The whole of university experience: retention, attrition, learning and personal support interventions during undergraduate business studies

The Whole of University Experience (WoUE) project examined factors underpinning attrition in the first, second and third year of a business degree at six Australian universities – Griffith University, Monash University, Murdoch University, University of South Australia, University of Southern Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast. A questionnaire completed in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by a total of 7,486 students enabled gathering of data relating to demographics; students’ experience of university; their use and perceptions of the usefulness of student support interventions; open-ended comments about the best and worst aspects of the university experience; and aspects in need of improvement. In each year a small number of students were also interviewed for the purpose of fleshing out the survey data and exploring the interactions between various factors associated with attrition. Overall, the data strongly indicates that factors related to attrition are generally university-specific and reflect both student characteristics and their responses to the specific institutional culture and environment. The only attrition triggers which span most universities and most years of study are ‘lack of a clear reason for being at university’ and ‘the feeling of having insufficient ability to succeed at university’. Correlation analysis relating 70 statements probing students’ experience of university to the strength of their intention to leave before completing a degree revealed notable differentiation in attrition triggers on the basis of year of study. Follow-up analysis in one university indicated further differentiation in the triggers for attrition, semester by semester. It seems that many different factors underpin attrition decisions in any one institution and for any one individual, for whom attrition appears to be the result of the aggregation of diverse factors generally followed by ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. When responses are grouped by demographic variables some difference in the factors associated with domestic and international student attrition is apparent, but no difference in the factors associated with their sense of satisfaction or belonging is obvious. In the responses of international and domestic students to issues of teaching quality, differences primarily related to expectations regarding teaching staff approachability, availability and helpfulness. For students enrolled part-time or full-time different factors underpin attrition, and attrition triggers also differ on the basis of time spent on campus and average grades. Preliminary analysis suggests that having to take a loan or engage in full-time work to fund studies is a greater attrition risk factor in most universities than is the receipt of Centrelink benefits (which may be seen as a proxy indicator for low socio-economic status). Analysis of responses to questions about the use and usefulness of student support interventions indicates that, in general, when students use personal support interventions these are mostly seen as very useful. However, data also indicate that many, and often the majority of, students have either not used or are not aware of the support services available. Practically, the project has delivered, and will continue to deliver, significant value to the higher education sector. On the basis of evidence from the project, partner universities have begun addressing high-value student retention issues and it is expected that this evidence will continue to influence institutional decision-making for several years beyond the life of the project. Dissemination activities external to partner universities, including publication of five journal articles and numerous workshops or presentations, have assisted staff in other universities to reflect upon issues critical to student retention in both first year and beyond. Further publication outcomes are expected. Critically, as indicated in the independent project evaluation, “the project has directed much needed attention to factors associated with attrition in later years of the student experience (second and third years) … facilitated discussion around frameworks for evidence-based institutional responses that constitute effective interventions … [and] reinforced the need for institutions to collect their own data on the student experience to inform individual institutional responses and interventions”

Gastric and pulmonary lymphoma presenting as a solitary pulmonary nodule

The common presentations of lymphoma are widespread lymphadenopathy or development of constitutional symptoms. This paper presents a case of a patient who presented with a solitary mass detected on chest X-ray and underwent FDG-PET for further evaluation of this mass. FDG-PET is a commonly utilised technique to assess solitary nodules as it not only allows characterisation of the lesion but can also detect nodal and extra-thoracic disease with greater accuracy than the standard CT. In this case, FDG-PET demonstrated abnormal activity in the lung nodule and at the gastro-oesophageal junction. Biopsies confirmed Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at both sites. The value of FDG-PET in this case was the determination of previous unsuspected disease in an unusual presentation of lymphoma and as a useful tool for monitoring the therapeutic effect post chemotherapy

A lithostratigraphical and chronological study of Oligocene-Miocene sequences on eastern King George Island, South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) and correlation of glacial episodes with global isotope events

King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula) is renowned for its terrestrial palaeoenvironmental record, which includes evidence for potentially up to four Cenozoic glacial periods. An advantage of the glacigenic outcrops on the island is that they are associated with volcanic formations that can be isotopically dated. As a result of a new mapping and chronological study, it can now be shown that the published stratigraphy and ages of many geological units on eastern King George Island require major revision. The Polonez Glaciation is dated as c. 26.64 ± 1.43 Ma (Late Oligocene (Chattian Stage)) and includes the outcrops previously considered as evidence for an Eocene glacial ('Krakow Glaciation'). It was succeeded by two important volcanic episodes (Boy Point and Cinder Spur formations) formed during a relatively brief interval (< 2 Ma), which also erupted within the Oligocene Chattian Stage. The Melville Glaciation is dated as c. 21–22 Ma (probably 21.8 Ma; Early Miocene (Aquitanian Stage)), and the Legru Glaciation is probably ≤ c. 10 Ma (Late Miocene or younger). As a result of this study, the Polonez and Melville glaciations can now be correlated with increased confidence with the Oi2b and Mi1a isotope zones, respectively, and thus represent major glacial episodes

Yield of comparative genomic hybridization microarray in pediatric neurology practice

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the diagnostic yield of array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) in a large cohort of children with diverse neurologic disorders as seen in child neurology practice to test whether pathogenic copy number variants (CNVs) were more likely to be detected in specific neurologic phenotypes. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed on 555 children in whom a genetic etiology was suspected and who underwent whole-genome aCGH testing between 2006 and 2012. Neurologic phenotyping was performed using hospital medical records. An assessment of pathogenicity was made for each CNV, based on recent developments in the literature. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were found to carry a pathogenic CNV, giving an overall diagnostic yield of 8.59%. Certain phenotypes predicted for the presence of a pathogenic CNV, including developmental delay (odds ratio [OR] 3.69 [1.30–10.51]), cortical visual impairment (OR 2.73 [1.18–6.28]), dysmorphism (OR 2.75 [1.38–5.50]), and microcephaly (OR 2.16 [1.01–4.61]). The combination of developmental delay/intellectual disability with dysmorphism and abnormal head circumference was also predictive for a pathogenic CNV (OR 2.86 [1.02–8.00]). For every additional clinical feature, there was an increased likelihood of detecting a pathogenic CNV (OR 1.18 [1.01–1.38]). CONCLUSIONS: the use of aCGH led to a pathogenic finding in 8.59% of patients. The results support the use of aCGH as a first tier investigation in children with diverse neurologic disorders, although whole-genome sequencing may replace aCGH as the detection method in the future. In particular, the yield was increased in children with developmental delay, dysmorphism, cortical visual impairment, and microcephaly

Clinical course, therapeutic responses and outcomes in relapsing MOG antibody-associated demyelination.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: We characterised the clinical course, treatment and outcomes in 59 patients with relapsing myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated demyelination. METHODS: We evaluated clinical phenotypes, annualised relapse rates (ARR) prior and on immunotherapy and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), in 218 demyelinating episodes from 33 paediatric and 26 adult patients. RESULTS: The most common initial presentation in the cohort was optic neuritis (ON) in 54% (bilateral (BON) 32%, unilateral (UON) 22%), followed by acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) (20%), which occurred exclusively in children. ON was the dominant phenotype (UON 35%, BON 19%) of all clinical episodes. 109/226 (48%) MRIs had no brain lesions. Patients were steroid responsive, but 70% of episodes treated with oral prednisone relapsed, particularly at doses <10\u2009mg daily or within 2 months of cessation. Immunotherapy, including maintenance prednisone (P=0.0004), intravenous immunoglobulin, rituximab and mycophenolate, all reduced median ARRs on-treatment. Treatment failure rates were lower in patients on maintenance steroids (5%) compared with non-steroidal maintenance immunotherapy (38%) (P=0.016). 58% of patients experienced residual disability (average follow-up 61 months, visual loss in 24%). Patients with ON were less likely to have sustained disability defined by a final EDSS of 652 (OR 0.15, P=0.032), while those who had any myelitis were more likely to have sustained residual deficits (OR 3.56, P=0.077). CONCLUSION: Relapsing MOG antibody-associated demyelination is strongly associated with ON across all age groups and ADEM in children. Patients are highly responsive to steroids, but vulnerable to relapse on steroid reduction and cessation

A Heat‐Activated Drug‐Delivery Platform Based on Phosphatidyl‐(oligo)‐glycerol Nanocarrier for Effective Cancer Treatment

The potential of cancer drugs is not fully exploited due to low tumor uptake and occurrence of systemic side effects, limiting maximum tolerated dose. Actively targeted nanocarriers improve efficacy while minimizing off‐target toxicity. Herein, it is the first time a drug‐delivery platform for heat‐triggered intravascular drug release is described, based on synthetic phosphatidyl‐(oligo)‐glycerols from organic synthesis to preclinical investigation in feline patients. For the nanocarrier formulated doxorubicin (DOX), superior tumor drug delivery and antitumor activity compared with free DOX, conventional liposomal DOX (Caelyx), and temperature‐sensitive lysolipid‐containing DOX‐liposomes in rat sarcoma are demonstrated. In a comparative oncological study with neoadjuvant treatment of feline sarcoma, a metabolic response determined with 18 F‐FDG‐positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) and histopathological response after tumor resection are significantly better compared with free DOX, potentially by overcoming drug resistance based on improved intratumoral drug distribution. This novel drug‐delivery platform has great potential for the treatment of locally advanced tumors in humans

Type I interferon-mediated monogenic autoinflammation:The type I interferonopathies, a conceptual overview

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