What does it take to redesign a degree? A case study

BACKGROUND The Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science course at Monash University is presently in the second year of a three-year redevelopment. Initiated to address the recommendations of a 2015 course review, the redevelopment has grown into a full course redesign with multiple aims including the deep embedding of skill development, authentic learning and lifelong learning skills into the curriculum; strengthening integrated and interdisciplinary learning; and improving the student experience. AIMS This case study maps the key stages in the full redesign of an applied science degree with the aim of identifying internal and external factors that have shaped its conception and implementation. METHODS Multiple data sources (institutional data, planning documents, personal notes and recollections) are used to describe the redesign process over a four-year period. The elements of the process are analysed with respect to literature examples and models of educational change and curriculum design. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The present case has employed a mixed approach, addressing both institutional and individual practices, that is mostly consistent with an integration strategy of curriculum change

Antibody Recognition of Cancer-Related Gangliosides and Their Mimics Investigated Using in silico Site Mapping

Modified gangliosides may be overexpressed in certain types of cancer, thus, they are considered a valuable target in cancer immunotherapy. Structural knowledge of their interaction with antibodies is currently limited, due to the large size and high flexibility of these ligands. In this study, we apply our previously developed site mapping technique to investigate the recognition of cancer-related gangliosides by anti-ganglioside antibodies. The results reveal a potential ganglioside-binding motif in the four antibodies studied, suggesting the possibility of structural convergence in the anti-ganglioside immune response. The structural basis of the recognition of ganglioside-mimetic peptides is also investigated using site mapping and compared to ganglioside recognition. The peptides are shown to act as structural mimics of gangliosides by interacting with many of the same binding site residues as the cognate carbohydrate epitopes. These studies provide important clues as to the structural basis of immunological mimicry of carbohydrates

Meglumine Sodium Succinate to Correct COVID-19-Associated Coagulopathy: the Feasibility Study

Aim of the study: to evaluate the effect of meglumine sodium succinate (MSS) on the efficacy of anticoagulant therapy in patients with severe COVID-19 infection complicated by bilateral community-acquired pneumonia.Materials and methods. Overall efficacy of treatment was analyzed in 12 patients hospitalized to ICU with the diagnosis of severe confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus infection (U07.1) complicated by bilateral multisegmental pneumonia. All patients received prophylactic anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin. The patients were divided into two groups: 7 of them received a multi-electrolyte solution containing MSS 5 ml/kg daily for the entire ICU stay (3-10 days) as a part of therapy; 5 patients received a similar volume of a conventional multi-electrolyte solution containing no metabolically active substrates and comprised a control group. Coagulation parameters were measured in arterial and venous blood of all patients at the following stages: 1) upon admission to the ICU; 2) 2-4 hours after the first dose of heparin; 3) 8-12 hours after the second dose of heparin; 4) 24 hours after the beginning of intensive therapy. On the 28th day of follow-up, mortality, duration of ICU stay, and incidence of thrombotic complications in the groups were evaluated. Nonparametric methods of statistical analysis were used to assess intragroup changes and intergroup differences.Results. The group of patients administered with MSS had significantly fewer thromboembolic events during 28 days of treatment and shorter ICU stay. These patients responded faster to anticoagulant therapy, which was suggested by more distinct changes in coagulation parameters, i.e. increased APTT, persisting viable thrombocyte population, reduced D-dimer and fibrinogen levels.Conclusion. The metabolic action of succinate possibly increases endothelial resistance to damaging factors and reduces its procoagulant activity. The hypothesis requires testing in a larger clinical study with a design including laboratory evaluation of the efficacy of varying doses of the studied drug as well as aiming at elucidation of the mechanisms of its effect on specific pro- and anticoagulation system components

Background Assay and Rejection in DRIFT

The DRIFT-IId dark matter detector is a m3-scale low-pressure TPC with directional sensitivity to WIMP-induced nuclear recoils. Its primary backgrounds were due to alpha decays from contamination on the central cathode. Efforts to reduce these backgrounds led to replacing the 20 μm wire central cathode with one constructed from 0.9 μm aluminized mylar, which is almost totally transparent to alpha particles. Detailed modeling of the nature and origin of the remaining backgrounds led to an in-situ, ppt-sensitive assay of alpha decay backgrounds from the central cathode. This led to further improvements in the thin-film cathode resulting in over 2 orders of magnitude reduction in backgrounds compared to the wire cathode. Finally, the addition of O2 to CS2 gas was found to produce multiple species of electronegative charge carriers, providing a method to determine the absolute position of nuclear recoils and reject all known remaining backgrounds while retaining a high efficiency for nuclear recoil detection

Long-term study of backgrounds in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter experiment

Low-pressure gas Time Projection Chambers being developed for directional dark matter searches offer a technology with strong particle identification capability combined with the potential to produce a definitive detection of Galactic Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter. A source of events able to mimic genuine WIMP-induced nuclear recoil tracks arises in such experiments from the decay of radon gas inside the vacuum vessel. The recoils that result from associated daughter nuclei are termed Radon Progeny Recoils (RPRs). We present here experimental data from a long-term study using the DRIFT-II directional dark matter experiment at the Boulby Underground Laboratory of the RPRs, and other backgrounds that are revealed by relaxing the normal cuts that are applied to WIMP search data. By detailed examination of event classes in both spatial and time coordinates using 3.5 years of data, we demonstrate the ability to determine the origin of 4 specific background populations and describe development of new technology and mitigation strategies to suppress them

Performance of 20:1 multiplexer for large area charge readouts in directional dark matter TPC detectors

More target mass is required in current TPC based directional dark matter detectors for improved detector sensitivity. This can be achieved by scaling up the detector volumes, but this results in the need for more analogue signal channels. A possible solution to reducing the overall cost of the charge readout electronics is to multiplex the signal readout channels. Here, we present work on an expanded LMH6574 multiplexer system with a capability of reducing the number of readouts in such TPC detectors by a factor of 20. Results indicate that the important charge distribution asymmetry along an ionization track is retained after multiplexed signals are demultiplexed

Radon in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter TPC: emanation, detection and mitigation

Radon gas emanating from materials is of interest in environmental science and also a major concern in rare event non-accelerator particle physics experiments such as dark matter and double beta decay searches, where it is a major source of background. Notable for dark matter experiments is the production of radon progeny recoils (RPRs), the low energy (~ 100 keV) recoils of radon daughter isotopes, which can mimic the signal expected from WIMP interactions. Presented here are results of measurements of radon emanation from detector materials in the 1 m3 DRIFT-II directional dark matter gas time projection chamber experiment. Construction and operation of a radon emanation facility for this work is described, along with an analysis to continuously monitor DRIFT data for the presence of internal 222Rn and 218Po. Applying this analysis to historical DRIFT data, we show how systematic substitution of detector materials for alternatives, selected by this device for low radon emanation, has resulted in a factor of ~ 10 reduction in internal radon rates. Levels are found to be consistent with the sum from separate radon emanation measurements of the internal materials and also with direct measurement using an attached alpha spectrometer. The current DRIFT detector, DRIFT-IId, is found to have sensitivity to 222Rn of 2.5 μBql−1 with current analysis efficiency, potentially opening up DRIFT technology as a new tool for sensitive radon assay of materials