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Lost in translation:the lack of agreement between surgeons and scientists regarding biomaterials research and innovation for treating bone defects
No full textBackground : With over 2 million grafts performed annually, bone ranks second only to blood in the frequency of transplants. This high demand is primarily driven by the persistent challenges posed by bone defects, particularly following trauma or surgical interventions such as tumour excision. The demand for effective and efficient treatments has increased exponentially in the twenty-first century. Limitations associated with autologous bone grafts drive exploration into replacements, including allografts, synthetic substitutes, and 3D-printed scaffolds. This research aimed to unravel disparities in the knowledge and evaluation of current and future bone defect treatments between surgeons and biomaterial scientists. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey, pre-registered with the OSF (https://osf.io/y837m/?view_only=fab29e24df4f4adf897353ac70aa3361) and conducted online from October 2022 to March 2023, collected data on surgeons’ views (n = 337) and scientists (n = 99) on bone defect treatments. Results: Scientists were significantly more optimistic than surgeons regarding the future replacement of autologous bone grafts with synthetic or tissue-engineered substitutes (p < 0.001). Accordingly, scientists foresee a paradigm shift from autologous bone grafts to biomaterial and tissue-engineered solutions, reflecting their confidence in the ongoing advancements within this field. Furthermore, regulatory trepidations for 3D-printed bone scaffolds were acknowledged, with scientists emphasizing the need for a more significant focus on clinical relevance in preclinical studies and regulatory clarity. In a ranked categorical assessment, witnessing the technology in action was deemed most influential in adopting new bone regeneration methods by both scientists and surgeons. Conclusions: To conclude, this study was conducted through a web-based survey, highlighting a substantial translational gap. It underscores the immediate need (“call to action”) for meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration between surgeons and scientists, often referred to as the need to “walk the talk”. The findings underscore the critical importance of aligning clinical needs, research outcomes, and regulatory frameworks to improve the development and implementation of biomaterial-based bone graft substitutes that demonstrate efficacy and efficiency in bone defect treatment.</p
From the bottom of the sea to the moon:Menzies and Australia’s communications golden age
No full textFor someone who merely ‘endured’ television, Robert Menzies played a major role in Australia’s communications golden age. Ironically, Menzies oversaw a scientific and technological revolution during his tenure as prime minister that endures. Australia was not only connected with the rest of the world by cables under the sea, but the nation played a major role in landing humans on the moon, a feat of exploration yet to be surpassed. To his critics, Menzies was a ‘pompous, anachronistic, forelock-tugging Establishment figure, who held back the tide of Australia’s potential and denied the country its independent greatness’. But the historical record demonstrates that Menzies was interested in new technologies such as his 1940s personal 16mm home movie camera, and he was eager to support the United States in its quest to win the ‘space race’. Menzies oversaw Australia’s golden age of communication which included the coaxial cable link between Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne, the COMPAC cable that provided a telephone link to Britain and the Commonwealth, and Australia’s membership of the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium. Ultimately, Menzies’ legacy led to the launch of an Australian satellite from Woomera and helped save the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. Paul Keating, however, said that this period was ‘the golden age when Australia was injected with a near lethal dose of old-fogeyism by the conservative parties… when they put the country into neutral and where we gently ground to a halt in the nowhere land of the early 1980s’. Nothing could be further from the truth. The portrayal of Menzies (and the Coalition since) as ‘anti-science’ and ‘anti-future’ for political gain denies his rightful place in Australia’s advancement. This paper, then, traces Menzies role in the golden age of communications in Australia and his enduring legacy
Total choline intake, liver fibrosis and the progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Results from 2017 to 2020 NHANES
No full textObjectives: This study investigated the cross-sectional relationships of total choline intake with the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its progression to liver fibrosis. Study design: The study used data on total choline intake, hepatic steatosis, and liver fibrosis from the cross-sectional 2017–2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including 24-h dietary recalls and liver ultrasound elastography (FibroScan®). Main outcome measures: Steatosis was defined as a controlled attenuation parameter score ≥ 285 dB/m. Fibrosis was defined as median liver stiffness ≥8 kPa. Complex survey-adjusted regression models were used in all analyses. Effect modification by sex, race, and cardiometabolic risk factors was investigated. Result: Total choline intake was not associated with MASLD status (n = 5687; odds ratio per 100 mg/d [95 % confidence interval]: 0.96 [0.85,1.09]; P = 0.55). However, among people with MASLD, a higher total choline intake was associated with higher odds of fibrosis (n = 2019; 1.15 [1.01,1.30]; P = 0.03). This association was observed in men (P-interaction = 0.1; 1.23 [1.02,1.48]; P = 0.03), but not in women (1.05 [0.88,1.24]; P = 1.0). Choline intake also tended to be positively associated with fibrosis in people with MASLD who were overweight or had central obesity (P-interaction = 0.02; 1.15 [1.00,1.34]; P = 0.06). Conclusions: Overall, no significant association was observed between total choline intake and the prevalence of MASLD. However, in people with MASLD, a higher choline intake was associated with higher odds of developing liver fibrosis. This association appeared to differ by sex and cardiometabolic risk factors.</p
Fourth International Handbook of Mathematics Education
No full textThis fourth international handbook discusses developments not recognized or dealt with fully in the first three Springer Mathematics Education handbooks and tackles controversial issues in the field. After starting with a provocative introductory chapter which asks whether controversy is a healthy feature of international mathematics education, the four following sections cover: (a) mathematics education in Asia; (b) the roles of theory in research and practice; (c) equity and social justice; and (d) curriculum and change. These themes are taken up in 28 chapters by 60 authoritative authors from all continents. Each of the four sections is structured on the basis of past, present, and future aspects.Like the first three mathematics education handbooks, this handbook provides a very valuable resource for teachers, mathematics education practitioners and researchers, education policy makers, and mathematicians, as well as graduate and undergraduate students
DNA-based studies and genetic diversity indicator assessments are complementary approaches to conserving evolutionary potential
No full textGenetic diversity is essential for maintaining healthy populations and ecosystems. Several approaches have recently been developed to evaluate population genetic trends without necessarily collecting new genetic data. Such “genetic diversity indicators” enable rapid, large-scale evaluation across dozens to thousands of species. Empirical genetic studies, when available, provide detailed information that is important for management, such as estimates of gene flow, inbreeding, genetic erosion and adaptation. In this article, we argue that the development and advancement of genetic diversity indicators is a complementary approach to genetic studies in conservation biology, but not a substitute. Genetic diversity indicators and empirical genetic data can provide different information for conserving genetic diversity. Genetic diversity indicators enable affordable tracking, reporting, prioritization and communication, although, being proxies, do not provide comprehensive evaluation of the genetic status of a species. Conversely, genetic methods offer detailed analysis of the genetic status of a given species or population, although they remain challenging to implement for most species globally, given current capacity and resourcing. We conclude that indicators and genetic studies are both important for genetic conservation actions and recommend they be used in combination for conserving and monitoring genetic diversity.</p
Waka Ŋurrkanhayŋu” Regenerating the existence of life - Addressing the causes of ‘natural’ and social disasters - reviving and strengthening Indigenous law, culture and governance in the very remote Indigenous community Galiwin’ku
No full textDeliberative Integrity: Risks and Responses in Mini-Public Governance
Get PDFDeliberative mini-publics (DMPs) refer to forums for informed citizen deliberation, where participants are everyday people selected through sortition or some form of random selection. Over the past decade, this form of deliberative engagement has gained traction in OECD countries because it promises to generate common ground on divisive issues such as abortion, assisted dying, and climate change. As DMPs grow in popularity, questions about their integrity are increasingly placed under the spotlight. In this report, we present findings from our research based on 62 semi-structured interviews with the DMPs community of practice from around the world, which includes people who commissioned, designed, implemented, evaluated, provided advice, or served as advocates of DMPs. We use the term ‘deliberative integrity’ to refer to how well the administration or governance of a DMP adheres to the principles of deliberative democracy as conceived by our interviewees. This report finds that risks to deliberative integrity occur within the deliberative process and in the surrounding commissioning and implementation context. They appear before, during and after the process. The community of practice identified five risk areas in DMPs. These include (1) economic pressures, (2) control and constraint by commissioning authorities (3) orthodoxy of design, (4) poor governance of DMPs, and (5) ambiguous impact and integration into the political system. These risks intersect and are experienced in different ways. When left unaddressed, DMPs are at risk of being diminished as another form of citizen engagement instrumentalised for political or commercial gain. The community of practice has responded to these risks in various forms, involving various actors. Responses take place within the (1) design and implementation of the mini-public, (2) deliberative mini-public community, and (3) broader political system and institutions.Our aim in sharing these findings is to encourage the community to continue honest and reflexive conversations about the challenges DMPs face. Our findings raise some difficult questions, but we hope to provide an evidence-based foundation for further reflection and action on how to acknowledge and address the risks as the field further matures. <br/
Do Social Trust and a Sense of Community Matter for the Engagement of Australian Migrants?
No full textPrevious studies have shown mixed results regarding the potential association between trust and community participation. Only a few studies comprehensively investigated the relationship between different forms of social trust. Most of the previous studies distinguished the different forms of social trust separately. This article investigated trust and a sense of community with a more comprehensive framework in a rarely investigated population, migrants in Australia. The increasing social capital approach has been gaining importance in studying the social/political participation of (ethnic) minorities as this has primarily been seen to suit ‘ethnic’ social capital. The article aims to fill the theoretical gap by including trust and a sense of community and examining their associations with civil engagement in society using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey data, a longitudinal survey in Australia with a particular focus on bringing the heterogeneities among groups of migrants. There has been an increasing number of people born overseas—a third of the population, according to the latest Australian Census in 2021. The results show that it is likely that the Australian-born population requires trust to engage in the community, particularly, in the case of volunteering, but this is not significant in the case of migrants. A high sense of community matters for both types of participation, political and volunteering, among Australian-born and the first generation of migrants. The results for the second generation of migrants in the context of trust and sense of community are limited, and other factors may influence their community engagement.</p
Judicial Education and Judicial Learning Styles: Are Judges Different to Other Learners?
No full textIn its report on judicial impartiality, Without Fear of Favour, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) declined to recommend that judicial education should be mandatory. Theories of education and learning suggest that, like other adult learners, motivating judicial officers to engage in judicial education voluntarily means the education must be attractive. Theories of learning indicate that one method of increasing the attractiveness of education is to align it with learners' preferred approaches to learning. However, there is no empirical data on Australian judicial officers' preferred approaches to education. This article presents the results of a survey of preferred judicial learning styles among Australian judicial officers. It finds that Australian judicial officers' preferences are diverse, but there are consistent patterns among respondents according to their jurisdiction and experience. The results guide courts and judicial education bodies in fostering the culture of engagement in judicial education proposed by the ALRC
Dear Mr Dutton, we want something else (with love from Barcelona)
Get PDFFrom Barcelona: It’s hard to escape Australian politics when I see examples of inaction all over the Iberian Peninsula. The news media would have you believe that the area is a hotbed for socialist Wokeri but the reality is rather different. That same energy that built up in the US and delivered Donald Trump’s electoral knock-out victory is about to avalanche here. It’s in Australia, too, but pundits want to pussyfoot around instead of getting in the bullring