Bioethics and Its Gatekeepers: Does Institutional Racism Exist in Leading Bioethics Journals?

Who are the gatekeepers in bioethics? Does editorial bias or institutional racism exist in leading bioethics journals? We analyzed the composition of the editorial boards of 14 leading bioethics journals by country. Categorizing these countries according to their Human Development Index (HDI), we discovered that approximately 95 percent of editorial board members are based in (very) high-HDI countries, less than 4 percent are from medium-HDI countries, and fewer than 1.5 percent are from low-HDI countries. Eight out of 14 leading bioethics journals have no editorial board members from a medium- or low-HDI country. Eleven bioethics journals have no board members from low-HDI countries. This severe underrepresentation of bioethics scholars from developing countries on editorial boards suggests that bioethics may be affected by institutional racism, raising significant questions about the ethics of bioethics in a global context.     

Religion and Bioethics: Can We Talk?

Religious voices were important in the early days of the contemporary field of bioethics but have now become decidedly less prominent. This is unfortunate because religious elements are essential parts of the most foundational aspects of bioethics. The problem is that there is an incommensurability between religious language and languages of public discourse such as the “public reason” of John Rawls. To eliminate what is unique in religious language is to lose something essential. This paper examines the reasons for the marginalization of religion in bioethics, shows the limitations of Rawls’s notion of public reason, and argues for a more robust role for theology in articulating a new language for public discourse in bioethics.     

Bioethics and activism: A natural fit?

Bioethics is a practically oriented discipline that developed to address pressing ethical issues arising from developments in the life sciences. Given this inherent practical bent, some form of advocacy or activism seems inherent to the nature of bioethics. However, there are potential tensions between being a bioethics activist, and academic ideals. In academic bioethics, scholarship involves reflection, rigour and the embrace of complexity and uncertainty. These values of scholarship seem to be in tension with being an activist, which requires pragmatism, simplicity, certainty and, above all, action. In this paper I explore this apparent dichotomy, using the case example of my own involvement in international efforts to end forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China. I conclude that these tensions can be managed and that academic bioethics requires a willingness to be activist.     

Evaluating new technology for biodiversity monitoring: Are drone surveys biased?

Drones and machine learning‐based automated detection methods are being used by ecologists to conduct wildlife surveys with increasing frequency. When traditional survey methods have been evaluated, a range of factors have been found to influence detection probabilities, including individual differences among conspecific animals, which can thus introduce biases into survey counts. There has been no such evaluation of drone‐based surveys using automated detection in a natural setting. This is important to establish since any biases in counts made using these methods will need to be accounted for, to provide accurate data and improve decision‐making for threatened species. In this study, a rare opportunity to survey a ground‐truthed, individually marked population of 48 koalas in their natural habitat allowed for direct comparison of the factors impacting detection probability in both ground observation and drone surveys with manual and automated detection. We found that sex and host tree preferences impacted detection in ground surveys and in manual analysis of drone imagery with female koalas likely to be under‐represented, and koalas higher in taller trees detected less frequently when present. Tree species composition of a forest stand also impacted on detections. In contrast, none of these factors impacted on automated detection. This suggests that the combination of drone‐captured imagery and machine learning does not suffer from the same biases that affect conventional ground surveys. This provides further evidence that drones and machine learning are promising tools for gathering reliable detection data to better inform the management of threatened populations.     

Are we prepared for animal cell technology in the 21st century?

Large scale animal cell culture for the production of complex therapeutic proteins has been a major success of the biotechnology industry. Today, approximately half of the $ 5 billion annual turnover of the biotechnology industry is based upon this technology, in many cases with reactors of more than 10 m³. As we look towards the 21 st century, however, we can see novel approaches to the production of therapeutic proteins, by means of gene and cellular therapies. These technologies present new engineering challenges to the animal cell technologist. Are we prepared to meet these challenges? The needs include: small-scale reactors for the preparation of autologous cell lines, methods for the production of viruses to be used as vectors in gene therapy, artificial organ and the processing of xenogenic cell lines and tissues for cellular implants in humans. More attention should be given to three-dimensional cell cultures. Mass transfer considerations need to be extended beyond just oxygen transfer, to include cellular communication in small systems; this is becoming increasingly important for the control and optimise growth and product formation. Apart from improvements of large-scale systems, substantial advantages could be gained by studying new methods for the production and delivery of therapeutic proteins, using small-scale cell culture systems. We should adapt teaching, regulatory, patent and clinical infrastructure to meet this challenge in a harmonious way.     

The Cutting Balloon--a new technology?

The Cutting Balloon consists of a standard balloon dilatation catheter with four microtome-sharp blades that incise the plaque and minimize arterial wall trauma. It was used in 31 patients; nine had calcified arteries, ten had non-compliant lesions, three had in-stent restenosis and nine had aorto-ostial lesions. Seventeen lesions were predilated, 28 were post-dilated and 18 required stent implantation. The procedure was very effective in aorto-ostial lesions, non-compliant lesions that were not responsive to high-pressure balloon dilatation, and was partially successful in calcified arteries. It has a very specific niche in selected lesions.     

DNA microarray technology: a new tool for the epidemiological typing of bacterial pathogens?

Genomic hybridization on whole genome arrays detects the presence or absence of similar DNA regions in sufficiently related microorganisms, allowing genome-wide comparison of their genetic contents. A whole genome array is based on a sequenced bacterial isolate, and is a collection of DNA probes fixed on a solid support. In a single hybridization experiment, the absence/presence status of all genes of the sequenced microbe in the queried isolate can be examined. The objective of this minireview is to summarize the past usage of DNA microarray technology for microbial strain characterizations, and to estimate its future utilization in epidemiological studies and molecular typing of bacterial pathogens. The studies reviewed here confirm the usefulness of microarray technology for the detection of genetic polymorphisms. However, the construction or purchase of DNA microarrays and the performance of strain to strain hybridization experiments are still prohibitively expensive for routine application. Future use of arrays in epidemiology is likely to depend on the development of more cost-effective protocols, more robust and simplified formats, and the adequate evaluation of their performance (efficacy) and convenience (efficiency) compared with other genotyping methods. It seems more likely that a more focused assay, concentrating on genomic regions of variability previously detected by genome-wide microarrays, will find broad application in routine bacterial epidemiology.     

Transgenic wine yeast technology comes of age: is it time for transgenic wine?

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main yeast responsible for alcoholic fermentation of grape juice during wine making. This makes wine strains of this species perfect targets for the improvement of wine technology and quality. Progress in winemaking has been achieved through the use of selected yeast strains, as well as genetic improvement of wine yeast strains through the sexual and pararexual cycles, random mutagenesis and genetic engineering. Development of genetically engineered wine yeasts, their potential application, and factors affecting their commercial viability will be discussed in this review.     

Klucel? EF and ELF polymers for immediate-release oral dosage forms prepared by melt extrusion technology

The objective of this research work was to evaluate Klucel™ hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) EF and ELF polymers, for solubility enhancement as well as to address some of the disadvantages associated with solid dispersions. Ketoprofen (KPR), a Biopharmaceutics Classification System class II drug with poor solubility, was utilized as a model compound. Preliminary thermal studies were performed to confirm formation of a solid solution/dispersion of KPR in HPC matrix and also to establish processing conditions for hot-melt extrusion. Extrudates pelletized and filled into capsules exhibited a carrier-dependent release with ELF polymer exhibiting a faster release. Tablets compressed from milled extrudates exhibited rapid release owing to the increased surface area of the milled extrudate. Addition of mannitol (MNT) further enhanced the release by forming micro-pores and increasing the porosity of the extrudates. An optimized tablet formulation constituting KPR, MNT, and ELF in a 1:1:1 ratio exhibited 90% release in 15 min similar to a commercial capsule formulation. HPC polymers are non-ionic hydrophilic polymers that undergo polymer-chain-length-dependent solubilization and can be used to enhance solubility or dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs. Dissolution/release rate could be tailored for rapid-release applications by selecting a suitable HPC polymer and altering the final dosage form. The release obtained from pellets was carrier-dependent and not drug-dependent, and hence, such a system can be effectively utilized to address solubility or precipitation issues with poorly soluble drugs in the gastrointestinal environment.Key words: hot-melt extrusion, Klucel™ EF/ELF, solid solutions/dispersions, solubility enhancement, thermal miscibility evaluation     

Thermal denaturation: is solid-state fermentation really a good technology for the production of enzymes?

The potential for thermal denaturation to cause enzyme losses during solid-state fermentation processes for the production of enzymes was examined, using the protease of Penicillium fellutanum as a model system. The frequency factor and activation energies for the first-order denaturation of this enzyme were determined as 3.447 x 10(59) h(-1) and 364,070 Jmol(-1), respectively. These values were incorporated into a mathematical model of enzyme deactivation, which was used to investigate the consequences of subjecting this protease to temporal temperature profiles reported in the literature for mid-height in a 34 cm high packed-bed bioreactor of 150 mm diameter. In this literature source, temperature profiles were measured for 5, 15 and 25 liters per minute of air and enzyme activities were measured as a function of time. The enzyme activity profiles predicted by the model were distributed similarly, one relative to the other, as had been found in the experimental study, with substantial amounts of denaturation being predicted when the substrate temperature exceeded 40 degrees C, which occurred at the lower two airflow rates. A mathematical model of a well-mixed bioreactor was used to explore the difficulties that would be faced at large scale. It suggests that even with airflows as high as one volume per volume per minute, up to 85% of the enzyme produced by the microorganism can be denatured by the end of the fermentation. This work highlights the extra care that must be taken in scaling up solid-state fermentation processes for the production of thermolabile products.     

Apomixis technology development-virgin births in farmers' fields?

Apomixis is the process of asexual reproduction through seed, in the absence of meiosis and fertilization, generating clonal progeny of maternal origin. Major benefits to agriculture could result from harnessing apomixis in crop plants. Although >400 apomictic plant species are known, apomixis is rare among crop plants, and the transfer of apomixis to crop varieties by conventional breeding has been largely unsuccessful. Because apomictic and sexual pathways are closely related, de novo engineering of apomixis might be achieved in sexually reproducing crops. Early consideration of issues relating to biosafety and intellectual property (IP) management can facilitate the acceptance and deployment of apomixis technology in agriculture.     

Why do older workers have problems with technology?

Why do older workers seem to have problems with technology? In this paper, I will review several possible reasons and illustrate them with evidence, often anecdotal, from our work as ergonomics practitioners. We find that older workers have more to "unlearn" from their accumulated experience. They may suffer from gradual or not so gradual ailing faculties of sight, hearing, dexterity, stamina, memory, and reaction time. They may exhibit a fear of making mistakes, and they may have strongly established preferences and pessimism about technological gimmicks. But the real problem is often that the designers have failed to anticipate the requirements of their users; they have failed to design for a range of abilities broader than their own; they have failed to test their designs with real people; and they have failed to learn from the experience of the market. Getting design right for older users is really only a continuation of getting design right for all.