Who learns from whom? Supporting users and developers of a major biodiversity e-infrastructure

Support systems play an important role for the communication between users and developers of software. We studied two support systems, an issues tracker and an email service available for Scratchpads, a Web 2.0 social networking tool that enables communities to build, share, manage and publish biodiversity information on the Web. Our aim was to identify co-learning opportunities between users and developers of the Scratchpad system by asking which support system was used by whom and for what type of questions. Our results show that issues tracker and emails cater to different user mentalities as well as different kind of questions and suggest ways to improve the support system as part of the development under the EU funded ViBRANT programme.     

The IL23R R381Q gene variant protects against immune-mediated diseases by impairing IL-23-induced Th17 effector response in humans

IL-23 and Th17 cells are key players in tissue immunosurveillance and are implicated in human immune-mediated diseases. Genome-wide association studies have shown that the IL23R R381Q gene variant protects against psoriasis, Crohn's disease and ankylosing spondylitis. We investigated the immunological consequences of the protective IL23R R381Q gene variant in healthy donors. The IL23R R381Q gene variant had no major effect on Th17 cell differentiation as the frequency of circulating Th17 cells was similar in carriers of the IL23R protective (A) and common (G) allele. Accordingly, Th17 cells generated from A and G donors produced similar amounts of Th17 cytokines. However, IL-23-mediated Th17 cell effector function was impaired, as Th17 cells from A allele carriers had significantly reduced IL-23-induced IL-17A production and STAT3 phosphorylation compared to G allele carriers. Our functional analysis of a human disease-associated gene variant demonstrates that IL23R R381Q exerts its protective effects through selective attenuation of IL-23-induced Th17 cell effector function without interfering with Th17 differentiation, and highlights its importance in the protection against IL-23-induced tissue pathologies.     

Clean or Dirty? A Systematic Review of Splash Basin Use and Its Infectious Potential in Orthopaedic Surgery

BackgroundSplash basins are used in orthopaedic surgery cases to wash and hold instrumentsintraoperatively. This systematic review aims to summarize information on contamination of splash basins intraoperatively.MethodsA systematic review was conducted using the following search terms: “splash basin” or “splash bucket.” Two authors independently reviewed the literature. Studies were included if they reported on intraoperative splash basin contamination rates. Studies were excluded if they were not relevant to orthopaedic surgery, non-English articles, or repeat studies yielded by different online databases.ResultsThere were seven studies included in this review. The median contamination rate of sterile water or physiologic saline splash basins was 23.9% [range: 2%-74%]. The addition of surgical antiseptics to sterile water splash basins was associated with 0% contamination rates in two studies. The most frequent splash basin contaminants identified in bacterial culture were coagulase negative staphylococcus (50%) and staphylococcus aureus (10%).ConclusionThe splash basin appears to be a frequent source of contamination in the operating room. Many studies suggest abandoning splash basin use altogether, although the efficacy of alternative methods such as cleaning instruments with lap pads in avoiding contamination of the sterile field has not been studied. Further investigation into surgical teams’ use of the splash basin and the contents of the splash basin as they relate to contamination rates may help advance our understanding of optimal use of this surgical tool. Shorter case durations and dilute surgical antiseptics in splash basins appear associated with lower splash basin contamination risk. Level of Evidence: V