The Interaction Between Perfectionism and Rumination Predicting State Self-compassion

Recent research has revealed self-compassion to be associated with many aspects of mental wellness. The present study investigates the relationship between perfectionism and rumination in predicting state self-compassion separately for both conscientious and self-evaluative forms of perfectionism. We hypothesized that perfectionism would interact with rumination in predicting state self-compassion such that there would be a negative association between occurrence of rumination and state-self compassion that would be more prominent in those with lower levels of perfectionism in regards to self-evaluative, but not conscientious perfectionism. To test these predictions, participants filled out a perfectionism inventory and completed a four minute ruminative (or non-ruminative) writing task before completing a sate self-compassion questionnaire. Although we found no significant interaction between self-evaluative perfectionism and rumination, our results reveal self-evaluative perfectionism to be inversely related to state self-compassion such that people with lower levels of self-evaluative perfectionism generally experienced greater momentary states of self-compassion

LIF measurement of the diluting effect of surface waves on turbulent buoyant plumes.

In this paper, the diluting effect of surface waves on a buoyant plume has been measured using a Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique. The resulting time-averaged, full field concentration maps have allowed quantification of enhanced mixing due to surface waves as well as measurement of other plume parameters

Virtual Pitch and Pitch Shifts in Church Bells

It is well established that musical sounds comprising multiple partials with frequencies approximately in the ratio of small integers give rise to a strong sensation of pitch even if the lowest or fundamental partial is missing—the so-called virtual pitch effect. Experiments on thirty test subjects demonstrate that this virtual pitch is shifted significantly by changes in the spacing of the constituent partials. The experiments measured pitch by comparison of sounds of similar timbre and were automated so that they could be performed remotely across the Internet. Analysis of the test sounds used shows that the pitch shifts are not predicted by Terhardt’s classic model of virtual pitch. The test sounds used were modelled on the sounds of church bells, but a further experiment on seventeen test subjects showed that changes in partial amplitude only had a minor effect on the pitch shifts observed, and that a pitch shift was still observed when two of the lowest frequency partials were removed, so that the effects reported are of general interest

Risk factors for failure of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) in infective endocarditis

Objectives: To identify risk factors for failure of outpatient antibiotic therapy (OPAT) in infective endocarditis (IE). Patients and methods: We identified IE cases managed at a single centre over 12 years from a prospectively maintained database. ‘OPAT failure’ was defined as unplanned readmission or antibiotic switch due to adverse drug reaction or antibiotic resistance. We analysed patient and disease-related risk factors for OPAT failure by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. We also retrospectively collected follow-up data on adverse disease outcome (defined as IE-related death or relapse) and performed Kaplan–Meier survival analysis up to 36 months following OPAT. Results: We identified 80 episodes of OPAT in IE. Failure occurred in 25/80 episodes (31.3%). On multivariate analysis, cardiac or renal failure [pooled OR 7.39 (95% CI 1.84–29.66), P = 0.005] and teicoplanin therapy [OR 8.69 (95% CI 2.01–37.47), P = 0.004] were independently associated with increased OPAT failure. OPAT failure with teicoplanin occurred despite therapeutic plasma levels. OPAT failure predicted adverse disease outcome up to 36 months (P = 0.016 log-rank test). Conclusions: These data caution against selecting patients with endocarditis for OPAT in the presence of cardiac or renal failure and suggest teicoplanin therapy may be associated with suboptimal OPAT outcomes. Alternative regimens to teicoplanin in the OPAT setting should be further investigated

Partial frequencies and Chladni’s law in church bells

The rim partials of a church bell (those with an antinode at the soundbow) generate the strike pitch or perceived note of the bell. The spacing in frequency of the higher rim partials has an important effect on the tonal quality of the bell. Investigations into the partial frequencies of 2752 bells, both bronze and steel, of a wide variety of dates, founders and sizes, show a simple and unexpected relationship between the frequencies of the rim partials. This relationship explains why attempts to tune the higher rim partials independently have failed. A modified version of Chladni’s law provides insight into the musical relationship of the partials, and predicts the partials of individual bells well, but fails to give a simple model of the spacing between the partials seen in bells with different profiles

The global philanthropist: A qualitative donor analysis of international charitable giving in America

This paper presents the results of interviews with a selective sample of 21 international donors to examine the cause of their decision to donate internationally. Findings from this sample illustrate that international donors score higher on the scale of empathetic concern and identify with international causes through education, language, travel, and charitable solicitation from a trusted individual. Diaspora giving is also a significant factor in international charitable giving, as is the reputation and accountability of organizations. Findings determine that new international donors can be cultivated by examining the identification theory of care, empathy, religion and international orientation

INVESTIGATING HOW TIMING OF CASE STUDY PRESENTATION ON HUNTINGTON DISEASE INFLUENCES CONSTRUCTION OF ARGUMENT WARRANT WHILE LEARNING THE CENTRAL DOGMA OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

A common belief among pre-medical and medical students is that biochemistry is not relevant to practicing medicine. Among topics commonly taught in biochemistry, courses include the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, which is among the most critical science topics taught to medical students by biochemistry educators. Perceived irrelevance among students may be due to common curricular trends in biochemistry education. Many biochemistry courses are found at Research I (R1) universities that teach biochemistry using traditional lectures with little evidence of supporting learning with real-world applications. Instructors commonly assume that students can make realworld connections independently during lecture courses, but it is difficult for students to establish such connections unless explicit examples are available. The objective of this dissertation is to find how the timing of a medical case study presentation can support learning the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology among undergraduate learners. Specifically, the dissertation seeks to identify how real-world learning situations can support students’ reasoning skills while constructing scientific arguments. This dissertation utilized a mixed-methods approach to analyze learning outcomes and reasoning during argument construction in an advanced genetics course at an R1 university that utilizes case studies. A published medical case reported on the diagnosis of Huntington Disease in a child was provided to students (n=19). Students were able to select if they wanted to review the case study before or during class. The CBL+ group reviewed the case study before class, and the CBL- group was presented the case study during class. Overall, there was no significant difference in preand posttest scores using the Central Dogma Concept Inventory and self-efficacy between CBL+ and CBL- groups. However, learning gains were present in additional open-response tasks added to the pre- and post- tests. Students demonstrated foundational knowledge about the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, and it appears that foundational knowledge remained consistent, but the CBL+ group began to develop a deeper understanding. The case study appeared to support both groups in applying the Central Dogma to real-world scenarios, but similar to trends in establishing foundational knowledge, the CBL+ group began to demonstrate deeper learning. Students’ small group discussion and written pre- and post- test responses were analyzed to observe argumentation. The CBL+ group tended to construct complete arguments on their posttest responses, with a noticeable increase of argument warrants compared to the CBL- group, in addition to more detailed supporting arguments. While argumentation was less frequently observed during small group discussion, no instances of argumentation were observed in the CBL- small group discussion. When students were asked to apply the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology to Huntington Disease, many students demonstrated increased understanding. Students in the CBL+ group demonstrated increased instances on argument construction and reasoning. In contrast, the CBL- group experienced minimal student interaction. Case studies appear to support student learning, but the timing of case study presentation influences argument construction and learning interactions among peers