Evaluating the impact of technological development policy on the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry: Mechanisms and threshold effects.

As the world's largest manufacturing country, the rapid growth of China's manufacturing industry has historically relied on factor input. To achieve high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, China must accelerate the transformation from extensive factor input to innovation. The purpose of this study is to further explore the impact mechanisms of technological development policy on the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. It selected data from 30 provinces and cities in China spanning from 2011 to 2021 for the study. Initially, it established a benchmark regression model to verify the positive impact of technological development policies on the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Subsequently, a mediation effect model was used to analyze the role of high-tech industry development in mediating this impact, and a moderation effect model was applied to study the moderating effect of the level of infrastructure informatization. Additionally, taking the industrial structure as a threshold variable, a panel threshold effect model was employed to explore the impact of technological development policy on the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. It was found that enhancing the level of high-tech industries further facilitates the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry through technological development policy. The level of infrastructure informatization positively moderates the impact of technological development policy on the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the industrial structure exhibits a threshold effect in this impact.

[The Human Resource Development Policy of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kanazawa University and Our Initiatives toward Its Realization].

The environment surrounding pharmaceutical education in Japan has changed significantly with the establishment of many new pharmacy schools and the transition to six-year pharmacist education. Under these circumstances, various issues have been revealed in recent years. In particular, the decrease in the number of doctoral students responsible for future pharmaceutical education and research in drug discovery and life science is a concern. To address this issue, we at Kanazawa University have revised the human resource development policy of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences to "fostering leaders who are active in a variety of professions in pharmaceutical sciences" and have made various efforts toward the realization of this policy. Among the topics introduced at the symposium, this paper focuses on reforming the educational system and reorganizing the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kanazawa University.

Demographic dividend-favorable policy environment in two pre-dividend African nations: review of national policies and prospects for policy amendments in Nigeria and Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: In collaboration with local partners, we reviewed 18 national policy documents across two sub-Saharan African countries identified as pre-dividend nations by the World Bank in 2017: Nigeria and Tanzania. Our aim was to assess national policies in pre-dividend countries and to determine whether national strategies were primed to capitalize on changing demographic structures, maximally attain the demographic dividend, and augment socio-economic growth. METHODS: We conducted policy reviews by focusing on five key sectors of the Gates Institute Demographic Dividend Framework: Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, Education, Women's Empowerment, and Labor Market. This framework was developed as a tool for countries to apply targeted policies for accelerating the demographic dividend based on their demographic structure. For each component we used a comprehensive list of indicators, defined via a systematic literature review, through which we assessed national policies aimed at maximizing the demographic dividend. RESULTS: Between the two countries, we observed persistent gaps in policies targeting family planning. Although more comprehensive, policies addressing maternal and child health, education, women's empowerment, and labor market still lagged in their specificity and measurability. We identified specific policy amendments and alternatives that Nigeria and Tanzania could consider to mitigate these gaps. We also stress the importance of designing measurable policy initiatives across sectors. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these recommendations, as Nigeria, Tanzania, and other pre-dividend nations start experiencing rapid demographic changes, they may consider implementing routine policy reviews to strengthen policies across the five key sectors and harness the benefits of a demographic dividend.

Realising rural economic transformation: Pathways to inclusive and sustainable prosperity in post-COVID-19 Asia.

The world is adjusting to regain control over direct economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This adjustment is occurring whilst global collective action is also gearing up to tackle climate change, avert biodiversity collapse and redress unsustainable growth practices that featured in pre-Covid era global economic activity for decades. COVID-19 pandemic experience since December 2019 has been a period of pronounced anxiety and inspiration. Despite the angst of widespread calamity, and the loss of over six million lives, a coordinated global effort helped contain the impacts well short of initial predictions. Progress toward eliminating poverty, the central goal in rural economic transformation, has been set back by decades. The strength in organising - through social and business processes - marked the resilience endured. The recovery is patchy and uneven across individual nations, and the medium-term prospects remain contingent on the efficacy of funding essential human services and clear market bottlenecks. Bridging capacity constraints across the rural-urban continuum also remain a need to ease the regulatory burden as the world tackles widespread externalities of the past to create new growth opportunities. In this special issue, emerging and established academics from the Asian region and beyond, draw insights from research and analysis on the challenges facing policy makers, businesses, and households in raising living standards and inspiring the pursuit of individual and social affluence during these uncertain but opportune times.

Reflecting on our good intentions: A critical discourse analysis of women's health and empowerment discourses in sexual and gender-based violence policies relevant to southern Africa.

Decades of 'feminist' sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) policies have produced limited change in southern African SGBV rates. Recent critiques highlight ongoing colonial legacies in such policymaking, arguing that these legacies limit the potential for liberatory change. Further, reflecting on such discourses can highlight reasons behind global public health intervention failure. To promote reflexivity among public health actors who create, reproduce, and implement SGBV policies, this paper presents a critical discourse analysis of how women's empowerment is constructed in foundational global and national health and development policies bearing on SGBV in Zambia. The analysis identifies neoliberal feminist discourses of empowerment: (i) the protection of women, which perpetuates a saviour complex; (ii) the promotion of equality to men, which excludes those deemed unworthy; (iii) the eradication of harmful cultural norms, which challenge the preservation of African values; and (iv) (neoliberal) empowerment through women's attained employment and capital, which empowers women within unequal economic relations rather than liberating women from those relations. The author critiques such neoliberal empowerment discourses for failing to structurally transform the conditions for women's liberation. This paper offers a first step to the dismantling of colonial structures in SGBV policies by unpacking and promoting reflexivity about such discourses.

Representations of clinical practice guidelines and health equity in healthcare literature: An integrative review.

AIM: This paper reports an integrative review of international health literature that discusses health equity in relation to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals (HCPs), policy makers, and decision makers rely on sound empirical evidence to make fiscally responsible and appropriate decisions about the allocation of health resources and health service delivery. CPGs provide statements and recommendations that aim to standardize care with an implicit goal of achieving equity of care among diverse populations. Developers of CPGs must be careful not to exacerbate inequity when making recommendations. As such, it is important to determine how equity is discussed within the context of CPGs. DESIGN: This integrative review was conducted according to integrative review methods as outlined by Whittemore and Knafl (2005), and Toronto and Remington (2020). These authors outlined a systematic process for the identification of relevant literature across health disciplines to examine the state of knowledge pertaining to a phenomenon such as health equity. SEARCH METHODS: The computerized databases PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, Medline, and Web of Science were searched using a combination of keywords. Search parameters included international peer-reviewed published, full-text, English language articles, editorials, and reports over the last decade (January 2011 to February 2022). A reference search of included articles was conducted to identify any additional articles. Dissertations and theses were not included. SEARCH OUTCOME: A total of 139 peer-reviewed English language articles were identified. RESULTS: The findings of this review revealed five main ways in which health equity is in context of CPGs including if they target or exacerbate inequity among disadvantaged populations, equity and CPG development, implementation, and evaluation, and checklists and tools to assist developers and users of CPG to consider equity. Although critical appraisal tools exist to assist users of CPGs assess and to evaluate how well CPGs address issues of equity, the definition of equity and how CPG development panels should incorporate and articulate it remains unclear and haphazard. As such, recommendations intended to be implemented by HCPs to optimize health equity remains diverse and unclear. CONCLUSION: The way equity is discussed within the reviewed health literature has implications for their uptake by and utility for HCPs. The ability of HCPs to implement CPGs may be hindered without an appreciation and integration of equity considerations across the various phases of CPG conceptualization, development, implementation, and evaluation, and their relevance and appropriateness to diverse geographic and socioeconomic contexts with variable access to health human resources and services. This situation could be improved if equity were more clearly articulated within all aspects of the CPG process. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Understanding how equity is discussed in the literature relative to CPGs has implications for their uptake by and utility for HCPs in their goal of providing equitable health care. Successful implementation of CPGs with consideration equity could be improved if equity were more clearly articulated within all aspects of the CPG process including conceptualization, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Coordination processes in partnerships between German governmental organizations and German sports federations in jointly implemented SDP projects.

Sports and physical activity are increasingly used as instruments of development policy. Within this field of sport for development and peace (SDP), one can observe a large number of partnerships between national governmental organizations and national sport federations. These are particularly important although these organizations pursue different core objectives with their SDP engagement. The aim of this qualitative study is to analyze how German governmental organizations and sports federations coordinate jointly managed SDP projects. Against the backdrop of systems theory, we conducted interviews with participants from relevant organizations. The qualitative content analysis revealed that inter-organizational coordination takes place partly in hierarchical and partly in network-based structures. The results show complex patterns between the participating organizations which gain varying degrees of influence on the SDP projects and seek to get specific resources through the cooperations. These should be taken into consideration when designing SDP projects to build stable cooperations that bring all the participating organizations an added value.

Access to microfinance as a resilience policy to address sustainable development goals: A content analysis.

This research paper aims to address the problem of financial inclusion and resilience in the current sustainable development framework. The development agenda designs access to finance a human right and a prior strategy to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Microfinance can play a decisive role in smoothing the risk of adverse events It acts as resilience policy, tackling vulnerability and poverty, empowering people and vulnerable categories and improving and enlarging their capabilities. This work explores the existing connections between the development agenda and microfinance as a strategy to foster financial access. To this end, summative content analysis is performed on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/315 - fulfilling a research gap. This inquiry handles 6 selected SDGs, ascribable to 3 dimensions, detecting 5 sub-dimensions and 16 domains. Analysing Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, the study also finds increased importance attributed to the topic, key issues and policy strengths and limitations. Importantly, the analysis shows that the environmental dimension is still neglected in the analysed corpus, not appearing in any of the examined SDGs. The findings suggest investing in these channels, drafting governance patterns and modelling resilience and development policy to vehiculate improved ecological and institutional results and concerns.

Data Desa Presisi: A new method of rural data collection.

Pseudo-development in rural areas often occurs due to the lack of availability of accurate data, in addition to the closed space for citizen participation. Based on this condition, we identify and evaluate various methods of collecting rural data in Indonesia as the basis for formulating development policies and programs. From the results of the identification and evaluation, we conclude that a new method in rural data collection is needed, called Data Desa Presisi (DDP). DDP is a village data collection method that synthesizes a census, spatial and community participation approach. This method puts the unit of analysis of the family and the individual in the Neighborhood Association (Rukun Warga-RW) as the smallest regional unit in the rural area. The presence of DDP is expected to help villages to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate village development based on accurate data.•We identified the village data collection methods used so far for planning and measuring village development.•DDP is used for precise planning, implementation, monitoring-evaluation, and measurement of village development.•This method can be used as basic village data because it is able to show development subjects with precision, namely: by name, by address and by coordinates.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Policies for Inclusive Development in Africa.

While there is increasing academic analysis and policy concern regarding growing inequality and the need for more inclusive development trajectories, it is equally important to advance our understanding of the pathways to attain more inclusive development in practice. This paper serves as the introduction to a special issue examining the empirical outcomes and processes of inclusive development policies in selected countries in Africa. The paper presents a policy implementation and assessment framework as a lens that connects the different case studies. The framework links general inclusive development strategies in employment, social protection and governance, to the participation and representation of the various stakeholders as well as the monetary and non-monetary transaction costs in accessing and/or implementing these programmes on the ground in different national and sub-national contexts. Based on the findings of the 9 case studies, the paper also advances policy directions and operational frameworks to attain more inclusive development in practice.

Bien qu'il existe une analyse académique croissante, et une préoccupation politique envers la montée des inégalités et la nécessite de trajectoires de développement plus inclusives, il est tout aussi important d'avancer notre compréhension des chemins qui permettent­dans la pratique­d'atteindre un développement plus inclusif. Cet article sert d'introduction à un numéro spécial examinant les résultats empiriques et les processus de développement inclusifs dans certains pays en Afrique. L'article présente un cadre d'implémentation et évaluation des politiques, tel que un prisme qui connecte les différents études de cas. Ce cadre relie des stratégies de développement générales (dans l'emploi, la protections sociale, et la gouvernance) à la participation et la représentation de différents partis intéressés, aussi qu'aux aux couts de transaction (monétaires et autres) dans l'accès à ces programmes et à leur implémentation sur le terrain, dans des contextes nationales et sous-nationales. Nous basant sur les résultats de ces 10 études de cas, l'article avance des directions de politique et des cadres opérationnels, ayant comme but la réalisation pratique d'un développement plus inclusif.

A comparative study of cancer drug approvals in india and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: The new drug approval in every country is closely monitored and regulated by central authorities which regulates drug development, approval, and marketing. In this study, we aim to analyze and compare the approval status of drugs that are approved for medical use in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) with the drug approval organizations of Western Countries. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study. We queried the CDSCO website and database for new drugs and anti-cancer drugs that are approved for use in India by CDSCO during 2010-2019. We compared the approval status of those drugs in the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), EMA (European Medicines Agency), and Health Canada (HC) databases. RESULTS: A total of 257 new drugs (including 47 anti-cancer drugs) are approved for use in India by the CDSCO during the period 2010-2019. Out of these, only 69.6% (n = 179) new drugs were approved by the FDA, 62.65% (n = 161) were approved by EMA and 63.40% were approved by Health Canada (n = 163). Most of the anti-cancer drugs that are approved for use in India are approved by these agencies except 2 drugs that are not approved by FDA and HC. CONCLUSION: Majority of cancer drugs approved for use in India are approved for use in the USA, Europe and Canada. However, a significant number of non-cancer drugs approved for use in India are not approved in these regions. POLICY SUMMARY: We recommend a comprehensive assessment of India's drug regulatory processes and policies to improve patient safety.

Can sustainable development policy reduce carbon emissions? Empirical evidence from resource-based cities in China.

Resource-based cities (RBCs) have made outstanding contributions to China's social and economic development over recent decades. Nevertheless, with the worsening climate change and the exhausted resources, how to curb carbon emissions of RBCs to deliver their low-carbon transformation is becoming a problem plaguing the world. To facilitate the low-carbon transformation of RBCs, the Chinese government has formulated many policies, including the Sustainable Development Policy of National Resource-based Cities, 2013-2020 (SDPRC). However, the implementation of SDPRC has not yielded a clear environmental influence. Therefore, this study employs the Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Difference to investigate this influence based on the panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2017 while exploring the related heterogeneity and impact mechanisms. It is found that: (1) the implementation of SDPRC has significantly reduced carbon emissions and intensities of RBCs, with this effect becoming more conspicuous with the advancement of the policy. A robust test also verifies these findings. (2) Results from the heterogeneity test demonstrate that the implementation of SDPRC has imposed a suppressive effect on CO2 emissions in eastern, central, and western Chinese regions, especially pronounced in the latter two regions. Except for the growing cities, which are not significantly affected by the policy, the other three types of cities have seen a catalytic effect on CO2 emission reduction from the implementation of the policy, with the most significant impact observed in the declining cities. (3) Analyses of related mechanisms reveal that thanks to the implementation of SDPRC, RBCs suppress CO2 emissions mainly by optimizing their industrial structures and relieving their energy intensities. Finally, some policy recommendations are proposed based on the findings of this study to facilitate the low-carbon transformation of RBCs.

Who Called Team Europe? The European Union's Development Policy Response During the First Wave of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a critical juncture for global development. Under the label of "Team Europe", the EU has sought to mobilize rapid development assistance to support partners in addressing the impacts of the crisis, while promoting joined-up approaches among European actors to assert itself in a changing and competitive geopolitical context. This article assesses how substantive and process-oriented EU development policy norms are reflected in the Union's global COVID-19 response. Focusing on the EU's response during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020, the article shows that the EU's response to this extraordinary crisis consisted of a deepening of EU integration. In so doing, the EU emphasized process-oriented over substantive norms in its development policy.

La pandémie de COVID-19 représente un moment de transition critique pour le développement international. En utilisant l'étiquette « Équipe Europe ¼, l'UE a cherché à mobiliser une aide au développement rapide pour aider ses partenaires à faire face aux impacts de la crise, tout en favorisant des approches conjointes entre les acteurs européens pour s'affirmer dans un contexte géopolitique changeant et concurrentiel. Cet article évalue la façon dont les normes de la politique de développement de l'UE, qui portent sur le fond et sont axées sur les processus, se reflètent dans la riposte de l'Union à la COVID-19 à l'échelle mondiale. En se concentrant sur la réponse de l'UE lors de la première vague de pandémie de COVID-19 durant le premier semestre 2020, l'article démontre que la riposte de l'UE à cette crise sans précédent a consisté en un renforcement de l'intégration européenne. Ce faisant, dans sa politique de développement, l'UE a mis l'accent sur les normes axées sur les processus plutôt que sur les normes qui portent sur le fond.

Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education in the context of postgraduate nursing / Emprendimiento y educación emprendedora en el contexto de posgrado en enfermería / Empreendedorismo e educação empreendedora no contexto da pós-graduação em enfermagem

ABSTRACT Objective To understand entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education in the context of postgraduate nursing. Method Qualitative study based on Grounded Theory. The theoretical sample consisted of 15 master's and doctoral students and seven professors from a postgraduate nursing program at a university in southern Brazil. Individual interviews were conducted between August/2018 and February/2019 in a location defined by the participants, in general the University. The data were collected and analyzed simultaneously by initial and focused coding. Results Three categories and 11 subcategories emerged that, interrelated, represented the phenomenon "Glimpsing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education in postgraduate nursing". Conclusion Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education, in the context of postgraduate nursing, were understood as incipient and promising processes. In this sense, it is necessary to intensify studies to demonstrate the entrepreneurial possibilities of the area.

RESUMEN Objetivo Comprender el emprendimiento y la educación emprendedora en el contexto del posgrado de enfermería. Método Estudio cualitativo basado en la Teoría Fundamentada. La muestra teórica estuvo compuesta por 15 estudiantes de maestría y doctorado y siete profesores de un programa de posgrado en enfermería de una Universidad del sur de Brasil. Las entrevistas individuales se realizaron entre agosto/2018 y febrero/2019 en un lugar definido por los participantes, en general la Universidad. Los datos se recopilaron y analizaron simultáneamente mediante codificación inicial y enfocada. Resultados Surgieron tres categorías y 11 subcategorías que, interrelacionadas, representaron el fenómeno "Vislumbrando el emprendimiento y la educación emprendedora en los posgrados de enfermería". Conclusión El emprendimiento y la educación emprendedora, en el contexto del posgrado de enfermería, fueron entendidos como procesos incipientes y prometedores. En este sentido, es necesario intensificar los estudios para demostrar las posibilidades emprendedoras de la zona.

RESUMO Objetivo Compreender o empreendedorismo e a educação empreendedora no contexto da pós-graduação em enfermagem. Método Estudo qualitativo, do tipo Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados. A amostragem teórica foi composta por 15 estudantes de mestrado e doutorado e sete docentes de um programa de pós-graduação em enfermagem de uma Universidade do sul do Brasil. Realizaram-se entrevistas individuais entre agosto/2018 e fevereiro/2019 em local definido pelos participantes, em geral a Universidade. Os dados foram coletados e analisados simultaneamente por codificação inicial e focalizada. Resultados Emergiram três categorias e 11 subcategorias que, interrelacionadas, representaram o fenômeno "Vislumbrando o empreendedorismo e a educação empreendedora na pós-graduação em enfermagem". Conclusão O empreendedorismo e a educação empreendedora, no contexto da pós-graduação em enfermagem, foram compreendidos como processos incipientes e promissores. Nesse sentido, é preciso que se intensifiquem estudos para demostrar as possibilidades empreendedoras da área.

Adopción del modelo de Determinantes Sociales de la Salud según la Ley Estatutaria en Salud: ¿Avance en Política Pública? / Adoption of the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Model according to the Statutory Law on Health: Is it an Advance in Public Policy?

Resumen: Con la Ley 1751 de 2015 se reconoció el carácter fundamental del derecho a la salud en Colombia, la norma incluyó una conceptualización de salud a partir del modelo de los Determinantes Sociales de la Salud como aspecto integral para su materialización y goce efectivo de derechos. Ahora bien, para que el derecho fundamental a la salud sea una realidad, todos los actores del sistema, deberán entender la salud de una manera distinta, como un concepto integral e integrador, dentro de un marco de referencia que involucre los DSS y que cambie la mirada asistencialista del sistema hacia promocionar la salud y prevenir la enfermedad. Este trabajo analizó el avance de la política pública en salud a partir de una revisión teórica, legislativa y de 26 Planes de Desarrollo Departamental. Se evidencia en dichos documentos oficiales una orientación de la política pública bajo el modelo adoptado en la Ley.

Abstract: With Law 1751 of 2015, the fundamental nature of the right to health in Colombia was recognized. The norm included a conceptualization of health from the model of the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) as an integral aspect for its materialization and effective enjoyment of rights. However, for the fundamental right to health to become a reality, all the stakeholders in the system must understand health in a different way, as an integral and integrating concept, within a frame of reference, which involves SDH and that changes the assistance-based approach of the system toward the promotion of health and the prevention of disease. This work analyzed the progress of public health policy based on a theoretical and legislative review and 26 Departmental Development Plans. It is evident in these official documents an orientation of public policy under the model adopted in the Law.

Dataset for multidimensional assessment to incentivise decentralised energy investments in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this data article, we present datasets from the construction of a composite indicator, the Photovoltaic Decentralised Energy Investment (PV-DEI) index, presented in detail in [1]. This article consists of a comprehensive energy-related data collected in practice from several sources, and from the outputs of the methodology described in [1]. The PV-DEI was designed and developed to measure the multidimensional factors that currently direct decentralised renewable energy investments. The PV-DEI index includes 52 indicators and was constructed because factors stimulating investment cannot be captured by a single indicator, e.g. competitiveness, affordability, or governance [1]. The PV-DEI index was built in alignment with a theoretical framework guided by an extensive review of the literature surrounding investment in decentralised Photovoltaic (PV), which led to the selection of its indicators. The structure of the PV-DEI was evaluated for its soundness using correlational assessments and principal component analyses (PCA). The raw data provided in this article can enable stakeholders to focus on specific country indicators, and how scores on these indicators contributed to a countries overall rank within the PV-DEI index. The data can be used to weight indicators depending on the specifications of several different stakeholders (such as NGOs, private sector or international institutions).

Challenges in early phase clinical trials for childhood cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a report from the new agents group of the Spanish Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (SEHOP)

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare stakeholders towards challenging decisions. We analyse the impact of the pandemic on the conduct of phase I–II trials for paediatric cancer during the first month of state of alarm in Spain. Methods A questionnaire was sent to all five ITCC-accredited Spanish Paediatric Oncology Early Phase Clinical Trial Units, including questions about impact on staff activities, recruitment, patient care, supply of investigational products, and legal aspects. Results All units suffered personnel shortages and difficulties in enrolling patients, treatment continuity, or performing trial assessments. Monitoring activity was frequently postponed (73%), and 49% of on-going trials interrupted recruitment. Only two patients could be recruited during this period (75% reduction in the expected rate). Conclusions The COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted clinical research practice and access to innovation for children with cancer. Structural and functional changes are under way to better cope with the expected future restrictions (AU)

Challenges in early phase clinical trials for childhood cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a report from the new agents group of the Spanish Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (SEHOP).

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare stakeholders towards challenging decisions. We analyse the impact of the pandemic on the conduct of phase I-II trials for paediatric cancer during the first month of state of alarm in Spain. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to all five ITCC-accredited Spanish Paediatric Oncology Early Phase Clinical Trial Units, including questions about impact on staff activities, recruitment, patient care, supply of investigational products, and legal aspects. RESULTS: All units suffered personnel shortages and difficulties in enrolling patients, treatment continuity, or performing trial assessments. Monitoring activity was frequently postponed (73%), and 49% of on-going trials interrupted recruitment. Only two patients could be recruited during this period (75% reduction in the expected rate). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted clinical research practice and access to innovation for children with cancer. Structural and functional changes are under way to better cope with the expected future restrictions.

Roles of urban heat anomaly and land-use/land-cover on the heat-related mortality in the national capital region of South Korea: A multi-districts time-series study.

The urban heat anomaly has been suggested as a representative risk factor for human health in metropolitan areas, but few studies have measured a quantitative increase in risk due to the urban heat anomaly on heat-related mortality in the summer season or assessed the role of various types of land-use/land-cover (LULC), which may contribute to the urban heat anomaly. In this study, we evaluated the association between the urban heat anomaly and heat-related mortality risk in the summer and the potential roles of multiple types of LULC indicators. We used district-level time-series and cadastral data from 51 urban districts in the national capital region of South Korea. We applied a two-stage analysis. In the first stage, we estimated the district-specific heat-related mortality risk by using a distributed lag non-linear model. In the second stage, we used a meta-analysis to pool the estimates across all districts and calculate the association between the urban heat anomaly/LULC indicators and heat-related mortality risk. We found that the higher urban heat anomaly was related to lower vegetation and higher urban surface indicators, and the urban heat anomaly was positively associated with the heat-related mortality risk. The association between the urban heat anomaly and the heat-related mortality risk was more pronounced in the elderly (age ≥ 65 years) and female population than in the non-elderly and male population. We also found that the LULC indicators affected the heat-related mortality only through the urban heat anomaly. Our findings indicate that urban areas may be more vulnerable to heat-related mortality risk as determined by the urban heat anomaly. These results suggest a need for urban heat mitigation strategies such as increased vegetation or surface albedo to help reduce heat-related mortality risk.

Effectiveness of clean development policies on coal-fired power generation: an empirical study in China.

Coal-fired power will remain China's primary source of electricity for a long time to come. The clean development of coal-fired power generation has become an important strategic choice for China's energy transformation. Based on collecting and sorting out the driving policies for China's clean development of coal-fired power generation from 1997 to 2016, firstly, we reviewed the historical evolution of these policies in terms of the policy quantity, policy theme, and policy instrument. Then, we designed the scoring criteria to quantify the policies. Finally, the effectiveness of the overall policies and different policy instruments was empirically analyzed by the econometric model built on the basis of Cobb-Douglas production function. The results show that the annual release amount of driving policies for the clean development of coal-fired power in China presents a trend of fluctuating growth. Policy themes are mainly divided into two parts, namely production capacity management and air pollutants control; policy instruments mainly include elimination of backward units, project approval, standards, generation price regulation, tax incentives, loan policy, and information publicity; the overall policies have significant positive effects on the clean development of coal-fired power industry; in terms of policy instruments, the elimination of backward units and generation price regulation have significant effects on improving the energy efficiency; project approval and generation price regulation are effective for reducing SO2 emissions rate; and the effects of standards, tax incentives, loan policy, and information publicity on the clean development of coal-fired power are not significant. On these bases, some policy implications to further promote the clean development of coal-fired power industry are provided.