Mechanomodulatory biomaterials prospects in scar prevention and treatment

Scarring is a major clinical issue that affects a considerable number of patients. The associated problems go beyond the loss of skin functionality, as scars bring aesthetic, psychological, and social difficulties. Therefore, new strategies are required to improve the process of healing and minimize scar formation. Research has highlighted the important role of mechanical forces in the process of skin tissue repair and scar formation, in addition to the chemical signalling. A more complete understanding of how engi- neered biomaterials can modulate these mechanical stimuli and modify the mechanotransduction signals in the wound microenvironment is expected to enable scar tissue reduction. The present review aims to provide an overview of our current understanding of skin biomechanics and mechanobiology underlying wound healing and scar formation, with an emphasis on the development of novel mechanomodulatory wound dressings with the capacity to offload mechanical tension in the wound environment. Further- more, a broad overview of current challenges and future perspectives of promising mechanomodulatory biomaterials for this application are provided.The authors would like to acknowledge Portuguese Foun dation for Science and Technology (FCT) for funding the research project Dressing4Scars M-ERA-NET2/0013/2016, and LP da Silva (2020.01541.CEECIND/CP1600/CT0024), and to Norte-01-0145-FEDER-02219015 (MT Cerqueira)

An Investigation of the Effect of Malicious Manipulations on Prediction Market Performance

Prediction Markets are a relatively novel type of Group Decision Support System (GDSS) which use social collaboration via a market mechanism to elicit and aggregate information from large numbers of individuals. While the literature recognises their potential as decision support tools, it also notes several issues that give rise to concern regarding their utility in an organisational setting. One concern is the possibility that prediction markets may be subject to malicious manipulation. This paper presents a field experiment which examines the effect of such manipulations on prediction market performance

Putting the individual and context back into national human resource development research: A systematic review and research agenda

Conceptualization of national human resource development (NHRD) emphasizes that it is an ongoing development process of the individual that is shaped by context. However, the extant literature has focused primarily on describing and evaluating NHRD policies and interventions in different countries with limited consideration of NHRD across the lifespan and the interaction of life stage with context. Using ecological systems theory (EST) and a lifespan development perspective (LDP), we present a systematic review of the NHRD literature based on 310 sources. We identify key themes and gaps in research across the lifespan and at distinct levels of the ecological system. We build on this review to suggest future research informed by both EST and an LDP. We propose a future research agenda focused on several key areas, including: the developing individual as the primary focus of NHRD; the dynamic relationship between NHRD microsystems and how this evolves over time; the exosystem and macrosystem, which provide the context of the NHRD development experience for the individual over their lifespan; and the imperatives of directing research attention to top-down and bottom-up influences within the ecological system. We also propose three methodological innovations to address many of the questions raised by our review, drawing on national archive databases, the use of historical methods and a focus on longitudinal data analysis. Finally, we highlight the practical implications of our analysis for ecosystem and microsystem NHRD actors