R & D Planning Involving Multicriteria Decision Analytic Methods at the Branch Level

This series of papers are a product of collaborative research coordinated through IIASA's Management and Technology Area. The collaborating institutions are Hungarian State Office of Technical Development (Personnel: Anna Vari, Janos Vecsenyi, Laszlo David); Decision Analysis Unit, Brunel University, England (Personnel: Patrick Humphreys, Lawrence D. Phillips); All-Union Research Institute of Systems Studies, USSR (Personnel: Oleg. I Larichev). The papers report case studies prepared by the personnel from the collaborating institutions based on their own, and their colleagues' work in their own institutions. They worked together as a team in developing the methods for the analysis of these case studies which are described in the first paper in the series. IIASA provided support for this work through its telecenter for communication between the investigations, and provided facilities for short term meetings between the investigations at IIASA for development of case studies and their comparative analysis. Particular MMT staff were Ronald M. Lee, Nora Avedisians, and Miyoko Yamada, who is the editor of this series. A summary of this comparative analysis, based on the first four case studies in this series was presented at the IFIP/IIASA Conference on "Processes and Tools for Decision Support", Laxenburg, Austria, July, 1982. The paper presented at the IFIP/IIASA conference will be published as Humphreys, P.C., O.I. Larichev, A. Vari, and J. Vecsenyi, Comparative analysis of decision support systems in R&D decisions, in H.G. Sol (ed.), "Processes and Tools for Decision Support", Amsterdam: North Holland, 1982. Another study in this series was published separately as L.D. Phillips: Requisite decision modeling: a case study. "Journal of the Operations Research Society, 1982, 33:303-311

Prospective study on nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel in advanced breast cancer. Clinical results and biological observations in taxane-pretreated patients

Background: There is a deep need to improve the care of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, since even today it remains an incurable disease. Taxanes are considered the most effective cytotoxic drugs for the treatment of MBC, both in monotherapy and in combined schedules, but the need for synthetic solvents contributes to the severe toxicities and may have a negative impact on the efficacy. Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (Nab-paclitaxel) is a colloidal suspension of paclitaxel and human serum albumin initially developed to avoid the toxicities associated with conventional taxanes. Patients and methods: The aim of this prospective, single-center open-label, noncomparative study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel in MBC patients pretreated with taxanes. The patients were treated with nab-paclitaxel as a single agent, 260 mg/m2 on day 1 of each 3-week cycle or 125 mg/m2 weekly. The primary endpoint was the overall response rate (ORR). Secondary objectives were duration of response, clinical benefit rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and safety. Results: A total of 42 patients (median age 48 years, median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0, triple-negative MBC 19%, all pretreated with a taxane-based therapy, mainly in advanced disease) were enrolled in the study. The ORR was 23.8%, including one complete response (2.4%) and nine partial responses (21.4%); the disease control rate was 50%. The median duration of response was 7.2 months. After a median follow-up of 9 months, the median PFS was 4.6 months. ORR and PFS were similar irrespective of the previous chemotherapy lines, metastatic sites, and biomolecular expression. Nab-paclitaxel was well tolerated, and the most frequent treatment-related toxicities were mild to moderate (grades 1–2). Conclusion: This real-life study shows that nab-paclitaxel has a significant antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in patients pretreated with taxanes and experiencing a treatment failure after at least one line of chemotherapy

Flood Risk Management Policy in the Upper Tisza Basin: A System Analytical Approach. Simulation and Analysis of Three Flood Management Strategies

This report describes an integrated flood catastrophe model as well as some results of a case study made in the upper Tisza region in northeastern Hungary: the Palad-Csecsei basin (the pilot basin). The background data was provided through the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and complemented by interviews with different stakeholders in the region. Based upon these data, where a large degree of uncertainty is prevailing, we demonstrate how an implementation of a simulation and decision analytical model can provide insights into the effects of imposing different policy options for a flood risk management program in the region. We focus herein primarily on general options for designing a public-private insurance and reinsurance system for Hungary. Obviously, this is a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder problem and cannot be solved using standard approaches. It should however be emphasized that the main purpose of this report is not to provide any definite recommendations, but rather to explore a set of policy packages that could gain a consensus among the stakeholders

The ATLAS Barrel Level-1 Muon Trigger Calibration

The ATLAS experiment uses a system of three concentric Resistive Plate Chambers detectors layers for the level-1 muon trigger in the air-core barrel toroid region. The trigger classifies muons within different programmable transverse momentum ranges, and tags the identified tracks with the corresponding bunch crossing number. The algorithm looks for hit coincidences within different detector layers inside the programmed geometrical road which defines the transverse momentum cut. The on-detector electronics providing the trigger and detector readout functionalities collects input signals coming from the RPC front-end. Because of the different time-of-flights and cables and optical fibres lengths, signals have to be adjusted in time in order to be correctly aligned before being processed. Programmable delay logics are provided in the trigger and readout system to allow for time adjustment, for hit signals as well as for LHC Timing, Trigger and Control signals. The trigger calibration provides the set of numbers used during electronics initialization for correctly aligning signals inside the trigger and readout system. The functionality scheme and the algorithm of the calibration are presented

New psychoactive substances: evolution in the exchange of information and innovative legal responses in the european union

At the end of 2019, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction was monitoring around 790 new psychoactive substances, more than twice the total number of controlled substances under the United Nations Conventions. These substances, which are not subject to international drug controls, include a wide range of molecules, including the assortment of drugs such as synthetic cannabinoids, stimulants, opiates, and benzodiazepines. Most of them are sold as “legal” substitutes for illicit drugs, while others are intended for small groups willing to experiment with them in order to know their possible new effects. At the national level, various measures have been taken to control new substances and many European countries have responded with specific legislation in favor of consumer safety and by extending or adapting existing drug laws to incorporate the new psychoactive substances. Moreover, since 1997, an early warning system has been created in Europe for identifying and responding quickly to the risks of new psychoactive substances. In order to establish a quicker and more effective system to address the criminal activities associated with new dangerous psychoactive substances, the European legal framework has considerably changed over the years

Diversity and distribution of anostomoid fishes (Teleostei: Characiformes) throughout the Guianas

Diversité et distribution des poissons anostomoides (Teleostei, Characiformes) dans les Guyanes. Cinquante-six espèces, soit approximativement 20% des Characiformes de la superfamille des Anostomidea (familles des Anostomidae, Chilodontidae, Curimatidae et Prochilodontidae), fréquentent les eaux douces de la Guyane française, du Guyana et du Suriname bien que ces régions ne recouvrent qu’environ 6% de la distribution naturelle de cette superfamille morphologiquement et écologiquement très diverse. Étant donnée cette grande diversité des anostomoides guyanais, les limites taxonomiques et/ou géographiques de nombreuses espèces sont mal définies, particulièrement dans la famille des Anostomidae. Ce travail combine les résultats de révisions taxonomiques antérieures à l’étude de sept collections majeures d’histoire naturelle afin de fournir des cartes de distribution et des clés d’identification de toutes les espèces d’anostomoides connues des Guyanes. Ces cartes révèlent six aires d’endémisme principales : les rivières Takutu et Ireng (bassin du Rio Branco, système de l’Amazone), Barima et Waini (bassin de l’Orénoque), le système Essequibo-Rupununi (incluant le Demerara et le Berbice), les bassins des fleuves Corantijn, Nickerie, Coppename, Saramacca et Suriname, le système Marowijne/Maroni (incluant la Litani et la Mana), et les bassins de l’Oyapock et de l’Approuague. Parmi ces six aires d’endémisme, le système Essequibo-Rupununi héberge un ensemble d’espèces exceptionnellement diversifié, résultant vraisemblablement d’échanges d’ichtyofaune entre le Rio Branco et l’Essequibo via le portail du Rupununi.Fifty-six species or approximately 20% of the Neotropical characiform superfamily Anostomoidea (families Anostomidae, Chilodontidae, Curimatidae and Prochilodontidae) occur in the freshwaters of French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname although these regions span only approximately 6% of the native range of this morphologically and ecologically diverse superfamily. As a result of the high diversity of anostomoids in the Guianas, the taxonomic and/or geographic boundaries of many species are poorly understood, particularly within the family Anostomidae. This contribution unites results of prior taxonomic revisions with surveys of the holdings of the superfamily in seven major natural history collections to provide distribution maps and keys to the identification of all anostomoid species known to occur in the Guianas. These maps reveal six major areas of endemism: the Takutu and Ireng rivers (Rio Branco drainage, Amazon basin), the Barima and Waini rivers (Orinoco drainage), the Essequibo-Rupununi River system (including the Demerara and Berbice rivers), a union of the Corantijn, Nickerie, Coppename, Saramacca and Suriname river drainages, the Marowijne/Maroni River system (including the Litani and Mana rivers), and the Oyapock-Approuague River basins. Of these, the Essequibo- Rupununi system harbours the most exceptionally diverse assemblage of anostomoid species, likely as a result of faunal exchange between the Rio Branco and Essequibo River across the Rupununi portal.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Société Française d’Ichtyologie and can be found at: http://www.mnhn.fr/sfi/cybium/.Keywords: Taxonomy, Dichotomous key, Biogeography, South America, Synthesis, GeoreferencingKeywords: Taxonomy, Dichotomous key, Biogeography, South America, Synthesis, Georeferencin

Vertebrate-mediated seed rain and artificial perches contribute to overcome seed dispersal limitation in a Mediterranean old field

Natural regeneration of vegetation is a frequent outcome of land abandonment, although the rate and diversity of such regeneration may be severely restricted by seed dispersal limitation, among other factors. In spite of this, studies aiming to quantify seed rain and test methods to enhance it, such as artificial perches, are still underrepresented in the Mediterranean. In our study, we quantified seed rain density and richness and tested the effects of artificial perches on such rain over a distance gradient on seven Mediterranean island old fields. In each of the seven sites, we positioned three sampling stations, each consisting of 1 seed trap under an artificial perch and 1 as a control on the ground, distributed at 30, 60, and 90 m from natural vegetation remnant. All traps received seeds, suggesting no overall dispersal limitation. Of the 11 seed species found, 10 were fleshy-fruited and dispersed by vertebrates. Seed traps under perches received significantly higher seed rain of fleshy-fruited species dispersed by birds, while ground traps received significantly more seeds of the species also dispersed by mammals, especially Rubus ulmifolius. The distance from the seed source was nonsignificant in all cases. Our study demonstrates the key role of vertebrate-mediated seed dispersal services to overcome dispersal limitation in old fields, as well as the effective contribution of even small artificial perches in contrasting such limitation. The lack of differences over the distance gradient reveal that the upper spatial limit of dispersal limitation was not achieved

Elbow

The Elbow, the part of the human body that a blind or partially sighted person takes hold of, four fingers on the inside, thumb on the outside; holding with a firm grip to assist them with navigation. It is a common guiding technique linking two people into an unfamiliar choreography. In the summer of 2015 C&C Gallery hosted an innovative residency programme, transforming the gallery space into a dynamic studio environment in order to respond to ideas surrounding the condition of blindness. During this time eight artists variously came and went, engaging with a whole repertoire of processes, from casting to laser scanning, leaving a variety of traces of their activities. Much of the work, arrived at through a collaborative approach has sought to obliquely cast a shadow across the subject, remaining open towards the process of making, and the work remains in a state of uncertainty even at the time of writing. During a workshop in the space hosted by John Dickinson-Lilley, the artists wore blind glasses and stumbled rather pathetically around the gallery and the local high street, feeling unsure, insecure and inept, grounded only by the feeling of the floor beneath ones feet and ones fingers upon a companions elbow. Within the space; chalk lines, floor to ceiling columns and laser scanning targets have created an installation for measurement, where diverse material usage- including borax, expanding foam and cat litter humorously confound expectation