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”

Fv antibodies to aflatoxin B1 derived from a pre-immunized antibody phage display library system

The production and characterization of recombinant antibodies to aflatoxin B[SUB1] (AFB[SUB1]), a potent mycotoxin and carcinogen is described. The antibody fragments produced were then applied for use in a surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor (BIAcore), which measures biomolecular interactions in 'real-time'. Single chain Fv (scFv) antibodies were generated to aflatoxin B1 from an established phage display system, which incorporated a range of different plasmids for efficient scFv expression. The scFv's were used in the development of a competitive ELISA, and also for the development of surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based inhibition immunoassays. They were found to be suitable for the detection of AFB[SUB1], in this format, with the assays being sensitive and reproducible

Detection of a novel RYR1 mutation in four malignant hyperthermia pedigrees

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal autosomal dominant disorder of skeletal muscle and is triggered in susceptible people by all commonly used inhalational anaesthetics and depolarizing muscle relaxants. To date, six mutations in the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor gene (RYR1) have been identified in malignant hyperthermia susceptible (MHS) and central core disease (CCD) cases. Using SSCP analysis, we have screened the RYR1 gene in affected individuals for novel MHS mutations and have identified a G to A transition mutation which results in the replacement of a conserved Gly at position 2433 with an Arg. The Gly2433Arg mutation was present in four of 104 unrelated MHS individuals investigated and was not detected in a normal population sample. This mutation is adjacent to the previously identified Arg2434His mutation reported in a CCD/MH family and indicates that there may be a second region in the RYR1 gene where MHS/CCD mutations cluste

Mutations in the gene encoding the synaptic scaffolding protein SHANK3 are associated with autism spectrum disorders.

International audienceSHANK3 (also known as ProSAP2) regulates the structural organization of dendritic spines and is a binding partner of neuroligins; genes encoding neuroligins are mutated in autism and Asperger syndrome. Here, we report that a mutation of a single copy of SHANK3 on chromosome 22q13 can result in language and/or social communication disorders. These mutations concern only a small number of individuals, but they shed light on one gene dosage-sensitive synaptic pathway that is involved in autism spectrum disorders

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Production of a recombinant anti-morphine-3-glucuronidenext term single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody for the development of a “real-time” biosensor-based immunoassay

A recombinant single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody to morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) was produced using genetic material obtained from the spleen cells of mice immunised with a morphine-3-glucuronide-bovine serum albumin (M3G-BSA) conjugate. Immunoglobulin light (VL) and heavy (VH) chain genes were amplified and cloned into pAK vectors for generation of recombinant antibody fragments in Escherichia coli. A competition ELISA assay was developed in PBS to characterise the ability of the antibody fragments to recognise free drug and the detection limits were found to be as low as 3 ng ml−1. Surface plasmon resonance-based inhibition immunoassays were developed. The recombinant antibody was pre-incubated with various concentrations of free drug followed by injection over a morphine-3-glucuronide-thyroglobulin (M3G-THY) immobilised surface. The response of antibody binding to the surface of the chip was inversely proportional to the amount of free drug in solution. Regeneration conditions for antibody binding to the surface were optimised resulting in a binding-regeneration capacity of at least 30 cycles. The inhibition assay for M3G was tested with assay ranges between 3 and 195 ng ml−1 and 3 and 97 ng ml−1 in PBS and urine, respectively