Evaluating undergraduate research conferences as vehicles for novice researchers and transferable skills development

Purpose - This paper focuses on the undergraduate research conference as its sphere of study and investigates the significance of participation and socialisation in such activities on student attitudes and professional development. Using situated learning to theoretically position the undergraduate research conference as an authentic learning context, connection is also made to the concept of graduate attributes.Design/methodology/approach - The Vitae (2014) Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is used to provide a template for charting the experiences and development of undergraduate students as researchers. This can be applied to short-term activities and programmes as well as to long-term career plans. The insights from 90 undergraduate students participating at three national undergraduate research conferences were obtained through interviews, and thematically analysed to map the students’ skills development against the RDF criteria.Findings - Three main aspects of undergraduate research conference participation were considered particularly important by the students: the value of paper presentations, the value of poster presentations, and the value of the overall conference experience. Within these themes, participants identified a wide range of skills and attributes they felt they had developed as a result of either preparing for or participating in the conferences. The majority of these skills and attributes were able to be mapped against the different domains of the RDF, using a public engagement lens for comparing actual with expected developmental areas.Research limitations/implications - This research helps undergraduate research conference organisers construct programme content and form in such a way that student skills development can be maximised prior to, and during, the course of an event. Learning Developers can also use these findings to help understand the support needs of students preparing to deliver papers at such conferences. So far, little empirical research has examined students’ skills development within the undergraduate research conference arena.Originality/value - The outcomes of this study show the diversity of skills students developed, and the value of the conference format to offer networking practice and to enhance the communication skills which employers value

Sit-to-Stand Symmetry in Individuals with Hip Pathology

Why study hip fracture? • Hip fractures occur in approximately 300,000 individuals over 65 years of age and is on the rise • 53.3% of those who fall, fall again • 50% loss of function in involved lower extremity post fracture • 25% increased mortality rate 1 year post hip fracture An asymmetry in force production has been found to exist between fractured/non- fractured sides during a sit-to-stand task post hip fracture, despite having adequate capacity to perform the task symmetrically. Houck 2011 found the asymmetry is a result of weakness in the fractured lower extremity. Briere 2013 found the asymmetry is a result of motor control dysfunction in the nervous system rather than a pure strength deficit. An explanation for these errors could be that patients rated their perceived effort distribution rather than their force/weight distribution through their lower extremities during a functional sit to stand task

Rapid discrimination between methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by intact cell mass spectrometry

Rapid, accurate discrimination between methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains is essential for appropriate therapeutic management and timely intervention for infection control. A rapid method involving intact cell mass spectrometry (ICMS) is presented that shows promise for identification, discrimination of MSSA from MRSA and typing. In ICMS, cells from a bacterial colony are emulsified in a chemical matrix, added to a sample slide, dried and analysed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). This technique examines the chemistry of the intact bacterial cell surface, yielding spectra consisting of a series of peaks from 500 to 10 000, which represent the mass:charge (m:z) ratios. Each peak corresponds to a molecular fragment released from the cell surface during laser desorption. Specimens can be prepared in a few seconds from plate cultures and a spectrum can be obtained within 2 min. ICMS spectra for 20 staphylococcal isolates showed characteristic peaks, some of which were conserved at species level, some at strain level and some were characteristic of the methicillin susceptibility status of the strain. ICMS may have potential for MRSA identification and typing, and may improve infection control measures

Hydrodebridement of wounds: effectiveness in reducing wound bacterial contamination and potential for air bacterial contamination

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to assess the level of air contamination with bacteria after surgical hydrodebridement and to determine the effectiveness of hydro surgery on bacterial reduction of a simulated infected wound.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four porcine samples were scored then infected with a broth culture containing a variety of organisms and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. The infected samples were then debrided with the hydro surgery tool (Versajet, Smith and Nephew, Largo, Florida, USA). Samples were taken for microbiology, histology and scanning electron microscopy pre-infection, post infection and post debridement. Air bacterial contamination was evaluated before, during and after debridement by using active and passive methods; for active sampling the SAS-Super 90 air sampler was used, for passive sampling settle plates were located at set distances around the clinic room.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no statistically significant reduction in bacterial contamination of the porcine samples post hydrodebridement. Analysis of the passive sampling showed a significant (<it>p </it>< 0.001) increase in microbial counts post hydrodebridement. Levels ranging from 950 colony forming units per meter cubed (CFUs/m³) to 16780 CFUs/m³were observed with active sampling of the air whilst using hydro surgery equipment compared with a basal count of 582 CFUs/m³. During removal of the wound dressing, a significant increase was observed relative to basal counts (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Microbial load of the air samples was still significantly raised 1 hour post-therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest a significant increase in bacterial air contamination both by active sampling and passive sampling. We believe that action might be taken to mitigate fallout in the settings in which this technique is used.</p

The EUCAMS gear partnership - a model of industry/academic collaboration

Challenges in maintenance systems can pose multi-faceted problems, which are difficult to resolve alone. Over a four year period, a partnership evolved a vision for tackling the understanding of fundamentally difficult mechanical failures and their detection, with potential for practical exploitation of the solutions. The partnership assembled a team of researchers and far-sighted project management, to undertake a study of gearbox failures, including finite element modelling, gear testing, and signal analysis. The partnership trained a series of doctoral and postdoctoral staff in running an integrated project, coping with changes in staffing and locations. The final stages of the work will validate the models and signal processing

Change management: The case of the elite sport performance team

The effective and efficient implementation of change is often required for both successful performance and management survival across a host of contemporary domains. However, although of major theoretical and practical significance, research to date has overlooked the application of change management (hereafter CM) knowledge to the elite sport performance team environment. Considering that the success of ‘off-field’ sports businesses are largely dependent on the performances of their ‘on-field’ team, this article explores the application of current CM theorizing to this specific setting and the challenges facing its utility. Accordingly, we identify the need and importance of developing theory specific to this area, with practical application in both sport and business, through examination of current knowledge and identification of the domain's unique, dynamic and contested properties. Markers of successful change are then suggested to guide initial enquiry before the article concludes with proposed lines of research which may act to provide a valid and comprehensive theoretical account of CM to optimize the research and practice of those working in the field

The cost-effectiveness of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation:a systematic review of the characteristics and methodological quality of published literature

Aim: This descriptive review aimed to assess the characteristics and methodological quality of economic evaluations of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs according to updated economic guidelines for healthcare interventions. Recommendations will be made to inform future research addressing the impact of a physical exercise component on cost-effectiveness. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for economic evaluations of exercise-based CR programs published in English between 2000 and 2014. The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement was used to review the methodological quality of included economic evaluations. Results: Fifteen economic evaluations met the review inclusion criteria. Assessed study characteristics exhibited wide variability, particularly in their economic perspective, time horizon, setting, comparators and included costs, with significant heterogeneity in exercise dose across interventions. Ten evaluations were based on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) spanning 6-24 months but often with weak or inconclusive results; two were modelling studies; and the final three utilised longer time horizons of 3.5-5 years from which findings suggest that long-term exercise-based CR results in lower costs, reduced hospitalisations and a longer cumulative patient lifetime. None of the 15 articles met all the CHEERS quality criteria, with the majority either fully or partially meeting a selection of the assessed variables. Conclusion: Evidence exists supporting the cost-effectiveness of exercise-based CR for cardiovascular disease patients. However, variability in CR program delivery and weak consistency between study perspective and design limits study comparability and therefore the accumulation of evidence in support of a particular exercise regime. The generalisability of study findings was limited due to the exclusion of patients with comorbidities as would typically be found in a real-world setting. The use of longer time-horizons would be more comparable with a chronic condition and enable economic assessments of the long-term effects of CR. As none of the articles met recent reporting standards for the economic assessment of healthcare interventions, it is recommended that future studies adhere to such guidelines

Last millennium northern hemisphere summer temperatures from tree rings: Part I: The long term context

Large-scale millennial length Northern Hemisphere (NH) temperature reconstructions have been progressively improved over the last 20 years as new datasets have been developed. This paper, and its companion (Part II, Anchukaitis et al. in prep), details the latest tree-ring (TR) based NH land air temperature reconstruction from a temporal and spatial perspective. This work is the first product of a consortium called N-TREND (Northern Hemisphere Tree-Ring Network Development) which brings together dendroclimatologists to identify a collective strategy for improving large-scale summer temperature reconstructions. The new reconstruction, N-TREND2015, utilises 54 records, a significant expansion compared with previous TR studies, and yields an improved reconstruction with stronger statistical calibration metrics. N-TREND2015 is relatively insensitive to the compositing method and spatial weighting used and validation metrics indicate that the new record portrays reasonable coherence with large scale summer temperatures and is robust at all time-scales from 918 to 2004 where at least 3 TR records exist from each major continental mass. N-TREND2015 indicates a longer and warmer medieval period (∼900–1170) than portrayed by previous TR NH reconstructions and by the CMIP5 model ensemble, but with better overall agreement between records for the last 600 years. Future dendroclimatic projects should focus on developing new long records from data-sparse regions such as North America and eastern Eurasia as well as ensuring the measurement of parameters related to latewood density to complement ring-width records which can improve local based calibration substantially

Anti-group B Streptococcus antibody in infants born to mothers with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

BACKGROUND: HIV-exposed uninfected infants have increased infection risk and mortality compared to HIV-unexposed infants. HIV-exposed infants may be at increased risk of invasive GBS disease due to reduced maternal antibody against GBS. METHODS: We quantified antibodies that bind to the surface of whole Group B Streptococcus (GBS) of serotypes Ia, Ib, II, III and V using novel flow cytometry assays in South African HIV-infected and non-infected mothers and their uninfected infants. Antibody-mediated complement C3b/iC3b deposition onto GBS of these serotypes was also quantified by a novel flow cytometry assay. RESULTS: Geometric mean concentration (GMC) of both surface-binding anti-GBS antibody and antibody-mediated complement deposition onto GBS were reduced in HIV-infected women (n=46) compared to HIV-uninfected women (n=58) for ST1a (surface-binding: 19.3 vs 29.3; p=0.003; complement deposition: 2.9 vs 5.3 SU/mL; p=0.003), STIb (24.9 vs 47.6; p=0.003; 2.6 vs 4.9 SU/mL; p=0.003), STII (19.8 vs 50.0; p=0.001; 3.1 vs 6.2 SU/mL; p=0.001), STIII (27.8 vs 60.1; p=0.001; 2.8 vs 5.3 SU/mL; p=0.001) and STV (121.9 vs 185.6 SU/mL; p<0.001) and in their infants for STIa (complement deposition 9.4 vs 27.0 SU/mL; p=0.02), STIb (13.4 vs 24.5 SU/mL; p=0.02), STII (14.6 vs 42.7 SU/mL; p=0.03), STIII (26.6 vs 62.7 SU/mL; p=0.03) and STV (90.4 vs 165.8 SU/mL; p=0.04). Median transplacental transfer of antibody from HIV-infected women to their infants was reduced compared to HIV-uninfected women for GBS serotypes II (0.42 [IQR 0.22-0.59] vs 1.0 SU/mL [0.42-1.66]; p<0.001), III (0.54 [0.31-1.03] vs 0.95 SU/mL [0.42-3.05], p=0.05) and V (0.51 [0.28-0.79] vs 0.75 SU/mL [0.26-2.9], p=0.04). The differences between infants remained significant at 16 weeks of age. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal HIV infection was associated with lower anti-GBS surface binding antibody concentration and antibody-mediated C3b/iC3b deposition onto GBS bacteria of serotypes Ia, Ib, II, III and V. This may render these infants more susceptible to early and late onset GBS disease

Concert recording 2022-11-08

[Track 1]. Beau soir / Claude Debussy -- The lass from the Low Countree / John Jacob Niles – [Track 2]. Into the night / Clara Edwards -- [Track 3]. An Silvia / Franz Schubert -- [Track 4]. Se tu m’ami, se sospiri / Alessandro Parisotti -- [Track 5]. Erlafsee / Franz Schubert -- [Track 6]. Vittoria, mio core / Giacomo Carissimi -- [Track 7]. Aufenthalt / Franz Schubert -- [Track 8]. Amarilli, mia bella / Giulio Caccini -- [Track 9]. There’s a Fine, Fine Line, from Avenue Q / Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx -- [Track 10]. Go, lovely rose / Roger Quilter -- [Track 11]. Vagabond / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 12]. Sebben, crudele / Antonio Caldara -- [Track 13]. Love’s philosophy / Roger Quilter (1877–1953) -- [Track 14]. Perla gloria / Giovanni Bononcini -- [Track 15]. Money, O! / Michael Head -- [Track 16]. Lasciate mi morire / Claudio Monteverdi -- Across the western ocean / Arr. Celius Dougherty -- [Track 17]. Perduta ho la Speranza / Stefano Donaudy -- [Track 18]. Lonley House from Street Scene / Kurt Weill -- [Track 19]. Preghiera / Paolo Tosti -- [Track 20]. Allerseelen / Richard Strauss -- [Track 21]. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai / Robert Schumann -- [Track 22]. Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore / Gaetano Donizetti -- [Track 23]. V’adoro, pupille, from Giulio Cesare / George Handel -- [Track 24]. Sympathy / Florence Price -- [Track 25]. The German U-boat captain / Gene Scheer -- [Track 26]. Eri tu che macchiavi, from Un Ballo in Maschera / Giuseppe Verdi