Teaching Matters: Essays by UMF Faculty

Essays by faculty at the University of Maine at Farmington.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1086/thumbnail.jp

The Life of Sir Charles Scarburgh

Biography of Sir Charles Scarburgh (c. 1615-1694) and discussion of his contributions to the history of mathematics

Bonaventura Cavalieri and the CSHPM Logo

Two years after the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics was founded in 1974, the society selected as its logo an image from Bonaventura Cavalieri\u27s 1635 publication, Geometrica Indivisibilibus Continuorum nova quadam ratione promota (Geometry, Advanced by a New Method through Indivisibles of the Continua). This article briefly discusses the context and importance of this image in the history and philosophy of mathematics

Some Original Sources for Modern Tales of Thales

This article will provide a brief outline of some stories about Thales of Miletus that often appear in modern publications, tracing each item back to the oldest existing historical sources. Interactive applets illustrate methods of measurement attributed to Thales

Early microbial markers of periodontal and cardiometabolic diseases in ORIGINS.

Periodontitis affects up to 50% of individuals worldwide, and 8.5% are diagnosed with diabetes. The high-comorbidity rate of these diseases may suggest, at least in part, a shared etiology and pathophysiology. Changes in oral microbial communities have been documented in the context of severe periodontitis and diabetes, both independently and together. However, much less is known about the early oral microbial markers of these diseases. We used a subset of the ORIGINS project dataset, which collected detailed periodontal and cardiometabolic information from 787 healthy individuals, to identify early microbial markers of periodontitis and its association with markers of cardiometabolic health. Using state-of-the-art compositional data analysis tools, we identified the log-ratio of Treponema to Corynebacterium bacteria to be a novel Microbial Indicator of Periodontitis (MIP), and found that this MIP correlates with poor periodontal health and cardiometabolic markers early in disease pathogenesis in both subgingival plaque and saliva

Nitrite Generating and Depleting Capacity of the Oral Microbiome and Cardiometabolic Risk: Results from ORIGINS.

Background The enterosalivary nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide (NO3-NO2-NO) pathway generates NO following oral microbiota-mediated production of salivary nitrite, potentially linking the oral microbiota to reduced cardiometabolic risk. Nitrite depletion by oral bacteria may also be important for determining the net nitrite available systemically. We examine if higher abundance of oral microbial genes favoring increased oral nitrite generation and decreased nitrite depletion is associated with a better cardiometabolic profile cross-sectionally. Methods and Results This study includes 764 adults (mean [SD] age 32 [9] years, 71% women) enrolled in ORIGINS (Oral Infections, Glucose Intolerance, and Insulin Resistance Study). Microbial DNA from subgingival dental plaques underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing; PICRUSt2 was used to estimate functional gene profiles. To represent the different components and pathways of nitrogen metabolism in bacteria, predicted gene abundances were operationalized to create summary scores by (1) bacterial nitrogen metabolic pathway or (2) biochemical product (NO2, NO, or ammonia [NH3]) formed by the action of the bacterial reductases encoded. Finally, nitrite generation-to-depletion ratios of gene abundances were created from the above summary scores. A composite cardiometabolic Z score was created from cardiometabolic risk variables, with higher scores associated with worse cardiometabolic health. We performed multivariable linear regression analysis with cardiometabolic Z score as the outcome and the gene abundance summary scores and ratios as predictor variables, adjusting for sex, age, race, and ethnicity in the simple adjusted model. A 1 SD higher NO versus NH3 summary ratio was inversely associated with a -0.10 (false discovery rate q=0.003) lower composite cardiometabolic Z score in simple adjusted models. Higher NH3 summary score (suggestive of nitrite depletion) was associated with higher cardiometabolic risk, with a 0.06 (false discovery rate q=0.04) higher composite cardiometabolic Z score. Conclusions Increased net capacity for nitrite generation versus depletion by oral bacteria, assessed through a metagenome estimation approach, is associated with lower levels of cardiometabolic risk

Inpatriate marketing managers: Issues associated with staffing global marketing positions

This article addresses the strategic role of an inpatriate marketing staffing approach in the development of a global marketing mind-set within global organizations. The premise lies in addressing the liability-of-foreignness concept, which, the authors suggest, impedes the inpatriate marketing manager’s integration process, from the individual level of analysis. Drawing from reference point theory, the article highlights potential hardships manages face with an analysis of the managerial and contextual liability of foreignness that inpatriate marketing managers may perceive in their transition from home countries to headquarter locations. Implications of identifying and attending to such hardships are important in light of the significance attributed to these semipermanent to permanent assignments across different cultural contexts