Core-shell bioprinting as a strategy to apply differentiation factors in a spatially defined manner inside osteochondral tissue substitutes

One of the key challenges in osteochondral tissue engineering is to define specified zones with varying material properties, cell types and biochemical factors supporting locally adjusted differentiation into the osteogenic and chondrogenic lineage, respectively. Herein, extrusion-based core-shell bioprinting is introduced as a potent tool allowing a spatially defined delivery of cell types and differentiation factors TGF-β3 and BMP-2 in separated compartments of hydrogel strands, and, therefore, a local supply of matching factors for chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Ink development was based on blends of alginate and methylcellulose, in combination with varying concentrations of the nanoclay Laponite whose high affinity binding capacity for various molecules was exploited. Release kinetics of model molecules was successfully tuned by Laponite addition. Core-shell bioprinting was proven to generate well-oriented compartments within one strand as monitored by optical coherence tomography in a non-invasive manner. Chondrocytes and osteoblasts were applied each in the shell while the respective differentiation factors (TGF-β3, BMP-2) were provided by a Laponite-supported core serving as central factor depot within the strand, allowing directed differentiation of cells in close contact to the core. Experiments with bi-zonal constructs, comprising an osteogenic and a chondrogenic zone, revealed that the local delivery of the factors from the core reduces effects of these factors on the cells in the other scaffold zone. These observations prove the general suitability of the suggested system for co-differentiation of different cell types within a zonal construct.

A „nagy átalakulás” – egy újabb szakasz jelei : The “Great Transformation” – The Sign Of The Next Phase

„A nagy átalakulás” (Polányi Károly) magyarázatot adott az Európa sorsát a 19. és a 20. század első felében meghatározó tényezőkre. Az átalakulás átrajzolta az egész Föld képét és a világ folyamatosan alkalmazkodott a változó feltételekhez. A technika fejlődése szinte zérusra csökkentette a tranzakciós költségeket és ez az információk, az áruk és az emberek áramlását hihetetlenül felgyorsította. A vállalatokon belül szerveződő értékláncok előbb a nemzetállamokon belül kialakuló lokális, majd regionális, végül globális ellátási láncokká szerveződtek. Ennek következtében világunk globális ökoszisztémává változott. Az ökoszisztémákra jellemző komplexitás és szoros csatolás következtében a Földet önszerveződő válságok [Perrow, 1984] fenyegetik. Az egész emberiség egy újabb „nagy átalakulást” kényszerül átélni. Mindez arra vezetett, hogy az országok, a vállalatok és az egyének életének feltételei alapvetően megváltoznak. “The Great Transformation” (Károly Polányi) gave an explanation to the crucial factors which fundamentally determined the fate of Europe in the 19th Century and in the first half of the 20th Century. Technological development reduced transaction costs almost to zero, and this helped the flow of information, commodities and people to speed up in an incredibly manner. Value chains within companies and corporations were also transformed, they were first reorganized as local supply chains within nation states, then as regional and finally global supply chains. As a result, our world has become a global ecosystem. Due to the complexity and strongly connected character of ecosystems, Earth is threatened crises of self-organization [Perrow, 1984]. The entire mankind is forced to face another “Great Transformation”. This article examines the essential change of the conditions of life of nations, corporations and individuals.

Subsea Well Intervention Readiness in Brazil

The purpose of this study is to assess the subsea well intervention capabilities in Brazil from an operator point of view and how it compares to other regions in the world, in terms of equipment availability, technology and readiness. The object of this assessment will be restricted to the well access systems, given the numerous scenarios that can drive a subsea well intervention. The intent is to identify the main challenges an International Oil Company (IOC) and/or Local Oil Company (LOC) operating in Brazil must overcome in order to keep a robust and realistic contingency plan in case of any well integrity issue. Also, similar challenges are experienced whenever production restoration is needed and/or even opportunities for production enhancement are economically assessed to viable, or not. Last but not least, well access during the last phase of a well lifecycle (plug and abandonment) is also a key element. This will be discussed further in. Until the late 90's, the subsea oil industry in Brazil was restricted to the state-run operator and the supply chain to the business had developed itself around the mindset to maidenly supply a single state-run operator demand. After the market opening and consolidation of the IOC's and LOC's in the subsea market, a lack of local supply of several goods and services started to present itself. Since well access systems are expensive and the base case is that you won't use it unless you have a problem, there's a strong unconscious desire not to worry about it until you really need it. Sharing the same view, service companies tend to enforce the sale of these kits to the operator, rather than focus on a rental solution. Moreover, when service companies provide rental solutions, they are not kept in country and mobilization fees and lead time become a showstopper on many cases. In view of the scenario described above and ways of operation of the Brazilian market IOC's and LOC's a solution will be proposed to mitigate the risk of unavailability and reduce costs based on the sharing economy principles.

Complementary Currencies for Humanitarian Aid

The humanitarian sector has gone through a major shift toward injection of cash into vulnerable communities as its core modality. On this trajectory toward direct currency injection, something new has happened: namely the empowerment of communities to create their own local currencies, a tool known as Complementary Currency systems. This study mobilizes the concepts of endogenous regional development, import substitution and local market linkages as elaborated by Albert Hirschman and Jane Jacobs, to analyze the impact of a group of Complementary Currencies instituted by Grassroots Economics Foundation and the Red Cross in Kenya. The paper discusses humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance programs and compares them to a Complementary Currency system using Grassroots Economics as a case study. Transaction histories recorded on a blockchain and network visualizations show the ability of these Complementary Currencies to create diverse production capacity, dense local supply chains, and data for measuring the impact of humanitarian currency transfers. Since Complementary Currency systems prioritize both cooperation and localization, the paper argues that Complementary Currencies should become one of the tools in the Cash and Voucher Assistance toolbox.

Reducing organ trafficking: New Zealand's international and domestic responsibilities

<p>Organ trafficking is a transnational issue that calls for a response from the international medical community. Despite consistent condemnation, organ trafficking persists due to the worldwide shortage of organs for transplantation. This paper discusses the human rights abuses perpetuated by organ trafficking and suggests some approaches to reducing organ trafficking and transplant tourism. The paper concludes that combating organ trafficking requires a cohesive response from the international community of states, comprising of mutually reinforcing legal reform at international and domestic levels. In particular, states should seek to lighten the burden on the worldwide shortage of organs by increasing local supply. This paper considers presumed consent to be the most effective system of organ procurement. As such the paper suggests a framework for implementing presumed consent in New Zealand, in order to increase organ donation rates.</p>

Reducing organ trafficking: New Zealand's international and domestic responsibilities

<p>Organ trafficking is a transnational issue that calls for a response from the international medical community. Despite consistent condemnation, organ trafficking persists due to the worldwide shortage of organs for transplantation. This paper discusses the human rights abuses perpetuated by organ trafficking and suggests some approaches to reducing organ trafficking and transplant tourism. The paper concludes that combating organ trafficking requires a cohesive response from the international community of states, comprising of mutually reinforcing legal reform at international and domestic levels. In particular, states should seek to lighten the burden on the worldwide shortage of organs by increasing local supply. This paper considers presumed consent to be the most effective system of organ procurement. As such the paper suggests a framework for implementing presumed consent in New Zealand, in order to increase organ donation rates.</p>

Urban Gardens as Sustainable Attractions for Children in Family Tourism

Most of the global population live in urban environments and the majority of tourist flows are concentrated in cities. Urban agriculture has recently emerged as an avenue for the protection of sustainable food production and the promotion of sustainable food consumption. Also, the relationships between horticulture and tourism are attracting growing interest in the context of urban studies. Drawing on a qualitative approach based on ten semi-structured interviews, this research analyzes the relationship between urban gardens and family tourism. The paper innovatively contributes to the understanding of gardens as an urban attraction that improves the sustainable production and consumption of food in the context of family tourism experiences. The results show the relevance of urban gardens for the creation of sustainable experiences that engage families with local food, enhance local supply chains, and inform the future of urban environments. Urban gardens are a visitor attraction that may lead to the development of sustainable people, places and products, and they represent the sustainable integration of horticulture in tourism based on participatory experiences, direct contact with the natural environment and the discovery of the origin of food.

Independent Retailer Restocking Choices in Urban Goods Movement and Interaction Effects with Traditional Markets

Traditional markets play a key role in local supply chains in many countries, often influencing retailer decisions due to their inherent attractiveness. In contrast to restocking choices for retailers as part of large chains, choices of independent retailers driven by local traditional markets have not been widely researched and are not well understood. This paper analyses the factors influencing independent retailer restocking choices and investigates the interplay between the presence of traditional markets and retailer choices. Bandung city in Indonesia is chosen for the study where independent retailers are prevalent, and where a number of traditional markets are thriving. A retrospective questionnaire was used to capture independent retailer restocking behaviour and generation models were calibrated to arrive at the trip propensity. Discrete choice models were estimated to explain the retailer preferences for supplier location and transport service choice. Results indicate that trips generated by independent retailers are explained by the presence of traditional markets and retailers’ vehicle ownership, in addition to the standard variables such as number of persons employed, weekly goods demand and average shipment weight. As for restocking location choice, retailers are more likely to choose suppliers within a traditional market where the number of wholesaler units is larger. Furthermore, the choice of traditional markets has a positive influence on whether retailers choose to use their own vehicle to restock their shops.

Single injection of very mild dose BOTOX in the vastus lateralis improves testicular spermatogenesis and sperm motility in ageing experimental mice

Acetylcholine (ACh), a key neurochemical messenger that plays key roles in neuroplasticity and muscle contraction. While ACh is important for the physiological function of the testis, abnormal levels of ACh cause testicular atrophy and male infertility. BOTOX is a therapeutic form of the botulinum neurotoxin that blocks the excessive release of ACh at the neuromuscular junction. Previously, repeated intracremasteric injections and slight overdose of BOTOX have been reported to induce adverse effects in the testicular parameter of experimental rodents. However, a mild dose of BOTOX is highly beneficial against skin ageing, neurological deficits, overactive urinary bladder problems, testicular pain and erectile dysfunctions. Considering the facts, the possible therapeutic benefit of BOTOX on the testis might be achieved via its minimal dose and indirect mode of action rather than repeated high quantity in the local supply. Therefore, we revisited the effect of BOTOX but with a trace amount injected into the vastus lateralis of the thigh muscle, and analyzed histological parameters of testis and quality of semen in ageing experimental mice. Experimental animals injected with 1 U/kg bodyweight of BOTOX showed enhanced spermatogenesis in associations with increased activities of key antioxidants in the testis, leading to increased total sperm count and motility. This study signifies that a mild intramuscular dose of BOTOX can be considered as a potential treatment strategy to manage and prevent male infertility.

The role of information and communication technologies in supply chains efficiency in COVID-19 pandemic

Information and communication technologies have become an integral part of our life. Supply chain management is also currently in a digital transformation, especially during the period of disruptions in global and local supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical descriptive analysis of the role of digital technologies in improving the efficiency and recovery of supply chains, as in the pre-crisis period and in a pandemic.The research is based on the processing of statistical data and macroeconomic indicators, presented in the public domain. The following indicators were considered as basic indicators: gross domestic product as a characteristic of the level of economic development of Russia before the crisis; Logistics efficiency index; Digital Life Index. For comparative analysis, countries from different categories were selected in the context of the selected assessment indicators. The results obtained confirmed the significant role of information and communication technologies in improving the efficiency and restoration of supply chains destroyed in connection with COVID-19 pandemic.It has been concluded that at the national level, developed economies showed high efficiency of their logistics systems and high scores of digital life rating. For countries with a level of economic development below average, the impact of information and communication technologies on the efficiency of the logistics system was not decisive in this context. The implementation of information and communication technologies makes it possible to restore the supply chains destroyed by the crisis and increase their efficiency, because of which a business in a pandemic gets a chance to survive.The results of this study can be used by heads of enterprises of various levels in determining the strategy and tactics of enterprise development, including crisis management. Research methods and data can be applied by researchers to further research into the impact of information and communication technologies on the recovery and efficiency of global and local supply chains, including considering updated data that consider the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the indicators used in this article.