Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at the University of East London: Position Statement on Anti-Racism and Decolonisation

This position paper aims to set out our understanding of important issues around “race” (racialisation), inequality and decolonisation in the context of our Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at the University of East London (UEL). When we write about the programme this encompasses the wider tutor team, trainees and interns. The paper was written to crystallise our thinking and set out actions for change. The process of change is ongoing, and this position paper represents one step in our journey of decolonisation

Draft Nuclear Genome Sequence of the Liquid Hydrocarbon-Accumulating Green Microalga Botryococcus braunii Race B (Showa).

Botryococcus braunii has long been known as a prodigious producer of liquid hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into combustion engine fuels. This draft genome for the B race of B. braunii will allow researchers to unravel important hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathways and identify possible regulatory networks controlling this unusual metabolism

Multiplexed enrichment and genomic profiling of peripheral blood cells reveal subset-specific immune signatures

Specialized immune cell subsets are involved in autoimmune disease, cancer immunity, and infectious disease through a diverse range of functions mediated by overlapping pathways and signals. However, subset-specific responses may not be detectable in analyses of whole blood samples, and no efficient approach for profiling cell subsets at high throughput from small samples is available. We present a low-input microfluidic system for sorting immune cells into subsets and profiling their gene expression. We validate the system’s technical performance against standard subset isolation and library construction protocols and demonstrate the importance of subset-specific profiling through in vitro stimulation experiments. We show the ability of this integrated platform to identify subset-specific disease signatures by profiling four immune cell subsets in blood from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and matched control subjects. The platform has the potential to make multiplexed subset-specific analysis routine in many research laboratories and clinical settings.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (Grant U24 AI118668

A national survey of the diagnosis and management of suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) affects up to 20% of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU). It is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Despite published guidelines, variability in diagnosis and management exists, the extent of which remains unclear. We sought to characterise consultant opinions surrounding diagnostic and management practice for VAP in the UK. METHODS: An online survey was sent to all consultant members of the UK Intensive Care Society (n=∼1500). Data were collected regarding respondents' individual practice in the investigation and management of suspected VAP including use of diagnostic criteria, microbiological sampling, chest X-ray (CXR), bronchoscopy and antibiotic treatments. RESULTS: 339 (23%) responses were received from a broadly representative spectrum of ICU consultants. All respondents indicated that microbiological confirmation should be sought, the majority (57.8%) stating they would take an endotracheal aspirate prior to starting empirical antibiotics. Microbiology reporting services were described as qualitative only by 29.7%. Only 17% of respondents had access to routine reporting of CXRs by a radiologist. Little consensus exists regarding technique for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with the reported volume of saline used ranging from 5 to 500 mL. 24.5% of consultants felt inadequately trained in bronchoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: There is wide variability in the approach to diagnosis and management of VAP among UK consultants. Such variability challenges the reliability of the diagnosis of VAP and its reported incidence as a performance indicator in healthcare systems. The data presented suggest increased radiological and microbiological support, and standardisation of BAL technique, might improve this situation

Structure and physical properties of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo3 Al2 C

We have synthesized polycrystalline samples of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo3 Al2 C by arc and RF melting, measured its transport, magnetic and thermodynamic properties, and computed its band structure. Experimental results indicate a bulk superconducting transition at Tc ∼9.2 K while the density of states at the Fermi surface is found to be dominated by Mod orbitals. Using the measured values for the lower critical field Hc1, upper critical field Hc2, and the specific heat C, we estimated the thermodynamic critical field Hc(0), coherence length ξ (0), penetration depth λ (0), and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ (0). The specific-heat jump at Tc, ΔC/γ Tc =2.14, suggests that Mo3 Al 2 C is moderately to strongly coupled, consistent with the fast opening of the gap, as evidenced by the rapid release of entropy below Tc from our electronic specific-heat measurements. Above 2 K the electronic specific heat exhibits the power-law behavior, suggesting that synthesis of single crystals and measurements at lower temperature are needed to establish whether the gap is anisotropic. The estimated value of the upper critical field H c2 (0) is close to the calculated Pauli limit, therefore further studies are needed to determine whether the absence of an inversion center results in a significant admixture of the triplet component of the order parameter. © 2010 The American Physical Society

Surface and interstitial Ti diffusion at the rutile TiO2(110) surface

Diffusion of Ti through the TiO2 (110) rutile surface plays a key role in the growth and reactivity of TiO2. To understand the fundamental aspects of this important process, we present an analysis of the diffusion of Ti adspecies at the stoichiometric TiO2(110) surface using complementary computational methodologies of density functional theory corrected for on-site Coulomb interactions (DFT+U) and a charge equilibration (QEq) atomistic potential to identify minimum energy pathways. We find that diffusion of Ti from the surface to subsurface (and vice versa) follows an intersticialcy exchange mechanism, involving exchange of surface Ti with the 6-fold coordinated Ti below the bridging oxygen rows. Diffusion in the subsurface between layers also follows an interstitialcy mechanism. The diffusion of Ti is discussed in light of continued attempts to understand the re-oxidation of non-stoichiometric TiO2(110) surfaces