Perspectives on Mentoring Novice Teachers

Introduction to themed issue, vol 4, No 3 of Global Eduction Review. “Perspectives on Mentoring Novice Teachers,” Beginning teachers are confronted with specific challenges for which intensive internships for students in teacher education cannot prepare novice additional further support.

Adaptives Workflow-Management für kooperierendeWorkflows - ein Überblick

Der Einsatz von Workflow-Management-Systemen zur Ausführung von Geschäftsprozessen nimmt vor allem durch die Verbreitung des E-Commerce immer mehr zu. Gerade der elektronische Handel ist durch die Kooperation zwischen verschiedenen Unternehmen (Business2Business-E-Commerce) bzw. zwischen Unternehmen und Kunden (Business2Consumer-E-Commerce) geprägt. Workflow-Systeme müssen deshalb kooperative Prozesse zwischen unterschiedlichen Unternehmen unterstützen. Eine weitere Anforderung ist, dass sie unerwartete Fehler und Ausnahmen während der Workflow-Ausführung behandeln können. In diesem Artikel werden zuerst Kooperationsformen für Workflows und Anforderungen an Workflow-Systeme für die Unterstützung kooperierender Workflows erarbeitet. Anschließend werden verschiedene Forschungsansätze verglichen, um einen Überblick über den gegenwärtigen Stand der Forschung und Entwicklung auf dem Gebiet kooperierenderWorkflow-Management-Systeme zu erhalten

Konzeption und Implementierung eines Agenten zur ereignisorientierten Adaptation von Workflows

Im Rahmen des Projektes 'AgentWork' wird ein Workflow-Management-System entwickelt, das es ermöglicht, Workflows zur Laufzeit zu adaptieren, wenn aufgrund eines Anwendungsereignisses die logische Struktur des Workflows nicht mehr adäquat ist. Dazu ist es insbesondere erforderlich, solche Ereignisse zu erkennen, den betroffenen Workflow zu unterbrechen, zu adaptieren und anschließend den adaptierten Workflow weiter auszuführen. In der Arbeit wurden die Algorithmen für die Arbeit des sogenannten Adaptations-Agenten entwickelt, der die eigentlichen Adaptationen an nicht mehr adäquaten Workflows vornimmt. Dazu wird zuerst der Teil des Workflows bestimmt, der von einem Anwendungsereignis betroffen ist. Anschliessend wird dieser Teil durch Adaptationen des Kontroll- und Datenflusses an die veränderte Situation angepasst. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde auch eine prototypische Implementierung des Adaptations-Agenten erstellt

WEBFLOW: Ein System zur flexiblen Ausführung webbasierter, kooperativer Workflows

Der zunehmende Einsatz von Web-Technologien steigert die Notwendigkeit, kooperative Geschäftsprozesse und Workflows zwischen verschiedenen Unternehmen oder Abteilungen webbasiert abzuwickeln. Eine treibende Kraft hierfür ist die wachsende Verfügbarkeit von Web-Service-Realisierungen zur Interoperabilität. Die derzeit verfügbaren Ansätze unterstützen jedoch keine ausreichende Qualität und Flexibilität kooperativer webbasierter Workflows, insbesondere bzgl. der Ausführungsqualität von Diensten und der dynamischen Ausnahmebehandlung. Diese Defizite sollen mit dem System WEBFLOW abgebaut werden. Es ermöglicht die Definition und Überwachung von Ausführungsbedingungen für unterschiedlich mächtige Dienste verschiedener Kooperationspartner. Zudem unterstützt es eine regelbasierte dynamische Ausnahmebehandlung, mit der die Robustheit kooperativer Workflows deutlich verbessert werden soll

Anxiety disorders, depression and incontinence in preschool children : A population-based study

Objective The aim was to examine associations of specific anxiety disorders, depressive symptoms, and incontinence in a representative, population-based sample of preschool children. Methods All preschool children of a defined geographical area examined before school-entry were included. Parents completed a questionnaire including the Preschool Feelings Checklist (PFC), eight questions referring to nocturnal enuresis (NE), daytime urinary incontinence (DUI), fecal incontinence (FI) and constipation, and 30 items regarding Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria of separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SOC), specific phobia (PHOB), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Data of 1206 children (mean age = 5.7 years; 53.5% boys) are presented. Results 34.6% of incontinent children had an anxiety disorder based on DSM-5 criteria and 13.3% had clinically relevant depressive symptoms (measured by the PFC). Rates of incontinence overall were 14.1% (11.9% NE, 3.1% DUI, and 1.8% FI) and 6.3% for constipation. Rates of SOC and PHOB were increased in NE (20.8% and 25.4%), DUI (39.3% and 34.5%) and FI (35.3% and 50.0%) compared to continent children (13.5% and 17.2%). Children with constipation had higher rates of SOC, PHOB, and GAD than those without. Compared to continent children (9.7%), depressive symptoms were more frequent in children with NE (26.8%), DUI (50.0%), and FI (61.9%). Conclusion Anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms are common in children with incontinence. The most specific DSM-5 disorders associated with incontinence are SOC and PHOB, which can be incapacitating and may require treatment. Due to the high rates of anxiety disorders, it is important to screen all children with incontinence, for example, with specific questionnaires

Adaptive Guideline-based Treatment Workflows with AdaptFlow

One goal in modern medicine is to increase the treatment quality. A major step towards this aim is to support the execution of standardized, guideline-based clinical protocols, which are used in many medical domains, e.g., for oncological chemotherapies. Standardized chemotherapy protocols contain detailed and structured therapy plans describing the single therapy steps (e.g., examinations or drug applications). Therefore, workflow management systems offer good support for these processes. However, the treatment of a particular patient often requires modifications due to unexpected infections, toxicities, or social factors. The modifications are described in the treatment protocol but not as part of the standard process. To be able to further execute the therapy workflows in case of exceptions running workflows have to be adapted dynamically. Furthermore, the physician should be supported by automated exception detection and decision support for derivation of necessary modifications. The AdaptFlow prototype offers the required support for the field of oncological chemotherapies by enhancing a workflow system with dynamic workflow adaptation and rule based decision support for exception detection and handling

DNA barcoding as new diagnostic tool to lethal plant poisoning in herbivorous mammals

Reliable identification of plant species in the digestive tract of a deceased animal often represents the major key to diagnose a lethal intoxication with poisonous plants in veterinary pathology. In many cases, identification of the species is challenging or even impossible because the diagnostic morphological features have been degraded, and because the interpretation of such features requires a considerable expertise in plant anatomy and biodiversity. The use of DNA barcoding markers can support or even replace classical morphological assessment. While these markers have been widely used for plant taxonomy, their forensic application to clarify causes of animal poisoning is novel. In addition, we use specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms as fingerprints. This allows for a clear decision even in cases, where the conventionally used statistical e-values remain ambiguous. In the current work, we explore the feasibility of this strategy in a couple of exemplary cases, either in concert with anatomical diagnostics, or in cases where visual species identification is not possible, or where chemical toxin detection methods are not well established, complex, time consuming and expensive

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the EQ-5D-Y: results from a multinational study

Ravens-Sieberer U, Wille N, Badia X, et al. Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the EQ-5D-Y: results from a multinational study. QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH. 2010;19(6):887-897.To examine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the newly developed EQ-5D-Y. The EQ-5D-Y was administered in population samples of children and adolescents in Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. Percentages of missing values and reported problems were calculated. Test-retest reliability was determined. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients with other generic measures of HRQOL were calculated. Known groups' validity was examined by comparing groups with a priori expected differences in HRQOL. Between 91 and 100% of the respondents provided valid scorings. Sweden had the lowest proportion of reported problems (1-24.9% across EQ-5D-Y dimensions), with the highest proportions in South Africa (2.8-47.3%) and Italy (4.3-39.0%). Percentages of agreement in test-retest reliability ranged between 69.8 and 99.7% in the EQ-5D-Y dimensions; Kappa coefficients were up to 0.67. Correlation coefficients with other measures of self-rated health indicated convergent validity (up to r = -0.56). Differences between groups classified according to presence of chronic conditions, self-rated overall health and psychological problems provided preliminary evidence of known groups' validity. Results provide preliminary evidence of the instrument's feasibility, reliability and validity. Further study is required in clinical samples and for possible future applications in economic analyses

Exploring the association between Alzheimer’s disease, oral health, microbial endocrinology and nutrition

Longitudinal monitoring of patients suggests a causal link between chronic periodontitis and the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the explanation of how periodontitis can lead to dementia remains unclear. A working hypothesis links extrinsic inflammation as a secondary cause of AD. This hypothesis suggests a compromised oral hygiene leads to a dysbiotic oral microbiome whereby Porphyromonas gingivalis, a keystone periodontal pathogen, with its companion species, orchestrates immune subversion in the host. Brushing and chewing on teeth supported by already injured soft tissues leads to bacteraemias. As a result, a persistent systemic inflammatory response develops to periodontal pathogens. The pathogens, and the host’s inflammatory response, subsequently lead to the initiation and progression of multiple metabolic and inflammatory co-morbidities, including AD. Insufficient levels of essential micronutrients can lead to microbial dysbiosis through the growth of periodontal pathogens such as demonstrated for P. gingivalis under low hemin bioavailability. An individual’s diet also defines the consortium of microbial communities that take up residency in the oral and gastrointestinal (GI) tract microbiomes. Their imbalance can lead to behavioural changes. For example, probiotics enriched in Lactobacillus genus of bacteria, when ingested, exert some anti-inflammatory influence through common host/bacterial neurochemicals, both locally, and through sensory signalling back to the brain. Early life dietary behaviours may cause an imbalance in the host/microbial endocrinology through a dietary intake incompatible with a healthy GI tract microbiome later in life. This imbalance in host/microbial endocrinology may have a lasting impact on mental health. This observation opens up an opportunity to explore the mechanisms, which may underlie the previously detected relationship between diet, oral/GI microbial communities, to anxiety, cognition and sleep patterns. This review suggests healthy diet based interventions that together with improved life style/behavioural changes may reduce and/or delay the incidence of AD