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California has experienced a dry 21(st) century capped by severe drought from 2012 through 2015 prompting questions about hydroclimatic sensitivity to anthropogenic climate change and implications for the future. We address these questions using a Holocene lake sediment record of hydrologic change from the Sierra Nevada Mountains coupled with marine sediment records from the Pacific. These data provide evidence of a persistent relationship between past climate warming, Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) shifts and centennial to millennial episodes of California aridity. The link is most evident during the thermal-maximum of the mid-Holocene (~8 to 3 ka; ka = 1,000 calendar years before present) and during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) (~1 ka to 0.7 ka). In both cases, climate warming corresponded with cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific despite differences in the factors producing increased radiative forcing. The magnitude of prolonged eastern Pacific cooling was modest, similar to observed La Niña excursions of 1(o) to 2 °C. Given differences with current radiative forcing it remains uncertain if the Pacific will react in a similar manner in the 21st century, but should it follow apparent past behavior more intense and prolonged aridity in California would result.

Despite a plethora of research on the academic misconduct carried out by U.S. high school and undergraduate university students, little research has been done on the academic misconduct of Canadian students. This paper addresses this shortcoming by presenting the results of a study conducted at 11 Canadian higher education institutions between January 2002 and March 2003. We maintain that academic misconduct does indeed occur in Canada--amongst high school, undergraduate and graduate students. Common self-reported behaviours were as follows: working on an assignment with others when asked for individual work, getting questions and answers from someone who has already taken a test, copying a few sentences of material without footnoting, fabricating or falsifying lab data, and receiving unauthorized help on an assignment. Possible factors associated with these behaviours include student maturity, perceptions of what constitutes academic misconduct, faculty assessment and invigilation practices, low perceived risk, ineffective and poorly understood policies and procedures, and a lack of education on academic misconduct. Canadian educational institutions are encouraged to address these issues, beginning with a recommitment to academic integrity. (Contains 4 tables and 5 notes.)

Research suggests that the majority of U.S. undergraduate students have engaged in some form of misconduct while completing their academic work, despite knowing that such behaviour is ethically or morally wrong. U.S.-based studies have also identified myriad personal and institutional factors associated with academic misconduct. Implicit in some of these factors are several institutional strategies that may be implemented to support academic integrity: revisiting the values and goals of higher education, recommitting to quality in teaching and assessment practice, establishing effective policies and invigilation practices, providing educational opportunities and support for all members of the university community, and using (modified) academic honour codes. There is a dearth of similar research in Canada despite growing recognition that academic misconduct is a problem on Canadian campuses. This paper suggests that Canadian higher education can learn much from the U.S. experience and calls for both a recommitment to academic integrity and research on academic misconduct in Canadian higher education institutions.

Aims Long QT syndrome type 2 (LQTS2) is associated with inherited variants in the cardiac human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) K+ channel. However, the pathogenicity of hERG channel gene variants is often uncertain. Using CRISPR–Cas9 gene-edited hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), we investigated the pathogenic mechanism underlying the LQTS-associated hERG R56Q variant and its phenotypic rescue by using the Type 1 hERG activator, RPR260243. Methods and results The above approaches enable characterization of the unclear causative mechanism of arrhythmia in the R56Q variant (an N-terminal PAS domain mutation that primarily accelerates channel deactivation) and translational investigation of the potential for targeted pharmacologic manipulation of hERG deactivation. Using perforated patch clamp electrophysiology of single hiPSC-CMs, programmed electrical stimulation showed that the hERG R56Q variant does not significantly alter the mean action potential duration (APD90). However, the R56Q variant increases the beat-to-beat variability in APD90 during pacing at constant cycle lengths, enhances the variance of APD90 during rate transitions, and increases the incidence of 2:1 block. During paired S1–S2 stimulations measuring electrical restitution properties, the R56Q variant was also found to increase the variability in rise time and duration of the response to premature stimulations. Application of the hERG channel activator, RPR260243, reduces the APD variance in hERG R56Q hiPSC-CMs, reduces the variability in responses to premature stimulations, and increases the post-repolarization refractoriness. Conclusion Based on our findings, we propose that the hERG R56Q variant leads to heterogeneous APD dynamics, which could result in spatial dispersion of repolarization and increased risk for re-entry without significantly affecting the average APD90. Furthermore, our data highlight the antiarrhythmic potential of targeted slowing of hERG deactivation gating, which we demonstrate increases protection against premature action potentials and reduces electrical heterogeneity in hiPSC-CMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since their inception, North American universities have struggled with balancing their dual mandates of research and teaching. Over the past twenty years or so these activities have become increasingly polarized, with research activity (particularly that which brings in additional money) being given an ever more privileged and prestigious position. This point was made clear in the oft cited Smith Report, which concluded that "teaching is seriously undervalued in Canadian universities and nothing less than a total recommitment to it is required." The same point was also made at a recent Roundtable, held at the University of Guelph, which brought together educational specialists from across the country to explore the possibility of meaningfully integrating research and teaching in Canadian post-secondary education (PSE). This article identifies some of the reasons why the divide between research and teaching continues to exist; the importance of integrating research, teaching, and learning activities within PSE; and possible steps that might be taken in support of this important objective. (Contains 7 notes.)

It has been suggested that growing interest in curriculum assessment and development in higher education is the result of a number of external and internal factors. External factors include increasing government interest in quality assurance, accessibility, and degree completion rates; growing recognition of the important role university graduates play in fueling innovation, economic growth, and contributing to the quality of society; and the desire for enhanced interinstitutional cooperation in the form of degree credit transfer. Internal influences include growing interest on the part of faculty, educational developers, students, and administrators in improving the quality and relevance of the higher education experience--at institutional, faculty or college, and program or department levels--in particular through the development of learning-centered curricula, interdisciplinary programs, and constructivist pedagogical approaches. Given all of these influences and pressures, the author argues that increased curriculum assessment and development activities are both essential and inevitable. This article presents the reasons for this trend, frameworks for engaging in such processes, and lessons learned. It also identifies significant implications for the faculty role along with significant implications for institutional support.

This case study of a model facilities planning process used at the University of Guelph shows how engagement of users and sound principles can lead to effective action. (EV)