Cartoon 1: Preventing biological weapons - page 1 (2017) (in Russian)

This is the first cartoon (of 2) within project "Informing Policymakers of the Progress in Strengthening the Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation Regime"

Cartoon 1: Preventing biological weapons - page 1 (2017) (in Japanese)

This is the first cartoon (of 2) within project "Informing Policymakers of the Progress in Strengthening the Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation Regime"

Retention in second year computing students in a London-based university during the post-Covid-19 era using learned optimism as a lens: a statistical analysis in R

The aim of the current research project is to investigate the low retention rate in second year undergraduate computing students at a London based university. The research is conducted during the post-Covid-19 era using learned optimism as a lens. The main aim is to support the university’s efforts to improve retention rate as the overall dropout has been increasing in the last few years. The research methodology employed was an exploratory investigation approach by using statistical modelling analysis in R to predict behavioural patterns. The study aimed to discover any effect the CODE-It initiative had on student grades and optimism scores, to quantify its success as an initiative. The main outcome of the data analysis is that the CODE-It initiative positively affected student optimism score, especially black ethnicity students. Furthermore, a slight increase in the least optimistic students was observed. Returning to in person interaction with classmates and lecturers could be a major factor in reducing the minimum score compared to the previous year’s study (2021). However, there is still a very real post pandemic effect being experienced by many students, especially around matters of hardship and finance. Finally, for those students who did attend CODE-It, 85% showed that they felt it was a worthwhile exercise. Specifically, black ethnicity students had a higher proportion of attendance and were no longer the student ethnicity group with the lowest optimism score

Calling time on responsible drinking: a qualitative study of perceptions of information on alcohol product labels

Objectives: This study aimed to explore (a) how people interpret responsible drinking messages on alcohol product labels, and (b) the acceptability of including health information on labels. Design: Qualitative interviews. Methods: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 people aged 21–63; 18 were classified risky drinkers using AUDIT-C. They were shown three sets of alcohol product labels: one including three responsible drinking messages (drink responsibly), one with three positively worded health messages (drinking less reduces risks) and one with three negatively worded health messages (drinking more increases risks). Health messages included information about cancer, liver and heart disease. Results: Thematic analysis identified three themes: ambiguity about alcohol labelling; identifying oneself as responsible; and acceptability of enhanced product labelling. Participants were critical of responsible drinking messages and wary of conflicting health information in the media. They positioned themselves as responsible, knowledgeable drinkers and distanced themselves from problem drinkers. They did not appear to support the inclusion of health information on labels; however, novel information was considered more impactful. Conclusions: Responsible drinking messages were seen by our sample as an alcohol industry ploy. Although health messages about cancer were seen as potentially impactful, the ability of consumers to position themselves as unproblematic drinkers means that they may not see the information

Anger management: the essential guide

It is estimated that one in five of us has a problem controlling our anger on a regular basis- but recognising an anger management problem in either ourselves or a loved one can be difficult. With the right information and support you can get help. This practical and informative guide will show you how to recognise your anger triggers, how to look for patterns in your behaviour and how to use tried and tested methods for managing your anger What is anger -- Why anger gets out of control -- Learning you anger triggers -- Deeper reasons behind anger -- Toxic and chronic anger -- Anger and relationships -- Managing your anger -- Getting professional help -- Cleansing out your life -- Staying on trac

Effect of pH, ionic strength and agitation rate on dissolution behaviour of 3D-printed tablets, tablets prepared from ground hot-melt extruded filaments and physical mixtures

With the current focus on 3D-printing technologies, it is essential to understand the processes involved in such printing methods and approaches to minimize the variability in dissolution behaviour to achieve better quality control outcomes. For this purpose, two formulations of theophylline tablets were prepared using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and ethyl cellulose (EC). Among the two types of tablets, three different methods (physical mixture (PM), hot-melt extrusion (HME) and 3D-printing fused deposition modelling (FDM)) were applied and their dissolution behaviours were studied under various conditions using a biodissolution tester. This was carried out at pH values of 1.2, 2.2, 5.8, 6.8, 7.2 and 7.5, mimicking the medium in the gastrointestinal tract. Dissolution tests under two dipping rates (10 dpm and 20 dpm) and two ionic strengths (0.2 M and 0.4 M) were conducted to mimic fed and fasting conditions. The dissolution efficiency (DE%), release rate, similarity factor (f2) and difference factor (f1) were calculated. When comparing the DE%, the formulation containing EC showed less sensitivity to changes in the dipping rate and ionic strength compared to the HPC formulation. As for the manufacturing method, 3D-printing FDM could improve the robustness of the dissolution behaviour of both formulations to dipping rate changes. However, for ionic strength changes, the effect of the manufacturing method was dependent on the formulation composition. For example, the 3D-printed tablets of the HPC formulation were more sensitive to changes in ionic strength compared to the EC-containing formulation. The release mechanism also changed after the thermal process, where n values in the Korsmeyer–Peppas model were much higher in the printing and HME methods compared to the PM. Based on the formulation composition, the 3D-printing method could be a good candidate method for tablets with a robust dissolution behaviour in the GI tract. Compared to HPC polymers, using hydrophobic EC polymers in printable formulations can result in a more robust dissolution behaviour in fed and fasting states

Key issues in the implementation of the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines for codes of conduct for scientists: a survey of biosecurity education projects

In order to effectively implement the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines in codes of conduct for life scientists, biosecurity awareness-raising and education are essential because if these are not in place scientists will not understand the need for biosecurity codes of conduct. In an effort to assist in the consideration of the implementation of the guidelines a small-scale survey was carried out in early 2022 of biosecurity awareness-raising and education projects that have been developed over the last two decades with a view to discovering what resources and experience has been accumulated. It is argued that the survey demonstrates that much of what is needed to effectively implement the guidelines has been developed, but that there are specific deficiencies that need to be remedied quickly. In particular, an updated teaching resource covering the core issues related to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the problem of dual use in scientific research needs to be made widely available and translated into at least the six official UN languages. Additionally, more specialists from the Humanities with expertise in ethics need to become involved in biosecurity awareness-raising and education activities, and while advantage should be taken now of the available national, regional and international networks of people involved in related activities, it is suggested that in the longer term cooperation in biosecurity awareness-raising and education will benefit from the development of an equivalent organisation to the International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) organised through the IAEA

Navigating an invisible labyrinth: the effect of involuntary bogus self-employment on female Greek-Cypriot educators’ job satisfaction and subjective well-being

The aim of this empirical study is to understand the impact of involuntary false self-employment on female educators’ job satisfaction and well-being in the public educational sector in Cyprus and unravel the barriers that mothers with school age children still face. Through an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, data will be collected from 43 respondents. Drawing on the work and family conflict theory, this study reports that female educators still resort to bogus self-employment as the only means to support their families. Preliminary descriptive statistics and thematic analysis reveal that involuntary bogus self-employment has negatively impacted these women’s health, family life and career prospects. 65% of the participants stated that they suffered from mental health issues and 59% reported their dissatisfaction with their life overall. Implications of the findings are discussed to unveil the gendered challenges that women with caregiving responsibilities still face in the workplace due to insufficient childcare and caregiving support

Inventing new support systems: George Fereday

George Fereday is an associate teaching professor at the School of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University. He was one of the participants in the Field Notes summer school, organised collaboratively between V&A’s Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures programme and Sylva Foundation. Fereday’s research interests are focused on material innovation for the built environment and the use of natural materials in construction. He has recently written a paper on the challenges and opportunities of using locally grown and coppiced sweet chestnut within the UK construction industry. Some of this research was put into practice during the Field Notes summer school, and in this post Fereday explores the material story behind his piece Beam = Tree, a construction beam that he made as part of the project. (A blog article for the V&A museum on the making of the Field Notes exhibition