Initial Qualitative Evaluation Research Articles

Phonological assessment and analysis tools for Polish: Construction and use

ABSTRACT This contribution presents tools for the assessment of phonological development of Polish-learning children and an initial qualitative evaluation thereof. The tools are consistent with those developed for 16 other languages in a cross-linguistic study of phonological development that is embedded in the framework of constraint-based nonlinear phonology. This theoretical foundation underlies the composition of a Polish word list for elicitation plus a supplementary analysis and intervention planning form (where intervention is warranted). A qualitative pilot study evaluated the tools in terms of adherence to underlying theoretical constructs, coverage of Polish phonology in the developmental context and utility for testing two children, one of whom was characterised by protracted phonological development. Further steps are required to develop the test into a norm-referenced instrument for clinical and research purposes, including quantitative evaluations of the tools’ psychometric properties.

Development and initial qualitative evaluation of a novel school-based nutrition intervention – COOKKIT (Cooking Kit for Kids)

BackgroundExcess weight and an unhealthy diet are risk factors for many cancers, and in high income countries, both are more prevalent among low income families. Dietary interventions targeting primary-school aged children (under 11) can improve healthy eating behaviours, but most are not designed to support the translation of skills learnt in the classroom to the home setting. This paper assessed attitudes and approaches to cooking and eating at home, and the potential to enhance engagement in healthy eating through the COOKKIT intervention.MethodsCOOKKIT is an intervention to deliver weekly cooking classes and supportive materials for low-income families to maintain healthy eating at home. Preliminary qualitative interviews were conducted with teachers and parent–child dyads from a range of primary schools in the UK to explore attitudes, barriers and facilitators for healthy eating and inform the development of COOKKIT. Following implementation, ten children (8–9 y/o) participated in post-intervention focus groups, alongside interviews with teaching staff and parents.ResultsThematic analysis identified five themes under which to discuss the children’s experience of food, cooking and the impact of COOKKIT: Involving children in planning and buying food for the family; Engaging children in preparing meals at home; Trying to eat healthy meals together in the midst of busy lives; Role-modelling; and Balancing practicalities, information and engagement when delivering cooking classes.ConclusionsResults suggest COOKKIT provides engaging and easy to follow in-school resources for children and school staff with take-home kits facilitating continued engagement and reinforcing lessons learned in the home environment. Importantly, participants highlighted the combination of healthy eating information, applied practical skills and low costs could support families to continue following the COOKKIT advice beyond the intervention, suggesting further evaluation of COOKKIT is warranted.

The Public Health National Center for Innovations: An Initial Qualitative Evaluation.

The Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI) was launched in 2015 as a division of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) to serve as a hub for fostering public health innovation and transformation. We explored perspectives of key informants to assess PHNCI's work in its first 5 years, including implementation of activities, outputs, accomplishments, and opportunities. This qualitative study involved a Web site review; secondary document review; 15 interviews with 17 key informants purposively sampled from 2 groups-PHNCI and PHAB staff and leadership (PHNCI respondents), and external partners and collaborators (external respondents); and thematic analysis of qualitative data. United States. PHNCI implemented its planned activities over the past 5 years-including grant programs and learning communities; large-scale public health initiatives; conferences, events, and convenings; webinar trainings; and resources, tools, and materials-resulting in more than 150 outputs. According to key informants, PHNCI's major accomplishments were as follows: contributed to an increased understanding and awareness of innovation in the public health field; provided grants and learning communities to support innovation; developed and disseminated materials to help practitioners innovate; established partnerships and promoted cross-sector collaboration; supported systems transformation; incorporated innovation into public health accreditation; and focused efforts to advance health equity. Going forward, PHNCI should continue to prioritize its core activities that support public health innovation and transformation; expand its work by addressing innovation in new public health topic areas; strengthen and expand its cross-sector work, partnerships, and activities to advance health equity and antiracism; and increase its visibility and reach, particularly within other sectors. Continued commitment and leadership are important for strengthening the capacity of the public health system to innovate, respond to ongoing and emerging public health threats and challenges, and advance health equity.

Novel Computational Linguistic Measures, Dialogue System and the Development of SOPHIE: Standardized Online Patient for Healthcare Interaction Education

In this article, we describe the iterative participatory design of SOPHIE, an online virtual patient for feedback-based practice of sensitive patient-physician conversations, and discuss an initial qualitative evaluation of the system by professional end users. The design of SOPHIE was motivated from a computational linguistic analysis of the transcripts of 383 patient-physician conversations from an essential office visit of late stage cancer patients with their oncologists. We developed methods for the automatic detection of two behavioral paradigms, lecturing and positive language usage patterns (sentiment trajectory of conversation), that are shown to be significantly associated with patient prognosis understanding. These automated metrics associated with effective communication were incorporated into SOPHIE, and a pilot user study identified that SOPHIE was favorably reviewed by a user group of practicing physicians.

Teaching experimental disciplines to biochemistry majors in COVID times: The dos and don'ts.

Teaching experimental disciplines to biochemistry majors in COVID times: The dos and don'ts.

Abstract 358: Cancer cell derived TNF mRNA as a marker of cancer cell budding in colorectal cancer

Abstract Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) is a potent cytokine reported to have several functions, including stimulation of inflammation, directing cell death and cell proliferation. The cellular origin of TNF has generally believed to be the inflammatory cells especially because macrophages are prone to induction of TNF. Using in situ hybridization (ISH) based on TNF mRNA probes (RNAscope) we recently reported that TNF mRNA is also seen in cytokeratin positive cancer cells (CC) and is associated with morphologic appearance interpreted as CC branching (Møller et al, IJMS 2019, doi: 10.3390/ijms20081907). To determine the fraction of CC-derived TNF mRNA signal at different areas in colon cancers we developed a cell and color segmentation-based image analysis tool to process fluorescence signals in digital slides. The approach allowed quantification of the TNF mRNA-positive CC and TNF mRNA-positive stromal cells in the digital slides previously reported, that were also stained for cytokeratin, microRNA-21 (miR-21) and DAPI nuclear stain. In the two cases with most abundant TNF mRNA ISH signal, both showing moderate-to-high budding index, the fraction of TNF-mRNA positive CC in the outer periphery (approximately 500 µm) was 8% and 20%, respectively. The frequency of the TNF-positive CC increased towards the invasive front from 7% (33/500 CC per 0.25 mm2) to 35% (48/137 CC), and from 8% (127/1536 CC per 0.50 mm2) to 28% (108/389 CC), respectively. The upregulation is in agreement with initial qualitative evaluation. In the same areas, the fraction of TNF mRNA positive stromal cells among all TNF mRNA-positive cells was only 8% in both cases, indicating that the majority of the TNF mRNA originates from CC. The fraction of the TNF mRNA-positive CC that were also miR-21 positive was 85% and 43%, respectively, which was higher than the prevalence of the overall miR-21 positive CC, 55% and 30%, suggesting frequent co-expression with miR-21. In conclusion, we have developed a method to obtain quantitative estimates from digital multiplex-stained slides with RNAscope and LNA fluorescence ISH and immunofluorescence. More samples will need to be processed to better understand the importance of TNF expression in cancer cell invasion. Citation Format: Boye Schnack Nielsen, Kim Holmstrom. Cancer cell derived TNF mRNA as a marker of cancer cell budding in colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 358.

Gene delivery to mid‐cervical dorsal root ganglia using AAV9

Delivery of viruses (e.g., adeno‐associated virus, AAV) or small molecule tracers (e.g., cholera toxin) to the pleural space between the lung and chest wall (i.e., “intrapleural delivery”) can effectively target phrenic motor neurons (see Mantilla et al., 2009, Journal of Neuroscience Methods). In ongoing experiments we are evaluating the effectiveness of intrapleural delivery of AAV serotype 9 (AAV9) for driving transgene expression in diaphragm sensory neurons in the cervical dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in C57/bl6 mice. Initial experiments used AAV9‐CBA‐GFP (titer: 1.42–8.11×1012 vg/ml) with relatively low total volume (6 μl of virus diluted in 6 μl of 1x PBS) for bilateral intrapleural injection; this approach failed to produce noticeable DRG transgene expression. We next tried larger unilateral doses (33 μl virus) diluted into 1x PBS to make a larger total volume (400 μl); this approach produced cervical DRG GFP expression, but positive DRG somata were sparse. Ultimately we utilized a higher titer AAV9‐CBA‐GFP (1.48×1013) at several doses: 33 μl, 66 μl, 100 μl, or 200 μl (n=2–3 per group). All doses were diluted up to 400 μl total volume in 1x PBS. After 6–8 weeks mice were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) and the central nervous system was harvested, post‐fixed in 4% PFA, and cryo‐protected in 30% sucrose. Brains and spinal cords were cryo‐sectioned (40 μm) and imaged using a fluorescence microscope for GFP expression. All the doses showed unequivocally positive GFP expression in afferent fibers in the mid‐cervical dorsal roots as well as DRG somata. Initial qualitative evaluation indicates a dose‐dependent increase in total cervical DRG labeling progressing from 33–100 μl, with no additional labeling at 200 μl. Interestingly, GFP expression was detected in very few phrenic motoneurons, even at the high doses. Our preliminary conclusion is that intrapleural injection of relatively large volumes of high titer AAV9 can drive transgene expression in mid‐cervical DRG neurons.Support or Funding InformationSupport: SPARC OT2 OD023854, F31 HL145831‐01 (MDS)

LiSRA: Lightweight Security Risk Assessment for decision support in information security

Information security risk assessment frameworks support decision-makers in assessing and understanding the risks their organisation is exposed to. However, there is a lack of lightweight approaches. Most existing frameworks require security-related information that are not available and that are very challenging to gather. So they are not suitable in practice, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who often lack in data and in security knowledge. On the other hand, other explicit SME approaches have far less informative value than the proposed framework. Moreover, many approaches only provide extensive process descriptions that are challenging for SMEs. In order to overcome this challenge, we propose LiSRA, a lightweight, domain-specific framework to support information security decision-making. It is designed with a two-sided input where domain experts initially provide domain-specific information (e.g. attack scenarios for a specific domain), whereupon users can focus on specifying their security practices and organisational characteristics by entering information that many organisations have already collected. This information is then linked to attack paths and to the corresponding adverse impacts in order to finally assess the total risk. Moreover, LiSRA can be used to get transparent recommendations for future security activities and presents detailed insights on the mitigating effects of each recommendation. The security activities are being evaluated taking into account the security activities already in place, and also considering the dependencies between multiple overlapping activities that can be of complementary, substitutive or dependent nature. Both aspects are ignored by most existing evaluation approaches which can lead to an over-investment in security. A prototype has been implemented, and the applicability of the framework has been evaluated with performance and robustness analyses and with initial qualitative evaluations.

Evaluation of Methods to Assess in vivo Activity of Engineered Genome-Editing Nucleases in Protoplasts.

Genome-editing is being implemented in increasing number of plant species using engineered sequence specific nucleases (SSNs) such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated systems (CRISPR/Cas9), Transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs), and more recently CRISPR/Cas12a. As the tissue culture and regeneration procedures to generate gene-edited events are time consuming, large-scale screening methodologies that rapidly facilitate validation of genome-editing reagents are critical. Plant protoplast cells provide a rapid platform to validate genome-editing reagents. Protoplast transfection with plasmids expressing genome-editing reagents represents an efficient and cost-effective method to screen for in vivo activity of genome-editing constructs and resulting targeted mutagenesis. In this study, we compared three existing methods for detection of editing activity, the T7 endonuclease I assay (T7EI), PCR/restriction enzyme (PCR/RE) digestion, and amplicon-sequencing, with an alternative method which involves tagging a double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (dsODN) into the SSN-induced double stranded break and detection of on-target activity of gene-editing reagents by PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis. To validate these methods, multiple reagents including TALENs, CRISPR/Cas9 and Cas9 variants, eCas9(1.1) (enhanced specificity) and Cas9-HF1 (high-fidelity1) were engineered for targeted mutagenesis of Acetolactate synthase1 (ALS1), 5-Enolpyruvylshikimate- 3-phosphate synthase1 (EPSPS1) and their paralogs in potato. While all methods detected editing activity, the PCR detection of dsODN integration provided the most straightforward and easiest method to assess on-target activity of the SSN as well as a method for initial qualitative evaluation of the functionality of genome-editing constructs. Quantitative data on mutagenesis frequencies obtained by amplicon-sequencing of ALS1 revealed that the mutagenesis frequency of CRISPR/Cas9 reagents is better than TALENs. Context-based choice of method for evaluation of gene-editing reagents in protoplast systems, along with advantages and limitations associated with each method, are discussed.

A Wikidata-based tool for building and visualising narratives

In this paper we present a semi-automatic tool for constructing and visualising narratives, intended as networks of events related to each other by semantic relations. The tool obeys an ontology for narratives that we developed. It retrieves and assigns internationalised resource identifiers to the instances of the classes of the ontology using Wikidata as an external knowledge base and also facilitates the construction and contextualisation of events, and their linking to form the narratives. The knowledge collected by the tool is automatically saved as an Web ontology language graph. The tool also allows the visualisation of the knowledge included in the graph in simple formats like tables, network graphs and timelines. We have carried out an initial qualitative evaluation of the tool. As case study, an historian from the University of Pisa has used the tool to build the narrative of Dante Alighieri’s life. The evaluation has regarded the effectiveness of the tool and the satisfaction of the users’ requirements.

Diagnosis of gastrogastric fistula on computed tomography: a quantitative approach.

To determine if the attenuation of contrast material in the excluded stomach compared with the gastric pouch is helpful in diagnosing gastrogastric (GG) fistula. In a retrospective study, 13 CT scans in 12 patients (age 43.2±9.2, 10 females) who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and who had oral contrast in both the gastric pouch and excluded stomach were qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated for GG fistula by two radiologists, using upper GI series (UGI) as the gold standard. Quantitative analysis was performed by computing the relative attenuation (RA) ratio (HU in excluded stomach/HU in gastric pouch). Statistical analysis was performed to determine if the RA ratio values correlated with the UGI findings of GG fistula. 46.2% (6/13) of UGI studies demonstrated a GG fistula. Statistical analysis demonstrated a significant difference in RA ratio (P<0.05) between the fistula group (1.12±0.29) and the reflux group (0.56±0.19). A receiver operating characteristic analysis identified an RA ratio of 0.8 that maximized sensitivity (100%), at the expense of specificity (78.6%), for diagnosing GG fistula. In contrast, the initial qualitative evaluation for GG fistula yielded a lower sensitivity (45.8%) and a higher specificity (89.2%). After taking RA ratios into account, radiologists' final conclusions achieved higher sensitivity (58.3%) and specificity (100%). The relative attenuation ratio of oral contrast in the excluded stomach versus the gastric pouch can be a reliable tool in differentiating GG fistula from oral contrast reflux up the biliopancreatic limb on CT.

Workplace violence prevention for nurses on-line course: Program development.

Many entry-level and experienced healthcare professionals have not received training in workplace violence prevention strategies. This paper describes the development, content, and initial qualitative evaluation of an on-line course designed to give healthcare workers an opportunity to acquire free workplace violence prevention training while earning free continuing education units. A group of healthcare violence prevention researchers worked via email and face-to-face meetings to decide appropriate content for the course. Educational strategies used in the course include: text; video re-enactments of real-life workplace violence incidents; and videos of nurses discussing incidents of violence. Initial evaluation involved a focus group of nurses to discuss the course content and navigation. The on-line course has thirteen units that take approximately 15 minutes each to complete. The focus group participants liked the ``resume-where-you-left-off'' technology that enables the user to complete any portion of the course, leave to do something, and return to the course where they left off. Participants viewed the ``Nurses' Voices'' videos as relevant illustrations of violence that nurses face in their workplaces. The focus group participants considered the course to be an effective learning tool for people new to the profession and for those with seniority.

Promuovere la mentalità imprenditoriale nella scuola secondaria

Entrepreneurship Education (EE) represents a challenge for education systems across Europe and in particular for Italy, where EE is largely confined to technical and vocational studies. Introducing EE in the general secondary school curriculum means focusing on the development of skills and abilities now deemed an essential part of what is termed the “entrepreneurial mindset”. This in turn requires the adoption of teaching methodologies suitable for fostering those essential capabilities. Indeed, EE stretches beyond the acquisition of specific knowledge, encompassing efforts to make students active participants in their own learning, career path and life in general. This paper describes an EE training model defined within the European project “I can...I cannot...I go! Rev. 2”, funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme - Transfer of Innovation. It reports initial qualitative evaluation of the trial phase conducted with fourth-year students attending a technical school for tourism in Palermo.

Land cover mapping of deciduous forest regions using ETM+ data: a case study of Azerbaijan Province, Iran

Up to date information about the existing land cover patterns and changes in land cover over time is one of the prime prerequisites for the preparation of an integrated development plan and economic development program of a region. By using ETM+ image data from 2002, we provided a land cover map of deciduous forest regions in Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Initial qualitative evaluation of the data showed no significant radiometric errors. Image classification was carried out using a maximum likelihood-based supervised classification method. In the end, we determined five major land cover classes, i.e., grass lands, deciduous broad-leaf forest, cultivated land, river and land without vegetation cover. Accuracy, estimated by the use of criteria such as overall accuracy from a confusion matrix of classification was 86% with a 0.88 Kappa coefficient. Such high accuracy results demonstrate that the combined use of spectral and textural characteristics increased the number of classes in the field classification, also with excellent accuracy. The availability and use of time series of remote sensing data permit the detection and quantification of land cover changes and improve our understanding of the past and present status of forest ecosystems.

Imaging of myocardial infarction using a 64-slice MDCT scanner: Correlation between infarcted region and status of territory-dependent coronary artery

This study was performed to evaluate the ability of 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) to detect previous myocardial infarctions (MIs) in patients referred for the assessment of the coronary arteries. In patients with regional changes of left ventricular wall myocardial density, the territory-dependent coronary vessel status was examined. We retrospectively assessed 202 consecutive patients referred for 64-slice MDCT of the coronary arteries. In all cases, detailed, clinical, serological and electrocardiograph (ECG) data were collected to identify patients with a previous diagnosis of MI. An initial qualitative evaluation of MDCT images was performed in all patients to identify areas of suspected myocardial necrosis, which were defined as regions of lower density within normally enhanced left ventricular myocardium. Thereafter, in all patients with suspected MIs, attenuation values and left ventricular wall thickness were also measured at the level of the normal myocardium and within the hypodense regions. Each MI was also assigned to the distribution territory of a coronary vessel, and morphological data were combined with MDCT angiographic findings. After clinical assessment, MI was found in 27 patients (six acute).; 64-slice MDCT was able to detect the presence of MI in 24/27 cases, showing sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 95%, respectively, and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 95%. Quantitative analysis showed a significant difference (p<0.01) between attenuation values of normal vs. infarcted myocardium (124.5+/-19 HU vs. 56.1+/-23 HU, respectively); wall thinning was exclusively observed in chronic MIs (p<0.01). In 23/24 detected cases, analysis of territory-dependent arteries showed findings compatible with presence of MI. The presence of MI is well depicted with retrospective 64-slice MDCT. The main advantage of 64-slice MDCT is that it allows to evaluate and relate the status of a vessel and its dependent myocardial region in a single exam.

Initial qualitative evaluation of computed radiography in an intensive care unit.

The first computed radiography (CR) unit in Australia was installed at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, in February 1994. An initial qualitative evaluation of the attitude of the intensive care unit (ICU) physicians to the CR unit was conducted in June 1994 by use of a survey. The results of the survey of ICU physicians indicated that images were available faster than under the previous system and that the use of the CR system was preferred to evaluate chest tubes and line placements. While it is recognized that a further detailed radiological evaluation of the CR system is required to establish the diagnostic performance of CR compared with conventional film, some comments on the implementation of the system and ICU physician attitudes to the CR system are put forward for consideration by other hospitals examining the possible use of CR systems.

Ambulatory care training standards for continuity of care in osteopathic family medicine.

The authors developed statewide standards of excellence for ambulatory care training in an osteopathic medical consortium of family medicine residency programs. A total of 16 osteopathic family medicine residency programs joined with the Michigan State University-College of Osteopathic Medicine to form the Consortium for Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education Training (COGMET) Family Medicine Division. Standards were developed and implemented on a statewide basis for all member residency programs. Initial qualitative evaluations discovered minor as well as more substantive noncompliance after a 6-month trial. Results from longitudinal quantitative evaluations will determine the effectiveness of these standards.