Higher Commercial Education in Great Britain and Ireland

Intermediate-level adult and commercial education was well established in Manchester and Liverpool by the last third of the nineteenth century, but the first dedicated Faculty of Commerce was founded in Birmingham in 1902, headed by William Ashley. There was, however, little local support for the initiative, which was moreover aimed at school-leavers, and the Faculty of Commerce created in Manchester shortly afterwards had much greater early success. The teaching of commerce in British and Irish universities was established by the 1920s, but there was a general failure to establish a curriculum and develop supporting texts and journals. By the later 1940s these early foundations were increasingly teaching economics, indicating the way in which commercial education in Britain was mainly a vehicle for the development of the teaching of economics.

Vessel diameter and close surveillance helps predict early patency in native arteriovenous fistulas

Introduction: Arteriovenous fistulas are the preferred method of vascular access for haemodialysis. Data suggests patency rates can be low and may be related to vessel diameters prior to creation. We use specific size criteria for fistula selection. We aimed to establish patency rates in relation to vessel size and whether other factors affect fistula patency. Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing radiocephalic (RCF) or brachiocephalic (BCF) creation between 2016 and 2018 were analysed. Preoperative arterial and venous diameters were collected. Six-week and six-month primary and secondary patency rates were analysed to establish any impact of vessel size on patency and re-intervention rates between groups. A univariate analysis was performed. Results: Ninety four RCFs and 101 BCFs were created. Median artery and vein size for RCF were 2.7 and 3.0 mm respectively. For BCF, they were 4.6 and 4.3 mm respectively. At 6-weeks, overall satisfactory patency for RCF and BCF combined was 91.8%. 89.7% demonstrated primary patency; 2.1% secondary patency. At 6-months, overall patency was 78.7%; 58.5% demonstrated primary patency, 20.2% secondary patency. A univariate analysis, for both groups, revealed vein size was a significant predictor of overall satisfactory patency at 6-weeks, with larger veins more likely to remain patent ( p = 0.025 RCF, p = 0.007 BCF). However, artery size was not predictive ( p = 0.1 RCF, p = 0.5 BCF). At 6-months, neither artery nor vein diameter were predictive in either group. When comparing size of vessel based on fistula type, vessels used to create RCFs were smaller than those for BCFs ( p < 0.001). RCFs were more likely to receive endovascular intervention or occlude when compared to BCFs ( p = 0.014). Discussion: Excellent patency and maturation rates can be achieved using fairly strict vessel size criteria. Vein size might be the more important predictor of early success. RCFs can be challenging due to smaller vessels, but maturation rates can be optimised by close surveillance and aggressive re-intervention.

How human capital, universities of excellence, third party funding, mobility and gender explain productivity in German political science

Using a unique panel dataset of virtually all German academic political scientists, we show that researchers become much more productive due to the accumulation of human capital and third party funding. We also show however, that while universities of excellence have more productive researchers, individuals who go there do not become more productive. Finally, we show how women publish only 9 percent less than men with the same level of prior publication experience, but are about 26 percent less productive over their entire career, as early productivity leads to later productivity, so that women increasingly fall behind. These results cannot be explained through the influence of childbearing. Rather, they support the ‘theory of limited differences’, which argues that small differences in early productivity accumulate to large differences over entire careers, as early success encourages later success. Apart from generally showing why political scientists publish more or less, we specifically identify accumulative advantage as the principal reason why women increasingly fall behind men over the course of their careers.

RADIOCARBON VS. LUMINESCENCE DATING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS IN THE SOUTHERN ANDES: A REVIEW OF PAIRED DATES, BAYESIAN MODELS, AND A PILOT STUDY

ABSTRACT Archaeologists have been using luminescence to date pottery in South America since the late 1970s, inspired by early success in northern Chile. However, luminescence dates have not been rigorously compared to independent dating methods, which this paper’s goal. First, we present a compilation of 94 paired 14C and luminescence dates from the southern Andes, which reveals discrepancies across a range of contexts and ages. Second, we compare two Bayesian models of sets of 14C and thermoluminescence (TL) dates from three ceramic styles in the Azapa Valley, Chile, and the Inca occupation of Mendoza, Argentina. We find that only the 14C models produce results that agree with expectations based on independent data. Third, we present results from a pilot study in Mendoza that dated 6 sherds with 3 luminescence methods each and closely associated 14C dates. The reasons for disagreement between methods remain unclear, but Andean sediments with low and unstable luminescence sensitivity seem to be an important factor. Even though some luminescence ages are accurate, the clear trend of inconsistent results leads us to recommend that archaeologists use 14C rather than luminescence dates to build cultural chronologies.

Recent Youth-Led and Rights-Based Climate Change Litigation in Canada: Reconciling Justiciability, Charter Claims and Procedural Choices

This analysis examines three recent and ongoing Canadian climate change litigation cases: ENvironnement JEUnesse c Procureur général du Canada, La Rose v Canada and Mathur v Ontario. Consistent with international climate change litigation trends, these cases are youth-led and rights-based and they advance claims for present and future generations. They present apparently conflicting judicial views on the justiciability of climate change claims and on the use of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to advance such claims. We examine these issues. We also analyse the insights the cases offer into the connections between litigants’ procedural choices and early success, either in withstanding a motion to strike, or in obtaining court authorisation to proceed by way of class action.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography for optimizing the outcomes of pulmonary vein isolation with cryoablation -the role of isolation of PVs including carina-

Purpose Compared with conventional pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with radiofrequency ablation, PVI with cryoballoon is an easier and shorter procedure without reconnection, particularly in the superior pulmonary vein. However, the durability of the cryoballoon may be reduced due to anatomical factors and the position of the pulmonary vein (PV). Further, inadequate isolation of the carina leads to recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to determine whether using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) for patient selection improves the early success rate and prevents the recurrence of AF in PVI with cryoballoon. Methods We evaluated patients who underwent ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in our hospital between July 2019 and November 2020. After excluding patients with contraindications for cryoablation, 50 patients were selected through visual inspection of the results of preoperative contrast-enhanced CT. A treatment plan was established, and the clinical course and outcomes were followed up. Results Of the 200 PVs of the 50 patients, only 8 PVs (4%) were incompletely isolated with a single cryoablation. Six of the eight PVs were successfully isolated with additional cryoablation. Only 2 patients (4%) underwent additional PVI with radiofrequency ablation. Four patients had AF recurrence within a mean follow-up period of 14.3 ± 5.1 months. The rate of sinus rhythm maintenance was 92%. PV reconnection was observed in 2 patients. None of the patients had postoperative atrial flutter. Conclusions Selecting patients for cryoablation according to contrast-enhanced CT findings made the procedure easier to perform, leading to improved early success rates and clinical course.

Sri Lanka’s early success in the containment of COVID-19 through its rapid response: Clinical & epidemiological evidence from the initial case series

Background Despite the rising global burden, Sri Lanka reported a relatively low caseload and mortality (13 deaths as of 20 October 2020) for COVID-19. This warrants exploration of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the case series during the initial passive case detection phase in Sri Lanka, in order to understand the success in containment of the disease for more than nine months in the country through its initial early and rapid pandemic response. Methods A retrospective study was conducted using secondary data (hospital records and investigation reports) extracted from all laboratory-confirmed patients admitted to the three main state-sector hospitals in Sri Lanka from 11 March to 7 April 2020. Clinical outcomes were categorized as mild, severe and critical, as per the international classification. Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests compared differences between the variables. Results The case series comprised 146 live discharges and six deaths. Majority were males (63.2%); mean age of 40.9 (SD = 17.9); and symptomatic (72.4%). Sixty-one (40.1%) had co-morbidities, the commonest being diabetes (20.4%) and hypertension (17.8%). Mild (93.4%), severe (2.6%) and critical (4.0%) disease outcomes were noted. Disease severity was significantly higher with older age (p = 0.037), co-morbidities (p = 0.026); and higher white-cell (p = 0.045) and lymphocyte (p = 0.043) counts; but not with being symptomatic (p = 0.683). The commonest symptoms were fever (62.5%), dry cough (48.0%) and sore throat (26.9%). The median duration (IQR) was 3.0 (1.0–5.0) and 18.0 (15.0–29.5) days, respectively before and during hospitalization. Conclusions In contrast to high-risk countries, the younger age, milder disease and low mortality observed in local patients during the initial phase of the pandemic, reflect the early success in containment of the pandemic in Sri Lanka. However, once the disease becomes severe, the factors determining disease fatality remain the same as in other countries. This highlights the value of establishing strong public health systems and disease surveillance in a country, which could provide long-term effects on disease control.

Importance and Considerations of Antibody Engineering in Antibody-Drug Conjugates Development from a Clinical Pharmacologist’s Perspective

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) appear to be in a developmental boom, with five FDA approvals in the last two years and a projected market value of over $4 billion by 2024. Major advancements in the engineering of these novel cytotoxic drug carriers have provided a few early success stories. Although the use of these immunoconjugate agents are still in their infancy, valuable lessons in the engineering of these agents have been learned from both preclinical and clinical failures. It is essential to appreciate how the various mechanisms used to engineer changes in ADCs can alter the complex pharmacology of these agents and allow the ADCs to navigate the modern-day therapeutic challenges within oncology. This review provides a global overview of ADC characteristics which can be engineered to alter the interaction with the immune system, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, and therapeutic index of ADCs. In addition, this review will highlight some of the engineering approaches being explored in the creation of the next generation of ADCs.

How success breeds success

We investigate if, and why, an initial success can trigger a string of successes. Using random variations in success in a real-effort laboratory experiment, we cleanly identify the causal effect of an early success in a competition. We confirm that an early success indeed leads to increased chances of a later success. By alternatively eliminating strategic features of the competition, we turn on and off possible mechanisms driving the effect of an early success. Standard models of dynamic contest predict a strategic effect due to asymmetric incentives between initial winners and losers. Surprisingly, we find no evidence that they can explain the positive effect of winning. Instead, we find that the effect of winning seems driven by an information revelation effect, whereby players update their beliefs about their relative strength after experiencing an initial success.