The experiences of students transitioning back to in-person learning post-Covid-19

This paper reports on a preliminary study that was carried out to understand the experiences of engineering students transitioning to on-campus learning following the Covid-19 pandemic. Two cohorts were considered: year 1 students joining the university for the first time after having experienced considerable disruption for the final two years of their schooling and year 2 students who experienced their first year at university almost entirely online. Data was gathered from student surveys which found that the greatest areas of difficulty for students were the academic level of the programme and the workload. A limited comparison was drawn between this finding and some pre-pandemic data which suggests that the difficulty that students had in this area was higher than for students before the pandemic, indicating that two years of disrupted education may have had a negative impact on students’ preparedness for higher education. Qualitative open-ended responses by students showed that there was a clear preference for face-to-face teaching, but that students see clear benefits to online resources and lecture recordings, and value having some flexibility in how they learn. Some reduction in student performance was noted

A mathematics peer assessment process for flexible modes of delivery

Educators have experienced significant challenges managing assessment processes over the last two years, particularly when converting in-person interactive and groupbased activities to an online format. This was of immediate concern during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, when interim measures for online assessment were introduced rapidly without the benefit of prior planning and design. As we emerge from the emergency phase of the pandemic, it appears there will be lasting changes to delivery and assessment in higher education, involving more hybrid and blended solutions. This paper discusses how an on-campus peer feedback assessment process for mathematics has been converted to a digital format to facilitate flexible modes of delivery either on-campus or online. A weekly paper-based peer-feedback process had been previously established in our large (150+) first-year engineering mathematics class. The new process involves weekly submission of work through the university Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas, which is peer marked by students using model video solutions for selected questions. Students complete a rubric and provide comments. After each session, students complete a reflective journal, considering their work over the week and the comments they have received. Engagement with the new flexible process has been shown to be comparable to the old system, while the quality of feedback given to peers in the online process is superior to those provided in the paper-based system. The system has been shown to be robust when rapid changes in delivery modes occur

Inflammatory bowel disease: past, present, and future

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are largely diseases of the twentieth century, and are associated with the rise of modern, Westernized industrial society. Although the causes of these diseases remain incompletely understood, the prevailing model is that the intestinal flora drives an unmitigated intestinal immune response and inflammation in the genetically susceptible host. A review of the past and present of these diseases shows that detailed description preceded more fundamental elucidation of the disease processes. Working out the details of disease pathogenesis, in turn, has yielded dividends in more focused and effective therapy for IBD. This article highlights the key descriptions of the past, and the pivotal findings of current studies in disease pathogenesis and its connection to medical therapy. Future directions in the IBD will likely explicate the inhomogeneous causes of these diseases, with implications for individualized therapy

Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancer – collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58 515 women with breast cancer and 95 067 women without the disease

Alcohol and tobacco consumption are closely correlated and published results on their association with breast cancer have not always allowed adequately for confounding between these exposures. Over 80% of the relevant information worldwide on alcohol and tobacco consumption and breast cancer were collated, checked and analysed centrally. Analyses included 58 515 women with invasive breast cancer and 95 067 controls from 53 studies. Relative risks of breast cancer were estimated, after stratifying by study, age, parity and, where appropriate, women's age when their first child was born and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The average consumption of alcohol reported by controls from developed countries was 6.0 g per day, i.e. about half a unit/drink of alcohol per day, and was greater in ever-smokers than never-smokers, (8.4 g per day and 5.0 g per day, respectively). Compared with women who reported drinking no alcohol, the relative risk of breast cancer was 1.32 (1.19–1.45, P<0.00001) for an intake of 35–44 g per day alcohol, and 1.46 (1.33–1.61, P<0.00001) for ⩾45 g per day alcohol. The relative risk of breast cancer increased by 7.1% (95% CI 5.5–8.7%; P<0.00001) for each additional 10 g per day intake of alcohol, i.e. for each extra unit or drink of alcohol consumed on a daily basis. This increase was the same in ever-smokers and never-smokers (7.1% per 10 g per day, P<0.00001, in each group). By contrast, the relationship between smoking and breast cancer was substantially confounded by the effect of alcohol. When analyses were restricted to 22 255 women with breast cancer and 40 832 controls who reported drinking no alcohol, smoking was not associated with breast cancer (compared to never-smokers, relative risk for ever-smokers=1.03, 95% CI 0.98–1.07, and for current smokers=0.99, 0.92–1.05). The results for alcohol and for tobacco did not vary substantially across studies, study designs, or according to 15 personal characteristics of the women; nor were the findings materially confounded by any of these factors. If the observed relationship for alcohol is causal, these results suggest that about 4% of the breast cancers in developed countries are attributable to alcohol. In developing countries, where alcohol consumption among controls averaged only 0.4 g per day, alcohol would have a negligible effect on the incidence of breast cancer. In conclusion, smoking has little or no independent effect on the risk of developing breast cancer; the effect of alcohol on breast cancer needs to be interpreted in the context of its beneficial effects, in moderation, on cardiovascular disease and its harmful effects on cirrhosis and cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus and liver