Pharmaceutical Scientists' Perspectives on Capacity Building in Pharmaceutical Sciences

With the anticipated health challenges brought by demographic and technological changes, ensuring capacity in underlying workforce in place is essential for addressing patients' needs. Therefore, a timely identification of important drivers facilitating capacity building is important for strategic decisions and workforce planning. In 2020, internationally renowned pharmaceutical scientists (N = 92), largely from the academia and pharmaceutical industry, with mostly pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences educational background were approached (through a questionnaire) for their considerations on influencing drivers to facilitate meeting current capacity in pharmaceutical sciences research. From a global view, based on the results of the questionnaire, the top drivers were better alignment with patient needs as well as strengthening education - both through continuous learning and deeper specialisation. The study also showed that capacity building is more than simply increasing the influx of graduates. Pharmaceutical sciences are being influenced by other disciplines, and we can expect more diversity in scientific background and training. Capacity building of pharmaceutical scientists should allow flexibility for rapid change driven by the clinic and need for specialised science and it should be underpinned by lifelong learning

Leren in een praktijknetwerk : Evaluatie regeling Praktijknetwerken

In het kader van het Gemeenschappelijk Landbouwbeleid (GLB) wordt sinds een aantal jaren ondersteuning gegeven aan Praktijknetwerken. Dit vormt een onderdeel van het Plattelandsontwikkelingsbeleid, de 2e pijler van het GLB. De regeling Praktijknetwerken is een van de maatregelen met als doel het versterken van het concurrentievermogen van de landbouw- en de bosbouwsector, de as 1 van het Plattelandsontwikkelingsbeleid. De regeling Praktijknetwerken valt met de regelingen 'Demonstratienetwerken' en 'Beroepsopleiding en voorlichting' onder maatregelfiche 111 van het 2e Plattelandsontwikkelingsprogramma van Nederland (POP II). Het POP II loopt van 2007 tot en met 2013. Deze evaluatie heeft LEI Wageningen UR op verzoek van het ministerie van EZ opgesteld. De evaluatie richt zich alleen op de kleine praktijknetwerken. Hierbij betreft het de toepassing van deze regeling in de jaren 2008-2010 in de veehouderij. Hierdoor blijven, in overleg met de opdrachtgever, de grote praktijknetwerken en ook de toepassing van de regeling Praktijknetwerken in de plantaardige sectoren buiten beschouwing. Deze laatste regeling is in 2010 van start gegaan

Naar kostprijsbeheersing in de melkveehouderij; Verschillen in kostprijs en financiële weerstand tussen Nederlandse bedrijven en met het buitenland

De inkomenssituatie en de financiële weerstand op de Nederlandse gespecialiseerde melkveebedrijven verslechteren, ook vergeleken met die in de omringende EU-landen. Oorzaken zijn de doorgaande stijging van vooral de vaste kosten en een vermindering van de opbrengsten. Deze trend moet worden doorbroken, anders verloopt bedrijfsovername steeds moeilijker en ontstaan op steeds meer bedrijven betalingsproblemen. Er zijn grote verschillen tussen bedrijven, ook als gecorrigeerd wordt voor verschillen in bedrijfsomvang en intensiteit. Bedrijven met een lage kostprijs hebben meestal ook een goede financiële weerstand. Een consequente, integrale strategie met kostenbesparing als centraal aandachtspunt is van groot belang om bovenstaande trend te doorbreken. Arbeidsefficiency (ton melk per volwaardige arbeidskracht (vak)) is daarbij belangrijker dan alleen veel aandacht voor bedrijfsvergroting (ton melk per bedrijf). Van de Nederlandse melkveehouder wordt een hoog integrerend vermogen gevraagd om bij de snel veranderende eisen van markt en maatschappij de 'lead' te houden bij de ontwikkeling van het bedrijf. Dat vraagt om strategisch ondernemerschap waarbij de eigen vaardigheden, een omgevingsanalyse en een analyse van de sterke en zwakke punten van het bedrijf centraal staan. Daarbij zal iedere melkveehouder zijn eigen strategie ontwikkelen

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers:Process design and economic analysis for manufacturing N-ethylcarbazole

This paper revisits the economics of manufacturing N-ethylcarbazole (NEC), a strong candidate for large-scale liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) supply chains, because of its high H2 storage capacity (6 wt%), selective hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions, and favorable reaction enthalpy and reaction temperatures compared to other LOHC systems. Two different process routes for producing NEC from industrial chemicals are selected out of 10 possible options: one using aniline and the other using cyclohexanone and nitrobenzene as feedstock. The required capital and operational costs are estimated to determine a NEC break-even cost for a capacity of 225 ktpa. NEC break-even costs of $3.0 and$2.6 per kg LOHC are found for the routes. This is significantly less than the $40/kg cost that has generally been reported in literature for NEC, thus improving the economic viability of using NEC as LOHC. The total fixed capital costs are estimated to be$200 MM and $250 MM. Furthermore, the prices of the feedstock show the largest influence (76$0.77–$0.90 per kg H2 for a 60-day roundtrip and$0.09–$0.10 per kg H2 for a 7-day roundtrip. It is important to note that both routes rely heavily on laboratory scale data and the corresponding assumptions that stem from this limitation. Therefore, this research can serve as a guide to future experimental studies into validating the key assumptions made for this analysis.</p

Unmet medical need as a driver for pharmaceutical sciences - a survey among scientists

Historical antecedents of pharmaceutical sciences are sound on product orientation based on (analytical) chemistry, drug delivery and basic pharmacology. Over the last decades we have seen a transition towards a stronger disease orientation. This raises questions on whether, how and to what extent unmet medical need (UMN) is important in priority setting, funding and impact in pharmaceutical sciences. An online survey in 2020 collected perspectives of internationally recognised pharmaceutical scientists (N=92), mainly from academia and industry, on drivers and influencing factors in pharmaceutical sciences. The study offers a unique global perspective, demonstrating a solid command of the global needs in pharmaceutical sciences. The survey revealed that UMN is currently seen as one of the three most important drivers, also in addition to emerging trends in science and opportunities driven by collaboration. There are expectations that UMN's impact becomes more influential. This was consistent for both industry and academic respondents. The majority of respondents also indicated that anticipated lessons learned from COVID-19 will strengthen the impact of UMN on science and leadership. This is important as prioritisation of research towards UMN can address the clinical needs where needed the most

Physiological Appearance of Hybrid FDG-Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Imaging Following Uncomplicated Endovascular Aneurysm Sealing Using the Nellix Endoprosthesis

Purpose: To investigate the physiological uptake of hybrid fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) before and after an uncomplicated endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS) procedure as a possible tool to diagnose EVAS graft infection and differentiate from postimplantation syndrome. Materials and Methods: Eight consecutive male patients (median age 78 years) scheduled for elective EVAS were included in the prospective study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02349100). FDG-PET/CT scans were performed in all patients before the procedure and 6 weeks after EVAS. The abdominal aorta was analyzed in 4 regions: suprarenal, infrarenal neck, aneurysm sac, and iliac. The following parameters were obtained for each region: standard uptake value (SUV), tissue to background ratio (TBR), and visual examination of FDG uptake to ascertain its distribution. Demographic data were obtained from medical files and scored based on reporting standards. Results: Visual examination showed no difference between pre- and postprocedure FDG uptake, which was homogenous. In the suprarenal region no significant pre- and postprocedure differences were observed for the SUV and TBR parameters. The infrarenal neck region showed a significant decrease in the SUV and no significant decrease in the TBR. The aneurysm sac and iliac regions both showed a significant decrease in SUV and TBR between the pre- and postprocedure scans. Conclusion: Physiological FDG uptake after EVAS was stable or decreased with regard to the preprocedure measurements. Future research is needed to assess the applicability and cutoff values of FDG-PET/CT scanning to detect endograft infection after EVAS

SDG indicator 3.b.3 - an analysis of its robustness and challenges for measuring access to medicines for children

BACKGROUND: Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 3.b.3 monitors progress in medicines' accessibility for adults and has significant limitations when applying to medicines for children. An adapted indicator methodology was developed to fill this gap, but no proof of its robustness exists. We provide this evidence through sensitivity analyses. METHODS: Data on availability and prices of child medicines from ten historical datasets were combined to create datasets for analysis: Dataset 1 (medicines selected at random) and Dataset 2 (preference given to available medicines, to better capture affordability of medicines). A base case scenario and univariate sensitivity analyses were performed to test critical components of the methodology, including the new variable of number of units needed for treatment (NUNT), disease burden (DB) weighting, and the National Poverty Line (NPL) limits. Additional analyses were run on a continuously smaller basket of medicines to explore the minimum number of medicines required. Mean facility scores for access were calculated and compared. RESULTS: The mean facility score for Dataset 1 and Dataset 2 within the base case scenario was 35.5% (range 8.0-58.8%) and 76.3% (range 57.2-90.6%). Different NUNT scenarios led to limited variations in mean facility scores of + 0.1% and -0.2%, or differences of + 4.4% and -2.1% at the more critical NPL of $5.50 (Dataset 1). For Dataset 2, variations to the NUNT generated differences of + 0.0$5.50 the differences were + 5.0 and -2.0%. Different approaches for weighting for DB induced considerable fluctuations of 9.0% and 11.2% respectively. Stable outcomes with less than 5% change in mean facility score were observed for a medicine basket down to 12 medicines. For smaller baskets, scores increased more rapidly with a widening range. CONCLUSION: This study has confirmed that the proposed adaptations to make SDG indicator 3.b.3 appropriate for children are robust, indicating that they could be an important addition to the official Global Indicator Framework. At least 12 child-appropriate medicines should be surveyed to obtain meaningful outcomes. General concerns that remain about the weighting of medicines for DB and the NPL should be considered at the 2025 planned review of this framework

Halfvortices in flat nanomagnets

We discuss a new type of topological defect in XY systems where the O(2) symmetry is broken in the presence of a boundary. Of particular interest is the appearance of such defects in nanomagnets with a planar geometry. They are manifested as kinks of magnetization along the edge and can be viewed as halfvortices with winding numbers \pm 1/2. We argue that halfvortices play a role equally important to that of ordinary vortices in the statics and dynamics of flat nanomagnets. Domain walls found in experiments and numerical simulations are composite objects containing two or more of these elementary defects. We also discuss a closely related system: the two-dimensional smectic liquid crystal films with planar boundary condition.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, To appear as a chapter in Les Houches summer school on Quantum Magnetis

Natuur en biodiversiteit in de biologische markt. Verkenning van de mogelijkheden om natuur en biodiversiteit in de biologische markt te verwaarden

In deze studie zijn de mogelijkheden verkend om natuur en biodiversiteit op biologische melkveebedrijven te vermarkten. Er is consumentenonderzoek uitgevoerd, er zijn pakketten van maatregelen opgesteld en getoetst op hun bijdrage aan biodiversiteit en de haalbaarheid voor de biologische melkveehouders. De burger verwacht van boeren en tuinders dat ze niet alleen voedsel produceren, maar ook bijdragen aan natuur en biodiversiteit en aan een aantrekkelijk landschap. Daarbij groeit het besef dat dit alleen mogelijk is als boerenondernemers hiervoor een reële vergoeding ontvangen. Het project waarvan we hier verslag doen, heeft tot doel de mogelijkheden voor het vermarkten van bovenwettelijke prestaties op het gebied van natuur en biodiversiteit te verkennen en uit te werken in een certificeringsprogramma