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Universities are recognizing the need to prepare graduates to think conceptually and have the ability to take on complex, real-world problems. Strategies to assess conceptual knowledge are limited and often require more time and effort to complete than is accessible for most undergraduate courses. Card sorting is a very broad technique for understanding how people group concepts, but in higher education has typically been used to show a student's development towards expert-like thinking in a discipline as a whole. However, it typically does not give much insight into how we should change our teaching. In this paper, using the novel setting of two terms of a first-year, earth and ocean science lab that uses problem-based learning (PBL), we show how one can generate a card sort that is built using course learning goals and then use the analysis to make actionable improvements to course instruction. Using a card sort designed so that the expert sort corresponds to learning goals supported by the lab activities, we found that in both offerings of the course students generally moved towards expert-like sorting with a reduction in novice-like sorting. A striking feature stood out in both terms of the course, with one question scoring significantly lower than any other expert pairings, despite a change in the wording of that question between terms. This suggests that our course materials do not promote this specific conceptual connection that we had expected and gives us a clear place to look for issues in our course material. In a broader context, our results suggest that tailoring card sort questions to material at a course level, rather than at the discipline level, can provide a manageable, routine assessment of conceptual knowledge in students, while also providing feedback on the quality of course materials.

Simple Summary: Cancer patients frequently encounter significant emotional and psychological challenges that can adversely affect their overall well-being and treatment outcomes. To address these challenges, we developed the Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (CancerPEP), a comprehensive, home-based intervention that incorporates physical exercise, nutritional guidance, and social support. CancerPEP builds on the success of the Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP), which has demonstrated positive effects on psychological well-being in prostate cancer patients. In this study, we also evaluated whether adding a Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback device could enhance the effectiveness of CancerPEP. Our findings indicate that while CancerPEP significantly reduced psychological distress and improved emotional well-being across cancer patients—including a breast cancer subgroup—at the end of the intervention (the 6-month point), the addition or lack of an HRV device did not significantly contribute to these improvements for the full sample. These results suggest that CancerPEP, similar to PC-PEP, is a valuable addition to standard cancer care, providing a holistic approach to support patients both mentally and emotionally. However, the inclusion of the HRV device may not be necessary to achieve these benefits. Background/Objectives: Psychological distress is a significant concern among cancer patients, negatively affecting their quality of life and adherence to treatment. The Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (CancerPEP) was developed as a comprehensive, home-based intervention aimed at reducing psychological distress by incorporating physical activity, dietary guidance, and social support. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, accrual and attrition rates, safety, and effectiveness of the CancerPEP intervention, with and without the biofeedback device, on psychological distress from baseline to 6 months, specifically focusing on the effects of group randomization and the difference between pre- and post-intervention results. Methods: This single-site, crossover randomized clinical trial included 104 cancer patients who were randomized to receive the CancerPEP intervention, with or without a Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback monitor. At 6 months, participants who did not receive the device were allowed to use one until the end of the year, while those who did receive the device were followed up to 12 months. Randomization was stratified by the presence or absence of clinically significant psychological distress and metastatic status. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. The primary endpoint was the presence of nonspecific psychological distress, as measured by the K10 scale at 6 months from the trial start, based on group randomization. A secondary exploratory analysis assessed psychological distress at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months for both groups, while controlling for group randomization and prognostic covariates. Prognostic covariates included age; comorbidities; time between diagnosis and randomization; treatment modality; relationship status; and use of prescribed medications for anxiety, depression, or both. An exploratory sub-analysis was conducted for the breast cancer subgroup, based on the sample size available after recruitment. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05508412). Results: The provision of the HRV biofeedback monitor in conjunction with the CancerPEP intervention did not significantly affect the primary outcome in either the full sample or the breast cancer subgroup, indicating that the HRV biofeedback provision was not beneficial in this trial. No self-reported or otherwise discovered adverse events at the 6-month mark were observed. About 10% of participants were lost to follow-up in both the early and late HRV monitor provision groups. Participation in the CancerPEP program led to a significant reduction in psychological distress over time. The odds of psychological distress were significantly higher at the start of the trial than at the end of the intervention (aOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.53–4.56) or 6 months after the intervention (aOR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.62–5.30). Similarly, in the breast cancer subgroup, distress was higher at the trial's start than at 6 months, i.e., after the intervention (aOR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.24–4.08), or at the end of the trial at 12 months (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.35–5.52). Conclusions: CancerPEP significantly reduces psychological distress in cancer patients, with consistent improvements noted across various cancer types and stages, including benefits specifically for breast cancer patients. These findings build upon the success of the Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP), indicating that a similar comprehensive intervention can be advantageous for all cancer patients and may be further tailored to address specific needs. With its holistic approach—encompassing physical, dietary, and psychosocial support—CancerPEP shows promise as a vital component of survivorship care. Ongoing 24-month evaluations will yield critical data on its long-term benefits. Additionally, a randomized trial with a control group (usual care without intervention) for breast cancer patients is currently under way and could potentially guide the integration of CancerPEP into standard oncology care to enhance patient outcomes and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess which pediatric patients experiencing persistent post-concussive symptoms (PCS) benefit most from multidisciplinary treatment including specialists in Neurology, Neuropsychology, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Training, and to explore the effectiveness of this approach. A retrospective chart review of 56 adolescents 10–20 years old (M = 15.0 ± 2.1) receiving multidisciplinary care for PCS (>30 days) was conducted. Systolic blood pressure and Body Mass Index predicted time to concussion resolution (p <.05), such that higher values were associated with slower resolution. PCS scores significantly decreased between participants' initial and final clinic visits, p <.01, and among the 25 participants for whom pre-intervention PCS scores were available, symptom severity scores significantly declined following multidisciplinary intervention compared to pre-referral values (p <.01). Exploratory analyses reveal that multidisciplinary treatment is a promising approach for reducing symptoms among adolescents with PCS, and that those with greater levels of physical fitness may benefit most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of targeted deletions in a cclA deletion strain were used to identify the genes required for monodictyphenone and emodin analog biosynthesis in Aspergillus nidulans. The findings from the study could be used to generate and isolate monodictyphenone and emodin derivatives which have potential use for pharmaceutical applications.

The analysis of the polyketide synthases (PKS) in Aspergillus nidulans has shown that one highly reduced PKS (HR-PKS) and one nonreduced PKS (NR-PKS) are located next to each other in the genome. A series of gene deletions has confirmed that the two PKSs together with five additional genes comprise the asperfuranone biosynthetic pathway and has proposed a biosynthetic pathway for asperfuranone.

The identification and characterization of genomes that encodes the small ubiquitin-like protein SUMO in Aspergillus nidulans required for asperthecin synthesis is described. The overproduction of asperthecin in the sumO deletion mutant through a series of targeted deletions revealed that asperthecin biosynthesis genes are clustered and include genes encoding an iterative type I polyketide synthase, a hydrolase, and a monooxygenase.

Chromium (Cr) stable isotopes have emerged as a powerful tool for tracking environmental redox transformations. This is because Cr isotopes are fractionated during redox reactions between Cr(III) and Cr(VI). In order to fully exploit the information recorded within Cr isotope compositions, we must be able to track changes in Cr speciation throughout the environment and, in particular, the changes in speciation between input to the ocean and eventual deposition in sediments. We must also be able to access the isotope compositions of each Cr species, rather than only total dissolved Cr. We have thus developed a magnesium hydroxide coprecipitation method that meets these objectives. This method achieves complete recovery and has a typical precision on concentration measurements of ±8% (1σ). It was tested using seawater collected from Saanich Inlet, a persistently anoxic fjord on the Pacific coast of Canada. Chromium speciation profiles and proof‐of‐concept isotope ratio measurements on selected samples indicate that isotopically lighter Cr(III) can be isolated from coexisting isotopically heavier Cr(VI), effectively resolving species‐specific Cr isotope compositions. While the oxygenated surface waters of Saanich Inlet follow the generally observed correlation between seawater Cr concentration and its isotopic composition, seawater from anoxic depths diverges from this array, indicating that different processes are responsible for setting the isotope composition of these deeper waters. Broader application of Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation has strong potential to yield new insights into the fractionation of Cr isotopes in the oceans and the pathways that ultimately set the Cr isotopic composition of marine sediments and sedimentary archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]