School of Computing and informatics

Accelerometry-derived Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity Predicts Overall Survival In Patients With Cancer In The Pleural Space: 2896

2024-10-01T00:00:00Z

Accelerometry-derived Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity Predicts Overall Survival In Patients With Cancer In The Pleural Space: 2896 Carolyn J Peddle-McIntyre, Pedro Lopez, Emily Jeffery, Robert U Newton, Sanjeevan Murugananda, Ken Chan, David CL Lam, Joanne A McVeigh, Deidre Fitzgerald, YC Lee To investigate the association of accelerometry-derived moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with 3-year overall survival (OS) in patients with MPE.

Evaluation Of A State-wide, Community-based Exercise Program In Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment: A Subgroup Analysis Of The Life Now Exercise Program : 2927

2024-10-01T00:00:00Z

Evaluation Of A State-wide, Community-based Exercise Program In Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment: A Subgroup Analysis Of The Life Now Exercise Program : 2927 Hao Luo, Daniel A Galvão, Dennis R Taaffe, Vinicius Cavalheri, Robert U Newton To assess the uptake and effectiveness of a community exercise program (Life Now Exercise) in patients during cancer treatment. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0001062036.22169.fa

Immediate Versus Delayed Exercise on Health-related Quality of Life in Patients Initiating Androgen Deprivation Therapy: Results from a Year-long Randomised Trial

2024-10-05T00:00:00Z

Immediate Versus Delayed Exercise on Health-related Quality of Life in Patients Initiating Androgen Deprivation Therapy: Results from a Year-long Randomised Trial Dennis R Taaffe, Robert U Newton, Suzanne K Chambers, Christian J Nelson, Nigel Spry, Hao Luo, Oliver Schumacher, David Joseph, Robert A Gardiner, Dickon Hayne, Daniel A Galvão An array of treatment-related toxicities result from androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa), compromising function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Exercise has been demonstrated to counter a number of these adverse effects including decreased HRQoL; however, when exercise should be initiated is less clear. This study aims to examine whether commencing exercise when ADT is initiated rather than later during treatment is more effective in countering adverse effects on HRQoL.

Effects of short-and long-term exercise training on cancer cells in vitro: Insights into the mechanistic associations

2024-10-05T00:00:00Z

Effects of short-and long-term exercise training on cancer cells in vitro: Insights into the mechanistic associations Bettariga, Francesco; Taaffe, R .Dennis; Galvão, A.Daniel; Newton, U.Robert Exercise is a therapeutic approach in cancer treatment, providing several benefits. Moreover, exercise is associated with a reduced risk for developing a range of cancers and for their recurrence, as well as with improving survival, even though the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Preclinical and clinical evidence shows that the acute effects of a single exercise session can suppress the growth of various cancer cell lines in vitro. This suppression is potentially due to altered concentrations of hormones (e.g., insulin) and cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6) after exercise. These factors, known to be involved in tumorigenesis, may explain why exercise is associated with reduced cancer incidence, recurrence, and mortality. However, the effects of short- (<8 weeks) and long-term (≥8 weeks) exercise programs on cancer cells have been reported with mixed results. Although more research is needed, it appears that interventions incorporating both exercise and diet seem to have greater inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth in both apparently healthy subjects as well as in cancer patients. Although speculative, these suppressive effects on cancer cells may be driven by changes in body weight and composition as well as by a reduction in low-grade inflammation often associated with sedentary behavior, low muscle mass, and excess fat mass in cancer patients. Taken together, such interventions could alter the systemic levels of suppressive circulating factors, leading to a less favorable environment for tumorigenesis. While regular exercise and a healthy diet may establish a more cancer-suppressive environment, each acute bout of exercise provides a further “dose” of anticancer medicine. Therefore, integrating regular exercise could potentially play a significant role in cancer management, highlighting the need for future investigations in this promising area of research.

The expanding role of exercise oncology in cancer care: An editorial highlighting emerging research

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

The expanding role of exercise oncology in cancer care: An editorial highlighting emerging research Mizrahi, David; Rees-Punia, Erika; Newton, U. Robert; Sandler, X. Carolina Cancer remains a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality [1]. Despite improved survival rates, many survivors face treatment-related side effects that compromise recovery, increase disease risk, and lower quality of life [2]. Over the past 20 years, exercise oncology has gained recognition for improving physical, psychological, cognitive, and clinical outcomes in cancer patients [4]. Epidemiological studies have also demonstrated that cancer survivors can reduce their recurrence risk when participating in regular exercise [3]. Due to this growing evidence base, physical activity and exercise are now recommended by major cancer organizations across the continuum of care—before, during, and after treatment [5,6]. http://www.journals.elsevier.com/jsams-plus

Impact of Social Media on Student Wellbeing in Kenyan Universities

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Impact of Social Media on Student Wellbeing in Kenyan Universities Onderi, Peter Omae; Oginda, Moses Students who spend much of their time on social media are likely to struggle with time management and become less productive in their studies due to distractions by constant alerts, endless scrolling feeds, and the appeal of viral material. The chapter proposed to discuss, social networking sites, academic performance, social opportunities, and challenges. The findings were that social media helps university students get necessary information for their academic achievement, it creates stress, and it exposes them to cyberbullying, is addictive, causes sleep disorders and anxiety, and can help them make money online. The study recommended that the social media use at university should be restricted to academic use only and here should be provide adequate Wi-Fi hotspots within the universities. Source title: Student Well-Being in Higher Education Institutions.(Book). DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-4417-0.ch013.

Strengthening Online Education Approaches in Institutions of Higher Learning

2023-05-15T00:00:00Z

Strengthening Online Education Approaches in Institutions of Higher Learning Adhiambo, Grace Were; Okelo, Kevin Odhiambo; Obat, Rosemary Akech Online, distance, and eLearning (ODeL) continue to gain recognition as a mandatory component of delivery of education in institutions of higher learning (IHL) around the world following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This paradigm shift is informed by the need to ensure uninterrupted, valuable, and safe learning experiences for learners during the pandemic. However, governments ordered the closure of schools and colleges following the declaration of COVID-19 as a world pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). A report by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization revealed that there was a significant loss of schooling time following the closure of educational facilities which affected over 1.5 billion learners in 194 nations globally. This study explored the use of online approaches to intensify online learning efficacy in IHL. Data collection was conducted using qualitative methods and data analysis done using themes and sub-themes. Findings from this study indicate that students’ engagements on discussion forums are consistent with collaborative learning. Results further support the view that regular, prompt, and meaningful feedback is critical in promoting constructive learning and reflection among students. Based on the findings of this study, practical implications are discussed for stakeholders interested in establishing and strengthening effective delivery of online learning content to enhance students’ learning experiences. The article can be accessed in full via:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S2055-364120230000049003/full/htm

PolitiKweli: A Swahili-English Code-switched Twitter Political Misinformation Classification Dataset

2023-08-30T00:00:00Z

PolitiKweli: A Swahili-English Code-switched Twitter Political Misinformation Classification Dataset Amol, Cynthia Jayne; Awuor, Lilian Diana Wanzare In the age of freedom of speech, users of the social media platform Twitter post millions of messages per day. These messages are not always fact-checked resulting in misinformation which is false or misleading news. Misinformation classification involves identifying and classifying text as either false or fact by comparing the text against fact-checked news. On political matters, misinformation online can result in mistrust of political figures, polarization of communities and violence offline. Existing studies mostly address misinformation detection for messages written in a single language such as English. Among most bilingual or multilingual user groups in countries like Kenya, the use of Swahili-English code-switching and code-mixing is a common practice in informal text-based communication such as messaging on social media platforms like Twitter. There is therefore need for more research in low-resource languages such as Swahili. The PolitiKweli dataset introduced by this study, which a novel Swahili-English misinformation classification dataset, contains 6,345 Swahili-English texts, 22,957 English texts and 211 Swahili texts. The texts are labelled as fake, fact or neutral as compared to a fact-checked dataset also created for this study. The dataset curation process including data collection, processing and annotation are explained. Challenges during annotation are also discussed. The result of experiments conducted using a pretrained language model prove the dataset’s usefulness in training Swahili-English code-switched misinformation classification models.

Enhancing students’ biology learning by using augmented reality as a learning supplement

2020-07-01T00:00:00Z

Enhancing students’ biology learning by using augmented reality as a learning supplement Weng, Cathy; Otanga, Sarah; Christianto, Samuel Michael; Ju-Chun Chu, Regina The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of augmented reality (AR) technology on students’ learning outcomes (measured according to Bloom’s cognitive levels) and attitude toward biology. The print book was redesigned by integrating a form of AR into it. A quasi-experimental pretest and posttest designs were used to test the effectiveness of the developed book on learning outcomes and attitude toward biology. In addition, the students’ opinions about the AR technology and the redesigned book were collected. In all, 68 ninth-grade students participated in the study. They were divided into the experimental group, who used the print book and the AR technology as a learning supplement, and the control group, who used the print book only. The results indicated that using AR technology may have the potential to enhance students’ learning outcomes at the analyzing level and their learning attitudes toward biology. The students mentioned that AR could be effective in terms of enhancing their biology learning. The article can be accessed in full via:https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633119884213

Effects of tangrams on learning engagement and achievement: Case of preschool learners

2020-08-01T00:00:00Z

Effects of tangrams on learning engagement and achievement: Case of preschool learners Weng, Cathy; Otanga, Sarah; Weng, Apollo; Tran, Khanh Nguyen. Phuong The purpose of this research was to compare the effectiveness of physical and virtual tangrams on preschool children's learning engagement and achievement. Children listened to an e‐storybook narration and solved puzzles individually. The experimental group (N = 31) completed puzzles embedded in the e‐storybook using virtual tangrams, while the control group (N = 30) completed the same puzzles using physical tangrams on outlines drawn on a paper. Results indicated that the experimental group had significantly higher overall engagement than the control group. The experimental group had significantly higher learning achievement (time taken to complete outlines) when using virtual tangrams. It is hoped that the study will be beneficial to classrooms concerning how to use tangrams in teaching and learning and to instructional designers on how to design an e‐storybook for young readers.