A Morphological Assessment of Bovine Chondrocytes Cultured on Poly(Ethyl Methacrylate)/Tetrahydrofurfuryl Methacrylate

A heterocyclic methacrylate polymer system, PEMA/THFMA, has shown potential as a biomaterial for cartilage repair in a rabbit model and has properties making it suitable for use clinically. The ability of the polymer system, PEMA/THFMA, and a related system, PEMA/HEMA, to support chondrocytes in vitro was assessed by scanning electron microscopy. Chondrocytes adhered to the surface of the PEMA/THFMA by day one, having a rounded morphology and clustered appearance opposed to the Thermanox® control, where the cells had spread out and become fibroblastic in appearance. The chondrocytes divided rapidly on the PEMA/ THFMA system by day three and had completely covered the surface by day seven. In contrast, chondrocytes did not adhere well to the more hydrophilic PEMA/ HEMA system. A few cells were seen on the surface by day one and by days three and seven, there was no evidence of cell growth or spreading across the surface. In conclusion, the PEMA/THFMA system can support chondrocytes in vitro, whereas the PEMA/HEMA system does not

Workplace-based learning for undergraduate and pre-registration healthcare professionals: A systematic map of the UK research literature 2003-2013

What do we want to know? What is the nature of the research on workplace-based learning for undergraduate and pre-registration healthcare professionals in the UK? How many studies are there and what do they focus on? Who wants to know? The map was funded by the Higher Education Academy, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, and the Association for the Study of Medical Education. Workplace based learning is a key component of healthcare professionals education and training and is therefore a key concern of educators, professional bodies, professional regulators, the NHS and Health Education England. What did we find? We identified 117 UK studies about workplace-based learning for undergraduate/pre-registration healthcare students published between 2003 and 2013. The majority of studies (n = 111) focused on students views or experiences of workplace-based learning. Very few studies (n= 6) investigated the impacts of workplace-based learning (using quantitative measurements of change in student attitudes, knowledge or skill). There were no studies that measured impacts on organisational practice or patient/client outcomes. The highest number of studies focused on nursing students in workplace- based learning (n = 52) and there were relatively fewer studies examining students in medicine (n = 13), dentistry (n = 11) and midwifery (n = 10). Studies of workplace-based learning for students of the allied health professions were also limited in number (e.g. four physiotherapy studies). Eighteen studies focused on workplace-based learning in an inter-professional context. The majority of studies used qualitative data collected using questionnaires and interviews. What are the conclusions? This is the first report, to our knowledge, that systematically identifies and characterises empirical research literature from the UK on workplace-based learning for undergraduate and pre-registration students across multiple healthcare professions and settings. Based on the findings above, strategies for future research should include: Further research in the field of workplace-based learning for undergraduate and pre-registration healthcare professionals; More research that can measure the impact of workplace-based learning (using quantitative, independent outcome measures); In-depth systematic reviews of student or educator views of workplace-based learning in the healthcare professions; More research on workplace-based learning for healthcare professions other than nursing. How did we get these results? This project undertook a rapid systematic map. This approach employs systematic and transparent methods to describe the research field. The map included two main stages: A focused search and screening process to identify relevant literature. Two electronic databases and a selection of websites were searched for studies. A set of inclusion/exclusion criteria were developed in collaboration with the advisory group and used to screen potentially relevant reports. Descriptive narrative mapping of a subset of the relevant studies. A coding tool was developed and applied to all UK studies. This described key elements of the research: the healthcare students participating in the study, the nature of the workplace-based learning, the study methods and the type of findings. As in other systematic maps the actual research findings of individual studies are not reported

Macrophage transactivation for chemokine production identified as a negative regulator of granulomatous inflammation using agent-based modeling

Cellular activation in trans by interferons, cytokines and chemokines is a commonly recognized mechanism to amplify immune effector function and limit pathogen spread. However, an optimal host response also requires that collateral damage associated with inflammation is limited. This may be particularly so in the case of granulomatous inflammation, where an excessive number and / or excessively florid granulomas can have significant pathological consequences. Here, we have combined transcriptomics, agent-based modeling and in vivo experimental approaches to study constraints on hepatic granuloma formation in a murine model of experimental leishmaniasis. We demonstrate that chemokine production by non-infected Kupffer cells in the Leishmania donovani-infected liver promotes competition with infected KCs for available iNKT cells, ultimately inhibiting the extent of granulomatous inflammation. We propose trans-activation for chemokine production as a novel broadly applicable mechanism that may operate early in infection to limit excessive focal inflammation

A microfluidic atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor for water treatment

A dielectric barrier discharge microfluidic plasma reactor, operated at atmospheric pressure, was studied for its potential to treat organic contaminants in water. Microfluidic technology represents a compelling approach for plasma-based water treatment due to inherent characteristics such as a large surface-area-to-volume ratio and flow control, in inexpensive and portable devices. The microfluidic device in this work incorporated a dielectric barrier discharge generated in a continuous gas flow stream of a two-phase annular flow regime in the microchannels of the device. Methylene blue in solution was used to investigate plasma induced degradation of dissolved organic compounds within the microfluidic device. The relative degradation rates of methylene blue were influenced by the residence time of the sample solution in the discharge zone, type of gas applied, channel depth and flow rate. Increasing the residence time inside the plasma region led to higher levels of degradation. Oxygen was found to be the most effective gas, with the spectra obtained using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy indicating the most significant degradation. By reducing the channel depth from 100 to 50 µm, the best results were obtained, achieving a greater than 97% level of methylene blue degradation. The microfluidic system presented here demonstrates proof-of-concept that plasma technology can be utilised as an advanced oxidation process for water treatment, with the potential to eliminate water treatment consumables such as filters and disinfectants

Micro-patterning of magnetron sputtered titanium dioxide coatings and their efficiency for photocatalytic applications

© 2020 by the authors. Titanium dioxide thin films were deposited onto sola-lime glass substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. Fine stainless steel mesh sheets with different aperture sizes were applied as masks over glass substrates to allow the deposition of the coatings with micro-patterned structures and, therefore, enhanced surface area. Non-patterned titania films were deposited for comparison purposes. The titanium dioxide films were post-deposition annealed at 873 K for crystallinity development and then extensively analysed by a number of analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), optical and stylus profilometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of non-patterned and micro-patterned titania films was assessed under UV light irradiation by three different methods; namely methylene blue, stearic acid, and oleic acid degradation. The results revealed that the micro-patterned coatings significantly outperformed non-patterned titania in all types of photocatalytic tests, due to their higher values of surface area. Increasing the aperture of the stainless steel mesh resulted in lower photocatalytic activity and lower surface area values, compared to the coatings deposited through a smaller aperture mesh

Implementing a structured education program for children with diabetes: lessons learnt from an integrated process evaluation

There is recognition of an urgent need for clinic-based interventions for young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus that improve glycemic control and quality of life. The Child and Adolescent Structured Competencies Approach to Diabetes Education (CASCADE) is a structured educational group program, using psychological techniques, delivered primarily by diabetes nurses. Composed of four modules, it is designed for children with poor diabetic control and their parents. A mixed methods process evaluation, embedded within a cluster randomized control trial, aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, and perceived impact of CASCADE

The blinking spotlight of attention

Increasing evidence suggests that attention can concurrently select multiple locations; yet it is not clear whether this ability relies on continuous allocation of attention to the different targets (a "parallel" strategy) or whether attention switches rapidly between the targets (a periodic "sampling" strategy). Here, we propose a method to distinguish between these two alternatives. The human psychometric function for detection of a single target as a function of its duration can be used to predict the corresponding function for two or more attended targets. Importantly, the predicted curves differ, depending on whether a parallel or sampling strategy is assumed. For a challenging detection task, we found that human performance was best reflected by a sampling model, indicating that multiple items of interest were processed in series at a rate of approximately seven items per second. Surprisingly, the data suggested that attention operated in this periodic regime, even when it was focused on a single target. That is, attention might rely on an intrinsically periodic process

Views of parents, adults born preterm and professionals on linkage of real-world data of preterm babies

Objective To explore views of parents of preterm babies, adults born preterm and professionals, on the linkage of real-world health and education data for research on improving future outcomes of babies born preterm. Design Three-stage mixed-methods participatory design involving focus groups, a national survey and interviews. Survey participants who expressed uncertainty or negative views were sampled purposively for invitation to interview. Mixed methods were used for data analysis. Setting and participants All data collection was online. Participants were: focus groups—17 parents; survey—499 parents, 44 adults born preterm (total 543); interviews—6 parents, 1 adult born preterm, 3 clinicians, 2 teachers. Results Three key themes were identified: (1) Data linkage and opt-out consent make sense for improving future outcomes. We found clear demand for better information on long-term outcomes and strong support for data linkage with opt-out consent as a means of achieving this. (2) Information requirements—what, how and when. There was support for providing information in different formats and discussing linkage near to, or following discharge from, the neonatal unit, but not sooner. (3) Looking to the future; the rights of young people. We identified a desire for individuals born preterm to be consulted in the future on the use of their data. Conclusion With appropriate information provision, at the right time, parents, adults born preterm and professionals are supportive of data linkage for research, including where temporary identifiers and opt-out consent are used. Resources are being co-produced to improve communication about routine data linkage

Uniform CPA examination content specifications update study: general business knowledge required by CPAs in public accounting

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_exam/1165/thumbnail.jp