University of Bedfordshire

About: University of Bedfordshire is a education organization based out in Luton, Bedford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 3860 authors who have published 6079 publications receiving 143448 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Luton.

Working to Ensure Safety, Belonging and Success for Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children

Abstract: This paper considers what safety, belonging and success mean to children and young people who seek asylum alone within richer nations. These three elements are conceptualised, taking account of journeys away from their countries of origin towards a sense of ‘home’ in a new country. The conceptual map is then used to frame existing research to establish what is known, and what needs to be further examined in understanding the ways in which the three elements are manifest when permanent resettlement, temporary admission and enforced return are all possible outcomes of an asylum claim. The paper concludes that the state of knowledge is currently uncertain in relation to each element, with some good evidence of safety and belonging in the context of permanent resettlement and relatively poor understanding of success when children and young people are forced to return away from the country of asylum. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ‘Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.’ The Death of the Hired Man by Robert Frost, 1915 (Frost, 1973) ‘permanent resettlement, temporary admission and enforced return are all possible outcomes of an asylum claim’

The effect of an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases on colonic inflammation in a trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid rat model of inflammatory bowel disease.

Abstract: Background : Recent publications have reported that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are expressed in colonic tissue taken from ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients. Aim : To evaluate the effects of a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, marimastat, on colonic inflammation in experimental colitis induced by trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS)-ethanol in the rat. Methods : Rats were dosed (by mouth) for 7 days (b.d.) with either sulphasalazine (50 mg/kg), marimastat (40 mg/kg) or vehicle. TNBS-ethanol was administered rectally on the 4th day of dosing. On the last day of dosing, colons were removed and assessed for inflammation using myeloperoxidase activity, production of soluble TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α), clinical score and histological assessment. In addition, the bioavailability and effect of marimastat on a range of MMPs were assessed in-vitro. Results : In this study we have confirmed that marimastat is a broad spectrum MMPI with a bioavailability of 5%. TNBS rats dosed with sulphasalazine had a significantly lower (P < 0.05) myeloperoxidase activity, TNFα production and a markedly lower clinical score. Similarly, rats dosed with marimastat had a significantly lower (P < 0.05) myeloperoxidase activity and clinical score, but the TNFα production was not significantly reduced. Conclusions : Dosing rats with TNBS-induced colitis using sulphasalazine or marimastat produced a significant reduction in tissue injury and inflammation.

Fluid level sensor

Abstract: A fluid level sensor to determine the level of fluid into a container used in negative pressure wound therapy. The sensor includes an array of conductive plates to produce electric field lines through the container and fluid within, the plates serving as the plates of a capacitor. The plates (1-4), are located close to the wall of the container, and are connected to a circuit board, electronics and software to determine the fluid level in the container based on the relative changes of capacitance between the plates. The capacitance is converted into a voltage signal representative of the change. The algorithms are designed to check the fluid level over predefined time periods to indicate the fluid level at more than one point and also track the fluid level. The fluid sensor can be used in the vertical, horizontal or other position of the container as desired.

Failing a student nurse A new horizon of moral courage

Abstract: The factors preventing registered nurses from failing students in practice are multifaceted and have attracted much debate over recent years. However, writers rarely focus on what is needed to fail an incompetent pre-registration nursing student in their final placement. This hermeneutic study explored the mentor experience of failing a pre-registration nursing student in their final placement. A total of 19 mentors were recruited from 7 different healthcare organisations in both inner city and rural locations in the southeast of England. Participants took part in individual reflective interviews about their experience of failing a pre-registration nursing student in their final placement. These experiences were interpreted through a hermeneutic discovery of meaning. The new horizon of understanding which developed as a result of this research is framed within the context of moral stress, moral integrity and moral residue with the overall synthesis being that these mentors' stories presented a new horizon of moral courage.

The virtual physiological human — a European initiative for in silico human modelling

Abstract: The Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) is an initiative, strongly supported by the European Commission (EC), that seeks to develop an integrated model of human physiology at multiple scales from the whole body through the organ, tissue, cell and molecular levels to the genomic level. VPH had its beginnings in 2005 with informal discussions amongst like-minded scientists, which led to the STEP project, a Coordination Action funded by the EC that began in early 2006. The STEP project greatly accelerated the progress of the VPH and proved to be a catalyst for wide-ranging discussions within Europe and for outreach activities designed to develop a broad international approach to the huge scientific and technological challenges involved in this area. This paper provides an overview of the VPH and the developments it has engendered in the rapidly expanding worldwide activities associated with the physiome. It then uses one particular project, the Living Human Project, to illustrate the type of advances that are taking place to further the aims of the VPH and similar initiatives worldwide.