Data Mining in Online Professional Development Program Evaluation: An Exploratory Case Study

This case study explored the potential applications of data mining in the educational program evaluation of online professional development workshops for pre K-12 teachers. Multiple data mining analyses were implemented in combination with traditional evaluation instruments and student outcomes to determine learner engagement and more clearly understand the relationship between logged activities and learner experiences. Data analysis focused on the following aspects: 1) Shared learning characteristics, 2) frequent learning paths, 3) engagement prediction, 4) expectation prediction, 5) workshop satisfaction prediction, and 6) instructor quality prediction. Results indicated that interaction and engagement were important factors in learning outcomes for this workshop. In addition, participants who had online teaching experience could be expected to have a higher engagement level but prior online learning experience did NOT show a similar relationship

An Educational Data Mining Model for Online Teaching and Learning

This study contains two major parts. First, this study proposed a generic model for Educational Data Ming (EDM) studies by reviewing EDM literature and the existing data mining model. Second, the procedures of the EDM model are demonstrated with a case study approach. The case study results showed patterns and relationships discovered from the EDM model that could be applied to improve online teaching and learning and to predict students’ academic performances

Lateral Offsets and Revised Dates of Large Prehistoric Earthquakes at Pallett Creek, Southern California

Recent excavation and new radiocarbon dates of sediments at Pallett Creek are the basis for new conclusions regarding the late Holocene history of the San Andreas fault. Systematic dissection of a 50-m-long, 15-m-wide, 5-m-deep volume of earth, centered on the fault, enables documentation in three dimensions of fault patterns, lateral offsets, and vertical deformation associated with large earthquakes of the past. The excavations expose evidence for 12 earthquakes that occurred between about 260 and 1857 A.D., with an average recurrence interval of about 145 years. Prehistoric slip events that occurred in 1720±50, 1550±70, 1350±50, 1080±65, and 845±75 A.D. have lateral offsets that are comparable to those of the most recent great earthquake of 1857. Thus all of these events represent earthquakes of large magnitude. The lateral offsets of two other events, in 935±85 and 1015±100 A.D., are an order of magnitude smaller and may be interpreted in several ways with regard to the size of these events. The new data constrain the average recurrence interval for large earthquakes at this site to between 145 and 200 years but suggest a monotonic decrease in individual intervals to below this range during the past 900 years. On the basis of these data, the probability of a large earthquake with surficial fault rupture at this site is between 0.2 and 5% during 1984 and 7 and 60% by the year 2000

Conservation of a crystallographic interface suggests a role for β-sheet augmentation in influenza virus NS1 multifunctionality

The structure of a monomeric effector domain from influenza A virus NS1 is presented from diffraction data extending to 1.8 Å resolution. Comparison of this and other NS1 effector-domain structures shows conformational changes at a strand–strand packing interface, hinting at a role for β-strand augmentation in NS1 function

Study protocol: NITric oxide during cardiopulmonary bypass to improve Recovery in Infants with Congenital heart defects (NITRIC trial): a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of infant mortality. Many infants with CHD require corrective surgery with most operations requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). CPB triggers a systemic inflammatory response which is associated with low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS), postoperative morbidity and mortality. Delivery of nitric oxide (NO) into CPB circuits can provide myocardial protection and reduce bypass-induced inflammation, leading to less LCOS and improved recovery. We hypothesised that using NO during CPB increases ventilator-free days (VFD) (the number of days patients spend alive and free from invasive mechanical ventilation up until day 28) compared with standard care. Here, we describe the NITRIC trial protocol. Methods and analysis The NITRIC trial is a randomised, double-blind, controlled, parallel-group, two-sided superiority trial to be conducted in six paediatric cardiac surgical centres. One thousand three-hundred and twenty infants <2 years of age undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB will be randomly assigned to NO at 20 ppm administered into the CPB oxygenator for the duration of CPB or standard care (no NO) in a 1:1 ratio with stratification by age (<6 and ≥6 weeks), single ventricle physiology (Y/N) and study centre. The primary outcome will be VFD to day 28. Secondary outcomes include a composite of LCOS, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or death within 28 days of surgery; length of stay in intensive care and in hospital; and, healthcare costs. Analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Preplanned secondary analyses will investigate the impact of NO on host inflammatory profiles postsurgery. Ethics and dissemination The study has ethical approval (HREC/17/QRCH/43, dated 26 April 2017), is registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12617000821392) and commenced recruitment in July 2017. The primary manuscript will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number ACTRN12617000821392.</p

Nitric Oxide on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Neonates and Children (NECTAR Trial): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides support for the pulmonary or cardiovascular function of children in whom the predicted mortality risk remains very high. The inevitable host inflammatory response and activation of the coagulation cascade due to the extracorporeal circuit contribute to additional morbidity and mortality in these patients. Mixing nitric oxide (NO) into the sweep gas of ECMO circuits may reduce the inflammatory and coagulation cascade activation during ECMO support. Objective The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility and safety of mixing NO into the sweep gas of ECMO systems and assess its effect on inflammation and coagulation system activation through a pilot randomized controlled trial. Methods The Nitric Oxide on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Neonates and Children (NECTAR) trial is an open-label, parallel-group, pilot randomized controlled trial to be conducted at a single center. Fifty patients who require ECMO support will be randomly assigned to receive either NO mixed into the sweep gas of the ECMO system at 20 ppm for the duration of ECMO or standard care (no NO) in a 1:1 ratio, with stratification by support type (veno-venous vs veno-arterial ECMO). Results Outcome measures will focus on feasibility (recruitment rate and consent rate, and successful inflammatory marker measurements), the safety of the intervention (oxygenation and carbon dioxide control within defined parameters and methemoglobin levels), and proxy markers of efficacy (assessment of cytokines, chemokines, and coagulation factors to assess the impact of NO on host inflammation and coagulation cascade activation, clotting of ECMO components, including computer tomography scanning of oxygenators for clot assessments), bleeding complications, as well as total blood product use. Survival without ECMO and the length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are clinically relevant efficacy outcomes. Long-term outcomes include neurodevelopmental assessments (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, and others) and quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and others) measured at 6 and 12 months post ECMO cannulation. Analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Conclusions The NECTAR study investigates the safety and feasibility of NO as a drug intervention during extracorporeal life support and explores its efficacy. The study will investigate whether morbidity and mortality in patients treated with ECMO can be improved with NO. The intervention targets adverse outcomes in patients who are supported by ECMO and who have high expected mortality and morbidity. The study will be one of the largest randomized controlled trials performed among pediatric patients supported by ECMO. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619001518156; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376869 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/4376

Stability of the human faecal microbiome in a cohort of adult men

Characterizing the stability of the gut microbiome is important to exploit it as a therapeutic target and diagnostic biomarker. We metagenomically and metatranscriptomically sequenced the faecal microbiomes of 308 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Participants provided four stool samples—one pair collected 24–72 h apart and a second pair ~6 months later. Within-person taxonomic and functional variation was consistently lower than between-person variation over time. In contrast, metatranscriptomic profiles were comparably variable within and between subjects due to higher within-subject longitudinal variation. Metagenomic instability accounted for ~74% of corresponding metatranscriptomic instability. The rest was probably attributable to sources such as regulation. Among the pathways that were differentially regulated, most were consistently over- or under-transcribed at each time point. Together, these results suggest that a single measurement of the faecal microbiome can provide long-term information regarding organismal composition and functional potential, but repeated or short-term measures may be necessary for dynamic features identified by metatranscriptomics

Using the theory of planned behaviour as a process evaluation tool in randomised trials of knowledge translation strategies : A case study from UK primary care

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Recruitment of young women to a trial of chlamydia screening – as easy as it sounds?

BACKGROUND: Recruiting to trials is complex and difficult. The Prevention of Pelvic Infection (POPI) trial aims to see if screening women for chlamydia and treating those found to be infected reduces the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease in the following twelve months. It focuses on young, sexually active, multiethnic, mainly inner city, female students. The main aim of this paper is to describe our recruitment methods. Secondary aims in two small subgroups, are to compare characteristics of women recruited with those not recruited, and to explore participants' understanding of when their samples would be tested for chlamydia. METHODS: Women students attending lectures or in common rooms at 22 universities and further education colleges were recruited by female research assistants working in pairs. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on sexual health and to provide self-taken vaginal swabs. In addition, during 3 recruitment sessions, a female medical student asked non-participants to complete a brief anonymous questionnaire on reasons for not taking part. Finally another female medical student contacted 40 consecutive participants within a month of recruitment and asked if they understood that their samples might not be tested for a year. RESULTS: With enormous effort over 2 years we recruited 2526 women. A survey of 61 non-responders showed only 18 (30%) were eligible to take part (age <28, been sexually active and not been tested for chlamydia in the past 3 months). Eligible non-responders were of similar age to the 35 responders in the same recruitment sessions, but more likely to be from ethnic minority groups (67% 12/18 versus 29% 10/35 p < 0.01). Email and telephone contact with 35/40 (88%) of consecutive participants showed only two (6%) did not understand that their specimen might not be tested for chlamydia for a year. Thirty participants (85%) could name one or more possible consequences of untreated chlamydia infection. CONCLUSION: As in other studies, a key to attaining recruitment targets was the enthusiasm of the research team. Minority ethnic groups were probably under-represented, but understanding of participants was good