Online distance-learning (ODL) programmes in higher education enable students to remain in their domicile country to study with institutions based in other countries. ODL students can find themselves studying with others from many different countries, adding greater heterogeneity of personal, environmental and cultural perspectives compared with oncampus education. This is likely to impact the learners' experience in different ways. The current research examined the experience of students living outside of the European Union, who were registered with an ODL programme with a higher education institution based in the European Union. The research identified a number of important factors that influenced the students' experience in different ways. The results emphasize the need for ODL programmes to fully consider individual students' contexts, regardless of where they are in the world, and for these needing to be embedded in a pedagogical framework that gives due consideration to globally diverse cohorts of students

The unique and complex nature of biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals has meant that it is often not possible to follow the conventional safety testing programs used for chemicals, and hence they are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Nonclinical safety testing programs must be rationally designed with a strong scientific understanding of the product, including its method of manufacture, purity, sequence, structure, species specificity, pharmacological and immunological effects, and intended clinical use. This knowledge, coupled with a firm understanding of the regulatory requirements for particular product types, will ensure that the most sensitive and regulatory-compliant test systems are used to optimize the chances of gaining regulatory approval for clinical testing or marketing authorization in the shortest possible time frame.

Child health, educational attainment, and family socioeconomic status are inextricably linked. We introduce a model that ties together research drawn from the fields of economics, education, psychology, sociology, medicine, epidemiology, neuroscience, public health and biostatistics. Organized around an integrated conceptual paradigm of environmental, economic, familial and psychosocial pathways, we demonstrate various ways SES alters the performance of biological systems, thereby affecting family interaction, stress, school success, and child outcomes.

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