IFMIF-DONES as Paradigm of Institutional Funding in the Way towards Sustainable Energy

Although actions promoting sustainable energy production and consumption have been widely approached in the literature, the management of the big scientific projects devoted to these actions have not been considered as a matter of study from the perspective of sustainable development, but almost exclusively from the scientific or technical ones. Experiences all over the world are increasingly demonstrating that the impact of the project phase is more critical than expected. In this sense, the joint international research on clean and more efficient nuclear power, especially fusion, is currently focused on two large projects: ITER and IFMIF-DONES. Although ITER is step by step advancing, IFMIF-DONES still has a long way before it is actually implemented and its main target (the evaluation of the materials to build the future nuclear fusion reactors) is achieved. In this work, the different steps focused on IFMIF-DONES funding and management planning up to date are analysed and, departing from them, some key points on the future development of the project are proposed.

Free for all, or free-for-all? A content analysis of Australian university open access policies

Recent research demonstrates that Australia lags in providing open access to research outputs. In Australia, while the two major research funding bodies require open access of outputs from projects they fund, these bodies only fund a small proportion of research conducted. The major source of research and experimental development funding in Australian higher education is general university, or institutional, funding, and such funds are not subject to national funder open access policies. Thus, institutional policies and other institutional supports for open access are important in understanding Australia's OA position. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to understand the characteristics of Australian institutional open access policies and to explore the extent they represent a coherent and unified approach to delivering and promoting open access in Australia. Open access policies were located using a systematic web search approach and then their contents were analysed. Only half of Australian universities were found to have an open access policy. There was a wide variation in language used, expressed intent of the policy and expectations of researchers. Few policies mention monitoring or compliance and only three mention consequences for non-compliance. While it is understandable that institutions develop their own policies, when language is used which does not reflect national and international understandings, when requirements are not clear and with consequences, policies are unlikely to contribute to understanding of open access, to uptake of the policy, or to ease of transferring understanding and practices between institutions. A more unified approach to open access is recommended.

Restoring the Unrestored: Strategies for Restoring Global Land during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN-DER)

Restoring the health of degraded land is critical for overall human development as land is a vital life-supporting system, directly or indirectly influencing the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). However, more than 33% of the global land is degraded and thereby affecting the livelihood of billions of people worldwide. Realizing this fact, the 73rd session of the UN Assembly has formally adopted a resolution to celebrate 2021–2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN-DER), for preventing, halting, and reversing degradation of ecosystems worldwide. While this move is historic and beneficial for both people and the planet, restoration of degraded land at different scales and levels requires a paradigm shift in existing restoration approaches, fueled by the application of applied science to citizen/community-based science, and tapping of indigenous and local knowledge to advanced technological breakthroughs. In addition, there is a need of strong political will and positive behavioral changes to strengthen restoration initiatives at the grassroot level and involvement of people from all walks of life (i.e., from politicians to peasants and social workers to scientists) are essential for achieving the targets of the UN-DER. Similarly, financing restoration on the ground by the collective contribution of individuals (crowd funding) and institutions (institutional funding) are critical for maintaining the momentum. Private companies can earmark lion-share of their corporate social responsibility fund (CSR fund) exclusively for restoration. The adoption of suitable bioeconomy models is crucial for maintaining the perpetuity of the restoration by exploring co-benefits, and also for ensuring stakeholder involvements during and after the restoration. This review underpins various challenges and plausible solutions to avoid, reduce, and reverse global land degradation as envisioned during the UN-DER, while fulfilling the objectives of other ongoing initiatives like the Bonn Challenge and the UN-SDGs.

The Public Institution Presidency

Public college and university presidents must navigate the political and social structures associated with state legislatures to ensure that policymakers provide acceptable levels of institutional funding and develop policies beneficial to higher education. Yet, few presidents are prepared for their political and institutional advocacy roles. This chapter presents an analysis of the challenges facing public institution presidents and how advocacy strategies can be used to advance their institutional agendas.

The wicked problem of measuring real-world research impact: Using sustainable development goals (SDGs) and targets in academia

This paper proposes that the United Nation's sustainable development goals (SDGs) and associated targets form an effective framework for determining real-world research impact. Existing bibliometrics that assess the quality of academic work are usually quantitative and self-referential, reducing the focus on real-world issues. The same measurements are often adopted by funding bodies, pressuring researchers to increase compliance, and further reducing integrity and real-world impact. A series of world cafés were conducted, collecting data on how researchers, their institutions, and network organisations can contribute to, and measure research aligned with the SDGs and targets. The results showed that participants were generally positive towards using the SDGs and targets to measure impact and quality of academic research. Suggestions to assist greater adoption of the SDGs and targets as a measure of impact included: aligning governmental and institutional funding; changing key performance indicators; increasing cross-disciplinary work; aligning mission/vision statements; and legitimising SDG-focused projects at conferences.

Fast growth of the number of proceedings papers in atypical fields in the Czech Republic is a likely consequence of the national performance-based research funding system

This article compares the growth rates of Web of Science indexed research publications in 11 European countries from 2000 to 2015. The growth of publication output in the Czech Republic was very fast: the annual production increased more than threefold. However, the number of articles increased only 2.6-fold, whereas the number of proceedings papers increased eightfold. During 2013–15 almost one-third of the papers published by researchers based in the Czech Republic were proceedings papers, a much higher share than in any other benchmark country. Such a high share is undesirable, because proceedings papers are generally much less often cited than journal articles. The growth of the number of proceedings papers is fastest in 17 fields belonging to the social sciences which usually do not hold proceedings papers in high regard. Our analysis shows that this undesirable development started after the introduction of national performance-based research funding system (PRFS) in the Czech Republic. Hence, the effort made to publish proceedings papers seems to reflect an optimization strategy in the light of the PRFS. In the Czech PRFS, proceedings papers have been rewarded point values similar to articles in refereed journals and a large portion of the institutional funding is allocated according to the evaluation results. As a consequence of very fast growth of proceedings papers in the social sciences, the university institutional funding in these fields has grown faster than in other fields. In conclusion, the fast growth of proceedings papers represents an adaptive behavior to the context of the PRFS.

Advances on GenIV structural and fuel materials and cross-cutting activities between fission and fusion

This paper describes six projects, most of which are part of the research portfolio of the EERA JPNM, devoted to qualification, modelling and development of structural and fuel materials for advanced and innovative nuclear systems, with also two examples of projects addressing issues of cross-cutting interest through fusion and fission. The main conclusion is that the benefit of the coordination under the umbrella of, in this case, the EERA JPNM, is clearly felt in terms of better alignment of national programmes and subsequent leveraging of institutional funding, to integrate Euratom support. Likewise, the benefit of addressing specific issues of common interest for fusion and fission is not only beneficial because of cross-fertilisation, but also because it allows more rational use of human and infrastructural resources, avoiding duplications.

Maximum 24-Hour Platelet Count Fall Rate As a Predictor of HIT

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a high-stakes diagnosis. A delay in initiation of appropriate therapy is associated with a 6.1% daily incidence of thrombosis, amputation, and death (Greinacher et al, Blood 2000). However, misdiagnosis exposes patients without HIT to alternative anticoagulants and their attendant risk of major bleeding. Although a meta-analysis showed that the negative predictive value (NPV) of a low-probability 4Ts score is 99.8%, the positive predictive value (PPV) of the 4Ts score is limited. This is particularly true among individuals with an intermediate-probability score, in whom the PPV is only 14% (Cuker et al. Blood 2012). It has been observed that immune-mediated causes of thrombocytopenia result in a more precipitous fall in the platelet count than other common causes of hospital-acquired thrombocytopenia (e.g. infection, disseminated intravascular coagulation, drug-induced myelosuppression). Nevertheless, the pace of platelet count fall is not currently captured in the 4Ts score or other clinical prediction models for HIT. We hypothesized that rapidity of the platelet count fall could help to discriminate HIT status among patients with an intermediate probability 4Ts score. Methods: In a cohort of 292 patients with suspected HIT and prospectively calculated 4Ts scores, we identified patients with an intermediate 4Ts score (4 or 5). Patients were classified as HIT-positive or HIT-negative by an independent panel of HIT experts as previously described (Pishko et al. Blood Advances 2018). We compared the frequency of scores in each of the 4Ts score categories between HIT-positive and-HIT negative patients using Chi-square analysis. For each day from hospital admission to day of HIT laboratory testing, we extracted the first measured platelet count, exposure to heparin, and platelet transfusions. We also extracted the dates of the following events of interest, as they may be associated with an immediate fall in platelet count: cardiovascular surgery, initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, intra-aortic balloon pump placement, Impella device placement, and left ventricular assist device implantation. Two reviewers reviewed the platelet count and clinical data for each patient to determine the day on which the platelet count began to decline, excluding platelet count falls 24 hours following one of the aforementioned events of interest. From this date, we calculated the change in platelet count per each 24-hour timeframe, expressed as a percentage of the previous day's platelet count. For each subject, we identified the maximum percentage decrease in platelet count in a 24-hour period (Fallmax). We then compared the Fallmax between HIT-positive and HIT-negative subjects using the Wilcoxon-rank sum test. We assessed the operating characteristics of Fallmax for the diagnosis of HIT at different cut-offs. We selected a cut-off that maximized specificity of the metric while maintaining a sensitivity of ≥95%. Results: Among 292 patients, 158 (54.1%) had a 4Ts score of 4 or 5. Twenty-two (13.9%) were HIT-positive and 136 (86.1%) were HIT-negative. Patient characteristics are listed in table 1. No single item in the 4Ts score exhibited a significant relationship with HIT diagnosis (table 2). The median Fallmax was 49.6% (IQR 42.3-58.9) in HIT-positive patients and 38.5% (IQR 27.8-50.4) in HIT-negative patients (p=0.009). At a Fallmax cut off of ≥ 30%, the sensitivity and specificity of this measure for the diagnosis of HIT was 95.5% (95% CI 77.2%-99.9%) and 29.4% (95% CI 21.9%-37.8%), respectively (table 3). 29.4% (40/136) of the HIT-negative patients had a Fallmax below this cut-off versus only 2.4% (1/22) HIT-positive patients. Conclusion: The maximum percentage decrease in platelet count within 24-hours (Fallmax) was significantly higher in HIT-positive versus HIT-negative patients. A Fallmax ≥ 30% may be a useful metric to discriminate HIT positivity among patients with an intermediate 4Ts score. In this cohort, nearly 30% of HIT negative patients did not meet this cut-off and thus may have been spared alternative anticoagulant exposure. The rapidity of platelet count fall holds promise as a marker for improving the PPV of the 4Ts score, though it requires further evaluation and external validation. Disclosures Cuker: Synergy: Consultancy; Alexion: Other: Institutional funding on author's behalf; Bayer: Other: Institutional funding on author's behalf; Novo Nordisk: Other: Institutional funding on author's behalf; Pfizer: Other: Institutional funding on author's behalf; Spark: Other: Institutional funding on author's behalf. Pishko:Novo Nordisk: Research Funding; Sanofi Genzyme: Research Funding.

The Analysis on The Formulation of Integrated Pest Management Policy Strategy by Using Swot-AHP Method (A Case Study on Vegetable Plant Cultivation in Lampung Province)

The objective of this research was to formulate a policy strategy for integrated pest management by using SWOT AHP methods (case study on vegetable cultivation in Lampung Province). This method used A’WOT; the combination of AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) analysis and SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat) analysis. The analysis result showed the main strength factors becoming the base for sustainable agricultural business were the availability of good structures and infrastructures both in production and marketing, and the availability of sufficient production structure (seeds) with good quality and quantity. The weakness factors becoming concern were dominantly lack of institutional funding (capital) for vegetable business, many problems in the integrated pest management (IPM) technology implementation stage, many problems in good agriculture practices (GAP), and numbers of families making their life as farmers. The opportunity factors were the availability of IPM and GAP technologies, growing campaign for consuming domestic products reducing import, and high government commitment to improve vegetable farmers’ welfare. The threats to concern were no protection operational base and farmer’s empowerment, very few institutional funding (capital) for vegetable business, and many problems in the GAP and technology implementation. Six strategies becoming priority in order were drafting the regulation and standard of operation that regulate IPM and GAP implementations; strengthening farmer’ institution, capital and agricultural insurance; drafting legality of operational protection and farmer’s empowerment; agricultural intensification in order to improve quantity, quality, safety, and environmental insight for food security and independency; optimization of technology transfer by socialization or education of IPM and GAP for vegetable crops; and inexpensive IPM system based controlling technology development and effective and efficient of alternative production structures.

The Relationship Between Disability Prejudice and Institutionalization of People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

There are decades of research indicating ableism is extremely prominent. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between disability prejudice and institutionalization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This study had two research questions: (1) How does disability prejudice impact the number of people with IDD who are institutionalized in a state? and (2) How does disability prejudice impact spending on institutions? To do so, we utilized secondary data about state utilization of institutions (fiscal year 2015), and disability prejudice data from 325,000 people. Findings revealed, states with higher disability prejudice institutionalize more people, even when controlling for size. Moreover, states with higher disability prejudice also spend more on institutional funding, regardless of size or wealth.