Research Institute Research Articles

Objective Determination of Site-of-Lesion in Auditory Neuropathy.

Auditory neuropathy (AN), a complex hearing disorder, presents challenges in diagnosis and management due to limitations of current diagnostic assessment. This study aims to determine whether diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify the site and severity of lesions in individuals with AN. This case-control study included 10 individuals with AN of different etiologies, 7 individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), 5 individuals with cochlear hearing loss, and 37 control participants. Participants were recruited through the University of Melbourne's Neuroaudiology Clinic and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute specialist outpatient clinics. Diffusion-weighted MRI data were collected for all participants and the auditory pathways were evaluated using the fixel-based analysis metric of apparent fiber density. Data on each participant's auditory function were also collected including hearing thresholds, otoacoustic emissions, auditory evoked potentials, and speech-in-noise perceptual ability. Analysis of diffusion-weighted MRI showed abnormal white matter fiber density in distinct locations within the auditory system depending on etiology. Compared with controls, individuals with AN due to perinatal oxygen deprivation showed no white matter abnormalities ( p > 0.05), those with a neurodegenerative conditions known/predicted to cause VIII cranial nerve axonopathy showed significantly lower white matter fiber density in the vestibulocochlear nerve ( p < 0.001), while participants with NF1 showed lower white matter fiber density in the auditory brainstem tracts ( p = 0.003). In addition, auditory behavioral measures of speech perception in noise and gap detection were correlated with fiber density results of the VIII nerve. Diffusion-weighted MRI reveals different patterns of anatomical abnormality within the auditory system depending on etiology. This technique has the potential to guide management recommendations for individuals with peripheral and central auditory pathway abnormality.

Understanding chromoblastomycosis in Sri Lanka; insights into fungal aetiology and antifungal susceptibility patterns

Introduction: Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic disfiguring fungal infection of the subcutaneous tissue found mainly in the socio-economically marginalized population in the tropical and sub-tropical regions, characterized by the presence of sclerotic cells. This study was done with the aim of identifying the antifungal sensitivity patterns of the causative agents of chromoblastomycosis in Sri Lanka from 1992 to 2019.Methodology: Study was done on the stored isolates received from patients with chromoblastomycosis since 1992 to 2019, to the Mycology Reference Laboratory of Medical Research Institute, Colombo. Isolates were revived by subculture on Potato dextrose agar. Identification was done phenotypically. Antifungal sensitivity testing was performed by E test method. Available demographic and clinical data were analysed.Results: Of the 74 isolates, 71 (96%) were caused by Fonsecaea pedrosoi. Mean MIC for the antifungals tested were lowest for posaconazole 0.015 μg/ml followed by itraconazole 0.225 μg/ml, and voriconazole 0.768 μg/ml while amphotericin B demonstrated complete resistance with mean MIC of 30.591 μg/ml. No statistically significant differences were noted on the antifungal sensitivity of the isolates from 1992 to 2004 and 2005 to 2019.Conclusions: Fonsecaea pedrosoi was the commonest causative agent causing chromoblastomycosis in the studied population. Posaconazole demonstrated the lowest MIC values for the tested isolates followed by itraconazole and voriconazole. Amphotericin B demonstrated very high MIC values which were likely to result in clinical failure upon treatment. MIC values demonstrated minimal fluctuations throughout the tested time.

You Work for Us Now: Concentration in University-Performed Defense R&D

ABSTRACT Concentration in university research funded by the Department of Defense (DOD) has been rising in recent years, deviating from the steady levels of concentration in other federally-funded university research. The purpose of this paper is to explain that rise in concentration. When the DOD funds defense-specific R&D projects, there are two priorities affecting bureaucratic incentives: 1) Coordination incentivizes steering research toward specific technological ends, and 2) Security incentivizes actively limiting risks of information leakage. Sole source research center contracts make the necessary coordination and monitoring easier to achieve. As demand for projects that require more coordination and security increases, spending is allocated to sole source research centers leading to increasing concentration. Spending on military research projects awarded to universities such as aircrafts rapidly increased from 2008 to 2020 with much of that spending accruing to DOD-sponsored university research centers. Over that period, the share of obligations awarded to the 16 universities that manage DOD research centers rose from 37 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2020. This paper contributes to our understanding of the conditions under which policy makers choose to deviate from using grants to fund early-stage research and concentrate funding in a select group of performers.

A Channel-Sensing-Based Multipath Multihop Cooperative Transmission Mechanism for UE Aggregation in Asymmetric IoE Scenarios

With the continuous progress and development of technology, the Internet of Everything (IoE) is gradually becoming a research hotspot. More companies and research institutes are focusing on the connectivity and transmission between multiple devices in asymmetric networks, such as V2X, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), environmental monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, and so on. The number of devices and business volume of these applications have rapidly increased in recent years, which will lead to a large load of terminals and affect the transmission efficiency of IoE data transmission. To deal with this issue, it has been proposed to perform data transmission via multipath cooperative transmission with multihop transmission. This approach aims to improve transmission latency, energy consumption, reliability, and throughput. This paper designs a channel-sensing-based cooperative transmission mechanism (CSCTM) with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for user equipment (UE) aggregation mechanism in future asymmetric IoE scenarios, which ensures that IoE devices data can be transmitted quickly and reliably, and supports real-time data processing and analysis. The main contents of this proposed method include strategies of cooperative transmission and redundancy version (RV) determination, a joint combination of decoding process at the receiving side, and a design of transmission priority through ascending offset sort (AOS) algorithm based on channel sensing. In addition, multihop technology is designed for the multipath cooperative transmission strategy, which enables cooperative nodes (CN) to help UE to transmit data. As a result, it can be obtained that CSCTM provides significant advancements in latency and energy consumption for the whole system. It demonstrates improvements in enhanced coverage, improved reliability, and minimized latency.

Use of Hematopoietic Cell Transplant for Hematologic Cancers by Race, Ethnicity, and Age.

Utilization of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for hematologic cancers previously demonstrated race, ethnicity, and age-based disparities. To evaluate utilization over time by race, ethnicity, and age to determine if disparities persist in light of recent significant increases in HCT volume. This US population-based retrospective cohort study includes patients who received transplants from January 2009 to December 2018. Data collection and cleaning occurred from February 2019 to November 2021, and data analysis occurred from January 2022 to October 2023. Method 1 restricted the analysis to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) reporting areas for cases and transplants. Method 2 applied SEER age-, race-, and ethnicity-specific incidence rates to corresponding US census population and included all transplants reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. Race and ethnicity groups were hierarchically defined as Hispanic (any race), non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic Other (Asian and American Indian). Receipt of HCT. Utilization rate of autologous or allogeneic HCT for patients with hematologic cancers by age, race, and ethnicity. From 2009 to 2018, 136 280 HCTs were analyzed for 6 hematologic cancers comprising 16.7% pediatric/adolescent/young adults (0-39 years), 83.3% adults (40-84 years), 58% male, 10.3% Hispanic, 11.4% non-Hispanic Black, 3.8% non-Hispanic Other, and 74.5% non-Hispanic White patients, with 49 385 allogeneic and 86 895 autologous HCTs performed. HCT utilization increased over time for all disease, age, race, and ethnic groups. From 2017 to 2018, adult (40-84 years) allogeneic transplant utilization for acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) was similar for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White or Other patients but was lower for non-Hispanic Black patients (acute myeloid leukemia: 19% vs 13%; MDS: 9%-10% vs 5%). Similarly, autologous transplant utilization for lymphoma was similar for all race and ethnicity groups; however, autologous transplant for multiple myeloma was highest for non-Hispanic White patients and lower for all other groups (31% vs 26%-27%). In patients aged 0 to 39 years, utilization of allogeneic transplant for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was highest in Hispanic patients, followed by non-Hispanic White, Black, and Other races (acute lymphoblastic leukemia: 19%, 18%, 17%, and 16%, respectively). In this cohort study of autologous and allogeneic transplant utilization for hematologic cancers, disparities persisted for non-Hispanic Black patients. Hispanic, non-Hispanic Other, and younger age groups had increased utilization over time that was on par with non-Hispanic White patients in the most recent cohort.

Impact of ante-mortem fluoxetine administration on estimation of post-mortem interval and insect activity in rabbit carcasses

BackgroundIncreasing the number of drug-related deaths has affected medico-legal death investigations. Drugs within a corpse have a great impact on the insects’ development rate which in turn will affect the rate of post-mortem decomposition and the estimation of the post-mortem interval. This explains the importance of the application of forensic entomotoxicology, which studies the impact of drugs and toxins on the development and succession patterns of insects. The current study aimed to determine the impact of fluoxetine, one of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), on post-mortem decomposition, insects’ attraction, and its pattern of succession on carcasses. Sixteen healthy male and female Oryctolagus cuniculus rabbits were chosen to be included in this study. They were divided into a treated group of eight rabbits received oral fluoxetine for 28 days and a control group of eight rabbits received oral distilled water for 28 days. After oral administration of 10 mg/kg/day of fluoxetine and distilled water for 28 days, rabbits were sacrificed, and carcasses were transmitted to the roof of Research and Training Centre on Vectors of Diseases at faculty of Sciences, Ain Shams University, for following up the post-mortem decomposition process and insect’s attraction to carcasses for 60 days. Carcasses were put in two outdoor sites that differ in temperature to assess the effect of temperature on decomposition process.ResultsFluoxetine administration has accelerated the rate of post-mortem decomposition in the treated carcasses by 3–9 days compared to the control ones and affected the numbers and species of attracted insects, while it had no effect on the insects’ succession patterns. Exposure of carcasses to direct sunlight has accelerated the rate of decomposition in comparison to that of carcasses put in shade in the overall period of decomposition by about 14 to 16 days.ConclusionsFluoxetine has an important and effective role in post-mortem decomposition and estimation of post-mortem interval (PMI) and has a great impact on attracted insects to the treated carcasses. Temperature has a great effect on the rate of decomposition of carcasses. Higher temperature accelerates the rate of post-mortem decomposition.

Deep-neural-network model for predicting ground motion parameters using earthquake horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios

This study proposed a deep-neural-network (DNN) model for seismic ground motion prediction by utilizing a unified strong motion database by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, and earthquake horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (EHVR) database in Japan. The model aims to enhance the accuracy of predictions by incorporating the EHVRs for complementing site effects, and utilizing existing ground motion prediction equations (GMPE) as the base model for source and propagation path effects. The hybrid approach enables the prediction of peak ground accelerations (PGAs), peak ground velocities (PGVs), and 5% damped absolute acceleration response spectra (SAs). After classifying the training and test sets from the database, the trained DNN models were applied on the test set to evaluate the performance of the predicted results. The accuracy assessment by the residuals, R-squared ( R2), and root mean square error (RMSE) between the predicted and observed values in the test set revealed the superior performance of the proposed model compared with the traditional GMPE with proxy-based site effects such as V S30s especially in predicting both the spectral amplitude and shape of SAs.

Oral healthcare beliefs among home care services personnel; a cross-sectional study in south-eastern Norway

BackgroundThere is little knowledge about home care services personnel competencies and beliefs concerning oral healthcare for home-dwelling, dependent older adults. This study aims to map oral healthcare beliefs among home care services personnel, and have the following question: How do the education level, years of work experience and training in oral health have impact on home care services personnel oral healthcare beliefs?MethodsA cross-sectional study among home care services personnel working with older people receiving home care services was conducted across four municipalities in south-eastern Norway. The questionnaire consisted of background information (gender, education level, years of work experience, training in oral healthcare, employment status) and the nursing Dental Coping Beliefs scale. Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data.ResultsTwo hundred and sixty-two homecare services personnel responded to the questionnaire, 16.5% males and 83.5% females; 40.5% had had training in oral healthcare. Home care services personnel believed that gum diseases and cavities can be prevented by dental flossing (61.4%) and toothbrushing (98.4%). 59% disagreed that preventing sickness and medicines from destroying teeth is impossible. However, the majority of the home care services personnel were uncertain about how oral mucosal disorders can be treated. Having more than three years of higher education was positively associated with being in higher quartiles of oral healthcare beliefs, and external locus of control, and having training in oral healthcare was positively associated with being in the lower quartiles of internal locus of control and self-efficacy dimensions. Males were more likely to be in the lower quartile of oral healthcare beliefs, which wasn’t positive.ConclusionIn the population studied, the home care services personnel beliefs about oral healthcare improved with an increasing level of education and having had training in oral healthcare. This suggests that home care services personnel need more education and training in oral healthcare.

Identification of sodicity-tolerant banana varieties to harness the salt-affected ecosystem

"Salt Affected Soils" (SAS) refers to a category of soils that contain either an excess of soluble salts or exchangeable sodium. Soils are divided into four categories: normal, saline, sodic, and saline-sodic, based on the electrical conductivity (EC), pH and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) measurements. At the Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women in Trichy, fifteen genotypes of bananas were assessed for growth, yield, and physiological parameters in a saline-sodic environment. Four replications of the field experiment were set up in RBD and evaluated for three years. The growth physiological and biochemical characters were recorded in the seventh month after planting (MAP), and the bunch characters were recorded at harvest time. FHIA 1 (83.4%), Saba (81.0%) and Karpooravalli (78.0%) had the highest relative water content. The highest yield was recorded in FHIA-1 (23.5 kg), Saba (22.2 kg), Udhayam (22.5 kg) and Karpooravalli (22.0 kg). The sodicity injury symptoms in the leaves were evaluated using a scoring technique, and the genotypes FHIA-1(1.0) Saba recorded the lowest score for sodicity damage. A significant negative correlation was observed between salt injury degree and leaf K+/Na+. So, the varieties that maintain higher K+/Na+ ratio in leaf and root are salt tolerant. The general ranking of the banana varieties for salt tolerance was FHIA 1 &gt; Saba &gt; Karpooravalli &gt; Bangrier &gt; Ash Monthan &gt; Veneetu Mannan &gt; Udhayam. A comparative field trial for the 15 banana types showed that Saba, FHIA-1 and Karpooravalli could withstand sodic conditions in the field in terms of bunch characteristics, biochemical parameters, and plant growth. Grand Naine, Rasthali and CO 1 were vulnerable to sodicity stress. Regardless of cultivar, sodicity stress increased the days needed for shooting and harvest.

Promoting health information system in guiding decisions for improving performance: an intervention study at the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Giza, Egypt

ObjectivesThis study aims to design and test a platform of key performance indicators (KPIs) and indices emphasizing achievements and improvement and helping decision-making.MethodsAn operations research study was designed to analyze data from the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) from July 2017 to June 2018 at the Research Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), Giza, Egypt. The HMIS data were submitted to reform covering parameters in service delivery and corresponding indicators and indices. Data were grouped into four themes: human resources and outpatient, inpatient, and surgical operations. A total of 14 performance indicators were deployed to four specific indices and total performance indices and applied to six teams of ophthalmologists at RIO. The decision matrices were deliberated to demonstrate achievements and provide recommendations for subsequent improvements.ResultsThroughout 1 year, six teams of ophthalmologists (n = 222) at RIO provided the following services: outpatient (n = 116,043), inpatient (n = 8,081), and surgical operations (n = 9,174). Teams 2, 1, and 6 were the top teams in the total performance index. Team 4 had plunges in the outpatient index, and Team 5 faced limitations in the inpatient index.ConclusionThe study provided a model for upgrading the performance of the management information system (MIS) in health organizations. The KPIs and indices were used not only for documenting successful models of efficient service delivery but also as examples of limitations for further support and interventions.

Quality of Life With and Without Using Smart Phone Among Visually Impaired People

Background and Objectives: The quality of life (QoL) of blind people is affected by various variables, including age, sex, level of education, severity of low vision, use of applications and software, etc. This research aims to compare the QoL of people with low vision who use and do not use low-vision applications on smartphones. Methods: The statistical population included all patients with low vision who were referred to low vision research centers and other institutions active in the field of blindness and low vision in Tehran City, Iran. The sample size of this study was 43 people using the conviniece sampling method and Cochran’s formula, which was considered to be 90 people due to the existence of two groups for comparison. The research data collection tool was Hakimzadeh Yazdi’s QoL questionnaire (2022). Two-way one-variable analysis of variance and SPSS software, version 21 were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that people with low vision who use low-vision applications have a higher QoL compared to people with low-vision who do not use low-vision applications (P&lt;0.05). Also, the effect of demographic variables on the QoL of low-vision patients using and not using applications was presented (P&lt;0.05). Age and gender had no significant effect on QoL. Conclusion: Considering the impact of applications in facilitating the daily affairs of low vision patients, it is recommended to use it in treatment and educational programs in hospitals and even in the family.

Possibility of exon skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in Russian patients: present and future

Background. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children, that occurs between one and three years of age. DMD is caused by pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in the DMD gene, which lead to a deficit of various isoforms of the dystrophin protein, the main protein of the muscle cytoskeleton. Drugs aimed at slowing the progression of the disease are being actively developed around the world. One of the perspective approaches to pathogenetic therapy is therapy using exon skipping. As a result of this treatment, the reading frame is restored due to the exon skipping enabling the production of truncated dystrophin.Aim. To evaluate the applicability of exon skipping therapy in Russian patients with DMD.Materials and methods. The applicability of therapy aimed at exon skipping was analyzed for a sample of 1519 patients admitted to the laboratory of DNA diagnostics of the Research Centre for Medical Genetics with a referral diagnosis of Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy from October 1, 2018 to September 1, 2023.Results. As a result of the study and analysis of the spectrum of mutations in the DMD gene among patients with DMD in the Russian Federation, the theoretical applicability of exon skipping therapy was assessed: for 29.3 % of patients this approach to treatment is applicable. The proportions of patients for whom existing exon skipping therapies are available were also estimated. In total, skipping of frequent exons 51, 53, 45 is applicable for 14.6 % of patients. Conclusion. One of the effective and accessible types of therapy for DMD is exon skipping. This type of therapy is mutation-specific. In this regard, the assessment of applicability will allow us to estimate the proportion of patients for whom a particular exon skipping will be available.

Metabolic Phenotyping from Whole-Blood Responses to a Standardized Exercise Test May Discriminate for Physiological, Performance, and Illness Outcomes: A Pilot Study in Highly-Trained Cross-Country Skiers

BackgroundThis study used metabolic phenotyping to explore the responses of highly-trained cross-country skiers to a standardized exercise test, which was part of the athletes’ routine testing, and determine whether metabolic phenotyping could discriminate specific physiological, performance, and illness characteristics.MethodsTwenty-three highly-trained cross-country skiers (10 women and 13 men) participated in this study. Capillary whole-blood samples were collected before (at rest) and 2.5 min after (post-exercise) a roller-ski treadmill test consisting of 5–6 × 4-min submaximal stages followed by a self-paced time trial (~ 3 min) and analyzed using mass spectrometry. Performance level was defined by International Ski Federation distance and sprint rankings. Illness data were collected prospectively for 33 weeks using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analyses (OPLS-DA) followed by enrichment analyses were used to identify metabolic phenotypes of athlete groups with specific physiological, performance, and illness characteristics.ResultsBlood metabolite phenotypes were significantly different after the standardized exercise test compared to rest for metabolites involved in energy, purine, and nucleotide metabolism (all OPLS-DA p < 0.001). Acute changes in the metabolic phenotype from rest to post-exercise could discriminate athletes with: (1) higher vs. lower peak blood lactate concentrations; (2) superior vs. inferior performance levels in sprint skiing, and (3) ≥ 2 vs. ≤ 1 self-reported illness episodes in the 33-week study period (all p < 0.05). The most important metabolites contributing to the distinction of groups according to (1) post-exercise blood lactate concentrations, (2) sprint performance, and (3) illness frequency were: (1) inosine, hypoxanthine, and deoxycholic acid, (2) sorbitol, adenosine monophosphate, and 2-hydroxyleuroylcarnitine, and (3) glucose-6-phosphate, squalene, and deoxycholic acid, respectively.ConclusionMetabolic phenotyping discriminated between athlete groups with higher vs. lower post-exercise blood lactate concentrations, superior vs. inferior sprint skiing performance, and more vs. less self-reported illnesses. While the biological relevance of the identified biomarkers requires validation in future research, metabolic phenotyping shows promise as a tool for routine monitoring of highly-trained endurance athletes.

Building capacity in institutional research: collaboration and complementarity?

AbstractInstitutional Research associations across the world are re-imagining and redesigning their professional development and capacity building activities. This paper outlines the professional development activities of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) in the United States (est. 1966), the European Association for Institutional Research (EAIR) (est. 1978), the Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR) (est. 1994) and the United Kingdom and Ireland Higher Education Institutional Research Network (HEIR) (est. 2008) and argues that a more sophisticated approach to IR is needed, informed by systems thinking, aimed at proactive engagement with policy-makers and managers, organisational learning, direct links to institutional strategy (‘a seat at the table’), and the analysis and use of larger volumes of data.

Facilitating the voices of people with disabilities in disaster research: a case study of participatory timeline methodologies in Sindhupalchok Nepal

PurposeThere has been increasing advocacy for the inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster research and practice yet there are limited empirical examples that give voice to people with disabilities and their expereinces by consulting them directly. Conceptulising new methods that frame the role of people with disabilties as co-producers are essential for improving the representation of people with disabilties in the context of disaster research and beyond. The paper discusses how to facilitate disability inclusive research and introduces a participatory timeline tool that was co-produced by people with physical disabilities in Sindhupalchok, Nepal.Design/methodology/approachThe participatory timeline activity utilised 3D printed counters to explore the experiences of people with disabilities during disaster events and their recovery processes, in this case, the 2015 Ghorka earthquake and the 2021 Melamchi Flood. The paper reflects on how to foster disability-inclusive environments by placing agency and ownership by people with disabilities at the centre of research practice.FindingsThis approach created an atmosphere of collaboration and supported co-researchers to reveal their experiences and knowledge on their own terms. The counter tool introduced could be adapted for different research inquiries and used alongside other methods which seek to facilitate the voices of people with disabilities.Originality/valueThe research paper adds to the limited body of litreature on how to conduct participatory research with people with disabilities in disaster contexts and more widely within Majority world contexts.

The Electrochemistry of Nitro Compounds from a Bibliometric Approach

Abstract The heterocyclic and aromatic nitro compounds are industrially and commercially important chemicals, used in drugs, explosives, pesticides, and dyes. Despite their economic importance, the advent of these chemicals also brought serious human health and environmental problems due to their toxic characteristics as contaminants and pollutants. The nitro group is catalyzed in vivo by nitroreductases promoting a six-electron reduction to form sequentially the nitro radical anion, nitroso-, N-hydroxylamino and amino-functional groups. These reactions can be electrochemically reproduced, involving the development of analytical methods and electrochemical sensors, degradation and removal of organic compounds in effluents, corrosion studies, and studies of action mechanism of drugs on DNA bases. In this sense, a bibliometric analysis has been performed based on the Web of Science Core Collection in conjunction with VOSviewer software for generating network visualizations. This research covered the database until 2023, describing the main research areas and the annual publication trends, the collaborations and contributions among countries and research institutions, in addition to identifying the most cited articles, hotspots, and the analysis of evolution and relevance of keywords. This investigation made it possible to recognize the main research focuses and what is under development, providing a comprehensive overview on electrochemistry of nitro compounds.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico: A Call to Action.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is an ongoing public health crisis in Mexico, particularly in states bordering the United States. The national highest incidence and mortality of RMSF occur in this region, resulting in a case-fatality rate that ranges annually between 10% and 50%, primarily affecting vulnerable groups such as children, elderly adults, and persons living in poverty. Multiple biological, environmental, and social determinants can explain its growing presence throughout the country and how it challenges the health system and society. It is necessary to integrate resources and capacities from health authorities, research centers, and society to succeed in dealing with this problem. Through a scientific symposium, a group of academicians, U.S. health officials, and Mexican health authorities met on November 8-10, 2023, in Hermosillo, Mexico, to discuss the current situation of RMSF across the country and the challenges associated with its occurrence. An urgent call for action to improve national capacity against RMSF in the aspects of epidemiological and acarological surveillance, diagnosis, medical care, case and outbreak prevention, health promotion, and research was urged by the experts. The One Health approach is a proven multidisciplinary strategy to integrate policies and interventions to mitigate and prevent the burden of cases, deaths, and suffering caused by RMSF in Mexico.

Role, function, and expectations of research funding committees: Perspectives from committee members

Research funding committees play an integral role in the research funding process, consisting of a range of skills, knowledge, and expertise (e.g., professional, and public contributors). Although there is some evidence that has explored the efficiency and effectiveness of funding committees in terms of the funding process, there is a lack of published evidence about the purpose, role, and function of funding committees, from the perspective of committee members. A subset of survey data from a cohort of six National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) research programmes, exploring the purpose of a funding committee, and the expectations and role of a funding committee member between October 2020 to December 2021. All committee members were eligible to participate in the survey. Using an inductive approach, 50 completed responses (22.5% response rate) were analysed, focusing on the role of a funding committee member and the functions of a funding committee. Participants highlighted seven key areas for the purpose of a funding committee: prioritising and recommending what research to fund (n=36) and assessment of quality (n=24) being the most common responses. Four areas were considered important to the expectations and role of funding committee members, with reviewing, critically appraising, and discussing applications (n=44); and being fair, objective, and unbiased (n=27) being the most common responses. The findings offer a unique insight into committee members’ expectations about the role, purpose and function of a funding committee and their contribution to the funding recommendation process. There was high agreement that the purpose and role of committees and their members was to offer expert advice to make fair, impartial decisions on which research should be prioritised. Exploring the purpose, role, and function of funding committees has relevance and importance for funding organisations seeking to enhance and optimise the decision-making practice of funding committees.

Quantitative proteomics of patient fibroblasts reveal biomarkers and diagnostic signatures of mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondrial diseases belong to the group of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM), with a prevalence of 1:2,000-1:5,000. They are the most common form of IEM, but despite advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, almost half of the patients are left genetically undiagnosed. We investigated a cohort of 61 patients with defined mitochondrial disease to improve diagnostics, identify biomarkers, and correlate metabolic pathways to specific disease groups. Clinical presentations were structured using human phenotype ontology terms, and mass spectrometry-based proteomics was performed on primary fibroblasts. Additionally, we integrated six patients carrying variants of uncertain significance (VUS) to test proteomics as a diagnostic expansion. Proteomic profiles from patient samples could be classified according to their biochemical and genetic characteristics, with the expression of five proteins (GPX4, MORF4L1, MOXD1, MSRA and TMED9) correlating with the disease cohort, and thus, acting as putative biomarkers. Pathway analysis showed a deregulation of inflammatory and mitochondrial stress responses. This included the upregulation of glycosphingolipid metabolism and mitochondrial protein import, as well as the downregulation of arachidonic acid metabolism. Furthermore, we could assign pathogenicity to a VUS in MRPS23 by demonstrating the loss of associated mitochondrial ribosome subunits. We established mass spectrometry-based proteomics on patient fibroblasts as a viable and versatile tool for diagnosing patients with mitochondrial disease. The NovoNordisk Foundation, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, UK Medical Research Council, and the UK NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders of Adults and Children.

Growth and Development Stages of Four Japanese Persimmon Varieties in North Florida

Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) are a good source of vitamins A and C and dietary fiber, while also being low in calories and fat. These fruits are popular in many Asian cuisines and are enjoyed in various ways, including fresh, dried, or cooked in multiple value-added products. This publication will provide information on persimmon phenological growth stages of four established varieties grown at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, Florida. The nine major persimmon growth stages are divided into two categories: vegetative and reproductive stages. This publication provides illustrative figures for each development stage. Accurate identification of phenological stages is important for making informed decisions on plant care, fertilizer, irrigation, and fruit harvesting. This information will be helpful to students, growers, homeowners, nursery workers, and Extension agents interested in growing persimmons in Florida.