scholarly journals Scientific approaches to science policy

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (21) ◽  
pp. 3273-3274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Berg

The development of robust science policy depends on use of the best available data, rigorous analysis, and inclusion of a wide range of input. While director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), I took advantage of available data and emerging tools to analyze training time distribution by new NIGMS grantees, the distribution of the number of publications as a function of total annual National Institutes of Health support per investigator, and the predictive value of peer-review scores on subsequent scientific productivity. Rigorous data analysis should be used to develop new reforms and initiatives that will help build a more sustainable American biomedical research enterprise.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen A.-M. Gomaa ◽  
Huda A. Ali

Background : The reactivity of 4-(dicyanomethylene)-3-methyl-l-phenyl-2-pyrazoline-5-one DCNP 1 and its derivatives makes it valuable as a building block for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds like pyrazolo-imidazoles, - thiazoles, spiropyridines, spiropyrroles, spiropyrans and others. As a number of publications have reported on the reactivity of DCNP and its derivatives, we compiled some features of this interesting molecule. Objective: This article aims to review the preparation of DCNP, its reactivity and application in heterocyclic and dyes synthesis. Conclusion: In this review we have provided an overview of recent progress in the chemistry of DCNP and its significance in synthesis of various classes of heterocyclic compounds and dyes. The unique reactivity of DCNP offers unprecedentedly mild reaction conditions for the generation of versatile cynomethylene dyes from a wide range of precursors including amines, α-aminocarboxylic acids, their esters, phenols, malononitriles and azacrown ethers. We anticipate that more innovative transformations involving DCNP will continue to emerge in the near future.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1346
Author(s):  
Andreas Breitwieser ◽  
Uwe B. Sleytr ◽  
Dietmar Pum

Homogeneous and stable dispersions of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in aqueous solutions are imperative for a wide range of applications, especially in life and medical sciences. Various covalent and non-covalent approaches were published to separate the bundles into individual tubes. In this context, this work demonstrates the non-covalent modification and dispersion of pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) using two S-layer proteins, namely, SbpA from Lysinibacillus sphaericus CCM2177 and SbsB from Geobacillus stearothermophilus PV72/p2. Both the S-layer proteins coated the MWNTs completely. Furthermore, it was shown that SbpA can form caps at the ends of MWNTs. Reassembly experiments involving a mixture of both S-layer proteins in the same solution showed that the MWNTs were primarily coated with SbsB, whereas SbpA formed self-assembled layers. The dispersibility of the pristine nanotubes coated with SbpA was determined by zeta potential measurements (−24.4 +/− 0.6 mV, pH = 7). Finally, the SbpA-coated MWNTs were silicified with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) using a mild biogenic approach. As expected, the thickness of the silica layer could be controlled by the reaction time and was 6.3 +/− 1.25 nm after 5 min and 25.0 +/− 5.9 nm after 15 min. Since S-layer proteins have already demonstrated their capability to bind (bio)molecules in dense packing or to act as catalytic sites in biomineralization processes, the successful coating of pristine MWNTs has great potential in the development of new materials, such as biosensor architectures.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. i ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikui Dong ◽  
Ruth Sherman

This special issue covers a wide range of topics on the protection and sustainable management of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), including Indigenous knowledge of sustainable rangeland management, science-policy interface for alpine rangeland biodiversity conservation, adaptations of local people to social and environmental changes and policy design for managing coupled human-natural systems of alpine rangelands.


Author(s):  
Mira Schmalenberg ◽  
Lena K. Weick ◽  
Norbert Kockmann

AbstractNucleation in continuously operated capillary coiled cooling crystallizers is experimentally investigated under the influence of ultrasound. It was found that there is no sharp boundary but rather a transition zone for nucleation under sonication. For this purpose, a tube with an inner diameter of 1.6 mm and a length of 6 m was winded in a coiled flow inverter (CFI) design and immersed into a cooled ultrasonic bath (37 kHz). The CFI design was chosen for improved radial mixing and narrow residence time distribution, which is also investigated. Amino acid l-alanine dissolved in deionized water is employed in a supersaturation range of 1.10 to 1.46 under quiet and sonicated conditions. Nucleation is non-invasive detected using a flow cell equipped with a microscope and camera. Graphical abstract Since the interest and demand for small-scale, continuous crystallization increases, seed crystals were generated in a coiled tube via sonication and optically investigated and characterized. No distinct threshold for nucleation could be determined in a wide range of supersaturations of l-alanine in water


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost Petrus Gerardus Sluijter ◽  
Sean Michael Davidson ◽  
Chantal M Boulanger ◽  
Edit Iren Buzás ◽  
Dominique Paschalis Victor de Kleijn ◽  
...  

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs)—particularly exosomes and microvesicles (MVs)—are attracting considerable interest in the cardiovascular field as the wide range of their functions is recognized. These capabilities include transporting regulatory molecules including different RNA species, lipids, and proteins through the extracellular space including blood and delivering these cargos to recipient cells to modify cellular activity. EVs powerfully stimulate angiogenesis, and can protect the heart against myocardial infarction. They also appear to mediate some of the paracrine effects of cells, and have therefore been proposed as a potential alternative to cell-based regenerative therapies. Moreover, EVs of different sources may be useful biomarkers of cardiovascular disease identities. However, the methods used for the detection and isolation of EVs have several limitations and vary widely between studies, leading to uncertainties regarding the exact population of EVs studied and how to interpret the data. The number of publications in the exosome and MV field has been increasing exponentially in recent years and, therefore, in this ESC Working Group Position Paper, the overall objective is to provide a set of recommendations for the analysis and translational application of EVs focussing on the diagnosis and therapy of the ischaemic heart. This should help to ensure that the data from emerging studies are robust and repeatable, and optimize the pathway towards the diagnostic and therapeutic use of EVs in clinical studies for patient benefit.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordann E. Trainor ◽  
KR Pooja ◽  
Nathan T. Mortimer

AbstractThe interactions between Drosophila melanogaster and the parasitoid wasps that infect Drosophila species provide an important model for understanding host-parasite relationships. Following parasitoid infection, D. melanogaster larvae mount a response in which immune cells (hemocytes) form a capsule around the wasp egg, which then melanizes leading to death of the parasitoid. Previous studies have found that host hemocyte load, the number of hemocytes available for the encapsulation response, and the production of lamellocytes, an infection induced hemocyte type, are major determinants of host resistance. Parasitoids have evolved various virulence mechanisms to overcome the immune response of the D. melanogaster host, including both active immune suppression by venom proteins and passive immune evasive mechanisms. We find that a previously undescribed parasitoid species, Asobara sp. AsDen, utilizes an active virulence mechanism to infect D. melanogaster hosts. Asobara sp. AsDen infection inhibits host hemocyte expression of msn, a member of the JNK signaling pathway, which plays a role in lamellocyte production. Asobara sp. AsDen infection restricts the production of lamellocytes as assayed by hemocyte cell morphology and altered msn expression. Our findings suggest that Asobara sp. AsDen venom targets host signaling to suppress immunity.DeclarationsFundingThis work was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R35GM133760.Availability of data and materialSequence data has been deposited in GenBank under accession # MT498809. Custom BLAST databases are available on request to corresponding author.Authors’ contributionsConceived of or designed study: J.E.T., N.T.M.; Performed research: J.E.T., P.K.; Analyzed data: J.E.T., P.K., N.T.M.; Wrote the paper: J.E.T., P.K., N.T.M.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Luz Marina Caballero-Apaza ◽  
Rubén Vidal-Espinoza ◽  
Silvia Curaca-Arroyo ◽  
Rossana Gomez-Campos ◽  
Zaida Callata-Gallegos ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: The presence of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus is causing enormous threats to people’s health and lives, so quantifying the scientific productivity on mental health in times of pandemic is an urgent need, especially to expand the degree of knowledge on mental health problems in regions of low scientific productivity. The aim was to characterize the bibliometric indicators of scientific productivity on mental health during the pandemic in the PubMed Identifier database of the National Library of Medicine in the United States. Materials and Methods: A documentary study (bibliometric) of the scientific productivity on mental health in times of pandemic from January 2020 to June 2021 was carried out. The PubMed database was used to abstract the information from the original scientific articles. The data abstracted were: authors, year of publication, journal name, country, and language of publication. Results: We identified 47 original articles worldwide, which were published in 29 journals and in three languages (English, Spanish, and German). We observed three groups of countries that published on mental health topics. The first group comprised the largest number of publications, which were multicenter studies (six studies), followed by India (five studies), and Italy (four studies). A second group comprised Bangladesh, China, USA, and Spain, with 3 studies each; and a third group comprised 13 countries (Albania, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, and New Zealand) with one study each. Conclusions: Bibliometric indicators of scientific productivity on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic have ostensibly increased. We verified 47 studies in PubMed, which could serve to improve the understanding and management of COVID-19, as well as serve as a thought-provoking means for other countries and researchers to publish on the state of mental health during and post pandemic.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 97-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaib Rehaman Abdul ◽  
Robin George

Klebsiella organisms are known to cause a wide range of clinical syndromes in human beings which include pneumonia, urinary tract infection, abdominal infection, surgical site infection, soft tissue infection and infection of intravascular devices. The incidence is higher among immunocompromised individuals and those with chronic debilitating diseases like diabetes, alcoholism etc. This case report is regarding an elderly diabetic male who developed necrotizing fasciitis of leg following local application of steroids. The causative organism was Klebsiella, which is an unusual pathogen.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.7(5) 2016 97-99


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emeric Dynomant ◽  
Romain Lelong ◽  
Badisse Dahamna ◽  
Clément Massonaud ◽  
Gaétan Kerdelhué ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Word embedding technologies are now used in a wide range of applications. However, no formal evaluation and comparison have been made on models produced by the three most famous implementations (Word2Vec, GloVe and FastText). OBJECTIVE The goal of this study is to compare embedding implementations on a corpus of documents produced in a working context, by health professionals. METHODS Models have been trained on documents coming from the Rouen university hospital. This data is not structured and cover a wide range of documents produced in a clinic (discharge summary, prescriptions ...). Four evaluation tasks have been defined (cosine similarity, odd one, mathematical operations and human formal evaluation) and applied on each model. RESULTS Word2Vec had the highest score for three of the four tasks (mathematical operations, odd one similarity and human validation), particularly regarding the Skip-Gram architecture. CONCLUSIONS Even if this implementation had the best rate, each model has its own qualities and defects, like the training time which is very short for GloVe or morphosyntaxic similarity conservation observed with FastText. Models and test sets produced by this study will be the first publicly available through a graphical interface to help advance French biomedical research.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-143
Author(s):  
S Risal ◽  
H N Prasad

Scientific productivity of any academic institution is expressed by the total number of publications generated by its academic faculties and the use of the publication by scientific community. Citation analysis is done to evaluate the use of the publications. Use of the publication can be studied with the help of bibliometric analysis. Counting publication, publications trends, authorship patterns and citation analysis are parts of bibliometric analysis. Web of Science is one of the best databases which allow the study in the use of the publications through citation analysis. In this article, scientific articles produced by the faculties and other international affiliated faculties of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences have been studied. Citation analysis of scientific publications of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences is done with the help of the Web of Science, a product of Thomason Reuters.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v10i2.6584 Health Renaissance 2012; Vol 10 (No.2); 139-143 


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