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An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including how issues such as trust in government shape responses to contact tracing, the policy responses to COVID-19 that have exacerbated social divisions and undermined social justice and the ethnic inequalities in exposure to risk among health works in the British National Health Service (NHS).

Determine the inhibition mechanism through which cyclosporine inhibits the uptake and metabolism of atorvastatin in fresh rat hepatocytes using mechanistic models applied to data generated using a high throughput oil spin method. Atorvastatin was incubated in fresh rat hepatocytes (0.05–150 nmol/ml) with or without 20 min pre-incubation with 10 nmol/ml cyclosporine and sampled over 0.25–60 min using a high throughput oil spin method. Micro-rate constant and macro-rate constant mechanistic models were ranked based on goodness of fit values. The best fitting model to the data was a micro-rate constant mechanistic model including non-competitive inhibition of uptake and competitive inhibition of metabolism by cyclosporine (Model 2). The association rate constant for atorvastatin was 150-fold greater than the dissociation rate constant and 10-fold greater than the translocation into the cell. The association and dissociation rate constants for cyclosporine were 7-fold smaller and 10-fold greater, respectively, than atorvastatin. The simulated atorvastatin-transporter-cyclosporine complex derived using the micro-rate constant parameter estimates increased in line with the incubation concentration of atorvastatin. The increased amount of data generated with the high throughput oil spin method, combined with a micro-rate constant mechanistic model helps to explain the inhibition of uptake by cyclosporine following pre-incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The articles in this collection encourage reflection about the importance of research for the management of common-pool resources. This article builds on the contributions of the authors, and of other researchers supported by the International Development Research Centre and working in similar contexts in the South, to highlight some key issues that are of practical relevance to those concerned about common-pool resources and the people who depend upon them. It also highlights further contributions that researchers should be encouraged to make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaling-up local innovations in natural resource management (NRM) involves learning that is centred around three themes: promoting local-level innovation, understanding why local innovations work in specific contexts, and reflecting on their relevance in other geographical and social contexts. Successful scaling-up depends in part upon the relationships among multiple stakeholders at different levels around this learning. The experiences of researchers supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) provide insights into four questions: What is scaling-up? Why scale-up? What to scale-up? and How to scale-up? The authors propose that scaling-up is a multi-stakeholder process consisting of five components including: framing the context, promoting participation, fostering learning, strengthening institutions, and disseminating successful experiences. Key bottlenecks to scaling-up are the absence of open communication and the mutual recognition among stakeholders of each other's rights, responsibilities, and roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the boundaries between scientific fact and science fiction based from the study conducted in Great Britain. Influence of science fiction on public perception towards biomedical sciences; Comparison among the interpretations of scientists, teachers and students on science; Distinction between lay versus scientific or expert knowledge.