Review. Precision viticulture. Research topics, challenges and opportunities in site-specific vineyard management

Precision Viticulture (PV) is a concept that is beginning to have an impact on the wine-growing sector. Its practical implementation is dependant on various technological developments: crop sensors and yield monitors, local and remote sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), VRA (Variable-Rate Application) equipment and machinery, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and systems for data analysis and interpretation. This paper reviews a number of research lines related to PV. These areas of research have focused on four very specific fields: 1) quantification and evaluation of within-field variability, 2) delineation of zones of differential treatment at parcel level, based on the analysis and interpretation of this variability, 3) development of Variable-Rate Technologies (VRT) and, finally, 4) evaluation of the opportunities for site-specific vineyard management. Research in these fields should allow winegrowers and enologists to know and understand why yield variability exists within the same parcel, what the causes of this variability are, how the yield and its quality are interrelated and, if spatial variability exists, whether site-specific vineyard management is justifiable on a technical and economic basis.

NanoImpactNet - Stakeholders' knowledge needs for research on the health and environmental impact of nanomaterials

NanoImpactNet (NIN) is a multidisciplinary European Commission funded network on the environmental, health and safety (EHS) impact of nanomaterials. The 24 founding scientific institutes are leading European research groups active in the fields of nanosafety, nanorisk assessment and nanotoxicology. This 4−year project is the new focal point for information exchange within the research community. Contact with other stakeholders is vital and their needs are being surveyed. NIN is communicating with 100s of stakeholders: businesses; internet platforms; industry associations; regulators; policy makers; national ministries; international agencies; standard−setting bodies and NGOs concerned by labour rights, EHS or animal welfare. To improve this communication, internet research, a questionnaire distributed via partners and targeted phone calls were used to identify stakeholders' interests and needs. Knowledge gaps and the necessity for further data mentioned by representatives of all stakeholder groups in the targeted phone calls concerned: potential toxic and safety hazards of nanomaterials throughout their lifecycles; fate and persistence of nanoparticles in humans, animals and the environment; risks associated to nanoparticle exposure; participation in the preparation of nomenclature, standards, methodologies, protocols and benchmarks; development of best practice guidelines; voluntary schemes on responsibility; databases of materials, research topics and themes. Findings show that stakeholders and NIN researchers share very similar knowledge needs, and that open communication and free movement of knowledge will benefit both researchers and industry. Consequently NIN will encourage stakeholders to be active members. These survey findings will be used to improve NIN's communication tools to further build on interdisciplinary relationships towards a healthy future with nanotechnology.

Research priorities for nursing care of infants, children and adolescents: a West Australian Delphi study.

This paper describes a study that aimed to identify research priorities for the care of infants, children and adolescents at the sole tertiary referral hospital for children in Western Australia. The secondary aim was to stimulate nurses to explore clinical problems that would require further inquiry. Background. Planning for research is an essential stage of research development; involving clinicians in this exercise is likely to foster research partnerships that are pertinent to clinical practice. Nursing research priorities for the paediatric population have not previously been reported in Australia. Design. Delphi study. Method. Over 12 months in 2005-2006, a three-round questionnaire, using the Delphi technique, was sent to a randomly selected sample of registered nurses. This method was used to identify and prioritise nursing research topics relevant to the patient and the family. Content analysis was used to analyse Round I data and descriptive statistics for Round II and III data. Results. In Round I, 280 statements were identified and reduced to 37 research priorities. Analysis of data in subsequent rounds identified the top two priority research areas as (1) identification of strategies to reduce medication incidents (Mean = 6 center dot 47; SD 0 center dot 88) and (2) improvement in pain assessment and management (Mean = 6; SD 1 center dot 38). Additional comments indicated few nurses access the scientific literature or use research findings because of a lack of time or electronic access. Conclusions. Thirty-seven research priorities were identified. The identification of research priorities by nurses provided research direction for the health service and potentially other similar health institutions for children and adolescents in Australia and internationally. Relevance to clinical practice. The nurse participants showed concern about the safety of care and the well-being of children and their families. This study also enabled the identification of potential collaborative research and development of pain management improvement initiatives.

A Delphi study on National PICU nursing research priorities in Australia and New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence to direct and support nursing practice in the specialty of paediatric intensive care (PIC). The development of national PIC nursing research priorities may facilitate the process of undertaking clinical research and translating evidence into practice. PURPOSE: To (a) identify research priorities for the care of patients and their family as well as for the professional needs of PIC nurses, (b) foster nursing research collaboration, (c) develop a research agenda for PIC nurses. METHODS: Over 13 months in 2007-2008, a three-round questionnaire, using the Delphi technique, was sent to all specialist level registered nurses working in Australian and New Zealand PICUs. This method was used to identify and prioritise nursing research topics. Content analysis was used to analyse Round I data and descriptive statistics for Round II and III data. RESULTS: In Round I, 132 research topics were identified, with 77 research priorities (mdn>6, mean MAD(median) 0.68±0.01) identified in subsequent rounds. The top nine priorities (mean>6 and median>6) included patient issues related to neurological care (n=2), pain/sedation/comfort (n=3), best practice at the end of life (n=1), and ventilation strategies (n=1), as well as two priorities related to professional issues about nurses' stress/burnout and professional development needs. CONCLUSION: The research priorities identified reflect important issues related to critically ill patients and their family as well as to the nurses caring for them. These priorities can be used for the development of a research agenda for PIC nursing in Australia and New Zealand.

Identification of Research Portfolio for the Development of Filtration Equipment

This piece of work which is Identification of Research Portfolio for Development of Filtration Equipment aims at presenting a novel approach to identify promising research topics in the field of design and development of filtration equipment and processes. The projected approach consists of identifying technological problems often encountered in filtration processes. The sources of information for the problem retrieval were patent documents and scientific papers that discussed filtration equipments and processes. The problem identification method adopted in this work focussed on the semantic nature of a sentence in order to generate series of subject-action-object structures. This was achieved with software called Knowledgist. List of problems often encountered in filtration processes that have been mentioned in patent documents and scientific papers were generated. These problems were carefully studied and categorized. Suggestions were made on the various classes of these problems that need further investigation in order to propose a research portfolio. The uses and importance of other methods of information retrieval were also highlighted in this work.

Setting priorities in clinical and health services research: Properties of an adapted and updated method

Objectives: The objectives of this study is to review the set of criteria of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for priority-setting in research with addition of new criteria if necessary, and to develop and evaluate the reliability and validity of the final priority score. Methods: Based on the evaluation of 199 research topics, forty-five experts identified additional criteria for priority-setting, rated their relevance, and ranked and weighted them in a three-round modified Delphi technique. A final priority score was developed and evaluated. Internal consistency, test–retest and inter-rater reliability were assessed. Correlation with experts’ overall qualitative topic ratings were assessed as an approximation to validity. Results: All seven original IOM criteria were considered relevant and two new criteria were added (“potential for translation into practice”, and “need for knowledge”). Final ranks and relative weights differed from those of the original IOM criteria: “research impact on health outcomes” was considered the most important criterion (4.23), as opposed to “burden of disease” (3.92). Cronbach’s alpha (0.75) and test–retest stability (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.66) for the final set of criteria were acceptable. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for overall assessment of priority was 0.66. Conclusions: A reliable instrument for prioritizing topics in clinical and health services research has been developed. Further evaluation of its validity and impact on selecting research topics is required

Identification of research trends in the field of separation processes. Application of epidemiological model, citation analysis, text mining, and technical analysis of the financial markets

Choice of industrial development options and the relevant allocation of the research funds become more and more difficult because of the increasing R&D costs and pressure for shorter development period. Forecast of the research progress is based on the analysis of the publications activity in the field of interest as well as on the dynamics of its change. Moreover, allocation of funds is hindered by exponential growth in the number of publications and patents. Thematic clusters become more and more difficult to identify, and their evolution hard to follow. The existing approaches of research field structuring and identification of its development are very limited. They do not identify the thematic clusters with adequate precision while the identified trends are often ambiguous. Therefore, there is a clear need to develop methods and tools, which are able to identify developing fields of research. The main objective of this Thesis is to develop tools and methods helping in the identification of the promising research topics in the field of separation processes. Two structuring methods as well as three approaches for identification of the development trends have been proposed. The proposed methods have been applied to the analysis of the research on distillation and filtration. The results show that the developed methods are universal and could be used to study of the various fields of research. The identified thematic clusters and the forecasted trends of their development have been confirmed in almost all tested cases. It proves the universality of the proposed methods. The results allow for identification of the fast-growing scientific fields as well as the topics characterized by stagnant or diminishing research activity.

Nano Electronics and Computer Science Research Group

This is the website for the Nano Research group based at the University of Southampton ECS department, and details current research topics and the people connected with these. It shows some of the current research topics undertaken at the center, and gives an outline of what can be done for post graduate courses.

The avatars of housing in Latin American urban and regional research (1990-2012)

The review of the terms used as keywords in three journals (published in Mexico and Chile) and the Brazilian meetings of regional and urban research are used to analyze the trends in housing research. Their dynamics are interpreted in the light of the general changes identified for urban and regional  research, synthesized by other authors as the emergence of new research topics and agents of urban change (civil society, participation, environment, gender) and the process of globalization (in its facets  of productive restructuration, job flexibility, social exclusion) as a general framework of analysis. It is found that the central themes of research in housing relate primarily to government action in  housing. New concerns, such as citizen participation, the environment or gender are linked to these actions as normative elements to the evaluation of programs or policies, but not as autonomous fields of study of the housing.In addition to this central concern, a significant growth of academic  production and  ome indication of the internationalization of research are mentioned

A Retrospective View of Software Maintenance and Reengineering Research.

As a summary of past, current, and future trends in software maintenance and reengineering research, we give in this editorial a retrospective look from the past 14 years to now. We provide insight on how software maintenance has evolved and on the most important research topics presented in the series of the European Conference on Software Maintenance and Reengineering.

The empirical basis of substance use disorders diagnosis: research recommendations for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)

Aims This paper presents the recommendations, developed from a 3-year consultation process, for a program of research to underpin the development of diagnostic concepts and criteria in the Substance Use Disorders section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and potentially the relevant section of the next revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Methods A preliminary list of research topics was developed at the DSM-V Launch Conference in 2004. This led to the presentation of articles on these topics at a specific Substance Use Disorders Conference in February 2005, at the end of which a preliminary list of research questions was developed. This was further refined through an iterative process involving conference participants over the following year. Results Research questions have been placed into four categories: (1) questions that could be addressed immediately through secondary analyses of existing data sets; (2) items likely to require position papers to propose criteria or more focused questions with a view to subsequent analyses of existing data sets; (3) issues that could be proposed for literature reviews, but with a lower probability that these might progress to a data analytic phase; and (4) suggestions or comments that might not require immediate action, but that could be considered by the DSM-V and ICD 11 revision committees as part of their deliberations. Conclusions A broadly based research agenda for the development of diagnostic concepts and criteria for substance use disorders is presented.

Searches and content of the OTseeker database: Informing research priorities

BACKGROUND. A strategic and prioritized approach to occupational therapy research is needed, particularly given the limited research funding available. Comparing occupational therapists' information needs with the research evidence available can potentially inform research debate within the profession. This study aimed to identify research topics most often sought by users of the OTseeker database and to compare these with the quantity of topics available in the database. METHOD. A random sample of keyword search terms submitted to OTseeker (n = 4,500) was coded according to diagnostic and intervention categories, and compared with the amount of research contained in OTseeker in 2004. RESULTS. Most frequently sought topics were relevant to the diagnostic categories of pediatric conditions (19%), neurology and neuromuscular disorders (17%), and mental health (17%). Most frequently sought intervention topics included modes of service delivery, sensory interventions, and physical modalities. Although many frequently sought topics had a correspondingly high volume of research in OTseeker, a few areas had very little content (e.g., fine motor skill acquisition, autistic spectrum disorder). This information is offered to inform discussions about research priorities and resource allocation for research within occupational therapy.

The development of a research agenda for substance use disorders diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)

Aims paper describes the background to the establishment of the Substance Use Disorders Workgroup, which was charged with developing the research agenda for the development of the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It summarizes 18 articles that were commissioned to inform that process. Methods A preliminary list of research topics, developed at the DSM-V Launch Conference in 2004, led to the identification of subjects that were subject to formal presentations and detailed discussion at the Substance Use Disorders Conference in February 2005. Results The 18 articles presented in this supplement examine: (1) categorical versus dimensional diagnoses; (2) the neurobiological basis of substance use disorders; (3) social and cultural perspectives; (4) the crosswalk between DSM-IV and the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10); (5) comorbidity of substance use disorders and mental health disorders; (6) subtypes of disorders; (7) issues in adolescence; (8) substance-specific criteria; (9) the place of non-substance addictive disorders; and (10) the available research resources. Conclusions In the final paper a broadly based research agenda for the development of diagnostic concepts and criteria for substance use disorders is presented.

Developing interdisciplinary research graduates: educational opportunities and dilemmas

Attempting to solve the complex problems of the 21st century requires research graduates that have developed a sophisticated array of interdisciplinary teamwork and communication skills. Although universities, governments, industry and the professions have emphasised the need to break down disciplinary silos in order to produce graduates, who can respond more effectively to the needs of the knowledge economy, much of this work has centred on undergraduate programs. While there are some research higher degree students who choose to work on interdisciplinary research topics, very little has been done to develop interdisciplinary research education systematically. This paper explores the educational opportunities and dilemmas involved in developing systematic programs of interdisciplinary research activities in two research centres at the University of Queensland. Framed by Bruhn's (2000, p. 58) theoretical discourse about interdisciplinary research as 'a philosophy, an art form, an artifact, and an antidote', this paper emphasises the need for such programs to embed the development of students' interdisciplinary research skills and attitudes within their research projects. The two diverse programs also emphasise experiential, active and interactive learning techniques and are centred upon the development of students' reflective practice skills.