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Higher education curricula can be designed to effectively leverage the context of small island states to enhance and deliver sustainable development and environmental health education, catering to workforce development, citizenry, and inclusivity. Small islands and developing states, in particular, are left behind in recognizing and promoting the linkages between environmentally sustainable development and the health of its people. This community case study highlights strategies of a Caribbean-based higher learning institution, leveraging the context of a small island state, to close this gap and create equitable access to integrated sustainable development and environmental health education. Tenets of Education for Sustainable Development theory underpin the pedagogical methodologies used in the delivery of the academic program. The curriculum draws on experiential learning, competency-based education, and diversity and inclusion, oriented to active student–student and student-practitioner engagements. Learning is facilitated through the effective dissemination of information, healthy interactions within a diverse community, professional engagements with multi-disciplinary practitioners, problem-solving, and formulation and presentation of perspectives and experiences relating to the Sustainable Development Agenda and Goals. Highly engaging and inclusive academic processes can accentuate students transitioning into the role of teachers, environmentally conscious leaders and citizens, and competent public health practitioners for the local and global workforces.

Although licensed vaccines against influenza virus have been successful in reducing pathogen-mediated disease, they have been less effective at preventing viral infection of the airways and current seasonal updates to influenza vaccines do not always successfully accommodate viral drift. Most licensed influenza and recently licensed RSV vaccines are administered via the intramuscular route. Alternative immunisation strategies, such as intranasal vaccinations, and "prime-pull" regimens, may deliver a more sterilising form of protection against respiratory viruses. A bivalent ChAdOx1-based vaccine (ChAdOx1-NP + M1-RSVF) encoding conserved nucleoprotein and matrix 1 proteins from influenza A virus and a modified pre-fusion stabilised RSV A F protein, was designed, developed and tested in preclinical animal models. The aim was to induce broad, cross-protective tissue-resident T cells against heterotypic influenza viruses and neutralising antibodies against RSV in the respiratory mucosa and systemically. When administered via an intramuscular prime-intranasal boost (IM-IN) regimen in mice, superior protection was generated against challenge with either RSV A, Influenza A H3N2 or H1N1. These results support further clinical development of a pan influenza & RSV vaccine administered in a prime-pull regimen., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Neutrophils release extracellular vesicles (EVs) and some subsets of neutrophil-derived EVs are procoagulant. In response to S. aureus, neutrophils produce EVs that associate electrostatically with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). DNA in NETs is procoagulant, but whether neutrophil EVs produced during bacterial challenge have similar activity is unknown. Given that EV activity is agonist- and cell-type dependent and coagulation contributes to sepsis, we hypothesized that sepsis-causing bacteria increase production of neutrophil-derived EVs, as well as EV-associated DNA, and intact EVs and DNA cause coagulation. We recovered EVs from neutrophils challenged with S. aureus (SA), S. epidermidis (SE), E. coli (EC), and P. aeruginosa (PA), and measured associated DNA and procoagulant activity. EVs from SA-challenged neutrophils (SA-EVs), which were previously characterized, displayed dose-dependent procoagulant activity as measured by thrombin generation (TG) in platelet-poor plasma. EV lysis and DNase treatment reduced TG by 90% and 37%, respectively. SE, EC, and PA also increased EV production and EV-associated extracellular DNA, and these EVs were also procoagulant. Compared to spontaneously released EVs, which demonstrated some ability to amplify Factor XII-dependent coagulation in the presence of an activator, only EVs produced in response to bacteria could initiate the pathway. SA-EVs and SE-EVs had more surface-associated DNA than EC-EVs and PA-EVs, and SA-EVs and SE-EVs contributed to initiation and amplification of TG in a DNA-dependent manner. However, DNA on EC- or PA-EVs played no role, suggesting that neutrophils release procoagulant EVs which can activate the coagulation cascade through both DNA-dependent and independent mechanisms., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Leukocyte Biology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)