Andragogy in Practice: Applying a Theoretical Framework to Team Science Training in Biomedical Research.

This study is the first to apply the theoretical principles of Malcolm Knowles' theory of andragogy to evaluate data collected from learners who participated in team science training workshops in a biomedical research setting. Briefly, andragogy includes six principles: the learner's self-concept, the role of experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, the learner's need to know, and intrinsic motivation. Using an embedded study design, the primary focus was on qualitative data, with quantitative data complementing the qualitative findings. The deductive analysis demonstrated that approximately 85% of the qualitative data could be connected to at least one andragogical principle. Participant responses to positive evaluation questions were largely related to two principles: readiness to learn and problem-based learning orientation. Participant responses to negative questions were largely connected to two different principles: the role of experience and self-direction. Inductive analysis found an additional theme: meeting biological needs. Quantitative survey results supported the qualitative findings. The study findings demonstrate that andragogy can serve as a valuable construct to integrate into the development of effective team science training for biomedical researchers.

Transdisciplinary research before, during and after COVID-19 vaccination in Chile: a virtuoso collaboration with future perspectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented numerous challenges that required immediate attention to mitigate its devastating consequences on a local and global scale. In March 2020, the Chilean government, along with health and science authorities, implemented a strategy aimed at generating relevant evidence to inform effective public health decisions. One of the key strengths of this strategy was the active involvement of the scientific community, employing transdisciplinary approaches to address critical questions and support political decision-making. The strategy promoted collaborations between the government, public and private institutions, and transdisciplinary academic groups throughout each phase of the pandemic. By focusing on pressing problems and questions, this approach formed the foundation of this report which reflects the collaborative effort throughout the pandemic of individuals from the Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería (ISCI), the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, government authorities and industry. Early in the pandemic, it became crucial to gather evidence on how to minimize the impact of infection and disease while awaiting the availability of vaccines. This included studying the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, assessing the impact of quarantines on people's mobility, implementing strategies for widespread SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, and exploring pool testing for large populations. The urgent need to reduce disease severity and transmission posed a significant challenge, as it was essential to prevent overwhelming healthcare systems. Studies were conducted to predict ICU bed requirements at the local level using mathematical models. Additionally, novel approaches, such as using cellphone mobility-based technology to actively identify infected individuals, and to optimize population sampling, were explored following the first wave of the pandemic. Chile took early action in addressing vaccination through a high-level scientific board, before vaccines became available. Studies conducted during this period included population-based immunologic evaluations of different vaccines, which helped build confidence in the population and supported the need for booster doses and potential vaccination of children. These studies and collaborations, which will be discussed here, have provided valuable insights and will inform future approaches in a post-pandemic world. Importantly, highly conservative estimates indicate that 3,000 lives and more than 300 million USD were saved by this academic-public-private collaborative effort.

Radical Collaboration: Reimagining Cancer Team Science.

SUMMARY: Here, we define a future of cancer team science adopting "radical collaboration"-in which six "Hallmarks of Cancer Collaboration" are utilized to propel cancer teams to reach new levels of productivity and impact in the modern era. This commentary establishes a playbook for cancer team science that can be readily adopted by others.

Social network analysis of the CaRE2 health equity center: Team science in full display.

Cancer health disparities that exist in the Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino/x communities are scientific challenges, yet there are limited team science approaches to mitigate these challenges. This article's purpose is to evaluate the team science collaborations of the National Institutes of Health-funded Florida-California Cancer Research, Education & Engagement (CaRE2 ) Center partnership underscoring the inclusion of multidisciplinary team members and future under-represented minority (URM) cancer researchers. To understand our collaborative efforts, we conducted a social network analysis (SNA) of the CaRE2 Center partnership among University of Florida, Florida A&M University, and University of Southern California with data collected via the dimensions.ai application programming interface. We downloaded metadata for all publications associated with dimensions.ai IDs. The CaRE2 collaboration network increased over time as evidenced by accruing more external collaborators and more publishing of collaborative works. Degree centrality of key personnel was stable in each wave of the networks. CaRE2 key personnel averaged a total of 60.8 collaborators in 2018-2019 (SD = 57.4, minimum = 3, maximum = 221), and 65.8 collaborators in 2020-2021 (SD = 56.06, minimum = 4, maximum = 222). Betweenness was largely stable across all groups and waves. We observed a steady decline in transitivity, the probability that a pair of CaRE2 co-authors shared a third co-author, from 0.74 in 2018 to 0.47 in 2022. The SNA findings suggest that the CaRE2 Center partnership's publications show growth in team science collaborations with the inclusion of multidisciplinary team members from the three partner institutions and future URM cancer researchers who were mentored as trainees and early-stage investigators.

Mastitis granulomatosa: experiencia diagnóstica y terapéutica multidisciplinaria del Hospital Argerich de Buenos Aires / Granulomatous mastitis: Multidisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic experience at Argerich Hospital in Buenos Aires

Introducción: la mastitis granulomatosa es una enfermedad inflamatoria crónica que se presenta como un tumor mamario doloroso, asociado a abscesos y fístulas, que puede simular un carcinoma. Su etiología no es clara y se postula un mecanismo autoinmune modulado por el bacilo Corynebacterium. No existen guías diagnósticas ni algoritmos terapéuticos. En nuestro estudio analizamos las presentaciones clínicas, imágenes, cultivos y hallazgos patológicos junto con los tratamientos, resultados y evolución. Material y métodos: realizamos un estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo y observacional de las pacientes con diagnóstico de mastitis granulomatosa tratadas en nuestro hospital en el periodo 2017-2022. Resultados: se evaluaron 51 pacientes con una edad media de 38,1 años; que habían tenido embarazos y lactancia, 88,2%. Clínica: tumor palpable abscedado y/o fistulizado, 74,5%; tumor palpable doloroso 13,8%; tumor asintomático, 11,7 %; eritema nodoso, 11,7%; imágenes BIRADS 4-5: 82,3%; tamaño promedio: 3,54 cm. Patología: vacuolas quísticas asociadas a Corynebacterium en 24 biopsias (47,1%); bacteriología: cultivos positivos para Corynebacterium en 13 de 47 muestras (27,6%). Tratamiento: antiobioterapia 92,1%; inmunosupresión, 78,4% y tratamiento quirúrgico 60,7 %. Tiempo medio de inmunosupresión con corticoides 7,09 meses y con metotrexato 9,27 meses. Complicaciones: 9,8%; secuelas estéticas: 39,2% tiempo libre de enfermedad: 14,04 meses. Recurrencias: 13,7 %. Conclusiones: la búsqueda bacteriológica y patológica del Corynebacterium junto a un abordaje multidisciplinario es esencial para un tratamiento a medida del paciente en pos de lograr el mayor éxito terapéutico.(AU)

Introduction: Granulomatous mastitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that presents as a painful breast mass, associated with abscesses and fistulas, which can mimic carcinoma. Etiology is still unclear, and an autoimmune response related to Corynebacterium is postulated. There are no diagnostic guidelines or therapeutic algorithms. In our study we analyzed the clinical presentations, images, cultures, and pathological findings together with the treatments, results, and evolution. Material and methods: We carried out a descriptive, retrospective, and observational study of patients diagnosed with granulomatous mastitis treated in our hospital in the period 2017-2022. Results: 51 women. Average age 38.1 years. Pregnancies and Lactation 88.2%. Clinic: Abscessed and/or fistulized palpable mass 74.5%, painful palpable mass 13.8%. Asymptomatic mass 11.7%. Erythema Nodosum 11.7% BIRADS images 4/5: 82.3%. Average size: 3.54 cm. Pathology: Cystic vacuoles associated with Corynebacterium in 24 biopsies (47.1%). Bacteriology: positive cultures for Corynebacterium in 13 of 47 samples (27.6%). Treatment: antibiotic therapy 92.1%, immunosuppression 78.4%, surgical treatment 60.7%. Mean time of immunosuppression with corticosteroids 7.09 months and with methotrexate 9.27 months. Complications: 9.8% Aesthetic sequelae: 39.2% Disease-free time: 14.04 months. Recurrences: 13.7%. Conclusions: The bacteriological and pathological search for Corynebacterium and a patient tailor made multidisciplinary approach is essential to achieve therapeutic success.(AU)

The Planetary Child Health & Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO): A protocol for an interdisciplinary research initiative and web-based dashboard for mapping enteric infectious diseases and their risk factors and interventions in LMICs.

BACKGROUND: Diarrhea remains a leading cause of childhood illness throughout the world that is increasing due to climate change and is caused by various species of ecologically sensitive pathogens. The emerging Planetary Health movement emphasizes the interdependence of human health with natural systems, and much of its focus has been on infectious diseases and their interactions with environmental and human processes. Meanwhile, the era of big data has engendered a public appetite for interactive web-based dashboards for infectious diseases. However, enteric infectious diseases have been largely overlooked by these developments. METHODS: The Planetary Child Health & Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO) is a new initiative that builds on existing partnerships between epidemiologists, climatologists, bioinformaticians, and hydrologists as well as investigators in numerous low- and middle-income countries. Its objective is to provide the research and stakeholder community with an evidence base for the geographical targeting of enteropathogen-specific child health interventions such as novel vaccines. The initiative will produce, curate, and disseminate spatial data products relating to the distribution of enteric pathogens and their environmental and sociodemographic determinants. DISCUSSION: As climate change accelerates there is an urgent need for etiology-specific estimates of diarrheal disease burden at high spatiotemporal resolution. Plan-EO aims to address key challenges and knowledge gaps by making and disseminating rigorously obtained, generalizable disease burden estimates. Pre-processed environmental and EO-derived spatial data products will be housed, continually updated, and made publicly available for download to the research and stakeholder communities. These can then be used as inputs to identify and target priority populations living in transmission hotspots and for decision-making, scenario-planning, and disease burden projection. STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO protocol #CRD42023384709.

Applying Team Science to Collaborative Digital Health Research: Learnings from the Wearable Clinic.

Collaboration across disciplinary boundaries is vital to address the complex challenges and opportunities in Digital Health. We present findings and experiences of applying the principles of Team Science to a digital health research project called 'The Wearable Clinic'. Challenges faced were a lack of shared understanding of key terminology and concepts, and differences in publication cultures between disciplines. We also encountered more profound discrepancies, relating to definitions of "success" in a research project. We recommend that collaborative digital health research projects select a formal Team Science methodology from the outset.

Big team science initiatives: A catalyst for trustworthy advancements in IO psychology.

Keener et al. (2023) raise concerns about the trustworthiness of Industrial/Organizational (IO) Psychology research and related fields due to the low reproducibility and replicability of research findings. The authors provide various solutions to resolve this crisis, such as improving training, realigning incentives, and adopting open science practices. Our commentary elaborates on one solution to which they briefly allude: Big Team Science Initiatives (BTSIs). BTSIs allow scholars to address the trustworthiness of our science by facilitating large sample theory testing, sharing and allocating resources, and selecting appropriate research strategies, all of which support the reproducibility and replication of research. Further, we propose that BTSIs may facilitate researcher training, encourage data sharing and materials, and realign incentives in our field. We discuss how BTSIs could be implemented in IO psychology and related fields, identifying and drawing upon similar BTSIs in related disciplines. Thus, our commentary is an extension of the focal article, encouraging scholars to collaboratively address the "crisis of confidence" facing our field using a big team science approach.

Perspectivas de la investigación enfermera en España. Una revisión narrativa / [Perspectives of nursing research in Spain. A narrative review]

En las últimas décadas los avances en la investigación enfermera han supuesto un incremento del consumo, la generación y producción científica, pero todavía son necesarios cambios importantes para una "cultura de la investigación enfermera". El objetivo general es realizar un análisis de la literatura sobre la investigación enfermera desde los conocimientos y motivaciones, barreras y limitaciones y perspectivas de futuro hacia la investigación. Se puede concluir con los datos recientes que existen déficits sobre los conocimientos y motivaciones de los/as enfermeros/as hacia la investigación y que las barreras y limitaciones en la investigación de los cuidados requieren de estrategias y propuestas de cambio para el futuro de la ciencia enfermera. (AU)

Strengthening self-regulation and reducing poverty to prevent adolescent depression and anxiety: Rationale, approach and methods of the ALIVE interdisciplinary research collaboration in Colombia, Nepal and South Africa.

AIMS: Depression and anxiety are the leading contributors to the global burden of disease among young people, accounting for over a third (34.8%) of years lived with disability. Yet there is limited evidence for interventions that prevent adolescent depression and anxiety in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 90% of adolescents live. This article introduces the 'Improving Adolescent mentaL health by reducing the Impact of poVErty (ALIVE)' study, its conceptual framework, objectives, methods and expected outcomes. The aim of the ALIVE study is to develop and pilot-test an intervention that combines poverty reduction with strengthening self-regulation to prevent depression and anxiety among adolescents living in urban poverty in Colombia, Nepal and South Africa. METHODS: This aim will be achieved by addressing four objectives: (1) develop a conceptual framework that identifies the causal mechanisms linking poverty, self-regulation and depression and anxiety; (2) develop a multi-component selective prevention intervention targeting self-regulation and poverty among adolescents at high risk of developing depression or anxiety; (3) adapt and validate instruments to measure incidence of depression and anxiety, mediators and implementation parameters of the prevention intervention; and (4) undertake a four-arm pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the feasibility, acceptability and cost of the selective prevention intervention in the three study sites. RESULTS: The contributions of this study include the active engagement and participation of adolescents in the research process; a focus on the causal mechanisms of the intervention; building an evidence base for prevention interventions in LMICs; and the use of an interdisciplinary approach. CONCLUSIONS: By developing and evaluating an intervention that addresses multidimensional poverty and self-regulation, ALIVE can make contributions to evidence on the integration of mental health into broader development policy and practice.

Sordera infantil con discapacidad asociada (DA+): recomendaciones CODEPEH / Deaf children with additional disabilities (AD+): CODEPEH recommendations

Aproximadamente el 40% de los niños con sordera tienen añadido un trastorno del desarrollo o un problema médico importante, que puede retrasar la edad de diagnóstico de la hipoacusia y/o precisar de la intervención de otros profesionales. Esta situación se designa como «hipoacusia o sordera con discapacidad añadida» (DA+). El motivo por el que la población de niños con problemas auditivos es más propensa a asociar discapacidades añadidas radica en que los factores de riesgo para la hipoacusia se superponen con los de muchas otras discapacidades. Estos factores pueden influir en diversos aspectos del desarrollo, incluida la adquisición del lenguaje. Es importante comprobar que se recibe la adecuada atención, la efectividad de audífonos o implantes, así como de las estrategias de intervención logopédica, y la adherencia de la familia a sesiones y citas. Los desafíos que plantea la DA+ son su detección precoz, para permitir una temprana y adecuada intervención, y la necesidad de una colaboración transdisciplinar fluida entre todos los profesionales que han de intervenir, junto con la implicación de la familia. (AU)

Approximately 40% of children with deafness have an additional developmental disorder or major medical problem, which may delay the age of diagnosis of hearing loss and/or require intervention by other professionals. This situation is referred to as “deafness with added disability” (AD+). The reason why the population of hearing-impaired children is more likely to have associated added disabilities is that the risk factors for hearing impairment overlap with those for many other disabilities. These factors can influence various aspects of development, including language acquisition. It is important to check that appropriate care is received, the effectiveness of hearing aids or implants, as well speech therapy intervention strategies, and family adherence to sessions and appointments. The challenge posed by AD+ is early detection, to allow early and appropriate intervention, and the need for fluid transdisciplinary collaboration between all professionals involved, together with the involvement of the family. (AU)

[Opportunities and challenges in an emerging interdisciplinary research field-cardio-oncology].

The field of oncology has made remarkable progress over the past two decades. With the aging of the population, the number of cancer survivors is increasing. At the same time, cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT) has become an important cause that seriously affects the quality of life and survival of cancer patients. In this context, cardio-oncology, an emerging interdisciplinary field, emerged. The types and treatment strategies of oncological diseases are heterogeneous, and the management of cancer patients also requires the participation of multiple disciplines. Currently, there are still insufficient clinical research and evidence-based practice in the field of cardio-oncology, resulting in a lack of standardization in its diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the training model of physicians in cardio-oncology is still being explored. This article provides a comprehensive exploration of the opportunities and challenges faced by physicians and researchers in the field of cardio-oncology. It also delves into the prevailing landscape of clinical research in China and outlines the future training model for physicians in cardio-oncology.