Calliphora vicina larvae were reared on artificial foodstuffs spiked with a range of concentrations of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), sodium salicylate, paracetamol, sodium aminohippurate, amphetamine sulfate, and the barbiturates thiopentone, phenobarbitone, amylobarbitone, barbitone, and brallobarbitone. Larvae were harvested at either day 6, 7, or 8 for analysis of drug content. Paracetamol, aspirin, amylobarbitone, and thiopentone were not detected in larvae fed on foodstuff containing drug concentrations equivalent to those expected in skeletal muscle from fatal human overdoses. Drug concentrations in larvae (expressed as larva: Foodstuff drug ratio) were 12–14% for phenobarbitone, 9–11% for sodium salicylate, 10% for aminohippurate, 18–19% for brallobarbitone, 41% for amphetamine, and 50–67% for barbitone. Amylobarbitone became detectable in larvae fed on higher drug concentrations (larva: Foodstuff drug ratio 2.6–21%). Higher levels of thiopentone and phenobarbitone were lethal to the larvae. Despite sharing similar basic structures, related drugs were each handled very differently by the larvae. We found it impossible to predict, on the basis of chemical structure, which drugs are likely to be detectable in Calliphora vicina larvae and in what ratio to the drug-spiked foodstuff. Drug concentrations in larvae are significantly lower than in their food source and the absence of a drug from feeding larvae does not necessarily imply its absence from the food source.

This study was designed to explore medical students' and primary school teachers' experiences of a new community teaching project. Academic staff and students from the School of Medicine Dundee, National Health Service partners, local education department, and primary school teachers engaged in a collaborative project which has embedded community engagement in the curriculum while encouraging interprofessional education through multiagency working. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used an online questionnaire, designed to give participants the freedom to respond, and give their own opinions, via free text responses. The results show the value of a real primary school-based situation, and the merit of experiential learning gained throughout the program, in which students interacted with children about health promotion in a meaningful way. The interprofessional and collaborative nature of the project enhanced the value of the experience for all participants in relation to the benefits of teamwork, dispelling the doctor authority and recognition of the roles of others. The experience was an interactive, enjoyable, and expressive way to facilitate learning, and has helped prepare the health care students for future practice.