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Artificial intelligence (AI) first made its entry into higher education in the form of paraphrasing tools. These tools were used to take passages that were copied from sources, and through various methods, disguised the original text to avoid academic integrity violations. At first, these tools were not very good and produced nearly incomprehensible output. However, through the use of generative artificial intelligence and natural language processing, the current engines supporting these tools have become better and more efficient at producing quality output. Recently, the artificial intelligence research company, OpenAI, developed a groundbreaking artificial intelligence engine to drive a conversational chat frontend application called ChatGPT. Backed by an expansive knowledge base that could rival any university library in volume, this AI-driven conversational application can produce well-written, seemingly academic, responses to questions. This paper examines text-based artificial intelligence tools that can be used for both ethical and unethical purposes and what simple methods can be used to recognize AI-generated output whose use may indicate plagiarism.

OBJECTIVES: Mint oil is used in various commercial applications world-wide. Mint oil is typically harvested from commercial clones of peppermint or spearmints. Spearmints are the product of a cross between two diploid species: Mentha longifolia (horse mint) and Mentha suaveolens (apple mint). Peppermints are the product of an additional hybridization step between spearmint and an octoploid Mentha aquatica (water mint). Here, we present a chromosome-scale assembly of the genome of a clone of M. suaveolens. Together with the previously assembled genome of M. longifolia, these assemblies are instrumental in addressing questions regarding the origins of spearmint and peppermint oil and the genomic composition of commercial spearmints, and to start elaborating strategies for mint cultivar improvement. DATA DESCRIPTION: A Falcon assembly of the genome of M. suaveolens was generated from 103X coverage of PacBio long reads. Additional scaffolding was conducted by Dovetail Genomics, using a Chicago library, and a HiC library. The resulting assembly had an N50 of 44.7 Mb, and 98.45% of the 536 Mb of the assembly were contained within 12 large superscaffolds. Finally, a genetic map was applied to correct persistent misjoins. Illumina RNA-Seq libraries from a variety of tissues were used to annotate the genome.

Social scientists should be more deliberate in how they define and measure government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The authors highlight key distinctions among three dimensions of climate policy: the commitments made by governments, the actions that governments take, and the outcomes they produce. In turn, the authors detail the challenges of measuring these dimensions, and discuss the tradeoffs of alternative measurement strategies, including how well they meet the accepted standards for measurement validity. The authors also identify promising avenues for further research.

High-throughput sequencing-based methods for bulked segregant analysis (BSA) allow for the rapid identification of genetic markers associated with traits of interest. BSA studies have successfully identified qualitative (binary) and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using QTL mapping. However, most require population structures that fit the models available and a reference genome. Instead, high-throughput short-read sequencing can be combined with BSA of k-mers (BSA-k-mer) to map traits that appear refractory to standard approaches. This method can be applied to any organism and is particularly useful for species with genomes diverged from the closest sequenced genome. It is also instrumental when dealing with highly heterozygous and potentially polyploid genomes without phased haplotype assemblies and for which a single haplotype can control a trait. Finally, it is flexible in terms of population structure. Here, we apply the BSA-k-mer method for the rapid identification of candidate regions related to seed spot and seed size in diploid potato. Using a mixture of F1 and F2 individuals from a cross between 2 highly heterozygous parents, candidate sequences were identified for each trait using the BSA-k-mer approach. Using parental reads, we were able to determine the parental origin of the loci. Finally, we mapped the identified k-mers to a closely related potato genome to validate the method and determine the genomic loci underlying these sequences. The location identified for the seed spot matches with previously identified loci associated with pigmentation in potato. The loci associated with seed size are novel. Both loci are relevant in future breeding toward true seeds in potato.

The purpose of this design case was to document rigorously the process and decisions made during the development of a five-day, pre-semester virtual orientation for International Graduation Teaching Assistants (IGTAs) and their domestic counterparts, teaching in an English as a Second Language Composition (ESLC) Program of a large land-grant university. The design was grounded in a front-end analysis as well as a theoretical framework comprising Crenshaw's (1989) Intersectionality and Wenger's (1998) Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) theory. These theories were leveraged to focus the design on IGTAs' educator identity development and their linguistic and cultural marginalization. VCoP theory provided a practical architecture for the virtual learning environment with its three modes of belonging (i.e., "engagement," "imagination," and "alignment") as well as several enabling structures (i.e., "support," "sponsorship," and "recognition"). The design intended to purposefully engage IGTAs in social practices and dialogue that would support their sense of belonging and educator identity. While significance can be extracted from the pre-planned, explicit alignment of certain design elements with the modes of belonging, precedent can also be derived from elements that emerged during the design process.

In sign languages, gazing towards one's interlocutor is necessary to perceive the language visually. Proficient signers have been found to look at their interlocutor's face, rather than hands, while communicating in ASL. We investigated signers' looks to the face vs. hands while perceiving ASL signs, fingerspelled words, pseudo signs, and fingerspelled pseudowords. Participants' gaze was monitored as they viewed a picture followed by a short, isolated video clip of the corresponding sign or fingerspelled word. We found that participants tended to look at the face more than the hands when perceiving signs vs. pseudosigns, and when perceiving signs vs. fingerspelled words. Age of acquisition did not significantly impact gaze patterns. Results suggest that sign perceivers actively adjust their allocation of gaze based on the perceptual demands of the input.

Conversations between people are characterized by complex nonlinear combinations of nonverbal and neurocognitive responses complementing the words that are spoken. New tools are needed to integrate these multimodal components into coherent models of conversation. We present a study and analysis pipeline for integrating multimodal measures of conversation. Data were collected using video recordings and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a portable neuroimaging technology, during dyadic conversations among strangers (N=70 dyads). Rather than running discrete analyses of neural and nonverbal data, we introduce a pipeline to combine time series data from each modality into multimodal deep neural networks (DNNs) – including channel-based fNIRS signals and OpenFace data that quantifies facial expressions over time – using S2S-RNN-Autoencoders. We explored two measures to examine the resulting t-SNE space: distance and synchrony. We found that across the dimensions integrating neural and nonverbal input features, conversing dyads tend to stay closer together than permuted pairs. Dyads exhibit significantly higher synchrony in their covariation in this space compared to permuted pairs. The results suggest a mixed methodological integration may contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of communication.

Abstract Background Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant genetic condition that carries increased risk for premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular events, and death. Due to low uptake of evidence-based practices, up to 80% of FH patients remain undiagnosed and most are undertreated. This project aimed to understand patient and clinician perceptions across the care pathway of evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of FH, to inform implementation strategy design for two clinical trials seeking to increase evidence-based care. Methods With input from FH experts, we identified key points along the FH care pathway that might be targeted with broad-scale implementation efforts, including: (a) identification of the need for screening; (b) completion of screening test(s); (c) diagnosis; (d) connection to treatment; and (e) family cascade screening (a process used to identify and screen relatives of individuals diagnosed with FH). Then, we conducted qualitative interviews with patients who had participated in a prior FH quality improvement initiative and with clinicians who treat high cholesterol. We analyzed data using thematic analysis. Results We interviewed 21 patients and 17 clinicians. Patient themes offered insights related to the impact of family history, reactions to a diagnosis of high cholesterol and/or FH, experiences with FH treatment and clinical care, perceptions of tools to diagnose FH, motivations and preferences for FH screening efforts, and reactions to family screening. Clinician themes offered insights into the perceived value of FH screening and diagnosis, current FH-related practice and context, and attitudes toward tools to aid clinical practice. In both sets of interviews, confusion and misconceptions about what makes FH unique and its clinical implications were common, as were concerns about logistics and competing priorities. Conclusion Qualitative inquiry generated insights into several modifiable patient and clinician determinants of engagement with evidence-based implementation along the FH care pathway, many of which can be targeted with behavioral economics strategies that simplify complex decisions and by addressing informational and emotional needs. These findings offer actionable insights to inform future implementation research that seeks to close the evidence-to-practice gap in diagnosis and delivery of evidence-based care for FH.

Sejal M Bhavsar,1 Nisha Polavarapu,2 Emery Haley,3 Natalie Luke,3 Mohit Mathur,4 Xiaofei Chen,5 Jim Havrilla,5 David Baunoch,6 Kenneth Lieberman7 1Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA; 2Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA; 3Department of Clinical Research, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 4Department of Medical Affairs, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 5Department of Bioinformatics, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 6Department of Research and Development, Pathnostics, Irvine, CA, USA; 7Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USACorrespondence: David Baunoch, Pathnostics, 15545 Sand Canyon Suite 100, Irvine, CA, 92618, USA, Tel +1-714-966-1221, Fax +1-714-966-1231, Email dbaunoch@pathnostics.comObjective: To establish the noninferiority of the rapid and sensitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) method versus standard urine culture (SUC) in pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnostic testing.Methods: A United States of America (USA)-based single-center prospective observational study of 44 female and four male patients aged 3– 21 years old presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department in New Jersey with clinically suspected UTI. Urine specimens were primarily collected via midstream voiding. Patients with antibiotic exposure within the week prior to presentation were excluded. Patient demographic data, clinical manifestations, and urinalysis results were recorded. Noninferiority testing comparing M-PCR and SUC was conducted using a method for paired binary data, with a noninferiority margin set at 5%. Noninferiority was concluded if the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the difference in detection rates between M-PCR and SUC lies entirely to the right of the value minus the noninferiority margin. All statistical calculations were performed using Python 3.10.12.Results: The two methods were concordant in two-thirds of cases. Of the 14 M-PCR-positive/SUC-negative discordant specimens, 13 (93%) contained a fastidious and/or emerging uropathogen (A. urinae, A. schaalii, G. vaginalis, C. riegelii, U. urealyticum, Viridans group Streptococci (VGS), and/or Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS)). Neither symptom presentation nor urinalysis results differed significantly between participants with concordant positive results for UTI diagnosis and those with concordant negative results (non-UTI group).Conclusion: In this pediatric population, similar to previous findings in an older adult population, M-PCR established not only noninferiority but also superiority over SUC in detecting microorganisms in the urine.Keywords: symptoms, urinalysis, UTI, SUC, M-PCR, Guidance UTI