The impact of Latvian exile literature on research in Latvia (1992-2006)

This study investigates the impact that Latvian exile literature has had on research in Latvia between 1992 and 2006. Latvian exile literature refers to the publications that were authored and published by Latvians who emigrated to Western countries after World War II and were issued between 1945 and 1991. Mixed methods research was conducted, incorporating citation analysis, questionnaires and interviews. Nine subject fields from the social sciences, arts and humanities were examined: philosophy and psychology, religion and theology, political science, education, folklore and ethnography, the arts, linguistics, literature, history. For the citation analysis, 33,866 citations from 1241 publications were collected. In the survey, 79 questionnaires were received from Latvian researchers and 31 questionnaires from the librarians working in Latvian academic, special and the main regional libraries. After the data analyses of citations and questionnaires were conducted, the results were presented to 15 researchers in Latvia (experts in their subject fields) for their assessment and comments. The overall results show that Latvian exile literature has had the greatest impact on research in folklore, history and literature. Exile impact was observed through both exile publications and communication with exile people. It appears that in other disciplines exile literature has had little or no impact. The reasons for this are thought to be: the lack of exile publications that could make an impact, and the irrelevance of existing publications to research in Latvia. In general, exile academic publications have been the most influential on research. The citation results also demonstrate the impact that restrictions of the soviet period (1945-1991) had on the research in Latvia, particularly through the double obsolescence of citations in all subject fields

RCUK Open Access Report 2014

This report analyses the Royal Holloway developments with regards to the implementation of the RCUK Open Access Policy1 for the year 2013 – 2014

Developing strategies to ensure compliance with funders’ open access policies

Funding bodies for higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK) have recently introduced policies with a strong focus on open access (OA). The Research Councils UK (RCUK) ‘Policy on Open Access’ mandates OA compliance through either hybrid or pure OA journals, or through self-archiving. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has recently introduced a self-archiving policy for journal articles and conference proceedings. Both policies have necessitated new practices among UK HEIs that relate to advocacy, adoption of internal OA policies, managing article processing charges (APCs), and monitoring and reporting compliance with them. This case study details the path Royal Holloway University of London, has taken to navigate its way through these recent changes and challenges

Implementing a CRIS alongside an Intitutional Repository and Capitalising on Academic Engagement

Royal Holloway, University of London has been running an Institutional Repository for a number of years now and had enjoyed some small successes, but overall take-up of Open Access has been low across the College until fairly recently. In 2010, the College implemented a new Current Research Information System (CRIS), which is being used to manage information about the institution's research outputs as well as a range of information about its research activities. This presentation will tell the story of the implementation and roll-out of this system alongside the existing institutional repository. It will explore the successes and challenges experienced during the project, paying special attention to the way that research publications have been managed within the system. This talk will look at how the introduction of the CRIS has increased overall engagement with Open Access from academics across the institution, and had boosted the number of full text items available in the Institutional Repository. There will be plenty of opportunity for delegates to ask questions. Key learning points: 1 - How to increase engagement with Open Access 2 - Successes and challenges in implenting at Current Research Information System (CRIS) 3 - Opportunity to ask questions and share experience

Improving the recording and evidencing of pathways to impact

As an institution we have been implementing our strategic approach to embedding a culture of research impact. This has included developing our systems and processes to ensure that we can capture, record and evidence the impact of our research and the pathways to achieving this. In 2012, University of Bath invested in the Current Research Information System (CRIS), PURE (Elsevier). Since then we have been developing the system to support the recording of impact and impact related activities. However, we have found for impact the system was poorly understood by the user with a lack of clarity around what was meant by impact. To address this problem we developed training to help researchers understand where to record information on our CRIS. This training incorporated an activity that utilised concepts from Donabedian’s model, Logic Modelling and Theory of Change requiring researchers to test and develop their knowledge around what constitutes a research output, activity and impact. Although in the early stages, we have received positive feedback from the training with it helping researcher to clarify the difference between the pathways to impact (activities) and the impact itself (changes).<br/

Thioredoxin‐1 and correlations of the plasma cytokines regarding aortic valve stenosis severity

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Aortic valve stenosis (AS) develops not only with a pronounced local inflammatory re-sponse, but also oxidative stress is involved. The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma levels of thioredoxin‐1 (TRX1), myeloperoxidase (MPO), chemerin, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF‐ 15), angiopoietin‐2 (Ang‐2), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF‐2), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF‐21), and metalloproteinase (MMP)‐1, ‐3, and ‐9 in acquired AS patients as well as to clarify the correlations of TXR1 and the plasma inflammatory biomarkers regarding AS severity. AS patients were classified into three groups: 16 patients with mild AS stenosis, 19 with moderate and 11 with severe AS, and 30 subjects without AS were selected as a control group. AS patients had significantly higher plasma levels of TRX1 compared to controls, but the highest difference was found in mild AS patients compared to the controls. We conclude that AS is associated with significantly increased plasma TRX1 levels, and TRX1 might serve as a specific and sensitive biomarker of AS. TRX1 and also chemerin, GDF‐15, VEGF‐A, FGF‐2 and FGF‐ 21 significantly correlate with AS severity degrees. TRX1 also showed positive association with FGF‐2, VEGF‐A, and MMP‐3 in all AS patients.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Ulcerative Colitis Patients : A Lifestyle Perspective

Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.Background and Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the new coronavirus that caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Studies have increasingly reported the involvement of organs outside the respiratory system, including the gastrointestinal tract. Data on the association between COVID-19 and ulcerative colitis (UC) are lacking. Materials and Methods: In this one-centre cross-sectional study, 49 patients with UC from the Riga East Clinical University Hospital outpatient clinic were included from June 2021 to December 2021. The patients were divided into two groups according to their history of a confirmed positive or negative COVID-19 status. Data on their lifestyle, diet, and medications and the food supplements used by the patients were collected during interviews and analysed using the R 4.2.1 software. Results: Out of 49 patients, 33 (63.3%) were male and 13 (36.7%) were female, with a mean age of 32.33 ± 8.6 years. Fourteen patients (28.6%) had a confirmed COVID-19 infection in the last year. The most common COVID-19-related symptoms were a fever and rhinorrhoea. A third of patients followed the inflammatory bowel disease diet (16; 32.7%); out of these patients, 12 (34.3%) did not contract COVID-19 (OR: 0.78 (0.18; 2.98), p > 0.05). In the COVID-19-positive group, the majority of patients did not use vitamin D (11; 79% vs. 3; 21%, (OR: 0.38 (0.07; 1.51), p = 0.28) or probiotics (11; 78.6% vs. 3; 21.4%, OR: 1.33 (0.23; 6.28), p = 0.7). In the COVID-19-positive group, most patients did not smoke (12; 85.7% vs. 2; 14.3%, p = 0.475) and did not use alcohol (9; 64.3% vs. 5; 35.7%, OR: 0.63 (0.16; 2.57), p = 0.5). Most of the patients who participated in sports activities were COVID-negative (18; 51.4% vs. 6; 42.9%, p = 0.82). Conclusions: There were no statistically significant differences in the use of food supplements, probiotics, or vitamins; the lifestyle habits; or the COVID-19 status in patients with UC.Peer reviewe

Prognostic utility of circulating growth factors in aortic valve stenosis : A pilot study

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background and Objectives: Aortic valve stenosis (AS) develops with a pronounced local inflammatory response, where a variety of growth factors are involved in the process, and may have a pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of our study was to elucidate whether circulating growth factors: growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) could be proposed as clinically relevant biomarkers to improve risk stratification in AS patients. Materials and Methods: AS patients were classified into three groups: 16 patients with mild AS stenosis; 19 with moderate and 11 with severe AS, and 30 subjects without AS (echocardiographically approved) were selected as a control group. GDF-15, Ang-2, VEGF-A, FGF-2, and FGF-21 were measured in plasma by the ELISA method. Results: GDF-15 levels differed significantly not only when comparing AS patients with control groups (p < 0.0001), but also a statistically significant difference was achieved when comparing AS patients at a mild degree stage with control individuals. We found a strong relationship of GDF-15 levels regarding AS severity degree (p < 0.0001). VEGF-A, FGF-2 and FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in AS patients than in controls, but relationships regarding the AS severity degree were weaker (p < 0.02). ROC analysis of the study growth factors showed that GDF-15 might serve as a specific and sensitive biomarker of AS stenosis (AUC = 0.75, p = 0.0002). FGF-21 correlated with GDF-15, Ang-2, and FGF-2, but it did not reach the level to serve as a clinically relevant biomarker of AS stenosis. Conclusions: AS is associated with significantly increased GDF-15, VEGF-A, FGF-2, and FGF-21 levels in plasma, but only GDF-15 shows a pronounced relationship regarding AS severity degree, and GDF-15 might serve as a specific and sensitive biomarker of AS stenosis.publishersversionPeer reviewe