Research finds tooth enamel fast-track in humans

Research has discovered a link between prenatal enamel growth rates in teeth and weaning in human babies.

The research found that incisor teeth grow quickly in the early stages of the second trimester of a baby’s development, while molars grow at a slower rate in the third trimester. This is so incisors are ready to erupt after birth, at approximately six months of age, when a baby makes the transition from breast-feeding to weaning.

Weaning in humans takes place relatively early compared to some primates, such as chimpanzees. As a result, there is less time available for human incisors to form, so the enamel grows rapidly to compensate.

This research can increase our understanding of weaning in our fossil ancestors and could also help dentists as dental problems do not register in all teeth in the same way. Enamel cells deposit new tissue at different times and different rates, depending on the tooth type.

Exactly when early weaning in humans first began is a hotly debated topic amongst anthropologists.  Current dental approaches rely on finding fossil skulls with teeth that are still erupting – which is an extremely rare find. Anthropologists will now be able to explore the start of weaning in an entirely new way because ‘milk teeth’ preserve a record of prenatal enamel growth after they have erupted and for millennia after death.

The research, funded by a Royal Society equipment grant, was conducted by Dr Patrick Mahoney from the Human Osteology Research Lab in the University’s School of Anthropology and Conservation.

Dental fast track: prenatal enamel growth, incisor eruption, and weaning in human infants is published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology on 12 November 2014.

The paper is available here. 

For more information contact Dr Patrick Mahoney.

To view original article, click here.

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Student-led fundraiser for local charity

Student volunteers from Kent Television, InQuire Media and CSR FM organise a fundraiser for local children and young adults with special needs.

Every year, student volunteers from Kent Television, InQuire Media and CSR FM organise a fundraiser for a local charity. This year sees a return of the tradition but on a larger scale with a week of events kicking off the campaign set to last the remainder of the academic year – raising money for local Special Needs Advisory and Activities Project (SNAAP).

From 1-5 December, the students will be going far and wide to drum up support from the Canterbury community including students, local residents, businesses and organisations.

Furthermore, on Friday 5 December from 12noon to 12midnight, the volunteers will be taking over one of the campus bars for a 12-hour live show with games, entertainment and live music provided.

To donate:

Follow the campaign on:

For more information: email d.packer@canterburymedia.net

To view original article, click here.

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Staff runner gets set for the 2015 Virgin London Marathon

Faculty Learning Technologist Daniel Clark is in training for the 2015 Virgin London Marathon, on behalf of the Christie Hospital, Manchester.

Daniel is raising money for the hospital, one of Europe’s leading cancer treatment and research centres, where his dad received treatment.

Daniel says: ‘The fact that, 18 years later, my dad is living a happy and healthy life is a real testament to the work of the Christie. This will be my first marathon and, although I’m a regular runner (and reasonably fit), it is a massive challenge both physically and mentally. Nonetheless, I’m driven by a determination to give something back to the Christie, for the work that they do for people like my dad.’

Daniel, based in the Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, has been a runner for the past two years. As part of his marathon preparations, he is running around 30 miles a week – including running to work from his home in Wingham.

To make a donation to support Daniel’s marathon run, or keep track of his progress, click on his Just Giving pages.

To view original article, click here.

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Honouree Lecturer Mary Kirk has recently published a paper in the British Journal of Community Nursing

CPP Honouree Lecturer Mary Kirk has recently co-authored and published a paper in the British Journal of Community Nursing called ‘Advance care planning for people living with dementia’. This paper reviews the literature in regards to the barriers of the impact on healthcare professional’s engagement with Advanced Care Planning for people with dementia and their families.

To request the paper online, click here.

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Music helps neuro-rehabilitation patients

A new study suggesting live music can help hospital neuro-rehabilitation patients has won an outstanding innovation award.

University psychologist Dr David Wilkinson is working with hospital clinicians and ward staff on a project to find a new way of helping patients recover from brain damage by using live music performance.

The collaboration, between academics, clinicians and musicians, was recognised with the runner-up prize in the category for Outstanding Service Innovation at this year’s East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Award Night.

The innovative project took place on the Harvey Neuro-Rehabilitation Ward at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury. The patients, whose conditions include acquired brain injury, low awareness state, tumour and MS, attended twice-weekly interactive live music concerts over a six-week period, performed by professional musicians. The concerts were conducted in the ward’s day room and lasted one hour, including classical, jazz, world and folk music.

The project found that patient and staff wellbeing was markedly increased following the live performances, with additional gains evident in cognitive function. From a practical perspective, the project also confirmed the feasibility of conducting projects of this unconventional nature on busy in-patient wards – an important prerequisite for further study.

Dr Wilkinson, of the University’s School of Psychology, said the innovation award acknowledged the profound effects that music therapy has on patient and staff experience, and he has now set his sights on a larger-scale study to determine the optimal ‘recipe’ for live music therapy. His longer-term ambition is to extend the therapy to other patient groups resident on different hospital wards.

Dr Wilkinson is working on the project with Dr Mohamed Sakel, Director/Consultant Neuro-Rehabilitation at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust andLive Music Now – the UKs leading musicians’ development and outreach organisation.

For more information contact Dr David Wilkinson.

To view original article, click here.

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Lecturer at Medway showcases life as a community pharmacist

A 1-page interview with Medway’s Teaching Practitioner Elizabeth Scahill is featured in the current issue of the Pharmaceutical Journal. Liz explains how she spends 2 days each week at the School, drawing on her current working experiences at Boots to teach across all year groups on topics such as dispensing, consultation skills, law and ethics, and services.

To view on the Medway School of Pharmacy site, click here.

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Medway promotes patient-centred consultation

Medway School of Pharmacy values the links that it has with local pharmacists. In November, almost 80 local pharmacists and students attended an interactive meeting organised by the West Kent and Medway Pharmacy Forum in partnership with the Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education (CPPE) at Medway School of Pharmacy, which gave students the opportunity to work with local pharmacists to develop patient-centred consultations following the launch of national pharmacist consultation guidelines earlier this year.

Samantha Scragg from the CPPE presented the Consultation Skills for Pharmacy Practice Learning Pathway and associated web-based resources, participants then participated in an interactive video-critique exercise and then Shivaun Gammie, Clinical Lecturer at Medway School of Pharmacy, described how findings from the School’s research projects could be used by pharmacists to improve their consultation skills.

The following comments were received after the evening:

It was a very interesting and stimulating evening and the interaction with students made it doubly enjoyable”. (Pharmacist)

“The evening gave us a great insight into consultations and we recommend it to any final year pharmacy students.” (student)

View on the Medway School of Pharmacy site.

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Research Seminar: Understanding cell shape: reconstituting the actin-membrane interace.

Dr. Jenny Gallop, Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge

Wednesday 17th December, 4.00 p.m., Stacey Lecture Theatre 1

Membranes are central organizing surfaces for signaling and actin polymerization in the control of cell shape and movement. My work uses artificial membrane systems and frog egg extracts in real time assays to delineate and reconstitute the biochemical events underlying the membrane-localized assembly of actin. By using PI(4,5)P2 containing supported lipid bilayers on glass we were able to form actin structures that resemble filopodia and show that they form by self-assembly of protein networks on a permissive membrane surface. By comparing the lipid specificities of actin polymerization from lipid bilayers of different curvature we have identified how signals from membrane curvature and composition can be combined to recruit different adaptor proteins during endocytosis, which then co-opt more general actin machinery. We are beginning to understand how the cell can form actin structures of different types within a common cytosol.

 SPONSORED BY CAIRN RESEARCH.

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Final year undergraduate students engineer bacteria to digest lactose

Petri plates containing solid nutrients (agar) are used extensively in microbiological studies and sometimes microbial growth can take on quite spectacular forms. The image here shows colonies of a bacteria calledEscherichia coli (E. coli) growing on a ‘MacConkey’ agar plate. The bacteria had been cultivated during a final year undergraduate project, the aim of which had been to identify mutations allowing E. coli to digest different sugars. In the image you can observe the distinctive red colour of the MacConkey agar but also pink halos around the bacterial colonies; the halos tell us that these cells ofE. coli harbour a mutation allowing them to digest the sugar lactose. We decided to capture this image because of the clarity of the colonies and their halos and the dramatic colours present.

Tarun Singh is pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology, investigating quality control mechanisms of protein synthesis and working under the supervision of Dr Tobias von der Haar and Professor Mick Tuite within the Kent Fungal Group

To see on the School of Biosciences site, click here.

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New appointment for CHSS Director

Professor Stephen Peckham, Director of CHSS, has been appointed an Associate Professor at theInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

Stephen is currently working on a joint project on accountability with Professor Raisa Deber and we hope to develop closer links between IHPME and CHSS.

Who is involved?
Professor Stephen Peckham

View on the Centre for Health Services Studies site.

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