Anti-infective surface coatings: design and therapeutic promise against device-associated infections

Patient safety and well-being are under increasing threat from hospital-acquired infections [1]. The root cause of a large number of these infections arises from microbial biofilms that colonise on surfaces of medical devices such as the millions of catheters, endotracheal tubes, and prosthetics implanted every year [2]. Biofilm infections are accompanied by increased resistance to antimicrobial therapy and immune clearance, severely limiting treatment options and leading to life-threatening disease [3,4]. Device-associated infections are caused by both bacteria and fungi and, while most studies have focused on single-species biofilms, biofilm-related infections are often polymicrobial [5–8]. Multi-species biofilms, particularly those involving bacterial and fungal pathogens, are more challenging to treat, likely as a consequence of their combined architecture, protective extracellular matrix, and potential synergism in protecting against antimicrobials and host immunity [9–11]. Among the fungi, Candida species are the most important biofilm pathogens [12,13] and the fourth leading cause of blood-stream infections in United States hospitals [7]. Fungal diseases remain difficult to diagnose, mortality rates remain high, and antifungal drug resistance continues to limit therapeutic options [14,15]. We are in desperate need of innovative strategies that target the mechanisms of pathogenesis of polymicrobial biofilms on medical devices. This is a grand challenge because it requires multidisciplinary collaboration and breakthrough research involving physical chemistry, materials science, and microbiology. Communication between these disciplines has not been common, but recent advances show greater convergence in the development of anti-infective devices. At this nexus, we outline the therapeutic promise of anti-infective coatings for medical devices and discuss pitfalls and strategies for overcoming them.Bryan R. Coad, Hans J. Griesser, Anton Y. Peleg, Ana Trave

Pattern languages in HCI: A critical review

This article presents a critical review of patterns and pattern languages in human-computer interaction (HCI). In recent years, patterns and pattern languages have received considerable attention in HCI for their potential as a means for developing and communicating information and knowledge to support good design. This review examines the background to patterns and pattern languages in HCI, and seeks to locate pattern languages in relation to other approaches to interaction design. The review explores four key issues: What is a pattern? What is a pattern language? How are patterns and pattern languages used? and How are values reflected in the pattern-based approach to design? Following on from the review, a future research agenda is proposed for patterns and pattern languages in HCI

Historical roots of Agile methods: where did “Agile thinking” come from?

The appearance of Agile methods has been the most noticeable change to software process thinking in the last fifteen years [16], but in fact many of the “Agile ideas” have been around since 70’s or even before. Many studies and reviews have been conducted about Agile methods which ascribe their emergence as a reaction against traditional methods. In this paper, we argue that although Agile methods are new as a whole, they have strong roots in the history of software engineering. In addition to the iterative and incremental approaches that have been in use since 1957 [21], people who criticised the traditional methods suggested alternative approaches which were actually Agile ideas such as the response to change, customer involvement, and working software over documentation. The authors of this paper believe that education about the history of Agile thinking will help to develop better understanding as well as promoting the use of Agile methods. We therefore present and discuss the reasons behind the development and introduction of Agile methods, as a reaction to traditional methods, as a result of people's experience, and in particular focusing on reusing ideas from histor

Business experience and start-up size: buying more lottery tickets next time around?

This paper explores the determinants of start-up size by focusing on a cohort of 6247 businesses that started trading in 2004, using a unique dataset on customer records at Barclays Bank. Quantile regressions show that prior business experience is significantly related with start-up size, as are a number of other variables such as age, education and bank account activity. Quantile treatment effects (QTE) estimates show similar results, with the effect of business experience on (log) start-up size being roughly constant across the quantiles. Prior personal business experience leads to an increase in expected start-up size of about 50%. Instrumental variable QTE estimates are even higher, although there are concerns about the validity of the instrument

Predicting new venture survival and growth: does the fog lift?

This paper investigates whether new venture performance becomes easier to predict as the venture ages: does the fog lift? To address this question we primarily draw upon a theoretical framework, initially formulated in a managerial context by Levinthal (Adm Sci Q 36(3):397–420, 1991) that sees new venture sales as a random walk but survival being determined by the stock of available resources (proxied by size). We derive theoretical predictions that are tested with a 10-year cohort of 6579 UK new ventures in the UK. We observe that our ability to predict firm growth deteriorates in the years after entry—in terms of the selection environment, the ‘fog’ seems to thicken. However, our survival predictions improve with time—implying that the ‘fog’ does lift

Separation of the magnetic phases at the N\'{e}el point in the diluted spin-Peierls magnet CuGeO3

The impurity induced antiferromagnetic ordering of the doped spin-Peierls magnet Cu(1-x)Mg(x)GeO(3) was studied by ESR technique. Crystals with the Mg concentration x<4% demonstrate a coexistence of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic ESR modes. This coexistence indicates the separation of a macroscopically uniform sample in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases. In the presence of the long-range spin-Peierls order (in a sample with x=1.71%) the volume of the antiferromagnetic phase immediately below the N\'{e}el point T_N is much smaller than the volume of the paramagnetic phase. In the presence of the short-range spin-Peierls order (in samples with x=2.88%, x= 3.2%) there are comparable volumes of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases at T=T_N. The fraction of the antiferromagnetic phase increases with lowering temperature. In the absence of the spin-Peierls dimerization (at x=4.57%)the whole sample exhibits the transition into the antiferromagnetic state and there is no phase separation. The phase separation is explained by the consideration of clusters of staggered magnetization located near impurity atoms. In this model the areas occupied by coherently correlated spins expand with decreasing temperature and the percolation of the ordered area through a macroscopic distance occurs.Comment: 7pages, 10 figure

Electron-spin-resonance in the doped spin-Peierls compound Cu(1-x)Ni(x)GeO3

ESR-study of the Ni-doped spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3 has been performed in the frequency range 9-75 GHz. At low temperatures the g-factor is smaller than the value expected for Cu- and Ni-ions. This anomaly is explained by the formation of magnetic clusters around the Ni-ions within a nonmagnetic spin-Peierls matrix. The transition into the AFM-state detected earlier by neutron scattering for doped samples was studied by means of ESR. For x=0.032 a gap in the magnetic resonance spectrum is found below the Neel temperature and the spectrum is well described by the theory of antiferromagnetic resonance based on the molecular field approximation. For x=0.017 the spectrum below the Neel point remained gapless. The gapless spectrum of the antiferromagnetic state in weekly doped samples is attributed to the small value of the Neel order parameter and to the magnetically disordered spin-Peierls background.Comment: 16 pages, LATEX, 12 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics : Condensed Matte

Magazine and reader constructions of 'metrosexuality' and masculinity: a membership categorisation analysis

Since the launch of men's lifestyle magazines in the 1980s, academic literature has predominantly focused on them as a cultural phenomenon arising from entrepreneurial and commercial initiatives and/or as cultural texts that proffer representations of masculinity such as 'new lad' and 'new dad'. This paper steps aside from the focus on culture and, instead, treats magazine content as a discursive space in which gender and sexuality are oriented to, negotiated, and accomplished within and beyond the magazine itself (i.e. through readers' responses). Specifically, membership categorisation analysis is deployed to explore how the relatively new (and perhaps alternative) category for men - 'metrosexual' - is presented and received. Our analysis suggests that masculinity concerns are central in debates about 'metrosexuality', with self-identified 'metrosexuals' invoking heterosexual prowess and self-respect on the one hand, and critics (e.g. selfidentified 'real men') lamenting 'metrosexuality' for its perceived effeminacy and lack of authenticity on the other. Implications for understanding contemporary masculinities are discussed

‘Better late than never’: the interplay between green technology and age for firm growth

This paper investigates the relationship between green/non-green technologies and firm growth. By combining the literature on eco-innovations, industrial organisation and entrepreneurial studies, we examine the dependence of this relationship on the pace at which firms grow and the age of the firm. From a dataset of 5498 manufacturing firms in Italy for the period of 2000–2008, longitudinal fixed effects quantile models are estimated, in which the firm’s age is set to moderate the effects of green and non-green patents on employment growth. We find that the positive effect of green technologies on growth is greater than that of non-green technologies. However, this result does not apply to struggling and rapidly growing firms. With fast-growing (above the median) firms, age moderates the growth effect of green technologies. Inconsistent with the extant literature, this moderation effect is positive: firm experience appears important for the growth benefits of green technologies, possibly relative to the complexity of their management