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.

Implant brand portfolios, the potential for camouflage of data, and the role of the Orthopaedic Data Evaluation Panel in total knee arthroplasty

Aims Knee arthroplasty surgery is a highly effective treatment for arthritis and disorders of the knee. There are a wide variety of implant brands and types of knee arthroplasty available to surgeons. As a result of a number of highly publicized failures, arthroplasty surgery is highly regulated in the UK and many other countries through national registries, introduced to monitor implant performance, surgeons, and hospitals. With time, the options available within many brand portfolios have grown, with alternative tibial or femoral components, tibial insert materials, or shapes and patella resurfacings. In this study we have investigated the effect of the expansion of implant brand portfolios and where there may be a lack of transparency around a brand name. We also aimed to establish the potential numbers of compatible implant construct combinations. Methods Hypothetical implant brand portfolios were proposed, and the number of compatible implant construct combinations was calculated. Results A simple knee portfolio with cemented cruciate-retaining (CR) and posterior-stabilized (PS) components, with and without a patella, has four combinations. If there are two options available for each component, the numbers double for each option, resulting in 32 combinations. The effect of adding a third option multiplies the number by 1.3. Introducing compatible uncemented options, with the effect of hybrids, multiplies the number by 4. An implant portfolio with two femoral components (both in CR and PS), with two insert options and a patella, all in cemented and uncemented versions leads to 192 possible compatible implant construct combinations. There are implant brands available to surgeons with many more than two options. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the addition of multiple variants within a knee brand portfolio leads to a large number (many hundreds) of compatible implant construct combinations. Revision rates of implant combinations are not currently reviewed at this level of granularity, leading to the risk of camouflage of true outcomes. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(10):1555–1560.

Implementation of Healthy and Sustainable Dishes in a Multicultural University Cafeteria: A Pilot Study Using Sensory Science

Food choices are closely linked to individual cultural factors. In university students of different nationalities, finding a balance so that their choices are healthy and sustainable is a challenge that can be addressed by working on consumer perception. The aim of this study proposes to evaluate the acceptance of dishes prepared based on the Mediterranean diet, in the student’s cafeteria of a university with students from all over Latin America. An on-place evaluation panel was carried out in the main cafeteria of the university with 71 students from 12 Latin-American countries for three sustainable lunch menus. In each menu evaluation, a six-compartment tray containing the source of carbohydrates, animal protein, plant-based protein, and vegetables was provided. The attributes evaluated for each food group were: appearance, color, odor, flavor, and overall liking, using a 9-point hedonic scale. Moreover, the overall liking, flavor intensity, and the general quality of the menu were evaluated. For overall liking and flavor intensity, a 9-point scale was used, and for quality a 10-point scale. In general, the dishes received fair acceptance, and participants stated they liked them; however, animal protein had a higher acceptance over carbohydrates and vegetables. Most participants would like these foods to be served in place of fast food in the student cafeteria.

Establishment of an evaluation panel for the decentralized technical evaluation of the sensitivity of 31 rapid detection tests for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics

Background The detection of SARS-CoV-2 with rapid diagnostic tests has become an important tool to identify infected people and break infection chains. These rapid diagnostic tests are usually based on antigen detection in a lateral flow approach. Aims & Methods While for PCR diagnostics the validation of a PCR assay is well established, for antigen tests e.g. rapid diagnostic tests there is no common validation strategy. Here we present the establishment of a panel of 50 pooled clinical specimens that cover a SARS-CoV-2 concentration range from approximately 1.1 x 109 to 420 genome copies per mL of specimen. The panel was used to evaluate 31 rapid diagnostic tests in up to 6 laboratories. Results Our results show that there is significant variation in the detection limits and the clinical sensitivity of different rapid diagnostic tests. We conclude that the best rapid diagnostic tests can be applied to reliably identify infectious individuals who are presenting with SARS-CoV-2 loads correlated to 106 genome copies per mL of specimen. Infected individuals displaying SARS-CoV-2 genome loads corresponding to less than 106 genome copies per mL will be identified by only some rapid diagnostics tests, while many tests miss these viral loads to a large extent. Conclusions Sensitive RDTs can be applied to identify infectious individuals with high viral loads, but not to identify infected individuals.

Is instant porridge with a high calcium content based on Moringa oleifera as an alternative baby food to prevent stunting in Indonesia?

Background: According to WHO, stunting is a state of height-for-age index below minus two standard deviation. However, the condition could be prevented by giving suitable complementary food to babies and toddlers. Moringa leaves are rich in vitamins A, C, B6, as well as calcium, potassium, iron, as well as protein, and are therefore used as complementary foods for breast milk, in baby feeding.Design and Methods: Instant porridge was developed using three formulas. Each formula comprised Moringa leaf flour (5, 6 and 7 grams each) combined with 30 grams of oatmeal powder, 40 grams of powdered formula, 10grams of refined sugar, and 5 grams of banana flour.Results: Based on the organoleptic test, Formula 3 (created with 5 grams of Moringa leaf flour) was discovered to be the best. The organoleptic evaluation panel consisted of 3 trained and 30 untrained participants, while the statistical results showed the parameters of colour, texture, and taste, have no significant effect on panellists’ acceptance.Conclusions: The flavour parameter has a significant effect on panellists’ acceptance, with a p-value <0.05.

Kinesthetic engagement in Gestalt evaluation outscores analytical ‘atomic feature’ evaluation in perceiving aging in crystallization images of agricultural products

There is an increasing interest in a systemic approach to food quality. From this perspective, the copper chloride crystallization method is an interesting asset as it enables an estimation of a sample’s ‘resilience’ in response to controlled degradation. In previous studies, we showed that an ISO-standardized visual evaluation panel could correctly rank crystallization images of diverse agricultural products according to their degree of induced degradation. In this paper we examined the role of contextual sensitivity herein, with the aim to further improve the visual evaluation. To this end, we compared subjects’ performance in ranking tests, while primed according to two perceptional strategies (levels: analytical vs. kinesthetic engagement), according to a within-subject design. The ranking test consisted out of wheat and rocket lettuce crystallization images, exhibiting four levels of induced degradation. The perceptual strategy imbuing kinesthetic engagement improved the performance of the ranking test in both samples tested. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the training and application of such a perceptual strategy in visual evaluation.

Incorporation of Spirulina platensis on Traditional Greek Soft Cheese with Respect to Its Nutritional and Sensory Perspectives

Spirulina platensis, the most popular microalgae species known for its high protein content and bioactive compounds such as phycocyanin and allophycocyanin, has been studied for cheese fortification. Incorporation of spirulina in dairy products poses major sensorial challenges due to its characteristic odor and its insolubility in food formulation, thus limiting consumer acceptance. The main objective was the production of a novel spread cheese fortified with spirulina, so powdered spirulina was added at different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, and 1%), and the effect on physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics was assessed. Cheese samples were examined for pH, fat (Gerber-Van Gulik method), salt (Volhard method), protein (Kjeldahl), and moisture content by drying to constant weight at 102 ± 1 °C. Cheeses were also assessed organoleptically by five experienced panelists. Generally, the addition of spirulina slightly increased the protein content and affected the color of the cheeses. The cheeses achieved a good microbiological profile and were all characterized as acceptable for consumption by the panelists. However, the cheeses with 0.25 and 0.5% spirulina were mostly preferred by the evaluation panel due to the less intense characteristic odor and taste of spirulina. We conclude that it is possible to produce an acceptable spread cheese with the addition of spirulina without significant changes in the cheese production line.

Relationship Among Volatile Organic Compounds and Sensory Properties in Craft Beer

Hops flowers are used to impart highly desirable hoppy aromas in beer. The emergence of craft brewing caused an increase in the popularity of intense hoppy beer determining a breeding trend for new hop flavour varieties that differ in terms of oil contents and compounds. The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sensory properties in an Italian craft beer brewed with 2 selected Italian wild hop varieties and a commercial one (Cascade) grown in 2 sites with different environmental condition. Since the beer aroma is represented by hop flowers and so they increase incise in the finished product. In this study, 6 beer samples produced by an Italian microbrewery using hop plants were collected and analysed for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) profiles using a PTR-TOF-MS and a sensory evaluation (panel and consumer tests). Multivariate statistical analyses (PCA and CANOCO) showed as “Cascade commercial” sample marks with the highest intensity of taste in comparison to other samples. Results showed low interest for the aromas the hops imparted to the beers produced in relationships to the commercial variety grown and bought. In addition, the grown commercial cascade resulted to be interesting, producing a modified aroma profile when compared to its commercial counterpart. Finally, this study showed an initial contribution to screen other wild genotypes to identify new hops for direct use or breeding with new characteristics that can be used for the production of beer with a modified aroma.