Integration of computer technology into the medical curriculum: The King's experience

King's College London has developed a new curriculum which prepares students to deliver a high‐quality clinical service. A variety of active‐learning techniques are utilized to produce a deep approach to learning with an emphasis on vocational needs in the domains of knowledge, attitudes and skills. Integration of academic and clinical studies, as recommended by the General Medical Council (GMC), poses a number of difficulties, particularly in terms of communication between disparate geographical sites. The new curriculum aims to take advantage of computer technology to supplement and enhance traditional methods of learning and to ensure that students are competent in a defined range of skills. To aid integration, all students joining the new course are offered notebook computers and enhanced access to desktop computers, both with facilities to link to the main network This allows students to use multimedia material incorporated into the new curriculum and to access online services from remote locations. This paper reviews the integration of such computer technology into the new medical curriculum at King's

Gauge Dressing of 2D Field Theories

By using the gauge Ward identities, we study correlation functions of gauged WZNW models. We show that the gauge dressing of the correlation functions can be taken into account as a solution of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation. Our method is analogous to the analysis of the gravitational dressing of 2D field theories.Comment: 13 pages, Late

Historical Bias in the Making of \u3ci\u3eThe Silmarillion\u3c/i\u3e

Biases due to the point of view from which The Silmarillion is narrated are discussed. These biases are compared with those found in primary world histories

Vacuum Instability in Chern-Simons Theory, Null Vectors and Two-Dimensional Logarithmic Operators

A new relation between two-dimensional conformal field theories and three-dimensional topologically massive gauge theories is found, where the dynamical nature of the 3d theory is ultimately important. It is shown that the those primary states in CFT which have non-unitary descendants correspond in the 3d theory to supercritical charges and cause vacuum instability. It is also shown that logarithmic operators separating the unitary sector from a non-unitary one correspond to an exact zero energy ground state in which case the 3d Hamiltonian naturally has a Jordan structure.Comment: 12 pages, Latex. 1 figur

Managing exoelectrogenic microbial community development through bioprocess control for conversion of biomass-derived streams

Bioelectrochemical systems are an emerging technology capable of utilizing aqueous waste streams generated during biomass conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to produce valuable co-products and thus, have potential to be integrated into biorefineries. In a microbial electrolysis cell, organic compounds are converted to electrons, protons, and CO2 by fermentative and exoelectrogenic bacteria in the anode compartment. By having the ability to extract electrons from waste streams, these systems can treat water while also producing hydrogen, and thus can improve the efficiency of biomass to fuel production by minimizing external hydrogen requirement and enabling water recycle. The overall goal of this research is to understand how changes in the way the reactors are operated affect the performance of the system, and the structure of microbial community within when converting a biomass-derived stream (BOAP). This can enable the design of optimal community structure for waste stream conversion, which can lead to improved and stable performance of the system. An integrated approach was taken to test parameters such as flow-rate, recycle, organic loading rate, feeding regime, and electrode potential using a suite of electrochemical, metabolic and genomic techniques to unravel the biocomplexity of these systems and the impact on the reactor microbial communities. Faster flow-rates and recycle operation led to better conversion of BOAP, but efficiencies decreased as organic loading rates increased. Exposure to high concentrations during fed-batch feeding resulted in a substantial loss of electrons that was alleviated through continuous operation. Additionally, high loading/concentration conditions selected for different microbial species. Furthermore, exposing the microbial communities to different anode voltages provided evidence that the benefits of using more negative anode potentials to increase electrical efficiency can be capture through long-term enrichment without sacrificing substantial output. Lastly, the microbial community was characterized using deep sequencing techniques, revealing novel players directing a wide range of compounds to electrons. The resulting data was used to develop correlations that will serve as the foundation for operating these systems for commercial applications

Policy Brief. Promoting the SOAS GCRF Strategy: A qualitative assessment of research development processes and partnerships building in collaborative international research

This policy briefing aims to present key findings from a recently completed review of internal research development processes and approaches to partnerships building at SOAS. Like other universities, SOAS successfully received GCRF QR funding in order to implement its GCRF Strategy, identifying specific outcomes for the period 2018-2020. The current research project was conducted in order to facilitate the implementation of these objectives. It aimed to investigate more systematically barriers related to finance, contracts and compliance in international collaborative research faced in-house and in partner countries, understand current approaches to partnerships building and identify possible improvements and good practices. The research was led by Dr Romina Istratii in her role as GCRF Project Officer and was overseen by the then Director of Research and Enterprise Dr Alex Lewis

Monodisperse self-assembly in a model with protein-like interactions

We study the self-assembly behaviour of patchy particles with `protein-like' interactions that can be considered as a minimal model for the assembly of viral capsids and other shell-like protein complexes. We thoroughly explore the thermodynamics and dynamics of self assembly as a function of the parameters of the model and find robust assembly of all target structures considered. Optimal assembly occurs in the region of parameter space where a free energy barrier regulates the rate of nucleation, thus preventing the premature exhaustion of the supply of monomers that can lead to the formation of incomplete shells. The interactions also need to be specific enough to prevent the assembly of malformed shells, but whilst maintaining kinetic accessibility. Free-energy landscapes computed for our model have a funnel-like topography guiding the system to form the target structure, and show that the torsional component of the interparticle interactions prevents the formation of disordered aggregates that would otherwise act as kinetic traps.Comment: 11 pages; 10 figure

ARAS: an automated radioactivity aliquoting system for dispensing solutions containing positron-emitting radioisotopes.

BackgroundAutomated protocols for measuring and dispensing solutions containing radioisotopes are essential not only for providing a safe environment for radiation workers but also to ensure accuracy of dispensed radioactivity and an efficient workflow. For this purpose, we have designed ARAS, an automated radioactivity aliquoting system for dispensing solutions containing positron-emitting radioisotopes with particular focus on fluorine-18 ((18)F).MethodsThe key to the system is the combination of a radiation detector measuring radioactivity concentration, in line with a peristaltic pump dispensing known volumes.ResultsThe combined system demonstrates volume variation to be within 5 % for dispensing volumes of 20 μL or greater. When considering volumes of 20 μL or greater, the delivered radioactivity is in agreement with the requested amount as measured independently with a dose calibrator to within 2 % on average.ConclusionsThe integration of the detector and pump in an in-line system leads to a flexible and compact approach that can accurately dispense solutions containing radioactivity concentrations ranging from the high values typical of [(18)F]fluoride directly produced from a cyclotron (~0.1-1 mCi μL(-1)) to the low values typical of batches of [(18)F]fluoride-labeled radiotracers intended for preclinical mouse scans (~1-10 μCi μL(-1))