Speech and language therapy students’ experience of peer assisted learning:Undergraduates investigate PAL as a means of enhancing academic and professional development

The implementation of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) on healthcare courses in Higher Education Institutions has been explored in a number of studies. This paper presents research into the experience of PAL on a BSc Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) programme. The research was conducted by final year undergraduate SLT students to form the basis for their final dissertations. The focus for their research was on the effects of PAL on academic and professional development for both mentees and mentors on the same course. Data were generated from standard PAL evaluations and focus groups. Findings indicate that mentees benefit from PAL in terms of their university experience and learning. Mentors benefited from opportunities to develop and practice skills for their future employment. Engagement with PAL is attributed to its structured yet informal nature and the enthusiasm of the mentors. However, the collaborative nature of PAL takes time to develop, impacting on the behaviours of both mentees and mentors. Overall PAL offers mentees and mentors opportunities which enhance their academic learning and professional development

EEG recordings as biomarkers of pain perception: where do we stand and where to go?

Introduction: The universality and complexity of pain, which is highly prevalent, yield its significance to both patients and researchers. Developing a non-invasive tool that can objectively measure pain is of the utmost importance for clinical and research purposes. Traditionally electroencephalography (EEG) has been mostly used in epilepsy; however, over the recent years EEG has become an important non-invasive clinical tool that has helped increase our understanding of brain network complexities and for the identification of areas of dysfunction. This review aimed to investigate the role of EEG recordings as potential biomarkers of pain perception. Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed database led to the identification of 938 papers, of which 919 were excluded as a result of not meeting the eligibility criteria, and one article was identified through screening of the reference lists of the 19 eligible studies. Ultimately, 20 papers were included in this systematic review. Results: Changes of the cortical activation have potential, though the described changes are not always consistent. The most consistent finding is the increase in the delta and gamma power activity. Only a limited number of studies have looked into brain networks encoding pain perception. Conclusion: Although no robust EEG biomarkers of pain perception have been identified yet, EEG has potential and future research should be attempted. Designing strong research protocols, controlling for potential risk of biases, as well as investigating brain networks rather than isolated cortical changes will be crucial in this attempt

Bioelectrical understanding and engineering of cell biology

The last five decades of molecular and systems biology research have provided unprecedented insights into the molecular and genetic basis of many cellular processes. Despite these insights, however, it is arguable that there is still only limited predictive understanding of cell behaviours. In particular, the basis of heterogeneity in single-cell behaviour and the initiation of many different metabolic, transcriptional or mechanical responses to environmental stimuli remain largely unexplained. To go beyond the status quo, the understanding of cell behaviours emerging from molecular genetics must be complemented with physical and physiological ones, focusing on the intracellular and extracellular conditions within and around cells. Here, we argue that such a combination of genetics, physics and physiology can be grounded on a bioelectrical conceptualization of cells. We motivate the reasoning behind such a proposal and describe examples where a bioelectrical view has been shown to, or can, provide predictive biological understanding. In addition, we discuss how this view opens up novel ways to control cell behaviours by electrical and electrochemical means, setting the stage for the emergence of bioelectrical engineering

Using interictal seizure-free EEG data to recognise patients with epilepsy based on machine learning of brain functional connectivity

Most seizures in adults with epilepsy occur rather infrequently and as a result, the interictal EEG plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and classification of epilepsy. However, empirical interpretation, of a first EEG in adult patients, has a very low sensitivity ranging between 29-55%. Useful EEG information remains buried within the signals in seizure-free EEG epochs, far beyond the observational capabilities of any specialised physician in this field. Unlike most of the existing works focusing on either seizure data or single-variate method, we introduce a multi-variate method to characterise sensor level brain functional connectivity from interictal EEG data to identify patients with generalised epilepsy. A total of 9 connectivity features based on 5 different measures in time, frequency and time frequency domains have been tested. The solution has been validated by the K-Nearest Neighbour algorithm, classifying an epilepsy group (EG) vs healthy controls (HC) and subsequently with another cohort of patients characterised by non-epileptic attacks (NEAD), a psychogenic type of disorder. A high classification accuracy (97%) was achieved for EG vs HC while revealing significant spatio temporal deficits in the frontocentral areas in the beta frequency band. For EG vs NEAD, the classification accuracy was only about 73%, which might be a reflection of the well-described coexistence of NEAD with epileptic attacks. Our work demonstrates that seizure-free interictal EEG data can be used to accurately classify patients with generalised epilepsy from HC and that more systematic work is required in this direction aiming to produce a clinically useful diagnostic method

Surface-Active Mononuclear and Dinuclear Ru(II) Complexes based on Thio-substituted Terpyridines Bearing Cyclodextrin Recognition Units

International audienceRuthenium(II) surface active complexes based on a tpySH ligand have been prepared and characterised, (1) [Ru(tpyada)(tpySH)](PF6)2, (2) [Ru(biptpy)(tpySH)](PF6)2 and (3) [Ru(pm-?-CD(ttp))(tpySH)](PF6)2. The complexes bear a surface active thiol group and a recognition unit which is either a ?-cyclodextrin or a hydrophobic tail (admantyl- or biphenyl) in order to utilise cyclodextrin recognition for the formation of supramolecular wires using bottom up approaches. Monolayers of [Ru(tpyada)(tpySH)](PF6)2 on ITO surfaces are studied by electrochemistry techniques. Detailed NMR analysis of tpySH reveals the presence of two tautomers, an “NH” and an “SH” form. The X-ray crystal structure of the oxidised form of the ligand tpySStpy is reported. A new ligand tpySCH2Stpy is prepared and its dinuclear Ru(II) complexes are reported, (4) [(ttp)Ru(tpyS CH2Stpy)Ru(ttp)]+2, (5) [(biptpy)Ru(tpySCH2Stpy)Ru(bitpy)]+2, (6) [(pm-?-CD(ttp))Ru(tpySCH2 Stpy)Ru(pm-?-CD(ttp))]+2. The complexes show characteristic red 3MLCT luminescence which is much stronger than their analogous mononuclear counterparts

Adsorption dynamics and electrochemical and photophysical properties of thiolated ruthenium 2,2 '-bipyridine monolayers

A new complex [ Ru( bpy)(2)( bpySH)]( PF6)(2), RuBpySH, has been prepared bearing two anchoring groups for surface attachment, where bpy is 2,2'- bipyridyl and bpySH is 5,5'- bis( mercaptomethyl)- 2,2'- bipyridine. Monolayers of RuBpySH have been formed on micro and macro platinum electrodes by spontaneous adsorption from micromolar solutions of the complex in 50: 50 v/ v water/ acetone. The monolayers can be reversibly switched between the Ru2+ and the Ru3+ forms. Cyclic voltammetry is well- defined with a peak- to- peak splitting of 30 +/- 5 mV and a full width at half- maximum of 110 +/- 10 mV being observed for scan rates up to 5 V s(-1) where the supporting electrolyte is 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile. Adsorption is irreversible in this system, and the saturation coverage obtained is 8.1 +/- 0.4 x 10(-11) mol cm(-2) when the complex concentration in the deposition solution is between 10 mu M and 1.0 mM. The dynamics of adsorption depend markedly on the bulk concentration and are described in terms of irreversible adsorption. Dry monolayers display luminescence properties similar to those of powder samples of the complex, indicating that the monolayer has characteristics of the solid- state sample rather than the solution sample of the complex. Significantly, efficient electrochemiluminescence is generated using tripropylamine as the coreactant. The rate of electron transfer across the electrode/ monolayer interface has been probed using high scan rate cyclic voltammetry. The standard heterogeneous electron- transfer rate constant, k degrees, is 0.9 +/- 0.1 x 10(4) s(-1), and there is weak adsorbate- electrode electronic communication

Professional skills development in a resource-poor setting: the case of pharmacy in Malawi

The dominance of the human capital approach in vocational skills development has been increasingly questioned for being de-humanised and de-contextualised. Contrary to this trend, the discourse in health professional skills development has shown increasing enthusiasm for consolidating this existing paradigm. To debate whether professional skills development should indeed be insulated from such scepticism, this paper examines one strategy adopted by the health professions. Called ‘task shifting’, this strategy involves re-delegating professional tasks to nonprofessional cadres according to a skills-based toolkit. Challenging the context-free approach to using this toolkit, this paper presents ethnographic evidence derived from a case study of pharmacy workforce issues in Malawi. It was found that task shifting was inhibited by a perception barrier about the moral and intellectual superiority of the pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians were judged to be unfit for a professional task because of a perceived lack of professional status, power and ethics. On tracing the origin of the inherent professional prowess assigned to the pharmacists, it was found that professionalism was an ideology borrowed from external sources, inter alia, colonial legacies and global health governance. This study exposes our hidden assumption about an axiomatic transferability of Anglo American skills development models to a postcolonial, aid-dependent context. This paper therefore suggests redefining this toolkit by bridging health research into dialogue with non-health disciplinary concerns such as postcolonialism and aiddependence. In conclusion, it argues that professional skills development is context-laden; and in need of a human-centred approach that involves true indigenousparticipation–challenges not unlike those faced by the vocational skills discourse

Complejidad, caos y educación

Se informa de una investigación etnográfica sobre la educación informal en escolar chileno, rural y urbano marginal, de Educación General Básica.  Se caracterizan y comparan las modalidades educativas formal, no formal e informal.  Se señala que es erróneo caracterizar a la educación informal como asistemática, refleja y espontánea, pues esconde sus potencialidades, marginándola del estudio académico y de la práctica profesional.  Se llama la atención sobre la capacidad de esos niños para aprender en ambientes informales, que contrastan con el bajo rendimiento escolar, panificado e intencionado, que los convierte en futuros desertores y marginados sociales.  Se dan algunas razones que lo explican: la complejidad, el caos, la improvisación, la imitación, el juego, la paradoja, etc., que nos son considerados apropiados por la escuela.  Se aboga por la necesidad de investigar sus características a fin de ayudar a desescolarizar la escuela.Finalmente, se caracteriza a la educación informal como un proceso de creación de relaciones posibles, a diferencia de la educación formal y no formal que son un proceso de repetición de relaciones pre-establecidas