Embedding epistemic insight (EI) in teacher training programmes in English universities: barriers and how to overcome them

Entrenched compartmentalisation of curriculum subjects and ‘teaching to the test’ can leave students with limited understanding of the nature and interaction of disciplines. The necessity of developing future teachers’ epistemic insight (EI) and equipping them with strategies to address the gaps between subjects has been pushed to the fore by challenges that emerged during the pandemic. This article examines the extent to which epistemic insight is understood by Initial Teacher Education tutors and features in their programmes as well as their recommendations for increasing the inclusion of multidisciplinary approaches in education, based on qualitative and quantitative research. While initial findings revealed a poor understanding of EI, its importance was broadly acknowledged, and the follow-up survey revealed progress in the form of greater engagement with and inclusion of EI by tutors in teacher education. This research was done in the context of a new inspection framework distinguishing substantive and disciplinary knowledge

Collaborative soft object manipulation for game engine-based virtual reality surgery simulators

In this paper we analyse and evaluate the capabilities of popular game engines to simulate and interact with soft objects. We discuss how these engines can be used for simulated surgical training applications, determine their shortcomings and make suggestions how game engines can be extended to make them more suitable for such applications

The contemporary landscape of occupational bladder cancer within the United Kingdom: a meta-analysis of risks over the last 80 years.

OBJECTIVE: To profile the contemporary risks of occupational bladder in the UK, as this is a common malignancy that arises through occupational carcinogen exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review using PubMed, Medline, Embase and Web of Science was performed in March 2016. We selected reports of British workers in which bladder cancer or occupation were the main focus, with sufficient cases or with confidence intervals (CIs). We used the most recent data in populations with multiple reports. We combined odds ratios and risk ratios (RRs) to provide pooled RRs of incidence and disease-specific mortality (DSM). We tested for heterogeneity and publication bias. We extracted bladder cancer mortality from Office of National Statistics death certificates. We compered across regions and with our meta-analysis. RESULTS: We identified 25 articles reporting risks in 702 941 persons. Meta-analysis revealed significantly increased incidence for 12/37 and DSM for five of 37 occupational classes. Three classes had reduced bladder cancer risks. The greatest risk of bladder cancer incidence occurred in chemical process (RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.50-2.34), rubber (RR 1.82, 95% CI 1.4-2.38), and dye workers (RR 1.8, 95% CI 1.07-3.04). The greatest risk of DSM occurred in electrical (RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.19-1.87) and chemical process workers (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.09-1.68). Bladder cancer mortality was higher in the North of England, probably reflecting smoking patterns and certain industries. Limitations include the lack of sufficient robust data, missing occupational tasks, and no adjustment for smoking. CONCLUSION: Occupational bladder cancer occurs in many workplaces and the risks for incidence and DSM may differ. Regional differences may reflect changes in industry and smoking patterns. Relatively little is known about bladder cancer within British industry, suggesting official data underestimate the disease

Enhancing virtual environment-based surgical teamwork training with non-verbal communication

Virtual reality simulations for training surgical skills are increasingly used in medical education and have been shown to improve patient outcome. While advances in hardware and simulation techniques have resulted in many commercial applications for training technical skills, most of these simulators are extremely expensive and do not consider non-technical skills like teamwork and communication. This is a major drawback since recent research suggests that a large percentage of mistakes in clinical settings are due to communication problems. In addition, training teamwork can also improve the efficiency of a surgical team and as such reduce costs and workload. We present an inexpensive camera-based system for capturing aspects of non-verbal communication of users participating in virtual environment-based teamwork simulations. This data can be used for the enhancement of virtual-environment-based simulations to increase the realism and effectiveness of team communication

On the attitudinal consequences of being mindful: Links between mindfulness and attitudinal ambivalence

ArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.A series of studies examined whether mindfulness is associated with the experience of attitudinal ambivalence. Studies 1A and 1B found that mindful individuals expressed greater comfort holding ambivalent views and reported feeling ambivalent less often. More mindful individuals also responded more positively to feelings of uncertainty (as assessed in Study 1B). Study 2 replicated these effects and demonstrated that mindful individuals had lower objective and subjective ambivalence across a range of attitude objects but did not differ in attitude valence, extremity, positivity/negativity, strength, or the need to evaluate. Study 3 showed that the link between greater ambivalence and negative affect was buffered by mindfulness, such that there was no link between the amount of ambivalence and negative affect among more mindful individuals. The results are discussed with respect to the benefits of mindfulness in relation to ambivalence and affect.Parts of this article were funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant awarded to the first author

Matrix Metalloproteinases Expression during Limb Regeneration

poster abstractAxolotl (regeneration-competent) is one of the unique vertebrates which can regenerate missing organs such as limbs, jaws, spinal cord, and tail anytime during their life cycle. There also exists a recessive mutant of axolotl which has a phenotype called short toes (s/s, regenerationdeficient). The s/s mutant can regenerate its tail and spinal cord but cannot maintain the growth of the limb blastema, which results in the failure of limb regeneration. Remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) during early blastema formation, also known as histolysis, leads to the release of stem cells and activation of various growth factors. Therefore, histolysis is considered to be a crucial step in regenerating the exact replica of missing limbs in axolotls. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc dependent endopeptidase that have been suggested to play roles in histolysis. However, it still remains unclear if histolysis is different in limb regeneration between regeneration competent and deficient animals. In this study, we analyzed the expression patterns of MMPs and the tissue inhibitors of the MMPs (TIMPs) in axolotl and s/s utilizing MMP arrays (RayBiotech, Inc., Norcross, GA), zymography and western blots. The cut-off limbs of the axolotls and s/s were used as controls. The animals were allowed to regenerate and the blastema was collected at three stages: epidermis closure (EC), dedifferentiation (DD), and early bud (EB). The total proteins were extracted from all the samples. 20 μg of protein was used to perform MMP arrays according to manufacturer’s protocol. They detected MMP-1, -2, -3, -8, -9, -10, and -13, as well as TIMP-1, -2 and -4 in the controls, EC, DD and EB samples from axolotl and s/s. Gelatin zymograghy with 20 μg of protein confirmed that MMP-2 and -9 were expressed at all the same time points in the axolotl and s/s samples. The expression patterns of MMP-9 were similar in the axolotl and s/s until the DD stage. While later in the EB stage, the axolotl showed a decrease in MMP-9 expression and s/s showed increased expression. Western blots were performed with 40 μg of protein using MMP-2 and -9 antibodies, and confirmed the zymography results. These results suggested that the expression patterns of the MMPs, especially MMP-9, are different in regeneration competent and deficient animals. One of the keys for a healthy blastema formation, which can multiply and later repattern into the missing limb, might be the release of the critical amount of MMP at the right time. This study was supported by an IUSD start-up grant to F. Song and a grant from W. M. Keck Foundation to D. L. Stocum

Levels of growth factors from platelet-rich fibrin from chronic periodontitis versus periodontally healthy subjects: a pilot study

Objectives This study aimed to (1) compare the amounts of growth factors from platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) between chronic periodontitis and periodontally healthy subjects and (2) evaluate the relationships between the amounts of growth factors from PRF with complete blood counts (white blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts) and the serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Materials and methods Venous blood was collected from chronic periodontitis (test) and periodontally healthy subjects (control). PRF and serum were collected from the centrifuged blood. Liquid exudates from the compression of PRF were collected. The compressed PRF membranes were incubated in saline, and eluted aliquots were collected at 1, 24, and 72 h, and the membranes were then digested with trypsin. Epidermal growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, platelet-derived growth factor-BB, transforming growth factor-β1, and vascular endothelial growth factor in the exudates and eluents were quantified by ELISA. Serum was used for IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α quantifications. Complete blood counts were measured. Results There were no significant differences in the amounts of growth factors from PRF exudates and membranes measured between groups (all p > 0.05). The test group had significantly higher WBC (p  0.05). Conclusions PRF can be utilized as an autologous source of growth factors not affected by periodontal condition and WBC level

Estimating the size distribution of plastics ingested by animals

The ingestion of plastics appears to be widespread throughout the animal kingdom with risks to individuals, ecosystems and human health. Despite growing information on the location, abundance and size distribution of plastics in the environment, it cannot be assumed that any given animal will ingest all sizes of plastic encountered. Here, we use published data to develop an allometric relationship between plastic consumption and animal size to estimate the size distribution of plastics feasibly ingested by animals. Based on more than 2000 gut content analyses from animals ranging over three orders of magnitude in size (lengths 9 mm to 10 m), body length alone accounts for 42% of the variance in the length of plastic an animal may ingest and indicates a size ratio of roughly 20:1 between animal body length and the largest plastic the animal may ingest. We expect this work to improve global assessments of plastic pollution risk by introducing a quantifiable link between animals and the plastics they can ingest