The medical licensing assessment will fall short of determining whether a UK medical graduate behaves ethically

UK medical graduates will soon need to pass the medical licensing assessment, which assesses skills and knowledge in ethics using multiple choice questions (eg single best answer questions) and objective structured clinical examination. However, educational leaders have recognised that these methods lack the sophistication needed to accurately assess medical ethics. The reasons are two-fold. First, there may be a knowledge and practice gap in medical schools when it comes to preparing students for the assessment. To this end, this article shares peer advice about how best to use objective structured clinical examinations and single best answer questions for assessing medical ethics to help prepare students for the medical licensing assessment. Second, the design of the assessment is unlikely to adequately measure graduates' ethical values and behaviour in real world scenarios. Further work is needed to design assessments that are sophisticated enough to examine candidates' ethical reasoning and their actual behaviour.</p

Influence of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) culms processing procedure on physicochemical, rheological, and thermomechanical properties of polyethylene composite

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) is a plant species with a high growth rate and low requirements, which makes it particularly interesting for the production of different bioproducts, including natural fibers. This work assesses the use of fibers obtained from reed culms as reinforcement for a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. Two different lignocellulosic materials were used: i) shredded culms and ii) fibers obtained by culms processing, which have not been reported yet in literature as fillers for thermoplastic materials. A good stress transfer for the fibrous composites was observed, with significant increases in mechanical properties; composites with 20% fiber provided a tensile elastic modulus of almost 1900 MPa (78% increase versus neat HDPE) and a flexural one of 1500 MPa (100% increase), with an improvement of 15% in impact strength. On the other hand, composites with 20% shredded biomass increased by 50% the tensile elastic modulus (reaching 1560 MPa) and the flexural one (up to 1500 MPa), without significant changes in impact strength. The type of filler is more than its ratio; composites containing fibers resulted in a higher performance than the ones with shredded materials due to the higher aspect ratio of fibe

Exploring wave–vegetation interaction at stem scale: analysis of the coupled flow–structure interactions using the SPH-based DualSPHysics code and the FEA module of Chrono

Aquatic vegetation in the littoral zone plays a crucial role in attenuating wave energy and protecting coastal communities from hazardous events. This study contributes to the development of numerical models aimed at designing nature-based coastal defense systems. Specifically, a novel numerical application for simulating wave–vegetation interactions at the stem scale is presented. The numerical model employed, DualSPHysics, couples the meshfree Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) fluid solver with a structural solver to accurately capture the two-way interactions between waves and flexible vegetation. The proposed numerical model is validated against experimental data involving a submerged rubber cylinder representing an individual vegetation stem, subjected to regular waves. The results demonstrate excellent agreement in hydrodynamics, force transfer, and the swaying motion of the flexible cylinder. Importantly, the approach explicitly captures energy transfer between the fluid environment and the individual stem. The numerical results indicate persistent turbulent flow along the vegetation stem, even when its swaying speed matches that of the surrounding environment. This reveals the presence of vortex shedding and energy dissipation, which challenges the concept of passive swaying in flexible aquatic vegetation.<br/

Leveraging high-performance HRM practices and knowledge sharing for managing technological and social change in emerging market healthcare providers

We investigate the factors that affect healthcare service innovation resulting from digitalization. We develop a conceptual model asserting that adopting digital technologies for healthcare service innovation will require effective knowledge-sharing antecedents and high-performance human resource management (HPHRM) practices. Using a grounded theory approach, we present evidence from the healthcare industry in an emerging market setting of multiple qualitative case studies. We note how HPHRM practices create a social context for employees and managers to share their knowledge through face-to-face and technologically-mediated applications for delivering innovative healthcare services. We highlight the importance of employee empowerment, job autonomy, social interaction ties, trust, and shared goals for improving knowledge sharing and developing innovative healthcare solutions. Therefore, our study highlights the impact on the design of workplaces engaged in developing innovative healthcare solutions and the role of specific HPHRM practices in supporting the same.<br/

Hypertension: pharmacological management

An overview of the pharmacological management of hypertension and the role of the pharmacist prescriber in general practice

Healthcare and the Troubles. The conflict experience of the Northern Ireland Health Service, 1968–1998

This book provides the first detailed study of healthcare during the period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968–1998). While there have been some studies of the effects of conflict in the context of Northern Ireland, to date there have been no in-depth histories of the impact of the Troubles on healthcare and the experiences of healthcare professionals. Ruth Duffy's work combines analysis of archival research and oral history interviews to reveal the widespread impact of the conflict on healthcare facilities, their staff, and patients, as well as the broader societal implications of providing services during the Troubles. The book allows the voices of those who worked on the frontline to be heard for the first time, as well as exploring important issues such as medical ethics and neutrality. It offers new and valuable insights into the cost of the Northern Ireland conflict and its legacy today

'Tis I, The Hulk

In this note, I take a look at the actor Mark Ruffalo's invocation of Hamlet while promoting his role as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, released on the streaming platform Disney+ in the autumn of 2022. Referring to a joke on the show that references his predecessor in the role (Edward Norton), Ruffalo quipped that the Hulk is "like our generation's Hamlet. Everyone's going to get a shot at it" (Bucksbaum n.pg). Rather than reading for Shakespearean allusions in Marvel films, this note is more interested in why actors like Ruffalo reach for Shakespeare as a comparison instead--and whether such comparisons actually fit

Peptide-based targeting: novel concept for thrombosis diagnosis and treatment

Accounting for the majority of mortality and morbidity worldwide, thrombosis remains the underlying cause of several life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Targeted antithrombotic therapies delivered to the desired site enhance the therapeutic outcomes and lower the adverse effects. Peptides that exhibit specificity for thrombin, fibrin and platelets can be effectively leveraged for developing strategies targeting thrombus and its management. The review discusses thrombin targeting, fibrin targeting, and platelet targeting peptide-based therapeutic systems for precise management of thrombosis. Several stimuli-responsive systems accomplishing targeted drug delivery and novel targeted theranostics are also discussed. The recent advances made in the targeted delivery of antithrombotic agents employing specific peptides are summarized that can further aid the development of novel targeted therapeutics.<br/