Main Conference Research Articles

The 14th International Podocyte Conference 2023: from podocyte biology to glomerular medicine

The 14th International Podocyte Conference took place in Philadelphia, USA, from May 23rd to 26th, 2023. It commenced with an early-career researchers' meeting on May 23rd, providing young scientists with a platform to present and discuss their research findings. Throughout the main conference, 29 speakers across nine sessions shared their insights into podocyte biology, glomerular medicine, novel technological advancements, and translational approaches. Additionally, the event featured three keynote lectures addressing engineered CAR-T cell- and mRNA-based therapies and the utilization of biobanks for enhanced disease comprehension. Furthermore, four brief oral abstract sessions allowed scientists to present their findings to a broad audience. The program also included a panel discussion addressing the challenges of conducting human research within the American Black community. Remarkably, after a five-year hiatus from in-person conferences, the 14th International Podocyte Conference successfully convened scientists from around the globe, fostering the presentation and discussion of crucial research findings, as summarized in this review. Furthermore, to ensure continuous and sustainable education, research, translation, and trial medicine related to podocyte and glomerular diseases for the benefit of patients, the International Society of Glomerular Diseases was officially launched during the conference.

Report on the 10th Joint Workshop on Interfaces and Human Decision Making for Recommender Systems (IntRS 2023) at ACM RecSys 2023

The 10th edition of the Joint Workshop on Interfaces and Human Decision Making for Recommender Systems was held as part of the 17th ACM Conference on Recommender Systems (RecSys), the premier international forum for the presentation of new research results, systems and techniques in the broad field of recommender systems. The workshop was organized as a hybrid event: the physical session took place on September 18th at the venue of the main conference, Singapore, with the possibility for authors to present remotely. The IntRS workshop brings together an interdisciplinary community of researchers and practitioners who share research on new recommender systems (informed by psychology), including new design technologies and evaluation methodologies, and aim to identify critical challenges and emerging topics in the field. This year we focused particularly on topics related to Human-Centered AI, Explainability of decision-making models, User-adaptive XAI systems, which are becoming more and more popular in the last years, especially in domains where recommended options might have ethical and legal impacts on users. The integration of XAI with recommender systems is crucial for enhancing their transparency, interpretability, and accountability. This topic attracted a lot of interest from the community, as demonstrated by the fact that several workshop papers proposed methods for recommendation explanations. Date : 18 September 2023. Website : https://intrs2023.wordpress.com.

International Conclave on AMR and Future of Antibiotics (ICAFA - 2023)

Dear Esteemed Guests, Distinguished Speakers, Honourable Delegates, and all participants of the "International Conclave on AMR and Future of Antibiotics," It is a great pleasure to extend our warmest welcome to the International Conclave on AMR and Future of Antibiotics, organized by the Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University - AP, Andhra Pradesh, in collaboration with The AMR Insights, The Netherlands, Infection Control Academy of India (IFCAI), Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA), and NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru. This conference is scheduled to take place at SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh, on November 8 and 9, 2023. The conference addresses antimicrobial resistance issues and discusses antibiotic alternatives, which are paramount in our global healthcare landscape. During this conference, leading experts worldwide and across India will join hands to combat AMR and enlighten young participants on the direction of research, policies, and the significance of antibiotic alternatives. We aim to bring together experts from UK Innovate, AMR Insights (The Netherlands), Global AMR Hub (Berlin, Germany), leading Indian experts, innovators, and stakeholders of the Andhra Pradesh state action plan for the containment of AMR. Andhra Pradesh is the fourth state in India to acknowledge the danger of AMR and proactively initiate steps toward its containment by releasing the Andhra Pradesh Action Plan for the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance. This conference will be held in a hybrid mode, with both in-person and virtual participants, facilitating the exchange of ideas, networking opportunities, education for the younger generation, and ensuring healthcare safety through policies, awareness, and action plans. Participants, both physical and online attendees, are now important social ambassadors in the fight against the surge of AMR. This two-day conference will include keynote lectures, presentations by young scientists, panel discussions, poster and oral sessions, and interactive networking. The conference will comprise the following seven sessions: AMR in One Health, AMR and Environment, AMR and Omics, AMR – Action Plans and Policy, Alternatives to Antibiotics, AMR and Pathogen Strategies, and the Young Scientist Session. In addition to the main conference event, on November 9, 2023, three roundtables with the themes: 1) One Health, 2) Therapeutics and Vaccines, and 3) Diagnostics and Therapeutics, each lasting 90 minutes, will include experts from UK Innovate, representatives from the Andhra Pradesh Government departments involved in the state action plan, leading researchers from AIIMS Mangalagiri and other universities, and industrial partners. These roundtables will discuss several actions to be taken forward and list "Ten Mantras to Contain AMR Pathogens" – emergency response and action protocols. We quote, " நோய்நாடி நோய்முதல் நாடி அதுதணிக்கும் வாய்நாடி வாய்ப்பச் செயல்" (Kural 948) – Thirukkural, which means diagnosing the root cause of disease, identifying the correct curing, and ensuring its success. Together, we can succeed in containing AMR. Once again, we are honored to welcome you to this unique conference, and let us work towards a safe future.

Asociación de las características del ensayo con la publicación simultánea y su impacto en citas y menciones: un estudio transversal

Introduction and objectivesRandomized trials are often presented at medical conferences and published simultaneously or later. Predictors of simultaneous publication and its consequences are undetermined. Our aim was to characterize the practice of simultaneous publication, identify its predictors, and evaluate its impact. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we included randomized trials presented at late-breaking science sessions of major cardiovascular conferences from 2015 to 2021. The association of trial characteristics with the timing of publication was analyzed. The impact of simultaneous vs nonsimultaneous publication was investigated on the number of 1-year citations and 1-month mentions, and the total citations and mentions at the longest observation follow-up. ResultsOf 478 trials included in the analysis, 48.7% were published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were more likely to be presented in the main conference room (OR, 6.09; 95%CI, 1.34-36.92; P=.029) and were characterized by a shorter review time (OR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.91-0.96; P<.001). Simultaneous publications were associated with higher 1-year citations (R2, 43.81; 95%CI, 23.89-63.73; P<.001), 1-month mentions (R2, 132.32; 95%CI, 85.42-179.22; P<.001) and total citations (R2, 222.89; 95%CI, 127.98-317.80; P<.001). ConclusionsRandomized trials presented in the main conference room and with shorter review time were more likely to be published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were associated with more citations and mentions than nonsimultaneous publications.

The 7th Saudi Spine Society Annual Conference Proceedings in November 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Spine Society’s (SSS) 7th annual conference will be hosted in Riyadh November 17th - 19th, 2023 and is expected to have more than 550 attendees worldwide. The first day will include seven workshops covering spine diseases and management, including physical therapy, pain management, surgical treatment, evolving technology, and innovation in spine care and research. In the morning, three workshops will be conducted. These workshops will be about ultrasoundguided interventions as a treatment for common spine problems and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM). The remaining workshops will be held in the afternoon. They will be about innovative techniques and technologies in spine surgery, neuro life-cervical spine trauma, clinical neurodynamics for the neuromusculoskeletal system and the essentials of writing medical research papers.&#x0D; This will be followed by two days of the main conference with several local, regional and international speakers. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Khahled Kebaish, who will speak about adult deformity surgery. Also, 45 lectures, including several keynotes from national and international leaders in spine, and 24 peer-reviewed abstracts will be presented.&#x0D; The conference halls will include new technologies and the latest surgical and nonsurgical equipment updates.

Association of trial characteristics with simultaneous publication and its impact on citations and mentions: a cross-sectional study

Introduction and objectivesRandomized trials are often presented at medical conferences and published simultaneously or later. Predictors of simultaneous publication and its consequences are undetermined. Our aim was to characterize the practice of simultaneous publication, identify its predictors, and evaluate its impact. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we included randomized trials presented at late-breaking science sessions of major cardiovascular conferences from 2015 to 2021. The association of trial characteristics with the timing of publication was analyzed. The impact of simultaneous vs nonsimultaneous publication was investigated on the number of 1-year citations and 1-month mentions, and the total citations and mentions at the longest observation follow-up. ResultsOf 478 trials included in the analysis, 48.7% were published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were more likely to be presented in the main conference room (OR, 6.09; 95%CI, 1.34-36.92; P=.029) and were characterized by a shorter review time (OR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.91-0.96; P<.001). Simultaneous publications were associated with higher 1-year citations (R2, 43.81; 95%CI, 23.89-63.73; P<.001), 1-month mentions (R2, 132.32; 95%CI, 85.42-179.22; P<.001) and total citations (R2, 222.89; 95%CI, 127.98-317.80; P<.001). ConclusionsRandomized trials presented in the main conference room and with shorter review time were more likely to be published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were associated with more citations and mentions than nonsimultaneous publications.

Second-line Endocrine Therapy of Hormone Receptor-positive/HER2- negative Advanced Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.

The optimal second-line therapy for hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/ human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer is yet to be established. Therefore, we conducted a network meta-analysis (NMA) of marketed drugs to compare their efficacy. We searched the literature in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science databases, and the main international conferences in the past 5 years to find phase III clinical trials on drugs available in the market. Network meta-analysis of progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and the objective response rate (ORR) was performed using R software. The efficiency of treatment options was compared using hazard ratios and 95% credibility intervals. Overall, 12 studies with 6120 patients were included in the analysis. In an indirect comparison of the five regimens, cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) plus 500 mg fulvestrant (Ful500) gave the best PFS results; palbociclib ranked first with a surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) of 94.99%, followed by mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor (mTORi) plus everolimus (SUCRA=73.07%), phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor (PI3Ki) plus Ful500 (SUCRA=66.73%), Ful500 alone (SUCRA=44.55%), and histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) plus exemestane (SUCRA= 43.49%). However, no significant difference was found in the PFS rates of CDK4/6i, mTORi, and PI3Ki. For OS, CDK4/6i plus Ful500 ranked first; the SUCRA of ribociclib, abemaciclib, and palbociclib were 86.20%, 83.98%, and 78.52%, respectively. Alpelisib plus Ful500 (SUCRA=66.91%) ranked second but was not statistically different from CDK4/6i. The mTORi plus everolimus group had the best ORR (SUCRA=88.73%). In terms of safety, 81.56% of patients in the tucidinostat plus exemestane regimen developed neutropenia, suggesting strong hematological toxicity; 13.40% of patients developed grade 3-4 diarrhea after using abemaciclib plus Ful500. For second-line endocrine therapy in HR+/HER2- advanced/metastatic breast cancer, CDK4/6i is a better choice than mTORi, PI3Ki, HDACi, and Ful; it shows good PFS and OS outcomes and a low probability for serious adverse events.>.

The impact of cannabis legalization and decriminalization on acute poisoning: A systematic review.

Many countries have recently legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis. With increasing use and access come the potential for harms. We aimed to examine the effect of cannabis legalization/decriminalization on acute poisoning. A systematic review and meta-analysis registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022323437). We searched Embase, Medline, Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to March 2022. No restrictions on language, age or geography were applied. Abstracts from three main clinical toxicology conferences were hand-searched. Included studies had to report on poisonings before and after changes in cannabis legislation, including legalization and decriminalization of medicinal and recreational cannabis. Where possible, relative risk (RR) of poisoning after legalization (versus before) was calculated and pooled. Risk of bias was assessed with ROBINS-I. Of the 1065 articles retrieved, 30 met inclusion criteria (including 10 conference abstracts). Studies used data from the United States, Canada and Thailand. Studies examined legalization of medicinal cannabis (n = 14) and decriminalization or legalization of recreational cannabis (n = 21). Common data sources included poisons centre records (n = 18) and hospital presentations/admissions (n = 15, individual studies could report multiple intervention types and multiple data sources). Most studies (n = 19) investigated paediatric poisoning. Most (n = 24) reported an increase in poisonings; however, the magnitude varied greatly. Twenty studies were included in quantitative analysis, with RRs ranging from 0.81 to 29.00. Our pooled estimate indicated an increase in poisoning after legalization [RR = 3.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.43-5.20], which was greater in studies that focused on paediatric patients (RR = 4.31, 95% CI = 2.30-8.07). Most studies on the effect of medicinal or recreational cannabis legalization/decriminalization on acute poisoning reported a rise in cannabis poisoning after legalization/decriminalization. Most evidence is from US legalization, despite legalization and decriminalization in many countries.

Proceedings of the 6th Saudi Spine Society Annual Conference on December 2022, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The 6th Annual Meeting of the Saudi Spine Society (SSS) was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the 18th–20th of December 2022. The meeting was attended by over 500 participants. The title of the meeting was “Promoting Excellence in Spine Care,” and it was hosted by Dr. Mahdi Bassi, the president of the meeting, and Dr. Fahad Abduljabbar, the chairman of the scientific committee.&#x0D; The meeting was preceded by five workshops, including Neurolife cervical spine trauma, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, spine radiology for nonradiologists, clinical classification of age-related low back pain, and finally, a hands-on workshop on “Enabling technology in spine surgery: Robotic, navigation and endoscopy.” The main conference was enriched by the participation of nine different national and international societies.&#x0D; Sixty-four speakers shared their experiences through the conference from different specialties to emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary care in spine surgery. In addition, a special session was dedicated to spine care evolution after the pandemic.&#x0D; A total of 66 lectures were delivered in addition to 16 podium presentations for the accepted abstracts.

Report on the 8th ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (CHIIR 2023)

The CHIIR 2023 conference was conducted as a hybrid event in Austin, TX, USA, attracting over 110 attendees both physically and virtually. The main conference program spanned over three days and comprised of single-track presentations. Two workshops were organized on the day prior to the main conference, while the doctoral consortium and tutorial took place one day after the main event. This report has been prepared by the conference General Co-Chairs. Date: 19--23 March 2023. Website: https://sigir.org/chiir2023/.

Pitfalls in Oncogeriatrics.

An oncogeriatric interdisciplinary activity exists only in a minority of high-income countries, and it is almost absent in those with lower incomes. Considering topics, sessions, and tracks in the main meetings and conferences of the major Oncological Societies in Europe and worldwide, the USA excluded, little attention has thus far been paid to the problem of cancer in the elderly. Again, with the exception of the USA, the major cooperative groups, for example, the EORTC in Europe, have only dedicated marginal attention to the research of cancer in the elderly. Despite major shortcomings, professionals interested in geriatric oncology have taken a number of important initiatives to highlight the benefits of this particular activity, including the organization of an international society (Société Internationale de Oncogeriatrie, or SIOG). In spite of these efforts, the authors believe that the management of cancer in the older population is still encountering several important and generalized pitfalls. The main obstacle is the grossly inadequate number of geriatricians and clinical oncologists necessary to an integrated care of the ever-expanding aging population, but other hurdles have been reported. Additionally, the prejudice of ageism can lead to missing potential resources for the development of a generalized oncogeriatric approach.

Industrial Informatics: Emerging Trends and Applications in the Era of Big Data and AI

Industrial informatics is a rapidly developing scientific field that deals with the knowledge-based automation of industrial design and manufacturing processes. In the last decade, industrial informatics has been strongly influenced by the rapid rise of data-based technologies such as Data Science, Big Data, and artificial intelligence. The goal of this paper is to provide a literature review of academic research analyzing the extensive spectrum of industrial informatics. Articles indexed in Scopus with the term “Industrial Informatics” in the title, abstract, or keywords were extracted since the term emerged in the 1990s, over a period of 29 years. The main journals, conferences, authors and countries were studied using bibliometric analysis. Text mining using VosViewer was used to extract the thematic groups of research related to industrial informatics, which are as follows: (i) Internet of Things, (ii) machine learning, (iii) engineering education, (iv) cyber–physical systems, and (v) embedded systems. We also found that China, Germany, and Brazil dominate research in industrial computing. The results showed that research in industrial informatics is related to the emergence of new methods and tools, and is nowadays shifting towards the application of intelligent methods such as machine learning and Big Data.

Efficacy of anti-HER2 drugs in the treatment of patients with HER2-mutated cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (anti-HER2) therapy has shown excellent efficacy in patients with HER2 overexpression and amplification. Although HER2 mutations are rarely expressed in several cancers, when they occur, they can activate the HER2 signaling pathway. In recent years, studies have shown that anti-HER2 drugs have promising efficacy in patients with HER2 mutations. Based on keywords, we searched databases, such as PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and the main conference abstracts. We extracted data on objective response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate (CBR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) from studies on the efficacy of anti-HER2 therapies in patients with HER2-mutated cancers, and analyzed grade 3 or higher adverse events (AEs). We included 19 single-arm clinical studies and 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), containing a total of 1017 patients with HER2 mutations, involving seven drugs and nine cancers, and 18 studies enrolled a high proportion of heavily pretreated patients who had received multiple lines of therapy. Our results showed pooled ORR and CBR of 25.0% (range, 3.8-72.7%; 95% CI, 18-32%) and 36.0% (range, 8.3-63.0%; 95% CI, 31-42%) for anti-HER2 therapy in HER2-mutated cancers. The pooled median PFS, OS, DOR were 4.89 (95% CI, 4.16-5.62), 12.78 (95% CI, 10.24-15.32), and 8.12 (95% CI, 6.48-9.75) months, respectively. In a subgroup analysis, we analyzed the ORR for different cancers, showing 27.0, 25.0, 23.0, and 16.0% for breast, lung, cervical, and biliary tract cancers, respectively. ORR analyses were performed for different drugs as monotherapy or in combination, showing 60.0% for trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), 31.0% for pyrotinib, 26.0% for neratinib combined with trastuzumab, 25.0% for neratinib combined with fulvestrant, 19.0% for trastuzumab combined with pertuzumab, and 16.0% for neratinib. In addition, we found that diarrhoea, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were the most common grade ≥ 3 AEs associated with anti-HER2 therapeutic agents. In this meta-analysis of heavily pretreated patients with HER2 mutations, anti-HER2 therapies, DS-8201 and trastuzumab emtansine, showed promising efficacy and activity. Anti-HER2 therapies showed different efficacies in different or the same cancer settings and all had a tolerable safety profile.

Preface for the Proceedings of the 1st 2022 International Conference on Sustainable Environment, Development, and Energy (CONSER 2022)

The present volume of the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Sciences participates in the 1st 2022 International Conference on Sustainable Environment, Development, and Energy (CONSER 2022) to be held in Sanur, Denpasar City, Bali, Indonesia on December 5 - 6, 2022. The conference with the theme of “Energy and Sustainable Environment” was organized by the Institut Teknologi Nasional Yogyakarta (ITNY), Indonesia and in cooperation with Naresuan University, Thailand and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perak Branch, Malaysia as co-organizers.The CONSER 2022 is the first series of conferences that brings together researchers from all over the world to present and discuss the latest research, contribute to sustainable environment, technology and sustainable development and energy resources, and encourage more research cooperation. The will of the authorities, together with the important role of scientists in creating various opportunities is to strengthen the research culture and downstream research outputs, ultimately solving problems in industry and society.The conference technical program includes five keynote speakers, invited speakers, oral, and poster presentations. Session tracks included Urban Studies and Sustainable Environment, Climate Change and Geosciences, Technology and Development, Material Science and Energy. The conference was attended by over 100 scientists and engineers from 20 countries with diverse backgrounds from academia, government, and industry in Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Oral presentations in hybrid format (offline and online) include 84 full papers, 15 abstracts, and 9 posters. All papers presented formed the core of the conference, focusing on the conference theme and providing many opportunities for discussion, ultimately leading to a sustainable environment and energy. Distinguished plenary speakers from five leading experts presented their outstanding research achievements in various areas of Environment and Sustainable Energy. This public lecture was held on the morning of the first day after the opening ceremony. Presentations cover a wide range of conference topics, from disaster management to new materials for energy. The keynote speeches and progress reports on their research build bridges between different subject areas in energy, climate change, economics, and urban development, and provide insight into new areas for non-experts. In addition to the main conference, awards have been given for the best paper, best presenter, and best poster.Papers for this conference have been selected following a rigorous peer review process. All papers were all reviewed by international and national peer reviewers, and a minimum of three reviewers were required to review each full paper. On this occasion, we would like to thank the organizing committee, authors, reviewers, and volunteers for their professionalism, and for always working hard to make the conference a success. Contributions and presentations also make this event a very exciting forum, adding value to learning, discussion and exchange of ideas, and to all speakers and authors meeting and interacting with old and new people from different countries. We would also like to express our sincerest gratitude to our sponsors: PT. Putra Perkasa Abadi for making this conference so worthwhile. We hope that future CONSER conferences will be as exciting as the last one, where the evidence of contribution shown through these proceedings is very promising.List of Wayan Suparta, Proceeding Editor, Member of Editor, Technical Programme Committee are available in this Pdf.

Distributed Computing Column 86

Overview. In this column, we celebrate the return of the main conferences in our community to in-person meetings by a "traditional" column, covering the presentations at PODC 2022. We note that the column is delayed by one edition, since the 2022 December SIGACT column was exclusively dedicated to the memory of Juris Hartmanis, who passed away in July 2022.

Overcoming Adversity, Embracing Change: Addressing Challenges in Language and Culture in Asia

The notion of adversity is inherently negative, yet it can be a positive force for change. Inspired by this and in relation to the recent pandemic which saw the lives of the global community disrupted and challenged, the 6th International Conference on Linguistics, Literature and Culture (ICLLIC 2022) chose “Overcoming Adversity, Embracing Change” as the main conference theme. This article is an overview of selected articles from the conference that address issues in language and culture in the Asian context, emerging from the pandemic and contemporary social factors such as globalisation, diaspora and modernity. They include examination of innovations, adaptations and new practices in language, literature and culture that demonstrates Asian linguistic and literary dynamism and resilience in embracing change in the face of adversity.

Russian scientific conference “Soils and Environment” dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk, 2–6 October, 2023)

The Conference “Soils and Environment”, dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry (ISSA) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences took place in Novosibirsk on October 2-6, 2023. It was attended by nearly 140 participants from 20 region of Russia, as well as from Kyrgyz Republic. The article briefly describes the presentations, done according the main conference topics such as soil geography, genesis, evolution, classification and mapping; theoretical and applied aspects of soil fertility and productivity of agrocenoses; soil physical properties and regimes; reclamation and restoration of disturbed soils; biogeochemical aspects of soil monitoring and assessment; soils and soil cover under changing climate conditions; spatial and temporal aspects of biological productivity of natural and disturbed ecosystems; and microbiomorphic complexes in modern and paleo soils. School and institute students from various regions of the country also made their presentation during the meeting of a young scientists’ section “Soils in biosphere: connecting the generations”. Many current problems of the development of soil, agrochemistry and ecology research were discussed during the conference. Much attention was devoted to the use of research results to increase the productivity of agricultural land. Special focus was made on the urgent need to improve education and training of the specialists in soil science and agrochemistry. The conference proceedings “Soils and Environment” (2023) are available for interested readers. After Plenary and Section sessions the Conference participants attended the Central Siberian Geological Museum, Soil Museum and Library in ISSA. Many participants took part in the field soil excursion “Chernozems and their agrogenic analogues”. The Conference provided an excellent forum for specialists in different fields to exchange opinions and views, get acquainted with various research approaches in soil science, agrochemistry and ecology in order to apply those approaches to soil use and preservation of soil resources.

Preface

The Geomatics International Conference (GeoICON) is an annual scientific meeting organized by the Department of Geomatics Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, Indonesia since 2016. Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the 7th GeoICON 2022 was held virtually on July 26th, 2022. The conference had a theme of “Geospatial Technology for Mapping the Future: 3D Cadastre Development”. The theme is chosen along with our belief that the geospatial technology will contribute significantly in shaping the future of 3D Cadastre Development. In addition, geospatial technology can be used as a solution in that aspect. The 7th GeoICON 2022 aims to be a forum for sharing the knowledge and experience, and promote ideas between researchers, academicians, government, and professionals in future research of geospatial science and technology.During the conference, speakers of the event come from many backgrounds such as government, industry, and academics. The participants presented their findings in seven main conference topic tracks, i.e. (A) Geodesy and Geomatics, (B) Geology and Geophysics, (C) Spatial Data Infrastructure, (D) Geography and Urban Environment, (E) Agriculture and Forestry, (F) Cadastral Mapping, (G) Marine Environment, as well as discussing potential joint research and collaborations among them.List of GeoICON 2022 Committee is available in this Pdf.

Preface for the Proceedings of the International Conference on Green energy and Technology (GreenTech21)

The first International Conference on Green energy and Technology (GreenTech21) was held on the campus of Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Chennai, India during 26-27 November 2021. The participants from several places had many fruitful discussions and exchanges that contributed to the success of the conference. Participants from different countries made the conference truly international in scope.The 51 abstracts that were presented formed the heart of the conference and provided ample opportunity for discussion. The abstracts were split almost equally between the two main conference areas, i.e., Green Technology and Environment, and Energy development and Utilization. Of the total number of presented abstracts, all are included in this proceedings volume, the first time that abstracts have been published by GreenTech21. On this occasion, 2 distinguished plenary speakers had delivered their outstanding research works in various field of Energy and Environment. These public talks, held on Thursday and Friday mornings, were very accessible to a general audience. These talks covered the full range of the conference topics. The plenary lectures and the progress and special reports bridged the gap between the different fields of Green energy, making it possible for non-experts in a given area to gain insight into new areas. Also, included among the speakers were several young scientists, who brought new perspectives to their fields.Generous support for the conference was provided by the management of SSN, the President’s office, and the Principal. The funds were sizeable, timely, and greatly appreciated, and permitted us to support a significant number of young scientists and persons from developing/disadvantaged countries. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for all of the reviewers who helped us maintain the high quality of manuscripts included in the proceedings published by IOP Conference series: Earth and Environmental Science. We would also like to extend our thanks to the members of the organizing team for their hard work. We are now optimistic and full of hope about getting the proceedings of GreenTech21 covered by Scopus in due course. We appreciate that the authors of GreenTech21 may want to maximize the popularity of their papers. And we will try our best to support them in their endeavours. We expect that these future GreenTech conferences will be as stimulating as this most recent one was, as indicated by the contributions presented in this proceedings volume.List of Convenors, Co-Convenors, Editors, International Advisory Committee and National Advisory Committee are available in this pdf.

The Declaration on Palliative Care in a Pandemic: report of the African Ministers of Health Meeting and the 7th International African Palliative Care Conference, held from the 24th to 26th August 2022 in Kampala, Uganda and virtually.

The 7th International African Palliative Care Conference and the 4th African Ministers of Health Meeting were held in Kampala from the 24th to 26th August 2022. The theme of the conference - Palliative Care in a Pandemic - reflected the reality of palliative care provision on the continent, and the experience of patients and providers over the past 2 years. It was hosted by the African Palliative Care Association and the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance with co-sponsors being the International Children's Palliative Care Network, the International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care, Global Partners in Care and Palliative care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies. The conference was held in Kampala as a hybrid event, with a mix of in-person, pre-recorded and virtual presentations. The African Ministers of Health Meeting held on the 24th August was attended by delegates from 25 Ministries of Health, with 92 participants in-person and 122 attending virtually. Hosted by the Minister of State for Primary Health Care in Uganda, the participants at the meeting endorsed a Declaration on Palliative Care in a Pandemic. The main conference, held on the 25th and 26th August, was attended by 334 delegates from 40 countries, 199 (60%) of whom attended in-person. Key themes discussed throughout the conference included: contagious compassion; building a business case and evidence for palliative care in Africa; palliative care policy, funding and sustainability; the importance of collaboration and global partnerships; palliative care for all ages, children through to the elderly, and all conditions; the need to be innovative and creative, embracing technology; and a feeling of hopefulness in the future of palliative care in the region as we go forward together. The impact of the pandemic has been significant on everyone. Despite this, and the limitations imposed by the pandemic, the African palliative care community has come through it stronger, is committed to continuing the development of palliative care across the region, working together and is hopeful for the future.