Funding Infectious Disease Research: A Systematic Analysis of UK Research Investments by Funders 1997–2010

Background

Research investments are essential to address the burden of disease, however allocation of limited resources is poorly documented. We systematically reviewed the investments awarded by funding organisations to UK institutions and their global partners for infectious disease research.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Public and philanthropic investments for the period 1997 to 2010 were included. We categorised studies by infectious disease, cross-cutting theme, and by research and development value chain, reflecting the type of science. We identified 6165 funded studies, with a total research investment of UK £2.6 billion. Public organisations provided £1.4 billion (54.0%) of investments compared with £1.1 billion (42.4%) by philanthropic organisations. Global health studies represented an investment of £928 million (35.7%). The Wellcome Trust was the leading investor with £688 million (26.5%), closely followed by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) with £673 million (25.9%). Funding over time was volatile, ranging from ∼£40 million to ∼£160 million per year for philanthropic organisations and ∼£30 million to ∼£230 million for public funders.

Conclusions/Significance

Infectious disease research funding requires global coordination and strategic long-term vision. Our analysis demonstrates the diversity and inconsistent patterns in investment, with volatility in annual funding amounts and limited investment for product development and clinical trials.     

Allozyme differentiation of two populations of the genus Neoplecostomus Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888 (Teleostei, Loricariidae) from the upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

Allozyme electrophoresis was used to examine 12 enzymatic systems in two populations of the genus Neoplecostomus from the Paraná River basin. Samples of Neoplecostomus sp. 1 were collected in Paraitinguinha stream of the Tietê River basin, in the municipality of Salesópolis, São Paulo State, and those of Neoplecostomus sp. 2 from São Domingos stream of the Rio Grande River basin, in the municipality of Muzambinho, Minas Gerais State. The genetic variability of the two populations was estimated by Nei’s expected heterozygosity and was considered lower than average for populations of freshwater fish. The proportion of polymorphic loci was low (only 5.26% for the locus Idh). The low frequency of heterozygosity for both populations revealed a high fixation of alleles for each locus. Homozygote excess was observed in both populations. The values of Nei’s genetic identity and the presence of loci with different allele frequencies in both populations may imply that the two populations belong to different species. The genetic variability between populations was compared to other data for loricariids.     

Economic returns to investment in AIDS treatment in low and middle income countries

Since the early 2000s, aid organizations and developing country governments have invested heavily in AIDS treatment. By 2010, more than five million people began receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART)--yet each year, 2.7 million people are becoming newly infected and another two million are dying without ever having received treatment. As the need for treatment grows without commensurate increase in the amount of available resources, it is critical to assess the health and economic gains being realized from increasingly large investments in ART. This study estimates total program costs and compares them with selected economic benefits of ART, for the current cohort of patients whose treatment is cofinanced by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. At end 2011, 3.5 million patients in low and middle income countries will be receiving ART through treatment programs cofinanced by the Global Fund. Using 2009 ART prices and program costs, we estimate that the discounted resource needs required for maintaining this cohort are $14.2 billion for the period 2011-2020. This investment is expected to save 18.5 million life-years and return $12 to $34 billion through increased labor productivity, averted orphan care, and deferred medical treatment for opportunistic infections and end-of-life care. Under alternative assumptions regarding the labor productivity effects of HIV infection, AIDS disease, and ART, the monetary benefits range from 81 percent to 287 percent of program costs over the same period. These results suggest that, in addition to the large health gains generated, the economic benefits of treatment will substantially offset, and likely exceed, program costs within 10 years of investment.     

Infra-Slow Oscillation (ISO) of the Pupil Size of Urethane-Anaesthetised Rats

Multiplicity of oscillatory phenomena in a range of infra-slow frequencies (<0.01 Hz) has been described in mammalian brains at different levels of organisation. The significance and manifestation in physiology and/or behaviour of many brain infra-slow oscillations (ISO) remain unknown. Examples of this phenomenon are two types of ISO observed in the brains of urethane-anaesthetised rats: infra-slow, rhythmic changes in the rate of action potential firing in a few nuclei of the subcortical visual system and a sleep-like cycle of activation/deactivation visible in the EEG signal. Because both of these rhythmic phenomena involve brain networks that can influence autonomic nervous system activity, we hypothesised that these two brain ISOs can be reflected by rhythmic changes of pupil size. Thus, in the present study, we used simultaneous pupillography and ECoG recording to verify the hypothesised existence of infra-slow oscillations in the pupil size of urethane-anaesthetised rats. The obtained results showed rhythmic changes in the size of the pupils and rhythmic eyeball movements in urethane-anaesthetised rats. The observed rhythms were characterised by two different dominant components in a range of infra-slow frequencies. First, the long component had a period of ≈29 minutes and was present in both the irises and the eyeball movements. Second, the short component had a period of ≈2 minutes and was observed only in the rhythmic constrictions and dilations of the pupils. Both ISOs were simultaneously present in both eyes, and they were synchronised between the left and right eye. The long ISO component was synchronised with the cyclic alternations of the brain state, as revealed by rhythmic changes in the pattern of the ECoG signal. Based on the obtained results, we propose a model of interference of ISO present in different brain systems involved in the control of pupil size.     

Tracking a century of change in trophic structure and dynamics in a floodplain wetland: integrating palaeoecological and palaeoisotopic evidence

相似文献   

Neoplecostomus doceensis: a new loricariid species (Teleostei,Siluriformes) from the rio Doce basin and comments about its putative origin

A new species of Neoplecostomus is described from the rio Doce basin representing the first species of this genus in the basin. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by having enlarged, fleshy folds between dentaries, two or three series of developed papillae anterior to premaxillary teeth and a adipose-fin membrane present, and by lacking enlarged odontodes along snout lateral margins in mature males, a well-developed dorsal-fin spinelet wider than dorsal-fin spine base, lower number of lateral-line figs and developed membrane on the dorsal portion of the first, second and third pelvic-fin branched rays. Additionally, we present a brief discussion of biogeographic scenarios that may explain the distribution of the new species in the rio Doce basin. We suggested that the ancestral lineage of the new species reached the rio Doce from the upper portions of rio Paraná drainages about 3.5 Mya (95% HPD: 1.6–5.5) indicating a colonization route of the N. doceensis ancestral lineage from the south end of Serra do Espinhaço, probably as a result of headwater capture processes between the upper rio Paraná and rio Doce basins.     

Integrating prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programs to improve uptake: a systematic review

Background

We performed a systematic review to assess the effect of integrated perinatal prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV interventions compared to non- or partially integrated services on the uptake in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods

We searched for experimental, quasi-experimental and controlled observational studies in any language from 21 databases and grey literature sources.

Results

Out of 28 654 citations retrieved, five studies met our inclusion criteria. A cluster randomized controlled trial reported higher probability of nevirapine uptake at the labor wards implementing HIV testing and structured nevirapine adherence assessment (RRR 1.37, bootstrapped 95% CI, 1.04–1.77). A stepped wedge design study showed marked improvement in antiretroviral therapy (ART) enrolment (44.4% versus 25.3%, p<0.001) and initiation (32.9% versus 14.4%, p<0.001) in integrated care, but the median gestational age of ART initiation (27.1 versus 27.7 weeks, p = 0.4), ART duration (10.8 versus 10.0 weeks, p = 0.3) or 90 days ART retention (87.8% versus 91.3%, p = 0.3) did not differ significantly. A cohort study reported no significant difference either in the ART coverage (55% versus 48% versus 47%, p = 0.29) or eight weeks of ART duration before the delivery (50% versus 42% versus 52%; p = 0.96) between integrated, proximal and distal partially integrated care. Two before and after studies assessed the impact of integration on HIV testing uptake in antenatal care. The first study reported that significantly more women received information on PMTCT (92% versus 77%, p<0.001), were tested (76% versus 62%, p<0.001) and learned their HIV status (66% versus 55%, p<0.001) after integration. The second study also reported significant increase in HIV testing uptake after integration (98.8% versus 52.6%, p<0.001).

Conclusion

Limited, non-generalizable evidence supports the effectiveness of integrated PMTCT programs. More research measuring coverage and other relevant outcomes is urgently needed to inform the design of services delivering PMTCT programs.     

Complex relationship between growth and circumnutations in Helianthus annuus stem

The growth and circumnutation of the stem of three-week old Helianthus annuus in the 16:8 h light:dark photoperiod were monitored using an angular position-sensing transducer and a time lapse photography system. It was found that the rate of growth and circumnutation reached a high level in the dark stage; in the light stage, however, only the growth rate reached the same high level, whereas the circumnutations were weak. These results showed that in the light stage the stem circumnutation was downregulated more strongly than the growth. Short-term stem responses to darkening and illumination were a further display of the relation between growth and circumnutations. Switching off the light caused an increase in the growth and circumnutation rate. In some cases it was accompanied by changes in the rotation direction. On the other hand, switching the light on caused an immediate transient (several-minute long) decrease in the growth rate resulting in stem contraction, and this was accompanied by an almost complete pause of circumnutation. Additionally, under light, there occurred a subsequent decrease in the magnitude, disturbance of circumnutation trajectory and, in some cases, changes in the direction of rotation. The observed stem contraction and disturbance of circumnutation imply the occurrence of turgor changes in sunflower stem, which may be caused by a non-wounding, darkening or illumination stimulus. Our experiments indicate that the disturbances of the growth rate are accompanied by changes in circumnutation parameters but we have also seen that there is no simple quantitative relation between growth rate and circumnutation rate.Key words: Helianthus annuus, plant movement, circumnutation, elongation, growth, stem contraction