Does use of touch screen computer technology improve classroom engagement in children?

Many studies have shown that the use of technology in the classroom may influence pupil engagement. Despite the recent widespread use of tablet technology, however, very little research has been carried out into their use in a primary school setting. We investigated the use of tablet computers, specifically Apple’s ‘iPad’, in an upper primary school setting with regard to children’s engagement. Cognitive, emotional and general engagement was higher in lessons based on iPads than those which were not. There was no difference in behavioral engagement. Of particular significance was the increase in engagement seen in boys, which resulted in their engagement levels increasing to levels comparable to those seen in girls. These findings suggest that tablet technology has potential as a tool in the classroom setting

Comparative analysis of genome-wide association studies signals for lipids, diabetes, and coronary heart disease: Cardiovascular Biomarker Genetics Collaboration

AIMS: To evaluate the associations of emergent genome-wide-association study-derived coronary heart disease (CHD)-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with established and emerging risk factors, and the association of genome-wide-association study-derived lipid-associated SNPs with other risk factors and CHD events. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using two case–control studies, three cross-sectional, and seven prospective studies with up to 25 000 individuals and 5794 CHD events we evaluated associations of 34 genome-wide-association study-identified SNPs with CHD risk and 16 CHD-associated risk factors or biomarkers. The Ch9p21 SNPs rs1333049 (OR 1.17; 95% confidence limits 1.11–1.24) and rs10757274 (OR 1.17; 1.09–1.26), MIA3 rs17465637 (OR 1.10; 1.04–1.15), Ch2q36 rs2943634 (OR 1.08; 1.03–1.14), APC rs383830 (OR 1.10; 1.02, 1.18), MTHFD1L rs6922269 (OR 1.10; 1.03, 1.16), CXCL12 rs501120 (OR 1.12; 1.04, 1.20), and SMAD3 rs17228212 (OR 1.11; 1.05, 1.17) were all associated with CHD risk, but not with the CHD biomarkers and risk factors measured. Among the 20 blood lipid-related SNPs, LPL rs17411031 was associated with a lower risk of CHD (OR 0.91; 0.84–0.97), an increase in Apolipoprotein AI and HDL-cholesterol, and reduced triglycerides. SORT1 rs599839 was associated with CHD risk (OR 1.20; 1.15–1.26) as well as total- and LDL-cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B. ANGPTL3 rs12042319 was associated with CHD risk (OR 1.11; 1.03, 1.19), total- and LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and interleukin-6. CONCLUSION: Several SNPs predicting CHD events appear to involve pathways not currently indexed by the established or emerging risk factors; others involved changes in blood lipids including triglycerides or HDL-cholesterol as well as LDL-cholesterol. The overlapping association of SNPs with multiple risk factors and biomarkers supports the existence of shared points of regulation for these phenotypes

The effect of lifeguard experience upon the detection of drowning victims in a realistic dynamic visual search task

Lifeguard surveillance is a complex task that is crucial for swimmer safety, though few studies of applied visual search have investigated this domain. This current study compared lifeguard and non-lifeguard search skills using dynamic, naturalistic stimuli (video clips of confederate swimmers) that varied in set size and type of drowning. Lifeguards were more accurate and responded faster to drowning targets. Differences between drowning targets were also found: passive drownings were responded to less often, but more quickly than active drownings, highlighting that passive drownings may be less salient but are highly informative once detected. Set size effects revealed a dip in reaction speeds at an intermediate set-size level, suggesting a possible change in visual search strategies as the array increases in size. Nonetheless, the ability of the test to discriminate between lifeguards and non-lifeguards offers future possibilities for training and assessing lifeguard surveillance skills

An exploration into the contributing cognitive skills of lifeguard visual search

Lifeguard drowning detection in swimming pools and beach settings is influenced by experience. The current experiment explores the cognitive skills that might underlie this experience effect. Lifeguard and non-lifeguard performance in a domain-free multiple object avoidance (MOA) task and a partially domain-free functional field of view (FFOV) task was compared to performance on an occlusion-based drowning detection task. Lifeguards performed better than non-lifeguards on the MOA task and the FFOV central task (identifying whether an isolated swimmer was drowning). However, only performance in the central FFOV task was associated with performance in the occlusion-based drowning detection task, and this was the only part of the two tasks that was not domain-free. These results suggest lifeguard drowning detection is mainly driven through the learned ability to process behaviours of drowning swimmers quicker than non-lifeguards. Therefore, it may be possible to train novices’ ability to detect drowning swimmers through an exposure task

Search for a distressed swimmer in a dynamic, real-world environment

Visual search is increasingly being explored in dynamic, real-world environments. This includes swimming pools, where lifeguards have shown superior drowning detection in simulated environments. Here we explored if lifeguard superiority is observed in real-life scenes of a busy swimming pool. Experiment 1 required participants to identify real-life distressed swimmers in clips of busy pool activity via a touchscreen interface. Experiment 2 sought to replicate the first study, with the inclusion of eye-movement measures. Experiment 3 varied the methodology, using an occlusion method where clips were frozen and blurred shortly after target onset. The results demonstrated an experience effect, with lifeguards detecting distressed swimmers more often and faster than non-lifeguards. No clear differences were found in the eye-movements between groups; thus, we cannot conclude that the lifeguards’ faster responses are due to better scanning strategies. The different methodological approaches revealed the occlusion method to have the larger effect size, supporting the growing evidence that occlusion may be a better test for dynamic target detection than traditional response-time tests. This research demonstrates that the clear lifeguard experience effect generalises to real-life pool environments with a large number of swimmers and real incidents. It could be used to inform lifeguard training tools and assessments

Association of MMP8 gene variation with breast cancer prognosis

Katholieke Univ Leuven, Expt Oncol Lab, Louvain, BelgiumUniv E Anglia, Sch Biol Sci, Biomed Res Ctr, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norfolk, EnglandVanderbilt Univ, Sch Med, Dept Med, Nashville, TN 37212 USABarts & London Queen Marys Sch Med & Dent, William Harvey Res Inst, London, EnglandUniv Southampton, Div Human Genet, Southampton SO9 5NH, Hants, EnglandShanghai Canc Inst, Dept Epidemiol, Shanghai, Peoples R ChinaUNESP, Fac Odontol Sao Jose Dos Campos, Dept Biociencias & Diagnost Bucal, Sao Jose Dos Campos, BrazilUNESP, Fac Odontol Sao Jose Dos Campos, Dept Biociencias & Diagnost Bucal, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazi

Five-Year Survivors From Brain Metastases Treated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery: Biology, Improving Treatments, or Just Plain Luck?

BACKGROUND: Improvements in therapies have led to an increasing number of long-term survivors of brain metastases. The present series compares a population of 5-year survivors of brain metastases to a generalized brain metastases population to assess for factors attributable to long-term survival. METHODS: A single institution retrospective review was performed to identify 5-year survivors of brain metastases who received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). A historical control population of 737 patients with brain metastases was used to assess similarities and differences between the long-term survivor population and the general population treated with SRS. RESULTS: A total of 98 patients with brain metastases were found to have survived over 60 months. No differences between long-term survivors and controls were identified with regards to the age at first SRS ( CONCLUSION: Five-year survivors of brain metastases represent a diverse histologic population, suggesting a small population of oligometastatic and indolent cancers exist for each cancer type

Spatiotemporal variation in harbor porpoise distribution and foraging across a landscape of fear

Understanding spatiotemporally varying animal distributions can inform ecological understanding of species' behavior (e.g., foraging and predator/prey interactions) and support development of management and conservation measures. Data from an array of echolocation‐click detectors (C‐PODs) were analyzed using Bayesian spatiotemporal modeling to investigate spatial and temporal variation in occurrence and foraging activity of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and how this variation was influenced by daylight and presence of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The probability of occurrence of porpoises was highest on an offshore sandbank, where the proportion of detections with foraging clicks was relatively low. The porpoises' overall distribution shifted throughout the summer and autumn, likely influenced by seasonal prey availability. Probability of porpoise occurrence was lowest in areas close to the coast, where dolphin detections were highest and declined prior to dolphin detection, leading potentially to avoidance of spatiotemporal overlap between porpoises and dolphins. Increased understanding of porpoises' seasonal distribution, key foraging areas, and their relationship with competitors can shed light on management options and potential interactions with offshore industries

Mobilising Knowledge through Global Partnerships to Support Research-informed Teaching: Five Models for Translational Research

Education Futures Collaboration Charity The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Improving the quality of teaching is of global concern: UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4c in the Education 2030: Framework for Action calls for high quality teaching for all. The OECD challenges the education system to improve Knowledge Management. JET’s (2015) special issue: Translational Research (TR) and Knowledge Mobilisation in Teacher Education introduced the concept of ‘translational’ or ‘theory to practice’ research - well-established in medicine but not in education. Five TR models were subsequently developed by the MESH charity’s international network with organisations in South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, Pakistan, UK. These distinct models engage 1) university staff and teachers 2) subject associations, 3) research units, 4) an international NGO working in crisis settings, 5) PhD tutors and students. Each model shares common features forming the MESH Translational Research methodology introduced in this article. A TR repository is part of the MESH knowledge mobilisation strategy giving teachers access to research summaries which, overtime, accumulate knowledge. TR publications called MESHGuides (www.meshguides.org) complement existing forms of publication. This article proposes the MESH TR methodology as one affordable and scalable solution to OECD and UNESCO’s challenges of keeping teachers up-to-date and making new knowledge accessible to teachers regardless of location