Standard Assessment Tests Research Articles

Burden of substance use disorders, mental illness, and correlates of infectious diseases among soon-to-be released prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Despite low HIV prevalence in the South Caucasus region, transmission is volatile. Little data are available from this region about addiction and infectious diseases among prisoners who transition back to communities. A nation-wide randomly sampled biobehavioral health survey was conducted in 13 non-specialty Azerbaijani prisons among soon-to-be-released prisoners. After informed consent, participants underwent standardized health assessment surveys and testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis. Of the 510 participants (mean age = 38.2 years), 11.4% were female, and 31.9% reported pre-incarceration drug injection, primarily of heroin. Prevalence of HCV (38.2%), HIV (3.7%), syphilis (3.7%), and HBV (2.7%) was high. Among the 19 HIV-infected inmates, 14 (73.7%) were aware of their HIV status, 12 (63.2%) were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 5 (26.3%) had CD4 < 350 cells/mL (4 of these were on ART). While drug injection was the most significant independent correlate of HCV (AOR = 12.9; p = 0.001) and a significant correlate of HIV (AOR = 8.2; p = 0.001), both unprotected sex (AOR = 3.31; p = 0.049) and working in Russia/Ukraine (AOR = 4.58; p = 0.008) were also correlated with HIV. HIV and HCV epidemics are concentrated among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in Azerbaijan, and magnified among prisoners. A transitioning HIV epidemic is emerging from migration from high endemic countries and heterosexual risk. The high diagnostic rate and ART coverage among Azerbaijani prisoners provides new evidence that HIV treatment as prevention in former Soviet Union (FSU) countries is attainable, and provides new insights for HCV diagnosis and treatment as new medications become available. Within prison evidence-based addiction treatments with linkage to community care are urgently needed.

The Students Portfolio as an Alternative Strategy to the Standardized Competencies Assessment Tests

This paper is part of a wider research, which focuses on education competencies assessment (I+D Research Project, ref. SEJ-2007-66967), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. What we show in this paper are data from one of the case studies we carry out as part of this project. We have developed a "collaborative research" to understand and analyze the educational processes taking place in the "learnings of second order" ("learning how to learn"). In this sense, we've performed a didactic experimentation with portfolios of student in a 5th grade classroom; the conclusions presented are the result of this particular study. As a final, we conclude that portfolios of student can be an interesting strategy for educational evaluation; as well as it can become an "alternative strategy" to the standardized competency assessment tests, which predominate in the current educational landscape.

A Framework for (Tele-) Monitoring of the Rehabilitation Progress in Stroke Patients: eHealth 2015 Special Issue.

Preservation of mobility in conjunction with an independent life style is one of the major goals of rehabilitation after stroke. The Rehab@Home framework shall support the continuation of rehabilitation at home. The framework consists of instrumented insoles, connected wirelessly to a 3G ready tablet PC, a server, and a web-interface for medical experts. The rehabilitation progress is estimated via automated analysis of movement data from standardized assessment tests which are designed according to the needs of stroke patients and executed via the tablet PC application. The Rehab@Home framework's implementation is finished and ready for the field trial (at five patients' homes). Initial testing of the automated evaluation of the standardized mobility tests shows reproducible results. Therefore it is assumed that the Rehab@Home framework is applicable as monitoring tool for the gait rehabilitation progress in stroke patients.

Ispitivanje posturalne stabilnosti pomoću Neurocom balance master kineziometrijske platforme

Postural stability represents the ability of the body to maintain the centre of gravity above the surface of the support in various anti­ gravitational conditions. Appropriate postural control is essential for everyday activities and requires integration of visual, proprioceptive and vestibular information. Application of computerized post urography for examination of postural stability is well adopted in clinical trials, especially by the experts working on the issues of maintaining and disorders of balance. Computerized technique, namely kinesiometric platforms, enables objective balance assessment and the ability to monitor changes over time. The aim of this paper is to conduct a review of the research based on the insight in the available literature, where NeuroCom Balance Master kinesiometric platform was used as the research instrument, and to determine the possibility of its clinical application. The results show that NeuroCom Balancer Master platform is used in various areas of clinical trials, especially for medical rehabilitation in sports, to estimate the state of the postural stability, to monitor and evaluate treatments, to forecast lower limb injuries and risks of falling down, as well as for comparison with standard balance assessment tests in all age populations.

Endothelial-mediated coronary flow reserve in patients with Anderson–Fabry disease

dependent vasodilation may be impaired in patients with AFD. The study enrolled 29 patients with genetically proved AFD, who had never been treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and 18 healthy volunteers, comparable for age, gender distribution and body mass index (BMI). Subjects with smoking habitus or BMI N30 kg/m 2 were excluded from the study. Coronary artery disease was ruled out on the basis of the clinical history plus a negative maximal exercise test. Female participants underwent the study within the first 8 days of their menstrual cycle, as hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle are known to affect coronary flow regulation. All participants refrained from caffeine-containing beverages or theophylline containing medications for at least 24 h before the tests. The standard Doppler echocardiographic assessment and CPT test were carried out on the same day, during the morning. Dipyridamole test (0.56 mg/kg of body weight in 4 min) was performed 24 h later. According to standardized CPT protocol [7], the study participants placed their hand and distal part of the forearm in an ice water slurry for 3 min. The Doppler sample

Working with a domestic assessment system to estimate the need of support and care of elderly and disabled persons: results from field studies

This article describes the results of field studies performed over a period between five months and 24 months. The objectives of these studies were to collect long-term real-life data to evaluate how these data can be mapped to items on standardized assessment tests and which presentation method is most suitable to inform caregivers about critical situations and changes in health or care needs. A Home-monitoring system which uses modern sensor technologies was developed for and used in these field studies. It was installed in living environments of seven people (three who were not in need of care, two in need of care, and two with mental disabilities). The data were generated by sensor data acquisition and questionnaire reporting. Four types of data analysis and representation were evaluated to support caregivers. Results show that sensor data can be used to determine information directly or indirectly, which can be mapped to relevant assessment items and presented with different degrees of granularity. It is also feasible to determine and present additional information of potential interest which cannot be directly mapped to any assessment item. Sensor data can also be displayed in a live view. This live data representation led to a decrease in the caregivers’ workload when assessed according to the German version of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire.

Number sense of final year pre-service primary school teachers

Number sense studies have indicated that the development of number sense should be the focus of primary school mathematics education. The literature review revealed that learner performance is linked to teacher subject knowledge and that teachers’ confidence in doing and teaching mathematics influences the way they teach and their willingness to learn mathematics. This study was motivated by the poor performance of Namibian primary school learners in both national and international standardised assessment tests and explored the number sense of 47 final-year primary school pre-service teachers (PSTs) in Namibia. The data in this mixed method research design were obtained from a number sense questionnaire, a written computations questionnaire, a mental calculations questionnaire and the McAnallen confidence in mathematics and mathematics teaching survey (MCMMTS). Six PSTs, randomly selected from the 47 participants, were interviewed to determine their use of number-sensible strategies. The overall results of this investigation revealed that the final year primary school PSTs demonstrated limited number sense and possessed very few of the indicators of number sense. Unexpectedly, the confidence survey showed that they were confident in their ability to do and to teach mathematics. This study exposed one reason for the low standards of performance of Namibian learners in mathematics and the lack of improvement over the last few decades. It indicates a need for teacher training institutions to identify the mathematics that teachers should know and the ways in which teacher understanding of subject content has to be transformed to enable them to develop the number sense of primary school learners.

What standardized tests ignore when assessing individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders / Lo que ignoran los tests estandarizados en la evaluación de personas con trastornos del neurodesarrollo

In this article we critique the use of traditional standardized tests for the cognitive assessment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Limitations stem from the lack of integrating (a) results from research into the psychological functioning of these populations, and (b) the main arguments underlying models of human development. We identify four secondary issues in this discussion: (1) these instruments cannot be used with children who have particularly low cognitive functioning; (2) little or no variance in the scores obtained by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, because all are at floor, prevent adequate interpretations; (3) measurements do not provide information useful for the design of intervention strategies; and (4) different cognitive and/or neural processes may underlie behavioural scores ‘in the normal range’. Rethinking traditional assessment methods in favour of technologically-mediated games yields new cognitive assessment possibilities.

Selective verbal memory impairment due to left fornical crus injury in a patient with intraventricular hemorrhage.

Selective verbal memory impairment due to left fornical crus injury in a patient with intraventricular hemorrhage.

Fall-Risk Classification of the Timed Up-And-Go Test with Principle Component Analysis

This study aimed to show that important fall risk measures among the elderly can be classified using multiple parameters obtained from wearable inertial sensors. The timed up-and-go (TUG) test, a well-known standard assessment test, was used to evaluate the risk of falling among elderly individuals. The use of wearable inertial sensors enables extraction of triaxial acceleration and angular velocity signals for offline analysis. Thirty-eight elderly patients from Fujimoto Hayasuzu Hospital participated in this study. Specific results were provided from the signals obtained from acceleration and angular velocity, and analysis was carried out in each phase of various activities, such as sit-to-stand, walking, etc. Seventy-eight parameters were obtained from the extracted acceleration and angular velocity signals in all phases to classify the risk of falling among the elderly. Using principle component analysis, the most important measures were selected from the gathered parameters. The most influential measure in differentiating subjects with high and low fall risks was the turning angular velocity signal.

Association between Ambient Noise Exposure and School Performance of Children Living in An Urban Area: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study

Most of the studies investigating the effects of the external noise on children's school performance have concerned pupils in schools exposed to high levels due to aircraft or freeway traffic noise. However, little is known about the consequences of the chronic ambient noise exposure at a level commonly encountered in residential urban areas. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the school performance of 8- to 9-year-old-children living in an urban environment and their chronic ambient noise exposure at home and at school. The children's school performances on the national standardized assessment test in French and mathematics were compared with the environmental noise levels. Children's exposure to ambient noise was calculated in front of their bedrooms (Lden) and schools (LAeq,day) using noise prediction modeling. Questionnaires were distributed to the families to collect potential confounding factors. Among the 746 respondent children, 586 were included in multilevel analyses. On average, the LAeq,day at school was 51.5dB (SD= 4.5 dB; range = 38-58dB) and the outdoor Lden at home was 56.4dB (SD= 4.4 dB; range = 44-69dB). LAeq,day at school was associated with impaired mathematics score (p = 0.02) or impaired French score (p = 0.01). For a + 10dB gap, the French and mathematics scores were on average lower by about 5.5 points. Lden at home was significantly associated with impaired French performance when considered alone (p < 10(-3)) and was borderline significant when the combined home-school exposure was considered (p = 0.06). The magnitude of the observed effect on school performance may appear modest, but should be considered in light of the number of people who are potentially chronically exposed to similar environmental noise levels.

PTH-002 A Single Centre Audit Comparing Colonoscopy Completion and Complication Rates in older and Younger Patients

IntroductionColonoscopy is the gold standard test for large bowel assessment. Radiological techniques are available and have a high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing colorectal cancer.1 As part of the Joint...

Clinical experience of noninvasive prenatal testing with cell‐free DNA for fetal trisomies 21, 18, and 13, in a general screening population

Evaluate noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) with cell-free DNA as a screening method for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 in an obstetrical clinical practice setting. Observational study of pregnant women who underwent prenatal screening for fetal trisomy from 30 July 2012 to 1 December 2012. NIPT was offered to all patients in addition to first trimester combined screening (FTS). The cohort included 289 women with mean age of 32.3 years (range: 17.8-42.0) who underwent testing at 13.0 gestational age weeks (range: 10.1-20.7). NIPT results were provided for 98.6% of patients at a mean reporting time of 9.3 calendar days. With NIPT, all patients had a risk less than 1:10 000 for trisomy 21, 18, or 13. With FTS, 4.5% of patients had screening results indicating an increased risk for trisomy 21. One patient who had an elevated trisomy 21 risk with FTS elected to have an amniocentesis, which revealed a euploid fetus. NIPT has the potential to be a highly effective screening method as a standard test for risk assessment of fetal trisomies 21, 18, and 13 in general pregnant populations.

Behavioural, educational and respiratory outcomes of antenatal betamethasone for term caesarean section (ASTECS trial)

ObjectivesTo determine whether antenatal betamethasone prior to elective term caesarean section (CS) affects long term behavioural, cognitive or developmental outcome, and whether the risk of asthma or atopic disease is...

Children's perceptions of primary science assessment in England and Wales

This study builds on and contributes to work on assessment of children in primary school, particularly in science. Previous research has examined primary science assessment from different standpoints, but no studies have specifically addressed children's perspectives. This article provides additional insight into issues surrounding children's assessment in primary school and how the assessment of science might develop in England after the science SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) were abolished in 2009. Some research suggests that primary science assessment via SATs is a major reason for the observed decline in children's engagement with science in upper primary and lower secondary school. The analytic focus on engaging children as coresearchers to assist in the process of gathering informed views and interpreting findings from a large sample of children's views enables another contribution. The study, based on a survey of 1000 children in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales, reveals that despite being assessed under two different regimes (high‐stakes national tests in England and moderated teacher assessment in Wales), children's views of science assessment are remarkably consistent. Most appreciate the usefulness of science assessment and value frequent, non‐SATs testing for monitoring/improving science progress. There was a largely negative impact, however, of science assessment on children's well‐being, particularly due to stress. The paper demonstrates that children provide an important perspective on assessment and that including their views can improve policy‐making in relation to primary science assessment.

Psych Pharm:An Interactive Learning Tools

MEDICATIONS USED IN MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHIATRIC NURSING ARE COMPLEX, DIFFICULT TO LEARN, AND HAVE POTENTIALLY DEADLY SIDE EFFECTS. Because psychiatric medications are used in all specialty areas student nurses must learn to administer them safely and teach clients and their families about the actions, potential side effects, and potential impact on the recipient. Considering the frequency of mental illness, exposure to specific psychopharmacology is often skimmed over in favor of devoting time to other pharmaceutical classifications (Rappa, Larose-Pierre, McDonald, Massey, & Singh, 2006), leaving students at a disadvantage in clinical practice. Students will encounter these medications, no matter where they work, and will information about psychiatric medications for standardized academic progress assessment tests. Finding a viable method to successfully convey this information became a necessity. Background The phrase See a need, fill a need was popularized after the animated film Robots came out in 2005. A was identified for a self-directed tool that would allow students to study and review psychiatric medications, but not require large amounts of precious lecture time. Software, training, an Instructional Technology Department fellowship, and expert support were available within the institution to move forward in developing an interactive, computer-based tool to help students understand psychiatric drugs, their complex side effects, and appropriate patient teaching. A search of academic, research, and education databases had yielded no appropriate or usable tool. However, the literature showed that students in the health sciences tend to respond well to online learning activities and find value in the flexibility and utility of the medium (Valaitis, Sword, Jones, & Hodges, 2005). Straight (2008) showed that online instruction and evaluation were effective in reducing medication errors. MERLOT.org (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) provides peer-reviewed online teaching and learning materials for various disciplines in higher education. This interactive online community of peers allows sharing of advice, tools, and expertise among educators. While there were no specific tools registered with helpful strategies related to psychopharmacology, ideas from other successful tutorials were valuable. The design of this project was guided by Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Learning, which finds that learning is more profound when words and pictures are combined. Mayer and Moreno (2003) state that for learning to take place, the student must filter, organize, and integrate new learning into prior knowledge. Learning is enhanced when connections are made between pictorial and verbal symbolic representations (the active-processing assumption). Mayer also reinforces the importance of testing after completing content study to ensure the successful transfer of information. With these findings in mind, an online program was developed to provide students the opportunity to learn on their own time, in their own way, the basics of psychopharmacology. Psych Pharm (http://capone.mtsu.edu/psypharm/) is the result of this effort. Design of Psych Pharm Psych pharm is divided into five modules corresponding to the main classifications of psychiatric drugs: antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antianxiety drugs, and stimulants. Each module includes animated, interactive lectures on disease pathology, drug action, side effects, and suggested patient teaching. Animated drawings of extrapyramidal symptoms demonstrate the serious side effects associated with antipsychotics, and side effect management is reinforced in sections on patient teaching. Students come to associate side effects with the difficulty of taking medications and the challenge of maintaining treatment. A quiz offered at the end of each module reinforces important concepts, and there is a comprehensive final exam with a certificate of completion that can be printed for faculty and/ or student records. …

Differential Gender Performance on the Major Field Test–Business

The Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B), a standardized assessment test of business knowledge among undergraduate business seniors, is widely used to measure student achievement. Many previous studies analyzing scores on the MFT-B report gender differences on the exam even after controlling for student's aptitude, general intellectual ability, and motivation. The authors’ results point to two reasons behind this phenomenon. First, it is important to control for critical thinking abilities while explaining variation in MFT-B scores. Second, motivation to perform well on the test varies between genders and high- and low-performing students.

Stress and anxiety surrounding forthcoming Standard Assessment Tests in English schoolchildren

The Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) taken by pupils in their final year of primary schooling in England have been widely criticised for placing children under too pressure and contributing to an increase in test-related stress and anxiety. In this exploratory study we set out to explore the experiences of forthcoming SATs in a small sample of children using an appraisal model of stress and to reflect on whether these criticisms are justified. Results from focus groups with pupils and interviews with class and head teachers suggested that there was diversity in pupils’ experiences their tests. The pressures associated with SATs did not necessarily lead to negative outcomes and some children described SATs in more positive ways, as challenging rather than threatening. Self-worth judgements played a central role in individual-level appraisal and may also provide a useful link to discourses surrounding the value of academic credentials.

Effects of tailored neck-shoulder pain treatment based on a decision model guided by clinical assessments and standardized functional tests. A study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundA major problem with rehabilitation interventions for neck pain is that the condition may have multiple causes, thus a single treatment approach is seldom efficient. The present study protocol outlines a single blinded randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of tailored treatment for neck-shoulder pain. The treatment is based on a decision model guided by standardized clinical assessment and functional tests with cut-off values. Our main hypothesis is that the tailored treatment has better short, intermediate and long-term effects than either non-tailored treatment or treatment-as-usual (TAU) on pain and function. We sub-sequentially hypothesize that tailored and non-tailored treatment both have better effect than TAU.Methods/Design120 working women with minimum six weeks of nonspecific neck-shoulder pain aged 20–65, are allocated by minimisation with the factors age, duration of pain, pain intensity and disability in to the groups tailored treatment (T), non-tailored treatment (NT) or treatment-as-usual (TAU). Treatment is given to the groups T and NT for 11 weeks (27 sessions evenly distributed). An extensive presentation of the tests and treatment decision model is provided. The main treatment components are manual therapy, cranio-cervical flexion exercise and strength training, EMG-biofeedback training, treatment for cervicogenic headache, neck motor control training. A decision algorithm based on the baseline assessment determines the treatment components given to each participant of T- and NT-groups. Primary outcome measures are physical functioning (Neck Disability Index) and average pain intensity last week (Numeric Rating Scale). Secondary outcomes are general improvement (Patient Global Impression of Change scale), symptoms (Profile Fitness Mapping neck questionnaire), capacity to work in the last 6 weeks (quality and quantity) and pressure pain threshold of m. trapezius. Primary and secondary outcomes will be reported for each group with effect size and its precision.DiscussionWe have chosen not to include women with psychological ill-health and focus on biomedical aspects of neck pain. Future studies should aim at including psychosocial aspects in a widened treatment decision model. No important adverse events or side-effects are expected.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials registration ISRCTN49348025.

Collagénomes éruptifs atypiques : deux cas

Eruptive collagenoma is a rare cutaneous lesion seen in young adults. It consists of asymptomatic, flesh-coloured papules that are usually localised on the trunk and the root of the upper limbs. Herein we report two cases on account of the atypical topography of the lesions and the advanced age of the patients. Case n 1: a 69-year-old man consulted for firm, whitish papules on the wrists, elbows, popliteal fossae and groin without associated signs, and which first appeared several years earlier. The standard laboratory assessment and ocular fundus test were normal. Case no 2: a 69-year-old woman had very firm, flesh-coloured papules on the trunk and the root of the limbs, which appeared after the age of 40. The results of ocular fundus, cardiovascular investigation and laboratory examinations were normal. The histology of papules was similar in both cases and revealed a nodular zone in the reticular dermis, comprising disorganized collagen bundles and excessive quantities of elastic fibres, without elastorrhexis. This histology was consistent with collagenoma. We report two singular cases that were atypical in terms of patient age and localisation in the flexion folds. Histological analysis of a papule enables a diagnosis of collagenoma to be made. Such analysis usually reveals a hamartoma in which the amount of collagen is increased, with variable quantities of elastic tissue, though often decreased. The principal differential diagnoses are elastoma and pseudoxanthoma elasticum.