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The introduction of emergency nursing in Africa has resulted in the establishment of several training schools across the continent. This has translated into a growing body of emergency care research being carried out by nurses; however, the breadth and extent of evidence remains unclear. The aim of the review was to map and collate the available literature on emergency nursing research in WHO Afro-region states. The review adopted the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping reviews. The review protocol was registered on 27 June 2022 (osf.io/5wz3x). The Population (nurse), Concept (emergency nursing research), Context (WHO Afro-region) (PCC) elements guided the development of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Papers were searched across seven electronic data bases and two search engines using a three-search strategy. The screening was performed initially on the abstract and title and lastly on full text. The reporting for the review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). One hundred and thirteen papers were included in the review. Publication of emergency nursing research occurred from 2000 to 2022. The year 2017 and 2019 recorded the highest number of publications (n = 14). The country with the most publications was South Africa (n=50). Emergency nursing research used predominantly quantitative methodologies (n=58). The professional groups involved in research were nurses (n=69) as well as nurses and doctors (n=26). The identified papers focused primarily on emergency nursing education (n=23) and epidemiology (n=24). There is a notable increase in the number of publications on emergency nursing research in WHO Afro-region states, however from only 11 countries. Since most of the research is still at descriptive level, there is need to encourage emergency nursing research on interventions and measuring outcomes and impact in the emergency care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the human nutrition community has learned anything from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is that many of our advances in preventing or understanding the double burden of malnutrition are far more tenuous than we ever imagined ([1]). Vitamin A labelled with a stable isotope allows for the assessment of total body stores of vitamin A both in individuals and within a given population across the entire spectrum of vitamin A status ([11], [12]). International Atomic Energy Agency and Nutrition Research Using Nuclear Applications The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supports the use of nuclear techniques, including stable isotope techniques, in nutrition assessments to develop and evaluate interventions aimed at addressing malnutrition in all its forms ([14]). [Extracted from the article]

Authors' rebuttal letters (ARLs) in response to journal reviewers critically affect whether a paper is accepted or rejected. However, the genre is traditionally "occluded" from the public view, and its linguistic or rhetorical features are seldom examined in the literature. Using Hyland's (2005) model, this study analyzes stance markers, i.e., expressions of the speaker's attitudes towards or commitment concerning a proposition, in 50 ARLs from five high-impact Nature Portfolio journals, which started publishing ARLs as supplements to manuscripts in 2020. The analysis shows that authors' stance deployment differs markedly between different sections of the ARL, i.e., Opening Statement, Point-by-Point Response, Additional Changes, and Closing Remarks. Attitude markers, boosters, and self-mentions are more frequent in ARLs than in research articles, serving to advocate the paper, highlight improvements, and show gratitude towards reviewers. Only 6 % ARLs fully accommodate all reviewer suggestions. When rejecting a criticism, authors rarely express total disagreement with reviewers, choosing instead to hedge the No Revision claims, use expressions of agreement and gratitude as buffers, and boost positive aspects of the paper. Findings of this study may be of interest to those who seek a better understanding of the language of ARLs, including ESP teachers and novice researchers. • 94 % authors' rebuttal letters (ARLs) contain No/Partial Revision responses. • Replies to criticisms contain fewer self-mentions than replies to positive comments. • Attitude markers showing gratitude and merits of paper are common throughout ARLs. • Hedging is most prevalent in No Revision responses, serving to soften disagreement. • Boosters reinforce self-praise, especially in No/Partial Revision responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental care providers are essential in screening and co-managing sleep-breathing disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea. As an integral component of dental medicine education, Dental Sleep-disordered Breathing Education (DSBE) aims to equip undergraduate and graduate dental students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude to screen for and manage sleep-breading disorders as part of interdisciplinary teams. Studies on DSBE have mainly focused on undergraduate dental programs. Thus, research is needed to support the improvement of DSBE in dental residency programs, especially in orthodontics, to address the learning needs of future dental students, including Generation Z learners. This perspective paper suggests key research areas and methodologies to support this much-needed undertaking. These areas include curriculum mapping, outcome evaluation, and improvement/innovation. Dental researchers are encouraged to investigate these areas, employing the suggested methodologies. This will help overcome existing educational challenges and advance the available knowledge on DSBE in residency programs in orthodontics and dentistry at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various domains, including education and research. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques and large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 and BARD have significantly advanced our comprehension and application of AI in these fields. This paper provides an in-depth introduction to AI, NLP, and LLMs, discussing their potential impact on education and research. By exploring the advantages, challenges, and innovative applications of these technologies, this review gives educators, researchers, students, and readers a comprehensive view of how AI could shape educational and research practices in the future, ultimately leading to improved outcomes. Key applications discussed in the field of research include text generation, data analysis and interpretation, literature review, formatting and editing, and peer review. AI applications in academics and education include educational support and constructive feedback, assessment, grading, tailored curricula, personalized career guidance, and mental health support. Addressing the challenges associated with these technologies, such as ethical concerns and algorithmic biases, is essential for maximizing their potential to improve education and research outcomes. Ultimately, the paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the role of AI in education and research and highlight its potential to lead to better outcomes for students, educators, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents motivational factors to engage, start a research project and pursue a research career. The study aimed to investigate radiographer's motivation for engaging in research. Eight radiographers from Denmark with experience in research were interviewed in a 2-h focus group interview in October 2023. This qualitative approach was selected to allow the participants to discuss their opinions and values. The discussions were audio recorded and transcribed before the thematic analysis was performed. The analysis revealed six main themes: the importance of radiographic research, the importance of radiographers' participation in research, research radiographers' motivation, funding and participation in research projects, demotivation and difficulties, and facilitating radiographic research in the future. The participants were motivated by different factors. The participants found both research in radiography and radiographers' participation in research-related activities important, although they found lack of support from managers, funding, and time to be demotivational factors. This study contributes to the limited literature on motivational factors for becoming a researcher within radiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Service Learning incorporates a reflexive learning approach focused on community-identified issues that align with academic content, and are mutually beneficial for students and communities. • This paper offers a creative approach to remote learning opportunities for partnering with community agencies and engaging in evidence-based practice. • Nurse educators may use a service learning model including translational research skills of FNP students in a structured approach to evidence-based practice in real-world settings. In pursuit of healthy equity and social justice integration across the curriculum, a service learning approach was explored to meet objectives and enhance student learning while offering benefits to the community. In the case of a primarily online master's level nurse practitioner single semester research course, creativity and exploration with various community partners lead to a rich and fulfilling mutually beneficial experience for both students and community. Project topics, framed in primary care and viewed through an equity lens, included community-identified issues related to policy revision or development, workflow or structural barriers, practice recommendations and program development. The resulting course succeeded in meeting stated objectives, including enhanced nurse identity as citizen and change agent. Additionally, the experience served to connect students and healthcare providers for improved services across the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

After 90 years, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (JTCVS) remains one of the most influential and widely read journals in our specialty. This study analyzes the characteristics of its top-cited articles over the past 6 decades. Using Elsevier's Scopus database, we identified all papers published in JTCVS since 1959. After exclusion of expert consensus guidelines, articles were grouped by decade and ranked by the total number of citations. We included the field-weighted citation impact (FWCI) when available. We analyzed the characteristics of the 10 most cited documents overall and per decade. The Journal published a total of 32,335 papers, of which 14,052 were published between 2010 and 2021. The order of the top-cited articles differs when ranked by citations versus FWCI. During the last 6 decades, the 10 most cited articles per decade have a mean number of 604 citations (range, 240-1670) and a mean FWCI of 13.1 (range, 4.3-24.7). There is no overlap in positions when articles are ranked by citations versus FWCI. The majority of the 60 top 10 cited articles over the past 6 decades were presented at a major meeting (n = 38, 63%), most commonly the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Topics in adult cardiac surgery and general thoracic surgery predominated among the most-cited papers, which originated most often from the United States followed by Japan, Canada, France, England, and Germany. JTCVS continues to provide a global platform to share impactful knowledge related to surgery for thoracic diseases. The use of citations to determine an article's impact has limitations and nontraditional metrics may prove to be an excellent complementary tool for more equitable evaluations. Top 10 cited articles in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery per decade. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the institutions, journals of choice and topics of investigation of the most prolific and highly cited Spanish optometrist researchers. As a primary search strategy, the Scopus database (Elsevier) was queried with the terms (optometr* OR "contact lens*" OR refracti* OR *ocular) and the affiliation country filter "Spain". The list of authors returned by the primary search was used in a secondary manual search based on co-authors and institutions. Authors were included in the analysis if they had an h-index > 10, were of Spanish nationality, were affiliated to Spanish institutions, and possessed an optometry degree. Authors were ranked by h-index, number of publications and number of citations. Topics of research interest and target journals were determined by analyzing the 10 most highly cited papers of each author. A total of 32 authors with an h-index > 10 were identified, of whom 14 (43.7%) were female. Only one author had an h-index > 40, and 7 (21.9%) authors had an h-index over 20. The Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery was the first journal of choice (19.1% of highest cited papers), followed by Optometry and Vision Science (10.3%). The Universidad Complutense de Madrid hosted the largest percentage of authors (18.7%), followed by the Universitat de València (15.6%). Main topics of research interest were topography (6.5% of papers), cornea (6.2%) and contact lens (5.0%). Optometry in Spain is a fertile field of research, with an increasing number of highly cited authors publishing in high impact journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, micro manufacturing technologies have become increasingly important. There are many components on the micrometer scale, both in high-level applications and in everyday use. This trend occurs in several areas such as in the field of industrial, mainly in automotive and aerospace, electronics components, medical devices, etc. Within the different micro manufacturing technologies, the paper focuses on micro forming technologies due to their great advantages over other micro manufacturing technologies. Metal forming processes are characterized by almost no material waste, excellent mechanical properties and are suitable for high volume production. In this paper shows a review of the main research related to micro forming technologies. The research carried out are given according to the four primary groups of a micro manufacturing system: material, process, tools, and equipment. The problems associated with miniaturisation in each primary group are shown. Finally, solutions adopted to implement micro forming technologies in the industrial field are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances in the Information Systems (IS) Science field require technical infrastructure, that is based on hardware and software. While different calculation models, as well as life cycle models, try their best to describe and explain the lifespan and costs of technology, the scope, nature and impacts of electronic waste (E-waste) have remained an understudied field within Information Systems Science. The majority of the studies on E-waste are mainly focused on the area of environmental sciences but very few studies are conducted within the contents of the IS field, although, major sources of E-waste are generated in this field. This study gap is basically concentrated within the scope of this research. The scope of this paper is therefore to investigate the role, characteristics and present status of E-waste research in the field of IS as well as the possible management of E-waste with respect to reducing, reusing and recycling as much as possible. This study also suggested future research on E-waste within the context of the IS field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has been performed by sonographers (also known as ultrasound reporting radiographers) for many years for improving diagnosis of disease, developing new imaging approaches, and enhancing patient outcomes. Despite this, sonographers' perspectives on research have not been well studied. To understand the views of sonographers is essential, as they have an important role in the successful implementation of research outcomes during their daily work. The study aimed to explore sonographers' perspectives on research. This cross-sectional online questionnaire was developed, and pilot tested, before distribution on social media platforms by the research group to sonographers or reporting radiographers in ultrasound worldwide. The questionnaire included 21-items. The link was open for 8 weeks in the spring of 2023. A mix of closed, open and scale questions were used. Informed consent was mandatory, and information about the study and anonymity was presented. A total of 165 sonographers participated in the questionnaire of which 66.1 % were from Europe (n = 109), 6.1 % from North America (n = 10), 0.6 % from South America (n = 1), 2.4 % from Asia (n = 4), 13.3 % from Africa (n = 22) and 11.5 % from Oceania (n = 19). A total of 32 % of the participants had performed research. Also, 68.5 % would like to become more involved in research. Most sonographers work in large hospitals, and half of them have obtained academic level 7 education. A limited number of sonographers have published peer reviewed papers. Many sonographers expressed an interest in research. This suggests a potential for future development of the sonographers' role in research. The findings for this study provide insight that could be used to improve research practice for sonographers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations experiencing homelessness are at higher risk of morbidity and mortality from acute and chronic illness and experience extreme health inequities across a wide range of disorders. High attrition rates, concerns for the safety of research staff, and increased complexity of protocols needed to address situations unique to homelessness may preclude nurse researchers from including populations experiencing homelessness in health services and outcomes research. The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers and challenges to research participation encountered by populations experiencing homelessness. A secondary aim is to analyze the ethical and methodological issues that nurse researchers face when studying persons experiencing homelessness and to propose best practices for addressing these barriers. Strategies to recruit and retain persons experiencing homelessness require an intensive, unique, individualized approach that includes actively engaging with marginalized populations, forging strong community partnerships, and understanding the environment, cultural, and community context in order to recruit and retain hard to reach populations. • Nurse researchers play an important role in influencing health equity when research findings are representative of hard to reach populations. • Nursing research on populations experiencing homelessness pose unique challenges for recruitment, retention, and informed consent. • Involvement of community partners may help to alleviate mistrust surrounding research with persons experiencing homelessness. • Intentional outreach, community partnerships, and understanding environmental and community context are essential to recruit and retain hard to reach populations in nursing research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although people with aphasia (PwA) represent 30% of stroke survivors, they are frequently excluded from stroke research, or their inclusion is unclear. Such practice significantly limits the generalizability of stroke research, increases the need to duplicate research in aphasia-specific populations, and raises important ethical and human rights issues. To detail the extent and nature of inclusion of PwA in contemporary stroke randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We conducted a systematic search to identify completed stroke RCTs and RCT protocols published in 2019. Web of Science was searched using terms "stroke" and "randomized controlled trial". These articles were reviewed by extracting rates of PwA inclusion/exclusion, whether "aphasia" or related terms were referred to in the article or supplemental files, eligibility criteria, consent procedures, adaptations made to support the inclusion of PwA, and attrition rates of PwA. Data were summarized, and descriptive statistics applied when appropriate. 271 studies comprising 215 completed RCTs and 56 protocols were included. 36.2% of included studies referred to aphasia/dysphasia. Of completed RCTs, only 6.5% explicitly included PwA, 4.7% explicitly excluded PwA, and inclusion was unclear in the remaining 88.8%. Among RCT protocols, 28.6% of studies intended inclusion, 10.7% intended excluding PwA, and in 60.7%, inclusion was unclear. In 45.8% of included studies, sub-groups of PwA were excluded, either explicitly (ie, particular types/severities of aphasia, eg, global aphasia) or implicitly, by way of ambiguous eligibility criteria which could potentially relate to a sub-group of PwA. Little rationale for exclusion was provided. 71.2% of completed RCTs did not report any adaptations that could support the inclusion of PwA, and minimal information was provided about consent procedures. Where it could be determined, attrition of PwA averaged 10% (range 0%-20%). This paper details the extent of inclusion of PwA in stroke research and highlights opportunities for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a transformational impact on public policy as governments played a leading role, working alongside and coordinating with business/industry, healthcare, public health, education, transportation, researchers, non-governmental organizations, philanthropy, and media/communications. This paper summarizes the impact of the pandemic on different areas of public policy affecting healthy living and cardiovascular health including prevention (i.e., nutrition, physical activity, air quality, tobacco use), risk factors for chronic disease (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, substance abuse), access to health care, care delivery and payment reform, telehealth and digital health, research, and employment policy. The paper underscores where public policy is evolving and where there are needs for future evidence base to inform policy development, and the intersections between the public and private sectors across the policy continuum. There is a continued need for global multi-sector coordination to optimize population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As scholarly communication becomes more multimodal in nature, research articles embrace semiotic resources in appended genres such as the graphical abstract (GA). As an established genre in Chemistry research articles, GAs visually remediate chemical processes or research niche. However, this genre still remains in a peripheral area of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses as ESP practitioners mainly focus on textual modes. With limited opportunities to compose GAs, students foster genre remediation skills that are limited to textual genres only, ignoring the potential of reading-to-design skills. Upon student composition and critical reflections on GAs, as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection from a survey and interview involving professors, young researchers (YRs) and students, this paper examines rhetorical functions as well as image and text relations, while throwing some light on skills and challenges involved when GA composition is intentionally embedded in an ESP course, and discusses ensuing pedagogical implications. • Switching from reading-to-write to reading-to-design skills. • Embedding critical visual literacy tasks and student remediation of RAs. • Visual remediation awareness through student agency and reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a long history of citation research, its focus has been on the linguistic and rhetorical characteristics of citations rather than their semantic nature. Using a move-based approach grounded in the CARS model (Swales, 1990), this paper studies the sorts of source ideas cited in different parts of literature reviews (LR) of Information Systems research articles following the design science research (DSR) and interpretivist research (IR) paradigms. Findings reveal three types of epistemically-oriented semantic content – theoretical, research, and methodological – and one type that is non-epistemically-framed, which vary quantitatively and qualitatively between the DSR and IR LRs. For example, both types of LRs cite more often in Move 1 Establishing a territory than in Moves 2 and 3 Establishing a niche and Occupying the niche, with theoretical terminologies, definitions, propositions being referred to more frequently in the IR writing than in the DSR writing. On the other hand, citations in the DSR writing often display prescriptive propositions, design concepts, artefacts, and methods which are absent from the IR writing. These findings not only help us better understand how citation is shaped and constrained by rhetorical moves and research paradigms but also provide implications for the teaching of citation content. • Literature reviews of information systems research articles are examined. • A move-based approach grounded in the CARS model is used. • A semantic typology of citations is developed. • Four types of citations are found. • Methodological citations appear only in literature reviews of research articles with the design science research paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In academia, peer-review refers to a fundamental quality control process whereby external experts (reviewers) are invited to provide unbiased critique of a paper (or other submitted material) and advise on suitability for publication. The process must be robust and conducted with honor and integrity and to the highest professional standards. It is not only the responsibility of the authors but also the reviewers to assess the manuscript appropriately and help in improving the quality of the finished article. A good reviewer not only assists the editors and the journal but can also benefit the authors, the wider scientific community and the general readership. In this article, we discuss the salient features of the peer-review process and tips for undertaking peer-review on scientific papers in an effective and professional manner, including opportunities to develop reviewer skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whenever the policy challenges to address ask for a strong scientific background, decision makers depend on the underlying research activities. One of the fields in which research is able to affect the design and implementation of policies is given by the Circular Economy (CE). Our purpose in this paper is to understand how scholars carry out their research in the CE to realize whether a common pattern emerge and identify implications for policy. We provide a systematic investigation of the world's ten largest national research communities (NRCs) to highlight differences and similarities and understand the underlying patterns of research. We refer to eight key dimensions, which are mostly original ones and, therefore, represent elements of novelty of the paper: internationality, interdisciplinarity, specialization, relevance of local issues, policy implications, provision of case studies, research focus and research method. A dataset with 3027 CE-related research publications that range from 2001 to 2018 has been used for the elaborations. Results show some similarities and differences: everywhere, the empirical method prevails over the theoretical, and research is mostly focused on the micro-level of analysis (e.g., consumers and firms), while national research communities differ with respect to the openness to international collaborations, the degree with which some specific disciplines contribute to research in the field of CE, and the consideration of local issues provide. • A cross-country comparison of national research communities (NRCs) studying CE is offered. • NRCs are compared along eight key-dimensions using eleven indicators. • Empirical methods prevail over theory and research focus is on micro-level analyses. • Differences emerge with respect to interdisciplinarity and attention to local issues. • China, US, and European countries are moving along diverse research trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in medicine is an indispensable tool to advance knowledge and improve patient care. This may be particularly true in the field of human reproduction as it is a relatively new field and treatment options are rapidly evolving. This is of particular importance in an emerging field like 'human reproduction', where treatment options evolve fast.The cornerstone of evidence-based knowledge, leading to evidence-based treatment decisions, is randomized controlled trials as they explore the benefits of new treatment approaches. The study design and performance are crucial and, if they are carried out correctly, solid conclusions can be drawn and be implemented in daily clinical routines. The dissemination of new findings throughout the scientific community occurs in the form of publications in scientific journals, and the importance of the journal is reflected in part by the impact factor. The peer review process before publication is fundamental in preventing flaws in the study design. Thus, readers of journals with a high impact factor usually rely on a thorough peer review process and therefore might not question the published data. However, even papers published in high-impact journals might not be free of flaws, so the aim of this paper is to encourage readers to be aware of this fact and critically read scientific papers as 'the devil lies in the details'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers agree that informal professional learning is crucial for developing new EAP teachers' expertise, but there exist few teacher-centred accounts of how context-specific projects and practices create favourable conditions for such learning. Through presenting and analysing a collaborative action research (CAR) project, this paper illustrates how CAR can facilitate informal learning among new EAP teachers. The project was conducted in the context of a large-scale EAP course at a Singaporean university, where three teachers, each possessing under three years' experience teaching EAP, co-created an 11-page analytic rubric and reflected on their collaboration. Drawing on the written reflections of these three teachers, this paper examines how collaborative rubric development created a "backstage" setting where teachers engaged in trusting and stimulating dialogue, aimed at addressing shared concerns surrounding performance expectations and scoring practices. Through the process of drafting, revising, disseminating, and using the rubric, the three teachers clarified and adjusted their own assessment-related beliefs and practices, reflected on the limits of using rubrics to align assessment standards, and experimented with different methods of sharing their findings with other teachers. In the process, the rubric was reinvented as a dialogical tool that enabled teachers to scaffold professional learning for each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediabetes and osteoporosis are two commonly prevalent diseases that can have interconnected implications for overall well-being. There is a paucity of literature on "prediabetes and osteoporosis". We aimed to assess the current state of cross-sectional studies involving osteoporosis and prediabetes as well as their bibliometric features. Publications about prediabetes and osteoporosis between January 1994 and November 2023 were taken from the Scopus database, and VOSviewer and Microsoft Office Excel were used for bibliometric analysis and visualization. We identified 272 documents that were written by 531 authors from 48 countries including 252 organizations. The USA was the leading country with the highest publications (n = 84) and Canada had the largest citation impact per paper (109.0). University of California, San Francisco contributed the most publications (n = 6), while Universita degli Studi di Torino, Italy (275.0 and 5.25), had the highest citation impact. Frontiers in Endocrinology (n = 7), was the most productive journal, while Annals of Internal Medicine (322.0) was the most influential in terms of citation impact per paper. The funded research was 30.5 %, while 17.6 % of research were involved in international collaboration. The number of publications on this topic has increased over three decades. The highest citations per paper were received by the publications which had external funding, followed by those which had international collaboration. All the highly cited papers were published from high-income countries. • A total of 272 publications were found on prediabetes and osteoporosis from 1994 to 2023. • The number of publications on this topic has increased over three decades. • The highest citations per paper were received by publications with external funding, and international collaboration. • All the highly cited papers were published from high-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of variations in Research and Development Spending and Education Expenditure on GDP variations in Latin America during the period between 2000 and 2019 (20 years). The dependent variable for productivity and competitiveness is the Gross Domestic Product GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity. GDP per capita, the broadest measure of national productivity, is closely linked over time to a nation's standard of living. The econometric model proposed uses the Prais-Winsten methodology and corrected standard errors and first-order autocorrelation correction. We concluded that the variations in spending on education and research and development have a significant and direct effect on the competitiveness and productivity represented in the analyzed GDP. Therefore, the Latin American countries studied (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) are recommended to invest in education, research, and development, not only as a government effort but also as a policy of all sectors. This paper represents a methodological novelty and suggests directions for national systemic competitiveness policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time to event outcomes is commonly encountered in epidemiologic research. Multiple papers have discussed the inadequacy of using the hazard ratio as a causal effect measure due to its noncollapsibility and the time-varying nature. In this paper, we further clarified that the hazard ratio might be used as a conditional causal effect measure, but it is generally not a valid marginal effect measure, even under randomized design. We proposed to use the restricted mean survival time (RMST) difference as a causal effect measure, since it essentially measures the mean difference over a specified time horizon and has a simple interpretation as the area under survival curves. For observational studies, propensity score adjustment can be implemented with RMST estimation to remove observed confounding bias. We proposed a propensity score stratified RMST estimation strategy, which performs well in our simulation evaluation and is relatively easy to implement for epidemiologists in practice. Our stratified RMST estimation includes two different versions of implementation, depending on whether researchers want to involve regression modeling adjustment, which provides a powerful tool to examine the marginal causal effect with observational survival data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, there has been a growing emphasis on the publication quality in Foot & Ankle research. A level-of-evidence rating system for clinical scientific papers has been proposed by the Centre for Evidence-based medicine in Oxford, United Kingdom. As opposed to other subspecialities, foot & ankle surgery deals with a wide variety of clinical problems and surgical solutions, which in turn leads to a generally low number of patients available for study groups. However, level III and IV studies still have a valuable place in orthopaedic research, given the challenges in running high-level studies.The measurement of outcomes in medicine from the patients' perspective (PROMS:(patient reported outcome measures) has grown almost exponentially in all surgical specialties including foot & ankle surgery. There are many PROMs available to foot & ankle surgeons, but there is little consensus on which assessment is most appropriate for a given procedure or diagnosis. Their use in research and clinical practice offers many advantages in clinical practice and research, however, besides the advantages there are also some downsides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplant surgery has been performed in India for the last 25 years. We aimed to analyse the trends, characteristics, and key elements in the field of liver transplantation research from India. On April 23, 2023, we conducted a search of the Scopus database for the literature on liver transplantation research, using a well-defined search strategy. MS Excel and VOS viewer software programs were used to examine the articles for organisation, author, journal, keywords, and high-cited literature. This analysis examined a total of 556 papers, which constituted only a 1.55% share of the global output. These papers involved 442 organizations, 1575 authors, and 147 journals. External funding was received in 4.13% and 23.56% were involved in international collaboration. Three Delhi-NCR organizations, namely the Medanta–The Medicity (n = 63), Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences (n = 60), and Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (n = 48) led in publication productivity. M. Rela (n = 90) and A.S. Soin (n = 63) were the leading authors in publication productivity, while S. Sudhindran and P. Bhangui were the most impactful authors. Liver Transplantation (n = 96) and Journal of Clinical & Experimental Hepatology (n = 65) published the maximum number of these papers, whereas, Annals of Surgery and Journal of Hepatology led in the citation impact per paper. The most significant keywords were "Liver Transplantation" (n = 484), and "Living Donor" (n = 254). Only 1.80% (n = 10) of the papers were highly cited papers that received 50 to 142 citations and they together registered 69.9 citations per paper. Although the number of publications on liver transplantation from India started growing recently, it forms only 1.55% of the global report. There is an unmet need to increase government-supported research and multicenter collaborative studies at national and international levels for high-quality patient care. [Display omitted] • A total of 556 papers on liver transplantation research from India constitutes a 1.55 % share of the global output. • This is the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of India's liver transplant research over the last 25 years. • Delhi-NCR authors and institutions were the leaders in this area of research. • There has been a continuous rise in publications, with the maximum surge seen in the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurosurgical residency applicants' prior research experience can amplify their ability to stand out to prospective neurosurgery programs. We attempted to accurately quantify the number of research publications coauthored by applicants by analyzing the publications of applicants who matched into neurosurgery in the 2021 Match. Scopus, a peer-reviewed literature database, was queried for publications by applicants who matched into neurosurgery in the 2021 Match before the finalization of rank lists. Conference papers, abstracts, and book chapters were excluded to determine an accurate average of actual publications. Descriptive statistics for resident publication data were used, with a Mann-Whitney U test used to compare research productivity between male and female residents. There were 234 positions filled by the 2021 Match, and 233 neurosurgical residents were identifiable in this study. A total of 187 residents matching from U.S. Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine programs were identified with 946 total publications—an average of 5.1 publications per resident. Analysis of descriptive statistics revealed type of research conducted, authorship information, most published journals, and citation data. Significant differences were found in the number of publications between male and female applicants with averages of 5.6 and 3.8 publications, respectively. Students matriculating to neurosurgery residency programs display a wide range of research productivity. Typical U.S. Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine applicants have coauthored a mean of 5.1 and a median of 4.0 publications. This information may assist program directors in weighing applicants' research background and give medical students interested in the field reasonable research expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Figure legends, descriptive statements accompanying a figure, are short yet important aspects of research articles, but they have almost escaped scrutiny in the literature. Drawing on a corpus of 1,190 figure legends in four science disciplines, this paper explores the structuring of figure legends in terms of rhetorical moves and the typical phrase frames that assist in realizing the communicative purposes of the moves. We identified two highly frequent moves in the figure legends that function to present titles of legends and define graphic items, two regular moves (i.e., account of statistical and experimental details) and three infrequent moves (i.e., result statement, reference of sources of data, and interpretation of results). We further found interesting variations in the use of phrase frames across moves, with the largest number in the move of defining graphic items. Additionally, each move was realized by varying structural and functional phrase frames, but overall, function-word and research-oriented types were the most common. This study adds to our understanding of figure legends and raises pedagogical implications for the teaching of science writing. • The part-genre figure legend has been less fully investigated in EAP research. • We explore the schematic structure and phrase frames of figure legends. • Two highly frequent moves are title and definition of graphic items. • Differences in the use of phrase frames are also found across moves. • The findings have important implications for EAP pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exposome consists of factors an individual is exposed to across the life course. The exposome is dynamic, meaning the factors are constantly changing, affecting each other and individuals in different ways. Our exposome dataset includes social determinants of health as well as policy, climate, environment, and economic factors that could impact obesity development. The objective was to translate spatial exposure to these factors with the presence of obesity into actionable population-based constructs that could be further explored. Our dataset was constructed from a combination of public-use datasets and the Center of Disease Control's Compressed Mortality File. Spatial Statistics using Queens First Order Analysis was performed to identify hot- and cold-spots of obesity prevalence; followed by Graph Analysis, Relational Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis to model the multifactorial spatial connections. Areas of high and low presence of obesity had different factors associated with obesity. Factors associated with obesity in areas of high obesity propensity were: poverty / unemployment; workload, comorbid conditions (diabetes, CVD) and physical activity. Conversely, factors associated in areas where obesity was rare were: smoking, lower education, poorer mental health, lower elevations, and heat. The spatial methods described within the paper are scalable to large numbers of variables without issues of multiple comparisons lowering resolution. These types of spatial structural methods provide insights into novel variable associations or factor interactions that can then be studied further at the population or policy levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a shift in focus of the curricula of undergraduate midwifery research-education - from research content to the research process, and the student from being an observer to a participant. To explore an example of how to involve midwifery students as co-investigators in research. This paper discusses the experiences of an educational research project that adopted the highest level of student autonomy in research, involving six Bachelor of Midwifery final-year students participating as co-investigators in qualitative research focusing on women's lived experiences of traumatic childbirth. The experiences are supported by the parameters of research-education and learning, and are discussed in the context of the dimensions of framing undergraduate research: Motivation, Inclusivity, Content, Originality, Setting, Collaboration, Focus and Audience Crucial for this educational research project is the recognition of the motivation, interests, (experiential) knowledge and real-world experiences of students. It starts with listening to the questions, thoughts and ideas that students bring, recognising and respecting the content and importance of their work and what is important and meaningful to them, while facilitating a student-led learning process. Collaboration between students and students and supervisors needs to be formally facilitated and supported, as this contributes to qualitative products for curricular and extra-curricular products. An academic infrastructure is necessary to support extra-curricular activities. To embed research adequately and effectively in the curriculum, a pedagogical approach, institutional learning and student-centred teaching strategies and practices, including high impact practices to mainstream undergraduate research and enquiry, are crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly utilized across healthcare. More recently, there has been a rise in the use AI within research, particularly through novel conversational AI platforms, such as ChatGPT. In this Controversies paper, we discuss the advantages, limitations, and future directions for ChatGPT and other forms of conversational AI in research and scholarly dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in the Indian Subcontinent. We aimed to examine the bibliometric characteristics of the publications arising from the countries of the Indian Subcontinent on NAFLD, over the last two decades. Publications on NAFLD from Indian Subcontinent during the period of 2001–2022 were retrieved from the Scopus database. Various important bibliometric parameters were studied from the retrieved publications and were exported to MS–Excel for analysis. VOSviewer software was used for analyzing co-author collaborative networks and keyword co-occurrence networks. There is a rising trend of publications, especially in the last decade, with an average annual growth of 28.95% and an absolute growth of 526.21% between 2013 and 2022, compared to 2001–2012. From Indian Subcontinent's authors, 1053 papers were indexed in Scopus, with the majority (81.3%) being from India. Indian Subcontinent holds 13th rank globally with 3.43% share of global output. External funding was received for 15.76% publications and 24.59% papers were prepared with international collaboration, and these received much higher citations per paper. Research output is low, only 3.43% of global share. Regional research cooperation among countries of Indian subcontinent is also poor. Further, only 3.61% of papers were highly cited. Despite a high prevalence of NAFLD in Indian Subcontinent, the research output is low and of low impact. Further, the research collaboration between these Indian Subcontinent needs improvement. • There is a rising trend of publications on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease from Indian Subcontinent during 2001–2022. • The majority of publications from Indian Subcontinent were contributed by authors from India. • There is inadequate regional research collaboration amongst the Indian Subcontinent countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the motivation and barriers of clinical radiographers to work with research in a Danish clinical setting. The project was designed as a mixed method explorative study, including survey and focus group interviews. A paper based survey was distributed to clinical radiographers, with a bachelor's degree (few with a diploma in Radiography), at three departments of radiology. The survey collected data on motivation, challenges, and barriers in relation to research in clinical practice. Thematic analyses were performed according to the nature of the survey and used to categorize statements. The focus group interview included five managing radiographers (3 with a bachelor's degree) who formed part of the clinical management at their respective departments. The survey resulted in 39 responses with an overall response rate of 56%. The majority of clinical radiographers were female (69%, n = 27) and 12 were male.Most radiographers (77%, n = 30) reported interest in research projects and 89% of them (n = 27) found it difficult to dedicate time to research projects next to the clinical work. The study increases the understanding of the motivation and current barriers to start working with research in clinical settings including dependent and independent projects. Clinical radiographers reported to have interest in research. Improvements should focus on department culture, skills, and management support. Clinical Radiographers can be motivated when the departments offer training and support, the projects are relevant to clinical practice and research working hours are provided. The study offers an insight into current perspectives and obstacles for clinical radiographers in relation to research. The literature on the perception and interest in research by clinical radiographers and managers is limited and further investigation of the field is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a workshop in August 2021 to identify opportunities in pediatric and congenital cardiovascular research that would improve outcomes for individuals with congenital heart disease across the lifespan. A subsidiary goal was to provide feedback on and visions for the Pediatric Heart Network. This paper summarizes several key research opportunities identified in the areas of: data quality, access, and sharing; aligning cardiovascular research with patient priorities (eg, neurodevelopmental and psychological impacts); integrating research within clinical care and supporting implementation into practice; leveraging creative study designs; and proactively enriching diversity of investigators, participants, and perspectives throughout the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Given the increasing competitiveness of matching into radiology residency programs in the U.S., especially for international medical graduates (IMGs), many IMGs opt to join research fellowships to boost their academic productivity and expand their research portfolios. This strategy helps them become as competitive as their national peers. This paper provides insights from the personal experience of a former international radiology research fellow who successfully utilized a fellowship to match into a radiology residency. It outlines a roadmap and strategic steps taken—from finding and preparing for the fellowship to maximizing its benefits by increasing publications and developing professional connections, ultimately securing a radiology residency, and maintaining ongoing collaboration with the research team after departure. • Finding a research position can be achieved by emailing research mentors directly or applying through employment websites. • Preparing for a fellowship involves creating a professional CV that lists academic achievements, prior research experiences, and USMLE scores. • During the first week of the fellowship, it is advisable to shadow a senior fellow to learn the nuances of the job. • Maximize academic productivity by taking initiative in multiple research projects especially retrospective studies. • Connections can be developed by presenting at conferences to meet leadership faculty and participating in clinical observerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Youth transitioning from child care institutions face a lack of adequate transition planning, aftercare infrastructure, and service availability. • An educative mentorship-based curriculum can facilitate a smooth and effective transition. • Mentoring focused on both well-being and professional development can reduce the stress associated with the transition. Although child protection policies and laws in India recognise the importance of aftercare, there is still a significant lack of infrastructure, available services, and systematic preparation for the transition. The accelerated and compressed journey from adolescence to adulthood, coupled with limited options to return home if their initial endeavours falter, adds to the complexity of the transition process. To develop knowledge and skills for transition preparedness, this paper presents a step-by-step approach to designing an educative, mentorship-based curriculum. The curriculum is based on an exploratory study conducted across 17 child care institutions in Pune, India. Findings showed that the adolescents appreciate the existing support resources, but feel that much of the critical, practical, and seemingly more urgent transitional needs are still left out. Borrowing insights from the primary data and the available literature, the curriculum has been designed to target six core areas addressing needs for belongingness, preparation for life after transition, enabling clarity of future vision, life skills, enhancing employability, and problem-solving. To buffer the overall stress of the transition, the focus of the curriculum has been kept simultaneously on promoting overall well-being and providing professional and career development support. The study recommends a robust evaluation framework to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrating research with clinical practice is essential for evidence-based practice and continuous improvement in health care. Little is known about the research capacity and culture of the Australian hospital pharmacy workforce, particularly in rural areas and for pharmacy assistants/technicians.Objective: This paper aims to characterise the research capacity and culture of a state-wide public-hospital pharmacy service at organisation, team and individual levels, and to explore variables which influence research confidence and success.Method: An online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey using the validated Research Capacity in Context tool was emailed to all pharmacists, pharmacy assistants/technicians and non-clinical staff employed by a statewide pharmacy service in South Australia. Respondent characteristics and organisation, team and individual scores of research skill/success were summarised using descriptive statistics. T-tests compared results for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants/technicians and metropolitan-based and non-metropolitan-based staff. Regression analyses explored predictors of pharmacists individual research skill/success scores.Results: A response rate of 43.4% (n = 278/641, 19 sites) was obtained. Respondents were primarily pharmacists (68%) and pharmacy assistants/technicians (28%); 91% were practicing in a metropolitan setting. 47% reported no research experience. Highest scores for research skill/success were observed at the organisational level (mean score 6.0/10) vs. team (mean score 5.6/10) and individual levels (mean score 5.1/10). Within each level specific items that scored poorly were identified. Individual research skills/success scores were higher in pharmacists vs. pharmacy assistants/technicians (mean score 5.2/10 vs. 4.2/10, p < 0.01), and were not different between staff in metropolitan vs. non-metropolitan settings (mean scores 5.2 vs. 5.0, p = 0.77). For pharmacists, undertaking undergraduate or internship research projects or postgraduate research training were associated with higher individual scores of research skills and success.Discussion/conclusion: This research extends understanding of hospital pharmacy research capacity and culture, describes research skills and success in hospital pharmacy technicians/assistants for the first time and highlights low-scoring areas; these could be targeted to improve research capacity and culture at an individual, team and organisational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We have been amid unhealthy living and related chronic disease pandemics for several decades. These longstanding crises have troublingly synergized with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The need to establish research priorities in response to COVID-19 can be used to address broad health and wellbeing, social and economic impacts for the future is emerging. Accordingly, this paper sets out a series of research priorities that could inform interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical sciences, public health, business, technology, economics, healthcare providers, and the exercise science/sports medicine communities, among others. A five-step methodology was used to generate and evaluate the research priorities with a focus on broad health and well-being impacts. The methodology was deployed by an international and interdisciplinary team from the Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL- PIVOT) network. This team were all engaged in responding to the Pandemic either on the 'front-line' and/or in leadership positions ensuring the currency and authenticity of the process. Eight research priorities were identified clustered into two groups: i) Societal & Environmental, and ii) Clinical. Our eight research priorities are presented with insight from previously published research priorities from other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In view of the complexity of dietary and nutritional education for most patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a simplified approach called the "restricted diet with a plate" or "plate model" is recommended.Purpose: To evaluate whether the plate model can effectively improve glycemic control and cardiovascular risk markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), while reducing the time devoted to education and avoiding weight gain.Methods: The study was a randomized, multicenter, controlled study, conducted between October 2018 and October 2019, among patients with T2DM living in Nanjing. The study included 419 participants who were randomly divided into a plate group and a counting group. The plate model included three components: a low-literacy, color leaflet containing the explanation and composition of the plate model, health education, and medical visits. Patients in the counting group received health education, group medical visits, and a paper booklet containing traditional carbohydrate counting education. Primary outcomes were glycemic control and weight.Results: Participants in the plate model reduced HbA1c by 0.7% in the first three months, and reduced to a greater extent at six months (1.44%), but this was not sustained, and HbA1c increased slightly over the following six months. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-h postprandial glucose (2hPG) values were significantly reduced at the endpoint in the plate model (9.25 ± 1.72% vs. 7.44 ± 0.88%, P = 0.008; 12.07 ± 2.94 vs. 8.35 ± 1.99%; P = 0.004); however, the 2hPG values decreased most significantly. Total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels decreased significantly in the plate group, which occurred at six months and lasted for 12 months. In the first three months, the average weight loss in the plate group was 1.2 kg/month (95% CI 0.92-1.48), and in the fourth to twelfth months, the average weight gain was 0.21 kg/month (95% CI 0.08-0.34). There was significant difference in education time between the groups (17.3 ± 4.42 vs. 38.6 ± 12.63; P < 0.001).Conclusions: The plate model is at least as effective as the counting model over the short term for glycemic control and perhaps even better for weight and lipid control. Plate model has the potential to improve education of those with low health literacy by reducing reading demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although randomized interventional studies are the gold standard of clinical study designs, they are not always feasible or necessary. In such cases, observational studies can bring insights into critical questions while minimizing harm and cost. There are numerous observational study designs, each with strengths and demerits. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for observational study designs to be poorly designed or reported. In this article, the authors discuss similarities and differences between observational study designs, their application, and tenets of good use and proper reporting focusing on neurosurgery. The authors illustrated neurosurgical case scenarios to describe case reports, case series, and cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies. The study design definitions and applications are taken from seminal research methodology readings and updated observational study reporting guidelines. The authors have given a succinct account of the structure, functioning, and uses of common observational study designs in Neurosurgery. Specifically, they discussed the concepts of study direction, temporal sequence, advantages, and disadvantages. Also, they highlighted the differences between case reports and case series; case series and descriptive cohort studies; and cohort and case-control studies. Also, they discussed their impacts on internal validity, external validity, and relevance. This paper disambiguates widely held misconceptions on the different observational study designs. In addition, it uses case-based scenarios to facilitate comprehension and relevance to the academic neurosurgery audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosocial approaches in nursing research have largely focused on the ways that social determinants of health influence individual-level outcomes, including symptom management, family and social support, and educational interventions. Theoretical, methodological, and practical strategies are needed to expand current biosocial methods for nursing science and focus on upstream, structural determinants of health and the policies that underlie health inequities. This paper summarizes presentations given at the 2023 Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Advanced Methods Conference, Biosocial Methods to Advance Health Equity , in a panel titled "Individual, community, systems and policy related to biosocial methods." Nurses are uniquely positioned to examine upstream, structural determinants of health by leveraging expertise in biosocial methods, collaborating with interdisciplinary researchers and community members, and advocating for policy change. By conducting theory-grounded biosocial research, nurse researchers can significantly advance scientific knowledge and promote health equity for individuals and communities. Nurse scientists are conducting research using biosocial methods and provide recommendations for expansion of this approach in the field. • Nursing research examines structural determinants of health using biosocial methods. • Biosocial methods can also be used to inform advocacy for policy change. • Nurse scientists can use these methods to promote health equity on multiple levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite accelerated developments in agricultural innovations, there has been a limited progress in their adoption by smallholder farmers, especially in the Global South. Innovations are not adequately reaching farmers, and new technologies are often unsuitable for farmers, or the overall innovation landscape is discouraging the deployment of innovations at scale. The methodological approaches to designing, testing and scaling of innovations play an important role. Involving farmers in the innovation process from the start increases the likelihood of them being more relevant and having a higher chance of adoption. Whereas there is much literature on participatory approaches, there is a limited guidance on choosing an appropriate level of farmer participation across the innovation process. This study aims to develop practical guidance for researchers, development agents and project managers on how to choose an appropriate methodological approach with a suitable level of farmer participation for designing, testing and scaling of agricultural innovations, according to levels of innovation readiness and innovation use. Relevant scientific literature on participatory design, research and scaling of agricultural innovations was reviewed, followed by compiling lessons learned from selected vegetable innovation projects implemented by the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) in Asia and Africa. A list of methodological approaches for participatory design, testing and scaling of innovations was generated, with various levels of farmer participation. A simple guiding framework was then developed for choosing an appropriate approach with a suitable level of farmer participation, according to the readiness and use of the innovations. Examples of selected approaches and application of the proposed guidance are given in project case studies. Based on the literature review and experience at WorldVeg, we believe it is critical to choose the right level of participation based on how ready are the innovations for application in the local setting. This dimension of how ready the innovations are has been largely overlooked in earlier frameworks on farmer participation. The developed guidance generally recommends increasing participation with higher levels of technology readiness and use. In addition, farmer consultation in early research design should also be strengthened, to co-design locally relevant innovations. The overall innovation systems' landscape must be considered when researching and scaling new innovations. The guidance, experiences and lessons provided in this paper will be useful to various scholars, researchers, development agents, funders and project managers who aim to design, test and scale agricultural innovations in a more inclusive and responsible way. [Display omitted] • Despite rapid developments in agricultural innovations, there has been limited adoption by smallholder farmers. • There is limited guidance on choosing an appropriate level of farmer participation in the innovation processes. • A list of participatory approaches for design, testing and scaling of innovations was created. • A guidance for choosing a suitable level of participation based on 'innovation readiness and use' was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Multiple barriers limit access to the full range of contraceptive options. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to increase single-visit access to the full range of contraceptive methods in primary care, postabortion, and immediate postpartum settings in New York City (NYC).Study Design: From 2015 to 2018 we convened 2 learning collaboratives, named the Quality Improvement Network for Contraceptive Access, with 17 teams (representing 40 sites) from New York City-based hospitals and health centers using an adaptation of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Breakthrough Series Learning Collaborative model. Participating teams sought to implement evidence-informed recommendations to increase access. The goal was to increase the patient-centeredness of services by reducing barriers. In the absence of a way to directly measure access, we measured progress toward implementation of the 4 recommendations and contraceptive care utilization measures as proxies for access, and asked teams to describe facilitating factors.Results: Learning collaborative teams successfully implemented all 4 of the recommendations in 95% of the participating sites. Patients who chose and received a most or moderately effective method increased from 22% to 38% in primary care, and from 0% to 17% in the immediate postpartum period. Patients who chose and received a long-acting-reversible contraceptive increased from 5% to 11% in primary care, and from 0% to 3% in immediate postpartum. Facilitating factors included the involvement of interdisciplinary teams, consideration of costs, utilization of peers to demonstrate change, and champions to drive change.Conclusions: The application of evidence-informed recommendations using a structured quality improvement initiative increases contraceptive access.Implications: This paper identifies key facilitators and factors that influenced the successful implementation of evidence-based recommendations for access to the full range of contraceptive methods in primary care, postabortion, and immediate postpartum settings. Findings can inform future initiatives that seek to increase contraceptive access at the service delivery level, as a component of reproductive autonomy, and contraceptive equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To review and discuss the current published data on FUNCTIONAL DATA DERIVED FROM contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) for investigation of breast lesions.Materials and Methods: Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE and PUBMED. Due to the novel nature of CESM and sparsity of published literature pertaining to associated functional data, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used were intentionally broad.Results: After inclusion and exclusion criteria, 23 papers were included; 13 pertained to assessment of intensity or pattern of lesion enhancement, and 10 considered textural analysis for lesion assessment, including those using computer-aided detection (CAD) software. Meta-analysis of data was not possible due to heterogeneity of methodology.Conclusions: There is consistent evidence that benign lesions tend to demonstrate different enhancement characteristics to cancers, with benign lesions tending to demonstrate weaker, homogeneous contrast medium uptake. Limited evidence suggests malignant lesions exhibit "wash-out" or decreasing pattern of enhancement, and benign lesions a progressively enhancing one. The application of textural analysis and radiomics to CESM images shows promising results for differentiating benign and malignant lesions, with potential to predict immunohistological features. A large-scale multicentre study, ideally using multivendor CESM equipment, will be needed to confirm this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of integrated vascular surgery training programs was recently shown to be associated with an increase in women entering the field. However, whether this has precipitated a subsequent increase in the active participation of women in academic vascular societies remains unclear. We sought to examine the trends of academic inclusion of women vascular surgeons and surgical trainees over the past 15 years at the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery (SAVS). Scientific programs for annual meetings of the SAVS, and program matriculation statistics from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, were reviewed for the period of 2006 to 2020. Yearly rates and 3-year averages of conference and society participation and vascular surgery training program matriculation rates were calculated and compared with proportion testing. Spearman correlation testing was used to compare trends, with ρ ≥0.600 defined as a strong correlation. Examining 3-year means, the average number of women authors per SAVS abstract increased from 0.78 to 1.42 over the course of the study period (P <.001), and the overall rate of women authors steadily increased from 12.8% to 21.5% (P <.001). Although this remains less than the proportion of women matriculating into vascular surgery programs in 2019 (29.3%; P =.007), the upward trend of women entering vascular surgery overall, and particularly vascular surgery fellowship, strongly correlates with the average number of women authors on abstracts at SAVS (ρ = 0.709 and ρ = 0.737, respectively). The percentage of women presenting authors increased from 9.7% to 28.4% (P =.004), but there was no increase in the percentage of women senior authors (10.1% to 9.6%; P =.92). In the 15-year period, only one abstract of 347 (0.3%) had full authorship by women vs 35.1% with full authorship by men (P <.001). Although the increase of women matriculating into vascular surgery programs over the study period did not correlate with the increase of women in senior leadership positions (ρ < 0.600), there was an increase in the number of women in committee chair positions (0.0% to 25.9%; P =.005), which correlated strongly with increasing society membership (ρ = 0.716). Additionally, there was an increase in women holding executive council positions from 0% to 10.0% (P =.08), although this was not statistically significant. Participation of women authoring and presenting papers at the SAVS has increased over the past 15 years at a rate that strongly correlates with the increasing rate of women entering vascular surgery training programs. It is important that society leadership opportunities continue to parallel this trend as we seek to further improve diversity in vascular surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• As cryptocurrency is being increasingly used and accepted to pay and reimburse people for various work activities, this currency should be similarly explored as an option for research participants to attempt to both incentivize them to participate in studies and offer new options for study reimbursement. • This paper explores the potential use of cryptocurrency as a form of compensation in public health research studies and discusses the pros and cons of its use. • Future research should explore the potential barriers and facilitators of incorporating cryptocurrency as a participant research incentive. Public health research relies heavily on participant involvement. Investigators have examined factors that affect participation and found that altruism enables engagement. At the same time, time commitment, family concerns, multiple follow-up visits, and potential adverse events are barriers to engagement. Thus, investigators may need to find new methods to attract and motivate participants to participate, including new compensation methods. As cryptocurrency is being increasingly used and accepted to pay and reimburse people for work activities, this currency should be similarly explored as an option for research participants to attempt to incentivize them to participate in studies and offer new possibilities for study reimbursement. This paper explores the potential use of cryptocurrency as a form of compensation in public health research studies and discusses the pros and cons of its use. Although few studies have used cryptocurrency to compensate participants, cryptocurrency may be used as a reward for various research tasks, including filling out surveys, participating in-depth interviews or focus groups, and/or completing interventions. Using cryptocurrencies to compensate participants in health-related studies can provide benefits such as anonymity, security, and convenience. However, it also poses potential challenges, including volatility, legal and regulatory challenges, and the risk of hacking and fraud. Researchers must carefully weigh the benefits against the potential downsides before using them as a compensation method in health-related studies. People who participate in research are provided with compensation to reimburse them for being involved. This compensation is usually in the form of cash, check, or electronic gift cards. Given the increasing use of and interest in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, cryptocurrencies should be explored as a possibility for paying participants to participate in studies. This manuscript describes that compensation option, with considerations for researchers and the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical trials (CTs) test new medical products for safety and effectiveness. Despite federal policy aimed at generating greater inclusivity of people of color (POC) in CTs, disparity in (CT) enrollment persists. Non-Hispanic White patients comprise the majority of CT participants while Black and Hispanic patient participation has declined over the past decade. The scope of Clinical Research Nurses (CRNs) includes recruitment of participants for CTs. The aim of this phenomenological study was to describe adult oncology CRNs' lived experiences of recruiting POC cancer patients to participate in CTs. The first paper for this study identified three major themes regarding how CRNs view their role in caring for POC considering or enrolling onto cancer clinical trials (CCTs): CRNs act as advocates, care coordinators and educators. This paper focuses on two additional major themes regarding how CRNs view the unique needs of POC in clinical research: establishing and maintaining trusting relationships and recruitment infrastructure. Nineteen nurses participated in semi-structured one-to-one interviews and data analysis was based on Colaizzi's method. CRNs described a history of past research injustices, disparate access to care, inadequate cultural training, a physician-driven recruitment structure and provider-based implicit biases that hinder POC enrollment in CTs. Diversity in CCT enrollment requires CRNs to establish trust with POC, advocate for POC when implicit biases are observed and become competent practitioners of culturally sensitive care. Further, meaningful policy change at both federal and organizational levels must occur to ensure equitable access to novel cancer therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]