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For some professionally, vocationally, or technically oriented careers, curricula delivered in higher education establishments may focus on teaching material related to a single discipline. By contrast, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary teaching(MITT) results in improved affective and cognitive learning and critical thinking, offering learners/students the opportunity to obtain a broad general knowledge base. Chemistry is a discipline that sits at the interface of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine(STEMM) subjects (and those aligned with or informed by STEMM subjects). This article discusses the significant potential of inclusion of chemistry in MITT activities in higher education and the real-world importance in personal, organizational, national, and global contexts. It outlines the development and implementation challenges attributed to legacy higher education infrastructures (that call for creative visionary leadership with strong and supportive management and administrative functions), and curriculum design that ensures inclusivity and collaboration and is pitched and balanced appropriately. It concludes with future possibilities, notably highlighting that chemistry, as a discipline, underpins industries that have multibillion dollar turnovers and employ millions of people across the world.

Objective/introductionUnemployment can negatively impact quality of life among patients with schizophrenia. Employment status depends on ability, opportunity, education, and cultural influences. A clinician-rated scale of work readiness, independent of current work status, can be a valuable assessment tool. A series of studies were conducted to create and validate a Work Readiness Questionnaire (WoRQ) for clinicians to assess patient ability to engage in socially useful activity, independent of work availability.MethodsContent validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliability, and construct validity were evaluated in three separate studies.ResultsContent validity was supported. Cronbach's α was 0.91, in the excellent range. Clinicians endorsed WoRQ concepts, including treatment adherence, physical appearance, social competence, and symptom control. The final readiness decision showed good test-retest reliability and moderate inter-rater reliability. Work readiness was associated with higher function and lower levels of negative symptoms. Low positive and high negative predictive values confirmed the concept validity.DiscussionThe WoRQ has suitable psychometric properties for use in a clinical trial for patients with a broad range of symptom severity. The scale may be applicable to assess therapeutic interventions. It is not intended to assess eligibility for supported work interventions.ConclusionsThe WoRQ is suitable for use in schizophrenia clinical trials to assess patient work functional potential.

The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic relatedness between Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from pet animals and human. In that context, 561 swabs were collected from dogs (n=238) and cats (n=323). In addition, 30 MRSA positive isolates from Qasr Elainy hospital, from different patients were also included. The collected samples were subjected for bacteriological examination for isolation of S. aureus. The recovered S. aureus isolates that were resistant to oxacillin and cefoxitin were tested for the presence of mecA, mecC, spa, and nuc genes by PCR, followed by a sequence analysis of the mecA gene in seven selected isolates. Out of 238 swab samples collected from dogs and 323 swab samples collected from cats, 13 (5.46%) and 8 (2.48%) isolates respectively were confirmed to be MRSA. In addition, the 30 human isolates were all categorized as MRSA. The mecA gene was successfully identified in all isolates from dogs, cats and human, while spa was harbored by 13, 4 and 30 isolates from dogs, cats and human respectively. Furthermore 13, 4 and 23 isolates from dogs, cats and human were positive for the nuc gene. mecC was not identified from all examined isolates. The phylogenetic analysis of the mecA gene sequence in seven selected MRSA isolates demonstrated a high degree of similarity among isolates originating from dogs, cats, and humans. This study confirms the zoonotic spread of S. aureus and suggests that dogs and cats are probably contributing to the spread of MRSA to human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical component of many tissue‐engineered medical products (TEMPs) is the scaffold or biomaterial. The industry's understanding of scaffold properties and their influence on cell behavior has advanced, but our technical capability to reliably characterize scaffolds requires improvement, especially to enable large‐scale manufacturing. In response to the key findings from the 2013 ASTM International Workshop of Standards and Measurements for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ASTM International, BiofabUSA, and the Standards Coordinating Body (SCB) organized a workshop in 2018 titled, "Characterization of Fiber‐Based Scaffolds". The goal was to convene a group of 40 key industry stakeholders to identify major roadblocks in measurements of fiber‐based scaffold properties. This report provides an overview of the findings from this collaborative workshop. The four major consensus findings were that (a) there is need for a documentary standard guide that would aid developers in the selection of test methods for characterizing fiber‐based scaffolds; (b) there is a need for a strategy to assess the quality of porosity and pore size measurements, which could potentially be ameliorated by the development of a reference material; (b) there are challenges with the lexicon used to describe and assess scaffolds; and (d) the vast array of product applications makes it challenging to identify consensus test methods. As a result of these findings, a working group was formed to develop an ASTM Standard Guide for Characterizing Fiber‐Based Constructs that will provide developers guidance on selecting measurements for characterizing fiber‐based scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal diseases may require resectioning of the damaged portion. The current standard of care requires the replacement of the esophagus with the stomach or the intestine. Such procedures have high rates of mortality and morbidity; therefore, the use of alternative conduits is needed. A tissue engineering approach that allows for the regeneration of esophageal tissues would have significant clinical application. A cell‐seeded synthetic scaffold could replace the resected part of the esophagus and elicit tissue regrowth. In order to ideally recreate a functioning esophagus, its two crucial tissue layers should be induced: an epithelium on the luminal surface and a muscle layer on the exterior surface. To create a bioengineered esophagus with both tissue layers, a multilayer (ML) tubular scaffold design was considered. Luminal and exterior layers were electrospun with broad pore size to promote penetration and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells on the lumen and smooth muscle cells on the external. These two layers would be separated by a thin layer with substantially narrower pore size intended to act as a barrier for the two cell types. This ML scaffold design was achieved via electrospinning by tuning the solution and the process parameters. Analysis of the scaffold demonstrated that this tuning enabled the production of three integrated layers with distinguishable microstructures and good mechanical integrity. In vitro validation was conducted on the separated unilayer components of the ML scaffold. The resultant proof‐of‐concept ML scaffold design could possibly support the spatial arrangement of cells needed to promote esophageal tissue regeneration. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 107B: 324–331, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]