In-training assessment - Its potential in enhancing clinical teaching

Context In-training assessment (ITA) has established its place alongside formative and summative assessment at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. In this paper the authors aimed to identify those characteristics of ITA that could enhance clinical teaching. Methods A literature review and discussions by an expert working group at the Ninth Cambridge Conference identified the aspects of ITA that could enhance clinical teaching. Results The features of ITA identified included defining the specific benefits to the learner, teacher and institution, and highlighting the patient as the context for ITA and clinical teaching. The ‘mapping’ of a learner’s progress towards the clinical teaching objectives by using multiple assessments over time, by multiple observers in both a systematic and opportunistic way correlates with the incremental nature of reaching clinical competence. Conclusions The importance of ITA based on both direct and indirect evidence of what the learner actually does in the real clinical setting is emphasized. Particular attention is given to addressing concerns in the more controversial areas of assessor training, ratings and documentation for ITA. Areas for future research are also identified.

Minimising lateral impact derailment potential at level crossings through guard rails

Derailments due to lateral collisions between heavy road vehicles and passenger trains at level crossings (LCs) are serious safety issues. A variety of countermeasures in terms of traffic laws, communication technology and warning devices are used for minimising LC accidents; however, innovative civil infrastructure solution is rare. This paper presents a study of the efficacy of guard rail system (GRS) to minimise the derailment potential of trains laterally collided by heavy road vehicles at LCs. For this purpose, a three-dimensional dynamic model of a passenger train running on a ballasted track fitted with guard rail subject to lateral impact caused by a road truck is formulated. This model is capable of predicting the lateral collision-induced derailments with and without GRS. Based on dynamic simulations, derailment prevention mechanism of the GRS is illustrated. Sensitivities of key parameters of the GRS, such as the flange way width, the installation height and contact friction, to the efficacy of GRS are reported. It is shown that guard rails can enhance derailment safety against lateral impacts at LCs.

Dimethyl sulfide and other biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from branching coral and reef seawater: Potential sources of secondary aerosol over the Great Barrier Reef

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace of bubble chambers containing branches of live coral in filtered reef seawater were analysed using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). When the coral released mucus it was a source of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and isoprene; however, these VOCs were not emitted to the chamber headspace from mucus-free coral. This finding, which suggests that coral is an intermittent source of DMS and isoprene, was supported by the observation of occasional large pulses of atmospheric DMS (DMSa) over Heron Island reef on the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, in the austral winter. The highest DMSa pulse (320 ppt) was three orders of magnitude less than the DMS mixing ratio (460 ppb) measured in the headspace of a dynamically purged bubble chamber containing a mucus-coated branch of Acropora aspera indicating that coral reefs can be strong point sources of DMSa. Static headspace GC-MS analysis of coral fragments identified mainly DMS and seven other minor reduced sulfur compounds including dimethyl disulfide, methyl mercaptan, and carbon disulfide, while coral reef seawater was an indicated source of methylene chloride, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone. The VOCs emitted by coral and reef seawater are capable of producing new atmospheric particles < 15 nm diameter as observed at Heron Island reef. DMS and isoprene are known to play a role in low-level cloud formation, so aerosol precursors such as these could influence regional climate through a sea surface temperature regulation mechanism hypothesized to operate over the GBR.

The potential benefits of divergent thinking and metacognitive skills in STEAM learning: A discussion paper

In the wake of an almost decade long economic downturn and increasing competition from developing economies, a new agenda in the Australian Government for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research has emerged as a national priority. However, to art and design educators, the pervasiveness and apparent exclusivity of STEM can be viewed as another instance of art and design education being relegated to the margins of curriculum (Greene, 1995). In the spirit of interdisciplinarity, there have been some recent calls to expand STEM education to include the arts and design, transforming STEM into STEAM in education (Maeda, 2013). As with STEM, STEAM education emphasises the connections between previously disparate disciplines, meaning that education has been conceptualised in different ways, such as focusing on the creative design thinking process that is fundamental to engineering and art (Bequette & Bequette, 2012). In this article, we discuss divergent creative design thinking process and metacognitive skills, how, and why they may enhance learning in STEM and STEAM.

Unlocking the potential of bile acids in synthesis, supramolecular/materials chemistry and nanoscience

The Maitra group has explored a variety of chemistry with bile acids during the past 15 years and these experiments have covered a wide variety of chemistry - asymmetric synthesis, molecular recognition, ion receptors/sensors, dendrimers, low molecular mass organo and hydrogelators, gel-nanoparticle composites, etc. Some of what excites us in this field is highlighted in this perspective article.

KAT5 (Tip60) is a potential therapeutic target in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare aggressive cancer of the pleura. Asbestos exposure (through inhalation) is the most well established risk factor for mesothelioma. The current standard of care for patients suffering from MPM is a combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed (or alternatively cisplatin and raltitrexed). Most patients, however, die within 24 months of diagnosis. New therapies are therefore urgently required for this disease. Lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) including KAT5 have been linked with the development of cisplatin resistance. This gene may therefore be altered in MPM and could represent a novel candidate target for intervention. Using RT-PCR screening the expression of all known KAT5 variants was found to be markedly increased in malignant tumors compared to benign pleura. When separated according to histological subtype, KAT5 was significantly overexpressed in both the sarcomatoid and biphasic subgroups for all transcript variants. A panel of MPM cell lines including the normal pleural cells LP9 and Met5A was screened for expression of KAT5 variants. Treatment of cells with a small molecule inhibitor of KAT5 (MG-149) caused significant inhibition of cellular proliferation (p<0.0001), induction of apoptosis and was accompanied by significant induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines.

Predicting crashes using traffic offences. A meta-analysis that examines potential bias between self-report and archival data

Background Traffic offences have been considered an important predictor of crash involvement, and have often been used as a proxy safety variable for crashes. However the association between crashes and offences has never been meta-analysed and the population effect size never established. Research is yet to determine the extent to which this relationship may be spuriously inflated through systematic measurement error, with obvious implications for researchers endeavouring to accurately identify salient factors predictive of crashes. Methodology and Principal Findings Studies yielding a correlation between crashes and traffic offences were collated and a meta-analysis of 144 effects drawn from 99 road safety studies conducted. Potential impact of factors such as age, time period, crash and offence rates, crash severity and data type, sourced from either self-report surveys or archival records, were considered and discussed. After weighting for sample size, an average correlation of r = .18 was observed over the mean time period of 3.2 years. Evidence emerged suggesting the strength of this correlation is decreasing over time. Stronger correlations between crashes and offences were generally found in studies involving younger drivers. Consistent with common method variance effects, a within country analysis found stronger effect sizes in self-reported data even controlling for crash mean. Significance The effectiveness of traffic offences as a proxy for crashes may be limited. Inclusion of elements such as independently validated crash and offence histories or accurate measures of exposure to the road would facilitate a better understanding of the factors that influence crash involvement.

Resource recovery potential from secondary components of segregated municipal solid wastes

Fermentable components of municipal solid wastes (MSW) such as fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), leaf litter, paddy straw, cane bagasse, cane trash and paper are generated in large quantities at various pockets of the city. These form potential feedstocks for decentralized biogas plants to be operated in the vicinity. We characterized the fermentation potential of six of the above MSW fractions for their suitability to be converted to biogas and anaerobic compost using the solid-state stratified bed (SSB) process in a laboratory study. FVW and leaf litter (papermulberry leaves) decomposed almost completely while paddy straw, sugarcane trash, sugarcane bagasse and photocopying paper decomposed to a lower extent. In the SSB process between 50-60% of the biological methane potential (BMP) could be realized. Observations revealed that the SSB process needs to be adapted differently for each of the feedstocks to obtain a higher gas recovery. Bagasse produced the largest fraction of anaerobic compost (fermentation residue) and has the potential for reuse in many ways.