| 1. |
- Stenberg, Erik, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Early complications after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery : results from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry
- 2014
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In: Annals of Surgery. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0003-4932 .- 1528-1140. ; 260:6, s. 1040-1047
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for serious and specific early complications of laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery using a large national cohort of patients.BACKGROUND: Bariatric procedures are among the most common surgical procedures today. There is, however, still a need to identify preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for serious complications.METHODS: From the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry database, we identified 26,173 patients undergoing primary laparoscopic gastric bypass operation for morbid obesity between May 1, 2007, and September 30, 2012. Follow-up on day 30 was 95.7%. Preoperative data and data from the operation were analyzed against serious postoperative complications and specific complications.RESULTS: The overall risk of serious postoperative complications was 3.4%. Age (adjusted P = 0.028), other additional operation [odds ratio (OR) = 1.50; confidence interval (CI): 1.04-2.18], intraoperative adverse event (OR = 2.63; 1.89-3.66), and conversion to open surgery (OR = 4.12; CI: 2.47-6.89) were all risk factors for serious postoperative complications. Annual hospital volume affected the rate of serious postoperative complications. If the hospital was in a learning curve at the time of the operation, the risk for serious postoperative complications was higher (OR = 1.45; CI: 1.22-1.71). The 90-day mortality rate was 0.04%.CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative adverse events and conversion to open surgery are the strongest risk factors for serious complications after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Annual operative volume and total institutional experience are important for the outcome. Patient related factors, in particular age, also increased the risk but to a lesser extent.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Bergin, Philip, 1975, et al.
(author)
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Increased production of matrix metalloproteinases in Helicobacter pylori-associated human gastritis.
- 2004
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In: Helicobacter. - : Wiley. - 1083-4389 .- 1523-5378. ; 9:3, s. 201-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Helicobacter pylori infection results in an active, chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in diseases involving mucosal inflammation, prompting us to investigate MMP activity in H. pylori-induced gastritis. METHODS: Gastric biopsies were obtained from H. pylori-infected and uninfected volunteers, and MMP activity was assessed using substrate gel electrophoresis. MMP production was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry and real time-polymerase chain reaction. In parallel, tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP) levels and TIMP-MMP complexes were examined in corresponding tissues using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and Western blotting. Finally, MMP production by gastric macrophages was determined after stimulation with H. pylori. RESULTS: Antral mucosa of H. pylori-infected subjects demonstrated a 19-fold higher MMP-9 activity than that of uninfected individuals. MMP-2 was present at lower levels, but was also increased in H. pylori-infected individuals, while there was no difference in the total levels of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 between the groups of volunteers. Significant numbers of MMP-9-containing cells were only found in the H. pylori-infected antral mucosa. Tissue-resident macrophages were significantly increased in H. pylori-infected individuals, and double-staining showed MMP-9 colocalized to macrophages. Furthermore, gastric macrophages secreted MMP-9 in response to H. pylori bacteria. A corresponding 10-fold increase of gene expression of MMP-9 was seen in patients infected with H. pylori compared to uninfected individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Helicobacter pylori infection results in a substantial increase in MMP-9 and MMP-2 activity in the gastric mucosa, probably contributed to in large part by tissue-resident macrophages, while no changes were seen in the TIMP levels. The net increase in gastric MMP activity is likely to contribute to tissue damage during H. pylori-associated gastritis.
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| 4. |
- Butler, Simon, et al.
(author)
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An Investigation of Work Practices Used by Companies Making Contributions to Established OSS Projects
- 2018
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In: ICSE-SEIP '18 Proceedings of the 40th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice. - New York : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 9781450356596 ; , s. 201-210
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Professionals contribute to open source software (OSS) projects aspart of their employment. Previous research has addressed motivationsof individuals and the ways they engage with OSS projects.However, there is a lack of research which examines and explainswork practices used by companies in their engagement with projects.Work practices used by companies to contribute to five establishedOSS projects are investigated through examination of the actions ofemployees in public communication channels and draw on our experienceswhen analysing engagement with the same projects. Wefind that companies utilise work practices for contributing whichare congruent with the circumstances and their capabilities thatsupport their short and long term needs. We find that companiescontribute to OSS projects in different ways, such as employing coreproject developers, making donations, and joining project steeringcommittees in order to advance strategic interests.
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| 5. |
- Butler, Simon, et al.
(author)
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Considerations and challenges for the adoption of open source components in software-intensive businesses
- 2022
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In: Journal of Systems and Software. - : Elsevier. - 0164-1212 .- 1873-1228. ; 186
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Component-Based Software Development is a conventional way of working for software-intensive businesses and OpenSource Software (OSS) components are frequently considered by businesses for adoption and inclusion in softwareproducts. Previous research has found a variety of practices used to support the adoption of OSS components, in-cluding formally specified processes and less formal, developer-led approaches, and that the practices used continue todevelop. Evolutionary pressures identified include the proliferation of available OSS components and increases in thepace of software development as businesses move towards continuous integration and delivery. We investigate workpractices used in six software-intensive businesses in the primary and secondary software sectors to understand currentapproaches to OSS component adoption and the challenges businesses face establishing effective work practices to eval-uate OSS components. We find businesses have established processes for evaluating OSS components and communitiesthat support more complex and nuanced considerations of the cost and risks of component adoption alongside matterssuch as licence compliance and functional requirements. We also found that the increasing pace and volume of softwaredevelopment within some businesses provides pressure to continue to evolve software evaluation processes.
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| 6. |
- Butler, Simon, et al.
(author)
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Maintaining interoperability in open source software : A case study of the Apache PDFBox project
- 2020
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In: Journal of Systems and Software. - : Elsevier. - 0164-1212 .- 1873-1228. ; 159
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Software interoperability is commonly achieved through the implementation of standards for communication protocols or data representation formats. Standards documents are often complex, difficult to interpret, and may contain errors and inconsistencies, which can lead to differing interpretations and implementations that inhibit interoperability. Through a case study of two years of activity in the Apache PDFBox project we examine day-to-day decisions made concerning implementation of the PDF specifications and standards in a community open source software (OSS) project. Thematic analysis is used to identify semantic themes describing the context of observed decisions concerning interoperability. Fundamental decision types are identified including emulation of the behaviour of dominant implementations and the extent to which to implement the PDF standards. Many factors influencing the decisions are related to the sustainability of the project itself, while other influences result from decisions made by external actors, including the developers of dependencies of PDFBox. This article contributes a fine grained perspective of decision-making about software interoperability by contributors to a community OSS project. The study identifies how decisions made support the continuing technical relevance of the software, and factors that motivate and constrain project activity.
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| 7. |
- Butler, Simon, et al.
(author)
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On business adoption and use of reproducible builds for open and closed source software
- 2023
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In: Software quality journal. - : Springer Nature Switzerland AG. - 0963-9314 .- 1573-1367. ; 31:3, s. 687-719
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reproducible builds (R-Bs) are software engineering practices that reliably create bit-for-bit identical binary executable files from specified source code. R-Bs are applied in someopen source software (OSS) projects and distributions to allow verification that the distrib-uted binary has been built from the released source code. The use of R-Bs has been advo-cated in software maintenance and R-Bs are applied in the development of some OSS secu-rity applications. Nonetheless, industry application of R-Bs appears limited, and we seekto understand whether awareness is low or if significant technical and business reasonsprevent wider adoption. Through interviews with software practitioners and business man-agers, this study explores the utility of applying R-Bs in businesses in the primary and sec-ondary software sectors and the business and technical reasons supporting their adoption.We find businesses use R-Bs in the safety-critical and security domains, and R-Bs are valu-able for traceability and support collaborative software development. We also found thatR-Bs are valued as engineering processes and are seen as a badge of software quality, butwithout a tangible value proposition. There are good engineering reasons to use R-Bs inindustrial software development, and the principle of establishing correspondence betweensource code and binary offers opportunities for the development of further applications.
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| 8. |
- Butler, Simon, et al.
(author)
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On Company Contributions to Community Open Source Software Projects
- 2021
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In: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 0098-5589 .- 1939-3520. ; 47:7, s. 1381-1401
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The majority of contributions to community open source software (OSS) projects are made by practitioners acting on behalf of companies and other organisations. Previous research has addressed the motivations of both individuals and companies to engage with OSS projects. However, limited research has been undertaken that examines and explains the practical mechanisms or work practices used by companies and their developers to pursue their commercial and technical objectives when engaging with OSS projects. This research investigates the variety of work practices used in public communication channels by company contributors to engage with and contribute to eight community OSS projects. Through interviews with contributors to the eight projects we draw on their experiences and insights to explore the motivations to use particular methods of contribution. We find that companies utilise work practices for contributing to community projects which are congruent with the circumstances and their capabilities that support their short- and long-term needs. We also find that companies contribute to community OSS projects in ways that may not always be apparent from public sources, such as employing core project developers, making donations, and joining project steering committees in order to advance strategic interests. The factors influencing contributor work practices can be complex and are often dynamic arising from considerations such as company and project structure, as well as technical concerns and commercial strategies. The business context in which software created by the OSS project is deployed is also found to influence contributor work practices.
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| 9. |
- Gamalielsson, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Towards open government through open source software for web analytics : The case of Matomo
- 2021
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In: eJournal of eDemocracy & Open Government. - Krems : Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems. - 2075-9517. ; 13:2, s. 133-153
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Web analytics technologies provide opportunities for organisations to obtain information about users visiting their websites in order to understand and optimise web usage. Use of such technologies often leads to issues related to data privacy and potential lock-in to specific suppliers and proprietary technologies. Use of open source software (OSS) for web analytics can create conditions for avoiding issues related to data privacy and lock-in, and thereby provides opportunities for a long-term sustainable solution for organisations both in the public and private sectors. This paper characterises use of and engagement with OSS projects for web analytics. Specifically, we contribute a characterisation of use of OSS licensed web analytics technologies in Swedish government authorities, and a characterisation of organisational engagement with the Matomo OSS project for web analytics.
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| 10. |
- Kostic, Srdjan, 1958, et al.
(author)
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Health economic evaluation of therapeutic strategies in patients with idiopathic achalasia: results of a randomized trial comparing pneumatic dilatation with laparoscopic cardiomyotomy
- 2007
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In: Surgical endoscopy. - 1432-2218 .- 0930-2794. ; 21:7, s. 1184-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: We have prospectively collected information concerning the costs incurred during the management of patients allocated to either forceful dilatation or to an immediate laparoscopic operation because of newly diagnosed achalasia. METHODS: Fifty-one patients with newly diagnosed achalasia were randomized to either pneumatic dilatation to a diameter of 30-40 mm or to a laparoscopic myotomy to which was added a posterior partial fundoplication. Follow-ups were scheduled at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after inclusion. At each follow-up visit a study nurse interviewed the patients regarding symptoms and their quality of life (QoL) and a health economic questionnaire was completed. In the latter questionnaire, patients were asked to report the presence and character of contacts with the healthcare system since the last visit. RESULTS: In the dilatation group six patients (23%), including the patient who was operated on because of perforation, were classified as failures during the first 12 months of follow-up compared to one (4%) in the myotomy group (p = 0.047). Five of those classified as failures in the dilatation group subsequently had a surgical myotomy and the sixth patient was treated with repeated dilatations. The patient classified as failure in the myotomy group was treated with endoscopic dilatation. The initial treatment cost and the total costs were significantly higher for laparoscopic myotomy compared to a pneumatic dilatation-based strategy (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0019, respectively). When the total costs were subdivided into the different resources used, we found that the single largest cost item for pneumatic dilatation was that for hospital stay and that for laparoscopic myotomy was the actual operative treatment (operating room time). The cost-effectiveness analysis, relating to the actual treatment failures, revealed that the cost to avoid one treatment failure (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio) amounted to 9239 euros. CONCLUSION: The current prospective, controlled clinical trial shows that despite a higher level of clinical efficacy of laparoscopic myotomy to prevent treatment failure in newly diagnosed achalasia, the cost effectiveness of pneumatic dilatation is superior, at least when a reasonable time horizon is applied.
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