Notes on note-making: Introduction

This special issue aims to explore what is educational in the seemingly humble gesture of making notes: not only how and why the practice of note-taking is educative in and of itself, but also what it says about education as such. The contributions to the issue each highlight different aspects of note-making and approach it differently, but all assume that note-making is an educational practice that merits philosophical study. Interestingly, they mostly focus on note-making as a non-digital practice (putting aside the use of laptops for note-making in class), perhaps because most were written prior to the great digitisation ushered in by educational institutions’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us first address how we see the different aspects of note-making highlighted by the contributions to the issue.Ethics & Philosophy of Technolog

The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication

Focused beams of helium ions are a powerful tool for high-fidelity machining with spatial precision below 5 nm. Achieving such a high patterning precision over large areas and for different materials in a reproducible manner, however, is not trivial. Here, we introduce the Python toolbox FIB-o-mat for automated pattern creation and optimization, providing full flexibility to accomplish demanding patterning tasks. FIB-o-mat offers high-level pattern creation, enabling high-fidelity large-area patterning and systematic variations in geometry and raster settings. It also offers low-level beam path creation, providing full control over the beam movement and including sophisticated optimization tools. Three applications showcasing the potential of He ion beam nanofabrication for two-dimensional material systems and devices using FIB-o-mat are presented

The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication

Focused beams of helium ions are a powerful tool for high-fidelity machining with spatial precision below 5 nm. Achieving such a high patterning precision over large areas and for different materials in a reproducible manner, however, is not trivial. Here, we introduce the Python toolbox FIB-o-mat for automated pattern creation and optimization, providing full flexibility to accomplish demanding patterning tasks. FIB-o-mat offers high-level pattern creation, enabling high-fidelity large-area patterning and systematic variations in geometry and raster settings. It also offers low-level beam path creation, providing full control over the beam movement and including sophisticated optimization tools. Three applications showcasing the potential of He ion beam nanofabrication for two-dimensional material systems and devices using FIB-o-mat are presented

Danio rerio ABC transporter genes abcb3 and abcb7 play a protecting role against metal contamination

International audienceATP‐binding cassette (ABC) proteins are efflux transporters and some of them are involved in xenobiotic detoxification. The involvement of four zebrafish ABC transporters in cadmium, zinc and mercury detoxification was characterized in a metal hypersensitive mutant of Escherichia coli. The E. coli tolC mutant expressing ABCB3 or ABCB7 transporters exhibited higher survival ratios and lower metal accumulation under a metal exposure condition than the controls. For instance, in the presence of 8 and 10 μM of HgCl2, the survival ratios of bacteria expressing ABCB3 were four and six‐times higher than the control whereas the mercury concentrations were 2.5 and 2‐times lower than in the control. This work provides new data on the function of zebrafish ABCB3 and ABCB7 transporters and highlights their significance in metal detoxificatio

Clindamycin-rifampin combination therapy for staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infections: a retrospective observational study

Abstract Background Staphylococcal species account for more than 50% of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) and antimicrobial therapy with rifampin-based combination regimens has been shown effective. The present study evaluates the safety and efficacy of clindamycin in combination with rifampin for the management of staphylococcal PJI. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, patients were included who received clindamycin-rifampin combination therapy to treat a periprosthetic hip or knee infection by Staphylococcus aureus or coagulase-negative staphylococci. Patients were treated according to a standardized treatment algorithm and followed for a median of 54 months. Of the 36 patients with periprosthetic staphylococcal infections, 31 had an infection of the hip, and five had an infection of the knee. Eighteen patients underwent debridement and retention of the implant (DAIR) for an early infection, the other 18 patients underwent revision of loose components in presumed aseptic loosening with unexpected positive cultures. Results In this study, we report a success rate of 86%, with five recurrent/persistent PJI in 36 treated patients. Cure rate was 78% (14/18) in the DAIR patients and 94% (17/18) in the revision group. Five patients (14%) discontinued clindamycin-rifampin due to side effects. Of the 31 patients completing the clindamycin-rifampin regimen 29 patients (94%) were cured. Conclusion Combined therapy with clindamycin and rifampin is a safe, well tolerated and effective regimen for the treatment of staphylococcal periprosthetic infection

Development and application of an inhalation bioaccessibility method (IBM) for lead in the PM10 size fraction of soil

An approach for assessing the inhalation bioaccessibility of Pb in the PM10 size fraction is presented, using an in vitro simulated epithelial lung fluid to represent the extracellular environment of the lung. The developed inhalation bioaccessibility method (IBM) is applied to a range of urban surface soils and mining wastes obtained from Mitrovica, Kosovo, a site where impacts upon human health following exposure to Pb have been internationally publicised. All Pb determinations were undertaken by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The pseudo-total concentration of Pb (microwave acid digestion using aqua-regia) varied between matrices: smelter (20,900–72,800 mg kg− 1), topsoil (274–13,700 mg kg− 1), and tailings (2990 mg kg− 1–25,300 mg kg− 1). The in vitro inhalation bioaccessibility was typically several orders of magnitude lower: smelter (7.0–965 mg kg− 1), topsoil (9.8–1060 mg kg− 1), and tailings (0.7 mg kg− 1–49.2 mg kg− 1). The % inhalation bioaccessibility ranged from 0.02 to 11.0%, with the higher inhalation bioaccessible Pb concentrations being observed for samples from the Bosniak Mahalla area of Mitrovica (an area proposed for the relocation of internally displaced peoples). The estimated inhalation dose (for adults) calculated from the PM10 pseudo-total Pb concentration ranged from 0.369 to 1.284 μg kg− 1BW day− 1 (smelter), 0.005–0.242 μg kg− 1BW day− 1 (topsoil), and 0.053–0.446 μg kg− 1BW day− 1 (tailings). When daily inhalation doses were calculated using the bioaccessible Pb concentration the modelled exposure doses were much lower: smelter (0.0001–0.0170 μg kg− 1BW day− 1), topsoil (0.0002–0.0187 μg kg− 1BW day− 1) and tailings (0.0001–0.0009 μg kg− 1BW day− 1). Modelled for the neutral pH conditions of the interstitial lung environment, the results indicate a low potential inhalation bioaccessibility for Pb in these samples. Given the already elevated environmental Pb burden experienced by the local population, where significant prolonged dust or particulate generating activities are taking place, or where the inhaled particles are phagocytized, then inhalation exposure has the potential to significantly add to the overall Pb burden. Such data are important for local policy makers to better enable them to assess risk, especially in areas where soils/dusts have elevated levels of contamination

Weight loss and carotid intima-media thickness—a meta-analysis

Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for clinical cardiovascular disease, putatively via increased burden of atherosclerosis. It remains contentious as to whether weight loss in people with obesity is accompanied by a reduction in intima-media thickness, a noninvasive marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, consistent with a lowering of risk of cardiovascular events. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify all surgical and nonsurgical weight loss interventions that reported intima-media thickness. A meta-analysis was undertaken to obtain pooled estimates for change in intima-media thickness. Results: From the 3,197 articles screened, 9 studies were included in the meta-analysis, with a total of 393 participants who lost an average of 16 kg (95% CI 9.4–22.5) of body weight over an average follow-up of 20 months. The pooled mean change in carotid intima-media thickness was -0.03 mm (95% CI -0.05 to -0.01), which was similar between surgical and nonsurgical interventions. Conclusions: In people with obesity, weight loss was associated with a reduction in carotid intima-media thickness, consistent with a lowering in risk of cardiovascular events