Nonwearable Sensor-Based In-Home Assessment of Subtle Daily Behavioral Changes as a Candidate Biomarker for Mild Cognitive Impairment

Patients show subtle changes in daily behavioral patterns, revealed by traditional assessments (e.g., performance- or questionnaire-based assessments) even in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD; i.e., the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage). An increase in studies on the assessment of daily behavioral changes in patients with MCI and AD using digital technologies (e.g., wearable and nonwearable sensor-based assessment) has been noted in recent years. In addition, more objective, quantitative, and realistic evidence of altered daily behavioral patterns in patients with MCI and AD has been provided by digital technologies rather than traditional assessments. Therefore, this study hypothesized that the assessment of daily behavioral changes with digital technologies can replace or assist traditional assessment methods for early MCI and AD detection. In this review, we focused on research using nonwearable sensor-based in-home assessment. Previous studies on the assessment of behavioral changes in MCI and AD using traditional performance- or questionnaire-based assessments are first described. Next, an overview of previous studies on the assessment of behavioral changes in MCI and AD using nonwearable sensor-based in-home assessment is provided. Finally, the usefulness and problems of nonwearable sensor-based in-home assessment for early MCI and AD detection are discussed. In conclusion, this review stresses that subtle changes in daily behavioral patterns detected by nonwearable sensor-based in-home assessment can be early MCI and AD biomarkers.

A refugee to God. Aleksandr Vvedensky’s spiritual parables

The perception of A. Vvedensky’s work is prone to controversy: he is considered a precursor to absurdist literature; at the same time, his close friend, the poet Y. Druskin, insisted that Vvedensky was religious, and believed his absurdity, instead of representing a lack of meaning, points to a different kind of meaning. The article suggests an approach to the hermeneutic reading of the poet’s private symbolic language that helps to revise certain traditional assessments. The author argues that Vvedensky’s mature oeuvre consists of religious and philosophical allegories written in a most extremely absurdist form. At the core of the poet’s brilliant art of the cryptic portrayal of his innermost beliefs is the aesthetics of the absurd. Hence the alogical nature of his poetic dialogues and plays, semantic inversions and contaminations, paradoxes, allusions, aposiopeses, extended metaphors, etc. Subjected to ‘sweeping incomprehension’ are stereotypes of thinking and everyday language practices – from substandard vernacular and colloquialisms to philosophical discourse. Vvedensky’s ‘star of absurdity’ is seen as a symbol of revelation.

Analysis of factors influencing levee safety using the DEMATEL method

River embankments are the basic and the oldest measures of protecting areas potentially subjected to flooding, and at the same time pose a serious threat to their environment in the event of damage or failure. The technical condition of the levees and its regular evaluation is a key element of their safety. A general assessment of the technical condition of a levee is the result of many interacting factors and parameters that depend on each other to a varying degree. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the cause-and-effect links between the interrelationships of numerous parameters and sensors of significant impact. In this article the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was applied to develop a cause-and-effect model for factors impacting the condition and safety of levees. Effective factors impacting the technical condition of a levee were identified; relationships between these factors were determined; a cause-and-effect model was developed based on identified factors; factors were categorized based on the dependence scale and influential indicators of each factors used in the DEMATEL method. The obtained results demonstrate that three following factors: hydrological factor, type and condition of soils in levee body and condition of levee areas (inter-levee and landside) play the most important role for levee safety. The results of this study can support traditional assessments of hydrotechnical structure or assist entities managing levees.

Narrative identity’s nomological network: Expanding and organizing assessment of the storied self

The life story, or narrative identity, is a psychosocial construction that brings together and integrates the self and experience within a broad story-based framework. Personality psychologists typically capture aspects of this inner story by prompting participants for descriptions of life chapters and/or specific and self-definitional autobiographical key scenes (e.g., high points, low points, turning points). Features of participants’ responses are then quantified for their thematic and/or structural content. There exists a number of additional and complementary assessment techniques that could buttress study of, and theory pertaining to, narrative identity. Here, I work to identify these assessments, which include self-reports, informant reports, and behavioral observations, and organize them within narrative identity’s nomological network. This work concludes with a number of suggestions for the ways in which traditional assessments may be better attuned to capture narrative identity’s integrative nature.

FORMATIVE ELECTRONIC ASSESSMENTS DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IN SECOND PHASE MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATES

Objective: Electronic learning and assessment was embraced in medical education worldwide following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was done to determine the perceptions of medical undergraduates on formative electronic assessments conducted during COVID-19 lockdown and to estimate the mean marks scored in these assessments. Methods: This was a descriptive study done for a period of 3 months on online platform. Six online formative assessments were conducted on Google Forms or Kahoot. A questionnaire was administered as Google Form to collect the perceptions of the participants on perceived ease of use of platform, attitude, and practice adopted in online assessments. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: The response rate was 97.7%. Kahoot was perceived to be easier with lesser technical glitches and privacy concerns as compared to Google, while it was equivocal in terms of access assessment links, output storage, display clarity, overall user interface, network issues, need for computer literacy, and eyestrain caused. The participants had a positive attitude regarding the usefulness of online assessments however majority liked the traditional assessments more than the online assessments. While less than one-third (22%) had copy pasted some answers, more than half (54.4%) had referred to internet and more than three quarter (79.6%) had referred to textbooks/power points/notes while attending online assessments. Conclusion: The participants felt that Google Forms and Kahoot were comparable online assessment tools except for difficulty in filling, privacy concerns, and technical issues on Google Forms. The usefulness of online assessments was embraced by the participants but they felt that the traditional assessments were to be continued, while attending online assessments some students had referred to the internet or study materials.

A Systematic Review of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment and Modeling through Concept Mapping

Traditional assessments are typically constructed on logical taxonomies and content specifications but lack explicit cognitive models of the processes and problem-solving strategies that underlie student performance. Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA) fills this gap by combining cognitive science and psychometrics. CDA is in its infancy, but over 1,000 relevant studies have been conducted in this area during the last 20 years. Facing these complicated studies, many beginners struggle to understand the whole picture of CDA. This paper systematically reviews the literature on CDA and relevant cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) with the application of a concept mapping technology. Concept mapping is graphical representation of concepts and their relationships. Its use in this study allows researchers and students to gain in-depth knowledge about CDA and CDM and identify areas of future research.

A Pre-Experimental Research on the Implementation of Selected Class-room Assessment Techniques for Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health

The primary objective of this study is to examine and identify the classroom assessment techniques (CATs) that might provide and help teachers through assessment and evaluation processes in Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH) using pre-experimental research through one-group pretest-posttest design. The study was conducted at Jose Abad Santos High School in Manila, Philippines during the third grading period of the researcher’s practicum. The sample of the study consists of 20 students selected through the purposive sampling technique. Quantitative and quali-tative data analyses were employed. The instruments used in the study were a teacher made quiz, CATs sample assessment as the treatment, and the perception survey questionnaire (PSQ) regarding the CATs. The result revealed that there is a significant difference between the pre-evaluation and post-evaluation after the CATs implementation. In the post-evaluation, the mean score was significantly higher than the pre-evaluation, which indicates that the CATs improved the performance of students in MAPEH. On the other hand, as revealed in the PSQ, the students regarded the CATs positively. It shows, in this case, that CATs are a great alternative to traditional assessments. Other CATs to be developed and implemented for better learning and effective teaching are recommended.

Interadministrator Reliability of a Modified Instrumented Push and Release Test of Reactive Balance

Context: Traditional assessments of reactive balance require sophisticated instrumentation to ensure objective, highly repeatable paradigms. This instrumentation is clinically impractical. The Push and Release test (P&R) is a well-validated clinical test that examines reactive balance, and the application of wearable inertial measurement units (IMU) enables sensitive and objective assessment of this clinically feasible test. The P&R relies on administrator experience and may be susceptible to interadministration reliability concerns. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interadministrator reliability of objective outcomes from an instrumented, modified version of the P&R test. Design: Crossover interadministrator design. Methods: Twenty healthy adults (20–35 y) completed the P&R in 4 directions with 2 different administrators. Measures quantified using IMUs included step latency, step length, and time to stability. Lean angle (LA) at release was used as a measure of administration consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) estimate was used to assess interadministrator reliability in each direction. To determine consistency of LA within and across administrators, we calculated the SDs for each rater by direction and the interadministrator reliability of LA using ICC. Results: Across individual directions, the ICC for agreement between raters ranged from .16 to .39 for step latency, from .52 to .62 for time to stability, and from .48 to .84 for step length. Summary metrics across all 4 directions produced higher ICC values. There was poor to moderate consistency in administration based on LA, but LA did not significantly affect any of the outcomes. Conclusion: The modified P&R yields moderate interadministrator reliability and high validity. Summary metrics over all 4 directions (the maximum step latency, the median time to stability, and the median step length) are likely more reliable than direction-specific scores. Variations in body size should also be considered when comparing populations.