Research Funding Research Articles

Research Output in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine from Afghanistan from 1996 to 2022

Despite the large land area and substantial population, the volume and impact of biomedical research from Afghanistan is limited compared to other countries due to factors such as ongoing conflict, limited resources, and brain drain. We studied the research output in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine from Afghanistan from 1996 to 2022, using the Scopus data from the SCImago website. Afghanistan has published 17 papers, out of a total of 9872 papers from eight South Asian countries, with a share of only 0.17%, from 1996 to 2022. Afghanistan is only ranked higher than Bhutan and Maldives among South Asian countries, and its ranking among all the Asian countries is 21. There has not been a significant volume of orthopaedic research arising from Afghanistan. However, orthopaedic issues such as trauma-related injuries, congenital disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions are widely prevalent in Afghanistan. Biomedical research in Afghanistan faces various challenges, including limited funding, inadequate infrastructure, lack of trained personnel, political instability, and security concerns. However, opportunities for improvement exist through investment in infrastructure, training of healthcare workers, and expansion of healthcare coverage. Furthermore, enhanced research funding and collaboration are crucial to boost the research output. Addressing these challenges and seizing these opportunities is essential to ensuring access to quality healthcare for all Afghan citizens. Efforts to strengthen the healthcare system must be sustained and coordinated to achieve lasting improvements in health outcomes across the country.

Systematic review of rural interventions addressing barriers and facilitators in recruitment and adherence of oncology clinical trials.

e13675 Background: Rural patients are significantly underrepresented in cancer clinical trials leading to an inequitable distribution of research funding and excluding rural patients from innovative care. Properly understanding the barriers and facilitators to rural patient participation in cancer clinical trials is essential to lessen this disparity in representation. Methods: EBSCO Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane and PsycInfo were systematically searched for articles related to the primary research objective. The search strategies focused on a combination of keywords pertaining to “rural populations”, “cancer”, and “clinical trials”. Additional search terms included the presence of “barriers” or “facilitators” within the articles. Articles were removed from the study if they were not written in English, were conducted outside the U.S., focused on pediatric populations, or lacked original data. Results: A systematic review of the literature reveals that barriers and facilitators to cancer clinical trial participation by rural populations are present at the patient, physician, and healthcare system levels. Notable barriers found in this review include the burden of travel, lack of patient knowledge about clinical trial participation, insufficient provider communication and awareness of current trials, and strict eligibility criteria. Promising facilitators include caregiver support, close physician support and contact, and programs to increase patient understanding of clinical trials. Potential future interventions include telemedicine, expanding monetary support for clinical trial transportation, utilizing RUCA codes to document disparities and elucidate further interventions, and cultivating stronger partnerships between industry and rural medical facilities, as well as between the NCI, academic institutions, and rural medical facilities. Conclusions: There is a significant and urgent need to strengthen this body of literature as is underscored by the apparent lack of cancer clinical trials in rural counties, specifically in the state of Texas (CPRIT). It is evident that barriers need to be further elucidated to ascertain why rural patients have less participation in clinical trials, and facilitators need to be further explored in order to sufficiently illustrate and thus effectively harness the power of facilitators in the pursuit of lessening disparities and improving cancer outcomes for rural patients.

Parent Intention to Participate in an Online Intervention to Enhance Health Behavior Change Among Youth Treated with Psychotropic Medication Who are Overweight or Obese: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Youth with mental health disorders (MHD), particularly those who take psychotropic medications, are at increased risk of being overweight or obese (OW/OB) when compared to typical youth. Parents are important resources for interventions addressing OW/OB. However, parents of youth with MHD may face challenges that require interventions designed to address their needs. Prior to investing research funding in the development of interventions for this group, research is needed to understand factors associated with parents' decisions to enroll in these programs. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) provided a framework for examining parents' salient beliefs, direct attitudes, and intention to enroll in a hypothetical online healthy lifestyle intervention for their youth (ages 11-17) with OW/OB and treated with psychotropic medication. Parents who were enrolled in the study (n = 84) completed demographic questionnaires and a TPB questionnaire which was constructed for this study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the direct attitude (i.e., attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) questions generally supported the three-factor model (i.e., RMSEA = .07, 90% CI .03-.11, p = .18; CFI = .96, SRMR = .06). Results from a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that direct attitudes predicted parent intention to participate in an online healthy lifestyle intervention for this sample of youth accounting for 84% of variance. In this preliminary study, the TPB appears to be a promising framework for understanding direct attitudes associated with parent intentions toward intervention participation in this population of youth. Interventions for parents of youth with OW/OB who are prescribed psychotropic medication should consider addressing these direct attitudes to improve intention.

Efficacy and safety of the vebreltinib in patients with previously treated, secondary glioblastoma/IDH mutant glioblastoma with PTPRZ1-METFUsion GENe (FUGEN): A randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase II/III trial.

2003 Background: Although gliomas with mutated IDH have an improved prognosis compared to gliomas with wild-type IDH, IDH-mutant gliomas carry a high risk of malignant transformation from low-grade gliomas into high-grade gliomas within 10 years, resulting in poor prognosis. However, effective targeted drugs for high-grade gliomas are still lacking. Here, we report data from the FUGEN study of Vebreltinib, the first completed phase II/III trial of sGBM / IDH mutant glioblastoma patients with previously treated, PTPRZ1-MET Fusion gene positive. Methods: In this open-label, phase II/III trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, 84 patients with Histologically confirmed secondary GBM or IDH-mutant GBM to receive twice-daily oral vebreltinib in 300 mg dose or the investigator's choice of chemotherapy (temozolomide [100-150 mg/m2/day, 7days on followed by 7 days off ] or cis-platinum [80-100 mg/m2 for 3 days] combined with etoposide [100mg/m2/day for 3 days]) every 28 days. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR). Results: 42 patients of the vebreltinib group and 39 patients of the chemotherapy group were included in the full analysis set. After a median follow-up of 4.44 months, the median OS in the vebreltinib group and chemotherapy group was 6.31 months (95% CI, 4.44-8.77) and 3.38 months (95% CI, 2.37-4.27), respectively. The HR for OS was 0.52 (90% CI, 0.32-0.85; P = 0.009). The median PFS in the vebreltinib group and chemotherapy group was 1.87 months (95% CI, 1.41-2.76) and 1.05 months (95% CI, 0.95-1.77), respectively. The HR for PFS was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.33-0.88; P = 0.014). No significant differences were observed in ORR (9.5% vs. 2.6%) for the vebreltinib group and chemotherapy group. Treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 were reported in 7% of the patients in the vebreltinib group, as compared with 12.2% of those in the chemotherapy group. No treatment-related deaths were observed. Conclusions: These results of the FUGEN trail support the use of vebreltinib as the first target therapy in patients with previously treated, PTPRZ1-MET fusion gene positive, secondary glioblastoma / IDH-mutant glioblastoma, and shed light on a novel therapeutic pathway in the landscape of IDH-mutant high-grade gliomas. Clinical Trials Information: NCT06105619 and ChiCTR2300077783 Research Funding:Beijing Pearl Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Avistone Biotechnology Limited. Clinical trial information: NCT06105619 .

Factors associated with medical consumable availability in level 1 facilities in Malawi: a secondary analysis of a facility census.

Medical consumable stock-outs negatively affect health outcomes not only by impeding or delaying the effective delivery of services but also by discouraging patients from seeking care. Consequently, supply chain strengthening is being adopted as a key component of national health strategies. However, evidence on the factors associated with increased consumable availability is limited. In this study, we used the 2018-19 Harmonised Health Facility Assessment data from Malawi to identify the factors associated with the availability of consumables in level 1 facilities, ie, rural hospitals or health centres with a small number of beds and a sparsely equipped operating room for minor procedures. We estimate a multilevel logistic regression model with a binary outcome variable representing consumable availability (of 130 consumables across 940 facilities) and explanatory variables chosen based on current evidence. Further subgroup analyses are carried out to assess the presence of effect modification by level of care, facility ownership, and a categorisation of consumables by public health or disease programme, Malawi's Essential Medicine List classification, whether the consumable is a drug or not, and level of average national availability. Our results suggest that the following characteristics had a positive association with consumable availability-level 1b facilities or community hospitals had 64% (odds ratio [OR] 1·64, 95% CI 1·37-1·97) higher odds of consumable availability than level 1a facilities or health centres, Christian Health Association of Malawi and private-for-profit ownership had 63% (1·63, 1·40-1·89) and 49% (1·49, 1·24-1·80) higher odds respectively than government-owned facilities, the availability of a computer had 46% (1·46, 1·32-1·62) higher odds than in its absence, pharmacists managing drug orders had 85% (1·85, 1·40-2·44) higher odds than a drug store clerk, proximity to the corresponding regional administrative office (facilities greater than 75 km away had 21% lower odds [0·79, 0·63-0·98] than facilities within 10 km of the district health office), and having three drug order fulfilments in the 3 months before the survey had 14% (1·14, 1·02-1·27) higher odds than one fulfilment in 3 months. Further, consumables categorised as vital in Malawi's Essential Medicine List performed considerably better with 235% (OR 3·35, 95% CI 1·60-7·05) higher odds than other essential or non-essential consumables and drugs performed worse with 79% (0·21, 0·08-0·51) lower odds than other medical consumables in terms of availability across facilities. Our results provide evidence on the areas of intervention with potential to improve consumable availability. Further exploration of the health and resource consequences of the strategies discussed will be useful in guiding investments into supply chain strengthening. UK Research and Innovation as part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (Thanzi La Onse; reference MR/P028004/1), the Wellcome Trust (Thanzi La Mawa; reference 223120/Z/21/Z), the UK Medical Research Council, the UK Department for International Development, and the EU (reference MR/R015600/1).

Precision medicine in Asia enhanced by next-generation sequencing: Implications for Thailand through a scoping review and interview study.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) significantly enhances precision medicine (PM) by offering personalized approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of unmet medical needs. Little is known about the current situation of PM in Asia. Thus, we aimed to conduct an overview of the progress and gaps in PM in Asia and enrich it with in-depth insight into the possibilities of future PM in Thailand. This scoping review focused on Asian countries starting with non-cancer studies, including rare and undiagnosed diseases (RUDs), non-communicable diseases (NCDs), infectious diseases (IDs), and pharmacogenomics, with a focus on NGS. Subsequent in-depth interviews with experts in Thailand were performed, and a thematic analysis served as the main qualitative methodology. Out of 2898 searched articles, 387 studies were included after the review. Although most of the studies focused on cancer, 89 (23.0%) studies were related to RUDs (17.1%), NCDs (2.8%), IDs (1.8%), and pharmacogenomics (1.3%). Apart from medicine and related sciences, the studies were mostly composed of PM (61.8%), followed by genetics medicine and bioinformatics. Interestingly, 28% of articles were conducted exclusively within the fields of medicine and related sciences, emphasizing interdisciplinary integration. The experts emphasized the need for sustainability-driven political will, nurturing collaboration, reinforcing computational infrastructure, and expanding the bioinformatic workforce. In Asia, developments of NGS have made remarkable progress in PM. Thailand has extended PM beyond cancer and focused on clinical implementation. We summarized the PM challenges, including equity and efficiency targeting, guided research funding, sufficient sample size, integrated collaboration, computational infrastructure, and sufficient trained human resources.

Depicting oncologists' perceptions and knowledge of global disparities in conflicts of interest reporting: The ONCOTRUST-1 study.

9002 Background: Conflicts of interest (COI) between oncologists and the pharmaceutical industry might considerably influence how the presentation of the research results is delivered, impacting treatment decisions, and policy-making.While there are regulations on reporting COI in high-income countries (HICs), little is known about their reporting in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).ONCOlogy TRansparency Under Scrutiny and Tracking (ONCOTRUST-1) is a pilot global survey to explore the knowledge and perceptions of oncologists regarding COI. Methods: We designed an online 27-question-based survey in English language to explore the perceptions and knowledge of oncologists regarding COI, with an emphasis on LMICs.Illustrative examples of COI were proposed, based on definitions from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and published literature. Descriptive statistics and the CROSS guidelines were used to report the findings. Results: ONCOTRUST-1 surveyed 200 oncologists, 70.9% of them practicing in LMICs. Median age of the respondents was 36 (range: 26-84) years; 47.5% of them were women. The median number of years of clinical practice was 9 (range: 1-51). 40.5% of respondents reported weekly visits by pharmaceutical representatives to their institutions. Regarding oncologists’ perceptions of COI that require disclosure, direct financial benefits, such as honoraria ranked highest (58.5%), followed by gifts from pharmaceutical representatives (50%) and support for attending conferences (44.5%). In contrast, personal or institutional research funding, sample drugs, consulting or advisory board, expert testimony, and food and beverage funded by pharmaceutical industry were less frequently considered as COI. Moreover, only 24% of surveyed oncologists could correctly categorize all situations representing a COI. Regarding support received from industry, 51.5% of respondents acknowledged trips to conferences as the most common form of support, followed by sample drugs (20.5%). Despite recognizing these interactions, 15% of respondents admitted feeling pressured to prescribe specific drugs due to their COI. Regarding COI reporting, a notable portion of participants indicated they report COI in their presentations (59%) or when publishing their research (30%). The presence of local regulations to manage COI were reported by 35.5% of respondents. The majority advocated for clearer policies and regulations (65%), training and education (63.5%), and an open COI database (55%) to improve COI reporting in oncology. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of clear guidelines, education, and transparency in reporting COI in oncology. This hypothesis-generating pilot survey provided the rationale for ONCOTRUST-2 study which will compare perceptions of COI among oncologists in LMICs and HICs.

Oversight of Dual-Use Research: What Role for Ethics Committees?

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences addresses the governance of biorisks, including dual-use research, for countries. It emphasizes engaging multisectoral stakeholders such as governments, scientific bodies, health and research institutes, standard-setting organizations, funding bodies, and others. Ethics constitutes a key component of the framework. Given the high social impact of such research and the importance of trust, risk, and benefit, national ethics committees could make a valuable contribution by providing ethical guidance in the decisionmaking process. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of national ethics committees in the context of governance and oversight of dual-use research at the national level. We conducted a landscape analysis of the activities of ethics committees in dual-use research oversight. We also searched the WHO database on National Ethics Committees for publications related to dual-use research and/or misuse of life sciences research and gathered additional documentation from national ethics committees websites and through author contacts. Results showed that in the context of the wide range of oversight mechanisms for dual-use research in countries, national ethics committees have contributed to guiding policy and assessing dual-use research risks in only a limited number of countries. Recommendations from those countries include establishing a multistakeholder, coordinated oversight mechanism at the country level; strengthening international linkages to guide, harmonize, and reinforce national and international efforts; and involving ethics committees as an expert resource in the governance and oversight process.

Demystifying In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging of a Chagas Disease Mouse Model for Drug Efficacy Studies.

To control and decrease the public health impact of human protozoan diseases such as Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and human African trypanosomiasis, expediting the development of new drugs and vaccines is necessary. However, this process is filled with difficulties such as highly complex parasite biology and disease pathogenesis and, as typical for neglected tropical diseases, comparatively limited funding for research and development. Thus, in vitro and in vivo study models that can sufficiently reproduce infection and disease key features while providing rational use of resources are essential for progressing research for these conditions. One example is the in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) mouse model for Chagas disease, which provides highly sensitive detection of long wavelength light generated by Trypanosoma cruzi parasites expressing luciferase. Despite this technique becoming the standard approach for drug efficacy in vivo studies, research groups might still struggle to implement it due to a lack of proper practical training on equipment handling and application of quality control procedures, even when suitable BLI equipment is readily available. Considering this scenario, this protocol aims to guide from planning experiments to data acquisition and analysis, with details that facilitate the implementation of protocols in research groups with little or no experience with BLI, either for Chagas disease or for other infectious disease mouse models.

Nanomaterials in Drug Delivery: Strengths and Opportunities in Medicine.

There is a myriad of diseases that plague the world ranging from infectious, cancer and other chronic diseases with varying interventions. However, the dynamism of causative agents of infectious diseases and incessant mutations accompanying other forms of chronic diseases like cancer, have worsened the treatment outcomes. These factors often lead to treatment failure via different drug resistance mechanisms. More so, the cost of developing newer drugs is huge. This underscores the need for a paradigm shift in the drug delivery approach in order to achieve desired treatment outcomes. There is intensified research in nanomedicine, which has shown promises in improving the therapeutic outcome of drugs at preclinical stages with increased efficacy and reduced toxicity. Regardless of the huge benefits of nanotechnology in drug delivery, challenges such as regulatory approval, scalability, cost implication and potential toxicity must be addressed via streamlining of regulatory hurdles and increased research funding. In conclusion, the idea of nanotechnology in drug delivery holds immense promise for optimizing therapeutic outcomes. This work presents opportunities to revolutionize treatment strategies, providing expert opinions on translating the huge amount of research in nanomedicine into clinical benefits for patients with resistant infections and cancer.

How can societally-targeted research funding shape researcher networks and practices?

How can societally-targeted research funding shape researcher networks and practices?

СТАНДАРТИЗАЦІЯ ЛЛЯНОЇ СИРОВИНИ: ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ДОСВІДУ США ТА УКРАЇНИ

The main problem in the primary processing of bast fiber raw materials is Ukraine's significant lag in the field of standardization compared to the USA, which negatively affects production efficiency, product quality, and competitiveness in the global market. The article aims to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of flax raw material quality assessment systems in Ukraine and the USA, identify the key reasons for Ukraine's lag, and develop practical solutions to address these issues. The research found that while Ukraine still relies on outdated standards for flax fiber quality evaluation, which are primarily based on organoleptic methods and do not take into account modern requirements, the USA is actively developing and implementing innovative standards that regulate a wide range of quality indicators, such as fiber fineness, strength, color, shive content, and other important parameters. The main reasons for Ukraine's lag in the field of flax standardization include persistent economic difficulties, obsolete infrastructure and equipment, insufficient funding for scientific research, and weak integration with international standardization organizations. The authors propose a set of solutions to overcome these challenges, which involve increasing state support for the flax industry, intensifying research efforts aimed at developing new methods for assessing the quality of flax raw materials, harmonizing national standards with international ones, deepening international cooperation, and fostering the development of industry associations and clusters. The article emphasizes the necessity of introducing modern instrumental methods for assessing the quality of flax raw materials, such as spectrophotometry for color measurement, computer vision systems for analyzing fiber structure, and automated methods for determining fineness and shive content. The importance of developing standards for new and innovative flax products to expand the range, improve the competitiveness of domestic products, and enter promising markets is underlined.

Bridging the Chasm Between Intentions and Behaviors: Developing and Testing a Construal Level Theory of Internal Whistle-Blowing

The recent wave of corporate scandals has necessitated a more systematic investigation of internal whistle-blowing as a potential way to prevent wrongdoing. Our understanding of whistle-blowing, however, has been hampered by a deep chasm that exists between employees’ intent to blow the whistle and their whistle-blowing behaviors. We argue that to fully bridge this gap, we need to consider employees’ cognitive states at the time of whistle-blowing intentions versus behaviors and to link these cognitive states to the ethical systems within the organization’s ethical infrastructure to understand which systems are more effective in cultivating whistle-blowing intentions and which systems help translate those intentions into behaviors. Across one multisource field study and one multiwave experiment, we found support for our arguments that top management values-based communication systems, which are more high construal (abstract), affect whistle-blowing intentions whereas ethical accountability systems and ethical retaliatory systems, which are more low construal (concrete), moderate the relationship between whistle-blowing intentions and behaviors. By linking ethical systems within the organization’s ethical infrastructure to the two stages (intentions and behaviors) of the whistle-blowing process and the accompanying cognitive states, we develop and empirically test a construal level theory of internal whistle-blowing. Funding: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its Academic Research Fund Grant Calls [MOE 2019-T2-1-192 and MSS16B012].

Where next for partial randomisation of research funding? The feasibility of RCTs and alternatives

We outline essential considerations for any study of partial randomisation of research funding, and consider scenarios in which randomised controlled trials (RCTs) would be feasible and appropriate. We highlight the interdependence of target outcomes, sample availability and statistical power for determining the cost and feasibility of a trial. For many choices of target outcome, RCTs may be less practical and more expensive than they at first appear (in large part due to issues pertaining to sample size and statistical power). As such, we briefly discuss alternatives to RCTs. It is worth noting that many of the considerations relevant to experiments on partial randomisation may also apply to other potential experiments on funding processes (as described in The Experimental Research Funder’s Handbook. RoRI, June 2022).

Technology Readiness Level Roadmap for Developing Innovative Herbal Medicinal Products.

Despite the vast global botanical diversity, the pharmaceutical development of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) remains underexploited. Of over 370,000 described plant species, only a few hundred are utilized in HMPs. Most of these have originated from traditional use, and only a minority come from megadiverse countries. Exploiting the pharmacological synergies of the hundreds of compounds found in poorly studied plant species may unlock new therapeutic possibilities, enhance megadiverse countries' scientific and socio-economic development, and help conserve biodiversity. However, extensive constraints in the development process of HMPs pose significant barriers to transforming this unsatisfactory socio-economic landscape. This paper proposes a roadmap to overcome these challenges, based on the technology readiness levels (TRLs) introduced by NASA to assess the maturity of technologies. It aims to assist research entities, manufacturers, and funding agencies from megadiverse countries in the discovery, development, and global market authorization of innovative HMPs that comply with regulatory standards from ANVISA, EMA, and FDA, as well as WHO and ICH guidelines.

Sexual violence in the workplace and associated health outcomes: a nationwide, cross-sectional analysis of women in Iceland

Workplace sexual violence against women is a pressing global issue with scarce knowledge on its health implications. Existing research is largely limited to specific occupations, which calls for comprehensive, population-based studies. This study aimed to examine the associations between self-labelled workplace sexual violence and a variety of health outcomes in a nationally representative sample of Icelandic women aged 18-69 years. Participants in this cross-sectional study were women in the Stress-And-Gene-Analysis (SAGA) cohort who answered the question regarding workplace sexual violence, defined in our study as encompassing all work sectors, academic settings, and other school environments. Eligible participants were women, aged 18-69 years, residing in Iceland, who spoke Icelandic and were listed in the Icelandic Population Register or had a contact number registered with the online 1819 service. Poisson and binomial regressions were used to assess the associations between workplace sexual violence and validated measures of current mental and physical health outcomes (eg, probable depression, general anxiety, and severe sleep problems). Multiple imputation was performed to account for missing values in the dataset. The study was conducted from March 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019. Of the 113 814 women deemed eligible for study inclusion, 104 197 were invited to take part in the online survey. Of those invited, 30 403 women completed the survey and were included in the SAGA cohort. Among these participants, 15 812 provided answers to the question regarding exposure to workplace sexual harassment or violence. Exposure to sexual violence was associated with an increased prevalence of probable depression (prevalence ratio [PR] 1·50 [95% CI 1·41-1·60]), general anxiety (PR 1·49 [1·40-1·59]), social phobia (PR 1·62 [1·48-1·78]), self-harm (PR 1·86 [1·53-2·28]), suicidal ideation (PR 1·68 [1·44-1·68]), suicide attempts (PR 1·99 [1·62-2·44]), binge drinking (PR 1·10 [1·01-1·20]), sleep problems (PR 1·41 [1·48-1·91]), physical symptoms (PR 1·59 [1·48-1·70]), and sick leave (PR 1·20 [1·12-1·28]). The prevalence of the health outcomes among those exposed show age-related differences: younger women report anxiety or depression more frequently, while older women report sleep problems after experiencing workplace sexual violence. In this cross-sectional study self-reported experiences of sexual violence in the workplace were associated with several self-reported health outcomes. The findings suggest a need for targeted interventions to promote workplace safety and to mitigate adverse health implications among people who have experienced workplace sexual violence. Future research should explore factors such as the frequency, duration, and relationship dynamics of workplace sexual violence, as well as the effect on different genders and sexual orientations, to deepen our understanding of these experiences and inform effective prevention strategies. Reykjavík Energy Research Fund, The Icelandic Gender Equality Fund, European Research Council, and Icelandic Center for Research.

Endothelial cells in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension exhibit cytoskeletal alteration

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): Health Research Fund (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria [FIS]) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Introduction Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is pivotal in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) due to structural and functional alterations in endothelial. Previous studies have shown the critical function of cytoskeletal elements, particularly actin microfilaments and microtubules, along with associated cell adhesion complexes, in the endothelial integrity. Nevertheless, precise alterations in the cytoskeletal elements of endothelial cells (ECs) in CTEPH patients remain unclear. Purpose This study aims to investigate the cytoskeleton changes in CTEPH-ECs compared to healthy ECs, characterizing morphological and structural differences. Objectives involve assessing microtubules and microfilaments expression, and their influence on ECs migratory capacity. Finally, our study aims to gain novel insights into the spatial organization of cytoskeleton components in CTEPH patients. Methods CTEPH-ECs were isolated from freshly resected pulmonary endarterectomy specimens of CTEPH patients, while human pulmonary artery ECs (HPAE) were used as healthy controls. Fluorescence immunocytochemistry assessed phenotypic and compositional characteristics of the cytoskeleton. Morphometric analysis described morphology and filament organization of cytoskeletal proteins using a custom-built pipeline. X-ray microscopy examined the phenotype and cytoskeletal components distribution. The migration assay evaluated how these structural differences affected ECs migratory capacity and the cytoskeletal elements expression. Results CTEPH-ECs exhibited larger surface area (1352 vs 662µm2, p<0.01) and a more stellate morphology (0.365 vs 0.289, p<0.01) than HPAE-ECs. Immunostaining indicated altered cytoskeletal composition in CTEPH-ECs with significantly higher tubulin expression, expressed in microtubules, (3327 vs 2238AU, p<0.01) and F-actin microfilaments (2068 vs 1300AU, p<0.01) compared to HPAE. Similarly, CTEPH-ECs showed reduced G-actin expression (3002 vs 7461AU, p<0.01). Morphometric analysis demonstrated that microfilaments were thinner (0.623 vs 0.831AU, p<0.01), more straight (0.135 vs. 0.172, p<0.01) and more aligned (0.132 vs. 0.156, p<0.01) in CTEPH-ECs. Microtubule thickness decreased compared to HPAE-ECs (0.341 vs 1.371AU, p<0.01). CTEPH-ECs showed impaired wound healing (60 vs 89% closure, p<0.05). CTEPH group showed an increase in microtubules and microfilaments expression during wound healing, but with irregular patterns, unlike the constant levels in HPAE. TXM-technology revealed spatial organization differences, especially expansive microtubules distribution in CTEPH-ECs (4.2*10^7 vs. 8.7*10^6 nm³, p<0.05). Conclusion These preliminary findings highlight significant structural and compositional differences in CTEPH-ECs, along with altered wound healing capacity, suggesting dynamic cytoskeletal and cellular changes in CTEPH. Understanding these alterations is crucial for advancing CTEPH knowledge and identifying potential therapeutic targets.

Advancements in hydrogen energy systems: A review of levelized costs, financial incentives and technological innovations

Hydrogen energy systems (HES) are increasingly recognized as pivotal in cutting global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, especially in transportation, power generation, and industrial sectors. This paper offers a comprehensive review of HES, emphasizing their diverse applications and economic viability. By 2030, hydrogen energy is expected to revolutionize various sectors, significantly impacting CO2 abatement and energy demand. In electricity and power generation, hydrogen could reduce CO2 emissions by 50–100 million tons annually, requiring 10–20 million tons of hydrogen and an investment of $50–100 billion, underscoring its role in grid stabilization. Additionally, in the heating sector, hydrogen could facilitate a CO2 abatement of 30–50 million tons. We examine the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) production, influenced by factors like production methods, efficiency, and infrastructure. While steam methane reforming is cost-effective, it poses a larger environmental impact compared to electrolysis. The global life-cycle cost of hydrogen production decreases as production scales up, with current costs ranging from $1–3 per kg for fossil-based sources to $3.4–7.5 per kg for electrolysis using low-emission electricity. These costs are projected to decrease, especially for electrolytic hydrogen in regions with abundant solar energy. However, despite the technical feasibility of decarbonization, high production costs still pose challenges. A systematic and effective transition to a hydrogen economy requires comprehensive policy and financial support mechanisms, including incentives, subsidies, tax measures, and funding for research and development of pilot projects. Additionally, the paper discusses hydrogen's role in advanced storage technologies such as hydrides and Japan's ENE-FARM solution for residential energy, emphasizing the need for strategic investments across the hydrogen value chain to enhance HES competitiveness, reduce LCOH, and advance the learning rates of hydrogen production technologies.

Research funding in the Middle East and North Africa: analyses of acknowledgments in scientific publications indexed in the Web of Science (2008–2021)

Funding acknowledgments are important objects of study in the context of science funding. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze the funding acknowledgments found in 2.3 million scientific publications published between 2008 and 2021 by authors affiliated with research institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The aim is to identify the major funders, assess their contribution to national scientific publications, and gain insights into the funding mechanism in relation to collaboration and publication. Publication data from the Web of Science is examined to provide key insights about funding activities. Saudi Arabia and Qatar lead the region, as about half of their publications include acknowledgments to funding sources. Most MENA countries exhibit strong linkages with foreign agencies, mainly due to a high level of international collaboration. The distinction between domestic and international publications reveals some differences in terms of funding structures. For instance, Turkey and Iran are dominated by one or two major funders whereas a few other countries like Saudi Arabia showcase multiple funders. Iran and Kuwait are examples of countries where research is mainly funded by domestic funders. The government and academic sectors mainly fund scientific research in MENA whereas the industry sector plays little or no role in terms of research funding. Lastly, the qualitative analyses provide more context into the complex funding mechanism. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the funding structure in MENA countries and provide insights to funders and research managers to evaluate the funding landscape.

Copyright and Open Access to Scientific Publishing

The internet has broadened the communication of digitized journals and books among scholars and the perception that academic commercial publishers use copyright law to restrict the free circulation of scientific knowledge. Open access is changing the business model of academic publishing to the extent that copyright law is increasingly being viewed as needing to be balanced against the right to benefit from science. Some have called for copyright law to be revised to promote open access to academic publishing. The question of just how copyright law should be revised to achieve this is today more topical than ever. However, there is a need to clarify and question the role that copyright law should play and there is much to be gained from consideration of the role that competition law can play. Additionally, initiatives to implement open access have been taken by stakeholders (academic authors, publishers, universities, libraries, and research funding agencies) such as open access policies and the new “read and publish” agreements between publishers and universities’ libraries. But the transition towards sustainable universal open access will be a long, complex process since the interaction between these stakeholders can lead to conflicts of interest. This article also evaluates these initiatives and suggests the best approach.