The impact of a postgraduate learning experience on the confidence of General Dental Practitioners

This study aimed to explore the relationship between participating in a learning experience and the ensuing changes in confidence. A self-selected group of General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) entered a five-year, part-time postgraduate master’s training programme in restorative dentistry. Confidence in communication with patients and technical skills were measured at the start of the programme by questionnaire and at the conclusion of the programme by questionnaire and personal interview. A total of 72 clinicians started the programme; 27% (n = 20) completed the master’s degree. Assessment of confidence revealed a spread from 4/10 to 10/10 for communication with patients and clinical skills in restorative dentistry before the programme started. A total of 15% (n = 11) volunteered for interview. Analysis of qualitative data revealed (i) a perceived increase in confidence from all clinicians; (ii) a perceived greater ability to treat patients; (iii) an increase in treatment options being offered to patients; (iv) a perceived increase in treatment uptake by patients; and (v) greater job opportunities. The study showed a positive relationship between the learning experience and the perceived increase in confidence of clinicians. The increase in confidence manifested itself in better communication and clinical skills

On a Possible Privacy Flaw in Direct Anonymous Attestation

A possible privacy flaw in the TCG implementation of the Direct Anonymous Attestation (DAA) protocol has recently been discovered by Rudolph. This flaw allows a DAA Issuer to covertly include identifying information within DAA Certificates, enabling a colluding DAA Issuer and one or more verifiers to link and uniquely identify users, compromising user privacy and thereby invalidating the key feature provided by DAA. In this paper we argue that, in typical usage scenarios, the weakness identified by Rudolph is not likely to lead to a feasible attack; specifically we argue that the attack is only likely to be feasible if honest DAA signers and verifiers never check the behaviour of issuers. We also suggest possible ways of avoiding the threat posed by Rudolph's observation

The use of picture cards to elicit postgraduate dental student feedback

The aim of this study was to elicit information about the use of picture cards to stimulate student feedback following a postgraduate dental course. Twenty-nine general dental practitioners (GDPs) volunteered for the study. Following an explanation of how this style of feedback worked, students were asked to choose a picture card from those available and use that image to stimulate their feedback. An independent interviewer introduced the topic and gathered comments in the form of qualitative data, generated by pre-formed questions. 93% (n = 26) questionnaires were completed and returned. 77% (n = 20) GDPs reported enjoying giving their feedback by ‘picture card’ technique; 83% (n = 20) reported this form of feedback stimulated their thoughts. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Some GDPs felt the picture cards helped them formulate their feedback, others felt being able to give feedback to a third party they did not know was beneficial and giving feedback as a group was helpful. This novel approach of using picture cards to stimulate feedback was well received by these GDPs. A mixed result as to the value of this style of feedback was evident. A group feedback session facilitated by a stranger was considered to be a valuable approach to take

Dental Teacher Feedback and Student Learning: A Qualitative Study

Feedback is essential to improve student learning and motivation and to encourage curriculum development by teachers. This study looked at feedback to and from dental students from a qualitative perspective. Methods: Dental teachers were recruited exclusively to this study from the membership of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). Delegates from each of the four annual ADEE conferences were invited to attend focus groups to discuss aspects of feedback. Focus groups established an individual theme for the respective conferences: (i) the role of the teacher in delivering feedback; (ii) feedback from the students’ perspective; (iii) changes to feedback due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (iv) integrating feedback with assessments. Results: Qualitative data collected from the conference delegates were diverse and thought provoking. Delegates reported different styles of feedback varying from individual, personal feedback to no feedback at all. An enforced and mostly positive adaptation to online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic was reported. A partial return to pre-pandemic practices was described. Conclusions: Feedback is well recognized by students and teachers as contributing to learning. A universal approach to delivering feedback as part of the student learning process can be challenging due to a multitude of variables. Many aspects of changes in dental education, teaching, and feedback practices adopted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been retained post-pandemic, thereby accelerating the anticipated progression to online teaching

Directional optical switching and transistor functionality using optical parametric oscillation in a spinor polariton fluid

Over the past decade, spontaneously emerging patterns in the density of polaritons in semiconductor microcavities were found to be a promising candidate for all-optical switching. But recent approaches were mostly restricted to scalar fields, did not benefit from the polariton's unique spin-dependent properties, and utilized switching based on hexagon far-field patterns with 60{\deg} beam switching (i.e. in the far field the beam propagation direction is switched by 60{\deg}). Since hexagon far-field patterns are challenging, we present here an approach for a linearly polarized spinor field, that allows for a transistor-like (e.g., crucial for cascadability) orthogonal beam switching, i.e. in the far field the beam is switched by 90{\deg}. We show that switching specifications such as amplification and speed can be adjusted using only optical means

Iron (III) Salalen Complexes for the Polymerisation of Lactide

Herein, we report the preparation and characterisation of iron (III) salalen complexes, with variation of ligand substituents and backbone investigated. Six new complexes were prepared and characterised by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography. These complexes have been applied for the ring opening polymerisation (ROP) of rac-lactide in propylene oxide. Fe(1)Cl was found to have a moderate isotactic preference (Pm = 0.75 – 0.80) and demonstrated good molecular weight control in solution (Đ = 1.02 – 1.18). Fe(2-7)Cl were also active for ROP and activities could be related to ligand structure

Data integration for the monitoring of batch processes in the pharmaceutical industry

Advances in sensor technology has resulted in large amounts of data being available electronically. However, to utilise the potential of the data, there is a need to transform the data into knowledge to realise an enhanced understanding of the process. This thesis investigates a number of multivariate statistical projection techniques for the monitoring of batch fermentation and pharmaceutical processes. In the first part of the thesis, the traditional performance monitoring tools based on the approaches of Nomikos and MacGregor (1994) and Wold et al. (1998) are introduced. Additionally, the application of data scaling as a data pre-treatment step for batch processes is examined and it is observed that it has a significant impact on monitoring performance. Based on the advantages and limitations of these techniques, an alternative methodology is proposed and applied to a simulated penicillin fermentation process. The approach is compared with existing techniques using two metrics, false alarm rate and out-ofcontrol average run length. A further manufacturing challenge facing the pharmaceutical industry is to understand the differences in the performance of a product which is manufactured at two or more sites. A retrospective multi-site monitoring model is developed utilising a pooled sample variancecovariance methodology of the two sites. The results of this approach are compared with a number of techniques that have been previously reported in the literature for the integration of data from two or more sources. The latter part of the thesis focuses on data integration using multi-block analysis. Several blocks of data can be analysed simultaneously to allow the inter- and intra- block relationships to be extracted. The methodology of multi-block Principal Component Analysis (MBPCA) is initially reviewed. To enhance the sensitivity of the algorithm, wavelet analysis is incorporated within the MBPCA framework. The fundamental advantage of wavelet analysis is its ability to process a signal at different scales so that both the global features and the localised details of a signal can be studied simultaneously. Both existing and the modified approach are applied to data generated from an experiment conducted in a batch mini-plant and that was monitored by both physical sensors and on-line UV-Visible spectrometer. The performance of the integrated approaches is benchmarked against the individual process and spectral monitoring models as well as examining their fault detection ability on two additional batches with pre-designed process deviations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) : Overseas Research Students Award Scheme (ORSAS) : Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology (CPACT)GBUnited Kingdo

Data integration for the monitoring of batch processes in the pharmeceutical industry

PhD ThesisAdvances in sensor technology has resulted in large amounts of data being available electronically. However, to utilise the potential of the data, there is a need to transform the data into knowledge to realise an enhanced understanding of the process. This thesis investigates a number of multivariate statistical projection techniques for the monitoring of batch fermentation and pharmaceutical processes. In the first part of the thesis, the traditional performance monitoring tools based on the approaches of Nomikos and MacGregor (1994) and Wold et al. (1998) are introduced. Additionally, the application of data scaling as a data pre-treatment step for batch processes is examined and it is observed that it has a significant impact on monitoring performance. Based on the advantages and limitations of these techniques, an alternative methodology is proposed and applied to a simulated penicillin fermentation process. The approach is compared with existing techniques using two metrics, false alarm rate and out-ofcontrol average run length. A further manufacturing challenge facing the pharmaceutical industry is to understand the differences in the performance of a product which is manufactured at two or more sites. A retrospective multi-site monitoring model is developed utilising a pooled sample variancecovariance methodology of the two sites. The results of this approach are compared with a number of techniques that have been previously reported in the literature for the integration of data from two or more sources. The latter part of the thesis focuses on data integration using multi-block analysis. Several blocks of data can be analysed simultaneously to allow the inter- and intra- block relationships to be extracted. The methodology of multi-block Principal Component Analysis (MBPCA) is initially reviewed. To enhance the sensitivity of the algorithm, wavelet analysis is incorporated within the MBPCA framework. The fundamental advantage of wavelet analysis is its ability to process a signal at different scales so that both the global features and the localised details of a signal can be studied simultaneously. Both existing and the modified approach are applied to data generated from an experiment conducted in a batch mini-plant and that was monitored by both physical sensors and on-line UV-Visible spectrometer. The performance of the integrated approaches is benchmarked against the individual process and spectral monitoring models as well as examining their fault detection ability on two additional batches with pre-designed process deviations.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC: The Overseas Research Students Award Scheme (ORSAS): The Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology (CPACT)