Koinonia

Reclaiming the Higher in Higher Education: Can Wholeness be Whole?, Russell R. Rogers Say Something Nice , David W. Aycock ACSD Executive Committee Meeting; Position Changes CoCCA: Activities are not just for fun anymore: Promoting Values through Student Activities ACSD Regional Conferenceshttps://pillars.taylor.edu/acsd_koinonia/1049/thumbnail.jp

Managing plagiarism in programming assignments with blended assessment and randomisation.

Plagiarism is a common concern for coursework in many situations, particularly where electronic solutions can be provided e.g. computer programs, and leads to unreliability of assessment. Written exams are often used to try to deal with this, and to increase reliability, but at the expense of validity. One solution, outlined in this paper, is to randomise the work that is set for students so that it is very unlikely that any two students will be working on exactly the same problem set. This also helps to address the issue of students trying to outsource their work by paying external people to complete their assignments for them. We examine the effectiveness of this approach and others (including blended assessment) by analysing the spread of similarity scores across four different introductory programming assignments to find the natural similarity i.e. the level of similarity that could reasonably occur without plagiarism. The results of the study indicate that divergent assessment (having more than one possible solution) as opposed to convergent assessment (only one solution) is the dominant factor in natural similarity. A key area for further work is to apply the analysis to a larger sample of programming assignments to better understand the impact of different features of the assignment design on natural similarity and hence the detection of plagiarism

Xanthone-photosensitized detoxification of the veterinary anthelmintic fenbendazole

Fenbendazole (1) is a common veterinary anthelmintic, toxic to water living microorganisms. Fluorescence quantum yields of 1 were found to be 0.11 in acetonitrile, 0.068 in methanol, 0.034 in cyclohexane, and 0.013 in water. The singlet excited state energy was ca. 96 kcal mol(-1) in all solvents. The phosphorescence spectrum of 1 in ethanol at 77 K displayed a maximum at 450 nm, leading to a triplet energy of 75 kcal mol(-1). Experimental excited state energies agree well with the results of OFT calculations at the time-dependent B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. Laser flash photolysis (LFP) of 1 at 266 nm led to transients absorbing in the 300-700 nm range, ascribed to radical cation 1(.+), which were also observed upon 355 nm LFP of xanthone (XA) in the presence of 1. Solar-simulated photolysis revealed XA-enhanced photodegradation of 1 and led to decreased toxicity, as shown by Daphnia magna assays. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Financial support from the MICINN (CTQ2010-19909) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo Program) is gratefully acknowledged.Jornet Olivé, MD.; Castillo López, MÁ.; Sabater Marco, C.; R. Domingo, L.; Tormos Faus, RE.; Miranda Alonso, MÁ. (2013). Xanthone-photosensitized detoxification of the veterinary anthelmintic fenbendazole. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry. 264:34-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2013.05.002S344026

Building Innovative Online Korean and Japanese Courses: A Pilot on Technology- Enhanced Curriculum Development

Our pilot project created blended/online courses to accommodate the growing needs of precollegiate and collegiate students interested in learning Korean and Japanese. In the initial phase, we conducted a survey of students’ experiences with and perceptions about blended/online Asian language learning. We found a general lack of familiarity with, and moderate resistance toward, online language learning modes. With learner attitudes in mind, we developed online modules for beginning Korean and Japanese courses. In this article, we report the survey results and the process of developing these innovative blended and online modalities of content delivery, focusing on the strengths of the modules and the unforeseen development challenges. The impacts that these technology-enhanced environments may have on student perceptions of transactional distance and tele-/copresence are explored. We suggest that transforming conventional East Asian language courses into blended/online modes is not only feasible but also beneficial for foreign language teaching and learning

Family engagement and compassion fatigue in alternative provision

© 2021 The Author. Published by Taylor & Francis. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1938713In a sector largely ignored in policy and the public imagination, Alternative Provision works to care for and educate children for whom mainstream schooling does not work. Central to their mission is the engagement of families, often seen as both the cause of their child’s difficulties and the solution to their successful educational re-engagement. Practitioners within Alternative Provision work within sophisticated strategies of family engagement, from regular communication to the more intensive interventions of home visits, supporting families with everything from filling in forms to cleaning, from managing outbursts to sourcing furniture. With the majority of families living within contexts of deprivation, many have life histories containing trauma, trauma that Alternative Provision Practitioners listen to, confront and, often, internalise, risking ‘compassion fatigue’. This article focuses on the potential for compassion fatigue within family engagement in Alternative Provision, beginning with the impact on practitioners. It then discusses the role of leadership in building an assemblage of organisation interventions to both mitigate compassion fatigue and maximise ‘compassion satisfaction’, the fulfilment that comes from empathic work. Finally, it examines how compassion satisfaction could mitigate the deleterious impact of vicarious trauma.Published onlin

Inclusion of Flagellin during Vaccination against Influenza Enhances Recall Responses in Nonhuman Primate Neonates

ABSTRACT Influenza virus can cause life-threatening infections in neonates and young infants. Although vaccination is a major countermeasure against influenza, current vaccines are not approved for use in infants less than 6 months of age, in part due to the weak immune response following vaccination. Thus, there is a strong need to develop new vaccines with improved efficacy for this vulnerable population. To address this issue, we established a neonatal African green monkey (AGM) nonhuman primate model that could be used to identify effective influenza vaccine approaches for use in young infants. We assessed the ability of flagellin, a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) agonist, to serve as an effective adjuvant in this at-risk population. Four- to 6-day-old AGMs were primed and boosted with inactivated PR8 influenza virus (IPR8) adjuvanted with either wild-type flagellin or inactive flagellin with a mutation at position 229 (m229), the latter of which is incapable of signaling through TLR5. Increased IgG responses were observed following a boost, as well as at early times after challenge, in infants vaccinated with flagellin-adjuvanted IPR8. Inclusion of flagellin during vaccination also resulted in a significantly increased number of influenza virus-specific T cells following challenge compared to the number in infants vaccinated with the m229 adjuvant. Finally, following challenge infants vaccinated with IPR8 plus flagellin exhibited a reduced pathology in the lungs compared to that in infants that received IPR8 plus m229. This study provides the first evidence of flagellin-mediated enhancement of vaccine responses in nonhuman primate neonates. IMPORTANCE Young infants are particularly susceptible to severe disease as a result of influenza virus infection. Compounding this is the lack of effective vaccines for use in this vulnerable population. Here we describe a vaccine approach that results in improved immune responses and protection in young infants. Incorporation of flagellin during vaccination resulted in increased antibody and T cell responses together with reduced disease following virus infection. These results suggest that flagellin may serve as an effective adjuvant for vaccines targeted to this vulnerable population

Potential of a suite of robot/computer-assisted motivating systems for personalized, home-based, stroke rehabilitation

BACKGROUND: There is a need to improve semi-autonomous stroke therapy in home environments often characterized by low supervision of clinical experts and low extrinsic motivation. Our distributed device approach to this problem consists of an integrated suite of low-cost robotic/computer-assistive technologies driven by a novel universal access software framework called UniTherapy. Our design strategy for personalizing the therapy, providing extrinsic motivation and outcome assessment is presented and evaluated. METHODS: Three studies were conducted to evaluate the potential of the suite. A conventional force-reflecting joystick, a modified joystick therapy platform (TheraJoy), and a steering wheel platform (TheraDrive) were tested separately with the UniTherapy software. Stroke subjects with hemiparesis and able-bodied subjects completed tracking activities with the devices in different positions. We quantify motor performance across subject groups and across device platforms and muscle activation across devices at two positions in the arm workspace. RESULTS: Trends in the assessment metrics were consistent across devices with able-bodied and high functioning strokes subjects being significantly more accurate and quicker in their motor performance than low functioning subjects. Muscle activation patterns were different for shoulder and elbow across different devices and locations. CONCLUSION: The Robot/CAMR suite has potential for stroke rehabilitation. By manipulating hardware and software variables, we can create personalized therapy environments that engage patients, address their therapy need, and track their progress. A larger longitudinal study is still needed to evaluate these systems in under-supervised environments such as the home

Evaluation of a Desktop 3D Printed Rigid Refractive-Indexed-Matched Flow Phantom for PIV Measurements on Cerebral Aneurysms

Purpose Fabrication of a suitable flow model or phantom is critical to the study of biomedical fluid dynamics using optical flow visualization and measurement methods. The main difficulties arise from the optical properties of the model material, accuracy of the geometry and ease of fabrication. Methods Conventionally an investment casting method has been used, but recently advancements in additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing have allowed the flow model to be printed directly with minimal post-processing steps. This study presents results of an investigation into the feasibility of fabrication of such models suitable for particle image velocimetry (PIV) using a common 3D printing Stereolithography process and photopolymer resin. Results An idealised geometry of a cerebral aneurysm was printed to demonstrate its applicability for PIV experimentation. The material was shown to have a refractive index of 1.51, which can be refractive matched with a mixture of de-ionised water with ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN). The images were of a quality that after applying common PIV pre-processing techniques and a PIV cross-correlation algorithm, the results produced were consistent within the aneurysm when compared to previous studies. Conclusions This study presents an alternative low-cost option for 3D printing of a flow phantom suitable for flow visualization simulations. The use of 3D printed flow phantoms reduces the complexity, time and effort required compared to conventional investment casting methods by removing the necessity of a multi-part process required with investment casting techniques

Repair of Parastomal Hernias with Biologic Grafts: A Systematic Review

Contains fulltext : 98303.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Biologic grafts are increasingly used instead of synthetic mesh for parastomal hernia repair due to concerns of synthetic mesh-related complications. This systematic review was designed to evaluate the use of these collagen-based scaffolds for the repair of parastomal hernias. METHODS: Studies were retrieved after searching the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL. The search terms 'paracolostomy', 'paraileostomy', 'parastomal', 'colostomy', 'ileostomy', 'hernia', 'defect', 'closure', 'repair' and 'reconstruction' were used. Selection of studies and assessment of methodological quality were performed with a modified MINORS index. All reports on repair of parastomal hernias using a collagen-based biologic scaffold to reinforce or bridge the defect were included. Outcomes were recurrence rate, mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: Four retrospective studies with a combined enrolment of 57 patients were included. Recurrence occurred in 15.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.8-25.9) of patients and wound-related complications in 26.2% (95% CI 14.7-39.5). No mortality or graft infections were reported. CONCLUSIONS: The use of reinforcing or bridging biologic grafts during parastomal hernia repair results in acceptable rates of recurrence and complications. However, given the similar rates of recurrence and complications achieved using synthetic mesh in this scenario, the evidence does not support use of biologic grafts