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Affirmative Action in the Educational Sector: A Discriminative Practice or for Promoting Peaceful Living?
Get PDFYesThe article discusses the admission process for Unity schools in Nigeria, which uses affirmative action to ensure the representation of students from all regions of the country. The policy promotes fairness, equity, and justice in education by compensating disadvantaged groups without equal access to opportunities, rights, and ‘social bases of self-respect’. Affirmative action removes obstacles that prevent individuals from pursuing their goals and ensures that all parts of the country are represented. They might not be the most intelligent students, but they are the best in their region. The evidence shows that affirmative action is not discriminatory but relatively justifiable as a temporary measure to reduce the educational imbalance between the northern and southern parts of the country. With limited school spaces and numerous applicants, the admission policy prioritizes diversity, equity, and unity. Without this policy, the schools would be dominated by students from the south of Nigeria, which could lead to conflict and a lack of positive peace. Educational achievement discrepancies, such as disparities in access to quality education, resources, and opportunities, have the potential to breed distrust and conflict within communities
The Achievement of Sustainability in the Built Environment
No full textNoThe built environment presents particular challenges in relation to the achievement of sustainability, not least because of the number of building types and the uses to which they are put. Design issues thus include ensuring that buildings are energy efficient with effective ventilation in relation to use while enabling the maximum utilization of shared spaces and flexibility of use. In this context, many of the underlying technologies, as for instance those involved in energy management and use, are mechatronic in nature while developments such as Building Digital Twins are supporting real-time responses to changing conditions. The chapter examines the background to these issues and places them into the context of the developing approach to building construction, operation and management. In doing so, it draws on as an exemplar the award winning, including at COP26, design and development of the Antonio Brancati School in Pesaro in Italy to illustrate how innovative approaches to design and the use of technology have enabled the creation not only of a place of learning, but also a shared resource for the local community
Evaluation of two raw Indian and Turkish propolis samples as pre-formulation study for cosmetic preparations [Abstract]
No full textYe
Evaluation of two raw Indian And Turkish propolis samples as pre-formulation study for cosmetic preparations [Poster presentation]
No full textFactors affecting new students’ sense of belonging and wellbeing at University
Get PDFYesA higher sense of belonging has been shown to be associated with general wellbeing among students and its benefits are known to relate to academic and post-academic successes. Yet, we know little about newly enrolled students’ lived experience that links sense of belonging and wellbeing. This small-scale qualitative study (n = 8) showed that an interplay of factors including academic, social, surroundings, and personal space influence new students’ sense of belonging and wellbeing at university and within the discipline. Specifically, our findings revealed that undergraduate and postgraduate (home and international) students have different experiences depending on demographic characteristics such as age, gender as well as socio-economic factors. Further details revealed that enhanced student support is needed to ensure that different groups of students’ needs are addressed in an inclusive manner.Echo360s E3 Tech grant
Engineering PSMA-targeted nanoparticles co-encapsulating mitoxantrone and indocyanine green for precise combinatory therapy in prostate cancer
Get PDFYesProstate cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in men worldwide. Chemotherapeutic treatment of prostate cancer with mitoxantrone (MTX) has limited efficacy due to severe side effects in which cardiotoxicity and myelosuppression are the two major causes of its dose-limiting toxicity. This study aimed to obtain a poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle that can precisely deliver MTX to the prostate cancer cells overexpressing the Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) receptor-sparing healthy tissues and co-loading Indocyanine green (ICG) as a fluorescent photothermal/photodynamic agent for precise combinatory therapy in prostate cancer. The biocompatible polymer PLGA was covalently modified with the peptide of sequence (WQPDTAHHWATL) to actively target the PSMA receptor. Factors like the peptide-to-polymer ratio or the peptide's orientation during the polymer's chemical modification were investigated to enhance the active targeting of the nanoparticles (NPs). NPs were characterised using dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy to determine their morphological and colloidal properties and optimal MTX and ICG encapsulation efficiency. Quantitative FACS analysis of LNCaP and PC-3 cells incubated with Nile Red-labelled non-targeted PLGA or PLGA-PSMA targeted NPs was assessed to identify the best formulation that bound selectively to PSMA. The orientation of the peptide conjugated to the polymer, which has the C-terminal end of the peptide sequence accessible for interaction with the cell receptor, maximises the targeting capacity of the system. Photothermal experiments using 808 nm near-infrared laser irradiation were conducted, and cytotoxicity was assessed using the resazurin viability assay. Remarkably, our results confirmed the safety and efficacy of a targeted and activatable therapy using polymeric NPs functionalised with the peptide and co-loaded with MTX and ICG. This pioneer nanosystem opens new perspectives for exploring advanced targeted delivery in prostate cancer. It offers a straightforward methodology for functionalising drug delivery systems with bioactive peptides that can be applied to different types of cancer.Royal Society Research Grant (RGS\R1\221399); MRC Confidence in Concept grant (RM0039); University of Bradford. This work was partially supported by a grant to I.H. (PID2021-122216OB-I00) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness at the European Regional Development Fun
Preliminary survey results: how do professionals in the UK view and approach working with disarticulated human remains
Get PDFYesDisarticulated human remains (DHR) are commonly found on
archaeological sites within the UK, yet they are often overlooked
as a valuable archaeological resource. A review of the literature
shows that this is due to numerous factors, the main one being
budgetary constraints, an issue which is reflective of broader
issues within commercial archaeology. Competitive tendering has
led to archaeological work often being selected based on the
cheapest contract (Belford 2022). Additionally, negative historic
attitudes towards DHR (Hamerow 2006), and a lack of clear
guidance on how they should be assessed, have led to them
being overlooked. The best guidance available discusses the
issues that may be encountered when working with DHR but
does not give recommendations for how methods should be
utilised (McKinley and Smith 2017). This paper presents the
results of a preliminary survey of professionals working with
human remains in the UK, and their approaches towards DHR
A process evaluation of the NIDUS-Professional dementia training intervention for UK homecare workers
Get PDFYesIntroduction
This process evaluation was conducted in parallel to the randomised controlled feasibility trial of NIDUS-Professional, a manualised remote dementia training intervention for homecare workers (HCWs), delivered alongside an individualised intervention for clients living with dementia and their family carers (NIDUS-Family). The process evaluation reports on: (i) intervention reach, dose and fidelity; (ii) contexts influencing agency engagement and (iii) alignment of findings with theoretical assumptions about how the intervention might produce change.
Methods
We report proportions of eligible HCWs receiving any intervention (reach), number of sessions attended (dose; attending ≥4/6 main sessions was predefined as adhering), intervention fidelity and adherence of clients and carers to NIDUS-Family (attending all 6–8 planned sessions). We interviewed HCWs, managers, family carers and facilitators. We integrated and thematically analysed, at the homecare agency level, qualitative interview and intervention recording data.
Results
32/141 (23%) of eligible HCWs and 7/42 (17%) of family carers received any intervention; most who did adhered to the intervention (89% and 71%). Intervention fidelity was high. We analysed interviews with 20/44 HCWs, 3/4 managers and 3/7 family carers, as well as intervention recordings involving 32/44 HCWs. All agencies reported structural challenges in supporting intervention delivery. Agencies with greater management buy-in had higher dose and reach. HCWs valued NIDUS-Professional for enabling group reflection and peer support, providing practical, actionable care strategies and increasing their confidence as practitioners.
Conclusion
NIDUS-Professional was valued by HCWs. Agency management, culture and priorities were key barriers to implementation; we discuss how to address these in a future trial.Alzheimer's Society (Centre of Excellence grant 330), Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease Policy Research Unit - Queen Mary (NIHR206110 and NIHR206110), NIHR Senior Investigator Award (NIHR205009
Strategies used by nurse leaders to support the delivery of falls prevention practices in hospitals
No full textNoDespite prevention efforts, falls in hospital are a common and ongoing safety concern, with older people more likely to fall and experience harm as a result of falls. Clinical guidelines recommend multifactorial falls risk assessment and multidomain, personalised interventions to reduce falls risks in hospitals. This article reflects on findings from a multi-site study on the implementation of multifactorial falls prevention practices that informed the development of actionable guidance. The discussion focuses on strategies used by nurse leaders, at different levels of seniority, that shaped practice on orthopaedic and older person wards. While falls risk assessment documentation was monitored routinely by senior leaders, in practice falls prevention often relied on risk screening and enhanced patient supervision. Findings suggest that nurses need to be empowered to lead practices that modify and mitigate individual falls risks where possible, with greater multidisciplinary and patient and carer involvement
