As part of ‘The Blue Marble’ project, the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham, UK, have developed day-long, interdisciplinary, hands-on workshops for primary schools to introduce space technology and the role of the research scientist. The workshop activities introduce 5–11 year olds to the role of the UK space industry, show the importance of satellite technology for observing and monitoring the Earth and highlight a range of environmental issues. There are links to ‘how science works’, environmental and geoscience topics, as well as a range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. These interactive workshops provide an opportunity for learners to meet ‘real’ scientists—one of the take-home messages from the day is that anyone can become involved in science, whatever their ability or subject of interest. The methodology introduces the role of the scientist using space technology themes, but could easily be adapted for use with any inspirational topic. The workshops—attended by 349 learners aged 6–11—were fully and independently evaluated, with very positive changes to learners’ views of science and scientists. This paper provides an overview of the activities, the methodology, the evaluation process and results, noting the potential for adaptation to Key Stage 3.

Gingival recession is one of the most usual esthetic concerns associated with the periodontal tissues. Classification of such condition is important to diagnose, determine the prognosis, and frame the treatment plan. Various classifications have been put forward since decades to classify gingival recession. Miller's classification is the widely used classification among all classifications, but certain drawbacks have been noted in this classification. Therefore, an effort is made to review most commonly used classification systems for gingival recession, and their drawbacks further come up with a proposal of new classification system for gingival recession.

This was a retrospective study done on 110 patients hospitalized with P. vivax malaria in three medical college hospitals, one in the union territory of Chandigarh and the other two in Gujarat, that is, Ahmedabad and Surat. The clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome were recorded. As per WHO criteria for severity, 19 of 110 patients had severe disease—six patients had clinical jaundice with hepatic dysfunction, three patients had severe anemia, three had spontaneous bleeding, two had acute respiratory distress syndrome, and one had cerebral malaria, hyperparasitemia, renal failure, circulatory collapse, and metabolic acidosis. All patients with severe P. vivax malaria survived, but one child with cerebral malaria had neurological sequelae. There was wide variation in the antimalarial treatment received at the three centres. Plasmodium vivax malaria can no longer be considered a benign condition. WHO guidelines for treatment of P. vivax malaria need to be reinforced.

Purpose The indications for vitreoretinal (VR) surgery are increasing as equipment and techniques available improve. In order to decrease demand on limited health resources, day-case surgery would be beneficial in many cases. This study combines a retrospective and prospective arm to examine the feasibility and safety of routine day-case VR surgery. Methods One hundred consecutive patients (50 retrospective and 50 prospective) undergoing VR surgery within the Royal Berkshire NHS trust were included. The retrospective arm aimed to identify the frequency and type of acute ophthalmic or medical intervention during postop overnight stay and the results were used to alter management in the prospective group. The prospective group consisted of patients undergoing a mixture of overnight stay and day-case surgery. All patients in the prospective group had routine subtenon marcaine anaesthesia together with prophylactic pre-operative intravenous acetazolamide. Patients deemed fit postoperatively were offered overnight ward discharge, with obligatory next-day review. Results In the retrospective arm, 56% required oral nonsteroidal analgesia on the day of surgery and one patient required narcotic analgesia. Twenty-two per cent patients required intraocular pressure (IOP) control on the day of surgery and one patient required medical intervention in the form of urinary catheterisation. Nineteen patients required intervention on next-day review. In the prospective arm, 86% preferred day case and were suitable, 6% were suitable for day-case but preferred overnight stay and 8% were deemed not fit for discharge. No patient required narcotic analgesics. No patient discharged returned as a casualty overnight. Only one patient required topical beta-blocker for the control of IOP on next-day review.Conclusions These data suggest that many patients who are hospitalised overnight for VR surgery could be safely treated as day cases. Such a shift in the pattern of care for VR surgery could provide a significant improvement in health-care efficiency and minimise patient inconvenience.