Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 3: Investment in social science research in neglected diseases of poverty: a case study of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.BACKGROUND: The level of funding provides a good proxy for the level of commitment or prioritisation given to a particular issue. While the need for research relevant to social, economic, cultural and behavioural aspects of neglected tropical diseases (NTD) control has been acknowledged, there is limited data on the level of funding that supports NTD social science research. METHOD: A case study was carried out in which the spending of a major independent funder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) - was analysed. A total of 67 projects funded between October 1998 and November 2008 were identified from the BMGF database. With the help of keywords within the titles of 67 grantees, they were categorised as social science or non-social science research based on available definition of social science. A descriptive analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Of 67 projects analysed, 26 projects (39%) were social science related while 41 projects (61%) were basic science or other translational research including drug development. A total of US$697 million was spent to fund the projects, of which 35$ 241 million) went to social science research. Although the level of funding for social science research has generally been lower than that for non-social science research over 10 year period, social science research attracted more funding in 2004 and 2008. CONCLUSION: The evidence presented in this case study indicates that funding on NTD social science research compared to basic and translational research is not as low as it is perceived to be. However, as there is the acute need for improved delivery and utilisation of current NTD drugs/technologies, informed by research from social science approaches, funding priorities need to reflect the need to invest significantly more in NTD social science research

Through a Glass, Darkly:The CIA and Oral History

This article broaches the thorny issue of how we may study the history of the CIA by utilizing oral history interviews. This article argues that while oral history interviews impose particular demands upon the researcher, they are particularly pronounced in relation to studying the history of intelligence services. This article, nevertheless, also argues that while intelligence history and oral history each harbour their own epistemological perils and biases, pitfalls which may in fact be pronounced when they are conjoined, the relationship between them may nevertheless be a productive one. Indeed, each field may enrich the other provided we have thought carefully about the linkages between them: this article's point of departure. The first part of this article outlines some of the problems encountered in studying the CIA by relating them to the author's own work. This involved researching the CIA's role in US foreign policy towards Afghanistan since a landmark year in the history of the late Cold War, 1979 (i.e. the year the Soviet Union invaded that country). The second part of this article then considers some of the issues historians must confront when applying oral history to the study of the CIA. To bring this within the sphere of cognition of the reader the author recounts some of his own experiences interviewing CIA officers in and around Washington DC. The third part then looks at some of the contributions oral history in particular can make towards a better understanding of the history of intelligence services and the CIA

Single Event Effect Flight Data Analysis of Multiple NASA Spacecraft and Experiments

Abstract We present the spaceflight Single Event Effect (SEE) data for the emerging commercial technologies utilized in multiple NASA spacecraft and experiments. Analyses of device performance as well as design implications of the flight results are discussed

Donepezil enhances understanding of degraded speech in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's Research UK. Grant Number: ART‐SRF2010‐3; Brain Research Trust; Wolfson Foundation; National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. Grant Number: CBRC 161; UCL Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre. Grant Number: PR/ylr/18575; Alzheimer's Society. Grant Number: AS‐PG‐16‐007; Wellcome Trust. Grant Number: 091673/Z/10/

Caught between compassion and control: exploring the challenges associated with inpatient adolescent mental healthcare in an independent hospital

Aim. To extend our understanding of how healthcare assistants construct and managedemanding situations in a secure mental health setting and to explore the effects ontheir health and well-being, to provide recommendations for enhanced support.Background. Contemporary literature acknowledges high rates of occupationalstress and burnout among healthcare assistants, suggesting the context in whichthey work places them at elevated risk of physical harm and psychologicaldistress. Yet, there is a deficit of qualitative research exploring the experiences ofhealthcare assistants in adolescent inpatient facilities.Design. An exploratory multi-method qualitative approach was used to collectdata about the challenges faced by healthcare assistants working on secureadolescent mental health wards in an independent hospital during 2014.Method. Fifteen sets of data were collected. Ten participants completed diaryentries and five participants were also interviewed allowing for triangulation.Data were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.Findings. The findings illustrated how inpatient mental healthcare is a unique anddistinctive area of nursing, where disturbing behaviour is often normalized anddetached from the outside world. Healthcare assistants often experienced tensionbetween their personal moral code which orientate them towards empathy andsupport and the emotional detachment and control expected by the organization,contributing to burnout and moral distress.Conclusions. This study yielded insights into mental health nursing andspecifically the phenomenon of moral distress. Given the ever-increasing demandfor healthcare professionals, the effects of moral distress on both the lives ofhealthcare assistants and patient care, merits further study

Assessment of Inactivating Stop Codon Mutations in Forty Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains: Implications for [PSI+] Prion- Mediated Phenotypes

The yeast prion [PSI+] has been implicated in the generation of novel phenotypes by a mechanism involving a reduction in translation fidelity causing readthrough of naturally occurring stop codons. Some [PSI+] associated phenotypes may also be generated due to readthrough of inactivating stop codon mutations (ISCMs). Using next generation sequencing we have sequenced the genomes of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that are commonly used for the study of the yeast [PSI+] prion. We have identified approximately 26,000 and 6,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in strains 74-D694 and G600 respectively, compared to reference strain S288C. In addition to SNPs that produce non-synonymous amino acid changes we have also identified a number of SNPs that cause potential ISCMs in these strains, one of which we show is associated with a [PSI+]-dependent stress resistance phenotype in strain G600. We identified twenty-two potential ISCMs in strain 74-D694, present in genes involved in a variety of cellular processes including nitrogen metabolism, signal transduction and oxidative stress response. The presence of ISCMs in a subset of these genes provides possible explanations for previously identified [PSI+]-associated phenotypes in this strain. A comparison of ISCMs in strains G600 and 74-D694 with S. cerevisiae strains sequenced as part of the Saccharomyces Genome Resequencing Project (SGRP) shows much variation in the generation of strain-specific ISCMs and suggests this process is possible under complex genetic control. Additionally we have identified a major difference in the abilities of strains G600 and 74-D694 to grow at elevated temperatures. However, this difference appears unrelated to novel SNPs identified in strain 74-D694 present in proteins involved in the heat shock response, but may be attributed to other SNP differences in genes previously identified as playing a role in high temperature growth