Paths to wider adoption of e-infrastructure services

This paper presents work conducted as part of the e-Uptake project, which aims to widen the uptake of e-Infrastructure services for research. We will discuss our fieldwork conducted so far, give examples of the barriers and enablers identified and discuss how using the accumulated knowledge can lead to paving the way for wider adoption of e Infrastructure Services

Broadening without Intensification: The Added Value of the European Social and Sectoral Dialogue

The framework of the European social dialogue (ESD) has enabled interest organizations at the European level to conclude agreements on a wide range of social policy issues. This applies both at the inter-sectoral level and within the various sectors, and has led in the last few decades to the creation of a large number of joint texts. This article addresses the issue of the added value of these results for the parties concluding them. It is argued that the ESD does not constitute a system of industrial relations at the European level, but serves as an alternative lobbying channel for the social partners involved

Factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin gene mutation, and deficiencies in coagulation inhibitors associated with Budd-Chiari syndrome and portal vein thrombosis: results of a case-control study

In a collaborative multicenter case-control study, we investigated the effect of factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin gene mutation, and inherited deficiencies of protein C, protein S, and antithrombin on the risk of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) and portal vein thrombosis (PVT). We compared 43 BCS patients and 92 PVT patients with 474 population-based controls. The relative risk of BCS was 11.3 (95% CI 4.8-26.5) for individuals with factor V Leiden mutation, 2.1(95% CI 0.4-9.6) for those with prothrombin gene mutation, and 6.8 (95% CI 1.9-24.4) for those with protein C deficiency. The relative risk of PVT was 2.7 (95% CI 1.1-6.9) for individuals with factor V Leiden mutation, 1.4 (95% CI 0.4-5.2) fo

Eradication of Resistant and Susceptible Aerobic Gram-Negative Bacteria From the Digestive Tract in Critically Ill Patients; an Observational Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Selective Decontamination of the Digestive tract (SDD) aims to prevent nosocomial infections, by eradication of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms from the digestive tract. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the rate of and the time to eradication of resistant vs. susceptible facultative aerobic gram-negative bacteria (AGNB) in patients treated with SDD. METHODS: This observational and retrospective study included patients admitted to the ICU between January 2001 and August 2017. Patients were included when treated with SDD (tobramycin, polymyxin B, and amphotericin B) and colonized in the upper or lower gastro-intestinal (GI) tract with at least one AGNB present on admission. Decontamination was determined after the first negative set of cultures (rectal and throat). An additional analysis was performed of two consecutive negative cultures. RESULTS: Of the 281 susceptible AGNB in the throat and 1,087 in the rectum on admission, 97.9 and 93.7%, respectively, of these microorganisms were successfully eradicated. In the upper GI-tract no differences in eradication rates were found between susceptible and resistant microorganisms. However, the median duration until eradication was significantly longer for aminoglycosides resistant vs. susceptible microorganisms (5 vs. 4 days, p < 0.01). In the lower GI-tract, differences in eradication rates between susceptible and resistant microorganisms were found for cephalosporins (90.0 vs. 95.6%), aminoglycosides (84.4 vs. 95.5%) and ciprofloxacin (90.0 vs. 95.2%). Differences in median duration until eradication between susceptible and resistant microorganisms were found for aminoglycosides and ciprofloxacin (both 5 days vs. 6 days, p = 0.001). Decontamination defined as two negative cultures was achieved in a lower rate (77–98% for the upper GI tract and 64–77% for the lower GI tract) and a median of 1 day later. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of both susceptible and resistant microorganisms are effectively eradicated from the upper and lower GI tract. In the lower GI tract decontamination rates of susceptible microorganisms are significantly higher and achieved in a shorter time period compared to resistant strains

Tussenevaluatie POP3-maatregelen cluster Concurrentiekracht

Het Plattelandsontwikkelingsprogramma Nederland 2014-2020 (POP3) beoogt de innovatie en een duurzame modernisering van de agrarische sector te bevorderen. Versterking van biodiversiteit en vitaal platteland zijn andere belangrijke doelen. Het programma wordt zowel tijdens de looptijd als na afloop geëvalueerd. In 2019 dient Nederland aan de Europese Commissie te rapporteren over de voortgang van het POP3 over de periode 2014-2018. In dit rapport wordt inzicht gegeven in de voortgang in deze periode van vier maatregelen uit het cluster Concurrentiekracht: Kwaliteitsregeling Kalveren, Productieve fysieke investeringen, Jonge Landbouwersregeling en Verbetering verkaveling. Deze maatregelen beogen het POP3-doel versterken van de agrarische bedrijfsstructuur. In deze tussenevaluatie wordt inzicht gegeven in het bereik (in welke mate worden begrote budgetten en streefwaarden bereikt) en de mate van doeltreffendheid, waarin zowel ingegaan wordt op gerealiseerde als nog te verwachten effecten in komende jaren van de ingezette middelen. Ook wordt inzicht gegeven in de uitvoering en organisatie van de vier maatregelen, waarbij ook aanbevelingen worden gedaan voor aanpassing van de uitvoering

Resources Discovery and Management using Policies in Smart Spaces

This paper presents a new hierarchical Policy Based Management (PBM) architecture that facilitates the description and automatic discovery of services and devices in Smart Space environments and the specification of high-level policies that control access to these resources in coexisting Managed Zones (M-Zones). The approach is performed in two phases. The first one consists of defining a generic information model of all resources that can be managed in such a space and a specification of a set of high-level policies to express the access control policy of each M-Zone. Both models are specified using the DMTF CIM. (For the next iteration, it is planned to use the DEN-ng model, extended with new specific objects). The second phase is more dynamic and uses a novel discovery protocol based on COPS to identify the various components that are present in a particular environment. This protocol is named COPS-SD (COPS extensions for Service Discovery usage)