Generic Assessment Research Articles

Psychometric Properties of the Affective Dimension of the Generic Macro-Competence Assessment Scale: Analysis Using Rasch Model

The study of the affective dimension of transversal competences is essential for the development of responsible behaviors and maintaining attitudes committed to sustainable development. The importance attributed to each of these factors can predict behavior implementation and awareness of values for sustainable development that reflect the acquisition and internalization of sustainability-related generic competences. This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the affective dimension of the Generic Macro-Competence Assessment (AGMA) scale by applying Rasch measurement model to a sample of Spanish university students, comprising 387 Spanish university students (74.9% women; mean age = 21.24; WD = 3.54; range: 17–34). Results demonstrated a lack of adjustment to the Rasch model due to item 1, and all items showed disordered response category thresholds. The remaining nine-item scale achieved all requirements of the model (χ2 = 61.46; p = 0.052), including unidimensionality. Thus, the scale’s psychometric properties indicate an easy-to-apply instrument for screening these factors for coping strategies in undergraduate and graduate Spanish students. The results can help in justifying the design of interdisciplinary intervention programs, in which affective factors are essential for sustainable development education.

Development and psychometric testing of a Learning Behaviour Questionnaire among Chinese undergraduate nursing students

ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop and validate a new Learning Behaviour Questionnaire (LBQ) for the undergraduate nursing students.Study designThis study was performed in two phases. Phase 1 of the study...

Linking AM-PAC Cognition to PROMIS Cognitive Function

ObjectiveTo link the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) Applied Cognition to the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Cognitive Function, allowing for a common metric across scales. DesignCross-sectional survey study. SettingOutpatient rehabilitation clinics. ParticipantsConsecutive sample of 500 participants (N=500) aged ≥18 years presenting for outpatient therapy (physical, occupation, speech). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresAM-PAC Medicare and Generic Cognition short forms and PROMIS Cognitive Function items representing the PROMIS Cognitive Function item bank. ResultsThe calibration of 25 AM-PAC cognition items with 11 fixed PROMIS cognitive function item parameters using item-response theory indicated that items were measuring the same underlying construct (cognition). Both scales measured a wide range of functioning. The AM-PAC Generic Cognitive assessment showed more reliability with lower levels of cognition, whereas the PROMIS Cognitive Function full-item bank was more reliable across a larger distribution of scores. Data were appropriate for a fixed-anchor item response theory–based crosswalk and AM-PAC Cognition raw scores were mapped onto the PROMIS metric. ConclusionsThe crosswalk developed in this study allows for converting scores from the AM-PAC Applied Cognition to the PROMIS Cognitive Function scale.

Assessing the feasibility and value of employing an ecosystem services approach in chemical environmental risk assessment under the Water Framework Directive

The feasibility and added value of an ecosystem services approach in retrospective environmental risk assessment were evaluated using a site-specific case study in a lowland UK river. The studied water body failed to achieve good ecological status temporarily in 2018, due in part to the exceedance of the environmental quality standard (annual average EQS) for zinc. Potential ecosystem service delivery was quantified for locally prioritised ecosystem services: regulation of chemical condition; maintaining nursery populations and habitats; recreational fishing; nature watching. Quantification was based on observed and expected taxa or functional groups within WFD biological quality elements, including macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, and on published functional trait data for constituent taxa. Benthic macroinvertebrate taxa were identified and enumerated before, during and after zinc EQS exceedance, enabling a generic retrospective risk assessment for this biological quality element, which was found to have good ecosystem service potential. An additional targeted risk assessment for zinc was based on laboratory-based species sensitivity distributions normalised using biotic-ligand modelling to account for site-specific, bioavailability-corrected zinc exposure. Risk to ecosystem services for diatoms (microalgae) was found to be high, while risks for benthic macroinvertebrates and fish were found to be low. The status of potential ecosystem service delivery (ESD) by fish was equivalent to high ecological status defined under the WFD, while ESD was higher for benthic macroinvertebrates than defined by WFD methods. The illustrated ecosystem services approach uses readily available data and adds significantly to the taxonomic approach currently used under the WFD by using functional traits to evaluate services that are prioritised as being important in water bodies. The main shortcomings of the illustrated approach were lack of: representation of bacteria and fungi; WFD predicted species lists for diatoms and macrophytes; site-specific functional trait data required for defining actual (rather than potential) ecosystem service delivery.

CORR Insights®: Mapping and Crosswalk of the Oxford Hip Score and Different Versions of the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.

CORR Insights®: Mapping and Crosswalk of the Oxford Hip Score and Different Versions of the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.

Joint regression and learning from pairwise rankings for personalized image aesthetic assessment

Recent image aesthetic assessment methods have achieved remarkable progress due to the emergence of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, these methods focus primarily on predicting generally perceived preference of an image, making them usually have limited practicability, since each user may have completely different preferences for the same image. To address this problem, this paper presents a novel approach for predicting personalized image aesthetics that fit an individual user’s personal taste. We achieve this in a coarse to fine manner, by joint regression and learning from pairwise rankings. Specifically, we first collect a small subset of personal images from a user and invite him/her to rank the preference of some randomly sampled image pairs. We then search for the K-nearest neighbors of the personal images within a large-scale dataset labeled with average human aesthetic scores, and use these images as well as the associated scores to train a generic aesthetic assessment model by CNN-based regression. Next, we fine-tune the generic model to accommodate the personal preference by training over the rankings with a pairwise hinge loss. Experiments demonstrate that our method can effectively learn personalized image aesthetic preferences, clearly outperforming state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, we show that the learned personalized image aesthetic benefits a wide variety of applications.

Regional human health risk assessment of cadmium and hexachlorocyclohexane for agricultural land in China.

Widespread pollution of agricultural soil is posing great risks to food safety and human health. The absence of human health-based Generic Assessment Criteria (GAC) for agricultural land means Chinese farmers struggle to manage these risks efficiently and effectively. Cadmium (Cd) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), two of the most concerned contaminants, demonstrate threshold toxicity meaning that background exposure (MDIoral) is considered when deriving soil Generic Assessment Criteria (GAC). The CLEA (Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment) model was used to derive GAC for Cd and HCH that reflect differences in diet and soil characteristics across 19 provinces/cities. For both cadmium and alpha-HCH, Sichuan had the lowest GAC of 0.379mgkg-1 and 0.0136mgkg-1, respectively, resulting from its significant high MDIoral values, which are approximately six to nine times larger than the average MDIoral for all the 19 provinces/cities. Jiangxi province had the highest GAC of 1.230mgkg-1 and 0.0866mgkg-1, respectively, for cadmium and alpha-HCH, caused by its notable low MDIoral values and low vegetable consumption rate. Human health risk assessment based on regional GAC for Cd revealed that agricultural land with very high to high risks is located in southern China, while very low-risk land is located in northern China. For HCH, alpha- and gamma-HCH pose negligible health risks, but beta-HCH poses some health risk in some of the provinces/cities. When applying the regional GAC for beta-HCH, agricultural land in Beijing and Sichuan posed the highest risk, and those in Heilongjiang and Jiangxi had the lowest risk. This reflects the significant influence of background and vegetable consumption pathway on the GAC. Regional GACs could simplify and speed up risk assessment of agricultural land in different regions of China, by avoiding the need to calculate site-specific assessment criteria, thus saving time and money by avoiding over or under remediation.

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Urban Soils of Central of London, England, UK: Measurement and Spatial Modelling of Black Carbon (BC), Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)

Total organic carbon (TOC), black carbon (BC), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were determined in 73 surface (0-2 cm) and subsurface (5-20 cm) soil samples taken from a 142 km2 area in Central London, UK. Soils were assessed to provide a baseline chemistry for site owners, developers, occupiers and regulators involved in understanding the potential risk to human health and the environment. TOC range was 1.75-11.85 % (mean 5.82 %), BC 3.72-32.71 mg.g-1 (mean 13.8 mg.g-1), TPH 72-4673 mg.g-1 (mean 443 mg.g-1), Σ16PAH 1.64-421.23 mg.g-1 (mean 47.99 mg.g-1) and Σ7PCB 2.56-148.72 µg.kg-1 (mean 20.82 µg.kg-1). Surface soils were less polluted than sub-surface soils due to a decline in industry, power generation, coal burning and traffic. PAH and PCB showed a stronger affinity for BC than TOC and were higher than many other international cities. South east London (Greenwich, Woolwich, Deptford) had the highest PAH pollution. Source PAH ratios confirmed a combustion/urban road run-off origin with minor petroleum inputs. Random Forest spatial modelling (machine learning) revealed large scale pollution trends across London soils. Normal background concentrations (NBC) were calculated and compared to risk-based human health generic assessment criteria (GAC). Benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and dibenzo[a]anthracene exceeded the Land Quality Management GACs for three land uses (residential, allotments and public open space near residential housing). The NBC determined for ∑7PCBs (110 µg.kg-1) and dioxin-like PCB 118 (59 µg.kg-1) exceeded the residential and allotment soil guideline values.

Confirmatory and bi-factor analysis of the Short Form Health Survey 8 (SF-8) scale structure in a German general population sample

BackgroundThe SF-8 is a short form of the SF-36 Health Survey, which is used for generic assessment of physical and mental aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Each of the 8 dimensions of the SF-36 is covered by a single item in the SF-8. The aim of the study was to examine the latent model structure of the SF-8.MethodOne-, two- and three dimensional as well as bi-factor structural models were defined and estimated adopting the ML- as well as the WLSMV-algorithm for ordinal data. The data were collected in a German general population sample (N = 2545 persons).ResultsA two- (physical and mental health) and a three-dimensional CFA structure (in addition overall health) represent the empirical data information adequately [CFI = .987/.995; SRMR = .024/.014]. If a general factor is added, the resulting bi-factor models provide a further improvement in data fit [CFI = .999/.998; SRMR = .001]. The individual items are much more highly associated with the general HRQoL factor (loadings: .698 to .908) than with the factors physical, mental, and overall health (loadings: −.206 to .566).ConclusionsIn the SF-8, each item reflects mainly general HRQoL (general factor) as well as one of the three components physical, mental, and overall health. The findings suggest in particular that the evaluation of the information of the SF-8 items can be validly supplemented by a general value HRQoL.

Generic Feasibility Assessment: Helping to Choose the Nuclear Piece of the Net Zero Jigsaw

The United Kingdom has declared a climate change policy of 100% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Efforts thus far have been limited solely to electricity generation methods. While progress has been admirable, effort now must be directed at the nation’s non-electrical energy use. Nuclear energy is an essential part of any energy future, since it is low-carbon, firm and supplies synchronous electricity; however the nation’s nuclear strategy to date has been erratic, costly and lacking in strategic oversight. A multitude of reactor designs are on offer for potential uptake, and decision-makers must have clarity of vision on what these systems must deliver before forming a strategy. Choosing between these systems, given the uncharted energy future faced by the UK is a daunting prospect. Generic feasibility assessment offers a tool for decision-makers to assist them in selecting the most suitable nuclear system for chosen future conditions. Generic feasibility assessment offers an alternative to traditional multi-attribute decision analyses, which can be confusing to even committed stakeholders when large numbers of attributes are weighted and compiled. Generic feasibility assessment forms part of a toolkit which will be of utility in achieving net zero by 2050, given the short time that remains.

A Genetic Algorithm to Combine Deep Features for the Aesthetic Assessment of Images Containing Faces

The automatic assessment of the aesthetic quality of a photo is a challenging and extensively studied problem. Most of the existing works focus on the aesthetic quality assessment of photos regardless of the depicted subject and mainly use features extracted from the entire image. It has been observed that the performance of generic content aesthetic assessment methods significantly decreases when it comes to images depicting faces. This paper introduces a method for evaluating the aesthetic quality of images with faces by encoding both the properties of the entire image and specific aspects of the face. Three different convolutional neural networks are exploited to encode information regarding perceptual quality, global image aesthetics, and facial attributes; then, a model is trained to combine these features to explicitly predict the aesthetics of images containing faces. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms existing methods for both binary, i.e., low/high, and continuous aesthetic score prediction on four different image databases in the state-of-the-art.

A Perfect Match: Converging and Automating Privacy and Security Impact Assessment On-the-Fly

As the upsurge of information and communication technologies has become the foundation of all modern application domains, fueled by the unprecedented amount of data being processed and exchanged, besides security concerns, there are also pressing privacy considerations that come into play. Compounding this issue, there is currently a documented gap between the cybersecurity and privacy risk assessment (RA) avenues, which are treated as distinct management processes and capitalise on rather rigid and make-like approaches. In this paper, we aim to combine the best of both worlds by proposing the APSIA (Automated Privacy and Security Impact Assessment) methodology, which stands for Automated Privacy and Security Impact Assessment. APSIA is powered by the use of interdependency graph models and data processing flows used to create a digital reflection of the cyber-physical environment of an organisation. Along with this model, we present a novel and extensible privacy risk scoring system for quantifying the privacy impact triggered by the identified vulnerabilities of the ICT infrastructure of an organisation. We provide a prototype implementation and demonstrate its applicability and efficacy through a specific case study in the context of a heavily regulated sector (i.e., assistive healthcare domain) where strict security and privacy considerations are not only expected but mandated so as to better showcase the beneficial characteristics of APSIA. Our approach can complement any existing security-based RA tool and provide the means to conduct an enhanced, dynamic and generic assessment as an integral part of an iterative and unified risk assessment process on-the-fly. Based on our findings, we posit open issues and challenges, and discuss possible ways to address them, so that such holistic security and privacy mechanisms can reach their full potential towards solving this conundrum.

Participatory survey design of a workforce health needs assessment for correctional supervisors

The correctional workforce experiences persistent health problems, and interventions designed with worker participation show favorable outcomes. However, participatory intervention research often leaves workers out of the health needs assessment, the basis of interventions subsequently developed. This omission risks failure to detect factors contributing to the health and is less likely to result in primary prevention interventions. Partnering with a correctional supervisors' union, we followed Schulz and colleagues' community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods for participatory survey design and used Healthy Workplace Participatory Program (HWPP) tools to develop a tailored survey to assess workforce health and contributing factors. Utilizing the HWPP Focus Group Guide, we generated key themes to adapt the HWPP All Employee Survey, a generic workforce health assessment, to become thorough and contextually-relevant for correctional supervisors. Content analysis of focus group data revealed 12 priority health concerns and contributors, including organizational culture, masculinity, work-family conflict, family support, trauma, positive job aspects, health literacy and efficacy, health/risk behaviors, sleep, obesity, and prioritizing work and income over health. Twenty-six measures were added to the generic survey, mainly health-related antecedents including knowledge, attitudes, norms, and motivation. Findings yielded new insights about supervisors' lived experiences of work and health, and resulted in a customized workforce survey. CBPR methods and HWPP tools allowed us to identify health issues that we would not have detected with conventional methods, and provide opportunities for interventions that address root causes of poor health. We share challenges faced and lessons learned using CBPR with the correctional workforce.

Detection of Eumonospora henryae (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from Falco columbarius (Falconiformes: Aves): Comparison of host-parasite phylogram and comments on the family Sarcocystidae Poche, 1913.

The genus Eumonospora Allen, 1933 (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae), an avian coccidia, is characterized by monosporocystic and octasporozoic oocysts without Stieda and substieda bodies. Some members of Eumonospora, which infect several raptor species, exhibit high levels of pathogenicity, making eumonosporiosis the leading cause of death in captive-bred raptors. The host specificity of these species appears to be mesostenoxenous, as evidenced by unsuccessful transmission between different orders of avian hosts. However, several studies have detected Eumonospora spp. in taxonomically distant avian hosts, indicating that some of these species may be euryxenous. In the current study, diarrheic fecal examination of a captive-bred juvenile merlin (Falconiformes: Aves) in Tokyo, Japan, was conducted, and a large number of oocysts were morphologically and molecularly identified as E. henryae (Yakimoff and Matschulsky, 1932), a coccidia species reported only in Strigiformes. This is a new recorded host for this coccidia. Phylogenetic analyses via Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods using concatenated genomic datasets consisting of nuclear 18S rDNA, nuclear 28S rDNA and mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 gene, revealed a well-supported monophyletic clade of Eumonospora spp. belonging to the family Sarcocystidae Poche 1913, which largely corresponded to the avian host phylogram. Therefore, based on distinguishable oocyst morphology, a new subfamily, Eumonosporinae, within the family Sarcocystidae, is proposed, and a reconsideration of the definition of Sarcocystidae is suggested. Further molecular characterization of this emerging pathogen, as well as clarification of its complete life cycle, including cyst-forming ability, is required for more appropriate generic assessment.

Health-Related Quality of Life for Parkinson's Disease Patients and Their Caregivers.

Objective Motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS) negatively impact the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD), as well as their caregivers. NMS can emerge decades prior to the manifestation of motor symptoms but often go unrecognized and therefore untreated. To guide clinical management, we surveyed differences and identified factors that influence HRQoL in a cohort of PD patients and family caregivers.Methods A total of 103 PD patients were compared with 81 caregivers. Outcome measures collected from validated questionnaires included generic and disease-specific HRQoL assessments, depression frequency and severity, constipation severity, upper and lower gastrointestinal symptoms, physical activity and motor symptom severity.Results PD patients reported significantly decreased physical and mental HRQoL compared to their caregivers (both p < 0.001). Unemployment, the need for social support services, rehabilitation use, REM sleep behavior disorder, impulse control disorders and features suggestive of increasing disease severity hallmarked by increasing PD duration, higher MDS UPDRS-III (Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale–Part III) scores, higher daily levodopa equivalence dose and motor fluctuations were consistent with a lower HRQoL in our PD cohort. Furthermore, decreased physical activity, chronic pain, depression, constipation and upper gastrointestinal dysfunction (particularly indigestion, excess fullness and bloating) suggested vulnerability to reduced HRQoL. Overall, PD patients perceived their health to decline by 12% more than their caregivers did over a 1-year period.Conclusion PD patients reported decreased HRQoL, with both motor symptoms and NMS negatively impacting HRQoL. Our findings support the routine clinical screening of HRQoL in PD patients to identify and address modifiable factors.

Regulating Generic Ophthalmologic Drug Bioequivalence-Envisioning Accessibility for Patients.

New, brand-name, ophthalmology drug products are developed, investigated, and submitted for marketing approval through premarket interactions with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These drug applications for novel drugs are reviewed by FDA for safety and effectiveness before being allowed on the market. Many brand-name drugs are allowed a period of marketing exclusivity and/or have patent protections that can delay generic competition. When these exclusivity periods or patents expire or are challenged (in the case of patents), generic competitors may then market equivalent products, as allowed by U.S. law (eg, Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, often referred to as "the Hatch-Waxman Act"). To be approved as a therapeutic equivalent, a generic product must demonstrate that it is both pharmaceutically equivalent and bioequivalent to the brand-name drug product, which can involve innovative analytical methods and study designs. To facilitate generic drug assessment and approval, the FDA has negotiated the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA) program that funds a rigorous generic drug development program that includes pre-Abbreviated New Drug Application (pre-ANDA) correspondence and meetings, targeted bioequivalence research, and publication of product-specific guidances (PSGs) to support generic drug research and development for manufacturers interested in developing generic drugs for the U.S. market. FDA's regulatory practices include the monitoring of quality and postapproval adverse events of all marketed products, including those for use in and around the eyes.

Development methodology on determination of instant release fractions for generic safety assessment for direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel

Development methodology on determination of instant release fractions for generic safety assessment for direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel

Assessment of Risk Factors of African Swine Fever in India: Perspectives on Future Outbreaks and Control Strategies.

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important transboundary diseases of pigs. ASF has been identified in India for the first time in domestic pigs from outbreaks reported in two of the northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in 2020. A total of 11 ASF outbreaks in different regions killed over 3700 pigs and devastated the economy of small-scale livestock owners of both the states. Considering the first outbreak of ASF in India, a generic risk assessment framework was determined to identify potential risk factors that might favor future emergence of the disease. Based on the Indian scenario, we considered population density of host, farming practice, availability of biological vectors and wildlife reservoirs, epidemiological cycles, and international trade to analyze the possibility of future outbreaks of ASF and chances of establishment of endemism. On critical analysis of the identified risk factors associated with ASFV transmission, we observed that the risk factors are well preserved in the Indian geography and might participate in future outbreaks, further disseminating the disease to nearby countries. Since no vaccine is currently available against ASF, the domestic and the wild pigs (wild boars and the endangered pygmy hogs native to India) of this region are under constant threat of infection. For the near future, this region will have to continue to rely on the implementation of preventive measures to avoid the devastating losses that outbreaks can cause. The various adaptive control strategies to minimize the risks associated with the transmission of ASF, keeping our views to Indian settings, have been described. The risk-analysis framework presented in the study will give a further understanding of the dynamics of disease transmission and will help to design control strategies and corresponding measures to minimize the catastrophic consequences of ASF disease.

I-WISh: A wish list for immune thrombocytopenia quality of life indicators becomes reality.

I-WISh: A wish list for immune thrombocytopenia quality of life indicators becomes reality.

Evaluation of competence in ultrasound-guided procedures-a generic assessment tool developed through the Delphi method.

To develop a generic and objective tool for assessing competence in percutaneous ultrasound-guided procedures. Interventional ultrasound experts from the Nordic countries were invited to participate in a three-round Delphi process. A steering committee was formed to manage the process. In round 1, the experts were asked to suggest all aspects to consider when assessing competence in US-guided procedures. Suggestions were analyzed and condensed into assessment items. In round 2, the expert panel rated these items on a 1-5 scale and suggested new items. Items with a mean rating of ≤ 3.5 were excluded. In round 3, the expert panel rated the list items and suggested changes to the items. Twenty-five experts were invited, and response rates in the three rounds were 68% (17 out of 25), 100% (17 out of 17), and 100% (17 out of 17). The three-round Delphi process resulted in a 12-item assessment tool, using a five-point rating scale. The final assessment tool evaluates pre-procedural planning, US technique, procedural technique, patient safety, communication, and teamwork. Expert consensus was achieved on a generic tool for assessment of competence in percutaneous ultrasound-guided procedures-the Interventional Ultrasound Skills Evaluation (IUSE). This is the initial step in ensuring a valid and reliable method for assessment of interventional US skill. • Through a Delphi process, expert consensus was achieved on the content of an assessment tool for percutaneous ultrasound-guided procedures-the Interventional Ultrasound Skills Evaluation (IUSE) tool. • The IUSE tool is comprehensive and covers pre-procedural planning, US technique, procedural technique, patient safety, communication, and teamwork. • This is an important step in ensuring valid and reliable assessment of interventional US skills.