Ready, set, go...- flexible package supporting the biophysical sciences in first year nursing

The learning and teaching of science subjects in undergraduate nursing programs can be difficult and a number of issues which contribute to this have been documented (McVicar & Clancy, 2001). The biological and physical sciences are an important component of USQ’s Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-Registration) program, the delivery of which has proven challenging. In 2007 this program under went a major revision of its curriculum. One consequence of this change, among many, involved the development of a new course NSC1500 Biophysical Sciences in Nursing which comprises four distinct disciplines, namely physics, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology. In a survey given to students prior to their commencement in this course, 40% of respondents felt they were not confident in studying science while 20% felt they were not prepared for the course (n=56). Students generally felt that all science disciplines in NSC1500 were important to their nursing profession; however, high workload was the major concern in the student 'evaluation of course' questionnaire

Sweetening a bitter pill: educational strategies supporting the foundation sciences in first year nursing

The biological and physical sciences are an important component of the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-Registration) program. However, science courses within this curriculum have been traditionally problematic due to the fact that many nursing students perceive the course to be difficult due to lack of background science. The use of various educational strategies such as online quizzes, multimedia, and recorded lectures using Tablet PC have been utilised in the develop-ment of a foundation biophysical sciences course in nursing. This nuts and bolts session details these strategies and highlights the impact they have had on student learning. The session will provide the opportunity for participants to share similar experiences; particularly looking at ways in which improvements in first year courses have led to potential benefits in student retention and progression as well as enhanced knowledge and reduced anxiety in relation to application of knowledge in subsequent courses within a program of study

Using a tablet PC in bioscience instruction amongst diverse student cohorts

Tablet PC technology has been adopted in many fields of scientific instruction, including chemistry, biochemistry, physics, engineering and maths and provides a number of benefits over traditional electronic teaching. Over the last 3 years I have used Tablet PC technology in the teaching of bioscience courses to both nursing and biomedical science students. The learning and teaching of science courses to these two student groups is inherently different and can be particularly difficult in under-graduate nursing programs. There are unique problems of pedagogy associated with applied chemistry and biochemistry for nursing students as educators are faced with the fact that these students can have a wide range of different educational science backgrounds and life experiences. The teaching of many chemistry and biochemistry concepts is a dynamic process and traditional lecture methods can present many obstacles to effective teaching due to the reliance on static PowerPoint slides. This presentation will outline various strategies using Tablet PCs that I have implemented to assist learning for both nursing and biomedical science students. The first case study centres on the how I have used the technology as a means of levelling the learning experience for nursing students who have no prior science background. The second case study focuses on how I have used Tablet PC technology to increase student engagement and participation in microbiology lectures and practicals through the use of concept mapping and flow chart exercises. The impact of these teaching and learning approaches on student experience will also be discussed

Bovine bile as a bio-surfactant pre-treatment option for anaerobic digestion of high-fat cattle slaughterhouse waste

Bovine bile was assessed as a novel bio-surfactant pre-treatment to enhance anaerobic digestion of lipid-rich dissolved air flotation (DAF) sludge using biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests. Bile was dosed at arbitrary concentrations from 0.2–6 g/L. At 0.6 g bile/L, methane yield increased by 7.08%. Doses above 2 g bile/L produced negative impacts on SMP, kinetics and digestion profile. At 6 g/L bile produced a 6% decrease in specific methane production and up to 79% additional inhibitory duration, delayed time of peak methane production by up to 74%, and slowed total digestion time by up to 65%. Reaction kinetics declined linearly with respect to bile addition, reaching half the control value at 6 g/L bile concentration. Subsequent anaerobic toxicity assays between 1 and 6 g bile/L revealed that bile has an inhibitory effect under BMP testing at these higher doses. The economic viability of using bile as a bio-surfactant was assessed. In comparison to the current use of bile as a sale product to pharmaceutical companies, the addition of 0.2 g bile/L to existing slaughterhouse waste streams could increase the value of bile to 220% of its current sale value. The promising results of bile dosed at 0.6 g/L under BMP testing warrant further investigation into long-term impact of bile pre-treatments of high-fat slaughterhouse wastewater in semi-continuous digestion experiments

Process optimisation of anaerobic digestion treating high-strength wastewater in the Australian red meat processing industry

This work represents and reviews a compilation of investigations into improving anaerobic digestion performance of high-strength wastewater in the Australian Red Meat Processing industry. The industry produces significant quantities of organic-rich wastewater which requires treatment prior to release to the environment. Anaerobic lagoons are a cost-effective method of waste treatment where land availability is not an issue; however, the high fat load in the wastewater can negatively impact the anaerobic lagoon system and result in compromised anaerobic digestion performance. This paper will discuss the importance of upstream primary pre-treatment and review a series of investigations focused on optimising digester performance and improving fat biodegradability. These studies include: 1. the effect of temperature and mixing; 2. the influence of feedstock trace element composition and supplementation, and; 3. the potential benefit from pre-treatments such as chemical, thermobaric, thermochemical and bio-surfactant. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for covered anaerobic lagoon operation and provides recommendations to promote optimum digester performance and future opportunities in adopting alternate anaerobic digestion technology options. Finally, the paper provides recent trends toward the use of other waste streams for co-digestion and discusses this in terms of digester optimization and technology options

An investigation into the fertilizer potential of slaughterhouse cattle paunch

In Australia, the red meat processing industry actively seeks approaches to improve the management of solid waste from processing operations and enhance the environmental performance. Recycling of paunch waste to farmland could be a cost-effective and practicable environmental option. However, little is known about the agronomic value of fresh and composted paunch, and the associated requirements for land application. Therefore, a short-term experimental work was undertaken to assess potential risks due to weed seed contamination and determine the agronomic response of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) to soil incorporation of paunch. The risk of weed contamination from soil application of paunch appeared to be low; however, methods that account for viability of seeds may be required to fully discard such a risk. Soil application of paunch at field equivalent rates of 150-300 kg ha-1 of N increased dry matter yield by ≈30% on average compared with untreated grass, but was approximately 35% lower than a mineral fertilizer treatment applied at the same rates. Dry matter yield of paunch-treated grass was between 2000 and 3000 kg per ha over four consecutive cuts at 25-day intervals. Nitrogen use-efficiency of paunch was approximately 10% (range: 3% to 20%, depending on paunch type), and total N in harvested plant material showed values, which were between 2% and 3%. Overall, there appears to be potential for paunch-derived products to be used as a source of carbon and nutrients in crop production. Areas that merit a research priority within this space are also outlined in this paper. Such work is required to inform soil-, climate- and crop-specific land application rates, optimize agronomic performance, and minimize environmental concerns. There is also a requirement for the value proposition to industry to be determined, including reduced cost of disposal of material via gate fees and fertilizer replacement value

Evaluation of chemical, thermobaric and thermochemical pre-treatment on anaerobic digestion of high-fat cattle slaughterhouse waste

This work aimed to enhance the anaerobic digestion of fat-rich dissolved air flotation (DAF) sludge through chemical, thermobaric, and thermochemical pre-treatment methods. Soluble chemical oxygen demand was enhanced from 16.3% in the control to 20.84% (thermobaric), 40.82% (chemical), and 50.7% (thermochemical). Pre-treatment altered volatile fatty acid concentration by −64% (thermobaric), 127% (chemical) and 228% (thermochemical). Early inhibition was reduced by 20% in the thermochemical group, and 100% in the thermobaric group. Specific methane production was enhanced by 3.28% (chemical), 8.32% (thermobaric), and 8.49% (thermochemical) as a result of pre-treatment. Under batch digestion, thermobaric pre-treatment demonstrated the greatest improvement in methane yield with respect to degree of pre-treatment applied. Thermobaric pre-treatment was also the most viable for implementation at slaughterhouses, with potential for heat-exchange to reduce pre-treatment cost. Further investigation into long-term impact of pre-treatments in semi-continuous digestion experiments will provide additional evaluation of appropriate pre-treatment options for high-fat slaughterhouse wastewater

Characterisation of the Whole Blood mRNA Transcriptome in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey Calves in Response to Gradual Weaning

peer-reviewedWeaning of dairy calves is an early life husbandry management practice which involves the changeover from a liquid to a solid feed based diet. The objectives of the study were to use RNA-seq technology to examine the effect of (i) breed and (ii) gradual weaning, on the whole blood mRNA transcriptome of artificially reared Holstein-Friesian and Jersey calves. The calves were gradually weaned over 14 days (day (d) -13 to d 0) and mRNA transcription was examined one day before gradual weaning was initiated (d -14), one day after weaning (d 1), and 8 days after weaning (d 8). On d -14, 550 genes were differentially expressed between Holstein-Friesian and Jersey calves, while there were 490 differentially expressed genes (DEG) identified on d 1, and 411 DEG detected eight days after weaning (P 0.05). The pathways, gene ontology terms, and biological functions consistently over-represented among the DEG between Holstein-Friesian and Jersey were associated with the immune response and immune cell signalling, specifically chemotaxis. Decreased transcription of several cytokines, chemokines, immunoglobulin-like genes, phagocytosis-promoting receptors and g-protein coupled receptors suggests decreased monocyte, natural killer cell, and T lymphocyte, chemotaxis and activation in Jersey compared to Holstein-Friesian calves. Knowledge of breed-specific immune responses could facilitate health management practices better tailored towards specific disease sensitivities of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey calves. Gradual weaning did not compromise the welfare of artificially-reared dairy calves, evidenced by the lack of alterations in the expression of any genes in response to gradual weaning.This research was made possible by funding, provided by the Department of Agriculture and Food Stimulus Fund 11/S/16 and EU PLF (RMIS 6311) project 311825. DJ was in receipt of a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship funded scholarship (WF2013216)

Parallels of lived experiences in learning: a scientist learning qualitative research and nurses learning science

This article documents my personal experiences in entering research in tertiary teaching and learning. My role as a science academic has included teaching both undergraduate science and nursing students, as well as incorporating scientific research in the discipline of microbiology. Through teaching these two different cohorts of students I have come to realise that they demand different teaching styles and strategies. Previous studies concerning science courses in nursing programs suggested that nursing students have a negative attitude towards the relevance of science in nursing and lack the confidence to study this subject. In an attempt to improve this situation, I have taken the approach of investigating my teaching and learning practices in nurse education by undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of the course, and in doing so I have become more open to learning about new teaching and learning activities. This shift in research experience, from laboratory-based to educational, has produced an interesting parallel. The new experiences and anxieties that I faced in entering a new paradigm of educational research can be seen as analogous to those experienced by my nursing students when studying science in nursing for the first time. This paper provides a personal account of this shift in research and reflects on how my lived experience of entering a new field of research has facilitated the way that I understand how students learn

Identifying threshold concepts specific to science learning in nursing and the development of teaching approaches to facilitate their crossing

[Summary]: Identifying threshold concepts in science courses within Nursing programs can be challenging and what constitutes troublesome knowledge for nursing students maybe different to others studying the same discipline within a science degree. This presentation will address the issue of threshold concepts specific to chemistry and biochemistry teaching in nursing by outlining the learning challenges faced by these students and will provide a number of teaching approaches designed to overcome conceptual barriers to learning in this area