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ASTRO: a semi-automated grading and feedback system for programming assignments
No full textThis innovative practice full paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Abstract Syntax Tree Reviewer and Output Tester (ASTRO), a semi-automated grading system for programming assignments. The motivation for this work stems from the challenges associated with manual grading in large programming courses, including time inefficiency, inconsistent evaluation, and limited actionable feedback for students. ASTRO addresses these issues by leveraging automated processes to improve scalability and reliability while providing detailed feedback tailored to individual student submissions. ASTRO integrates static code analysis, runtime testing, and semantic evaluation to deliver consistent and actionable assessments. Its unique features include the ability to process nonstandard submissions, handle runtime anomalies, and categorize student performance into conceptual bands. Unlike many automated systems that prioritize correctness alone, ASTRO emphasizes conceptual understanding and provides feedback that is deterministic, transparent, and actionable. The system was implemented to streamline grading for a first-year software engineering course, reducing grading time while maintaining fairness and pedagogical rigor. The development of ASTRO draws on established literature in automated grading systems and programming pedagogy. Systems like Web-CAT and SALP informed ASTROs design, particularly in integrating dynamic and static analysis for assessment. However, ASTRO advances beyond existing tools by addressing limitations in handling edge cases and providing conceptual feedback, as highlighted by recent research in automated assessment and semantic analysis. ASTRO was evaluated using a cohort of 128 students, comparing its performance with manual grading methods used in the previous academic year. Results showed that ASTRO reduced grading time from three weeks to two days. Statistical analysis revealed that ASTRO produced grades comparable to manual grading while offering a broader grade distribution, enabling clearer differentiation between performance levels. Qualitative feedback from instructors highlighted its efficiency and ease of use. Challenges, such as handling edge cases and providing feedback for non-compiling code, were identified, underscoring future areas for refinement. By addressing limitations in existing systems and offering a scalable, transparent, and efficient framework, this version of ASTRO sets a foundation for future iterations that aim to further improve programming practical assessment grading.<br/
Effects of interventions on the psychosocial health and well-being of informal caregivers of people with dementia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground As the incidence of dementia grows globally, so does the number of individuals providing informal care. The highest care burden will likely be experienced by those living in low-resource settings, where need exceeds current service availability. The aim of this review was to explore the effects of interventions to support informal caregivers of people with dementia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with respect to psychosocial outcome measures.Methods For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched 17 Global Databases and Resources, 12 Regional Databases and Resources, two Global Registers, six Regional Journals and two Global Dementia Organisations, from inception to July 2025. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) delivered to informal caregivers of adults affected by dementia in LMICs were included. Exclusions were made for studies lacking a focus on dementia or informal caregivers, conducted in non-LMICs, focused on needs/attitudes rather than interventions or were reviews (relevant reviews were hand-searched). The primary outcome was caregiver burden, and secondary outcomes included caregiver distress and depression. Where possible, results were synthesised using meta-analysis, and remaining results were reported in a narrative synthesis. Risk of bias was completed using Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias V.2.0 tool.Findings Of 2369 records screened, 35 papers representing 32 RCTs from 13 LMICs were included, of these 24 contributed to the meta-analysis. NPIs in LMICs have a significant improvement post intervention on caregiver burden (MD 8·7, 95% CI 4·1 to 13·3; I2=89·9%), distress (MD 4·3, 95% CI 0·5 to 8·2; I2=66·5%) and depression (MD 5·9, 95% CI 1·7 to 10·1; I2=67·0%). Interventions were delivered in person (10 studies; MD 6.4, 95% CI 1.4 to 11.5; I² = 88.7%), remotely (two studies; MD 8.0, 95% CI 1.9 to 14.1; I² = 37.5%) or as a hybrid of both (two studies; MD 20.9, 95% CI 5.8 to 36.0; I² = 90.1%), with all showing improvement in caregiver burden except for two studies. Narrative synthesis revealed variation in effects on health and well-being; quality of life; anxiety/distress; depression; stress and self-efficacy and factors potentially influencing implementation.Interpretation Overall, NPIs for informal dementia carers are effective in LMICs. Due to the heterogeneity of design and delivery, it is impossible to state an optimal component combination. A pragmatic approach is needed to adapt and implement these interventions culturally and contextually. Limitations include inaccessibility of some databases and journals, difficulty in analysing multicomponent interventions and heterogeneity across studies. Nonetheless, consistency in direction of effect was observed, and sensitivity analyses excluding high-risk-of-bias studies did not alter the overall findings.<br/
Movement strategies of neotropical nectarivorous birds: insights from high‐andean hummingbirds and flowerpiercers
No full textTropical nectarivorous birds should have flexible movement behaviors in response to the spatiotemporal availability of flowers. In the Neotropics, hummingbirds (Trochilidae) have diet breadths constrained by trait‐matching with flowers, while nectar‐robbing flowerpiercers (Thraupidae) typically drink nectar from holes pierced at the flower's base. Distinct movement patterns for these two bird families would be expected from optimal foraging theory due to differences in dietary specialization and behavioral flexibility, yet little is known about the daily movement patterns of tropical nectarivores. We used fine‐resolution tracking data from an automated radio telemetry grid to compare movement patterns between hummingbirds and flowerpiercers in high‐Andean mountain ecosystems, and obtained an accumulated total of 435,513 location estimates and 452 tracking days from 22 individuals across six bird species. Our results indicate that hummingbirds exhibit a greater diversity of movement behaviors compared to flowerpiercers, with varying space use and recursion patterns that are characteristic of sedentary, commuting/traplining and exploratory strategies, whereas most species of flowerpiercers were classified as central‐place foragers. However, there is substantial variation in daily movement metrics and hierarchical clustering does not necessarily group together bird families, species, nor even individuals as more similar to each other. Flexibility in movement behaviors has seldom been described for neotropical nectarivorous birds in the wild. It emerges as an important trait to adjust behavior to variable local contexts, and may be adaptive for the persistence of pollinators in challenging mountain ecosystems, where weather conditions are harsh and floral resources are seasonal
Five Point Check©-based management of goat health can be self-sustainable without long-term public funding: a 5-year retrospective study of Malawi smallholdings
No full textFailure to manage goat nutrition or control gastrointestinal nematode parasites (GINs) can lead to low performance and livestock losses on smallholdings. Programs to improve smallholder goat health can have an immediate positive impact but often depend on external expertise and resources such as anthelmintic interventions. As a result, programs may fail to support smallholders once external resources, such as grant funding, are removed. With this in mind, a low-resource targeted-selective treatment (TST) program based on a hands-on Five Point Check© (FPC) scoring system was undertaken from 2020 to 2021 in rural Central Malawi. Participating smallholders were educated and equipped to perform goat health scoring and provide interventions on an as needed basis. In April 2025, five years after the study began, original participants were surveyed alongside control non-participants to determine the impact, uptake, and dissemination of TST using the FPC. 97.5 % of participants remembered the FPC and 73.8–92.9 % still used FPC tests on their goats. Practicing the FPC increased farmers’ confidence and success and decreased the likelihood of being impacted by disease or ill health. As a result of the FPC, targeted beneficial plant supplementation and anthelmintic use to treat sick goats was maintained among study participants. Non-study controls were unanimously in favour of using the FPC, but gaps exist in supporting dissemination of training and materials (such as FAMACHA cards and anthelmintic) to the wider smallholder community. Overall, this study shows that education and sustainable practices can be adopted and self-sustained in low-resource areas following initial investment.<br/
Investigation of image-guided in vivo irradiation on voiding patterns and bladder contractility in female mice
No full textRadiotherapy for pelvic malignancies impacts the bladder causing urinary symptoms in many patients. Preclinical models using image-guided irradiation enable investigation of the physiology underlying radiation-response in the bladder. We aimed to characterise voiding patterns and bladder contractility following image-guided irradiation of the mouse bladder. Bladders of adult, female mice were irradiated (IRR) with a single fraction (20 Gy) under cone beam computed tomography. Pre- and post-IRR, void spot assays of urination patterns were performed. Contractility of bladder strips was quantified with myography. At 2-weeks, 1-month and 2-months post-IRR, around 50% of mice exhibited increased void locations. At 2-weeks, 50% had increased void spot counts; moreover, the majority exhibited smaller mean and smaller maximum void spot volumes. In bladder strips, neurogenic-contractions were smaller at 2-weeks, independent of their voiding patterns. Some recovery of contraction-amplitude was noted up to 8-months. At 2-weeks, depolarization-contractions and carbachol-contractions were similar in non-IRR and IRR strips; however, ATP-contractions were smaller. Neurogenic-contractions, carbachol-contractions and ATP-contractions had similar sensitivity to the SK channel blocker, apamin. Neurogenic contractions had similar sensitivity to paxilline (BK) and TEA (pan-K+) in non-IRR and IRR tissue. Targeted bladder irradiation resulted in altered urination patterns in the acute post-IRR phase, coincident with reduced neurogenic-contractions which might limit voiding. The ability of the bladder to contract per se and the contribution of K+-channels to contractility was minimally impacted by irradiation. Whilst the underlying mechanisms of the observations require further investigation, the study demonstrates the application of image-guided irradiation for quantifying radiation-induced changes in mouse bladder.<br/
A limpet's eye view of post‐glacial isostasy: fixed biological indicators provide new sea‐level index points for the Mid‐Holocene relative highstand in eastern Northern Ireland
No full textEmpirical data for Holocene relative sea level (RSL) changes around the coast of north-eastern Ireland are sparse. Fixed biological indicators (FBIs), in the form of bioerosional marks made by limpets (Patella) and endolithic traces of other intertidal/subtidal organisms, are preserved significantly above present mid-tide level on a limestone cliff at Portmuck, in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. The limpet marks indicate a mid-tide level (MTL) for the Mid-Holocene relative highstand (MHRH) at +7.8±0.55 m relative to MTL today. This is >3 m higher than previous empirical data for the region but is consistent with recent glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models. Shells of intertidal molluscs (Patella, Littorina and Nucella) recovered from fissures below the limpet marks show a significant spread of 14C ages, with the oldest a close match for the date of the MHRH but others as much as 2750 years younger. They indicate that RSL fell no more than ~2.5 m in that time from a highstand at ~6.3 cal. ka BP, a pattern comparable to that seen in southern Scotland but 1.5–2 ka later. This chronological offset is consistent with models that predict shoreline diachroneity in moving away from the centre of isostatic uplift in southern Scotland.<br/
Decoding enzyme–substrate specificity with EZSpecificity
No full textIn a recent issue of Nature, Zhao and co-workers introduce EZSpecificity, an enzyme-substrate-specificity prediction model built on a curated enzyme-substrate database and integrating sequence and structural information. Benchmark studies across representative enzyme families demonstrate that EZSpecificity outperforms existing machine-learning approaches, including enzyme-substrate prediction (ESP) and compound-protein interaction (CPI), in predicting enzyme-substrate specificity
Using Möbius for automated assessment in mathematics: a case study
No full textWe describe a failed pilot that involved using the automated grading software Möbius in place of graduate student markers for three undergraduate courses delivered in the School of Mathematics and Physics in Queen’s University Belfast. We analyze the effects of this change on student engagement and performance. Our evidence suggests that students are more likely to engage with formative assessment activities when they are marked with Möbius. Students also perform better in summative assessments when they have had Möbius assignments to complete—with one module having a stark reduction in failure rate from 32% to 5%. When we surveyed the students who had the opportunity to engage with Möbius, we did not find that they had much enthusiasm for the software. However, we found that students also lacked enthusiasm for the systems for assessment and feedback that Möbius had replaced. Their responses to our survey instead indicating that students may not fully understand the distinction between formative and summative assessment. As we discuss in the conclusion, this project failed because, in spite of this apparent success, we could not drum up the support for Möbius from students and colleagues that justified the expense associated with purchasing software licenses each year. To introduce automated grading in our context we need a system that has zero or negligible associated cost as it will likely only ever be used by a small number of staff.<br/
Effectiveness of music therapy for delirium in acute hospital settings: a scoping review
No full textBackground: Music therapy is a non-pharmacological psychosocial intervention that is increasingly recognised for its role in supporting older adults in acute hospital settings. Engagement with music, whether through passive listening, preferred recorded music, live music, or creative music therapy, has been linked to improvements in behavioural, cognitive, and emotional outcomes during episodes of delirium. Although there are reviews on non-pharmacological approaches to delirium, few have focused specifically on music therapy within acute hospital environments. Methods: This scoping review examined the evidence relating to music-based interventions for older adults who are experiencing delirium or who are at risk of delirium in acute care settings. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA ScR). Four electronic databases were searched systematically, namely, CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Embase. Results: Seven primary research studies published between 2004 and 2024 met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis approach was used to summarise the data. Three themes were identified. The first relates to the extent to which music therapy may reduce the incidence or severity of delirium or other related behaviours in acute hospital settings. The second relates to the potential for music-based interventions to support clinical practice by improving interaction between patients and staff and reducing distress during recovery and enhancing physical recovery. The third relates to the impact of music therapy on emotional regulation, engagement, cooperation with care, and overall patient experience. Conclusion: Music therapy shows promise as a person-centred, safe, and low-cost intervention that may enhance wellbeing and support delirium care for older adults in acute hospital settings. Further high-quality studies are needed to strengthen the evidence base and guide practice.<br/
Variation in attitudes to native kidney biopsy practice in the United States
No full textRationale & ObjectiveThere is substantial variation in kidney biopsy practices within and between countries; however, the reasons for this are unclear due to limited research among large diverse populations. The aim of this study was to explore variations in attitude to the indications and contraindications for native kidney biopsy in the United States (US).Study DesignA case-vignette questionnaire was developed. A propensity-to-biopsy score (0-44) was generated from responses to indications and contraindications, with a higher score indicating an increased likelihood to recommend biopsy. Dissemination of the questionnaire occurred by email, social media, and the National Kidney Foundation.Setting & ParticipantsA total of 295 nephrologists/fellows from 43 states within the US participated.ExposureAll participants completed an identical questionnaire on kidney biopsy practice.OutcomesResponses were collected on indications, contraindications, and attitudes to biopsy.Analytical ApproachAnonymized IP addresses were collected for comparison between US states. Data were also collected on the demographics of the individual and the type of institution in which the doctor was based.ResultsIn an adjusted multiple linear regression analysis, higher propensity-to-biopsy scores were demonstrated in US clinicians who were male, younger and more frequent performers of kidney biopsy (P = 0.05). There were significant differences between the 18 US states with 5 or more participants (P < 0.001) with the mean propensity-to-biopsy score ranging from 20.3 (Wisconsin) to 29.2 (New Jersey and Virginia). Increased biopsy propensity was also observed in US states with higher nephrologist density and lower statewide deprivation (P = 0.006).LimitationsThe condensed clinical scenarios may not accurately replicate real-world cases, and clinicians opted in often using social media, so generalizability is limited.ConclusionsAttitudes to kidney biopsy practice in the US are highly variable, and clinician or institutional characteristics do not fully explain these discrepancies. Further research is required to understand the factors that influence clinical decision making