Personalising the learning of young children with the use of ICT : an action research case in a Greek primary school

This thesis is an account of an action research project undertaken in a Greek primary private school. The project aimed at personalising the students’ learning with the use of ICT. The project ran for three consecutive school years and involved students (twenty-six in year 1, sixteen in year 2, and fifty-one in year 3) and, their parents (in years 1 and 2). The students were eight-years old when the project started. The focus of the innovation concerned the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language. The project was an attempt to create a partnership with students and to offer opportunities for students to make choices in their learning. In year 1 teaching methods, including argumentative processes, learning task design and assessment processes, were re-designed and students were encouraged to engage in collaborative learning. All these changes were sustained in year 2 and the use of ICT, including online discussion, was introduced to enhance and extend collaboration and learning. The use of on line ‘chat’ was extended to parents as a way of communication with school. All these innovations were sustained in year 3 and further exploration of students’ and parents’ perceptions of learning with technology carried out. Action research is employed as a methodological approach in this study. In particular, the study reports on cycles of implementation and reflection carried out over three years. A variety of methods were used. Diaries were selected to record situations, questionnaires to access the perceptions of the children and parents, and chat logs and interviews used to explore these perceptions in greater depth. The mix of methods enabled comparison and contrast not just between data derived by different methods but by different sources as well, i.e. parents and children. The main theoretical concepts explored in this thesis are Personalised Learning, ICT use, and Collaboration. This research project sees Personalised Learning as the ‘focal innovation’ and ICT use as embedded within personalisation. Collaboration is considered a fundamental construct in both personalisation and the embedded use of ICT. This thesis asks whether personalisation is a coherent concept and whether it can be sustained with the use of ICT. It finds that personalised learning can offer a coherent organising principle for pedagogic reform, and can be defined by its concern for collective co-production of knowledge, student voice, assessment for learning, learning-to-learn strategies, and student centeredness. Personalised learning and ICT are recognised as a good match and personalised learning is seen to need ICT in order to be sustained. However, innovation requires time and evaluation of outcomes is value laden. The thesis finds action research to be an appropriate methodology for curriculum reform

Surface Plasmon Polaritonic Crystals for Applications in Optical communications

The integration and reduction in the photonic device sizes are essential for the development of applications in short-range interconnects and optical signal processing. Surface plasmon polaritonic crystals (SPPCs) can allow the manipulation of optical information in the microscale level, by coupling photons with collective electron oscillations at a metal–dielectric interface. This thesis investigates, both numerically and experimentally, the excitation and propagation of the surface plasmon polaritonic (SPP) modes on finite-size SPPCs, their dependence on the nanostructured geometry and the potential applications in implementing different device functions including SPP-beam shaping, such as focusing and splitting, and wavelength/polarisation demultiplexing. By controlling the SPPC geometry and the excitation beam parameters, directional control of propagating plasmonic modes properties, such as the beam direction, focusing power and beam width, can be achieved. The wavelength-dependent SPP signal spatial separation, due to coupling to the several eigenmodes, and the reduction of the cross-talk by combining polarisation and wavelength modulation have also been shown. In addition, a compact 4-level polarisation discriminator based on a planar, microscale-scale SPPC was developed as part of the research. Its capability to spatially separate linearly polarised signals with azimuth angles 0o , 45o , 90o and 135o , and define the S1 and S2 stokes parameters of any elliptical polarisation state was demonstrated and experimentally tested. The concept was extended to propose a fibre-coupled polarimeter, able to identify the three Stokes vectors parameters, based on the combination of the SPPC with a high -birefringence fibre. The use of SPPCs for the implementation and miniaturisation of key optical communication functionalities, in-plane plasmonic beam manipulation and polarisation/wavelength dependent SPP beam propagation, demonstrated in this work can be important for the development of novel integrated nanophotonic functionalities for subwavelength management of optical signals and the design of a new family of compact devices for optical communication applications

Boundary effects in finite size plasmonic crystals: Focusing and routing of plasmonic beams for optical communications

Plasmonic crystals, which consist of periodic arrangements of surface features at a metal-dielectric interface, allow the manipulation of optical information in the form of surface plasmon polaritons. Here we investigate the excitation and propagation of plasmonic beams in and around finite size plasmonic crystals at telecom wavelengths, highlighting the effects of the crystal boundary shape and illumination conditions. Significant differences in broad plasmonic beam generation by crystals of different shapes are demonstrated, while for narrow beams, the propagation onto the smooth metal film is less sensitive to the crystal boundary shape. We show that by controlling the boundary shape, the size and the excitation beam parameters, directional control of propagating plasmonic modes and associated beam parameters such as angular beam splitting, focusing power and beam width can be efficiently achieved. This provides a promising route for robust and alignment-independent integration of plasmonic crystals with optical communication components

Type and Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients are a high-risk population for ischemic complications. Antiplatelet therapy in such patients remains controversial, as the beneficial effects of more potent agents use or prolonged dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT) on atherothrombotic complications are hindered by a concomitant increase in bleeding rates. The aim of this article is to describe ischemic and bleeding outcomes associated with complex PCI procedures and to compare different types and durations of DAPT regimens in terms of safety and efficacy outcomes. Issues concerning special patient groups, such as those with left main, chronic total occlusion, or bifurcation lesions, are discussed

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Associated Diet-Related Behaviours and Habits in a Representative Sample of Adolescents in Greece

Excessive body weight during adolescence represents a significant public health problem worldwide. Identifying factors associated with its development is crucial. We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a representative sample of 11, 13 and, 15-year-olds living in Greece and explored the association with diet-related behaviours and habits. Self-reported data on weight, height, diet-related behaviours and habits were used from 3816 students (1898 boys, 1918 girls) participants in the Greek arm of the international Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study during 2018. Overweight and obesity were defined using the 2007 WHO growth charts classification. Prevalence of overweight was 19.4% in the total sample, 24.1% for boys and 14.7% for girls, and prevalence of obesity was 5.3% in the total sample, 7.3% for boys and 3.4% for girls, respectively. In the total sample, overweight (including obesity) was positively associated with male gender, low family affluence, skipping breakfast, and being on a diet, and inversely associated with age and being physically active. Eating rarely with the family was positively associated with overweight only among boys and eating snacks/meals in front of screens only among girls. No association was noted for eating in fast-food restaurants, consuming vegetables, fruits, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages

Dietary sugar intake and its association with obesity in children and adolescents

Sugar intake has been associated with increased prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity; however, results remain controversial. The aim of this study was to examine the probability of overweight/obesity with higher sugar intakes, accounting for other dietary intakes. Data from 1165 children and adolescents aged ≥2–18 years (66.8% males) enrolled in the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS) were used; specifically, 781 children aged 2–11 years and 384 adolescents 12–18 years. Total and added sugar intake were assessed using two 24 h recalls (24 hR). Foods were categorized into specific food groups to evaluate the main foods contributing to intakes. A significant proportion of children (18.7%) and adolescents (24.5%) exceeded the recommended cut-off of 10% of total energy intake from added sugars. Sweets (29.8%) and processed/refined grains and cereals (19.1%) were the main sources of added sugars in both age groups, while in adolescents, the third main contributor was sugar-sweetened beverages (20.6%). Being overweight or obese was 2.57 (p = 0.002) and 1.77 (p = 0.047) times more likely for intakes ≥10% of total energy from added sugars compared to less <10%, when accounting for food groups and macronutrient intakes, respectively. The predicted probability of becoming obese was also significant with higher total and added-sugar consumption. We conclude that high consumption of added sugars increased the probability for overweight/obesity among youth, irrespectively of other dietary or macronutrient intakes

Antithrombotic Therapy in Chronic Total Occlusion Interventions

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization is among the most complex subsets of coronary interventions. Hence, optimum peri- and post-procedural anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy is key for the achievement of successful revascularization and reduction of major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Unfractionated heparin is still considered the gold standard anticoagulant because its action can be reversed by protamine administration, with bivalirudin being reserved mainly for patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. However, small studies comparing unfractionated heparin with bivalirudin in CTO interventions have shown similar outcomes. Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors should, in general, be avoided. Aspirin in combination with clopidogrel for 6–12 months is the standard post CTO PCI dual antiplatelet regimen. For the most complex cases, clopidogrel can be substituted by a more potent P2Y12 inhibitor, namely ticagrelor or prasugrel

Left Main Disease and Bifurcation Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Focus on Antithrombotic Therapy

Revascularization of both left main and bifurcation lesions is currently considered an important feature of complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), whereas stenting distal left main bifurcation is fairly challenging. Recent evidence shows that such lesions are associated with an increased risk of ischemic events. There is no universal consensus on the optimal PCI strategy or the appropriate type and duration of antithrombotic therapy to mitigate the thrombotic risk. Prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy or use of more potent P2Y12 inhibitors have been investigated in the context of this high-risk subset of the population undergoing PCI. Thus, while complex PCI is a growing field in interventional cardiology, left main and bifurcation PCI constitutes a fair amount of the total complex procedures performed recently, and there is cumulative interest regarding antithrombotic therapy type and duration in this subset of patients, with decision-making mostly based on clinical presentation, baseline bleeding, and ischemic risk, as well as the performed stenting strategy

Incidence of paediatric multiple sclerosis and other acquired demyelinating syndromes: 10-year follow-up surveillance study

AIM: To describe a 10-year follow-up of children (<16y) with acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) from a UK-wide prospective surveillance study. METHOD: Diagnoses were retrieved from the patients' records via the patients' paediatric or adult neurologist using a questionnaire. Demyelinating phenotypes at follow-up were classified by an expert review panel. RESULTS: Twenty-four out of 125 (19.2%) children (64 males, 61 females; median age 10y, range 1y 4mo-15y 11mo), identified in the original study, were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (incidence of 2.04/million children/year); 23 of 24 fulfilled 2017 McDonald criteria at onset. Aquaporin-4-antibody neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders were diagnosed in three (2.4%, 0.26/million children/year), and relapsing myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease in five (4%, 0.43/million children/year). Three out of 125 seronegative patients relapsed and 85 of 125 (68%) remained monophasic over 10 years. Five of 125 patients (4%) originally diagnosed with ADS were reclassified during follow-up: three children diagnosed initially with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis were subsequently diagnosed with acute necrotising encephalopathy (RAN-binding protein 2 mutation), primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (Munc 13-4 gene inversion), and anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis. One child initially diagnosed with optic neuritis was later diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency, and one presenting with transverse myelitis was subsequently diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome. INTERPRETATION: The majority of ADS presentations in children are monophasic, even at 10-year follow-up. Given the implications for treatment strategies, multiple sclerosis and central nervous system autoantibody mimics warrant extensive investigation