The Development of Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Students

This quantitative study investigated whether alternative instructional approaches to develop critical thinking, exemplified by different general education requirements in two different Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) institutions, impacted the development of critical thinking skills among undergraduate students. This study is framed by Ennis’s classification of general, infused, immersed, and mixed instructional approaches. St. Cloud State University and Winona State University, two MnSCU institutions, share a collective definition of critical thinking and a common goal of developing critical thinking in undergraduate students. St. Cloud State University and Winona State University do, however, differ in approaches to fulfilling the goal area of critical thinking. This study followed a stratified random sampling of non-transfer, third-year students at each institution. Participants completed the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z which measures the development of critical thinking in the areas of deduction, meaning and fallacies, observation and credibility of sources, induction (hypothesis testing), induction (planning experiments), definition and assumption identification, and assumption identification. The overall results of this study indicate students who did not complete a critical thinking course obtained a higher mean score on the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z than students who did complete a critical thinking course; however, the results of this study indicate the difference was not statistically significant

Preclinical Cushing's syndrome in adrenal incidentalomas

Adrenal tumors are usually diagnosed by clinical symptoms of hormone excess. The increasing use of ultrasound and computed tomography results in the detection of a substantial number of incidentally discovered adrenal tumors. Most of these tumors are nonfunctional adrenocortical adenomas, but a few cases of subclinical cortisol production in "incidentalomas" have been reported. We investigated prospectively the prevalence of autonomous cortisol production in 68 patients (44 females and 24 males, aged 25-90 yr) with adrenal incidentalomas at our institution. As a screening procedure all patients with incidentalomas underwent an overnight dexamethasone suppression test (1 mg). Patients who failed to suppress serum cortisol below 140 nmol/L (5 micrograms/dL) underwent more comprehensive studies (prolonged dexamethasone suppression test, determination of the diurnal rhythm of cortisol secretion in saliva, and CRH stimulation test). Eight patients (12% of all patients with incidentalomas; 5 females and 3 males, aged 25-71 yr) were finally identified as having cortisol- producing tumors, and the findings in these patients were compared with those of overt Cushing's syndrome in 8 patients (8 females, aged 26-50 yr) suffering from cortisol-producing adrenal adenomas. The tumor size of patients with cortisol-producing incidentalomas ranged from 2-5 cm. No specific signs and symptoms of hypercortisolism were present, but arterial hypertension (seven of eight subjects), diffuse obesity (four of eight subjects), and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM; two of eight subjects) were frequently observed. Baseline cortisol levels were in the normal to upper normal range, whereas baseline ACTH levels were suppressed in five of the eight patients. In none of the patients was serum cortisol suppressible by low dose or high dose dexamethasone. The ACTH and cortisol responses to CRH were normal in two, blunted in one, and suppressed in four patients. Unilateral adrenalectomy was performed in seven patients and resulted in temporary adrenal insufficiency in four of them. After surgery, improvement of arterial hypertension, a permanent weight loss in obese subjects, and a better metabolic control of NIDDM were noted in the majority of patients. The following conclusions were reached. Incidentally diagnosed adrenal tumors with pathological cortisol secretion in otherwise clinically asymptomatic patients are more frequently observed than previously assumed. Adrenocortical insufficiency is a major risk in these patients after adrenalectomy. After surgery, hypertension, obesity, and NIDDM may improve. Patients with asymptomatic adrenal incidentalomas, therefore, should be screened for cortisol production by means of an overnight dexamethasone suppression test

In situ sensors for measurements in the global trosposphere

Current techniques available for the in situ measurement of ambient trace gas species, particulate composition, and particulate size distribution are reviewed. The operational specifications of the various techniques are described. Most of the techniques described are those that have been used in airborne applications or show promise of being adaptable to airborne applications. Some of the instruments described are specialty items that are not commercially-available. In situ measurement techniques for several meteorological parameters important in the study of the distribution and transport of ambient air pollutants are discussed. Some remote measurement techniques for meteorological parameters are also discussed. State-of-the-art measurement capabilities are compared with a list of capabilities and specifications desired by NASA for ambient measurements in the global troposphere

The 1979 Southeastern Virginia Urban Plume Study (SEV-UPS): Surface and airborne studies

The operation of two surface monitoring stations (one in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, one south of the city near the Great Dismal Swamp) and the collection of 40 hours of airborne measurements is described. Surface site measurements of ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, temperature, dew point, b sub seat, and condensation nuclei were made. Instrument calibrations, quality assurance audits, and preliminary data analysis in support of the Urban Plume Study were also made. The air pollution problems that were addressed are discussed. Data handling procedures followed for the surface stations are presented. The operation of the aircraft sampling platform is described. Aircraft sampling procedures are discussed. A preliminary descriptive analysis of the aircraft data is given along with data or plots for surface sites, airborne studies, hydrocarbon species, and instrument performance audits. Several of the aircraft flights clearly show the presence of an urban ozone plume downwind of Norfolk in the direction of the mean wind flow

The Samar Sea, Philippines: a decade of devastation

Some of the major problems observed after 10 years that lead to resource degradation in Samar Sea are enumerated and discussed

The Samar Sea, Philippines: a decade of devastation

Exploitation, Commercial fishing, Marine resources, Man-induced effects, Samar Sea, Philippines,

ELEFAN I and II live on screen

Computer programs, Fish

Assessing DSM-5-oriented level of personality functioning:Development and psychometric evaluation of the Semi-Structured Interview for Personality Functioning DSM-5 (STiP-5.1)

The alternative model for personality disorders (AMPD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) features a Level of Personality Functioning Scale, measuring intrinsic personality processes that include identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy. This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of a semistructured interview schedule for the multi-item assessment of the level of personality functioning, the Semi-Structured Interview for Personality Functioning DSM-5 (STiP-5.1). Eighty patients and 18 community subjects completed the STiP-5.1. Patients additionally completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Severity Indices of Personality Problems, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II Personality Disorders. Good interrater reliability was observed in subsamples of patients (n = 40) and nonpatients (n = 18). Associations between the interview scores and conceptually relevant external measures consistently supported the construct validity of the instrument. The STiP-5.1 thus offers a brief, relatively user-friendly instrument with generally favorable psychometric properties for the assessment of level of personality functioning of the DSM-5 AMPD. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Evaluation of the bright greenish yellow fluorescence test as a screening technique for aflatoxin-contaminated maize in Malawi

The bright greenish yellow fluorescence (BGYF) test has been used with varying success in screening for aflatoxins in maize. This test was applied to 180 maize samples collected from different markets within 12 districts of Malawi in order to evaluate its performance against high performance liquid chromatographic analysis. The number of BGYF grains in 2.5 kg unground samples ranged from 0 to 35 and about 49% of all tested samples had aflatoxin concentrations ranging from 1 to 382 mu g/kg. A total of 65 (36%) of the examined unground samples showed no BGYF. The European Commission recommends a false negative rate of less than 5% for a screening technique to be acceptable. In this study, four BGYF grains per 2.5 kg unground maize sample successfully indicated an aflatoxin contamination of >10 mu g/kg (10 mu g/kg being the maxium tolerable level proposed by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), with a 4.4% false negative rate. In this case, the amount of confirmatory analyses would be reduced by 63%, if the BGYF test was employed as a screening method. The screening technique therefore offers a practical tool for Malawi and possibly for the Sub-Saharan region

Gamma and neutron detection modeling in the nuclear detection figure of merit (NDFOM) portal

The Nuclear Detection Figure Of Merit (NDFOM) portal is a database of objects and algorithms for evaluating the performance of radiation detectors to detect nuclear material. This paper describes the algorithms used to model the physics and mathematics of radiation detection. As a first-principles end-to-end analysis system, it starts with the representation of the gamma and neutron spectral fluxes, which are computed with the particle and radiation transport code MCNPX. The gamma spectra emitted by uranium, plutonium, and several other materials of interest are described. The impact of shielding and other intervening material is computed by the method of build-up factors. The interaction of radiation with the detector material is computed by a detector response function approach. The construction of detector response function matrices based on MCNPX simulation runs is described in detail. Neutron fluxes are represented in a three group formulation to treat differences in detector sensitivities to thermal, epithermal, and fast neutrons