An Anatomy of European Information Systems Research ECIS 1993 - 2002: Some Initial Findings

This paper reflects on European research on information systems as presented during the first ten years of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Based on an analysis of all papers published in the ECIS proceedings during the period 1993–2002, the paper presents initial findings regarding key aspects of European IS research activity

Urokinase treatment preserves endothelial and smooth muscle function in experimental acute arterial thrombosis

AbstractPurpose: Pharmacologic lysis or balloon thrombectomy are options to treat acute arterial thrombosis; however, little is known about their effects on functional changes in the arterial wall. The aim of this study was to determine function of the endothelium and smooth muscle in canine arteries revascularized after acute thrombosis with balloon thrombectomy or lytic therapy.Methods: Acute thrombosis was obtained by bilateral proximal and distal ligation of 8-cm segments of the femoral arteries in dogs. After 24 hours, the ties were removed and the arteries randomized to treatment groups: group 1, balloon thrombectomy (#4 Fogarty balloon catheter at 60 grams linear shear × 1 pass, n = 7); group 2, untreated, tie removal only (n = 6); group 3, regional intra-arterial urokinase infusion (4000 U/min × 90 min, n = 6); group 4, regional intra-arterial carrier infusion (0.43 ml/min × 90 min, n = 6); group 5, unoperated normal vessels (n = 5). After treatment, the arteries were removed and endothelial and smooth muscle responses examined in organ chambers. Endothelial loss was graded with light microscopy of vessel rings from each animal by an observer blinded to the treatment group. Findings were confirmed with scanning electron microscopy.Results: Treatment with urokinase did not alter endothelium-dependent relaxations or smooth muscle contractions compared with carrier infusion or untreated alone. Balloon catheter thrombectomy significantly reduced endothelium-dependent relaxations compared with all other groups in response to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and thrombin (p < 0.001). Contractions of smooth muscle in response to potassium chloride (60 mol/L) and phenylephrine (1 × 10-6 mol/L) were also reduced (p < 0.05). Rings from balloon thrombectomized arteries contracted in response to calcium ionophore A23187 (p < 0.001); these contractions were endothelium dependent and not reduced by indomethacin or blockade of endothelin A and B receptors. No significant differences in percentage of endothelial coverage between groups were assessed by light and electron microscopy.Conclusion: Thrombolysis with urokinase caused no or minimal abnormalities in endothelial and smooth muscle function. Endothelium present after balloon thrombectomy produces contractile factors. Although the duration and recovery of these abnormalities in function are unknown, these findings support preferential use of urokinase over balloon thrombectomy when possible in acute arterial thrombosis or embolism. (J Vasc Surg 1996;23:851-9.

The sweet spot in sustainability: a framework for corporate assessment in sugar manufacturing

The assessment of corporate sustainability has become an increasingly important topic, both within academia and in industry. For manufacturing companies to conform to their commitments to sustainable development, a standard and reliable measurement framework is required. There is, however, a lack of sector-specific and empirical research in many areas, including the sugar industry. This paper presents an empirically developed framework for the assessment of corporate sustainability within the Thai sugar industry. Multiple case studies were conducted, and a survey using questionnaires was also employed to enhance the power of generalisation. The developed framework is an accurate and reliable measurement instrument of corporate sustainability, and guidelines to assess qualitative criteria are put forward. The proposed framework can be used for a company’s self-assessment and for guiding practitioners in performance improvement and policy decision-maki

Route of drug administration in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A protocol for a randomised controlled trial (PARAMEDIC-3)

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).AIMS: The PARAMEDIC-3 trial evaluates the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intraosseous first strategy, compared with an intravenous first strategy, for drug administration in adults who have sustained an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: PARAMEDIC-3 is a pragmatic, allocation concealed, open-label, multi-centre, superiority randomised controlled trial. It will recruit 15,000 patients across English and Welsh ambulance services. Adults who have sustained an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are individually randomised to an intraosseous access first strategy or intravenous access first strategy in a 1:1 ratio through an opaque, sealed envelope system. The randomised allocation determines the route used for the first two attempts at vascular access. Participants are initially enrolled under a deferred consent model.The primary clinical-effectiveness outcome is survival at 30-days. Secondary outcomes include return of spontaneous circulation, neurological functional outcome, and health-related quality of life. Participants are followed-up to six-months following cardiac arrest. The primary health economic outcome is incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. CONCLUSION: The PARAMEDIC-3 trial will provide key information on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of drug route in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.Trial registration: ISRCTN14223494, registered 16/08/2021, prospectively registered.Peer reviewe

Hidden in the Middle : Culture, Value and Reward in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics - the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science - is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised 'outputs' in academia are often defined and rewarded by discipline. Bioinformatics, as an interdisciplinary bricolage, incorporates experts from various disciplinary cultures with their own distinct ways of working. Perceived problems of interdisciplinarity include difficulties of making explicit knowledge that is practical, theoretical, or cognitive. But successful interdisciplinary research also depends on an understanding of disciplinary cultures and value systems, often only tacitly understood by members of the communities in question. In bioinformatics, the 'parent' disciplines have different value systems; for example, what is considered worthwhile research by computer scientists can be thought of as trivial by biologists, and vice versa. This paper concentrates on the problems of reward and recognition described by scientists working in academic bioinformatics in the United Kingdom. We highlight problems that are a consequence of its cross-cultural make-up, recognising that the mismatches in knowledge in this borderland take place not just at the level of the practical, theoretical, or epistemological, but also at the cultural level too. The trend in big, interdisciplinary science is towards multiple authors on a single paper; in bioinformatics this has created hybrid or fractional scientists who find they are being positioned not just in-between established disciplines but also in-between as middle authors or, worse still, left off papers altogether

Enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis VI: evaluation of long-term pulmonary function in patients treated with recombinant human N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase

Pulmonary function is impaired in untreated mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI). Pulmonary function was studied in patients during long-term enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant human arylsulfatase B (rhASB; rhN-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase). Pulmonary function tests prior to and for up to 240 weeks of weekly infusions of rhASB at 1 mg/kg were completed in 56 patients during Phase 1/2, Phase 2, Phase 3 and Phase 3 Extension trials of rhASB and the Survey Study. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and, in a subset of patients, maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), were analyzed as absolute volume in liters. FEV1 and FVC showed little change from baseline during the first 24 weeks of ERT, but after 96 weeks, these parameters increased over baseline by 11% and 17%, respectively. This positive trend compared with baseline continued beyond 96 weeks of treatment. Improvements from baseline in pulmonary function occurred along with gains in height in the younger group (5.5% change) and in the older patient group (2.4% change) at 96 weeks. Changes in MVV occurred earlier within 24 weeks of treatment to approximately 15% over baseline. Model results based on data from all trials showed significant improvements in the rate of change in pulmonary function during 96 weeks on ERT, whereas little or no improvement was observed for the same time period prior to ERT. Thus, analysis of mean percent change data and longitudinal modeling both indicate that long-term ERT resulted in improvement in pulmonary function in MPS VI patients

Is Inequality Among Universities Increasing? Gini Coefficients and the Elusive Rise of Elite Universities

One of the unintended consequences of the New Public Management (NPM) in universities is often feared to be a division between elite institutions focused on research and large institutions with teaching missions. However, institutional isomorphisms provide counter-incentives. For example, university rankings focus on certain output parameters such as publications, but not on others (e.g., patents). In this study, we apply Gini coefficients to university rankings in order to assess whether universities are becoming more unequal, at the level of both the world and individual nations. Our results do not support the thesis that universities are becoming more unequal. If anything, we predominantly find homogenization, both at the level of the global comparisons and nationally. In a more restricted dataset (using only publications in the natural and life sciences), we find increasing inequality for those countries, which used NPM during the 1990s, but not during the 2000s. Our findings suggest that increased output steering from the policy side leads to a global conformation to performance standards