Innovative Vancomycin-Loaded Hydrogel-Based Systems - New Opportunities for the Antibiotic Therapy.

Purpose: Surgical site infections pose a significant challenge for medical services. Systemic antibiotics may be insufficient in preventing bacterial biofilm development. With the local administration of antibiotics, it is easier to minimize possible complications, achieve drugs' higher concentration at the injured site, as well as provide their more sustained release.

The Multi-temporal and Multi-dimensional Global Urban Centre Database to Delineate and Analyse World Cities.

Monitoring sustainable urban development requires comparable geospatial information on cities across several thematic domains. Here we present the first global database combining such information with city extents. The Global Human Settlement Urban Centre Database (GHS-UCDB) is produced by geospatial data integration to characterise more than 10,000 urban centres worldwide.

Outlook from the soil perspective of urban expansion and food security.

The use of soil as support for built-up areas represents only one of its several functions. Farmlands at the fringe of conurbations have more chance of being converted into built-up areas due to the favourable topography and the accessibility to existing infrastructure, being in the vicinity of urban areas. We analysed the global land-take during the period 2000-2014.

Built-up areas within and around protected areas: Global patterns and 40-year trends.

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy in global efforts to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services that are critical for human well-being. Most PAs have some built-up structures within their boundaries or in surrounding areas, ranging from individual buildings to villages, towns and cities. These structures, and the associated human activities, can exert direct and indirect pressures on PAs.