Industrial accidents involving release of chemicals into the environment:Ecotoxicology

Major industrial accidents pose a serious threat to surrounding habitats. Each accident is unique in terms of pollutants released, pollutant concentrations and pollutant dispersal. The habitats receiving the pollutant(s) are also unique. These factors mean that assessing the environmental and ecological impact of any given pollution event will be complex. Case histories of the biological impact of chemicals released from industrial accidents are reviewed to determine how to assess ecotoxicity of pollutants involved.

Defining consensus norms for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe using Delphi methods: A White Paper from the European Association of Palliative care

Background: People with intellectual disabilities often present with unique challenges that make it more difficult to meet their
palliative care needs.
Aim: To define consensus norms for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe.
Design: Delphi study in four rounds: (1) a taskforce of 12 experts from seven European countries drafted the norms, based on available empirical knowledge and regional/national guidelines; (2) using an online survey, 34 experts from 18 European countries evaluated the draft norms, provided feedback and distributed the survey within their professional networks. Criteria for consensus
were clearly defined; (3) modifications and recommendations were made by the taskforce; and (4) the European Association for
Palliative Care reviewed and approved the final version.
Setting and participants: Taskforce members: identified through international networking strategies. Expert panel: a purposive sample identified through taskforce members’ networks.
Results: A total of 80 experts from 15 European countries evaluated 52 items within the following 13 norms: equity of access, communication, recognising the need for palliative care, assessment of total needs, symptom management, end-of-life decision making, involving those who matter, collaboration, support for family/carers, preparing for death, bereavement support, education/training
and developing/managing services. None of the items scored less than 86% agreement, making a further round unnecessary. In light of respondents’ comments, several items were modified and one item was deleted.
Conclusion: This White Paper presents the first guidance for clinical practice, policy and research related to palliative care for people with intellectual disabilities based on evidence and European consensus, setting a benchmark for changes in policy and practice.

Combining Bio- and Chemo-catalysis for the Sustainable Production of Chemicals

The combination of bio- and chemo-catalysis to form a single synthetic route is a powerful methodology for the improvement of chemical synthesis. The extreme methods of biocatalysis (whole cell and isolated enzyme) fulfill very different roles. Biocatalysis by isolated enzymes enables highly efficient chemical transformations of extremely high selectivity and low contamination; however, conditions and substrates are limited to a narrow range. Whole cell biocatalysis enables the conversion of crude substrates, such as those derived from biomass; however, the products tend to be impure and delivered in dilute aqueous solution. Chemocatalysis is a well-established technique, and the addition of chemical catalysis and chemocatalytic methods to biocatalysis enables synthetic chemists to avoid the shortcomings of a biocatalytic step. For example, in enzymatic catalysis the addition of a chemical catalyst can allow the conversion of a racemic alcohol to an enantiopure, instead of racemic, product. In whole cell biocatalysis chemical reagents can assist the separation, transformation, and further isolation of the functionality of interest. The cooperation of bio- and chemocatalysts enables sustainable production of chemicals that would be impossible using biocatalysis alone, while achieving selectivities and using substrates not currently possible with chemocatalysis alone.

Think, code, succeed: The Programming Studio as a games-based collaboration:Paper published in the Proceedings of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe conference: Teacher Education through Partnerships and Collaborative Learning Communities, Glasgow, UK. ATEE, 2015

This paper investigates the profile of teachers in the island of Ireland who declared themselves willing to undertake professional development activities in programming, in particular to master programming by taking on-line courses involving the design of computer games. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), it compares scores for teachers “willing” to undertake the courses with scores for those who declined, and examines other differences between the groups of respondents. Findings reflect the perceived difficulties of programming and the current low status accorded to the subject in Ireland. The paper also reviews the use of games-based learning as a “hook” to engage learners in programming and discusses the role of gamification as a tool for motivating learners in an on-line course. The on-line course focusing on games design was met with enthusiasm, and there was general consensus that gamification was appropriate for motivating learners in structured courses such as those provided.