scholarly journals Bat Research Networks and Viral Surveillance: Gaps and Opportunities in Western Asia

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra Phelps ◽  
Luke Hamel ◽  
Nisreen Alhmoud ◽  
Shahzad Ali ◽  
Rasit Bilgin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Effort ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Research Networks ◽  
Virus Surveillance ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Bat Conservation ◽  
Viral Surveillance ◽  
Published Research

Bat research networks and viral surveillance are assumed to be at odds due to seemingly conflicting research priorities. Yet human threats that contribute to declines in bat populations globally also lead to increased transmission and spread of bat-associated viruses, which may pose a threat to global health and food security. In this review, we discuss the importance of and opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations between bat research networks and infectious disease experts to tackle shared threats that jeopardize bat conservation as well as human and animal health. Moreover, we assess research effort on bats and bat-associated viruses globally, and demonstrate that Western Asia has limited published research and represents a gap for coordinated bat research. The lack of bat research in Western Asia severely limits our capacity to identify and mitigate region-specific threats to bat populations and detect interactions between bats and incidental hosts that promote virus spillover. We detail a regional initiative to establish the first bat research network in Western Asia (i.e., the Western Asia Bat Research Network, WAB-Net), with the aim of integrating ecological research on bats with virus surveillance to find “win-win” solutions that promote bat conservation and safeguard public and animal health across the region.

scholarly journals The kidney cancer research priority-setting partnership: Identifying the top 10 research priorities as defined by patients, caregivers, and expert clinicians

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 379-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jones ◽  
Jaimin Bhatt ◽  
Jonathan Avery ◽  
Andreas Laupacis ◽  
Katherine Cowan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Research ◽  
Kidney Cancer ◽  
Priority Setting ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Cancer Research Network ◽  
Research Priority ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
James Lind Alliance ◽  
Priority Setting Partnership

It is critically important to define disease-specific research priorities to better allocate limited resources. There is growing recognition of the value of involving patients and caregivers, as well as expert clinicians in this process. To our knowledge, this has not been done this way for kidney cancer. Using the transparent and inclusive process established by the James Lind Alliance, the Kidney Cancer Research Network of Canada (KCRNC) sponsored a collaborative consensus-based priority-setting partnership (PSP) to identify research priorities in the management of kidney cancer. The final result was identification of 10 research priorities for kidney cancer, which are discussed in the context of current initiatives and gaps in knowledge. This process provided a systematic and effective way to collaboratively establish research priorities with patients, caregivers, and clinicians, and provides a valuable resource for researchers and funding agencies.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Neighborhood Environmental Survey: Study Motivation and Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (1) ◽  
pp. 5815-5827
Author(s):  
Sean Doyle ◽  
Donald Scata ◽  
James Hileman
Keyword(s):  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aircraft Noise ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Environmental Survey ◽  
Additional Information

As part of the agency's broader noise research program, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has undertaken a multi-year research effort to quantify the impacts of aircraft noise exposure on communities around commercial service airports in the United States (U.S.). The overall goal of the study was to produce an updated and nationally representative civil aircraft dose-response curve; providing the relationship between annoyance and aircraft noise exposure around U.S. airport communities. To meet this goal, the FAA sponsored a research team to help design and conduct a national survey, known as the Neighborhood Environmental Survey (NES). By assessing the results of the NES through both internal review and input from public comment, the FAA seeks to better inform its noise research priorities and noise policies. This paper will outline the FAA's motivation to conduct the NES as well as how its findings will help inform ongoing work to address aircraft noise concerns. Additional information describing the noise methodology and survey methodology are provided in companion papers.

Priorities for child health research across the UK and Ireland

2021 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2021-322636
Author(s):  
Katrina Cathie ◽  
Alastair G Sutcliffe ◽  
Srini Bandi ◽  
David Coghlan ◽  
Stephen W Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Models Of Care ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Modified Delphi ◽  
Phase Study ◽  
Child Health Research ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Multicentre Research

BackgroundThe General and Adolescent Paediatric Research Network in the UK and Ireland (GAPRUKI) was established in 2016. The aims of GAPRUKI are to unite general paediatricians around the UK and Ireland, to develop research ideas and protocols, and facilitate delivery of multicentre research.ObjectivesTo undertake a research prioritisation exercise among UK and Ireland general paediatricians.MethodsThis was a four-phase study using a modified Delphi survey. The first phase asked for suggested research priorities. The second phase developed ideas and ranked them in priority. In the third phase, priorities were refined; and the final stage used the Hanlon Prioritisation Process to agree on the highest priorities.ResultsIn phase one, there were 250 questions submitted by 61 GAPRUKI members (66% of the whole membership). For phase two, 92 priorities were scored by 62 members and the mean Likert scale (1–7) scores ranged from 3.13 to 5.77. In a face-to-face meeting (phases three and four), 17 research questions were identified and ultimately 14 priorities were identified and ranked. The four priorities with the highest ranking focused on these three respiratory conditions: asthma, bronchiolitis and acute wheeze. Other priorities were in the diagnosis or management of constipation, urinary tract infection, fever, gastro-oesophageal reflux and also new models of care for scheduled general paediatric clinics.ConclusionResearch priorities for child health in the UK and Ireland have been identified using a robust methodology. The next steps are for studies to be designed and funded to address these priorities.

No Longer Overlooked and Undervalued? The Evolving Dynamics of Endogenous Educational Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD MACLURE
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Research Networks ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Local Research

Multilateral donors like the World Bank and bilateral agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Department for International Development exert a great deal of influence in international educational development — particularly in sub-Saharan Africa — both in the programs they fund and the types of research they engage in. In this article, Richard Maclure investigates educational research in Africa and juxtaposes research done by large, exogenous, Western, results-oriented organizations with research performed by smaller, endogenous, local researchers aided by local research networks. Maclure argues convincingly that research that falls into the exogenous "donor-control" paradigm far too often is irrelevant to the African educational policy context and does little to develop local research capacity. The cases of two African research networks — the Educational Research Network of West and Central Africa and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa—are presented as exemplars of organizations that promote an alternative type of research that is endogenous, relevant to policy and the process of policymaking, and controlled by Africans. Maclure concludes with a call for increased support for and development of these types of networks, and for the development of the long-term solution to educational research in Africa — the university.

Ongoing research protocols for the pharmacological treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
M. Canevelli ◽  
G. Remoli ◽  
M. Toccaceli Blasi ◽  
L. Tariciotti ◽  
G. Sarli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Effort ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Dementia Research ◽  
Ongoing Phase

The implementation of effective interventions for neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) is perceived as one of the most pressing research priorities in the field of dementia and one of the main unmet needs from the perspective of affected individuals and their caregivers and relatives. Nevertheless, to date, only a relatively marginal part of dementia research has focused on NPS. This study aimed to describe and discuss the state of the art concerning the identification and development of new pharmacological treatments for NPS in dementia. A review of 320 ongoing phase 1, 2, 3, and 4 protocols registered in the clinicaltrials.gov database was performed. All the trials enrolling patients with dementia were selected. Only studies adopting clinical measures of NPS frequency and/or severity as primary outcome were retained and analyzed. Overall, only a minority of ongoing phase 1, 2, 3 and 4 protocols on dementia (i.e., 9.0%) is primarily targeting NPS. Most of these studies are adopting a placebo-controlled parallel assignment design, testing oral compounds, and targeting specific NPS (mostly agitation and/or aggression). A total of 3,445 subjects with dementia will tentatively be recruited in these trials. The methodologies adopted in these studies, the characteristics of the tested interventions, the eligibility criteria, and the operational definitions of NPS are presented and discussed. The relevance of NPS is not yet matched by an adequate research effort. The current tendency at privileging disease-modifying approaches and other symptoms of dementia and the methodological complexity of studying NPS are still substantially contributing to the gap between research activities and clinical needs.

A conceptual framework for habitat use and research priorities for the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) in the north of Western Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viki A. Cramer ◽  
Martin A. Dziminski ◽  
Richard Southgate ◽  
Fiona M. Carpenter ◽  
Ryan J. Ellis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mobile Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Area Of Occupancy ◽  
Introduced Predators

Little is known of the area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, abundance, density or habitat use of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) in the north of Western Australia. To seek broad collaborative agreement on a research agenda, the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife hosted a workshop where research priorities were identified through a facilitated process. Five key areas for future research effort were identified: (1) refine survey methods, (2) improve understanding of habitat use, (3) improve understanding of the genetic structure of (meta)populations, (4) improve understanding of the threat posed by introduced predators and herbivores, and (5) improve understanding of how fire regimes affect bilby conservation. A conceptual model describing the main landscape components thought to be influencing distribution is used to reconcile existing knowledge, link research priorities for the bilby in the north of Western Australia, and guide the development of an integrated program of research. The broad nature of the priorities reflects the limited knowledge of bilbies in the north of the state; however, this research program provides an opportunity to increase knowledge to enact both species- and ecosystem-focused approaches to conservation, and potentially contributes towards the implementation of more dynamic conservation approaches for mobile species.

Developing a collaborative permafrost research program: The Dempster - Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway research corridor, Northwest Territories, Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Rudy ◽  
Steve Kokelj ◽  
Alice Wilson ◽  
Tim Ensom ◽  
Peter Morse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Research Initiatives

<p>The Beaufort Delta region in Northwest Territories, Canada is one of the most rapidly warming areas on Earth. Permafrost thaw and climate change are major stressors on northern infrastructure, particularly in this region which hosts the highest density of Arctic communities and the longest road network constructed on ice-rich permafrost in Canada. The Dempster and Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highways (ITH) comprise a 400-km corridor connecting the region with southern Canada. The corridor delivers a unique opportunity to develop a societally-relevant, northern-driven permafrost research network to encourage collaboration, and support pure and applied studies that engage stakeholders, encourage community participation, and acknowledge northern interests. Successful implementation requires leadership and institutional support from the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and Inuvialuit and Gwich’in Boards and landowners, and coordination between research organizations including NWT Geological Survey, Aurora Research Institute, Geological Survey of Canada, and universities to define key research priorities, human and financial resources to undertake studies, and protocols to manage data collection and reporting.</p><p>In 2017, a state of the art ground temperature monitoring network was established along the Dempster-ITH corridor by the GNWT in collaboration with Federal and Academic partners. This network in combination with the maintenance of the Dempster Highway and recent design and construction of the ITH, has created a national legacy of permafrost geotechnical, terrain and geohazard information in this region. The objectives of this program are to integrate old and new data to synthesize physiographic, hydrological, thermal, and geotechnical conditions along the corridor, and to develop applied permafrost research projects that support planning and maintenance of this critical northern infrastructure. In this presentation, we highlight: 1) a collaborative research framework that builds northern capacity and involves northerners in the generation of knowledge and its application to increase community based permafrost monitoring; 2) summaries of existing infrastructure datasets and their foundation for research; and 3) new projects that address emerging climate-driven infrastructure stressors. As the effects of climate change on permafrost environments, infrastructure and communities continue to increase, the need for northern scientific capacity and applied research to support informed decision-making, climate change adaptation and risk management will become increasingly critical. The development of resilient researcher-stakeholder-community relationships is also necessary for the scientific and research initiatives to reach their potential.</p><p> </p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document