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Turning the tables: A university league-table based on quality not quantity.

ABSTRACT: Background: Universities closely watch international league tables because these tables influence governments, donors and students. Achieving a high ranking in a table, or an annual rise in ranking, allows universities to promote their achievements using an externally validated measure. However, league tables predominantly reward measures of research output, such as publications and citations, and may therefore be promoting poor research practices by encouraging the "publish or perish" mentality. Methods: We examined whether a league table could be created based on good research practice. We rewarded researchers who cited a reporting guideline, which help researchers report their research completely, accurately and transparently, and were created to reduce the waste of poorly described research. We used the EQUATOR guidelines, which means our tables are mostly relevant to health and medical research. We used Scopus to identify the citations. Results: Our cross-sectional tables for the years 2016 and 2017 included 14,408 papers with 47,876 author affiliations. We ranked universities and included a bootstrap measure of uncertainty. We clustered universities in five similar groups in an effort to avoid over-interpreting small differences in ranks. Conclusions: We believe there is merit in considering more socially responsible criteria for ranking universities, and this could encourage better research practice internationally if such tables become as valued as the current quantity-focused tables.

SUBMITTER: Barnett AG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6611132 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Turning the tables: A university league-table based on quality not quantity.

Barnett Adrian G AG Moher David D

F1000Research 20190429

<b>Background:</b> Universities closely watch international league tables because these tables influence governments, donors and students. Achieving a high ranking in a table, or an annual rise in ranking, allows universities to promote their achievements using an externally validated measure. However, league tables predominantly reward measures of research output, such as publications and citations, and may therefore be promoting poor research practices by encouraging the "publish or perish" me ...[more]

PMID: 31316755

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Project description:BackgroundDuring infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) several viral proteins occur on cell surfaces in high quantity. We thus pursue an HLA-independent approach for immunotherapy of HCMV using chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and bispecific BiTE® antibody constructs. In this context, HCMV-encoded proteins that mediate viral immune evasion and bind human IgG might represent particularly attractive target antigens. Unlike in observations of similar approaches for HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses, however, HCMV-infected cells develop a striking resistance to cytotoxic effector functions at later stages of the replication cycle. In our study we therefore wanted to test two hypotheses: (1) CAR T cells can efficiently inhibit HCMV replication independently from cytotoxic effector functions, and (2) HCMV can be targeted by CH2-CH3 IgG spacer domains that contain mutations previously reported to prevent exhaustion and to rescue CAR T cell function in vivo.MethodsReplication of GFP-encoding recombinant HCMV in fibroblasts in the presence and absence of supernatants from T cell co-cultures plus/minus cytokine neutralizing antibodies was analyzed by flow cytometry. CARs with wild type and mutated CH2-CH3 domains were expressed in human T cells by mRNA electroporation, and the function of the CARs was assessed by quantifying T cell cytokine secretion.ResultsWe confirm and extend previous evidence of antiviral cytokine effects and demonstrate that CAR T cells strongly block HCMV replication in fibroblasts mainly by combined secretion of IFN-γ and TNF. Furthermore, we show that fibroblasts infected with HCMV strains AD169 and Towne starting from day 3 have a high capacity for binding of human IgG1 and also strongly activate T cells expressing a CAR with CH2-CH3 domain. Importantly, we further show that mutations in the CH2-CH3 domain of IgG1 and IgG4, which were previously reported to rescue CAR T cell function by abrogating interaction with endogenous Fc receptors (FcRs), still enable recognition of FcRs encoded by HCMV.ConclusionsOur findings identify HCMV-encoded FcRs as an attractive additional target for HCMV immunotherapy by CARs and possibly bispecific antibodies. The use of specifically mutated IgG domains that bind to HCMV-FcRs without recognizing endogenous FcRs may supersede screening for novel binders directed against individual HCMV-FcRs.

Project description:Introduction: Quality reporting was initially implemented to offer a better means of assessing hospitals and to provide patients with information to help them when choosing their hospital. Quality reports are published every 2 years and include parameters describing the hospital's structure and general infrastructure together with specific data on individual specialised departments or clinics. Method: This study investigated the 2010 quality reports of German university hospitals published online, focussing on the following data: number of inpatients treated by the hospital, focus of care provided by the unit/department, range of medical services and care provided by the unit/department, non-medical services provided by the unit/department, number of cases treated in the unit/department, ICD diagnoses, OPS procedures, number of outpatient procedures, day surgeries as defined by Section 115b SGB V, presence of an accident insurance consultant and number of staff employed. Results: University gynaecology clinics (UGCs) treat 10?% (range: 6-17?%) of all inpatients of their respective university hospital. There were no important differences in infrastructure between clinics. All UGCs offered full medical care and were specialist clinics for gynaecology (surgery, breast centres, genital cancer, urogynaecology, endoscopy), obstetrics (prenatal diagnostics, high-risk obstetrics); many were also specialist clinics for endocrinology and reproductive medicine. On average, each clinic employs 32 physicians (range: 16-78). Half of them (30-77?%) are specialists. Around 171 (117-289) inpatients are treated on average per physician. The most common ICD coded treatments were deliveries and treatment of infants. Gynaecological diagnoses are underrepresented. Summary: UGCs treat 10?% of all inpatients treated in university hospitals, making them important ports of entry for their respective university hospital. Around half of the physicians are specialists. Quality reports offer little information on the differences in competencies or medical specialties. The statutory quality reports are not useful for patients and referring physicians when choosing a clinic.

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Turning the tables: A university league-table based on quality not quantity.

Publications

Turning the tables: A university league-table based on quality not quantity.

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