The role of research education coordinators in building research cultures in doctoral education

The development of cultures of support has become important in programmes for the preparation of research students. The paper draws on in-depth interviews with 21 research education coordinators from Australian and UK institutions to identify the strategies that they use to build research cultures and integrate research students into them. Students’ research cultures are not always linked to departmental research cultures more generally. Local contexts and conditions and staff (including supervisors’) attitudes are found to be critical in how research education coordinators respond and what is considered possible in order to ensure that research students are involved in research cultures

The hydrology of prehistoric farming systems in a central Arizona ecotone

The prehistoric land use and water management in the semi-arid Southwest was examined. Remote sensing data, geology, hydrology and biology are discussed along with an evaluation of remote sensing contributions, recommendations for applications, and proposed future remote sensing studies

Navigating the demands of academic work to shape an academic job

Findings from interviews with mid-career academics in English and Australian universities elucidate how academics interpret and navigate complex institutional contexts in shaping academic jobs. The paper argues that how they do this is a function of what they notice and respond to as well as the mode of reflexivity they employ. Three core areas are seen to affect academics sense of agency as they shape their own jobs: how they orient themselves to the world around them including the academic institution and department; their underlying goals and purposes as they seek to have a fulfilling role; and how they relate to structural conditions of the workplace. The paper argues that understanding academics’ differing foci of awareness in these areas is helpful to institutional policies and strategies

Responding to university policies and initiatives: the role of reflexivity in the mid-career academic

How do academics make sense of university policies and strategic initiatives and act on them? Interviews were conducted with 27 mid-career academics in different disciplines, different research-intensive university environments and two countries (England and Australia). Data were analysed iteratively utilising a critical realist perspective, specifically, Archer’s modes of reflexivity. The paper argues that individuals’ responses to university policies and initiatives, to changes in policy and policy conflicts can at least partially be understood through interrogating the modes of reflexivity they employ

Academic artisans in the research university

In the changing context of universities, organisational structures for teaching and research problematize academic roles. This paper draws on a critical realist analysis of surveys and interviews with academics from universities in England and Australia. It identifies important academic work, not captured simply in descriptions of teaching or research. It shows that many academics, who are not research high flyers nor award-winning teachers, carry out this essential work which contributes to the effective functioning of their universities. That work is referred to as academic artisanal work and the people who do it as academic artisans. Characteristics and examples of academic artisans are presented and the nature of artisanal work is explored. Implications for higher education management and for future studies are discussed. The paper points to an urgent need to better understand the complex nature of academic work

Research productivity and academics' conceptions of research

This paper asks the question: do people with different levels of research productivity and identification as a researcher think of research differently? It discusses a study that differentiated levels of research productivity among English and Australian academics working in research-intensive environments in three broad discipline areas: science, engineering and technology; social science and humanities; and medicine and health sciences. The paper explores the different conceptions of research held by these academics in terms of their levels of research productivity, their levels of research training, whether they considered themselves an active researcher and a member of a research team, and their disciplinary differences

Valproic acid is associated with cognitive decline in HIV-infected individuals: a clinical observational study

BACKGROUND: Valproic acid (VPA) is often used to control pain in HIV-related neuropathy. However, the effect of VPA on cognitive functions in advanced HIV-infected individuals is largely unknown. A recent study would suggest that it may have a neuroprotective effect, the doses used were low and the observation period short. METHODS: We used a well studied HIV-infected cohort assessed for a median of 15 (range 6–27 months) to determine whether individuals who were receiving VPA showed any cognitive benefits. Multiple regression procedures allowed us to control for the effects of HAART and HIV disease status as well as numbers of visits and variation in VPA intake over-time. RESULTS: We found a negative effect of VPA (mean dose of 850 mg/d for 18 months on average; range 6–27 months) on cognitive performance in eight advanced HIV-infected individuals compared to 32 advanced HIV-infected individuals on no VPA who had comparable neuropsychological performance at baseline. Control for plasma HIV viral load provided similar results. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that further studies of VPA in advanced HIV-infection should cautiously include high doses over prolonged periods of at least 18 months in order to more accurately determine whether the posited neuroprotective benefit of VPA still occurs or whether it is replaced by toxicity

Fish responses to flow velocity and turbulence in relation to size, sex and parasite load

Riverine fish are subjected to heterogeneous flow velocities and turbulence and may use this to their advantage by selecting regions that balance energy expenditure for station holding while maximizing energy gain through feeding opportunities. This study investigated microhabitat selection by guppies Poecilia reticulata in terms of flow characteristics generated by hemisphere boulders in an open channel flume. Velocity and turbulence influenced the variation in swimming behaviour with respect to size, sex and parasite intensity. With increasing body length, fish swam further and more frequently between boulder regions. Larger guppies spent more time in the areas of high-velocity and low-turbulence regions beside the boulders, whereas smaller guppies frequented the low-velocity and high-turbulence regions directly behind the boulders. Male guppies selected the regions of low velocity, indicating possible reduced swimming ability owing to hydrodynamic drag imposed by their fins. With increasing Gyrodactylus turnbulli burden, fish spent more time in regions with moderate velocity and lowest turbulent kinetic energy which were the most spatially and temporally homogeneous in terms of velocity and turbulence. These findings highlight the importance of heterogeneous flow conditions in river channel design owing to the behavioural variability within a species in response to velocity and turbulence

Herb-drug interaction: Effect of aqueous extract of Bridelia ferruginea leaves on the pharmacokinetics of metformin

The concurrent use of herbal medicines and orthodox drugs, especially in the treatment and management of chronic ailments, may result in clinically significant herb-drug interactions. Bridelia ferruginea Benth (Euphorbiaceae) is a common medicinal plant with known anti-diabetic properties and has been reported to be taken alongside the orthodox medicine, metformin. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of B. ferruginea leaves on the pharmacokinetics of metformin in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Reconstituted freeze dried extract of B. ferruginea leaves (30 mg/kg), and metformin (7 mg/kg) were administered concurrently as a single dose to female Sprague-Dawley rats. Whole blood samples (1 ml) were aseptically withdrawn by tail bleeding at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after administration of the single dose for pharmacokinetics analyses. Concurrent administration of metformin and B. ferruginea significantly affected (P < 0.05) all the pharmacokinetics parameters of metformin except for the time to attain the maximum concentration (Tmax), which increased but insignificantly. Whereas the area under the curve, maximum whole blood concentration (Cmax) and half-life (T½) of metformin decreased significantly in the presence of B. ferruginea, the elimination rate constant (Kel), clearance (Cl), absorption rate constant (Ka), and volume of distribution (Vd) of metformin increased significantly in the presence of B. ferruginea. Therefore, in clinical practice, patients should be advised on the implication of concurrent administration of metformin and B. ferrruginea