Resources vs expertise: Search for the right research culture

Author(s):  
Andrew Bossone
Keyword(s):  
eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanita Casci ◽  
Elizabeth Adams
Keyword(s):  

Improving the research culture of an institution may lead to a fairer, more rewarding and successful environment, but how do you start making changes?


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Phelps ◽  
Elizabeth Tutton ◽  
Xavier Griffin ◽  
Janis Baird

Abstract Background: Qualitative research has been used to explore patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences of surgical randomised controlled trials (RCTs). From this research, reasons why patients accept or decline participation and barriers to engaging clinicians in trials have been identified. In a trauma setting, recruitment to surgical trials can be particularly difficult as patients may require urgent treatment and their ability to consider their options, ask questions and reach a decision may be hindered by the impact of their injury. Little research however, has explored patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences of surgical RCTs in a trauma setting. This study aimed to understand participants’ and staffs’ experiences of an orthopaedic trauma trial. Methods: We carried out semi-structured interviews with 11 participants and 24 staff (10 surgeons and 14 research associates) participating in a UK multi-centre feasibility trial comparing intramedullary nails versus distal locking plates for fractures of the distal femur (TrAFFix). Interviews explored patients’ experience of TrAFFix and their reason for participating and staffs’ experience of recruiting to TrAFFix and trauma trials more generally. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified. These were i) navigating research with patients after orthopaedic trauma, ii) knowing that it is the right decision and iii) making it work. These themes reflect: i) how research associates supported and guided patients through the consent process enabling them to participate, ii) the difficulty in engaging surgeons in a trial when individual equipoise and experience of the interventions is low despite the presence of community equipoise and iii) the way in which research teams worked together and encouraged the development of a research culture within the clinical teams in order to facilitate recruitment. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the pivotal role of research associates (RAs) in facilitating trial recruitment. RAs supported patients to enable them to make a decision about participation and assisted in developing a research culture within the team by promoting studies and communicating research to clinical staff. Our findings also reinforce surgeons’ difficulty with equipoise and suggest that accepting community equipoise could facilitate recruitment. Keywords: Qualitative, Interviews, experience, recruitment, trials,


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Phelps ◽  
Elizabeth Tutton ◽  
Xavier Griffin ◽  
Janis Baird

Abstract Background Qualitative research has been used to explore patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences of surgical randomised controlled trials (RCTs). From this research, reasons why patients accept or decline participation and barriers to engaging clinicians in trials have been identified. In a trauma setting, recruitment to surgical trials can be particularly difficult as patients may require urgent treatment and their ability to consider their options, ask questions and reach a decision may be hindered by the impact of their injury. Little research however, has explored patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences of surgical RCTs in a trauma setting. This study aimed to understand participants’ and staffs’ experiences of an orthopaedic trauma trial. Methods We carried out semi-structured interviews with 11 participants and 24 staff (10 surgeons and 14 research associates) participating in a UK multi-centre feasibility trial comparing intramedullary nails versus distal locking plates for fractures of the distal femur (TrAFFix). Interviews explored patients’ experience of TrAFFix and their reason for participating and staffs’ experience of recruiting to TrAFFix and trauma trials more generally. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes were identified. These were i) navigating research with patients after orthopaedic trauma, ii) knowing that it is the right decision and iii) making it work. These themes reflect: i) how research associates supported and guided patients through the consent process enabling them to participate, ii) the difficulty in engaging surgeons in a trial when individual equipoise and experience of the interventions is low despite the presence of community equipoise and iii) the way in which research teams worked together and encouraged the development of a research culture within the clinical teams in order to facilitate recruitment. Conclusions Our findings highlight the pivotal role of research associates (RAs) in facilitating trial recruitment. RAs supported patients to enable them to make a decision about participation and assisted in developing a research culture within the team by promoting studies and communicating research to clinical staff. Our findings also reinforce surgeons’ difficulty with equipoise and suggest that accepting community equipoise could facilitate recruitment.


Author(s):  
J. Anthony VanDuzer

SummaryRecently, there has been a proliferation of international agreements imposing minimum standards on states in respect of their treatment of foreign investors and allowing investors to initiate dispute settlement proceedings where a state violates these standards. Of greatest significance to Canada is Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which provides both standards for state behaviour and the right to initiate binding arbitration. Since 1996, four cases have been brought under Chapter 11. This note describes the Chapter 11 process and suggests some of the issues that may arise as it is increasingly resorted to by investors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Gainotti

Abstract The target article carefully describes the memory system, centered on the temporal lobe that builds specific memory traces. It does not, however, mention the laterality effects that exist within this system. This commentary briefly surveys evidence showing that clear asymmetries exist within the temporal lobe structures subserving the core system and that the right temporal structures mainly underpin face familiarity feelings.


Author(s):  
J. Taft∅

It is well known that for reflections corresponding to large interplanar spacings (i.e., sin θ/λ small), the electron scattering amplitude, f, is sensitive to the ionicity and to the charge distribution around the atoms. We have used this in order to obtain information about the charge distribution in FeTi, which is a candidate for storage of hydrogen. Our goal is to study the changes in electron distribution in the presence of hydrogen, and also the ionicity of hydrogen in metals, but so far our study has been limited to pure FeTi. FeTi has the CsCl structure and thus Fe and Ti scatter with a phase difference of π into the 100-ref lections. Because Fe (Z = 26) is higher in the periodic system than Ti (Z = 22), an immediate “guess” would be that Fe has a larger scattering amplitude than Ti. However, relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations show that the opposite is the case for the 100-reflection. An explanation for this may be sought in the stronger localization of the d-electrons of the first row transition elements when moving to the right in the periodic table. The tabulated difference between fTi (100) and ffe (100) is small, however, and based on the values of the scattering amplitude for isolated atoms, the kinematical intensity of the 100-reflection is only 5.10-4 of the intensity of the 200-reflection.


Author(s):  
Russell L. Steere ◽  
Michael Moseley

A redesigned specimen holder and cap have made possible the freeze-etching of both fracture surfaces of a frozen fractured specimen. In principal, the procedure involves freezing a specimen between two specimen holders (as shown in A, Fig. 1, and the left side of Fig. 2). The aluminum specimen holders and brass cap are constructed so that the upper specimen holder can be forced loose, turned over, and pressed down firmly against the specimen stage to a position represented by B, Fig. 1, and the right side of Fig. 2.


Author(s):  
K.S. McCarty ◽  
N.R. Wallace ◽  
W. Litaker ◽  
S. Wells ◽  
G. Eisenbarth

The production of adrenocorticotropic hormone by non-pituitary carcinomas has been documented in several tumors, most frequently small cell carcinoma of the lung, islet cell carcinomas of the pancreas, thymomas and carcinoids. Electron microscopy of these tumors reveals typical membrane-limited "neurosecretory" granules. Confirmation of the granules as adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) requires the use of OsO4 as a primary fixative to give the characteristic cored granule appearance in conjunction with immunohistochemical demonstration of the hormone peptide. Because of the rarity of ectopic ACTH production by mammary carcinomas and the absence of appropriate ultrastructural studies in the two examples of such ectopic hormone production in the literature of which we are aware (1,2), we present biochemical and ultrastructural data from a carcinoma of the breast with apparent ACTH production.The patient had her primary tumor in the right breast in 1969. The tumor recurred as visceral and subcutaneous metastases in 1976 and again in 1977.


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