Technology Education Is Important for Achieving Sustainable Development

In 2015 all 193 United Nations Member States agreed on 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the purpose to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet. Technology and sustainable development are intertwined. The term "double-edged sword" has often been used to describe technology, as it can be both helpful and harmful. But to what extent is technology significant for sustainable development and what content can technology education have in relation to sustainable development? This study examines what technology content can be discerned in the sustainable development goals, SDGs, in order to detect possible content for technology education. The 17 SDGs include 169 targets since every SDG are defined with "Outcome targets" and "means of implementation targets". All 169 SDGs targets were analyzed through content analysis. A category system was developed from the definition of technology by Rossouw et.al (2010) and DiGironimos’s (2011)  to discern technology content in the SDGs. The results show that the achievement of each and every 17 Sustainable Development Goals in one way or another relies on our use of technology and our development of technology. Teaching with a sustainability perspective creates meaningful content for technology education, where current news and topics can be a starting point. Such teaching can provide students with necessary knowledge towards making well-grounded decisions based on facts, as both consumers and global citizens

Cytolytic replication of echoviruses in colon cancer cell lines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, killing nearly 50% of patients afflicted. Though progress is being made within surgery and other complementary treatments, there is still need for new and more effective treatments. Oncolytic virotherapy, meaning that a cancer is cured by viral infection, is a promising field for finding new and improved treatments. We have investigated the oncolytic potential of several low-pathogenic echoviruses with rare clinical occurrence. Echoviruses are members of the enterovirus genus within the family <it>Picornaviridae</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Six colon cancer cell lines (CaCo-2, HT29, LoVo, SW480, SW620 and T84) were infected by the human enterovirus B species echovirus 12, 15, 17, 26 and 29, and cytopathic effects as well as viral replication efficacy were investigated. Infectivity was also tested in spheroids grown from HT29 cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Echovirus 12, 17, 26 and 29 replicated efficiently in almost all cell lines and were considered highly cytolytic. The infectivity of these four viruses was further evaluated in artificial tumors (spheroids), where it was found that echovirus 12, 17 and 26 easily infected the spheroids.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have found that echovirus 12, 17 and 26 have potential as oncolytic agents against colon cancer, by comparing the cytolytic capacity of five low-pathogenic echoviruses in six colon cancer cell lines and in artificial tumors.</p

A rapid and efficient method for studies of virus interaction at the host cell surface using enteroviruses and real-time PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Measuring virus attachment to host cells is of great importance when trying to identify novel receptors. The presence of a usable receptor is a major determinant of viral host range and cell tropism. Furthermore, identification of appropriate receptors is central for the understanding of viral pathogenesis and gives possibilities to develop antiviral drugs. Attachment is presently measured using radiolabeled and subsequently gradient purified viruses. Traditional methods are expensive and time-consuming and not all viruses are stable during a purification procedure; hence there is room for improvement. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) has become the standard method to detect and quantify virus infections, including enteroviruses, in clinical samples. For instance, primers directed to the highly conserved 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of the enterovirus genome enable detection of a wide spectrum of enteroviruses. Here, we evaluate the capacity of the RT-PCR technology to study enterovirus host cell interactions at the cell surface and compare this novel implementation with an established assay using radiolabeled viruses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both purified and crude viral extracts of CVB5 generated comparable results in attachment studies when analyzed with RT-PCR. In addition, receptor binding studies regarding viruses with coxsackie- and adenovirus receptor (CAR) and/or decay accelerating factor (DAF) affinity, further demonstrated the possibility to use RT-PCR to measure virus attachment to host cells. Furthermore, the RT-PCR technology and crude viral extracts was used to study attachment with low multiplicity of infection (0.05 × 10^-4TCID₅₀/cell) and low cell numbers (250), which implies the range of potential implementations of the presented technique.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have implemented the well-established RT-PCR technique to measure viral attachment to host cells with high accuracy and reproducibility, at low cost and with less effort than traditional methods. Furthermore, replacing traditional methods with RT-PCR offers the opportunity to use crude virus containing extracts to investigate attachment, which could be considered as a step towards viral attachment studies in a more natural state.</p

Nursing of rabbits and rodents in a clinical environment

Denna uppsats riktar sig främst till djursjukskötare och beskriver kaniners och gnagares ursprungliga miljö, naturliga beteende samt omvårdnad av djuren i klinikmiljö. Omvårdnadsdelen i denna uppsats innehåller skötsel, hantering av kaniner och gnagare, medicineringsteknik samt hur kliniken bäst bör anpassas efter dessa djur. Syftet med vår uppsats var att ta reda på den optimala miljön för kaniner och gnagare på klinik samt hur de bör hanteras vid undersökning och behandling. Uppsatsen är baserad på litteraturstudier,intervjufrågor till kliniker samt ett studiebesök på Blå Stjärnans Djursjukhus i Göteborg. Kaniner och gnagare är mycket känsliga för stress vilket bör beaktas när djuren hanteras. Även kliniken bör anpassas för att minska stressnivån hos kaniner och gnagare. Majoriteten av de tillfrågade klinikerna har personal som är specialintresserad av dessa djur och ungefär hälften önskar att kliniken vore bättre anpassad för djuren

Kan stereotyper få kvinnor att öka sin prestation på EQ-test?

Kvinnor har visat sig vara generellt bättre än män på emotionell intelligens, en kompetens som idag värderas högt i arbetslivet. Denna studie undersökte om könsskillnaden beror på stereotyplyft, samt om lyftet medieras av motivationsfaktorn regulatory focus. Det undersöktes också om stereotypaktiveringen påverkade strategin i bedömning av ansiktsuttryck. 60 kvinnor utförde ett EQ-test bestående av en självskattningsdel och ansiktsbedömning. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant skillnad mellan kontroll- och experimentgrupp. Det fanns inte heller någon skillnad mellan grupperna i regulatory focus. Stereotyplyftsmanipulerade kvinnor använde sig av en mer analyserande bedömningsstrategi än kontrollgruppens kvinnor. Den uteblivna stereotyplyftseffekten tros bero på att stereotypen är så välkänd att den aktiverades även i kontrollgruppen

Toward understanding scarless skin wound healing and pathological scarring

The efficient healing of skin wounds is crucial for securing the vital barrier function of the skin, but pathological wound healing and scar formation are major medical problems causing both physiological and psychological challenges for patients. A number of tightly coordinated regenerative responses, including haemostasis, the migration of various cell types into the wound, inflammation, angiogenesis, and the formation of the extracellular matrix, are involved in the healing process. In this article, we summarise the central mechanisms and processes in excessive scarring and acute wound healing, which can lead to the formation of keloids or hypertrophic scars, the two types of fibrotic scars caused by burns or other traumas resulting in significant functional or aesthetic disadvantages. In addition, we discuss recent developments related to the functions of activated fibroblasts, the extracellular matrix and mechanical forces in the wound environment as well as the mechanisms of scarless wound healing. Understanding the different mechanisms of wound healing is pivotal for developing new therapies to prevent the fibrotic scarring of large skin wounds.publishedVersio