Addressing the needs of international postgraduate students: the role of social capital

Self-evidently, international students are likely to have considerable informational and social needs when coming to study in the UK. This paper reports the findings of a small study of such needs among international postgraduate students in the School of Health Sciences. It was an interview study, with twelve students participating. Though the study was designed to support the creation of an online resource, the findings suggest that meeting those needs satisfactorily requires a multi-faceted approach. Both face-to-face and online processes are needed to help students to develop the social capital necessary to success in undertaking the course, getting to know the university, and adjusting to life in England

The organisation and functions of local Ca²⁺ signals

Calcium (Ca2+) is a ubiquitous intracellular messenger, controlling a diverse range of cellular processes, such as gene transcription, muscle contraction and cell proliferation. The ability of a simple ion such as Ca2+ to play a pivotal role in cell biology results from the facility that cells have to shape Ca2+ signals in space, time and amplitude. To generate and interpret the variety of observed Ca2+ signals, different cell types employ components selected from a Ca2+ signalling 'toolkit', which comprises an array of homeostatic and sensory mechanisms. By mixing and matching components from the toolkit, cells can obtain Ca2+ signals that suit their physiology. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of local Ca2+ signals in defining the specificity of the interaction of Ca2+ with its targets. Furthermore, local Ca2+ signals are the triggers and building blocks for larger global signals that propagate throughout cells

Local and global spontaneous calcium events regulate neurite outgrowth and onset of GABAergic phenotype during neural precursor differentiation

Neural stem cells can generate in vitro progenitors of the three main cell lineages found in the CNS. The signaling pathways underlying the acquisition of differentiated phenotypes in these cells are poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that Ca2+ signaling controls differentiation of neural precursors. We found low-frequency global and local Ca2+ transients occurring predominantly during early stages of differentiation. Spontaneous Ca2+ signals in individual precursors were not synchronized with Ca2+ transients in surrounding cells. Experimentally induced changes in the frequency of local Ca2+signals and global Ca2+ rises correlated positively with neurite outgrowth and the onset of GABAergic neurotransmitter phenotype, respectively. NMDA receptor activity was critical for alterations in neuronal morphology but not for the timing of the acquisition of the neurotransmitter phenotype. Thus, spontaneous Ca2+ signals are an intrinsic property of differentiating neurosphere-derived precursors. Their frequency may specify neuronal morphology and acquisition of neurotransmitter phenotype

Immersive simulated reality scenarios for enhancing students' experience of people with learning disabilities across all fields of nurse education

Poor preparation of nurses, regarding learning disabilities can have devastating consequences. Highprofile reports and the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements led this University to introduce Shareville into the undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curriculum. Shareville is a virtual environment developed at Birmingham City University, in which student nurses learn from realistic, problem-based scenarios featuring people with learning disabilities. Following the implementation of the resource an evaluation of both staff and student experience was undertaken. Students reported that problem-based scenarios were sufficiently real and immersive. Scenarios presented previously unanticipated considerations, offering new insights, and giving students the opportunity to practise decision-making in challenging scenarios before encountering them in practice. The interface and the quality of the graphics were criticised, but, this did not interfere with learning. Nine lecturers were interviewed, they generally felt positively towards the resource and identified strengths in terms of blended learning and collaborative teaching. The evaluation contributes to understandings of learning via simulated reality, and identifies process issues that will inform the development of further resources and their roll-out locally, and may guide other education providers in developing and implementing resources of this nature. There was signifi- cant parity between lecturers' expectations of students' experience of Shareville

Experimental Study of Second-Mode Instabilities on a 7-Degree Cone at Mach 6

Experiments have been carried out in the NASA Langley Research Center 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel to measure the second-mode boundary-layer instability on a 7deg half-angle cone using high-frequency pressure sensors. Data were obtained with both blunt and sharp nosetips installed on the cone. The second-mode wave amplitudes were observed to saturate and then begin to decrease in the Langley tunnels, indicating wave breakdown. Pressure fluctuation measurements and thermocouple data indicated the location of transition along the cone at the different conditions tested. Comparisons between the power density spectra obtained during the current test and previous data from the Langley 15-Inch Mach 6 High Temperature Tunnel and the Boeing/AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet tunnel illustrate the effect of tunnel noise on instability growth and transition

Electrochromic properties of a poly(dithienylfuran) derivative featuring a redox-active dithiin unit

A teraryl monomer containing a 1,4-dithiin-furan central unit has been synthesised and characterised by single crystal X-ray crystallography. The di(thienyl)furan monomer 11 was successfully polymerised electrochemically and shown to possess a lower electrochemical band gap than its terthiophene analogue (1.97 eV cf. 2.11 eV). The electrochromic properties of this polymer proved to be superior to PEDOT, with fast switching and reversible colour transformation at high colour contrast (CE = 212 cm(2) C-1 cf. 183 cm(2) C-1 for PEDOT at 95% optical switch)

Addiction through the Ages: a review of the development of concepts and ideas about addiction in European countries since the nineteenth century and the role of international organisations in the process

The work on addiction through the ages proceeded through 4 interlinked studies: The emergence of concepts of addiction across Europe at the national level, 1860-1980 The framing of the alcohol question at the international alcohol conferences The role of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its expert committees in defining addiction from the 1940s to the early twenty first century The role of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in defining concepts of addiction The long view of addiction concepts at the country level over time points to continuities and changes across countries. They have also played a significant role in international organisations, the pre World War Two alcohol conferences and the World Health Organisation (WHO) after that war. The European level through the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction has also come into the picture in more recent times with discussion of a different set of concepts. Although a degree of stability has been achieved around addiction concepts, these still encapsulate a variety of meanings which translate into different treatment and policy approaches and traditions within Europe. By understanding the history of such concepts and how and why they came in and out of use, we can better understand addiction terminology and substance use policy today