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Although encouraging progress to address issues of accessibility at scientific conferences has been made in recent years, further efforts are required to enact the comprehensive solutions necessary to accommodate the diverse needs of disabled scientists. This Opinion provides an easy-to-follow guide to ensuring that scientific conferences are accessible to disabled scientists and is aimed at conference organizers and funders in the field of cell biology. In this piece, I, a person who identifies as a disabled scientist, advocate for collective action within the cell biology community to promote the routine inclusion of accessibility officers on conference organizing panels and the use of accessibility checklists as part of applications for conference funding in order to build inclusive practices into conference planning and organization. I propose a move away from requiring personal disclosures of disability needs on a person-to-person basis towards community-agreed guidelines that ensure accessibility for scientists with a wide variety of needs. To that end, I detail a list of practical, cost-effective adjustments to standard conference activities that can enhance accessibility. Moreover, I suggest several long-term, high-impact changes - including guaranteeing the availability of wheelchair-accessible facilities and making hybrid meeting formats standard - aimed at enabling conference participation for all scientists.
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Congresos como Asunto , Humanos , Personas con DiscapacidadRESUMEN
Attending and presenting at conferences is a preeminent experience during scientific training. This article provides a trainee's perspective on strategies to promote trainee growth before, during and after scientific meetings, taking the initiatives implemented by the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) as an example. A foremost action was the establishment of the Trainee Engagement Committee (TEC) in 2020. The TEC members contribute to the annual symposia by participating in the local organizing committee meetings and organizing trainee-directed events. We propose actions that conference organizers can take to foster the development of the next generation of scientists. In addition, we offer advice to conference presenters on how to craft talks with trainees in mind and to attendees on how to maximize the quality and longevity of conference interactions. We hope this opinion piece evokes reflections and discussions among scientific societies, organizing committees, conference presenters and trainees alike.
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Congresos como Asunto , Humanos , Canadá , Alergia e Inmunología/educación , Sociedades CientíficasRESUMEN
Sharing a passion for the advancement of the discipline, the scientific community provides an authentic environment for new members to acquire the knowledge and develop the professional identity needed for their future careers. Supporting opportunities for higher education students to participate in this community can complement their classroom-based education and be extremely beneficial to their learning. Situated in the authentic environment of the scientific community, conferences are organized events where professionals meet to advance their discipline, and which have been shown to provide unique learning opportunities for university students. Here we present a modular framework created to support Imperial College London's Master of Science in Immunology students' attendance at the British Society for Immunology Annual Congress. The module's evaluation indicates an overall students' satisfaction with the content, organization, teaching, assessment, feedback and community aspects of the framework and draws attention to areas of potential improvements. Furthermore, the data emphasize the importance of preconference preparation, of academic mentoring and discusses the role of peer support. Finally, the data highlight the benefits for students of discovering the true breadth and depth of their discipline, of interacting with members of the community and how these contribute to the development of their professional identity.
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The 33rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR2023) was held at Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall in Chiba prefecture from June 5 to 9, 2023. This annual conference, which rotates among hosts in North America, Asia-Oceania, and Europe, covers the full range of plant biology research involving Arabidopsis and other plant species. The conference hosted more than 1200 participants, including approximately 800 international attendees from 42 countries (or regions), and featured about 900 oral and poster presentations. Reflecting the conference theme, "Arabidopsis for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," there were numerous exemplary presentations regarding basic plant science using Arabidopsis and translational research conducted to achieve SDGs by exploiting the knowledge gained from Arabidopsis to improve crop production. The conference concluded on a high note, with more than 99% of survey respondents expressing their general satisfaction with ICAR2023. This report aims to summarize the organization, objectives, and outcomes of the conference.
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Arabidopsis , Humanos , Arabidopsis/genética , AsiaRESUMEN
AIM: This article summarizes key research presented at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Brisbane, held in July 2023. CO-MORBIDITIES: The REPRIEVE Trial as a conference highlight, demonstrating significantly fewer major cardiovascular events amongst people with HIV who were randomized to pitavastatin compared to placebo. Key data on weight, hypertension and incident diabetes are also summarized. ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY: Novel data on doravirine and islatravir are described as are trials demonstrating efficacy dolutegravir/lamivudine first-line in people without baseline resistance testing and in suppressed switch amongst people with historic lamivudine resistance. HIV CURE: The sixth case of HIV cure secondary to stem cell transplantation is summarized, as are new insights into the central nervous system as an HIV reservoir.
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Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida , Infecciones por VIH , Humanos , Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida/tratamiento farmacológico , Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Lamivudine/uso terapéutico , Ensayos Clínicos Controlados Aleatorios como AsuntoRESUMEN
All aerobic life on Earth depends on oxygenic photosynthesis, occurring in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. This process can be divided into light reactions and carbon fixation. This special issue is a result of the International Conference on "Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability 2023," held in honor of Robert Blankenship, Gyozo Garab, Michael Grätzel, Norman Hüner, and Gunnar Öquist. After extensive discussions on various aspects of photosynthesis and hydrogen energy, eight high-quality papers were selected. These papers cover studies on abiotic stress, an overview of photosynthesis, thylakoid membrane lipid organization, energy transfer, and the genomics of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic photosynthesis, as well as biohydrogen production from cyanobacteria. The authors used new methods and techniques, likely bringing fresh ideas for improving biomass and crop yield.
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Hidrógeno , Fotosíntesis , Hidrógeno/metabolismo , Cianobacterias/metabolismo , Cianobacterias/genéticaRESUMEN
The 18th Transgenic Technology Meeting, held in Houston, Texas from November 12-15, 2023, was a vibrant international forum. It brought together nearly 400 delegates to discuss advances in transgenic technologies and the science these technologies support. Among them were 329 in-person and 70 remote delegates, representing 26 countries from 5 continents. The event, hosted by the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT), was set against the backdrop of the Hyatt Regency's panoramic views, reflecting the innovative spirit of the conference. A notable precursor to the main conference was the Allele Design Pre-conference Workshop, which fostered in-depth discussions on state-of-the-art methodologies. The main conference encompassed ten sessions, delving into diverse topics from Precision Animal Models of Human Disease to the use of transgenic animals in Space Biology. Eighty posters provided for a lively exchange of ideas, while the ISTT Prize and other awards highlighted the event's commitment to excellence. Beyond the conference halls, attendees had the opportunity to venture into Houston's Museum District, home to 19 museums in the downtown area, or indulge in unique dining experiences.
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Animales Modificados Genéticamente , Animales , Humanos , Animales Modificados Genéticamente/genética , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
PURPOSE: Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTMs) are an important component of the workload of radiologists. This study investigated how often subspecialized radiologists change patient management in MDTMs at a tertiary care institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over 2 years, six subspecialty radiologists documented their contributions to MDTMs at a tertiary care center. Both in-house and external imaging examinations were discussed at the MDTMs. All imaging examinations (whether primary or second opinion) were interpreted and reported by subspecialty radiologist prior to the MDTMs. The management change ratio (MCratio) of the radiologist was defined as the number of cases in which the radiologist's input in the MDTM changed patient management beyond the information that was already provided by the in-house (primary or second opinion) radiology report, as a proportion of the total number of cases whose imaging examinations were prepared for demonstration in the MDTM. RESULTS: Sixty-eight MDTMs were included. The time required for preparing and attending all MDTMs (excluding imaging examinations that had not been reported yet) was 11,000 min, with a median of 172 min (IQR 113-200 min) per MDTM, and a median of 9 min (IQR 8-13 min) per patient. The radiologists' input changed patient management in 113 out of 1138 cases, corresponding to an MCratio of 8.4%. The median MCratio per MDTM was 6% (IQR 0-17%). CONCLUSION: Radiologists' time investment in MDTMs is considerable relative to the small proportion of cases in which they influence patient management in the MDTM. The use of radiologists for MDTMs should therefore be improved. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: The use of radiologists for MDTMs (multidisciplinary team meetings) should be improved, because their time investment in MDTMs is considerable relative to the small proportion of cases in which they influence patient management in the MDTM. KEY POINTS: ⢠Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTMs) are an important component of the workload of radiologists. ⢠In a tertiary care center in which all imaging examinations have already been interpreted and reported by subspecialized radiologists before the MDTM takes place, the median time investment of a radiologist for preparing and demonstrating one MDTM patient is 9 min. ⢠In this setting, the radiologist changes patient management in only a minority of cases in the MDTM.
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BACKGROUND: Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dementia are underrepresented in specialist palliative home care (SPHC). However, the complexity of their conditions requires collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and SPHC teams and timely integration into SPHC to effectively meet their needs. OBJECTIVE: To facilitate joint palliative care planning and the timely transfer of patients with advanced chronic non-malignant conditions to SPHC. METHODS: A two-arm, unblinded, cluster-randomised controlled trial. 49 GP practices in northern Germany were randomised using web-based block randomisation. We included patients with advanced CHF, COPD and/or dementia. The KOPAL intervention consisted of a SPHC nurse-patient consultation followed by an interprofessional telephone case conference between SPHC team and GP. The primary outcome was the number of hospital admissions 48 weeks after baseline. Secondary analyses examined the effects on health-related quality of life and self-rated health status, as measured by the EuroQol 5D scale. RESULTS: A total of 172 patients were included in the analyses. 80.4% of GP practices had worked with SHPC before, most of them exclusively for cancer patients. At baseline, patients reported a mean EQ-VAS of 48.4, a mean quality of life index (EQ-5D-5L) of 0.63 and an average of 0.80 hospital admissions in the previous year. The intervention did not significantly reduce hospital admissions (incidence rate ratio = 0.79, 95%CI: [0.49, 1.26], P = 0.31) or the number of days spent in hospital (incidence rate ratio = 0.65, 95%CI: [0.28, 1.49], P = 0.29). There was also no significant effect on quality of life (∆ = -0.02, 95%CI: [-0.09, 0.05], P = 0.53) or self-rated health (∆ = -2.48, 95%CI: [-9.95, 4.99], P = 0.51). CONCLUSIONS: The study did not show the hypothesised effect on hospitalisations and health-related quality of life. Future research should focus on refining this approach, with particular emphasis on optimising the timing of case conferences and implementing discussed changes to treatment plans, to improve collaboration between GPs and SPHC teams.
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Insuficiencia Cardíaca , Cuidados Paliativos , Atención Primaria de Salud , Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica , Calidad de Vida , Humanos , Cuidados Paliativos/métodos , Masculino , Femenino , Anciano , Alemania , Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica/terapia , Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica/diagnóstico , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/terapia , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/diagnóstico , Demencia/terapia , Enfermedad Crónica , Servicios de Atención de Salud a Domicilio , Grupo de Atención al Paciente , Factores de Tiempo , Comunicación Interdisciplinaria , Prestación Integrada de Atención de Salud/organización & administraciónRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Benign Liver and Pancreas (BLiPs) rounds, implemented in 2022 at our Canadian tertiary care center, are a novel concept of a multidisciplinary case conference (MCC) for discussion of benign hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) disease. BLiPs Rounds are a monthly virtual meeting of surgeons, gastroenterologists, and interventional radiologists experienced in biliary and pancreatic disease. METHODS: This case series was completed to review the patient cases discussed over the first year of BLiPs rounds, and to evaluate the effect of the multidisciplinary discussion on patient management plans. Meeting minutes were reviewed for BLiPs rounds between May 2022 and July 2023. Data were collected retrospectively on all discussed patients by review of the electronic medical record, and analyzed using frequencies and means with standard deviations. RESULTS: Between May 2022 and July 2023, 56 cases were discussed at 12 case conferences. 68% of cases concerned pancreatic pathology, 25% concerned biliary pathology, the remainder liver or duodenal pathology. 49 cases (88%) were presented to discuss therapeutic options, and 7 presented as diagnostic challenges. Cases were usually presented once, but 7 patients were discussed at multiple conferences due to complex issues or ongoing symptomatology. 40 patients (71%) had undergone previous endoscopic, percutaneous, or surgical interventions prior to discussion. Endoscopic intervention was recommended in 32% of cases, percutaneous interventional approach in 13%, a combined endoscopic and percutaneous approach in 9%, and surgery in 18%. Repeat imaging or observation was recommended in 29% of cases. Discussion at rounds led to a change or adjustment in the proposed management in 46 cases (82%). The plan recommended by the MCC was carried out in 71% of cases. CONCLUSION: BLiPs case conference provides a valuable venue to discuss cases, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and refine treatment approaches, leading to a change in proposed management plan in over three-quarters of cases presented.
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INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) brought together senior and junior members actively engaged in scholarly and educational activities for a consensus conference centered on developing a strategy for sustainable training of the next generation of mechanistic researchers in female pelvic medicine. METHODS: Four a priori identified major foci were explored in a half-day virtual consensus conference. Participants included representatives from various countries and disciplines with diverse backgrounds-clinicians, physician-scientists, and basic scientists in the fields of urogynecology, biomechanical engineering, and molecular biology. Following a keynote address, each focus area was first tackled by a dedicated breakout group, led by the Chair(s) of the most relevant IUGA committees. The break-out sessions were followed by an iterative discussion among all attendees to identify mitigating strategies to address the shortage of mechanistic researchers in the field of female pelvic medicine. RESULTS: The major focus areas included: research priorities for IUGA basic science scholar program; viable strategies for sustainable basic science mentorship; core competencies in basic science training; and the challenges of conducting complex mechanistic experiments in low-resource countries. Key gaps in knowledge and core competencies that should be incorporated into fellowship/graduate training were identified, and existing training modalities were discussed. Recommendations were made for pragmatic approaches to increasing the exposure of trainees to learning tools to enable sustainable training of the next generation of basic science researchers in female pelvic medicine worldwide. CONCLUSIONS: The attendees presented multiple perspectives to gain consensus regarding critical areas of need for training future generations of mechanistic researchers. Recommendations for a sustainable Basic Science Scholar Program were developed using IUGA as a platform. The overarching goal of such a program is to ensure a successful bench-to-bedside-and-back circuit in Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, ultimately improving lives of millions of women worldwide through scientifically rational effective preventative and therapeutic interventions.
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Investigación Biomédica , Ginecología , Humanos , Femenino , Ginecología/educación , Ginecología/tendencias , Investigación Biomédica/tendencias , Urología/educación , Mentores , Predicción , Investigadores/educaciónRESUMEN
The common antihypertensive drugs are B-blockers and diuretics. For the determination of beta-blocker medicines (bisoprolol fumarate and carvedilol) and diuretic drug (Furosemide), new and accurate chromatographic method has been developed. The separation was achieved using a developing system that includes chloroform:methanol:ethyl acetate:ammonia (6:2:2:0.2 by volume) as a mobile phase and the bands were detected at 240 nm. The concentration ranges were 5-25, 1-7, and 1-3.5 µg/band for bisoprolol fumarate, carvedilol, and furosemide, respectively. This chromatographic approach is the first methodology for simultaneously determining bisoprolol fumarate, carvedilol, and furosemide in their pure forms and in their pharmaceutical dosage forms. The advantages of using known analytical procedures are their simplicity, speed, cost effectiveness, lack of laboriousness, and ability to save time as the three tablets are determined in one step and can be used for routine analysis of the investigated combinations in quality control laboratories. According to International Conference of Harmonization guidelines, the established procedures have been validated, and the results were statistically compared to those obtained by the reported reversed-phase-high-performance liquid chromatography methods using Student's t-test and F-test, with no significant difference between them, indicating that the proposed methods can be used for routine drug quality control analysis.
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Antihipertensivos , Bisoprolol , Bisoprolol/análisis , Furosemida , Cromatografía en Capa Delgada/métodos , Carvedilol , Comprimidos , Densitometría/métodos , Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Presión/métodos , Reproducibilidad de los ResultadosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of weekly neurofibromatosis (NF) multi-disciplinary conferences (MDC) on the diagnostic and therapeutic plan for patients with NF type 1 (NF1) and schwannomatosis (SWN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed patients with confirmed or suspected NF1 and SWN discussed in weekly MDC from March to July 2021. Demographic data collected included patient age, sex, pre-conference and post-conference diagnosis, radiological studies reviewed, and provider specialties in attendance. Outcomes reported included changes in imaging interpretation and treatment plans, changes in post-conference diagnosis relative to pre-conference diagnosis, and time to completion of the recommended change in treatment. RESULTS: Data from 17 MDC "pre-conference" lists included 75 patients (38 female, 37 males, mean age (years): 38 (range: 6-80)) with NF1 (52%, 39/75) and SWN (36%, 27/75) discussed over a total of 91 case reviews. 18.7% (14/75) of all patients had NF2-related SWN, and 17.3% (13/75) of all patients had non-NF2 SWN. The MDC led to changes in imaging interpretation in 18.7% and changes in patient management in 74.7% (diagnostic testing (n = 52), surgical plan (n = 24), medical treatment (n = 9), clinical trial status (n = 4), and radiation treatment (n = 1)) of cases. Among patients for whom a change in management was recorded, 91% (62/68) completed at least one recommendation (mean time to completion (days): 41.4 (range: 0-278)). CONCLUSION: Weekly MDC changes the diagnostic and therapeutic management of the majority of patients discussed (74.7%) and promotes a high adherence rate to recommendations (91%).
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Neurilemoma , Neurofibromatosis , Neurofibromatosis 1 , Neurofibromatosis 2 , Neoplasias Cutáneas , Masculino , Humanos , Femenino , Estudios Retrospectivos , Atención Terciaria de Salud , Neoplasias Cutáneas/diagnósticoRESUMEN
Extensive research has consistently demonstrated that humans frequently diverge from rational decision-making processes due to the pervasive influence of cognitive biases. This paper conducts an examination of the impact of cognitive biases on high-stakes decision-making within the context of the joint pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery conference, offering practical recommendations for mitigating their effects. Recognized biases such as confirmation bias, availability bias, outcome bias, overconfidence bias, sunk cost fallacy, loss aversion, planning fallacy, authority bias, and illusion of agreement are analyzed concerning their specific implications within this conference setting. To counteract these biases and enhance the quality of decision-making, practical strategies are proposed, including the implementation of a no-interruption policy until all data is reviewed, leaders refraining from immediate input, requiring participants to formulate independent judgments prior to sharing recommendations, explicit probability estimations grounded in base rates, seeking external opinions, and promoting an environment that encourages dissenting perspectives.
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We present an overview of the Conference on Transformative Opportunities for Modeling in Neurorehabilitation held in March 2023. It was supported by the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering (DARE) program from the National Science Foundation's Engineering Biology and Health Cluster. The conference brought together experts and trainees from around the world to discuss critical questions, challenges, and opportunities at the intersection of computational modeling and neurorehabilitation to understand, optimize, and improve clinical translation of neurorehabilitation. We organized the conference around four key, relevant, and promising Focus Areas for modeling: Adaptation & Plasticity, Personalization, Human-Device Interactions, and Modeling 'In-the-Wild'. We identified four common threads across the Focus Areas that, if addressed, can catalyze progress in the short, medium, and long terms. These were: (i) the need to capture and curate appropriate and useful data necessary to develop, validate, and deploy useful computational models (ii) the need to create multi-scale models that span the personalization spectrum from individuals to populations, and from cellular to behavioral levels (iii) the need for algorithms that extract as much information from available data, while requiring as little data as possible from each client (iv) the insistence on leveraging readily available sensors and data systems to push model-driven treatments from the lab, and into the clinic, home, workplace, and community. The conference archive can be found at (dare2023.usc.edu). These topics are also extended by three perspective papers prepared by trainees and junior faculty, clinician researchers, and federal funding agency representatives who attended the conference.
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Personas con Discapacidad , Rehabilitación Neurológica , Humanos , Programas Informáticos , Simulación por Computador , AlgoritmosRESUMEN
In recognition of the importance and timeliness of computational models for accelerating progress in neurorehabilitation, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a conference in March 2023 at the University of Southern California that drew global participation from engineers, scientists, clinicians, and trainees. This commentary highlights promising applications of computational models to understand neurorehabilitation ("Using computational models to understand complex mechanisms in neurorehabilitation" section), improve rehabilitation care in the context of digital twin frameworks ("Using computational models to improve delivery and implementation of rehabilitation care" section), and empower future interdisciplinary workforces to deliver higher-quality clinical care using computational models ("Using computational models in neurorehabilitation requires an interdisciplinary workforce" section). The authors describe near-term gaps and opportunities, all of which encourage interdisciplinary team science. Four major opportunities were identified including (1) deciphering the relationship between engineering figures of merit-a term commonly used by engineers to objectively quantify the performance of a device, system, method, or material relative to existing state of the art-and clinical outcome measures, (2) validating computational models from engineering and patient perspectives, (3) creating and curating datasets that are made publicly accessible, and (4) developing new transdisciplinary frameworks, theories, and models that incorporate the complexities of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. This commentary summarizes U.S. funding opportunities by two Federal agencies that support computational research in neurorehabilitation. The NSF has funding programs that support high-risk/high-reward research proposals on computational methods in neurorehabilitation informed by theory- and data-driven approaches. The NIH supports the development of new interventions and therapies for a wide range of nervous system injuries and impairments informed by the field of computational modeling. The conference materials can be found at https://dare2023.usc.edu/ .
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National Institutes of Health (U.S.) , Rehabilitación Neurológica , Estados Unidos , HumanosRESUMEN
The first Harm Reduction DACH Conference [DACH = D (Germany), A (Austria), CH (Switzerland)] took place in Vienna on June 23rd, 2023, and focused on tobacco harm reduction. It is the first conference bringing together various experts of all three German-speaking countries to shed light on the subject of destigmatization and tobacco harm reduction and to share their experiences with the audience. All in all, the first German-speaking harm reduction conference has the goal to discuss and expand harm reduction in the German-speaking countries. This meeting report gives a brief overview of the conference.
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Ciclohexilaminas , Reducción del Daño , Humanos , Austria , Alemania , SuizaRESUMEN
The East African Society of Physiological Sciences (EASPS) identified many problems associated with the practice and impact of physiology training and graduates within the region. The EASPS, in conjunction with the African Association of Physiological Sciences (AAPS), resolved to tackle those identified problems in the region by organizing a regional conference in Tanzania between November 29, 2023, and December 1, 2023. The conference was successful with remarkable achievements, including production of Physiology Curriculum for African Universities (PhysioCAFUN); launching of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) African Physiology Mentoring Program; educational workshops on physiology teaching and skills acquisition; plenary sessions on various inspiring scientific topics for advancement of research capacities and current trends in physiological sciences; presentation of abstracts by authors and publishing of the abstracts as edited conference proceedings in the Journal of African Association of Physiological Sciences; presentation of awards to the top 10 abstracts and 7 other key Local Organizing Committee members and partners; first annual general meeting of the EASPS members; networking of participants within and beyond Africa; and recognition of the formation processes of national physiological societies in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The joint East African Society of Physiological Sciences (EASPS)-African Association of Physiological Sciences (AAPS) conference in Tanzania was a successful event where we launched the Physiology Curriculum for African Universities (PhysioCAFUN) and the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) Physiology Mentoring Program in Africa. We also organized educational workshops on physiology functional tests that equipped participants with practical skills. Authors presented their peer-reviewed abstracts, which have now been published in the Journal of African Association of Physiological Sciences. Participants attended from 24 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, and United States.
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Congresos como Asunto , Fisiología , Humanos , Fisiología/educación , Tanzanía , Congresos como Asunto/tendencias , Curriculum , Investigación Biomédica/educación , Sociedades Científicas/tendencias , África OrientalRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: With conference attendees having expressed preference for hybrid meeting formats (containing both in-person and virtual components), organisers are challenged to find the best combination of events for academic meetings. Better understanding what attendees prioritise in a hybrid conference should allow better planning and need fulfilment. METHODS: An online survey with closed and open-ended questions was distributed to registrants of an international virtual conference. Responses were then submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and directed content analysis. RESULTS: 823 surveys (Response Rate = 4.9%) were received. Of the 813 who expressed a preference, 56.9% (N = 463) desired hybrid conference formats in the future, 32.0% (N = 260) preferred in-person conferences and 11.1% (N = 90) preferred virtual conferences. Presuming a hybrid meeting could be adopted, 67.4% (461/684) preferred that virtual sessions take place both during the in-person conference and be spread throughout the year. To optimise in-person components of hybrid conferences, recommendations received from 503 respondents included: prioritising clinical skills sessions (26.2%, N = 132), live international expert presentations and discussions (15.7%, N = 79) and interaction between delegates (13.5%, N = 68). To optimise virtual components, recommendations received from 486 respondents included: prioritising a live streaming platform with international experts' presentations and discussions (24.3%, N = 118), clinical case discussions (19.8%, N = 96) and clinical update sessions (10.1%, N = 49). CONCLUSIONS: Attendees envision hybrid conferences in which organisers can enable the vital interaction between individuals during an in-person component (e.g., networking, viewing and improving clinical skills) while accessing virtual content at their convenience (e.g., online expert presentations with latest advancements, clinical case discussions and debates). Having accessible virtual sessions throughout the year, as well as live streaming during the in-person component of hybrid conferences, allows for opportunity to prolong learning beyond the conference days.
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Competencia Clínica , Aprendizaje , Humanos , Proyectos de InvestigaciónRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Translating knowledge to improve paediatric rehabilitation has become a research area of interest. This study describes the development and evaluation of an online conference that brought together perspectives of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP), families, health care professionals, and researchers to discuss the daily living of individuals with CP. METHODS: We anchored the development and implementation of the online conference in the action cycle of the Knowledge to Action Framework. To develop the meeting, we included representatives from each stakeholder group in the programme committee. The conference programme was designed having the lifespan perspective of individuals with CP, from birth to adulthood, as its central core, with themes related to daily living (e.g., self-care, mobility, and continuing education). Participants' satisfaction with the conference was assessed using an anonymized online survey sent to all participants. RESULTS: The conference had 1656 attendees, of whom 675 answered the online satisfaction survey. Most participants rated the structure of the conference (i.e., quality of the technical support, audio and video, and online platform) and discussed topics (i.e., relevance, content, discussion, speakers, and available time) positively. CONCLUSION: Collaborative conferences that include stakeholders throughout the planning and implementation are a viable, effective knowledge translation strategy that allows for sharing experiences and disseminating knowledge among families and individuals with CP, health care professionals, and researchers.