Limited Research Budgets Research Articles

Process of Confiscation of Assets Proceeding from Crime of Selling Narcotics Carried Out by the National Narcotics Agency of Aceh Province

The background of this research is that disclosing the source of funds from the sale of narcotics is very important because wealth is the weakest point of crime with the principle of criminology which states that money is the blood of crime or what is more often known as Money is the blood of the crime. Funds from crime, in this case narcotics, are often reused to grow and finance the crime itself so that the crime becomes bigger and better organized, which results in this case being the case that narcotics crime itself becomes an organized crime. The result of this research is the process of confiscation of assets resulting from sales crimes. Narcotics carried out by the Aceh BNNP is carried out through a mapping stage process. The next stage is the confiscation stage after receiving a decision that has permanent legal requirements, where the assets are in the form of cash, which is immediately deposited into the state treasury by the Prosecutor's Office as non-tax state revenue (PNBP). Meanwhile, assets in the form of securities, movable or not, tangible or not, are managed by the Ministry of Finance. Constraints faced by the Aceh BNNP in the process of returning assets from the sale of narcotics are the limited capacity of human resources investigating money laundering at the Aceh BNNP and the limited research and inquiry budget. The crime of money laundering, the implementation of MLA, takes a long time and is not optimal due to clashes between legal systems. Prevention efforts carried out by the Aceh BNNP in dealing with Narcotics Crime are through the Hard Power Approach, Soft Power Approach, Smart Power Approach and Co-Operation.

Application of the Policy Regime Framework to understand COVID-19 policy response in the Southeast U.S.: How RAPID research can provide lessons learned after a public health crisis.

Quick-response research during a time of crisis is important because time-sensitive findings can inform urgent decision-making, even with limited research budgets. This research, a National Science Foundation-funded Rapid Response Research (RAPID), explores the United States (U.S.) government's messaging on science in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this messaging informed policy. Using rapidly emerging secondary data (e.g., policy documents taken from government websites and others), much of which has since been removed or changed, we examined the interactions between governing bodies, non-governmental organizations, and civilian populations in the Southeastern U.S. during the first 2 years of the pandemic. This research helps to better understand how decision-makers at the federal, state, and local levels responded to the pandemic in three states with the lowest vaccine rates and highest levels of poverty, income inequality, and disproportionate impacts borne by people of color in the nation: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This study incorporates the Policy Regime Framework to discuss how two foundational concepts (ideas and institutions) helped govern policy implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research fills a significant information gap by providing a better understanding of how policy regimes emerge across multiple levels of government and impact vulnerable populations during times of a public health crisis. We use automated text analysis to make sense of a large quantity of textual data from policy-making agencies. Our case study is the first to use the Policy Regime Framework in conjunction with empirical data, as it emerged, from federal, state, and local governments to analyze the U.S. policy response to COVID-19. We found the U.S. policy response included two distinct messaging periods in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic: pre and post-vaccine. Many messaging data sources (agency websites, public service announcements, etc). have since been changed since we collected them, thus our real-time RAPID research enabled an accurate snapshot of a policy response in a crisis. We also found that there were significant differences in the ways that federal, state, and local governments approached communicating complex ideas to the public in each period. Thus, our RAPID research demonstrates how significant policy regimes are enacted and how messaging from these regimes can impact vulnerable populations.

An inexpensive anaerobic chamber for the genetic manipulation of strictly anaerobic bacteria

Strictly anaerobic bacteria are important to both human health and industrial usage. These bacteria are sensitive to oxygen, therefore, it is preferable to manipulate these microbes in an anaerobic chamber. However, commercial anaerobic chambers (CACs) are expensive, making them less accessible to scientists with a limited budget, especially to those in developing countries. The high price of commercial chambers has hindered, at least partially, the progress of research on anaerobes in developing countries. In the research presented here, we developed an inexpensive and reliable anaerobic chamber and successfully achieved routine maintenance of eleven strictly anaerobic bacterial strains. Furthermore, genetic manipulation examples have been set for both Clostridioidesdifficile 630 and Clostridiumbeijerinckii NCIMB 8052 strains to validate that the chamber could applied to advanced genetic engineering of strictly anaerobes. C. difficile and C. beijerinckii were both genetically manipulated in this chamber, showing it’s utility for the genetic engineering of anaerobes. Most importantly, the anaerobic chamber was 76% - 88% less expensive than a CACs and has similar functionality with regards to the cultivation and manipulation of strictly anaerobic bacteria. The anaerobic chamber described in this study will promote the research of anaerobes in developing counties and scientists who have limited research budgets.

Microsatellite Markers for Bearded Capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus): Transferability and Characterization.

Natural Sapajus libidinosus populations are in continuous decline due to fragmentation, habitat loss, and the illegal pet trade. They live in Caatinga scrub forests, which already lost over 50% of their original cover. The lack of studies on S. libidinosus population genetics means that we do not know how they are being affected by this striking habitat loss and other anthropogenic disturbances. Polymorphic markers are not available for the study of S. libidinosus diversity and population genetics. Thus, here we aimed to test the transferability of 14 microsatellite markers to S. libidinosus. These microsatellites were previously isolated from Cebus capucinus (white-faced capuchin), species belonging to the same subfamily (Cebinae) as the study species. We found that six of the tested microsatellite markers (tetra-nucleotide) were cross-amplified in our target species. All loci were polymorphic. The number of alleles varied from 4 to 7, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.588 to 0.869. The microsatellite markers transferred to S. libidinosus and characterised in our study will be valuable tools to evaluate the genetic variability of both wild and captive populations. They will considerably reduce the costs of microsatellite isolations, helping to prioritise currently limited research and conservation budgets in Brazil.

Cultivation of Caenorhabditis elegans on new cheap monoxenic media without peptone.

The study of species biodiversity within the Caenorhabditis genus of nematodes would be facilitated by the isolation of as many species as possible. So far, over 50 species have been found, usually associated with decaying vegetation or soil samples, with many from Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. Scientists based in these regions can contribute to Caenorhabditis sampling and their proximity would allow intensive sampling, which would be useful for understanding the natural history of these species. However, severely limited research budgets are often a constraint for these local scientists. In this study, we aimed to find a more economical, alternative growth media to rear Caenorhabditis and related species. We tested 25 media permutations using cheaper substitutes for the reagents found in the standard nematode growth media (NGM) and found three media combinations that performed comparably to NGM with respect to the reproduction and longevity of C. elegans. These new media should facilitate the isolation and characterization of Caenorhabditis and other free-living nematodes for the researchers in the poorer regions such as Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia where nematode diversity appears high.

Remotes sensing capabilities on land subsidence and coastal water hazard and disaster studies

Lowering on land surface which is commonly known as land subsidence is quite an issue in Indonesia today especially for coastal low elevation young sediment area, including cities or urban area lies on top of it. Jakarta is one of the city with most famous for land subsidence at the moment. If we go along northern coast of Java, many cities are experiencing the same situation as Jakarta and even more. As the impact from land subsidence, those coastal areas may experience water disaster such as sea water inundation and intrusion, wider expansion of flood and aquifer damage. Investigation of such areas in large and even regional scale with limited research budget is a problem. Nevertheless we found way for at least reducing the problem by using the capabilities of remote sensing product, geological and geostatistic data. We can identify land subsidence, coastal effected by subsidence like mentioned above by only time series of satellite image archive such as Google earth or Landsat free distributed, geological map and published geostatistic data like water consumption and population growth, with sample validated by land subsidence measurement and groundwater monitoring points. This paper will highlight our finding.

IN ACHIEVING THE MOST OF LIMITED RESEARCH BUDGET FOR ENGINEERING RESEARCH PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY AT SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY

Motivating engineering research in universities with limited or tight research budgets is a challenging task. There is always a conflict between researchers attempting to secure enough funds to ease their own research, and funding bodies and universities trying to achieve high quality research while lowering research expenses. This conflict leads to a situation where universities and researchers cannot achieve their goals altogether. This study attempts to partially resolve this issue by optimizing research expenditure for the benefit of both universities and researchers and suggests some policies regarding what type of research (modelling based or experimental based) universities should support. Other factors related to the components of research expenditure (effect of local and international collaboration, hiring research assistants (RAs), establishing research laboratories, and buying professional engineering software) are also considered.

Challenges and Benefits of Repurposing Licensed/Approved/Cleared Products for a Radiation Indication.

Increasingly, the risk of a radiological or nuclear public health emergency is a major concern for the U.S. government. To address a potential incident and ensure that the U.S. Government is prepared to respond to any civilian or military casualties that could result, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), together with the Department of Defense, has been charged with the development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) to treat individuals experiencing acute and delayed injuries that can result from exposure to radiation. With limited research and development budgets, and the high costs associated with bringing promising approaches from the bench through advanced product development activities, and ultimately, to regulatory approval, the U.S. Government places a priority on repurposing drugs that have already been commercialized for other indications in humans. To address the benefits and challenges of repurposing licensed products for a radiation indication, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases convened a workshop with participants from U.S. Government agencies and industry, as well as academic subject matter experts. Topics included U.S. Government efforts (e.g., funding, regulatory, stockpiling and innovative ways to make drugs available for study), as well as the unique regulatory and other challenges faced when repurposing branded or generic drugs.

Making the best use of experts' estimates to prioritise monitoring and management actions: A freshwater case study

Under limited time and resources, ecological managers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible impact of monitoring activities. Value of Information (VOI) has been advocated as an ideal tool to evaluate whether more data is required to improve expected management outcomes. Yet, despite several recent works explaining its value, VOI remains seldom used in practice. Here we provide an example of a successful ecological application of VOI. We apply VOI to a novel multi-objective freshwater management problem and show how to make the best use of expert data through a robust sensitivity analysis. Unlike previous VOI approaches, our analysis provides statistical confidence to our recommendations. We apply our approach to the recovery of Moira grass (Pseudoraphis spinescens) plains, a threatened vegetation community at the Ramsar-listed Barmah Forest on the Murray River, Australia. Working closely with managers, we discovered that although many threats may impede Moira grass recovery, reducing grazing pressure and applying ideal depth and duration of flooding were most likely to lead to recovery. We found that learning from monitoring can significantly increase the existing extent of Moira grass, although these gains are modest compared to immediate management action. Our study shows how VOI can be used to demonstrate efficient use of limited environmental water to maximise ecological impact and increase transparency when making monitoring or management decisions. More broadly, the study methods will be of interest to any environmental manager who needs to prioritise monitoring and evaluation activities subject to a limited research budget. At a time where researchers and managers are asked to be more accountable for their decision-making, VOI provides a very accessible tool that can speed up the decision of whether to wait and collect more data or act immediately despite uncertainty.

Did The Lack of Early Ethical Deliberation Contribute to the Downfall of The American Childhood Cohort?

Branches of science such as astrophysics that aim only at accumulating knowledge for knowledge's sake, have ethical issues that pertain only to telling the truth. Public health research additionally aims at gathering information that will guide public health policy for the public good. Ideally such research ought to consider what new knowledge would produce the most good for the most people at the least cost. This is a Utilitarian ethical issue. One might also consider what new knowledge would support policies for social justice. That would be part of Duty Ethics. In actual practice this kind of early deliberation is rarely done. Instead, when a request for proposal goes out, researchers send in proposals from their own area of expertise, packaging it in such away, that seems relevant to the request. Each relevant scientific discipline has a worldview interest, a career interest and a financial interest to see that it's way of looking at a problem should get the lion's share of a limited research budget. All too often research strategy then becomes the result of political struggle between representatives of different academic disciplines and centers. There are ethical issues in how this struggle is conducted. However an "honorable" balancing of academic interests doesn't necessarily result in a study design that optimally serves the greatest public good. Was this at work in the child cohort studies? If so how might the governance of the design and conduct of such large multidisciplinary studies be structured to improve this situation?

Governance of the R&D productivity at the research institution based on socio-demographic indicators

It has been noted that DUT has seen a steady increase in its research outputs publication for the period 2010 until now. However, responsible for this increase is the contribution of a few researchers since not all academic staff is involved in research. The study aimed to examine the extent to which socio demographic factors impact academics from publishing accredited outputs. It also seeks to highlight the important role of research management as a highly professional and dynamic activity that must constantly adapt to the changing environment within which universities operate. The findings of the research revealed that males with masters and doctoral degrees are the most involved in research activities. The paper will benefit the institution by enhancing institutional research management systems and practices, ensuring relevant policies are in place. Enable research management to deploy the institution’s research resources optimally so as to curb over reliance on the limited institutional research budget.

Disadvantages of publishing biomedical research articles in English for non-native speakers of English.

OBJECTIVES:English has become the most frequently used language for scientific communication in the biomedical field. Therefore, scholars from all over the world try to publish their findings in English. This trend has a number of advantages, along with several disadvantages.METHODS:In the current article, the most important disadvantages of publishing biomedical research articles in English for non-native speakers of English are reviewed.RESULTS:The most important disadvantages of publishing biomedical research articles in English for non-native speakers may include: Overlooking, either unintentionally or even deliberately, the most important local health problems; failure to carry out groundbreaking research due to limited medical research budgets; violating generally accepted codes of publication ethics and committing research misconduct and publications in open-access scam/predatory journals rather than prestigious journals.CONCLUSIONS:The above mentioned disadvantages could eventually result in academic establishments becoming irresponsible or, even worse, corrupt. In order to avoid this, scientists, scientific organizations, academic institutions, and scientific associations all over the world should design and implement a wider range of collaborative and comprehensive plans.

European Health Claims for Small and Medium-Sized Companies – Utopian Dream or Future Reality?

Background: In December 2007, the European Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims came into force. The European Union wanted to regulate the use of health claims on products. An online survey was carried out to evaluate the situation, particularly of small and medium-sized companies, dealing with the new regulation.Methods: The online survey on health claims was conducted with 16 enterprises. To underline the findings a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis was made of the nutrition and health claims regulation regarding small and medium-sized companies in the European food and drink market.Results: The findings of this study indicated that the European Union did a step in the right direction. Most companies defined the decent competition, the simplified trade within the inner-European market, and the consumer protection as positive aspects. The biggest threat is seen in false investment conditioned by the limited research and development budgets, especially of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the cost intensive scientific evaluation to reach an authorized health claim.Conclusions: Overall, there are several strengths and opportunities speaking for SMEs and health claims in the near future. The most promising ones are the publishing of the new European Union Register of Nutrition and Health Claims and the learning effects that will occur. The biggest threat is, and will remain to be, false investment and the possible loss of a lot of money. Nevertheless, health claims for small and medium-sized enterprises will inevitably be the future to keep the European food and drink market competitive.Keywords: health claims, European Legislation, SME

Small Solid Propellant Launch Vehicle Mixed Design Optimization Approach

For a small country with limited research budget and lack of advanced space technology, it is imperative to find new approaches for the development of low-cost launch vehicles (LV), which is, among all possibilities, an interesting option for rapid access to space, focused on integration of acquired components complemented with indigenously developed subsystems. This approach requires the cooperation of developed countries with huge experience and knowledge in LV development and operations. The main objective is to develop a small three stage solid propellant LV capable of delivering a payload of 100 kg to a circular low earth orbit of 600 km altitude, with the first and second stage solid rocket motors (SRM) hypothetically acquired from different countries and the third one designed and produced domestically in accordance with the production and technological capability. This approach provides main advantages such as: reduction in total time to access the space and to master the basic knowledge of launch operations. For this purpose, an integer continuous genetic algorithm global optimization method was selected and implemented, the SRM characteristics of the first and second stage were considered as integer variables, whereas the design variables of the third stage SRM and the trajectory variable were considered as continuous. A multi discipline feasible (MDF) framework was implemented along with the propulsion, aerodynamic, mass and trajectory models. Despite their particular characteristics and constraints, the results show highly acceptable values, and the approach proved to be reliable for conceptual design level.

Raw Data: Access to Inaccuracy

In “Raw personal data: providing access” (Policy Forum, 24 January, p. [373][1]), J. E. Lunshof and colleagues argue that donors should have access to raw data derived from their contribution to research or clinical repositories. Fairness, reciprocity, and respect for autonomy are compelling ethical reasons for access, if not for one major problem: the intrinsic inaccuracy of most research data. Even the best-documented population studies cannot guarantee accurate data for individual participants. Limited research budgets force researchers to decide between assessing a few variables at high quality or many variables at lower quality, and they typically choose the latter. More data means more research opportunities, and suboptimal data quality is perfect enough when conclusions are drawn for populations at large. Yet, the data cannot be used to inform about individual participants. ![Figure][2] CREDIT: T. POPOVA/ISTOCKPHOTO To illustrate the moral obligation for granting access, the authors draw an excellent analogy with money banks, but the example actually undercuts their point. Money banks would never provide customers access to their bank accounts if they had even the slightest doubt about the accuracy of the balances. Inaccurate account data not only harm individual customers, who then remain uncertain about their financial position, but also destroy public trust in money banks. This is a risk that banks would not even think of taking, and scientists should not either. High-quality online genome data interpretation tools, health professionals, and other independent experts cannot make sense of data when they cannot rely on the quality. A disclaimer concerning data accuracy, as the authors propose, does not solve that problem. If researchers respect their participants, take them seriously, and want to do more good than harm ([ 1 ][3]), they do not give them all they have, but give something valuable in a responsible way ([ 2 ][4]). And that is not merely access to data. 1. [↵][5] The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research (1979); [www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html][6]. 2. [↵][7] 1. J. P. Evans, 2. B. B. Rothschild , Genet. Med. 14, 358 (2012). [OpenUrl][8][CrossRef][9][PubMed][10] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1249382 [2]: pending:yes [3]: #ref-1 [4]: #ref-2 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [6]: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [8]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DGenetics%2Bin%2Bmedicine%2B%253A%2B%2Bofficial%2Bjournal%2Bof%2Bthe%2BAmerican%2BCollege%2Bof%2BMedical%2BGenetics%26rft.stitle%253DGenet%2BMed%26rft.aulast%253DEvans%26rft.auinit1%253DJ.%2BP.%26rft.volume%253D14%26rft.issue%253D4%26rft.spage%253D358%26rft.epage%253D360%26rft.atitle%253DReturn%2Bof%2Bresults%253A%2Bnot%2Bthat%2Bcomplicated%253F%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1038%252Fgim.2012.8%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F22481183%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [9]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1038/gim.2012.8&link_type=DOI [10]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=22481183&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fsci%2F343%2F6174%2F968.1.atom

Salt drying: a low‐cost, simple and efficient method for storing plants in the field and preserving biological repositories for DNA diversity research

Although a variety of methods have been optimized for the collection and storage of plant specimens, most of these are not suited for field expeditions for a variety of logistic reasons. Drying specimens with silica gel in polyethylene bags is currently the standard for field-sampling methods that are suitable for subsequent DNA extraction. However, silica-gel repositories are not readily available in remote areas, and its use is not very cost-effective for the long-term storage of collections or in developing countries with limited research budgets. Salting is an ancient and traditional drying process that preserves food samples by dehydrating tissues and inhibiting water-dependent cellular metabolism. We compared salt and silica-gel drying methods with respect to dehydration rates overtime, DNA quality and polymerase chain reaction(PCR) success to assess whether dry salting can be used as an effective plant preservation method for DNA analysis. Specimens from eleven plant species covering a variety of leaf structures, leaf thicknesses and water contents were analysed. Experimental work indicated that (i) levels of dehydration in sodium chloride were usually comparable to those obtained when silica gel was used, (ii) no spoilage, fungal or bacterial growth was observed for any of the species with all drying treatments and (iii) good yields of quality genomic DNA suitable for PCR applications were obtained in the salt-drying treatments. The preservation of plant tissues in commercial table salt appears to be a satisfactory, and versatile method that may be suitable in remote areas where cryogenic resources and silica repositories are not available.

The Challenges of Publishing on Health Informatics in Developing Countries

The Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries was established to meet a perceived need for Health Informaticians in developing countries to be able to share the results of their research in an affordable and easy-to-access online publication. The journal was developed using the open source platform "Open Journal System," and has now published 67 articles across 13 issues. A collaborative editorial approach has been established to address the problems of limited research budgets, difficulties with translating to English and other problems specific to authors from developing countries. The journal faces many challenges including ensuring future financial sustainability and inclusion in journal indexing systems. However, the continuing support of an international body of Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members has enabled a wide range of useful and informative health informatics research to be disseminated across the developing world.

Making next-generation sequencing work for you: approaches and practical considerations for marker development and phylogenetics

Recent reviews are setting the stage for the use of next-generation sequencing technologies in phylogenetic applications. However, the processes for developing new markers for phylogenetic analyses remain difficult to navigate for many researchers in plant systematics. We review several experimental approaches and practical considerations for developing new phylogenetic markers with next-generation sequencing technologies. We also outline a flexible framework for data acquisition that is readily adaptable to the needs of individual researchers and carefully consider cost-related issues that may be of concern to many laboratories in evolutionary biology. The next-generation and targeted sequencing approaches presented here offer considerable savings of time and money over the traditional PCR and Sanger sequencing approaches currently used in plant systematic research, particularly in cases involving large numbers of taxa and phylogenetic markers. Even with a limited research budget, next-generation sequence data can accommodate exploration of biological questions in ways that were not previously possible.

Faculty Perceptions Of Resource Constraints In Business Academic Research

Administrators and faculty are grappling with the relative importance of teaching and research by professors in higher education. While various opinions exist, both faculty and administrators will likely agree that research will remain prominent in the near future. Faculty frustration can result from inadequate support for research. A national survey of business school faculty examines support adequacy by type of school. Of the ten categories of research support studied, six are receiving less than adequate support. Administrators who allocate their limited research budgets based on the findings of this study will likely remove many of the obstacles their faculty members face in meeting the research objectives of their institutions.

Application of the Stepwise Focusing Method to Optimize the Cost‐effectiveness of Genome‐wide Association Studies with Limited Research Budgets for Genotyping and Phenotyping

SummaryThe recent cataloguing of a large number of SNPs enables us to perform genome‐wide association studies for detecting common genetic variants associated with disease. Such studies, however, generally have limited research budgets for genotyping and phenotyping. It is therefore necessary to optimize the study design by determining the most cost‐effective numbers of SNPs and individuals to analyze. In this report we applied the stepwise focusing method, with two‐stage design, developed by Satagopan et al. (2002) and Saito & Kamatani (2002), to optimize the cost‐effectiveness of a genome‐wide direct association study using a transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT). The stepwise focusing method consists of two steps: a large number of SNPs are examined in the first focusing step, and then all the SNPs showing a significant P‐value are tested again using a larger set of individuals in the second focusing step. In the framework of optimization, the numbers of SNPs and families and the significance levels in the first and second steps were regarded as variables to be considered. Our results showed that the stepwise focusing method achieves a distinct gain of power compared to a conventional method with the same research budget.