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Research for development: the meaning of equity in funder-level partnerships
No full textEquity in research partnerships has been a concern within international development research policy for many years. However, there has been increasing momentum around this topic (ESSENCE and UKCDR, 2022), with calls to address the underlying issues that create imbalances between partners. Alongside academic work, there is increasing attention on this issue within the research policy space, evidenced by a growing number of initiatives, guidance documents, and reports.
Discussion about equitable partnerships often focuses on the divide between High-Income Countries (HICs) and Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The HIC-funder-LMICrecipient model is still predominant, bringing both benefits and challenges. On the one hand, HIC-funder-LMIC-recipient partnerships can significantly contribute to achieving development impact. On the other hand, the inherent unfairness and asymmetry in these partnerships is a significant concern.
This study focused on one aspect of equity in research partnerships: funder-level partnerships. There is a paucity of information about equity at the funder level within current debates. UKCDR intends this report to further understanding on a finding from UKCDR and ESSENCE’s Four Approaches to Supporting Equitable Research Partnerships, which identifies equity within funder-level partnerships as one area that could catalyse changes within the research partnership ecosystem.
This study consulted with research funding organisations based in both HICs and LMICs and found important underlying differences in how equity was understood and experienced in partnerships. While HIC-based funders saw equity as a priority for supporting development agendas within LMICs, their focus leaned toward equity at the research level rather than within funder-level partnerships. For HIC-based funders, equity was a priority for supporting international development agendas within LMICs, however they tended to be more interested in equity at the research level.
Through analysis of semi-structured interviews with 23 representatives of funders in HICs and LMICS, we found that for LMIC-based funders, equity within funder-level relationships was not an explicit concern, rather partnerships were shaped by the challenges of interinstitutional collaboration in an unequal world. For LMIC-based funders, challenges with partnership building were not framed as being about equity but seen as part of the process of building collaborations.
This suggests equity is a systemic challenge requiring changes to all areas of the global research system. However, there are actions that can be taken to improve how research funders engage with each other to support a re-balancing of the global research system and drive change. This report distils and maps insights and areas for action onto UKCDR and ESSENCE’s Four Approaches to Supporting Equitable Research Partnerships. The four approaches are: (1) Support the research partnership ecosystem; (2) Strengthen research relationships and research systems; (3) Budget for partnership building; and (4) Implement processes and procedures that sustain partnerships.
Although implementing equity at the funder level can be a part of addressing equity in the overall global research ecosystem, it is not the primary equity challenge for most research funders, especially those in LMICs. This suggests that change cannot be addressed within individual funder-level partnerships but rather requires efforts across different parts of the research system
Electrochemical behavior and biocompatibility of TiO2@C core–shell NWs deposited by PECVD for cellular interface application
No full textopen access articleThe selection of materials for neural interface electrodes relies heavily on two key criteria: electrochemical performance and biocompatibility. Carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in neural interface research due to their excellent electrical conductivity, biocompatibility, and mechanical stability. However, achieving desirable electrochemical properties typically requires high-temperature synthesis (>1000 °C), which limits their integration with temperature-sensitive substrates and restricts broader device compatibility. In this study, we investigate TiO2@C core–shell nanowires (NWs) synthesized at a low temperature of 320 °C via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), followed by in situ annealing at 450 °C, 550 °C, and 650 °C for durations of 1, 3, and 5 hours. We systematically evaluated their charge storage capacity, electrochemical impedance, long-term cycling stability, and in vitro biocompatibility. The 5 nm carbon shell, in situ annealed at 650 °C for 3 hours, demonstrated the highest areal capacitance of 874.4 mF cm−2 at 50 mV s−1 and a low impedance of 2.1 kohm at 1 kHz, with 92% capacitance retention after 1000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles. In addition, the electrode maintained stable performance across a range of scan rates, indicating resilience under dynamic stimulation conditions. Initial cell culture assays using HeLa cells confirmed the coating's cytocompatibility, supporting viable and non-cytotoxic cellular activity comparable to conventional substrates. These results highlight the potential of moderate-temperature synthesized TiO2@C core–shell nanowires as high-performance, biocompatible electrode materials with improved compatibility for integration into diverse neural interface platforms
Numerical study of the effect of soil-plant-atmosphere interaction under future climate projections and different vegetation covers
No full textSoil-plant-atmosphere interaction (SPAI) plays a significant role on the safety and serviceably of geotechnical infrastructure. The mechanical and hydraulic soil behaviour varies with the soil water content and pore water pressures (PWP), which are in turn affected by vegetation and weather conditions. Focusing on the hydraulic reinforcement that extraction of water through the plant roots offers, this study couples advances in ecohydrological modelling with advances in geotechnical modelling, overcoming previous crude assumptions around the application of climatic effects on the geotechnical analysis. A methodology for incorporating realistic ecohydrological effects in the geotechnical analysis is developed and validated, and applied in the case study of a cut slope in Newbury, UK, for which field monitoring data is available, to demonstrate its successful applicability in boundary value problems. The results demonstrate the positive effect of vegetation on the infrastructure by increasing the Factor of Safety. Finally, the effect of climate change and changes in slope vegetation cover are investigated. The analysis results demonstrate that slope behaviour depends on complex interactions between the climate and the soil hydraulic properties and cannot be solely anticipated based on climate data, but suctions and changes in suction need necessarily to be considered
Kidney complement immunohistochemistry in thrombotic microangiopathy subtypes
No full textThis is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain
Quantifying CO₂ and non‐CO₂ contributions to climate change under 1.5°C and 2°C adaptive emission scenarios
No full textThe individual contributions of various human-induced forcings under scenarios compatible with the Paris Agreement targets are highly uncertain. To quantify this uncertainty, we analyze three types of models with physical parameter perturbed large ensembles under global warming levels of 1.5 and 2.0°C. The scenarios use adaptive CO2 emissions, while non-CO2 emissions are prescribed. The residual emission budgets in the scenarios are measured in terms of CO2 forcing equivalent (CO2-fe). Our simulations quantify approximately 0.8 (0.2–1.3 for a 90% confidence interval) and 1.9 (0.9–3.0) TtCO2-fe for the 1.5 and 2.0°C targets by the end of the 21st century. About 37.5% (73.7%) of the budget for 1.5°C (2.0°C) originates from the CO2 emission pathways, highlighting the importance of non-CO2 forcings. Aerosols dominate the uncertainty in non-CO2 contributions to global responses in both temperature and precipitation. Our modeling results underline the need to constrain the response to each climate forcing, particularly aerosol, to build an accurate mitigation and adaptation plan under the pledges of the Paris Agreement. Moreover, we demonstrate robust differences in global and regional temperature and precipitation responses between the higher and lower CO2 emission scenarios, highlighting the significance of carbon neutrality
Kuramoto model with stochastic resetting and coupling through an external medium
No full textMost studies of collective phenomena in oscillator networks focus on directly coupled systems, as exemplified by the classical Kuramoto model. However, there are a growing number of examples in which oscillators interact indirectly via a common external medium, including bacterial quorum sensing (QS) networks, pedestrians walking on a bridge, and centrally coupled lasers. In this paper, we analyze the effects of stochastic phase resetting on a Kuramoto model with indirect coupling. All the phases are simultaneously reset to their initial values at a random sequence of times generated from a Poisson process. On the other hand, the external environmental state is not reset. We first derive a continuity equation for the population density in the presence of resetting and show how the resulting density equation is itself subject to stochastic resetting. We then use an Ott–Antonsen (OA) Ansatz to reduce the infinite-dimensional system to a four-dimensional piecewise deterministic system with subsystem resetting. The latter is used to explore how synchronization depends on a cell density parameter. (In bacterial QS, this represents the ratio of the population cell volume and the extracellular volume.) At high densities, we recover the OA dynamics of the classical Kuramoto model with global resetting. On the other hand, at low densities, we show how subsystem resetting has a major effect on collective synchronization, ranging from noise-induced transitions to slow/fast dynamics
Evaluation of plasma biomarkers to understand the biology and heterogeneity of treatment effect in lower tidal volume ventilation facilitated by extracorporeal C02 removal in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: a secondary analysis of the REST trial
No full textOBJECTIVES:
In patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF), the use of lower tidal volume ventilation facilitated by veno-venous extracorporeal CO2 removal (vv-ECCO2R) does not improve clinical outcomes. The primary objective of this analysis was to evaluate for differences in indices of systemic inflammation and ventilator-induced lung injury between patients treated with lower tidal volume ventilation facilitated by vv-ECCO2R and standard care. Secondary objectives included an evaluation for heterogeneity of treatment effect.
DESIGN:
Substudy of a randomized clinical trial.
SETTING:
Nine U.K. ICUs.
PATIENTS:
Moderate-to-severe AHRF (Pao2: Fio2 < 150mmHg [20ka]).
INTERVENTION:
Plasma samples obtained at baseline and day 3.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
The primary outcome was day 3 C-reactive protein (CRP). Clinical outcomes included 90-day mortality and ventilator-free days (VFD) until day 28. Exploratory analyses included an evaluation of plasma indices of lung injury, inflammation, and heterogeneity of treatment effect (HTE). Seventy-nine patients were enrolled, and 69 patients had paired plasma samples taken at baseline and day 3. There was no difference in day 3 plasma CRP (intervention 138.6 [70.4, 189.4] vs. standard care 113.0 [62.7, 233.8] mg/L; p = 0.72). Between baseline and day 3, there was a greater increase in plasma interleukin-18 in patients that received intervention compared with those that received standard care (Δ 337.7 [–128.9, 738.9] vs. 6.4 [–457.2, 6.4] pg/mL p = 0.05). In patients with high interleukin-18, allocation to intervention was associated with increased VFDs (p = 0.03). Similarly in patients with a hyperinflammatory phenotype, the intervention was independently associated with increased VFDs (p < 0.01) and decreased 90-day mortality (p = 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS:
In patients with moderate-to-severe AHRF, lower tidal volume ventilation, facilitated by vv-ECCO2R, was not associated with a difference in day 3 plasma CRP, but was associated with an increase in plasma interleukin-18 between baseline and day 3. Baseline plasma interleukin-18 and inflammatory phenotypes may identify subgroups of patients with moderate-to-severe AHRF that benefit from lower tidal volume ventilation facilitated by vv-ECCO2R.
TRIAL REGISTRATION:
NCT0265432
The IL-33/ST2 axis and tissue Treg maintain epithelial homeostasis and restrain cancer development in the skin
No full textInterleukin (IL)-33 is constitutively expressed in many epithelial tissues at steady state and signals through the receptor, ST2. IL-33 is released upon tissue injury and functions as an endogenous danger signal to alert the immune system to tissue damage. Here we investigate the physiological role of the IL-33/ST2 axis in skin homeostasis and cancer development. We show that the expression of IL-33 differentiates malignant from normal and benign human tissues and that in mouse models of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma the IL-33/ST2 axis protects against carcinogenesis. Tissue regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the predominant cells expressing ST2 in the skin and localize around the hair follicle and IL-33+ epithelial cells (ECs). Adoptive transfer experiments demonstrate that skin Tregs regulate EC differentiation, minimizing mutational load and restraining cancer development after exposure to an environmental carcinogen. Our findings indicate an important role for EC-Treg cross-talk as an early checkpoint for containing tissue damage and carcinogenesis
Plant nutrient acquisition under elevated CO2 and implications for the land carbon sink
No full textTerrestrial ecosystems currently sequester around a third of anthropogenic carbon emitted each year, slowing the pace of climate change. However, the future of this sink under rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations remains uncertain, in part due to the impact that nutrient limitation may have on plant biomass. Here, we review plant nutrient acquisition strategies and evidence of the enhanced utilization of these strategies under experimental and real-world elevated CO2 (eCO2). Many of the strategies that are key to nutrient limitation alleviation under eCO2 are not yet well represented in Earth System Models (ESMs). A simple, data-driven analysis implies that ESMs without nutrient acquisition strategies could underestimate the land sink