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This is an overview of the results from 14 countries or jurisdictions in a Global Matrix of Para Report Cards on physical activity (PA) of children and adolescents with disabilities. The methodology was based on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance's Global Matrix 4.0. Data were aligned with 10 indicators (Overall PA, Organized Sport, Active Play, Active Transport, Physical Fitness, Sedentary Behavior, Family & Peers, Schools, Community & Environment, and Government) to produce Para Report Cards. Subsequently, there were 139 grades; 45% were incomplete, particularly for Active Play, Physical Fitness, and Family & Peers. Collectively, Overall PA was graded the lowest (F), with Schools and Government the highest (C). Disability-specific surveillance and research gaps in PA were apparent in 14 countries or jurisdictions around the world. More coverage of PA data in Para Report Cards is needed to serve as an advocacy tool to promote PA among children and adolescents with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmonization of the laboratory total testing process (TTP) is critical to improving patient outcome. In 2016, an EFLM survey on the harmonization of TTP underlined the serious shortcomings pertaining to the post-analytical phase. In 2023, the WG-H conducted a new survey aiming to update information in the 2016 harmonization report in order to ascertain whether countries that had declared they were keen to adopt SI units had continued with this program, the aim being to verify the state-of art in harmonization units in areas of laboratory medicine not included in the previous survey. Questionnaires were distributed to the Presidents and National Representatives of EFLM Full Member Societies and EFLM affiliate Members. The survey questions were grouped into three categories: measurement units, reference intervals, and nomenclature/terminology, and results were evaluated using Survey Monkey software and Excel. A total of 123 questionnaires from 31 countries were analyzed. A trend (+19.3 %) was observed toward a wider use of SI units for general clinical biochemistry parameters. The results for tests not included in the 2016 survey (i.e., endocrinology diagnostics and coagulation panels), demonstrated that for reports on hormones, responses were satisfactory, 70–90 % of the responders adopting the recommended units, whereas for coagulation test panels, a serious lack of harmonization was found, "seconds", which are inaccurate and not recommended, being widely used units (91 %). The findings made in the 2023 survey demonstrated a progressive, albeit slow, improvement in harmonization reports. However, further efforts at improvement are mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter discusses the issue of standardizing the measurement of neonatal bilirubin levels, which is important for the management of jaundice in newborns. The authors highlight the potential errors and delays in decision-making that can occur due to inter-technical differences in bilirubin measurement methods. They present a case study to illustrate the impact of these differences on pediatric care. The authors suggest actions that clinical laboratories and healthcare providers can take to improve the accuracy and efficiency of bilirubin measurement and management. They emphasize the need for international harmonization and collaboration in this area. [Extracted from the article]

Data harmonization is necessary for removing confounding effects in multi-site diffusion image analysis. One such harmonization method, LinearRISH, scales rotationally invariant spherical harmonic (RISH) features from one site ("target") to the second ("reference") to reduce confounding scanner effects. However, reference and target site designations are not arbitrary and resultant diffusion metrics (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity) are biased by this choice. In this work we propose MidRISH: rather than scaling reference RISH features to target RISH features, we project both sites to a mid-space. We validate MidRISH with the following experiments: harmonizing scanner differences from 37 matched patients free of cognitive impairment, and harmonizing acquisition and study differences on 117 matched patients free of cognitive impairment. We find that MidRISH reduces bias of reference selection while preserving harmonization efficacy of LinearRISH. Users should be cautious when performing LinearRISH harmonization. To select a reference site is to choose diffusion metric effect-size. Our proposed method eliminates the bias-inducing site selection step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct comparable indicators that measure the prevalence of recent intimate partner violence (IPV) using publicly available, integrated microdata within the IPUMS data collections across many countries. The objective of this work is to increase opportunities for comparative research by leveraging vast quantities of harmonized data. We use consistent and comparable variables that measure domestic violence in international health surveys. The most consistent indicators of domestic violence measure physical, psychological, and sexual IPV in the last 12 months. We imposed a consistent reference period and restricted to a comparable subpopulation where these differed across surveys. Aggregating IPV variables across surveys, without careful attention to question wording and subpopulations, may produce inconsistent measures leading to bias, over- or under-estimation of IPV prevalence, or spurious trends and associations. Using comparable indicators in microdata and studying the level, distribution, and covariates of IPV in multiple settings over time, we can better understand these phenomena and identify effective policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical imaging datasets for research are frequently collected from multiple imaging centers using different scanners, protocols, and settings. These variations affect data consistency and compatibility across different sources. Image harmonization is a critical step to mitigate the effects of factors like inherent differences between various vendors, hardware upgrades, protocol changes, and scanner calibration drift, as well as to ensure consistent data for medical image processing techniques. Given the critical importance and widespread relevance of this issue, a vast array of image harmonization methodologies have emerged, with deep learning-based approaches driving substantial advancements in recent times. The goal of this review paper is to examine the latest deep learning techniques employed for image harmonization by analyzing cutting-edge architectural approaches in the field of medical image harmonization, evaluating both their strengths and limitations. This paper begins by providing a comprehensive fundamental overview of image harmonization strategies, covering three critical aspects: established imaging datasets, commonly used evaluation metrics, and characteristics of different scanners. Subsequently, this paper analyzes recent structural MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) harmonization techniques based on network architecture, network learning algorithm, network supervision strategy, and network output. The underlying architectures include U-Net, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), flow-based generative models, transformer-based approaches, as well as custom-designed network architectures. This paper investigates the effectiveness of Disentangled Representation Learning (DRL) as a pivotal learning algorithm in harmonization. Lastly, the review highlights the primary limitations in harmonization techniques, specifically the lack of comprehensive quantitative comparisons across different methods. The overall aim of this review is to serve as a guide for researchers and practitioners to select appropriate architectures based on their specific conditions and requirements. It also aims to foster discussions around ongoing challenges in the field and shed light on promising future research directions with the potential for significant advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent improvements in collected drilling data quality and volume, the actual number of wells being used in studies remain low and are often limited to a single source and oil field, producing results that are prone to overfitting and are non-transferable.In our study, we access oil drilling data from 5 of more than 20 oil drilling companies collected from 2005 to 2016 from our industrial partner to create well drilling duration models for well planning. This project could lead to the creation of more generalized models from larger datasets than others in literature. However, the data is difficult to process without expert knowledge, further complicated by properties such as unharmonized, source-locked, semantic heterogeneity, sparse and unlabelled. Conventional automated methods for feature selection, propositionalization, multi-source, or block-wise missing techniques could not be used.In this paper, we describe our method to assist the Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) Selection stage of the abovementioned data - Feature Selection before Propositionalization (FSbP) via Database Attribute Health Feature Reduction (DAHFR) and Report Feature Correlation Matrix (RFCM), collectively known as FvDR. DAHFR and RFCM are filter-type feature selection techniques that could measure relational missingness and keyword correlations respectively despite the complexity of multi-source oil drilling data. FvDR successfully reduced the scope from 700 tables containing 20,000 columns to 22 tables containing fewer than 707 columns while successfully selecting 13 of 16 relevant tables suggested by literature. Despite the loss of information from limitations of subsequent KDD procedures, preliminary models show promising results with over half the test predictions falling within the 20% error margin required for well planning. FvDR proves to be indispensable in KDD as a FSbP framework as it reduces features for examination and streamlines the research process necessary to understand business rules for data harmonization and propositionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Collection of detailed dietary data is labor intensive and expensive, harmonization of existing data sets has been proposed as an effective tool for research questions in which individual studies are underpowered. Methods: In this paper, we describe the methodology used to retrospectively harmonize nutritional data from multiple sources, based on the individual participant data of all available studies, which collected nutritional data in Israel between 1963 and 2014. This collaboration was established in order to study the association of red and processed meat with colorectal cancer. Two types of nutritional questionnaires, the Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) and the 24-h dietary recall (24HR recall), and different food composition tables, were used by the participating studies. The main exposure of interest included type of meat (total meat, red meat, and poultry) and level of processing. Results: A total of 29,560 Israeli men and women were enrolled. In studies using FFQ,the weighted mean intakes of total, red, processed meat, and poultry were 95, 27, 37 and 58 gr/day and 92, 25, 10, and 66 gr/day in studies using 24HR recall, respectively.. Despite several methodological challenges, we successfully harmonized nutritional data from the different studies. Conclusions: This paper emphasizes the significance and feasibility of harmonization of previously collected nutritional data, offering an opportunity to examine associations between a range of dietary exposures and the outcome of interest, while minimizing costs and time in epidemiological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention science has increasingly turned to integrative data analysis (IDA) to combine individual participant-level data from multiple studies of the same topic, allowing us to evaluate overall effect size, test and model heterogeneity, and examine mediation. Studies included in IDA often use different measures for the same construct, leading to sparse datasets. We introduce a graph theory method for summarizing patterns of sparseness and use simulations to explore the impact of different patterns on measurement bias within three different measurement models: a single common factor, a hierarchical model, and a bifactor model. We simulated 1000 datasets with varying levels of sparseness and used Bayesian methods to estimate model parameters and evaluate bias. Results clarified that bias due to sparseness will depend on the strength of the general factor, the measurement model employed, and the level of indirect linkage among measures. We provide an example using a synthesis dataset that combined data on youth depression from 4146 youth who participated in 16 randomized field trials of prevention programs. Given that different synthesis datasets will embody different patterns of sparseness, we conclude by recommending that investigators use simulation methods to explore the potential for bias given the sparseness patterns they encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of ComBat harmonization on the reproducibility of radiomic features extracted from magnetic resonance images (MRI) acquired on different scanners, using various data acquisition parameters and multiple image pre-processing techniques using a dedicated MRI phantom. Four scanners were used to acquire an MRI of a nonanatomic phantom as part of the TCIA RIDER database. In fast spin-echo inversion recovery (IR) sequences, several inversion durations were employed, including 50, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 ms. In addition, a 3D fast spoiled gradient recalled echo (FSPGR) sequence was used to investigate several flip angles (FA): 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees. Nineteen phantom compartments were manually segmented. Different approaches were used to pre-process each image: Bin discretization, Wavelet filter, Laplacian of Gaussian, logarithm, square, square root, and gradient. Overall, 92 first-, second-, and higher-order statistical radiomic features were extracted. ComBat harmonization was also applied to the extracted radiomic features. Finally, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Kruskal-Wallis's (KW) tests were implemented to assess the robustness of radiomic features. The number of non-significant features in the KW test ranged between 0–5 and 29–74 for various scanners, 31–91 and 37–92 for three times tests, 0–33 to 34–90 for FAs, and 3–68 to 65–89 for IRs before and after ComBat harmonization, with different image pre-processing techniques, respectively. The number of features with ICC over 90% ranged between 0–8 and 6–60 for various scanners, 11–75 and 17–80 for three times tests, 3–83 to 9–84 for FAs, and 3–49 to 3–63 for IRs before and after ComBat harmonization, with different image pre-processing techniques, respectively. The use of various scanners, IRs, and FAs has a great impact on radiomic features. However, the majority of scanner-robust features is also robust to IR and FA. Among the effective parameters in MR images, several tests in one scanner have a negligible impact on radiomic features. Different scanners and acquisition parameters using various image pre-processing might affect radiomic features to a large extent. ComBat harmonization might significantly impact the reproducibility of MRI radiomic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), usually precipitated by alcohol misuse or viral reactivation, is characterised by rapid onset and usually reversible liver failure. Various definitions of ACLF have been proposed and widely used across the globe, including those by APASL, COSSH, EASL-CLIF, Japanese experts, and NACSELD. Although all the definitions have several similarities and connote high short-term mortality, a clear and standardised definition is still lacking, hampering research in this key area. In this review, we discuss the similarities and differences among various definitions and propose steps to harmonise EASL-CLIF, APASL, NACSELD, Japanese, and Chinese definitions of ACLF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Endometriosis Research Foundation established the Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonisation Project (EPHect) to create standardized documentation tools (with common data elements) to facilitate the comparison and combination of data across different research sites and studies. In 2014, 4 data research standards were published: clinician-reported surgical data, patient-reported clinical data, and fluid and tissue biospecimen collection. Our current objective is to create an EPHect standard for the clinician-reported physical examination (EPHect-PE) for research studies. An international consortium involving 26 clinical and academic experts and patient partners from 11 countries representing 25 institutions and organizations. Two virtual workshops, followed by the development of the physical examination standards underwent multiple rounds of iterations and revisions. N/A N/A The EPHect-PE tool provides standardized assessment of physical examination characteristics and pain phenotyping. Data elements involve examination of back and pelvic girdle; abdomen including allodynia and trigger points; vulva including provoked vestibulodynia; pelvic floor muscle tone and tenderness; tenderness on unidigital pelvic examination; presence of pelvic nodularity; uterine size and mobility; presence of adnexal masses; presence of incisional masses; speculum examination; tenderness and allodynia at an extra-pelvic site (e.g., forearm); and recording of anthropometrics. The EPHect-PE standards will facilitate the standardized documentation of the physical examination, including the assessment and documentation of examination phenotyping of endometriosis-associated pelvic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Raman spectroscopy has rapidly been on the rise across a great number of industries where comparability, reproducibility, and reliability of the data are of paramount importance. However, controlling the intensity of the Raman signal depends on a large number of factors such as the wavelength of the laser light, the optical components of each device, or the number of molecules in the illuminated volume. For this reason, in this study, a new protocol has been applied to twin Raman devices to achieve a conversion of the signal between them, by pairing the intensity response of the units using a reference sample. The new reference material is a homogenous dispersion of a 0.5 wt% anatase (titanium dioxide, or TiO2) in an epoxy resin matrix, with deviations <2.5% in Raman intensity across the reference material. The proposed protocol for Raman-twinned devices takes a well-defined approach that leads to obtaining a correction factor that relates the differences in the signal intensity between the two Raman devices, in order to obtain the same Raman intensity counts. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated based on the data from the devices, which presented the most common user cases: twinning Raman devices of the non-confocal same model for two different wavelengths; and twinning confocal and non-confocal devices. The results obtained show that the protocol has worked for both of the Raman twinning cases, allowing the Raman intensity harmonization of Raman spectra between two different devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of land is of central importance to manage the impact of mankind upon the environment. The understanding and treatment of land vary greatly across different regions and communities, making the description of land highly specific to each locality. To address the larger global issues, such as world food production or climate change mitigation, one needs to have a common standardized understanding of the biosphere cover and use of land. Different governments and institutions established national systems to describe thematic content of land within their jurisdictions. These systems are all valid and tuned to address various national needs. However, their integration at regional or global levels is lacking. Integrating data from widely divergent sources to create world datasets not only requires standards, but also an approach to integrate national and regional land cover classification systems. The ISO 19144 series, developed through the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), offers a meta-language for the integration of disparate land classification systems, enhancing interoperability, data sharing, and national to global data integration and comparison. This paper provides an overview of classification system concepts, different stages for the development of standards in ISO and the status of different standards in the ISO 19144 series. It also explores the critical role of the ISO 19144 series in standardizing land cover and land use classification systems. Drawing on practical case studies, the paper underscores the series' potential to support global sustainable development goals and lays out a path for its future development and application. Using these standards, we gain not only a tool for harmonizing land classification, but also a critical level for advancing sustainable development and environmental stewardship worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of research projects and infrastructure services involve pooling data across different survey programs. Creating a homogenous integrated dataset from heterogeneous source data is the domain of ex-post harmonization. The harmonization process involves various considerations. However, chief among them is whether two survey measurement instruments have captured the same concept. This issue of conceptual comparability is a fundamental precondition for pooling different source variables to form a harmonized target variable. Our paper explores this issue with a mixed-methods approach. On the one hand, we use psychometric latent variable modeling by presenting several single-item wordings for social trust to respondents and then performing factor analytic procedures. On the other hand, we complement and contrast these quantitative findings with qualitative findings gained with an open-ended web probe. The combined approach gave valuable insights into the conceptual comparability of the eleven social-trust-related single-item wordings. For example, we find that negative, distrust-related wordings and positive, trust-related wordings should not be pooled into an integrated variable. However, the paper will also illustrate and discuss why it is easier to disprove conceptual comparability than fully prove it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To improve reproducibility and predictive performance of PET radiomic features in multicentric studies by cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (GAN) harmonization approaches. Methods: GAN-harmonization was developed to harmonize whole-body PET scans to perform image style and texture translation between different centers and scanners. GAN-harmonization was evaluated by application to two retrospectively collected open datasets and different tasks. First, GAN-harmonization was performed on a dual-center lung cancer cohort (127 female, 138 male) where the reproducibility of radiomic features in healthy liver tissue was evaluated. Second, GAN-harmonization was applied to a head and neck cancer cohort (43 female, 154 male) acquired from three centers. Here, the clinical impact of GAN-harmonization was analyzed by predicting the development of distant metastases using a logistic regression model incorporating first-order statistics and texture features from baseline 18F-FDG PET before and after harmonization. Results: Image quality remained high (structural similarity: left kidney ≥ 0.800, right kidney ≥ 0.806, liver ≥ 0.780, lung ≥ 0.838, spleen ≥ 0.793, whole-body ≥ 0.832) after image harmonization across all utilized datasets. Using GAN-harmonization, inter-site reproducibility of radiomic features in healthy liver tissue increased at least by ≥ 5 ± 14% (first-order), ≥ 16 ± 7% (GLCM), ≥ 19 ± 5% (GLRLM), ≥ 16 ± 8% (GLSZM), ≥ 17 ± 6% (GLDM), and ≥ 23 ± 14% (NGTDM). In the head and neck cancer cohort, the outcome prediction improved from AUC 0.68 (95% CI 0.66–0.71) to AUC 0.73 (0.71–0.75) by application of GAN-harmonization. Conclusions: GANs are capable of performing image harmonization and increase reproducibility and predictive performance of radiomic features derived from different centers and scanners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Thyroid function tests are common biochemical analyses, and agreement between the routinely used immunoassays is important for diagnosis and monitoring of thyroid disease. Efforts are continuously made to align the biochemical assays, and we aimed to evaluate the agreement between immunoassays used in a clinical laboratory setting among non‐pregnant and pregnant adults. Design: Cross‐sectional study. Participants: Serum samples were obtained from 192 blood donors (non‐pregnant adults) and from 86 pregnant women in the North Denmark Region with no known thyroid disease. Measurements: Each sample was used for measurement of thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) with the routinely used automatic immunoassays in the regional Departments of Clinical Biochemistry (Alinity, Abbott Laboratories, Cobas, Roche Diagnostics, and Atellica, Siemens Healthineers) and reported as the median with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: In nonpregnant adults, the level of TSH was higher with Cobas and Atellica than with Alinity as reflected by median (Alinity: 1.39 mIU/L (95% CI: 1.30–1.51 mIU/L); Cobas: 1.57 mIU/L (95% CI: 1.48–1.75 mIU/L); Atellica: 1.74 mIU/L (95% CI: 1.61–1.83 mIU/L)). Similarly, a trend was seen towards higher median TSH with Cobas than with Alinity among pregnant women (Alinity: 1.90 mIU/L (95% CI: 1.37–2.82 mIU/L); Cobas: 2.33 mIU/L (95% CI: 1.69–3.62 mIU/L)). Conclusion: Results of thyroid function tests obtained with different immunoassays were not interchangeable when evaluated among pregnant and non‐pregnant adults. The distinct differences are relevant for clinical decision making and emphasize the necessity of clinical laboratory information when different assays are used for diagnosis and monitoring of patients with thyroid disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is still considerable resistance against carbon pricing — i.e. carbon taxation or cap-and-trade — in the social and policy sciences. We review its main arguments and conclude that they are not supported by the theoretical and empirical literature on instrument performance. Critics are also unable to offer alternative and feasible instruments that limit free riding in climate solutions and perform better on main evaluation criteria, namely effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and global-harmonization potential. Their argument that carbon pricing meets strong political resistance is countered by its widespread implementation already and by its ability to compensate inequitable impacts. We argue that overcoming unsubstantiated criticism on carbon pricing will lead to more consistent advice from policy experts to politicians, thus improving the feasibility of, and accelerating progress towards, globally harmonized and stringent climate policy. All in all, it might be more widely acknowledged that the remarkable feature of carbon pricing is that, if well implemented, it has a great number of advantages and few disadvantages. Rather than weakening political support by criticizing carbon pricing, critics would contribute more productively to effective global climate policy by defending proper and uniform implementation of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the robustness of positron emission tomography (PET) radiomic features extracted via different segmentation methods before and after ComBat harmonization in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We included 120 patients (positive recurrence = 46 and negative recurrence = 74) referred for PET scanning as a routine part of their care. All patients had a biopsy-proven NSCLC. Nine segmentation methods were applied to each image, including manual delineation, K-means (KM), watershed, fuzzy-C-mean, region-growing, local active contour (LAC), and iterative thresholding (IT) with 40, 45, and 50% thresholds. Diverse image discretizations, both without a filter and with different wavelet decompositions, were applied to PET images. Overall, 6741 radiomic features were extracted from each image (749 radiomic features from each segmented area). Non-parametric empirical Bayes (NPEB) ComBat harmonization was used to harmonize the features. Linear Support Vector Classifier (LinearSVC) with L1 regularization For feature selection and Support Vector Machine classifier (SVM) with fivefold nested cross-validation was performed using StratifiedKFold with 'n_splits' set to 5 to predict recurrence in NSCLC patients and assess the impact of ComBat harmonization on the outcome. Results: From 749 extracted radiomic features, 206 (27%) and 389 (51%) features showed excellent reliability (ICC ≥ 0.90) against segmentation method variation before and after NPEB ComBat harmonization, respectively. Among all, 39 features demonstrated poor reliability, which declined to 10 after ComBat harmonization. The 64 fixed bin widths (without any filter) and wavelets (LLL)-based radiomic features set achieved the best performance in terms of robustness against diverse segmentation techniques before and after ComBat harmonization. The first-order and GLRLM and also first-order and NGTDM feature families showed the largest number of robust features before and after ComBat harmonization, respectively. In terms of predicting recurrence in NSCLC, our findings indicate that using ComBat harmonization can significantly enhance machine learning outcomes, particularly improving the accuracy of watershed segmentation, which initially had fewer reliable features than manual contouring. Following the application of ComBat harmonization, the majority of cases saw substantial increase in sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Radiomic features are vulnerable to different segmentation methods. ComBat harmonization might be considered a solution to overcome the poor reliability of radiomic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We causally analyzed whether being a member of the European Union (EU) and having access to a centralized marketing authorization procedure (centralized procedure [CP]) affects availability and time to launch of new pharmaceuticals. We employed multiple difference‐in‐differences models, exploiting the eastern enlargement of the EU as well as changes in the indications that fall within the compulsory or voluntary scope of the CP. Results showed that countries experienced a mean decrease in launch delay of 10.9 months (p = 0.004) after joining the EU. Effects were higher among pharmaceuticals that belong to indications that might voluntarily participate in the CP but are not obliged to. These are often financially less attractive to manufacturers than pharmaceuticals within the compulsory scope. Availability of new pharmaceuticals launched remained unaffected. We found signs that the magnitude of the country‐specific effect of centralized marketing authorization on launch delay may be influenced by strategic decisions of manufacturers at the national level (e.g., parallel trade or reference pricing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by the European Commission in enforcing antitrust laws in digital markets with network effects. It emphasizes the role of National Competition Authorities (NCAs) and private claimants in complementing the Commission's efforts, but acknowledges the constraints imposed by EU regulations. The article also explores the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and its aim to harmonize regulatory solutions at the national level. It compares the DMA with the German Act Against Restraints of Competition (ARC) and highlights differences in obligations and enforcement. The article concludes by suggesting the need for a more consistent approach that embraces diversity before harmonization. [Extracted from the article]

Large-scale data obtained from aggregation of already collected multi-site neuroimaging datasets has brought benefits such as higher statistical power, reliability, and robustness to the studies. Despite these promises from growth in sample size, substantial technical variability stemming from differences in scanner specifications exists in the aggregated data and could inadvertently bias any downstream analyses on it. Such a challenge calls for data normalization and/or harmonization frameworks, in addition to comprehensive criteria to estimate the scanner-related variability and evaluate the harmonization frameworks. In this study, we propose MISPEL (Multi-scanner Image harmonization via Structure Preserving Embedding Learning), a supervised multi-scanner harmonization method that is naturally extendable to more than two scanners. We also designed a set of criteria to investigate the scanner-related technical variability and evaluate the harmonization techniques. As an essential requirement of our criteria, we introduced a multi-scanner matched dataset of 3T T1 images across four scanners, which, to the best of our knowledge is one of the few datasets of this kind. We also investigated our evaluations using two popular segmentation frameworks: FSL and segmentation in statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Lastly, we compared MISPEL to popular methods of normalization and harmonization, namely White Stripe, RAVEL, and CALAMITI. MISPEL outperformed these methods and is promising for many other neuroimaging modalities.

Abstract Medical imaging datasets for research are frequently collected from multiple imaging centers using different scanners, protocols, and settings. These variations affect data consistency and compatibility across different sources. Image harmonization is a critical step to mitigate the effects of factors like inherent differences between various vendors, hardware upgrades, protocol changes, and scanner calibration drift, as well as to ensure consistent data for medical image processing techniques. Given the critical importance and widespread relevance of this issue, a vast array of image harmonization methodologies have emerged, with deep learning-based approaches driving substantial advancements in recent times. The goal of this review paper is to examine the latest deep learning techniques employed for image harmonization by analyzing cutting-edge architectural approaches in the field of medical image harmonization, evaluating both their strengths and limitations. This paper begins by providing a comprehensive fundamental overview of image harmonization strategies, covering three critical aspects: established imaging datasets, commonly used evaluation metrics, and characteristics of different scanners. Subsequently, this paper analyzes recent structural MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) harmonization techniques based on network architecture, network learning algorithm, network supervision strategy, and network output. The underlying architectures include U-Net, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), flow-based generative models, transformer-based approaches, as well as custom-designed network architectures. This paper investigates the effectiveness of Disentangled Representation Learning (DRL) as a pivotal learning algorithm in harmonization. Lastly, the review highlights the primary limitations in harmonization techniques, specifically the lack of comprehensive quantitative comparisons across different methods. The overall aim of this review is to serve as a guide for researchers and practitioners to select appropriate architectures based on their specific conditions and requirements. It also aims to foster discussions around ongoing challenges in the field and shed light on promising future research directions with the potential for significant advancements.

Abstract Background Collection of detailed dietary data is labor intensive and expensive, harmonization of existing data sets has been proposed as an effective tool for research questions in which individual studies are underpowered. Methods In this paper, we describe the methodology used to retrospectively harmonize nutritional data from multiple sources, based on the individual participant data of all available studies, which collected nutritional data in Israel between 1963 and 2014. This collaboration was established in order to study the association of red and processed meat with colorectal cancer. Two types of nutritional questionnaires, the Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) and the 24-h dietary recall (24HR recall), and different food composition tables, were used by the participating studies. The main exposure of interest included type of meat (total meat, red meat, and poultry) and level of processing. Results A total of 29,560 Israeli men and women were enrolled. In studies using FFQ,the weighted mean intakes of total, red, processed meat, and poultry were 95, 27, 37 and 58 gr/day and 92, 25, 10, and 66 gr/day in studies using 24HR recall, respectively.. Despite several methodological challenges, we successfully harmonized nutritional data from the different studies. Conclusions This paper emphasizes the significance and feasibility of harmonization of previously collected nutritional data, offering an opportunity to examine associations between a range of dietary exposures and the outcome of interest, while minimizing costs and time in epidemiological studies.

The ‘Rational Laboratory Use Project’ (RLUP) was launched in 2018 by the Department of Examination and Diagnosis Services under the General Directorate of Health Services of the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Health. In this study, we aimed to determine the rate of implementation of RLUP in medical biochemistry laboratories, and to contribute to new regulations by collecting the information and opinions of the laboratory experts participating the survey.

The EAEU countries, having adopted the Agreement on Pension Security in 2019, took a big step forward to form the pension rights of migrants from the EAEU countries. However, existing difficulties caused by economic, demographic characteristics and institutional differences make us think about further steps to harmonize, unify and coordinate the pension systems of the EAEU countries.Aim. Consider themechanisms and the principles of international regulation of pensions in the EAEU countries and identify limitations and opportunities for its further improvement.Tasks. Explore global experience of cooperation in the pension sector; conduct an analysis of international regulation of pensions in the post-Soviet space and in the EAEU countries; identify difficulties in forming pension rights for migrants from EAEU countries; to find possible directions for the further development of pension legislation in the EAEU countries.Methods. The comparative analysis method was used to study national old-age pension systems; when determining the directions for the development of old-age pensions for migrants in the world, the historical and legal method was used.Results. The world experience of international regulation of pensions is considered.Differences were discovered in the formation of pension rights in the EAEU countries.The mechanisms of harmonization and coordination, as well as the territorial and proportional principles of legal regulation of old-age pensions are analyzed. The difficulties of forming pension rights for migrants from the EAEU countries are shown.Conclusions. The current approach to regulating pensions in the EAEU is not perfect, but it allows countries to remain independent in their national pension policies. Overcoming the existing difficulties in the formation and implementation of pension rights is possible with further harmonization, unification and coordination of the EAEU pension systems, which are complicated by the economic and demographic operating conditions and the lack of a unified strategy for the development of pensions in the EAEU. A fundamental issue for all countries is to determine the role of the state in the pension process.

ObjectiveOne aim of the Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program is to develop an integrated model of chronic low back pain that is informed by combined data from translational research and clinical trials. We describe efforts to maximize data harmonization and accessibility to facilitate Consortium-wide analyses.MethodsConsortium-wide working groups established harmonized data elements to be collected in all studies and developed standards for tabular and nontabular data (eg, imaging and omics). The BACPAC Data Portal was developed to facilitate research collaboration across the Consortium.ResultsClinical experts developed the BACPAC Minimum Dataset with required domains and outcome measures to be collected by use of questionnaires across projects. Other nonrequired domain-specific measures are collected by multiple studies. To optimize cross-study analyses, a modified data standard was developed on the basis of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium Study Data Tabulation Model to harmonize data structures and facilitate integration of baseline characteristics, participant-reported outcomes, chronic low back pain treatments, clinical exam, functional performance, psychosocial characteristics, quantitative sensory testing, imaging, and biomechanical data. Standards to accommodate the unique features of chronic low back pain data were adopted. Research units submit standardized study data to the BACPAC Data Portal, developed as a secure cloud-based central data repository and computing infrastructure for researchers to access and conduct analyses on data collected by or acquired for BACPAC.ConclusionsBACPAC harmonization efforts and data standards serve as an innovative model for data integration that could be used as a framework for other consortia with multiple, decentralized research programs.

In 2019, the National Health Interview survey found that nearly 59% of adults reported pain some, most, or every day in the past 3 months, with 39% reporting back pain, making back pain the most prevalent source of pain, and a significant issue among adults. Often, identifying a direct, treatable cause for back pain is challenging, especially as it is often attributed to complex, multifaceted issues involving biological, psychological, and social components. Due to the difficulty in treating the true cause of chronic low back pain (cLBP), an over-reliance on opioid pain medications among cLBP patients has developed, which is associated with increased prevalence of opioid use disorder and increased risk of death. To combat the rise of opioid-related deaths, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated the Helping to End Addiction Long-TermSM (HEAL) initiative, whose goal is to address the causes and treatment of opioid use disorder while also seeking to better understand, diagnose, and treat chronic pain. The NIH Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program, a network of 14 funded entities, was launched as a part of the HEAL initiative to help address limitations surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of cLBP. This paper provides an overview of the BACPAC research program's goals and overall structure, and describes the harmonization efforts across the consortium, define its research agenda, and develop a collaborative project which utilizes the strengths of the network. The purpose of this paper is to serve as a blueprint for other consortia tasked with the advancement of pain related science.

The adoption of innovative advanced materials holds vast potential, contingent upon addressing safety and sustainability concerns. The European Commission advocates the integration of Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles early in the innovation process to streamline market introduction and mitigate costs. Within this framework, encompassing ecological, social, and economic factors is paramount. The NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) delineates key safety and sustainability areas, pinpointing unresolved issues and research gaps to steer the development of safe(r) materials. Leveraging FAIR data management and integration, alongside the alignment of regulatory aspects, fosters informed decision-making and innovation. Integrating circularity and sustainability mandates clear guidance, ensuring responsible innovation at every stage. Collaboration among stakeholders, anticipation of regulatory demands, and a commitment to sustainability are pivotal for translating SSbD into tangible advancements. Harmonizing standards and test guidelines, along with regulatory preparedness through an exchange platform, is imperative for governance and market readiness. By adhering to these principles, the effective and sustainable deployment of innovative materials can be realized, propelling positive transformation and societal acceptance.

The importance of studying this topic lies in the fact that in the context of social change and globalisation, which are taking place at this stage of societyʼs development, the role of inheritance remains significant. The area of inheritance has always been and will be the most relevant in civil and commercial law. Therefore, inheritance will always be an object of practical and scientific research. The purpose of this article was to study and compare the legal regulation of inheritance of rights of legal entities under the laws of Ukraine and the EU countries. The methodological basis of the work was the general scientific methods of cognition, which include the methods of scientific abstraction, induction, deduction, logical generalisation and extrapolation. This article analysed the inheritance of rights of legal entities of various types. On the basis of this analysis, a conclusion was made about the relevance of addressing the problematic aspects of inheritance of rights of legal entities in Ukraine and the compliance of national legislation in this area with the legislation of the EU countries. A comparison of the legal regulation of corporate rights inheritance in Ukraine and the EU countries is made. The article dealt with the issues of inheritance of rights of legal entities in limited liability companies and joint stock companies. The article also highlighted the aspect of possible future changes in civil and commercial legislation. The study proposed amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine in the area of inheritance of rights of legal entities. In particular, it was proposed to supplement the Civil Code of Ukraine with a new definition of the concept of “inheritance of rights of legal entities”. The research also defined what rights may be inherited by legal entities. This work can be used as a tool for further research of the issues of inheritance of corporate rights within the framework of development and improvement of legislation on this topic

The importance of the study stemmed from the necessity to identify ways to enhance the quality and harmonise the financial statements of small and medium-sized firms in Azerbaijan so that they met international requirements. The aim of the work was to analyse the reporting of Azerbaijani small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to identify significant inconsistencies between the basic concepts and principles in certain sections of international standards, the elimination of which will increase the comparability of the financial data of Azerbaijani enterprises at the global level. The methodological approach was based on statistical data analysis, which was used to study the change in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Azerbaijan for 2018-2023; and an analogy method for comparing the qualitative characteristics of financial statements specified in the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting to international standards. The main results include: a proposal to adopt indicators of the quality of information in the financial statements in accordance with the characteristics specified in the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting; justification of the need to use the initial and fair value methods based on the requirements for assessing the possible, current and discounted value of assets, liabilities, income, and expenses, as well as using simpler approaches to reflect them in financial statements; proof of the need for wider disclosure of information presented in the explanatory notes to the financial statements, which would help improve the quality and usefulness of information on the financial condition of business entities. The findings of scientific research, as well as the conclusions drawn from it, are of practical value to small and medium-sized business leaders, national politicians, and financial statement auditors

Sustainable development is a critical concept used to enhance global welfare. In this context, peremptory norms recognized within international law are integrated as general, universal, essential, and fundamental principles for societal benefit. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the role of sustainable development within international law and examine the contribution of norms to the formation of a modern legal state. The legal status of norms and capacity to embody universal values are clarified using descriptive analysis with a normative juridical approach and qualitative data. The results show that sustainable development has been developed as an indispensable paradigm, widely confirmed across legal frameworks. In addition, the integration as a universal norm within international law reflects the potential to influence legal systems globally. This depends on the balance of established sources such as treaties and customary practices. Moreover, this research contributes to legal scholarship by stating the role of international norms in advancing sustainable development.

Abstract Background Although the importance of quantitative SPECT has increased tremendously due to newly developed therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, there are still no accreditation programs to harmonize SPECT imaging. Work is currently underway to develop an accreditation for quantitative 177Lu SPECT/CT. The aim of this study is to verify whether the positioning of the spheres within the phantom has an influence on the recovery and thus needs to be considered in SPECT harmonization. In addition, the effects of these recovery coefficients on a potential partial volume correction as well as absorbed-dose estimates are investigated. Methods Using a low-dose CT of a SPECT/CT acquisition, a computerized version of the NEMA body phantom was created using a semi-automatic threshold-based method. Based on the mass-density map, the detector orbit, and the sphere centers, realistic SPECT acquisitions of all possible 720 sphere configurations of both the PET and the SPECT versions of the NEMA Body Phantom were generated using Monte Carlo simulations. SPECT reconstructions with different numbers of updates were performed without (CASToR) and with resolution modeling (STIR). Recovery coefficients were calculated for all permutations, reconstruction methods, and phantoms, and their dependence on the sphere positioning was investigated. Finally, the simulation-based findings were validated using SPECT/CT acquisitions of six different sphere configurations. Results Our analysis shows that sphere positioning has a significant impact on the recovery for both of the reconstruction methods and the phantom type. Although resolution modeling resulted in significantly higher recovery, the relative variation in recovery within the 720 permutations was even larger. When examining the extreme values of the recovery, reconstructions without resolution modeling were influenced primarily by the sphere position, while with resolution modeling the volume of the two adjacent spheres had a larger influence. The SPECT measurements confirmed these observations, and the recovery curves showed good overall agreement with the simulated data. Conclusion Our study shows that sphere positioning has a significant impact on the recovery obtained in NEMA sphere phantom measurements and should therefore be considered in a future SPECT accreditation. Furthermore, the single-measurement method normally performed for PVC should be reconsidered to account for the position dependency.

Abstract Background Personalised multi-compartment dosimetry based on [99mTc]Tc-MAA is a valuable tool for planning 90Y radioembolization treatments. The establishment and effective application of dose–effect relationships in yttrium-90 (90Y) radioembolization requires [99mTc]Tc-MAA SPECT quantification ideally independent of clinical site. The purpose of this multi-centre phantom study was to evaluate inter-site variability of [99mTc]Tc-MAA imaging and evaluate a standardised imaging protocol. Data was obtained from the TARGET study, an international, retrospective multi-centre study including 14 sites across 8 countries. The impact of imaging related factors was estimated using a NEMA IQ phantom (representing the liver), and a uniformly filled cylindrical phantom (representing the lungs). Imaging was performed using site-specific protocols and a standardized protocol. In addition, the impact of implementing key image corrections (scatter and attenuation correction) in the site-specific protocols was investigated. Inter-site dosimetry accuracy was evaluated by comparing computed Lung Shunt Fraction (LSF) measured using planar imaging of the cylindrical and NEMA phantom, and contrast recovery coefficient (CRC) measured using SPECT imaging of the NEMA IQ phantom. Results Regarding the LSF, inter-site variation with planar site-specific protocols was minimal, as determined by comparing computed LSF between sites (interquartile range 9.6–10.1%). A standardised protocol did not improve variation (interquartile range 8.4–9.0%) but did improve mean accuracy compared to the site-specific protocols (5.0% error for standardised protocol vs 8.8% error for site-specific protocols). Regarding the CRC, inter-system variation was notable for site-specific SPECT protocols and could not be improved by the standardised protocol (CRC interquartile range for 37 mm sphere 0.5–0.7 and 0.6–0.8 respectively), however the standardised protocol did improve accuracy of sphere:background determination. Implementation of key image corrections did improve inter-site variation (CRC interquartile range for 37 mm sphere 0.6–0.7). Conclusion Eliminating sources of variability in image corrections between imaging protocols reduces inter-site variation in quantification. A standardised protocol was not able to improve consistency of LSF or CRC but was able to improve accuracy.

The progress made in the development of accounting theory, as well as the accumulated experience of EU Member States, illustrate the growing advantages of public sector accounting systems based on the accrual principle over cash-based accounting. The adoption and application of accrual-based accounting standards and in accordance with the requirements of the IPSAS poses important questions for accounting harmonization within the Union. The various existing practices in the public sector are considered when choosing an accounting model. A challenge to the European harmonization of accounting systems in the public sector is also the differences between the national modified-cash based accounting systems and the adopted methodological principles of the European System of National and Regional Accounts 2010. The purpose of this article is to enrich and further develop in a theoretical aspect the European debate on the key issues in the public sector, analyzing the modern trends and challenges facing financial reporting in Bulgaria - as a member state of the EU, in conditions of accounting harmonization and growing legitimacy of the IPSAS in a global aspect. The major research method used in the study is the theoretical review of the European and national legislation and the practice in the field of public sector financial reporting. The Conceptual Framework is the starting point of reference for creating a system of pan-European harmonized standards for the public sector in full compliance with accrual-based accounting principles.

Harmonizing the border society between Indonesia and Malaysia based on their socio-cultural similarities presented an exciting exploration into the social and cultural dynamics that formed the relationship between these neighboring countries. This study explored the complex interactions of traditions, faiths, and practices that fostered cross-border unity and cooperation and highlighted the socio-cultural foundations that bind these communities together. The research was conducted in the border area between Indonesia and Malaysia, especially at Aruk Village, Sajingan Besar District, Sambas Regency. The method used in this research is phenomenology with the qualitative approach. The research findings indicated that the community at Aruk Village collectively managed the forests and natural resources. There were several cultural similarities among the Dayak Ethnic, Bidayu Sub-ethnic, and Melayu Ethnic who stayed in the Aruk Village area. This research highlighted local ideologies' role in strengthening social togetherness. Local wisdom, a binding force, was found to contribute significantly to the prosperity of the society, instilling a sense of optimism about the future of these communities. The harmonization of the border society between Indonesia and Malaysia showed the cognation of those residing in Aruk Village, Indonesia, with those residing in Serawak, Malaysia.

Organizations are under increasing pressure to comply with various rules, standards, and policies in today’s regulatory environment. Compliance controls are put in place to avoid legal or regulatory violations, which could lead to severe penalties, loss of reputation, and financial damages. However, these controls may have similar scopes and objectives, resulting in duplicated work and unnecessary costs for the organizations. To address this issue, researchers carry out the mapping and integration of these standards to avoid duplication, streamline compliance efforts, and identify best practices. Our work aims to improve the State-of-the-Art by exploring the main benefits and problems resulting from these processes, as well as identifying methods or artifacts that can be reused in the future. We focus on the fields of Risk, Security, and Business Continuity, as these are critical areas where compliance is crucial for organizations. Through our research, we have found that current methods of generating mapping artifacts are not only cumbersome to execute but also ineffective, as they output a single artifact without the reasoning behind it.

The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry is critical to not only for public health but also for economic growth. According to the European Union (EU) directives, under the EU framework for (traditional) herbal medicinal products, herbal medicines with long history of use can be registered in EU. However, there is a condition in this directive in which only those that have at least 10–15 years in the EU market are accepted for registration and/or marketing authorization. In author opinion, the condition of 10–15 years of use in EU countries set within the EU regulatory framework is with consideration of the genetic differences which can result in variation in adverse drug responses among different world populations. With this concept in mind, it is reasonable to project the principal of the EU directive to the Asian countries where TCM is originated. Countries like China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea that have well established drug registration framework are in best position in executing the best practice and facilitate harmonization of registration for TCM within the region. Furthermore, the registration process itself allows more safety and efficacy data to be collected systemically before and after product registration/marketing authorization. These are valuable information for future drug development. The therapeutic value of TCM is limitless, it has been left out in the EU regulatory framework, and the opportunity for it to be expanded and carried forward in modern medicines is shadowed by the limited number of TCM that are qualified to be registered under the EU regulatory framework. An early establishment of a harmonized risk-based registration process for TCM in Asian countries is important. This will strengthen the database to substantiate the history of safe use and further preserving and expanding the therapeutic values of TCM within and beyond the Asian region.

Background: Although the importance of quantitative SPECT has increased tremendously due to newly developed therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, there are still no accreditation programs to harmonize SPECT imaging. Work is currently underway to develop an accreditation for quantitative 177Lu SPECT/CT. The aim of this study is to verify whether the positioning of the spheres within the phantom has an influence on the recovery and thus needs to be considered in SPECT harmonization. In addition, the effects of these recovery coefficients on a potential partial volume correction as well as absorbed-dose estimates are investigated. Methods: Using a low-dose CT of a SPECT/CT acquisition, a computerized version of the NEMA body phantom was created using a semi-automatic threshold-based method. Based on the mass-density map, the detector orbit, and the sphere centers, realistic SPECT acquisitions of all possible 720 sphere configurations of both the PET and the SPECT versions of the NEMA Body Phantom were generated using Monte Carlo simulations. SPECT reconstructions with different numbers of updates were performed without (CASToR) and with resolution modeling (STIR). Recovery coefficients were calculated for all permutations, reconstruction methods, and phantoms, and their dependence on the sphere positioning was investigated. Finally, the simulation-based findings were validated using SPECT/CT acquisitions of six different sphere configurations. Results: Our analysis shows that sphere positioning has a significant impact on the recovery for both of the reconstruction methods and the phantom type. Although resolution modeling resulted in significantly higher recovery, the relative variation in recovery within the 720 permutations was even larger. When examining the extreme values of the recovery, reconstructions without resolution modeling were influenced primarily by the sphere position, while with resolution modeling the volume of the two adjacent spheres had a larger influence. The SPECT measurements confirmed these observations, and the recovery curves showed good overall agreement with the simulated data. Conclusion: Our study shows that sphere positioning has a significant impact on the recovery obtained in NEMA sphere phantom measurements and should therefore be considered in a future SPECT accreditation. Furthermore, the single-measurement method normally performed for PVC should be reconsidered to account for the position dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoporosis is a bone disease related to increased bone loss and fracture‐risk. The variability in bone strength is partially explained by bone mineral density (BMD), and the remainder is contributed by bone microstructure. Recently, clinical CT has emerged as a viable option for in vivo bone microstructural imaging. Wide variations in spatial‐resolution and other imaging features among different CT scanners add inconsistency to derived bone microstructural metrics, urging the need for harmonization of image data from different scanners. Purpose: This paper presents a new deep learning (DL) method for the harmonization of bone microstructural images derived from low‐ and high‐resolution CT scanners and evaluates the method's performance at the levels of image data as well as derived microstructural metrics. Methods: We generalized a three‐dimensional (3D) version of GAN‐CIRCLE that applies two generative adversarial networks (GANs) constrained by the identical, residual, and cycle learning ensemble (CIRCLE). Two GAN modules simultaneously learn to map low‐resolution CT (LRCT) to high‐resolution CT (HRCT) and vice versa. Twenty volunteers were recruited. LRCT and HRCT scans of the distal tibia of their left legs were acquired. Five‐hundred pairs of LRCT and HRCT image blocks of 64×64×64$64 \times 64 \times 64 $ voxels were sampled for each of the twelve volunteers and used for training in supervised as well as unsupervised setups. LRCT and HRCT images of the remaining eight volunteers were used for evaluation. LRCT blocks were sampled at 32 voxel intervals in each coordinate direction and predicted HRCT blocks were stitched to generate a predicted HRCT image. Results: Mean ± standard deviation of structural similarity (SSIM) values between predicted and true HRCT using both 3DGAN‐CIRCLE‐based supervised (0.84 ± 0.03) and unsupervised (0.83 ± 0.04) methods were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than the mean SSIM value between LRCT and true HRCT (0.75 ± 0.03). All Tb measures derived from predicted HRCT by the supervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE showed higher agreement (CCC ∈$ \in $ [0.956 0.991]) with the reference values from true HRCT as compared to LRCT‐derived values (CCC ∈$ \in $ [0.732 0.989]). For all Tb measures, except Tb plate‐width (CCC = 0.866), the unsupervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE showed high agreement (CCC ∈$ \in $ [0.920 0.964]) with the true HRCT‐derived reference measures. Moreover, Bland‐Altman plots showed that supervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE predicted HRCT reduces bias and variability in residual values of different Tb measures as compared to LRCT and unsupervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE predicted HRCT. The supervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE method produced significantly improved performance (p < 0.001) for all Tb measures as compared to the two DL‐based supervised methods available in the literature. Conclusions: 3DGAN‐CIRCLE, trained in either unsupervised or supervised fashion, generates HRCT images with high structural similarity to the reference true HRCT images. The supervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE improves agreements of computed Tb microstructural measures with their reference values and outperforms the unsupervised 3DGAN‐CIRCLE. 3DGAN‐CIRCLE offers a viable DL solution to retrospectively improve image resolution, which may aid in data harmonization in multi‐site longitudinal studies where scanner mismatch is unavoidable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]