Discipline‐based academic development through a tripartite partnership

Abstract

This paper describes a discipline‐based academic development project based upon a tripartite relationship between departmental staff, work‐based practitioners and the central academic development unit which took place over one academic year within the Department of Physiotherapy, Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. The purpose of the project was to discuss and debate the concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’, to develop strategies for enabling undergraduate students to be reflective, and to devise a framework for assessment of reflective practice in clinical work‐based learning. The outcomes of the project, most important of which was a change in the learning experience for students, demonstrate that academic development can be valuable and productive when undertaken as a partnership and placed in a disciplinary context. The authors identify key elements important to the success of the academic development process which should be applicable in similar situations and which could serve as guidelines for the planning and delivery of staff development through similar kinds of partnerships.     

Cell-cell proximity effects in multi-cell electroporation

We report a fundamental study of how the electropermeabilization of a cell is affected by nearby cells. Previous researchers studying electroporation of dense suspensions of cells have observed, both theoretically and experimentally, that such samples cannot be treated simply as collections of independent cells. However, the complexity of those systems makes quantitative modeling difficult. We studied the change in the minimum applied electric field, the threshold field, required to affect electropermeabilization of a cell due to the presence of a second cell. Experimentally, we used optical tweezers to accurately position two cells in a custom fluidic electroporation device and measured the threshold field for electropermeabilization. We also captured video of the process. In parallel, finite element simulations of the electrostatic potential distributions in our systems were generated using the 3-layer model and the contact resistance methods. Reasonably good agreement with measurements was found assuming a model in which changes in a cell''s threshold field were predicted from the calculated changes in the maximum voltage across the cell''s membrane induced by the presence of a second cell. The threshold field required to electroporate a cell is changed ∼5%–10% by a nearby, nearly touching second cell. Cells aligned parallel to the porating field shield one another. Those oriented perpendicular to the field enhance the applied field''s effect. In addition, we found that the dynamics of the electropermeabilization process are important in explaining observations for even our simple two-cell system.     

Field testing of physiological responses associated with Nordic Walking

This study compared the physiological responses (oxygen consumption and energy expenditure) of Nordic Walking to regular walking under field-testing conditions. Eleven women (M age = 27.1 years, SD = 6.4) and 11 men (M age = 33.8 years, SD = 9.0) walked 1,600 m with and without walking poles on a level, 200-m track. For women, Nordic Walking resulted in increased oxygen consumption (M = 14.9 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), SD = 3.2 vs. M = 1 7.9 ml x kg(-1) min(-1), SD = 3.5; p < .001), caloric expenditure (M = 4.6 kcal x min(-1), SD = 1.2 vs. M = 5.4 kcal x min(-1), SD = 1.2; p < .001), and heart rate (M = 113.7 bpm, SD = 12.0 vs. M = 118.7 bpm, SD = 14.8; p < .05) compared to regular walking. For men, Nordic Walking resulted in increased oxygen consumption (M = 12.8 ml x kg(-1) min(-1), SD = 1.8 vs. M = 15.5, SD =3.4 ml x kg(-1) min(-1); p < .01), caloric expenditure (M = 5.7 kcal x min(-1), SD = 1.3 vs. M = 6.9 kcal x min(-1), SD = 1.8; p < .001), and heart rate (M = 101.6 bpm, SD = 12.0 bpm vs. M = 109.8 bpm, SD = 14.7; p < .01) compared to regular walking. Nordic Walking, examined in the field, results in a significant increase in oxygen use and caloric expenditure compared to regular walking, without significantly increasing perceived exertion.