Future sustainability scenarios for universities: moving beyond the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

As achievements of the completed United Nations Decade (2005–2014) of Education for Sustainable Development are contemplated globally, along with potential steps forward for the future, Member States have urged that this decade continue after 2014 through “The Future We Want”; the outcome document of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. More recently, commitments to furthering the advancement of sustainable development through education have also been re-enforced in the recently adopted post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This study systematically analyzed the implications of sustainable development trends and future directions universities might take under a potential second decade (2015–2024). For this purpose, a model for generating “trend-based scenarios” is proposed, based upon a combination of various futures studies methods. Results suggest that the advancement of sustainability through societal collaboration and various functions such as education, research and outreach will increasingly constitute a core mission for universities. Projecting this trend out into the following decade, the authors frame possible future orientations through three unique scenarios; namely, a socially-, environmentally- and economically-oriented university. Pursuit of sustainable development through each of these would see unique and fundamental changes. These would affect the principle university mission, focus areas, emphasized disciplines, view of Education for Sustainable Development, core external partners, projects and outputs with external stakeholders, geographical focus, and main functions involved. The authors then examine how one or more of these scenarios might be actualized through various external and internal policy and incentive measures. The depiction of these three scenarios, along with potential measures to guide universities to either of these, provides scholars, university leaders and government policy makers with some conceptual and practical instruments to consider strategically how any of these futures might be realized

Towards an orientation of higher education in the post Rio+20 process: How is the game changing?

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the implications of sustainable development for the future orientation of higher education, especially after the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20). A qualitative trend analysis is being used for this purpose, in the context of which three macro trends are combined: (1) higher education that has been developed via five periods; (2) sustainable development that has evolved through three stages; and (3) the nexus between sustainable development and higher education which has strengthened through three phases. The simultaneous analysis of the macro trends regarding their possible interactive effects (through an expert panel discussion) demonstrates that higher education and universities under the influence of sustainable development elements are entering into a new era in which the function of “higher education for sustainable development” could be interpreted as the seeds of a newly emerging mission for universities. In this regard, it is expected that the concept of “sustainable university” is likely to become more common to meet the emerging mission. Consistent with the Rio + 20 outcomes, the authors analyzed the concept of “sustainable university” and identified the fact that it is practically divided into three interrelated and complementary categories, namely social-, environmental-, and economic-oriented university in pursuit of actualizing sustainable development

Electrical discharge machining characteristics of nickel-titanium shape memory alloy based on full factorial design

Among many shape memory alloys, nickel\u2013titanium (NiTi) alloys are popular due to their superior properties in shape memory effect and superelasticity. They are presently often used in microengineering and medical technology especially in orthopedic and ..

Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) Acid Nanoparticles-Loaded Chitosan/Bioactive Glass Scaffolds as a Localized Delivery System in the Bone Defects

The functionality of tissue engineering scaffolds can be enhanced by localized delivery of appropriate biological macromolecules incorporated within biodegradable nanoparticles. In this research, chitosan/58S-bioactive glass (58S-BG) containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles has been prepared and then characterized. The effects of further addition of 58S-BG on the structure of scaffolds have been investigated to optimize the characteristics of the scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. The results showed that the scaffolds had high porosity with open pores. It was also shown that the porosity decreased with increasing 58S-BG content. Furthermore, the PLGA nanoparticles were homogenously distributed within the scaffolds. According to the obtained results, the nanocomposites could be considered as highly bioactive bone tissue engineering scaffolds with the potential of localized delivery of biological macromolecules

Preparation and Characterization of Polycaprolactone / Layered Double Hydroxide Nanocomposite for Hard Tissue Engineering Applications

In recent years the use of nanomaterials in bone tissue engineering scaffold has been considered due to its imitating the structure of natural bone tissue which contains a nanocomposite structure mixed with a three-dimensional matrix. In the meantime, Polycaprol actone has been used as a bio-polymer in bone tissue engineering applications as a scaffold. The aim of this study is to develop porous scaffolds made of polycaprol actone/layered double hydroxide biocomposite, with appropriate mechanical, bioactive and biological properties, for bone tissue engineering application. The nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated by the particulate leaching method and freeze-drying method. In this study, MG63 cells (osteosarcoma) was investigated for cellular study. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed uniform distribution of ceramic phase in polycaprol actone matrix. The results of mechanical tests showed the increase in young’s modulus after addition of ceramic phase. The microscopic investigations demonstrated that the pores generated after addition of ceramic phase and the average size of pores was as large as 100-600μm. Also by the addition of LDH, the hydrophilicity of PCL increased but the rate of hydroxyapatite formation was delayed due to presence of magnesium ions. The cell culture experiments confirmed the attachment and proliferation of cells on the scaffolds. The results showed that the fabricated scaffolds have the potential to be used in cancellous bone tissue engineering

Optimisation and biological activities of bioceramic robocast scaffolds provided with an oxygen-releasing coating for bone tissue engineering applications

Hypoxia is one of the major challenges after scaffold implantation which can lead to cell necrosis and bacterial infection. Using of supplemental oxygen can increase the cell proliferation, encourage the cell differentiation and prevent the infections. Developing an engineered scaffold with a sustained oxygen release is an outstanding way for addressing the challenges of oxygen deficiency. In this study, the bioceramic scaffolds were fabricated from biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) powder with the composition of 60 hydroxyapatite (HA) and 40 beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). The Robocasting technique was utilised for producing a porous structure comprising interpenetrated ceramic rods in a 3-dimensional tetragonal mesh. The scaffold was modelled by the finite element method (FEM) for computing the stress fields and predicting their mechanical performance. Calcium peroxide (CPO), as an oxygen-producing and antimicrobial biomaterial, was mixed with a polycaprolactone (PCL) solution and was coated on the scaffolds by the dip-coating method. The coating layer possessed three different percentages of CPO (1, 3 and 5 wt). The oxygen-releasing profile proved that this design of coating-scaffold could be effective as a system of oxygen delivery. According to the antibacterial investigations, releasing of CPO from the scaffolds could inhibit the growth of E. coli and S. aureus. SBF tests confirmed that the coated scaffolds because of CPO particles on their surface presented superior apatite precipitation in comparison with the uncoated one. The differentiated osteoblastic function was monitored by measuring the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. The coated BCP scaffolds with 3 and 5 CPO exhibited higher ALP activity compared to the other samples. The results demonstrated that the proposed bioceramic-based scaffolds containing oxygen-generating coating could be optimised to supply an antibacterial performance, ideal mechanical properties, improved ALP activity and higher apatite formation ability. Therefore, these scaffolds can be a promising candidate for applying in bone tissue engineering. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l

3D�printed biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds coated with an oxygen generating system for enhancing engineered tissue survival

Tissue engineering scaffolds with oxygen generating elements have shown to be able to increase the level of oxygen and cell survivability in specific conditions. In this study, biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffolds with the composition of 60 hydroxyapatite (HA) and 40 beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), which have shown a great potential for bone tissue engineering applications, were fabricated by a direct-write assembly (robocasting) technique. Then, the three-dimensional (3D)-printed scaffolds were coated with different ratios of an oxygen releasing agent, calcium peroxide (CPO), which encapsulated within a polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix through dip-coating, and used for in situ production of oxygen in the implanted sites. The structure, composition and morphology of the prepared scaffolds were characterized by different techniques. The oxygen release kinetics and biological investigations of the scaffolds were also studied in vitro. The results showed that oxygen release behaviour was sustained and dependant on the concentration of CPO encapsulated in the PCL coating matrix. It was also demonstrated that the coated scaffolds, having 3 CPO in the coating system, could provide a great potential for promoting bone ingrowth with improving osteoblast cells viability and proliferation under hypoxic conditions. The findings indicated that the prepared scaffolds could play a significant role in engineering of large bone tissue implants with limitations in oxygen diffusion. © 201

Synthesis and characterization of thermosensitive hydrogel based on quaternized chitosan for intranasal delivery of insulin

Nasal administration is a form of systemic administration in which drugs are insufflated through the nasal cavity. Steroids, nicotine replacement, antimigraine drugs, and peptide drugs are examples of the available systematically active drugs as nasal sprays. For diabetic patients who need to use insulin daily, the nasal pathway can be used as an alternative to subcutaneous injection. In this regard, intranasal insulin delivery as a user-friendly and systemic administration has recently attracted more attention. In this study, a novel formulation consists of chitosan, chitosan quaternary ammonium salt (HTCC), and gelatin (Gel) was proposed and examined as a feasible carrier for intranasal insulin administration. First, the optimization of the chitosan�HTCC hydrogel combination has done. Afterward, Gel with various amounts blended with the chitosan�HTCC optimized samples. In the next step, swelling rate, gelation time, degradation, adhesion, and other mechanical, chemical, and biological properties of the hydrogels were studied. Finally, insulin in clinical formulation and dosage was blended with optimized thermosensitive hydrogel and the release procedure of insulin was studied with electrochemiluminescence technique. The optimal formulation (consisted of 2 wt chitosan, 1 wt HTCC, and 0.5 wt Gel) showed low gelation time, uniform pore structure, and the desirable swelling rate, which were resulted in the adequate encapsulation and prolonged release of insulin in 24 H. The optimal samples released 65 of the total amount of insulin in the first 24 H, which is favorable for this study. © 2020 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc