Age and Smoking Related Changes in Metal Ion Levels in Human Lens: Implications for Cataract Formation

Age-related cataract formation is the primary cause of blindness worldwide and although treatable by surgical removal of the lens the majority of sufferers have neither the finances nor access to the medical facilities required. Therefore, a better understanding of the pathogenesis of cataract may identify new therapeutic targets to prevent or slow its progression. Cataract incidence is strongly correlated with age and cigarette smoking, factors that are often associated with accumulation of metal ions in other tissues. Therefore this study evaluated the age-related changes in 14 metal ions in 32 post mortem human lenses without known cataract from donors of 11 to 82 years of age by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; smoking-related changes in 10 smokers verses 14 non-smokers were also analysed. A significant age-related increase in selenium and decrease in copper ions was observed for the first time in the lens tissue, where cadmium ion levels were also increased as has been seen previously. Aluminium and vanadium ions were found to be increased in smokers compared to non-smokers (an analysis that has only been carried out before in lenses with cataract). These changes in metal ions, i.e. that occur as a consequence of normal ageing and of smoking, could contribute to cataract formation via induction of oxidative stress pathways, modulation of extracellular matrix structure/function and cellular toxicity. Thus, this study has identified novel changes in metal ions in human lens that could potentially drive the pathology of cataract formation

Enzyme immobilisation on wood-derived cellulose scaffolds via carbohydrate-binding module fusion constructs

Enzyme-CBM fusion constructs immobilised on wood-derived cellulose scaffolds: a sustainable approach for continuous flow biocatalysi

Dhana Labha: A financial management application to underbanked communities in Rural Sri Lanka

This paper presents findings from field trial of a mobile application called ‘Dhana Labha’ in a rural Sri Lankan community. Dhana Labha was designed to be used by the community members to manage their personal finances, oversee their performance in managing multiple microfinance loans and assist in loan collection. We distributed the application among thirty eight microfinance clients and studied their use over a period of six months. Our findings show that the use of Dhana Labha had a positive impact on existing local practices and financial awareness while prompting the participants to develop unexpected new practices around microfinance workflows. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding existing sociocultural practices for designing applications, as they strongly affect and shape the use of technology in a constrained setting