PARP-1 improves leukemia outcomes by inducing parthanatos during chemotherapy.

Previous chemotherapy research has focused almost exclusively on apoptosis. Here, a standard frontline drug combination of cytarabine and idarubicin induces distinct features of caspase-independent, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1)-mediated programmed cell death "parthanatos" in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines (n = 3/10 tested), peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy human donors (n = 10/10 tested), and primary cell samples from patients with AML (n = 18/39 tested, French-American-British subtypes M4 and M5). A 3-fold improvement in survival rates is observed in the parthanatos-positive versus -negative patient groups (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.28-0.37, p = 0.002-0.046). Manipulation of PARP-1 activity in parthanatos-competent cells reveals higher drug sensitivity in cells that have basal PARP-1 levels as compared with those subjected to PARP-1 overexpression or suppression. The same trends are observed in RNA expression databases and support the conclusion that PARP-1 can have optimal levels for favorable chemotherapeutic responses

How Students’ Perceptions of Assignments that Help Them Learn Can Inform Course Design Decisions

The assessments that instructors choose to implement suggest to students where they should focus their study efforts and can thus be leveraged to engage students in learning. However, engagement is also influenced by students’ perceptions of the inherent learning value of the assessments. These perceptions should therefore be taken into account when designing assessments. Our center for teaching and learning surveyed students at a large Canadian research-intensive university to learn about their perceptions of assignments that help them learn. The goal of the investigation was to gather information that could be used to inform course design decision-making and thus improve students’ learning experience. A thematic analysis of the 106 responses received indicate that students perceive assignments to be helpful when they are hands-on, involve problem solving, have real-world application, and allow flexibility. Through a content analysis, we identified 91 (86%) of the assignments as involving higher order thinking and 14 (13%) lower order. We also identified 29 (27%) of the responses as involving the adoption of values and attitudes. While a more nuanced approach to planning assessments is needed than just doing what students say helps them learn, our students’ responses provided local examples that our instructors and other course/instructional designers can draw on to plan relevant and meaningful assessments to support students with achieving course learning outcomes