Quizzing Students about their Writing: Implications for Deterring and Detecting Contract Cheating, and Promoting Academic Integrity and Greater Engagement

Contract cheating is a significant concern in the higher education sector, and a multi-faceted approach focusing on student learning and growth, in addition to deterring and detection cheating, is necessary to address the issue. One way to support student learning is by encouraging active engagement in learning activities and assessments. To this end, we explored the utility Auth+ by Sikanai, an authorship verification platform that auto-generates six multiple-choice questions based on students’ writing submissions and generates scores based on responses to the questions. Auth+ is designed to encourage students to engage in the learning process and to facilitate the detection of potential contract cheating. Auth+ was implemented in a third-year computer science course, and 24 students shared their perceptions of its value for teaching and learning. Only 25% of students agreed that Auth+ would be useful in their studies but 62.5% agreed it would deter contract cheating. We also found an association between Auth+ scores and individual differences in working memory (τB = .391). Our findings suggest that, with further technology development, authorship verification platforms may be useful for promoting academic integrity and deeper engagement in learning at scale. Training educators to interpret the results and use them as part of a multi-faceted strategy for promoting academic integrity and reduce academic misconduct is important

Höhere Pflanzen als Bioindikatoren im terrestrischen Bereich

Eine höchst aktuelle Bedeutung für die Umweltüberwachung besitzen höhere Pflanzen als Indikatoren für Schadstoffbelastungen. Als Wirkungskriterien kommen hierbei neben morphologisch-anatomischen sowie physiologischen und biochemischen Veränderungen die Schadstoffakkumulation, Wuchsdepressionen und Änderungen in Aufbau und Zusammensetzung von Pflanzengemeinschaften in Betracht. Bei der Auswahl von Indikatorpflanzen für Immissionsbelastungen haben neben besonders empfindlichen auch weitgehend resistente Arten Bedeutung erlangt. Während erstere einen hohen Zeigerwert besitzen, gestatten letztere den Nachweis immissionsbedingter Schadstoffanreicherungen und damit die Erfassung mittelbarer Gefährdungen über die Nahrungskette. Reaktions- und Akkumulationsindikatoren werden entweder unter standardisierten Verfahren im Untersuchungsgebiet exponiert (aktives Monitoring) oder es werden Untersuchungen an angebauten Kulturpflanzen bzw. an der spontanen Vegetation durchgeführt (passives Monitoring). Da von Art und Intensität immissionsbedingter Wirkungen an Einzelorganismen nicht unmittelbar auf die Belastung von Ökosystemen geschlossen werden kann, werden zur Ergänzung der Bioindikationsmethoden auf der Grundlage einzelner Arten ökosystemorientierte Untersuchungen erforderlich. Neben ihrer Eignung von Monitor- und Testorganismen besitzen höhere Pflanzen eine Bedeutung als Zeigerarten, die durch ihr Vorkommen oder Fehlen bzw. durch ihre Zu- und Abnahme Hinweise geben auf die Intensität bestimmter ökologischer Faktoren oder das Wirken von Faktorenkombinationen. Hierdurch werden Aussagen über den Zustand sowie über Veränderungen von Ökosystemen möglich, die für verschiedene planerische Fragestellungen, beispielsweise die Ausweisung und Überwachung ökologischer Vorranggebiete, von Bedeutung sind. Darüber hinaus stellen höhere Pflanzen als Bioindikatoren wichtige Bausteine dar zur Entwicklung eines systematisch aufgebauten Monitoring-Systems für den Naturschutz. Sowohl die Indikatoren von Schadstoffbelastungen durch aktives und passives Monitoring als auch die Verwendung höherer Pflanzen bzw. ihrer Gemeinschaft als Zeiger für Umweltveränderungen spielen hierbei eine unverzichtbare Rolle

ML0405 and ML2331 Are Antigens of Mycobacterium leprae with Potential for Diagnosis of Leprosy

Despite the success of multidrug therapy in reducing the number of registered leprosy cases worldwide, evidence suggests that Mycobacterium leprae continues to be transmitted. A serological diagnostic test capable of identifying and allowing treatment of early-stage disease could reduce transmission and prevent the onset of the disability, a common complication of the disease in later stages. Serological diagnosis based on antibody recognition of phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) cannot reliably identify individuals with lower bacterial indices (BI). One strategy that might improve this situation is the provision of highly specific serological antigens that may be combined with PGL-I to improve the sensitivity of diagnosis. Using serological expression cloning with a serum pool of untreated lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients, we identified 14 strongly reactive M. leprae proteins, 5 of which were previously unstudied. We present results suggesting that two of these proteins, ML0405 and ML2331, demonstrate the ability to specifically identify LL/borderline lepromatous (BL) patients on the basis of immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivity. In a household contact study, LL index cases were identified on the basis of this reactivity, while household contacts of these patients demonstrated undetectable reactivity. At a serum dilution of 1:800, suitable to reduce background PGL-I IgM reactivity, two BL patients with a BI of <4 showed anti-human polyvalent immunoglobulin G, A, and M reactivity measured with a combination of ML0405, ML2331, and natural disaccharide O-linked human serum albumin (NDOHSA) (synthetic PGL-I) that was markedly higher than IgM reactivity to NDOHSA alone. We suggest that ML0405 and ML2331 may have utility in serological leprosy diagnosis

Screening of Oligomeric (Meth)acrylate Vaccine Adjuvants Synthesized via Catalytic Chain Transfer Polymerization

This report details the first systematic screening of free-radical-produced methacrylate oligomer reaction mixtures as alternative vaccine adjuvant components to replace the current benchmark compound squalene, which is unsustainably sourced from shark livers. Homo-/co-oligomer mixtures of methyl, butyl, lauryl, and stearyl methacrylate were successfully synthesized using catalytic chain transfer control, where the use of microwave heating was shown to promote propagation over chain transfer. Controlling the mixture material properties allowed the correct viscosity to be achieved, enabling the mixtures to be effectively used in vaccine formulations. Emulsions of selected oligomers stimulated comparable cytokine levels to squalene emulsion when incubated with human whole blood and elicited an antigen-specific cellular immune response when administered with an inactivated influenza vaccine, indicating the potential utility of the compounds as vaccine adjuvant components. Furthermore, the oligomers’ molecular sizes were demonstrated to be large enough to enable greater emulsion stability than squalene, especially at high temperatures, but are predicted to be small enough to allow for rapid clearance from the body

Pre-stimulus thalamic theta power predicts human memory formation

Pre-stimulus theta (4–8 Hz) power in the hippocampus and neocortex predicts whether a memory for a subsequent event will be formed. Anatomical studies reveal thalamus-hippocampal connectivity, and lesion, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies show that memory processing involves the dorsomedial (DMTN) and anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN). The small size and deep location of these nuclei have limited real-time study of their activity, however, and it is unknown whether pre-stimulus theta power predictive of successful memory formation is also found in these subcortical structures. We recorded human electrophysiological data from the DMTN and ATN of 7 patients receiving deep brain stimulation for refractory epilepsy. We found that greater pre-stimulus theta power in the right DMTN was associated with successful memory encoding, predicting both behavioral outcome and post-stimulus correlates of successful memory formation. In particular, significant correlations were observed between right DMTN theta power and both frontal theta and right ATN gamma (32–50 Hz) phase alignment, and frontal-ATN theta-gamma cross-frequency coupling. We draw the following primary conclusions. Our results provide direct electrophysiological evidence in humans of a role for the DMTN as well as the ATN in memory formation. Furthermore, prediction of subsequent memory performance by pre-stimulus thalamic oscillations provides evidence that post-stimulus differences in thalamic activity that index successful and unsuccessful encoding reflect brain processes specifically underpinning memory formation. Finally, the findings broaden the understanding of brain states that facilitate memory encoding to include subcortical as well as cortical structures