Finding the right fit: Enhancing the academic-industry link in the sector for Nutrition undergraduates – a pilot study

Academic learning experience prepares students for professional life, enriches their scientific-evidence knowledge, whereas laboratory practicals upskill their experiences applying theory into “real world” scenarios. As most undergraduate programmes are not offering placement year, students rely heavily on their initiatives and networking to maximise their continuous professional development (CPD). This study evaluated the supporting mechanisms between academia and industry/ sector and examined staff and students’ perceptions of existing academia-industry collaborations. An online survey was designed to record perceptions of undergraduate’s nutrition students. This was followed by focus groups to establish students’ perceptions of the relevant professional organisations and their related experiences outside academia. Captured students’ feedback together with the nutrition teaching academics responses in individual semi-structured interviews have portrayed the current academic-industry links, the perceived challenges/barriers and probed sensible roadmap. Six themes uncovered the need for extra nutrition-related work experiences, while the students’ perceptions reflected their learning through course progression, awareness of external opportunities and underpinned that graduate readiness improved progressively with years spent in study. The Academics’ interviews recognized the limited academic-industry collaborations and underpinned many barriers faced; more “top-down” support was identified as a strategy to enhance external links. The study provides a clear lens into the present academic-industry links within the nutrition programmes and ascertained the perceived challenges experienced by students and academics. Collaborations and centralised university communications shall promote a better university experience. Equally, staff-student partnerships will facilitate a new approach to understand both staff and students’ perspectives and enhance learning experiences within the sector

The influence of acetaminophen on sprint interval treadmill running: a randomized crossover trial

Although considerable research concerning the efficacy of analgesics in sport exists, there is a paucity of data concerning effects of acute acetaminophen (ACT) ingestion on sprint interval running exercise. This investigation concerned the effect of acute ACT ingestion on eight 30 s maximal treadmill sprints on a non-motorized treadmill, interspersed with two minutes rest in males (n=8, age 26±3 years, height 174±7 cm, mass 71±8 kg) in a placebo-controlled, randomized crossover design. A time x condition repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined ACT ingestion did not influence mean power output, peak power output, peak vertical ground reaction force, peak oxygen uptake, or total distance completed (p>.05). Perceived pain was reduced by 8-15% during the final three sprints following ACT ingestion (p<.05). Data presented here suggest ACT may reduce exercise-induced pain during the latter stages of sprint interval treadmill running, without influencing performance

Adaptation to altered interaural time differences in a virtual reality environment

Interaural time differences (ITDs) are important cues for determining the azimuth location of a sound source and need to be accurately reproduced, in a virtual reality (VR) environment, to achieve a realistic sense of sound location for the listener. ITDs are usually included in head related transfer functions (HRTFs) used for audio rendering, and can be individualised to match the user’s head size (e.g. longer ITDs are needed for larger head sizes). In recent years, studies have shown that it is possible to train subjects to adapt and improve their performance in sound localisation skills to non-individualized HRTFs. The analysis of such improvements has focused mainly on adaptation to monoaural spectral cues rather than binaural cues such as ITDs. In this work listeners are placed in a VR environment and are asked to localise the source of a noise burst in the horizontal plane. Using a generic non-individualized HRTF with its ITD modified to match the head size of each participant, test and training phases are alternated, with the latter providing continuous auditory feedback. The experiment is then repeated with ITDs simulating larger (150%) and smaller (50%) head sizes. Comparing localisation accuracy before and after training, it is observed that while training seems to improve sound localisation performance, this varies according to the simulated head size and target location

Operation-State Monitoring and Energization-Status Identification for Underground Power Cables by Magnetic Field Sensing

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Association of breastfeeding and three-dimensional dental arch relationships in primary dentition

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Incidence and diagnostic yield of repeat urine culture in hospitalized patients: An opportunity for diagnostic stewardship

There is limited knowledge on the incidence, diagnostic yield, and cost associated with inappropriate repeat urine cultures. The factors that affect repeat urine culturing practices are not well understood. We conducted a retrospective study of adult inpatients who had ≥1 urine culture performed during their hospitalization between January 2015 and February 2018. We analyzed the proportion of inappropriate repeat urine cultures performed \u3c48 h after the index culture. We defined an inappropriate repeat urine culture to be a repeat urine culture performed following a negative index culture or a repeat urine specimen obtained from the same urinary catheter. Overall, 28,141 urine cultures were performed on 21,306 patients. There were 2,060 (7.3%) urine cultures repeated in \u3c48 h. Of these, 1,120 (54.4%) urine cultures were inappropriate. Predictors for inappropriate repeat urine cultures included collection of the initial urine sample for culture in the emergency department (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 5.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.70 to 6.78), male gender (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.42 to 1.84), congestive heart failure (aOR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.38), and a longer hospital stay (aOR, 1.01 per day; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.01). A patient with an index urine culture obtained from an indwelling catheter (aOR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.80) was less likely to have an inappropriate repeat culture. Among 1,120 negative index urine cultures, only 4.7% of repeat cultures were positive for bacteriuria. The estimated laboratory charges for inappropriate repeat urine cultures were $16,800 over the study period. Among inpatients, over half of all urine cultures repeated in \u3c48 h were inappropriate. This offers an opportunity for diagnostic stewardship and optimization of antimicrobial use

Phylogenetic study of six species of Anopheles mosquitoes in Peninsular Malaysia based on inter-transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) of ribosomal DNA

Background Molecular techniques are invaluable for investigation on the biodiversity of Anopheles mosquitoes. This study aimed at investigating the spatial-genetic variations among Anopheles mosquitoes from different areas of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as deciphering evolutionary relationships of the local Anopheles mosquitoes with the mosquitoes from neighbouring countries using the anopheline ITS2 rDNA gene. Methods Mosquitoes were collected, identified, dissected to check infection status, and DNA extraction was performed for PCR with primers targeting the ITS2 rDNA region. Sequencing was done and phylogenetic tree was constructed to study the evolutionary relationship among Anopheles mosquitoes within Peninsular Malaysia, as well as across the Asian region. Results A total of 133 Anopheles mosquitoes consisting of six different species were collected from eight different locations across Peninsular Malaysia. Of these, 65 ITS2 rDNA sequences were obtained. The ITS2 rDNA amplicons of the studied species were of different sizes. One collected species, Anopheles sinensis, shows two distinct pools of population in Peninsular Malaysia, suggesting evolvement of geographic race or allopatric speciation. Conclusion Anopheles mosquitoes from Peninsular Malaysia show close evolutionary relationship with the Asian anophelines. Nevertheless, genetic differences due to geographical segregation can be seen. Meanwhile, some Anopheles mosquitoes in Peninsular Malaysia show vicariance, exemplified by the emergence of distinct cluster of An. sinensis population

Review on toxic effects of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate on zebrafish embryos

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in consumer products. People are continuously exposed to DEHP through ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption. From epidemiological studies, DEHP has been shown to associate with various adverse health effects, such as reproductive abnormalities and metabolic diseases. Health concerns have been raised regarding DEHP exposures; therefore, relevant risk assessment has become necessary through toxicological testing of DEHP. In the past 10 years, an increasing number of DEHP toxicity studies have been using zebrafish embryos as an in vivo model due to their high fecundity, rapid embryonic development as well as optical transparency, which have now been established as an alternative of the more conventional rodent model. The aim of the present paper is to review the effects of acute (from embryo stage to ≤1 week) and chronic (from embryo stage to &gt;1 week) DEHP exposures on zebrafish, which start from the embryonic stage, and to analyze acute and potential long-term effects induced by acute exposure and effects induced by chronic exposure of DEHP upon subjecting to exposures, starting from the embryonic stage to different developmental stages, with a view to facilitate risk assessments on DEHP exposures