Lasting e-Learning by Advanced Services

Die Einbettung von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) in Bildung und Wissenschaft verspricht seit vielen Jahren grundlegende Fortschritte auf dem Weg in die Wissensgesellschaft. Großzügige Subventionen flossen über Jahrzehnte in zeitlich begrenzte Projekte, um eine IKT-gestützte Lehre auf breiter Ebene zu etablieren. Trotzdem trat ein erhoffter nachhaltiger Effekt in dem erwarteten Maße nicht ein. Konkret wurde eine Weiternutzung der Entwicklungen selten erreicht. Im Rahmen der Forschungstätigkeit zur Untersuchung der technologischen und ökonomischen Nachhaltigkeit entstanden drei sekundäre E-Learning-Dienste, mit denen sich die vorliegende Arbeit thematisch beschäftigt. Einer Einführung in sekundäre E-Learning-Dienste folgt die ausführliche Beschreibung bekannter und neuer Aspekte ihrer Nachhaltigkeit. Aus ökonomischer Sicht werden zwei neue Dienste und der kalkulatorische Aspekt des Bildungscontrollings untersucht. In technischer Hinsicht wird gezeigt, welche Bedeutung effektive Algorithmen unter Effizienzgesichtspunkten haben. Es wird untersucht, inwieweit Nachhaltigkeit bei E-Learning beschränkt ist auf die ökonomischen Faktoren eines Geschäftsmodells und welchen Einfluss integrative Prozesse der Einbettung von IKT in Bildungsabläufe darstellen. Mit dem Calculation Object Model wird ein neuer Ansatz für das Kostencontrolling in Bildungsprozessen vorgestellt und evaluiert. Ein anderer Dienst zeigt die Einbettung nachhaltiger Dienste in Hochschulstrukturen anhand des Themas Lehrevaluation. Darüber hinaus wird mit dem Docolcc-Dienst ein neues innovatives Verfahren zur Plagiaterkennung eingeführt und die Notwendigkeit dieser Innovationen unter Nachhaltigkeitsgesichtspunkten vorgestellt. Alle Dienste wurden zur Evaluation implementiert und anhand der Nachhaltigkeitsaspekte eingestuft.In the last decade, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the field of education and science was seen as one of the most important steps towards the knowledge society. Many efforts and large amounts of subsidies flew into timely restricted projects for deploying e-learning in a large scale. However, in many cases the expected improvement of the learning processes was not achieved. Moreover, these preparatory projects were not transferred into commercial and sustainable solutions. Missing sustainability with respect to pedagogics, didactics, technology, and economics shows the need of novel research for economists, computer scientists, and pedagogues. This thesis addresses secondary e-learning services, which were examined in the context of both technological and economical sustainability. Therefore, this thesis provides a set of metrics for sustainability, which were used to verify the sustainability of these services: Two services are examined from an economical perspective, whereas one project was examined with respect to the cost-controlling of educational activities. The technological examination shows that new principles, technological procedures, and algorithms are necessary, in order to reach sustainability in several e-learning services. Therefore, this thesis introduces a novel Calculation Object Model for cost-controlling of educational activities and services. A service for lecture evaluations, an important element for determining sustainability, shows how to integrate ICT in university structures. Additionally, the Docoloc service provides novel results in the field of automated recognition of text plagiarisms. All services were implemented and evaluated with respect to their sustainability. This dissertation proves how far sustainability of e-learning is basically not limited to economic factors of a business case, and how far ICT has to be embedded into the overall process chain of education in an integrative way

Call for uniform neuropsychological assessment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: Swiss recommendations.

BACKGROUND In a high proportion of patients with favorable outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), neuropsychological deficits, depression, anxiety, and fatigue are responsible for the inability to return to their regular premorbid life and pursue their professional careers. These problems often remain unrecognized, as no recommendations concerning a standardized comprehensive assessment have yet found entry into clinical routines. METHODS To establish a nationwide standard concerning a comprehensive assessment after aSAH, representatives of all neuropsychological and neurosurgical departments of those eight Swiss centers treating acute aSAH have agreed on a common protocol. In addition, a battery of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests was selected, optimally suited to the deficits found most prevalent in aSAH patients that was available in different languages and standardized. RESULTS We propose a baseline inpatient neuropsychological screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) between days 14 and 28 after aSAH. In an outpatient setting at 3 and 12 months after bleeding, we recommend a neuropsychological examination, testing all relevant domains including attention, speed of information processing, executive functions, verbal and visual learning/memory, language, visuo-perceptual abilities, and premorbid intelligence. In addition, a detailed assessment capturing anxiety, depression, fatigue, symptoms of frontal lobe affection, and quality of life should be performed. CONCLUSIONS This standardized neuropsychological assessment will lead to a more comprehensive assessment of the patient, facilitate the detection and subsequent treatment of previously unrecognized but relevant impairments, and help to determine the incidence, characteristics, modifiable risk factors, and the clinical course of these impairments after aSAH

Spinal cerebrospinal fluid leak as the cause of chronic subdural hematomas in nongeriatric patients

OBJECT The etiology of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) in nongeriatric patients (≤ 60 years old) often remains unclear. The primary objective of this study was to identify spinal CSF leaks in young patients, after formulating the hypothesis that spinal CSF leaks are causally related to CSDH. METHODS All consecutive patients 60 years of age or younger who underwent operations for CSDH between September 2009 and April 2011 at Bern University Hospital were included in this prospective cohort study. The patient workup included an extended search for a spinal CSF leak using a systematic algorithm: MRI of the spinal axis with or without intrathecal contrast application, myelography/fluoroscopy, and postmyelography CT. Spinal pathologies were classified according to direct proof of CSF outflow from the intrathecal to the extrathecal space, presence of extrathecal fluid accumulation, presence of spinal meningeal cysts, or no pathological findings. The primary outcome was proof of a CSF leak. RESULTS Twenty-seven patients, with a mean age of 49.6 ± 9.2 years, underwent operations for CSDH. Hematomas were unilateral in 20 patients and bilateral in 7 patients. In 7 (25.9%) of 27 patients, spinal CSF leakage was proven, in 9 patients (33.3%) spinal meningeal cysts in the cervicothoracic region were found, and 3 patients (11.1%) had spinal cysts in the sacral region. The remaining 8 patients (29.6%) showed no pathological findings. CONCLUSIONS The direct proof of spinal CSF leakage in 25.9% of patients suggests that spinal CSF leaks may be a frequent cause of nongeriatric CSDH

Measuring the Impact of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia on Neuropsychological Outcome After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage-Protocol of a Swiss Nationwide Observational Study (MoCA-DCI Study)

The exact relationship between delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and neuropsychological impairment remains unknown, as previous studies lacked a baseline examination after aneurysm occlusion but before the DCI-period. Neuropsychological evaluation of acutely ill patients is often applied in a busy intensive care unit (ICU), where distraction represents a bias to the obtained results.; To evaluate the relationship between DCI and neuropsychological outcome after aSAH by comparing the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) results in aSAH patients with and without DCI at 3 mo with a baseline examination before the DCI-period (part 1). To determine the reliability of the MoCA, when applied in an ICU setting (part 2).; Prospective, multicenter, and observational study performed at all Swiss neurovascular centers. For part 1, n = 240 consecutive aSAH patients and for part 2, n = 50 patients with acute brain injury are recruited.; Part 1: Effect size of the relationship between DCI and neuropsychological outcome (MoCA). Part 2: Reliability measures for the MoCA.; The institutional review boards approved this study on July 4, 2017 under case number BASEC 2017-00103. After completion, the results will be offered to an international scientific journal for peer-reviewed publication. This study determines the exact impact of DCI on the neuropsychological outcome after aSAH, unbiased by confounding factors such as early brain injury or patient-specific characteristics. The study provides unique insights in the neuropsychological state of patients in the early period after aSAH. What do you want to do ? New mail Cop

Call for uniform neuropsychological assessment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: Swiss recommendations

Background: In a high proportion of patients with favorable outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), neuropsychological deficits, depression, anxiety, and fatigue are responsible for the inability to return to their regular premorbid life and pursue their professional careers. These problems often remain unrecognized, as no recommendations concerning a standardized comprehensive assessment have yet found entry into clinical routines. Methods: To establish a nationwide standard concerning a comprehensive assessment after aSAH, representatives of all neuropsychological and neurosurgical departments of those eight Swiss centers treating acute aSAH have agreed on a common protocol. In addition, a battery of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests was selected, optimally suited to the deficits found most prevalent in aSAH patients that was available in different languages and standardized. Results: We propose a baseline inpatient neuropsychological screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) between days 14 and 28 after aSAH. In an outpatient setting at 3 and 12months after bleeding, we recommend a neuropsychological examination, testing all relevant domains including attention, speed of information processing, executive functions, verbal and visual learning/memory, language, visuo-perceptual abilities, and premorbid intelligence. In addition, a detailed assessment capturing anxiety, depression, fatigue, symptoms of frontal lobe affection, and quality of life should be performed. Conclusions: This standardized neuropsychological assessment will lead to a more comprehensive assessment of the patient, facilitate the detection and subsequent treatment of previously unrecognized but relevant impairments, and help to determine the incidence, characteristics, modifiable risk factors, and the clinical course of these impairments after aSAH

Where Brain, Body and World Collide

The production cross section of electrons from semileptonic decays of beauty hadrons was measured at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.8) in the transverse momentum range 1 < pt < 8 Gev/c with the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at a center of mass energy sqrt{s} = 7 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 2.2 nb^{-1}. Electrons from beauty hadron decays were selected based on the displacement of the decay vertex from the collision vertex. A perturbative QCD calculation agrees with the measurement within uncertainties. The data were extrapolated to the full phase space to determine the total cross section for the production of beauty quark-antiquark pairs