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D6.2. Innovation Capacity Report.
Get PDFA key impact of the RUN-EU PLUS project is the development of inter-regional Research &
Innovation (R&I) models designed to deliver on societal transformation requirements, within
the framework of the relevant Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) and the UN goals for
Sustainable Development, and through increased integration of the university activities in the
field of R&I within and beyond Europe. The RUN-EU Innovation Ecosystem will enhance industry academia engagement through research partners and Professional Practice-based Research
Degree Programmes developed by the RUN-EU PLUS project. Innovations developed through
these partnerships will be spun-out to our RUN-EU regions for optimum regional impact.
This report outlines the development and implementation of an Innovation Detection System
for the RUN European University designed to support innovators and the identification of
innovations of exploitable potential among local or alliance-wide partnerships. Once detected,
local partner interface services including technology transfer services, innovation support staff
and start-up incubators will be applied to maximise knowledge transfer for societal impact. A
RUN-EU Commercialisation Committee, previously presented in RUN-EU PLUS D6.1 Innovation
Ecosystem, will support knowledge transfer to regional partners of the RUN European University
via the European Innovation Hubs (EIHs). Three RUN-EU EIHs have been established in the areas
of Future Sustainable Indutstries, Bioeconomy and Social Innovation, and these hubs function
as cutting-edge knowledge networks which integrate education, research and innovation
allowing regional stakeholders access to new or existing pan-European research or industrial
infrastructuree, associated databases as well as new approaches to the establishment of co operation arrangements.
The development and implementation of the RUN-EU PLUS Innovation Detection System has
been led by the RUN-EU PLUS R&I Ambassadors network who lead research and innovation
development locally in their own institution and across RUN-EU with the other
actors/stakeholders of the RUN-EU innovation ecosyste
Novel technologies and optimised formulations for delivery of solid dispersion of BCS class II drugs
Get PDFThe optimal design of amorphous solid dispersion (SD) formulations require the use of excipients to maintain supersaturation and improve physical stability in order to ensure shelf-life stability and better absorption during intestinal transit, respectively. Previous research has focused on spray dried and supercritical fluid quaternary mixtures which due to the addition of a surfactant affected the physical stability and amorphous stability of selected model drugs. Very little research has focused on how inter-molecular interactions play a role in the successful formulation of hot-melt extruded quaternary amorphous blends and how they affect physical stability and solubility of amorphous SDs using semi-crystalline polymers. Also, the effect of cooling on the degree of crystallinity, solid-state and dissolution properties of multi-component hot-melt extruded SDs is of great interest for the successful formulation of amorphous SDs and is an area that is unreported, especially in the context of improving the stability of these specific systems. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to prepare SDs via hot melt extrusion (HME) using a semi-crystalline polymer to overcome the dissolution and physical stability barriers compared to previous methods and finally investigate the role of inter-molecular interactions and cooling and their effect on the solid-state and dissolution properties of mixed copovidone amorphous solid dispersions. The solubility parameters, drug-polymer interactions, solubility and amorphous stability over time were investigated. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) confirmed that indomethacin (INM) was converted to the amorphous state, however the addition of poloxamer 407 (P407) had a significant effect on the amorphous nature and solubility of the SD formulations. Spectroscopy studies using infrared and Raman spectroscopy identified the mechanism of interaction and solubility studies showing a higher dissolution rate compared to amorphous and pure INM in pH 1.2 with a kinetic solubility of 20.63 μg/ml and 34.7 μg/ml after 3 and 24 hours. XRPD confirmed that INM remained amorphous after 5 months stability testing in solid solutions with Poly (vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP VA64) and Plasdone S-630 (PL-S630). Although cooling had a significant effect on the P407 crystallinity & solubility of INM, the cooling method used did not have any significant effect on the amorphous stability of INM over time.ye
In vitro Antitrypanosomal Activities of the stem bark of Entadrophragma angolense (Meliaceae)
Get PDFAfrican
Trypanosomiasis continues to be a major public health
concern worldwide, especially in developing countries with
thousands of new infected cases yearly 1 They are
associated with high significant morbidity and large economic
impacts Currently, there are no vaccines to combat this
disease, and current chemotherapy regimens are highly toxic,
ineffective, and resistant Hence, novel and potent
trypanocides are urgently needed Medicinal plants have been
documented to be a potential source for the development of
antitrypanosomal compounds Amongst such is
Entadrophragma angolense an ethnopharmacological plant
used in West Africa to treat several ailments including
protozoan diseases 2 In this present study, we investigated
the potential antitrypanosomal properties of E angolense and
its possible development as a therapeutic intervention for
treating African trypanosomiasis In vitro effects of crude
extracts and fractions of stem bark of E angolense were tested
against Trypanosoma brucei using Alamar blue assay
Additionally, the crude extract’s antioxidant (FRAP and
DPPH) and cytotoxicity activities were also determined The
phytochemical profiling of the crude extract was determined
using LC ESI QTOF MS to identify major bioactive
compounds present Bioactive compounds identified were
subjected to molecular docking studies.ye
The impact of country of schooling and gender on secondary students' conceptions of and interest in becoming an engineer in Ireland, Kenya and Sweden.
No full textBackground
Given the disparities in gender representation, efforts are needed to make engineering education more inclusive and attractive to young people. It is important that those entering engineering education are making this decision with sufficient understanding of what it means to be an engineer. This study explored how lower secondary education students from Ireland (n = 435), Kenya (n = 436), and Sweden (n = 361) stereotyped engineers, and their interest in becoming an engineer was examined. The Draw an Engineer Test was used to achieve this, and ordinal and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the effects of students’ genders and country of schooling on the genders and concepts of their drawn engineers, and on their interest in becoming an engineer in the future.
Results
A Sankey diagram illustrated significant complexity in the interaction between conceptions of engineering work and fields of engineering. Chi-square tests of association were used to examine the association between students depicting an engineer as either the same or a different gender to themselves and their interest in becoming an engineer. The results of these and the regression analyses indicate that young people’s gender explains more variance in the gender of drawn engineers and the country they are studying in explains more variance in their conception of engineers. However, most variance was explained when both students’ gender and country of study were considered together. Further, particularly for young females, drawing a female engineer as opposed to a male engineer was positively associated with increased interest in becoming an engineer.
Conclusions
There is a need to develop a greater understanding of engineering in young people to ensure they have sufficient information to make decisions regarding related educational pursuits. National-level attempts are needed to present accurate depictions of engineering, and effort needs to be invested in ensuring that young females can identify as engineers. Higher educational access needs to be considered in future work examining future career interests.ye
From therapeutic landscape to therapeutic ‘sensescape’ experiences with nature? A scoping review
Get PDFThe therapeutic landscapes literature has evolved considerably since the concept was first proposed to under stand how experiences of health and wellbeing unfold and develop through physical, social and symbolic di mensions of landscape encounter. Informed by a critical scoping review, this paper charts how the senses have
been attended to across the therapeutic landscapes literature published since 2007 (the publication date of the
previous edited volume on Therapeutic Landscapes). We focus specifically on literature pertaining to ‘nature based’ therapeutic encounters, responding to calls to re-situate the body in wider interdisciplinary scholarship
around nature, health and wellbeing. We attend to imagined and embodied visual, sonic, olfactory, haptic and
gustatory sensations, and the varied ways in which these are interpreted and made sense of individually and
collectively. In line with prominent visual landscape preoccupations, this body of literature largely privileges and
focuses on the visual sense. While there is increasing interest in auditory, haptic and olfactory qualities of
encounter, taste remains largely overlooked. This uneven focus neglects the potential richness and diversity of
therapeutic sensescape encounters, as well as the cultural and social sensory histories that shape how contem porary encounters may be experienced and interpreted. Suggestions for future research are outlined, including
methodological and empirical directions across the social sciences, arts and humanities.ye
Remote work marks the path to a greener future
Get PDFThere is more to working from home than skipping the traffic and getting to wear pyjamas all day. In fact, for a lot of people it’s becoming the new normal.
According to a recent report, 12.7% of full-time employees in the US are now working from home, with another 28.2% enjoying a mix of home and office work. This shift is far from temporary – it’s expected to nearly triple compared to what it was before the pandemic.
But what does all this mean for our cities and our planet? It’s not just about changing how our cities look and feel; it could be a big step toward a cleaner, more eco-friendly future. Want to know what doing Zoom calls in your living room (or wherever you like to work) means for the Earth? Let’s look at how this trend is affecting our planet, and how it can make changes for the better
Information Suppression in Idaho: Maternal Mortality Data in the Shadow of Recent US Supreme Court Judgements.
No full textOn June 4th 2022 the United States Supreme Court overruled both Roe vs. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania vs. Casey (1992) and returned the legality of abortion to the states. The issue examined was whether the Constitution confers the right to obtain an abortion. The Court held that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” In Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the standard that is used to decide whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s reference to “liberty” protects a particular right. The Constitution has no direct reference to abortion, but a number of Constitutional provisions are utilized to validate the constitutional right to abortion. Roe vs. Wade held that a woman’s right to abortion is a right to privacy that comes from the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
The dissenting opinion in the Dobbs Judgement points out that if sex was non-consensual, or a planned pregnancy takes a tragic turn due to a serious foetal abnormality or maternal health complications, treatments may now be denied or delayed due to potential prosecution. During the Supreme Court process thirteen States in the US prepared so-called ‘trigger laws’ in expectation, ready to be implemented immediately if the challenge was successful (Jiménez, 2022). Since the abortion protections of Roe vs. Wade have been overturned, an increasing number of States have severely restricted access to abortion, even in cases of rape and incest (New York Times, 2023; Nash & Guarnieri, 2023). This legislation clearly represents an assault on women, denying them bodily autonomy (Hill et al., 2023).ye
How are different clusters of physical activity, sedentary, sleep, smoking, alcohol, and dietary behaviors associated with cardiometabolic health in older adults? A cross-sectional latent class analysis
No full textBackground
Studies to date that investigate combined impacts of health behaviors, have rarely examined device-based movement behaviors alongside other health behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol, and sleep, on cardiometabolic health markers. The aim of this study was to identify distinct classes based on device-assessed movement behaviors (prolonged sitting, standing, stepping, and sleeping) and self-reported health behaviors (diet quality, alcohol consumption, and smoking status), and assess associations with cardiometabolic health markers in older adults.
Methods
The present study is a cross-sectional secondary analysis of data from the Mitchelstown Cohort Rescreen (MCR) Study (2015–2017). In total, 1,378 older adults (aged 55–74 years) participated in the study, of whom 355 with valid activPAL3 Micro data were included in the analytical sample. Seven health behaviors (prolonged sitting, standing, stepping, sleep, diet quality, alcohol consumption, and smoking status) were included in a latent class analysis to identify groups of participants based on their distinct health behaviors. One-class through to six-class solutions were obtained and the best fit solution (i.e., optimal number of classes) was identified using a combination of best fit statistics (e.g., log likelihood, Akaike’s information criteria) and interpretability of classes. Linear regression models were used to test associations of the derived classes with cardiometabolic health markers, including body mass index, body fat, fat mass, fat-free mass, glycated hemoglobin, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure.ye
Design, development and in vitro quantification of novel electrosprayed everolimus-loaded Soluplus®/Polyvinyl alcohol nanoparticles via stability-indicating HPLC method in cancer therapy
No full textEverolimus (RAD001) a mammalian target of rapamycin has been hampered by poor solubility, affecting its dissolution rate, a relationship that extends to low bioavailability. Nanoparticles (NP) based on Soluplus (SOL®) and Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was fabricated by electrospraying (ES) for the delivery of RAD001 to improve anti-tumour efficacy. Electrospraying with established experimental conditions produced PVA-SOL®-RAD001 NP with 71 nm mean diameter, smaller particle size distribution and >90 % encapsulation efficiency. Various polymer-drug concentrations exposed to various freeze–thaw (F/T) cycles were studied for NP optimisation and to enhance its mechanical properties. The optimised NP formulation demonstrated complete encapsulation as well as a sustained and pH dependent drug release profile for in vitro release test. In addition, to specifically study the degradation profile of RAD001 and to quantify RAD001 in the fabricated NP, a new HPLC method was developed and validated. The purpose and novelty of the HPLC method was also to ensure that RAD001 can be detected at low amounts where other conventional characterisation methods are unable to detect. The developed HPLC method was accurate, precise, robust and sensitive with LOD and LOQ values of 4.149 and 12.575 μg/mL. In conclusion, the novel developed HPLC system can be applied for the quantification of different chemotherapeutic agents and the novel electrosprayed hydrogel NP is a potential drug delivery system to increase solubility and bioavailability of RAD001 in cancer therapy.ye
Synthesis of NVCL-NIPAM hydrogels using PEGMA as a chemical crosslinker for controlled swelling behaviours in potential shapeshifting applications
No full textStimuli-responsive hydrogels have recently gained interest within shapeshifting applications due to their capabilities to expand in water and their altering swelling properties when triggered by stimuli, such as pH and heat. While conventional hydrogels lose their mechanical strength during swelling, most shapeshifting applications require materials to have mechanical strength within a satisfactory range to perform specified tasks. Thus, stronger hydrogels are needed for shapeshifting applications. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and poly (N-vinyl caprolactam) (PNVCL) are the most popular thermosensitive hydrogels studied. Their close-to-physiological lower critical solution temperature (LCST) makes them superior candidates in biomedicine. In this study, copolymers made of NVCL and NIPAm and chemically crosslinked using poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) were fabricated. Successful polymerisation was proven via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of incorporating comonomer and crosslinker on the LCST were found minimal using cloud-point measurements, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Formulations that completed three cycles of thermo-reversing pulsatile swelling are demonstrated. Lastly, rheological analysis validated the mechanical strength of PNVCL, which was improved due to the incorporation of NIPAm and PEGDMA. This study showcases potential smart thermosensitive NVCL-based copolymers that can be applied in the biomedical shapeshifting area.
Keywords: hydrogels; soft materials; smart materials; biomaterials; hydrophilic; temperature-responsive; lower critical solution temperature; photopolymerisation; chemically crosslinking; copolymersye