One year E-learning at the K.U.Leuven: an Examination of Log-Files

At the K.U.Leuven the introduction of a digital learning environment was strongly embedded in an already present and extensively communicated educational concept (‘guided independent learning’). Hence, it seems obvious that courses designed within the digital learning environment will be in line with this educational concept. An examination of logfiles however suggests that this might only be true for a minority of courses.In: A.J. Kallenberg and M.J.J.M. van de Ven (Eds), 2002, The New Educational Benefits of ICT in Higher Education: Proceedings. Rotterdam: Erasmus Plus BV, OECR ISBN 90-9016127-

A campus wide setup of Question Mark Perception (V2.5) at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) – facing a large scale implementation

The first part of this paper outlines the drawbacks of a large scale implementation of Question Mark Perception’s assessment software (QMP). The default publishing procedures offered by QMP, i.e. ODBC or disk sharing, do not meet the needs of global Internet accessibility and security. Academic staff members had to upload their session files by completing a web form; publishing requests were handled manually by members of the Computing Center’s staff. As on the server side all question and session records were stored in one single database, and graphics and multimedia files reside in one directory on the server, a cumbersome system of naming conventions was necessary to prevent files and database records from being overwritten. While creating questions with QMP’s authoring application – Question Manager – authors wanting to refer to graphics or multimedia files had to insert in a non-intuitive way the pathname of the graphics directory on the server. Moreover QMP’s server software never commits a delete transaction in the question database. This caused major problems for authors reloading assessments to the central database after having deleted one or more questions. To cope with these problems the Computing Centre of Leuven University has developed an upload application for use by the academic staff members. This application, which is described in detail in the second part of this paper, meets the constraints of a campus wide setup of QMP’s assessment software

Spot Valley cave: a new inventory and survey of Jamaica’s fourth pictograph site

Spot Valley cave was located by Mr David Fletcher and was mapped by Dr James Lee in 1970. He reported that fragments of human bones and teeth were found in crevices against the walls and in the floor associated with numerous potsherds of White Marl (Meillacan) type. The collection now kept at the University of the West Indies consists of 693 potsherds and 1 reconstructed vessel as well as a small chert component. The study of the human remains has shown that there were a minimum number of 8 individuals here, 4 adults and 4 juveniles, some of them showing pathological lesions. Dr Lee reported that there were about a dozen poorly preserved pictographs applied to the cave wall in black pigment, in the same style as those at Mountain River cave. He illustrated some of these pictographs in the form of drawings which he presented to the 11th IACA Congress in 1985. A new survey of the interior of the cave has now been carried out, and a photographic record of the pictographs made, thanks to the kind cooperation of the present owner of the property, Mr David Lee.La grotte de la vallée du Spot a été localisée par Mr David Fletcher et a été schématisée par le Dr James Lee en 1970. Il a rapporté que des fragments d'os et de dents humaines ont été découverts dans des fissures sur les murs et dans le sol associés à de nombreux tessons de poterie du type White Marl (Meillacan). La collection actuellement conservée à l'Université des Caraïbes consiste en 693 tessons de poterie, 1 récipient recomposé, ainsi que d'un petit composé de chaille. L’étude des restes humains a démontré qu'il y avait au minimum 8 personnes ici, 4 adultes et 4 adolescents, certains d'entre eux présentant des lésions pathologiques. Le Dr Lee a écrit dans son rapport qu'il y avait à peu près une douzaine de pictogrammes piètrement préservés appliqués sur les murs de la grotte d'un pigment noir, dans le même style que celui de la grotte de la Mountain River. Il a illustré quelques-uns de ces pictogrammes sous la forme de dessins qu'il a présentés au 11ème Congrès de l'AIAC en 1985. Un nouveau levé de l'intérieur de la grotte a été fait, et un enregistrement photographique des pictogrammes aussi, grâce à la coopération du propriétaire actuel du site, Mr David Lee.La cueva de Spot Valley, en Jamaica, fue encontrada por el Señor David Fletcher y fue mapeada por el Dr. James Lee en 1970. El ha registrado que los fragmentos de huesos humanos y dientes fueran encontrados en grietas junto a los muros y en el suelo asociado a numerosos fragmentos de cerámica do tipo White Marl (Meillacan). La colección que ahora pertenece a la University of the West Indies consiste en 693 pedazos de cerámica y en un vaso rehecho así como una pequeña muestra de sílice. El estudio de los huesos humanos ha revelado un número minimo de 8 individuos, 4 adultos y 4 juveniles, algunos de ellos revelan lesiones patológicas. Dr. Lee ha registrado, en la pared de la cueva, la existencia de cerca de una decena de pictogramas de color negra y mal conservados, que son de estilo idéntico a los de la cueva de Mountain River. Estos pictogramas fueran dibujados y ilustrados por Dr. Lee en el XI Congreso Internacional para el Arqueología del Caribe (IACA) en 1985. En Enero de 2005 la cueva fue de nuevo prospeccionada y fue echo el registro fotográfico dos pictograma, con la simpática colaboración del presente propietario, el Señor David Lee

Cognitive Impairment in a Subset of Breast Cancer Patients After Systemic Therapy:Results From a Longitudinal Study

Context Studies indicate adverse effects of breast cancer (BC) and cancer treatment on cognitive function. Objectives To investigate the effects of systemic treatment on cognitive performance in BC patients. Methods Participants were BC patients scheduled to receive systemic treatment (BC + SYST; n = 31), or no systemic treatment (BC; n = 24) and no-cancer (NC) controls (n = 33). Neuropsychological examinations were used to study cognitive performance on 18 tests grouped into eight cognitive domains, before adjuvant treatment (T1) and six months after chemotherapy (T2), or at similar intervals. We also assessed health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression, mood, stress, and cognitive problems. Analysis of variance was used to assess group differences of cognitive performance and multivariate normative comparison to classify impairment, comparing scores of each participant against the distribution of the scores of NC controls. Results Of BC + SYST, 16% were cognitively impaired at T2, compared to 4% in BC and 6% in NC. Although not significant, we observed moderate effect sizes for worse performance in the BC + SYST group compared to NC (Flanker congruent [effect size {ES} = 0.44] and stimulus incongruent [ES = 0.44]) and compared to BC (Controlled Oral Word Association Test [ES = 0.47], digit span [ES = 0.41], and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test immediate [ES = 0.71] and delayed recall [ES = 0.65]). Cognitively impaired patients had a significantly lower estimated premorbid intelligence, worse physical and social functioning, and more distress at T2 compared to unimpaired patients. Conclusion Our findings indicate that cognitive impairment after systemic treatment occurs in a subset of BC patients. The predictive value of demographic and psychosocial factors in cognitive impairment should be further investigated in a larger sample of impaired patients

Advances in Mental Health Care: Five N

Background: The evidence base for psychological treatments for autism and mood disorders in people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities (ID) is limited. Recent promising robot-based innovations in mental health care suggest that robot-based animal assisted therapy (AAT) could be useful to improve social skills and mood in people with moderate to severe ID. This study explores the efficacy of the innovative therapeutic robot seal Paro on alertness and mood in adults with moderate to severe ID. Method: Five N = 1 studies were performed in adults (59–70 years) with moderate to severe ID. During a control phase of four weeks, participants could interact with a plush seal, which was replaced by the robot seal Paro during an equally long treatment phase. Results: In one participant, alertness and mood, as rated by supervisors, improved during the treatment phase as compared to the baseline phase. The other four participants did not improve on either of the outcome measures. Conclusion: We conclude that robot-based AAT does not have clear beneficial effects on alertness and mood in adults with moderate to severe ID, but that positive interactions with the robot seal could be of therapeutic value in itself

Long-term effects of premenopausal risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy on cognition in women with high familial risk of ovarian cancer: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To examine the effect of a premenopausal risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) in women at increased risk of ovarian cancer on objective and subjective cognition at least 10 years after RRSO.Design: A cross-sectional study with prospective follow-up, nested in a nationwide cohort.Setting: Multicentre in the Netherlands.Population or Sample: 641 women (66% BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers) who underwent either a premenopausal RRSO = age 54 (n = 205). All participants were older than 55 years at recruitment.Methods: Participants completed an online cognitive test battery and a questionnaire on subjective cognition. We used multivariable regression analyses, adjusting for age, education, breast cancer, hormone replacement therapy, cardiovascular risk factors and depression.Main Outcome Measures: The influence of RRSO on objective and subjective cognition of women with a premenopausal RRSO compared with women with a postmenopausal RRSO.Results: After adjustment, women with a premenopausal RRSO (mean time since RRSO 18.2 years) performed similarly on objective cognitive tests compared with women with a postmenopausal RRSO (mean time since RRSO 11.9 years). However, they more frequently reported problems with reasoning (odds ratio [OR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.1-3.1) and multitasking (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.4) than women with a postmenopausal RRSO. This difference between groups disappeared in an analysis restricted to women of comparable ages (60-70 years).Conclusions: Reassuringly, approximately 18 years after RRSO, we found no association between premenopausal RRSO and objective cognition

International validation of two EORTC questionnaires for assessment of health‐related quality of life for patients with high‐grade non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (QLQ‐NHL‐HG29) and low‐grade non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (QLQ‐NHL‐LG20)

Background: Health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) is a critical aspect to consider when making treatment decisions for patients with non‐Hodgkin‐lymphoma (NHL). This international study by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) tested the psychometric properties of two newly developed measures for patients with high‐grade (HG)‐ and low‐grade (LG)‐NHL: the EORTC QLQ‐NHL‐HG29 and the EORTC QLQ‐NHL‐LG20 to supplement the core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30). Methods: Overall, 768 patients with HG‐NHL (N = 423) and LG‐NHL (N = 345) from 12 countries completed the QLQ‐C30, QLQ‐NHL‐HG29/QLQ‐NHL‐LG20 and a debriefing questionnaire at baseline, and a subset at follow‐up for either retest (N = 125/124) or responsiveness to change (RCA; N = 98/49). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable to good fit of the 29 items of the QLQ‐NHL‐HG29 on its five scales (symptom burden [SB], neuropathy, physical condition/fatigue [PF], emotional impact [EI], and worries about health/ functioning [WH]), and of the 20 items of the QLQ‐NHL‐LG20 on its four scales (SB, PF, EI, and WH). Completion took on average 10 minutes. Test–retest reliability, convergent validity, known‐group comparisons, and RCA find satisfactory results of both measures. A total of 31%–78% of patients with HG‐NHL and 22%–73% of patients with LG‐NHL reported symptoms and/or worries (e.g., tingling in hands/ feet, lack of energy, and worries about recurrence). Patients reporting symptoms/ worries had substantially lower HRQOL compared to those without. Discussion: The use of the EORTC QLQ‐NHL‐HG29 and QLQ‐NHL‐LG20 questionnaires in clinical research and practice will provide clinically relevant data to better inform treatment decision‐making