Student Attainment at St Mary’s University College Twickenham: Summary and Recommendations for Senior Staff

The project 'Student Attainment at St Mary's University College Twickenham' was carried out between February and August 2012. This summary report of the attainment project concentrates on the institutional level findings and recommendations of particular interest to HE senior leaders

Attainment at St Mary’s University College Twickenham: Student Report

The aim of this report is to present the findings of the student attainment project relevant for current students, including evidence-based tips for how to make the most of your education at St Mary’s. The research underpinning this work was carried out between February and August 2012 and encompassed: • A review of academic literature and research projects conducted in other institutions. • An analysis of St Mary’s University College Registry data relating to attainment between 2007/2008 and 2011/2012. • An analysis of student responses to the question in the National Student Survey 2011, ‘Looking back on the experience, are there any particularly positive or negative aspects you would like to highlight?’ • The development, dissemination and analysis of the Student Experience, Attainment and Retention Survey 2012, which received 146 responses. • Indepth examination of issues related to attainment, equalities and diversities and value added measurements. • Interviews with 1 senior staff, 5 members of academic staff and, 6 student services staff members. The full findings and recommendations are reported in Attainment at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham (McLaren, 2012)

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Case study To illustrate effective practice at St Mary’s University College in the delivery of 14-19 Diploma ITT strand 2 ‘with experience’ provision, 2008/09: The 14-19 Diploma Learning and Development Handbook

This case study has been developed to illustrate effective practice in the delivery of 14-19 Diploma Initial Teacher Training (ITT) strand 2 ‘with experience’ provision, by St Mary’s University College during the academic year 2008/09. The case study was commissioned by The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The case study will specifically offer a strategy for collating Diploma evidence and evaluating student teachers’ progress and attainment whilst on a strand 2 ‘with experience’ ITT programme

Attainment at St Mary's University College Twickenham - Final Report

The aim of this project was to investigate student attainment at St Mary’s University College, capturing the current picture in terms of which variables related to student background, circumstance and studies have significant relationships with the grades they receive. It also looked at the potential impact of more qualitative factors such as academic and social engagement, belonging and belief. The report identifies examples both of best practice and recommendations for improvement, based on academic literature and primary research carried out within the university college as part of the project

Student Attainment at St Mary’s University College Twickenham: Summary and Recommendations

The aim of this report is to investigate student attainment at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, identifying both examples of best practice and recommendations for improvement. The research underpinning this was carried out between February and August 2012

I'm a subject specialist - get me out of here! A cross-curricular project for secondary student teachers

Explores the potential in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) for promoting cross curricular development at key stage three through modelling effective practice

Identifying the cellular basis for reimplantation failure in repair of the rotator cuff

We examined cultured osteoblasts derived from paired samples from the greater tuberosity and acromion from eight patients with large chronic tears of the rotator cuff.We found that osteoblasts from the tuberosity had no apparent response to mechanical stimulation, whereas those derived from the acromion showed an increase in alkaline phosphatase activity and nitric oxide release which is normally a response of bone cells to mechanical strain. By contrast, we found that cells from both regions were able to respond to dexamethasone, a well-established promoter of osteoblastic differentiation, with the expected increase in alkaline phosphatase activity.Our findings indicate that the failure of repair of the rotator cuff may be due, at least in part, to a compromised capacity for mechanoadaptation within the greater tuberosity. It remains to be seen whether this apparent decrease in the sensitivity of bone cells to mechanical stimulation is the specific consequence of the reduced load-bearing history of the greater tuberosity in these patients

Local restoration of dystrophin expression with the morpholino oligomer AVI-4658 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, proof-of-concept study

BACKGROUND: Mutations that disrupt the open reading frame and prevent full translation of DMD, the gene that encodes dystrophin, underlie the fatal X-linked disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Oligonucleotides targeted to splicing elements (splice switching oligonucleotides) in DMD pre-mRNA can lead to exon skipping, restoration of the open reading frame, and the production of functional dystrophin in vitro and in vivo, which could benefit patients with this disorder. METHODS: We did a single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study in patients with DMD recruited nationally, to assess the safety and biochemical efficacy of an intramuscular morpholino splice-switching oligonucleotide (AVI-4658) that skips exon 51 in dystrophin mRNA. Seven patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with deletions in the open reading frame of DMD that are responsive to exon 51 skipping were selected on the basis of the preservation of their extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) muscle seen on MRI and the response of cultured fibroblasts from a skin biopsy to AVI-4658. AVI-4658 was injected into the EDB muscle; the contralateral muscle received saline. Muscles were biopsied between 3 and 4 weeks after injection. The primary endpoint was the safety of AVI-4658 and the secondary endpoint was its biochemical efficacy. This trial is registered, number NCT00159250. FINDINGS: Two patients received 0.09 mg AVI-4658 in 900 microL (0.9%) saline and five patients received 0.9 mg AVI-4658 in 900 microL saline. No adverse events related to AVI-4658 administration were reported. Intramuscular injection of the higher-dose of AVI-4658 resulted in increased dystrophin expression in all treated EDB muscles, although the results of the immunostaining of EDB-treated muscle for dystrophin were not uniform. In the areas of the immunostained sections that were adjacent to the needle track through which AVI-4658 was given, 44-79% of myofibres had increased expression of dystrophin. In randomly chosen sections of treated EDB muscles, the mean intensity of dystrophin staining ranged from 22% to 32% of the mean intensity of dystrophin in healthy control muscles (mean 26.4%), and the mean intensity was 17% (range 11-21%) greater than the intensity in the contralateral saline-treated muscle (one-sample paired t test p=0.002). In the dystrophin-positive fibres, the intensity of dystrophin staining was up to 42% of that in healthy muscle. We showed expression of dystrophin at the expected molecular weight in the AVI-4658-treated muscle by immunoblot. INTERPRETATION: Intramuscular AVI-4658 was safe and induced the expression of dystrophin locally within treated muscles. This proof-of-concept study has led to an ongoing systemic clinical trial of AVI-4658 in patients with DMD