Interdisciplinary Research Network Research Articles

IMMUnity Unveiled: A Translational NETwork for tackling PARKinson's Disease – IMMUPARKNET

Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects more than one million people in the EU. It currently has no definitive cure, meaning that patients rely only on symptomatic treatments, which themselves are burdened by side effects. The need for advancements in both knowledge and available treatments is thus strongly felt by patients, caregivers, and health operators. This unmet need sparked the idea of orchestrating a collaborative effort via a common network – IMMUPARKNET (The role of IMMUnity in tackling PARKinson’s disease through a Translational NETwork). The IMMUPARKNET COST Action focuses on challenges in PD and its related crosstalk with immune response. Although widely recognized, the role of immunity in the onset and development of PD is still unclear. The main goal of IMMUPARKNET is to fill this knowledge gap by establishing an innovative, interdisciplinary research network and fostering exchanges of expertise among specialists from different countries and institutions. As we gather scientists and clinicians who study immunity in PD and related fields, IMMUPARKNET will establish the first nucleus of a multidisciplinary ecosystem that aims to harmonize efforts and approaches, both in research and clinical practice, to boost the development of ground-breaking treatments for PD. Through meetings, training schools, webinars, position papers, and review manuscripts, IMMUPARKNET will lead fruitful exchanges of know-how among experts in the field. The IMMUPARKNET structure revolves around 5 working groups, with a total of 157 active members from 34 different countries. Of these active members, 58.5% are young researchers, while 67.5% come from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC - less research-intensive COST Members; https://www.cost.eu/about/members/). IMMUPARKNET output will facilitate the improved sharing and development of research resources, straightening the road to novel treatments and identifying where existing ones can be repurposed, all, ultimately and hopefully, finding a cure for PD.

Strengths and opportunities in research into extracellular matrix ageing: A consultation with the ECMage research community.

Ageing causes progressive decline in metabolic, behavioural, and physiological functions, leading to a reduced health span. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is the three-dimensional network of macromolecules that provides our tissues with structure and biomechanical resilience. Imbalance between damage and repair/regeneration causes the ECM to undergo structural deterioration with age, contributing to age-associated pathology. The ECM 'Ageing Across the Life Course' interdisciplinary research network (ECMage) was established to bring together researchers in the United Kingdom, and internationally, working on the emerging field of ECM ageing. Here we report on a consultation at a joint meeting of ECMage and the Medical Research Council / Versus Arthritis Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing, held in January 2023, in which delegates analysed the key questions and research opportunities in the field of ECM ageing. We examine fundamental biological questions, enabling technologies, systems of study and emerging in vitro and in silico models, alongside consideration of the broader challenges facing the field.

Curiosity to Question: Tracing productive engagement in an interdisciplinary course-based research experience

ABSTRACT Background Course-based research experiences (CBREs) are highly valued for science learning and research. Most are discipline-centered, but there is a great deal of interest in developing them to promote interdisciplinarity. Yet, we have much to learn about how CBREs work, and even more to learn about how disciplinary diversity operates as an element of design to promote learning and research. Method This mixed methods case study triangulates data on student experience, research networks, research artifacts and fieldnotes from participant observation to understand how disciplinary diversity factors into productive engagement for learning and research in an interdisciplinary course-based research experience (I-CBRE). Findings A common boundary object (scientific paper) mediated developmental interactions among individuals both within and beyond the course. The boundary object also facilitated the productive engagement of students as instrumental actors in broader interdisciplinary research networks. Contribution This study shows how an “object tracing” approach can be used to examine productivity in disciplinarily diverse scientific contexts, and reveals some of the distinctly syncretic moves that participants deploy to make progress as learners and researchers. Extending work by Engel and Conant, the study emphasizes the importance of designing for “productive syncretic engagement” in research experiences characterized disciplinary diversity.

In vivo corneal confocal microscopy: Technical innovations and frontier applications

At present, the only commercially available system for in vivo Corneal Confocal Microscopy enables unique insights into the corneal morphology, especially corneal nerves. Unfortunately—technology, user‐friendliness and image analysis of the standard platform has remained at the level of 15 years ago. This contribution presents cutting edge insights into new developments based on research within our German Research Foundation supported interdisciplinary research network. This covers a wide range of new developments addressing usability, large field as well as 3D imaging, dedicated contact cap designs, elastic image registration and AI based tissue classification. Furthermore, cutting edge technologies offer 4D imaging to perform dynamic investigations and multiwavelength as well as OCT‐guided Corneal Confocal Microscopy. Finally, key aspects demonstrating the potential of the technique for static and dynamic corneal nerves analysis will be presented.

Forest carbon projects with indigenous peoples: Reflections on global governance from the perspective of the Earth System Governance Project

The Earth System Governance Project is an interdisciplinary research network on global environmental governance that presents a proposal organized around contextual issues and analytical lenses. This work aims to apply the five analytical lenses for global governance by Earth System Governance Project in a carbon credits negotiation case in 2011 between an Irish company – Celestial Green Venture PLC – and the Munduruku indigenous people in Brazil. Based on this case, we identify the scope and challenges of applying these analytical lenses in governance processes at the local level and with specific groups, such as indigenous peoples.

The AD/ADRD Interdisciplinary Research Network on Biologically Active Tau Aggregate Polymorphs from Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

AbstractBackgroundTauopathies, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are characterized by intracellular lesions composed of aggregated and post‐translationally modified tau proteins. Methods for preparation and biochemical characterization of stable filaments from various tauopathies are well established. In contrast, methods for preparation of soluble oligomeric tau aggregates have not been standardized to the same degree. Additionally, the structures of oligomers which associate most closely with disease propagation and toxicity, are not fully established. The AD/ADRD Resource Network aims to isolate structurally vetted tau filaments and oligomers from human tauopathy cases and distribute them to the research community. In addition, it seeks to bank and distribute detection reagents and associated protocols. The overall mission of the network is to support impactful tauopathy research.MethodTauopathies, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are characterized by intracellular lesions composed of aggregated and post‐translationally modified tau proteins. Methods for preparation and biochemical characterization of stable filaments from various tauopathies are well established. In contrast, methods for preparation of soluble oligomeric tau aggregates have not been standardized to the same degree. Additionally, the structures of oligomers which associate most closely with disease propagation and toxicity, are not fully established. The AD/ADRD Resource Network aims to isolate structurally vetted tau filaments and oligomers from human tauopathy cases and distribute them to the research community. In addition, it seeks to bank and distribute detection reagents and associated protocols. The overall mission of the network is to support impactful tauopathy research.ResultProtocols for simultaneous isolation of oligomeric and filamentous tau aggregates have been developed along with analytical and quantitative methods to estimate sample heterogenicity and stability. Resource Network members are establishing cross‐laboratory analytical benchmarks for experiments to ensure rigor and reproducibility of results.ConclusionThe AD/ADRD Research Network banks rigorously validated preparations of structurally vetted tau aggregates along with directed protocols and reagents. Dissemination of these reagents is expected to maximize rigor and reproducibility of basic research involving tau protein aggregates.

AGING AND GERIATRIC CARE: A GLOBAL IMPERATIVE TOWARDS UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

The global population of older people is projected to surpass the number of children under 5 years old and adolescents by 2050, with developing countries housing the majority of older individuals. This demographic shift necessitates adjustments in global health systems to cater to the increasing demand for age-appropriate care. Gerontology, as an interdisciplinary field, encompasses the study of biological, social, and medical aspects of aging. Anti-aging, a distinct discipline, focuses on understanding and combatting age-related ailments. This review provides insights into the distinctive aspects of anti-aging research, highlights current priority issues in health promotion and anti-aging measures, and explores implications of crises on aging research and healthcare. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for collaboration among interdisciplinary research networks, integration of science and technology, and the involvement of key stakeholders to ensure universal health coverage. Future research should address the multidimensional aspects of healthy aging, reflect research priorities and preferences of older individuals, and promote health equity. This collective effort will contribute to the development of innovative solutions and facilitate cross-learning among countries to enhance the well-being of aging populations globally.

The Yale Geochronometric Laboratory and the Rewriting of Global Environmental History.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, scientists speculated that the Pleistocene megafauna-species such as the giant ground sloth, wooly mammoth, and saber-tooth cat-perished because of rapid climate change accompanying the end of the most recent Ice Age. In the 1950s, a small network of ecologists challenged this view in collaboration with archeologists who used the new tool of radiocarbon dating. The Pleistocene overkill hypothesis imagined human hunting, not climate change, to be the primary cause of megafaunal extinction. This article situates the Pleistocene overkill hypothesis in a broader history of the emergence of historical ecology as a distinct sub-discipline of paleoecology. Tracing the work of the Yale Geochronometric Laboratory and an interdisciplinary research network that included Paul Sears, Richard Foster Flint, Edward Deevey, Kathryn Clisby, and Paul S. Martin, it reveals how both the methods and the meaning of studying fossil pollen shifted between the 1910s and 1960s. First used as a tool for fossil fuel extraction, fossil pollen became a means of envisioning climatic history, and ultimately, a means of reimagining global ecological history. First through pollen stratigraphy and then through radiocarbon dating, ecologists reconstructed past biotic communities and rethought the role of humans in these communities. By the 1980s, the discipline of historical ecology would reshape physical environments through the practice of ecological restoration.

Setting up a data management infrastructure for bioimaging.

While the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) principles are well accepted in the scientific community, there are still many challenges in implementing them in the day-to-day scientific process. Datamanagement of microscopy images poses special challenges due to the volume, variety, and many proprietary formats. In particular, appropriate metadata collection, abasic requirement for FAIR data, is a real challenge for scientists due to the technical and content-related aspects. Researchers benefit here from interdisciplinary research network with centralized data management. The typically multimodal structure requires generalized data management and the corresponding acquisition of metadata. Here we report on the establishment of an appropriate infrastructure for the research network by a Core Facility and the development and integration of a software tool MDEmicthat allows easy and convenient processing of metadata of microscopy images while providing high flexibility in terms of customization of metadata sets. Since it is also in the interest of the core facility to apply standards regarding the scope and serialization formats to realize successful and sustainable data management for bioimaging, we report on our efforts within the community to define standards in metadata, interfaces, and to reduce thebarriers of daily data management.

From the Editor

From the Editor Sabine R. Huebner This issue was produced in part under the aegis of my predecessor, Professor Andrew Cain, who steered the ship expertly over the past five years, and I cannot thank him enough for his generous and patient introduction to the complex business of being editor-in-chief. I am also delighted to have gathered around me a stellar editorial board that will support this journal in the years ahead. The Journal of Late Antiquity is composed of veteran editors, as well as younger members in our field, whose expertise covers a wide variety of areas, regions, and topics of the discipline. I feel very honored to be following in the footsteps of Ralph W. Mathisen, Noel Lenski, and most recently Andy Cain, and hope to do the journal justice in the years to come. The Journal of Late Antiquity, which has already won several awards in its fifteen-year history, will continue to encourage cutting-edge and interdisciplinary research on all methodological, geographical, and chronological facets of Late Antiquity, defined roughly as the period from ca. 250–800 ad. The entire field of late antique studies will be represented—bridging disciplines and late antique peoples from the late Roman, western European, Byzantine, Sassanid, and early Islamic worlds and their direct exchanges with their respective neighboring peoples and trading partners, without slipping into the arbitrariness of a thematic global setting. This cross-disciplinary cooperation in ancient studies has become a matter of course over the past few decades: from my first days as a student, I myself worked in supra-departmental interdisciplinary research networks that, in addition to the traditional text- and material-based subjects of classical studies—such as ancient history, classical philology, Egyptology, archaeology—had also already included Arabic studies, Jewish studies, art history, ethnology, law, and comparative religious studies. My doctoral studies in the interdisciplinary doctoral program in Jena on "Leitbilder der Spätantike," my postdoctoral work at, amongst other institutions, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), and currently as head of the Department of Ancient Civilizations at the University of Basel, have shaped my impression of late antique studies in its widest sense. Although appearing small in scope, late antique studies encompasses the cosmos of the university (universitas), pioneering the possibilities of interdisciplinarity and the challenges and opportunities of true consilience. My goal is to further the Journal of Late Antiquity's heartfelt mission of an all-encompassing, multidisciplinary treatment of Late Antiquity in all its multiregional and multilingual facets, while also affording a wide scope to new trends, particularly, collaborative opportunities with the natural sciences. [End Page 1] The range of disciplines working on Late Antiquity has expanded further since the first edition of the Journal of Late Antiquity in 2008. Without exerting influence, as an editor has no control over the nature of submissions, moving forward I would like to see even broader consideration of the so-called palaeosciences—e.g., palaeoclimatology, palaeogenetics, bioarchaeology—as well as digital technologies. These evidentiary pools are increasingly taking up important space in our transdisciplinary dialogue on late antiquity, and are providing new data and fascinating insights into ancient genomes, migrations of peoples, livestock and crops, the spread of infectious diseases, and ancient climatic variability and change, by which some text-focused reasoning has already been upended. I am thrilled that this issue gives consideration to these new methods, such as David Devore's and Scott Kennedy's contribution to the pestilence during the reign of Emperor Maximinus II Daia—arguably not a pandemic, but a regionally-limited epidemic in Syria and adjacent areas—and a review of Kyle Harper's new book Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History. Similarly, I hope for greater consideration of research from countries outside the western-oriented, European-Anglo-American context, as this journal also devotes attention to the history of the Near and Middle East, and North and East Africa. This spring issue of the Journal of Late Antiquity collects eight innovative contributions on multiple regions and aspects of the late antique world. The issue opens with a contribution from Adrastos Omissi on "Hamstrung Horses: Dating Constantine's...

IReNE: AN ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPACTED INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY REPOSITORY FOR EDUCATION ON RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Maintaining information that documents damages that natural disasters cause to infrastructure and documenting the efforts to rebuild it, is essential for future infrastructure mitigation and reconstruction actions. To address this, we have developed the Interdisciplinary Research Network Extension (IReNE) aimed to keep record and centralize data relevant to cases in Puerto Rico. IReNE has been conceptualized following the case study methodology and it has been designed to fit and scaffold the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education – Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP), following the four stages defined by the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model and a Project Based Learning approach. This paper presents the development of IReNE and presents case study examples of its current use for supporting the RISE-UP teaching model. IReNE was designed as an open-source platform that will be timely available to researchers, academics, and practitioners. We also expect their conceptual and applied developments to be replicated in other academic contexts, and therefore contributing on documenting, systematizing, and disseminating the impact of natural events on infrastructure.

Post-COVIDLMU: implementation and evaluation of an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral healthcare and research network for evidence-based treatment of patients with severe post-COVID syndrome

Post-COVIDLMU ist ein interdisziplinäres und sektorenübergreifendes Versorgungs- und Forschungsnetzwerk des LMU(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität)-Klinikums. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der Behandlung und Erforschung komplexer und schwerer Post-COVID(„coronavirus disease“)-Syndrom-Fälle bei Erwachsenen. Die Behandlung dieser Patientengruppe erfolgt interdisziplinär unter Einbezug zahlreicher Fachkliniken des LMU-Klinikums. Ergänzt wird das universitäre Behandlungsangebot durch moderne telemedizinische Sprechstunden, interdisziplinäre Fallkonferenzen unter Beteiligungsmöglichkeit der zuweisenden Kollegen*innen sowie der Möglichkeit für Patient*innen, an Studien der medizinischen Forschung zum Post-COVID-Syndrom teilzunehmen. Das LMU-Klinikum kooperiert eng mit niedergelassenen Ärzten*innen sowie verschiedenen Rehaeinrichtungen in Deutschland.

IReNE: AN ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPACTED INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY REPOSITORY FOR EDUCATION ON RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Maintaining information that documents damages that natural disasters cause to infrastructure and documenting the efforts to rebuild it, is essential for future infrastructure mitigation and reconstruction actions. To address this, we have developed the Interdisciplinary Research Network Extension (IReNE) aimed to keep record and centralize data relevant to cases in Puerto Rico. IReNE has been conceptualized following the case study methodology and it has been designed to fit and scaffold the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education – Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP), following the four stages defined by the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model and a Project Based Learning approach. This paper presents the development of IReNE and presents case study examples of its current use for supporting the RISE-UP teaching model. IReNE was designed as an open-source platform that will be timely available to researchers, academics, and practitioners. We also expect their conceptual and applied developments to be replicated in other academic contexts, and therefore contributing on documenting, systematizing, and disseminating the impact of natural events on infrastructure.

Embodied Conversational Agents for Patients With Dementia: Thematic Literature Analysis

BackgroundAs the world’s population rapidly ages, the number of older adults with cognitive impairment will also increase. Several studies have identified numerous complex needs of people with dementia, which assistive technologies still fail to support. Recent trends have led to an increasing focus on the use of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) as virtual entities able to interact with a person through natural and familiar verbal and nonverbal communication. The use of ECAs could improve the accessibility and acceptance of assistive technologies matching those high-level needs that are not well covered to date.ObjectiveThe aim of this thematic literature analysis was to map current studies in the field of designing ECAs for patients with dementia in order to identify the existing research trend and possible gaps that need to be covered in the near future. The review questions in this study were as follows: (1) what research frameworks are used to study the interaction between patients with dementia and ECAs? (2) what are the findings? and (3) what are the barriers reported in these studies?MethodsSeparate literature searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases by using specific umbrella phrases to target the population (patients with dementia) and the technology-based intervention (embodied conversational agent). Studies that met the inclusion criteria were appraised through the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and then discussed in a thematic analysis.ResultsThe search process identified 115 records from the databases and study references. After duplicates (n=45) were removed, 70 papers remained for the initial screening. A total of 7 studies were finally included in the qualitative synthesis. A thematic analysis of the reviewed studies identified major themes and subthemes: the research frameworks used to gather users’ perspectives on ECAs (theme 1), the insights shared by the 7 studies as well as the value of user involvement in the development phases and the challenge of matching the system functionalities with the users’ needs (theme 2), and the main methodological and technical problems faced by each study team (theme 3).ConclusionsOur thematic literature analysis shows that the field of ECAs is novel and poorly discussed in the scientific community and that more sophisticated study designs and proofs of efficacy of the approach are required. Therefore, by analyzing the main topic of the narrative review, this study underscores the challenge of synchronizing and harmonizing knowledge, efforts, and challenges in the dementia care field and its person-centered paradigm through the user-centered design approach. Enabling strict collaboration between interdisciplinary research networks, medical scientists, technology developers, patients, and their formal and informal caregivers is still a great challenge in the field of technologies for older adults.

A Qualitative Study toward Technologies for Active and Healthy Aging: A Thematic Analysis of Perspectives among Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary End Users.

It is expected that, by 2050, people aged over 60 in 65 nations will constitute 30% of the total population. Healthy aging is at the top of the world political agenda as a possible means for hindering the collapse of care systems. How can ICT/sensing technology meet older people’s needs for active and healthy aging? This qualitative study carried out in Italy and Romania in 2020 involved 30 participants: older adults, caregivers, and stakeholders. Based on a user-centered design approach, this study aimed to understand which requirements of ICT/sensing technologies could match people’s needs of active and healthy aging. Findings highlighted that ICT/sensing technology needs to focus on six major themes: (1) learnability, (2) security, (3) independence, empowerment, and coaching values, (4) social isolation, (5) impact of habit, culture, and education variables, and (6) personalized solutions. These themes are consistent with the Active Aging framework and the factors that influence perceived usefulness and potential benefits among older adults. Consequently, this study shows how well-known, but still unresolved, issues affect the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote active and healthy aging. This suggests that the reinforcement of the public health system, especially considering the pandemic effect, requires a concrete and formidable effort from an interdisciplinary research network.

A Decade of Incorporating Social Sciences in the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research Project (IMBeR): Much Done, Much to Do?

Successful management and mitigation of marine challenges depends on cooperation and knowledge sharing which often occurs across culturally diverse geographic regions. Global ocean science collaboration is therefore essential for developing global solutions. Building effective global research networks that can enable collaboration also need to ensure inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches to tackle complex marine socio-ecological challenges. To understand the contribution of interdisciplinary global research networks to solving these complex challenges, we use the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR) project as a case study. We investigated the diversity and characteristics of 1,827 scientists from 11 global regions who were attendees at different IMBeR global science engagement opportunities since 2009. We also determined the role of social science engagement in natural science based regional programmes (using key informants) and identified the potential for enhanced collaboration in the future. Event attendees were predominantly from western Europe, North America, and East Asia. But overall, in the global network, there was growing participation by females, students and early career researchers, and social scientists, thus assisting in moving toward interdisciplinarity in IMBeR research. The mainly natural science oriented regional programmes showed mixed success in engaging and collaborating with social scientists. This was mostly attributed to the largely natural science (i.e., biological, physical) goals and agendas of the programmes, and the lack of institutional support and push to initiate connections with social science. Recognising that social science research may not be relevant to all the aims and activities of all regional programmes, all researchers however, recognised the (potential) benefits of interdisciplinarity, which included broadening scientists’ understanding and perspectives, developing connections and interlinkages, and making science more useful. Pathways to achieve progress in regional programmes fell into four groups: specific funding, events to come together, within-programme-reflections, and social science champions. Future research programmes should have a strategic plan to be truly interdisciplinary, engaging natural and social sciences, as well as aiding early career professionals to actively engage in such programmes.

On the Entanglement between Sociology and Architecture in Spatial Research

Editorial Summary: Coming from a background of sociology, but taking part in the interdisciplinary research network »Re-figuration of Space«, Séverine Marguin describes the »design turn« as a driving force for new directions in the humanities and natural sciences as well as a starting point for new formats and procedures in scientific investigation. She emphasizes the potential of cross-disciplinary research for either discipline involved, as it fosters new insights beyond disciplinary framings. »On the entanglement between sociology and architecture in the field of spatial research« highlights the »design turn« in social sciences as a catalyst for the incorporation of design-based procedures into the humanities, opening new possibilities to reconfigure the thematic field, its methodologies, and its forms of research. [Katharina Voigt]

Comparing Modern and Classical Perspectives on Spider Silks and Webs

Abstract Spiders have always fascinated humankind as whilst they are often reviled, their product, the web and its silk, are commonly viewed in awe. As such, silks’ material properties and the fear and fascination surrounding the animals that spin it are seen to play an important role in the development of many cultures and societies. More recently this is even more so with the formalization of this inspiration in scientific and technical communities through biomimetics. The aim of this work is to reflect on the beginnings of our relationship with silk and discuss concepts associated with spider silks and webs in ancient Greek and Roman times whilst comparing this with our current understanding of the field. In this way, ancient texts, namely Greek and Latin ones, are found to intersect with modern advanced disciplines, ranging from architecture to medicine to physics. This allows us not only to understand how natural observation has evolved from antiquity to today, but also how such a highly interdisciplinary research network has been spun by some shared conceptual threads.

Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Simple Protection Tool With Many Meanings.

Wearing face masks is recommended as part of personal protective equipment and as a public health measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Their use, however, is deeply connected to social and cultural practices and has acquired a variety of personal and social meanings. This article aims to identify the diversity of sociocultural, ethical, and political meanings attributed to face masks, how they might impact public health policies, and how they should be considered in health communication. In May 2020, we involved 29 experts of an interdisciplinary research network on health and society to provide their testimonies on the use of face masks in 20 European and 2 Asian countries (China and South Korea). They reflected on regulations in the corresponding jurisdictions as well as the personal and social aspects of face mask wearing. We analyzed those testimonies thematically, employing the method of qualitative descriptive analysis. The analysis framed the four dimensions of the societal and personal practices of wearing (or not wearing) face masks: individual perceptions of infection risk, personal interpretations of responsibility and solidarity, cultural traditions and religious imprinting, and the need of expressing self-identity. Our study points to the importance for an in-depth understanding of the cultural and sociopolitical considerations around the personal and social meaning of mask wearing in different contexts as a necessary prerequisite for the assessment of the effectiveness of face masks as a public health measure. Improving the personal and collective understanding of citizens' behaviors and attitudes appears essential for designing more effective health communications about COVID-19 pandemic or other global crises in the future. To wear a face mask or not to wear a face mask? Nowadays, this question has been analogous to the famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This is a bit allegorical, but certainly not far from the current circumstances where a deadly virus is spreading amongst us... Vanja Kopilaš, Croatia.

Interdisciplinary research networks and science-policy-society interactions in the Uruguay River Basin

The Uruguay River Basin (URB) that extends along Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay has been the hub of increasing pressures caused by the expansion of industrial agriculture, forestry and infrastructure projects in hydroenergy and transportation. There are growing concerns that the fragmented institutional framework is inadequate to address the growing challenges. Interdisciplinary research networks can contribute to creating perspectives of the basin that are policy and governance relevant. In this paper, we set out to interrogate the potential scope of interdisciplinary research networks (IRNs) for the advancement of basin governance framework for the URB. We envision IRNs as knowledge actors that can open up opportunities to mediate and connect basin actors across different spaces – academic, policy, technical-administrative and social. We highlight a series of pathways to advance networks actions in creating opportunities to fill the gaps of transboundary basin governance, and acknowledge the challenges associated with doing this work in the URB and other basins around the world.