Hazardous Noise Level Measured in a Dental Clinic: A Comprehensive Study

This project intends to determine the amount of long term noise exposure to dentists in the modern-day dental environment. By systematically conducting noise collection within a standard dental environment, the institution can identify ways to minimize the amount of noise within the dental environment. This will provide new instruments and or resources to dentists to mitigate the overall risk of dental health professionals in relation to hearing loss over time

Binding moral values gain importance in the presence of close others

A key function of morality is to regulate social behavior. Research suggests moral values may be divided into two types: binding values, which govern behavior in groups, and individualizing values, which promote personal rights and freedoms. Because people tend to mentally activate concepts in situations in which they may prove useful, the importance they afford moral values may vary according to whom they are with in the moment. In particular, because binding values help regulate communal behavior, people may afford these values more importance when in the presence of close (versus distant) others. Five studies test and support this hypothesis. First, we use a custom smartphone application to repeatedly record participants’ (n = 1166) current social context and the importance they afforded moral values. Results show people rate moral values as more important when in the presence of close others, and this effect is stronger for binding than individualizing values—an effect that replicates in a large preregistered online sample (n = 2016). A lab study (n = 390) and two preregistered online experiments (n = 580 and n = 752) provide convergent evidence that people afford binding, but not individualizing, values more importance when in the real or imagined presence of close others. Our results suggest people selectively activate different moral values according to the demands of the situation, and show how the mere presence of others can affect moral thinking

Applying the Huntington’s Disease Integrated Staging System (HD-ISS) to Observational Studies

Background: The Huntington’s Disease Integrated Staging System (HD-ISS) has four stages that characterize disease progression. Classification is based on CAG length as a marker of Huntington’s disease (Stage 0), striatum atrophy as a biomarker of pathogenesis (Stage 1), motor or cognitive deficits as HD signs and symptoms (Stage 2), and functional decline (Stage 3). One issue for implementation is the possibility that not all variables are measured in every study, and another issue is that the stages are broad and may benefit from progression subgrouping./ Objective: Impute stages of the HD-ISS for observational studies in which missing data precludes direct stage classification, and then define progression subgroups within stages./ Methods: A machine learning algorithm was used to impute stages. Agreement of the imputed stages with the observed stages was evaluated using graphical methods and propensity score matching. Subgroups were defined based on descriptive statistics and optimal cut-point analysis./ Results: There was good overall agreement between the observed stages and the imputed stages, but the algorithm tended to over-assign Stage 0 and under-assign Stage 1 for individuals who were early in progression./ Conclusion: There is evidence that the imputed stages can be treated similarly to the observed stages for large-scale analyses. When imaging data are not available, imputation can be avoided by collapsing the first two stages using the categories of Stage≤1, Stage 2, and Stage 3. Progression subgroups defined within a stage can help to identify groups of more homogeneous individuals.

Synthesis and characterization of chiral ionic liquids based on quinine, l-proline and l-valine for enantiomeric recognition

The separation of enantiomers remains a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. In this work, eight chiral ionic liquids (CILs) directly derived from the ‘chiral pool’ were synthesized and characterized in order to develop enantioselective systems, for the chiral resolution. According to their chiral cations, three different groups of CILs were prepared, namely based on quinine, L-proline and L-valine, and their enantiomeric recognition ability evaluated. For that purpose the diastereomeric interactions between a racemic mixture of Mosher's acid sodium salt and each CIL were studied using 19 F NMR spectroscopy. The remarkable chemical shift dispersion induced by some CILs demonstrates their potential application in chiral resolution. Additionally the optical rotation, thermophysical properties and ecotoxicity against the marine bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri of these chiral ionic liquids were addressed.publishe

The institutional shaping of management: in the tracks of English individualism

Globalisation raises important questions about the shaping of economic action by cultural factors. This article explores the formation of what is seen by some as a prime influence on the formation of British management: individualism. Drawing on a range of historical sources, it argues for a comparative approach. In this case, the primary comparison drawn is between England and Scotland. The contention is that there is a systemic approach to authority in Scotland that can be contrasted to a personal approach in England. An examination of the careers of a number of Scottish pioneers of management suggests the roots of this systemic approach in practices of church governance. Ultimately this systemic approach was to take a secondary role to the personal approach engendered by institutions like the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but it found more success in the different institutional context of the USA. The complexities of dealing with historical evidence are stressed, as is the value of taking a comparative approach. In this case this indicates a need to take religious practice as seriously as religious belief as a source of transferable practice. The article suggests that management should not be seen as a simple response to economic imperatives, but as shaped by the social and cultural context from which it emerges