate, especially since 2009, given the decline of overly deterministic frames, the emergence of frames related to sociopolitical issues and an overall more balanced distribution of the various frames. This provides evidence that different perspectives are voiced in the public debate, which may enable societies to critically reflect on these emerging technologies

Simulating Nature : A philosophical study of computer-simulation uncertainties and their role in climate science and policy advice

Computersimulatie in wetenschap en beleid Onzekerheden in computersimulaties staan zowel in de wetenschap als in de politiek ter discussie. Zo wordt reeds sinds de introductie van computersimulatie in de wetenschap gediscussieerd over de status van simulatiewetenschap ten opzichte van experimentele en theoretische wetenschap. En in politieke kringen worden vraagtekens gezet bij het gebruik van onzekere resultaten van computersimulatie in overheidsbeleid. De praktijk van wetenschappelijke simulatie en de rol van simulatie in wetenschap en beleid geven aanleiding tot verschillende filosofische vragen. Bijvoorbeeld: welke specifieke typen van onzekerheid zijn verbonden aan wetenschappelijke simulatie? Wat zijn de verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen simulatie-onzekerheid en experimentele onzekerheid? En: wat zijn gepaste manieren om onzekerheden in wetenschappelijke simulatie te beoordelen en te communiceren in beleidsadvisering. Arthur Petersen doet voorstellen voor een typologie van onzekerheid en een methode van omgaan met onzekerheid in wetenschappelijke beleidsadvisering. Één probleem wordt door Petersen in het bijzonder belicht, namelijk de door de mens veroorzaakte klimaatverandering. Heeft de mens momenteel een aanzienlijke invloed op het klimaat? Volgens beleidsmakers hebben wetenschappers die vraag in de context van het Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) positief beantwoord. Hoe komen wetenschappers tot zulke conclusies en waarom vertrouwen beleidsmakers hen? De eerder opgedane filosofische inzichten over simulatie-onzekerheid worden door Petersen toegepast in een evaluatie van de omgang met klimaatmodelonzekerheid door het IPCC. De volgende twee specifieke onderzoeksvragen worden behandeld: welke specifieke typen van simulatie-onzekerheid zijn verbonden aan de toeschrijving van klimaatverandering aan menselijke invloeden? En: zijn deze onzekerheden op een gepaste manier beoordeeld en gecommuniceerd in het derde assessmentrapport van het IPCC (2001)?Radder, J.A. [Promotor]Kirschenmann, P.P. [Copromotor

Trends in sexually transmitted infections in general practice 1990-2000: population based study using data from the UK general practice research database

Objective: To describe the contribution of primary care to the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom, 1990-2000, in the context of increasing incidence of infections in genitourinary medicine clinics. Design: Population based study. Setting: UK primary care. Participants: Patients registered in the UK general practice research database. Main outcome measures: Incidence of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections in primary care and estimation of the proportion of major such infections diagnosed in primary care. Results: An estimated 23.0% of chlamydia cases in women but only 5.3% in men were diagnosed and treated in primary care during 1998-2000, along with 49.2% cases of non-specific urethritis and urethral discharge in men and 5.7% cases of gonorrhoea in women and 2.9% in men. Rates of diagnosis in primary care rose substantially in the late 1990s. Conclusions: A substantial and increasing number of sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed and treated in primary care in the United Kingdom, with sex ratios differing from those in genitourinary medicine clinics. Large numbers of men are treated in primary care for presumptive sexually transmitted infections

The Relationship of Left Ventricular Trabeculation to Ventricular Function and Structure Over a 9.5-Year Follow-Up The MESA Study

Left ventricular (LV) trabeculation is highly variable among individuals and is increased in some diseases (e.g., congenital heart disease or cardiomyopathies), but its significance in population-representative individuals is unknown

2015 Update on Acute Adverse Reactions to Gadolinium based Contrast Agents in Cardiovascular MR. Large Multi-National and Multi-Ethnical Population Experience With 37788 Patients From the EuroCMR Registry

Objectives: Specifically we aim to demonstrate that the results of our earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. Background: We sought to re-evaluate the frequency, manifestations, and severity of acute adverse reactions associated with administration of several gadolinium- based contrast agents during routine CMR on a European level. Methods: Multi-centre, multi-national, and multi-ethnical registry with consecutive enrolment of patients in 57 European centres. Results: During the current observation 37788 doses of Gadolinium based contrast agent were administered to 37788 patients. The mean dose was 24.7 ml (range 5–80 ml), which is equivalent to 0.123 mmol/kg (range 0.01 - 0.3 mmol/kg). Forty-five acute adverse reactions due to contrast administration occurred (0.12 %). Most reactions were classified as mild (43 of 45) according to the American College of Radiology definition. The most frequent complaints following contrast administration were rashes and hives (15 of 45), followed by nausea (10 of 45) and flushes (10 of 45). The event rate ranged from 0.05 % (linear non-ionic agent gadodiamide) to 0.42 % (linear ionic agent gadobenate dimeglumine). Interestingly, we also found different event rates between the three main indications for CMR ranging from 0.05 % (risk stratification in suspected CAD) to 0.22 % (viability in known CAD). Conclusions: The current data indicate that the results of the earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. Thus, the “off-label” use of Gadolinium based contrast in cardiovascular MR should be regarded as safe concerning the frequency, manifestation and severity of acute events

Missing data strategies for the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) in Alliance A091105 and COMET-2

Purpose: Missing scores complicate analysis of the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) because patients with and without missing scores may systematically differ. We focus on optimal analysis methods for incomplete PRO-CTCAE items, with application to two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III trials. Methods: In Alliance A091105 and COMET-2, patients completed PRO-CTCAE items before randomization and several times post-randomization (N = 64 and 107, respectively). For each trial, we conducted between-arm comparisons on the PRO-CTCAE via complete-case two-sample t-tests, mixed modeling with contrast, and multiple imputation followed by two-sample t-tests. Because interest lies in whether CTCAE grades can inform missing PRO-CTCAE scores, we performed multiple imputation with and without CTCAE grades as auxiliary variables to assess the added benefit of including them in the imputation model relative to only including PRO-CTCAE scores across all cycles. Results: PRO-CTCAE completion rates ranged from 100.0 to 71.4% and 100.0 to 77.1% across time in A091105 and COMET-2, respectively. In both trials, mixed modeling and multiple imputation provided the most similar estimates of the average treatment effects. Including CTCAE grades in the imputation model did not consistently narrow confidence intervals of the average treatment effects because correlations for the same PRO-CTCAE item between different cycles were generally stronger than correlations between each PRO-CTCAE item and its corresponding CTCAE grade at the same cycle. Conclusion: For between-arm comparisons, mixed modeling and multiple imputation are informative techniques for handling missing PRO-CTCAE scores. CTCAE grades do not provide added benefit for informing missing PRO-CTCAE scores. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT02066181 (Alliance A091105); NCT01522443 (COMET-2)

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc