Interactive 3D visualisation of the mammalian circadian system

The daily fluctuations that govern an organism’s physiology and behaviour are referred to as the circadian rhythm. Dramatic changes in our internal or external environment can affect these fluctuations by causing them to shift abnormally. Chronic readjustment in circadian rhythmicity can lead to health defects that extend throughout the organism. These patterns have been known to affect nearly every facet of our health, from our mental state to our physiological wellbeing. Thus, it is important for healthcare professionals from a range of backgrounds to comprehend these connections early on in their education and incorporate this knowledge into patient guidance and treatment. Traditionally, the teaching of the circadian rhythm is undertaken by didactic teaching, 2-dimensional (2D) diagrams, and biochemical processes shown from a fixed perspective. There has been a surge in technologies used to develop educational products, but the field of the circadian rhythm has been lagging behind. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to create an interactive learning application for the end-stage user, incorporating industry standard and widely available software packages. Using a mixture of 3DS Max, Photoshop, MeshLab, Mudbox, Unity and Pro Tools, we created a fully interactive package incorporating educational resources and an interactive self test quiz section. Here, we demonstrate a simple workflow methodology that can be used in the creation of a fully interactive learning application for the circadian rhythm, and its wider effects on the human body. With a small-scale study based on feedback demonstrating positive results, and with limited resources in this field, there is enormous potential for this to be applied in the educational and wider public engagement environment related to the circadian rhythm. Indeed, this also provides an excellent framework and platform for development of educational resources for any type of field that needs modernising and updating with modern technological advances, engaging a wider audience

Progress and challenges in macroencapsulation approaches for type 1 diabetes (T1D) treatment: Cells, biomaterials, and devices.

Macroencapsulation technology has been an attractive topic in the field of treatment for Type 1 diabetes due to mechanical stability, versatility, and retrievability of the macro-capsule design. Macro-capsules can be categorized into extravascular and intravascular devices, in which solute transport relies either on diffusion or convection. Failure of macroencapsulation strategies can be due to limited regenerative capacity of the encased insulin-producing cells, sub-optimal performance of encapsulation biomaterials, insufficient immunoisolation, excessive blood thrombosis for intravascular devices, and inadequate modes of mass transfer to support cell viability and function. However, significant technical advancements have been achieved in macroencapsulation technology, namely reducing diffusion distance for oxygen and nutrients, using pro-angiogenic factors to increase vascularization for islet engraftment, and optimizing membrane permeability and selectivity to prevent immune attacks from host's body. This review presents an overview of existing macroencapsulation devices and discusses the advances based on tissue-engineering approaches that will stimulate future research and development of macroencapsulation technology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved