Quality of life of adults born very preterm or very low birth weight : a systematic review

Aim To establish differences in health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults born term and those born very preterm (VPT) and/or with a very low birth weight (VLBW). Methods Our systematic review is preregistered under PROSPERO‐ID CRD42018084005. Studies were eligible for inclusion if their authors had stated the HRQoL of adults (18 years or older) born VPT (<32 weeks of gestation) or VLBW (<1500 g of birth weight) had been measured, if written in English, and if they reported a comparison with a control group or valid norms. We searched Pubmed, Scopus, Psycinfo, Web of Science, Embase and contacted experts in this field. Non‐response and other bias‐related problems were evaluated. Results We included 18 studies of 15 unique cohorts from 11 countries. In 11 studies, no differences in HRQoL between VPT or VLBW and term‐born adults were found; four studies found lower HRQoL in VPT/VLB adults; and evidence from three studies was inconclusive. Disability, sex and age were associated with HRQoL. Conclusion There is no conclusive evidence that HRQoL differs between term‐born adults and those born VPT or with a VLBW. The comparability of studies was restricted by differences between HRQoL measurements, age ranges at assessment and definition of disability

Flexible laboratory learning opportunities to make chemistry more accessible for students

A typical chemistry unit develops a student's practical laboratory skills and theoretical knowledge. Often, it is the experimental aspects of chemistry that students find the most engaging. Since 2019, we have developed and implemented chemistry units for UniReady and the Centre of Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University. The diversity of students enrolled in these enabling pathways meant some students could not attend regular university laboratory sessions for reasons including health, living in remote areas, and personal commitments that precluded attendance at prescribed times, such as being a carer or parent. The unit development aimed to provide students access to meaningful and equitable laboratory-learning experiences flexible enough for specific needs of students who could attend regular laboratory classes as well as those who could not. In 2020, COVID-19 offered an unprecedented opportunity, with the alternative activities becoming the 'main activities' for all students. As we returned to face-to-face classes in 2021, we built on our experiences to develop a pilot study for a laboratory learning activity that could be experienced by all students, regardless of their circumstances. In this presentation, we will share some of the innovative learning experiences we developed and implemented, along with the pilot study's findings. 

Changes in quality of life into adulthood after very preterm birth and/or very low birth weight in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND: It is important to know the impact of Very Preterm (VP) birth or Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW). The purpose of this study is to evaluate changes in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults born VP or with a VLBW, between age 19 and age 28. METHODS: The 1983 nationwide Dutch Project On Preterm and Small for gestational age infants (POPS) cohort of 1338 VP (gestational age <32 weeks) or VLBW (<1500 g) infants, was contacted to complete online questionnaires at age 28. In total, 33.8% of eligible participants completed the Health Utilities Index (HUI3), the London Handicap Scale (LHS) and the WHOQoL-BREF. Multiple imputation was applied to correct for missing data and non-response. RESULTS: The mean HUI3 and LHS scores did not change significantly from age 19 to age 28. However, after multiple imputation, a significant, though not clinically relevant, increase of 0.02 on the overall HUI3 score was found. The mean HRQoL score measured with the HUI3 increased from 0.83 at age 19 to 0.85 at age 28. The lowest score on the WHOQoL was the psychological domain (74.4). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, no important changes in HRQoL between age 19 and age 28 were found in the POPS cohort. Psychological and emotional problems stand out, from which recommendation for interventions could be derived

Public exhibit for demonstrating the quantum of electrical conductance

We present a new robust setup that explains and demonstrates the quantum of electrical conductance for a general audience and which is continuously available in a public space. The setup allows users to manually thin a gold wire of several atoms in diameter while monitoring its conductance in real time. During the experiment, a characteristic step-like conductance decrease due to rearrangements of atoms in the cross-section of the wire is observed. Just before the wire breaks, a contact consisting of a single atom with a characteristic conductance close to the quantum of conductance can be maintained up to several seconds. The setup is operated full-time, needs practically no maintenance and is used on different educational levels

Team adaptation to an unforeseen system failure: Limits of the potential aids of shared knowledge and standardized communication.

The present study investigates the potential benefits of a team's shared knowledge and standardized communication in adapting to an unforeseen change by combining literature on adaptation and team performance. Each of 20 teams performed a dynamic team task and was suddenly confronted with a simulated partial system breakdown. Results show that a methodological framework designed to describe performance adaptation to an unforeseen change in individuals can also be used to model performance adaptation in teams. The system failure was followed by a performance drop and a subsequent period of gradual performance recovery. Accuracy of teams' shared knowledge correlated positively with performance before and after the change, confirming and extending the literature on shared mental models. However, the amount of knowledge similarity did not aid teams in adapting to the unforeseen system breakdown. In addition, improving teams' standardized communication had no damping effect on the sudden performance drop and neither helped them during the subsequent recovery period. These results show that even though shared knowledge and efficient communication are of high value to team performance and success, these characteristics are limited in aiding adaptive team performance after unforeseen unique changes that force team members to update their strategies.</p

IPv6 Preparation and Deployment in Datacenter Infrastructure – A Practical Approach, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2013, nr 1

This article describes the experiences with the initiative to introduce IPv6 into Capgemini’s datacenter environment, and to be more specific, the part of the project known as Phase 1: the preparation before actually doing so. Phase 1 comprises of training, testing and research of the IPv6 protocol and its features with the purpose to better understand the consequences of the introduction of IPv6 in a datacenter environment. It was a specific choice to not deploy IPv6 in a production environment, and to build a dedicated test environment first (Proof of Concept). This test environment would accommodate most basic features of IPv6 to safely prepare us for the actual deployment. The technical results of the IPv6 experience were documented in a structured way, useable for future reference. Test results were also used as input to develop Capgemini best practices for IPv6 deployment