Browsing by Author "Ollero, M. D."

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    Creating a model module for the novel resource DMU e-Parasitology.
    (International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED), 2017-11-18) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Ollero, M. D.; Fenoy, S.; Magnet, A.; Izquierdo, F.; Pena, M. A.; Bornay, F.; Acosta, L.; Parker, L. A.; Sgamma, Tiziana; del Aguila, C.
    The study of parasitology has become essential to build future health care professionals with skills to respond to public health threats such as the recent outbreaks due to Cryptosporidium spp. or Giardia in the United Kingdom (UK). To facilitate the teaching of parasitology, which negligible across the different undergraduate and taught masters degrees at De Montfort University (DMU, Leicester, UK), a group from different EU Universities [DMU and the Spanish universities: University of San Pablo CEU (USP-CEU) and University Miguel Hernández], clinicians and practising Biomedical Scientists from the UK National Health Service are developing an on-line package for teaching and learning parasitology named DMU e-Parasitology. This package will have three sections or modules: a theoretical module with mini e-learning units to study major human parasites such as Leishmania spp. or malaria; a virtual laboratory module with units to enhance the learning and study of parasitic diseases such as culture of parasites, staining and use of light microscope to identify these organisms or molecular techniques for the identification of parasites to species level; and a virtual microscope with a real slide collection of clinical samples of parasites. The e-Parasitology resource is being created for undergraduate/postgraduate human health science students, with corresponding degrees of difficulty. Units will include a tool to assess the learning process of the students, in form of a quiz, activity and/or exam, and several formative activities throughout each mini-module. The development of this teaching resource will cover a gap in the traditional teaching and learning methods that are currently used and provided in the participating Universities. The DMU e-Parasitology will aid to our undergraduate students to gain a significant knowledge in parasitology by promoting self-learning. A unit related with Toxocara, a helmintiasis with prevalence rates that can reach as high as 40% or more in different parts of the world, was firstly developed to use as a model for the development of the DMU e-Parasitology. Three undergraduate students that studied parasitology during the first term in 2016/17 [n=27; 6 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits (ECTS); 3rd year module] from the bilingual Pharmacy and Biotechnology degree at USP-CEU were voluntarily recruited to provide comprehensive feedback for this model unit at the beginning of the second term. This unit was tested with these students because of their comprehensive knowledge of parasitology. Students described it as interactive and presenting the appropriate content and resources to study the parasitic disease addressed (toxocariasis). Limitations were the poor navigability in the formative exercise section and the excessive information provided in some slides that could hinder their understanding. The team has addressed these limitations and is using this unit as a model to build the DMU e-Parasitology, which will be accessible through the DMU website (http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk) in 2018. We consider that this teaching and learning resource will overcome barriers of time, space, equipment and resources; and may help students and scientists around the world in the diagnostic of different parasitic diseases that impact human health.
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    Detection of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases E. coli in Animal Faeces Collected in Urban Parks in Leicester, UK
    (2017-06-02) Adeyemi, J.; Reid, R.; Baho, S.; Hoosen, H.; del Aguila, C.; Fenoy, S.; Pena, M. A.; Izquierdo, F.; Magnet, A.; Sgamma, Tiziana; Ollero, M. D.; Hurtado, C.; Pena-Fernandez, A.
    Background: The presence and distribution of antibiotic resistance bacteria in the environment could constitute an emerging public health concern. Different studies have described these bacteria in a range of animals and their possible role in the contamination of the environment, however very little studies have determined these bacteria in urban ecosystems. Recovery and remediation of affected environments with these biological hazards, and the establishment of protection interventions, constitute a challenge that requires a collaborative international response to protect the public, especially in urban ecosystems. A preliminary study carried out by our research group have detected Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBL) genes for Gram-negative bacteria in animal faecal samples collected in different urban parks in the city centre of Leicester (United Kingdom). Methods: This study investigated the presence of ESBL-producing genes (blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and blaOXA) within Escherichia coli (E. coli) due to its implications for human health. 30 faecal samples were collected in the same parks between August and September of 2016. A veterinarian identified the animal species as follow: 22 avian (18 waterfowls, 4 pigeons), 4 dogs, 3 cats and 1 fox. After appropriate treatment of the samples, CTX-M-1-type producing E. coli was detected by molecular analysis in 5 of the analysed samples (17%); all of them from waterfowls. Results: The results described here, although preliminary, might indicate that waterfowls might be carriers of ESBL E. coli producers in Leicester. Waterfowls may have a possible role in the spread of CTX-M-1 producing E. coli in urban ecosystems although more research is required prior to implementing intervention programs in the monitored environment. Conclusions: Possible control measures may be cleaning frequently urban parks, roads and pavement from animal faeces, especially avian faeces; or banning exposure practices such as feeding these animals, activity that is very popular in the monitored city.
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    Developing a novel resource for teaching and learning parasitology: DMU e-Parasitology.
    (2018-04-24) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Ollero, M. D.; Magnet, A.; Fenoy, S.; Izquierdo, F.; Bornay, F.; Acosta, L.; Pena, M. A.; Hoosen, H.; Evans, M. D.; del Aguila, C.
    Background: The study of parasitology has become essential to develop future health care professionals with skills to respond to public health threats such as the recent outbreak of Cryptosporidium in the UK. To facilitate the teaching of parasitology, which is negligible across the different undergraduate and taught masters degrees at De Montfort University (DMU, UK), a group from different EU Universities [DMU and the Spanish universities: University of San Pablo CEU (USP-CEU) and University Miguel Hernández] and clinicians are developing an on-line package for teaching and learning parasitology named DMU e-Parasitology. The development of this teaching resource will cover a gap in the traditional teaching and learning methods that are currently used and provided in the participating universities. Materials/methods: The DMU e-Parasitology resource is being created for undergraduate and postgraduate human health science students, with corresponding degrees of difficulty on the DMU website (http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk/). To develop the theoretical section, a preliminary unit about the helminth Toxocara was initially developed to be used as a model for this section: http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk/learn/modules/toxocara/story.html. Volunteers that studied Parasitology during the first term in 2016/17 [n=27; 6 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits (ECTS); 3rd year module] from the bilingual Pharmacy and Biotechnology degree at USP-CEU provided comprehensive feedback for this preliminary unit at the beginning of the second term. The module was tested with these students because of their knowledge of parasitology. Results: Students described the initial unit as interactive and presenting the appropriate content and resources to study the parasitic disease addressed (toxocariasis). Limitations were the poor navigability in the formative exercise section and the excessive information provided in some slides that could hinder their understanding. Conclusions: The team has addressed these limitations and is using this unit as a model to build the DMU e-Parasitology, which will be accessible through the website (http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk) in 2018. We consider that this teaching and learning resource will overcome barriers of time, space, equipment and resource. Finally, this resource could facilitate the introduction of parasitology in any health science programme with limited time for teaching this subject in their curriculums.
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    Development of a virtual library of clinical samples for medical parasitology diagnosis
    (IATED, 2018) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Fenoy, S.; Halliwell, R.; Izquierdo, F.; Magnet, A.; Hurtado, C.; Bornay, F.; Acosta, L.; Ollero, M. D.; Armstrong, M.; Evans, M. D.; del Aguila, C.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Environmental recovery training for biological incidents: impressions from pharmacy students
    (2017-07) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Pena, M. A.; Ollero, M. D.; Hurtado, C.; Fenoy, S.
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    Teaching parasite culture through e-learning incorporating digitised 2D and 3D parasite images.
    (IATED, 2019-07-03) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Llorens, S.; Hurtado, C.; Izquierdo, F.; Pozuelo, M.J.; Fenoy, S.; Young, Christopher N. J.; Evans, M. D.; Ollero, M. D.; del Aguila, C.; Magnet, A.
    The teaching of medical parasitology is facing important challenges including the need to reverse the current downward trend in the teaching status of this science reported in developed countries, despite increasing food and water parasitic outbreaks in these countries. Moreover, the teaching of this science should be adapted to the rapidly increasing biomedical and technological achievements in our societies, so we can meet future students’ interests and expectations as well as being able to supply future work placement needs. Thus, parasitologists from different European Universities [De Montfort University, DMU, UK; and the Spanish University of San Pablo CEU (USP-CEU) and Miguel Hernández de Elche], are developing a complete on-line package for teaching and learning medical parasitology, named DMU e-Parasitology (http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk). This novel package includes a virtual laboratory and microscope with a complete library of digitised 2D slides of parasites in clinical samples. Recently, we have been successful in using 3D super-resolution microscopy (3D Cell Explorer; Nanolive), to incorporate 3D microscopic images (multiple-viewpoint-holographic images, 96 z-stacks) of important protozoan (e.g. http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk /learn/3D_Parasitology/Acanthamoeba_cyst_1.htm) and fungi human parasites fixed on slides, of. In contrast to images created from pre-stained clinical samples, in which structures of the parasites were indistinguishable from the background, although insight of the morphological structure of the infective forms of the parasites could be seen in the 3D z-stack images in each fixed culture samples provided. However, we believe that such images will have little applicability as a potential diagnostic tool, requiring further development. We have also created an e-learning unit on parasite cell culture (http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk /learn/lab/parasite_cell_cultures/story_flash.html), which show all the practices and procedures to work in a parasite culture unit in conjunction with detailed information and videos of parasitologists/technicians working in real conditions with parasite cultures. In order to validate this unit, we will use a blended learning approach with final year BSc Biomedical Science students and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science at DMU that voluntarily enrol to receive formative training in these topics. This training consists of two sessions, which will be delivered in the first week of April 2019, when these volunteer students have completed the DMU e-Parasitology’s Parasite Cell Unit. The first session, mostly theoretical, will provide an overall description of how to work in a parasite culture unit in conjunction with explanatory mini-videos, in which students will be able to observe different parasites in culture conditions and specific 2D (clinical samples) and 3D (fixed culture samples) slides. Thus, students will be able to observe the morphological structures of the infectious forms of these pathogens in three formats: as culture (live and fixed) and in a human tissue sample. In the second session students will use a class II biological safety cabinet to manage human cells and perform routinely tasks such as grow, culture and count these cells. This paper will provide an overall description of these novel resources for teaching/learning parasite culture and their effectiveness for teaching these important laboratory skills to future healthcare professionals.
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    Translational blogging: a bidirectional communication between the class and society.
    (IATED, 2019-07-03) Magnet, A.; Fenoy, S.; Hurtado, C.; Ollero, M. D.; Nistal. E.; Angulo, S.; Laguna, R.; Jimenez, P.; Llinares, F.; Robas, M.; Pena-Fernandez, A.; Izquierdo, F.; del Aguila, C.; Pozuelo, M.J.
    Higher Education Students (HES) may find the lectures as something far away from their everyday life. Professors feel a big gap between themselves and their pupils. Furthermore, some students can find that subjects are not connected in between them and make close boxes of knowledge. To show them the great net of knowledge they can build, we have redesigned an old strategy, the use of blogs in education, to break that gap and increase student interest in the lectures. After the introduction of the Bologna Process in the European Higher Education Area, annual subjects have almost disappeared in behalf of shorter ones. This reduction might help the students pass their courses, but it brings up the problem of compartments in knowledge. Because of this, our project has been focused on the students of the Pharmacy Faculty which have 4 subjects associated to infectious diseases (ID) from 3rd to 6th semester (Microbiology, Parasitology, Immunology, and Biological Analysis) of a curriculum of 5 years (10 semesters). Technological gap is a reality in between students and teachers because the internet and technology are used in a different way. HES have grown in a world where social media is a part of them, sharing their daily life with pictures, videos or comments. We have therefore thought to use this enthusiasm to create a blog to share and associate the knowledge they acquire in our classes, with news they find related to ID. The blog is edited by teachers, but written by students named the “Infectious Gazzete”. Students have looked for information related to ID in different media. Once they have found attractive news, students have to practice their critical thinking and write a small blog entry containing a review of the subject using their lectures notes or books. By means of this activity, students can link the knowledge acquired in the lectures to the latest news in the field of ID. Before the entry is published in the blog, teachers play an editor role where the entry is sent back to students for improvement. Finally, the text is uploaded to the blog. As the blog entries are published in an open blog, their peers are able to read and discuss the news. Because this activity is carried out during 4 semesters, students are also able to have a global and up to date view of every aspect related to ID. Furthermore, students from other Universities (The Montfort University, UK) have joined our initiative contributing to the blog. A survey was carried to analyze students’ opinion on this initiative. Ninety-five students answer the survey with a mean age of 19,11 (± 2,11) years old. After statistically analyzing the results, the medians that favorably scored for the activity were for the statements: In general, I liked this activity. The realization of this activity is interesting and I consider that this project favors my Personal development. None negative impression was observed for any question. Overall our project has improved students’ interest in the different subjects that could be used to interconnect the different topics addressed in the lectures. Moreover, the use of the blog as an open platform, make students feel the responsibility of being well informed and read about a topic before open publishing. The exposure of students to this experience creates a platform where we introduce our subjects into an open discussion in students’ families and friends, increasing the attention and interest of infectious diseases in their everyday life.