Notions of research quality are contextual in many respects: they vary between fields of research, between review contexts and between policy contexts. Yet, the role of these co-existing notions in research, and in research policy, is poorly understood. In this paper we offer a novel framework to study and understand research quality across three key dimensions. First, we distinguish between quali

Objective: Survival in cervical cancer has improved little over the last decades. We aimed to elucidate primary treatment patterns and survival. Methods: Population-based study of patients included in the Swedish Quality Registry for Gynecologic Cancer diagnosed 2011–2015. Main outcome was 5-year relative survival (RS). Age-standardised RS (AS-RS) was estimated for the total cohort and for the poo

Our aim is to construct efficient preconditioners for high order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods. We consider the DG spectral element method with Gauss‐Lobatto‐Legendre nodes (DGSEM‐GL) for the 1D linear advection equation. It has been shown in [4] that DGSEM‐GL has the summation‐by‐parts (SBP) property and an equivalent finite volume (FV) discretization is presented in [3]. Thus we present a

Deconstruction is one of the more (in)famous theories in recent times. In this paper, I argue that the theory of deconstruction, proposed by Derrida in particular, should be read as a systematic and rigorous examination of key philosophical and semiotic notions, such as sign and meaning. The relevance of taking deconstructive critique seriously is explored with the point of departure in Derrida’s

BACKGROUND: To investigate the value of combined treatment with allopurinol and 5-aminosalicylic (5-ASA) based drugs as maintenance treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC).METHODS: 199 patients with UC in remission but with active disease during the preceding 3 years were included. Allopurinol 100 mg twice daily or placebo was added to the 5-ASA based maintenance treatment. Clinical and endoscopic f

Avhandlingen består av tre oberoende kapitel som alla är empiriska studier av forskare och den roll som olika typer av rörlighet spelar för att forma forskarnas vetenskapliga produktion och karriär.Kapitel 1 studerar effekterna av avregleringen av svensk arbetsmigration, 2008, på publiceringsproduktiviteten hos akademiker verksamma i Sverige. Reformen ledde till en kraftig ökning av antalet asiatiThe thesis consists of three independent chapters. The chapters are all empirical studies of scientists and the role that different types of mobility play in shaping researchers' scientific output and careers.Chapter 1, uses the liberalization of Swedish work migration, in 2008, to study the effect of immigration on the publishing productivity of incumbent academics in Sweden. The reform led to a

PURPOSE: To calculate the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of late radiation effects on the rectum and bladder from repetitive CT scans during fractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) of the uterine cervix and compare the NTCP with the clinical frequency of late effects.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Fourteen patients with cancer of the uterine ce

Efficient, diode-pumped high energy femtosecond laser systems around 1 μm based on Yb-gain media are readily commercially available. However, owing to the gain bandwidth limitations, the pulses generated in such lasers are substantially longer than the ones generated in Ti:Sapphire systems. A simple, energy-scalable pulse self-compression scheme for the pulses around 1 μm thus would be of great in

It is essential to gain knowledge about the causes and extent of migratory connectivity between stationary periods of migrants to further the understanding of processes affecting populations, and to allow efficient implementation of conservation efforts throughout the annual cycle. Avian migrants likely use optimal routes with respect to mode of locomotion, orientation and migration strategy, infl

Climate changes induce warmer climate with stronger and more frequent extreme events. Due to the uncertain nature of climate, accurate simulation of future conditions is impossible and a major challenge is the selection of climate data in the impact assessment. This work compares application of three climate data sets in an energy simulation of the EPFL campus: i) Regional Climate Models (RCM data

Many everyday interactions with moving objects benefit from an accurate perception of their movement. Self-motion, however, complicates object motion perception because it generates a global pattern of motion on the observer's retina and radically influences an object's retinal motion. There is strong evidence that the brain compensates by suppressing the retinal motion due to self-motion, however

In a piloted jet flame, the pilot flame has an effect of stabilizing the main flame. Detailed mechanisms of pilot flame/main flame interaction are however not well studied. It is expected that the pilot flame affects the main flame through the following mechanisms: (a) the pilot flame provides the heat and radicals to the reaction zone of the main flame, (b) the pilot flame prevents the cold ambie

More and more people will experience thermal stress in the future as the global temperature is increasing at an alarming rate and the risk for extreme weather events is growing. The increased exposure to extreme weather events poses a challenge for societies around the world. This literature review investigates the feasibility of making advanced human thermal models in connection with meteorologic

BACKGROUND: The Nordic countries have commonalities in gender equality, economy, welfare, and health care, but differ in culture and lifestyle, which might create country-wise health differences. This study compared life expectancy, disease burden, and risk factors in the Nordic region.METHODS: Life expectancy in years and age-standardised rates of overall, cause-specific, and risk factor-specific

The murine embryonal stem (ES) cell virus (MESV) can express transgenes from the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter/enhancer in undifferentiated ES cells, but expression is turned off upon differentiation to embryoid bodies (EBs) and hematopoietic cells in vitro. We examined whether a human immunodeficiency virus type 1-based lentivirus vector pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus G pro

BACKGROUND: Anti-D treatment is effective in increasing platelet (PLT) counts in patients with autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP); however, the exact mechanism of action is unknown. Previous results have suggested that anti-D-coated red blood cells (RBCs) affect reticuloendothelial system phagocytosis by stimulating agents (e.g., reactive oxygen species) that alter signaling pathways withi

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a critical role in stimulating innate immunity by recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) on invading microorganisms. Platelets also play a role in innate immunity, and we studied whether they express TLR. Results show that human and murine platelets variably expressed TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 by flow cytometry and Western blotting. TLR4 expression wa