Adapting Translational Research Methods to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Translational research applies scientific techniques to achieve practical outcomes, connecting pure research and pure practice. Many translational research types have arisen since the mid-1900s, reflecting the need to better integrate scientific advancement with policy and practice. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) development efforts have aimed to reduce morbidity and mortality and improve service delivery; thus, associated research has a strong orientation toward applied studies that use diverse methods to support decision-making. Drawing from knowledge that emerged to support other professional fields, such as manufacturing and clinical healthcare, we characterize different types of translational research and clarify nomenclature and principles. We describe study approaches relevant to translational research questions, and offer overarching recommendations, specific examples, and resources for further study as practical advice to professionals who seek to apply translational methods to WaSH problems. To enhance collective outcomes, professionals should mindfully align projects within the translational spectrum. We further recommend overarching good practices such as documenting intervention adaptations, overtly considering contextual factors, and better distinguishing efficacy from effectiveness research by replicating studies in different contexts. By consciously improving the compatibility and linkages between WaSH science and practice, this guide can accelerate urgently needed progress toward global development goals

Recommending Learning Videos for MOOCs and Flipped Classrooms

[EN] New teaching approaches are emerging in higher education, such as flipped classrooms. In addition, academic institutions are offering new types of training like Massive Online Open Courses. Both of these new ways of education require high-quality learning objects for their success, with learning videos being the most common to provide theoretical concepts. This paper describes a hybrid learning recommender system based on content-based techniques, which is able to recommend useful videos to learners and teachers from a learning video repository. This hybrid technique has been successfully applied to a real scenario such as the central video repository of the Universitat Politècnica de València.This work was partially supported by MINECO/FEDER RTI2018-095390-B-C31 and TIN2017-89156-R projects of the Spanish government, and PROMETEO/2018/002 project of Generalitat Valenciana. J. Jordán and V. Botti are funded by UPV PAID-06-18 project. J. Jordán is also funded by grant APOSTD/2018/010 of Generalitat Valenciana - Fondo Social Europeo.Jordán, J.; Valero Cubas, S.; Turró, C.; Botti Navarro, VJ. (2020). Recommending Learning Videos for MOOCs and Flipped Classrooms. Springer. 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49778-1_12S146157Blei, D.M., Ng, A.Y., Jordan, M.I.: Latent Dirichlet allocation. J. Mach. Learn. Res. 3, 993–1022 (2003)Bobadilla, J., Serradilla, F., Hernando, A.: Collaborative filtering adapted to recommender systems of e-learning. Knowl.-Based Syst. 22(4), 261–265 (2009)Burke, R.: Hybrid recommender systems: survey and experiments. User Model. User-Adap. Inter. 12(4), 331–370 (2002)Chen, W., Niu, Z., Zhao, X., Li, Y.: A hybrid recommendation algorithm adapted in e-learning environments. World Wide Web 17(2), 271–284 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11280-012-0187-zvan Dijck, J., Poell, T.: Higher education in a networked world: European responses to U.S. MOOCs. Int. J. Commun.: IJoC 9, 2674–2692 (2015)Dwivedi, P., Bharadwaj, K.K.: e-learning recommender system for a group of learners based on the unified learner profile approach. Expert Syst. 32(2), 264–276 (2015)Herlocker, J., Konstan, J., Terveen, L., Riedl, J.: Evaluating collaborative filtering recommender systems. ACM Trans. Inf. Syst. 22(1), 5–53 (2004)Institute and Committee of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Learning Technology Standards: IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata. IEEE Standard 1484.12.1 (2002)Klašnja-Milićević, A., Ivanović, M., Nanopoulos, A.: Recommender systems in e-learning environments: a survey of the state-of-the-art and possible extensions. Artif. Intell. Rev. 44(4), 571–604 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-015-9440-zMaassen, P., Nerland, M., Yates, L. (eds.): Reconfiguring Knowledge in Higher Education. Higher Education Dynamics, vol. 50. Springer, Heidelberg (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72832-2MLLP research group, Universitat Politècnica de València: Tlp: The translectures-upv platform. http://www.mllp.upv.es/tlpO’Flaherty, J., Phillips, C.: The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: a scoping review. Internet High. Educ. 25, 85–95 (2015)Richardson, M., Dominowska, E., Ragno, R.: Predicting clicks: estimating the click-through rate for new ads. In: Proceedings of the 16th international conference on World Wide Web, pp. 521–530 (2007)Rodríguez, P., Heras, S., Palanca, J., Duque, N., Julián, V.: Argumentation-based hybrid recommender system for recommending learning objects. In: Rovatsos, M., Vouros, G., Julian, V. (eds.) EUMAS/AT -2015. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 9571, pp. 234–248. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33509-4_19Roehl, A., Reddy, S.L., Shannon, G.J.: The flipped classroom: an opportunity to engage millennial students through active learning strategies. J. Fam. Consum. Sci. 105, 44–49 (2013)Salton, G., Buckley, C.: Term-weighting approaches in automatic text retrieval. Inf. Process. Manag. 24(5), 513–523 (1988)Stoica, A.S., Heras, S., Palanca, J., Julian, V., Mihaescu, M.C.: A semi-supervised method to classify educational videos. In: Pérez García, H., Sánchez González, L., Castejón Limas, M., Quintián Pardo, H., Corchado Rodríguez, E. (eds.) HAIS 2019. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 11734, pp. 218–228. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29859-3_19Tarus, J.K., Niu, Z., Yousif, A.: A hybrid knowledge-based recommender system for e-learning based on ontology and sequential pattern mining. Future Gener. Comput. Syst. 72, 37–48 (2017)Tucker, B.: The flipped classroom. Online instruction at home frees class time for learning. Educ. Next Winter 2012, 82–83 (2012)Turcu, G., Heras, S., Palanca, J., Julian, V., Mihaescu, M.C.: Towards a custom designed mechanism for indexing and retrieving video transcripts. In: Pérez García, H., Sánchez González, L., Castejón Limas, M., Quintián Pardo, H., Corchado Rodríguez, E. (eds.) HAIS 2019. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 11734, pp. 299–309. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29859-3_26Turró, C., Morales, J.C., Busquets-Mataix, J.: A study on assessment results in a large scale flipped teaching experience. In: 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAD 2018), pp. 1039–1048 (2018)Turró, C., Despujol, I., Busquets, J.: Networked teaching, the story of a success on creating e-learning content at Universitat Politècnica de València. EUNIS J. High. Educ. (2014)Zajda, J., Rust, V. (eds.): Globalisation and Higher Education Reforms. GCEPR, vol. 15. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28191-

Preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus in Qatar by reducing obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity: mathematical modeling analyses.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of reducing the prevalence of obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity, and introducing physical activity as an explicit intervention, on the burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), using Qatar as an example. METHODS: A population-level mathematical model was adapted and expanded. The model was stratified by sex, age group, risk factor status, T2DM status, and intervention status, and parameterized by nationally representative data. Modeled interventions were introduced in 2016, reached targeted level by 2031, and then maintained up to 2050. Diverse intervention scenarios were assessed and compared with a counter-factual no intervention baseline scenario. RESULTS: T2DM prevalence increased from 16.7% in 2016 to 24.0% in 2050 in the baseline scenario. By 2050, through halting the rise or reducing obesity prevalence by 10-50%, T2DM prevalence was reduced by 7.8-33.7%, incidence by 8.4-38.9%, and related deaths by 2.1-13.2%. For smoking, through halting the rise or reducing smoking prevalence by 10-50%, T2DM prevalence was reduced by 0.5-2.8%, incidence by 0.5-3.2%, and related deaths by 0.1-0.7%. For physical inactivity, through halting the rise or reducing physical inactivity prevalence by 10-50%, T2DM prevalence was reduced by 0.5-6.9%, incidence by 0.5-7.9%, and related deaths by 0.2-2.8%. Introduction of physical activity with varying intensity at 25% coverage reduced T2DM prevalence by 3.3-9.2%, incidence by 4.2-11.5%, and related deaths by 1.9-5.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Major reductions in T2DM incidence could be accomplished by reducing obesity, while modest reductions could be accomplished by reducing smoking and physical inactivity, or by introducing physical activity as an intervention

What will the cardiovascular disease slowdown cost? Modelling the impact of CVD trends on dementia, disability, and economic costs in England and Wales from 2020-2029.

To model the health impact and economic costs of the recent slowing of the historical decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence

Unequal trends in coronary heart disease mortality by socioeconomic circumstances, England 1982-2006: an analytical study.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a major public health burden, causing 80,000 deaths annually in England and Wales, with major inequalities. However, there are no recent analyses of age-specific socioeconomic trends in mortality. We analysed annual trends in inequalities in age-specific CHD mortality rates in small areas in England, grouped into deprivation quintiles

Observations of TeV photons at the Whipple Observatory

The Whipple Observatory 10 m gamma‐ray telescope has been used to search for TeV gamma‐ray emission from a number of objects. This paper reports observations of six galactic and three extragalactic objects using the Cherenkov image technique. With the introduction of a high‐resolution camera (1/4° pixel) in 1988, the Crab Nebula was detected at a significance level of 20 σ in 30 hours of on‐source observation. Upper limits at a fraction of the Crab flux are set for most of the other objects, based on the absence of any significant dc excess or periodic effect when an a priori Monte Carlo determined imaging selection criterion (the ‘‘azwidth cut’’) is employed. There are weak indications that one source, Hercules X‐1, may be an episodic emitter. The Whipple detection system will be improved shortly with the addition of a second reflector 11 m in diameter (GRANITE) for stereoscopic viewing of showers. The combination of the two‐reflector system should have a signal‐to‐noise advantage of 103 over a simple nonimaging Cherenkov receiver.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87437/2/47_1.pd

High energy emission from microquasars

The microquasar phenomenon is associated with the production of jets by X-ray binaries and, as such, may be associated with the majority of such systems. In this chapter we briefly outline the associations, definite, probable, possible, and speculative, between such jets and X-ray, gamma-ray and particle emission.Comment: Contributing chapter to the book Cosmic Gamma-Ray Sources, K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romero (eds.), to be published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2004. (19 pages

Inside the eco-home: using video to understand the implications of innovative housing

As a method of qualitative research, video offers a means of looking into the world of a respondent and a means of stimulating a dialogue, both with the respondent and others. Video requires, however, the application of additional ethical procedures and may also increase refusal rates, if it is publicly disseminated. Applied to the home, the use of video reveals both practice and identity. Video records practice, showing how the spaces within a home are used at a particular time. For this reason, video is well adapted to understanding the implications of living in a home with an innovative design and technology, with all the complexities that this commonly involves. Equally, video communicates the appearance of the home and of its occupants to whoever is watching. Video is, therefore, intimately connected to identity and the home as a place

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data