Articles

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting more than 70,000 people worldwide. Caused by a mutation in the CFTR gene, cystic fibrosis can result in difficulty breathing, widespread bacterial infections, edema, malnutrition, pancreatitis, and death. Current drug-based treatments struggle to reach the site of action due to the thick mucus, and only manage symptoms such as blocked airways, lung infections, and limited ability to digest food. Nanotechnology opens up possibilities for improved treatment strategies by focusing on drug penetration through the mucus lining, eliminating resulting bacterial infections, and targeting the underlying genetic cause of the disease. In this review, we present recent nanoparticle developments for cystic fibrosis, challenges in nanomedicine therapeutics, and future research directions in gene editing and nonviral vectors for gene delivery. 

Solar photovoltaic modules have suddenly emerged as one of the cheapest options for bulk electricity supply. In a recent Energy Policy article, Kavlak et al. (2018) describe a methodology for quantifying causes of such cost movements and apply it to photovoltaic modules. Their approach, however, overlooks the “butterfly effect” of serendipitously interacting people and events, without which photovoltaics likely would still be expensive.

Dementia can disturb the circadian rhythm more than in normal ageing people. And their biological clock is often not enough stimulated by light. Sleep disturbances form a high burden for informal caregivers and is the main reason for institutionalization. The effect of biodynamic lighting with varying intensity and colour resembling a daylight curve has hardly been objectively researched. In this study, we evaluate the exposure to biodynamic lighting on circadian functioning of 13 patients with dementia admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

A burgeoning literature has examined earnings inequalities associated with a minority sexual orientation, but far less is known about sexual orientation-based differences in access to workplace authority – in contrast to well-documented gender and race-specific differences. We provide the first large-scale evidence on this question using confidential data from the 2009–2014 UK Integrated Household Surveys (IHS) (N = 607,709).