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To best prepare students for the real-world research environment, key skills, including experimental design, data analysis, communication of results, and critical thinking, should be key components of undergraduate science courses. Furthermore, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person teaching has resulted in a need to develop courses that enable flexible learning. This paper details the laboratory component of a senior-level toxicology class that was developed to emphasize all these skills and allow for flexible learning. The aim of the laboratory class was for students to determine how curcumin protected against acetaminophen-induced hepatoxicity. To stimulate critical thinking, students were required to choose a maximum of four experiments from the six on offer. Before conducting an experiment, students stated a hypothesis and selected the appropriate treatment groups. Once an experiment was completed, students were given access to a complete dataset, on which they performed statistical analysis and drew conclusions. Students who were unable to attend the laboratory session in person were able to complete the required pre-lab work and access the dataset. Following each experiment, students could write a lab summary, and receive thorough feedback. The final assessment was a written manuscript of their findings as well as a chance to respond to reviewer comments. This teaching approach prioritized the critical thinking, analysis, and experimental design aspects of scientific research. Overall, this structure was well received by students and it could easily be adapted for use on other life science courses.

The prevalence and pervasive nature of emerging chemicals of concern have created widespread environmental injustice apprehensions in vulnerable communities. To alleviate and address these concerns, identifying, engaging, and training a diverse environmental health research workforce will be critical and necessary steps to combat and prevent the consequences of environmental injustice. While there is an obvious need to enhance diversity in environmental health research, this process is hampered by facets of systemic racism that reduce access to educational resources needed to build interest and knowledge in students and teachers. We present here a historical perspective to offer a guide for building programs and relationships with underserved schools to help overcome limiting factors that have plagued certain public school systems. With the proper training and mentorship, the untapped workforce present within these schools will be empowered to understand and address current and emerging environmental health and safety threats. Through this transformative 8-week high school research program, we will develop well-prepared, ethical researchers committed to scientific inquiry, intensive fieldwork, and collaborative problem solving to address environmental health challenges. Following the four-step risk assessment process, students, teachers, and faculty mentors will work collaboratively to identify toxicants, potential hazards and risks, and environmental disparities in urban neighborhoods, which provides the necessary training to formulate critical thinking skills for use in academic or nonacademic careers.

Integration of computational data science (CDS) into the university curriculum offers several advantages for students, faculty and the institution. This article discusses the benefits to students of introducing CDS into the university curriculum with a focus on developing skills in cheminformatics, data analysis, structure--activity relationships, modelling and simulation. Moreover, CDS can enable students to engage with complex chemical and toxicological data in new and dynamic ways, helping them to develop a more nuanced understanding of the potential hazards and risks associated with different chemicals and substances. On the other hand, it can foster greater collaboration between students and faculty and with external partners in industry and government. This can lead to the development of more effective and efficient toxicological testing methods and tools to screen chemicals for potential hazards and aid the development of environmentally friendly chemicals. Overall, the integration of CDS into the university curriculum will help prepare the next generation of scientists giving them a competitive edge to make considerable contributions to green chemistry, designing safer chemicals and non-animal testing methods. It will enable them to tackle modern challenges facing society including identifying safer and more sustainable chemicals and predicting the health and environmental impacts of novel chemical substances.

Maintaining scientific literacy (SL) skill development in undergraduate science education while transitioning courses from the in-person to online learning environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic requires adaptation of some teaching practices. This study assessed the effectiveness of small online learning groups as the active engagement strategy (replacing in-person breakout groups) to promote SL skill development in fourth year undergraduate nutritional science students in the online learning environment (Fall 2020 semester). As a secondary outcome, SL skill development in the online learning environment (Fall 2020, n=178) was compared to that of the in-person course format (Fall 2019, n=144). Students were surveyed at the start and end of the semester to assess their i) scientific literature comprehension, ii) SL skill perceptions, and iii) practical SL skills. The use of online learning groups contributed to improvements in both literature comprehension and SL skill perceptions (P<0.05), however, practical SL skills remained unchanged (P>0.05). There was no difference in the magnitude of improvement in students' SL skill perceptions or their practical SL skills between course formats (P>0.05). The ability to think critically about the scientific literature was increased in both course formats, with greater improvements observed in the online course format (P=0.02). Additionally, only students in the online course format had improved comprehension of scientific methods versus the in-person format (P=0.05). Collectively, these data demonstrate that the adaptations of an in-person course to an online learning environment using small online learning groups can similarly promote the development of SL in undergraduate nutrition education.

A qualified teaching method is hard to achieve without traditional classroom lessons. For learning purposes, students need to interact and influence each other, like being part of an osmotic process. They need to learn in a stimulating environment, developing the ability to manage conflicts and to compare opinions. How can this be possible during a pandemic? In an innovative distance learning experiment, students have been involved in significant changes to traditional teaching methods, forced to reinvent themselves and give up face-to-face interactions. General Medicinal Chemistry and Medicinal and Toxicological Chemistry I courses at Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro (UMG) accepted the pandemic call for challenge by renewing their teaching approach, trying to re-establish the sense of community jeopardized by distance learning. Students have been involved in the creation of a multimedia tool, called "MedChemBlog", an innovative distance learning experiment. The aim was to improve the understanding of the chemical structures and drug molecular mechanisms of action, in a unique constructive fashion provided by scientific websites and databases, e.g., Protein Data Bank, DrugBank, and PubChem. In this way, students have been involved in the creation of the course's blog, their "MedChemBlog", revealed as a collector of "food for thought" for present and future students.

This work analyzes the safe consumption of wild mushrooms in Mexico, addresses the mushroom poisoning phenomenon, and discusses the role of communication and environmental education to prevent them. We documented that most mushroom poisonings happen in mestizo and transculturized indigenous communities. We constructed the online 'Digital repository of edible and toxic mushrooms of Mexico.' The repository contains: updated full listings of edible and toxic mushrooms, infographics of the most important species, a photograph catalogue, and information and treatment protocols for physicians. The website is a dynamic space consisting of educational information for health care specialists, mycologists, and society in general.

In a fourth year undergraduate nutritional toxicology course that included an instructional emphasis on scientific literature critique activities and assessments, we determined the change in students' (n=144) scientific literacy (SL) skills. The change in students' perceived and practical SL skills were determined by the completion of two surveys, administered at the start and end of the semester. Additionally, we conducted a follow-up SL survey at the end of the subsequent academic semester (i.e., four months later) to determine if students retained any improvements in their SL skills. Over the semester, students showed improvements in their perceived capabilities of all SL skill parameters assessed (P<0.05); however, the most significant gains were apparent in the areas of i) knowledge application (specifically identifying novel problems or research questions and using new information to address unfamiliar problems or knowledge gaps), and ii) knowledge translation and communication (translating complex information from the scientific literature into clear and understandable terms). There was no change in students TOSLS score between the start and end of the semester (P>0.05). In the follow-up SL survey students showed further improvements in their perceptions of the SL skills for 7 of the 10 parameters assessed compared to the end of the previous semester (P<0.05), however, there remained no change in their practical SL skills assessed using TOSLS. Collectively, this data demonstrates that students' perceptions of their SL capabilities may not align with their practical capabilities.

Pesticide exposure represents a significant occupational health hazard for farmworkers, and handwashing is one strategy to reduce exposure via the dermal route. After learning about recent research findings regarding the lack of handwashing utilized by North Carolina farmworkers in the field, the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program approached the student and faculty member who conducted the research to partner and improve handwashing education, with the goal of reducing pesticide exposure among farmworkers. The resulting handwashing educational toolkit was the product of a participatory development project that engaged farmworker health outreach workers with university partners in every stage--from needs assessment to method and message selection and, ultimately, educational material development and evaluation. This promising project serves as a model for a sustainable partnership among a student, faculty member, and community organization and underscores the importance of respect, equality, and distributed power in collaboratively responding to a community-identified need.

What's in Our Waters Jr. (WOW Jr.) is an environmental outreach program designed to teach fourth grade elementary students about watershed protection. This program is unique because of the partnership that brings together students, teachers, scientists, and water resource professionals to promote science education and environmental stewardship in the classroom through mentorship and hands-on learning activities. WOW Jr. is co-led by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service (4-H Youth Development and Water Resources Programs) and Clemson University Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program. The major themes covered in WOW Jr. are watersheds, water pollution, and water conservation and protection. The curriculum is designed to help teachers meet several South Carolina academic standards for fourth grade science. Pre- and post-surveys administered to students to assess program effectiveness and progress over time show that engagement with science professionals increases achievement of state standards and knowledge of watershed protection by environmental stewardship, and it alters students' perceptions of scientists.

The advancement of breakthrough concepts in science and their implementation in society can only be achieved by starting early with the education of new generations of scientists. The concept of 'Replacement, Reduction and Refinement' (the 3Rs) in regards to animal use was first described by Russell and Burch in 1959. The 3Rs have nowadays a broader scope than simply encouraging alternatives to animal testing by bridging the gap between traditional animal-based toxicology and emerging technologies: cell- and tissue-based, organ- or body-on-a-chip, in silico computer models, etc. However, these principles are still relatively new to younger generations although tremendous efforts have been made by industry, regulators and academic groups to implement them globally. This manuscript proposes the introduction in early education stages of modern concepts of toxicology focused on the 3Rs in regards to animals use for testing. To support our proposal, we present a valuable dataset demonstrating the interest of students and teachers alike to learn more about non-animal testing methods, the concepts of 3Rs and modern testing strategies that are human-relevant and take into consideration the ethics of animal experimentation.

Background: The evidence base for the regulatory assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) has proved very controversial to define. The EU has been a first mover and--after years of discussions and conflicts--adopted criteria for the pesticide and biocide sectors in 2018. Key points: The article reviews alternative regulatory options and critically discusses some of the features of the adopted EU guidelines. It argues that they are a significant and necessary step. It further argues that while EU guidelines are certainly up to date with current developments in regulatory toxicology, they are not ambitious enough to set the pace beyond internationally agreed standards and conventions in risk regulation. Specifically, the article shows that EU regulators 'bypassed' some of the most difficult issues on the use and interpretation of evidence around endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Conclusions and implications: The article argues that the lack of regulatory translation of pressing scientific questions on endocrine disruption has significant consequences: it limits the applicability of EU guidelines and will likely require EU risk assessors to resort to a case-by-case approach in evaluations of pesticides and biocides. Moreover, contrary to expectations and ambitions, EU guidelines can only partially inform regulatory developments in other chemical sub-sectors and in other jurisdictions.

For many decades, the attitude of nurses has been an area of interest for researchers. The major reason for this interest is the profound impact of nurse's attitude like organizational cynicism on many organizational outcomes. The present study is aimed to describe organizational cynicism, level of perceived organizational support, and the sequences of organizational cynicism on nurses and quality of care. Correlation descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 368 nurses working in critical care and toxicology units. The independent variable was organizational cynicism, while the dependent variables were nurse work outcomes and quality of care. The study shows high level of organizational cynicism among nurses in critical care units and low level of perceived organizational support. It also shows a negative relation between organizational cynicism and perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and quality of care. As their cynicism level increased, their perceived level of organizational support, nurses' commitment, job satisfaction, and quality of care decreased. In addition, it was obvious that nurses' perception for organizational cynicism has a positive and significant effect on deviant workplace behavior, and their leaving of employing organization and burnout.

An interdisciplinary course called "The Chemistry of Poisons" was created, featuring organic chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and toxicology content. This exploratory chemistry elective course was created by an instructor with a background in synthetic organic chemistry and a teaching assistant with a background in pharmacy practice. "The Chemistry of Poisons" features an interdisciplinary, student-centered approach to learning that provides a foundation for future academic initiatives to deliver chemical, pharmacological, and humanistic content in a manner that is both enjoyable for students and demonstrably facilitates knowledge and application level learning. Student course feedback and a retrospective survey were used to gauge student-perceived learning achievement. Survey results and feedback were consistent with knowledge and application level learning of course content and preference for interdisciplinary course design. These results warrant further development and study of interdisciplinary strategies for chemical education.

Objective: To develop and validate a scale measuring health beliefs about UV in cloudy climates that may impact UV exposure behaviors. Participants: Students at a large university in Oregon completed pilot (N = 115) and final (N = 335) scales online March-July, 2016. Five participants underwent cognitive interviews. Methods: Expert feedback, cognitive interviews, and pilot data guided item development and refinement. We conducted factor analysis and invariance testing. Results: The final four-factor model fit well (X[superscript 2] = 37.97, df = 37, RMSEA = 0.000, CFI = 1.000). HBAU subscales are "Sunscreen Toxicity," "Seasonal Effects," "Health Benefits of Tanning," and "Tanning Through the Winter." Invariance testing supported strong invariance across sex and tanning status. Conclusion: The HBAU measures beliefs that encourage UV exposure and discourage protection (eg, the belief that sunscreen ingredients are toxic). This scale will enable more comprehensive measurement of cognitive predictors of UV exposure for student health, clinical, and research purposes.

A simple, repeatable and inexpensive laboratory practice applied to teach and discuss aquatic metal pollution and oxidative stress detoxification mechanisms through biomarker analyses, as well as important ecotoxicology concepts, is presented herein. It has been implemented in a university in Brazil to both undergraduate and Master's and PhD students, indicating usefulness to all these levels. Students learned to detect metallothionein and reduced glutathione concentrations in biological samples and investigate several variables of interest in biomonitoring assessments. In addition, statistical correlations were used to indicate the potential dual role played by MT in aquatic organisms, allowing for biological inferences regarding both aquatic metal pollution and oxidative stress detoxification mechanisms and maturing of ecotoxicological and biomonitoring concepts discussed and presented both theoretically and integrated to the laboratory findings.

Although bioaccumulation-related concepts are important scientific knowledge, a study on whether high school textbooks include appropriate explanations has not been conducted. The present study investigated science and biology textbooks from Korea, Japan, and the U.S., focusing on how bioaccumulation-related concepts were defined, what types of bioaccumulative substances were discussed, and the properties of these substances. The textbooks of these countries tended to focus on biomagnification. While the textbooks from Japan and the U.S. present synthetic organic compounds as examples of bioaccumulative substances, metallic substances were used as examples in all Korean textbooks. However, the discussion about the properties of bioaccumulative substances was brief in the textbooks. Moreover, the bioaccumulative properties of metals and organic compounds were not distinguished. The limited explanations in the textbooks might cause students to have misconceptions about the processes of bioaccumulation and bioaccumulative substances, and negative perceptions toward essential trace metals.

We designed a collaborative course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) between an Analytical Chemistry course and an Environmental Toxicology course to engage students in a research project that cannot rely on one discipline alone. This study reports on 47 students' self-reported experiences with the course outcomes and their opinions of the CURE project. Students in both courses increased their levels of experience in skills related to the CURE project, including their ability to design a project where the outcome was unknown. Further, most students felt a sense of project ownership, but their ownership was attributed only to the positive aspects of the CURE. At the end of the CURE, the students in both classes demonstrated the ability to connect ideas and techniques learned in the course to a broader environmental research question. We also suggest several tips for developing collaborative CUREs in undergraduate courses.

Peer review of forensic casework is essential for ensuring quality and reducing error rates. However, it is not a common component of forensic science degree courses, and there are no published studies, guidelines or methods for teaching and learning forensic peer review. This study describes a method of learning, teaching and assessing forensic peer review through the use of group work to prepare checklists for reviewing casefiles and expert witness reports, followed by individual peer feedback. Example checklists and assessment criteria are provided. The peer feedback comments on expert reports were categorised revealing that suggestions are the most frequent type of feedback provided, followed by questions. Through a questionnaire, participants strongly agreed that the learning and teaching process described here was relevant to their future professional practice, and that through the use of checklists they understood the criteria for effective forensic peer review. It emerged from a semistructured interview that limited time led some students to surface review expert reports, that peers were seen as legitimate sources of knowledge, and additional feedback from lecturers was required. This study may be relevant to other areas where professional peer review is used, such as open source software development, nursing and community pharmacy.

In the absence of scientific clarity regarding the potential health effects of occupational exposure to nanoparticles, there is a need for guidance in making decisions about hazards, risks, and controls (Schulte & Salmanca-Buentello, 2007). Presently, no guiding principles have been universally accepted for personal protective equipment that is worn to prevent exposure to nanomaterials. The purpose of this article is to survey the literature and determine if research has been completed that validates whether or not occupational exposure to nanomaterials is potentially hazardous to the health of humans.

After seeing several reports in newspapers making claims about the cause of death after children had swallowed button batteries, a team of students decided to try to establish which (if any) claims were true. The findings were reported in the Schools Exhibition at the ASE Annual Conference 2018 in Liverpool and are shared in detail here. (A bibliography is included.)

Children spend as much as ten hours per day, five days a week in childcare centers and preschools. In providing healthy environments, these facilities deal with a variety of pest and pesticide issues influenced by their geographic location, local environment, and pesticide regulations. Some rely extensively on pesticides while others use integrated practices to address pest problems. Reducing the unnecessary exposure of children to pests and pesticides can be an important public health measure. Surveys, webinars, and an outreach project were used to demonstrate the dependence of childcare centers on pesticides. Webinars and on-site visits were effective in inform child care administrators and staff about an integrated approach to pest management that reduces the unnecessary exposure of children to pests and pesticides.

The Environmental Inquiry program supports inquiry based, student-centered science teaching on selected topics in the environmental sciences. Many teachers are unfamiliar with both the underlying science of toxicology, and the process and importance of peer review in scientific method. The protocol and peer review process was tested with college students at 11 universities around the United States. The overall goal was to promote science education by engaging students in a sociologically authentic scientific research including anonymous peer review. Students were provided with the methods and knowledge to conduct a toxicology experiment and the technology needed for communication. They conducted a bioassay experiment, posted their results on a web, and completed anonymous peer reviews. Data consisted of peer reviews, anonymous online questionnaire, and another questionnaire about students' experiences and their evaluation of the project. There were statistically significant differences among schools in scores received for the quality of the argument and quality of technical writing. However, the only statistically significant difference concerned the average score received was the quality of technical writing. The findings suggested that the research and peer review protocols could be adapted for use by introductory level college science students, including prospective science teachers. (Contains 9 tables and 1 footnote.)

Malathion is an organophosphorus insecticide, which is often sprayed to control mosquitoes. When applied to aquatic habitats, malathion can also influence the embryogenesis of non-target organisms such as frogs and fish. We modified the frog embryo teratogen assay in "Xenopus" (FETAX), a standard toxicological assay, into an investigative undergraduate laboratory exercise. This exercise provided students with experience in developmental toxicology, experimental design, quantitative morphology, digital imaging, and presentation of research results. Their results demonstrated that "Xenopus" embryos exposed to malathion on the first or second day of development were indistinguishable from controls, while embryos exposed to malathion on the third day of development exhibited significantly bent tails and shorter body lengths. Similarly, sublethal malathion exposures also compromised early zebrafish development. To determine if this investigative laboratory exercise met its goal of fostering conceptual understanding of developmental toxicology, we compared student performance on a questionnaire before and after the laboratory exercise, which demonstrated significant improvement in conceptual understanding. Moreover, all (45/45) students successfully completed a modified FETAX and prepared posters of their results, indicating that students learned quantitative morphology and imaging skills while also gaining valuable experience in designing, executing, and communicating an experiment. (Contains 6 figures.)

Potential benefits of simulations and virtual laboratory exercises in natural sciences have been both theorised and studied recently. This study reports findings from a pilot study on student attitude, motivation and self-efficacy when using the virtual laboratory programme Labster. The programme allows interactive learning about the workflows and procedures of biological and biochemical experiments, the operation of relevant apparatuses, including the ability to adjust parameters, and the production of results. The programme was used as supplement to mandatory laboratory exercises in two undergraduate courses (i. microbiology and ii. pharmaceutical toxicology) at the University of Southern Denmark. With a theoretical basis in motivational theories, students' (n = 73) motivation and attitude towards the virtual exercises were evaluated. After completing virtual laboratory cases, the students felt significantly more confident and comfortable operating laboratory equipment, but they did not feel more motivated to engage in virtual laboratories compared to real laboratories. Teachers observed that students were able to participate in discussions at higher levels than in previous years where the programme was not used. The study concludes that virtual laboratories have the potential to improve students' pre-laboratory preparation.

A team of six children (13-14 years old) developed and conducted an experiment to assess the behaviour of the planarian flatworm, an invertebrate animal model, before, during and after exposure to chemicals. The aim of the project was to engage children in pharmacology and toxicology research. First, the concept that exposure to chemicals can affect our nervous systems and alter our behaviour was introduced by the scientist. Then pupils were asked to conduct independent online research on chemicals we consume and used this information to select chemicals of interest. Caffeine and the artificial sweetener aspartame were chosen. As aspartame is broken down in the body, the aspartame metabolites phenylalanine, methanol and aspartic acid were also tested. Pupils assessed flatworm behaviour and determined that phenylalanine and methanol altered behaviour. The experiment demonstrated that chemicals can affect the nervous system and can be used in classrooms to illustrate that chemicals, such as recreational drugs, can alter behaviour. Students found the experiential nature of the programme valuable, appreciated the active components and considered the scientist as an "expert". This partnership contributes to academic knowledge in children and provides insight into teaching and raises awareness of the curriculum as a tool of social change.

Students are introduced to spectrophotometry in comparing the antioxidant activity of pure eugenol and oil of cloves from a commercial source using a modified ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The extraction of the essential oil from dried cloves is demonstrated to facilitate discussions on green chemistry. The anesthetic properties of clove oil are also explored by temporarily sedating Eugene, the "sleepy" fish.

Nanotoxicity is an area of intense research, stimulated by increased use of nanoparticles in commercially available products. Herein, using nanotoxicity as a platform, we describe an experiment that emphasizes interdisciplinary science in a collaborative work setting while expanding the traditional realm of chemistry and chemistry research. Students synthesize two noble metal nanoparticle suspensions (Au and Ag) and expose brine shrimp to these nanoparticles, assessing the brine shrimp viability after 24 h exposure. By examining two different nanoparticles at several concentrations, with appropriate control conditions, students can work together to collect and analyze all the toxicity results necessary to draw conclusions about the toxicity of Au and Ag nanoparticles. This experiment provides introductory chemistry students hands-on experience with a cutting-edge area of science while showcasing the real-world application of chemistry to an important modern scientific problem, nanoparticle toxicity. (Contains 2 figures.)

Deficits in cognitive control are implicated in cocaine dependence. Previously, combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and a stop signal task, we demonstrated altered cognitive control in cocaine-dependent individuals. However, the clinical implications of these cross-sectional findings and, in particular, whether the changes were associated with relapse to drug use, were not clear. In a prospective study, we recruited 97 treatment-seeking individuals with cocaine dependence to perform the stop signal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging and participate in follow-up assessments for 3 months, during which time cocaine use was evaluated with timeline follow back and ascertained by urine toxicology tests. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analysed using general linear models as implemented in Statistical Parametric Mapping 8, with the contrast "stop error greater than stop success trials" to index error processing. Using voxelwise analysis with logistic and Cox regressions, we identified brain activations of error processing that predict relapse and time to relapse. In females, decreased error-related activations of the thalamus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex predicted relapse and an earlier time to relapse. In males, decreased error-related activations of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left insula predicted relapse and an earlier time to relapse. These regional activations were validated with data resampling and predicted relapse with an average area under the curve of 0.849 in receiver operating characteristic analyses. These findings provide direct evidence linking deficits in cognitive control to clinical outcome in a moderate-sized cohort of cocaine-dependent individuals. These results may provide a useful basis for future studies to examine how psychosocial factors interact with cognitive control to determine drug use and to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological or behavioural treatment in remediating deficits of cognitive control in cocaine addicts.

The storyline of operas, with historical or fictional characters, often include potions and poisons. This has prompted a study of the chemistry behind some operatic plots. The results were originally presented as a lecture given at the University of Minho in Portugal, within the context of the International Year of Chemistry. The same lecture was subsequently repeated at other universities as an invited lecture for science students and in public theaters for wider audiences. The lecture included a multimedia and interactive content that allowed the audience to listen to arias and to watch video clips with selected scenes extracted from operas. The present article, based on the lecture, demonstrates how chemistry and opera can be related and may also serve as a source of motivation and inspiration for chemistry teachers looking for alternative pedagogical approaches. Moreover, the lecture constitutes a vehicle that transports chemistry knowledge to wider audiences through examples of everyday molecules, with particular emphasis on natural products. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

Introducing students to the process of scientific inquiry is a major goal of high school and college labs. Environmental toxins are of great concern and public interest. Modifications of a vertebrate developmental toxicity assay using the frog Xenopus laevis can support student-initiated toxicology experiments that are relevant to humans. Teams of students formulate hypotheses, perform experiments, analyze data, and present their results. By performing experiments to investigate the toxicity of household chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or agricultural chemicals, students will gain an appreciation of the environmental effects of improper disposal of common chemicals and industrial or agricultural run-off.

As part of a university-wide project to explore Shakespeare's classic play, "Romeo and Juliet," from a variety of perspectives, an interdisciplinary talk was presented to the university community on the chemistry of the potions and poisons referenced in "Romeo and Juliet." To draw the multidisciplinary audience in and to teach about forensics as well as pharmaceutical herbs and chemicals, the presentation was given from the perspective of how a modern crime scene investigator would approach the famous play's final death scene without any prior knowledge of the situation. An autopsy of Juliet's body might have revealed the presence of the chemicals, hyoscine and atropine, that come from the plant "Atropa belladonna." The autopsy could reveal whether the Friar had set out to sedate Juliet or if he had attempted to kill her. An autopsy of Romeo's body might have revealed the presence of aconitine from the plant "Aconitum napellus." Using a classic story to teach about chemistry, basic ideas were introduced about forensics and pharmacology, emphasizing the importance of dose when determining the effect of a drug on the human body. (Contains 9 figures.)

This article describes a 13-week laboratory course called Human Toxicology taught at the University of Otago, New Zealand. This course used a guided inquiry based laboratory coupled with formative assessment and collaborative learning to develop in undergraduate students the skills of problem solving/critical thinking, data interpretation and written discussion of results. The laboratory practices were a guided inquiry based around retinol's ability to potentiate acetaminophen-mediated hepatotoxicity. To induce critical thinking, students were given a choice as to which assay they could use to determine how retinol affected acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. Short summaries were handed in following each assay and formed the bases of the formative assessment. To complete the feedback loop, a summative assessment that consisted of all the graphs and concepts from the short summaries were combined into a manuscript. To give the students exposure to science communication, the manuscript had to be written in accordance to the submission guidelines for Toxicological Sciences. Evaluation of this course was determined by a student questionnaire using a Likert scale and students' responses were very favorable. While the subject matter was toxicological centric, the content could be easily modified to suit another subject matter in biochemistry and molecular biology. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

In five experiments we explored the effects of weight on time in different action contexts to test the hypothesis that an integrated magnitude system is tuned to affordances. Larger magnitudes generally seem longer; however, Lu and colleagues (2009) found that if numbers were presented as weights in a range heavy enough to affect lifting, the "larger seems longer" effect was enhanced, but it was eliminated with weights too light to affect lifting. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that actually lifting kilogram and gram weights had effects parallel to symbolized weights, suggesting that Lu et al.'s task implicitly evoked a lifting context. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that weights too heavy (e.g., tons) or too light to be discriminated by lifting, but relevant to other affordances (e.g., grams of a toxin) had effects on time as large or larger than for kilograms. Experiment 5 showed that the effect for grams in a toxicology context did not generalize to the lifting task of Experiment 2. Weight appears to integrate with other magnitudes when it is relevant to meaningful actions, including but not limited to lifting. (Contains 2 footnotes and 5 figures.)

The authors present a case study examining the potential for policies to be "evidence-based." To what extent is it possible to say that a decision to implement a complex social intervention is warranted on the basis of available empirical data? The case chosen is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify banning smoking in cars carrying children. The numerous assumptions underpinning such legislation are elicited, the weight and validity of evidence for each is appraised, and a mixed picture emerges. Certain propositions seem well supported; others are not yet proven and possibly unknowable. The authors argue that this is the standard predicament of evidence-based policy. Evidence does not come in finite chunks offering certainty and security to policy decisions. Rather, evidence-based policy is an accumulative process in which the data pursue but never quite capture unfolding policy problems. The whole point is the steady conversion of "unknowns" to "knowns." (Contains 2 boxes, 1 table and 1 figure.)

This study examined factors associated with decisions in favour of out-of-home placement following investigations involving infants at risk of maltreatment. We used data from a sample of children less than 1 year of age (n = 763) investigated by child welfare services across Canada in 2003. We tested unadjusted relationships with placement using Pearson's chi-square statistic. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified parental substance abuse, mental health problems and few social supports as being associated with an increased likelihood of placement. Child's toxicology at birth, abandonment, physical harm and number of previous family openings also increased the likelihood of placement. Several variables that have been associated with increased placement in previous studies, such as single motherhood and young maternal age, did not show a statistically significant association in our analysis. Among those infants that were placed, there was insufficient power to compare kinship and non-kinship care. This analysis demonstrates the need for the implementation of established prevention programs, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership and substance abuse programs for caregivers.

Children's ability to identify common plants is a necessary prerequisite for learning botany. However, recent work has shown that children lack positive attitudes toward plants and are unable to identify them. We examined children's (aged 10-17) ability to discriminate between common toxic and non-toxic plants and their mature fruits presented in a colourful PowerPoint presentation. We found that toxic plants were less well known than plants with edible fruits and those younger children were more willing to consume toxic fruits than older children. Children abilities to distinguish toxic and non-toxic plants did not increase with age suggesting that school does not play the primary role in building children's knowledge about toxic plants. This study supports the idea that children's knowledge about plants is limited and more effort should be dedicated to teaching about toxic plants that are often harmful especially to inexperienced children. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Objective: The effects of cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention (RP), contingency management (CM), and their combination (CM + RP) were evaluated in a randomized trial with 100 cocaine-dependent patients (58% female, 89% African American) who were engaged in treatment for at least 2 weeks and had an average of 44 days of abstinence at baseline. Method: The participants were from intensive outpatient programs, which provide 10 hr per week of group counseling. The CM protocol provided gift certificates (maximum value $1,150; mean received = $740) for cocaine-free urines over 12 weeks on an escalating reinforcement schedule, and weekly individual RP sessions were offered for up to 20 weeks. Average number of RP sessions attended was 3 in RP and 13 in CM + RP. Results: Generalizing estimation equation analyses over 18 months postrandomization showed significant effects for CM (but not RP) on urine toxicology and self-reported cocaine use (p = 0.05), with no significant CM x RP interactions. Secondary analyses indicated CM + RP produced better cocaine urine toxicology outcomes at 6 months than treatment as usual, odds ratio [OR] = 3.96 (1.33, 11.80), p less than 0.01, and RP, OR = 4.89 (1.51, 15.86), p less than 0.01, and produced better cocaine urine toxicology outcomes at 9 months than treatment as usual, OR = 4.21 (1.37, 12.88), p less than 0.01, and RP, OR = 4.24 (1.32, 13.65), p less than 0.01. Trends also favored CM + RP over CM at 6 months, OR = 2.93 (0.94, 9.07), p = 0.06, and 9 months, OR = 2.93 (0.94, 9.10), p = 0.06. Differences between the conditions were not significant after 9 months. Conclusions: These results suggest CM can improve outcomes in cocaine-dependent patients in intensive outpatient programs who have achieved initial engagement, particularly when it is combined with RP. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

Copper fungicides and bactericides are often used in tomato cultivation and can cause toxic Cu levels in soils. In order to combat this, organic matter can be applied to induce chelation reactions and form a soluble complex by which much of the Cu can leach out of the soil profile or be taken up safely by plants. Organic acids such as citric, fulvic, and malic acids are contained in organic matter, and complex well with Cu. Both the chelation reaction and the effectiveness of soil organic matter in the chelating process are pH dependent, and generally a more alkaline soil will be less affected by high Cu levels. In addition to organic matter application, lime may also be added in order to raise the pH and aid the process by which Cu is removed. Other benefits are also derived from soil organic matter application in addition to soil remediation. Organic matter improves soil structure, exchange capacity, and water holding content. Application of organic matter is thus a viable option for restoring toxic Cu soils. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Two studies analyzed impacts of writing and receiving web-mediated peer reviews on revision of research reports by undergraduate science students. After conducting toxicology experiments, 77 students posted draft reports and exchanged double-blind reviews. The first study randomly assigned students to four groups representing full, partial, or no peer review. Students engaging in any aspect of peer review made more revisions than students confined to reviewing their own reports. In the second study, all students engaged in peer review, and the influence of writing versus receiving critiques was analyzed using linear regression. Both studies showed receiving reviews to be more significant than writing them in terms of triggering report revisions. Students valued the peer review experience and credited it with giving them insights about their work. Conclusions address implications for optimal design of online peer review systems and for further research into student learning gains.

Previous studies have suggested toxic effects of recreational ecstasy use on the serotonin system of the brain. However, it cannot be excluded that observed differences between users and non-users are the cause rather than the consequence of ecstasy use. As part of the Netherlands XTC Toxicity (NeXT) study, we prospectively assessed sustained effects of ecstasy use on the brain in novel ecstasy users using repeated measurements with a combination of different neuroimaging parameters of neurotoxicity. At baseline, 188 ecstasy-naive volunteers with high probability of first ecstasy use were examined. After a mean period of 17 months follow-up, neuroimaging was repeated in 59 incident ecstasy users and 56 matched persistent ecstasy-naives and their outcomes were compared. Neuroimaging included [[superscript 123]I]Beta-carbomethoxy-3Beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane (CIT) SPECT to measure serotonin transporter densities as indicators of serotonergic function; [superscript 1]H-MR spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H-MRS) to measure brain metabolites as indicators of neuronal damage; diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to measure the apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the diffusional motion of water molecules in the brain as indicators of axonal integrity; and perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) to measure regional relative cerebral blood volume (rrCBV) which indicates brain perfusion. With this approach, both structural ([superscript 1]H-MRS and DTI) and functional ([[superscript 123]I]Beta-CIT SPECT and PWI) aspects of neurotoxicity were combined. Compared to persistent ecstasy-naives, novel low-dose ecstasy users (mean 6.0, median 2.0 tablets) showed decreased rrCBV in the globus pallidus and putamen; decreased FA in thalamus and frontoparietal white matter; increased FA in globus pallidus; and increased apparent diffusion coefficient in the thalamus. No changes in serotonin transporter densities and brain metabolites were observed. These findings suggest sustained effects of ecstasy on brain microvasculature, white matter maturation and possibly axonal damage due to low dosages of ecstasy. Although we do not know yet whether these effects are reversible or not, we cannot exclude that ecstasy even in low doses is neurotoxic to the brain.

Given the commonness of pets in communities throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia, among other countries, pet stewardship should be a natural topic of study for the integration of science, mathematics, and technology. Therefore, the term "stewardship" will be examined by applying observation and research to shape our behaviors and raise our students' awareness of pet ownership. After completing the interdisciplinary lessons in this article, it should be evident that our responsibility for our pets begins at home. (Contains 6 figures and 1 resource.)