The effect of a touch-typing program on keyboarding skills of higher education students with and without learning disabilities

This study examined the effect of a touch-typing instructional program on keyboarding skills of higher education students. One group included students with developmental learning disabilities (LD, n = 44), consisting of students with reading and/or handwriting difficulties. The second group included normally achieving students (NA, n = 30). The main goal of the program was to increase keyboarding speed while maintaining accuracy. The program included 14 bi-weekly touch-typing lessons, using the “Easy-Fingers” software (Weigelt Marom & Weintraub, 2010a), that combines a touch-typing instructional program and a keystroke logging program, to document the time and accuracy of each typed key. The effect of the program was examined by comparing keyboarding skills between the beginning (pre-test), the end of the program (post-test) and 3 months after termination of the program (long-term). Results showed that at the end of the program, keyboarding speed of the NA students decreased while the speed of the students with LD somewhat increased. In the long-term evaluation, both groups significantly improved their speed compared to pre-test. In both cases high accuracy (above 95%) was maintained. These results suggest that touch-typing instruction may benefit students in general, and more specific, students with LD studying in higher education, which often use computers in order to circumvent their handwriting difficulties.     

项目教学在组织胚胎学实验教学中的实践与探索

依据学生的认知学习发展过程,开展组织胚胎学实验课程的针对性的项目教学,有效地培养学生的团队协作能力、独立工作能力、学习和创新能力。项目教学真正做到医与学结合,同时对专科学生有针对性,对提高学生实验操作水平有重要意义。     

The kynurenine pathway and cognitive performance in community-dwelling older adults. The Hordaland Health Study

IntroductionTryptophan, its downstream metabolites in the kynurenine pathway and neopterin have been associated with inflammation and dementia. We aimed to study the associations between plasma levels of these metabolites and cognitive function in community-dwelling, older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 2174 participants aged 70–72 years of the community-based Hordaland Health Study. Tryptophan, kynurenine, neopterin and eight downstream kynurenines were measured in plasma. Kendrick Object Learning Test (KOLT), Digit Symbol Test (DST) and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) were all outcomes in standardized Zellner’s regression. The Wald test of a composite linear hypothesis of an association with each metabolite was adjusted by the Bonferroni method. Age, body mass index, C-reactive protein, depressive symptoms, diabetes, education, glomerular filtration rate, hypertension, previous myocardial infarction, prior stroke, pyridoxal 5′phosphate, sex and smoking were considered as potential confounders.ResultsHigher levels of the kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio (KTR) and neopterin were significantly associated with poorer, overall cognitive performance (p < 0.002). Specifically, KTR was negatively associated with KOLT (β −0.08, p = 0.001) and COWAT (β −0.08, p = 0.001), but not with DST (β −0.03, p = 0.160). This pattern was also seen for neopterin (KOLT: β −0.07; p = 0.001; COWAT: β −0.06, p = 0.010; DST: β −0.01, p = 0.800). The associations were not confounded by the examined variables. No significant associations were found between the eight downstream kynurenines and cognition.ConclusionHigher KTR and neopterin levels, biomarkers of cellular immune activation, were associated with reduced cognitive performance, implying an association between the innate immune system, memory, and language.     

Simulação de manejo de via aérea difícil para residentes: estudo comparativo prospectivo

Background and objectivesProcedural simulation training for difficult airway management offers acquisition opportunities. The hypothesis was that 3 hours of procedural simulation training for difficult airway management improves: acquisition, behavior, and patient outcomes as reported 6 months later.MethodsThis prospective comparative study took place in two medical universities. Second‐year residents of anesthesiology and intensive care from one region participated in 3 h procedural simulation (intervention group). No intervention was scheduled for their peers from the other region (control). Prior to simulation and 6 months later, residents filled‐out the same self‐assessment form collecting experience with different devices. The control group filled‐out the same forms simultaneously. The primary endpoint was the frequency of use of each difficult airway management device within groups at 6 months. Secondary endpoints included modifications of knowledge, skills, and patient outcomes with each device at 6 months. Intervention cost assessment was provided.Results44 residents were included in the intervention group and 16 in the control group. No significant difference was observed for the primary endpoint. In the intervention group, improvement of knowledge and skills was observed at 6 months for each device, and improvement of patient outcomes was observed with the use of malleable intubation stylet and Eschmann introducer. No such improvement was observed in the control group. Estimated intervention cost was 406€ per resident.ConclusionsA 3 h procedural simulation training for difficult airway management did not improve the frequency of use of devices at 6 months by residents. However, other positive effects suggest exploring the best ratio of time/acquisition efficiency with difficult airway management simulation.ClinicalTrials.gov IdentifierNCT02470195.     

Diseñando una encuesta para residentes de formación sanitaria especializada sobre la satisfacción con la docencia. Experiencia en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (2009-2018)

In Spain, the evaluation of internal resident's satisfaction with the training they receive is legally mandatory for autonomous regions. Beyond this obligation, the evaluation of training leads to its improvement. However, an effective evaluation procedure requires a series of steps that should not be overlooked. Throughout the text, we will give a series of clues that will help those responsible for training, at different levels, to start up a procedure of this type. We will talk about technical requirements for the construction of an effective questionnaire, the most appropriate way to apply the survey in the field of training residents, the importance of statistically validating the questionnaire in order to obtain usable conclusions, and the dissemination of results, from the review of the process itself. Finally, as an example, we will bring up the survey of residents of specialized health training in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country from 2009 to 2018.     

Learning about Practice from Practice: A Peer-based Methodology

A recommendation from the Social Work Task Force was that all employers of social workers should conduct a regular “health check” of the social work profession to learn from practice as part of a continuous cycle of improvement. This article documents how the London Borough of Tower Hamlets has gone about this. I describe the methodological and practical pathway we followed so that others can see what we did and why we did it. Like other busy social work offices, we had to set out a plan of methodological action in order that we achieved the learning from practice to inform our health check, and it is the planning work that is engaged with in this article. We have found that by involving and engaging our staff in the health check work, we have gained more than we had set out to find. An organisational commitment to act on what social workers have told us about practice is offering the senior management team new ideas about the best ways of delivering professional and reflective support mechanisms for staff. Learning from practice is now one of the core functions for the new Principal Social Worker.