Students\u27 role in the development of an optional subjects-line in a medical curriculum

Context: In 1999, the medical curriculum of Ghent University underwent a fundamental change. The new curriculum is problem-based, emphasizing both horizontal and vertical integration. One of its remarkable qualities is the possibility of continuous evolution through permanent reflection and evaluation. The students, organised in the Student\u27s Association on Education, take an active part in this process. Recently, students remarked that the offer of optional subjects in the new curriculum was limited. Apart from the thesis, there was no formal opportunity to gain more in-depth knowledge on an individually chosen subject. Objective: To explore the possibilities of optional subjects in a medical curriculum. Design: Using a survey, fifth year students were questioned on the need for optional subjects. The results of this, as well as the inspiration we gained during a visit at the faculty of medicine of Maastricht University served as a starting point for a round-table meeting with members of the educational board. Interventions: As it is difficult to decide to what extent subjects can be optional, this matter was introduced gradually. Initially, one week in the fifth year of the curriculum was reserved for options. Students were also offered the possibility to suggest own subjects. Results: The first time this week was organised, thirteen optional subjects, proposed by lecturers, were offered. Additionally, one subject was suggested by a group of students: they set up a community-oriented educational programme in a secondary school in Ghent. The evaluation of both initiatives was organized by the students. The results were encouraging. Conclusions: The project we present is still in its infancy, but we work on the development of a complete \u27Exploration-continuum\u27. In this way, students should be able to deepen their knowledge in particular fields and attribute a personal tinge to their education. This might enhance the motivation and involvement towards their studies and future profession

Geometric and Radiometric Correction of Multibeam Backscatter Derived from Reson 8101 Systems

A common by-product of multibeam surveys is a measure of the backscattered acoustic intensity from the seafloor. These data are of immense interest to geologists and geoscientists since maps of the acoustic backscatter strength can be used to infer physical properties of the sea bottom, such as impedance, roughness and volume inhomogeneity. Before such maps can be created from multibeam acoustic backscatter data, however, two tasks must be performed. 1. The data must be geographically registered using the bathymetric profile collected by the multibeam (which accounts for full orientation and refraction), as opposed to using the traditional flat-seafloor assumption. This allows us to additionally calculate the true grazing angle. 2. The signal intensities must be reduced to as close a measure of the backscatter strength of the seafloor as possible by radiometrically correcting the data on a ping-by-ping basis for variables such as transmission power, beam pattern, receiver gain, and pulse length. The purpose of this research project is to develop software tools to perform the above corrections for a massive backlog of RESON SeaBat 8101 multibeam data, as collected by the NOAA ship Rainier. While the backscatter logged by the multibeam systems is not of prime importance to NOAA’s hydrographic charting mandate, they recognize the potential value of this data to the work of other sister agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey (who is funding this project). The particular problems encountered with these data are that. Up to the end of 2001 field season, the backscatter data acquired by this system were collected from dedicated receiver beams, separate from those used for bathymetry. This receive beam is broad in the elevation plane (similar to a sidescan sonar) so that the variation in elevation angle with time must be indirectly inferred from the corresponding bathymetric profile. As some backscatter data are collected from slant-ranges beyond which bathymetric data are acquired, for that case the imaging geometry must be either inferred using a simple slope model, or derived from neighbouring swaths. Results of the application of full geometric and radiometric corrections will be presented

Chronic pain is common in mitochondrial disease

In the absence of cure, the main objectives in the management of patients with mitochondrial disease are symptom control and prevention of complications. While pain is a complicating symptom in many chronic diseases and is known to have a clear impact on quality of life, its prevalence and severity in people with genetically confirmed mitochondrial disease is unknown. We conducted a survey of pain symptoms in patients with genetically confirmed mitochondrial disease from two UK mitochondrial disease specialist centres. The majority (66.7%) of patients had chronic pain which was primarily of neuropathic nature. Presence of pain did not significantly impact overall quality of life. The m.3243A>G MTTL1 mutation was associated with higher overall pain severity and increased the likelihood of neuropathic pain compared to other causative nuclear and mitochondrial gene mutations. Although previously not considered a core symptom in people with mitochondrial disease, pain is a common clinical manifestation, frequently of neuropathic nature, and influenced by genotype. Given the impact on quality of life and treatment options available, pain-related symptoms should be carefully characterised and actively managed in this patient population

From 2D to 3D: novel nanostructured scaffolds to investigate signalling in reconstructed neuronal networks

To recreate in vitro 3D neuronal circuits will ultimately increase the relevance of results from cultured to whole-brain networks and will promote enabling technologies for neuro-engineering applications. Here we fabricate novel elastomeric scaffolds able to instruct 3D growth of living primary neurons. Such systems allow investigating the emerging activity, in terms of calcium signals, of small clusters of neurons as a function of the interplay between the 2D or 3D architectures and network dynamics. We report the ability of 3D geometry to improve functional organization and synchronization in small neuronal assemblies. We propose a mathematical modelling of network dynamics that supports such a result. Entrapping carbon nanotubes in the scaffolds remarkably boosted synaptic activity, thus allowing for the first time to exploit nanomaterial/cell interfacing in 3D growth support. Our 3D system represents a simple and reliable construct, able to improve the complexity of current tissue culture models

Early lineage restriction in temporally distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors during mammalian heart development.

Cardiac development arises from two sources of mesoderm progenitors, the first heart field (FHF) and the second (SHF). Mesp1 has been proposed to mark the most primitive multipotent cardiac progenitors common for both heart fields. Here, using clonal analysis of the earliest prospective cardiovascular progenitors in a temporally controlled manner during early gastrulation, we found that Mesp1 progenitors consist of two temporally distinct pools of progenitors restricted to either the FHF or the SHF. FHF progenitors were unipotent, whereas SHF progenitors were either unipotent or bipotent. Microarray and single-cell PCR with reverse transcription analysis of Mesp1 progenitors revealed the existence of molecularly distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors, consistent with their lineage and regional contribution. Together, these results provide evidence that heart development arises from distinct populations of unipotent and bipotent cardiac progenitors that independently express Mesp1 at different time points during their specification, revealing that the regional segregation and lineage restriction of cardiac progenitors occur very early during gastrulation.This is the author's accepted manuscript and will be under embargo until the 24th of February 2015. The final version is published by NPG in Nature Cell Biology here: http://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/v16/n9/full/ncb3024.html

Epigenetic remodelling licences adult cholangiocytes for organoid formation and liver regeneration.

Following severe or chronic liver injury, adult ductal cells (cholangiocytes) contribute to regeneration by restoring both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. We recently showed that ductal cells clonally expand as self-renewing liver organoids that retain their differentiation capacity into both hepatocytes and ductal cells. However, the molecular mechanisms by which adult ductal-committed cells acquire cellular plasticity, initiate organoids and regenerate the damaged tissue remain largely unknown. Here, we describe that ductal cells undergo a transient, genome-wide, remodelling of their transcriptome and epigenome during organoid initiation and in vivo following tissue damage. TET1-mediated hydroxymethylation licences differentiated ductal cells to initiate organoids and activate the regenerative programme through the transcriptional regulation of stem-cell genes and regenerative pathways including the YAP-Hippo signalling. Our results argue in favour of the remodelling of genomic methylome/hydroxymethylome landscapes as a general mechanism by which differentiated cells exit a committed state in response to tissue damage.RCUK Cancer Research UK ERC H2020 Wellcome Trus

Medical humanities at Ghent University: a student\u27s point of view

Context: Defining and understanding the concept of Medical Humanities\u27 is a difficult, neverending task, in which consensus hasn\u27t been reached yet. Around the world, medical schools teach Medical Humanities in different courses, with different idealistic goals, albeit not accurately defined. Objectives: At Ghent University (Belgium), Medical Humanities is part of the horizontally integrated \u27exploration-continuum\u27, in which ethics, alternative medicine, etc. are included. Description contains vague objectives rather than a narrow definition. We, students, will acquire insight into issues related to, but slightly outside the educational package and own living environment. We learn about the interaction between medicine, patients, culture, society, etc. We often describe the goals as follows: the ultimate aim is to demonstrate that medical practice is not isolated from all other aspects of humanity, but an integral part of it. Design: Training in Medical Humanities is evolving continuously at our faculty. Presently, it has two parts. From year 1 to 4, we attend lectures about social, political or philosophical topics. This way, we learn to develop a critical way of thinking. In year 5, there are three options. Option 1: we approach a general theme (e.g. pain) from a humane point of view and write a paper about it. Option 2: in cooperation with literature students and the Museum Dr. Guislain, we prepare an interdisciplinary discussion between a \u27humanist\u27 and bioscientist (e.g. poet and anaesthetist). Option 3: we make a presentation about e.g. pain and literature, together with literature students. Through these exercises, we are stimulated to reflect about links between medicine and humanities. Conclusion: The ultimate goal of Medical Humanities in our education is to deliver doctors with human and humane understanding, knowledge, skills and experience. However, we, students are still in doubt about the concept and its sense, but more importantly about whether the content meets the objectives.\u2

Assessing Damage on the Major Submarine Deltas of Southern Puget Sound After the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake Using High-Resolution Seafloor Multibeam Mapping

NOAA and the U. S. Geological Survey conducted high-resolution multibeam mapping of portions of the seafloor of southern Puget Sound to assess the effects of the 28 February, 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Within a month of the earthquake a joint cruise was organized to examine the submerged portions of the Duwamish River delta in Seattle, the Puyallup River delta in Tacoma, and the Nisqually River delta, nearby the earthquake epicenter. Although no submarine failures were found on the Nisqually River delta, a variety of failures were observed on the Puyallup and Duwamish River deltas, some of which may be related to the earthquake. New bathymetric data along the Puyallup River delta in Commencement Bay show a few known historic submarine failures, many older looking failures, and several fresh features that may be related to the recent earthquake. Major submarine failures from 1894 along the southwestern delta front and from 1992 along the central delta front, as well as several other failures are easily identified in the new data. Features, including an arcuate-shaped headscarp and numerous craters, interpreted as expulsion pits, may be a result of the earthquake. The headscarp has about 2 meters of offset and is about 200 m wide. The craters are as much as 25 m across and 0.5 m deep and are the type of features that might be expected after severe ground shaking. Also on the Puyallup Delta is a marine disposal mound that has been cut by several landslides, some as large as 100 m wide, 15 m deep, and hundreds of meters long. The Duwamish River delta and the margins of Elliott Bay also have numerous submarine failures that are evident in the multibeam data. The delta front has several failures, ranging in width from less than 40 m to more than 300 m and in length from less than 100 m to more than 500 m. The heads of these submarine landslides are in less than 15 m of water and within a few tens of meters from the Seattle Port facility. Along the north side of Elliott Bay are a fresh looking landslide scar and a large crater. The crater has a 6-m wide floor, is 1.6 m deep, and has a raised rim