The Asia-Pacific region has had decades of progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths. The region is now accelerating its efforts towards malaria elimination by 2030 using a science-based approach by applying evidence-based best practices alongside existing tools. However, there are concerns of knowledge gaps and external factors challenging this goal. The COVID-19 pandemic served as reminder of the need for a holistic approach. This report summarizes the outcomes of the discussions from the \"Asia Pacific Conference on Mosquito and Vector Control\" held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 27 to 30 November, 2023. The conference aims to provide insights into recent research, cutting-edge tools, and the strength of the Asia-Pacific regional mosquito and vector control capacity post-COVID-19 pandemic era. The conference featured discussions on mosquito surveillance, monitoring and control; enabling the resolution of local problems with local expertise and forging new partnerships; and exploring recent research advancements in vector control strategies. More than 500 experts from 55 countries attended.

Although youth-adult partnerships (Y-APs) have been linked to a wide range of positive youth and community outcomes, the possibility of Y-AP occurrence in spaces of racialized social control such as youth residential facilities remains unknown. Rooted in a social justice and rights-based ethos, Y-APs represent an innovative conceptual and practice model of youth engagement that challenges longstanding patterns of control that characterize adult-youth relationships in these settings. This study uses narrative thematic inquiry and counter storytelling to examine frontline youth care workers\' narratives (N = 21) of Y-AP enactment against the backdrop of anti-Black racism in youth residential facilities. Workers\' narratives include instances of both enhanced and diminished forms of partnership, and explanations for Y-AP diminishment depict an interplay of racist (anti-Black) ideologies and organizational processes, including selective racial cognizance in hiring practices, color-evasive and elitist training, and racialized blame-shifting. Importantly, workers\' narratives suggest that although flourishing Y-APs remain elusive, it is not a foregone conclusion that Y-APs cannot occur to realize youth development and social change in these extreme contexts.

BACKGROUND: Participatory research has gained traction as an approach to unlock perspectives when creating scientific knowledge and to facilitate societal changes. By conducting research with people, participatory research strives to engage individuals\' perspectives in designing, conducting, and disseminating the research. Nevertheless, few studies have unpacked how understandings of the studied phenomenon are shaped among diverse research partners and, concurrently, how different perspectives are combined. Nested within an overall participatory mixed methods study on aging with multiple sclerosis (MS), this qualitative study explores how understandings of aging with MS are shaped in encounters between university researchers, older adults with MS, and employees in a patient association.
METHODS: The study was collaboratively conducted in Denmark by three research partners: a group of older adults with MS, employees in a patient association, and university researchers. Data on how different understandings of aging with MS were represented and shaped during the three-year research process was generated through field notes, meeting minutes, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. The collected data was analyzed through a thematic network analysis.
RESULTS: The study demonstrates how different understandings of aging with MS were represented among the research partners when the research was initiated. These understandings were shaped prior to -and, therefore, outside-the research setting, drawing from the research participants\' lived experiences, professional backgrounds, and organizational cultures or situated in larger societal narratives. Through a process centered on reflexivity among the engaged research partners, the understandings of what it means to age with MS was shaped and re-shaped and eventually merged into a more dynamic understanding of later life with MS where different perspectives could co-exist.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that research partners, including older adults with MS and employees from a patient association, brought diverse understandings to the study. Reflexive practices enabled these perspectives to co-exist, enhancing engagement and transparency, and fostering a dynamic understanding of later life with MS. This highlights the value of reflexivity in evolving complex understandings within participatory research.
In recent years, participatory research has been increasingly utilized in various research fields (e.g., aging research) with the ambition of engaging a diverse group of research partners to leverage their perspectives and contributions. This approach aims to form a more nuanced understanding of the studied phenomenon and to identify insights useful for practice However, working in diverse research teams have also been found to be complex, and it is poorly understood how the perceptions of the different research partners shape the final research product. Based on a study conducted in collaboration with employees in a patient association, older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), and university researchers, the present study aims to unfold how perspectives of aging with MS are represented and shaped doing a participatory research period. It occurred over a three-year period where data was collected through field notes, meeting minutes, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. The findings highlight how research partners represent different understandings of the studied phenomenon, which is embedded in their social, cultural, and professional background and which potentially influence their expectations of and contributions to the research process. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how engaging in a critical dialogue about expectations and understanding of the studied phenomenon can provide insight into which perceptions are represented, making the participatory research process more transparent. Lastly, the study conveys how such critical dialogue facilitates understandings and perspectives evolving during the research process into a potentially more dynamic understanding of the studied phenomenon.

Third-sector organizations (TSOs) are recognized for having a unique and essential role in designing and delivering community-centred, sustainable health and well-being services. A World Café workshop at the 2023 International Conference on Integrated Care to explore perspectives on the questions explored the question: How do we characterize the role of the Third Sector in Integrated Care Systems? Are they Partners, Service Providers, Both or Neither? Attendees from Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands shared perspectives regarding facilitators and barriers to engaging TSOs in integrated care systems, drawing on experiences and practices from their communities and health systems. Building from participant perspectives, we posit that while cross-sectoral alliances between government and voluntary organizations are possible, and this engagement can contribute substantial health-promoting value to society, much work remains to be done. Meaningful collaboration requires attitudinal shifts, new working methods, rebalancing power within the relationships, and sufficient resources to support the collaboration. Creative approaches to facilitating positive engagement of TSOs within integrated care systems can address long-standing barriers and misunderstandings. Sharing and learning through research, evaluations, and networks is essential to achieve integrated care systems based on trust and committed collaboration.

The scientific and ethical issues associated with the use of animal-derived antibodies in research can be overcome by the use of animal-free, sequence-defined recombinant antibodies, whose benefits are well documented. Here, we describe progress made following a 2019 expert meeting focused on improving the quality and reproducibility of biomedical research by accelerating the production and use of animal-free recombinant antibodies in the USA. In the five intervening years since the meeting, participants have established multifaceted initiatives to tackle the next steps outlined during the meeting. These initiatives include: prioritising the replacement of ascites-derived and polyclonal antibodies; distributing educational materials describing recombinant antibodies; fostering public-private partnerships to increase access to recombinant antibodies; and increasing the availability of funding for recombinant antibody development. Given the widescale use of antibodies across scientific disciplines, a transition to modern antibody production methods relies on a commitment from government agencies, universities, industry and funding organisations, to initiatives such as those outlined here.

Introduction: Integrating genetic data into conservation management decisions is a challenging task that requires strong partnerships between researchers and managers. Conservation in Latin America is of crucial relevance worldwide given the high biodiversity levels and the presence of hotspots in this region. Methods: We conducted a survey across Latin America to identify gaps and opportunities between genetic researchers and conservation managers. We aimed to better understand conservation managers\' points of view and how genetic research could help conservation practitioners to achieve their goals, by implementing genetic assessments that could effectively inform conservation practices. We distributed an online survey via four regional collaborating organizations and 32 focal points based in 20 Latin American countries. The target respondents were conservation managers of species or areas in Latin America. Results: We collected a total of 468 answered questionnaires from 21 Latin American countries. Most respondents (44%) were from an academic or research institution while non-academics were mainly from non-governmental institutions (30%) and government agencies (25%). Most respondents (65%) have performed or used genetic assessments in their managed area or species, either alone, in partnership, contracting someone else or using published results. For the majority of this group, the genetic results were relevant to their conservation management goals, helping to inform management decisions. Respondents that had not performed genetic assessments (35%) were mainly from the non-academic group, and their main barriers were limited access to funds, genetic lab facilities, and trained personnel to design studies and conduct lab work. Discussion: From the findings, we describe the current situation and provide a general diagnosis of the conservation-genetics gap in Latin America. We describe the gender gap, academic-practitioner co-development of conservation questions and projects, and the nationality and residency of Latin American conservation managers in relation to the countries where they work. We discuss opportunities to co-create research questions and co-develop studies based on conservation practitioners\' needs. We offer recommendations for overcoming barriers to integrate genetic information into conservation actions, and advance agendas that fit the needs and realities of the highly heterogeneous, biodiverse and challenging Latin American region.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy has long emphasized the value of strategic engagement, recognizing that it is critical to the success of pharmacy education, contributing to the expansion of pharmacy and public health practice, the fulfillment of institutional missions, and the meeting of programmatic needs. The 2023-2024 Strategic Engagement Committee was charged with operationalizing advocacy champions, creating an advocacy resource guide to support advocacy champions in their engagement with diverse public and private stakeholders, offering formal training to advocacy champions in the form of a new connect community and webinar series, and conducting focus groups at the 2024 Annual Meeting to determine strengths of the advocacy guide and opportunities to support advocacy champions further.

Recent demographic changes in Western countries have resulted in higher rates of partnership dissolution and serial partnering, and an increase in childbearing across multiple partnerships. This has given rise to more complex family dynamics including multi-partner fertility (MPF), defined as having biological children with two or more partners. Yet estimates of MPF in the UK have not previously been available. This paper describes an \'indirect approach\' to estimate the prevalence of MPF in the UK, for men and women, given different assumptions. The paper additionally explores differences in MPF according to own and parental educational attainment. Amongst those born in Britain in 1970, 12-14% of men and 15-18% of women experienced MPF by age 42, depending on the assumptions made. For most of the cohort, MPF occurred with two different coresidential partners. We have established that MPF is a common family formation in the UK, but there are large educational disparities in MPF prevalence.

Living-apart-together (LAT) partnerships are gaining prominence in many high-income societies, prompting ongoing discussions about their significance and their role in the family formation process. This study provides a contemporary update on LAT relationships in Spain, with a specific emphasis on variations across different life stages. The study focuses on several key aspects: (1) recent trends in the prevalence of LAT relationships, (2) socio-demographic factors associated with being in a LAT relationship, (3) joint influence of both partners\' characteristics, and (4) short-term intentions to co-reside. Using data from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey, we employ logistic regression models to analyze the factors influencing individuals\' likelihood of being in a LAT relationship as opposed to a co-residential partnership. Our findings reveal a noticeable rise in LAT partnerships in Spain over the past two decades, except among the youngest age group. Personal motivations and socially attributed meanings of LAT relationships, however, differ depending on an individual\'s life stage. Among young adults, LAT partnerships largely serve as a transitional phase in the family formation process, preceding co-residence with a partner. In this early adulthood stage, unemployment and temporary work contracts - affecting any of the partners - often hinder household formation, but intentions to co-reside in the near future remain strong. In contrast, LAT partnerships in the mid-life stage often stem from a desire to maintain personal independence and are frequently linked to prior partnership and reproductive biographies.

Effective partnerships can profoundly impact outcomes for youth with behavioral health concerns. Partnerships occur at multiple levels - at the individual, organizational, state, and national levels. The Systems of Care (SOC) framework helps to conceptualize and articulate the skills necessary for forming partnerships in youth\'s mental health. This article explores values in the SOC framework and makes the case that the framework can help develop a \"road map\" to develop the skills needed to achieve successful partnerships. Impediments to effective partnerships are also discussed. Several case examples are given to illustrate the principles and impediments to partnership formation.