Equal partners? Improving the integration between DSpace and Symplectic Elements

While self-submission by academics was regarded as the ideal way to add content to Open Repositories in the early days of such systems, the reality today is that many institutional repositories obtain their content automatically from integration with research management systems. The institutional DSpace repositories at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and at the University of Waikato (UoW) were integrated with Symplectic Elements in 2010 (AUT) and in 2014 (UoW). Initial experiences at AUT suggested a mismatch between the interaction options offered to users of Symplectic Elements on one hand and the actions available to repository managers via the DSpace review workflow functionality on the other hand. Our presentation explores these mismatches and their negative effects on the repository as well as on the user experience. We then present the changes we made to the DSpace review workflow to improve the integration. We hope that our experiences will contribute to an improvement in the integration between repository software and research management systems

The Library Consortium of New Zealand's Shared IRR Infrastructure

The Library Consortium of New Zealand has run an Institutional Research Repository Project for three universities and one institute of technology in New Zealand since 2006. After a brief introduction to the context in which the project operates, this document describes the Institutional Research Repositories that are part of this project and their shared infrastructure. Particular emphasis is placed on advantages and challenges created by the shared infrastructure

Cobalt-catalyzed Wagner–Meerwein rearrangements with concomitant nucleophilic hydrofluorination

The authors acknowledge funding from the Royal Society (University Research Fellowship URF\R1\180017 (CPJ) and associated Enhancement Award RGF\EA\181022 (CPJ and RHH)), and the EaSI-CAT Centre for Doctoral Training (RHH and NM).We report a cobalt-catalyzed Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement of gem-disubstituted allylarenes that generates fluoroalkane products with isolated yields up to 84%. Modification of the counteranion of the N-fluoropyridinium oxidant suggests the substrates undergo nucleophilic fluorination during the reaction. Subjecting the substrates to other known metal-mediated hydrofluorination procedures did not lead to observable 1,2-aryl migration. Thus, indicating the unique ability of these cobalt-catalyzed conditions to generate a sufficiently reactive electrophilic intermediate capable of promoting this Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Oral human papillomavirus infection in England and associated risk factors: a case control study.

Objectives - This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of and associated risk factors for infection with oral high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) in adult participants within England, and to explore any association with oral mucosal buccal epithelial cell and whole blood folate concentration. Design - This was an observational study to determine oral HR-HPV prevalence in the study population. A case-control study was performed to explore the association between infection and folate status. Setting - This study was conducted in Sheffield, United Kingdom between April 2013 and August 2014. Participants - Seven hundred participants, aged 18-60 yr, were recruited from university students (n=179), university and hospital staff (n=163), dental hospital patients (n=13), Sexual Health Sheffield patients (n=122) and the general public (n=223). Interventions - Participants completed a lifestyle and sexual behaviour questionnaire, provided an oral rinse and gargle sample for the detection of oral HR-HPV and an oral mucosal buccal epithelial cell sample for the measurement of oral mucosal buccal epithelial cell folate. A blood sample was collected for measurement of whole blood folate concentration. Outcome measures - The prevalence of oral HR-HPV infection in the study population was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included associations between risk factors, folate status and infection. Results - The prevalence of oral HR-HPV infection in this cohort was 2.2% (15/680) with 0.7% (5/680) positive for HPV16 or HPV18. Twenty samples were excluded due to insufficient material for HPV detection. Participants with oral HR-HPV infection were more likely to be a former smoker, and have a greater number of sexual and oral sexual partners. Folate status was not linked to likelihood of HPV infection. Conclusions - The prevalence of oral infection with HR-HPV in adult men and women in Sheffield in the north of England was low. Smoking and sexual behaviour were associated with HR-HPV positivity

Effect of nanoparticle morphologies on signal strength in photoacoustic sensing

Spherical gold nanoparticles with a plasmonic extinction peak at 532 nm and two sizes of star shaped gold nanoparticles with plasmonic extinction peaks at 532 nm and 600 nm were synthesised and introduced into tissue phantoms as exogenous absorbers. The photoacoustic signals generated from the three different nanoparticle morphologies embedded in tissue the phantoms is compared. The effect of nanoparticle concentration on the generated photoacoustic signal strength was also investigated for the spherical nanoparticles. At an excitation laser wavelength of 532 nm, the spherical gold nanoparticles were shown to produce the greatest photoacoustic response

Mechanisms of vascular damage by systemic dissemination of the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis

Several studies have shown a clear association between periodontal disease and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), a key oral pathogen, and its cell surface-expressed gingipains, induce oedema in a zebrafish larvae infection model although the mechanism of these vascular effects is unknown. Here, we aimed to determine whether Pg-induced vascular damage is mediated by gingipains. In vitro, human endothelial cells from different vascular beds were invaded by wild-type (W83) but not gingipain-deficient (ΔK/R-ab) Pg. W83 infection resulted inincreased endothelial permeability as well as decreased cell surface abundance of endothelial adhesion molecules PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin compared to infection with ΔK/R-ab. In agreement, when transgenic zebrafish larvae expressing fluorescently labelled PECAM-1 or VE-cadherin were systemically infected with W83 or ΔK/R-ab, a significant reduction in adhesion molecule fluorescence was observed specifically in endothelium proximal to W83 bacteria through a gingipain-dependent mechanism. Furthermore, this was associated with increased vascular permeability in vivo when assessed by dextran leakage microangiography. These data are thefirst to show that Pg directly mediates vascular damage in vivo by degrading PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin. Our data provide a molecular mechanism by which Pg might contribute to cardiovascular disease

Systematic review of the agreement of tonometers with goldmann applanation tonometry

This review was part of the Surveillance for Ocular Hypertension study funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (Project No. 07/46/02). J.C. held a Medical Research Council UK fellowship (G0601938). AA-B was a grantholder on an AstraZeneca (London, UK) funded study of a new medication for glaucoma. The Health Services Research Unit receives core funding from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chief Scientist Office, National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme, or the Department of Health. None of the funders had a role in the design or conduct of this researchPeer reviewedPostprin

An innovative in silico model of the oral mucosa reveals the impact of extracellular spaces on chemical permeation through epithelium

In pharmaceutical therapeutic design or toxicology, accurately predicting the permeation of chemicals through human epithelial tissues is crucial, where permeation is significantly influenced by the tissue's cellular architecture. Current mathematical models for multi-layered epithelium such as the oral mucosa only use simplistic 'bricks and mortar' geometries and therefore do not account for the complex cellular architecture of these tissues at the microscale level, such as the extensive plasma membrane convolutions that define the extracellular spaces between cells. Chemicals often permeate tissues via this paracellular route, meaning that permeation is underestimated. To address this, measurements of human buccal mucosal tissue were conducted to ascertain the width and tortuosity of extracellular spaces across the epithelium. Using mechanistic mathematical modelling, we show that the convoluted geometry of extracellular spaces significantly impacts chemical permeation and that this can be approximated, provided that extracellular tortuosity is accounted for. We next developed an advanced physically-relevant in silico model of oral mucosal chemical permeation using partial differential equations, fitted to chemical permeation in vitro assays on tissue-engineered human oral mucosa. Tissue geometries were measured and captured in silico, and permeation examined and predicted for chemicals with different physicochemical properties. The effect of altering the extracellular space to mimic permeation enhancers was also assessed by perturbing the in silico model. This novel in vitro-in silico approach has the potential to expedite pharmaceutical innovation for testing oromucosal chemical permeation, providing a more accurate, physiologically-relevant model which can reduce animal testing with early screening based on chemical properties