Accessible Form Research Articles

Heterotrophic soil respiration and carbon cycling in geochemically distinct African tropical forest soils

Abstract. Heterotrophic soil respiration is an important component of the global terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, driven by environmental factors acting from local to continental scales. For tropical Africa, these factors and their interactions remain largely unknown. Here, using samples collected along topographic and geochemical gradients in the East African Rift Valley, we study how soil chemistry and fertility drive soil respiration of soils developed from different parent materials even after many millennia of weathering. To address the drivers of soil respiration, we incubated soils from three regions with contrasting geochemistry (mafic, felsic and mixed sediment) sampled along slope gradients. For three soil depths, we measured the potential maximum heterotrophic respiration under stable environmental conditions and the radiocarbon content (Δ14C) of the bulk soil and respired CO2. Our study shows that soil fertility conditions are the main determinant of C stability in tropical forest soils. We found that soil microorganisms were able to mineralize soil C from a variety of sources and with variable C quality under laboratory conditions representative of tropical topsoil. However, in the presence of organic carbon sources of poor quality or the presence of strong mineral-related C stabilization, microorganisms tend to discriminate against these energy sources in favour of more accessible forms of soil organic matter, resulting in a slower rate of C cycling. Furthermore, despite similarities in climate and vegetation, soil respiration showed distinct patterns with soil depth and parent material geochemistry. The topographic origin of our samples was not a main determinant of the observed respiration rates and Δ14C. In situ, however, soil hydrological conditions likely influence soil C stability by inhibiting decomposition in valley subsoils. Our results demonstrate that, even in deeply weathered tropical soils, parent material has a long-lasting effect on soil chemistry that can influence and control microbial activity, the size of subsoil C stocks and the turnover of C in soil. Soil parent material and its control on soil chemistry need to be taken into account to understand and predict C stabilization and rates of C cycling in tropical forest soils.

Informal sellers and formal markets: a habitus gap

PurposeIn developing economies, 30% of the gross domestic product on average is undertaken by unregistered businesses. The informal economy leads to high opportunity costs by preventing gains from trade with strangers. To overcome this obstacle, sellers who usually operate in the informal economy should strive to move to formal markets. Current theories are drawn from a view of markets as institutions governed by formal and informal rules. In a nutshell, informal-formal market transitions must be met with a regulative solution. However, the overall results have been disappointing. This failure invites a re-diagnosis of the problem that informal sellers face to act in formal markets and suggesting novel solutions. This paper aims to address this gap.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper. The authors adopt MacInnis’s (2011) framework to characterize the approach to theory development.FindingsThe authors argue that extant views of formal/informal markets differences address only one of Scott’s (2014) three pillars (regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive). By drawing on Bourdieu’s legacy, the authors propose a cultural-cognitive reading of institutions and suggest it offers a lens to understand the problem as an access challenge, and thus a marketing problem. This perspective allows us to conceptualize informal/formal markets as two distinct institutional fields and argues that all individuals inhabit a particular habitus and contend that moving between markets requires a habitus shift. Thus, acting in formal markets involves bridging a habitus gap. Finally, the authors argue the need for a market-facing intermediary that takes on a market habitus bridging role.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors suggest future research efforts could benefit from this new conceptual lens as a means of re-diagnosing other forms of market access that have produced disappointing results.Practical implicationsBy looking at differences between formal and informal markets as a habitus gap, the allocation of public funds to support transitions can be better targeted and spent.Social implicationsThe concept of market-facing intermediaries suggests that the beneficiary (e.g. informal seller) and target populations can be different. This insight could catalyze social innovation and trigger novel perspectives to design systemic solutions.Originality/valueConceptualizing the formal-informal market transition as a habitus gap suggests new directions to resolve access challenges and a new mediator solution.

ИНДИКАЦИЯ ФРАГМЕНТОВ ГЕНОВ ФЕРМЕНТОВ У БАКТЕРИЙ ВИДА BACILLUS MEGATERIUM

The soil microbial component plays a critical role in maintaining the soil functionality, performing several vital functions such as soil formation, decomposition of dead and decayed organic matter, circulation of macro and micro elements and transformation of toxic chemicals into non-toxic forms. Various Bacillus species, including B. megaterium, are known to fix atmospheric nitrogen. To ensure nitrogen fixation and diversity analysis of diazotrophs, the most widely used gene marker is nifH, which is responsible for synthesis of proteins of the nitrogenase complex. Various soil microorganisms, including B. megaterium, are endowed with the ability to solubilize phosphorus inaccessible form to accessible one and / or mineralize organic phosphorus to accessible phosphorus form. Phosphatases and phytases are two groups of enzymes that catalyze transformation of organic phosphates to inorganic ones. It was found that Bacillus megaterium exhibits acidic and alkaline phosphatase activity and produces phytases. The aim of this work was to determine by RT-PCR method the presence of genes responsible for enzyme synthesis of phytase, nitrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase in strains of previously isolated bacteria of Bacillus megaterium species. To specify the presence of genes encoding synthesis of the desired enzymes in Bacillus megaterium, an in-silico analysis of the annotated genomes of this bacterial species, presented in the NCBI information database, was carried out. Further on, the selection of primers for screening the target parts was made. According to the results of the study, 7 out of 16 isolated B. megaterium strains contained all three required DNA parts responsible for synthesis of phytase, nitrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase enzymes.

A pig model of tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC) infection and dysfunction: Opportunities for therapeutic innovation.

Although tunneled dialysis catheters (TDC) are far from ideal, they still represent the main form of vascular access for most patients beginning dialysis. Catheters are easy to place and allow patients instant access to dialysis, but regardless of these benefits, catheters are associated with a high incidence of significant complications like bloodstream infections, central venous stenosis, thrombosis, and dysfunction. In the present study, we aim to describe and characterize a swine model of catheter dysfunction and bloodstream infection, that recreates the clinical scenario, to help to serve as a platform to develop therapeutic innovations for this important clinical problem. Six Yorkshire cross pigs were used in this study. Non-coated commercial catheters were implanted in the external jugular recreating the main features of common clinical practice. Catheters were aseptically accessed twice a week for a mock dialysis procedure (flushing in and out) to assess for and identify catheter dysfunction. Animals were monitored daily for infections; once detected, blood samples were collected for bacterial culture and antibiograms. Study animals were euthanized when nonresponsive to treatment. Tissue samples were collected in a standardized fashion for macroscopic inspection and histological analysis. The data analysis revealed an early onset of infection with a median time to infection of 9 days, 40% of the isolates were polymicrobial, and the average time to euthanasia was 20.16 ± 7.3 days. Median time to catheter dysfunction onset was 6 days post-implantation. Postmortem dissection revealed external fibrin sheath and internal thrombosis as the main causes of catheter dysfunction. There was also evidence of central venous stenosis with positive cells for αSMA, CD68, Ki67, Smoothelin, and Vimentin within the venous neointima. The described model represents a reliable and reproducible large animal model of catheter dysfunction and bloodstream infection, which recreates all the main complications of TDC's and so could be used as a validated large animal model to develop new therapies for TDC related infection, thrombosis/dysfunction and central venous stenosis.

THOMAS AQUINAS’ SOCIAL TEACHING OF ABOUT THE TEACHER, TEACHING AND UPBRINGING

The article deals with the issues of F. Aquinas ' social teaching about the teacher, teaching and upbringing, which have not yet been studied in socio-political science. The article deals in more detail with the issues of F. Aquinas ' social teaching – knowledge and cognition, sign and word, language of learning, moral, moral and aesthetic aspects of teaching, on the transition and generation of knowledge from a student by a teacher, etc. The article notes that according to Aquinas, real education and upbringing is impossible without the use of authorities, authoritative books, their reading and interpretation. Learning means that one person transmits information about their knowledge or skill to another person. A teacher can be a person who independently expands his knowledge, is able to clearly formulate this knowledge for himself and transmit it to the student in an information accessible form for the student. At the same time, the article also pays attention to discussion issues.

L'edizione delle carte degli scrittori: l'archivio letterario incontra il (nativo) digitale

The edition of cultural collections clearly reveals a need: to give value to relationships. The experience on the funds of scholars and professors at the University of Bologna has allowed us to start a reflection on the meaning of building environments where the author’s profile is outlined in the set of relationships he maintains with his papers, but also with other archives, with other people, with other resources and in particular with books, not only those of which he is the author or owner, but also those of which he is the object or subject. In the context of the dialogue between document and book, we cannot ignore the case of those papers that are born natively digital and in which the production context determines new models of knowledge organization. The ALDiNa project, sponsored by the AIUCD, aims to carry out a census, and thus create a catalog, of native digital when this practice of producing papers qualifies the activity of writers. The born-digital, in particular, amplifies the complexity of managing different versions of a text in potentially multi- layered environments, while, at the same time, launching the challenge of creating new forms of access to the canonical relationship between established text/variants, but also to all the contextual components necessary to guarantee the expressiveness of the creative process. A new way of thinking about the digital edition is thus configured as the narration of a path to enhance cultural memory, a story about the author and his texts.

Energy poverty in the COVID-19 era: Mapping global responses in light of momentum for the right to energy

This article presents the results of the COVID Energy Map, a novel, global mapping exercise tracking emergency responses undertaken by governments, regulators, utilities and companies in the Global North and South to mitigate energy poverty by keeping energy affordable and available. The map constitutes a comprehensive open access evidence-based database, so far collating 380+ emergency measures, in 120+ countries. This paper particularly shows and discusses how the response has been developing until early 2021, highlighting various emerging longer-term concerns and strategies across Global North and South. The global COVID-19 response merits close attention in our view, as it reveals both the universal importance of household energy services access and important underlying existing narratives and policy-making questionsabout securing energy services access as a vital basic need, and even a ‘basic right’. In fact, the paper additionally evaluates whether and how COVID-19 responses seem to fall in step with a nascent global trend of (legal) recognition of ‘rights to energy’ in international, regional and national policy, including for example in the EU, India, Philippines, and Colombia.We conclude that while the COVID-19 response clearly reflects broad recognition of the vital importance of affordable, continuous energy services access for basic human well-being and capabilities during the pandemic, a right to energy perspective could additionally lay bare or give shape to important concerns about some households’ too minimal (insufficient) forms of modern energy access, questions of equity, and the role of the state and other actors. In terms of equity the article particularly raises issues with the manner in which support was made available only to some consumers (e.g. on-grid, off-grid, regulated, or non-regulated, post-paid or pre-paid), or only for specific fuels, and not others. In addition, the lack of attention to clean (renewable) (off-grid) energy services in COVID-19 responses is striking, and worrying, both in terms of immediate response, and green recovery from COVID-19. We argue that a right to (clean) energy perspective would help to reflect on, and inform, both shorter-term and longer-term responses to energy poverty and COVID-19, and should aid the realization of sufficiently equitable, robust, modern energy systems in line with universal UN Global Sustainable Development Goal 7. Specifically, it should also help to fulfil SDG7.1.’s promise of ‘leaving no one behind’.

НЕКОТОРЫЕ СВОЙСТВА ЦЕОЛИТОВ ДЛЯ СОХРАНЕНИЯ БИОЦЕНОЗА

According to the obtained results, five samples of native zeolite from a mining quarry, Drozhzhanovsky district, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia had neither pathogenic nor saprophytic fungi when plated on Saburo agar with dextrose. Zeolites prolongated the action of mineral fertilizers, increasing the effectiveness of the latter. The content of calcium in the chemical composition of the zeolite-containing rock created favorable conditions for improving the reaction of the soil environment, for the active mobilization of soil phosphates into accessible forms. Silicon which in the composition of zeolites, improved plants nutrition with phosphorus and potassium. Due to the safe and beneficial properties of zeolite, this agro mineral can be used to restore soil fertility. This research will be continued.

Neither sublimes nor catastrophes: digital affordances in silent film heritage and suggestions from home movies collections

ABSTRACT The digital optimism of the past decade has been reflected in many policy documents related to cultural heritage in which digital technology is portrayed as a great opportunity to bring cultural heritage to a much wider audience. This potential has been contested as widening access has proved much more complex than some at first thought. Despite that, in this paper we argue that curators of national silent film collections can realistically get inspired by grassroots participatory projects. We consider two digital projects: silent feature films in the British context; and silent home movies in Italy. The first study considers the BFI Player as part of the broader BFI digital strategy. We examine the development of institutional practices to digitally publish silent films, the role of the archive and curators, and the new public experiences of silent cinema. The second study is a grassroots project that looks at the role of digitisation in the re-use of digitised footage from Sicilian home movie collections. The study explores digital forms of organisation and access to this material and how they encourage creative reuse. We extrapolate some best practices that curators and policy makers might find useful and could follow nationally and locally.

A Novel Coordinated Multipoint Scheme With Zero Guard Interval for ATSC 3.0 Single Frequency Networks

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has issued ATSC 3.0 as the standard for the next-generation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) broadcasting. ATSC 3.0 introduces several new features including Layered Division Multiplexing (LDM) that is a form of Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA). ATSC 3.0 supports the legacy Single Frequency Networks (SFN), where the Guard Interval (GI) is considered to overcome the multipath as well as the asynchronous reception from different transmitters. Considering the huge distances between the DTT broadcasters, the GI overhead could be comparable to the data size, making the control/data ratio unfavorable. This paper proposes the association of Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) in SFN with NOMA-LDM. A novel formation of the channel matrix is provided that jointly includes the asynchronous channel's cross correlations for further joint detection of the signals at the receiver. The purpose is to enhance the coverage and spectral efficiency while avoiding hectic guard intervals or directional antennas. The capacity region is derived in an information theoretic framework based on exploiting the asynchronous channels' memory and correlation. We show that the spectral efficiency can exceed that of the non-coordinating schemes, provided that the proper receiver is equipped with the proposed channel matrix formation. Our extensive simulations validate that our proposed association of CoMP-SFN with NOMA-LDM provides a considerable boost in the coverage and channel reliability, while increasing the spectral and power efficiency.

Ethics in Forced Migration Research: Taking Stock and Potential Ways Forward

Migration research poses particular ethical challenges because of legal precarity, the criminalization and politicization of migration, and power asymmetries. This paper analyzes these challenges in relation to the ethical principles of voluntary, informed consent; protection of personal information; and minimizing harm. It shows how migration researchers — including those outside of academia — have attempted to address these ethical issues in their work, including through the recent adoption of a Code of Ethics by the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM). However, gaps remain, particularly in relation to the intersection of procedural and relational ethics; specific ethical considerations of big data and macrocomparative analyses; localized meanings of ethics; and oversight of researchers collecting information outside of institutional ethics boards. The paper concludes with the following recommendations: Institutional Research Ethics Boards should familiarize themselves with the particular ethical challenges in migration research, as well as available resources, such as the IASFM Code of Ethics. Ethics boards should include researchers and community representatives who are familiar with migration in reviews of related projects. Academic and training programs in migration studies should include sessions and resources on migration-specific research ethics. Nonacademic organizations, including migrant-led organizations, should provide information resources and training to their staff and clients to ensure that they understand procedural ethics requirements, relational ethical principles, as well as the rights of those asked to participate in research. Organizations conducting their own research should establish ethics review processes and relational ethics norms. A leading migration studies center or institution should map existing ethical guidelines and processes in different countries and contexts to be better aware of overlap and gaps. This mapping should take the form of an open access, interactive database, so that information can be accessible and updated in real time. Researchers should engage in more dissemination of lessons learned on ethics in migration. While there is some emerging consensus on key ethical principles for migration research, it is in their application that researchers face dilemmas. Honest reflection and sharing of these experiences will help researchers to anticipate and manage similar dilemmas they encounter while undertaking research. Researchers at all stages of their careers should not undertake migration research without having first reviewed some of the literature on ethics and migration, which is partially cited in this paper. Research centers should facilitate dialogue on ethical issues in languages other than English, particularly languages most spoken by people in migration, and by people who are underrepresented in formal ethics processes and debates, especially those with direct experience of migration.

Disability Access and Digital Platforms

AbstractThe shift to online programming prompted by the Covid‐19 pandemic has enabled more people to attend more events. But there are dangers to drawing the conclusion that “online” automatically means “more accessible.” For people with disabilities, the platforms that have defined life during the pandemic have facilitated some forms of access while making others more difficult. Regardless of reopening plans, the possibility of remote work and learning will undoubtedly continue to develop and shape daily life for many years to come. What, then, do digital platforms owe the diverse range of users who depend on their technologies?

The role of electronic information resources in supporting scientific research at Northern Border University

This study aimed to realize the impact of Electronic Information Resources on the scientific research movement at the Northern Border University. As it includes Electronic Information Resources provided by the university through the Saudi Digital Library, and many forms of sources such as databases, which include full-text databases, abstracts databases, bibliographic databases, as well as electronic books and electronic periodicals, these resources are characterized by the magnitude of content, continuous modernity, and linguistic diversity, the ability to permanently meet the needs of faculty members. The study sample consisted of 150 faculty members from all disciplines and academic degrees at the university, consistently standard of 137 faculty members from this sample. The study was keen to apply the survey methodology through the main measurement tool (the questionnaire), which consists of 16 main vocabularies that constitute the direction of measurement for the study. The study reached many results, the most important of which is that the high percentage of staff members use teaching Electronic Information Resources significantly, that they can meet teaching and research needs and upgrade academic, as well as there is a broad trend of satisfaction towards the use of full-text databases from other forms of databases. The study showed that the preferred form of access to the types of Electronic Information Resources is through the Saudi Digital Library for free, and there is a tendency of faculty members towards access through the home is larger than the university campus. In general, the study found a high percentage of faculty members ’satisfaction with the use of Electronic Information Resources and the extent of their impact on the flourishing of scientific research. Also, it recommended the necessity of increasing training programs towards using research methods for Electronic Information Resources and intensifying the use of the Internet through the university campus with linking Electronic Information Resources to academic courses.

Marine Ecotourism Architecture

Tourism is the largest industry and the leading sector of multidimensional development that attracts attention to be developed by many archipelagic countries and regions. Marine ecotourism architecture is the right choice to be developed in an integrated manner based on its components in the form of attractions, accessibility, accommodation, amenities, and tourism, which is abbreviated as 5A tourism. This research article describes an architectural model prototype for marine ecotourism development based on Google SketchUp and Lumion Island Larea-rea as a marine tourism destination in the East Coast Region of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. This type of Research and Development applies the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) approach. Observation and interview techniques were used in field research to collect data and information which were analyzed descriptively. The results of the research in the form of a prototype architectural model design for developing Larea-rea Island tourism destinations based on 5A show natural and well-maintained ecological attractions because the white sand beaches have not been polluted with clear seawater and natural coral reefs. The architectural concept of marine ecotourism is a miniature island tourism destination that has an attraction in the form of a miniature mangrove forest to prevent beach abrasion and the local cultural theme amenity is reflected in the architecture of Rumah Sembilan where on the roof side adapts the design of the traditional Karampuang house. In other words, this marine ecotourism design applies the architectural theme of a recreational environment based on the micro-ecological concept as a building design, the marine adaptive micro-concept as the background, and the pragmatic micro-concept as a regional spatial layout.

Multifunctional simulator for providing ship with data on maneuverability

The article presents the research analysis on the ship safety. It has been found out that due to the lack of a methodology for planning an algorithm for the maneuvering control system, there is no concept of solving technological problems or any understanding of what data are needed to perform the work. Despite the cybernetic devices and programs perform some part of the work and prepare the necessary data, the skipper does not understand how the device generates them. The task was to create a prototype that could allow to get data on the ship maneuverability. After the initial stage of training has been passed the skills should be obtained, which further will transform into the passive and stable abilities. The created hardware and software package allows implementing the concept of the guaranteed safety of maneuvering control in piloting vessels due to improving the methods of forming sustainable skills and bringing it to the automation level. It was recommended to use a simulator with visualization, to introduce the new algorithms of controlling the ship propulsion in the area of responsibility by coastal and to develop the recommendations on divergence, new training methods for pilots on shore. The conclusions were made on improving the level of information support by preparing subject-specific declarative knowledge and presenting it in an easily accessible form for perception when making decisions on maneuvering. The developed methodology is implemented in the training process of pilots in the training complex of Kerch State Maritime Technological University

The extended present: an informational context for perception

Several previous authors have proposed a kind of specious or subjective present moment that covers a few seconds of recent information. This article proposes a new hypothesis about the subjective present, renamed the extended present, defined not in terms of time covered but as a thematically connected information structure held in working memory and in transiently accessible form in long-term memory. The three key features of the extended present are that information in it is thematically connected, both internally and to current attended perceptual input, it is organised in a hierarchical structure, and all information in it is marked with temporal information, specifically ordinal and duration information. Temporal boundaries to the information structure are determined by hierarchical structure processing and by limits on processing and storage capacity. Supporting evidence for the importance of hierarchical structure analysis is found in the domains of music perception, speech and language processing, perception and production of goal-directed action, and exact arithmetical calculation. Temporal information marking is also discussed and a possible mechanism for representing ordinal and duration information on the time scale of the extended present is proposed. It is hypothesised that the extended present functions primarily as an informational context for making sense of current perceptual input, and as an enabler for perception and generation of complex structures and operations in language, action, music, exact calculation, and other domains.

Art and Stone: An East, West, and Global Perspective

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2021) 7(1):3–9 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2021/7/5 Art and Stone: An East, West, and Global Perspective 艺术与石头：东西方全球视角 Abstract Introductory comments and reflections on the Donna Dodson and Jun Hu articles in the current issue of CAET dealing with scholars’ rocks and rock balancing art. The artistic approaches to the stone configurations are presented as accessible and transcultural forms of artistic expression that have a worldwide aesthetic appeal. Keywords: scholars’ rocks, rock balancing art, environmental art, cairn construction, universal forms of artistic expression, accessible art expression 摘要 此文介绍了本期CAET中Donna Dodson和胡俊涉及君子石和岩石平衡艺术的文章，并加以评论和反思。文章展示了构建石头形态的艺术方法是人们可接触到的跨文化的艺术表达形式，具有世界性的审美吸引力。 关键词： 君子石，岩石平衡艺术，环境艺术，穴居建筑，艺术表达的普遍形式，无障碍艺术表达

Young Climate Protesters’ Mobilization Availability: Climate Marches and School Strikes Compared

Although there is a developing strand of literature on young people’s participation in environmental activism, there have been few systematic comparisons of their participation in different forms of environmental activism. This article compares the participation of young people and their older counterparts in climate change marches and Global Climate Strikes (GCSs). The agential and structural factors that draw people into protest participation are, in general terms, well recognized. However, it is also recognized that the factors that lead to particular types of protest on certain issues might not be the same as those that lead to different types of protest on different issues. In this article, we keep the protest issue constant (climate change), and make comparisons across different forms of climate protest (marches and school strikes). We coin the term “mobilization availability”, which is a useful way to understand why young people are differentially mobilized into different types of climate change protest. Our notion of mobilization availability invites scholars to consider the importance of the interplay of the supply and demand for protest in understanding who protests and why. We analyse data collected using standardized protest survey methodology (n = 643). In order to account for response rate bias, which is an acute problem when studying young people’s protest survey responses, we weighted the data using propensity score adjustments. We find that the youth-oriented supply of protest evoked by GCS mobilized higher numbers of young people into climate protest than did the more adult-dominated climate marches. GCS did this by providing accessible forms of protest, which reduced the degree of structural availability required to encourage young people to protest on the streets, and by emotionally engaging them. Indeed, the young people we surveyed at the GCSs were considerably more angry than their adult counterparts, and also angrier than young people on other climate protests. Our conceptual and empirical innovations make this paper an important contribution to the literature on young people’s political participation.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Provide Timely Central Vascular Access in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Timely central venous access is essential in the care of critically ill neonates. Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are the preferred form of central venous access when umbilical venous catheters cannot be placed or are discontinued. However, time delays increase risk for injury from peripheral intravenous lines and may contribute to inconsistent delivery of necessary fluids and medications. The aim of this quality improvement project was to decrease wait times for PICC placement in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A unit-based PICC team was developed consisting of NICU nurses and attending neonatologists and implemented in 2 phases. Data were collected from chart reviews before, during, and after implementation of the team. We tracked time between PICC order and placement and number of attempts. Hospital metrics on peripheral intravenous line infiltrations and central line-associated blood stream infection were also monitored. At the end of the project, we continued tracking outcomes to determine whether gains would be sustained past the project period. Implementation of a unit-based interdisciplinary specialty team led to a 50% reduction in mean PICC wait times from 1.2 days to 0.58 days. Benefits of the initiative were sustained past the initial project period. The development of a dedicated, local team played a key role in improving vascular access in the NICU. Proximity of specialized teams provides a solution to address gaps in care in the NICU.

Tailored synbiotic powder (functional food) to prevent hyperphosphataemia (kidney disorder)

Hyperphosphataemia is treated with phosphate binders, which can cause adverse effects. Spray-dried synbiotic powder (SP) composed of Lactobacillus casei JCM1134 (a phosphate-accumulating organism; PAO) and Aloe vera is potentially a safer alternative for efficient phosphate removal. In this study, a novel strategy was developed; lysine-derivatized deacetylated A. vera (DAVK) was synthesised and fabricated on phosphate-deficient PAO (PDP) for efficient phosphate transfer and then spray-dried with the supernatant of DAV centrifugation to form a sacrificial layer on PDP for SP integrity during gastric passage. In vitro experiments revealed that PAO removed only 1.6% of the phosphate from synthetic media, whereas SP removed 89%, 87%, and 67% (w/v) of the phosphate from milk, soft drink, and synthetic media, respectively, confirming the protective role of A. vera and efficient phosphate transport. Compared with commercial binders, SP effectively removed phosphate from synthetic media, whereas SP and CaCO3 exhibited comparative results for milk and soft drink. Importantly, CaCO3 caused hypercalcaemia. Thus, the described SP presents a promising tool to prevent hyperphosphataemia. This study also revealed a novel factor: diets of patients with chronic kidney disease should be monitored to determine the optimal phosphate binders, as phosphate removal performance depends on the accessible phosphate forms.