Pan-Asian identity in a globalizing world

For many East and South East Asian youth, global citizenship is an increasing reality. This raises new research questions of the process of acculturation and ethnic identity. East and South East Asian immigrants and student sojourners in Australia and New Zealand may embody multiple ethnic backgrounds, speak several regional languages and sometimes live for extended periods of time in two or more Asian states or country. This paper challenges the concept of ethnic essentialism or a single cultural adaptation and explores the notion of a regional Pan-Asian identity that extends beyond the barriers of the Asian continent to a globalizing world

Training for team-based care: Development of a continuing education curriculum for general practice pharmacists in australia

© 2020 FIP. Background: The integration of pharmacists into primary care and general practice teams is expanding. Equipping pharmacists with the skills and knowledge to perform as part of a primary care team will facilitate this expanded scope of practice. Aim: This paper describes the rationale and approach for the development of a competency aligned curriculum of a postgraduate pharmacist education programme in Australia. Methods: The authors describe an evidence-based approach to curriculum development including establishing an educational programme advisory committee, consultation with an expert panel of pharmacy practice educators, and mapping of curriculum to both learning outcomes and competency standards. Conclusions: The curriculum design approach ensures the programme is designed to provide pharmacists with the skills, training and knowledge required to perform the General Practice pharmacist role. The education programme is due to be piloted in 2020, followed by an evaluation to allow further adjustment and improvement of the course design

Picosecond Laser Surface Micro/Nano Texturing of Stainless Steel as a Method to Reduce the Adhesion of Bacteria.

Biofilm formation and colonization is initiated by bacterial attachment followed by bacterial adhesion and retention on a surface. The buildup of biofilms may result in related health problems in the medical field and potential biofouling issues in industrial settings leading to increased economic burden. The design and manufacture surfaces that prevent bacterial attachment, retention and biofilm formation through their physical structure and chemical properties provides a potential solution to tackle such issues. Laser surface texturing provides a crucial role for the production of different antifouling surface patterns for use in a diverse range of applications in different medical or industrial fields. In the present work, a 1064 nm Nd:YVO4 Picosecond laser was used to produce a range of textures on 316L stainless steel (SS) substrates. Results showed that the Sa values and wettability of the surfaces all increased when compared to the control following laser treatment. This work demonstrated that on all the surfaces, for all the assays, the number of adhesive bacteria on the laser textured surfaces was reduced compared to the untreated substrate. One surface was demonstrated to be the best antiadhesive surface which was of higher roughness and superhydrophobicit

Comparison of detection methods used to determine Escherichia coli and meat exudate removal from stainless steel surfaces following different physical cleaning methods.

Food products can be contaminated by residual organic materials and food-borne pathogenic microorganisms through contact with biofouling present on surfaces. Efficient cleaning is needed to maintain hygienic requirements and for quality assurance of food contact surfaces. To evaluate the efficacy of cleaning procedures, it is essential to use reliable detection and quantification methods that can detect both organic material and microorganisms retained on surfaces. Repeated fouling with both organic material (meat exudate) and microorganisms (Escherichia coli) on 304 2B finish stainless steel surfaces was carried out. The surfaces were then cleaned using either a soak, spray or wipe method (in water) in order compare various biofouling detection methods. Following enumeration of the microorganisms by plate counting, the results demonstrated that the soak and spray washes were the best cleaning methods, whereas the wipe clean produced the least hygienic surface. ATP bioluminescence further demonstrated that the spray cleaned surface was the most hygienic followed by the soaked cleaned surfaces. However, percentage coverage counts demonstrated that the number of retained cells on following the soak wash was the greatest (77.38 % after 30 washes) and the amount of organic material retained was greater than 50% on all the surfaces, and was not significantly different between the different types of cleans or number of washes. Visualisation of the surfaces using epifluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the soak clean was the least hygienic in terms of bacterial retention. This suggests that the biofouling on the surface was difficult to remove following the soak cleaning method. UV detection demonstrated that it was difficult to detect organic material, regardless of the cleaning method used. However, when using more intense UV at selected wavelengths, the 330 nm - 360 nm illuminated the retained biofouling on the surfaces with the greatest intensity. The use of the different cleaning assays resulted in differences in cell and organic material distribution across the surfaces. The recorded level of contamination varied depending on the detection method used in this study. Our results highlighted that, in addition to the quantification method, visual images and quantification may help to better understand the fouling process on surfaces since certain cleaning methods may result in organic material being difficult to remove and detect

Production of hybrid macro/micro/nano surface structures on Ti6Al4V surfaces by picosecond laser surface texturing and their antifouling characteristics

The development of surfaces which reduce biofouling has attracted much interest in practical applications. Three picosecond laser generated surface topographies (Ti1, Ti2, Ti3) on titanium were produced, treated with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS), then characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle measurements and white light interference microscopy. The surfaces had a range of different macro/micro/nano topographies. Ti2 had a unique, surface topography with large blunt conical peaks and was predominantly a rutile surface with closely packed, self-assembled FAS; this was the most hydrophobic sample (water contact angle 160°; ΔGiwi was −135.29 mJ m−2). Bacterial attachment, adhesion and retention to the surfaces demonstrated that all the laser generated surfaces retained less bacteria than the control surface. This also occurred following the adhesion and retention assays when the bacteria were either not rinsed from the surfaces or were retained in static conditions for one hour. This work demonstrated that picosecond laser generated surfaces may be used to produce antiadhesive surfaces that significantly reduced surface fouling. It was determined that a tri-modally dimensioned surface roughness, with a blunt conical macro-topography, combined with a close-packed fluoroalkyl monolayer was required for an optimised superhydrophobic surface. These surfaces were effective even following surface immersion and static conditions for one hour, and thus may have applications in a number of food or medical industries

Overview of Aerosolized Florida Red Tide Toxins: Exposures and Effects

Florida red tide is caused by Karenia brevis, a dinoflagellate that periodically blooms, releasing its potent neurotoxin, brevetoxin, into the surrounding waters and air along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Exposure to Florida red tide toxins has been associated with adverse human health effects and massive fish and marine mammal deaths. The articles in this mini-monograph describe the ongoing interdisciplinary and interagency research program that characterizes the exposures and health effects of aerosolized Florida red tide toxins (brevetoxins). The interdisciplinary research program uses animal models and laboratory studies to develop hypotheses and apply these findings to in situ human exposures. Our ultimate goal is to develop appropriate prevention measures and medical interventions to mitigate or prevent adverse health effects from exposure to complex mixtures of aerosolized red tide toxins

The detection and quantification of food components on stainless steel surfaces following use in an operational bakery

© 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers Food preparation areas in commercial bakeries present surfaces for continual organic fouling. The detection of retained food components and microorganisms on stainless steel surfaces situated for one month in the weighing in area, pastry and confectionary production areas of a bakery were investigated using different methods. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the morphology of the material on the surfaces from all three areas, with the weighing in area demonstrating a more even coverage of material. Differential staining assays demonstrated a high percentage coverage of organic material heterogeneously distributed across the surfaces. Differential staining also demonstrated that the amount of organic material on the surface from the confectionary area was significantly greater than from both the pastry and weighing in areas. Although, UV at 353 nm did not detect residual surface fouling, performance of the UV detection was optimised and demonstrated that the residual organic material on the weighing in area and the pastry samples was best illuminated at 510–560 nm, and from the confectionary area of the bakery at 590–650 nm. ATP bioluminescence revealed the confectionary production area contained the highest level of biofouling. Contact plates determined that only low microbial counts (≤2 CFU/cm2) were recovered from the surfaces. Changes in the physicochemistry (increased hydrophobicity) demonstrated that all the surfaces were fouled (ΔGiwi −26.8 mJ/m2 to −45.4 mJ/m2). Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) demonstrated that all the surfaces had retained fats, carbohydrates and proteins. This work suggests that a range of methods may be needed to fully detect organic and microbial fouling

Tearing Out the Income Tax by the (Grass)Roots

Landscapes are increasingly fragmented, and conservation programs have started to look at network approaches for maintaining populations at a larger scale. We present an agent-based model of predator–prey dynamics where the agents (i.e. the individuals of either the predator or prey population) are able to move between different patches in a landscaped network. We then analyze population level and coexistence probability given node-centrality measures that characterize specific patches. We show that both predator and prey species benefit from living in globally well-connected patches (i.e. with high closeness centrality). However, the maximum number of prey species is reached, on average, at lower closeness centrality levels than for predator species. Hence, prey species benefit from constraints imposed on species movement in fragmented landscapes since they can reproduce with a lesser risk of predation, and their need for using anti-predatory strategies decreases.authorCount :

Molecular Targets of Bis (7)-Cognitin and Its Relevance in Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review

Background: The exact mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative conditions are not fully known. The design of drugs that act on multiple targets represents a promising approach that should be explored for more effective clinical options for neurodegenerative disorders. B7C is s synthetic drug that has been studied for over 20 years and represents a promising multi-target drug for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD.Aims: The present systematic review, thus, aims at examining existing studies on the effect of B7C on different molecular targets and at discussing the relevance of B7C in neurological disorders.Methods: A list of predefined search terms was used to retrieve relevant articles from the databases of Embase, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The selection of articles was done by two independent authors, who were considering articles concerned primarily with the evaluation of the effect of B7C on neurological disorders. Only full-text articles written in English were included; whereas, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, book chapters, conference subtracts, and computational studies were excluded.Results: A total of 2,266 articles were retrieved out of which 41 articles were included in the present systematic review. The effect of B7C on molecular targets, including AChE, BChE, BACE-1, NMDA receptor, GABA receptor, NOS, and Kv4.2 potassium channels was evaluated. Moreover, the studies that were included assessed the effect of B7C on biological processes, such as apoptosis, neuritogenesis, and amyloid beta aggregation. The animal studies examined in the review focused on the effect of B7C on cognition and memory.Conclusions: The beneficial effects observed on different molecular targets and biological processes relevant to neurological conditions confirm that B7C is a promising multi-target drug with the potential to treat neurological disorders

An observational efficacy and safety analysis of the treatment of acute invasive aspergillosis using voriconazole

The purpose of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of voriconazole in patients with acute invasive aspergillosis (IA) in a real-life, clinical setting. This was a multicenter observational study in adult patients treated with voriconazole for invasive mycosis. The study evaluated clinical response, mortality, use of other licensed antifungal therapy (OLAT), and treatment duration. This sub-analysis evaluated treatment and outcome data specifically from adult patients with proven/probable IA, while safety data were assessed in patients with proven/probable/possible IA. Of the 141 patients enrolled, 113 were adults with proven/probable IA and six had possible IA. Voriconazole treatment duration ranged from 1 to 183 days (median, 49.5 days). Voriconazole was used exclusively in 64% (72/113) of patients and in combination/sequentially with OLAT in 36%. Overall successful treatment response was 50% (57/113 patients). Twelve percent (14/113) of patients were switched to OLAT, either because of insufficient response (four patients) or for safety reasons (10 patients). Overall and attributable (entirely or partially due to fungal infection) mortality rates were 52% (59/113) and 17%, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events were reported for 18% (22/119) of patients. This observational study confirms the results of previous clinical trials demonstrating voriconazole as an effective and safe agent for treatment of confirmed acute IA