Students' perceptions, engagement and satisfaction with the use of an e-rubric for the assessment of manual skills in physiotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, formative assessment has gained importance in health care education to facilitate and enhance learning throughout the training period. Within the frame of active methodologies, rubrics have become an essential instrument for formative assessment. Most rubric-based assessment procedures focus on measuring the effects of rubrics on teachers. However, few studies focus their attention on the perception that students have of the evaluation process through rubrics. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was carried out with 134 students enrolled in the pre-graduate Physiotherapy education. Assessment of manual skills during a practical examination was performed using an e-rubric tool. Peer-assessment, self-assessment and teacher´s assessment were registered. After completion of the examination process, students' perceptions, satisfaction and engagement were collected. RESULTS: Quantitative results related to students' opinion about e-rubric based assessment, students' engagement, perceived benefits and drawbacks of the e-rubric as well as the overall assessment of the learning experience were obtained. 86.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that "the rubric allowed one to know what it is expected from examination" and 83.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that "the rubric allowed one to verify the level of competence acquired". A high rate of agreement (87.3%) was also reached among students concerning feedback. CONCLUSIONS: E-rubrics seemed to have the potential to promote learning by making criteria and expectations explicit, facilitating feedback, self-assessment and peer-assessment. The importance of students in their own learning process required their participation in the assessment task, a fact that was globally appreciated by the students. Learning experience was considered interesting, motivating, it promoted participation, cooperative work and peer-assessment. The use of e-rubrics increased engagement levels when attention was focused on their guidance and reflection role.

Processed cheese as a polymer matrix composite: A particle toolkit for the replacement of milk fat with canola oil in processed cheese.

In this study, we show that the replacement of milk fat with canola oil in a model caseinate-based imitation cheese product to increase its nutritional value can be done by treating processed cheese as a particle filled gel network. Using microscopy, model imitation cheese products with different lipid phases were found to have similar microstructures where fat or oil appears as inert particle fillers in a continuous protein network. Using a texture profile analyzer, we show that the textural properties of model imitation cheese are dependent on the material properties of the inert filler. Addition of rigid particle fillers generally results in greater reinforcement of the matrix (i.e., increased hardness). The addition of oat fiber particles at 5% volume fraction to model cheese containing 51% milk fat and 49% canola oil resulted in a product with similar functionalities (i.e., hardness, oil stability, and meltability) as that of model cheese containing 100% milk fat. The current study therefore shows that the addition of edible non-fat particles for matrix reinforcement can be used as an alternative method for reducing saturated fats in foods while keeping other desirable properties of the product.

Structure and functionality of nanostructured triacylglycerol crystal networks.

In this review, recent advances in the characterization of the nanoscale structure of fat crystal networks are outlined. The effect of different factors on the properties of crystalline nanoplatelets (CNPs) is comprehensively described. These are discussed together with the observed changes in polymorphism and micro- or mesostructural properties so as to have a complete understanding of the influence of different internal and external factors on the material properties of fats. The relationship between the nanostructure and the material properties of fats (i.e., oil binding capacity and rheology) is also described. Characterization of the nanostructure of fats has provided a new dimension to the analysis of fat crystal networks and opportunities for nanoengineering that could result in innovations in the food industry with regards to processing and structuring fatty materials.

Spontaneous repigmentation of silvery hair in an infant with congenital hydrops fetalis and hypoproteinemia.

Silvery hair is a characteristic finding of 3 rare autosomal recessive disorders: Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (CHS), Elejalde syndrome (ES), and Griscelli syndrome (GS). We report the case of a 2-month-old male infant with transient silvery hair and generalized hypopigmentation of the skin and eyes who did not have one of these classic causative disorders. The patient was delivered at 35 weeks' gestation with congenital hydrops fetalis associated with a chromosomal abnormality (46,XY,add[2],[p23]), hypothyroidism, hypoproteinemia, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Over the course of follow-up, spontaneous brown repigmentation of the silvery hair was noted. We concluded that the silvery hair was induced by hypoproteinemia secondary to congenital hydrops fetalis.

Formation of ß Polymorphs in Milk Fats with Large Differences in Triacylglycerol Profiles.

In this study, we characterized the polymorphism of milk fat (MF) with various TAG compositions during isothermal crystallization at 20 °C. TAG composition of MF from seven individual cows was determined using GC-FID and MALDI-TOF MS, and MF polymorphism was studied using X-ray diffraction. Results showed that TAG profile determines the polymorphic behavior of MF. Saturated TAG with carbon numbers 34-38 promoted the formation of α polymorphs, whereas unsaturated TAG with 52-54 promoted the formation of the ß polymorphs. Furthermore, MFs with unsaturated fatty acid profiles were increased in unsaturated TAG with 52-54 carbons. The presence of MF crystals in the ß polymorph has been controversial over the years as most authors mainly find MF crystals in the α and ß' form. In our work, we showed that the ß polymorph is formed in MF on the basis of its TAG composition.

[Chronic osteitis and arthritis of palmoplantar pustulosis. A familial form of B-27 negative spondylarthropathy]. / Les ostéites et arthrites chroniques de la pustulose palmo-plantaire. Une forme familiale de spondylarthropathie B27 négative.

A 35-year old woman presented with pustulosis palmaris et plantaris evolving in acute episodes parallel to those of a rheumatic disease consisting of bilateral sacro-iliac arthritis, manubriosternal fusion and sterno-clavicular arthritis. Her brother had spondylitis compatible with the diagnosis of pustular osteo-arthritis though without pustulosis. He presented with bilateral sacro-iliac arthritis, manubriosternal fusion, sterno-clavicular arthritis and an ossified fragment detached from the antero-inferior angle of C6. The two patients had the same HLA phenotype: A1, A9, B5, B41, CW4, DR2, DR4, absence of B27. In a specimen from the sacro-iliac joint the authors found active bone remodelling and inflammatory osteitis with fibrosis and infiltrates rich in mononucleate cells. An electron microscopic study--to the authors' knowledge, the first to be performed in such cases--demonstrated intracytoplasmic filamentous inclusions in two macrophages of the synovial fringe. Only one other case of the familial form has been published so far. Like the rheumatism of acne conglobata, the spondylitis of pustulosis palmaris et plantaris is one of the causes of sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis.