Biosynthesis and characterization of a novel, biocompatible medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate by Pseudomonas mendocina CH50 using coconut oil as the carbon source

This study validated the utilization of triacylglycerides (TAGs) by Pseudomonas mendocina CH50, a wild type strain, resulting in the production of novel mcl-PHAs with unique physical properties. A PHA yield of 58% dcw was obtained using 20g/L of coconut oil. Chemical and structural characterisation confirmed that the mcl-PHA produced was a terpolymer comprising of three different repeating monomer units, 3-hydroxyoctanoate, 3-hydroxydecanoate and 3-hydroxydodecanoate or P(3HO-3HD-3HDD). Bearing in mind the potential of P(3HO-3HD-3HDD) in biomedical research, especially in neural tissue engineering, in vitro biocompatibility studies were carried out using NG108-15 (neuronal) cells. Cell viability data confirmed that P(3HO-3HD-3HDD) supported the attachment and proliferation of NG108-15 and was therefore, confirmed to be biocompatible in nature and suitable for neural regeneration

Ballet injuries: injury incidence and severity over 1 year.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive single-cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence and severity of injuries to a professional ballet company over 1 year. METHODS: Data for an elite-level ballet company of 52 professional dancers were collected by an in-house medical team using a time-loss injury definition. RESULTS: A total of 355 injuries were recorded, with an overall injury incidence of 4.4 injuries per 1000 hours (female, 4.1; male, 4.8; P>.05) and a mean of 6.8 injuries per dancer (female, 6.3; male, 7.3; P>.05). Mean injury severity was 7 days (female, 4; male, 9; P.05); mean severity of injury was 3 days for females and 9 days for males (P<.05). The percentage of traumatic injuries was 32% for females and 40% for males (P<.05); the corresponding severity was 6 and 10 days, respectively (P<.05). CONCLUSION: The relatively high number of injuries reported and the resulting loss of dance time support the need to introduce interventions to reduce the risk of injury in professional dancers

A pragmatic assessment of the relative efficiency of outreach chlamydia screening events conducted in non-clinical settings

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Opportunistic screening for chlamydia in non-clinical settings is becoming more common, but little is known about which settings (or events) offer the best return on investment. We measured the relative efficiency of each screening site and event during the conduct of a chlamydia education and screening outreach program which used a cash incentive to encourage participation (SOC2).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SOC2 staff identified sites and organised events in non-clinical sites where young people were likely to congregate. 16 to 30 years olds were offered chlamydia education and a cash reward of AUD10 if they chose to be screened for chlamydia. Data collected during these activities were used to calculated five measures of efficiency: i) screening yield’ (proportion of people providing a sample), ii) proportion of positive tests, iii) ‘event screening tempo’ (number of screens performed for every hour that screening is offered), iv) ‘staff hour screening tempo’ (number of screens performed per hour of staff time) and v) ‘chlamydia detection tempo’ (number of positive tests detected per hour of screening).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>3011 people (71% male) were screened during 18 events at 10 venues. Overall ‘screening yield’ was 43.8% (range: 20–77%) and 1.7% (95% CI: 1.1–3.0) of tests were positive (by event range 1–3%). Overall, the ‘event screening tempo’ was 23.7 screens per event hour (range 8.0–79.0), the ‘staff hour screening tempo’ was 6.5 screens per staff hour and the ‘chlamydia detection tempo’ was 0.4 positive tests per hour (range: 0–1.75).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Assessing the efficiency of screening sites and programs should be integral to their conduct. We suggest the use of five measures to enable pragmatic assessment of any screening program. We introduce the terms ‘event screening tempo’, ‘staff hour screening tempo’ and ‘chlamydia detection tempo’ to describe three of these simple measures.</p

Social capital strategies to enhance hepatitis C treatment awareness and uptake among men in prison

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Prisoner populations are characterized by high rates of hepatitis C (HCV), up to thirty times that of the general population in Australia. Within Australian prisons, less than 1% of eligible inmates access treatment. Public health strategies informed by social capital could be important in addressing this inequality in access to HCV treatment. Twenty-eight male inmates participated in qualitative interviews across three correctional centres in New South Wales, Australia. All participants had recently tested as HCV RNA positive or were receiving HCV treatment. Analysis was conducted with participants including men with experiences of HCV treatment (n=10) (including those currently accessing treatment and those with a history of treatment) and those who were treatment naïve (n=18). Social capital was a resourceful commodity for inmates considering and undergoing treatment while in custody. Inmates were a valuable resource for information regarding HCV treatment, including personal accounts and reassurance (bonding social capital), while nurses a resource for the provision of information and care (linking social capital). Although linking social capital between inmates and nurses appeared influential in HCV treatment access, there remained opportunities for increasing linking social capital within the prison setting (such as nurse-led engagement within the prisons). Bonding and linking social capital can be valuable resources in promoting HCV treatment awareness, uptake and adherence. Peer-based programmes are likely to be influential in promoting HCV outcomes in the prison setting. Engagement in prisons, outside of the clinics, would enhance opportunities for linking social capital to influence HCV treatment outcomes