Picoliter-volume inkjet printing into planar microdevice reservoirs for low-waste, high-capacity drug loading.

Oral delivery of therapeutics is the preferred route for systemic drug administration due to ease of access and improved patient compliance. However, many therapeutics suffer from low oral bioavailability due to low pH and enzymatic conditions, poor cellular permeability, and low residence time. Microfabrication techniques have been used to create planar, asymmetric microdevices for oral drug delivery to address these limitations. The geometry of these microdevices facilitates prolonged drug exposure with unidirectional release of drug toward gastrointestinal epithelium. While these devices have significantly enhanced drug permeability in vitro and in vivo, loading drug into the micron-scale reservoirs of the devices in a low-waste, high-capacity manner remains challenging. Here, we use picoliter-volume inkjet printing to load topotecan and insulin into planar microdevices efficiently. Following a simple surface functionalization step, drug solution can be spotted into the microdevice reservoir. We show that relatively high capacities of both topotecan and insulin can be loaded into microdevices in a rapid, automated process with little to no drug waste

Timeshare Owners’ Perceptions of and Preferred Ways of Participating in Tourism Planning

Purpose To explore the impact of prostate cancer treatment on: (a) the experience of symptoms (i.e. sexual, urinary, and bowel), and (b) perceived health state of men with prostate cancer one month following their radiation treatment. Methods A prospective pre-test–post-test descriptive survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 73 men with prostate cancer who were recruited from a Regional Cancer Centre in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Participants receiving radiation treatment (brachy therapy, high dose radiation [HDR] and external beam radiation [EBR], or EBR alone) completed a questionnaire that elicited information pertaining to quality of life (QOL), symptom experiences, and perceived health state prior to, and one month after completion of their radiation treatment. Results Post-treatment scores showed increased problems with urinary bother (ppp=0.002) and function (p=0.001), and sexual function (p Discussion Our findings suggest that prostate cancer treatment presents a challenge with regard to symptom experiences and perceived health state in men with prostate cancer. Therefore, strategies for patient education to assist men to cope with their symptoms and to provide them with support in the initial weeks following treatment are discussed

COVID-19 Transmission Risks for Reopening The University of Texas at Austin

There are more than 50,000 students enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), with an estimated 80% from Texas, 93% from the United States, and 7% from abroad. The 2020-2021 academic year began on August 26th. The university has taken steps to reopen safely in light of four COVID-19-related risks: Introduction risks: UT students returning to Austin from other regions may arrive infected. On-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur during classes and other organized UT activities. Off-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur through off-campus interactions among members of the UT community. Community amplification risks: Transmission may spill over from the UT community into the surrounding Austin community. In order to assist the University of Texas at Austin in safely reopening, this report addresses the last three risks. We make projections based on several scenarios for the transmission of COVID-19 among UT students and in the surrounding Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area during the Fall 2020 semester. For each scenario, we project the following quantities for August 26 - December 20, 2020: (i) the number of students infected both on and off campus, (ii) the number of total COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Austin MSA and (iii) the peak number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Austin MSA. We assumed that there will be 27,000 UT students living in Austin during the Fall 2020 semester, with 24% of those students already living in Austin and 76% returning in mid-August from other regions throughout Texas and the world. In summary, the projections for the August 26 - December 20, 2020 period indicate that the public health impacts of reopening UT will depend on the COVID-19 transmission rates among UT students and other Austin residents.Integrative Biolog

COVID-19 Campus Introduction Risks for Spring 2021 at the University of Texas at Austin

There are more than 50,000 students enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), with an estimated 80% from Texas, 93% from the United States, and 7% from abroad. The 2021 spring semester began on January 19th. The university is taking steps to reopen safely in light of four COVID-19-related risks: Introduction risks: UT students returning to Austin from other cities may arrive infected. On-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur during classes and other organized UT activities. Off-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur through off-campus interactions among members of the UT community. Community amplification risks: Transmission may spill over from the UT community into the surrounding Austin community. In order to assist the University of Texas at Austin in safely opening for the spring of 2021, this report addresses potential introduction risks. It provides estimates for the number of infected students returning to Austin in the spring semester compared to those expected to have arrived infected in the fall semester. In brief, we assumed that 9,000 students are already in Austin and 21,000 additional students may have returned to Austin by January 19th. We note that this conservatively assumes that 20,000 of the 50,000 enrolled students at UT elected to remain in their home regions for the spring semester. This was based on estimates provided by UT that about 30,000 students were in the Austin area during the fall semester.Integrative Biolog

COVID-19 Campus Introduction and Gathering Risks for Reopening the University of Texas at Austin

There are more than 50,000 students enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), with an estimated 80% from Texas, 93% from the United States, and 7% from abroad. The 2020-2021 academic year is scheduled to begin on August 26th. The university is taking steps to reopen safely in light of four COVID-19-related risks: Introduction risks: UT students returning to Austin from other cities may arrive infected. On-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur during classes and other organized UT activities. Off-campus transmission risks: Transmission may occur through off-campus interactions among members of the UT community. Community amplification risks: Transmission may spill over from the UT community into the surrounding Austin community. In order to assist the University of Texas at Austin in safely reopening, this report addresses elements of the first three risks. It provides estimates for (i) the prevalence of COVID-19 among returning students, based on the estimated prevalence of the virus in their home communities, (ii) the number of students that could test positive for COVID-19 in the first week of classes, and (iii) the chance that classes/gatherings will include one or more infected attendees, depending on the size of the group. In brief, we assumed that 12,000 students are already in Austin and 10,000 additional students will be returning to Austin by August 26th. We note that this conservatively assumes that more than half of students enrolled at UT elected to remain in their home regions for the fall semester.Integrative Biolog

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus among people of South Asian origin in Glasgow: results from a community based survey and laboratory surveillance

Background South Asians often present late with HCV or HBV related liver disease which could have been avoided with early diagnosis and subsequent treatment; however the prevalence of HCV/HBV among South Asians in Glasgow is not known. Accordingly, to inform the need for case finding among this group we aimed to examine the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) among South Asians living in Glasgow. Methods A community-based survey recruited individuals at six mosques and four community centres serving the South Asian community during 2009-2010; participants had predominantly never been HCV tested. Laboratory surveillance data involving all individuals tested for HCV during 1993-2009 were examined and South Asians were identified using Nam Pehchan software. Results In the community-based survey, 2.6% of 1288 participants tested HCV-antibody positive; the prevalence ranged from 0.6% among those born in the UK to 3.1% among those born in Pakistan. The odds of testing HCV-antibody positive were significantly raised among those who had surgery in South Asia (aOR: 5.0, 95% CI: 2.0-12.3) and had either medical/dental treatment or an injection in South Asia (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0-5.0). Of 6404 South Asians identified from laboratory surveillance data, 9.3% tested HCV positive. An estimated 38% (330/870) of HCV-infected South Asians living in Glasgow remain undiagnosed. Conclusions South Asians living in Glasgow, particularly those born outside the UK are at greater risk of HCV infection than the general population. Efforts to increase awareness and testing in this population are warranted.</p

Emergence of the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant at the University of Texas at Austin - March 5, 2021

Recent identification of the highly transmissible novel SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK (B.1.1.7) has raised concerns for renewed pandemic surges around the globe [1]. While this variant has only recently been identified in the United States, it has been predicted to become dominant as early as March of 2021 [2]. Starting in January of 2021, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) began sequencing positive SARS-CoV-2 specimens to accelerate the detection of novel variants. An estimated 390 to 1,000 University of Texas at Austin (UT) students arrived in Austin infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the start of the spring semester (January 2021) [3]. Some of these cases may have been infected with novel variants [4,5]. Given that UT had confirmed via sequencing 22 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant among students as of March 5th, we conducted a rapid risk assessment to estimate the prevalence and future spread of the variant within the UT community.Integrative Biolog

Early introductions and projections of the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant at the University of Texas at Austin

Recent identification of the highly transmissible novel SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK (B.1.1.7) has raised concerns for renewed pandemic surges around the globe [1]. While this variant has only recently been identified in the United States, it has been predicted to become dominant as early as March of 2021 [2]. Starting in January of 2021, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) began sequencing positive SARS-CoV-2 specimens to accelerate the detection of novel variants. An estimated 390 to 1,000 University of Texas at Austin (UT) students arrived in Austin infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the start of the spring semester (January 2021) [3]. Some of these cases may have been infected with novel variants [4,5]. Given that UT recently confirmed its first cases of the B.1.1.7 variant among students, we conducted a rapid risk assessment to estimate the prevalence and future spread of the variant within the UT community.Integrative Biolog