Scientific Infrastructure Research Articles

Viral Sovereignty or Sequence Etiquette? Asian Science, Open Data, and Knowledge Control in Global Virus Surveillance

On several occasions, the People’s Republic of China refused to share influenza viruses isolated on their territory with the World Health Organization pandemic flu surveillance system. Scholars in STS and allied disciplines have described these disputes as examples of growing conflict between global health norms of free exchange and Asian state claims of viral sovereignty. However, the discussion has largely overlooked the fact that laboratories in China freely shared genetic sequence data from isolated viruses, even when they refused to ship physical samples, a fact that complicates the opposition of open data and viral sovereignty with the different material forms of the physical sample and the nucleotide sequence. This article provides a comprehensive comparison of the heterogeneous circulations of influenza virus samples and virus gene sequences in global health influenza surveillance and argues this difference is rooted in the different knowledge-control regimes designed for exchanging samples and sequences. Engaging with debates on the position of Asian science within global scientific circulations, the article suggests that Asian scientists confront a multiplicity of global scientific infrastructures and do not necessarily rely on the authority of nation-state sovereignty to reshape global exchanges.

Talents First!: Wu Ta-you and Science Policy Infrastructures in the Republic of China (1927-1970)

A main theme in the history of science policy in Taiwan concerns the positioning of science infrastructures in nation building and rapid economic growth. This article calls attention to another evolving initiative in science policy in the Republic of China (ROC), one that emphasized the production of talents who could become societal leaders, including by working for and within government. We trace the emergence of this initiative through the career of Wu Ta-you, who grew up in mainland China, earned his Ph.D. in the United States, and worked on the margins of reconstruction during the 1930s. Through the 1950s, he played a leadership role advocating for long-term planning to develop fundamental researchers in science in Taiwan. His moment appeared to come in 1967 when he became the president’s chief science adviser. His efforts to develop science talents were soon displaced, however, by emerging shorter-term initiatives to support the military and industry. Clearly not contributing as an instrumental technocrat nor a proponent for autonomous basic research, was he attempting to combine the identity of a scientist with that of the Chinese scholar-official? By taking science policy in a different direction, the ROC, in Wu’s terms, remained stuck on the surface of science.

Participatory design for ontologies: a case study of an open science ontology for qualitative coding schemas

PurposeThe open science movement calls for transparent and retraceable research processes. While infrastructures to support these practices in qualitative research are lacking, the design needs to consider different approaches and workflows. The paper bases on the definition of ontologies as shared conceptualizations of knowledge (Borst, 1999). The authors argue that participatory design is a good way to create these shared conceptualizations by giving domain experts and future users a voice in the design process via interviews, workshops and observations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a novel approach for creating ontologies in the field of open science using participatory design. As a case study the creation of an ontology for qualitative coding schemas is presented. Coding schemas are an important result of qualitative research, and reuse can yield great potential for open science making qualitative research more transparent, enhance sharing of coding schemas and teaching of qualitative methods. The participatory design process consisted of three parts: a requirement analysis using interviews and an observation, a design phase accompanied by interviews and an evaluation phase based on user tests as well as interviews.FindingsThe research showed several positive outcomes due to participatory design: higher commitment of users, mutual learning, high quality feedback and better quality of the ontology. However, there are two obstacles in this approach: First, contradictive answers by the interviewees, which needs to be balanced; second, this approach takes more time due to interview planning and analysis.Practical implicationsThe implication of the paper is in the long run to decentralize the design of open science infrastructures and to involve parties affected on several levels.Originality/valueIn ontology design, several methods exist by using user-centered design or participatory design doing workshops. In this paper, the authors outline the potentials for participatory design using mainly interviews in creating an ontology for open science. The authors focus on close contact to researchers in order to build the ontology upon the expert's knowledge.

No more business as usual: Agile and effective responses to emerging pathogen threats require open data and open analytics.

The current state of much of the Wuhan pneumonia virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) research shows a regrettable lack of data sharing and considerable analytical obfuscation. This impedes global research cooperation, which is essential for tackling public health emergencies and requires unimpeded access to data, analysis tools, and computational infrastructure. Here, we show that community efforts in developing open analytical software tools over the past 10 years, combined with national investments into scientific computational infrastructure, can overcome these deficiencies and provide an accessible platform for tackling global health emergencies in an open and transparent manner. Specifically, we use all SARS-CoV-2 genomic data available in the public domain so far to (1) underscore the importance of access to raw data and (2) demonstrate that existing community efforts in curation and deployment of biomedical software can reliably support rapid, reproducible research during global health crises. All our analyses are fully documented at https://github.com/galaxyproject/SARS-CoV-2.

Outstanding L&O Associate Editors and Reviewers

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A Research Environment 2 km Deep-Underground Impacts Embryonic Development in Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

Biological research conducted in deep-underground environments is limited due to the lack of scientific infrastructure to accommodate the investigations, and only a few studies have utilized complex whole organism models. In this study, lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) embryogenesis was examined at two different developmental temperatures both at the Earth’s surface and within a research laboratory 2 km underground. Established developmental endpoints and morphometric analysis revealed significant differences between lake whitefish embryos reared in these two unique environments. These findings have been interpreted and discussed in the context of the novel research challenges faced in an inherently difficult to control deep-underground environment. This study represents one of the few investigations with an established whole organism model deep-underground and provides an opportunity to discuss the highly unique technical and logistical challenges of conducting biological experiments in this novel field of scientific research.

The Changing Nature of Data: Sociality, Relationality, and Implications for Organizing

This symposium showcases recent research projects on the changing nature of data and its implications for organizations, online communities, and platforms. The era of “big” data, and the algorithms they feed, is underway. Scholars across the disciplines of information science, human–computer interaction, sociology, communication, legal studies, and computer-supported cooperative work have discussed the implications for society of the new forms of data, the categories they bring about, or the new ways of knowing they enable. Yet significant questions for scholars of work, technology, and organizations remain. We will present fresh insights into three aspects of the changing nature of data — sociality, relationality, and organizing consequences — and discuss the implications of these changes for organizations, online communities, and platforms. The contexts in which we will explore the changing nature of data are diverse and include organizations (high technology firm and hospital), online communities (firm-sponsored open-source software development) and platforms (online music discovery, open science infrastructure). Overall, the symposium will address these goals: (1) highlighting new findings and theory with the goal of contributing to richer understanding of the changing nature of data in organizations and fields; (2) comparing and contrasting the challenges of development and use of data, emerging technologies, and algorithms in various settings among different kinds of actors; (3) providing a forum for discussion of the changing nature of data and its implications for organizations, fields, and society. Governing the Open Science Commons Through Digital Infrastructures Presenter: Paolo Vincenzo Leone; McGill U. Presenter: Samer Faraj; McGill U. Presenter: Arvind Karunakaran; McGill U. Emergent Group Diversity in Open Knowledge Evaluation: Evidence from Online Communities Presenter: Shiko M. Ben-Menahem; ETH Zurich Presenter: Yash Raj Shrestha; ETH Zurich Presenter: Georg von Krogh; ETH Zurich The Data Work of Algorithmic Recommendation Systems Presenter: Katherine C. Kellogg; MIT Basic Objects, Categorization, and Organizing Presenter: Cristina Alaimo; Luiss U. Presenter: Jannis Kallinikos; London School of Economics

Thoracic perfusion of recombinant mutant human tumor necrosis factor (rmhTNF) can be considered as a good adjunct in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion caused by lung cancer

BackgroundTumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been investigated to be correlated with the occurrence and progression of lung cancer. This investigation was to assess the efficacy and safety of recombinant mutant human tumor necrosis factor (rmhTNF) for controlling malignant pleural effusion (MPE) through thoracic perfusion.MethodsThrough searching from MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrance Library, OVID and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), a total of 12 studies with 694 patients were included in this study. A series of meta-analysis methods were used to analyze the extracted data.ResultsThoracic perfusion of rmhTNF combined with cisplatin promoted the objective response rate (ORR) (P < 0.001; odds ratio = 4.49) and the quality of life (QOL) of patients with MPE (P < 0.001; odds ratio = 10.33), as compared with cisplatin alone. Although the participation of rmhTNF increased the incidence of fever (P < 0.001), it seemed to relieve the adverse reactions in the digestive tract (P = 0.017).ConclusionsThoracic perfusion of rmhTNF contributes to the treatment of MPE and improves the QOL of MPE patients.

Leveraging Concepts in Open Access Publications

This paper addresses the integration of a Named Entity Recognition and Disambiguation (NERD) service within a group of open access (OA) publishing digital platforms and considers its potential impact on both research and scholarly publishing. The software powering this service, called entity-fishing, was initially developed by Inria in the context of the EU FP7 project CENDARI and provides automatic entity recognition and disambiguation using the Wikipedia and Wikidata data sets. The application is distributed with an open-source licence, and it has been deployed as a web service in DARIAH's infrastructure hosted by the French HumaNum. In the paper, we focus on the specific issues related to its integration on five OA platforms specialized in the publication of scholarly monographs in the social sciences and humanities (SSH), as part of the work carried out within the EU H2020 project HIRMEOS (High Integration of Research Monographs in the European Open Science infrastructure). In the first section, we give a brief overview of the current status and evolution of OA publications, considering specifically the challenges that OA monographs are encountering. In the second part, we show how the HIRMEOS project aims to face these challenges by optimizing five OA digital platforms for the publication of monographs from the SSH and ensuring their interoperability. In sections three and four we give a comprehensive description of the entity-fishing service, focusing on its concrete applications in real use cases together with some further possible ideas on how to exploit the annotations generated. We show that entity-fishing annotations can improve both research and publishing process. In the last chapter, we briefly present further possible application scenarios that could be made available through infrastructural projects.

Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) response: Highlights of Ghana's scientific and technological innovativeness and breakthroughs

While more attention has been placed on scientific innovativeness and breakthroughs in the advanced countries’ attempt to contain the spread and develop vaccines for the Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19), little attention has been paid to the few but significant innovations being achieved in some African countries. This is understandable because the scientific capacity and research infrastructure of most African countries are deficient and weak compared to other regions of the world. Nevertheless, the African country of Ghana, despite its acute healthcare and scientific infrastructure deficit, is achieving some innovational and scientific breakthrough in the COVID-19 fight. Ghanaian scientist was among the first in Africa to successfully sequenced the genome of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The country's laboratory leading the fight has also introduced some innovative testing methods allowing the country to test a far greater scale per million than the rest of Africa. Besides, drones are being used to deliver samples to the laboratory centers for testing. Local scientists and developers have also developed rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and solar-powered handwashing machines. This paper highlights Ghana's innovativeness, scientific, and technological breakthroughs achieved so far in the fight against the pandemic.

Formula for Success

The article is devoted to the 90th anniversary of the Volgograd State Technical University (VSTU). The author views the components of the success formula of the University as a flagship University of the Volgograd region, and dwells on the historical facts of the creation of the Stalingrad tractor-building Institute at the beginning of the country’s industrialization and its development to a flagship University, which is a modern multi-campus University with a promising educational, scientific and industrial infrastructure. The article also presents the scientific schools of well-known scientists of the University that carry out fundamental and applied scientific research as well as the international activities of the University, including international cooperation in research, creation and modernization of educational programs, and export of educational services. In its multi-faceted activities, the flagship University focuses on solving urgent problems of socio-economic development of the region. The hybrid model of the flagship University is focused mainly on two typical models: «multi-disciplinary regional University» and «technology leader in the region». The article considers a number of systemic and structural transformations of the University in the framework of a hybrid model: an effective management system for supporting innovation, including socio-psychological attitudes and infrastructure changes; the development of additional education and the creation of conditions for business development.

Perceived losses of scientific integrity under the Trump administration: A survey of federal scientists.

President Trump and his administration have been regarded by news outlets and scholars as one of the most hostile administrations towards scientists and their work. However, no study to-date has empirically measured how federal scientists perceive the Trump administration with respect to their scientific work. In 2018, we distributed a survey to over 63,000 federal scientists from 16 federal agencies to assess their perception of scientific integrity. Here we discuss the results of this survey for a subset of these agencies: Department of Interior (DOI) agencies (the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the US Geological Survey, and the National Park Service); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We focus our analysis to 10 key questions fitting within three core categories that relate to perceptions of integrity in science. Additionally, we analyzed responses across agencies and compare responses in the 2018 survey to prior year surveys of federal scientists with similar survey questions. Our results indicate that federal scientists perceive losses of scientific integrity under the Trump Administration. Perceived loss of integrity in science was greater at the DOI and EPA where federal scientists ranked incompetent and untrustworthy leadership as top barriers to science-based decision-making, but this was not the case at the CDC, FDA, and NOAA where scientists positively associated leadership with scientific integrity. We also find that reports of political interference in scientific work and adverse work environments were higher at EPA and FWS in 2018 than in prior years. We did not find similar results at the CDC and FDA. These results suggest that leadership, positive work environments, and clear and comprehensive scientific integrity policies and infrastructure within agencies play important roles in how federal scientists perceive their agency's scientific integrity.

Punk's not dead, even at the Czech Arctic Scientific Station in Svalbard

Summary In the last few years, the newly opened Czech Arctic Scientific Infrastructure in Svalbard – Josef Svoboda Station – has closely collaborated with UiT – The Arctic University of Norway on very productive research related to climate change and the impact of the sea and land ice disappearance. Professor Josef Elster, the Head of the Czech station and a researcher in the diversity, ecology and ecophysiology of polar algae and cyanobacteria, and the glacial microbiologist Marie Sabacka and their team try to find the answer to questions concerning how the Arctic ecosystem responds to global warming and how global warming affects human activity. The results of their research can be used, for example, in the treatment and refinement of drinking and sewage water, the pharmaceutical industry and medicine, livestock nutrition including aquaculture and in the production of nutritional supplements for people. However, even the most exciting scientific information and results are not readily available to a non-professional audience. Interdisciplinarity and a suitable cultural framework can bring new life to the results of scientific research. If the presentation of science is interconnected with cultural disciplines such as literature, art, music or theatre, its account can be enriched and media interest can be increased. The scientific-cultural festivals AT HOME IN SVALBARD 2018 and ARCTIC FESTIVAL 2019 are just two good examples. The presentation of scientific research through culture is a very distinctive and innovative attempt. Moreover, the interest of the public can influence the stakeholders’ approach to providing and increasing finances for further scientific research.

МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ СИСТЕМНОГО ПІДХОДУ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ РОЗВИТКУ ТЕОРІЇ УПРАВЛІННЯ ВИЩИМИ НАВЧАЛЬНИМИ ЗАКЛАДАМИ В УКРАЇНІ (ОСТАННЯ ЧВЕРТЬ ХХ – ПОЧАТОК ХХІ СТОЛІТТЯ) (Methodological Bases Using a Systematic Approach of Research a Development of Higher Education Institutions Management Theory in Ukraine (Last Quarter of XX – Beginning of XXI Century))

Ukrainian Abstract: У статті узагальнюються ідеї системного підходу, розкрито зміст понять “система”, “теорія управління”, “теорія управління вищими навчальними закладами”. Автор обґрунтував теоретичні засади використання системного підходу до аналізу розвитку теорії управління вищими навчальними закладами в Україні останньої чверті ХХ – початку ХХІ століття та виділив основні компоненти, які повинні підлягати аналізу. English Abstract: This article summarizes the idea of a systematic approach, the content of the concepts of “system”, “management theory”, “a higher education institutions management theory” is revealed. Summarizes the ideas of a systematic approach that suggests that the methodological principles of this approach are guided by such notions as integrity, dynamism, organization, balance, control, self-organization, connections, environment, formation, development, structure, governance, function, purpose, that is, a kind of a research “technology”. The article aims to substantiate theoretical foundations of using a systematic approach to the analysis of higher education institutions management theory in Ukraine of the last quarter of XX – beginning of XXI century. Attention is paid to the main components that should be subjected to analysis, namely the direction of research, technology of researches, science infrastructure, composition of scientists, the results of scientific activity, reflected shape derived from the study of scientific information. The attention is centered on the fact that not only the presence of a specific object of study, a developed conceptual apparatus, the presence of systematic empirical facts shows the level of development of a scientific field, but also the system of laws governing the operation of the research phenomenon. Therefore, the results of scientific activity - knowledge of the management theory should include: concepts, laws, regularities, principles, rules, methods, scientific theories, and scientific evidence on the state of higher education institutions management theory. The author notes that the study of development of higher education institutions management theory in Ukraine of the last quarter of XX – beginning of XXI century in the first phase is appropriate to analyze the themes, goals, tasks of scientific papers on the higher education institutions management theory and characteristics of their authors. Оn the second – to analyze the content of scientific papers on the problems of higher education institutions management theory, including: analysis of the conceptual apparatus, analysis of functions, management principles, rules, laws and regularities, analysis of scientific theories and facts. A systematic analysis will help to trace the origin of the higher education institutions management theory in Ukraine of the last quarter of XX – beginning of XXI century, stages of development, the process of gradual formation of management theory, and the changes taking place as a result of its formation. The author notes that conduction of reasonable historical and educational researches allows to evaluate the state of higher education institutions management theory on the main stages of its development, identify perspective directions of further development and promote the creation of efficient model of higher education institutions management, based on the principles of modern scientific management.

Population, World Production and Quality of Sheep and Goat Products

Sheep and goats are two of the first animals that were domesticated by humans. The initial reasons for raising these animals was meat, milk and dairy products, fleece and skin. Also, one of the most important reasons for raising sheep and, goats on the farm was due to the difficulties associated with preserving animal products like meat. It was easier to keep, raise livestock and slaughter them whenever meat was required. Sheep meat production on the global scale is near 9 million tones per year and developing countries are at the top of the list. Sheep meat consumption is fourth after pork, poultry and beef meat. About 20.8% of dairy products come from sheep and goats and they make up to 1.3 and 1.9% of the total milk production in the world, respectively. Many people and infants have allergic reactions to cow’s milk but not to goat's and sheep's milk and their dairy products, so there are medical benefits for goat and sheep milk. Undoubtedly, using fleece of goat and sheep is one of the main reasons for raising and developing related breeds. Carpets, bedding, upholstery and blankets are general end products of wool. Angora is a unique breed of goats that produces mohair that is suitable for knitwear, apparel, curtaining, upholstery material, shawls, socks and accessories. Global demand for small ruminant products is increasing and achieving this demand requires scientific, educational and practical infrastructures. These are mostly accomplished through organizing producer associations, access to technical services and arranging rules and policies to enhance profitable production of small ruminants and decrease obstacles.

Інноваційне освітнє середовище: технології створення

The implementation of educational reforms in Ukraine requires the modernization of teacher training. The imbalance between the social demand for highly qualified pedagogical staff and the outdated teacher training system stimulates the development of innovative educational environments, which should ensure the formation of high-level professional competence of university students. The article describes the experience of modeling an innovative environment by means of a student-centered training and practice center, which performs educational activities based on competency and STEM approaches. The conceptual basis of the technology is the guiding principles of partnership pedagogy, STEM education, competency and transdisciplinary approaches, technologies of student-centered teaching. The content component of the technology is modeling of natural science and mathematical education on the basis of current educational standards for institutions of higher and secondary education. The procedural component of the technology is the set of innovative forms and methods of educational activity that are integrated into long-term socio-scientific projects. Modeling of innovative educational environment by means of STEM and Art education provided an opportunity to introduce social and scientific projects satellites: children and youth experimentarium "Time Line", "Bank of Science", "Interesting Science in the City Streets" and others. The results of the work of the educational scientific laboratory are the development and implementation of innovative forms of educational activity in the system of training of future teachers. Innovative technology of transdisciplinary approach in education can be implemented by means of STEM platforms. The Center's Scientific and Methodological Laboratory investigates the process of introducing higher education technologies, develops a network of interactive playgrounds based on the STEM approach and approves innovative forms of educational activity. The Elements of the developed innovative scientific infrastructure were introduced at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of the V.O. Sukhomlynskyi Mykolayiv National University and in the educational institutions that are partners of the project.

Ochratoxin – Characteristics, influences and challenges of global research

Ochratoxin, especially Ochratoxin A, is assumed to be one of the five most important mycotoxins contaminating food and feed. Primarily developing countries are affected due to the climate conditions and poorer modes of production. The overall adverse health effects on humans are still unclear, although threatening associations have been proven. Knowledge gaps lead to difficult scientific assessments and different regulations worldwide. Therefore, this study aims at the evaluation of global research by applying advanced bibliometric approaches in combination with convincing visualization techniques based on density equalizing mapping. An amount of 3900 publications on Ochratoxin could be identified published between 1965 and 2019. The USA, China, and Germany are the most publishing countries, whereas, in terms of socio-economic impact, Croatia, Tunisia, and Serbia occupied the first ranks. Influenced by the scientific infrastructure or epidemiological history, these countries satisfy the needs of research. Nevertheless, especially developing countries that belong to the most affected regions are only marginally participating. They have to be integrated into international networks. A public increasing awareness would lead to take up the challenge of controlling human exposure by implication of food and feed safety.

Addressing Environmental Change through Emergent Integrated Environmental Observatories: A Case Study in the Czech Republic

A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that we have entered the Anthropocene Epoch. Many assert that society has exceeded sustainable ecological planetary boundaries and that altered biogeophysical processes are no longer reversible to natural rates of ecosystem functioning. To properly and successfully address societal needs for the future, more holistic and complex methods need to be applied at various spatial and temporal scales. The increasingly interconnected nature of human and natural environments—from individuals to large megacities and entire continents and from cells through ecosystems to the biosphere as a whole (e.g., as seen in the carbon cycle)—demand new and often interdisciplinary and international approaches to address emerging global challenges. With that perspective in mind, the Czech Republic’s National Climate Program was established in 1991 with the aim to understand the impact of global environmental change on society. The National Climate Program was updated in 2017 to formulate a new Climate Protection Policy. Here, we outline the multifaceted problems that climate change poses for the Czech Republic, as well as a new scientific infrastructure and approaches directed to better understanding the effects of climate change on our ecosystems, water resources, urban environment, agriculture, human health, and general economy.

The Political Economy of Restructuring in Science and Technology in Turkey

This study aims to analyse the policies with respect to, and structuring of, science and technology in Turkey from a historical perspective, and to evaluate the restructuring currently going on, from the viewpoint of institutions on science and technology. Such restructuring has undergone many transformations throughout Turkish history, and has been influenced directly by both internal and external dynamics. From the examples of other countries, we learn that success in high technology production results from well-established and sound industrial and scientific infrastructures. It would be useful to set forth such a vision for Turkey as well.

Catastrophes and Disasters: Do We Have a Scientific Infrastructure to Inform Decision-making?

Catastrophes and Disasters: Do We Have a Scientific Infrastructure to Inform Decision-making?