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Many university educators have argued for a need for academic integrity education as an alternative to a focus on students' and scholars' compliance with academic rules and conventions (Brimble, 2016; Christensen Hughes & Bertram-Gallant, 2016; Hutton, 2006). I argue that the universal ethical-moral discourse of academic integrity disciplines subjects to comply with frequently alienating academic practices. This ethical discourse focuses on individual responsibility, in turn rendering invisible the authority of sometimes dysfunctional and oppressive instructional and summative assessment practices. Taking a Bakhtinian dialogic authorial perspective, the paper calls on students, scholars, instructors, and academic advisors to engage in critical ontological dialogue on diverse responses and motivations in regard to academic demands and deeds. Dialogue on situated instead of universal ethics in academic settings contextualizes and problematizes not just individual actions but also the ethics of the summative assessment regime, the instruction, the curriculum, authority dynamics, and the educational system as a whole. This discussion on academic integrity violations calls on educators to consider the ethical value of separating summative assessment from instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationally, students fail anatomy and physiology courses at some of the highest rates compared with other undergraduate-level courses. Formative evaluation guides future learning by assessing the quality of student achievement while the student is still learning. Formative assessments were introduced in an undergraduate human anatomy course intended for students majoring in various allied health fields. In this research, the formative assessments were utilized throughout the course, leading to each of the five summative assessments. The results were analyzed using a partial correlation and regression to establish whether any relationships existed between the formative and summative assessments, and we looked for any significant impact on the summative test scores. The results suggest that at-risk students can be identified using formative assessment before the first summative assessment in the class, increasing the likelihood that these students will successfully complete the course. The implementation of formative assessments in college science courses should be considered a way to inform the instructors of student learning gaps and increase student success in the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Positive margins are associated with locoregional recurrence in early laryngeal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of specimen-driven (ex vivo) positive margins on patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer whose tumor bed (defect-driven) margins had been negative. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 60 consecutive T1b/T2 glottic cancer patients who underwent open frontolateral laryngectomy. The intraoperative margins were obtained from the tumor bed. Their recurrence and disease-free survival were evaluated. In all cases, negative margins were obtained from the surgical bed. The impact of positive margins from the specimen was evaluated in a paraffin study. Results: Among 10 patients with positive margins in the specimen, six experienced local relapse, and among 50 patients with negative margins in the specimen, three developed recurrence. The 5-year disease-free survival rates were 37.5% and 93.9%, respectively (p < 0.001; log-rank). Even with negative margins in the surgical bed, patients with positive margins in the specimen at the final histopathological examination had a 3.5-fold higher chance of developing local recurrence than those with negative margins (HR = 13.993; 95% CI: 3.479–56.281; p < 0.001; univariate Cox regression). Conclusions: Specimen-driven positive margins represent a significant risk factor for local recurrence, even under negative margins at the tumor bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on highlighting the availability and efficacy of an intensive preparation course for SIMGs sitting the ANZCA final fellowship examination. Topics include evaluation of SIMGs by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) is comparative to that required of local Fellows of ANZCA; and provides a significant positive influence on SIMG ANZCA final examination performance.

Introduction: Assessment ensures that undergraduate students and postgraduate trainees are providing optimal patient care. Numerous assessment methods are currently being used within the United Kingdom. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to provide an overview of the methods used to assess competency in exodontia and compare methods against criteria defined for good assessment. Materials and Methods: A systematic narrative review was carried out. Databases were electronically searched for published studies assessing the competence of undergraduate students and postgraduate trainees in exodontia up to October 2023.The validity, reproducibility, equivalence, feasibility, educational impact, catalytic effect and acceptability of each assessment method was considered. Results: In this review, 591 undergraduate students (n = 529) and postgraduate dental trainees (n = 62) had their competence in exodontia assessed. Undergraduate students were assessed on simple exodontia with forceps and elevators, whereas postgraduate trainees were assessed on the surgical removal of mandibular third molars. Only one study took place in a simulated dental environment, the remaining (n = 7) took place in a clinical environment. A range of formative and summative assessment methods were identified including structured clinical objective tests (SCOT), self‐assessment, peer assessment and logbooks. Common marking criteria such as global rating and checklist scales were also highlighted. Conclusion: This review highlights the lack of evidence to support one form of assessment and the lack of consensus on assessment within the United Kingdom. Further research related to this topic, alongside the opinion of trainees and trainers is required to improve assessments. This will maximise learning opportunities for trainees and translate to better patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes our long-term research into automated story generation and our resulting story generation architecture called fAIble that incorporates several innovations. fAIble determines each event that occurs in the tale using a combination of scripted sequences and stochastically chosen events. The probability of an event occurring is based on the skills and personalities of the characters who have agency. Event selection is also influenced by the context of the situation faced by the characters. Each event is associated with a description in grammatically-correct natural language that can be narrated orally via text-to-speech. We describe the evolution of fAIble, its architecture and the results of our independent evaluation of each of the four progressively developed fAIble prototypes (fAIble 0, I, II and III), as tested with human test subjects. On a continuous scale where 0 means unacceptable, 1 means acceptable and 2 means optimal, the composite human test subject rating average from the independent tests of the prototypes was 0.933. The paper also describes a summative assessment where test subjects were asked to review stories from all four prototypes and rank them comparatively. These comparative results indicate an improvement from the original (fAIble 0) to the last one (fAIble III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of formative assessment with case-based constructed-response question (CRQ) formats on student performance on the final summative assessment in the second-year periodontics course. METHODS: Classroom quizzes with case-based CRQs were implemented as the formative assessment during the course. Each student received feedback on their responses from the course director. After all students (N = 128) took the second-year final examination, the Friedman test was conducted to compare student performances in each assessment over time. The multiple linear regression (MLR) model was used to evaluate the association between the second-year final examination score and plausible predictors—student gender, the second-year formative and midterm examination scores, and time spent on the final examination. RESULTS: The mean % scores in the formative assessment (51) and midterm (84) examination were significantly lower than that of the final (87) examination (P <.01). The number of students who failed the final (6) examination was significantly lower than the midterm (16) examination (P =.03). The midterm (P <.0001) and the formative assessment (P =.0009) scores significantly affected the second-year final examination score while student gender (P =.59) and time spending (P =.83) showed no correlations. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of the study, student performance on case-based CRQs was correlated with student performance on the summative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Ambulatory clerkships, including longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs), face challenges to assessment, including time pressure and clinical demands on preceptors. High-quality clinical assessment is critical to implementing competency-based medical education, generating valid grades, and supporting learning. This importance is further heightened with the new pass/fail scoring for US Medical Licensing Exam Step 1, discontinuation of US Medical Licensing Exam Step 2 Clinical Skills, and the growing concern for bias in assessment. METHODS: The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine's LIC spans the first 2 years with 50 students per class. In 2021-2022, the authors created a new faculty role, the clinical assessment specialist (CASp). CASps are highly trained clinical teachers who directly observe clerkship students in the ambulatory setting, provide feedback, and complete competency-based assessment forms. RESULTS: CASps completed 186 assessments of first-year (Y1) LIC students and 333 assessments of second-year (Y2) LIC students. Y2 students achieved average higher milestones and were rated as requiring less supervision compared to Y1 students. Y1 students rated CASps more favorably than Y2 students. Preceptors rated the contribution of CASps similarly across both years. Clerkship directors described benefits including identification of at-risk students and value of augmenting preceptor assessments. DISCUSSION: The CASp role may offer an innovative way to generate valid assessment of student performance, offset clinical pressures faced by preceptors, identify at-risk students, and mitigate bias, especially in an LIC. Future studies may examine assessment validity, including use in summative assessment. CONCLUSION: CASps are an innovative approach to clinical clerkship assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern medical moulages are becoming increasingly important in simulation-based health professions education. Their lifelikeness is important so that simulation engagement is not disrupted while their standardization is crucial in high-stakes exams. This report describes in detail how three-dimensional transfers are developed and produced so that educators will be able to develop their own. In addition, evaluation findings and lessons learnt from deploying transfers in summative assessments are shared. Step-by-step instructions are given for the creation and application of transfers, including materials and photographic visualizations. We also examined feedback on 10 exam stations (out of a total of 81) with self-developed three-dimensional transfers and complement this with additional lessons learnt. By the time of submission, the authors successfully developed and deployed over 40 different three-dimensional transfers representing different clinical findings in high-stakes exams using the techniques explained in this article or variations thereof. Feedback from students and examiners after completing the OSCE is predominantly positive, with lifelikeness being the quality most often commented upon. Caveats derived from feedback and own experiences are included. The step-by-step approach reported can be adapted and replicated by healthcare educators to build their own three-dimensional transfers. This should widen the scope and the lifelikeness of their simulations. At the same time we propose that this level of lifelikeness should be expected by learners as not to disrupt simulation engagement. Our evaluation of their use in high-stakes assessments suggests they are both useful and accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), particularly ChatGPT, on higher education (HE). The ease with which content can be generated using GenAI has raised concerns across academia regarding its role in academic contexts, particularly regarding summative assessments. This research makes a unique contribution to the literature by examining university student and staff perceptions of current and future issues pertaining to the role of GenAI in universities. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative method involving five one-to-one semi-structured interviews with four students and a lecturer explored the ethical and practical issues of GenAI text generation in academia. An inductive thematic analysis was chosen as it provided nuanced insights aligned with the study's goals. Findings: Use of GenAI was discussed within the context of a range of topics, including perceptions of academic misconduct, authorial integrity and issues pertaining to university policies. Participants universally defined traditional classifications of academic misconduct but were unable to provide clear definitions where the use of GenAI was included for writing summative assessments. Students showed a more open engagement with GenAI, considering it a tool for overcoming obstacles rather than a means to plagiarise. Educators were generally more cautious and less optimistic about the academic role of GenAI. Lack of clear institutional policies surrounding such tools also contributed to ethical ambiguities. Originality/value: The study highlights diverging perspectives between students and academics, which necessitate a forum for dialogue, ensuring the need to develop clear policies to steer the integration of GenAI in a manner that is beneficial for students and academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the curricular manifestation of summative assessment literacy in language pre-service teacher education at three universities in Sweden and Finland through multiple case studies. Data sources included program guidelines, course curricula, and study guides. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data based on a theoretical framework involving conceptual understandings, skills, and dispositions in summative assessment. The results indicate that all programs emphasize the basic assessment concepts such as validity and alignment and using assessment to inform teaching and learning. However, compared with formative assessment, summative assessment receives less attention in the curriculum. There are differences in addressing summative assessment through stand-alone and embedded courses and in the literacy areas covered. Implications for teacher education to address summative aspects of assessment in line with teachers' tasks in schools are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Early diagnosis and timely care is important in patients with Developmental Hip Dysplasia (DDH). Late presenting or neglected patients may require various osteotomy procedures. There is a limited number of articles in the literature on Pembersal osteotomy in DDH surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes of isolated Pembersal osteotomy in children over 18 months of age with DDH. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was made of the outcomes of patients who underwent Pembersal osteotomy for DDH at our clinic from 2014 to 2021. The study included 9 children (7 girls, 2 boys) aged between 19 and 36 months with at least 2 years of follow-up who underwent isolated periacetabular Pembersal osteotomy with open reduction. Preoperative, early postoperative, 6 weeks postoperative and final follow-up radiographs were evaluated and Wiberg's centre-edge angle (CEA), the acetabular index (AI) and Tönnis grades were noted. Results: The mean age of the patients was 28.75 months and the follow-up period was 50.33 months. CEA and AI showed improvement in the early postoperative period and this improvement continued in the later periods. Tönnis staging showed postoperative improvement in all patients, and this improvement continued in the early postoperative period and on the 6-week follow-up radiographs. At the final follow-up examination, 3 hips had CEA <20°, AI >20° and Tönnis stage ≥2 and these 3 hips were considered as a radiologically poor outcome. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that isolated Pembersal osteotomy is an effective and safe option for the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip, with improvement in acetabular index and other radiological parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The surgical management of large-angle concomitant esotropia is challenging with high reoperation rates. This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of intraoperative botulinum toxin A (BTA) augmentation compared to surgery alone in large angle concomitant esotropia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective randomized interventional study. Patients with large angle concomitant esotropia (≥55 prism diopter [PD]) were randomly allocated to either surgery only (Group I) or BTA augmented surgery (Group II). The surgical effect in PD/mm was calculated and compared between the study groups at all follow up intervals. Treatment was considered successful if the patients had orthotropia ± 10 PD at their final examinations. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients were included in the study, 11 in Group I and 12 in group II. The surgical effect was significantly greater in Group II compared to Group I at all follow up durations. The 1-year surgical effect was 32.5% greater in Group II compared to Group I (5.99 ± 0.69 vs. 4.52 ± 0.91 PD/mm, respectively, P = 0.001). The success rate was greater for Group II compared to Group I (75% vs. 63.64%, respectively), but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.901). CONCLUSION: Botulinum toxin augmented surgery is a good alternative to surgery alone in the treatment of large angle concomitant esotropia. BTA injection exerts a significant augmentation effect on medial rectus muscle recessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Driving teacher training program was updated towards more constructivist approach. • Updated method: sample lesson videos quantified by web-based speech recognition tool. • Renewed method improved quality of example lessons recorded for final examination. • More constructivist aspects: formulating objectives, open-ended questions, and feedback. • Recent graduates independently utilize more constructivist methodology. Modern learning focuses heavily on theory and ideals, offering scant practical guidance on execution and outcome evaluation. This research paper aims to show that the integration, in 2018, of a contemporary educational approach into the driving teacher training program at Tallinn University, Estonia, with specific implementation and evaluation criteria, changes actual teaching behavior towards constructivist principles. This approach involved a change in which students began video recording their driving lessons and transcribing them using a web-based speech recognition tool while following specific instructions. This process allowed for feedback and self-analysis throughout the learning process. The study analyzed 145 videotaped driving lessons, which were submitted as final examinations in the driving teacher training curriculum at Tallinn University Haapsalu College between 2017 and 2021. The natural quasiexperimental study compared transcripts of recordings (N = 145; 115 males) before (n = 38) and after (n = 107) the methodology change. The findings reveal a significant increase in the implementation of constructivist principles within the lessons after methodology change in 2018: lesson objectives and evaluation criteria were formulated more often, leading to an increase in open-ended inquiries and a higher prevalence of feedback and analysis. Additional pilot analysis of data from 11 driving teacher certificate renewers in a brief education program supported the efficacy of revised approach: the exam lesson recordings exhibited significantly more constructivist elements compared to the initial stage of the program. There were variations in the length of training both pre and post methodology change. While longer training displayed more constructivist elements, the impact of the methodology shift was notably more pronounced. In summary, the utilization of specific expectations, evaluation criteria and assessment tool in the driving teacher training program promotes a shift in which graduating teachers independently use more constructivist and learning-centered methodology. This approach has the potential to shape more responsible drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current literature on school teacher-created summative assessment lacks a clear consensus regarding its definition and key principles. The purpose of this research was therefore to arrive at a cohesive understanding of what constitutes effective summative assessment. Design/methodology/approach: Conducting a systematic literature review of 95 studies, this research adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The objective was to identify the core principles governing effective teacher-created summative assessments. Findings: The study identified five key principles defining effective summative assessment creation: validity, reliability, fairness, authenticity and flexibility. Research limitations/implications: The expansiveness of education research is such that not all relevant studies may have been identified, particularly outside of mainstream databases. This study considered only the school environment, so contextual limitations will exist. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study contributes original insights by proposing a holistic definition that can facilitate consensus-building in further research. The assimilation of core principles guided the development of quality indicators beneficial for teacher practice. The comprehensive definition, key principles and quality indicators offer a unique perspective on summative assessment discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used rich individual‐level registry data covering the entire Norwegian population to identify students aged 17–21 who either failed a high‐stakes exit exam or who received the lowest passing grade from 2006 to 2018. Propensity score matching on high‐quality observed characteristics was utilized to allow meaningful comparisons (N = 18,052, 64% boys). Results showed a 21% increase in odds of receiving a psychological diagnosis among students who failed the exam. Adolescents were at 57% reduced odds of graduating and 44% reduction in odds of enrolling in tertiary education 5 years following the exam. Results suggest that failing a high‐stakes exam is associated with mental health issues and therefore may impact adolescents more broadly than captured in educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Aims: The main objective of this retrospective study was to assess the long-term stability of difficult orthodontic treatments treated to an excellent result and to correlate stability to possible prognostic factors. Secondary objectives were to observe the changes in retention protocol over time and to assess Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) after a long-term post-treatment follow-up. (2) Methods: Cases presented for final examination by orthodontic postgraduate students were retrospectively screened for eligibility. Eligible patients were recalled for a post-treatment recall appointment (T2), consisting of a clinical examination and intraoral scan, and were asked to complete the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14-DK). Gender, age at treatment commencement (T0), treatment modality and duration, and retention protocol were extracted from the records. At T2, the duration of the retention period was recorded, and retainers in place were clinically compared to the original retention protocol. The following variables were assessed on the sets of models at T0, T1 (end of treatment), and T2: arch length and width, overjet and overbite, Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI), Peer Assessment Rating score (PAR), and Little's Irregularity Index (LII). Multiple regression models were conducted. (3) Results: Eighty-five subjects attended T2. The mean post-treatment follow-up was 9.4 years +/− 2.4. In the upper arch, at T1, 74 patients had a combination of fixed and removable retainers, while at T2, 55 had a fixed retainer only. In the lower arch, at T1, 67 patients had a fixed retainer only, with this number increasing to 76 at T2. From T0 to T1, the PAR score improved by 96.1%, with the improvement remaining at 77.5% at T2. The stability of lower inter-canine and upper inter-premolar widths was significantly correlated with the extent of changes during treatment. The presence of a lower fixed retainer at T2 and a low LII at T1 were prognostic factors for stability. The mean weighted total OHIP-14 score at T2 was very low (1.6 ± 2.4 points). (4) Conclusions: In a sample with an initial high-severity malocclusion and treated to an excellent outcome, long-term stability was very good. Good stability can be retained when a lower fixed retainer is present at T2 and when a low LII is achieved at T1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Focused parathyroidectomy is the gold standard treatment modality for primary hyperparathyroidism, which allows accurate preoperative localization. Robotic parathyroidectomy has emerged as a feasible procedure for focused parathyroidectomy. This study aimed to report the experiences of gasless robotic transaxillary parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism in a single center. Methods: We assessed the data obtained from patients who underwent gasless robotic parathyroidectomy with the transaxillary approach between December 2013 and August 2022 and were diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism at our institute. The data included clinical, biochemical, and pathological features and operation time. Results: Of the 12 patients, 11 were women and one was a man. The median age of the patients was 44.5 years (range: 15–65 years). The median preoperative maximum mass diameters on ultrasonography and neck computed tomography were 1.2 ± 0.5 and 1.1 ± 0.6 cm, respectively. The median size of the postoperative maximum mass diameter in gross pathology was 1.3 ± 0.4 cm. The location of the enlarged parathyroid was left superior in five patients, right inferior in four, left inferior in three, and no right superior in one. In the final pathological examination, all cases were parathyroid adenomas. Only one case experienced a postoperative bleeding complication. At six months from surgery, average of an axillary scar length was 5.85 cm, and an average width was 0.21 cm. The mean operative time was 113 ± 48 min. The mean robot docking and console times were 9 ± 5 and 47 ± 52 min, respectively. Conclusions: Robotic transaxillary parathyroidectomy is a feasible technique in select patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and preoperatively localized disease. The gasless robotic transaxillary approach provides procedural safety as well as superior cosmetic results without a neck scar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on pain and functional results, and potential complications, of arthrodesis applied to the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb because of osteoarthritis. This single-centre, retrospective study included patients who presented at the polyclinic between 2003 and 2018 with complaints of pain and/or deformity at the base of the thumb, clinically and radiographically consistent with osteoarthritis of the CMC joint of the thumb. Before treatment and at the final examination, pain at rest and during activity (daily living activities) was evaluated with a visual analog scale (VAS), and the functional results were evaluated with the patient-reported DASH and PRWE scores. The study included 26 patients with a mean age of 55.4 years and mean follow-up period of 8.3 ± 4.1 years. Surgery was performed on the dominant hand in 73.1% of the patients. A significant improvement was determined postoperatively with mean VAS score of 3.5 (IQR: 2 - 5), mean DASH score of 26.1 (IQR: 20.5-37.0), and mean PRWE score of 22.5 (IQR: 15.1-29.6). In the cases with surgery applied to the nondominant hand, no significant correlation was determined postoperatively between the PRWE function score and VAS (p=0.053). In one patient applied with revision surgery with autograft because of pseudarthrosis during follow-up, there were complaints of pain because of the development of osteophytes. Patients applied with arthrodesis for osteoarthritis of the thumb CMC joint, showed a high level of satisfaction in the long-term follow up measured with DASH and PRWE. In the light of these results, arthrodesis for osteoarthritis of the thumb CMC joint can be evaluated as a reliable and effective treatment method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Due to their susceptibility to mental health problems, medical students should have their prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression checked before their final examinations. Aim: To assess the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among medical students at a private medical college in Tamil Nadu, India, four weeks before their final examinations. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a private medical college, Tamil Nadu, India, including 297 Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students, using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire in December 2022 The survey was completed independently by the students with verbal agreement obtained; the response rate was 68.2%. The short form and history of usage of the DASS-21 in comparable medical student research led to its selection. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 20.48±1.23 years. The DASS-21 revealed prevalence rates of 60.9% for depression, 72.7% for anxiety, and 40.4% for stress among 297 first- to third-year medical students. There was no discernible effect of gender on these rates. With a depression frequency of 69% and significantly higher rates of severe depression (18.6%), first-year students demonstrated the highest scores, which were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study highlights the need for preventative actions, such as professional counselling, early detection of mental health problems, and educational programs on healthy coping mechanisms. To support medical students from the start of their academic journey and ultimately promote their resilience and mental health, these interventions should be specially designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatbot-based tools are becoming pervasive in multiple domains from commercial websites to rehabilitation applications. Only recently, an eleven-item satisfaction inventory was developed (the ChatBot Usability Scale, BUS-11) to help designers in the assessment process of their systems. The BUS-11 has been validated in multiple contexts and languages, i.e., English, German, Dutch, and Spanish. This scale forms a solid platform enabling designers to rapidly assess chatbots both during and after the design process. The present work aims to adapt and validate the BUS-11 inventory in Italian. A total of 1360 questionnaires were collected which related to a total of 10 Italian chatbot-based systems using the BUS-11 inventory and also using the lite version of the Usability Metrics for User eXperience for convergent validity purposes. The Italian version of the BUS-11 was adapted in terms of the wording of one item, and a Multi-Group Confirmatory Factorial Analysis was performed to establish the factorial structure of the scale and compare the effects of the wording adaptation. Results indicate that the adapted Italian version of the scale matches the expected factorial structure of the original scale. The Italian BUS-11 is highly reliable (Cronbach alpha: 0.921), and it correlates to other measures of satisfaction (e.g., UMUX-Lite, τb = 0.67; p <.001) by also offering specific insights regarding the chatbots' characteristics. The Italian BUS-11 can be confidently used by chatbot designers to assess the satisfaction of their users during formative or summative tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the clinical features of pediatric uveitis at a tertiary referral center in Western Japan. One hundred forty eyes of 80 patients aged <20 years at the time of uveitis onset, who visited Kyushu University Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019 were included in this study. Clinical records were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics, clinical findings, treatments, and visual prognoses were compared between the disease groups. Of 80 patients, 32 were males and 48 were females. The average age of onset was 12.5 ± 4.8 (0–19) years. Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis (TINU) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were the most frequent causes, accounting for 11.3% and 10% of cases, respectively, followed by sarcoidosis (5%), Behçet's disease, acute anterior uveitis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, and juvenile chronic iridocyclitis (3.8% each). Infectious uveitis accounted for 7.6% of the cases: cytomegalovirus was the most frequent agent. Of these cases, 43.8% were unclassified. Systemic therapies were administered to 87.5% of the patients with JIA, 33.3% of those with TINU, and 28.6% of the other diagnostic groups. In the unclassified group, 80% of the patients were followed up with only topical corticosteroids. LogMAR visual acuity of 0 or less accounted for more than 80% in the final examination. TINU and JIA were the most common causes of pediatric uveitis. Although each required systemic therapy, most unclassified cases of pediatric uveitis were managed by topical corticosteroids alone with good visual prognosis. Accurate diagnosis is important for pediatric uveitis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While teacher assessment and student engagement are emerging topics in the field of second language (L2) writing, little is known about the possible correlations between the two important constructs. This mixed-methods study first surveyed the perceived teacher assessment approaches among L2 learners whose majors are English, Japanese and French in Chinese universities, and then explored their engagement in L2 writing. Follow-up interviews were conducted with individual students for triangulation of the survey results. The quantitative results showed that formative and portfolio writing assessments positively predicted students' planning, task management and persistence in L2 writing, whereas summative writing assessment negatively predicted their persistence. The findings showed that the formative assessment approach predicted the use of planning only for French majors, task management for French and Japanese majors, and persistence only for French majors. The portfolio assessment approach predicted planning for Japanese majors and persistence for English majors. The qualitative findings supported the quantitative results and revealed that English learners were different from the Japanese and French learners in terms of prior language learning and assessment experiences. Pedagogical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to evaluate the performance of two Large Language Models (LLMs): ChatGPT (based on GPT-3.5) and GPT-4 with two temperature parameter values, on the Polish Medical Final Examination (MFE). The models were tested on three editions of the MFE from: Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, and Spring 2023 in two language versions—English and Polish. The accuracies of both models were compared and the relationships between the correctness of answers with the answer's metrics were investigated. The study demonstrated that GPT-4 outperformed GPT-3.5 in all three examinations regardless of the language used. GPT-4 achieved mean accuracies of 79.7% for both Polish and English versions, passing all MFE versions. GPT-3.5 had mean accuracies of 54.8% for Polish and 60.3% for English, passing none and 2 of 3 Polish versions for temperature parameter equal to 0 and 1 respectively while passing all English versions regardless of the temperature parameter value. GPT-4 score was mostly lower than the average score of a medical student. There was a statistically significant correlation between the correctness of the answers and the index of difficulty for both models. The overall accuracy of both models was still suboptimal and worse than the average for medical students. This emphasizes the need for further improvements in LLMs before they can be reliably deployed in medical settings. These findings suggest an increasing potential for the usage of LLMs in terms of medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio and its change during the course of treatment in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients is associated with tumor condition and lethality. Clinical data from 130 CRPC patients were retrospectively evaluated. AST/ALT ratios at the time of prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), CRPC diagnosis, and the final follow-up examination after CRPC treatment were calculated for each. The prognostic capabilities of the AST/ALT ratio for overall survival (OS) were analyzed by use of the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox hazard models. The median AST/ALT ratio at PC diagnosis was 1.517 and the optimal value predicting lethality defined by the receiver operating curve was 1.467. The AST/ALT ratio decreased once during ADT and then elevated in a stepwise manner with cancer progression. In surviving patients, the median AST/ALT ratio at the time of PC diagnosis was 1.423, which did not change longitudinally, whereas that in patients later deceased was significantly higher (1.620) and further elevated after CRPC diagnosis. Kaplan–Meier curves indicated significantly worse OS in patients with an AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1.467, which was confirmed by multivariate analysis. These findings indicate AST/ALT ratio as a prognostic biomarker for CRPC with longitudinal changes reflecting tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle wrote of four distinct causes at play in the world we know. Those causes, the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause, were meant to refer to ontological and, by extension, epistemological concerns, and were powerful enough to be seized upon and used in some form by those of very different philosophical persuasions (i.e., rational humanists and neo-Thomists). These four types of causes are introduced here as an analytical tool to conduct both formative and summative curriculum assessments, and as a tool to analyze and develop curriculum. The fourth cause, particularly, adds analytical power to present program review conceptions because it positions the result of the program as a cause, rather than a mere output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of distance learning (DL) for the second‐year periodontics course compared to classroom learning (CL). Materials and Methods: DL for Class A (n1 = 126) and CL for Class B (n2 = 133) were implemented. The same instructors recorded or delivered the same lectures in the two learning modules during the second‐year periodontics course. Classes A and B took the same final examinations (a total % score of 200). General linear model (GLM) and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) analyses were conducted after considering individual first‐year final % scores as a covariate to test if the second‐year final % scores and the distributions of letter grades were significantly different between Class A and B. Results: The mean second‐year final % score of the DL group (166.4) was significantly higher than that of the CL group (160.8) (independent t‐test, p =.019). However, in GLM, the first‐year final % scores significantly affected the second‐year scores (p =.016); the second‐year final % scores between the two groups were not significantly different (p =.268) after considering the individual first‐year scores. In OLR, there was no difference in the likelihood of getting lower grades in the second‐year course between the two groups (odds ratio = 1.6; 95% confidence interval = [0.95, 2.72], p =.078) after considering the first‐year final % scores. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, the DL for preclinical periodontics resulted in comparable student learning outcomes when compared to the traditional CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Modified teaching strategies (MTS), asynchronous online teaching and smaller dissection groups, were applied to a gross anatomy course for dental students in the National Taiwan University in April 2020 in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the effects and perceptions of MTS on dental students. Materials and Methods: Scores for anatomy examinations for 2018–2019 (without MTS) and 2019–2020 (with MTS) cohorts were compared to explore the effect on academic performance. Moreover, questionnaire from the 2019–2020 cohort was analysed to determine dental students' perceptions about MTS. Results: The lecture performance in the final examination of the second semester for the 2019–2020 cohort was significantly higher than that of the first semester (pre‐COVID‐19) and that for the 2018–2019 cohort. However, the laboratory performance in the midterm examination of the second semester for the 2019–2020 cohort was significantly lower than that for the 2018–2019 cohort and showed no difference in the final examination of the first semester. The questionnaires revealed that the majority of students displayed positive attitudes towards MTS and agreed with the importance of peer discussion during laboratory dissection. Conclusions: Asynchronous online learning for anatomy lecture may be beneficial for dental students; however, a smaller dissection group accompanied by reduced peer discussion may temporarily exert negative effects on their laboratory performance at the beginning of the application. Furthermore, more dental students exhibited positive perceptions towards smaller dissection groups. These findings could illuminate the learning condition of dental students in anatomy education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A combination of summative assessments and post‐exam feedback can create a formative environment to support student learning. It remains unknown to what extent feedback sessions are conducted after exams in oral radiology courses for dental and dental hygienist students in Europe. This survey study aimed to explore whether post‐exam feedback sessions were conducted, and if so, in what format. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 76 dental schools in 26 countries and 34 dental hygienist schools in 14 countries in Europe. The questions addressed whether feedback was provided after exams in oral radiology, the feedback format, and whether feedback sessions were formalised or performed for other reasons. Results: Questionnaire responses were received from 33 dental schools in 18 countries, and 20 dental hygienist schools in 11 countries. Information about grades was provided in 23–30% of the schools. Post‐exam feedback sessions including opportunities for discussion was provided at 39% of the schools, all with guidelines stating that these sessions should be carried out. The remaining schools provided feedback either on request by individual students or as written examples of correct answers. Conclusion: Almost one third of the dental schools announced grades without providing any post‐exam feedback that could support learning. Two fifth utilised feedback sessions to assist students in gaining knowledge and sorting out misconceptions, all according to guidelines. Given the possible learning potential in post‐exam feedback with opportunity to discuss, further studies of this format would be valuable, including the role and use of feedback guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Local anaesthesia is considered essential knowledge within the dental profession as it helps to address pain management. Operator percutaneous needlestick injuries associated with the delivery of dental anaesthesia are common for dental healthcare providers. The study proposes a supplemental technique to reduce self‐inducing novice operator needlestick injury to complement existing pedagogies for the preclinical local anaesthesia curriculum. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether a local anaesthesia behavioural video can navigate students to safer clinical practice. Further, a supplemental technique is proposed in whether assessing instrument retraction technique in clinical patient care leads to decreased self‐inducing intraoral needle stick injury for novice predoctoral dental operator. Materials and Methods: Beginning in 2011, predoctoral dental students were asked to view a "what not to do" video within a summative assessment and identify at least five behaviours that were unacceptable errors for delivering local anaesthesia. Operator intraoral needlestick injury was also tracked per the bloodborne exposure reports within predoctoral patient clinics. Results: Data from the learners' responses identified progression in recognising unacceptable errors from behavioural video. Intraoral needlestick injury, 8 and 9 years prior and after the introduction of video showed significance with a low correlation coefficient. Conclusion: More data need to be gathered and evaluated in other dental school settings to determine whether this supplemental educational video decreases needlestick injury in novice operators. Results suggest this behavioural video may guide novice operators to overall safer clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role and significance of schooling in maintaining and renewing social disadvantage is particularly evident in upper secondary education, and especially so in the high-stakes final examination at the end of Year 12. This paper focusses on Senior English in this context, with specific regard to the Australian state of New South Wales. Building on a recent study of the outcomes of the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 2017, it analyses what the data reveal about the relationship between Senior English and social inequality in this instance. It does so with reference to a brief account of the history of English teaching and senior secondary curriculum policy in New South Wales and also, comparatively, a now well-established comprehensive study of senior secondary schooling in Victoria. It concludes with some implications of this account for further investigations of Senior English and subject English more generally, as well as of the social meaning of senior secondary education in Australia, in particular with regard to the nexus between curriculum and assessment, knowledge, and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) curriculum was introduced in August 2019. Phase-I of the CBME curriculum encompasses preclinical subjects, each with its own set of competencies to be assessed according to the new CBME guidelines. Internal Assessment (IA) serves as the foundation of the CBME curriculum and is an essential component of medical education. It is included in Module three of the CBME curriculum and aids in the assessment of various competencies. IA consists of both formative and summative assessments, and employing multiple methods can enhance its effectiveness. The incorporation of regular feedback and remedial measures is crucial within the IA framework. The purpose of present review is to provide a review of the IA in Phase I based on CBME and previous research papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical lab skills are rarely directly assessed. To improve constructive alignment between the described learning outcomes of practical skills and assessment, we developed and tested a certification procedure for microscopy skills. The procedure was embedded into the ordinary learning activity, so no additional time was needed. Three slightly different protocols were developed within the framework of sociocultural learning theory and built like a skill ladder, including direct peer assessment and elements of gamified learning. The protocols varied slightly in the way students were prepared for the certification, the number of steps/levels of achievement, and the consequences of failing. We tested the protocols at three different academic institutions and within 11 courses of varying sizes and academic levels in biology or geology. Feedbacks were collected through online surveys (n = 207) or orally after sessions. One protocol provided instruction videos as preparation material. Instruction videos provided increased understanding of the task, but tactile training was most important for learning. Regardless of institution, type of preparation, and level of former experience, the certification procedure made students clearly more engaged in the exercise. The majority reported that the certification procedure increased their motivation to learn, increased their perceived learning outcome, and was appropriate for assessing practical skills. Students with no or little experience in microscopy before the exercise were more positive about the certification procedure compared to skilled students, and the level of engagement and preparation was higher when there were some consequences of failing. Most students felt comfortable being certified by peers, but some students expressed concern about peers making mistakes. The presented certification procedure can easily be adapted to assess other practical skills and, with some adjustments, be an efficient method for assessment‐as‐learning, merging formative‐ and summative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surgical learning curve is an observable and measurable phenomenon. In the era of competency-based approaches to surgical training, monitoring the trajectory of individual trainee competence attainment could represent a meaningful method of formative and summative assessment. While technology can assist this approach, a number of significant barriers to the implementation of such assessment methods remain, including: accurate data collection, standard setting, and reliable assessment. Translating individual learning curve data into quantifiable case minimum targets in training poses further difficulties, and may not be possible for all procedures, particularly those that are less frequently performed and assessed. In spite of these challenges, significant benefits could be realized through an individualized approach to competency assessment using trainee learning curve data. Tracking competence acquisition against criterion-referenced standards could allow for targeted training and remediation, conforming with modern theories of adult education and empowering trainees to take control of their own learning. Learning curve data could also be used to assess the effects of educational interventions such as simulation-based training on subsequent competence acquisition rates. Ultimately, the individual learning curves of trainees could be used to inform personalised decisions regarding entrustment, credentialing, and certification, allowing training programmes to move beyond minimum operative experience targets as a crude proxy measure of competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous investigations into the causes of error by radiologists have addressed work schedule, volume, shift length, and sub-specialization. Studies regarding possible associations between radiologist errors and radiologist age and timing of residency training are lacking in the literature, to our knowledge. The aim of our study was to determine if radiologist age and residency graduation date is associated with diagnostic errors. Methods: Our retrospective analysis included 1.9 million preliminary interpretations (out of a total of 5.2 million preliminary and final interpretations) of imaging examinations by 361 radiologists in a US-based national teleradiology practice between 1/1/2019 and 1/1/2020. Quality assurance data regarding the number of radiologist errors was generated through client facility feedback to the teleradiology practice. With input from both the client radiologist and the teleradiologist, the final determination of the presence, absence, and severity of a teleradiologist error was determined by the quality assurance committee of radiologists within the teleradiology company using standardized criteria. Excluded were 3.2 million final examination interpretations and 93,963 (1.8%) of total examinations from facilities reporting less than one discrepancy in examination interpretation in 2019. Logistic regression with covariates radiologist age and residency graduation date was performed for calculation of relative risk of overall error rates and by major imaging modality. Major errors were separated from minor errors as those with a greater likelihood of affecting patient care. Logistic regression with covariates radiologist age, residency graduation date, and log total examinations interpreted was used to calculate odds of making a major error to that of making a minor error. Results: Mean age of the 361 radiologists was 51.1 years, with a mean residency graduation date of 2001. Mean error rate for all examinations was 0.5%. Radiologist age at any residency graduation date was positively associated with major errors (p < 0.05), with a relative risk 1.021 for each 1-year increase in age and relative risk 1.235 for each decade as well as for minor errors (p < 0.05, relative risk 1.007 for each year, relative risk 1.082 for each decade). By major imaging modality, radiologist age at any residency graduation date was positively associated with computed tomography (CT) and X-ray (XR) major and minor error, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) major error, and ultrasound (US) minor error (p < 0.05). Radiologist age was positively associated with odds of making a major vs. minor error (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The mean error rate for all radiologists was low. We observed that increasing age at any residency graduation date was associated with increasing relative risk of major and minor errors as well as increasing odds of a major vs. minor error among providers. Further study is needed to corroborate these results, determine clinical relevance, and highlight strategies to address these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After an initial period of uncertainty during the COVID‐19 pandemic, medical universities responded to the pandemic by innovating their methods of teaching‐learning and assessment. This scoping review aimed to identify innovations in assessment in medical, dental and nursing education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels during the pandemic. Methods: This review was conducted utilising Arksey and O'Malley's framework where three electronic databases—PubMed, Embase and Web of Science—were systematically searched in February 2022 for articles in English describing innovations in assessments published in or after January 2020. Results: A total of 70 articles were included in the review. Among the primary research articles, 82.1% reported online assessment, 76.1% were related to medical speciality, 74.6% described assessment at the undergraduate level, 68.7% described summative assessment and 58.2% reported assessment of practical skills. All assessments of theoretical knowledge were done virtually with MCQ being the most used assessment tool and virtual OSCE being the most popular assessment tool to assess practical skills; however, it was acknowledged that the assessment of procedural skills was its limitation. Although the studies described the newer forms of assessments as feasible and acceptable, few studies reported the reliability and validity of the assessments. Conclusions: This scoping review identified several innovations in assessment during the COVID‐19 pandemic with an overall shift towards virtual or hybrid forms of assessment. However, there was a dearth of evidence regarding the effectiveness of these assessment tools suggesting a need for more research before the tools can be implemented post‐pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio and its change during the course of treatment in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients is associated with tumor condition and lethality. Clinical data from 130 CRPC patients were retrospectively evaluated. AST/ALT ratios at the time of prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), CRPC diagnosis, and the final follow-up examination after CRPC treatment were calculated for each. The prognostic capabilities of the AST/ALT ratio for overall survival (OS) were analyzed by use of the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox hazard models. The median AST/ALT ratio at PC diagnosis was 1.517 and the optimal value predicting lethality defined by the receiver operating curve was 1.467. The AST/ALT ratio decreased once during ADT and then elevated in a stepwise manner with cancer progression. In surviving patients, the median AST/ALT ratio at the time of PC diagnosis was 1.423, which did not change longitudinally, whereas that in patients later deceased was significantly higher (1.620) and further elevated after CRPC diagnosis. Kaplan–Meier curves indicated significantly worse OS in patients with an AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1.467, which was confirmed by multivariate analysis. These findings indicate AST/ALT ratio as a prognostic biomarker for CRPC with longitudinal changes reflecting tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virulent genes are the key players in the ability of the bacterium to cause disease. The products of such genes that facilitate the successful colonization and survival of the bacterium in or cause damage to the host are pathogenicity determinants. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of virulence factors (esp, agg, gelE, CylA) in E. faecalis isolated from diverse human clinical collected in Iraqi patient, as well as to assess their ability to form biofilm and to determine their haemolytic and gelatinase activities. Thirty-two isolates of bacteria Enterococcus faecalis were obtained, including 15 isolates (46.87%) of the urine, 6 isolates (18.75%) for each of the stool and uterine secretions, and 5 isolates (15.62%) of the wounds from various hospitals in Baghdad, including (Central Children's Hospital, Educational Laboratories, Ibn Al-Baladi Hospital). The isolates were confirmed to belong to the genus E.faecalis after performing morphological and biochemical microscopic examinations and for final diagnosis using the VITEC 2 system. The virulence genes viz. cylA, esp, gelE and agg were recognized in the E. faecalis, and the consequences appeared that the bacteria had eps gene in 32 isolates (100%). As for the agg gene, 32 isolates (100%) were carriers of this gene, which was responsible for these isolates' aptitude to form the biofilm. While for the gelE gene, 27 isolates (84.37%) of the isolates carried this gene, responsible for gelatinase activity whereas, the gene responsible for hemolysis cyl, there were 29 isolates (90.62%) of the total isolates. The presemce of genes in the isolates would be helpful to determine the colonization and survival of the bacterium in or causing damage to the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the release of the NGSS, science classrooms across the United States have shifted science learning away from a focus on decontextualized facts and concepts and toward engaging students in making sense of the world around them. As an efficient next move, a teacher might ask students to self-assess their work relative to one of the whole-class trends or the student-facing rubric and to explain how they improved their responses. For efficiency, teachers frequently begin their analysis by examining a small sample of student work for only the final prompts to identify trends that roughly represent the variation across their class. In addition to considering trends across the class, analysis of student work should also bring attention to the specific needs of students working at the emerging level. [Extracted from the article]

Both summative and formative assessments are known to facilitate student learning and understanding and help students to identify areas of weakness. However, few studies have investigated students' preference for either summative or formative evaluations, particularly in the area of preclinical medicine. The current study addresses this deficit by surveying 137 first-year graduate entry to medicine (GEM) preclinical medical students from 2 consecutive years (2018-2019 and 2019-2020), for their thoughts on the 6 summative (i.e., for a small percentage of marks), proctored and the 5 informal, formative (i.e., no marks available) continuous assessments in physiology that they encountered in semesters 1 and 2, respectively. Our survey revealed that between 75 and 90% of students felt that both evaluation formats were roughly equally useful (i.e., selecting options, "agree" or "strongly agree") both for providing feedback about their understanding of physiology and for identifying deficits in their physiology knowledge. However, although a significantly larger number of students felt that summative evaluations motivated them to study more than the formative evaluations (P = 0.006), overall, more students favored formative over summative assessments. Notably, however, GEM students from nonbiomedical backgrounds were significantly more in favor of summative assessments than those from either biomedical backgrounds (P = 0.003) or the whole GEM survey cohort (P = 0.01). The implications of these findings will be discussed, with suggestions as to how the student views outlined here might be facilitated within an academic program to maximize both student learning as well as their motivation to study and keep up with taught material. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although several studies have investigated the relative effectiveness of regular summative versus formative assessments as tools to facilitate student learning and understanding, ours is the first to explicitly solicit students' views on, and preferences for, either regular formative or summative assessment in preclinical medicine. We demonstrate that, overall, students preferred formative- to summative-type assessments, due to the immediacy of feedback, but also that summative tests incentivized them to study and keep up with material more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term (8-10 years) outcomes of toric implantable collamer lens (TICL) surgery. Setting: Nagoya Eye Clinic, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Design: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Patients who underwent TICL surgery from 2005 to 2009 to correct myopia and myopic astigmatism were enrolled. The safety, efficacy, predictability, astigmatism correction efficacy, and complications were evaluated using preoperative, 1-year postoperative, and final examination data. Results: 133 eyes of 77 patients were included. At the final visit, the mean uncorrected and corrected visual acuities were -0.01 ± 0.2 and -0.17 ± 0.05, respectively. The mean safety and efficacy indices were 0.91 ± 0.26 and 0.68 ± 0.21, respectively. The manifest astigmatism was -0.45 ± 0.43 diopters (D). The mean corneal astigmatism change from 1 year postoperatively to the final visit was 0.40 ± 0.26 D. Of the 38 eyes with a change in corneal astigmatism ≥0.5 D, 30 eyes (78.9%) changed to against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism, 1 (2.6%) changed to oblique astigmatism, and 7 (18.4%) changed to with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism. The mean manifest astigmatism change from 1 year postoperatively to the final visit was 0.43 ± 0.52 D. Of the 60 eyes with a change in manifest astigmatism ≥0.5 D, 25 (41.7%) changed to ATR astigmatism, 18 (30.0%) changed to oblique astigmatism, and 17 (28.3%) changed to WTR astigmatism. During follow-up, 8 (6.0%) of 133 eyes developed anterior subcapsular cataracts, among which 4 (3.0%) underwent TICL removal and phacoemulsification and aspiration. No vision-threatening complications occurred. Conclusions: TICL surgery showed good long-term astigmatismcorrecting effects, although the long-term uncorrected visual acuity decreased. The procedure was effective in correcting myopia and astigmatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment for Learning (AfL) describes the powerful role assessment plays in shaping how and what students learn. AfL is associated with formative assessment and is placed in contrast to the summative role of certification. This article, however, focuses on AfL in Confucian-influenced cultures and finds that this summative/formative binary does not hold. While in western countries the embrace of AfL is associated with challenging the former dominance of examinations, this is not true of a place such as Hong Kong. This article explores this paradox of a commitment to AfL and a continuing belief in examinations. By qualitatively investigating the perceptions and attitudes towards AfL of students, educators and managers, we find that their expansive understanding of the educational merits of examinations explains this paradox. The lessons that arise, including how to further enhance AfL through practical frameworks and/or policies, have relevance in both Confucian-influenced and non-Confucian-influenced contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: The extent of education regarding dental trauma within dental schools around the world is believed to be very diverse, but also largely unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze and depict the current curriculum regarding dental trauma education among all Canadian dental schools, in an effort to refine and consolidate the education system. Methods: A survey was conducted over a scheduled meeting with dental trauma Instructors from all 10 dental schools in Canada. Questions were categorized into three sections investigating the dental trauma curriculum, the examinations/assessments of students, and the clinical exposure provided to students during the course of their dental studies. Data were first analyzed individually, and then common findings were grouped together. Results: A total of 17 instructors were interviewed. In 9 out of the 10 universities, dental trauma education remains fragmented with an overall mean of only 4 ± 5.2 h allocated to teaching dental trauma throughout the dental courses. Only one single university reported testing students following the completion of their dental trauma course, and only one university conducted a final examination dedicated separately to dental trauma only. All instructors reported a lack of ample exposure to trauma cases during clinical rotations. Conclusions: Many deficiencies exist in teaching dental trauma among Canadian universities. Due to low clinical exposure, students might be under‐prepared to clinically manage trauma cases. Also, the lack of unification in the curriculum creates confusion among students. Additional clinical exposure along with unification within, and between, dental schools could result in a more coherent and a better presented dental trauma curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses and summarises the experience of conducting the state final assessment of undergraduate students in journalism with regard to the competence-based examination model. The relevance of the study is related to the need to achieve systemic unity between the competencebased concept of university training of journalists and its final stage that is the assessment of the quality of the received education. Sinceprofessional competence has an integral activity nature, the knowledge paradigm of the final assessment used for many years does not meet modern requirements. The article describes the reasons and primary goals that determined the transition to a new concept of the state examination at the Southern Federal University in 2021. The article offers the rationale for choosing a case method as the main means of assessing the degree of professional competencies among graduates, including examples of developed case tasks. To assess the effectiveness of the applied innovative methods in 2021-2023 the authors surveyed 4th-year undergraduate students in journalism and members of the state examination boards. An empirical study enabled to determine the level of satisfaction of all participants in the educational process with the new model of the final exam to identify the degree of its effectiveness, as well as potential opportunities and ways to improve. The article presents the dynamics of the survey results and their interpretation. The authors conclude that a practice-based approach should be used not only in the process of training journalists but also in organising the final examination. Implementing interdisciplinary case-based tasks allows graduates to demonstrate the degree of competency formation provided by the educational program, which contributes to their confident entry into the modern media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmatic assessment is a holistic and unified approach to assessing the learning progress of medical students. The high-stakes decision to pass or fail medical students in the specialty of community medicine that depends on the performance in summative assessment. This makes the entire process of summative assessment quite challenging for medical students, as they cannot afford any mistakes on the day of summative assessment. We propose a programmatic assessment model for community medicine, by which we can overcome the prevailing shortcomings and take high-stakes decisions based on the longitudinal overview of multiple activities, rather than just performance on summative assessments. The proposed programmatic assessment for the specialty of community medicine will essentially have all these elements, which the community medicine department must cover with an intention to address subject-specific competencies. In conclusion, programmatic assessment has emerged as a valuable approach in the field of community medicine, as it is a comprehensive and systematic method to assess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of medical students in different aspects of the specialty. Further, by ensuring integration between different assessment methods, we can longitudinally track the performance of students and eventually perform a more holistic evaluation of the competencies expected of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The written test is practically the most used assessment instrument in the classroom, paradoxically, despite its massive use, this instrument carries a series of teaching practices that have negative implications for students. The objective of this paper is to propose a series of practices that can improve the application of classroom tests. To achieve this objective, we expose a series of practices opposed to the approach based on validity and assessment of and for learning. Then, new practices focused on the evaluation of learning are proposed, such as the reduction of uncertainty, the creation of trusting atmospheres, the potentiation of the educational nature of the exams and externalizing positive ideas about the evaluation. The modification of work experience proposals could influence a more favorable assessment for the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous writings focus on why centering assessment design around students' cultural, social, and/or linguistic diversity is important and how performance-based assessment can support such aims. This article extends previous work by describing how a culturally responsive classroom assessment framework was created from a culturally responsive education (CRE) pedagogical framework. The goal of the framework was to guide the design and evaluation of curriculum-embedded, classroom performance assessments. Components discussed include: modification of evidence-centered design processes, teacher and/or student adaptation of construct irrelevant aspects of task prompts, addition of cultural meaningfulness questions to think alouds, and revision of task quality review protocols to promote CRE design features. Future research is needed to explore the limitations of the framework applied, and the extent to which students perceive the classroom summative assessments designed do indeed allow them to better show all they know and can do in ways related to their cultural, social, and/or linguistic identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining formative and summative evaluations could improve assessment. Cognitive diagnosis modeling (CDM) has been proposed as a tool for diagnosing students' strengths and weaknesses in formative assessment. However, there is no user-friendly software to implement it. For this reason, a Shiny app, FoCo, has been developed (https://foco.shinyapps.io/FoCo/), to conduct CDM and classical test theory analyses. The responses from 86 undergraduate students to a research methods course examination were analyzed. Students' strengths and needs were diagnosed concerning their dominance of the syllabus contents and the first three competencies in Bloom's taxonomy. The validity of the results was analyzed. The exam showed acceptable about evaluating students' knowledge, as students with similar scores showed different strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, these attributes were found to predict different relevant criteria. It is expected that FoCo's easiness to use promotes the employment of CDM in real educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leiomyosarcoma of the spermatic cord is a rare entity. It can arise from any mesenchymal cell of its structure. It occurs mainly in elderly patients. It presents as a firm and painless intrascrotal mass. We present a case of a 30-year-old man with a 3-year history of a painless left-sided scrotal mass. Ultra-sound examination showed a scrotal mass. Further work-up revealed no distant metastasis before surgery. A left radical 1-block orchidectomy with epididymis and spermatic cord was performed. The final histopathologic examination showed a pattern of leiomyosarcoma of the spermatic cord. Considering the result of the histopathological examination, the Onco-logical Council did not recommend any additional surgery, but only watchful waiting. Almost 4 years of follow-up have passed without additional treatment. Primary scrotal leiomyosarcoma is an exceptional entity with only 100 cases reported in the literature. Due to its rarity, additional studies are needed to better define the optimal therapeutic management. A literature review and treatment strategy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]