Relationship between processing, surface energy and bulk properties of ultrafine silk particles

Silk particles of different sizes and shapes were produced by milling and interactions with a series of polar and non-polar gaseous probes were investigated using an inverse gas chromatography technique. The surface energy of all silk materials is mostly determined by long range dispersive interactions such as van der Waals forces. The surface energy increases and surface energy heterogeneity widens after milling. All samples have amphoteric surfaces and the concentration of acidic groups increases after milling while the surfaces remain predominantly basic. We also examined powder compression and flow behaviours using a rheometer. Increase in surface energy, surface area, and static charges in sub-micron air jet milled particles contributed to their aggregation and therefore improved flowability. However they collapse under large pressures and form highly cohesive powder. Alkaline hydrolysis resulted in more crystalline fibres which on milling produced particles with higher density, lower surface energy and improved flowability. The compressibility, bulk density and cohesion of the powders depend on the surface energy as well as on particle size, surface area, aggregation state and the testing conditions, notably the consolidated and unconsolidated states. The study has helped in understanding how surface energy and flowability of particles can be changed via different fabrication approaches.

Reflections on doing inclusive research in the 'making life good in the community' study

BACKGROUND: The involvement of people with intellectual disability in research is framed as inclusive, denoting their active participation in its processes. However, questions are raised about ownership and control, genuineness of involvement, and the need for honest accounts to develop practice. Such issues are particularly pressing in Australia, where there is the absence of a strong self-advocacy movement to partner with academics or hold them to account. METHOD: Action research was used to reflect on and progressively refine the support provided by a research mentor to a co-researcher with intellectual disability employed on a large multimethod study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Accepting the co-researcher's strengths and designing support on the job rather than teaching them to "pass" before venturing out in the field are important in ceding control. Support required for a co-researcher is more than practical and involves developing a relationship that can actively challenge views and foster reflection. Ownership of questions and disseminating of outcomes are hampered by contextual factors such as tender processes, short-term positions, and a failure to acknowledge the support required to present findings.

Cancer patients' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to patient participation in symptom management during an episode of admission

BACKGROUND:: Symptoms by definition are subjective, and patients' role in their assessment and management will impact on patient outcomes; thus, symptom management is an area of acute care practice where facilitation of patient participation is vital if quality outcomes are to be achieved. OBJECTIVE:: This study originated from a large multimethod research program exploring patient participation in symptom management in an acute oncology setting. The purpose of this article is to explore patients' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to participating in their symptom management during an episode of admission to an acute oncology ward and the relationships between these perceptions and patients' preference for participation. METHODS:: One hundred seventy-one cancer inpatients consented and completed an interview-administered questionnaire. Patients' preference for participation was measured using the Control Preference Scale. Responses to open-ended survey questions were evaluated using content analysis. RESULTS:: Ten categories were identified in the analyses of patient perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to participating in care decisions relating to their symptoms. Patients, irrespective of their Control Preference, reported multiple barriers and facilitators to participating in their symptom management. CONCLUSIONS:: Patients overall perceived information as the most critical component of participation. Irrespective of patients' preference for participation, there were similarities in the barriers and facilitators to the operationalization of participation in the acute care setting reported. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:: Understanding patient perceptions of barriers and facilitators of participating in symptom management has provided important insights into person and system factors in the acute care sector impacting quality patient symptom outcomes.

Deploying aptameric sensing technology for rapid pandemic monitoring

The genome of virulent strains may possess the ability to mutate by means of antigenic shift and/or antigenic drift as well as being resistant to antibiotics with time. The outbreak and spread of these virulent diseases including avian influenza (H1N1), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-Corona virus), cholera (Vibrio cholera), tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola Virus) and AIDS (HIV-1) necessitate urgent attention to develop diagnostic protocols and assays for rapid detection and screening. Rapid and accurate detection of first cases with certainty will contribute significantly in preventing disease transmission and escalation to pandemic levels. As a result, there is a need to develop technologies that can meet the heavy demand of an all-embedded, inexpensive, specific and fast biosensing for the detection and screening of pathogens in active or latent forms to offer quick diagnosis and early treatments in order to avoid disease aggravation and unnecessary late treatment costs. Nucleic acid aptamers are short, single-stranded RNA or DNA sequences that can selectively bind to specific cellular and biomolecular targets. Aptamers, as new-age bioaffinity probes, have the necessary biophysical characteristics for improved pathogen detection. This article seeks to review global pandemic situations in relation to advances in pathogen detection systems. It particularly discusses aptameric biosensing and establishes application opportunities for effective pandemic monitoring. Insights into the application of continuous polymeric supports as the synthetic base for aptamer coupling to provide the needed convective mass transport for rapid screening is also presented.