suPARnostic: an advanced predictive tool for detecting recurrence in renal cell carcinoma

Background: Plasma soluble urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) predicts disease aggressiveness in renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), but its prognostic accuracy has not been investigated. To investigate the prognostic accuracy of preoperative plasma suPAR in patients who received curative treatment for initially localized ccRCC. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed plasma samples stored in the Danish National Biobank between 2010 and 2015 from 235 patients with ccRCC at any stage. Relationships with outcome analyzed using univariate and multiple logistic Cox regression analysis. Results: There were 235 patients with ccRCC. The median follow-up period was 7.7 years. In univariate analysis suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL was significantly associated with overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Patients with elevated suPAR were more likely to recur, with a Hazard Ratio (HR) of 2.3 for RFS. In multiple logistic regression, suPAR ≥ 6 ng/mL remained a negative predictor of OS and RFS. Limitations include retrospective study design, wide confidence intervals, and tumor subtype heterogeneity bias. Conclusions: ccRCC patients with high plasma suPAR concentrations are at an elevated risk of disease recurrence and see lower OS. suPAR is a promising surveillance tool to more precisely follow up with ccRCC patients and detect future recurrences. Patient Summary: In this study, we showed that new type of liquid marker in blood plasma, called suPAR, is associated to a higher risk of kidney cancer recurrence when elevated above 6ng/mL. We also showed suPAR to independently be able to predict patients overall and recurrence free survival in patient with any stage of kidney cancer.</p

Computed Tomography as a Method for Age Determination of Carnivora and Odontocetes with Validation from Individuals with Known Age

Traditional methods for age determination of wildlife include either slicing thin sections off or grinding a tooth, both of which are laborious and invasive. Especially when it comes to ancient and valuable museum samples of rare or extinct species, non-invasive methods are preferable. In this study, X-ray micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) was verified as an alternative non-invasive method for age determination of three species within the order of Carnivora and suborders Odontoceti. Teeth from 13 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 2 American mink (Neogale vison), and 2 harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) of known age were studied using µ-CT. The number of visible dental growth layers in the µ-CT were highly correlated with true age for all three species (R2 = 96%, p &lt; 0.001). In addition, the Bland–Altman plot showed high agreement between the age of individuals and visible dental layers represented in 2D slices of the 3D µ-CT images. The true age of individuals was on average 0.3 (±0.6 SD) years higher than the age interpreted by the µ-CT image, and there was a 95% agreement between the true age and the age interpreted from visible dental layers in the µ-CT.</p

Better evidence, better decisions, better environment: emergent themes from the first environmental evidence conference

The first international Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) conference took place in August 2016 at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm with nearly 100 participants from 14 countries. This conference reflected and contributed to th

Accuracy versus precision in boosted top tagging with the ATLAS detector

Abstract The identification of top quark decays where the top quark has a large momentum transverse to the beam axis, known as top tagging, is a crucial component in many measurements of Standard Model processes and searches for beyond the Standard Model physics at the Large Hadron Collider. Machine learning techniques have improved the performance of top tagging algorithms, but the size of the systematic uncertainties for all proposed algorithms has not been systematically studied. This paper presents the performance of several machine learning based top tagging algorithms on a dataset constructed from simulated proton-proton collision events measured with the ATLAS detector at √ s = 13 TeV. The systematic uncertainties associated with these algorithms are estimated through an approximate procedure that is not meant to be used in a physics analysis, but is appropriate for the level of precision required for this study. The most performant algorithms are found to have the largest uncertainties, motivating the development of methods to reduce these uncertainties without compromising performance. To enable such efforts in the wider scientific community, the datasets used in this paper are made publicly available.</jats:p

The Tsesis oil spill impact on the pelagic ecosystem

On 26 October, 1977, the tanker Tsesis grounded in the Swedish archipelago, 65 km south of Stockholm (northern Baltic proper, 59°N, 18°E). The Tsesis carried 17575 t of No. 5 fuel oil. The total spill was estimated as being somewhat more than 1000 t, of which about 600–700 t were recovered, thus leaving about 300 t in the environment. The spill occurred only about 5 km east of the Askö Laboratory, a marine ecological station, which made a relatively fast sampling response possible. The effects on the pelagic ecosystem were studied for 1 month following the spill. Severe effects were recorded only in the immediate vicinity of the wreck where zooplankton biomass declined substantially during the first few days after the spill. Within 5 days the zooplankton biomass was re-established. Oil contamination of zooplankton was recorded for over 3 weeks. It is suggested that an increased phytoplankton biomass and primary production in the impacted area was due to decreased zooplankton grazing rates. Increased bacterial numbers and the oil degradation pattern indicated a rapid bacterial degradation of hydrocarbons in the water column. Sediment traps positioned in the area demonstrated the importance of sedimentation as a pathway for removal of oil from the water column. During the second week after the spill, 0.7% of sedimented material was petroleum hydrocarbons. Using sediment trap data, a total sedimentation of 30–60 t of oil was estimated in the impacted area (42 km2). This corresponds to 10–15% of the unrecovered oil

Suitability of inbound VMI at a manufacturing company

A main challenge for supply chains concerns how to handle the demand planning and inventory management in the order-delivery process. Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a concept that has been applied in order to meet this challenge. In VMI, the responsibility of the replenishment decision is transferred to the supplier and the buying firm shares the required inventory and demand data. The main benefits highlighted in previous research are improved service levels, reduced inventory levels and reduced administration for the customer. However, studies have shown that by applying VMI, all benefits will not by itself be realised. The study object of this report is a manufacturer that operates several VMI setups. The manufacturer has experienced mixed effects from the application. Many studies have been performed on the subject of VMI but there are not many guidelines of the prerequisites for successful VMI application. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a supporting framework for deciding the suitability of VMI as a replenishment method at a manufacturing company. In order to fulfil the aim, a VMI suitability framework was constructed based on theoretical findings. The applicability of the framework was further evaluated and improved through a case study at the manufacturer and one of its VMI suppliers. The empirical data consists of qualitative data, mainly collected through semi-structured interviews. Recommendations regarding VMI application in general at the case company were formulated together with guidelines of how to apply the VMI suitability framework at the case company. Firstly, it was found that there are two types of VMI available, which have different effects and also put different requirements on the actors. Secondly, it was found that the type of VMI is dependent on the configuration of VMI at the supplier’s site. Thirdly, the risk in a VMI arrangement consists of performance risk and relational risk. It was found that the suitability of VMI depends on the risk that the parties are willing to take and the type of VMI that is considered

Älvburet organiskt kol strukturerar näringsväven i Bottenviken

En aktuell forskningsrapport visar att löst organiska material i älvvatten utgör en betydande del av årets totala tillförsel av kol till Bottenviken och kustbassänger i Bottenhavet. Detta innebär en viktig alternativ näringskälla till det kol som binds till växtplankton vid fotosyntesen, vilket gynnar en mikrobiell näringsväv bestående av bakterier och små encelliga djurplankton. Kol från älvarna strukturerar därmed om näringsväven så att fisk och bottendjur missgynnas. Insikterna innebär att förvaltningen av våra vattendrag också kan ha betydande inverkan på havsmiljön i delar av Bottniska viken

A five-step approach for stakeholder engagement in prioritisation and planning of environmental evidence syntheses

Abstract Systematic reviews and systematic maps, regarded as a gold standard for syntheses of documented research evidence, are increasingly used to inform decisions in environmental management. To increase their relevance and uptake, systematic reviews and maps can be planned with the help and engagement of stakeholders, i.e. organisations and individuals involved in and affected by environmental policy-making and practice. We report on the emprically tested five-step approach that the Mistra Council for Evidence-based Environmental Management (EviEM) is using to engage stakeholders and incorporate their views and opinions in the prioritisation and planning of reviews, including (1) stakeholder identification; (2) identification of policy- and practice-relevant topics; (3) framing and prioritisation of review questions; (4) establishment of the specific scope of a review; and (5) a public review of a draft review protocol. We provide examples from EviEM’s reviews and describe various challenges and valuable lessons learnt from the engagement process, hoping that this will be useful reading not only for reviewers, but also for stakeholders who plan to participate in the engagement process

Obstacles to Nordic Venture Capital Funds - Promoting a common Nordic venture capital market (Updated version 2011)

This is a new version of the &#8220;Obstacles to Nordic Venture Capital Funds&#8221; report first published in November 2006 and updated in 2007 and 2009. Since publication of the original report, discussions regarding these issues have been ongoing in various forms in the Nordic countries. Although positive changes have been made in several of the countries, new obstacles in different forms have also emerged