Ensemble analysis of complex network properties—an MCMC approach

What do generic networks that have certain properties look like? We use relative canonical network ensembles as the ensembles that realize a property R while being as indistinguishable as possible from a background network ensemble. This allows us to study the most generic features of the networks giving rise to the property under investigation. To test the approach we apply it to study properties thought to characterize ‘small-world networks’. We consider two different defining properties, the ‘small-world-ness’ of Humphries and Gurney, as well as a geometric variant. Studying them in the context of Erdős-Rényi and Watts-Strogatz ensembles we find that all ensembles studied exhibit phase transitions to systems with large hubs and in some cases cliques. Such features are not present in common examples of small-world networks, indicating that these properties do not robustly capture the notion of small-world networks. We expect the overall approach to have wide applicability for understanding network properties of real world interest, such as optimal ride-sharing designs, the vulnerability of networks to cascades, the performance of communication topologies in coordinating fluctuation response or the ability of social distancing measures to suppress disease spreading

Challenges and opportunities of public space management in Mexico

This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges of public space management (PSM) in the Mexican context by analysing the perspectives of different governance actors. Issues in the PSM literature include ineffective political decisions, prevalence of the private sector, lack of coordination between government institutions, and a need for more effective social participation. While most PSM studies focus on European cities, empirical PSM knowledge in the Latin American context is scarce. To address this gap, this research elucidates the Mexican context by investigating and adapting a PSM framework in Mexico City and Puebla. The case study research is based on qualitative document research and interview analysis from four groups of governance actors: government officials, academics, NGOs, and architecture/urban planning firms. We found multiple PSM challenges: uncoordinated efforts in the maintenance of public space, lack of and polarisation of investment, and privatisation of public space. At the intra-governmental level, the research identified a lack of coordination between government institutions, increasing reliance on the private sector, and limited opportunities for residents to participate in PSM processes. The paper highlights missing links between existing governance actors involved in PSM and wider residents, in the pursuit of the ambitious role of achieving public space quality.</p

Social participation in planning, design, and management of public spaces:the case of Mexico

Top-down approaches often fail to involve, collaborate with, and consider social actors in the process of planning, design, and maintenance of public spaces (PDMPS). This research addresses how social participation is included in PDMPS in the Mexican case, by identifying the actors, the level of communication achieved, and their authority and power in the PDMPS process. The paper employs a case study approach, informed by semi-structured interviews. We use a democracy diagram to uncover the diversity of involved actors and how they are involved in the process. We show how government could provide support for social participation to implement participatory processes in PDMPS.</p

Klassifikation international. Bericht über die European Conference on Data Analysis (ECDA) mit integriertem Workshop on Classification and Subject Indexing in Library and Information Science (LIS’2015) in Colchester

Der Tagungsbericht fasst die im September 2015 auf dem LIS-Workshop im Rahmen der „European Conference on Data Analysis“ (ECDA) in Colchester gehaltenen Fachbeiträge kurz zusammen.The conference report summarizes the papers which were presented in September 2015 at the LIS Workshop, which was a part of the „European Conference on Data Analysis“ (ECDA) in Colchester

Klassifikation international. Bericht über die European Conference on Data Analysis (ECDA) mit integriertem Workshop on Classification and Subject Indexing in Library and Information Science (LIS’2015) in Colchester

Der Tagungsbericht fasst die im September 2015 auf dem LIS-Workshop im Rahmen der „European Conference on Data Analysis“ (ECDA) in Colchester gehaltenen Fachbeiträge kurz zusammen. The conference report summarizes the papers which were presented in September 2015 at the LIS Workshop, which was a part of the „European Conference on Data Analysis“ (ECDA) in Colchester

Megx.net—database resources for marine ecological genomics

Marine microbial genomics and metagenomics is an emerging field in environmental research. Since the completion of the first marine bacterial genome in 2003, the number of fully sequenced marine bacteria has grown rapidly. Concurrently, marine metagenomics studies are performed on a regular basis, and the resulting number of sequences is growing exponentially. To address environmentally relevant questions like organismal adaptations to oceanic provinces and regional differences in the microbial cycling of nutrients, it is necessary to couple sequence data with geographical information and supplement them with contextual information like physical, chemical and biological data. Therefore, new specialized databases are needed to organize and standardize data storage as well as centralize data access and interpretation. We introduce Megx.net, a set of databases and tools that handle genomic and metagenomic sequences in their environmental contexts. Megx.net includes (i) a geographic information system to systematically store and analyse marine genomic and metagenomic data in conjunction with contextual information; (ii) an environmental genome browser with fast search functionalities; (iii) a database with precomputed analyses for selected complete genomes; and (iv) a database and tool to classify metagenomic fragments based on oligonucleotide signatures. These integrative databases and webserver will help researchers to generate a better understanding of the functioning of marine ecosystems. All resources are freely accessible at

Bowel function and quality of life after superior mesenteric nerve plexus transection in right colectomy with D3 extended mesenterectomy

Background: The aim of this study was to ascertain the impact of injury to the superior mesenteric nerve plexus caused by right colectomy with D3 extended mesenterectomy as performed in the prospective multicenter trial: “Safe Radical D3 Right Hemicolectomy for Cancer through Preoperative Biphasic Multi-detector Computed Tomography” in which all soft tissue surrounding the superior mesenteric vessels from the level of the middle colic artery to that of the ileocolic artery was removed. Methods: Bowel function and gastrointestinal quality of life in two consecutive cohorts that underwent right colectomy with and without D3 extended mesenterectomy were compared. Main outcome measures were the Diarrhea Assessment Scale (DAS) and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI). The data were collected prospectively through telephone interviews. Results: Forty-nine patients per group, comparable for age, sex, length of bowel resected but with significantly shorter follow-up time in the experimental group, were included. There was no difference in total DAS scores, subscores or additional questions except for higher bowel frequency scores in the D3 group (p = 0.02). Comparison of total GIQLI scores and subscales showed no difference between groups. Regression analysis with correction for confounding factors showed 0.48 lower bowel frequency scores in the D2 group (p = 0.022). Within the D3 group presence of jejunal arteries cranial to the D3 dissection area showed 1.78 lower DAS scores and 0.7 lower bowel frequency scores. Conclusions: Small bowel denervation after right colectomy with D3 extended mesenterectomy leads to increased bowel frequency but does not impact gastrointestinal quality of life. Individual anatomical variants can affect postoperative bowel function differently despite standardized surgery.acceptedVersio

Long-Term Outcome in a Phase II Study of Regional Hyperthermia Added to Preoperative Radiochemotherapy in Locally Advanced and Recurrent Rectal Adenocarcinomas

Hyperthermia was added to standard preoperative chemoradiation for rectal adenocarcinomas in a phase II study. Patients with T3-4 N0-2 M0 rectal cancer or local recurrences were included. Radiation dose was 54 Gy combined with capecitabine 825 mg/m2 × 2 daily and once weekly oxaliplatin 55 mg/m2. Regional hyperthermia aimed at 41.5–42.5 °C for 60 min combined with oxaliplatin infusion. Radical surgery with total or extended TME technique, was scheduled at 6–8 weeks after radiation. From April 2003 to April 2008, a total of 49 eligible patients were recruited. Median number of hyperthermia sessions were 5.4. A total of 47 out of 49 patients (96%) had the scheduled surgery, which was clinically radical in 44 patients. Complete tumour regression occurred in 29.8% of the patients who also exhibited statistically significantly better RFS and CSS. Rate of local recurrence alone at 10 years was 9.1%, distant metastases alone occurred in 25.6%, including local recurrences 40.4%. RFS for all patients was 54.8% after 5 years and CSS was 73.5%. Patients with T50 temperatures in tumours above median 39.9 °C had better RFS, 66.7% vs. 31.3%, p = 0.047, indicating a role of hyperthermia. Toxicity was acceptable.publishedVersio