Measuring Moral Reasoning using Moral Dilemmas: Evaluating Reliability, Validity, and Differential Item Functioning of the Behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT)

We evaluated the reliability, validity, and differential item functioning (DIF) of a shorter version of the Defining Issues Test-1 (DIT-1), the behavioral DIT (bDIT), measuring the development of moral reasoning. 353 college students (81 males, 271 females, 1 not reported; age M = 18.64 years, SD = 1.20 years) who were taking introductory psychology classes at a public University in a suburb area in the Southern United States participated in the present study. First, we examined the reliability of the bDIT using Cronbach’s α and its concurrent validity with the original DIT-1 using disattenuated correlation. Second, we compared the test duration between the two measures. Third, we tested the DIF of each question between males and females. Findings reported that first, the bDIT showed acceptable reliability and good concurrent validity. Second, the test duration could be significantly shortened by employing the bDIT. Third, DIF results indicated that the bDIT items did not favour any gender. Practical implications of the present study based on the reported findings are discussed

Effects of Paclobutrazol and its method of application on the growth and transpiration of Acacia Mangium Seedlings

Ten-week-old potted A. mangium seedlings were subjected to a growth retardant, paclobutrazol (PP333), at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 4 and 12 gil. Four methods of application were tested namely S, soil drenching at week 0; F1, foliar spray (potting soil protected from chemical) at week 0; F2, foliar spray (potting soil protected from chemical) at week 0 and 6; and S+F, soil and foliar spray (potting soil exposed to chemical spray) at week O. Plants were harvested after 12 weeks for various growth measurements. Height and leaf area increments, transpiration and stomatal conductance were monitored at weekly intervals. Paclobutrazol was found to be effective in reducing root and shoot growth, transpiration and stomatal conductance of the seedlings. Treated plants had higher root to shoot ratios. The effects of the chemical increased with increasing concentration and frequency of application for the foliar spray. The chemical was most effective when applied through the soil either l7y drenching (S) or soil and foliar spray (S+F)

Affordable Health Care Keeps Children and Families Healthy

The health of young children is negatively affected when parents have to forego health care for themselves or other adult members of the household or when parents have to forego payment of household expenses in order to pay for health care

Children of Immigrants: Healthy Beginnings Derailed by Food Insecurity

Children of immigrants are the fastest growing child population in the United States. More than 20 percent of children under age six have immigrant parents; approximately 93 percent of these children are American citizens.Of the children who are non-citizens, two-thirds will grow up to become citizens, playing a critical role in our nation's future

Information exchange on an academic social networking site: A multidiscipline comparison on researchgate Q&A

The increasing popularity of academic social networking sites (ASNSs) requires studies on the usage of ASNSs among scholars and evaluations of the effectiveness of these ASNSs. However, it is unclear whether current ASNSs have fulfilled their design goal, as scholars' actual online interactions on these platforms remain unexplored. To fill the gap, this article presents a study based on data collected from ResearchGate. Adopting a mixed-method design by conducting qualitative content analysis and statistical analysis on 1,128 posts collected from ResearchGate Q&A, we examine how scholars exchange information and resources, and how their practices vary across three distinct disciplines: library and information services, history of art, and astrophysics. Our results show that the effect of a questioner's intention (i.e., seeking information or discussion) is greater than disciplinary factors in some circumstances. Across the three disciplines, responses to questions provide various resources, including experts' contact details, citations, links to Wikipedia, images, and so on. We further discuss several implications of the understanding of scholarly information exchange and the design of better academic social networking interfaces, which should stimulate scholarly interactions by minimizing confusion, improving the clarity of questions, and promoting scholarly content management

Investigating perceptions and support for transparency and openness in research: Using card sorting in a pilot study with academic librarians

This paper explores the role of academic librarians as advocates for research transparency and open research. We describe the design and piloting of a qualitative card-sorting research protocol that investigates academic librarians' attitudes, awareness and practices related to research transparency. We report on preliminary results from interviews with librarians, presenting their conceptualizations of research transparency and open research, existing library services that support and advocate for both concepts, and potential services that would augment this support and advocacy. Library activities they feel are most important to the advancement of transparency and openness are identified and perceptions of disciplinary differences are noted

Hair cell maturation is differentially regulated along the tonotopic axis of the mammalian cochlea

Sound amplification within the mammalian cochlea depends upon specialized hair cells, the outer hair cells (OHCs), which possess both sensory and motile capabilities. In various altricial rodents, OHCs become functionally competent from around postnatal day 7 (P7), before the primary sensory inner hair cells (IHCs), which become competent at about the onset of hearing (P12). The mechanisms responsible for the maturation of OHCs and their synaptic specialization remain poorly understood. We report that spontaneous Ca2+ activity in the immature cochlea, which is generated by CaV1.3 Ca2+ channels, differentially regulates the maturation of hair cells along the cochlea. Under near‐physiological recording conditions we found that, similar to IHCs, immature OHCs elicited spontaneous Ca2+ action potentials (APs), but only during the first few postnatal days. Genetic ablation of these APs in vivo, using CaV1.3−/− mice, prevented the normal developmental acquisition of mature‐like basolateral membrane currents in low‐frequency (apical) hair cells, such as IK,n (carried by KCNQ4 channels), ISK2 and IACh (α9α10nAChRs) in OHCs and IK,n and IK,f (BK channels) in IHCs. Electromotility and prestin expression in OHCs were normal in CaV1.3−/− mice. The maturation of high‐frequency (basal) hair cells was also affected in CaV1.3−/− mice, but to a much lesser extent than apical cells. However, a characteristic feature in CaV1.3−/− mice was the reduced hair cell size irrespective of their cochlear location. We conclude that the development of low‐ and high‐frequency hair cells is differentially regulated during development, with apical cells being more strongly dependent on experience‐independent Ca2+ APs

Physiological and immunoblot analyses of a nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-like protein of pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Nitric oxide (NO) functions as a signal molecule in different biological processes in plants, including disease resistance. Its production is related to nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The application of chemicals that induce systemic resistance in plants did not induce NOS activity in pea, suggesting that NO functions upstream of salicylic acid (SA) in the signaling pathway of defense responses in plants. NOS activity was induced in both the incompatible and compatible interactions of pea with Ralstonia solanacearum and Pseudomonas syringae pv pisi, respectively, between 3 h to 6 h post-infiltration, indicating that NOS was involved in both resistance and disease development responses in pea. Antibodies raised against mammalian NOS did not have specificity in detecting a NOS-like protein in pea, suggesting that the pea NOS-like protein could be structurally different from mammalian NOS, and immunodetection of a plant NOS-like protein must be conducted with caution and verified with functional assays