National Science Foundation Project Research Articles

Study of Antimony and Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide in Acidic Medium

In recent decades, the high-energy demand has generated interest in renewable energies and has become a more pressing issue for the development of cost-effective and eco-friendly conversion and storage technologies.1 Solar conversion systems are very attractive to address this problem, either in photovoltaic systems or in systems that store solar energy in chemical form ("solar fuels").2-3 However, there are challenges in terms of functionality, such as (1) finding suitable materials for photon absorption and (2) developing materials for the water electrolysis reaction to produce hydrogen as a solar fuel.4 Materials include catalysts and catalyst supports that allow a stable operation of a cell. Sb-doped tin oxide (ATO) has recently been used as an electrocatalyst support under acidic conditions and proposed as an alternative to F-doped tin oxide (FTO). In this talk, we will address our studies in acidic media of the fundamental electrochemistry of ATO to determine the potential window corresponding to the operation of the material in acid solutions. Experimental. The experiments were performed in a 3-electrode cell. A glassy carbon electrode of 0.0706 cm2 surface area was used as working electrode (WE), a graphite rod of 0.618 cm diameter as counter electrode (CE), and an Ag/AgCl as reference electrode (RE). The RE was placed in a double junction, and the electrolyte used was a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution (Ultrex® II Ultrapure Reagent). Electrochemical measurements were made on a CH instruments electrochemical workstation potentiostat (CHI 760D). Open circuit potential (OCP) and cyclic voltammograms (CV) were collected. The electrolyte was deoxygenated with Ar, and an Ar blanket was kept on top of the electrochemical cell surface.Cavaliere and coworkers had synthesized an antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) with microwaves5 and carried out different studies regarding the applications of ATO as support toward proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)6. Our studies of ATO were mainly focused on the electrochemical activity of anodic potentials. Figure 1 shows two oxidation peaks: one at 0.147 V and the other at -0.253 V both vs NHE. We have assigned the peak at 0.147 V to tin dissolution because of the potentials for SnO2 reduction:7 The material exhibits a potential window of more than one volt in acidic media, which we propose corresponds to the thermodynamic stability of ATO. The anodic and cathodic limits, and the effect of Sb doping on the SnO2 material will be discussed in detail in the presentation. Acknowledgment The authors express their gratitude to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the financial support through NSF project CHE-2108462. References Zhao, Y.; Adiyeri Saseendran, D. P.; Huang, C.; Triana, C. A.; Marks, W. R.; Chen, H.; Zhao, H.; Patzke, G. R., Oxygen Evolution/Reduction Reaction Catalysts: From In Situ Monitoring and Reaction Mechanisms to Rational Design. Chemical Reviews 2023.Bordet, A.; Leitner, W., Adaptive Catalytic Systems for Chemical Energy Conversion. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023, 62 (33), e202301956.Bagdanavicius, A., Energy and Exergy Analysis of Renewable Energy Conversion Systems. Energies 2022, 15 (15), 5528.Montoya, J. H.; Seitz, L. C.; Chakthranont, P.; Vojvodic, A.; Jaramillo, T. F.; Nørskov, J. K., Materials for solar fuels and chemicals. Nature Materials 2017, 16 (1), 70-81.Cavaliere, S.; Subianto, S.; Savych, I.; Tillard, M.; Jones, D. J.; Rozière, J., Dopant-Driven Nanostructured Loose-Tube SnO2 Architectures: Alternative Electrocatalyst Supports for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2013, 117 (36), 18298-18307.Dubau, L.; Maillard, F.; Chatenet, M.; Cavaliere, S.; Jiménez-Morales, I.; Mosdale, A.; Mosdale, R., Durability of Alternative Metal Oxide Supports for Application at a Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode—Comparison of Antimony- and Niobium-Doped Tin Oxide. Energies 2020, 13 (2), 403.Bard, A. J. P., R; Jordan, J. , Standard Potentials in Aqueous Solution. 1st edition ed.; CRC Press, 1985: 1985; Vol. Volume 6 of Monographs in Electroanalytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, p 848. Figure 1

Strongly Convergent Homogeneous Approximations to Inhomogeneous Markov Jump Processes and Applications

The study of time-inhomogeneous Markov jump processes is a traditional topic within probability theory that has recently attracted substantial attention in various applications. However, their flexibility also incurs a substantial mathematical burden which is usually circumvented by using well-known generic distributional approximations or simulations. This article provides a novel approximation method that tailors the dynamics of a time-homogeneous Markov jump process to meet those of its time-inhomogeneous counterpart on an increasingly fine Poisson grid. Strong convergence of the processes in terms of the Skorokhod J1 metric is established, and convergence rates are provided. Under traditional regularity assumptions, distributional convergence is established for unconditional proxies, to the same limit. Special attention is devoted to the case where the target process has one absorbing state and the remaining ones transient, for which the absorption times also converge. Some applications are outlined, such as univariate hazard-rate density estimation, ruin probabilities, and multivariate phase-type density evaluation. Funding: M. Bladt and O. Peralta would like to acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation Project 200021_191984. O. Peralta acknowledges financial support from NSF Award #1653354 and AXA Research Fund Award on “Mitigating risk in the wake of the pandemic”.

Transdisciplinary academic-NGO collaborations for the resilience of food, energy, and water: a case study on the INFEWS-ER experience in post-disaster Puerto Rico

The communities of Puerto Rico are highly vulnerable to climate change as the archipelago has experienced a multitude of compounding crises and extreme weather events in recent years. To address these issues, the research, analysis, and design of grand challenge solutions for disaster-prone regions like Puerto Rico can utilize collaborative transdisciplinary efforts. Local non-governmental and community-based organizations have a pivotal role in the reconstruction processes and the building of community and environmental resilience in underserved communities. This paper contributes an empirical case study of an online transdisciplinary collaboration between a group of academics and a Puerto Rican non-governmental organization, Caras con Causa. From participant observation, it includes a document analysis of meeting notes with cohort members who were involved in a collaborative National Science Foundation Project, The INFEWS-ER: A Virtual Resource Center Enabling Graduate Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems, with Caras con Causa between October 2020 and April 2021. Caras con Causa focuses on uplifting Puerto Ricans by creating and administering environmental, educational, economic, and community programs, highlighting disaster relief and resilience to help Puerto Rican food, energy, and water systems. Eight key discussion themes emerged from the document analysis: team organization, collaboration with Caras con Causa, deliverables, team contributions, context understanding, participation outcomes, technology setup, and lessons learned. We analyze each of the emerging themes to explain how academics may use transdisciplinary skill sets in addition to standard disciplinary-based approaches or techniques to enhance the institutional capacity of a non-governmental organization doing community resilience work to benefit local food, energy, and water systems. While the learned lessons in this non-governmental organization-academic collaboration may be context-specific, we provide insights that may be generalizable to collaborations in comparable transdisciplinary settings.

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Curriculum: ITEST Program Impacts on NYC School Student Scientific Identity

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative that involves multiple stakeholder collaborations and is led by Pace University. Within Pace, the initiative crosses over three different schools and colleges and across multiple departments. Pace University’s NSF project of focus in this article is the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. The purpose is to increase student motivation and preparation for pursuing STEM careers. This article presents results of programming to increase student scientific identity. Findings revealed that students in the 11th grade had the highest level of scientific identity compared to other high school grades. These findings indicate that 11th grade may be an ideal timeframe for interventions to improve scientific identity. Moreover, project participants had higher levels of engagement in STEM-related activities, were more likely to watch videos made by scientists, and read articles written by scientists than those in the control group.

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Curriculum: STEM+C Summer Institute Experiential Learning

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration led by Pace University. One of Pace University’s NSF projects is STEM+C (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics plus Computing) designed to work with teachers and students in New York City public schools. This article presents results of a study conducted on the STEM Summer Institute at Pace University in Summer 2022. The purpose was to engage both teachers and students in harbor restoration and experiential learning in New York City including learning about vital ecology projects related to New York’s harbor such as oyster restoration, which is critical to cleaning pollutants in the New York Harbor. Findings revealed that students indicated improved oyster knowledge and restoration skills, scientific skills, collecting and analyzing data, and knowledge about STEM careers. Participating teachers indicated a positive impact on their knowledge of content and harbor restoration, pedagogical knowledge used to engage students in hands-on scientific learning, and methods of engaging and motivating their own students. Moreover, teachers indicated a positive outcome for exposing their students to STEM career options.

Linking Neolithic lakeshore settlements through raw material of siliceous artefacts

This paper presents the results of the provenience analysis of siliceous artefacts from Neolithic lakeshore settlements studied in the scope of the SNSF-project MET (“Mobilities, entanglements and transformations in Neolithic societies on the Swiss Plateau (3900-3500 BCE) supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project No 100011 156205). The aim of this paper is to compare the cultural entanglements as defined by the pottery studies with the regions of origins of the knappable siliceous sedimentary rocks (KSSR) raw materials. The analysed siliceous artefacts were found in cultural layers of wetland settlements in the Northern Alpine Foreland, most of which are dated dendrochronologically with extreme precision. The sources of the raw materials were determined by the identification of the sedimentary microfacies of the siliceous artefacts, which allows the accurate location of the exploited outcrops without destroying the artefacts. This enabled detailed insights into complex entanglements, ties and mobility patterns in the raw material procurement between settlement communities on the Swiss Plateau, southern Germany and eastern France. Furthermore, these results were compared visually with stylistic entanglements in the pottery of the 4th millennium BCE. As a first attempt in this direction, this paper shows the potential of studies on mobility patterns when different find categories are studied in combination regarding their raw materials but also their typology.

Research on the Growth Experience of Presidents and Scientific Research Performance of Top Universities in China

More than half of the presidents in top universities of China have been grown up in their original universities. According to the upper echelon theory, the “indigenization” characteristics of university presidents will have an impact on their cognitive level and thus affect the scientific research performance of universities. Based on data from the National Natural Science Fund Projects and the National Social Science Fund Projects of China from 2007 to 2016, as well as individual characteristics of presidents, this paper empirically investigates the influence of the growth experience of presidents in 115 “Project 211” universities on scientific research performance. The results show that the presidents who grow up from the original universities have a significant negative impact on national fund projects, especially on the national natural science foundation projects. This paper suggest that the reason maybe the insufficient motivation and less access to external resources for native presidents. Some corresponding policy recommendations are proposed for this purpose.

From intent to impact—The decline of broader impacts throughout an NSF project life cycle

Abstract It is important for funding agencies to evaluate if scientists accomplish their research goals. By comparing a representative sample of National Science Foundation abstracts and project outcome reports (PORs) from 2014 to 2017, this article investigates whether scientists attain the broader impacts they propose. We find that the number of broader impacts proposed in the abstracts is significantly higher than the number of broader impacts reported in the PORs. The trend is common across directorates and type of impact, except when impacts serve advantaged groups. Only the number of broader impacts for advantaged groups increases from the abstract to the POR. Despite the difference between proposed impact and reported impact, our study does not conclude that scientists are delinquent or disingenuous when they propose their research. Rather, we question the capacity of current frameworks to capture the quality of impacts and to weigh the relative importance of impacts that serve marginalized groups versus those that sustain the status quo.

Amelioration of acid sulphate soils in Nilwala river basin

Paddy tracts of Nilwala basin has been affected by the implementation of Nilwala Flood Protection and Drainage Project in 1979 due to excessive drainage, and nearly 7000 acres of land is abandoned. The water table goes down to the level of 50 cm below soil surface during dry periods and soil pH falls to 3-4 causing acid sulphate condition. Hitherto several efforts have been made to ameliorate the paddy lands but no any economical solution is obtained. The National Science Foundation project to find out the feasibility of using natural hydraulic forces to increase water table to keep the acid sulphate forming minerals at bay and to cultivate rice in these paddy lands. Water table fluctuation in relation to water level in the drainage channel was studied over one year and there was found a very high correlation (r2=0.985) indicating a possibility of increasing water table by heading up water in the channel. Simulated pot experiment showed that increasing water table to 15 cm below soil surface allows rice to grow effectively, showing plant survival of 112 (53%) compared to 28 (15%) plants in control. Recorded plant height of Bg. 357 variety was 35 cm compared to 22 cm in different treatments and control, respectively. Soil pH also increased to a value closer to 6.0 in the treatment which is conducive for rice cultivation. However, the low values of plant survival and plant heights were due to unusual extreme low rainfall in 2020/21 Maha season compared to 10 years’ average. SAARC J. Agric., 20(2): 211-221 (2022)

Analysis of project funding in occupational Health and Epidemiology of National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2008 to 2019

Objective: To analysis the projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the fields of occupational health (code H2602) and occupational diseases (code H2402) from 2008 to 2019, to provide a reference for the project application of scientific researchers in the field of occupational diseases in China. Methods: In October 2021, the information of all National Natural Science Foundation projects in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases from 2008 to 2019 was collected through LetPub website. It mainly analyzes the types of funded projects, the types of supporting units, the occupational disease hazard factors of the funded projects, the types of occupational injuries and representative research directions. Results: From 2008 to 2019, the National Natural Science Foundation of China funded a total of 282 projects in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases, with a total funding of 113.902 million yuan. Among them, 138 projects (48.94%) were funded, 96 (34.04%) were funded by youth science funds, and 35 projects (12.41%) were funded by regional science funds. 31 (79.93%) funded projects relied on the type of institutions of higher learning, 126 (46.84%) occupational disease hazard factors were chemical factors, and 83 (30.86%) occupational damage types were lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis. Epigenetic regulation is the most important representative research direction of the funded projects. Conclusion: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project funding in the field of occupational health and occupational diseases in China has maintained a stable trend, but there are still problems such as incomplete funding system and late start of some research directions.

SIRPα maintains macrophage homeostasis by interacting with PTK2B kinase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and through autophagy and necroptosis.

SummaryBackgroundTo determine whether SIRPα can be a diagnostic marker of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and the molecular mechanism of SIRPα regulating macrophages to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).MethodsMeta-analysis combined with subsequent qRT-PCR, western-blotting and flow cytometry assay were used to detect SIRPα expression in PTB patients. Cell-based assays were used to explore the regulation of macrophage function by SIRPα. SIRPα−/- and wide type macrophages transplanted C57BL/6J mice were used to determine the function of SIRPα on MTB infection in vivo.FindingsSIRPα levels are closely correlated with the treatment outcomes among PTB patients. Cell-based assay demonstrated that MTB significantly induces the expression of SIRPα on macrophages. SIRPα deficiency enhances the killing ability of macrophages against MTB through processes that involve enhanced autophagy and reduced necroptosis of macrophages. Mechanistically, SIRPα forms a direct interaction with PTK2B through its intracellular C-terminal domain, thus inhibiting PTK2B activation in macrophages. Necroptosis inhibition due to SIRPα deficiency requires PTK2B activity. The transfer of SIRPα-deficient bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) into wild type mice resulted in a drop of bacterial load in the lungs but an enhancement of inflammatory lung damage, and the combination of ulinastatin and SIRPα−/−→WT treatment could decrease the inflammation and maintain the bactericidal capacity.InterpretationOur data define SIRPα a novel biomarker for tuberculosis infection and underlying mechanisms for maintaining macrophage homeostasis.FundingThis work was financially supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation project (No.81401635). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Eliciting national and subnational sets of disability weights in mainland China: Findings from the Chinese disability weight measurement study

SummaryBackgroundThe disability weight (DW) quantifies the severity of health states from disease sequela and is a pivotal parameter for disease burden calculation. We conducted a national and subnational DW measurement in China.MethodsIn 2020–2021, we conducted a web-based survey to assess DWs for 206 health states in 31 Chinese provinces targeting health workers via professional networks. We fielded questions of paired comparison (PC) and population health equivalence (PHE). The PC data were analysed by probit regression analysis, and the regression results were anchored by results from the PHE responses on the DW scale between 0 (no loss of health) and 1 (health loss equivalent to death).FindingsWe used PC responses from 468,541 respondents to estimate DWs of health states. Eight of 11 domains of health had significantly negative coefficients in the regression of the difference between Chinese and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) DWs, suggesting lower DW values for health states with mention of these domains in their lay description. We noted considerable heterogeneity within domains, however. After applying these Chinese DWs to the 2019 GBD estimates for China, total years lived with disability (YLDs) increased by 14·9% to 177 million despite lower estimates for musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The lower estimates of YLDs for these conditions were more than offset by higher estimates of common, low-severity conditions.InterpretationThe differences between the GBD and Chinese DWs suggest that there might be some contextual factors influencing the valuation of health states. While the reduced estimates for mental disorders, alcohol use disorder, and dementia could hint at a culturally different valuation of these conditions in China, the much greater shifts in YLDs from low-severity conditions more likely reflects methodological difficulty to distinguish between health states that vary a little in absolute DW value but a lot in relative terms.FundingThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 82173626], the National Key Research and Development Program of China [grant numbers 2018YFC1315302], Wuhan Medical Research Program of Joint Fund of Hubei Health Committee [grant number WJ2019H304], and Ningxia Natural Science Foundation Project [grant number 2020AAC03436].

RESEARCH ON VULNERABILITY RISK ASSESSMENT OF COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION NETWORK DRIVEN BY MULTI-AGENT EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR

BackgroundIn the increasingly competitive market environment, the high complexity of innovation activities makes enterprises gradually combine with other institutions or groups to form a collaborative innovation network and jointly participate in the completion of innovation activities. Aiming at the vulnerability risk of collaborative innovation network caused by a series of psychological behaviors of each subject under the influence of internal and external environment, a vulnerability risk assessment method of collaborative innovation network based on cloud model is proposed. At the same time, the emotional behavior of multiple subjects is analyzed and studied.Subjects and MethodsFirstly, by systematically combing the existing research results, the influencing factors of collaborative innovation network vulnerability risk are analyzed and identified, and the collaborative innovation network vulnerability risk evaluation index is constructed. Secondly, in order to prevent the weight difference of individual indicators from being too large and reduce the correlation degree between indicators, the anti entropy weight method is used to determine the weight of evaluation indicators. Then, considering the fuzziness and uncertainty of qualitative and quantitative description of evaluation indicators, the comprehensive evaluation method based on cloud model is used to evaluate the vulnerability risk of collaborative innovation network. Finally, taking the vulnerability risk analysis of project product collaborative innovation network of enterprise a as an example, the risk assessment analysis is carried out. The modified Lin Shangping's “innovative network Emotion Scale” and “Minnesota Satisfaction Scale (MSQ)” were used in the study. Using the convenient sampling method, 200 questionnaires were distributed to the empirical objects, and 200 were recovered. The sample structure distribution is that men account for 49.7%, the proportion under the age of 25 (including) is the lowest, accounting for 2.5%, and the proportion over the age of 36 is the highest, accounting for 52.6%. As for the education level, universities (colleges and universities) the proportion is the highest, accounting for 64.0%. In terms of service years, the proportion of 1-3 years is the lowest, accounting for 4.4%, and the proportion of more than 7 years is the highest, accounting for 84.2%. The total correlation coefficient and total reliability of the modified items were analyzed to delete the items without internal consistency in the questionnaire, so as to improve the reliability of the questionnaire and the quality of measurement tools. Regression analysis was used to verify the three hypothesesResultsOur research results show that the collaborative innovation network vulnerability risk of the product is generally at a low level. In order to specifically understand the influencing factors of collaborative innovation network vulnerability risk, the cloud chart analysis of secondary indicators shows that the equity index of benefit distribution and the index of risk prevention mechanism are at medium risk.ConclusionUsing the comprehensive evaluation method of anti entropy weight method and cloud model to analyze the vulnerability risk of collaborative innovation network can help enterprise managers effectively understand the weak links of collaborative innovation network, formulate and implement feasible countermeasures, and provide decision support for the risk management and sustainable operation of collaborative innovation network. Of course, there are still some deficiencies in this study: in the composition of indicators, qualitative indicators are the main indicators; It mainly evaluates and analyzes the indicators, and then considers the correlation between risk indicators and network risk management. Multi-agent collaborative innovation is an important mode to promote enterprise innovation and development and obtain competitive advantage. As an important part of collaborative innovation network, risk management is an important guarantee to avoid risks and carry out collaborative innovation activities smoothly. Therefore, this paper analyzes the vulnerability risk of collaborative innovation network, which helps to enrich the collaborative innovation network and risk management system, improve the efficiency of enterprise product innovation, reduce the risk of collaborative innovation, and maintain the sustainable operation and development of collaborative innovation network.AcknowledgementsThe authors acknowledge the collective support granted by National Natural Science Youth Foundation of China (Grant No 71701027); Chongqing Municipal Education Commission Humanities and Social Sciences Research General Project (Grant No 20SKGH116); Chongqing Natural Science Foundation of the General Project (Grant No cstc2020jcyj-msxmX0562); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project (2018M643456); Chongqing Natural Science Foundation Project (Grant No cstc2020jcyj-msxmX0864) and Chongqing Social Science Planning and Cultivation Project (Grant No 2020PY51).

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Curriculum Impact on Teacher Engagement

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University. The NSF project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), had generated a large amount of data through engagement with teachers and students throughout New York City public schools. This article presents the second part to a large data collection study with focus on Underrepresented Minority (URM) student interest in STEM and engagement with teachers to support them in teaching science through experiential learning and lessons that connect science to the real world, particularly through science in the New York Harbor. The first component of the study focused on URM student interest in STEM. This second component of the study focuses on teacher engagement in the program, and what the researchers had learned in the process. Overall, teachers reported very favorable options on the impact of the BOP-CCERS activities as ways to generate student interest in STEM majors and careers. Teacher participants were generally positive about the amount of support and resources they received as members of the project, as well as the oyster-related knowledge and practices they learned to use with their own students in oyster field research. Data from the study provided evidence that the teacher activities were successful and met the project’s goals to provide support and resources for teachers to engage students in oyster restoration research.

Snakebite epidemiology in humans and domestic animals across the Terai region in Nepal: a multicluster random survey

Each year, 2 million people worldwide are bitten by snakes, resulting in an estimated 81 000-138 000 deaths. WHO has added snakebite envenoming to the list of neglected tropical diseases, highlighting the need for stronger epidemiological evidence in endemic countries, such as Nepal. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in villages randomly geospatially selected from aerial images from across the Nepal's Terai lowlands region (excluding towns and cities). We collected data between Nov 30, 2018 and May 7, 2019, and analysed snakebite incidence rates and outcomes in humans and domestic animals. Among 63 454 human participants living in 13 879 households (249 villages), 166 were bitten by a snake over the previous 12 months; 48·8% were envenomed and 7·8% died. This corresponded to an annual crude incidence rate of 262 snakebites (adjusted incidence of 251·1 [95% CI 201·7-312·6]) and 20 deaths (22·4 [11·9-42·1]) per 100 000 people, extrapolating to 26 749-37 661 yearly bitten people and 2386-3225 deaths. Bitten people had a median age of 30 years (IQR 20-45) and with available data, 64% were female. Children younger than 15 years (n=6; 46%) and females (n=10; 77%) were disproportionately affected among the 13 people who died. The incidence was higher in the Eastern region, and mortality was higher in the Central region. Of 183 949 animals, owners reported 144 snakebites, with an annual incidence rate of 42-202 per 100 000 and mortality of 79-100%, varying by animal type. Spatial and seasonal incidence were similar in humans and in animals. This study provides the first epidemiological estimates of snakebite envenoming in humans and domestic animals across Nepal's Terai lowlands. It was also the first to use a community-based, transdisciplinary, and One Health design. These findings call for a strengthening of preventive measures and better access to life-saving treatments. Swiss National Science Foundation project 315130_176271 (SNAKE-BYTE).

Continuing the Development of Science Communication Skills in Early Career Scientists: Challenges and Rewards During COVID-19.

Continuing the Development of Science Communication Skills in Early Career Scientists: Challenges and Rewards During COVID-19.

Towards precise and accurate calculations of neutrinoless double-beta decay

We present the results of a National Science Foundation Project Scoping Workshop, the purpose of which was to assess the current status of calculations for the nuclear matrix elements governing neutrinoless double-beta decay and determine if more work on them is required. After reviewing important recent progress in the application of effective field theory, lattice quantum chromodynamics, and ab initio nuclear-structure theory to double-beta decay, we discuss the state of the art in nuclear-physics uncertainty quantification and then construct a roadmap for work in all these areas to fully complement the increasingly sensitive experiments in operation and under development. The roadmap includes specific projects in theoretical and computational physics as well as the use of Bayesian methods to quantify both intra- and inter-model uncertainties. The goal of this ambitious program is a set of accurate and precise matrix elements, in all nuclei of interest to experimentalists, delivered together with carefully assessed uncertainties. Such calculations will allow crisp conclusions from the observation or non-observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay, no matter what new physics is at play.

NSF supported socio-environmental research: how do crosscutting programs affect research funding, publication, and citation patterns?

Recognizing the continued human domination of landscapes across the globe, social-ecological systems (SES) research has proliferated, necessitating interdisciplinary collaborations. Although interdisciplinary research started gaining traction in academic settings close to 50 years ago, formal frameworks for SES research did not develop until the late 1990s. The first National Science Foundation (NSF) funding mechanism specifically for interdisciplinary SES research began in 2001 and the SES-specific Coupled Natural Human (CNH) Systems program began in 2007. We used data on funded NSF projects from 2000 to 2015 to examine how SES research was funded, where the research is published, and the scholarly impact of SES research. Despite specific programs for funding SES research within the NSF, this type of research also received funding from non-SES mission programs (e.g., Ecosystem Science constituted 19% of grants in our study, and Hydrology constituted 16% of grants). Although NSF funding for SES research originates from across programs, the majority of products are published in journals with a focus on ecological sciences. Grants funded through the Coupled Natural Human Systems programs were more likely to publish at least one paper that was highly interdisciplinary (Biological Sciences [BE-CNH] constituted 70% of grants in program, and Geosciences [GEO-CNH] constituted 48% of grants) than the traditional disciplinary programs (Ecology [ES], 35% and Hydrology, 27%). This result highlights the utility of these cross-cutting programs in producing and widely disseminating SES research. We found that the number of citations was higher in BE-CNH and ES than other programs, pointing to greater scholarly impact of SES research in these NSF programs. Through our research, we identified the need for institutions to recognize research products and deliverables beyond the “standard” peer-reviewed manuscripts, as SES and interdisciplinary research and unconventional research products (e.g., popular press articles, online StoryMaps, workshops, white papers) continue to grow and are important to the broader societal impact of these types of research programs. This project demonstrates that the outcomes and products of grants awarded through the NSF CNH programs are important to furthering SES research and the programs should be valued and expanded in the future.

Impacts for whom? Assessing inequalities in NSF-funded broader impacts using the Inclusion-Immediacy Criterion

Abstract Broader impacts (BI) policies generate debate on the purpose of science, measuring the impact of research, and is an important topic for the science policy community. However, BI policies often fail to determine if R&D funding helps marginalized communities. This paper introduces a new framework, the Inclusion-Immediacy Criterion, that assesses who benefits from research impacts as divided into three groups: (1) advantaged groups; (2) the general population; and (3) marginalized groups. The study analyzes National Science Foundation (NSF) project outcome reports and finds that advantaged groups are the most likely to benefit from NSF-funded research. The study also shows that certain areas of NSF research, such as Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, more efficiently generate impacts for marginalized groups compared to other directorates. This paper further argues that persistent inequalities in BIs limit the potential of R&D to increase prosperity and well-being, two of NSF’s mandated goals.

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Curriculum Impact on Underrepresented Student Motivation to Pursue STEM Careers

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University. The NSF project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), had generated a large amount of data through engagement with teachers and students throughout New York City public schools. One purpose of this project is to engage with middle and high school science teachers to assist them in using project-based learning and real-world data collection in their classrooms with their students through harbor restoration initiatives. It was found that Underrepresented Minority (URM) students reported having higher levels of interest in STEM and science than did the non-URM students. While this is a success, it was found that the URM students had lower expectations for success in STEM courses and interest in STEM careers. It was concluded that URM students may need additional support in order to build their confidence and help them to become aware of opportunities in STEM education and careers.