Scientific Advisory Research Articles

Climate Change and Institutional Resilience in Arctic Environmental Governance

This article highlights recent successes and failures in efforts to manage Arctic marine living resources to improve our understanding of institutional resilience—that is, the ability of cooperative institutions to maintain their performance despite severe disruptions to their operating environments. Rising ocean temperatures and other impacts of climate change may alter the spatial distribution of fish stocks, including their relative attachment to exclusive economic zones and their availability on the high seas. As evident in the examined Arctic cases, which involve the world’s largest stocks of cod, herring and mackerel, such changes may complicate core resource management tasks, including the regulatory task of reaching an agreement among user states on quotas and other restraints that align with scientific advice. The cross-case variance in regulatory resilience to climate-related and other changes in cooperative circumstances sheds light on general propositions regarding the drivers and inhibitors of institutional resilience, including institutional characteristics and the severity of the political challenges posed by changing circumstances.

Disputed expertise and chaotic disinformation: COVID-19 and denialist physicians in Brazil.

This article aims to show how incorrect ideas about COVID-19 were promoted by physicians in Brazil, contributing to a catastrophic response at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, and to examine the implications of this episode for the social studies of science, technology and medicine. The literature on the relationship between science and society takes two broad approaches, which are sometimes at odds with each other: (i) there is a traditional critique of science that points to unsupported claims of certainty and thus undue interference in general human affairs; (ii) there are many examples of attempts to undermine reasonable scientific claims, when they clash with economic and/or political interests of certain groups. Navigating those extremes is particularly critical in situations in which accurate knowledge is necessary for intervening in people's lives, as is the case in health-related issues. Determining who has actual epistemic expertise is a key factor in solving this conundrum. This became painfully clear during the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the uncertainties of science in guiding decisions being made in real time, and provided opportunities for many forms of disinformation and conspiracy theories that hampered public health measures and promoted useless or even dangerous "treatments". This article discusses an instructive example of such developments in the chaotic response to the pandemic challenge in Brazil, which saw, among other unfortunate situations, physicians aligned with the denialist federal government advocating for unproven - or proven as ineffective - treatments and disseminating unfounded doubts about vaccines. Presumed expertise on the basis of professional training clearly did not translate into actual expertise in the necessary domains to ascertain the validity of such claims and scientific advice was overridden by ideology.

Drug repurposing for rare: progress and opportunities for the rare disease community.

Repurposing is one of the key opportunities to address the unmet rare diseases therapeutic need. Based on cases of drug repurposing in small population conditions, and previous work in drug repurposing, we analyzed the most important lessons learned, such as the sharing of clinical observations, reaching out to regulatory scientific advice at an early stage, and public-private collaboration. In addition, current upcoming trends in the field of drug repurposing in rare diseases were analyzed, including the role these trends could play in the rare diseases' ecosystem. Specifically, we cover the opportunities of innovation platforms, the use of real-world data, the use of artificial intelligence, regulatory initiatives in repurposing, and patient engagement throughout the repurposing project. The outcomes from these emerging activities will help progress the field of drug repurposing for the benefit of patients, public health and medicines development.

A Future European Scientific Dialogue Regulatory Framework: Connecting the Dots

The regulatory framework of the European Union (EU) offers multiple and valuable options for Scientific Advice (SA). However, at a time of increasing scientific complexity and global competition, navigating the SA landscape may be challenging. Such challenges are related to the technicalities of the framework itself, as well as to fundamental changes in the development of promising therapeutics. This article provides an overview of these challenges and reflects on the ways in which the already available SA options could be consolidated and optimized for building an integrated, easy-to-navigate process. The key elements of the proposal are improved orientation and navigation support, a simplified process of managing parallel interactions with multiple bodies, competitive SA timelines, consistency and harmonization across stakeholders, a strengthened horizon scanning to increase network preparedness, and a mechanism for building an institutional memory. The article builds on ongoing dialogues driven by the European Medicines Agency and the European Medicines Regulatory Network, and contributes the viewpoint of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries on the ways in which the EU SA framework needs to evolve to provide effective Scientific Dialogue throughout the medicine lifecycle. The article is timely because of the current discussion on the future Scientific Dialogue framework and may inform forthcoming legislative changes in the draft General Pharma Legislation revision and how they are practically implemented.

“Promoting” or “inhibiting”: the nonlinear impact of rural digitization on the rural enterprises’ resilience

ABSTRACT Considerable research has focused on the question of how to better utilize the rural digitization to enhance rural enterprises’ resilience. However, there has not been a unified conclusion reached on the influence of rural digitization on rural enterprises’ resilience. To reconcile the existing inconclusive evidence, this paper aims to investigate the nonlinear impact of rural digitization on rural enterprises’ resilience. We also hypothesize the mediating role of rural labour outflow in the relationship and explore the moderating role of rural social organization. Following a mixed research method, we employ the U-test method and 205 listed Chinese rural enterprises as the research objects to test the hypotheses. We then use a qualitative case study to offer unique insights for explaining the underlying mechanisms behind the quantitative results. The findings show that rural digitization and rural enterprises’ resilience have a U-shaped relationship, and labour outflow plays a nonlinear mediating role in it. Moreover, rural labour outflow and rural enterprises’ resilience show an inverted U-shaped relationship, which regulated by rural social organization. Together, the mixed methods research offers nuanced and scientific advice for enhancing rural enterprises’ resilience.

The European Climate Law: Strengthening EU Procedural Climate Governance?

Abstract In 2021, the European Union (EU) adopted the so-called European Climate Law (ECL), enshrining in law the 2050 climate-neutrality objective and upgraded 2030 emission reduction target. The ECL bears the hallmarks of what we term ‘procedural climate governance’, which comprises the regulatory frameworks, instruments, institutions and processes that shape substantive climate policies and their implementation. This article identifies seven key functions of procedural climate governance—target-setting; planning; monitoring and evaluation; climate policy integration; scientific expert advice; access to justice; and public participation—and uses these for critically assessing the ECL. We argue that while the ECL has significantly strengthened important aspects of EU procedural climate governance, further reforms are needed for the EU to develop and implement the substantive policies towards a climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy and society and to bolster public support and ownership of the transition. The upcoming reviews of the ECL and the Governance Regulation provide a critical opportunity for strengthening procedural climate governance in the EU.

Identifying fit-for purpose methods for monitoring fish communities

Scientific monitoring is a fundamental basis of scientific advice. Among others, monitoring aims at contributing towards understanding the influence of anthropogenic use (e.g. fisheries), the health of a stock and individuum and effectiveness of management and conservation measures (e.g. MPAs). Monitoring of demersal and benthic fish communities is often based on invasive methods like bottom trawling, however in some cases less invasive methods might be available. The need for developing alternative and less invasive monitoring methods is supported by an increasing number of Marine Protected Areas and Windfarms where traditional methods such as trawls cannot be deployed due to conservational or technical and safety reasons. To support the development of new monitoring concepts, we conducted a literature review to identify limits and opportunities of methods that are already available. Furthermore, we present a fit-for purpose guide that can help identifying the appropriate method for individual purposes. We defined eight different methods which were analyzed using four different criteria and listed their advantages and disadvantages. We further apply this guide to monitoring in Marine Protected Areas in the Baltic Sea as a case study, indicating that besides traditional bottom trawling, alternative and less invasive methods could be sufficient for specific research purposes. We therefore, encourage scientists and managers to consider alternative data collection methods to minimize environmental impact of scientific sampling. However, our results also indicate that most of the methods still need further refinement especially regarding sampling design, standardization of methods and comparability with established survey methods.

Legislative science advice in Chile: exploring twelve years of knowledge producers participation in environmental committee discussions

ABSTRACT Exploring who participates in Congress committee hearings is key to assess how diverse and representative these spaces are. This article focuses on participation in Congress committees during the discussion of environmental bills in the last twelve years (2010-22) in Chile, specifically concentrating on the sub-group of knowledge producers – higher education, experts and think tanks – as committee hearings are a privileged access mechanism for science to reach the law-making process. Results show limited participation in addition to gender and geographical location biases in this sub-group of knowledge producers, raising concerns regarding the quantity and diversity of who provides evidence and research knowledge to Congress committees. These findings suggest further attention should be given to the way the participation of a more diverse group of knowledge producers to these privileged deliberative arenas can be improved.

Institutionalising science and knowledge under the agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ): Stakeholder perspectives on a fit-for-purpose Scientific and Technical Body

The use of science, scientific information, and other knowledge to inform decision-making is increasingly recognised as an integral feature of environmental governance – a governance principle which is reflected in the new agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). To support the integration of science and knowledge, the BBNJ Agreement establishes a Scientific and Technical Body (STB) and confers the task of finalising the formulation and function of this new advisory body to the Conference of Parties once the agreement enters into force. Therefore, it is a critical time for careful consideration of what is needed to achieve an effective STB. However, to date, there is limited research on what a fit-for-purpose STB would involve for BBNJ or what is needed to operationalise this in practice. As such, we aim to fill this knowledge gap by providing insights garnered from semi-structured interviews with key BBNJ stakeholders. Using qualitative content analysis, we identify and examine eight characteristics that stakeholders deem as important qualities for the STB to encompass, as well as challenges and opportunities for operationalising these qualities in practice. Our findings indicate that a fit-for-purpose STB extends beyond the mere production of high-quality scientific advice - it also necessitates the inclusion and due consideration of other fundamental qualities such as inclusivity and equity, transparency, flexibility, and synergy with the existing governance framework, amongst others, as well as proactive consideration of trade-offs associated with different design choices. These findings are pertinent to the forthcoming endeavour of designing and implementing an STB under the BBNJ Agreement, and more generally, provide insights on normative qualities that stakeholders perceive as important for science-policy interfaces.

Правовой статус докторантов и научных консультантов: проблемы и возможные решения

Introduction. The article studies the issue of assessing the effectiveness of modern domestic doctoral studies through the prism of the legal status of doctoral students and scientific consultants. Taking into account the critical role of doctoral studies in the training of researchers of the highest level of qualifications who have an academic degree of Doctor of Science, as well as the current regulations and the specifics of training in doctoral studies, the totality of rights, responsibilities and guarantees provided to doctoral students and scientific consultants requires consideration and critical assessment. Materials and Methods. The use of methods of formal legal analysis, coupled with consideration of the positions of researchers on the issues of improving the system of state scientific certification, made it possible to identify a number of positions that require clarification in regulatory legal acts, or are not regulated at all, despite their high importance in creating conditions for the preparation of research in doctoral studies. Analysis. The current regulation of material guarantees ensuring the activities of doctoral students and scientific consultants is considered, and the insufficiency and uncertainty regarding certain regulations in this matter is identified. The issue of the responsibility of a scientific consultant for the dishonest performance of their duties is also touched upon, the scope of which is currently determined by the parties independently, which is subject to motivated criticism. A separate aspect of providing conditions for the implementation of research work by doctoral students is the issue of providing them with long-term leave, which is currently covered only by general regulations tied to the ten-year experience of the relevant specialist, which has been criticized in the context of the need to reduce the average age of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel. Results. The set of measures proposed by the author is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the doctoral education institute, which is an important element of the state scientific certification system, the potential of which is currently not revealed and requires development.

Introduction to Nutrition and Cancer.

By the beginning of the year 2021, the estimated number of new cancer cases worldwide was about 19.3 million and there were 10.0 million cancer-related deaths. Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases worldwide that can be attributed to genetic and environmental factors, including nutrition. The good nutrition concept focuses on the dietary requirements to sustain life. There is a substantial amount of evidence suggesting that a healthy diet can modulate cancer risk, particularly the risk of colorectal and breast cancers. Many studies have evaluated the correlation between our diet and the risk of cancer development, prevention, and treatment. The effect of diet on cancer development is likely to happen through intertwining mechanisms including inflammation and immune responses. For instance, a greater intake of red and processed meat along with low consumption of fruits and vegetables has been associated with increased levels of inflammatory biomarkers that are implicated in cancer development. On the other hand, the consumption of phytosterols, vitamins, and minerals, which exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles have been linked to lower cancer risk, or even its occurrence prevention. In this book, we aim to summarize the current knowledge on the role of nutrition in cancer to provide the best scientific advice in this regard.

ИНСТИТУТЫ РАЗВИТИЯ: СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКИЕ ЦЕЛИ И РОССИЙСКАЯ ПРАКТИКА (по материалам заседания Научно-экспертного совета Института экономики Российской академии наук по проблемам управления)

The current conditions have made the issues of governance, both state and corporate, particularly important in the context of strategic development goals. This is due to the combined effect of several factors: attempts to find new growth drivers, in particular through development institutions in the present system of the Russian economy; geopolitical challenges for Russia, digitalisation, and so on. The Scientific and Expert Council of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences held a discussion on “Development Institutions: Strategic Goals and Russian Practice” on 26 March 2024. Scientific researchers, consultants and business representatives were invited to the discussion. The meeting focused on such issues as the priority directions of development institutions, the results achieved with their involvement, including the ones of assessing the effectiveness of development institutions’ activities.

Overview of the IX International Conference on Advanced Agritechnologies, Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development – AGRITECH-IX – 2023

The overview describes the main directions and results of the IX International Conference “AGRITECH-IX-2024” held in Namangan, Uzbekistan. It gives the details about the participants and the proceedings. The anchor partners of Krasnoyarsk Science and Technology City Hall were Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University, Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, the Volga Region Research Institute of Manufacture and Processing of Meat-and-Milk Production, Volgograd, Russia, Bukhara Engineering Technological Institute, Bukhara and Namangan Engineering Technological University, Namangan, Uzbekistan, Zhetysu University named after I. Zhansugurov, Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. The Innovation Scientific Consulting Center (Uzbekistan) and Siberian Scientific Centre DNIT (Russia) sponsored the Conference.

H. S. SHARAPA – BIOGRAPHY PAGES AND CREATIVE WORK OF THE FAMOUS SCIENTIST, DESERVED WORKER OF THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to highlight the scientific achievements of the honored agricultural worker of Ukraine, respected specialist in the field of animal reproduction, Candidate of Biological Sciences H. S. Sharapa and his contribution to the development of methods for improving the reproductive function of females as a means of increasing the population of breeding animals of domestic breeds. Research methods are general scientific (analysis, bibliographic), retrospective and source studies.
 Research methods are general scientific (analysis, synthesis), comparative, bibliographic. Special historical (subject-chronological, historical-comparative), general scientific (analytical-synthetic, logical, systematic), biographical, and source studies methods were used. The source base of the research covers a wide range of materials, the basis of which are archival documents and primary sources, scientific works (publications), materials of reports and memories of colleagues about the scientist.
 The results of the scientific works of H. S. Sharapa, which contribute to the solution of the issues of growing repair young animals to ensure effective fruitful first artificial insemination, are presented. Long-term studies on the course of sexual cycles, fertilization of heifers and cows of new dairy breeds are presented; phenomenon of metrorrhagia in order to improve the reproductive function of animals.
 His main achievements in the development and improvement of the technology of artificial insemination of cows and heifers, preservation and improvement of their reproductive capacity and prevention of gynecological diseases are summarized. The contribution to the development of the biotechnological foundations of breeding in the cattle breeding of Ukraine is characterized. Scientific advisory and public activity of H. S. Sharapa is covered.
 Hryhoriy Semenovych Sharapa made a significant contribution to the development of methods for improving the reproductive function of females as a means of increasing the population of breeding animals of domestic breeds. With the participation of the scientist, more than 10,000 animal health specialists were trained and retrained, and more than 70,000 managers and agricultural workers listened to his lectures and speeches during seminars and conferences.

Recent scientific research, training and consultancy on ancient ceramics at UCL Institute of Archaeology

This article considers the range and nature of ceramic analyses at the Institute of Archaeology. It highlights the global reach of such work, the analytical facilities available and the depth to which research informs teaching in the department.

'Integrated antenatal care pathway':  a regional experience in Belgium (Flanders).

In a 2019 publication, the KCE (the Federal Knowledge Center, an independent research institution providing scientific advice on health care as requested by the Belgian government) proposes to monitor all pregnant women in Belgium through an “Integrated Antenatal Care pathway”. The baseline care needs to be expanded in case of high medical risk or psychosocial vulnerability.
 This advice addressed some new aspects: the extension of the classic clinical (medical) follow-up with Individual Counseling Consultation (ICC) sessions, sessions for Birth Preparation and Parenthood Education (BPPE). The pregnant woman chooses one health care provider as coordinator. The coordinator draws up an individual care plan and, if necessary, extends the standard counseling (general practitioner, gynecologist, midwife, physiotherapist and regional child guidance services) to a social worker, mental health care professionals and other specialists. The coordinator organizes Multidisciplinary Antenatal Consultation (MAO) if needed. Holistic view on patientcare and shared decision making are keypoints.
 In the East Flemish Brabant region, the execution of such an integrated care pathway was started following this advice and has been implemented since late 2021 under coordination of vzw De Bakermat, a center of expertise in Maternity care.
 The Bakermat previously also set up a pilot project called 'Kort in Kraamkliniek' (KIK), a postnatal care pathway, to reduce the length of postnatal hospital stays in the region, also upon request by the government. Similarly, seamless transition of the transmural care was crucial for the patient.
 The development of the integrated antenatal care pathway was a challenging, complex process of co-creation, involving a large number of partners in the region from the start. The region spanned across the entire ""Plexus"" hospital network covering 585,000 inhabitants, consisting of three regional and one supra-regional (university) hospital. Collaboration occurred across lines and trans-disciplinary. Existing organizations with local initiatives of integrated care and well-being were involved, in light of their shared vision and expertise. Therefore, the project did not only create a care pathway but also a strong interconnectedness between all partners involved!
 The project resulted in uniformity and greater clarity for caregiver and care recipient. One follow-up schedule was created and all patient info was centralized. At the beginning of each pregnancy, there is a screening for psychosocial vulnerability, through a scientifically validated tool (Born In Belgium, antenatal screening of vulnerability). Red flags for referral from primary to secondary care were listed to maximize the use of additional expertise.
 Electronic data sharing in a joint patient file is complex and will be further developed.
 The quality of the project is continuously monitored through a set of indicators coordinated by the Academic Center for General Practice of the KULeuven. Regular training sessions are organized by and for all project partners. Meanwhile, the regional coordination and adjustment of the project in the future is embedded in and provided by the center of expertise for maternity care.
 

Scientizing the 'environment': Solly Zuckerman and the idea of the School of Environmental Sciences.

In 1960 Sir Solly Zuckerman proposed the idea of an interdisciplinary department of 'environmental sciences' (ENV) for the newly established University of East Anglia (UEA). Prior to this point, the concept of 'environmental sciences' was little known: since then, departments and degree courses have rapidly proliferated through universities and colleges around the globe. This paper draws on archival research to explore the conditions and contexts that led to the proposal of a new and interdisciplinary grouping of sciences by Zuckerman. It argues that the activities of Zuckerman and other scientists in Britain during the Second World War and in the post-war period helped to create fertile conditions for a new kind of scientific authority to emerge as a tool of governance and source of policy advice. In particular, the specific challenges of post-war Britain - as addressed through scientific advisers and civil servants - led to the 'environment' becoming both the subject of sustained scientific study and an object of concern.

Images, Investigators, Identification, Code D and the Court of Appeal

The rapid rise in accessibility and portability of cameras has resulted in widespread reliance on the interpretation of images by analysts and investigators in criminal proceedings. Codes of practice, guidance and jurisprudence have evolved to facilitate the admission of opinions as to the identity of offenders (or persons of interest) at trial. In this article, we explain why allowing investigators to give opinions as to identity on the basis of familiarity with images or suspects acquired during the course of an investigation is incompatible with mainstream scientific research and advice, and conducive to error. It rests on the flawed assumption that investigators can reliably identify or recognise persons in images, articulate and document the basis of these ‘identifications’, and avoid the risk of contamination (really cognitive bias) from their knowledge of, or exposure to, domain-irrelevant information. Jurors, who may be invited to conduct their own comparison between an image and the defendant in the dock, are similarly vulnerable to assuming the task is straightforward, as well as many of the contextual and cognitive biases confronting investigators. Using the facts and evidence in R v Yaryare [2020] EWCA Crim 1314 as a case study, we show how case information available to investigators and imaging analysts both inform their interpretations of images and is (re-)presented at trial and on appeal as independent support for their opinions. We identify substantial threats to fairness, proof and rationality and propose that only witnesses with demonstrable expertise should be permitted to testify as to the identity of persons of interest in images.

Smart grid projects in the pan-European energy system

Purpose. To provide a comparative and comprehensive analysis of the smart grid projects funded by the H2020 ENERGY and FP7-ENERGY programs. Methodology. As part of the text analysis, the authors evaluated smart grid projects’ results in a sample using text mining methods. Based on statistical analysis and concept-based method, the most significant outcomes of smart grid projects were identified. Findings. A detailed review of the results shows that project teams of the H2020 ENERGY and FP7-ENERGY programs mostly relied on the existing experience which helped to form further development for standardization of tools, conduct planning, or derive specific management actions aimed at smart energy consumption. The majority of these solutions were applied for digitalizing small commercial consumers and for integrating isolated renewable sources in the most effective way. The projects considered the possibilities of electric vehicles used to solve environmental problems and balancing unstable electricity production from renewable sources with Li-ion stationary batteries, tools for effective interaction of users of smart grids, and integration of isolated renewable sources in centralized energy networks. Originality. Based on statistical and machine analysis, the most significant results of smart grid projects were identified. N‑grams of expressed keywords used in the texts of project results were used to present and visualize the textual description of smart grid projects. Practical value. The results might be helpful for the European policymakers and scientific advisers seeking to further promote and ameliorate the pan-European energy system.

Plankton assessment across the distribution of West African hake and tuna based on eDNA metabarcoding

The richness of plankton communities determines the fish productivity in the ocean, including important resources that rely on extractive fisheries, such as hakes (genus Merluccius) and tunas (genus Thunnus). Their preys forage on zooplankton, and the latter feed on phytoplankton. Inventories of plankton communities for scientific advice to sustainable fishing are essential in this moment of climate change. Plankton is generally inventoried using conventional methodologies based on large water volumes and visual morphological analyses of samples. In this study, we have employed metabarcoding on environmental DNA (eDNA) samples extracted from small water volumes for plankton inventory from twelve distant sampling stations in the East Atlantic Ocean. Zones rich in hake and tuna prey were detected from eDNA, and multivariate multiple regression analysis was able to predict those zones from diatom-based indices and planktonic diversity based on functional groups. Salinity was negatively correlated with the proportion of diatoms in phytoplankton, highlighting expected impacts of current global change on marine plankton communities. The results emphasise the importance of the plankton richness for fish productivity and support the utility of environmental DNA as a tool to monitor plankton composition changes.