An assessment of adoption and quality of linked data in European open government data

The European Commission has adopted Linked Data principles and practices with the purpose of increasing the accessibility, interoperability and value of the data that is made available openly by European public sector organisations. This includes investment in metadata development for describing open datasets, catalogs of resources with persistent URIs, and the European Data Portal (EDP), which provides a single point of access, search and exploration of European open data. As the Public Sector Initiative (PSI) Directive is being revised, a critical question for the Commission is the extent to which open government data publishers have adopted Linked Data, and how they are applying the underlying technologies. In this paper, we undertake a quantitative analysis to support this. We explore if and how open data portals indexed by the EDP are using Linked Data and assess the quality of the datasets according to multiple dimensions

Graphene Transistor as a Probe for Streaming Potential

We explore the dependence of electrical transport in a graphene field effect transistor (GraFET) on the flow of the liquid within the immediate vicinity of that transistor. We find large and reproducible shifts in the charge neutrality point of GraFETs that are dependent on the fluid velocity and the ionic concentration. We show that these shifts are consistent with the variation of the local electrochemical potential of the liquid next to graphene that are caused by the fluid flow (streaming potential). Furthermore, we utilize the sensitivity of electrical transport in GraFETs to the parameters of the fluid flow to demonstrate graphene-based mass flow and ionic concentration sensing. We successfully detect a flow as small as~70nL/min, and detect a change in the ionic concentration as small as ~40nM.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Association of Endovascular Thrombectomy vs Medical Management With Functional and Safety Outcomes in Patients Treated Beyond 24 Hours of Last Known Well: The SELECT Late Study

IMPORTANCE: The role of endovascular thrombectomy is uncertain for patients presenting beyond 24 hours of the time they were last known well. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate functional and safety outcomes for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) vs medical management in patients with large-vessel occlusion beyond 24 hours of last known well. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective observational cohort study enrolled patients between July 2012 and December 2021 at 17 centers across the United States, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. Eligible patients had occlusions in the internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery (M1 or M2 segment) and were treated with EVT or medical management beyond 24 hours of last known well. INTERVENTIONS: Endovascular thrombectomy or medical management (control). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score 0-2). Mortality and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) were safety outcomes. Propensity score (PS)-weighted multivariable logistic regression analyses were adjusted for prespecified clinical characteristics, perfusion parameters, and/or Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and were repeated in subsequent 1:1 PS-matched cohorts. RESULTS: Of 301 patients (median [IQR] age, 69 years [59-81]; 149 female), 185 patients (61%) received EVT and 116 (39%) received medical management. In adjusted analyses, EVT was associated with better functional independence (38% vs control, 10%; inverse probability treatment weighting adjusted odds ratio [IPTW aOR], 4.56; 95% CI, 2.28-9.09; P \u3c .001) despite increased odds of sICH (10.1% for EVT vs 1.7% for control; IPTW aOR, 10.65; 95% CI, 2.19-51.69; P = .003). This association persisted after PS-based matching on (1) clinical characteristics and ASPECTS (EVT, 35%, vs control, 19%; aOR, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.02-9.72; P = .047); (2) clinical characteristics and perfusion parameters (EVT, 35%, vs control, 17%; aOR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.15-15.17; P = .03); and (3) clinical characteristics, ASPECTS, and perfusion parameters (EVT, 45%, vs control, 21%; aOR, 4.39; 95% CI, 1.04-18.53; P = .04). Patients receiving EVT had lower odds of mortality (26%) compared with those in the control group (41%; IPTW aOR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27-0.89; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study of treatment beyond 24 hours of last known well, EVT was associated with higher odds of functional independence compared with medical management, with consistent results obtained in PS-matched subpopulations and patients with presence of mismatch, despite increased odds of sICH. Our findings support EVT feasibility in selected patients beyond 24 hours. Prospective studies are warranted for confirmation

Association of Endovascular Thrombectomy vs Medical Management With Functional and Safety Outcomes in Patients Treated Beyond 24 Hours of Last Known Well: The SELECT Late Study

IMPORTANCE: The role of endovascular thrombectomy is uncertain for patients presenting beyond 24 hours of the time they were last known well. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate functional and safety outcomes for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) vs medical management in patients with large-vessel occlusion beyond 24 hours of last known well. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective observational cohort study enrolled patients between July 2012 and December 2021 at 17 centers across the United States, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. Eligible patients had occlusions in the internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery (M1 or M2 segment) and were treated with EVT or medical management beyond 24 hours of last known well. INTERVENTIONS: Endovascular thrombectomy or medical management (control). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome was functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score 0-2). Mortality and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) were safety outcomes. Propensity score (PS)-weighted multivariable logistic regression analyses were adjusted for prespecified clinical characteristics, perfusion parameters, and/or Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and were repeated in subsequent 1:1 PS-matched cohorts. RESULTS: Of 301 patients (median [IQR] age, 69 years [59-81]; 149 female), 185 patients (61%) received EVT and 116 (39%) received medical management. In adjusted analyses, EVT was associated with better functional independence (38% vs control, 10%; inverse probability treatment weighting adjusted odds ratio [IPTW aOR], 4.56; 95% CI, 2.28-9.09; P \u3c .001) despite increased odds of sICH (10.1% for EVT vs 1.7% for control; IPTW aOR, 10.65; 95% CI, 2.19-51.69; P = .003). This association persisted after PS-based matching on (1) clinical characteristics and ASPECTS (EVT, 35%, vs control, 19%; aOR, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.02-9.72; P = .047); (2) clinical characteristics and perfusion parameters (EVT, 35%, vs control, 17%; aOR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.15-15.17; P = .03); and (3) clinical characteristics, ASPECTS, and perfusion parameters (EVT, 45%, vs control, 21%; aOR, 4.39; 95% CI, 1.04-18.53; P = .04). Patients receiving EVT had lower odds of mortality (26%) compared with those in the control group (41%; IPTW aOR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27-0.89; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study of treatment beyond 24 hours of last known well, EVT was associated with higher odds of functional independence compared with medical management, with consistent results obtained in PS-matched subpopulations and patients with presence of mismatch, despite increased odds of sICH. Our findings support EVT feasibility in selected patients beyond 24 hours. Prospective studies are warranted for confirmation

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Mortality

Background and purpose: Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions: During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT

Plasmon polaritons of metallic nanowires for controlling submicron propagation of light

Abstract: The optical resonances of individual plasmonic dimer antennas are investigated using confocal darkfield spectroscopy. Experiments on an array of antennas with varying arm lengths and interparticle gap sizes show large spectral shifts of the plasmon modes due to a combination of geometrical resonances and plasmon hybridization. The resonances of the coupled-dimer antennas are considerably broadened compared to those of single nanorods, which is attributed to a superradiant damping of the coupled antenna modes. The scattering spectra are compared with electrodynamic model calculations that demonstrate both the near-field and far-field characteristics of a half-wave antenna

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely