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Integrating AI into cancer Iimmunotherapy-A narrative review of current applications and future directions
No full textBackground: Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation often result in significant side effects and varied patient outcomes. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising alternative, harnessing the immune system to target cancer cells. However, the complexity of immune responses and tumor heterogeneity challenges its effectiveness. Objective: This mini-narrative review explores the role of artificial intelligence [AI] in enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, predicting patient responses, and discovering novel therapeutic targets.
Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted, focusing on studies published between 2010 and 2024 that examined the application of AI in cancer immunotherapy. Databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science were utilized, and articles were selected based on relevance to the topic.
Results: AI has significantly contributed to identifying biomarkers that predict immunotherapy efficacy by analyzing genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data. It also optimizes combination therapies by predicting the most effective treatment protocols. AI-driven predictive models help assess patient response to immunotherapy, guiding clinical decision-making and minimizing side effects. Additionally, AI facilitates the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, such as neoantigens, enabling the development of personalized immunotherapies.
Conclusions: AI holds immense potential in transforming cancer immunotherapy. However, challenges related to data privacy, algorithm transparency, and clinical integration must be addressed. Overcoming these hurdles will likely make AI a central component of future cancer immunotherapy, offering more personalized and effective treatments
Spinal MRI in patients with suspected metastatic spinal cord compression: a quality improvement audit in a district general hospital in Kent, UK
No full textMetastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is a common complication in cancer patients, occurring in 3–5% of diagnosed cases annually, and serves as the initial manifestation of malignancy in 20% of patients. Timely diagnosis and management are critical due to the risk of irreversible neurological damage and the significant impact on both quality and quantity of life. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that patients presenting with back pain accompanied by neurological signs and/or symptoms undergo whole-spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 24 h. This retrospective study at Medway Maritime Hospital in England aimed to assess adherence to these guidelines by reviewing the time from presentation to MRI for patients exhibiting symptoms and/or signs of MSCC. Data for 69 patients were collected over one year using electronic patient records and the acute oncology service database. Analysis revealed that MRI was conducted within 24 h in only 43 out of 69 cases (62%), and 16 out of 25 delayed cases (i.e., MRI done beyond the recommended 24 h window) experienced delays of more than 48 h. To improve guideline adherence, interventions such as informational flyers and regular MSCC training sessions, including trainee teaching and presentations during grand rounds, were implemented. A follow-up re-audit involving 113 patients over one year demonstrated improved adherence to the 24 h MRI guideline, with 81 out of 113 cases (71%) meeting the target. The second cycle also documented reasons for delays, identifying patient compliance and pain control as primary factors. Additionally, the timing of steroid administration following suspicion of MSCC was recorded. Future studies should re-assess adherence, focus on better documentation of delay causes, enhance pain management before MRI scans, and ensure prompt steroid administration
Nutritional education in medical curricula and clinical practice: A scoping review on the knowledge deficit amongst medical students and doctors
No full textIntroduction
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), accounting for 74% of deaths worldwide (World Health Organization 2024), are a major health concern and are often the result of poor dietary habits. To reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases healthcare professionals must encourage healthy eating, and therefore require the appropriate nutritional knowledge and skills. This scoping review critically synthesises the literature on nutrition education to understand why there is a gap in nutrition knowledge and skills among medical students and doctors (MSAD) in English-speaking countries, and the solutions which have been proposed in the literature to close this gap.
Methods
This scoping review adhered to PRISMA Scr guidelines outlined by Tricco et al. (2018) and used four online databases: PubMed; WebOfScience; Embase and ERIC as well as grey literature sources: Google; Bing and Perplexity AI, published within the last 10 years, from 2014 to 2024. Studies investigating medical students/doctors nutrition education/knowledge were included. Data analysis was guided by Braun and Clarke's (2012) six-step thematic analysis approach and the Delve qualitative coding software analysis tool was used to identify the two principal themes and the 20 sub-themes. The PICO tool was also used for question analysis.
Results
From the 674 records identified, 28 papers met the inclusion criteria for full data extraction, analysis and synthesis. The results identified four reasons for the gap in nutrition knowledge, including insufficient curriculum time dedicated to nutrition education, perceptions and confidence, stigmas and health habits, and challenges in clinical practice. The review also identified four potential solutions to minimise this gap, including curriculum changes, enforcement of standardised nutrition education guidelines, integration of nutrition in clinical practice and promotion of a multidisciplinary approach to nutrition education.
Conclusion
This scoping review shows that there are multiple complex reasons for the gap in nutrition knowledge and understanding. This is due to education institutional reasons; perceptions and confidence on nutrition; stigmas related to nutrition and being able to talk about nutrition; personal health habits; and challenges in clinical practice. Solutions to reduce the gap were identified and it is recommended that there are curricular innovations to incorporate nutrition education throughout medical training; standardisation and implementation of national competency standards; integration of nutrition into clinical practice; enhancement of postgraduate education pathways in nutrition; and the development of a multidisciplinary approach in medical education involving dietitians and other healthcare professionals. By enacting and supporting the recommendations and solutions would then improve patient care and likely contribute to better eating habits worldwide, thereby reducing the burden of NCDs to both patients and healthcare professionals
Balancing rights and risks: Human and state security discourses and policies in northern Syria’s detention camps
No full textOrganised crime, violent conflicts and the movement towards a dual policing system in Nigeria
No full textThis article examines the prevalence of organised crime and violent conflicts in Nigeria, as well as the prospects for state-level security initiatives. The Nigerian state has an obligation to ensure the security of its growing population. Yet, the state is currently plagued by multifaceted insecurity perpetrated by non-state actors such as Boko Haram, armed bandits, kidnappers and other organised criminals. This article contends that Nigeria's centralised security architecture, rooted in the state's hyper-centralised federal system that fosters inefficiency among security agencies, is a major contributing cause. Therefore, addressing the issue requires reconfiguring the current security structure by granting state governments more power, particularly in the security sphere. This arrangement would allow state security organisations to compensate for the inefficiency of federal security agencies
Scoping review of the literature on undergraduate engineering student perceptions, attitudes, and emotions on failure
No full textThis full paper reports a scoping review of the literature on undergraduate engineering student perceptions, attitudes, and emotions on failure.
Failure is a natural part of the learning process. When facing a failure, students can experience strong emotions and/or reactions, especially negative ones, and must be able to cope with the associated challenges and difficulties. Students’ experiences and reactions will depend on the scale of the failure, e.g., failing a course or dropping out of engineering vs. failing an assignment or a test. Moreover, perceptions and attitudes towards failure can play an important role in determining the type of experience or reaction that a student has. Students having more positive perceptions or attitudes towards dealing with failure (e.g., a growth mindset) are more likely to learn and improve upon their mistakes and demonstrate resilience when faced with setbacks compared to those having more negative perceptions or attitudes (which may result in repeating the behaviours that led to the failure).
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a scoping review of the literature associated with undergraduate engineering students’ perceptions, attitudes, and emotions related to academic failure. To conduct our scoping review, we followed the PICO (population, intervention, comparison, and outcome) and SPIDER (sample, phenomenon of interest, design, evaluation, and research type) frameworks to guide the development of our search clause as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria. We identified several records from Web of Science, Compendex-Inspec, and Scopus. Following a screening of the abstracts and applying our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we retained 50 papers for full text reading. We then gathered and summarized the following information from the 50 papers: aims, objectives, and location of the studies; population; methodology; and outcomes.
Our scoping analysis provides a broad overview of the types of studies conducted and the emerging themes associated with the topic of undergraduate engineering students and failure. Our hope is that it will help guide further research on the topic as well as assist educators create more supportive learning environments that encourage student growth and a more positive mindset when facing challenges and failure
Report on the CEIAG needs, priorities and challenges for Alternative Provision schools in Local London region
No full textExecutive Summary
1.1. This report summarises the provision of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)/ Alternative Provision (AP) Schools in the boroughs of the Local London Hub. Nine PRUs participated in this research representing Barking & Dagenham, Bromley, Enfield, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
1.2. To explore the provision of CEIAG in AP/PRU schools in Local London, an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2018) was adopted. This consisted of unstructured telephone interviews, followed by an online survey and then reinterviewing careers leads in the AP/PRUs.
1.3. In the majority of centres designated senior staff had responsibility for career development and transitions, these staff work with students and liaised with providers of further education and training.
1.4. Careers learning was both embedded within subject teaching and delivered in discrete sessions, drawing on a range of materials and tools. These included role plays, exercises, workshops and guest speakers. Engaging parents and college open days were also considered very effective.
1.5. Of the frameworks and tools available, Gatsby Benchmarks were considered most useful, followed by the Compass tool. The Careers Development Framework (CDI) was considered the least useful. However, centres varied in their familiarity with these tools. Some Career Leaders felt that the Gatsby benchmarks and Compass did not consider some of the barriers to career learning that APs must contend with.
1.6. The centres were supportive of professional development for careers work amongst their staff. However, some key practical difficulties prevented full engagement.
1.7. Several challenges were identified when managing careers provision. These included insufficient resourcing and prioritisation of the changing nature of students and their needs, particularly around mental health, and coordination and information sharing with providers of post-16 education and training.
1.8. Participants also suggested ways to address some of these challenges. These included improving the resourcing of activities and qualification routes, improved links with colleges and employers, which could be part of a community of practice and stronger engagement with parents.
1.9. Based on the findings of this review, several recommendations are proposed.
i. A community of practice be developed which could include elements of training and continued professional development.
ii. In addition to a community of practice or possibly as part of it an employers and college forum be set up to improve communication between AP/PRUs and post 16 provision. Similarly, a parental forum and systems to improve parental engagement be considered.
iii. Further research be conducted. The most important of which would involve longitudinal studies, tracking the progression of students through post 16 education, training and employment. This could include elements such as talking to other stakeholders. Additional research projects are also proposed including investigating APs use of frameworks and tools and collating best practice in specialist provision for vulnerable groups such as looked after children and those with SEND.
iv. Development of peer mentoring programmes whereby former students could assist those in their final years in AP/PRUs and first years of college.
v. Drawing together these recommendations to develop a more consistent approach to support over the period of transition from AP/PRUs to post-16 provision.
"Mi tun mi madda."
No full textThis photo-based selfie mixed-media AI artwork captures that pivotal moment of transformation when we see our mothers in ourselves and ourselves in them. (Life Course Perspective Anthropology)
Wearing a synthetic wig, I visually honour that shift, that inheritance, that echo. Jamaican Patois (Patwa), a creole language born of resistance, colonial disruption, and survival, anchors our communication and bridges generations.
It’s how we speak our truth. It’s how we archive our lives.
This piece is part of my ongoing PhD research in visual ethnography, autoethnography and digital anthropology, exploring how Black British women use art, language, and memory to resist erasure, preserve identity, and redefine heritage across time, space, and technology.
Visual culture and lived experience
Creole linguistics, memory & resistance
AI + Selfie + Diaspora storytelling
Intersectional, age-aware feminist anthropology
Life course perspective anthropology
Disability Anthropology
We are the archives. We are the data. We are the designers.
Alt Text:
"Digital artwork of a Black woman wearing a synthetic wig, with striking editorial-style features and vibrant clothing. Her head is turned in reflection, embodying the phrase 'Mi tun mi madda' written beside her. This is a mixed-media, AI-enhanced self-portrait by Michi Masumi exploring Jamaican identity, language, and matriarchal lineage."
Art Processes:
Portrait Photography - Canon 90d and 50mm lens
Photoshop
Lightroom Classic and Lightroom
Rebelle 6
Midjourney - Blending
Canva - Tex
Biogas potential of oil palm empty fruit bunch and lignocellulosic insoluble fibre components via the syringe bioreactor method
No full textPrevious researchers have sought to understand the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of lignocellulosic materials such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) by studying the anaerobic digestion of its structural components cellulose (CE), hemicellulose and lignin (LI). This study was aimed at further exploring how the BMP of these lignocellulose biomass components is influenced by different inoculum to substrate ratios (ISR), the use of an adapted inoculum, inoculum supernatant, standard ISO medium only and ISO medium supplemented with NaHCO3 and vitamin B-complex as buffer and nutrient additive, respectively. Researchers have also relied on custom-made or commercially available BMP bioreactors which may not be standardized and cost-effective for most laboratories to investigate many variables in triplicate concurrently. The flexibility, quick setup and ease of use of the syringe-based bioreactor method was explored to overcome these limitations. This study examines the mesophilic BMP of OPEFB as well as xylan (XY), CE and LI. CE also served as a positive control. OPEFB, XY and CE exhibited BMPs of 258, 214 and 360 mLCH4 gVS−1 in original ISO medium. CE methane yield reached quasi-equilibrium between ISR 2 and 4. Plastic or glass-made syringe bioreactors did not affect BMP under the investigated conditions. Vitamine B-complex or NaHCO3 addition to the ISO medium reduced the lag phase by 13.5 % and 16.2 %, respectively. The use of inoculum supernatant as medium reduced the lag phase of CE digestion by 80 %. CE achieved the greatest degree of methanation when using inoculum supernatant (89.5 %) or NaHCO3 (90.2 %), followed by XY (56.7 %), OPEFB (48.3 %) and LI (0.4 %). Plastic syringe bioreactors with a modified ISO medium can be an attractive economic alternative to BMP tests using conventional bioreactors