Using student experience as a model for designing an automatic feedback system for short essays

The SAFeSEA project (Supportive Automated Feedback for Short Essay Answers) aims to develop an automated feedback system to support university students as they write summative essays. Empirical studies carried out in the initial phase of the system’s development illuminated students’ approaches to and understandings of the essay-writing process. Findings from these studies suggested that, regardless of their experience of higher education, students consider essay-writing as: 1) a sequential set of activities, 2) a process that is enhanced through particular sources of support and 3) a skill that requires the development of personal strategies. Further data collected from tutors offered insight into the feedback and reflection stages of essay-writing. These perspectives offered a fundamental model of essay-writing and feedback to inform the ongoing, iterative development of this automated feedback system and indeed, for any institution developing tools to support students’ writing

Is routine urine dip stick testing justified in asymptomatic women in early pregnancy?

Background: Routine urinalysis is commonly performed in early pregnancy units (EPUs) based on historic evidence that bacteriuria is linked to pyelonephritis, pre-term birth, mid trimester loss and low birth weight. Aim was to assess the cost and diagnostic yield of routine urinalysis in asymptomatic women in early pregnancy. A secondary outcome was the birth outcomes for women with proven bacteriuria.Methods: Retrospective review of all urinalysis performed over 12 month period in a tertiary EPU and analysis of pregnancy outcomes in the proven bacteriuria group.Results: 10,490 urinalyses performed at a cost of £40,385.50. 1162 (11%) positive urine dips; 68 (0.6%) nitrite positive. 179 microscopy, culture and sensitivity performed at a cost of £2593.71. Of the 179, 65 were culture positive giving a proven bacteriuria rate of 0.6%. The most common pathogen was E-Coli. There were no recorded episodes of pyelonephritis and no statistical significance in the pre-term birth, mid trimester loss or low birth weight rate in the culture positive versus culture negative group.Conclusions: The cost associated with routine urinalysis is significant and the diagnostic yield is extremely low. We did not identify an association between bacteriuria and adverse pregnancy outcomes. As such, urinalysis should only be performed in symptomatic/ high risk patients presenting to the EPU

Mental health and quality of life in non-binary transgender adults: a case control study

Background: The social challenges that non-binary people experience, due in part to social intolerance and the lack of validation of non-binary gender identities, may affect the mental health and quality of life of this population. However, studies that have distinguished between non-binary and binary transgender identities are lacking. Objective: To compare the mental health and quality of life of a community sample of non-binary transgender adults with controls (binary transgender people and cisgender people) matched on sex assigned at birth. Method: A total of 526 participants were included. Ninety-seven were classified as non-binary and were compared with two control groups: 91 people classified as binary and 338 cisgender people. Only transgender people not on gender affirming hormone treatment or who had not undergone gender affirming surgery were included. Participants were invited to complete an online survey that included mental health and quality of life measures. Results: Non-binary people reported significantly better mental health than binary transgender people, but worse than cisgender people. Overall, there were no significant differences in quality of life between non-binary and binary transgender participants assigned male at birth and transgender females, but non-binary assigned males at birth had better scores on the psychological and social domains of quality of life than transgender males. Quality of life was better across all domains in cisgender people than transgender groups. Conclusion: There is an inequality with regard to mental health and quality of life between non-binary (and binary) transgender people and the cisgender population that needs to be addressed. The better mental health scores in non-binary people may reflect lower levels of body dissatisfaction among the non-binary population. Mental health problems and poor quality of life are likely to have social causes and hence legislative measures and broader government-led inclusive directives should be put in place to recognize and to validate non-binary identifying people

Egg-Phosphatidylcholine Attenuates T-Cell Dysfunction in High-Fat Diet Fed Male Wistar Rats

Obesity is associated with immune dysfunction including an impaired T-cell function characterized by a lower IL-2 (proliferation marker) production after stimulation. Phosphatidylcholine (PC), a form of choline mostly found in eggs, has been shown to beneficially modulate T-cell responses during the lactation period by increasing the production of IL-2. To determine the impact of egg-PC as part of a high-fat diet on immune function we randomly fed male Wistar rats one of three diets containing the same amount of total choline but differing in the form of choline: 1—Control low fat [CLF, 10% wt/wt fat, 100% free choline (FC)]; 2— Control high-fat (CHF, 25% wt/wt fat, 100% FC); 3— PC high-fat (PCHF, 25% wt/wt, 100% PC). After 9 weeks of feeding, rats were euthanized. Cell phenotypes and ex vivo cytokine production by splenocytes stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus ionomycin (PMA+I), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pokeweed (PWM) were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. Rats fed the PCHF diet had a lower proportion of CD3+ cells when compared to both the CLF and the CHF. Following PMA+I stimulation, splenocytes from the CHF group produced less IL-2 and TNF-α compared to CLF and PCHF groups. No significant differences in cytokine production were found among groups after LPS and PWM stimulation. Our results show that feeding a high-fat diet impairs T-cell responses, as measured by ex vivo cytokine production, which can be attenuated by providing egg-PC

Gender congruence and body satisfaction in nonbinary transgender people: a case control study

Background: Binary transgender people access gender affirming medical interventions to alleviate gender incongruence and increase body satisfaction. Despite the increase in non-binary transgender people, this population are less likely to access transgender health services compared to binary transgender people. No research has yet explored why by exploring levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction in non-binary transgender people. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction in non-binary transgender people to controls (binary transgender people and cisgender (non-trans) people). Method: In total, 526 people from a community sample in the United Kingdom took part in the study (97 non-binary, 91 binary and 338 cisgender identifying people). Participants were asked to complete an online survey about gender congruence and body satisfaction. Results: There were differences in gender congruence and body satisfaction between non-binary and binary transgender people. On sex specific parts of the body (i.e., chest, genitalia and secondary sex characteristics), non-binary transgender people reported significantly higher levels of gender and body satisfaction compared to binary transgender people. However, there was no difference in congruence and satisfaction with social gender role between the two transgender groups (non-binary and binary). Cisgender people reported significantly higher levels of gender congruence and body satisfaction compared to transgender people (non-binary and binary). Conclusion: There are differences in gender congruence and body satisfaction between non-binary and binary transgender people. Non-binary individuals may be less likely to access transgender health services due to experiencing less gender incongruence and more body satisfaction compared to binary transgender people. Transgender health services need to be more inclusive of non-binary transgender people and their support and treatment needs, which may differ from those who identify within the binary gender system

The Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (GCLS): development and validation of a scale to measure outcomes from transgender health services

Background: It is vital that the treatment offered at transgender health services can be evaluated to ensure a high quality of care. However, the tools currently used to evaluate treatment at transgender health services are limited by mainly focusing on mental health or because they have been developed for binary transgender people only. This study therefore aimed to develop and validate a tool that addresses these limitations. The Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (GCLS) was developed through reviewing the literature, conducting interviews with transgender people, and holding discussions with experts working in transgender healthcare. An initial pool of items was developed and feedback on these was obtained. The tool was then validated. Method: For the validation of the tool a total of 789 participants (451 transgender [171 transgender females, 147 transgender males, 133 non-binary identifying people], and 338 cisgender [254 females, 84 males]) were recruited from the United Kingdom to test the factor structure and validity of the GCLS. Results: Exploratory factor analysis retained 38 items which formed seven subscales (psychological functioning; genitalia; social gender role recognition; physical and emotional intimacy; chest; other secondary sex characteristics; and life satisfaction). These seven subscales were found to have good internal consistency and convergent validity. The GCLS was also found to be capable of discriminating between groups (e.g., people who have and have not undergone gender affirming medical interventions). Transgender and cisgender subscale norms are provided for the GCLS. Conclusion: The GCLS is a suitable tool to use with the transgender population to measure health-related outcomes for both clinical and research purposes

Functional, frustrating and full of potential: learners' experiences of a prototype for automated essay feedback.

OpenEssayist is an automated feedback system designed to support university students as they write essays for assessment. A first generation prototype of this system was tested on a cohort of postgraduate distance learners at the UK Open University from September to December 2013. A case study approach was used to examine three participants' experiences of the prototype. Findings from the case studies offered insight into how different users may perceive the usefulness, future potential and end-user of such a tool. This study has important implications for the next phase of development, when the role of OpenEssayist in supporting students' learning will need to be more clearly understood

Chronic heat stress delays immune system development and alters serotonin signaling in pre-weaned dairy calves.

Exposure to heat stress can alter the development and immune system function in dairy calves. Serotonin is an immunomodulatory biogenic amine that functions as a neurotransmitter and as a stress-response mediator. Our objectives were to characterize the patterns of serum serotonin concentrations and the pattern of serotonin-related genes expressed by immune cells of calves exposed to chronic heat stress or heat stress abatement during early life, and to explore whether these might relate to immune system development. Dairy calves were exposed to chronic heat stress (HS; n = 6) or heat stress abatement (cooling, CL; n = 6) across the prenatal (late gestation, last 46 d) and postnatal (from birth to weaning, 56 d) developmental windows. Blood samples were collected to harvest serum (weekly, from d 1 to 49), to isolate of circulating leukocyte mRNA (at 1, 21 and 42 d of age) and characterize immune cell populations by flow cytometry (at 21 and 47 d of age). Calves exposed to chronic heat stress pre- and postnatally had lower red blood cell counts and lower circulating serotonin, immunoglobulin G, and B-lymphocytes compared to CL calves. Circulating blood leukocyte mRNA expression of serotonin receptors -1A, -1F, -4 and -5 was greater, while heat shock protein 70 and immune-related genes (i.e., TBX21, TLR4, and TGFβ) were lower in HS relative to CL calves. Peripheral blood leukocytes from all calves secreted serotonin and interleukin-6 after in-vitro lipopolysaccharide stimulation. However, the HS calves produced more serotonin and less interleukin-6 than CL calves when activated in-vitro. Together, our data suggest that providing heat stress abatement to dairy calves across prenatal and postnatal developmental windows might modulate the serotonin synthesis pathway in ways that may benefit humoral immunity against microbial pathogens