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The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project's technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP's Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not-and cannot-provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP's work.

Background: There is a growing recognition that staff attitudes toward coercion in mental health care may influence its application. This study presents the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Staff Attitudes towards Coercion Scale (SACS) and describes mental health professionals' attitudes towards coercion in Portugal. Methods: Mental health professionals working in five Portuguese mental health services in urban and rural regions of Portugal were invited to complete a questionnaire comprising the SACS and a socio-demographic form. Psychometric analyses including construct validity and internal consistency were carried out using R software. Results: A total of 91 out of 119 questionnaires completed were valid for analysis. Fifty-seven (62.64%) respondents were female, with an age range of 24 to 69 years (M = 39.33; SD = 11.09). More than half of them were nurses (52.75%, n = 48), and a third were psychiatrists (36.26%, n = 33). A three-factor structure was confirmed and showed the best fit compared to previously proposed models with a cumulative explained variance of 59%. The Portuguese SACS exhibited adequate internal consistency for both the full-scale and subscales. The highest mean score was in the pragmatic attitude domain (20.60; SD = 3.37). A negative correlation was observed between the critical attitude domain and both age and years of experience (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A three-factor structure was confirmed and showed the best fit compared to previously proposed models. The Portuguese SACS showed excellent psychometric properties and is acceptable for assessing staff attitudes towards coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around eight-out-of-ten survivors of domestic violence in Lithuania are women, and of those, eight-out-of-ten suffer violence specifically from their intimate partners (IPV). Women who experience IPV are at higher risk of having mental health conditions. This study aims to explore the perspectives of mental health and social care professionals regarding the provision of mental health support to IPV survivors in Lithuania. Four focus groups were conducted among 29 service providers from across the country. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using MAXQDA software. The five main themes derived from the analysis reveal: 1) low levels of IPV awareness among IPV survivors who seek support with their mental health; 2) a lack of specialized training among professionals as a barrier to effective support; 3) a low prioritization on the national level; 4) little inter-sectoral collaboration which undermines the complexity of needed responses; 5) broader systemic problems. The provision of mental health support to IPV survivors lacks the recognition that IPV is gender-based violence and a major public (mental) health problem. The complexity of needed services is absent. Further research needs to explore the utilization of mental health services by IPV survivors and their perceptions concerning it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous solid phases can be represented by shallow basins in the potential energy hypersurface. Glasses formed by substances with prolific crystal polymorphism, such as nateglinide, an anti-diabetes drug, are susceptible to greater kinetical instability. Their energy landscape is characterized by deep pits in an accessible range, into which the supramolecular configuration can fall, when the amorphous solid relaxes to some crystalline polymorph. Alternative co-amorphization strategies are explored in this work to overcome the crystallization of nateglinide amorphous phases, namely by comparing two synthetic approaches, cryo-milling and quench-cooling, for a dual-drug system in combination with ranolazine. An alternative co-former, the essential amino-acid tryptophan, was also used for the synthesis of a cryo-milled nateglinide co-amorphous system. Enhanced kinetical stability for up to 8 months is achieved with both multicomponent systems. Their physico-chemical characterization in 3 molar ratios is accompanied by the study of their relaxation processes by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Despite the higher glass transition temperatures obtained for the cryo-milled co-amorphous system with tryptophan, the co-amorphous salt system with ranolazine was found to have higher kinetical stability upon heating or ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Lithuania has one of the highest averages in the European Union when it comes to psychological and/or economic intimate partner violence (PE-IPV). IPV survivors are several times more likely to have mental health conditions than those without IPV experiences. The aim of this article is to study the prevalence, characteristics and attitudes of PE-IPV survivors in Lithuania, and the predictors of them accessing mental health services. Methods A cross-sectional study based on a national survey representative of the adult population. The survey was implemented by a third-party independent market research company employing an online survey panel. Logistic regression models were used in the analysis. Results Almost 50% of women in Lithuania experience PE-IPV. Females are significantly more likely to experience it than males. The vast majority of women find PE-IPV unacceptable; however, only one-third of survivors seek any type of help. Only one-tenth approach mental health services, with divorcees being at higher odds of doing so. Conclusions Further research is needed to explore predictors and contextual factors of why IPV survivors seek mental healthcare, or not. Policy implications include the need to eliminate IPV and mental health stigma; develop accessible mental health services and effective treatment approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]