Alternative models of funding curiosity-driven research.

Funding of curiosity-driven science is the lifeblood of scientific and technological innovation. Various models of funding allocation became institutionalized in the 20th century, shaping the present landscape of research funding. There are numerous reasons for scientists to be dissatisfied with current funding schemes, including the imbalance between funding for curiosity-driven and mission-directed research, regional and country disparities, path-dependency of who gets funded, gender and race disparities, low inter-reviewer reliability, and the trade-off between the effort and time spent on writing or reviewing proposals and doing research.

The present and future of peer review: Ideas, interventions, and evidence.

What is wrong with the peer review system? Is peer review sustainable? Useful? What other models exist? These are central yet contentious questions in today's academic discourse. This perspective critically discusses alternative models and revisions to the peer review system. The authors highlight possible changes to the peer review system, with the goal of fostering further dialog among the main stakeholders, including producers and consumers of scientific research.

Discourse on measurement.

Measurement literacy is required for strong scientific reasoning, effective experimental design, conceptual and empirical validation of measurement quantities, and the intelligible interpretation of error in theory construction. This discourse examines how issues in measurement are posed and resolved and addresses potential misunderstandings. Examples drawn from across the sciences are used to show that measurement literacy promotes the goals of scientific discourse and provides the necessary foundation for carving out perspectives and carrying out interventions in science.

Microbial competition for iron determines its availability to the ferrous wheel.

Iron plays a pivotal role in regulating ocean primary productivity. Iron is supplied from diverse sources such as the atmosphere and the geosphere, and hence iron biogeochemical research has focused on identifying and quantifying such sources of "new" iron. However, the recycling of this new iron fuels up to 90% of the productivity in vast oceanic regions.

The relationship between access to peer support programs and quality of life among people living with HIV in Australia.

Peer support services for people living with HIV (PLHIV) serve varying functions and are a unique resource for support. Peer support programs are considered an important strategy for achieving better quality of life (QoL) for PLHIV and there has been substantial investment in provision of such programs. The present study asks whether being connected to other PLHIV is associated with better QoL for PLHIV in Australia and; whether involvement in formal peer support programs is associated with QoL among people newly diagnosed with HIV.

Alternative approaches for monitoring and evaluation of lymphatic filariasis following mass drug treatment with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine and albendazole in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

Background: WHO recommends two annual rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole (IDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination in treatment naïve areas that are not co-endemic for onchocerciasis such as Papua New Guinea (PNG). Whether two rounds of MDA are necessary or sufficient and the optimal sampling strategies and endpoints for stopping MDA remain undefined.

Methods And Findings: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted at baseline (N = 49 clusters or villages) and 12 months after mass drug administration (MDA) with IDA (N = 47 villages) to assess lymphatic filariasis (LF) by circulating filarial antigenemia (CFA) and microfilariae (Mf).

Wild-type bone marrow cells repopulate tissue resident macrophages and reverse the impacts of homozygous CSF1R mutation.

Adaptation to existence outside the womb is a key event in the life of a mammal. The absence of macrophages in rats with a homozygous mutation in the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (Csf1r) gene (Csf1rko) severely compromises pre-weaning somatic growth and maturation of organ function. Transfer of wild-type bone marrow cells (BMT) at weaning rescues tissue macrophage populations permitting normal development and long-term survival.

From impact metrics and open science to communicating research: Journalists' awareness of academic controversies.

This study sheds light on how journalists respond to evolving debates within academia around topics including research integrity, improper use of metrics to measure research quality and impact, and the risks and benefits of the open science movement. It does so through a codebook thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 19 health and science journalists from the Global North. We find that journalists' perceptions of these academic controversies vary widely, with some displaying a highly critical and nuanced understanding and others presenting a more limited awareness.

Maternal mental health matters: Indicators for perinatal mental health-A scoping review.

Perinatal mental health disorders are a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in childbearing women. The World Health Organization recommends all women be screened for mental health disorders postnatally and have diagnostic and management services available. There are, however, currently no global indicators in use which measure the status and progress of perinatal mental health.

Enhanced ResNet-50 for garbage classification: Feature fusion and depth-separable convolutions.

As people's material living standards continue to improve, the types and quantities of household garbage they generate rapidly increase. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a reasonable and effective method for garbage classification. This is important for resource recycling and environmental improvement and contributes to the sustainable development of production and the economy.

Understanding the consumer, carer and stakeholder experiences of residential respite care.

Objectives: Residential aged care respite clients are vulnerable and prone to poor health-care outcomes. Improvements in the quality of care for this cohort are urgently needed. However, before proposing changes in care models, a nuanced understanding of relevant issues affecting respite care consumers and professionals is required.

In utero exposure to experimental maternal asthma alters fetal airway development in sheep.

The mechanisms linking maternal asthma (MA) exposure in utero and subsequent risk of asthma in childhood are not fully understood. Pathological airway remodelling, including reticular basement membrane thickening, has been reported in infants and children who go on to develop asthma later in childhood. This suggests altered airway development before birth as a mechanism underlying increased risk of asthma in children exposed in utero to MA.

Real-world implementation of pain science education and barriers to use in private practice physiotherapy settings: an Australia-wide cross-sectional survey.

Physiotherapists are critically positioned to integrate education into patient care, including pain science education (PSE) to enhance management and outcomes. Anecdotally, many physiotherapists report difficulty providing PSE in private practice settings. Here, we aimed to explore current PSE use, knowledge, and barriers to implementation.

Supporting equitable access to kidney transplant in remote Western Australia using continuous quality improvement.

Background: Despite an epidemic of end-stage kidney disease in the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, disparities in access to kidney transplantation persist. The journey to a successful kidney transplant is long, with an initial suitability assessment required before waitlist-specific activities begin. In an Aboriginal Community Controlled renal service, we aimed to: (i) design and implement a continuous quality improvement (CQI) approach to transplant suitability assessment, (ii) provide transplant suitability assessments for all patients of the service, (iii) describe what temporary contraindications to kidney transplantation should be the focus of health service improvements, (iv) explore participant experiences with the suitability assessment process, and (v) use our findings to inform pre- and post-transplant model of care development within Kimberley Renal Services.

Burden and attributable risk factors of non-communicable diseases and subtypes in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021.

Background: Understanding based on up-to-date data on the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is limited, especially regarding how subtypes contribute to the overall NCD burden and the attributable risk factors across locations and subtypes. We aimed to report the global, regional, and national burden of NCDs, subtypes, and attributable risk factors in 2021, and trends from 1990 to 2021 by age, sex, and socio-demographic index (SDI).

Materials And Methods: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to estimate the prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for NCDs and subtypes, along with attributable risk factors.

First-Attempt Success in Ultrasound-Guided vs Standard Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Insertion: The EPIC Superiority Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Pediatric peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) insertion can be difficult and time-consuming, frequently requiring multiple insertion attempts and often resulting in increased anxiety, distress, and treatment avoidance among children and their families. Ultrasound-guided PIVC insertion is a superior alternative to standard technique (palpation and visualization) in high-risk patients.

Objective: To compare first-time insertion success of PIVCs inserted with ultrasound guidance compared with standard technique (palpation and visualization) across all risk categories in the general pediatric hospital population.

Negative Pressure Dressings to Prevent Surgical Site Infection After Emergency Laparotomy: The SUNRRISE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Patients undergoing unplanned abdominal surgical procedures are at increased risk of surgical site infection (SSI). It is not known if incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) can reduce SSI rates in this setting.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of iNPWT in reducing the rate of SSI in adults undergoing emergency laparotomy with primary skin closure.

Predicting Individual Pain Sensitivity Using a Novel Cortical Biomarker Signature.

Importance: Biomarkers would greatly assist decision-making in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of chronic pain.

Objective: To undertake analytical validation of a sensorimotor cortical biomarker signature for pain consisting of 2 measures: sensorimotor peak alpha frequency (PAF) and corticomotor excitability (CME).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study at a single center (Neuroscience Research Australia) recruited participants from November 2020 to October 2022 through notices placed online and at universities across Australia.

Receptor CDCP1 is a potential target for personalized imaging and treatment of poor outcome HER2+, triple negative and metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancers.

Purpose: Receptor CUB-domain containing- protein 1 (CDCP1) was evaluated as a target for detection and treatment of breast cancer.

Experimental Design: CDCP1 expression was assessed immunohistochemically in tumors from 423 patients (119 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); 75 HER2+; 229 ER+/HER2- including 228 primary tumors, 229 lymph node and 47 distant metastases). Cell cytotoxicity induced in vitro by a CDCP1-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), consisting of the human/mouse chimeric antibody ch10D7 and the microtubule disruptor monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), was quantified, including in combination with HER2-targeting ADC T-DM1.

Assessing the Rise in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Incidence: A 38-Year Australian Study Investigating WHO Classification Influence.

The incidence of thyroid cancer has shown marked increases globally over recent decades. This study investigated how the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) subtypes and World Health Organisation (WHO) endocrine tumour classification changes have affected overall thyroid cancer incidence recorded in Australia. Using incidence data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cancer registry (spanning 1982 to 2019), this descriptive epidemiological study employed joinpoint regression analysis to assess temporal trends in thyroid carcinoma incidence, focusing on PTC.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effectiveness of Whole-school Interventions Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Risk Behaviours in Adolescence.

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the onset of mental disorders and risk behaviours. Based on the Health-Promoting Schools Framework, whole-school interventions offer a promising strategy in this developmentally-sensitive cohort, through championing a systems-based approach to promotion and prevention that involves the key stakeholders in an adolescent's life. The evidence-base surrounding the effectiveness of whole-school interventions, however, remains inconclusive, partly due to the insufficient number of studies in previous meta-analyses.

Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Drug Concentration Is Not Associated with Disease Outcomes in Pouchitis: A Retrospective, International Study.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring is important for optimizing anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) therapy in inflammatory bowel disease. However, the exposure-response relationship has never been assessed in pouchitis.

Aims: To explore associations between anti-TNF-α drug concentration and pouchitis disease activity in patients with a background of ulcerative colitis.