Use of animals for scientific and educational purposes by Mexican institutions.

In Mexico, it is not known which institutions use animals for scientific purposes. This work reports, based on data requested from the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), the types of institutions that use animals for research and how many of these have an ethics committee. Research centres, colleges, hospitals, national institutes, technical colleges, and public universities are the types of institutions that report using animals for experimentation. Only 54% of institutions have ethics committees. Mexican institutions from 2015 to 2021 used a total of 2,112,786 animals. Mammals are the most widely used animal group. The scientific purposes for using animals depend on the type of institution that uses them. In Mexico, it is necessary to update the regulations in order to regulate the use, protection and the care of laboratory animals.

En México se desconoce cuáles son las instituciones que utilizan animales con fines científicos. Se reporta, a partir de datos solicitados al Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales (INAI), los tipos de instituciones que usan animales y cuántas poseen un comité interno para el cuidado y uso de los animales de laboratorio. Los centros de investigación, colegios, hospitales, institutos nacionales, tecnológicos y universidades públicas son los tipos de instituciones que reportaron usar animales. El 54% de las instituciones poseen comités de ética. Un total de 2,112,786 animales fueron usados por instituciones del 2015 al 2021. Los mamíferos es el grupo animal más utilizado. El uso de los animales se encuentra en función del tipo de institución que los utiliza. En México, es necesario actualizar la normatividad, con el fin de regular el uso, la protección y el cuidado de los animales de laboratorio.

[Predatory journals: What are they and how to avoid them?] / Las revistas depredadoras: ¿qué son y cómo evitarlas?

Currently, a large number of predatory journals have proliferated. Their purpose is to obtain fraudulent profits by promising the rapid publication of scientific works, without fulfilling the services of quality review. These publishers have managed to copy the models of open access journals, which is why they are increasingly difficult to identify, coupled with the fact that many of them have opened spaces in the most important indexes of scientific journals, such as Medline, Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, Embase, among others. These publishers cheat not only the authors of the research they intend to publish but also the readers and general public with publications that have not been reviewed and evaluated properly by a system of peers or academic experts. Therefore, the aim of this work is to make known some of the most common practices of predatory journals, so that anyone interested in the editorial process, whether as an author, editor or reader, has the elements to identify these fraudulent journals, and this bad practice in the editorial process.

Actualmente han proliferado una gran cantidad de revistas depredadoras, cuyo fin es obtener ganancias fraudulentas mediante la promesa de la publicación rápida de trabajos científicos, sin cumplir con los servicios de una revisión de calidad. Estas editoriales han logrado copiar los modelos de las revistas con acceso abierto, por lo que cada vez son más difíciles de identificar, aunado a que muchas de ellas se han abierto espacios en los índices más importantes de las revistas científicas, como Medline, Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, Embase, entre otros. Estas editoriales defraudan no solo a los autores de las investigaciones que intentan publicar sino también a los lectores y al público en general con publicaciones que no han sido debidamente revisadas y evaluadas por un sistema de pares o expertos académicos. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer algunas de las prácticas más comunes de las revistas depredadoras para que toda persona interesada en el proceso editorial, ya sea como autor, editor o lector, tenga los elementos para identificar estas revistas fraudulentas y esta mala práctica en el proceso editorial.

Ethical and Practical Considerations for an Agreement to Ensure Equitable Vaccine Access Comment on "More Pain, More Gain! The Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines and the Pharmaceutical Industry's Role in Widening the Access Gap".

This paper discusses the potential of an international agreement to ensure equitable vaccine distribution, addressing the failures witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX was unable to prevent vaccine monopolization and unequal distribution, which led to significant disparities in vaccination rates and avoidable deaths. Any future agreement on equitable vaccine distribution must address ethical and practical issues to ensure global health equity and access. The proposed agreement should recognize healthcare as a human right and consider vaccines beyond mere commodities, emphasizing the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to prioritize affordability, availability, and accessibility, particularly for low-income countries (LICs). Voluntary licensing agreements are suggested as a means to enhance access to essential medicines. The paper also outlines the necessity of international cooperation, with robust compliance mechanisms, to effectively enforce such an agreement and mitigate future health crises.

Coercion Authorship: Ubiquitous and Preventable.

Coercion authorship (CA), typically enforced by principal investigators, has detrimental effects on graduate students, young researchers, and the entire scientific endeavor. Although CA is ubiquitous, its occurrence and major determinants have been mainly explored among graduate students and junior scientists in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark where the ratio of CA ranged from 13 to 40%. In addition to lacking comparable figures, developing countries usually lack institutional plans for promoting integrity and effective deterrents against CA and other malpractices. Hence, universities and research centers therein must publish their authorship policies and implement specific strategies to instruct graduate students, junior scientists, and experienced researchers on integrity, publishing ethics, and responsible authorship. Finally, I remark that the primary responsibility of principal researchers to promote fair authorship practices and discourage unfair ones is even greater when it comes to CA due to the asymmetrical power relationship between senior authors and novice scientists.

Investigation of environmental ethics, spiritual health, and its relationship with environmental protection behaviors in nursing students.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between environmental ethics, spiritual health, and environmental behavior among nursing students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 iranian students from the Chabahar Nursing School were selected using a simple random sampling method. The data collection tool included a questionnaire on demographic information, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards the environment, environmental ethics, and spiritual health. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to evaluate the conceptual framework in this study. Results: The mean score for environmental ethics among nursing students was 65.73±10.61 out of 100. Most of the students (47%) had desirable environmental ethics. The knowledge structure (ß=0.46) predicted attitude. The attitude structure also predicted environmental behavior (ß=0.28) and spiritual health (ß=0.31). Ultimately, the results showed that spiritual health and environmental ethics predict environmental behavior directly and indirectly (p<0.001). Conclusion: Spiritual health and environmental ethics were strong predictors of environmental behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account not only students' spiritual health but also their ethical behaviors to promote environmental protection behaviors in the future.

Do not resuscitate orders and limitation of therapeutic effort: Ethical challenges in healthcare teams in Chile. / Orden de no reanimar y limitación del esfuerzo terapéutico: desafíos éticos en equipos sanitarios en Chile.

The purpose of this paper is to delve into the ethical aspects experienced by the healthcare team when they receive the directive to limit therapeutic effort or a do-not-resuscitate order. From an interpretative, qualitative paradigm with a content analysis approach, a process based on three phases was conducted: pre-analysis in which categories were identified, the projection of the analysis, and inductive analysis. During 2023, interviews were conducted in the clinical setting of a high-complexity hospital in Chile with 56 members of the healthcare teams from critical and emergency units, from which four categories emerged: a) the risk of violating patients' rights by using do-not-resuscitate orders and limiting therapeutic effort; b) the gap in the interpretation of the legal framework addressing the care and attention of patients at the end of life or with terminal illnesses by the healthcare team; c) ethical conflicts in end-of-life care; and d) efficient care versus holistic care in patients with terminal illness. There are significant gaps in bioethics training and aspects of a good death in healthcare teams facing the directive to limit therapeutic effort and not resuscitate. It is suggested to train personnel and work on a consensus guide to address the ethical aspects of a good death.

El propósito de este trabajo es profundizar en los aspectos éticos que experimenta el equipo de salud cuando reciben la indicación de limitar el esfuerzo terapéutico o la orden de no reanimar. Desde un paradigma interpretativo, cualitativo y con un enfoque de análisis de contenido, se realizó un proceso basado en tres fases: preanálisis en el que se identificaron las categorías, la proyección del análisis y el análisis inductivo. Durante 2023, se realizaron entrevistas en el entorno clínico de un hospital de alta complejidad en Chile a 56 miembros de equipos de salud de unidades críticas y urgencias, de las que emergieron cuatro categorías: a) riesgo de vulnerar los derechos de los pacientes al utilizar la orden de no reanimar, y limitación del esfuerzo terapéutico; b) brecha en la interpretación del marco legal que aborda la atención y cuidado de pacientes al final de la vida, o con enfermedades terminales por parte del equipo de salud; c) conflictos éticos de la atención al final de la vida; y d) el cuidado eficiente o el cuidado holístico en pacientes con enfermedad terminal. Existen brechas importantes en la formación en bioética y aspectos del buen morir en los equipos de salud que se enfrentan a la orden de limitar el esfuerzo terapéutico y no reanimar. Se sugiere capacitar al personal, y trabajar una guía de consenso para abordar los aspectos éticos del buen morir.

Ethical regulation of biomedical research in Brazil: a quality improvement initiative.

BACKGROUND: Q-CEP (Qualificação dos Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa que compõem o Sistema CEP/Conep) is a nationwide project resulting from a partnership between the Brazilian National Research Ethics Commission (Conep), the Ministry of Health and Hospital Moinhos de Vento (HMV). It was developed to consolidate policy for ethical review of research with human beings in all members of the CEP/Conep System, Brazil's national system of institutional review boards. The aim of this study was therefore to report on the experience and results of the Q-CEP project. METHODS: An observational, retrospective study includes data from the Q-CEP, obtained from visits to all the institutional research ethics committees (RECs) in the country. The actions implemented by Q-CEP were part of a two-step process: (i) training visits to each REC; (ii) development of distance learning modules on strategic topics pertaining to research ethics evaluation. The data presented herein cover step one (training visits), defined by Q-CEP as the diagnostic stage of the project. For a country with social and economics inequalities such as Brazil, this is a particularly important stage; an accurate picture of reality is needed to inform planning of quality improvement strategies. RESULTS: In 2019-2021, Q-CEP visited 832 RECs and trained 11,197 people. This sample covered almost all active RECs in the country; only 4 (0.5%) were not evaluated. Of the 94 items evaluated, 62% did not reach the target of at least 80% compliance and around 1/4 (26%) were below 50% compliance. The diagnostic stage of the process revealed inadequacies on the part of the RECs in their ethical reviews. The analysis of informed consent forms showed compliance in only 131 RECs (15.74%). The description of pending issues made by RECs in their reports was compliant in 19.33% (n = 161). Administrative and operational aspects were also considered inadequate by more than half of the RECs. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Brazilian RECs showed poor compliance in several aspects of their operation, both in ethics evaluation and in other processes, which justifies additional training. The Q-CEP project is part of a quality improvement policy promoted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The data obtained in the diagnostic step of the project have contributed to the qualification and consolidation of one of the world's largest research ethics evaluation systems.

Assessment of attributes for choosing a dental center in Trujillo, Peru: patients versus dentists / Valoración de los atributos para la elección de un centro odontológico en Trujillo, Perú: pacientes versus odontólogos

Objective: To determine the difference between patients and dentists regarding the assessment of attributes for choosing a dental center in Trujillo, Peru. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving a sample of 162 dentists and 162 patients from the Trujillo province in Peru. The data was collected through a virtual questionnaire, validated by experts, and assessed for reliability. Statistical analysis was performed using the U-Mann Whitney and Spearman correlation tests, with a significance level set at 5%. Results: Patients, in comparison to dentists, demonstrated a greater preference for selecting a dental center where the practitioner is a recognized specialist (p<0.001). Similarly, patients showed a preference for centers offering expedited appointments, advanced technology, and equipment, providing affordable and flexible payment options, free consultations, and having convenient parking and comfortable facilities (p<0.05). Conversely, dentists perceived that the most valued attribute by patients is the recommendation of the dentist (p=0.031). Conclusions: When choosing a dental center, patients primarily value attributes related to both the professional responsible for care and administrative management. Conversely, dentists consider the main factor influencing a patient's choice of dental center to be recommendations of the dentist. Valoración de los atributos para la elección de un centro odontológico en Trujillo, Perú: pacientes versus odontólogos

Objetivo: Determinar la diferencia entre pacientes y odontólogos con respecto a la valoración de atributos para la elección de un centro odontológico en Trujillo. Materiales y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional transversal comparativo con una muestra de 162 odontólogos y 162 pacientes de la provincia Trujillo (Perú). La data fue recogida a través de un cuestionario virtual, sometido a validación por expertos y prueba de confiabilidad. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante las pruebas U-Mann Whitney y correlación de Spearman, considerando un nivel de significancia del 5%. Resultado: Los pacientes, con respecto a los odontólogos, mostraron mayor valoración para la elección del centro odontológico cuando el profesional es especialista y reconocido (p<0.001); así mismo, cuando se le brindan citas rápidas, se usa tecnología y equipamiento adecuados, se brindan facilidades de pago con precios bajos y consultas gratuitas, y el centro cuenta con estacionamiento y espacios cómodos (p<0.05). Por su parte, los odontólogos consideran que el atributo más valorado por los pacientes es que el profesional sea recomendado (p=0.031). Conclusión: Para la elección del centro odontológico, los pacientes valoraron en mayor medida los atributos relacionados al profesional responsable de la atención y la gestión administrativa. Por otro lado, los odontólogos consideraron preferentemente que el atributo principal para la elección del centro odontológico por parte del paciente es que el odontólogo haya sido recomendado.

Los diagnósticos, la clínica psicoanalítica y el posicionamiento ético / Diagnosis, psychoanalytic clinic and ethical positioning / Diagnostics, clinique psychanalytique et positionnement ethique / Diagnósticos, clínica psicanalítica e posicionamento ético

El ser humano está signado por el conflicto, por los deseos contradictorios, por el intercambio nunca simple con los otros. Suponer que el otro debe ser una máquina que siga pautas implica desvitalizarlo, lo que es equivalente al aniquilamiento de lo humano. Las niñas y los niños no tienen que ser encerrados ni con clasificaciones psicopatológicas, ni con medicamentos. Las niñas y los niños tienen que tener un sostén esperanzado por parte del entorno, un suelo a partir del cual puedan desplegar sus alas... Transmitir esperanzas es parte importante de nuestra tarea. Debemos dejar que la vida fluya y aportar para que ese fluir derive en nuevos vuelos AU

The human being is marked by the conflict, the contradictory desires, by the never easy exchange with other people.Supposing that the other person must be a machine which follows guidelines means devitalize him and implies the annihilation of the human being.Girls and boys cannot be bounded, nor with psychopathological classifications either with medicines. Girls and boys must have a hopeful support by their environment, a ground which helps them to open their wings... Giving hope is a very important part of our duty.We must let the life flows and contribute to that flowing leads to new flights AU

L'être humain est marqué par le conflit, par les désirs contradictoires, par l'échange jamais simple avec autrui.Supposer que l'autre doit être une machine qui suit des directives implique de le dévitaliser, ce qui équivaut à l'anéantissement de l'humain.Les filles et les garçons ne doivent pas être enfermés, ni avec des classifications psychopathologiques, ni avec des médicaments.Les filles et les garçons doivent bénéficier du soutien plein d'espoir de leur environnement, d'un terrain à partir duquel ils peuvent déployer leurs ailes...Transmettre l'espoir est une partie importante de notre tâche.Il faut laisser lavie couler et contribuer à ce que ce flux conduise à de nouveaux envols AU

A pessoa humana está marcada pelo conflito, pelos desejos contraditórios, pela troca nunca simples com os outros.Assumir que a outra pessoa deve ser um aparelho que segue directrizes implica desvitalizá-lo, o que equivale à aniquilação do que é humano.As crianças não devem ser trancadas, nem com clasificações psicopatológicas, nem com medicação.As crianças devem ter um apoio esperançoso do seu ambiente, uma base a partir do qual possam abrir suas asas... Transmitir esperanças é uma parte importante da nossa tarefa. Devemos deixar a vida fluir e contribuir para garantir que esse fluxo conduzca a novos voos AU

Physician's perceptions regarding the pharmaceutical industry: a Brazilian national study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the newly graduated physicians' attitudes and perceptions regarding the medical relationship with the pharmaceutical industry and identify the sociodemographic patterns related to such thinking. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was administered to 4,601 participants selected from a pool of 16,323 physicians who were registered with one of the 27 Regional Medical Councils of Brazil in 2015. Answers were analyzed using two stratification variables: type of medical school (public vs. private) and the sex of the respondents. RESULTS: Out of the participants, 61.8% believed that industry funding could support medical conferences and education, and 48.4% felt that small gifts and conference travel funding were acceptable. Conversely, 64.7% disagreed with industry-sponsored social events. Views on whether pharmaceutical representatives' visits influenced prescriptions were divided. Statistically significant differences were observed between genders and medical school types, with men and private school graduates being more accepting of certain industry interactions. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the nuanced attitudes of new doctors toward industry relationships, indicating the need for clearer ethical guidelines and education in medical schools to align practice with evolving societal values.

Informed Consent and Digit Replantation: Current State and Recommendations for Ethical Patient Care.

The importance of informed consent and the value of shared decision-making in hand surgery are well-established and particularly critical in the setting of digit amputation when considering replantation. Informed consent requires an understanding of not only the immediate and long-term risks and benefits of surgery, as well as the risks and alternatives involved, but also the capacity of the patient to make a medical decision. However, patients who have acutely sustained a disfiguring trauma are often in distress and may not fully process the consent discussion. Digit replantation is an "elective emergency"-the decision must be made immediately but is not lifesaving-which poses a difficult dilemma: are surgeons acting in patients' best interests by pursuing replantation if we engage those patients in informed consent discussions when they may not have capacity? This article explores the relevant bioethical principles associated with digit replantation, summarizes updated literature regarding informed consent and shared decision-making, and provides recommendations for patient education materials to standardize informed consent discussions for surgeons approaching patients at this unique intersection of considering revision amputation versus replantation.

A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Colombian Adolescents' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: The Need for a Relational Autonomy Approach.

This study's objective was to understand Colombian adolescents' experiences and preferences regarding access to sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS), either alone or accompanied. A mixed-method approach was used, involving a survey of 812 participants aged eleven to twenty-four years old and forty-five semi-structured interviews with participants aged fourteen to twenty-three. Previous research shows that adolescents prefer privacy when accessing SRHS and often do not want their parents involved. Such findings align with the longstanding tendency to frame the ethical principle of autonomy as based on independence in decision-making. However, the present study shows that such a conceptualization and application of autonomy does not adequately explain Colombian adolescent participants' preferences regarding access to SRHS. Participants shared a variety of preferences to access SRHS, with the majority of participants attaching great importance to having their parents involved, to varying degrees. What emerges is a more complex and non-homogenous conceptualization of autonomy that is not inherently grounded in independence from parental involvement in access to care. We thus argue that when developing policies involving adolescents, policymakers and health professionals should adopt a nuanced "relational autonomy" approach to better respect the myriad of preferences that Colombian (and other) adolescents may have regarding their access to SRHS.

Ethics and Welfare in invertebrates: a stepping-stone to research and animal production / Ética y bienestar en invertebrados: una piedra fundamental en investigación y producción animal

Abstract Introduction: Even though only a few species are considered to be dangerous, pests or vectors, the majority of invertebrates produce a feeling of aversion in humans. This has contributed to the delay in the development of ethical considerations as regards this group in contrast with vertebrates, with the exception of cephalopods. Objective: In the present study, we provide an overview of the current situation on animal ethics and welfare in order to contribute to the development of a framework for ensuring invertebrate welfare. Methods: Today, animal welfare is multidisciplinary in nature to a very high degree as it includes ethology, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, nutrition, cognitive-neural, veterinary medicine, and ethics. Animal welfare is a complex concept, difficult to achieve successfully from one perspective. Results: As a consequence, we propose to include the five domains (nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state) along with the three conceptions (basic health and functioning, affective state and natural living), as well as the 5R Principle (Replace, Reduction, Refinement, Respect and Responsibility) in seeking to achieve a comprehensive welfare state. Conclusions: We consider that in both research and animal production, the individual and collective ethical concerns coexist and, in fact, the main moral concern to account for is the collective one and that, within that collective view, the individual moral concern should be applied with responsibility and respect for the individual. Finally, we propose a practical example of invertebrate welfare production in sea urchin aquaculture with the aim of including animal production of invertebrates in this important discussion.

Resumen Introducción: Aunque sólo unas pocas especies son consideradas peligrosas, plagas o vectores, la mayoría de los invertebrados producen un sentimiento de aversión en el ser humano. Esto ha contribuido al retraso en el desarrollo de consideraciones éticas respecto a este grupo en comparación con los vertebrados, a excepción de los cefalópodos. Objetivo: En el presente trabajo, proporcionamos una visión general de la situación actual en materia de ética y bienestar animal con el fin de contribuir al desarrollo de un marco para garantizar el bienestar de los invertebrados. Métodos: Hoy en día, el bienestar animal es de naturaleza multidisciplinaria en un grado muy alto, ya que incluye etología, fisiología, patología, bioquímica, genética, inmunología, nutrición, cognitivo-neural, medicina veterinaria y ética. El bienestar animal es un concepto complejo, difícil de lograr con éxito desde una sola perspectiva. Resultados: Como consecuencia, proponemos incluir los cinco dominios (nutrición, ambiente, salud, comportamiento y estado mental) junto con las tres concepciones (Salud básica y funcionamiento, estado afectivo y vida natural), así como el Principio 5R (Reemplazar, Reducir, Refinar, Respetar y Responsabilidad) en la búsqueda de alcanzar un estado de bienestar integral. Conclusiones: Consideramos que tanto en la investigación como en la producción animal coexisten las preocupaciones éticas individuales y colectivas y, de hecho, la principal preocupación moral a dar cuenta es la colectiva y que, dentro de esa visión colectiva, se debe aplicar la preocupación moral individual. con responsabilidad y respeto por la persona. Finalmente, proponemos un ejemplo práctico de producción de bienestar de invertebrados en la acuicultura de erizos de mar con el objetivo de incluir la producción animal de invertebrados en esta importante discusión.

Ethical Considerations in Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval: A Comprehensive Review.

This comprehensive review delves into the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding post-mortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) and its implications for creating new individuals. The paper examines the challenges posed by unusual requests for sperm retrieval from the deceased's widow and parents, as well as the broader socio-ethical considerations associated with PMSR. These requests have often been denied due to the absence of established laws and guidelines governing posthumous sperm retrieval and subsequent births, which were once deemed impossible. While some countries have implemented institutional policies to regulate its use to some extent, there remains a lack of standardized rules and procedures for the collection and retrieval of sperm after death. It is essential to introduce institutional guidelines to facilitate requests for assisted reproductive technology (ART) following successful sperm retrieval. Additionally, the development of PMSR legislation is necessary to ensure a proper balance between the moral rights and fundamental rights of the deceased, their family, and any current or future offspring, while providing adequate protection for all parties involved.