Dasatinib-Induced Chylothorax: A Clinical Laboratory's Perspective.

Dasatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug used for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) treatment. Chylothorax has been rarely reported as a secondary effect of dasatinib occurring especially in long-term treated patients, although its pathophysiology is not yet fully understood. Laboratory analysis of the pleural effusion is crucial for chylothorax diagnosis. We report a case of a 53-year-old male patient presenting a chylothorax after 14 years of dasatinib therapy where the clinical laboratory was key in the diagnosis.

ANISE: an application to design mechanobiology simulations of planar epithelia.

SUMMARY: TiFoSi (Tissues Forces & Signaling) is an efficient computational tool for performing mechanobiology simulations of planar epithelia. A drawback of this tool is that it relies on an XML configuration file (input data) that can be cumbersome to set up and/or decode due to the endless possibilities of the software. Moreover, some modeling know-how is needed in order to provide equations that describe gene regulatory interactions. These factors limit the usability of this tool for users with a weak computational and/or mathematical background. Here, we introduce ANISE (grAphical coNfigurator of TiFoSi In Silico Experiments), a web-app that allows to easily setup the configuration of mechanobiology simulations using TiFoSi. The application covers all the configuration modules in TiFoSi comprehensively (from basic to advanced editing options) and uses a graphical approach (e.g. to build the modeling equations of gene regulatory networks). AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: http://github.com/lsym-uveg/anise (server: http://lsymserver.uv.es/lsym/ANISE).

Test Item Taxonomy Based on Functional Criteria.

There are many taxonomies that try to classify and apply some consistency to the very many item types currently in existence. They all have various limitations, however, such as ambiguous classification criteria, little discrimination between format types, and referring almost exclusively to pen-and-paper or screen-based items. This paper aims to overcome these limitations by proposing a new item format taxonomy based on functional criteria. Current classifications are reviewed, the criteria they are based on are examined and their limitations are identified. The proposed alternative classification identifies four essential components of items according to function: the structure of the included content, the device used for transmission of the question to the examinee, the device for receiving the response, and the instructions to the examinee about how to understand and respond to the item. The combination of different facets of these four components allows any format of item to be classified, both existing formats and those that may appear in the future. In addition to systematically and coherently classifying items, this new taxonomy may also be of great utility in the construction and research of new items. The proposed model is illustrated by examples showing how specific items are classified, using a checklist as a guide.

Guidelines based on validity criteria for the development of multiple choice items / Directrices para el desarrollo de ítems de elección múltiple basadas en validez

BACKGROUND: Many different guidelines have been presented for the construction of multiple choice items. Those guidelines have been based on the observation of errors when constructing items but not on any clear scientific criterion. Our main objective was to draw up guidelines for the development of multiple choice items based on validity criteria. METHOD: We used the properties of adjustment, precision, and differentiation, applying them to three basic phases of instrument construction: the definition of the objective and its context; their expression in the instrument and item stem; and the elaboration of response options. RESULTS: We have combined these properties and phases to give nine general guidelines with a firm theoretical footing. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, we have written a checklist with twenty-four points to check how far the measurement instruments comply with the proposed guidelines

ANTECEDENTES: se han propuesto diferentes directrices para la construcción de ítems de elección múltiple, basadas sobre todo en la observación de errores al construir los ítems pero no en algún criterio científico claro. El objetivo central del presente trabajo es generar directrices para el desarrollo de ítems de elección múltiple basadas en criterios de validez. MÉTODO: se utilizan las propiedades de ajuste, precisión y diferenciación, aplicándolas a tres etapas fundamentales del desarrollo de instrumentos de evaluación: definición del objetivo y su contexto, su implementación en el instrumento y enunciado de los ítems, y elaboración de las opciones de respuesta. RESULTADOS: la combinación entre tales propiedades y etapas da lugar a nueve directrices generales que, además de quedar fundamentadas, permiten resolver cualquier duda que surja a quienes desarrollan ítems de elección múltiple. CONCLUSIONES: para facilitar esa labor, las directrices son complementadas con una lista de veinticuatro cuestiones con la que comprobar el grado en que los instrumentos de medida cumplen las directrices propuestas

Guidelines based on validity criteria for the development of multiple choice items.

BACKGROUND: Many different guidelines have been presented for the construction of multiple choice items. Those guidelines have been based on the observation of errors when constructing items but not on any clear scientific criterion. Our main objective was to draw up guidelines for the development of multiple choice items based on validity criteria. METHOD: We used the properties of adjustment, precision, and differentiation, applying them to three basic phases of instrument construction: the definition of the objective and its context; their expression in the instrument and item stem; and the elaboration of response options. RESULTS: We have combined these properties and phases to give nine general guidelines with a firm theoretical footing. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, we have written a checklist with twenty-four points to check how far the measurement instruments comply with the proposed guidelines.

A new HLA-based distributed control architecture for agricultural teams of robots in hybrid applications with real and simulated devices or environments.

The control architecture is one of the most important part of agricultural robotics and other robotic systems. Furthermore its importance increases when the system involves a group of heterogeneous robots that should cooperate to achieve a global goal. A new control architecture is introduced in this paper for groups of robots in charge of doing maintenance tasks in agricultural environments. Some important features such as scalability, code reuse, hardware abstraction and data distribution have been considered in the design of the new architecture. Furthermore, coordination and cooperation among the different elements in the system is allowed in the proposed control system. By integrating a network oriented device server Player, Java Agent Development Framework (JADE) and High Level Architecture (HLA), the previous concepts have been considered in the new architecture presented in this paper. HLA can be considered the most important part because it not only allows the data distribution and implicit communication among the parts of the system but also allows to simultaneously operate with simulated and real entities, thus allowing the use of hybrid systems in the development of applications.

Calidad de los ítems de los exámenes PIR / No disponible

Se explora la calidad de los ítems de las pruebas utilizadas en España para la selección de los candidatos a ocupar durante cuatro años las plazas que permiten obtener la titulación oficial de Especialista en Psicología Clínica (Psicólogo Interno Residente, PIR).Puesto que los resultados individuales de cada candidato no son públicos, lo que se analiza es una muestra intencional de las pruebas aplicadas en los últimos años, evaluando su ajuste a las directrices que la literatura ofrece para la construcción sistemática de ítems y pruebas. Los resultados más destacables de la exploración realizada son los siguientes. Junto al cumplimiento adecuado de varias directrices, se observa una insuficiente especificación de los contenidos y competencias objetos de la evaluación. Asimismo, más de un dieciséis por ciento de los ítems contienen errores formales o de contenido que dificultan la exposición del dominio de interés, lo cual pone de manifiesto una insuficiente revisión de las pruebas antes de su aplicación. Y en torno a un doce por ciento delos ítems inducen de manera directa la respuesta correcta, o indirectamente al permitir la exclusión de una o más de las alternativas. Todo ello muestra la conveniencia de construir de forma más rigurosa los ítems de las pruebas utilizadas para seleccionar a los Psicólogos Internos Residentes (AU)

This article explores the quality of the test items used in Spain for the selection of candidates for the four years contracts of ResidentIntern Psychologist (PIR). That residency training program is necessary in order to obtain the official title of Specialist in Clinical Psychology. Since the individual responses to the test are not made public, we analyzed an intentional sample of the test items used in recent years, assessing their compliance with the guidelines that literature provides for the systematic construction of items and tests. The most outstanding results of the exploration carried out can be summarized as follow. Besides a general compliance with various guidelines, it was found an inadequate specification of contents and skills to be assessed. Over sixteen percent of the items present formal or content errors that make difficult the expresion of the items domain, which shows an insufficient editorial review of the test prior to its administration. In addition, around twelve percent of the items directly induce the correct response, or indirectly by allowing the exclusion of one or more of the alternatives. This shows the need to develop a more rigorous test items for selecting future Clinical Psychologists in Spain (AU)

Evaluation of five guidelines for option development in multiple-choice item-writing / Evaluación de cinco directrices para la construcción de opciones en ítems de elección múltiple

This paper evaluates certain guidelines for writing multiple-choice test items. The analysis of the responses of 5013 subjects to 630 items from 21 university classroom achievement tests suggests that an option should not differ in terms of heterogeneous content because such error has a slight but harmful effect on item discrimination. This also occurs with the «None of the above» option when it is the correct one. In contrast, results do not show the supposedly negative effects of a different-length option, the use of specific determiners, or the use of the «All of the above» option, which not onlydecreases difficulty but also improves discrimination when it is the correct option (AU)

El artículo evalúa algunas directrices para la construcción de ítems de elección múltiple. El análisis de las respuestas de 5.013 sujetos a 630 ítems de 21 exámenes de una materia universitaria sugieren que ninguna de las opciones debería diferenciarse del resto en términos de contenido, porque tal error tiene un ligero pero perjudicial efecto sobre la discriminación del ítem, algo que también sucede con la opción «Ninguna de las anteriores» cuando es la correcta. Por el contrario, los resultados no muestran los supuestos efectos negativos de la longitud diferencial de una opción, del uso de determinantes, o de la opción «Todas las anteriores», la cual no disminuye la dificultad, sino que mejora la discriminación cuando es la opción correcta (AU)

Evaluation of five guidelines for option development in multiple-choice item-writing.

This paper evaluates certain guidelines for writing multiple-choice test items. The analysis of the responses of 5013 subjects to 630 items from 21 university classroom achievement tests suggests that an option should not differ in terms of heterogeneous content because such error has a slight but harmful effect on item discrimination. This also occurs with the "None of the above" option when it is the correct one. In contrast, results do not show the supposedly negative effects of a different-length option, the use of specific determiners, or the use of the "All of the above" option, which not only decreases difficulty but also improves discrimination when it is the correct option.

Mathematical background and attitudes toward statistics in a sample of Spanish college students.

To examine the relation of mathematical background and initial attitudes toward statistics of Spanish college students in social sciences the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics was given to 827 students. Multivariate analyses tested the effects of two indicators of mathematical background (amount of exposure and achievement in previous courses) on the four subscales. Analysis suggested grades in previous courses are more related to initial attitudes toward statistics than the number of mathematics courses taken. Mathematical background was related with students' affective responses to statistics but not with their valuing of statistics. Implications of possible research are discussed.

Funcionamiento de un sistema de información epidemiológica a nivel distrital (1980) / Performance of an epidemiological information system at district level

Una guía informativa actualizada, que describe en forma exhaustiva y funcional el uso adecuado del sistema de información epidemiologica, para ser consultada de acuerdo a los requerimientos y necesidades en cualquier estado del país. Se pretende, unificar criterios, definiciones y procedimientos en la recolección, elaboración de la información que se maneja en un Servicio de Epidemiologia. Por otra parte se resalta la responsabilidad del epidemiologo distrital en las diferentes actividades, en la vigilancia, control y supervision del funcionamiento del sistema de información. Orientando y educando al medico rural, e instruyendo al equipo que labora a nivel distrital