The jury is out: a new approach to awarding science prizes

Research evaluation is often understood as something similar to a competition, where an evaluation panel’s task is to award the most excellent researchers. This interpretation is challenging, in as far as excellence it is at best a multi-dimensional concept and at worst an ill-defined term because it assumes that there exists some ground truth as to who the very best researchers are and all that an evaluation panel needs to do is uncover this ground truth. Therefore, instead of focusing on competition, the Swiss National Science Foundation focused on active decision-making and sought inspiration in the deliberation proceedings of a jury trial for the design of a new evaluation procedure of an academic award. The new evaluation procedure is based upon fully anonymised documents consisting of three independent parts (achievements, impact and prominence). Before the actual evaluation meeting, the panel, which includes non-academic experts, pre-evaluates all nominations through a pseudo-randomly structured network, such that every nomination is reviewed by six members of the panel only. Evaluation decisions are based upon anonymous votes, structured discussions in the panel, ranking as opposed to rating of nominees and data-rich figures providing an overview of the positioning of the nominee along various dimensions and the ranking provided by the individual panel members. The proceedings are overseen by an academic chair, focusing on content, and a procedural chair, focusing on the process and compliance. Combined, these elements form a highly-structure deliberation procedure, consisting of individual steps, through which nominations proceed and which each either feed into the next step or into the final verdict. The proposed evaluation process has been successfully applied in the real world in the evaluation of the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist, Switzerland’s most prestigious academic award.

Download Full-text

In silico modeling of cellular probabilistic nanoparticle radiosensitization in head and neck cancers

Nanomedicine ◽

10.2217/nnm-2020-0301 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (29) ◽

pp. 2837-2850

Author(s):

Myxuan Huynh ◽

Ivan Kempson ◽

Eva Bezak ◽

Wendy Phillips

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Head And Neck Cancers ◽

New Approach ◽

Treatment Regimens ◽

Therapeutic Benefits ◽

In Silico Modeling ◽

The Individual ◽

Dose Deposition ◽

Therapy Treatment

Background: The use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as radiosensitizers may offer a new approach in the treatment of head and neck cancers; minimizing treatment-associated toxicities and improving patient outcomes. AuNPs promote localized dose deposition; permitting improved local control and/or dose reduction. Aim: This work aimed to address the theoretical optimization of radiation doses, fractionation and nanoparticle injection schedules to maximize therapeutic benefits. Materials & methods: Probabilistic nanoparticle sensitization factors were incorporated into the individual cell-based HYP-RT computer model of tumor growth and radiotherapy. Results: Total dose outcomes across all radiation therapy treatment regimens were found to be significantly reduced with the presence of AuNPs, with bi-weekly injections showing the most decrease. Conclusion: Outcomes suggest the need for regular AuNP administration to permit effective radiosensitization.

Download Full-text

A detailed analysis of anatomical plausibility of crossed and uncrossed streamline rendition of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT(T)) in a commercial stereotactic planning system

Acta Neurochirurgica ◽

10.1007/s00701-021-04890-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Volker A. Coenen ◽

Bastian E. Sajonz ◽

Peter C. Reinacher ◽

Christoph P. Kaller ◽

Horst Urbach ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surgical Planning ◽

Ground Truth ◽

Planning System ◽

Single Subject ◽

Fiber Structure ◽

Native Space ◽

Volume Of Interest ◽

Mri Scans ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽

The Individual

Abstract Background An increasing number of neurosurgeons use display of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT) based on diffusion weighted imaging (dMRI) as basis for their routine planning of stimulation or lesioning approaches in stereotactic tremor surgery. An evaluation of the anatomical validity of the display of the DRT with respect to modern stereotactic planning systems and across different tracking environments has not been performed. Methods Distinct dMRI and anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of high and low quality from 9 subjects were used. Six subjects had repeated MRI scans and therefore entered the analysis twice. Standardized DICOM structure templates for volume of interest definition were applied in native space for all investigations. For tracking BrainLab Elements (BrainLab, Munich, Germany), two tensor deterministic tracking (FT2), MRtrix IFOD2 (https://www.mrtrix.org), and a global tracking (GT) approach were used to compare the display of the uncrossed (DRTu) and crossed (DRTx) fiber structure after transformation into MNI space. The resulting streamlines were investigated for congruence, reproducibility, anatomical validity, and penetration of anatomical way point structures. Results In general, the DRTu can be depicted with good quality (as judged by waypoints). FT2 (surgical) and GT (neuroscientific) show high congruence. While GT shows partly reproducible results for DRTx, the crossed pathway cannot be reliably reconstructed with the other (iFOD2 and FT2) algorithms. Conclusion Since a direct anatomical comparison is difficult in the individual subjects, we chose a comparison with two research tracking environments as the best possible “ground truth.” FT2 is useful especially because of its manual editing possibilities of cutting erroneous fibers on the single subject level. An uncertainty of 2 mm as mean displacement of DRTu is expectable and should be respected when using this approach for surgical planning. Tractographic renditions of the DRTx on the single subject level seem to be still illusive.

Download Full-text

Sustainable Geographical Changes in Rural Areas: Key Paths, Orientations and Limits

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042059 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2059

Author(s):

Angel Paniagua

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

Rural Studies ◽

New Approach ◽

Rural Restructuring ◽

Theoretical Approaches ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Social Environmental ◽

The Individual ◽

New Rurality

Rural differentiation processes have formed the backbone of rural studies. Owing to the strength of rural–urban and local–global relationships, the theoretical approaches to rural restructuring in the Anglo-Saxon world and new rurality in Latin America only have a limited capacity to explain contemporary global phenomena of rural spaces. Due to this, transverse theoretical and methodological approaches have emerged to explain social, environmental and spatial (rural) processes. Here, a new approach is proposed called the individual–global field, based on the individual–global binary category to substitute the traditional relevance of the locality–community–globality association This new approach tries to reinvigorate rural geography in a more flexible way, based on minor theory, to adapt to all the phenomena that can occur globally. In any case, various spatial planes are proposed, dominated by specific socioeconomic processes on which the rural individual would move.

Download Full-text

Fully Data-Driven Pseudohealthy Synthesis for Planning Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Reconstruction using Conditional Variational Autoencoders

Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering ◽

10.1515/cdbme-2020-3072 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 284-287

Author(s):

Jannis Hagenah ◽

Mohamad Mehdi ◽

Floris Ernst

Keyword(s):

Aortic Root ◽

Similarity Index ◽

Ground Truth ◽

Representation Learning ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Ultrasound Images ◽

Specific Geometry ◽

The Individual ◽

Native Root ◽

Original Information

AbstractAortic root aneurysm is treated by replacing the dilated root by a grafted prosthesis which mimics the native root morphology of the individual patient. The challenge in predicting the optimal prosthesis size rises from the highly patient-specific geometry as well as the absence of the original information on the healthy root. Therefore, the estimation is only possible based on the available pathological data. In this paper, we show that representation learning with Conditional Variational Autoencoders is capable of turning the distorted geometry of the aortic root into smoother shapes while the information on the individual anatomy is preserved. We evaluated this method using ultrasound images of the porcine aortic root alongside their labels. The observed results show highly realistic resemblance in shape and size to the ground truth images. Furthermore, the similarity index has noticeably improved compared to the pathological images. This provides a promising technique in planning individual aortic root replacement.

Download Full-text

Individualized Hemodynamic Management in Sepsis

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11020157 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 157

Author(s):

Marcell Virág ◽

Tamas Leiner ◽

Mate Rottler ◽

Klementina Ocskay ◽

Zsolt Molnar

Keyword(s):

Fluid Overload ◽

Fluid Management ◽

Multiple Organ ◽

Treatment Protocols ◽

Hemodynamic Management ◽

New Approach ◽

Hemodynamic Optimization ◽

The Individual ◽

Sepsis And Septic Shock ◽

Insight Into

Hemodynamic optimization remains the cornerstone of resuscitation in the treatment of sepsis and septic shock. Delay or inadequate management will inevitably lead to hypoperfusion, tissue hypoxia or edema, and fluid overload, leading eventually to multiple organ failure, seriously affecting outcomes. According to a large international survey (FENICE study), physicians frequently use inadequate indices to guide fluid management in intensive care units. Goal-directed and “restrictive” infusion strategies have been recommended by guidelines over “liberal” approaches for several years. Unfortunately, these “fixed regimen” treatment protocols neglect the patient’s individual needs, and what is shown to be beneficial for a given population may not be so for the individual patient. However, applying multimodal, contextualized, and personalized management could potentially overcome this problem. The aim of this review was to give an insight into the pathophysiological rationale and clinical application of this relatively new approach in the hemodynamic management of septic patients.

Download Full-text

A new catalogue of multiple galaxies in the Local Supercluster

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100054725 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 174 ◽

pp. 40-45

Author(s):

D. I. Makarov ◽

I. D. Karachentsev

Keyword(s):

New Approach ◽

Galaxy Groups ◽

Closed Orbits ◽

Crossing Time ◽

Local Supercluster ◽

Virial Mass ◽

Nearby Galaxies ◽

The Individual ◽

Group Member ◽

Harmonic Radius

AbstractA new approach is suggested which makes use of the individual properties of galaxies, for the identification of small galaxy groups in the Local Supercluster. The criterion is based on the assumption of closed orbits of the companions around the dominating group member within a zero velocity sphere.The criterion is applied to a sample of 6321 nearby galaxies with radial velocities V0 ≤ 3000 km s−1. These 3472 galaxies have been assigned to 839 groups that include 55% of the sample considered. For the groups identified by the new algorithm (with k ≥ 5 members) the median velocity dispersion is 86 km s−1, the median harmonic radius is 247 kpc, the median crossing time is 0.08(1/H), and the median virial-mass-to-light ratio is 56 M⊙/L⊙.

Download Full-text

WattScale

ACM/IMS Transactions on Data Science ◽

10.1145/3406961 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-25

Author(s):

Srinivasan Iyengar ◽

Stephen Lee ◽

David Irwin ◽

Prashant Shenoy ◽

Benjamin Weil

Keyword(s):

Cooling System ◽

Large Population ◽

Ground Truth ◽

Detection Algorithm ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Ground Truth Data ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Data Driven Approach ◽

Execution Mode ◽

The Individual

Buildings consume over 40% of the total energy in modern societies, and improving their energy efficiency can significantly reduce our energy footprint. In this article, we present WattScale, a data-driven approach to identify the least energy-efficient buildings from a large population of buildings in a city or a region. Unlike previous methods such as least-squares that use point estimates, WattScale uses Bayesian inference to capture the stochasticity in the daily energy usage by estimating the distribution of parameters that affect a building. Further, it compares them with similar homes in a given population. WattScale also incorporates a fault detection algorithm to identify the underlying causes of energy inefficiency. We validate our approach using ground truth data from different geographical locations, which showcases its applicability in various settings. WattScale has two execution modes—(i) individual and (ii) region-based, which we highlight using two case studies. For the individual execution mode, we present results from a city containing >10,000 buildings and show that more than half of the buildings are inefficient in one way or another indicating a significant potential from energy improvement measures. Additionally, we provide probable cause of inefficiency and find that 41%, 23.73%, and 0.51% homes have poor building envelope, heating, and cooling system faults, respectively. For the region-based execution mode, we show that WattScale can be extended to millions of homes in the U.S. due to the recent availability of representative energy datasets.

Download Full-text

Towards a redefinition of the role of the court interpreter

Interpreting ◽

10.1075/intp.3.1.02mik ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 21-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Holly Mikkelson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Formal Education ◽

The United States ◽

Jury Trial ◽

Cultural Norms ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

New Approach ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

State Statutes

Various federal and state statutes in the United States define the role of the court interpreter with clear and unequivocal rules. This definition is based on the underlying principles of the U.S. legal system, which is derived from the Anglo-Saxon common-law tradition. Consequently, the distinctive features of that system, including the jury trial and the concept of adversarial proceedings, make the function of the court interpreter quite different from that of his/her counterparts in other countries. In recent years, the judiciary has made an effort to enhance the public's access to the justice system, but at the same time, the latest wave of immigration comprises individuals from societies in which cultural norms differ greatly from those of the United States. Moreover, many of these immigrants have received little or no formal education. As a result, judiciary interpreters feel somewhat constrained by the rules that govern their profession when they strive to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap. This paper reexamines the function of the court interpreter in light of these circumstances and an analysis of prevailing practices in other countries, and proposes a new approach to the interpreter's role.

Download Full-text

The Evaluation of Mineral Resources Development Efficiency Based on Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Approach and Modified TODIM

Mathematical Problems in Engineering ◽

10.1155/2018/1808426 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pu Li ◽

Xudong Chen ◽

Xinyi Qu ◽

Qi Xu

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Multicriteria Decision Making ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Evaluation Process ◽

Multicriteria Decision ◽

Actual Evaluation ◽

Panxi Area ◽

Linguistic Approach ◽

Fuzzy Linguistic ◽

Resources Development

The evaluation of mineral resources development efficiency is a typical multicriteria decision-making issue. Meanwhile, due to the limited existing technology, there might be subjectivity, ambiguity, and inaccuracy of the measurement of the evaluation index of mineral resources development efficiency. In this paper, we, considering the incomplete information, use the hesitant fuzzy linguistic approach to describe the psychological hesitation and ambiguity of the decision-maker in the actual evaluation process and then construct the general model of the development efficiency evaluation of the mineral resources by using the hesitant fuzzy linguistic terms sets and modified TODIM. Finally, this paper takes the Panxi area as an example to study the development efficiency of vanadium-titanium magnetite. The results show that the hesitant fuzzy linguistic multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approach can be implemented to mineral resources evaluation and resources management.

Download Full-text

Building the ‘Truthmeter’: Training algorithms to help journalists assess the credibility of social media sources

Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies ◽

10.1177/1354856517714955 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 19-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Fletcher ◽

Steve Schifferes ◽

Neil Thurman

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Information Source ◽

Evaluation Process ◽

Ground Truth ◽

Training Algorithms ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽

Stage Process ◽

Verification Process ◽

Use Of Social Media

Social media is now used as an information source in many different contexts. For professional journalists, the use of social media for news production creates new challenges for the verification process. This article describes the development and evaluation of the ‘Truthmeter’ – a tool that automatically scores the journalistic credibility of social media contributors in order to inform overall credibility assessments. The Truthmeter was evaluated using a three-stage process that used both qualitative and quantitative methods, consisting of (1) obtaining a ground truth, (2) building a description of existing practices and (3) calibration, modification and testing. As a result of the evaluation process, which could be generalized and applied in other contexts, the Truthmeter produced credibility scores that were closely aligned with those of trainee journalists. Substantively, the evaluation also highlighted the importance of ‘relational’ credibility assessments, where credibility may be attributed based on networked connections to other credible contributors.

Download Full-text