A comparison of the critical thinking dispositions of arts and non-arts undergraduates

This study investigates the variance in critical thinking dispositions between arts and non-arts undergraduates using quantitative data from the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), a survey instrument. Data were collected from a sample of 141 undergraduates at a large, urban, public university on the east coast. The population consisted of four groups: freshmen non-arts students, freshmen arts students, junior and senior non-arts students, and junior and senior arts students.;of the four groups which were compared, the junior and senior arts subjects showed the greatest mean total score on the CCTDI. This mean was significantly higher than that of freshmen non-arts students. Junior and senior arts students were also found to have significantly higher mean scores on several of the CCTDI subscales.;A consensus of findings in research literature on higher education and critical thinking indicate that an inquiry-based curriculum positively influences gains in critical thinking in undergraduates. Research shows, as well, that learning in the arts is largely inquiry-based. The synthesis of those findings and the results of this study indicate that exposure to learning in the arts positively influences students\u27 disposition to think critically

Becoming-Bertha: virtual difference and repetition in postcolonial 'writing back', a Deleuzian reading of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

Critical responses to Wide Sargasso Sea have seized upon Rhys’s novel as an exemplary model of writing back. Looking beyond the actual repetitions which recall Brontë’s text, I explore Rhys’s novel as an expression of virtual difference and becomings that exemplify Deleuze’s three syntheses of time. Elaborating the processes of becoming that Deleuze’s third synthesis depicts, Antoinette’s fate emerges not as a violence against an original identity. Rather, what the reader witnesses is a series of becomings or masks, some of which are validated, some of which are not, and it is in the rejection of certain masks, forcing Antoinette to become-Bertha, that the greatest violence lies

A Twin Study of Metabolic Syndrome and Autonomic Tone

One possible mechanism of higher cardiovascular mortality associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) may be through abnormal modulation in autonomic tone

Common Genes Contribute to Depressive Symptoms and Heart Rate Variability:The Twins Heart Study

Depression and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) are predictors of coronary artery disease (CAD), and highly correlated with each other. However, little is known to what extend this correlation can be explained by common genetic components. We examined 198 middle-aged male twins (121 monozygotic and 77 dizygotic) from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Current depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and HRV was assessed on 24-hour electrocardiographic Holter recordings. Five frequency domain variables were used, including ultra low frequency (ULF), very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and total power (TPow). Structural equation modeling was used to estimate shared genetic effects for depressive symptoms and the HRV frequency domains. Both depressive symptoms (h(2)=.5) and all measurements of HRV showed high heritability (h(2)=.43-.63). A significant inverse correlation was found between depressive symptoms and all HRV indices except LF and HF, with the highest coefficient (r) for TPow (r = -.24, P = .01) and ULF (r = -.24, P = .01). Bivariate genetic modeling revealed significant genetic correlations between depressive symptoms and TPow (r(A) = -.21, P = .04), as well as ULF (r(A) = -.23, P = .02). Of the total covariance between depressive symptoms and these two HRV indices, over 80% was due to the same genetic factors. In conclusion, depressive symptoms are associated with decreased HRV and this association is due, in large part, to a shared genetic effect. These results suggest that a common neurobiological dysfunction links depression and autonomic dysregulation

A twin study of metabolic syndrome and autonomic tone.

Introduction: One possible mechanism of higher cardiovascular mortality associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) may be through abnormal modulation in autonomic tone. Methods and Results: We examined the association between the MetS and autonomic tone as measured by heart rate variability (HRV) among 288 twins from the Twins Heart Study (THS). Of the 288 participants, 151 (52%) had the MetS. The MetS was associated with decreased HRV across all frequency ranges, and each additional MetS risk factor was associated with lower HRV. After adjustment for several potential confounders, very-low frequency (P < 0.001), low frequency (P < 0.001), and total power (P = 0.02) spectra of HRV remained significantly lower in twins with a progressively higher number of MetS components (18–50% decrease comparing twins with 5 risk factors to those with no risk factors). Among 87 twin pairs who were discordant for the number of MetS components, a one-unit increment in MetS components was associated with an 8% smaller very-low frequency (p = 0.03) and a 15% smaller low frequency spectrum (P = 0.002) comparing each twin with his brother. Conclusion: MetS was associated with lower HRV in a well-characterized sample of middle-aged male twins. This association persisted even after controlling for genetic and shared environmental factors accounted for by comparison within twin pairs. Abnormalities of autonomic tone, as evidenced by lower HRV, may be partly responsible for the higher rate of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, cardiac death, and overall mortality seen in patients with the MetS

The Association between Nocturnal Cardiac Arrhythmias and Sleep-Disordered Breathing: The DREAM Study

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with cardiac arrhythmia in a clinic-based population with multiple cardiovascular comorbidities and severe SDB. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 697 veterans who underwent polysomnography for suspected SDB. SDB was categorized according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI): none (AHI < 5), mild (5 ≥ AHI < 15), and moderate-severe (AHI ≥ 15). Nocturnal cardiac arrhythmias consisted of: (1) complex ventricular ectopy, (CVE: non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, bigeminy, trigeminy, or quadrigeminy), (2) combined supraventricular tachycardia, (CST: atrial fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia), (3) intraventricular conduction delay (ICD), (4) tachyarrhythmias (ventricular and supraventricular), and (5) any cardiac arrhythmia. Unadjusted, adjusted logistic regression, and Cochran-Armitage testing examined the association between SDB and cardiac arrhythmias. Linear regression models explored the association between hypoxia, arousals, and cardiac arrhythmias. RESULTS: Compared to those without SDB, patients with moderate-severe SDB had almost three-fold unadjusted odds of any cardiac arrhythmia (2.94; CI 95%, 2.01-4.30; p < 0.0001), two-fold odds of tachyarrhythmias (2.16; CI 95%,1.47-3.18; p = 0.0011), two-fold odds of CVE (2.01; 1.36-2.96; p = 0.003), and two-fold odds of ICD (2.50; 1.58-3.95; p = 0.001). A linear trend was identified between SDB severity and all cardiac arrhythmia subtypes (p value linear trend < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, BMI, gender, and cardiovascular diseases, moderate-severe SDB patients had twice the odds of having nocturnal cardiac arrhythmias (2.24; 1.48-3.39; p = 0.004). Frequency of obstructive respiratory events and hypoxia were strong predictors of arrhythmia risk. CONCLUSIONS: SDB is independently associated with nocturnal cardiac arrhythmias. Increasing severity of SDB was associated with an increasing risk for any cardiac arrhythmia