Current status and prospect for future advancements of long-acting antibody formulations.

Introduction: Biologics, especially monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), have become a major class of therapeutics in recent years addressing the needs of millions of patients and becoming one of the best-selling treatments in the pharmaceutical market. A wide range of multifaceted chronic diseases have benefitted from antibody therapeutics. Long-term treatment for chronic diseases with mAb therapies can mean a lifetime of frequent injections.

Developing Recommendations for Cumulative Endpoints and Lifetime Use for Research Animals.

Research animals are important for scientific advancement, and therefore, their long-term welfare needs to be monitored to not only minimize suffering, but to provide positive affective states and experiences. Currently, there is limited guidance in countries around the world on cumulative and experimental endpoints. This paper aims to explore current opinions and institutional strategies regarding cumulative use and endpoints through a scoping survey and review of current regulations and welfare assessment tools, and ultimately to provide recommendations for assessment of cumulative and lifetime use of research animals.

Can interprofessional case conferences effectively teach interprofessional core competencies? A case study.

Background: The establishment of interprofessional education (IPE) as an effective method for training future health care providers, the subsequent establishment of IPE requirements in accreditation standards, and the challenges to integrating IPE into professional-centric curricula have created an environment that encourages opportunity for innovation and collaboration in curriculum design.

Interprofessional Education Activity: Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies were integrated into an Interprofessional Case Conference (ICC) model that included six annual case conferences involving students from eight health professions across multiple campuses. Students worked in groups of eight with no more than two students from each profession per group.

Subcutaneous Delivery of High-Dose/Volume Biologics: Current Status and Prospect for Future Advancements.

Subcutaneous (SC) delivery of biologics has traditionally been limited to fluid volumes of 1-2 mL, with recent increases to volumes of about 3 mL. This injection volume limitation poses challenges for high-dose biologics, as these formulations may also require increased solution concentration in many cases, resulting in high viscosities which can affect the stability, manufacturability, and delivery/administration of therapeutic drugs. Currently, there are technologies that can help to overcome these challenges and facilitate the delivery of larger amounts of drug through the SC route.

Affective Images of Climate Change.

Climate change is not only a scientific phenomenon, but also a cultural one. Individuals' opinions on climate change are often based on emotion rather than on scientific evidence. Therefore, research into the emotional characteristics of the imagery that the non-expert public find relevant to climate change is important in order to build a database of effective climate change imagery, which can then be used by scientists, policymakers, and practitioners in mobilizing climate adaptation and resilience efforts.

Microneedle-based device for the one-step painless collection of capillary blood samples.

The advancement of point-of-care diagnostics and the decentralization of healthcare have created a need for the simple, safe, standardized and painless collection of blood specimens. Here, we describe the design and implementation of a capillary blood-collection device that is more convenient and less painful than a fingerstick and venepuncture, and collects 100 µl of blood. The technology integrates into a compact, self-contained device an array of solid microneedles, a high-velocity insertion mechanism, stored vacuum, and a microfluidic system containing lithium heparin anticoagulant.

1-year follow-up of 920 hip and knee arthroplasty patients after implementing fast-track.

Background: Fast-track has become a well-known concept resulting in improved patient satisfaction and postoperative results. Concerns have been raised about whether increased efficiency could compromise safety, and whether early hospital discharge might result in an increased number of complications. We present 1-year follow-up results after implementing fast-track in a Norwegian university hospital.

In vivo iontophoretic delivery of salmon calcitonin across microporated skin.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of microneedle (MN) technology and its combination with iontophoresis (ITP) on the in vivo transdermal delivery of salmon calcitonin (sCT). Maltose MNs (500 µm) were used to porate skin prior to application of the drug, with or without ITP. Micropores created by maltose MNs were characterized by histological sectioning and calcein imaging studies, which indicated uniformity of the created micropores.

A 1-day course to improve the teaching effectiveness of health professions faculty members.

Objective: To determine the effect of a 1-day teaching-methods course for pharmacy and nursing faculty members on teaching proficiency and perceptions of effective teaching.

Design: A 1-day teaching-methods course was created and presented to 12 pharmacy and nursing faculty members. Participants' teaching sessions were video-recorded pre- and post-course.

Designing research with hospice and palliative care populations.

Research in palliative care and hospice populations is important for improving quality of care, quality of life, and provider understanding of individuals at the end of life. However, this research involves many potential challenges. This review seeks to inform and assist researchers targeting to design studies targeting hospice and palliative care patients by presenting a thorough review of the published literature.

Studies in drug transport vs. current in iontophoretic onychomycosis treatment.

An iontophoretic treatment system for onychomycosis, using drug applicators targeting either toe nail only or nail and surrounding tissue, is analyzed. Phase 1 clinical data shows levels of drug delivery that differ unexpectedly from relative dosing level to multiple tissue types. Current monitoring and analysis techniques, coupled with assays of drug delivery into excised nail and cadaver toe, were used to evaluate drug delivery vs.

An ex vivo toe model used to assess applicators for the iontophoretic ungual delivery of terbinafine.

Purpose: An ex vivo intact toe model was developed to assess two different applicator designs for iontophoretic delivery of terbinafine into the nail only or the nail and surrounding skin.

Methods: Iontophoretic permeation studies were carried out on intact cadaver toes using nail-only and nail/skin applicators with a current dose of 10 mA*min (0.5 mA for 20 min).

Hollow metal microneedles for insulin delivery to diabetic rats.

The goal of this study was to design, fabricate, and test arrays of hollow microneedles for minimally invasive and continuous delivery of insulin in vivo. As a simple, robust fabrication method suitable for inexpensive mass production, we developed a modified-LIGA process to micromachine molds out of polyethylene terephthalate using an ultraviolet laser, coated those molds with nickel by electrodepostion onto a sputter-deposited seed layer, and released the resulting metal microneedle arrays by selectively etching the polymer mold. Mechanical testing showed that these microneedles were sufficiently strong to pierce living skin without breaking.

Insertion of microneedles into skin: measurement and prediction of insertion force and needle fracture force.

As a hybrid between a hypodermic needle and transdermal patch, we have used microfabrication technology to make arrays of micron-scale needles that transport drugs and other compounds across the skin without causing pain. However, not all microneedle geometries are able to insert into skin at reasonable forces and without breaking. In this study, we experimentally measured and theoretically modeled two critical mechanical events associated with microneedles: the force required to insert microneedles into living skin and the force needles can withstand before fracturing.

Transdermal delivery of insulin using microneedles in vivo.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design and fabricate arrays of solid microneedles and insert them into the skin of diabetic hairless rats for transdermal delivery of insulin to lower blood glucose level.

Methods: Arrays containing 105 microneedles were laser-cut from stainless steel metal sheets and inserted into the skin of anesthetized hairless rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. During and after microneedle treatment, an insulin solution (100 or 500 U/ml) was placed in contact with the skin for 4 h.

Microfabricated needles for transdermal delivery of macromolecules and nanoparticles: fabrication methods and transport studies.

Arrays of micrometer-scale needles could be used to deliver drugs, proteins, and particles across skin in a minimally invasive manner. We therefore developed microfabrication techniques for silicon, metal, and biodegradable polymer microneedle arrays having solid and hollow bores with tapered and beveled tips and feature sizes from 1 to 1,000 microm. When solid microneedles were used, skin permeability was increased in vitro by orders of magnitude for macromolecules and particles up to 50 nm in radius.

Bacterial Retention and Cleanability of Plastic and Wood Cutting Boards with Commercial Food Service Maintenance Practices.

The retention of bacteria on wood and plastic cutting board surfaces and their removal by washing, using protocols consistent with commercial food service, was examined. Plastic and wood boards were subjected to repeated hand and machine washing to simulate wear that would occur during commercial usage. Electron microscopy revealed a more pronounced wearing of the wood surface as compared to the plastic, with cracks on the wood that were sufficiently wide to entrap bacteria.