Students learning with communities

Students work in groups to research and prepare a short scientific demonstration and hands-on activities for partner primary school children in an initiative called “A Slice of Science”. Each member of the group prepares on section of the lesson plan and the group has time to practice and prepare the lesson on-site before going to the primary school to run the demonstration/workshop. Students are assessed based on the use of online discussion board activities and their participation in class. Further assessment includes the standard of the lesson delivered off site, a reflective essay and a log-book

Context based learning

The students are provided with journal articles or academic papers from which they must design their experimental procedure to produce a target drug (or compound). The student then carries out all the typical duties of an industrial scientist (e.g. health and safety, reagent preparation, reactions, analysis, data recording, data analysis and report writing). Finally, the student must estimate the cost of producing a specific quantity of the target drug based on their method

Scaffolding for Cognitive Overload Using Pre-lecture E-Resources (SCOPE) for First Year Chemistry Undergraduates

The aims of this project were: to develop additional online pre-lecture resources for first year chemistry undergraduates at level 7 and 8 to complement those prepared in the 2010/2911 academic year for level 8 students by Dr. Michael Seery as part of his teaching fellowship, and to evaluate the effect of implementing the resources with this year by analysing quantitative (test and exam results) and qualitative (pre-and post-implementation surveys and focus group interviews) data. Ten pre-lecture activities on organic chemistry were prepared and used with 87 level 8 students in Semester 2 and ten more on general chemistry topics have been developed and will be implemented with level 7 students in September 2012. Analysis of the mid-semester test and examination results of the students with whom the resources were used in semester 2 showed that, among groups with similar CAO points level, the gap in performance between those who had and had not studied chemistry at Leaving Cert was eliminated. The surveys and focus groups undertaken revealed that learners felt more confident and they could focus more in the lecture when they had completed a pre-lecture activity

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Review of Front-line Treatment Options, With a Focus on Elderly CLL Patients

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) remains the most prevalent form of leukemia in the Western world, with no cure to date. Ongoing and essential research into this heterogeneous disease has led to a number of new treatment options becoming available to CLL patients in the past decade. The present review presents the recent developments in the field of CLL treatment, with the main focus on elderly patients and CLL patients with coexisting comorbidities. The review discusses the current treatment regimens that provide the most promising outcomes for patients in this subgroup, with a number of important clinical trials summarized. These clinical trials, which have investigated promising single-agent therapies or combination therapies, are discussed, with an emphasis on the efficacy and tolerability for patients aged ≥ 65 years. Also, the misrepresentation of the true CLL population in many clinical trials and the need for better guidelines for participant inclusion criteria to provide a more realistic and accurate study population are noted

Antitumour and antimalarial activity of artemisinin–acridine hybrids

Artemisinin–acridine hybrids were prepared and evaluated for their in vitro activity against tumour cell lines and a chloroquine sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum. They showed a 2–4-fold increase in activity against HL60, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells in comparison with dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and moderate antimalarial activity. Strong evidence that the compounds induce apoptosis in HL60 cells was obtained by flow cytometry, which indicated accumulation of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle

Phosphite ozonides as singlet oxygen sources for organic synthesis and the preparation of novel endoperoxide-containing antimalarials

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

In Vitro Oxygen Availability Modulates the Effect of Artesunate on HeLa cells

Background/Aim: Hypoxia can affect chemo - therapeutic drug efficacy in cancer patients, yet related in vitro assays in oxygen-rich environment remain the norm. Such levels are well beyond normoxic/hypoxic levels typically experienced by normal tissues/tumor masses. The present study evaluated how artesunate anti-tumor efficacy is modulated by oxygen availability in HeLa cells and its implications for future in vitro analyses. Materials and Methods: Real-time cell analysis was employed to evaluate HeLa cell toxicity to artesunate at 21%, 4% or 1% oxygen. Cell count analysis was performed to validate real-time data. Results: An increase in artesunate efficacy was observed when oxygen concentration was reduced from atmospheric levels down to in vivo-relevant levels. Conclusion: Artesunate is more potent than originally reported using standard oxygen conditions during in vitro studies. The inclusion of this long overlooked variable as standard in future in vitro analysis procedures is warranted

Antitumour and antimalarial activity of artemisinin–acridine hybrids

Artemisinin-acridine hybrids were prepared and evaluated for their in vitro activity against tumour cell lines and a chloroquine sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum. They showed a 2-4-fold increase in activity against HL60, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells in comparison with dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and moderate antimalarial activity. Strong evidence that the compounds induce apoptosis in HL60 cells was obtained by flow cytometry, which indicated accumulation of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved