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Auto-assessment of assessment: A human-in-the-loop AI framework addressing policy gaps in academic assessment

Education is being transformed by rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), including emerging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI). Such technology can significantly support academics and students by automating monotonous tasks and making personalised suggestions. However, despite the potential of the technology, there are significant concerns regarding AI misuse, particularly by students in assessments. There are two schools of thought: one advocates for a complete ban on it, while the other views it as a valuable educational tool, provided it is governed by a robust usage policy. This contradiction clearly indicates a major policy gap in academic practices, and new policies are required to uphold academic standards while enabling staff and students to benefit from technological advancements. We surveyed 117 academics from three countries (the UK, the UAE, and Iraq) and identified that most academics retain positive opinions regarding AI in education. For example, the majority of experienced academics do not favour complete bans, and they see potential benefits of AI for students, teaching staff, and academic institutions. Importantly, academics specifically identified the particular benefits of AI for autonomous assessment (71.79% of respondents agreed). Therefore, for the first time, we introduce a novel AI framework for evaluating students’ work (e.g., reports, coursework, etc.) within a human-in-the-loop assessment process, in which automated grade suggestions are generated and subsequently reviewed by qualified instructors based on students’ knowledge and in-depth understanding of the submitted content. The survey results and evaluation outcomes further highlight a significant lack of awareness of modern AI-based tools among experienced academics, a gap that must be addressed to uphold educational standards.

N-Glycans modulate tilting of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein

Abstract Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) remains a global health crisis, with over 40 million people living with the virus and no effective vaccine available. Central to HIV infection and immune evasion is the envelope glycoprotein (Env), a heavily glycosylated class I fusion protein that mediates viral entry and is the sole immunogenic target. Despite the recent advancements provided by imaging techniques, the characterization of Env’s structure and dynamics within its native membrane environment remains incomplete. Here, we present microsecond-long, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the full-length, glycosylated Env glycoprotein embedded in a biologically relevant lipid bilayer. Our simulations, corroborated by cryo-electron tomography, reveal a pronounced tilting motion of Env relative to the membrane. Importantly, we identify a critical role for N-linked glycans at N88 and N611 in modulating the transition to tilted conformations. Alongside illuminating the sites of vulnerability within the glycan shield, the results presented here underscore Env tilting dynamics as a feature that can be leveraged in immunogen design.

Higher mobility of freshwater mussels in response to unsuitable habitat conditions

Movement behavior of freshwater invertebrates is largely understudied, although gaining insights into behavioral responses may be crucial to better understand their ecology and to guide their conservation. The objective of this study was to examine whether movement distances and burrowing depths of Unio nanus , a species of the U. crassus complex, and Anodonta spp. would vary between three different habitats (dominated by either U. nanus or Anodonta spp. or in which both species were rare) in a headwater stream in southern Germany within longer (8 weeks) and shorter (48 hours, controlled for substrate) field experiments. We hypothesized that mussels should be the most mobile (i.e., larger locomotion distances) and burrow less in presumably unsuitable habitats where they are rare. Both taxa were most mobile at a sidearm location where both species were rare, and which had the lowest water depth and flow velocity. While U. nanus burrowed significantly deeper at the other faster-flowing sites, burrowing of Anodonta spp. was more variable and did not significantly differ between sites. The results suggest that low water levels may trigger increased mobility in both species, potentially as an adaptation to avoid drying. The stronger behavioral response of U. nanus may reflect its adaptation to more dynamic, lotic environments.

The Curious Case of Dual Emission in 9,10-Bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene

POMC neuron METTL14/m6A/YTHDC1/YTHDF2 pathways safeguard energy balance, body weight, and metabolism

On-body measure of reaction time correlates with intoxication level

Excessive alcohol use has profound effects on individual health and healthcare systems worldwide. Despite this, there is currently no system or device that can detect robustly the physiologic and functional effects of alcohol-based impairment in real-world conditions. A practical, on-body, device capable of rapidly and accurately determining the functional capacity of an individual to drive, before they can start the ignition of the automobile, is required. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of acute alcohol intoxication on premotor time (PMT) and reaction time (RT), both highly sensitive of individual cognition, as evaluated by the Pison Technology wrist-worn wearable. Nineteen participants (9 male, 10 female) between the ages of 21 and 36 years were recruited for this study, including 14 subjects who consumed alcohol sufficient to raise blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.10-0.12% within a 30-minute period and 5 controls who did not consume alcohol. Changes in reaction time data were correlated with blood alcohol levels as measured by breathalyzer testing, identifying a statistically significant difference between those participants under the legal limit and those over the legal limit (F(3, 3545) = 117, p < 0.001). The results indicated a significant effect of BAC level on reaction time change (Delta RT), Post hoc Tukey tests showed that participants in the medium (M = 104.4; 95% CI, 99.2--109.6) and high (M = 112.7; 95% CI, 107.5--117.9) BAC groups responded significantly slower than controls (M = 72.6; 95% CI, 69.9--75.3; p < 0.05 for both comparisons). The low BAC group (M = 67.5; 95% CI, 65.1--69.9) also differed from controls (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the medium and high BAC groups (p = 0.13). Overall, reaction times increased as BAC levels rose. Both group and individual analyses confirmed that as the BAC increased in subjects, the PMT also increased. The PMT also decreased as the BAC returned to levels under the legal intoxication threshold (0.08%). The effect of BAC on PMT was significant, F(1, 2161) = 156, p < 0.001, with a partial η² of 0.067, indicating a moderate effect size, and a corresponding Cohen’s d of approximately 0.52, indicating a medium-sized difference between under-limit and over-limit conditions. This study demonstrated the first use case of an on-body, neuro-physiological sensor capable of detecting sensitive changes of reaction time, in real time, that serves as an easy-to-measure proxy for blood alcohol content and impairment.

Structure and Dynamics of Paramagnetic Iron(II) Sites from the DFT-Assisted Solid-State NMR of Molecular and Surface Species

Acclimation of Photosynthesis to the Environment 1 acts as a copper-binding superoxide detoxification enzyme

Movement behavior in adults with sickle cell disease compared to healthy adults: a cross-sectional study

Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common monogenic disorders in the world. Patients with SCD have chronic hemolytic anemia and experience episodic pain due to vaso-occlusion resulting in, amongst other, musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary complications. We hypothesize that adults with SCD are less physically active, but limited information is available on the movement behavior of adults with SCD. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate movement behavior in patients with SCD as compared to healthy controls. Methods Movement behavior of patients with SCD (≥16 years) was prospectively collected in two University Medical Centers in the Netherlands. Movement behavior was measured for seven consecutive days with an accelerometer (Activ8), distinguishing between lying/non-wear, sitting, walking, running, and biking. Time spent on activities was compared between patients with SCD and healthy adults with a migration background and between HbSS/HbSβ 0 and HbSC/Hbβ + using the Man-Whitney U test. To adjust for multiple testing, season, sex, and age, a linear regression for each activity was performed. Results Data of 30 patients with SCD during steady state (median age 32.1 (IQR 25−47)) and 57 healthy adults (median age 37 (30−50)) were analyzed. Patients with SCD walked 0.68 (CI −1.22 to −0.14) h/day less than healthy adults. No differences were identified for other postures and activities. Every point increase in hemoglobin level was associated with 0.26 (CI 0.01 to 0.52) h/day increase in walking duration. Conclusion and key findings Patients with SCD appear to be less physically active compared to healthy adults, which is mainly reflected by reduced walking time (around 3500 steps less a day), highlighting the need for tailored physical activity support.

Industrial-level co-electrosynthesis of alkenol and Mg(OH)2 from seawater over Nd1Gd1 dual atomic site on metallene

Inoculation with indigenous nitrogen-fixers enhances seedling growth and nutrient uptake in a greenhouse bioassay

Desert ecosystems in Kuwait are increasingly affected by land degradation, resulting in nutrient-limited soils that constrain native plant establishment. Harnessing indigenous diazotrophic bacteria adapted to arid environments may provide a sustainable strategy to improve plant growth and nutrient acquisition. Free-living and root-associated nitrogen-fixing bacteria contribute substantially to nitrogen inputs in arid ecosystems and may enhance plant growth, performance and nutrient acquisition under nutrient-poor conditions. This study evaluated the growth performance and nutrient uptake ability of four native plant species of Kuwait following inoculation with a consortium of selected indigenous putative diazotrophs isolated from the Kuwait desert soils. The seedlings of Vachellia pachyceras were inoculated with both indigenous root-nodule bacteria isolated from Kuwait desert and a commercial inoculum to evaluate their symbiotic efficiency. The seedlings were cultivated under greenhouse conditions using either native desert soils or a potting mix substrate to assess the influence of growth medium or inoculation response. Across species, inoculation significantly enhanced plant dry mass and nutrient uptake compared to the non-inoculated controls. The magnitude of improvement varied among bacterial density, host plants, and growth substrate. These findings support the potential use of indigenous diazotrophs as biofertilizers to enhance plant growth and nutrient uptake of native plant species, and for restoration and revegetation efforts in arid environments. However, direct measurements of nitrogen fixation were not conducted and should be addressed in future field-based studies. This study represents the first evaluation of Kuwait’s native seedlings inoculated with indigenous diazotrophs, highlighting their potential for sustainable ecosystem restoration.

Fast Triplet-Exciton Harnessing in Organic X-Ray Scintillators for Dynamic Radiography

Sequential transcriptional waves and NF-κB-driven chromatin remodeling direct drug-induced dedifferentiation in cancer

Land Finance and fiscal rules: An estimated DSGE model for Hong Kong

This study systematically analyzes the choice of fiscal rules under Hong Kong’s land finance pattern and their macroeconomic implications for the first time through DSGE methods. Using quarterly data from 2000 Q1 to 2023 Q4, we employs Bayesian estimation and simulation to compare the effects of three fiscal rules: the fully exogenous rule, the output-responsive rule, and the debt-responsive rule. Results indicate that the debt-responsive rule delivers optimal outcomes in stabilizing consumption, investment, and labor markets. It effectively curbs pressures from rising government debt and property prices while enhancing fiscal sustainability. Welfare comparison results similarly confirm the superiority of the debt-responsive rule over the other two policies. Variance decomposition reveals that stamp duty shocks constitute the primary fiscal source of Hong Kong’s macroeconomic fluctuations, exerting significant impacts particularly on net exports, labor markets, and the government debt-to-revenue ratio. The conclusions of this study hold significant policy implications for Hong Kong and other economies with similar characteristics.

Palladium-Catalyzed Markovnikov Hydroformylation of Olefins

Genome-wide CRISPR screens in primary human natural killer cells identify countermeasures against immunosuppressive environment

Fixed-time adaptive fuzzy command filtering control for a two-joint robotic manipulator with input dead zone saturation and time-varying delay

This paper studies an adaptive fuzzy fixed-time tracking control problem for the two-joint robotic manipulator with input deadzone saturation and time-varying delay. By employing auxiliary signals to compensate for the effects of time-varying delay, the need for the Pade approximation method is avoided, and the requirement for the input time-varying delay to be relatively small is relaxed. Fuzzy logic systems are utilized as adaptive nonlinear approximators to identify and compensate for unknown packaged nonlinear functions within the backstepping framework. In the design of the controller, command filtering technology is introduced to address the “complexity explosion” phenomenon faced by traditional backstepping techniques. In addition, the non-smooth input saturation and dead zone nonlinearities are approximated using a non-affine smooth function, then transformed into an affine form using the mean-value theorem. The proposed method effectively combines the backstepping approach with practical fixed-time stability criteria. This guarantees the boundedness of all closed-loop signals and ensures tracking errors diminish to a small range near zero within a fixed time. More importantly, the convergence time depends solely on the design parameters. The effectiveness of the theoretical results is validated through one simulation example.

Correction to “Noncovalent Interactions in Density Functional Theory: All the Charge Density We Do Not See”

Breakthrough energy storage in medium-entropy superparaelectrics by triple synergy strategy

Importance of work-related factors for post-retirement labour market participation

Today’s pensioners are healthier than ever, and many participate in the labour market after retirement. Some pensioners continue to work for financial reasons, but in most cases the motives for work are other than financial. Many sociodemographic factors are associated with post-retirement employment, but less is known about the role of work-related factors. This study examines the relationship between work-related factors and post-retirement employment among individuals who have recently retired on an old-age pension. The study is based on a Finnish survey conducted in 2022 (response rate 68%), supplemented by register data on 3,196 individuals aged 63 and over who retired from paid employment with an old-age pension between 2019 and 2021. Logistic regression models were used to estimate how work-related factors are associated with post-retirement employment. Information on work-related factors pertains to the last job held before retirement. Higher job demands and lower social support were associated with a lower likelihood of working in retirement. A higher physical workload was associated with a higher likelihood of working in retirement, especially among those working for financial reasons. Shift work, part-time work, and temporary work before retirement were also associated with a higher likelihood of working. Managers and professionals were more likely to work in retirement than lower-grade non-manual workers. The findings of this study highlight the importance of work-related factors in post-retirement employment decisions. Policies aimed at promoting such employment should therefore focus on improving working conditions before retirement. Furthermore, since work-related factors are differently related to financial and non-financial retirement motives, policy frameworks should move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions.