By design: engaging Graphic Communication students in curriculum development

Graphic Communication students face the challenge of acquiring a range of technical skills in addition to their creative, historical, professional and theoretical learning within a design degree. The range of software they are required to learn, in order to design across multiple genres and platforms in today’s rapidly-evolving media industry, is also increasing. Design students are often reported to be inclined to focus on developing their technical skills rather than the “critical thinking and reflective learning” skills that their tutors focus on (Park and Kastanis, 2009, p. 12). Similarly, within our BA Graphic Communication programme based in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading, student feedback highlights that students would like more support for developing their technical learning. We have been working with our students to respond to this issue in various ways. One of our initiatives has been to introduce a new optional module that supports first-year students’ technical learning. The case study presented in this video submission highlights how Graphic Communication students from different year groups worked with staff to develop the new module

Prenatal Alcohol Intake and Knowledge of its Effect: A Survey of Pregnant Women Attending a General Hospital in South East, Nigeria

Background: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a major public health concern due to its noxious effect on both the mother and fetus. Aim: The study aim was to determine the prevalence of prenatal alcohol intake, knowledge of its effects, and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic, Poly General Hospital, Enugu. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross‑sectional survey was adopted and simple random sampling was employed to select 248 pregnant women from the total population. Data were obtained using structured questionnaires, summarized using descriptive statistics, and presented in tables. Statistical analysis for associations between level of educational attainment, occupation of the pregnant woman, and knowledge of the effects of alcohol consumption was performed using Chi‑square tests. Results: The prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy was 40.3% with beer (48.8%) and palm wine (48.8%) being the major alcoholic beverages taken. Majority (59.7%) of the participants had good knowledge of the effects of alcohol consumption in pregnancy while less than half (33.9%) had good knowledge of the effect on the unborn baby. Previous drinking habits before pregnancy (3.48 ± 0.84) and unwanted pregnancy (3.17 ± 0.93) were the major perceived factor influencing their alcohol intake. Educational level was not significantly related to knowledge of alcohol effects on pregnancy. Conclusion: Regardless of the knowledge of the harmful effect of alcohol on the fetus and maternal health, a significant proportion of mothers continue to consume alcohol during pregnancy. Therefore, there is a need for widespread education of women of childbearing age focused on driving behavioural change with regards to alcohol intake in pregnancy

Evaluation of the cytotoxic potential of Securidaca longepedunculata on human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells

The prevalence of cancer has increased interest in the role of complementary and alternative medicine, employing the use of plant products. Securidaca longepedunculata (SL) is an example of plant product which serves as a major component of anticancer decoctions in Nigeria. In other to scientifically ascertain this claim, this study was carried out to evaluates the cytotoxic potential of the crude extract and fractions of SL root bark against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell line. The root back of SL was pulverized and extracted with 80% methanol to yield a crude extract which was then submitted to liquid–liquid fractionation with dichloromethane (DCM) and butanol (BUT). The extract and fractions were subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). MCF-7 cell line was treated with graded concentrations (9.77 – 5000 μg ml-1) of the aqueous methanol crude extract as well as the DCM and BUT fractions for 24 or 48 hours. Cell viability was thereafter measured by XTT proliferation assay. The inhibitory activities of the aqueous methanolic crude extract was found to be both dose-dependent and time independent with IC50 values of 2241 μg ml-1 and 1808 μg ml-1 after 24 and 48 hours respectively. The DCM and BUT fractions were significantly (p < 0.05) cytotoxic with IC50 values of 86.27 μg ml-1 and 12.08 μg ml-1 respectively after 48 hours of treatment. The study provide evidence that BUT fractions of SL has the highest potential to significantly show anticancer properties

Identifying contributors to disparities in patient access of online medical records: Examining the role of clinician encouragement

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to understand the influence of clinician encouragement and sociodemographic factors on whether patients access online electronic medical records (EMR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 3279 responses from the Health Information National Trends Survey 5 cycle 4 survey, a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey administered by the National Cancer Institute. Frequencies and weighted proportions were calculated to compare clinical encouragement and access to their online EMR. Using multivariate logistic regression, we identified factors associated with online EMR use and clinician encouragement. RESULTS: In 2020, an estimated 42% of US adults accessed their online EMR and 51% were encouraged by clinicians to access their online EMR. In multivariate regression, respondents who accessed EMR were more likely to have received clinician encouragement (odds ratio [OR], 10.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.7-14.0), college education or higher (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.4-2.7), history of cancer (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.3), and history of chronic disease (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.7-3.2). Male and Hispanic respondents were less likely to have accessed EMR than female and non-Hispanic White respondents (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.5-0.8, and OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.8, respectively). Respondents receiving encouragement from clinicians were more likely to be female (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.3), have college education (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-2.0), history of cancer (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.5), and greater income levels (OR, 1.8-3.6). DISCUSSION: Clinician encouragement of patient EMR use is strongly associated with patients accessing EMR, and there are disparities in who receives clinician encouragement related to education, income, sex, and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians have an important role to ensure that all patients benefit from online EMR use

Collaboration between Librarians and Learning Technologists to enhance the learning of health sciences students.

Collaboration between Librarians and Learning Technologists at Bournemouth University (BU) has been stimulated and cemented by Pathfinder funding from the Higher Education Academy. This paper will consider four case studies collected as part of the eRes Project that describe the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the School of Health and Social Care at BU. The project aimed to enhance the student learning experience in an increasingly electronic environment. This was achieved by developing and disseminating innovative pedagogical frameworks, bringing together learning activities and academically led quality e-resources within the unit of study. An e-reading strategy which encompasses models for resource discovery and e-literacy was developed, drawing on the experiences and findings of the case studies. Issues considered in this paper will include accessing academic electronic reading materials and using a social bookmarking tool integrated within BU’s virtual learning environment with students studying away from the main campus. Additionally the paper will consider how technology can be used to motivate students, especially in large groups and how it can be used to engage students with a subject perceived as “dry” or “difficult”. The rich possibilities of health science materials can be exploited more fully using new technologies embedded within the curriculum