The suffering from organ dysfunction due to damaged or diseased tissue/bone has been globally on the rise. Current treatment strategies for non-union bone defects include: the use of autografts, allografts, synthetic grafts and free vascularized fibular grafts. Bone tissue engineering has emerged as an alternative for fracture repair to satisfy the current unmet need of bone grafts and to alleviate the problems associated with autografts and allografts. The technology offers the possibility to induce new functional bone regeneration using synergistic combination of functional biomaterials (scaffolds), cells, and growth factors. Bone scaffolds are typically made of porous biodegradable materials that provide the mechanical support during repair and regeneration of damaged or diseased bone. Significant progress has been made towards scaffold materials for structural support, desired osteogenesis and angiogenesis abilities. Thanks for innovative scaffolds fabrication technologies, bioresorbable scaffolds with controlled porosity and tailored properties are possible today. Despite the presence of different bone scaffold fabrication methods, pore size, shape and interconnectivity have not yet been fully controlled in most of the methods. Moreover, scaffolds with tailored porosity for specific defects are still difficult to manufacture. Nevertheless, such scaffolds can be designed and fabricated using three dimensional (3D) printing approaches. 3D printing technology, as an advanced tissue scaffold fabrication method, offers the opportunity to produce complex geometries with distinct advantages. The technology has been used for the production of various types of bodily constructs such as blood vessels, vascular networks, bones, cartilages, exoskeletons, eyeglasses, cell cultures, tissues, organs and novel drug delivery devices. This review focuses on 3D printed scaffolds and their application in bone repair and regeneration. In addition, different classes of biomaterials commonly employed for the fabrication of 3D nano scaffolds for bone tissue engineering application so far are briefly discussed.

Antimicrobial drug resistance, including resistance to multiple antibiotics, is continuously increasing. According to research findings, many bacteria resistant to other antibiotics were susceptible to ceftriaxone. However, over the last few years, ceftriaxone resistance has become growing and extremely worrisome challenge to the global healthcare system and several strategies have been initiated to contain the spread of antimicrobial drug resistance. Its extended use for therapeutic or preventative measures in humans and farm animals resulted in the development and spread of resistance. Recent advances in nanotechnology also offer novel formulations based on distinct types of nanostructure particles with different sizes and shapes, and flexible antimicrobial properties. For ceftriaxone, several nanostructured formulations through conjugation, intercalation, encapsulation with lipid carrier, and polymeric films have been investigated by different groups with promising results in combating the development of resistance. This review addressed the existing knowledge and practice on the contribution of nano‐based delivery approaches in overcoming ceftriaxone resistance. Evidences have been generated from published research articles using major search electronic databases such as PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and Science Direct.

The percentages of organisms exhibiting antimicrobial resistance, especially resistance to multiple antibiotics, are incessantly increasing. Studies investigated that many bacteria are being resistant to ciprofloxacin. This review addresses the current knowledge on nano-based ciprofloxacin delivery approaches to improve its effectiveness and overcome the resistance issues. Ciprofloxacin delivery can be modified by encapsulating with or incorporating in different polymeric nanoparticles such as chitosan, PLGA, albumin, arginine, and other organic and inorganic nanostructure systems. Most of these nano-approaches are promising as an alternative strategy to improve the therapeutic effectiveness of ciprofloxacin in the future.

Among the plethora of polymers being exploited and employed currently for biomedical applications, polypyrrole as a conducting polymer holds a key position since it offers several advantages including good specific conductivity, chemical stability, polymerizability and compatibility with mammalian cells; however, it also suffers from a few limitations that restrict it from being an obvious winner as a coating material. In order to overcome these limitations, pyrrole derivatives have been tried as potential alternatives. These synthesized derivatives facilitate the immobilization/coupling of biomolecules and drugs on to the surface so as to improve the biocompatibility and performance of implantable medical devices. In this work, N-succinimidyl ester pyrrole (PyNSE) has been synthesized and characterized. A synthesized monomer was copolymerized with pyrrole (Py) in different ratios to obtain smooth and adherent copolymer coatings on the metal surface. Results suggest that among the different coatings obtained, pure active ester functionalized polypyrrole (PPyNSE) coating is smoother and more adherent than its different copolymers with pyrrole. The activity of the coating was tested by attaching BSA and a model drug (p-nitroaniline) on the surface which indicated that the concentration of these molecules on the surface can be varied by varying the concentration of monomers, i.e. Py and PyNSE, during electropolymerization. These active coatings may serve as a potential platform for attaching drugs and biomolecules for various biomedical applications.

With the changing in consumers’ lifestyles and industrialization, pre-packaged food products have become standard. Information on food labels on pre-packaged food products is considered a means to help consumers make informed food choices. In Ethiopia, there has been a limited information on food labels' compliance with food labeling requirements and customers' use of labeling information for purchasing decision making. This study was designed to fill this information gap. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa in 2019. Thirty-one juice products and 403 consumers from 15 supermarkets were included in the study. Compliance was assessed using the 17 standard requirements for food labeling information. On the other hand, the use of food labeling information by consumers was measured by considering the ten essential food labeling information, and frequent use of labeling information was considered as a "good practice". Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and a checklist. Data were entered into Epi data entry and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were performed. From the consumers included in the study, 204 (50.6%) were males, 248 (61.5%) attended college, and 105 (26.1%) reported frequently using food labeling information. Sex, marital status, monthly income, and level of awareness were associated (p < 0.05) with the use of food labeling information. Only 6 (19.4%) pre-packed juice products fulfilled all standard labeling requirements, while 1 (3.2%) fulfilled only 50% of the requirements.  In consideration of the increasing use of pre-packed food products and associated public health risks, the study demonstrated the need for improving public awareness about the use of food labeling information, and strengthening regulatory enforcement practices.