Defining the complementarities between antibodies and haptens to refine our understanding and aid the prediction of a successful binding interaction

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) for their support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Pharmacokinetic Profile of Plasma Levobupivacaine Following Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block for Proximal Femoral Fracture in Older Patients

This article was extracted from the PhD. thesis of Rebecca Parr in Scotia Biologics Ltd. LC-MS/MS.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A new faculty personal tutor model to support student transition into higher education, during a global pandemic.

In 2020, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Faculty (comprising all staff involved in the delivery of STEM programmes) within a UK university, implemented an online personal tutoring model. This aimed to deliver a consistent experience to ~1000 students, supporting learning and fostering a sense of belonging during a global pandemic. Here we describe and evaluate a Curriculum Integrated personal tutor model, designed to provide a structured and dialogic student experience. We provide details on the timetabled activities, aligned to student development needs, and reflect on the effectiveness of this model in supporting student learning, building belonging and providing accessible delivery. We highlight strengthens and explore weakness, providing recommendations for implementation of this type of model at other institutions

Academic pay loadings and gender in Australian universities

Academic pay loadings are one potential mechanism of gender pay disparity in universities. Drawing on a large-scale survey of Australian academics with over 8000 respondents, we analyse how ‘discretionary’ and higher duties loadings (or bonuses) are distributed between men and women, and investigate the reasons for such distributions. Investigating both incidence and quantum, we find that discretionary loadings are particularly susceptible to gender influences. We explain this finding in terms of the concepts of regulation distance and the meritocracy paradox. The findings have implications for the design of loadings schemes in universities, and, by implication, in other kinds of organisations that provide loadings

Self-reported harassment and bullying in Australian universities: explaining differences between regional, metropolitan and elite institutions

We analyse data from the largest survey of university staff in Australia to determine whether bullying and harassment are more common in regional than metropolitan and Go8 universities, and to what extent any differences could be attributed to other factors. While professional staff showed no difference in harassment rates between regional and metropolitan and Go8 universities, academic staff at regional universities reported significantly higher levels of harassment. This probably reflected the labour market and resource context of regional universities. Binary logistic regression indicated that a perceived lack of support for professional development partially explained the effect of regional status on differences in the rates of harassment/bullying across university types. Markers of organisational culture only partially account for differences in the rates of harassment/bullying between university types

Pgp3 Antibody Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, a Sensitive and Specific Assay for Seroepidemiological Analysis of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection▿

Understanding of the burden of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and its clinical sequelae is hampered by the absence of accurate, well-characterized tests using serological methods to determine past exposure to infection. An “in-house” immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the C. trachomatis-specific antigen Pgp3 was produced and evaluated against three commercial ELISAs derived from the major outer membrane protein: the Medac pELISA plus, the Savyon SeroCT-IgG ELISA, and the Ani Labsystems IgG enzyme immunoassay. Sensitivities and specificities were determined using sera from both male and female patients (n = 356) for whom C. trachomatis had been detected in the lower genital tract at least 1 month prior to the testing of the sample and from 722 Chlamydia-negative children aged 2 to 13 years. The Pgp3 ELISA was significantly more sensitive (57.9% [95% confidence interval {95% CI}, 52.7 to 62.9%]) than the Ani Labsystems (49.2% [95% CI, 44.0 to 54.3%]; P = 0.003), SeroCT (47.2% [95% CI, 42.1 to 52.4%]; P < 0.0005), and Medac (44.4% [95% CI, 39.3 to 49.6%]; P < 0.0005) ELISAs. The Pgp3, Ani Labsystems, and SeroCT assays, but not the Medac assay, had significantly higher sensitivity for female specimens than for male specimens (73.8 versus 44.2%, 59.8 versus 40.5%, 55.5 versus 40%, and 45.7 versus 43.7%, respectively). For female patients, the Pgp3 assay was 14.0% (95% CI, 5.5 to 22.5%) more sensitive than the next most sensitive ELISA, the Ani Labsystems assay (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in specificity between the Pgp3 (97.6% [95% CI, 96.2 to 98.6%]), Ani Labsystems (99% [95% CI, 97.7 to 99.6%]), SeroCT (97.2% [95% CI, 95.7 to 98.2%]), and Medac (96% [95% CI, 94.3 to 97.2%]) ELISAs. None of the ELISAs showed evidence of cross-reactivity with antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae