SCIENCE METRICS SYSTEMS AND ACADEMIC PROMOTION: BOSNIAN REALITY.

Societal importance and the quality of scientific research highly depend on the usefulness of the results of research for the societal and scientific community. The wish to allocate the funds to high-quali-ty research and to establish right criteria for scientific evaluation and academic career progression, make scientific criteria increasingly important to measure the quality of research and knowledge valorization. However, it is very difficult to apply the right criteria which can objectively assess scientific research. For many years, there has been a great interest in scientific ranking and evaluation of scientific journals, but also of sci-entific contribution of scientists. It is generally accepted that the IF (WoS) and the total number of citations of articles published in the journal, are the most relevant parameters of the journal's significance. However, the significance of a scientist and the value of their scientific production are much more complicated to evaluate and they cannot be directly reflected by the importance of the journals in which their articles are published. In this article, the authors describe and evaluate the most known scientific databases which are used in science. The majority of existing science metric systems, which evaluate the achievement of scientists are focused solely on the number of citations of their articles. For example, H-index, which is calculated as the lowest ranked ar-ticle which number of citations matches its ranking number, has considerable shortcoming because it does not take into account the individual contribution of each author and allows expanding author lists with authors whose contribution may be insignificant or none. Therefore, the authors propose Z-score, as a new science met-ric system, which takes into account the author's contribution to the scientific article and greatly remedy major discrepancies in evaluating scientific production of individual authors and institutions.

Improving Reporting of Tumor Size in Synoptic Reports.

CONTEXT.­: Tumor size is an important prognostic feature in many synoptic reports. The best format to report this feature is not clearly defined. OBJECTIVE.­: To define formatting features that impact the significance of tumor size. DESIGN.­: We reviewed multiple formatting features of tumor size in synoptic reports and correlated them with size distribution, reproducibility, and other pathologic features. RESULTS.­: Reporting tumors in millimeters rather than centimeters was more precise because of reduced rounding error and was significantly more reproducible (P = .01). Tumor sizes where the pathologist was concerned that the size may be underestimated are associated with significantly higher tumor N stage than tumors of similar size that are not so identified. Reported tumor sizes in multifocal tumors are also associated with significantly higher N stage than unifocal tumors of the same size. CONCLUSIONS.­: Tumor sizes should be reported in millimeters, and when tumors are reported as either "at least" a specific size or as "multifocal" this information should also be recorded because these sizes likely underestimate the true biologic potential of the tumor.

Observatorio Métrico de Coronavirus de la Universidad de Pinar del Río, Cuba / Coronavirus Metric Observatory of the University of Pinar del Río, Cuba

El recurso más finito de un científico hoy es el tiempo. Un minuto sin una vacuna específica, un tratamiento adecuado o un protocolo seguro significa miles de muertes. A partir de esta necesidad, la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo caracterizar las funcionalidades del Observatorio Métrico de Coronavirus desarrollado por la Universidad de Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca como herramienta para el monitoreo, la compilación, el análisis y la visualización de la información procedente de artículos científicos arbitrados y de patentes de invención registradas en bases de datos internacionales sobre Coronavirus. Para su desarrollo se utilizaron diferentes métodos y procedimientos que permitieron, de conjunto con la tecnología aplicada y los indicadores métricos definidos, disponer de una plataforma dinámica que reduce significativamente los tiempos de búsqueda e interpretación de la información relevante sobre el dominio científico y tecnológico Coronavirus, lo que supone ser también un aporte oportuno y valioso que contribuye a la búsqueda de soluciones ante esta letal pandemia. Este Observatorio es un espacio de transformación de la información en conocimiento para la acción investigativa y la toma de decisiones. Es un resultado científico que contribuye al encadenamiento de la Academia con el sector investigativo y productivo de la Biotecnología en el país, conducido por los intereses y prioridades del Gobierno al servicio de toda la sociedad cubana(AU)

The finest resource for a scientist today is time. One minute without a specific vaccine, proper treatment, or a safe protocol means thousands of deaths. Based on this need, this research aims to show the functionalities of the Coronavirus Metric Observatory developed by the Pinar del Río University Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca as a tool that allows the monitoring, compilation, analysis and visualization of information from peer-reviewed scientific papers and invention patents registered in international databases on Coronavirus. For its development, different methods and procedures were used that, together with the applied technology and the defined metric indicators, made it possible to have a dynamic platform that significantly reduces the search and interpretation times for relevant information on the scientific and technological domain Coronavirus. Having a dynamic platform that significantly reduces the time for analysis and interpretation of relevant information is also a timely and valuable contribution that contributes to the search for solutions to this deadly pandemic. This Observatory is a space for transforming information into knowledge for action. It is a scientific result that contributes to linking the Academy with the research and productive sector of Biotechnology in the country, driven by the interests and priorities of the Government at the service of all Cuban society(AU)

Características de las Redes Académicas. Estado del arte / Characteristics of Academic Networks. State of the art

Introducción: Las redes sociales son el mejor exponente de la llamada Web 2.0. donde personas o entidades se relacionan a través de plataformas, mediante las que pueden comunicarse de forma rápida y simultánea, así como compartir recursos de información y documentación de cualquier tipo. En el momento actual investigadores e instituciones hacen uso de todo tipo de redes para establecer vínculos. Objetivos: Caracterizar los objetivos y elementos que definen las redes académicas, las ventajas y desventajas que presentan y el modo de uso, entre otros aspectos. Material y Método: Se efectuó una extensa búsqueda bibliográfica sobre esta temática que abarcó Sitios Web, libros y revistas, durante los últimos cinco años. Los documentos obtenidos fueron clasificados y evaluados de acuerdo a su pertinencia y calidad. Desarrollo: Se comienza por caracterizar los objetivos y particularidades de la Web 2.0 y algunas formas de obtener información científico técnica para posteriormente introducir las peculiaridades de las Redes Sociales y las Redes Sociales Académicas realizando una particular distinción con las Redes Académicas de investigación que existen en nuestra área, se presentan y discuten las técnicas que se utilizan actualmente para evaluar la calidad de la producción científica de los investigadores. Conclusiones: considerando la novedad y utilidad que representan estas herramientas se considera que este informe puede resultar de interés para investigadores y público en general por el lenguaje asequible conque ha sido redactado(AU)

Introduction: Social networks are the best exponent of the so-called Web 2.0, where people or entities related through platforms can communicate quickly and simultaneously, to share information and documentation resources of any kind. Currently researchers and institutions use networks to establish links. Objective: Characterize the objectives and elements of academic networks, the advantages and disadvantage they present and the way of use, among other aspects. Method: We made an extensive literature search on this subject that included Web sites, books and magazines during the past five years. The documents obtained were classified and evaluated according to their relevance and quality. Development: The objectives and particularities of Web 2.0 are stated, as well as some ways of obtaining scientific and technical information to later introduce the peculiarities of Social Networks and Academic Social Networks, making a particular distinction with the Academic Research Networks that exist in our area. Techniques currently used to assess the quality of the scientific output of researchers are presented and discussed. Conclusions: Considering the novelty and usefulness of these tools, it is considered that this report may be of interest to researchers and the general public due to the affordable language with which it has been written(AU)

Image-quality metric system for color filter array evaluation.

A modern color filter array (CFA) output is rendered into the final output image using a demosaicing algorithm. During this process, the rendered image is affected by optical and carrier cross talk of the CFA pattern and demosaicing algorithm. Although many CFA patterns have been proposed thus far, an image-quality (IQ) evaluation system capable of comprehensively evaluating the IQ of each CFA pattern has yet to be developed, although IQ evaluation items using local characteristics or specific domain have been created. Hence, we present an IQ metric system to evaluate the IQ performance of CFA patterns. The proposed CFA evaluation system includes proposed metrics such as the moiré robustness using the experimentally determined moiré starting point (MSP) and achromatic reproduction (AR) error, as well as existing metrics such as color accuracy using CIELAB, a color reproduction error using spatial CIELAB, structural information using the structure similarity, the image contrast based on MTF50, structural and color distortion using the mean deviation similarity index (MDSI), and perceptual similarity using Haar wavelet-based perceptual similarity index (HaarPSI). Through our experiment, we confirmed that the proposed CFA evaluation system can assess the IQ for an existing CFA. Moreover, the proposed system can be used to design or evaluate new CFAs by automatically checking the individual performance for the metrics used.

Development of the predicted and standardized carbapenem usage metric: Analysis of the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination payment system data.

This study aimed to develop a metric for standardized and predicted carbapenem consumption using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination payment system database and patients' characteristics. Based on Diagnosis Procedure Combination data analysis, the developed metric will provide useful benchmarks that stewardship programs can use to help drive improvements.

Comprehensive Approach to Open Access Publishing: Platforms and Tools

The Open Access Initiative is gaining momentum due to the worldwide availability of advanced digital tools, online publishing platforms, and systems for tracking academic contributions. Several declarations and initiatives, including Plan S, have already laid a foundation for moving away from subscription to full and immediate open-access publishing. The global initiatives imply targeting journals satisfying the upgraded quality and visibility criteria. To meet these criteria, a comprehensive approach to Open Access is recommended. This article overviews the essential components of the comprehensive approach, increasing transparency, adherence to ethical standards, and diversification of evaluation metrics. With the increasing volume of quality open-access journals, their indexing with free databases and search engines is becoming increasingly important. The Directory of Open Access Journals and PubMed Central currently free searches of open-access sources. These services, however, cannot fully satisfy the increasing demands of the users, and attempts are underway to upgrade the indexing and archiving of open-access sources in China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and elsewhere. The wide use of identifiers is essential for transparency of scholarly communications. Peer reviewers are now offered credits from Publons. These credits are transferrable to their Open Researcher and Contributor iDs. Various social media channels are increasingly used by scholars to comment on articles. All these comments are tracked by related metric systems, such as Altmetrics. Combined with traditional citation evaluations, the alternative metrics can help timely identify and promote publications influencing education, research, and practice.

Standardized quality metric system for structural brain magnetic resonance images in multi-center neuroimaging study.

BACKGROUND: Multi-site neuroimaging offer several benefits and poses tough challenges in the drug development process. Although MRI protocol and clinical guidelines developed to address these challenges recommend the use of good quality images, reliable assessment of image quality is hampered by the several shortcomings of existing techniques. METHODS: Given a test image two feature images are extracted. They are grayscale and contrast feature images. Four binary images are generated by setting four different global thresholds on the feature images. Image quality is predicted by measuring the structural similarity between appropriate pairs of binary images. The lower and upper limits of the quality index are 0 and 1. Quality prediction is based on four quality attributes; luminance contrast, texture, texture contrast and lightness. RESULTS: Performance evaluation on test data from three multi-site clinical trials show good objective quality evaluation across MRI sequences, levels of distortion and quality attributes. Correlation with subjective evaluation by human observers is ≥ 0.6. CONCLUSION: The results are promising for the evaluation of MRI protocols, specifically the standardization of quality index, designed to overcome the challenges encountered in multi-site clinical trials.

Un estudio sobre la implementación del método Delphi en publicaciones de ciencias médicas indexadas en Scopus / A study on the implementation of the Delphi method in publications of medical indexing sciences in Scopus

Introducción: El método Delphi ha sido aplicado en varias investigaciones del campo de las ciencias médicas cubanas. Con frecuencia, este método sigue el enfoque clásico de la búsqueda de consenso, aunque existen numerosas variantes en el campo de la prospectiva. Objetivo: Caracterizar el uso del método Delphi, en busca de un patrón que facilite la identificación de posibles tendencias de desarrollo en el ámbito de las ciencias médicas. Métodos: Se utilizaron técnicas cienciométricas para procesar una matriz de datos obtenida de Scopus. La lógica de búsqueda se apoyó en la aparición de los términos más frecuentes "Delphi method", "Delphi study", o "Delphi technique" en los títulos, resúmenes y palabras claves. Las variables objeto de estudio fueron la productividad científica, la distribución por ramas del conocimiento, el impacto por índice de citas, las tendencias investigativas y las redes de colaboración. Resultados: De 10341 documentos, 5282 fueron relacionados con las ciencias médicas (33,26 por ciento), y 29 son de autores cubanos. El crecimiento diacrónico fue exponencial y el número de citas se concentró en un número reducido de documentos. Predominó el Delphi clásico enfocado hacia el consenso, en detrimento de otras variantes más flexibles descritas en la literatura. Las redes de colaboración indicaron la existencia de 15 colegios invisibles por clústeres de co-autoría. Conclusiones: El uso del método Delphi en investigaciones médicas cubanas no es una eventualidad local, sino que responde a una tendencia mundial acrecentada durante los últimos años(AU)

Introduction: The Delphi method has been applied to several investigations in the field of Cuban medical sciences. Frequently, this method follows the classical approach of seeking consensus, although there are numerous variants in the field of prospective. Objective: To characterize the use of the Delphi method, in search of a pattern that facilitates identifying possible development trends in the field of medical sciences. Methods: We used scientometric techniques to process a data matrix obtained from Scopus. The search logic is based on the appearance of the most frequent terms Delphi method, Delphi study, or Delphi technique in titles, abstracts and keywords. The variables studied are scientific productivity, distribution by branches of knowledge, impact by citation index, research trends, and collaboration networks. Results: From 10 341 documents, 5282 are related to medical sciences (33.26 percent), and 29 are by Cuban authors. The diachronic growth is exponential and the number of citations is concentrated in a reduced number of documents. The classic Delphi focused on consensus predominates over other more flexible variants described in the literature which are decreasing. Collaboration networks indicate the existence of 15 invisible colleges by clusters of co-authorship. Conclusions: The use of the Delphi method in Cuban medical research is not a local event, but responds to a global trend that has increased during the last years(AU)

Average Overlap Frequency: A simple metric to evaluate staining quality and community identification in high dimensional mass cytometry experiments.

High dimensional cytometry now allows measurement of over 50 parameters in a single sample, and is typically visualized using sophisticated dimensionality-reducing methods and analyzed with automated clustering algorithms. While these tools facilitate the identification and presentation of key findings, it remains challenging to effectively monitor and report the staining quality of individual markers. We present the Average Overlap Frequency (AOF), a simple and efficient metric to evaluate and quantify the robustness of staining and clustering quality in high-dimensional data. We leverage the AOF to compare and determine the optimal storage conditions for stained whole blood samples prior to mass cytometry analysis. We also show that the AOF can be easily incorporated as part of automated analysis pipelines in large scale immune monitoring studies and used to flag and exclude samples with poor staining quality. We propose that the AOF may be incorporated as an essential quality control metric to better identify and report the underlying sample quality in all CyTOF and other high-dimensional cytometry experiments.

Passive Assessment of Routine Driving with Unobtrusive Sensors: A New Approach for Identifying and Monitoring Functional Level in Normal Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: Driving is a key functional activity for many older adults, and changes in routine driving may be associated with emerging cognitive decline due to early neurodegenerative disease. Current methods for assessing driving such as self-report are inadequate for identifying and monitoring subtle changes in driving patterns that may be the earliest signals of functional change in developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). OBJECTIVE: This proof of concept study aimed to establish the feasibility of continuous driving monitoring in a sample of cognitively normal and MCI older adults for an average of 206 days using an unobtrusive driving sensor and demonstrate that derived sensor-based driving metrics could effectively discriminate between MCI and cognitively intact groups. METHODS: Novel objective driving measures derived from 6 months of routine driving monitoring were examined in older adults with intact cognition (n = 21) and MCI (n = 7) who were enrolled in the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) longitudinal assessment program. RESULTS: Unobtrusive continuous monitoring of older adults' routine driving using a driving sensor was feasible and well accepted. MCI participants drove fewer miles and spent less time on the highway per day than cognitively intact participants. MCI drivers showed less day-to-day fluctuations in their driving habits than cognitively intact drivers. CONCLUSION: Sensor-based driving measures are objective, unobtrusive, and can be assessed every time a person drives his or her vehicle to identify clinically meaningful changes in daily driving. This novel methodology has the potential to be useful for the early detection and monitoring of changes in daily functioning within individuals.

Sobre la ubicuidad del coeficiente alfa en los estudios de validación / About the ubiquity of the alpha coefficient in the validation studies

No disponible

Respuesta a: Sobre la ubicuidad del coeficiente alfa en los estudios de validación / Response to: About the ubiquity of the alpha coefficient in the validation studies

No disponible

Modificar la especificación técnica del producto farmacéutico Factor VIIA o EPTACOG ALFA (Activado) 2 punto 4 mg/vial + sdiluyente - AM incluido en el Petitorio Farmacológico de ESSALUD / MModify the technical specification of the pharmaceutical product Factor VIIA or EPTACOG ALFA (Activated) 2 score 4 mg / vial + solvent-AM included in the Pharmacological Request of ESSALUD

La Carta Número 304-DETS-IETSI-ESSALUD-2016 y el Informe Número 135-SDEPFyOT-DETS-IETSI-ESALUD-2016 que sustenta la modificación del producto farmacéutico FACTOR VIIA o EPTACOG ALFA (Activado) 2.4 mg/vial + diluyente - AM en el Petitorio Farmacológico de ESSALUD. SE RESUELVE: MODIFICAR: La especificación técnica del producto farmacéutico FACTOR VIIA o EPTACOG ALFA (Activado) 2.4 mg/vial + diluyente - AM en el Petitorio Farmacológico de ESSALU según consta en tabla de la Resolución. DISPONER: que la Dirección de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias del Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud e Investigación haga de conocimiento a todos los órganos desconcentrados, órganos prestadores nacionales, establecimientos de salud y demás órganos que correspondan, la presente Resolución. DISPONER: que la Dirección de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias del Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud e Investigación coordine con la Gerencia Central de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicaciones, la publicación de la inclusión de los referidos medicamentos en el Petitorio Farmacológico en la pagina WEB de ESSALUD.

Modificar en el Petitorio Farmacológico de ESSALUD la unidad de manejo del producto lípidos / Modify in the Pharmacological Request of ESSALUD the product handling unit lipids

Resolución de Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud e Invstigación Número 30 -IETSI-ESSALUD-2016. Vista: La carta Número 272-DETS-IETSI-ESSALUD-2016, el Informe Número 110-S Modificar en el Petitorio Farmacológico de ESSALUD, el siguiente producto farmacéutico: Codigo: 011050115 - Denominación Según DCI: Lipidos - Especificaciones Tecnicas: 20% x 250 mL a 500 mL (apto para mezclas con lípidos incorporados) - Unidad de Manejo: cm³ - Restricción de Uso: 1,7. Disponer que la Dirección de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias del Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnología en Salud e Investigación haga de conocimiento a todos los órganos desconcentrados, órganos prestadores nacionales, establecimientos de salud y demás órganos que correspondan, la presente Resolución. Disponer que la Dirección de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias del Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnología en Salud e Investigación coordine con la Gerencia Central de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicaciones, la publicación de lo dispuesto en la presente resolución, en la página Web de ESSALUD.