Science Research Program Research Articles

Shark attack risk on Reunion Island: Emphasis on local media construction

Since 2011, a series of fatal shark attacks have occurred at Reunion Island, a French overseas territory, and led to an institutional and social crisis related to political risk management. To assist political decision-making, political authorities funded an ecology research program from 2011 to 2015. As shark attacks continued, the program was strongly contested by sea users at risk. The local media coverage of shark risk management strategy in Reunion Island was intense and raised issues related to media representation of stakeholders. The place of scientific experts’ discourses in the media construction of shark risk meaning can be particularly questioned. The current study explores from a sociological and communicational perspective, how the interactions between journalists and stakeholders participate in the media construction of shark attack risk. Semi-directional interviews were conducted with local journalists, scientists, sea users and environmental activists, concerned by the shark risk management. Interviews were led on open-ended thematic questions about their perceptions of journalistic and scientific work, stakeholders’ interests and expectations. The study concludes that to enhance communication and mutual understanding between stakeholders, the objectives and limits of scientific research programs in shark risk management should be discussed by a plurality of stakeholders, including a few local journalists as consultants from media with different editorial lines. In order to include all the parties in shark attack risk management strategy, a democratic debate on the operationalization of the values carried by stakeholders related to the management of living beings should be established by political authorities.

Distinguishing between research and monitoring programs in environmental science and management

The terms “research” and “monitoring” are commonly used interchangeably to describe the data-gathering, information-generating, and knowledge-translating activities in environmental science and management. While research and monitoring share many attributes, such as the tools used, they may also differ in important ways, including the audience and their stability. In any environmental program, any potential differences between research and monitoring may be inconsequential, but distinguishing between these two activities, especially when both words are used casually, may be necessary to ensure the alignment between the tools and approaches and the expectations and goals of the program. Additionally, the importance of distinguishing between research and monitoring becomes greater when many participants from varying backgrounds with differing expectations are involved in the design, execution, and governance of the program. In this essay, we highlight differences between environmental research and monitoring, provide potential criteria to define them, and discuss how their activities interact and overlap. In our view, environmental monitoring programs are typically standardized and designed to address stakeholder concerns, to ensure activities comply with regulatory statutes or other known objectives. In contrast, environmental research may be esoteric, driven by a specific line of inquiry, and may lack a defined endpoint. Although potential difficulties with categorizing some programs or portions of combined programs will likely always remain, explicitly identifying the attributes of a program is necessary to achieve its objectives.

Applying Sport Scientist Roles Within Organizations

ABSTRACT Recent trends suggest growing application of sports science programs within United States-based sport organizations. Discussion is necessary to illuminate several ways sports scientist (SS) roles may be leveraged to enhance athlete and coach performance and enable support of knowledge-related tasks within and across organizations and throughout sports systems. Here we provide an overview of a variety of organizational arrangements for full-time through part-time SS roles, and some available best practices that support them—including the high-performance manager role. In addition, we discuss the misapplication of SS roles and highlight US-centric challenges in establishing sports science research programs.

Зарослевые экосистемы Невской губы: реакция на гидростроительство

The first stage results (2016–2020) of the scientific research programme of macrophyte thickets ecosystems (socalled “reed beds”) in the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland have been summed up. The programme is carried out by the environmental design company “Eco-Express-Service” LLC (initiator, coordinator, sponsor and main executor) with the participation of a group of St. Petersburg biologists. Observations are carried out at 16 model parcels of thickets (the area of each plot is about 1 km2 ). Maps of phytocenoses, fish spawning places, migratory stopovers for aquatic and semiaquatic birds, as well as summary maps of the resulting ecological value were compiled. According to main indicators, the macrophyte thickets ecosystems that have appeared before and during Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility complex construction (1979–2011) turned out to be the most environmentally valuable. The last ones have some advantages, since they are still less dense, more mosaic, and therefore available for fish and birds settlement not only along the periphery of plant massifs, but also inside them. Younger thickets that have appeared in new biotopes in the past decade are much less actively used by the biota, but they represent a valuable reserve for future macrophyte thickets ecosystems. The sensitivity of macrophyte thickets to hydraulic works and their consequences increases with the age of thickets: the youngest ecosystems formed under the conditions of technogenic impact are the most resistant. On the whole, it should be noted that macrophyte thickets are highly resistant to hydraulic works, except their direct mechanical destroying. The projective cover degree of biotopes by vegetation depend much less on the ongoing hydraulic works, than on the general trend of its technogenic succession.

Branding the MEGA lab; methods to improve science communication and citizen science engagement

The MEGA Lab uses branding and marketing techniques as a complementary form of science communication to improve citizen science. Storytelling, inclusivity, personalization, digital marketing, and collaborations are key components to brand marketing. Through branding, science projects within the MEGA Lab have increased their visibility, attracted more participants, and enhanced credibility. In addition, the MEGA Lab branding can also help citizen science projects to reach a wider audience. By promoting the MEGA Lab brand through social media, outreach events, and other channels, citizen science projects can increase inclusivity by attracting more participants who are interested in contributing to scientific research. We believe that other science research programs and citizen science projects can benefit from branding as a complementary form of science communication. By improving science communication, it is proposed that targeted citizen science projects can improve their visibility, credibility, and impact. This can lead to more effective and valuable contributions to scientific research, as well as a greater understanding and appreciation of science among the general public.

The Commons

Commons—resources used or governed by groups of heterogeneous users through agreed-upon institutional arrangements—are the subject of one of the more successful research programs in the social-environmental sciences. This review assesses research on the commons to accomplish three tasks. First, it surveys the theoretical, substantive, and methods-focused achievements of the field, illustrating how commons research has also influenced natural resource policy making. Second, it examines the changing trajectories of commons research, emphasizing the growing interest of commons researchers in new methods and the application of insights to new social contexts. Third, the review suggests that research on the commons can find continuing relevance by addressing contemporary and future social-environmental challenges. It highlights three directions in particular: ( a) strengthening the focus on issues of power and equity, ( b) applying insights about effective commons governance to collaborative attempts to craft commons in new societal spaces, and ( c) advancing an emerging emphasis on causal analysis and taking advantage of novel streams of large-scale public datasets.

Bisphenol-A disturbs hormonal levels and testis mitochondrial activity, reducing male fertility.

How does bisphenol-A (BPA) influence male fertility, and which mechanisms are activated following BPA exposure? BPA exposure causes hormonal disruption and alters mitochondrial dynamics and activity, ultimately leading to decreased male fertility. As public health concerns following BPA exposure are rising globally, there is a need to understand the exact mechanisms of BPA on various diseases. BPA exposure causes hormonal imbalances and affects male fertility by binding the estrogen receptors (ERs), but the mechanism of how it mediates the hormonal dysregulation is yet to be studied. This study consisted of a comparative study using mice that were separated into a control group and a group exposed to the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) (n = 20 mice/group) after a week of acclimatization to the environment. For this study, the LOAEL established by the US Environmental Protection Agency of 50 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day of BPA was used. The control mice were given corn oil orally. Based on the daily variations in BW, both groups were gavaged every day from 6 to 11 weeks (6-week exposure). Before sampling, mice were stabilized for a week. Then, the testes and spermatozoa of each mouse were collected to investigate the effects of BPA on male fertility. IVF was carried out using the cumulus-oocyte complexes from female hybrid B6D2F1/CrljOri mice (n = 3) between the ages of eight and twelve weeks. Signaling pathways, apoptosis, and mitochondrial activity/dynamics-related proteins were evaluated by western blotting. ELISA was performed to determine the levels of sex hormones (FSH, LH, and testosterone) in serum. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to determine the effects of BPA on histological morphology and stage VII/VIII testicular seminiferous epithelium. Blastocyst formation and cleavage development rate were evaluated using IVF. BPA acted by binding to ERs and G protein-coupled receptors and activating the protein kinase A and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways, leading to aberrant hormone levels and effects on the respiratory chain complex, ATP synthase and protein-related apoptotic pathways in testis mitochondria (P < 0.05). Subsequently, embryo cleavage and blastocyst formation were reduced after the use of affected sperm, and abnormal morphology of seminiferous tubules and stage VII and VIII seminiferous epithelial cells (P < 0.05) was observed. It is noteworthy that histopathological lesions were detected in the testes at the LOAEL dose, even though the mice remained generally healthy and did not exhibit significant changes in BW following BPA exposure. These observations suggest that testicular toxicity is more than a secondary outcome of compromised overall health in the mice due to systemic effects. Not applicable. Since the protein expression levels in the testes were validated, in vitro studies in each testicular cell type (Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, and spermatogonial stem cells) would be required to shed further light on the exact mechanism resulting from BPA exposure. Furthermore, the BPA doses employed in this study significantly exceed the typical human exposure levels in real-life scenarios. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct experiments focusing on the effects of BPA concentrations more in line with daily human exposures to comprehensively assess their impact on testicular toxicity and mitochondrial activity. These findings demonstrate that BPA exposure impacts male fertility by disrupting mitochondrial dynamics and activities in the testes and provides a solid foundation for subsequent investigations into the effects on male reproductive function and fertility following BPA exposure, and the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects. In addition, these findings suggest that the LOAEL concentration of BPA demonstrates exceptional toxicity, especially when considering its specific impact on the testes and its adverse consequences for male fertility by impairing mitochondrial activity. Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that BPA elicits distinct toxicological responses and mechanistic endpoints based on the particular concentration levels for each target organ. This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2018R1A6A1A03025159). No competing interests are declared.

Early warning system for ice collapses and river blockages in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings have recently experienced several catastrophic glacier-related disasters. It is of great scientific and practical significance to establish ground-based early warning systems (EWSs) to understand the processes and mechanisms of glacial disasters and warn against potential threats to downstream settlements and infrastructure. However, there are few sophisticated EWSs on the Tibetan Plateau. With the support of the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STPSER), an EWS was developed and implemented in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, where repeated river blockages have occurred due to ice/rock collapse debris flow. The EWS collected datasets of optical/thermal videos/photos, geophone waveforms, water levels, and meteorological variables in this sparsely populated zone. It has successfully warned against three ice-rock collapse–debris flow–river blockage chain events, and seven small-scale ice-rock collapse–debris flow events. Meanwhile, it was found that the low-cost geophone can effectively indicate the occurrence and magnitude of ice/rock collapses by local thresholds, and water level observation is an efficient way to warn of river blockages. Our observations showed that there were no immediate meteorological triggers for the ice-rock collapses and associated debris flows. Several factors, such as the volume and location of the collapses and the percentage of ice content involved, influence the velocities of debris flows and the magnitude of river blockages. There are still two possible glaciers in the study area that are at risk of ice collapse. It is worth monitoring their dynamic changes using high-resolution satellite data and the ground-based EWS to safeguard the surrounding hydrological projects and infrastructure in this transboundary region.

The level of adaptation and reproductive qualities of sows of the large white breed of different origins and lineages

The work aimed to study the reproductive qualities and signs of long-term adaptation of sows of the large white breed of various origins and genealogical lines. The research was conducted in the research farm and laboratory of animal husbandry and fodder production of the Institute of Agriculture of the Northeast of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was carried out following the scientific research program of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine No. 30, “System of organizational and technological solutions for adaptation of animals to climate change for the production of livestock products” (“Climate-adaptive and organic livestock breeding”). “Generally accepted zootechnical, biometric, and economic research and analysis methods were used to achieve the goal”. It was established that sows of the large white breed of French and Belgian origin are characterized by high indicators of long-term adaptation (the “adaptation level” index is 8.99 ± 0.161 points). Regarding reproductive qualities, they meet the minimum requirements of the I and the “elite” classes. A significant difference between sows of French and Belgian origin was found in the length of life (2.6 months; P &lt; 0.05), the number of farrowings obtained (0.5; P &lt; 0.05), the number of live piglets obtained (9.9; Р &lt; 0.01), multifertility (0.8 head.; Р &lt; 0.001), the weight of the nest at the time of weaning at the age of 28 days (4.8 kg; Р &lt; 0.01), index of reproductive qualities of the sow M. D. Berezovsky (1.76 points, P &lt; 0.01). Sows of the genealogical line 5488 are characterized by the maximum indicators of life expectancy, duration of breeding use, number of farrowings obtained, multifertility, nest weight at the time of weaning at 28 days, and M. D. Berezovsky's index. According to these indicators, they prevailed over peers of other genealogical lines by an average of 15.97 %. It was established that the pairwise correlation coefficient between the signs of reproductive qualities of sows and the “level of adaptation” index ranges from -0.736 ± 0.0405 to +0.502 ± 0.0661. The maximum indicators of the value of additional products were obtained from sows of French origin (+ UAH 100.86, or + USD 2.55) and animals of the genealogical line 5488 (+ UAH 340.46, or USD + 8.61).

Anthropology of the Artificial

Abstract“Anthropology of the Artificial” is a special section of articles by a collective of anthropologists, sociologists, digital media artists, and computer scientists that address the ever increasing encounters between humans and new kinds of machine systems. The contributions draw on a series of artistic and scientific research programs which call for new ways of thinking about the relations between human and artificial systems, focusing on anthropological encounters with artworks, software/hardware, and the public encounters with such systems in settings ranging from research labs to museums.

Intravenous versus super-selected intra-arterial chemotherapy in children with advanced unilateral retinoblastoma: an open-label, multicentre, randomised trial.

Super-selected intra-arterial chemotherapy has increasingly been used as conservative management for retinoblastoma during the past decade. However, the absence of evidence from randomised controlled trials engendered controversy in the administration route of chemotherapy. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial chemotherapy compared with intravenous chemotherapy. This open-label, multicentre, randomised trial was done at six hospitals in China. Patients with new-onset unilateral group D or E retinoblastoma (poorly defined, large, or very large tumours, according to the International Intraocular Retinoblastoma Classification) without high-risk clinical factors were included. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive intra-arterial chemotherapy (injections of 0·5 mg/kg [or depending on age] melphalan with 20 mg carboplatin [first and third cycles] or with 1 mg topotecan [second and fourth cycles]) or intravenous chemotherapy (0·05 mg/kg [or 1·5 mg/m2] vincristine, 5 mg/kg [or 150 mg/m2] etoposide, and 18·6 mg/kg [or 560 mg/m2] carboplatin for six cycles). After intra-arterial chemotherapy, patients received a subcutaneous injection of 0·1 mL nadroparin calcium twice at a 12 h interval. Both intra-arterial and intravenous chemotherapy cycles were completed every 4 weeks. No masking was done, except of independent statisticians, who were masked to the allocation information. The primary outcome was 2-year progression-free globe salvage rate, defined as the time from randomisation to tumour progression or enucleation, whichever occurred first, and was analysed by intention to treat. We also recorded predefined safety outcomes (myelosuppression and ophthalmic arterial stenosis or occlusion) and severe adverse events likely to be related to study treatment. The study is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IPR-15006469, and is complete. Between June 1, 2015, and June 1, 2018, 234 patients with newly diagnosed retinoblastoma were screened and 143 eligible patients (median age 23·6 months [IQR 14·0-31·9]) were enrolled and randomly assigned to the intra-arterial chemotherapy group (n=72) or the intravenous chemotherapy group (n=71). At a median follow-up of 35·8 months (IQR 28·4-43·0), the 2-year progression-free globe salvage rate was 53% (38 of 72 patients) in the intra-arterial chemotherapy group and 27% (19 of 71 patients) in the intravenous chemotherapy group (risk ratio 1·97, 95% CI 1·27-3·07, p=0·0020). Myelosuppression was less common in the intra-arterial chemotherapy group than in the intravenous chemotherapy group (37 [51%] of 72 patients vs 50 [70%] of 71 patients; 0·73, 95% CI 0·56-0·96, p=0·021) and less severe (ptrend=0·0070). In the intra-arterial chemotherapy group, two (3%) of 72 patients had ophthalmic artery occlusion and 13 (18%) patients had ophthalmic artery stenosis. Our findings show that intra-arterial chemotherapy could significantly improve the globe salvage rate in children with advanced unilateral retinoblastoma compared with intravenous chemotherapy, with mild systemic complications and no difference in overall survival rate. Intra-arterial chemotherapy could be an acceptable first-line treatment in children with advanced unilateral retinoblastoma. Scientific Research Program of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China, the Clinical Research Plan of Shanghai Hospital Development Center, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality.

Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 in Atmospheric Level Using Bimetallic Catalysts on Liquid-Electrolyte Free Cathodic Half Cell

The climate crisis, caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG), is one of the most urgent environmental issues. CO2 is one of the GHGs that contributes the most to global warming. Electrochemical CO2 reduction is considered one of the most promising technologies to solve the global warming problem and realize resource recovery. CO2 reduction technology is practically limited because most CO2 reduction techniques are theoretically based on gas-liquid or gas-liquid-solid reactions. Conventional electrochemical CO2 reduction has applied liquid electrolytes, which have the limitation of mass transfer and the problem of liquid product separation. Up to now, most studies have focused on applying high-level CO2 (pure CO2 and % level), which is also practically limited to field application.This study aimed to establish the gas-solid reaction to enable the electrochemical reduction of CO2 at the atmospheric level (hundreds ppm level). We proposed agar gel solid electrolyte inserted between the bimetallic catalysts and ion exchange membranes system for the gas phase CO2 reduction at liquid electrolyte free state. A bimetallic (Cu-Ni or Cu-Zn) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) used, as electrocatalyst, after coating on 3D foam base. The electrode surface characteristics were confirmed through x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, and the presence of bimetals on the electrode was confirmed through energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The redox behaviors of the electrode and it’s catalytic CO2 reaction were confirmed through gas-phase cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. It was observed in the experiment that CO2 removal reached up to 99%, and initial product analysis ended with methane, methanol, and dimethyl ether, which will be analyzed and discussed.AcknowledgmentThis research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education(NRF-2021R1I1A1A01049901)

On the Scientific Research Program of the Political Economy of Development with Chinese Characteristics

On the Scientific Research Program of the Political Economy of Development with Chinese Characteristics

Grace de Laguna’s 1909 critique of analytic philosophy: presentation and defence

Grace A. de Laguna was an American philosopher of exceptional originality. Many of the arguments and positions she developed during the early decades of the twentieth century later came to be central to analytic philosophy. These arguments and positions included, even before 1930, a critique of the analytic-synthetic distinction, a private language argument, a critique of type physicalism, a functionalist theory of mind, a critique of scientific reductionism, a methodology of research programs in science and more. Nevertheless, de Laguna identified herself as a defender of the speculative vision of philosophy, a vision which, in her words, ‘analytic philosophy condemns’. I outline her speculative vision of philosophy as well as what is, in effect, an argument she offers against analytic philosophy. This is an argument against the view that key parts of established opinion, e.g. our best theoretical physics or most certain common sense, should be assumed to be true in order to answer philosophical questions. I go on to bring out the implications of her argument for the approaches to philosophy of Bertrand Russell, Willard V. Quine and David Lewis, and I also compare the argument to recent, related arguments against analytic philosophy. I will suggest that de Laguna offers a viable critique of analytic philosophy and an alternative approach to philosophy that meets this critique.

Honey as a Natural Nutraceutical: Its Combinational Therapeutic Strategies Applicable to Blood Infections-Septicemia, HIV, SARS-CoV-2, Malaria.

Honey is a natural substance that has existed alongside humanity since the time of antiquity, acting then as a source of nutrition, as well as a source of medicinal aid for people. Ancient civilizations from multiple nations of the world, from ancient China to ancient Greece and Egypt, utilized the supposed healing properties of honey to treat lacerations and wounds, as well as for internal pathologies such as intestinal disease. At present, honey has entered the modern scientific research program in search of novel antibiotics. In recent research, honey has demonstrated its potential use for static and/or cidal effects on microbial strains which are becoming resistant to chemical antibiotics. Additionally, the use of honey as an agent of treatment for more severe infections, namely blood infections pertaining to septicemia, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, as well as parasitic infections such as malaria, have also been investigated in recent years. In this article, the literature has been reviewed on some of the therapeutic properties of natural nutraceutical honey, where it has been observed to act as a potential ameliorating agent; reducing the severity of such conditions that may amplify a disease, as well as reducing the progression of the disease and its symptoms.

The Principle of Dynamic Holism: Guiding Methodology for Investigating Cognition in Nonneuronal Organisms

AbstractBasal cognition investigates cognition working upward from nonneuronal organisms. Because basal cognition is committed to empirically testable hypotheses, a methodological challenge arises: how can experiments avoid using zoocentric assumptions that ignore the ecological contexts that might elicit cognitively driven behavior in nonneuronal organisms? To meet this challenge, I articulate the principle of dynamic holism (PDH), a methodological principle for guiding research on nonneuronal cognition. I describe PDH’s relation to holistic research programs in human-focused cognitive science and psychology then present an argument from analogy based on holistic developmental biology. Last, I examine two experiments exemplifying the need for PDH.

Is the mind in the brain in contemporary computational neuroscience?

According to contemporary computational neuroscience the mental is associated with computations implemented in the brain. We analyze in physical terms based on recent results in the foundations of statistical mechanics two well-known (independent) problems that arise for this approach: the problem of multiple-computations and the problem of multiple-realization. We show that within the computational theory of the mind the two problems are insoluble by the physics of the brain. We further show that attempts to solve the problems by the interactions of the systems implementing the computations with an environment (in or outside the brain) must introduce non-physical factors, and therefore fail on physical grounds. We also show that the problems are endemic and pertain to other forms of functional theories of the mind, most notably, causal functionalism. Finally, we propose a physicalist reductive identity theory, which is a generalization of statistical mechanics for all the special sciences, and show that only a theory of this kind can provide physical solutions to the above two problems in computational neuroscience. We conclude that functionalism in the theory of mind must be replaced with a reductive identity theory. This result has far-reaching implications with respect to the research programs in brain science.

1512-P: The Novel Roles of Intracellular Calcium and Phosphoinositides in Insulin Signaling and Metabolic Disease

Insulin resistance is closely associated with elevated intracellular Ca2+ concentration under ectopic lipid accumulation and hyperglycemia-induced intracellular stress conditions. We recently identified that obesity impairs intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, which prevents membrane localization of PH domain-containing proteins such as AKT, PLCδ, and IRS through the formation of Ca2+-phosphoinositides (PIPs), resulting in dysregulation of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance. It is unclear, however, whether insulin sensitivity can be improved by targeting intracellular Ca2+ overload. Therefore, we screened nine angiotensin-II-receptor blockers (ARBs), a class of antihypertensive agents, for beneficial effects on palmitic acid (PA)-induced insulin resistance in human HepG2 cells. Two of the ARBs attenuated PA-induced intracellular Ca2+ overload by inhibiting dysregulated store-operated channel (SOC)-mediated Ca2+ entry into cells, which ameliorated insulin resistance by promoting insulin-stimulated membrane localization of AKT and by increasing the phosphorylation of AKT and its downstream substrates in PA-treated HepG2 cells. Furthermore, certain ARBs ameliorated obesity-induced insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and tissue inflammation in mice fed a high-fat diet. Meanwhile, certain ARBs normalized intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis by regulating obesity-associated SOC-mediated Ca2+ entry, which rescued impaired insulin signaling in liver and muscle tissues by promoting postprandial membrane localization of AKT and IRS2. These findings underscore the contribution of dysregulated intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis to the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and suggest a therapeutic strategy to use specific ARBs to ameliorate insulin resistance. Disclosure J.Lee: None. Y.Jung: None. S.Im: None. D.Lee: None. H.Lee: None. I.Hong: None. O.Kim: None. B.Oh: None. Funding Korean Ministry of Health &amp; Welfare (HI14C1135 to B-C.O.); Basic Science Research Program (2021R1I1A1A01051429 to O-H.K.); Mid-Career Researcher Program (2019R1A2C2008130, 2022R1A2C2092700 to B-C.O.); National Research Foundation of Korea (2021R1A5A203033)

Scientific creativity and innovation ability and its determinants among medical postgraduate students in Fujian province of China: a cross sectional study

BackgroundGraduate education is the main approach to training high-level innovative elites. With the expansion of the scale of graduate education in China, it has gradually emerged that the lack of innovation ability of graduate students is recognized as the primary problem in graduate education. How to comprehensively improve the quality of postgraduate teaching has become the core task of educational reform and development. However, data about the current cultivation and development of the innovative ability of graduate students in China is limited.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted among medical postgraduate students. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis methods were used to analyze the data to describe the current innovation ability in advanced medical education and potential influence factors.ResultsA total of 1241 medical students were surveyed, according to the results of questionnaire data analysis. The proportion of subjects who participated in the College Student’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program or any other scientific research programs are fairly high which are 46.82% and 29.20% respectively. Most of the participants are observed with high levels of self-motivation and active learning and have good performance in creative thinking. However, only a small number of participants (16.6%) reported academic achievements such as publications. Most of the students are satisfied with the current scientific research environment and think that the current postgraduate training system is qualified for the cultivation of innovation ability, and expects the inclusion of course specialized in systemic medicine and medical informatics in the curricula. Multiple logistic regression results showed that among the factors studied, gender, medical specialties, and types of master’s degrees are associated with cognition & skills, academic performance, and creativity.ConclusionsIt will be important to incorporate more techniques for creating and improving creativity in the curricula of the current postgraduate education, especially for courses such as systemic medicine and informatics. Guidance in earlier school life can stimulate creativity and an early introduction to scientific research work will facilitate innovative thinking and behavior. Scientific research programs such as the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training for the universities of PRC have been widely implemented in the undergraduate education system throughout the country. However, the training effectiveness of the current scientific research programs is worth improving.

Executive Compensation Limits and Executive Turnover

We explore the consequences of limiting executive pay on voluntary executive turnover by exploiting a Chinese government policy restricting executive pay at a subset of firms. Affected firms experience an increase in voluntary executive turnover, with executives increasingly moving to firms not bound by the pay policy. Executives that leave are of higher quality as suggested by their stronger stock and accounting performance in the year prior to the turnover. Affected firms suffer firm value losses, especially when talented executives leave. Our findings demonstrate the importance of compensation contracts in retaining executives and suggest a need for regulatory caution, since mandated constraints aimed at trying to “fix” executive pay can hurt firm value and ultimately, hurt shareholders. This paper was accepted by Suraj Srinivasan, accounting. Funding: S. Silveri acknowledges research support in the form of a summer research grant from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis. This research support does not imply endorsement of the research results by either Fogelman College or the University of Memphis. K. Wang is grateful for the financial support provided by the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program and the research project of the Institute for State-Owned Enterprises, Tsinghua University. L. Zhao is grateful for the financial support provided by the Asia Research Center in Nankai University [Project AS2206]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4812 .