Genetic endowments for social capital: An investigation accounting for genetic nurturing effects

Despite social capital having been shown to be important for health and well-being, relatively little research has examined genetic determinants. Genetic endowments for education have been shown to influence human, financial, and health capital, but few studies have examined social capital, and those conducted have yet to account for genetic nurturing. We used the Add-Health data to study the effect of genetic endowments on individual social capital using the education polygenic score (PGS). We used sibling fixed effects models and controlled for the family environment to account for genetic nurturing. After accounting for the family environment, we found moderately large significant associations between the education PGS and volunteering, but associations with religious service attendance and number of friends were completely attenuated in sibling fixed effects models. These findings highlight that genetic endowments play an important role in influencing volunteering and the importance of accounting for genetic nurturing.

Life funds, urban development, and the experimental practices of financial sociology

How did the Norwich Union, a life and general insurance company, come to see itself as a 'local developer with people always at the centre of our planning'? This article explores how a small number of insurance companies, capitalising on their long history of property investment, used their investment funds, or 'life funds', to transform the built environment of UK in the twentieth century. In the postwar period life funds were contracted by local governments to finance, plan and develop solutions to urban issues that paralleled those targeted by post-war welfare reforms. This involved companies in developing expertise, working practices, instruments and collaborative arrangements that are not adequately represented as financial investment. Ventures into development on this scale had also to be ventures in futures planning, calculated bets on how people would - and how they should - live, work and spend. These are enterprises that I characterise as 'experimental practices of financial sociology' as a provocation that acknowledges first, that non-sociologists sometimes devise huge sociological experiments and second, that the separation of economics from sociology, and of finance from society, is a disciplinary move that is far less strictly enacted outside the academy.

Economic incentives surrounding fertility: Evidence from Alaska's permanent fund dividend

The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend provided an incentive that increased fertility. This paper estimates the impact of the dividend transfer on fertility rates in Alaska compared to other states using the synthetic control methodology. For the period from 1982 to 1988, fertility on average increased annually in Alaska by 11.3 births per 1000 women aged 15-44-a 13.1 percent increase over the counterfactual. This was driven by women over 20. Fertility increased for women aged 20-24 by 12.4 percent, those aged 25-34 by 14.3 percent, and those aged 35-44 by 16.9 percent. The paper also finds support that narrowing the gap between births, increase in total fertility rate, and no change in abortion are potential channels for the observed increase in fertility. No change in the fertility for the adolescents combined with no change in abortion suggests that the increase in fertility in Alaska was planned.

Design of Cell-Adhesive Shellac Derivatives and Endowment of Photoswitchable Cell-Adhesion Properties

The emergence of new biodegradable cell-adhesion materials is an attractive topic in biomaterial chemistry, particularly for the development of cell incubation scaffolds and drug encapsulation materials used in in situ regenerative therapy. Shellac is a natural resin with unique film-forming properties and high miscibility with various chemicals, in addition to being biodegradable and nontoxic to biological systems. However, since native shellac does not adhere to mammalian cells, there have been no reports of using shellac to develop cell-adhesive biomaterials. In this study, we report on the development of cell-adhesive shellac derivatives through slight chemical modification. Shellac is a mixture of oligoesters that consists of hydroxyl fatty acids and resin acids, and therefore, all oligomers have one carboxylic acid group at the terminal. We discovered that a simple modification of hydrophobic chemical groups, particularly those containing aromatic groups in the ester form, could dramatically improve cell-adhesion properties for mammalian cells. Furthermore, by using photocleavable esters containing aromatic groups, we successfully endowed photoswitchable properties in cell adhesion. Given that shellac is a low-cost, biodegradable, and nontoxic natural resin, the modified shellacs have the potential to become new and attractive biomaterials applicable to in situ regenerative therapy.

Assessment of the Global Fund-supported procurement and supply chain reforms at the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency: a mixed-methods study

OBJECTIVE

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) partnered with the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) in 2018-2019 to reform procurement and supply chain management (PSCM) procedures within the Ethiopian healthcare system. This assessment sought to determine the impact of the reforms and document the lessons learnt.

DESIGN

Mixed-methods study incorporating qualitative and quantitative analysis. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were applied for the qualitative methods, and the data collected was transcribed in full and subjected to thematic content analysis. Descriptive analysis was applied to quantitative data.

SETTING

The study was based in Ethiopia and focused on the EPSA operations nationally between 2017 and 2021.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-five Ethiopian healthcare decision-makers and health workers.

INTERVENTION

Global Fund training programme for health workers and infrastructural improvements OUTCOMES: Operational and financial measures for healthcare PSCM.

RESULTS

The availability of antiretrovirals, tuberculosis and malaria medicines, and other related commodities, remained consistently high. Line fill rate and forecast accuracy were average. Between 2018 and 2021, procurement lead times for HIV and malaria-related orders reduced by 43.0% relative to other commodities that reported an increase. Many interview respondents recognised the important role of the Global Fund support in improving the performance of EPSA and provided specific attributions to the observed successes. However, they were also clear that more needs to be done in specific critical areas such as financing, strategic reorganisation, data and information management systems.

CONCLUSION

The Global Fund-supported initiatives led to improvements in the EPSA performance, despite several persistent challenges. To sustain and secure the gains achieved so far through Global Fund support and make progress, it is important that various stakeholders, including the government and the donor community, work together to support EPSA in delivering on its core mandate within the Ethiopian health system.

Sleep Quality in Older People: The Impact of Age, Professional Activity, Financial Situation, and Chronic Diseases During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

BACKGROUND The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic negatively affected health and social life, notably deteriorating sleep quality in older adults. Studies report inconsistent findings on sleep disturbances during this period, influenced by various physiological, emotional, and sociodemographic factors. This study aimed to identify these determining factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted among 342 people 60 years of age or older participating in online classes of randomly selected Senior Clubs and the University of the Third Age in the southern regions of Poland. RESULTS Sleep problems (PSQI >5 points) were diagnosed in 250 subjects (83.6%). Logistic regression analysis showed that the quality of sleep significantly depends on: age, as people aged 66-70 were more likely to have better sleep quality than people aged 60-65 (OR=3.07), and those over 70 scored better than people aged 60-65 (OR=2.87); current job - employed people have a better chance of better sleep quality (OR=3.08) than unemployed people; financial situation, people assessing their financial situation as very good/good had a better chance of better sleep quality (OR=2.00) compared to people assessing their financial situation as very bad, bad/average; chronic diseases, people without chronic diseases had a chance of better sleep quality (OR=2.45) than people with chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS Age, financial situation, current job, and chronic disease were the most important factors determining sleep quality in older people. The identification of factors affecting sleep quality can be used as important data to develop interventions and programs to improve sleep quality.

Challenges in international health financing and implications for the new pandemic fund

BACKGROUND

The failures of the international COVID-19 response highlighted key gaps in pandemic preparedness and response (PPR). The G20 and WHO have called for additional funding of $10.5 billion per year to adequately strengthen the global PPR architecture. In response to these calls, in 2022 the World Bank announced the launch of a new Financial Intermediary Fund (The Pandemic Fund) to catalyse this additional funding. However, there is considerable unclarity regarding the governance makeup and financial modalities of the Pandemic Fund, and divergence of opinion about whether the Fund has been successfully designed to respond to key challenges in global health financing.

METHODS/RESULTS

The article outlines eight challenges associated with global health financing instruments and development aid for health within the global health literature. These include misaligned aid allocation; accountability; multistakeholder representation and participation; country ownership; donor coherency and fragmentation; transparency; power dynamics, and; anti-corruption. Using available information about the Pandemic Fund, the article positions the Pandemic Fund against these challenges to determine in what ways the financing instrument recognizes, addresses, partially addresses, or ignores them. The assessment argues that although the Pandemic Fund has adopted a few measures to recognise and address some of the challenges, overall, the Pandemic Fund has unclear policies in response to most of the challenges while leaving many unaddressed.

CONCLUSION

It remains unclear how the Pandemic Fund is explicitly addressing challenges widely recognized in the global health financing literature. Moreover, there is evidence that the Pandemic Fund might be exacerbating these global financing challenges, thus raising questions about its potential efficacy, suitability, and chances of success. In response, this article offers four sets of policy recommendations for how the Pandemic Fund and the PPR financing architecture might respond more effectively to the identified challenges.

Basic situation and trend analysis in heart transplantation research funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

INTRODUCTION

This study analyzes heart transplantation funding provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) between 1986 and 2022. The findings offer an objective and scientific reference for heart transplantation research.

METHODS

CiteSpace visualization was used to present keywords in heart transplantation research.

RESULTS

From 1986 to 2022, the NFSC disbursed ¥117.68 million to fund 259 projects related to heart transplantation. Hubei, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, and Heilongjiang received the most funding. General and youth science fund projects accounted for 58.69% and 30.50%, respectively. The main discipline category was organ transplantation and transplantation immunity, accounting for 40.93%. Research hotspots included "immune tolerance," "rejection reaction," "t cell" "dendritic cell," "stem cell," and "transplantation tolerance." Research foci were "rejection reaction," "heart failure," "immune tolerance," "heart transplantation," "stem cell," "suppressor cell," "dendritic cell," "dilated cardiomyopathy," and "t cell." In the past 5 years, the research frontier has targeted "transplantation tolerance," "ischemia-reperfusion injury," and "heart transplantation."

CONCLUSION

Continuous NSFC funding for heart transplantation research has promoted the development of disciplines and cultivation of talent. Novel technologies (e.g., artificial hearts and donor maintenance) have generated new requirements for heart transplantation research.

Does climate finance and foreign capital inflows drive de-carbonisation in developing economies?

Sustainable development requires high investment, and developing economies need external aid to afford it. Developed economies are committed to providing financial support to fight climate change to those with fewer resources suffering the severest consequences. Climate finance consists of financial activities focusing on mitigating and adapting to climate change effects. In this paper, two critical perspectives were addressed: the role of climate finance on environmental degradation and human development and climate finance determinants. This research compiled a panel covering 36 developing economies from 2001 to 2019. Panel-corrected Standard Errors and Feasible Generalized Least Squares estimators were applied. The Seemingly Unrelated Regressions method was carried out to provide robustness of the empirical findings. The empirical results show that climate finance contributes to environmental degradation mitigation, and this effect is more notable in lower-middle-income countries. In these countries, regulatory quality contributes to environmental quality. Moreover, climate finance and human development have a positive bilateral relationship. However, the results suggest that foreign capital inflow slows down human development. These findings provide useful information for policymakers to design and implement environmental policies and strategies to maximize the allocation of climate finance funds and thus help to improve environmental quality.

Agricultural methane-environment thesis in poor African countries: which environmental curve is valid?

This study attempts to empirically establish the environmental curve that is applicable to the nexus between agricultural methane emissions and the environment in poor sub-Saharan African countries. The empirical analysis is conducted on annual data spanning 1990-2019 for 25 sub-Saharan African countries classified as heavily indebted by the International Monetary Fund. Continuously updated fully modified estimation and bootstrap panel causality testing are employed for the analysis. The results from the continuously updated fully modified estimation show that the coefficients for per-capita income and its quadratic form are - 0.446 and 0.011, respectively. This indicates that there is a U-shaped relationship between agricultural methane emissions and per-capita income in these poor sub-Saharan African countries. This U-shaped relationship is indicative of the environmental Brundtland curve. As suggested by the environmental Brundtland curve, this study shows that at lower levels of per-capita income, agricultural methane emissions are usually high in sub-Saharan Africa. As income improves, emissions gradually decline until a turning point beyond which further improvements in income again begin to aggravate agricultural methane emissions. It is thus concluded on this basis that the nature of the environmental curve reflecting the income-agricultural methane emissions nexus is a function of the economic status of the country or region under consideration. Moreover, the bootstrap panel causality results further show that feedback causal relations are predominant across countries in the link between per-capita income and agricultural methane emissions. This outcome is indicative of a vicious cycle in which poverty aggravates pollution, and pollution in turn further aggravates poverty. It also buttresses the claim that the poor are both perpetrators and victims of environmental degradation. The findings emphasize the need for a green growth path in sub-Saharan Africa that is capable of preventing the return to a positive relationship between income and emissions beyond the turning point in the Brundtland curve.

The history of the British Dental Association Benevolent Fund: the post-war period - Part 4

The final of these four papers charting the history of the British Dental Association Benevolent Fund ('the Charity') will examine the period from 1948 to the present, with attention given to the wider socio-economic environment. The Charity over this period has proved to be remarkably resilient and able to adapt structurally and technically to various challenges in the post-war period. Possible futures for the Charity will be examined and this paper will argue that the history of the Benevolent Fund suggests the way for dentistry in the UK to return to being a stable profession: a return to full self-regulation.

Lessons learnt from a nationally funded training and mentoring programme for early-mid career musculoskeletal researchers in Australia

INTRODUCTION

Quality training and mentoring are crucial components of successful career development for early mid career researchers (EMCRs). This paper describes the overarching framework of novel ongoing national Training and Mentoring Programme Melbourne University Sydney Queensland:Impact (MUSQ:Impact) for musculoskeletal researchers, including a description of how it was set up and established, and lessons learned from its implementation.

RESULTS

The MUSQ:Impact programme spans four multidisciplinary musculoskeletal research teams across three universities in Australia, comprising 40-60 EMCR members. It was established to provide EMCRs with a unique learning environment and opportunities to gain exposure to, and network with, other national musculoskeletal research teams. Specific goals are to focus on core research competencies (e.g. writing skills, managing grant budgets, public speaking and media engagement, research translation), provide career mentoring, fund development activities (e.g. conference attendance, laboratory visits, skill development courses), and share training resources (e.g. data dictionaries, project summaries). A Steering Committee of 10-12 EMCR members, co-chaired by a senior researcher and one EMCR, is responsible for overseeing MUSQ:Impact and organising regular activities, including a monthly webinar series, a mentor/mentee scheme, annual group research retreats, annual infographic competition, and funding awards. An evaluation survey found that most participants perceived each activity to be beneficial and of value to their research career and development.

CONCLUSION

This paper presents the structure of national training and mentoring programme that serves as a potential template for other research teams to adapt within their own contexts.

Sandwich-Gen on young people and their mental health issues: how to connect financial responsibility and avoid loneliness

The sandwich generation in youth and their mental health issues sometimes go unnoticed. Financial responsibilities that cause social isolation increase the potential to feel lonely. On the other hand, knowledge regarding final responsibility is also needed by young people. Responding to these two things, it is necessary to design policies that are relevant to the need for mental health services for the younger generation as a sandwich generation.

Aging population and digital inclusive finance, a natural experiment from china

This paper studies the role played by the digitization level of inclusive finance for the aging population. We leverage an unexpected Chinese national strategy that promotes mobile internet and other internet related integration in China to identify the impact of changes in state policies on the digitization level for inclusive finance in a regression discontinuity design. Although aging population is negatively correlated with the digitization level of inclusive finance, our empirical analysis reveals that the policy shock significantly increased the digitization level of inclusive finance among the aging population. We also find two opposite mechanisms: the income effect and the caring effect. Finally, our study suggests that the economic and social outcomes of the digitization level among aging population are bifurcated: happiness decreased but real estate investment increased.

The nature and contribution of innovative health financing mechanisms in the World Health Organization African region: A scoping review

Background

Achieving financial risk protection for the whole population requires significant financing for health. Health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are plagued with persistent underfunding, and recent reductions in official development assistance have been registered. To create fiscal space for health, the pursuit of efficiency gains and exploring innovative health financing for health seem attractive. This paper sought to synthesize available evidence on the nature of innovative health financing instruments, mechanisms and policies implemented in Africa. We further reviewed the factors that hinder or facilitate implementation, the lessons learnt on the structure, the development process and the implementation.

Methods

We conducted a systematic scoping review of the literature to analyze the nature, type, and factors impacting the implementation of innovative health financing mechanisms in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region.

Results

Innovative health financing mechanisms are increasing in the WHO African region as a result of international policy, the need to improve healthy eating and social life of the populace, advocacy and the availability of international mechanisms to which countries can subscribe. The 41 documents included in this review reported ten innovative financing mechanisms in 43 out of the 47 WHO Africa region member states. The most common mechanisms include an excise tax on tobacco products (43 countries) and alcoholic beverages and spirits (41 countries), airline ticket levy (18 countries), sugar-based beverages tax (seven countries), and levy on oil, gas and mineral tax (four countries). Other mechanisms include the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) trust fund, the social impact bond, the financial transaction tax, mobile phone tax and equity funds. Funds generated from many mechanisms are not allocated to health, although some portions are allocated to health-related activities. In some countries where mechanisms implemented are public health-related, emphasis is placed on positive health behavior beyond raising funds. Persistent resistance from industries due to conflicting economic policies is a major challenge.

Conclusions

Leveraging international policies and setting up intersectoral committees to develop and implement innovative mechanisms that involve excise taxes are recommended as possible solutions to the conflicts of interest.

Procedural fairness in decision-making for financing a National Health Insurance Scheme: a case study from The Gambia

Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves difficult policy choices, and fair processes are critical for building legitimacy and trust. In 2021, The Gambia passed its National Health Insurance (NHI) Act. We explored decision-making processes shaping the financing of the NHI scheme (NHIS) with respect to procedural fairness criteria. We reviewed policy and strategic documents on The Gambia's UHC reforms to identify key policy choices and interviewed policymakers, technocrats, lawmakers, hospital chief executive officers, private sector representatives and civil society organizations (CSOs) including key CSOs left out of the NHIS discussions. Ministerial budget discussions and virtual proceedings of the National Assembly's debate on the NHI Bill were observed. To enhance public scrutiny, Gambians were encouraged to submit views to the National Assembly's committee; however, the procedures for doing so were unclear, and it was not possible to ascertain how these inputs were used. Despite available funds to undertake countrywide public engagement, the public consultations were mostly limited to government institutions, few trade unions and a handful of urban-based CSOs. While this represented an improved approach to public policy-making, several CSOs representing key constituents and advocating for the expansion of exemption criteria for insurance premiums to include more vulnerable groups felt excluded from the process. Overload of the National Assembly's legislative schedule and lack of National Assembly committee quorum were cited as reasons for not engaging in countrywide consultations. In conclusion, although there was an intent from the Executive and National Assembly to ensure transparent, participatory and inclusive decision-making, the process fell short in these aspects. These observations should be seen in the context of The Gambia's ongoing democratic transition where institutions for procedural fairness are expected to progressively improve. Learning from this experience to enhance the procedural fairness of decision-making can promote inclusiveness, ownership and sustainability of the NHIS in The Gambia.

Developing the improved Community Health Fund in Tanzania: was it a fair process?

Tanzania developed its 2016-26 health financing strategy to address existing inequities and inefficiencies in its health financing architecture. The strategy suggested the introduction of mandatory national health insurance, which requires long-term legal, interministerial and parliamentary procedures. In 2017/18, improved Community Health Fund (iCHF) was introduced to make short-term improvements in coverage and financial risk protection for the informal sector. Improvements involved purchaser-provider split, portability of services, uniformity in premium and risk pooling at the regional level. Using qualitative methods and drawing on the policy analysis triangle framework (context, content, actors and process) and criteria for procedural fairness, we examined the decision-making process around iCHF and the extent to which it met the criteria for a fair process. Data collection involved a document review and key informant interviews (n = 12). The iCHF reform was exempt from following the mandatory legislative procedures, including processes for involving the public, for policy reforms in Tanzania. The Ministry of Health, leading the process, formed a technical taskforce to review evidence, draw lessons from pilots and develop plans for implementing iCHF. The taskforce included representatives from ministries, civil society organizations and CHF implementing partners with experience in running iCHF pilots. However, beneficiaries and providers were not included in these processes. iCHF was largely informed by the evidence from pilots and literature, but the evidence to reduce administrative cost by changing the oversight role to the National Health Insurance Fund was not taken into account. Moreover, the iCHF process lacked transparency beyond its key stakeholders. The iCHF reform provided a partial solution to fragmentation in the health financing system in Tanzania by expanding the pool from the district to regional level. However, its decision-making process underscores the significance of giving greater consideration to procedural fairness in reforms guided by technical institutions, which can enhance responsiveness, legitimacy and implementation.

Unlocking the WHO's Age-Friendly Healthcare Principles: Portugal's Quest and Recommendations

Countries worldwide are grappling with a pressing demographic challenge characterized by a growing older population. This poses a significant healthcare dilemma, presenting challenges for healthcare systems and providers. To address these challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) has devised a set of Age-Friendly Principles, aimed at optimizing healthcare provision for older people. This article delves into the current state of healthcare adaptation for older adults in Portugal and assesses the implementation of the WHO Principles. Case studies were conducted in three distinct regions of Portugal, involving semistructured interviews with key decision makers from both the healthcare sector and organizations wielding direct influence over health policies (n = 11). A comprehensive content analysis was conducted employing the webQDA software. The findings unveiled a noteworthy trend in which most interviewees displayed limited familiarity with the WHO Principles. Nevertheless, all interviewees acknowledged the need to adapt the healthcare system accordingly. Strengths were identified, primarily within the healthcare management system, but noteworthy gaps were also revealed, particularly in terms of facility preparedness and professional training. Interviewees proposed various interventions to enhance age-friendly healthcare provision; however, they concurrently pinpointed challenges related to human resources, infrastructure, and financial management. In their concluding recommendations, interviewees underscored the development of tools to facilitate the application and evaluation of the WHO Principles, as well as the development by the WHO of an accreditation system to encourage the application of the principles in healthcare providers across the world.

Green production efficiency of China's hog breeding industry: Spatial divergence and its driving factors

This paper analyzes the green production efficiency (GPE) and spatial divergence of the hog breeding industry, with the aim of providing a foundation for the rational layout of hog breeding and promoting the industry's high-quality development. The paper uses the SBM model to estimate GPE in 29 provinces, cities, and districts of China from 2006 to 2019. Furthermore, it analyzes the spatial divergence of GPE and its driving factors using divergence indexes and the Geodetector. The results show that China's GPE of the hog breeding industry increased from 0.409 to 0.496 between 2006 and 2019. The highest efficiency occurred during the I-period, while the lowest efficiency was observed during the II-period. The highest efficiency was in the key development region, and the lowest efficiency was in the potential growth region. The spatial divergence of GPE in the hog breeding industry expanded, with labor input, non-point source pollution, resource endowment, and environmental load bearing being the main driving factors for the expansion in each period. The potential growth region had the largest spatial divergence, mainly affected by resource endowment. In contrast, the constrained development region had the smallest spatial divergence, mainly affected by resource endowment and pollutant emissions. The spatial divergence of moderate and key development regions was considerable, mainly affected by environmental investment, environmental load bearing, and pollutant emissions. Therefore, the key to improving the GPE of the hog breeding industry is to promote the adoption of advanced technology, such as labor-saving, material-saving, and emission reduction technologies. Moreover, several actions should be taken to reduce the spatial divergence among different regions, such as integrated breeding, clean standards, large-scale breeding, and high-end boutique.

Biodiversity market doublespeak

The notion that biodiversity markets can raise money desperately needed for biodiversity conservation is gaining momentum. The dire state of biodiversity and the enormous biodiversity repair bill means that every funding option must be explored. However, the risk that trading ill-defined generic biodiversity credits will result in biodiversity loss, not conservation, should be considered. Scarce resources could be diverted to market regulation rather than conservation. Without key elements, biodiversity markets could be perverse, leading to Orwellian "doublespeak"-saying one thing, but resulting in another.

The history of the British Dental Association Benevolent Fund: the first 30 years - Part 2

The British Dental Association Benevolent Fund, founded in 1882, is a charity which exists to support dentists and their dependents in times of hardship. The foundation and early beneficiaries of the Charity have been described previously. This paper summarises the first 30 years of its existence, describing the nature of the work of the committee and its officers, those who were helped and the difficulties in raising sufficient funds from the profession in order to help all of those who applied for support.