SPARKPLUS for Self- and Peer Assessment on Group-Based Honours’ Research Projects

This paper explores an application of an online tool SPARKPLUS (Self and Peer Assessment Resource Kit) for the self and peer assessment on the group-based Honours’ research projects. The Honours’ research projects in School of Civil, Environmental Engineering at University of Adelaide are running in a small group of students (typically four students or less) working with an academic supervisor in a selected area for one year. Since the research project is self-directed study, it is very difficult to fairly assess the contribution of individual students to the group-based research project. The paper-based method of self and peer assessment for the Honour’s research projects was used in the previous years. The same mark was often distributed and no feedback was given. Both the students and academic staff were not satisfied with the paper-based method of self and peer assessment. Thus an online tool SPARK PLUS together with a set of assessment criteria was used for the self and peer assessment of the Honours’ research projects in 2010. Thirty-seven groups participated in the self and peer assessment of using SPARK PLUS in semester one 2010 and a series of results from the online self and peer assessment were obtained and analysed. Feedback sessions were held and substantial feedback was received from students. Based on the feedback, suggestions were made on improving use of the online tool for self and peer assessment on the Honours’ research project.Chengqing Wu, Emmanuel Chanda and John Willisonhttp://www.adelaide.edu.au/erg

THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS ABOUT TREATMENT FOR INDIGENOUS WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER FROM THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES

This qualitative study focuses on the decision-making process that Indigenous women undergo when receiving breast cancer treatment. The main research question is: how do Indigenous women with breast cancer make decisions around cancer treatment? One-on-one, open-ended interviews were completed with 12 Indigenous women from the Saskatchewan region. A lens of two-eyed seeing was applied, which means that participants were expected to view their life from a traditional or western perspective, or a combination of the two. Four main themes were identified: socioeconomic status, accessibility, culture, cultural safety, and led to women-informed recommendations. Socioeconomic status had three main subthemes of everyday responsibilities, poverty, and medical accessories. Accessibility included three subthemes of knowledge, location, and travel. Culture consisted of two main themes of diversity and stigmas around the disease, with diversity including traditional, western, and two-eyed seeing and stigmas around the disease being mostly related to silence around cancer. Cultural safety included influences from the Indian Residential Schools, feeling like a stranger in the healthcare setting, communication, time, connecting, and self-efficacy. Women-informed recommendations are based on suggestions the women gave regarding aspects related to their treatment choices that they would have liked to have been done differently. The findings from this study will be used in the future for knowledge dissemination, transference, and application

The social determinants of tuberculosis and their association with TB/HIV co-infection in Lusaka, Zambia

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem globally.Progress made in TB control through the implementation of the DOTS strategy, has been retarded by factors such as poverty, the HIV pandemic and the advent of multidrug resistant tuberculosis. There is currently an increasing shift in TB control strategies to emphasize the importance of social determinants of TB if notable impact has to be attained. However, limited data exist that describe these determinants in high burden settings such as Zambia. This study was conducted to explore the social determinants of TB and their association with TB/HIV co-infection, in order to inform TB control strategies that would lead to appropriate action for impact.Method: A cross-section study of TB patients presenting to four peri-urban health facilities in Lusaka through administration of a standard structured questionnaire. STATA 12 Version 1 was used for analysis.Results: There were 1,259 TB patients enrolled. The median age was 35 (IQR; 29 – 41). The main determinants that were associated with TB/HIV co-infection were: being in the age-group 24-49 (p = 0.0001); being female (p = 0.0001); re-treatment (p = 0.0001); having extrapulmonary TB (p = 0.02); being married or widowed (p = 0.05 and p = 0.01, respectively)Conclusions: Describing the social determinants of TB and their association with TB/HIV co-infection highlighted a number of opportunities to strengthen control beyond the Stop TB Strategy

Impacts of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus insect larvicides on mosquito larval densities in Lusaka, Zambia

The study assessed the impact of bio-larvicides- Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) and B. sphaericus (Bs) on anopheline mosquito larval densities in four selected areas of Lusaka urban district. Larval densities were determined using a standard WHO protocol at each study area prior to and after larviciding. Ninety percent (90%) of the collected mosquito larvae and pupae were preserved in 70% ethanol, while 10% were reared to adults for species identification. Prior to larviciding, the largest number of mosquito larvae collected was culicines. Among the anophelines, Anopheles coustani Laveran (13.5%) (n = 111) and An. squamosus Theobald (9.5%) (n = 78) were identified from all the study areas with An. rufipes Gough (1.1%) (n = 9) collected from one study area only. None of the major malaria vector species reported for Zambia were identified. No mosquito larvae were found in freshwater bodies following the larviciding exercise. Possible reasons for the absence of known major malaria vectors could be the re-introduction of effective vector control and loss of suitable breeding grounds. The study highlights the potential of larviciding using Bti and Bs for malaria vector control and its integration with indoor residual spraying and insecticide treated nets

The endocannabinoid system:Overview of an emerging multi-faceted therapeutic target

The endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglyerol (2-AG) are endogenous lipid mediators that exert protective roles in pathophysiological conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. In this brief review, we provide a conceptual framework linking endocannabinoid signaling to the control of the cellular and molecular hallmarks, and categorize the key components of endocannabinoid signaling that may serve as targets for novel therapeutics. The emerging picture not only reinforces endocannabinoids as potent regulators of cellular metabolism but also reveals that endocannabinoid signaling is mechanistically more complex and diverse than originally thought