Computer science education (CSEd) research within K-12 makes extensive use of empirical studies in which children participate. Insight in the demographics of these children is important for the... Show moreComputer science education (CSEd) research within K-12 makes extensive use of empirical studies in which children participate. Insight in the demographics of these children is important for the purpose of understanding the representativeness of the populations included. This literature review studies the demographics of subjects included in K-12 CSEd studies. We have manually inspected the proceedings of three of the main international CSEd conferences: SIGCSE, ITiCSE and ICER, of five years (2014–2018), and selected all papers pertaining to K-12 CSEd experiments. This led to a sample of 134 papers describing 143 studies. We manually read these papers to determine the demographic information that was reported on, investigating the following categories: age/grade, gender, race/ethnic background, location, prior computer science experience, socio-economic status (SES), and disability. Our findings show that children from the United States, boys and children without computer science experience are included most frequently. Race and SES are frequently not reported on, and for race as well as for disabilities there appears a tendency to report these categories only when they deviate from the majority. Further, for several demographic categories different criteria are used to determine them. Finally, most studies take place within schools. These insights can be valuable to correctly interpret current knowledge from K-12 CSEd research, and furthermore can be helpful in developing standards for consistent collection and reporting of demographic information in this community. Show less
Berg, J.H. van den; Heemskerk, B.; Rooij, N. van; Gomez-Eerland, R.; Michels, S.; Zon, M. van; ... ; Haanen, J.B.A.G. 2020
Treatment of metastatic melanoma with autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is currently applied in several centers. Robust and remarkably consistent overall response rates, of around 50... Show moreTreatment of metastatic melanoma with autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is currently applied in several centers. Robust and remarkably consistent overall response rates, of around 50% of treated patients, have been observed across hospitals, including a substantial fraction of durable, complete responses. Purpose Execute a phase I/II feasibility study with TIL therapy in metastatic melanoma at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, with the goal to assess feasibility and potential value of a randomized phase III trial. Experimental Ten patients were treated with TIL therapy. Infusion products and peripheral blood samples were phenotypically characterized and neoantigen reactivity was assessed. Here, we present long-term clinical outcome and translational data on neoantigen reactivity of the T cell products. Results Five out of 10 patients, who were all anti-PD-1 naive at time of treatment, showed an objective clinical response, including two patients with a complete response that are both ongoing for more than 7 years. Immune monitoring demonstrated that neoantigen-specific T cells were detectable in TIL infusion products from three out of three patients analyzed. For six out of the nine neoantigen-specific T cell responses detected in these TIL products, T cell response magnitude increased significantly in the peripheral blood compartment after therapy, and neoantigen-specific T cells were detectable for up to 3 years after TIL infusion. Conclusion The clinical results from this study confirm the robustness of TIL therapy in metastatic melanoma and the potential role of neoantigen-specific T cell reactivity. In addition, the data from this study supported the rationale to initiate an ongoing multicenter phase III TIL trial. Show less
Kelderman, S.; Heemskerk, B.; Tinteren, H. van; Brom, R.R.H. van den; Hospers, G.A.P.; Eertwegh, A.J.M. van den; ... ; Blank, C.U. 2014
Background. Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections are frequent in children after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and may become fatal. Whether these infections occur through reactivation of... Show moreBackground. Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections are frequent in children after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and may become fatal. Whether these infections occur through reactivation of endogenous virus or transmission via the graft remains a matter of debate. Methods. In a cohort of 24 pediatric patients who received SCT, infections with 1 or more of 5 serotypes of HAdV (1, 2, 5, 6, and 31) were detected by culture. Neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers were measured in vitro by means of a virus neutralization assay. Results. In 11 patients the infection was restricted to 1 site as demonstrated by culture only, and in 13 patients the HAdV infection was disseminated because plasma samples contained HAdV DNA. The 5 most commonly encountered HAdV serotypes caused 35 infectious episodes after SCT. Serum titers of NAb against these 5 serotypes of HAdV were measured before and after transplantation. High titers of NAb against a certain serotype in the recipient prior to SCT, reflecting previous infection, appeared to predispose for infection with the same serotype after SCT. In only 1 case of 41 independent samples of graft material, a very low level of HAdV DNA was detected. Antibody responses after SCT were detected in 21 of 35 infectious episodes. Conclusions. Together, these data suggest that adenoviral complications after SCT are caused by reactivation of endogenous persistent HAdV rather than by de novo infection from the donor or environment. This finding may offer a strategy of prophylactic treatment of high-risk patients before SCT to prevent infectious complications after allogeneic SCT. Show less
Veltrop-Duits, L.A.; Vreeswijk, T. van; Heemskerk, B.; Thijssen, J.C.; Seady, R. el; Jol-van der Zijde, E.; ... ; Schilham, M.W. 2011