Report Of Council Research Articles

New National Research Council Report Calls for Framework to Achieve Precision Medicine

New National Research Council Report Calls for Framework to Achieve Precision Medicine

Donating bodily material: the Nuffield Council report

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics' recent report on the ethics of the donation of bodily material for treatment and research ( Human Bodies: Donation for Medicine and Research. www.nuffieldbioethics.org/human-bodies ) brings to the fore the much-debated question of how far society should go in trying to encourage people to donate their bodily material. Based on conclusions reached by the Working Party with respect to the duties of the stewardship state, the role of altruism and of solidarity, public interest in health-related research, the welfare of the donor and the importance of ‘professional values’ such as trust and respect, the report presents an ‘Intervention Ladder’ that sets out the ethical acceptability of various ways of encouraging people to donate. Policy recommendations are made in a number of areas including organ donation, gamete donation, volunteering for clinical trials and the use of donated tissue in research.

The Protection of Civilians and the United Nations

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. Security Council Report S/2010/579 of 11 November 2010. 2. Shannon D. Beebe and Mary Kaldor, The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon: Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace, Public Affairs, New York, 2010. 3. Two Concepts of Liberty, (1958), Isaiah Berlin in Isaiah Berlin (1969) Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 28.

The human relevant potency threshold: Reducing uncertainty by human calibration of cumulative risk assessments

The 2008 National Research Council report “Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment: Tasks Ahead,” rejected the underlying premises of TEQ-like approaches – e.g., chemicals are true congeners; are metabolized and detoxified similarly; produce the same biological effects by the same mode of action; exhibit parallel dose response curves – instead asserting that cumulative risk assessment should apply dose addition (DA) to all chemicals that produce “common adverse outcomes” (CAOS). Published mixtures data and a human health risk assessment for phthalates and anti-androgens were evaluated to determine how firmly the DA–CAOS concept is supported and with what level of statistical certainty the results may be extrapolated to lower doses in humans. Underlying assumptions of the DA–CAOS concept were tested for accuracy and consistency against data for two human pharmaceuticals and its logical predictions were compared to human clinical and epidemiological experience. Those analyses revealed that DA–CAOS is scientifically untenable. Therefore, an alternative approach was developed – the Human-Relevant Potency-Threshold (HRPT) – that appears to fit the data better and avoids the contradictions inherent in the DA–CAOS concept. The proposed approach recommends application of independent action for phthalates and other chemicals with potential anti-androgenic properties at current human exposure levels.

Zur Ethik einer Vorsorge durch (direct-to-consumer) individuelle Genanalysen und Ganzkörper-MRTs. Erläuterung und Diskussion der Empfehlungen des Nuffield Council on Bioethics

The paradigm of personalised medicine has many different facets, further to the application of pharmacogenetics. We examine here (direct-to-consumer) personal genome analysis and whole body scans and summarise findings from the Nuffield Council's on Bioethics recent report "Medical profiling and online medicine: the ethics of 'personalised healthcare' in a consumer age". We describe the current situation in Germany with regard to access to such services, and contextualise the Nuffield Council's report with summaries of position statements by German professional bodies. We conclude with three points that merit examination further to the analyses of the Nuffield Council's report and the German professional bodies. These concern the role of indirect evidence in considering restrictive policies, the question of whether regulations should require commercial providers to contribute to the generation of better evidence, and the option of using data from evaluations in combination with indirect evidence in justifying restrictive policies.

Report of the Council for 2010

Report of the Council for 2010

Legal standards for the admissibility of expert testimony: Implications of the 2009 National Research Council report on forensic sciences

This talk will review formal legal standards for the admissibility of expert testimony in the United States, focusing on the Daubert standard that is applied in Federal courts and the Frye standard that is applied in several major states (including California and New York). It will also discuss the National Research Council's 2009 critique of judicial “gatekeeping,” particularly the NRC's stunning claim that courts have violated their own purported standards by allowing forensic scientists to present scientifically dubious testimony based on inadequately validated methods. It will conclude by providing suggestions for researchers in emerging areas of forensic inquiry, like forensic acoustical science, who contemplate testifying in court.

Museum exhibit on climate change draws from National Research Council reports

With all of science to choose from for topics, the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has mounted its second exhibit about climate change since the museum's founding, in 2004, emphasizing the importance it places on the subject. The new exhibit, “Earth Lab: Degrees of Change,” which officially opened in the museum's compact quarters in downtown Washington, D. C., on 15 September, presents some in‐depth interactive displays about climate change, including a centerpiece “decision table,” a mitigation simulation game that challenges visitors to lower carbon dioxide emissions while also balancing costs and other factors. The exhibit is based in part on the America's Climate Choices Reports from the National Research Council, which, along with NAS, is part of the National Academies. Those reports indicate that climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems. Further, the reports include a series of recommended steps to respond to those risks (see R. Showstack, Climate change report calls for iterative risk management framework, Eos Trans. AGU, 92(21), 178–179, doi:10.1029/2011EO210002, 2011).

Annual Report of the Council for the Year Ended 31 December 2010

Annual Report of the Council for the Year Ended 31 December 2010

Emerging Dance Scholarship in Ireland

Irish-based dance practice has a long history of being culturally undervalued, underfunded and marginalized, with the 1995 annual Arts Council report stating a ‘recognition of the fact that dance as an art form has suffered severe neglect in Ireland’. Yet despite this neglect, Ireland has a rich and varied dance history and a vibrant contemporary dance scene, and dance research is emerging as an exciting new field of scholarship. The visibility of theatre dance in the cultural landscape of Ireland improved significantly in the first decade of the twenty-first century. In 2003 dance was finally included as a named art form in the Irish government's Arts Act, and the same year saw the founding of Dance Research Forum Ireland, a society formed to promote critical reflection and discussion about all forms of dance in Ireland. Another important development for dance scholarship was the announcement in January 2010 of Arts Council funding for the establishment of a national dance archive to be housed in the Glucksmann Library of the University of Limerick.

Geographical Sciences Versus Geography: How and Why?

The National Research Council report, Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographi- cal Sciences, is thought-provoking, particularly for professional geographers who must position their discipline and themselves with respect to a potentially new, transdisciplinary field, referred to in the report as geographical sciences. This commentary discusses in some detail (1) implied distinctions between geographical sciences and geography, (2) the implications of framing societal and scientific questions driving geographical sciences in “how to” terms, and (3) the need to draw on the experiences of other disciplines to confront current and potential obstacles for geographical sciences.

DIVERSIFICATION OF HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES ON MEDICINES IN POLAND

One can observe unequal access to health services in various parts of Poland and in various socio-economic groups. Elimination of differences in access to health services has been regarded as one of the primary objectives of the National Health Program for 2007-2015. Statistical data coming from the reports of the Social Monitoring Council “Social Diagnosis. Conditions and quality of life of the Poles”, covering a period of 2000-2009, constitute a basis of the empirical analysis results presented in this paper. The data show household expenditure on medicines in various Polish voivodships (provinces)1. Another source of data is household budget survey, carried out every year by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), which estimates expenses on medicines in households from various socioeconomic groups, using a representative sample of households, which includes all groups (employees, farmers, self-employed, retired, pensioners).

Continuity of ocean color data record at risk, according to U.S. National Research Council report

Satellite remote sensing of ocean color is important for a number of research and operational uses, including detecting the impacts of climate change on primary productivity; assisting with fisheries and ecosystem‐based management; understanding the optical environment of coastal waters for the operation of ships, submarines, and divers; and monitoring oil spills. However, according to a U.S. National Research Council (NRC) report released on 7 July, U.S. access to the continuous ocean color data record collected by satellites currently is “at risk.” The report, Assessing Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations, calls for several measures to limit or eliminate a potential interruption in the ocean color record, which “would severely hamper the work of climate scientists, fisheries and coastal resource managers, and an expanding array of other users, from the military to oil spill responders.”

Exposure Science for Terrorist Attacks and Theaters of Military Conflict: Minimizing Contact With Toxicants

The strategies for protecting our deployed U.S. Forces are outlined in National Research Council documents published in 1999-2000. This article summarizes experiences and information gathered and interpreted regarding population and rescue workers' exposures in the aftermath of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, with the aim to provide insights on issues related to military deployment to locations with hazardous agents. Issues covered include phases of exposure, materials of concern, detection equipment, and personal protection equipment. The focus is on human exposure issues, which are primarily associated with strategies 1 through 3 of the National Research Council's report entitled "Protecting Those Who Serve: Strategies to Protect the Health of Deployed U.S. Forces". Contact and duration of contact with hazardous substances are critical areas of concern, which require prevention and intervention procedures and protocols to reduce the incidence of acute and long-term health outcomes.

China and the United Nations: The Stakeholder Spectrum

In December 2009, representatives of 192 nations—not to mention thousands of journalists, activists, and business executives—assembled in Copenhagen for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Un...

Characterizing 3D vegetation structure from space: Mission requirements

Human and natural forces are rapidly modifying the global distribution and structure of terrestrial ecosystems on which all of life depends, altering the global carbon cycle, affecting our climate now and for the foreseeable future, causing steep reductions in species diversity, and endangering Earth's sustainability. To understand changes and trends in terrestrial ecosystems and their functioning as carbon sources and sinks, and to characterize the impact of their changes on climate, habitat and biodiversity, new space assets are urgently needed to produce high spatial resolution global maps of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of vegetation, its biomass above ground, the carbon stored within and the implications for atmospheric green house gas concentrations and climate. These needs were articulated in a 2007 National Research Council (NRC) report (NRC, 2007) recommending a new satellite mission, DESDynI, carrying an L-band Polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR) and a multi-beam lidar (Light RAnging And Detection) operating at 1064 nm. The objectives of this paper are to articulate the importance of these new, multi-year, 3D vegetation structure and biomass measurements, to briefly review the feasibility of radar and lidar remote sensing technology to meet these requirements, to define the data products and measurement requirements, and to consider implications of mission durations. The paper addresses these objectives by synthesizing research results and other input from a broad community of terrestrial ecology, carbon cycle, and remote sensing scientists and working groups. We conclude that: (1) Current global biomass and 3-D vegetation structure information is unsuitable for both science and management and policy. The only existing global datasets of biomass are approximations based on combining land cover type and representative carbon values, instead of measurements of actual biomass. Current measurement attempts based on radar and multispectral data have low explanatory power outside low biomass areas. There is no current capability for repeatable disturbance and regrowth estimates. (2) The science and policy needs for information on vegetation 3D structure can be successfully addressed by a mission capable of producing (i) a first global inventory of forest biomass with a spatial resolution 1 km or finer and unprecedented accuracy (ii) annual global disturbance maps at a spatial resolution of 1 ha with subsequent biomass accumulation rates at resolutions of 1 km or finer, and (iii) transects of vertical and horizontal forest structure with 30 m along-transect measurements globally at 25 m spatial resolution, essential for habitat characterization. We also show from the literature that lidar profile samples together with wall-to-wall L-band quad-pol-SAR imagery and ecosystem dynamics models can work together to satisfy these vegetation 3D structure and biomass measurement requirements. Finally we argue that the technology readiness levels of combined pol-SAR and lidar instruments are adequate for space flight. Remaining to be worked out, are the particulars of a lidar/pol-SAR mission design that is feasible and at a minimum satisfies the information and measurement requirement articulated herein.

The Lisbon Strategy's empowerment of core executives: centralizing and politicizing EU national co-ordination

This paper studies the effects of the Lisbon Strategy on the way in which national executives co-ordinate EU policy at the domestic level. Comparing seven countries (Denmark, the United Kingdom [UK], Austria, Slovenia, Spain, France and Poland) it finds evidence that the Lisbon Strategy has been advancing (further) centralization and politicization in national patterns of EU policy co-ordination, empowering core executives. The Lisbon Strategy's ideational elements (‘grand’ goals and politically visible targets) as well as organizational requirements (Spring Council, national programming and annual reports) are factors behind this phenomenon. These results have implications for the literature on Europeanization, international politics, and governance studies in what is eminently an empirical research agenda about how far and how changes in international governance architectures affect the redistribution of power within national executives.

Having a Life in Science

Ariana Sutton-Grier, a wetlands ecologist, seems to be on track toward a successful career as an academic scientist. She earned her PhD from Duke University, has numerous publications to her credit, and has received several National Science Foundation (NSF ) grants. She is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow, hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). But Sutton-Grier is not sure she’ll end up at a university. “I’m still considering academia,” she says, “but I’m enjoying my policy fellowship. The analytical and critical thinking skills I bring can add a lot of value to the questions and policy decisions that NOAA is thinking about.” How to keep women scientists of Sutton-Grier’s generation in the academic fold is the subject of considerable study. Many women opt out because of both systemic barriers and individual choice. Some are turned off by the culture of research institutions, which they describe as overly competitive and demanding. Others see the tenure track being in conflict with their desire to have children. At the same time, good career options in business, government, and the nonprofit world beckon. Women have always been a minority in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. It was long assumed that if women entered the member of the National Academies of Sciences Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Considerable progress has been made. A few short decades ago, many graduate science programs refused to accept women. Today, overt sexism is rare. “I actually can’t think of any instance where I felt discriminated against,” says marine ecologist April Blakeslee, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, in Edgewater, Maryland. Indeed, when women apply for tenure-track jobs in biology, they may even have an edge. According to a 2010 National Research Council report (see the further reading section), of PhD biologists applying for tenure-track positions from 1999 to 2003, 26% were women; 28% of those who were invited to interview were women, and 34% of first offers of jobs were to women. The question is why only one in four applicants for tenure-track positions are women. Of all the STEM fields, biology should be the first for which women plant a flag of victory. Women now receive roughly half the doctoral degrees in the biological sciences, compared with 30% in the physical sciences and mathematics and 20% in computer sciences and engineering. Yet women hold just 22% of tenured professorships in the biological sciences and 42% of nontenured positions. “Most strikingly,” according to graduate school pipeline, the parity problem in academia would be solved. If you educate them, they will come, the thinking went. For decades, NSF, AAAS, and universities around the country have been working to eradicate barriers that discourage women from pursuing degrees in science. The goal was to ensure that the nation was not losing the contributions of half of its top talent. “More diverse groups of people bring more creativity to solving problems,” says Joan Steitz, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University and a

The clinical burden of malaria in Nairobi: a historical review and contemporary audit

BackgroundWidespread urbanization over the next 20 years has the potential to drastically change the risk of malaria within Africa. The burden of the disease, its management, risk factors and appropriateness of targeted intervention across varied urban environments in Africa remain largely undefined. This paper presents a combined historical and contemporary review of the clinical burden of malaria within one of Africa's largest urban settlements, Nairobi, Kenya.MethodsA review of historical reported malaria case burdens since 1911 within Nairobi was undertaken using archived government and city council reports. Contemporary information on out-patient case burdens due to malaria were assembled from the National Health Management and Information System (HMIS). Finally, an audit of 22 randomly selected health facilities within Nairobi was undertaken covering 12 months 2009-2010. The audit included interviews with health workers, and a checklist of commodities and guidelines necessary to diagnose, treat and record malaria.ResultsFrom the 1930's through to the mid-1960's malaria incidence declined coincidental with rapid population growth. During this period malaria notification and prevention were a priority for the city council. From 2001-2008 reporting systems for malaria were inadequate to define the extent or distribution of malaria risk within Nairobi. A more detailed facility review suggests, however that malaria remains a common diagnosis (11% of all paediatric diagnoses made) and where laboratories (n = 15) exist slide positivity rates are on average 15%. Information on the quality of diagnosis, slide reading and whether those reported as positive were imported infections was not established. The facilities and health workers included in this study were not universally prepared to treat malaria according to national guidelines or identify foci of risks due to shortages of national first-line drugs, inadequate record keeping and a view among some health workers (17%) that slide negative patients could still have malaria.ConclusionCombined with historical evidence there is a strong suggestion that very low risks of locally acquired malaria exist today within Nairobi's city limits and this requires further investigation. To be prepared for effective prevention and case-management of malaria among a diverse, mobile population in Nairobi requires a major paradigm shift and investment in improved quality of malaria diagnosis and case management, health system strengthening and case reporting.

Council's Report and Financial Statement: year ending 31st August 2010 Society Proceedings, 2010

Council's Report and Financial Statement: year ending 31st August 2010 Society Proceedings, 2010