A protective packaging delivery and growing system for seeds (WO/PCT)

Protective seed case (A) comprising two casing sections (1, 3) interposed with a water soluble and/or hydrolytically degradable layer (2), said case (A) being biodegradable, hygroscopic and water soluble, and encasing seed articles (4) that are self-contained. The seed case (A) packages and protects the seeds (4) prior to planting, the seed case (A) is inserted at the normal to the surface of the growing medium (5) and once in contact with water moisture it provides an ideal moist environment for germination, the moisture then opens the seed case (A) up for root and shoot growth. The system can also encase beans and bulbs which can all be planted in hostile environments with a low moisture content without the need for any specific horticultural knowledge or specialist tools. A seed package comprises at least one such protective seed case (A) attached to each other

A protective packaging delivery and growing system for seeds (WO/PCT)

Protective seed case (A) comprising two casing sections (1, 3) interposed with a water soluble and/or hydrolytically degradable layer (2), said case (A) being biodegradable, hygroscopic and water soluble, and encasing seed articles (4) that are self-contained. The seed case (A) packages and protects the seeds (4) prior to planting, the seed case (A) is inserted at the normal to the surface of the growing medium (5) and once in contact with water moisture it provides an ideal moist environment for germination, the moisture then opens the seed case (A) up for root and shoot growth. The system can also encase beans and bulbs which can all be planted in hostile environments with a low moisture content without the need for any specific horticultural knowledge or specialist tools. A seed package comprises at least one such protective seed case (A) attached to each other

Fin assembly for a water board and user propelled water board apparatus. (WO/PCT)

A user propelled water board apparatus (2) is described and comprises a hull, porti.oxi (4) defining a longitudinal axis x-x. The hull portion (4) is buoyant, to enable a user (6) to rest on hull portion (4) and be supported on the surface of a body of water (8). First and second lateral fin members (10) and (12) are pivotably mountable to the hull portion (4) in a position to project into the body of water in use. The first and second lateral fin members (10) and (12) are mounted in use on opposite sides of the hull portion 4 and are pivotable towards and away from the hull portion in the direction of arrow A. A user (6) rocking the hull portion in water about the longitudinal axis x-x causes the first and second lateral fin members (10) and (12) to pivot outwardly from the hull portion and drive the hull portion through the body of water in use

Unblocking the Circular Economy

There is a blockage in the Circular Economy. Discarded plastic products end up in the Indian Ocean where thousands of tonnes of waste plastic is washed up on the beaches of East Africa. This creates a detrimental impact on both the marine ecosystem and the economy where the locals rely on coastal fishing, trade and tourism for their livelihoods. Plastic comes ashore in many forms and is badly degraded by the elements such that when processed locally, the quality of the recycled material cannot meet the needs of the community. The researchers worked with shoreline communities to help develop a processing method capable of giving waste plastic a valuable second life. As a demonstration of the potential of this new recycled material they constructed a traditional dhow sailing boat entirely from plastic trash collected from Kenya’s beaches and towns. During its 500 kilometre maiden voyage from Lamu in Kenya to Zanzibar in Tanzania, the researchers stopped at communities along the way to change mindsets about plastic waste. This paper practically demonstrates how an environmentally and economically damaging waste problem can be re envisaged as a valuable resource that supports the local and regional economy and unblocks the circular economy in the shoreline communities of East Africa

Prevalence and characterisation of microfibres along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast

Microplastic pollution is ubiquitous, with textiles being a major source of one of the dominant microplastic types—microfibres. Microfibres have been discovered in the aquatic environment and marine biota, demonstrating direct infiltration in the environment. However, the impact of non-plastic microfibres has been overlooked until recently despite their prevalence and the ecotoxicological risk posed by chemical dyes and finishes used during processing. During an expedition from Lamu to Zanzibar (East Africa), a citizen science strategy was employed to innovate, educate and influence microfibre pollution reform through the Flipflopi project, a circular economy effort to stop the use of single-use plastic. Simple sampling methods were developed to replace costly equipment, which local citizens could use to partake in the collection and sampling of surface water samples from the previously understudied Kenyan and Tanzanian coast. To maintain the reliability of samples and to minimise contamination, a forensic science strategy was embedded throughout the methodology of the study, collection and analysis of the samples. A total of 2,403 microfibres from 37 sites were recovered and fully characterised with 55% found to be of natural origin, 8% regenerated cellulosic and 37% synthetic microfibres. Natural microfibres were in higher abundance in 33 of the 37 sampled sites. Congruent with recent studies, these findings further support the need for greater understanding of the anthropogenic impact of natural microfibres

Operational Research in Education

Operational Research (OR) techniques have been applied, from the early stages of the discipline, to a wide variety of issues in education. At the government level, these include questions of what resources should be allocated to education as a whole and how these should be divided amongst the individual sectors of education and the institutions within the sectors. Another pertinent issue concerns the efficient operation of institutions, how to measure it, and whether resource allocation can be used to incentivise efficiency savings. Local governments, as well as being concerned with issues of resource allocation, may also need to make decisions regarding, for example, the creation and location of new institutions or closure of existing ones, as well as the day-to-day logistics of getting pupils to schools. Issues of concern for managers within schools and colleges include allocating the budgets, scheduling lessons and the assignment of students to courses. This survey provides an overview of the diverse problems faced by government, managers and consumers of education, and the OR techniques which have typically been applied in an effort to improve operations and provide solutions

Patient-specific cancer genes contribute to recurrently perturbed pathways and establish therapeutic vulnerabilities in esophageal adenocarcinoma

Abstract: The identification of cancer-promoting genetic alterations is challenging particularly in highly unstable and heterogeneous cancers, such as esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Here we describe a machine learning algorithm to identify cancer genes in individual patients considering all types of damaging alterations simultaneously. Analysing 261 EACs from the OCCAMS Consortium, we discover helper genes that, alongside well-known drivers, promote cancer. We confirm the robustness of our approach in 107 additional EACs. Unlike recurrent alterations of known drivers, these cancer helper genes are rare or patient-specific. However, they converge towards perturbations of well-known cancer processes. Recurrence of the same process perturbations, rather than individual genes, divides EACs into six clusters differing in their molecular and clinical features. Experimentally mimicking the alterations of predicted helper genes in cancer and pre-cancer cells validates their contribution to disease progression, while reverting their alterations reveals EAC acquired dependencies that can be exploited in therapy

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the STAR care pathway compared to usual care for patients with chronic pain after total knee replacement: study protocol for a UK randomised controlled trial.

Approximately 20% of patients experience chronic pain after total knee replacement. There is little evidence for effective interventions for the management of this pain, and current healthcare provision is patchy and inconsistent. Given the complexity of this condition, multimodal and individualised interventions matched to pain characteristics are needed. We have undertaken a comprehensive programme of work to develop a care pathway for patients with chronic pain after total knee replacement. This protocol describes the design of a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention care pathway compared with usual care.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Additional Link above to access the full-text via the publisher's site