‘Who are you to judge my writing?’: Student collaboration in the co-construction of assessment rubrics

Collaborative models of involving students in the co-construction of assessment rubrics are rare. Inviting students to take part actively in the design of assessment rubrics is one method of filling this research gap, potentially garnering a shared understanding of assessment requirements. Rubrics traditionally are constructed by educators, based on set criteria, in order to streamline grading more cohesively and equitably. But research demonstrates that assessment rubric use is usually of more benefit to the educator in grading, than to the student in undertaking the assessment task – the educator understands requirements but often specific requirements are not clear to the student. Using a multiple case study research approach which incorporated a modified Delphi method to gather expert views on rubrics, the study outlined in this paper explores the outcomes of collaborating with students at the rubric design stage of the assessment process. This paper discusses the rubric co-construction process facilitated by a writing lecturer and a team of students from one university who took part in collaborating and developing an assessment rubric. The processes adopted to implement this co-construction process are reported, the products of which were distributed to a 250-student cohort, and reflects on the value of this pedagogical innovation

Peripheries and praxis: the effect of rubric co-construction on student perceptions of their learning

The construction of assessment rubrics is often educator-centric as lecturers work in isolation to compose grading tools. While there is a pedagogical goal to construct instruments that align with learning outcomes and guide the assessment of students’ learning, students are often at the periphery of this process. In many higher education institutions, students are accustomed to receiving assessment feedback but they are not, typically, active participants in the feedback cycle. Increasingly, institutions are seeking evidence of greater student engagement in their tertiary learning experience. Accordingly, academics seek to innovate practice and enhance curricula by creating more opportunities for student involvement, thus creating a shared understanding of it and associated assessment tasks. Responding to a gap in rubric construction practice, this paper discusses an Office for Learning and Teaching Innovation and Development Grant research project where students moved from being rubric users to being central participants in collaborative design. Drawing on data collected from a team of rubric co-constructors from one Sydney university campus – first year students and an academic in a creative non-fiction writing subject – we set out to answer the following question: What effect does the co-construction and use of rubrics have on students’ perceptions of their learning

Coccolithophore biodiversity controls carbonate export in the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean waters are projected to undergo profound changes in their physical and chemical properties in the coming decades. Coccolithophore blooms in the Southern Ocean are thought to account for a major fraction of the global marine calcium carbonate (CaCO3) production and export to the deep sea. Therefore, changes in the composition and abundance of Southern Ocean coccolithophore populations are likely to alter the marine carbon cycle, with feedbacks to the rate of global climate change. However, the contribution of coccolithophores to CaCO3 export in the Southern Ocean is uncertain, particularly in the circumpolar subantarctic zone that represents about half of the areal extent of the Southern Ocean and where coccolithophores are most abundant. Here, we present measurements of annual CaCO3 flux and quantitatively partition them amongst coccolithophore species and heterotrophic calcifiers at two sites representative of a large portion of the subantarctic zone. We find that coccolithophores account for a major fraction of the annual CaCO3 export, with the highest contributions in waters with low algal biomass accumulations. Notably, our analysis reveals that although Emiliania huxleyi is an important vector for CaCO3 export to the deep sea, less abundant but larger species account for most of the annual coccolithophore CaCO3 flux. This observation contrasts with the generally accepted notion that high particulate inorganic carbon accumulations during the austral summer in the subantarctic Southern Ocean are mainly caused by E. huxleyi blooms. It appears likely that the climate-induced migration of oceanic fronts will initially result in the poleward expansion of large coccolithophore species increasing CaCO3 production. However, subantarctic coccolithophore populations will eventually diminish as acidification overwhelms those changes. Overall, our analysis emphasizes the need for species-centred studies to improve our ability to project future changes in phytoplankton communities and their influence on marine biogeochemical cycles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of having a child on physical activity in the UK: a scoping review protocol

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this recordINTRODUCTION: Throughout the life course, there are major life transitions that are associated with reduced physical activity, which may have further implications for health and well-being. Having a child is one such transition that has been identified as a critical transformative experience and window for intervention. We will conduct a scoping review of available evidence exploring the impact of having a child on physical activity in the UK. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will use best-practice methodological frameworks to map key concepts and available evidence, summarise and disseminate findings to stakeholders, and identify knowledge gaps. A three-step search strategy will identify primary research studies, including reviews, from published and grey literature, exploring the impact of having a child on physical activity in the UK, from the preconception period, throughout pregnancy, the postpartum period, and into parenthood. An initial limited search will identify relevant reviews, from which keywords and index terms will be extracted. We will conduct searches of CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science to identify relevant articles written in English from inception to February 2022. Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts of identified studies for inclusion and chart data, with a third reviewer resolving any conflicts. Backwards citation tracking will identify any additional studies. We will conduct numerical and thematic analysis to map data in tabular and diagrammatic format and provide a description of findings by theme. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required for this scoping review. We will disseminate findings to stakeholders through publications, conferences, social media platforms and in-person communications. Consultations with key stakeholders, with their unique expertise and perspectives, will provide greater insight. We will establish the main priorities for future research to inform the research questions of subsequent studies. SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/gtqa4/) DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/GTQA4.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Structurally diverse hamigerans from the New Zealand marine sponge Hamigera tarangaensis: NMR-directed isolation, structure elucidation and antifungal activity

The NMR-directed investigation of the New Zealand marine sponge Hamigera tarangaensis has afforded ten new compounds of the hamigeran family, and a new 13-epi-verrucosane congener. Notably, hamigeran F (6) possesses an unusual carbon–carbon bond between C-12 and C-13, creating an unprecedented skeleton within this class. In particular, the structural features of 6, hamigeran H (10) and hamigeran J (12) imply a diterpenoid origin, which has allowed the putative biogenesis of three hamigeran carbon skeletons to be proposed based on geranyl geranyl pyrophosphate. All new hamigerans exhibited micromolar activity towards the HL-60 promyelocytic leukaemic cell line, and hamigeran G also selectively displayed antifungal activity in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Homozygous deletion profiling (HOP) analysis suggests Golgi apparatus function as a potential target of this unusual class of sponge-derived terpenoids

Full annual monitoring of Subantarctic Emiliania huxleyi populations reveals highly calcified morphotypes in high-CO2 winter conditions

Datos de investigación en: http://hdl.handle.net/10366/143074[EN]Ocean acidifcation is expected to have detrimental consequences for the most abundant calcifying phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi. However, this assumption is mainly based on laboratory manipulations that are unable to reproduce the complexity of natural ecosystems. Here, E. huxleyi coccolith assemblages collected over a year by an autonomous water sampler and sediment traps in the Subantarctic Zone were analysed. The combination of taxonomic and morphometric analyses together with in situ measurements of surface-water properties allowed us to monitor, with unprecedented detail, the seasonal cycle of E. huxleyi at two Subantarctic stations. E. huxleyi subantarctic assemblages were composed of a mixture of, at least, four diferent morphotypes. Heavier morphotypes exhibited their maximum relative abundances during winter, coinciding with peak annual TCO2 and nutrient concentrations, while lighter morphotypes dominated during summer, coinciding with lowest TCO2 and nutrients levels. The similar seasonality observed in both time-series suggests that it may be a circumpolar feature of the Subantarctic zone. Our results challenge the view that ocean acidifcation will necessarily lead to a replacement of heavily-calcifed coccolithophores by lightly-calcifed ones in subpolar ecosystems, and emphasize the need to consider the cumulative efect of multiple stressors on the probable succession of morphotypes.European Union's Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual fellowshi

Full annual monitoring of Subantarctic Emiliania huxleyi populations reveals highly calcified morphotypes in high-CO2 winter conditions [Dataset]

[EN]Supplement Table S1. a. Sampling dates and morphotype relative abundance of E. huxleyi coccolith assemblages collected in the surface layer at the SOTS site. b. Sampling intervals, fluxes and morphotype relative abundance and morphometric measurements of E. huxleyi coccolith assemblages intercepted by the sediment traps at the SOTS and SAM sites. Table S2. Environmental parameters measured at the surface layer of the SOTS site from August 2011 to July 2012.European Union's Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual fellowshipThe dataset includes Supplementary Information, Table S1. : abundance, composition and morphometric data of E. huxleyi coccolith assemblages generated during the current study Table S2: environmental data Environmental parameters measured at the surface layer of the SOTS site from August 2011 to July 2012

Harnessing radiotherapy-induced NK-cell activity by combining DNA damage-response inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade.

BackgroundDespite therapeutic gains from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in many tumor types, new strategies are needed to extend treatment benefits, especially in patients failing to mount effective antitumor T-cell responses. Radiation and drug therapies can profoundly affect the tumor immune microenvironment. Here, we aimed to identify immunotherapies to increase the antitumor response conferred by combined ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related kinase inhibition and radiotherapy.MethodsUsing the human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative murine oral squamous cell carcinoma model, MOC2, we assessed the nature of the antitumor response following ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related inhibitor (ATRi)/radiotherapy (RT) by performing RNA sequencing and detailed flow cytometry analyses in tumors. The benefit of immunotherapies based on T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) and Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint blockade following ATRi/RT treatment was assessed in the MOC2 model and confirmed in another HPV-negative murine oral squamous cell carcinoma model called SCC7. Finally, immune profiling was performed by flow cytometry on blood samples in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma enrolled in the PATRIOT clinical trial of combined ATRi/RT.ResultsATRi enhances radiotherapy-induced inflammation in the tumor microenvironment, with natural killer (NK) cells playing a central role in maximizing treatment efficacy. We demonstrated that antitumor activity of NK cells can be further boosted with ICI targeting TIGIT and PD-1. Analyses of clinical samples from patients receiving ATRi (ceralasertib) confirm the translational potential of our preclinical studies.ConclusionThis work delineates a previously unrecognized role for NK cells in the antitumor immune response to radiotherapy that can be augmented by small-molecule DNA damage-response inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockade

International criteria for electrocardiographic interpretation in athletes: Consensus statement.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of mortality in athletes during sport. A variety of mostly hereditary, structural or electrical cardiac disorders are associated with SCD in young athletes, the majority of which can be identified or suggested by abnormalities on a resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Whether used for diagnostic or screening purposes, physicians responsible for the cardiovascular care of athletes should be knowledgeable and competent in ECG interpretation in athletes. However, in most countries a shortage of physician expertise limits wider application of the ECG in the care of the athlete. A critical need exists for physician education in modern ECG interpretation that distinguishes normal physiological adaptations in athletes from distinctly abnormal findings suggestive of underlying pathology. Since the original 2010 European Society of Cardiology recommendations for ECG interpretation in athletes, ECG standards have evolved quickly, advanced by a growing body of scientific data and investigations that both examine proposed criteria sets and establish new evidence to guide refinements. On 26-27 February 2015, an international group of experts in sports cardiology, inherited cardiac disease, and sports medicine convened in Seattle, Washington (USA), to update contemporary standards for ECG interpretation in athletes. The objective of the meeting was to define and revise ECG interpretation standards based on new and emerging research and to develop a clear guide to the proper evaluation of ECG abnormalities in athletes. This statement represents an international consensus for ECG interpretation in athletes and provides expert opinion-based recommendations linking specific ECG abnormalities and the secondary evaluation for conditions associated with SCD