Additional Topics Research Articles

Understanding Harmful Speech Online

This paper offers reflections and observations on the state of research related to harmful speech online. The perspectives outlined here are grounded in the lessons from a year of exploratory work in the field by researchers at the Berkman Klein Center and collaborating researchers and institutions. Our review includes an assessment of the efforts of civil society organizations to address racist speech in Brazil and Colombia; a study of the legal foundations of harmful speech regulation in India; a mixed methods look at discourse among white identity groups in the United States; an attempt to track offensive speech online in Tunisia; and a paper that explores the definitional and framing questions that complicate efforts to study and address harmful speech online. We also highlight a small selection of other recent efforts in the field.A key element of this initiative is to explore different approaches to the study of harmful speech and to draw lessons from comparative analysis. We chose to pursue this diverse set of research efforts in our first year in order to better understand the strengths and limitations of various research strategies and to assess why different types of interventions exist in some contexts and are missing in others. We hope to accumulate enough experiences to begin to answer what has worked and what has not, to define what constitutes success, whether in government, private sector, or community responses such as counter speech.We come away from this review with a plethora of questions that are worthy of further exploration. Our work over the past year leaves us with a greater appreciation of the complexity of the topic covering a wide range of social phenomena that are manifest in distinctly different ways across different groups and contexts. Each of the methodological approaches described here have strengths and weaknesses and are positioned to help answer different subsets of the many policy questions facing policymakers, companies, and civil society organizations. The continuation and extension of this multifaceted research approach applied to additional countries and topics will help to further refine these methods and provide a basis for robust comparative assessments.

Vigorous Physical Activity in Youth: Just One End of the Physical Activity Spectrum for Affecting Health?

This article provides commentary on the accompanying manuscript entitled "The Case for Vigorous Physical Activity in Youth" by Owens and colleagues. A major strength of the review was its aim to determine whether vigorous physical activity provides greater benefits with respect to several health outcomes among children and youth while also considering the limitations of the current evidence in terms of number of studies and study design. This commentary presents additional topics to consider, practical applications, and conclusions and recommendations that can be drawn from the current evidence. To expand "the case for vigorous physical activity in youth," future studies should consider delineating the relative benefits of vigorous physical activity compared not only with moderate physical activity, but also with light and total activity.

Differences in Cancer Education Between Patients with Hematologic Malignancies and Solid Tumor Malignancies: Lessons from a Large Multi-Disease Patient Education Symposium

Background:A cancer diagnosis results in a multitude of health care decisions that require adequate patient understanding to navigate the health care system. Understanding the type and degree of information needs of cancer patients is imperative to instructing effective and pertinent patient education. This study sought to evaluate the impact of a patient centered cancer symposium on knowledge level, knowledge needs and symptom burden in a cancer patient population.Methods:Surveys were distributed to attendees of the Mayo Clinic "Living with and Surviving Cancer" patient symposium in January 2016. A follow up survey was sent to participants 3 months after the symposium. Surveys included demographic data, questionnaire evaluating disease comprehension and information assessment, symptom burden, desired information and quality of life assessment. Responses were compared between patients with hematologic and solid tumor malignancies by chi-square test. Pre and post comparisons were done in patients completing both surveys by McNemar test.Results:Demographics: 150 patients completed the pre-intervention survey. Average age of participants 67.5 years. Some patients reported more than 1 malignancy. Disease types represented included hematologic malignancies (N=60), specifically multiple myeloma (N=23), lymphoma (N=26), leukemia (N=8) and MPNs (N=3) as well as solid tumor malignancies (N=90). Most patients were diagnosed with cancer at least 1 year prior to the intervention (N=137). Patients with hematologic malignancies were more likely to be on active treatment at the time of the convention (N=35, 58%) compared to solid tumor malignancies (N=37,41%).Baseline Knowledge: Most patients reported an adequate level of knowledge defined as the proportion of participants reporting "quite a bit" or "very much understanding" on the topic of disease understanding (76%). Lowest levels of knowledge were legal issues (18%), pain management (31%), disease relapse symptoms(46%), fatigue management (48%), end of life decision making (50%) and financial management (50%).Patients with hematologic malignancies were more likely to report understanding of fatigue management (N=36, 60%) but less like to report understanding disease risk factors (N=20, 33%), or increased nutritional interest following diagnosis (N=32, 53%) compared to solid tumor malignancy (N=33,37%) (N=55,61%)(N=70,78%), respectively (all p <0.05).The EORTC-INFO25 at baseline revealed hematologic patients had received less information on sexual side effects of treatments (N=7, 14%) compared to solid tumor patients (N=30, 35%; p=0.004), and reported a lower score of treatment information (50 vs 59; p=0.04).Pre and Post Analysis: Of the 150 initial participants, 81 completed the pre and post-convention surveys (54%). Post-symposium, significant improvement defined as the proportion of participants reporting "quite a bit" or "very much" understanding was noted of disease (pre 75% vs post 89%), stress management (pre 56% vs post 69%), maintain relationships (pre 60% vs post 75%) and pain management (pre 33% vs post 51%)(p-value<0.05).The desire for increased information decreased post-symposium regarding all 9 topics, with significant decreases noted in disease, treatment options and side effects, legal issues and stress management.The EORTC INFO25 analysis revealed a decrease in the reported desire for more information (mean; pre 70 vs post 53, p-value <0.05)Discussion:Cancer patients have a variety of information needs. A patient centered educational conference was able to produce significant improvement in understanding in 4 of 17 topics (24%), including general disease, stress and pain management, and relationship maintenance that was durable at 3 months. At least some improvement in understanding was noted in 10 of 17(59%) additional topics. Knowledge deficit improved in all 9 topics assessed, significantly in five. Cancer patient knowledge needs are varied, and likely evolve over time as a patient progress through stages of disease and treatment. Education should re-evaluate and redistribute information to cancer patients over the course of treatment and survivorship. [Display omitted] DisclosuresMikhael:Abbvie: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding; Onyx: Research Funding. Dueck:Bayer: Honoraria. Mesa:Novartis: Consultancy; Ariad: Consultancy; Promedior: Research Funding; Galena: Consultancy; Incyte: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; CTI Biopharma: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding.

Computational miRNomics.

Editorial The term MicroRNA or its contraction miRNA currently appears in 21,215 titles of abstracts, published between 1997 and now, available on Pubmed (2016-21-22:12:59 EET). 4,108 of these were published in 2016 alone which signifies the importance of miRNA-related research. MicroRNAs can be detected experimentally using various techniques like directional cloning of endogenous small RNAs but they are time consuming [1]. Additionally, it is necessary for the miRNA and its mRNA target(s) to be co-expressed to infer a functional relationship which is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve [2]. Since experimental approaches are facing such difficulties, they have been complemented by computational approaches [3] thereby defining the field of computational miRNomics. Due to the rapid development in the discipline, it is important to assess the state-of-the-art. In this special issue, several areas of the field are investigated ranging from pre-miRNA detection via machine learning to application of differential expression analysis in plants. First, Saçar Demirci et al. discuss an approach to virus pre-miRNA detection using machine learning [4]. Such approaches are based on parameterization of miRNAs and Yousef et al. discuss how to select among such features [5]. A different computational perspective is provided by Kotipalli et al. who model the kinetics of miRNA genesis and targeting [6]. To fuel more refined future models for genesis and targeting, it is important to establish miRNA and target expression under varying conditions. Zhang et al. [7] and Kanke et al. [8] discuss two approaches to quantify miRNAs and other non-coding short RNAs. Diler et al., finally, discuss actual biological implications of differentially expressed miRNAs [9]. This special issue on computational miRNomics, thus, provides a trajectory from detection of pre-miRNAs to biological implications of differentially expressed miRNAs. Additional topics will be covered in the upcoming second volume of the special issue on computational miRNomics.

Toward a National Birth Cohort Study in China.

The article examines efforts to encourage a large-scale birth cohort study in China. Particular focus is given to how this type of study might be used to examine environmental pollution and its relation to infertility, miscarriage, birth defects and obesity. Additional topics discussed include the maternal and child health (MCH) care system in China, how it is hoped that the study would start before conception and hospital-based recruitment for such a study.

Engaging Urban Universities as Anchor Institutions for Health Equity.

The article explores how urban universities can be anchor institutions for health equity. Particular focus is given to conditions in states including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio. Additional topics discussed include gentrification, the engagement of universities with their surrounding communities, and efforts taking place at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University.

Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in children: a mixed method study on healthcare professionals attitudes.

BackgroundQualitative and quantitative research investigating determinants of adherence to clinical guidelines (GLs) on surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) are scarce. We conducted a mixed-method study aimed at investigating barriers and at describing attitudes of healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding SAP in three Italian children’s hospitals.MethodsThe study comprised two sequential phases: 1) collection of qualitative data through focus groups; 2) conduction of a survey on HCPs attitudes towards SAP. Focus groups were carried out in each hospital with a theoretical convenience sample of 10–15 HCPs. Categorical analysis was conducted. Emerging categories and additional topics derived by literature search were used to develop the survey questionnaire, which included 13 questions expressed through a 4-point Likert scale. Members of surgical teams were invited by e-mail to fill in the questionnaire. We summed up the points assigned to each 4-point Likert scale response and calculated a cumulative score expressing overall concordance to expected HCPs attitudes on SAP. We conducted univariate and multivariate analysis to evaluate the relationship among characteristics of respondents and concordance with expected attitudes.ResultsThe main categories identified in the qualitative phase included determinants of general adherence to GLs (e.g., relevance of clinical judgment), individual determinants (e.g., poor knowledge on hospital data) and organizational/structural determinants (e.g., patient flows). A total of 357 HCPs participated in the survey (response rate: 82.1%). Among respondents, 75% reported that SAP should be performed with first or second-generation cephalosporins, 44% that 2–3 days of antibiotic administration are useful as a precaution after surgery, 32% that SAP is needed for all surgical procedures. At multivariate analysis, professional category (physicians vs nurses; OR: 3.31; 95%CI: 1.88–5.82), and hospital (hospital 1 and 2 vs hospital 3; ORs: 2.79, 95%CI: 1.22–6.36; 2.40, 95%CI: 1.30–4.43, respectively) were significantly and independently associated with higher concordance with expected attitudes on SAP.ConclusionsResults from this study were useful to identify obstacles to appropriate SAP use in children. In our setting, findings support that a quality-improvement intervention should take into account local contexts, with development of hospital policies, education on SAP recommendations, and dissemination of data on adherence to recommendations.

Telemedicine Quality and Outcomes in Stroke: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Telestroke is one of the most frequently used and rapidly expanding applications of telemedicine, delivering much-needed stroke expertise to hospitals and patients. This document reviews the current status of telestroke and suggests measures for ongoing quality and outcome monitoring to improve performance and to enhance delivery of care. A literature search was undertaken to examine the current status of telestroke and relevant quality indicators. The members of the writing committee contributed to the review of specific quality and outcome measures with specific suggestions for metrics in telestroke networks. The drafts were circulated and revised by all committee members, and suggestions were discussed for consensus. Models of telestroke and the role of telestroke in stroke systems of care are reviewed. A brief description of the science of quality monitoring and prior experience in quality measures for stroke is provided. Process measures, outcomes, tissue-type plasminogen activator use, patient and provider satisfaction, and telestroke technology are reviewed, and suggestions are provided for quality metrics. Additional topics include licensing, credentialing, training, and documentation.

Military Medics' Insight Into Providing Women's Health Care in Deployed Settings.

To gain better understanding of the military medics' (Navy Independent Duty Corpsman, Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician, and Army Health Care Specialist, experiences providing health care for women in the deployed or ship setting. The researchers used an exploratory, descriptive design informed by ethnography. A total of 86 individuals participated in the focus group and individual interviews. Three themes were identified: Training Fidelity, Advocate Leader, and The Challenges of Providing Patient Care. Experience in austere settings has convinced a number of medics they need additional women's health care topics in every facet of their training. They further suggested such training should be provided in stepwise fashion, beginning with initial, technical training courses and continuing through medical skills sustainment platforms. They were especially interested in basic women's health concerns. Topics suggested included vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, and birth control management. Although the advancement of women in the military continues to make strides-it is clear the availability of quality women's health care that women feel comfortable accessing may be its defining limitation. Medics are an excellent conduit for reinforcing these healthy messages and providing first-line treatment to deployed military women.

Effects of Local Health Interventions on Inequality in Life Expectancy: New Publicly Available Data.

The article examines the relationship between income and life expectancy in the U.S. Particular focus is given to data drawn from tax and Social Security records. Additional topics discussed include how the largest gap is between the richest one percent and the poorest one percent of Americans, the impact that immigrants, college graduation rates and local government expenditures had on the data, and how data from the study discussed is available on the website https://healthinequality.org/data.

Computational Study of Reduction Potentials of Th4+ Compounds and Hydrolysis of ThO2(H2O)n, n = 1, 2, 4.

The stability of Th4+ to reduction in water is studied by DFT methods. The standard reduction potential (SRP) of homoleptic complexes including Th(H2O)94+, Th(H2O)104+, Th(NO3)4, Th(NO2)62-, Th(NO3)62-, Th(COT)2, Th(acac)4, ThCp4, ThF4, and ThCl4 have been investigated. The values vary widely (from -3.50 V for Th(OH)4 to -0.62 V for Th(NO3)4 depending on whether the ligands are redox active (noninnocent) or not. Several additional topics of thorium chemistry are explored, including the hydrolysis mechanism of ThO2(H2O)n, n = 1, 2, 4, and the solution phase nonzero dipole moment of ThCp4. Dinuclear complexes are also characterized, including Th2O4, Th2O2(OH)4, Th2O2(H2O)8, Th2(OH)8(H2O)4, and Th2(OH)2(NO3)6(H2O)4 and condensed thorium complexes as [Th4(OH)6(H2O)12]10+ and [Th6(OH)14(H2O)12]10+. For the Th2(OH)2(NO3)6(H2O)4 dinuclear complex, the first SRP is -0.82 V and the second is 1.59 V. The first SRP corresponds to the reduction of the ligand NO3-, and the second SRP corresponds to dissociative electron transfer to the NO32- ligand. The calculated formation constant of Th(EDTA)(H2O)4 is in reasonable agreement with experiment. The different stereochemistries of the bidentate ligands NO2-, NO3-, and acetylacetonate (acac) around the thorium center have very similar stabilities.

Resident Feedback to Improve Bootcamp Effectiveness

Local Mentor: Veronica T. Mallett, MD, and J. Christopher Carey, MD APGO Advisor: John L. Dalrymple, MD PURPOSE: To incorporate resident feedback into a boot camp course and assess resident learner satisfaction. BACKGROUND: APGO/CREOG Milestone One outlines the knowledge and skills an Ob/Gyn intern should have upon starting residency. Some institutions conduct an intern boot camp; an intense, short course designed to meet Milestone One. Our first boot camp was conducted July 2014 and our second July 2015 and included 19 topics and 5 skills stations. METHODS: IRB approval was obtained. After each boot camp, incoming and returning residents were surveyed to assess perceptions of the interns' performance, satisfaction with preparation for internship, and suggestions for additional boot camp topics. A 5-point Likert scale was used to determine topic relevance. RESULTS: Five interns (100%) and ten residents (82%) were included in the study. Topics scoring the highest number of “somewhat” and “very” important were given priority for inclusion in the second boot camp. Laparoscopic skills, sutures and hypertension in pregnancy were added into the second boot camp. After the first boot camp, 60% (6/10) of the residents and 60% of the interns (3/5) interns felt that the boot camp was helpful to the interns. After the second boot camp, 100% (6/6) of the residents and 80% of the interns (4/5) felt the boot camp was helpful to the interns. DISCUSSION: Our results indicate that resident input and feedback on bootcamp development and effectiveness resulted in high satisfaction rates and readiness perception by both interns and residents. We plan to continually expand and improve our curriculum each year.

Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines on the Management of Patients With Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas: Executive Summary.

Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) are the most frequent pituitary tumors. To create evidence-based guidelines for the initial management of NFPAs. A multidisciplinary task force composed of physician volunteers and evidence-based medicine-trained methodologists conducted a systematic review of the literature relevant to the management of NFPAs. To ascertain the class of evidence for the posttreatment follow-ups, the task force used the Clinical Assessment evidence-based classification. Seven topics of importance were chosen for detailed evaluation. The topics addressed include preoperative evaluation, primary treatment, treatment options for residual tumors after surgery, and postoperative patient management. For preoperative patient evaluation, the guideline task force focused on preoperative imaging, preoperative laboratory evaluation, and preoperative ophthalmologic evaluation. For primary treatment, this guideline addresses surgical resection, medical therapy, radiation therapy, the natural history of untreated tumors, surgical methodologies, such as endoscopy, microscopy, or craniotomy, and intraoperative adjuncts like neuronavigation, cerebrospinal fluid diversion, or intraoperative imaging. For residual tumor treatment, the guideline task force evaluated radiation vs observation. Additional topics addressed in this guideline regarding postoperative patient management include the frequency of postoperative imaging, postoperative endocrine evaluation, and postoperative ophthalmologic evaluation. Although there is clearly a need for more randomized trials generating higher levels of evidence to help guide physicians managing NFPAs, the existing evidence provided valuable data upon which the guidelines described in the 7 articles generated from this effort are based. The full guidelines document can be located at https://www.cns.org/guidelines/guidelines-management-patients-non-functioning-pituitary-adenomas. NFPA, nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma.

Collaborative Relationship in Consulting

The purpose of this paper will be to share aspects relating to the above title from its writer by first describing and explaining collaborative relationships. Additional topics to address include: Potential dangers of collaboration at each phase of this paper’s authors consulting cycle, some potential benefits of the phases, and how comfortable this paper’s author would be in working in a collaborative manor with his client and examining some personality traits or experiences would assist this author/consultant in a collaboration process (Block, 2011).

Leadership Book Club: An Innovative Strategy to Incorporate Leadership Development into Pharmacy Residency Programs

Purpose: To describe an innovative strategy for incorporating leadership training and development across multiple postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residency programs at a single institution. Background: Tampa General Hospital has 7 pharmacy residency positions: 4 postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residents and a single resident for each of the 3 PGY2 programs (critical care, emergency medicine, and solid organ transplant). Administrative topics are incorporated across the PGY1 and PGY2 residency programs, with each PGY2 program having additional administrative topics specific to their specialty area. Summary: What began as an elective administrative topic discussion for the PGY2 emergency medicine resident has evolved over time into a longitudinal leadership book club. The leadership book club is utilized to meet the residency goals and objectives related to leadership development for all 3 PGY2 programs. Each year a single book is identified through the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Leadership Academy book list or by participant suggestion. The book is then divided into 4 sections with corresponding hour-long discussions that occur quarterly throughout the residency year. The residency program directors (RPDs) and co-RPDs lead the initial discussion, and each PGY2 resident leads 1 of the subsequent 3 discussions. Based on resident feedback, the leadership book club is an innovative and effective strategy to incorporate leadership training and development into residency training. Conclusion: It is imperative to foster the development of leadership skills in pharmacy residency programs to prevent a future leadership gap in health system pharmacy. Leadership book club is a unique strategy to incorporate leadership training longitudinally across multiple PGY2 residency programs at a single institution.

Muscle dysmorphia: current insights.

Since 1997, there has been increasing research focusing on muscle dysmorphia, a condition underpinned by people’s beliefs that they have insufficient muscularity, in both the Western and non-Western medical and scientific communities. Much of this empirical interest has surveyed nonclinical samples, and there is limited understanding of people with the condition beyond knowledge about their characteristics. Much of the existing knowledge about people with the condition is unsurprising and inherent in the definition of the disorder, such as dissatisfaction with muscularity and adherence to muscle-building activities. Only recently have investigators started to explore questions beyond these limited tautological findings that may give rise to substantial knowledge advances, such as the examination of masculine and feminine norms. There is limited understanding of additional topics such as etiology, prevalence, nosology, prognosis, and treatment. Further, the evidence is largely based on a small number of unstandardized case reports and descriptive studies (involving small samples), which are largely confined to Western (North American, British, and Australian) males. Although much research has been undertaken since the term “muscle dysmorphia” entered the psychiatric lexicon in 1997, there remains tremendous scope for knowledge advancement. A primary task in the short term is for investigators to examine the extent to which the condition exists among well-defined populations to help determine the justification for research funding relative to other public health issues. A greater variety of research questions and designs may contribute to a broader and more robust knowledge base than currently exists. Future work will help clinicians assist a group of people whose quality of life and health are placed at risk by their muscular preoccupation.

Cameos for calculus: visualization in the first-year course

A thespian or cinematographer might define cameo as a brief appearance of known figure, while gemologist or lapidary might define it as a precious or semiprecious stone. This book presents fifty short enhancements or supplements (the Cameos) for the first-year calculus course in which geometric figure briefly appears. Some of the Cameos illustrate mainstream topics such as the derivative, combinatorial formulas used to compute Riemann sums, or the geometry behind many geometric series. Other Cameos present topics accessible to students at the calculus level but not usually encountered in the course, such as the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, the arithmetic mean-geometric mean inequality, and the Euler-Mascheroni constant. There are fifty Cameos in the book, grouped into five sections: Part I Limits and Differentiation; Part II Integration; Part III Infinite Series; Part IV Additional Topics, and Part V Appendix: Some Precalculus Topics. Many of the Cameos include exercises, so Solutions to all the Exercises follows Part V. The book concludes with References and an Index.Many of the Cameos are adapted from articles published in journals of the MAA, such as the American Mathematical Monthly, Mathematics Magazine, and the College Mathematics Journal. Some come from other mathematical journals, and some were created for this book. By gathering the Cameos into book we hope that they will be more accessible to teachers of calculus, both for use in the classroom and as supplementary explorations for students.

Identifying and integrating patient and caregiver perspectives for clinical practice guidelines on the screening and management of infectious microorganisms in hemodialysis units.

The integration of patient and caregiver input into guideline development can help to ensure that clinical care addresses patient expectations, priorities, and needs. We aimed to identify topics and outcomes salient to patients and caregivers for inclusion in the Kidney Health Australia Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment (KHA-CARI) clinical practice guideline on the screening and management of infectious microorganisms in hemodialysis units. A facilitated workshop was conducted with 11 participants (patients [n = 8], caregivers [n = 3]). Participants identified and discussed potential topics for inclusion in the guidelines, which were compared to those developed by the guideline working group. The workshop transcript was thematically analyzed to identify and describe the reasons underpinning their priorities. Patients and caregivers identified a range of topics already covered by the scope of the proposed guidelines and also suggested additional topics: privacy and confidentiality, psychosocial care during/after disease notification, quality of transportation, psychosocial treatment of patients in isolation, patient/caregiver education and engagement, and patient advocacy. Five themes characterized discussion and underpinned their choices: shock and vulnerability, burden of isolation, fear of infection, respect for privacy and confidentiality, and confusion over procedural inconsistencies. Patients and caregivers emphasized the need for guidelines to address patient education and engagement, and the psychosocial implications of communication and provision of care in the context of infectious microorganisms in hemodialysis units. Integrating patient and caregiver perspectives can help to improve the relevance of guidelines to enhance quality of care, patient experiences, and health and psychosocial outcomes.

What Is "Public" About Public Health: Lessons From Michigan.

The author comments on the role of public institutions in public health, the value of public health, and the water contamination in Flint, Michigan. Additional topics of discussion include public health equality, the blurring line between public and population health, and community engagement in the articulation of the value of health care.

Are forest researchers only scientists? Case studies on the roles of researchers in Japanese and Swedish forest policy processes

The aim of this study is to clarify the roles of researchers in forest policy development processes. Comparative case studies between Japan and Sweden were conducted. The research–integration–utilisation (RIU) model on scientific knowledge transfer was employed as a framework. Based on the RIU model, ‘scientist’, ‘integrator’, and ‘policy entrepreneur’ were defined as three hypothesised roles of researchers, discussed in conjunction with Pielke's ‘honest broker’ model. It was found that researchers played important roles, both as scientists and integrators in Japan. In Sweden, researchers played only the role of scientist. However, no researchers working as policy entrepreneurs were found in either country. These results indicate that the RIU model could work as a basis for the comparison between countries and the clarification of the roles of researchers in forest policy processes. The case study analysis also specified three additional topics for further discussion: (1) different types of science-based policy advice; (2) the relationship between power allies and consensus building; and (3) the reason why the roles of researchers differ between Japan and Sweden.