ERIGrid Holistic Test Description for Validating Cyber-Physical Energy Systems

Smart energy solutions aim to modify and optimise the operation of existing energy infrastructure. Such cyber-physical technology must be mature before deployment to the actual infrastructure, and competitive solutions will have to be compliant to standards still under development. Achieving this technology readiness and harmonisation requires reproducible experiments and appropriately realistic testing environments. Such testbeds for multi-domain cyber-physical experiments are complex in and of themselves. This work addresses a method for the scoping and design of experiments where both testbed and solution each require detailed expertise. This empirical work first revisited present test description approaches, developed a newdescription method for cyber-physical energy systems testing, and matured it by means of user involvement. The new Holistic Test Description (HTD) method facilitates the conception, deconstruction and reproduction of complex experimental designs in the domains of cyber-physical energy systems. This work develops the background and motivation, offers a guideline and examples to the proposed approach, and summarises experience from three years of its application.This work received funding in the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Program (H2020/2014–2020) under project “ERIGrid” (Grant Agreement No. 654113)

International Perspectives on Parenting Support - Non-English Language Sources

This study was commissioned by the DCSF, and began in October 2007. The project aimed to extend existing knowledge of ‘what works’ in parenting support beyond the English language international evidence that was comprehensively reviewed in an earlier study for DCSF (What Works in Parenting Support, Moran, Ghate and van der Merwe 2004). While the previous study focused on English language literature, the focus of this study was to examine parenting support in a selection of non-English language countries. Five countries were selected from an initial list of 12 (originally chosen from a longer list of 22). Their selection was based on the relevance to UK policy and practice, potential translatability to a UK context and indications of promising practice

Mapping community pharmacy services in Brazil: a scoping review

The delivery of clinical pharmacy services has been growing in Brazilian community pharmacies, and it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the topic. This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of Brazilian studies about clinical pharmacy services in community pharmacies. Original research articles, with no restriction of time, study design, or patients health condition, were included. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and Lilacs. Two reviewers conducted the screening, full-text reading, and data extraction independently. ROB and ROBINS-I were used for the assessment of quality. Charts and tables were built to summarise the data. Seventy-two articles were included. A diversity of study designs, number of participants, terms used, and outcomes was found. São Paulo and Sergipe States had the highest number of studies (n=10). Pharmacists interventions were not fully reported in 65% of studies, and most studies presented an unclear risk of bias. Studies were very diverse, impairing the comparisons between the results and hindering their reproducibility. This review suggests using guidelines and checklists for better structuration of pharmacists interventions as well as reporting results and measuring fidelity in future research. (c) 2022, Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas (Biblioteca). All rights reserved

Status and potential of bacterial genomics for public health practice : a scoping review

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly being translated into routine public health practice, affecting the surveillance and control of many pathogens. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify and characterize the recent literature concerning the application of bacterial pathogen genomics for public health practice and to assess the added value, challenges, and needs related to its implementation from an epidemiologist’s perspective. Methods: In this scoping review, a systematic PubMed search with forward and backward snowballing was performed to identify manuscripts in English published between January 2015 and September 2018. Included studies had to describe the application of NGS on bacterial isolates within a public health setting. The studied pathogen, year of publication, country, number of isolates, sampling fraction, setting, public health application, study aim, level of implementation, time orientation of the NGS analyses, and key findings were extracted from each study. Due to a large heterogeneity of settings, applications, pathogens, and study measurements, a descriptive narrative synthesis of the eligible studies was performed. Results: Out of the 275 included articles, 164 were outbreak investigations, 70 focused on strategy-oriented surveillance, and 41 on control-oriented surveillance. Main applications included the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data for (1) source tracing, (2) early outbreak detection, (3) unraveling transmission dynamics, (4) monitoring drug resistance, (5) detecting cross-border transmission events, (6) identifying the emergence of strains with enhanced virulence or zoonotic potential, and (7) assessing the impact of prevention and control programs. The superior resolution over conventional typing methods to infer transmission routes was reported as an added value, as well as the ability to simultaneously characterize the resistome and virulome of the studied pathogen. However, the full potential of pathogen genomics can only be reached through its integration with high-quality contextual data. Conclusions: For several pathogens, it is time for a shift from proof-of-concept studies to routine use of WGS during outbreak investigations and surveillance activities. However, some implementation challenges from the epidemiologist’s perspective remain, such as data integration, quality of contextual data, sampling strategies, and meaningful interpretations. Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and international collaborations are key for an appropriate genomics-informed surveillance

Systematic Reviews on HAI Topics: A Look At Reporting Practices

Human-animal interactions (HAI) are being studied with increased frequency, evidenced by a steady increase in the number of published articles and the number of journals publishing them. Evidence synthesis methods like systematic review (SR) provide a stronger level of evidence than individual studies and are often used to inform practice guidelines. To ensure SR accuracy and reliability, they must follow rigorous, prescribed methodologies. Objectives: This study of HAI SRs was designed to determine the characteristics of HAI SRs in terms of publication patterns, human subjects, animal(s) of interest, and outcomes, and to answer: (Q1)Which methodological guideline was followed? Was a protocol written? Was the protocol registered? (Q2) Which databases were searched? Was an information professional consulted? (Q3) Were the database searches replicable? (Q4) Was grey literature included? (Q5) Were inclusion and exclusion criteria explicitly identified? How many researchers examined studies at each stage of screening? Methods: Thirteen bibliographic databases were searched for articles containing both an HAI-related term and an SR term. Authors screened 766 articles for relevance, and coded 110 articles for desired data. Results: Of 110 articles, 60 were published between 2019-2022. A majority of studies (79) referred to PRISMA and/or other methodological guidelines, while 40 made no reference to any guideline. Across all studies, 163 different databases were searched, with PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL among the most frequently used. Only 20 studies referred to consultation with an information professional. A slight majority of studies (58) provided a full search strategy for at least one database. Most articles (74) did not include grey literature searches. Most articles (80) assessed included studies for quality or risk of bias (RoB). Conclusions: The publication of SRs in HAI research is increasing, and there is room for improvement in reporting among these publications

What are the active ingredients of ‘arts in health’ activities? Development of the INgredients iN ArTs in hEalth (INNATE) framework

Background: There is a scarcity of research concerning what it is about arts engagement that may activate causal mechanisms leading to effects on health and wellbeing: their active ingredients. Further, the limited studies that do exist have tended to be relevant to specific contexts and types of art forms. The aim of this study was to carry out a comprehensive mapping of potential active ingredients, construct a shared language, and propose a framework and toolkit to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of arts in health activities. Methods: Drawing upon Rapid Appraisal techniques and collaborating with 64 participants working in arts in health, we engaged in a three-phase process: 1) scoping review to inform the development of an initial framework; 2) consultation on the initial framework; and 3) analysis and construction of the INNATE framework. Results: The study identified 139 potential active ingredients within the overarching categories of  project, people, and  contexts.  Project components relate directly to the content of the arts activity itself, intrinsic to what the activity is. The  people category denotes how people interact through engagement with the activity and who is involved in this interaction, including activity facilitation.  Contexts relates to the activity setting comprising the aggregate of place(s), things, and surroundings. Aligning with complexity science, ingredients may interconnect or feed into one another to prompt mechanisms, and may not be experienced as distinct by participants. Conclusions: Our mapping exercise is the most extensive to date. In relation to arts in health activities, the INNATE framework can support with: design and implementation, such as co-producing an intervention to meet the needs of a particular population; evaluation, such as facilitating the comparison of different interventions and their efficacy; and replication, scalability, and sustainability through enabling detailed reporting and articulation of what an arts in health activity entails

Re-Thinking Reproducibility as a Criterion for Research Quality

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this record.A heated debate surrounds the significance of reproducibility as an indicator for research quality and reliability, with many commentators linking a "crisis of reproducibility" to the rise of fraudulent, careless and unreliable practices of knowledge production. Through the analysis of discourse and practices across research fields, I point out that reproducibility is not only interpreted in different ways, but also serves a variety of epistemic functions depending on the research at hand. Given such variation, I argue that the uncritical pursuit of reproducibility as an overarching epistemic value is misleading and potentially damaging to scientific advancement. Requirements for reproducibility, however they are interpreted, are one of many available means to secure reliable research outcomes. Furthermore, there are cases where the focus on enhancing reproducibility turns out not to foster high-quality research. Scientific communities and Open Science advocates should learn from inferential reasoning from irreproducible data, and promote incentives for all researchers to explicitly and publicly discuss (1) their methodological commitments, (2) the ways in which they learn from mistakes and problems in everyday practice, and (3) the strategies they use to choose which research component of any project needs to be preserved in the long term, and how.This research was funded by the European Research Council grant award 335925 (“The Epistemology of Data-Intensive Science”), the Australian Research Council Discovery Project “Organisms and Us” and the UK Economic and Social Research Council award ES/P011489/1

TIER2: enhancing Trust, Integrity and Efficiency in Research through next-level Reproducibility

Lack of reproducibility of research results has become a major theme in recent years. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic pressures and exposed consequences of lack of societal trust in science make addressing reproducibility of urgent importance. TIER2 is a new international project funded by the European Commission under their Horizon Europe programme. Covering three broad research areas (social, life and computer sciences) and two cross-disciplinary stakeholder groups (research publishers and funders) to systematically investigate reproducibility across contexts, TIER2 will significantly boost knowledge on reproducibility, create tools, engage communities, implement interventions and policy across different contexts to increase re-use and overall quality of research results in the European Research Area and global R&I, and consequently increase trust, integrity and efficiency in research

Adapting Translational Research Methods to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Translational research applies scientific techniques to achieve practical outcomes, connecting pure research and pure practice. Many translational research types have arisen since the mid-1900s, reflecting the need to better integrate scientific advancement with policy and practice. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) development efforts have aimed to reduce morbidity and mortality and improve service delivery; thus, associated research has a strong orientation toward applied studies that use diverse methods to support decision-making. Drawing from knowledge that emerged to support other professional fields, such as manufacturing and clinical healthcare, we characterize different types of translational research and clarify nomenclature and principles. We describe study approaches relevant to translational research questions, and offer overarching recommendations, specific examples, and resources for further study as practical advice to professionals who seek to apply translational methods to WaSH problems. To enhance collective outcomes, professionals should mindfully align projects within the translational spectrum. We further recommend overarching good practices such as documenting intervention adaptations, overtly considering contextual factors, and better distinguishing efficacy from effectiveness research by replicating studies in different contexts. By consciously improving the compatibility and linkages between WaSH science and practice, this guide can accelerate urgently needed progress toward global development goals

Global Guidelines in Dermatology Mapping Project (GUIDEMAP):a scoping review of dermatology clinical practice guidelines

Background Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) play a critical role in standardizing and improving treatment outcomes based on the available evidence. It is unclear how many CPGs are available globally to assist clinicians in the management of patients with skin disease. Objectives To search for and identify CPGs for dermatological conditions with the highest burden globally. Methods We adapted a list of 12 dermatological conditions with the highest burden from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019. A systematic literature search was done to identify CPGs published between October 2014 to October 2019. The scoping review was conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Results A total of 226 CPGs were included. Melanoma had the greatest representation in the CPGs, followed by dermatitis and psoriasis. Skin cancers had a relatively high CPG representation but with lower GBD disease burden ranking. There was an uneven distribution by geographical region, with resource-poor settings being under-represented. The skin disease categories of the CPGs correlated weakly with the GBD disability-adjusted life-years metrics. Eighty-nine CPGs did not have funding disclosures and 34 CPGs were behind a paywall. Conclusions The global production of dermatology CPGs showed wide variation in geographical representation, article accessibility and reporting of funding. The number of skin disease CPGs were not commensurate with its disease burden. Future work will critically appraise the methodology and quality of dermatology CPGs and lead to the production of an accessible online resource summarizing these findings.Dermatology-oncolog