Ordered Clusters and Dynamical States of Particles in a Vibrated Fluid

Reports the discovery and explanation of ordered arrangements of particles that are immersed in a fluid. When they move with respect to the fluid, dynamical forces arise that are mediated by the fluid. These forces lead to self-assembly of structures. --author-supplied descriptio

Reinforcement of refined and semi-refined carrageenan film with nanocellulose

Carrageenans obtained from seaweeds can be processed into films for a range of applications including food packaging. The level of carrageenan refinement during extraction can influence the key properties, with semi-refined carrageenan (SRC) containing more impurities than the more refined carrageenan (RC). Further refinement steps, however, result in higher costs associated with the production of RC. In order to obtain a lower cost and more ecofriendly, bio-based material for food packaging applications, SRC was used in this investigation to produce a thin film reinforced with nanocellulose fibrils (NCF). Films derived from RC containing NCF were also investigated with water sensitivity and physico-mechanical and thermal properties among the properties tested. Levels of NCF were varied from 1% to 7% (w/w), and in general, the NCF reinforcement improved the overall properties of both the SRC and RC films, including the water sensitivity and moisture barrier. However, NCF inclusion in SRC film was less effective with regard to the mechanical and thermal properties compared with NCF inclusion in RC film. The enhancement in properties was attributed to the greater cohesiveness of the reinforced polymer structure and the crystalline regions formed in the structures of SRC and RC films by NCF incorporation

The inflammation in the cytopathology of patients with mucopolysaccharidoses : immunomodulatory drugs as an approach to therapy

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are a group of lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), characterized by the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). GAG storageinduced inflammatory processes are a driver of cytopathology in MPS and pharmacological immunomodulation can bring improvements in brain, cartilage and bone pathology in rodent models. This manuscript reviews current knowledge with regard to inflammation in MPS patients and provides hypotheses for the therapeutic use of immunomodulators in MPS. Thus, we aim to set the foundation for a rational repurposing of the discussed molecules to minimize the clinical unmet needs still remaining despite enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)

A Real-Time Screening Alert Improves Patient Recruitment Efficiency

The scarcity of cost-effective patient identification methods represents a significant barrier to clinical research. Research recruitment alerts have been designed to facilitate physician referrals but limited support is available to clinical researchers. We conducted a retrospective data analysis to evaluate the efficacy of a real-time patient identification alert delivered to clinical research coordinators recruiting for a clinical prospective cohort study. Data from log analysis and informal interviews with coordinators were triangulated. Over a 12-month period, 11,295 were screened electronically, 1,449 were interviewed, and 282 were enrolled. The enrollment rates for the alert and two other conventional methods were 4.65%, 2.01%, and 1.34% respectively. A taxonomy of eligibility status was proposed to precisely categorize research patients. Practical ineligibility factors were identified and their correlation with age and gender were analyzed. We conclude that the automatic prescreening alert improves screening efficiency and is an effective aid to clinical research coordinators

Growing Environmental Activists: Developing Environmental Agency and Engagement Through Children’s Fiction.

We explore how story has the potential to encourage environmental engagement and a sense of agency provided that critical discussion takes place. We illuminate this with reference to the philosophies of John Macmurray on personal agency and social relations; of John Dewey on the primacy of experience for philosophy; and of Paul Ricoeur on hermeneutics, dialogue, dialectics and narrative. We view the use of fiction for environmental understanding as hermeneutic, a form of conceptualising place which interprets experience and perception. The four writers for young people discussed are Ernest Thompson Seton, Kenneth Grahame, Michelle Paver and Philip Pullman. We develop the concept of critical dialogue, and link this to Crick's demand for active democratic citizenship. We illustrate the educational potential for environmental discussions based on literature leading to deeper understanding of place and environment, encouraging the belief in young people that they can be and become agents for change. We develop from Zimbardo the key concept of heroic resister to encourage young people to overcome peer pressure. We conclude with a call to develop a greater awareness of the potential of fiction for learning, and for writers to produce more focused stories engaging with environmental responsibility and activism

An optimised protocol to generate high titre lentiviral vectors by extended HEK293T culture following transient transfection and suspension culture

Poster Presentation P291, presented at the ESGCT 29th Annual Congress In collaboration with BSGCT Edinburgh, UK October 11–14, 2022.HIV‐1 based lentiviral viruses are considered powerful and versatile gene therapy vectors to deliver therapeutic genes to patients with hereditary or acquired diseases. These vectors can efficiently transduce a variety of cell types when dividing or non‐dividing to provide permanent delivery and long‐term gene expression. Demand for scalable manufacturing protocols able to generate enough high titre vector for widespread use of this technology is increasing. Current methods for LV production either use transient transfection of producer cell lines or production from isolated clonal producer cells engineered to generate vector permanently. Cells can be grown at scale either in 2D relying on culturing producer cells in multi‐tray flasks or in roller bottles or cells can be adapted to grow in 3D suspensions in large batch fermenters. Transient transfection is, however, ideal to rapidly generate vector to test for efficacy. In this study, we compared cell survival and LV titres using three different transfection reagents: polyethyleneimine, Fugene® 6 and Genejuice®. LV was produced routinely at titres of 109 TU/ml by traditional monolayer conditions for up to 10 days instead of 72 hours using Genejuice® with little drop in titre due to low cellular toxicity. Genejuice® also enabled rapid conversion of HEK293T from 2D to 3D suspension cultures generating titres of 108 TU/ml in glass bottles. We propose, these simple changes in vector production enables the generation of larger volumes of high titre vector in a cost‐effective manner