Chitosan Sponge Microbead Delivery Composite for External Stimuli Responsive Local Drug Delivery

Orthopedic wound infections from complex trauma are a prevalent problem. Systemic delivery of antibiotics may result in sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotic in the wound site due to avascular nature of these injuries and can lead to development of antibiotic resistant infections. Local antibiotic delivery can overcome this shortcoming of systemic therapy. A customizable bio-polymer that can be loaded with antibiotics and be stimulated to release a drug on demand may provide an improved adjunct clinical therapy for preventing/treating infections in complex trauma injuries. The aim of this study is to incorporate iron oxide laden chitosan microbeads into the chitosan sponge to create a local delivery composite that is responsive to externally applied electromagnetic stimulation. Composites were evaluated for degradation, antibiotic and representative protein elution, antibiotic activity, and biocompatibility. When excited with ultrasound, the composite has a higher burst release of a loaded drug followed by less of a sustained release. Magnetic pulse stimulation increases the release of loaded vancomycin at 3 and 6 hours of elution but seems to decrease the release of loaded amikacin through 48 hours of elution. Vancomycin and amikacin eluted from the composites was active against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa respectively through 48 hours of elution. These results indicate that the addition of iron oxide containing chitosan microbeads to the chitosan sponge has potential as a tailorable adjunctive therapy for infection control

Charting a course for genetic diversity in the UN Decade of Ocean Science

The health of the world's oceans is intrinsically linked to the biodiversity of the ecosystems they sustain. The importance of protecting and maintaining ocean biodiversity has been affirmed through the setting of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 to conserve and sustainably use the ocean for society's continuing needs. The decade beginning 2021-2030 has additionally been declared as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This program aims to maximize the benefits of ocean science to the management, conservation, and sustainable development of the marine environment by facilitating communication and cooperation at the science-policy interface. A central principle of the program is the conservation of species and ecosystem components of biodiversity. However, a significant omission from the draft version of the Decade of Ocean Science Implementation Plan is the acknowledgment of the importance of monitoring and maintaining genetic biodiversity within species. In this paper, we emphasize the importance of genetic diversity to adaptive capacity, evolutionary potential, community function, and resilience within populations, as well as highlighting some of the major threats to genetic diversity in the marine environment from direct human impacts and the effects of global climate change. We then highlight the significance of ocean genetic diversity to a diverse range of socioeconomic factors in the marine environment, including marine industries, welfare and leisure pursuits, coastal communities, and wider society. Genetic biodiversity in the ocean, and its monitoring and maintenance, is then discussed with respect to its integral role in the successful realization of the 2030 vision for the Decade of Ocean Science. Finally, we suggest how ocean genetic diversity might be better integrated into biodiversity management practices through the continued interaction between environmental managers and scientists, as well as through key leverage points in industry requirements for Blue Capital financing and social responsibility.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

The digital education revolution: New South Wales science teachers\u27 response to laptop ubiquity

Since the introduction of laptop computers across Australia for all Year 9 students, teachers have sought to make meaningful use of the learning potential represented by the introduction. This study uses a lens of cultural historical activity theory to explore how teachers have responded to the ubiquitous presence of student laptop computers during the initial implementation. This paper reports a one-year case study of two highly qualified and experienced high school science teachers that considers their efforts to implement laptop computers in Year 9 and Year 10 science classes. The study shows that these teachers are committed to developing and delivering technology-rich lessons and furthering the learning potential represented by the computers in terms of engaging “21st century learners.” There are, however, several tensions and contradictions that represent significant barriers to developing the learning potential and teachers’ continued engagement with this activity system. These include: 1) classroom and school connectivity along with computer durability and availability for classroom activity; 2) student reluctance to engage with the computers as a learning tool amid generally low levels of cognitive engagement; and, 3) unanticipated changes to classroom management due to the laptop introduction. Now, more than two years into the introduction of laptop computers, teachers are still very much in a transition period from “before laptops” to “after laptops.

Science teachers\u27 response to the Digital Education Revolution

We report a case study of two highly qualified science teachers as they implemented laptop computers in their Years 9 and 10 science classes at the beginning of the \u27Digital Education Revolution,\u27 Australia\u27s national one-to-one laptop program initiated in 2009. When a large-scale investment is made in a significant educational change, it is important to consider teachers perspectives and responses to such change and we draw from sociocultural perspectives for our analysis. Through interviews and classroom observations, our interpretive analysis identified four key tensions and contradictions. These include the following: (1) barriers to innovative science teaching; (2) maintaining classroom and school connectivity; (3) teacher versus student expectations; and (4) changes to classroom management. Analysis leads to implications for the future of this and similar programs. The study shows that while these two teachers were committed to developing and delivering technology-rich science lessons, there were many factors that challenge how the implementation progressed. The findings from this study have implications for the continued engagement of teachers in this and other jurisdictions considering the introduction of one-to-one laptop programs