ICONS II: Identifying Continence OptioNs after Stroke randomised controlled trial

Lois Thomas, Christine Roffe, Joanne Booth, Christopher Chapple, Caroline Watkins, Brenda Roe, Christopher Sutton, Bruce Hollingsworth, Céu Mateus, David Britt, Cliff Panton and Kina Bennett; for the MRC Continence Programme and R&D Stroke and Incontinence Stud

Evaluation of the Educational Impact of the Urology Collaborative Online Video Didactics Lecture Series

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of the Urology Collaborative Online Video Didactic (COViD) lecture series series on resident knowledge as a supplement to resident education during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.MethodsOne hundred thirty-nine urology residents were voluntarily recruited from 8 institutions. A 20-question test, based on 5 COViD lectures, was administered before and after watching the lectures. Pre- and posttest scores (percent correct) and score changes (posttest minus pretest score) were assessed considering demographic data and number of lectures watched. Multiple linear regression determined predictors of improved scores.ResultsOf residents recruited, 95 and 71 took the pre- and posttests. Median number of lectures watched was 3. There was an overall increase in correct scores from pretest to posttest (45% vs 57%, P < .01). Watching any lectures vs none led to higher posttest scores (60% vs 44%, P < .01) and score changes (+16% vs +1%, P < .01). There was an increase in baseline pretest scores by post-graduate year (PGY) (P < .01); however there were no significant differences in posttest or score changes by PGY. When accounting for lectures watched, PGY, and time between lecture and posttest, being a PGY6 (P = .01) and watching 3-5 lectures (P < .01) had higher overall correct posttest scores. Watching 3-5 lectures led to greater score changes (P < .001-.04). Over 65% of residents stated the COViD lectures had a large or very large impact on their education.ConclusionsCOViD lectures improved overall correct posttest scores and increased knowledge base for all resident levels. Furthermore, lectures largely impacted resident education during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Intrinsically motivated learning of real world sensorimotor skills with developmental constraints

Abstract. Open-ended exploration and learning in the real world is a major challenge of developmental robotics. Three properties of real-world sensorimotor spaces provide important conceptual and technical challenges: unlearnability, high-dimensionality and unboundedness. In this chapter, we argue that exploration in such spaces needs to be constrained and guided by several combined developmental mechanisms. While intrinsic motivation, i.e. curiosity-driven learning, is a key mechanism to address this challenge, it has to be complemented and integrated with other developmental constraints, in particular: sensorimotor primitives and embodiment, task space representations, maturational processes (i.e. adaptive changes of the embodied sensorimotor apparatus), and social guidance. We illustrate and discuss the potential of such an integration of developmental mechanisms in several robot learning experiments. A central aim of developmental robotics is to study the developmental mechanisms that allow life-long and open-ended learning of new skills and new knowledg