About
31
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Introduction
Scientific research focus
My main scientific research interests are concerned with (1) biomarkers of oxidative stress and (2) evaluation of strategies suitable for QC of traditional herbal medicines.
Pedagogical Research Interests & the Open Agenda
I am interested in the design, implementation and evaluation of learner enhancement strategies and in the impact of sharing, reuse and repurposing of Open Educational Resources (OERs)
Current institution
Additional affiliations
December 2013 - March 2015
January 1999 - present
Description
- Primary research interests are concerned with indices of oxidative stress in clinical disease. Activities have included national and international collaborations concerned with human population case control studies e.g. Schizophrenia.
January 1989 - December 1993
Description
- Doctoral student. Ad Hoc laboratory demonstrator and exam invigilator
Education
November 2010 - December 2011
OPEN UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
Field of study
- Professional Certificate in Management
September 1999 - May 2001
September 1989 - September 1994
Publications
Publications (31)
Introduction This lightning talk will present to delegates the recent OER initiatives by Jisc in the FE and Skills sector. It will provide an overview of the Jisc FE Skills Window Project, which is de-veloping a number of tools that aim to create more flexible and simple routes to open con-tent relevant to FE practitioners. The Window will also act...
This lightning talk is to enlighten the OER community about a 3 year EU Erasmus+ funded project to ensure the development of STEM key competences and the intake of students in science-related career paths at lower secondary school level. The project has the dual aim of 1) developing and testing an innovative, called-for approach to science teaching...
Introduction
This session will explain the rationale to the award of an Open Badge for either the depositing and/or the reuse of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in Jorum. A pilot project is being conducted that integrates with the current Jisc FE and Skills Window project 1, an area identified as requiring OER growth in Jorum. Following evaluati...
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Jefferson Digital Commons. The Jefferson Digital Commons is a service of Thomas Jefferson University's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The Commons is a showcase for Jefferson books and journals, peer-reviewed scholarly publications, unique historical collections from the Univers...
Abstract
Purpose:
This study reports on the practical challenges, benefits and limitations of the use of a fictitious town, Clydetown, to enable the online exploration and discussion of the Health and Social Care needs of a group of virtual families.
Background:
Initially developed as a resource for students studying social work, Clydetown has und...
This new initiative across the School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences at Robert Gordon University focuses around students from the Overseas Pharmacist’s Assessment Programme (OSPAP) and 3rd year Nutrition and Dietetics students working in an interprofessional setting to manage the care of individuals with Phenylketonuria (PKU).
A problem based lear...
Abstract Malondialdehyde is one of the most commonly reported biomarkers of lipid peroxidation in clinical studies. The reaction of thiobarbituric acid with Malondialdehyde to yield a pink chromogen attributable to an MDA-TBA2 adduct is a common assay approach with products being quantified by UV-Vis assay as non specific thiobarbituric acid reacti...
This study reports on the learner impact, practicability and cost effectiveness of an individual practical skills test designed to assess the interpretative and manipulative skills of undergraduate pharmacy in a laboratory setting. The reliability of the assessment tool across a 5 year period was examined and refine-ments introduced in response to...
The statutory regulation of herbal medicines is under review within the United Kingdom (UK) and by 2011 all herbal medicines will require either a Product Licence or a Traditional Herbal Registration. The species Scutellaria baicalensis has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-tumor properties and is one of the most widely u...
Overview E-mentoring by alumni as a means of supporting international students pre-arrival and ensuring effective engagement with the curriculum. Situation This case study describes the development of an accessible online e-mentor support system for post-graduate pharmacists who are undertaking the PgDip OSPAP conversion course. Accredited by the R...
Overview This case study discusses the development of a bespoke Induction programme to support international student orientation and engagement with a Master's level pharmacy curriculum. Situation The Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme (OSPAP) Induction programme was designed to facilitate student orientation, to enhance academic integratio...
Oxidative stress is implicated in the development of a range of neurological diseases. There is increasing interest in the neuroprotective efficacy of antioxidants in modulating such processes with at least one polyphenolic being tested as a prophylactic in Alzheimer's disease. Beneficial effects of adjunctive n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with c...
Opium samples from four different locations and poppy straw from different plant varieties have been assayed using micellar capillary electrophoresis incorporating a sweeping technique. Individual alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, thebaine, oripavine, reticuline and narceine) were quantitatively determined in the different sample...
The phospholipid hypothesis of schizophrenia is becoming popular because of the findings from the niacin flush test, the treatment with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), biochemical studies for the phospholipid metabolism pathway and genetic studies of phospholipase A2. The present study attempted to investigate the gene coding for phosphatidyle...
Increasing evidence indicates that oxidative injury exists in schizophrenia. Although it may not be the main cause, oxidative damage has been suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology and may account for deteriorating course and poor outcome in schizophrenia. A human study was undertaken, therefore, to investigate possible differences in bioma...
The importance of a catechol moiety to the radical-scavenging activity of p-hydroxycinnamic derivatives is widely accepted, whereas the role of the carbon side chain remains controversial. Extension
of the conjugation to this chain is a molecular feature that requires some attention. Differences in the activity of caffeic
and dihydrocaffeic acids w...
Two studies have been performed to clarify the relationship between different markers of oxidative DNA damage commonly employed in molecular epidemiological studies. In the first, 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua) was induced in DNA of HeLa cells by treatment with different concentrations of photosensitizer Ro 19-8022 together with visible light....
It is widely believed that antioxidant micronutrients obtained from fruit and vegetables afford significant protection against cancer and heart disease, as well as ageing. Flavonoids are potential antioxidants found in foods such as onions; information on their effectiveness in vivo is so far lacking.
To determine uptake as well as in vivo antioxid...
To determine the potential antioxidant effect of rutin (quercetin-3-O-beta-rutinoside) supplementation.
A 6-week randomized single-blind placebo controlled trial was conducted; 500 mg rutin supplement was compared to an equivalent amount of glucose placebo. In addition, a pharmacokinetic study was carried out.
The Rowett Research Institute, Aberdee...
The effects of age, gender, strain, phenobarbital (PB) treatment and pituitary influence on the regioselective metabolism of 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene to hydroxmethyl metabolites were investigated. Studies used hepatic microsomal membranes from immature and mature Long Evans (LE) rats and adult Hooded Lister (HL) animals. Hydroxymethyl metabo...
The cytochrome P450 isoforms responsible for the regio-selective metabolism of benz[a]anthracene (BA) are poorly defined but as with other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may include members of the CYP2C sub-family. Since the expression of some of these is regulated in a gender-specific manner and may be altered by age, rat strain or by phe...
The relative utility of high-performance liquid chromatography, micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is examined for the separation of essentially uncharged solute mixtures. Three model systems are used for which separations by reversed-phase liquid chromatography had been established. These consi...
The metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by bone marrow, mononuclear cells from normal donors and leukaemia patients in remission has been investigated. When benz[alpha]anthracene (BA) was included with marrow under cell culture conditions, it was converted to materials which were resolved into three peaks by normal phase HPLC, and which...
