Editors\u27 Message: A New Platform for Pedagogical Practices and Perspectives

At the heart of the University of Dayton’s mission lies a commitment to learning, scholarship, and excellence in teaching, along with a dedication to sharing and implementing new knowledge across disciplines and among members of our diverse educational community. With these values in mind, Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (RRLTHE) is an exciting opportunity for colleagues at UD to join forces and form a community of scholars committed to promoting learning and teaching

Constructing a Composite Leading Indicator of Economic Activity in Greece

Given the significance of being able to obtain early insights into the path of total economic activity, the extraction and use of information out of indicators exhibiting leading properties becomes particularly important. In this article, we construct a composite leading indicator of Greek economic activity using selected individual indicators featuring leading properties, including business expectation indices. We apply a dynamic factor model and investigate the growth forecasting ability of the derived leading indicator within a bivariate VAR specification. We use data covering the January 2000-December 2013 period, and hence, take into account the economic recession the Greek economy is still undergoing. The evidence supports the use of both hard and soft indicators for the construction of the composite leading indicator. The latter appears to possess satisfactory leading properties with regard to forecasting growth, as indicated by in-sample and out-of-sample analysis. JEL Classification: C32, C53, E3

Inflammation on the cervical papanicolaou smear: Evidence for infection in asymptomatic women?

Background. The significance of the possible presence of infection on the Pap smear of asymptomatic women based on cytological criteria is practically unknown. Materials and Methods. A total of 1117 asymptomatic nonpregnant women had Pap smear tests and vaginal as well as cervical cultures completed (622 with and 495 without inflammation on the Pap smear). Results. Out of the 622 women with inflammation on Pap test, 251 (40.4%) had negative cultures (normal flora present), while 371 (59.6%) women had positive cultures with different pathogens. In contrast, the group of women without inflammation on Pap test displayed significantly increased percentage of negative cultures (67.1%, P < 0.001) and decreased percentage of positive cultures (32.9%, P < 0.001). Bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed more frequently in both groups and significantly more in the group with inflammation on Pap smear compared to the group without inflammation (P < 0.02). Conclusions. A report of inflammatory changes on the cervical Pap smear cannot be used to reliably predict the presence of a genital tract infection, especially in asymptomatic women. Nevertheless, the isolation of different pathogens in about 60% of the women with inflammation on the Pap smear cannot be overlooked and must be regarded with concern. © 2013 Stavroula Baka et al

The impact of nocturnal hypertension and nondipping status on left ventricular mass: A cohort study

Objective Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring provides a unique tool in the evaluation of night-time blood pressure (BP), having a critical role in the detection of a blunted nocturnal fall and of elevated night-time BP. Both nondipping status and nocturnal hypertension are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and target organ damage. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of both nondipping status and nocturnal hypertension on left ventricular mass (LVM), assessed by means of echocardiography in a consecutive cohort of untreated participants. Methods A total of 937 individuals were assessed by means of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiography. Participants were divided into dippers and nondippers with or without systolic nocturnal hypertension (SNH). SNH was defined as night-time systolic blood pressure of 120 mmHg or more, and nondipping status was defined as an average reduction in systolic blood pressure at night less than 10% compared with the daytime BP. Results Dippers and nondippers with SNH presented significantly higher values of left ventricular mass index compared with dippers and nondippers without SNH, respectively. Multiple regression analysis revealed that age (β=0.182, P<0.001), male gender (β=0.168, P<0.001), body mass index (β=0.080, P=0.011), and nocturnal SBP (β=0.174, P=0.037) were significant and independent determinants of LVM. Nondipping status was not found as an independent factor associated with LVM (P=0.136). Conclusion Nocturnal hypertension rather than nondipping status seems to be an independent factor associated with left ventricular mass index. The concomitant presence of both nondipping status and nocturnal hypertension is associated with higher LVM, indicating an enhanced cardiovascular risk. © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc

Correlation of visfatin levels and lipoprotein lipid profiles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing ovarian stimulation

The aim of this study was to determine serum and follicular fluid (FF) visfatin levels in age and weight-matched women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and normally ovulating subjects undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation and correlate them with their lipid and lipoprotein levels. We included 80 PCOS women (40 lean and 40 overweight) and 80 age- and weight-matched controls, enrolled in the IVF program. In PCOS women, we determined significantly increased serum and FF visfatin as well as serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a) and homocysteine, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 were significantly lower compared to controls. Serum visfatin levels positively correlated with total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoprotein(a) and homocysteine levels and negatively with apolipoprotein A1. FF visfatin levels positively correlated with triglycerides and homocysteine and negatively with apolipoprotein A1. Dyslipidemia is common in reproductive age women with PCOS exposing them to risk for cardiovascular diseases. However, the detailed role of visfatin on lipoprotein lipid profile awaits further clarification through future investigation. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted