Masters of Fate or Victims of Circumstances? Connecting Communication Centers with Locus of Control

Longstanding research correlates locus of control (LOC)— the sense of self-empowerment (internal orientation) versus feeling influenced by events others control (external orientation)—with self-motivation, persistence, high academic achievement, and workplace success. In study 1, undergraduate peer tutors (n = 31) at a midsize, doctoral-granting, minority-serving university completed a variant of the teacher locus of control (TLOC) survey, which measures the degree of internal/external LOC orientation in educational settings. In study 2,communication center supervisors (n = 12) and undergraduate peer tutors (n = 13) from 14 institutions nationwide completed a qualitative survey describing how they approach consultations with student clientele.The studies found: (1) Supervisors exhibited slightly higher external LOC than peer tutors, indicating a keener sense of restrictions on their personal agency and deferring more to specific procedures as solutions to challenging situations. (2) Small but statistically significant correlations were found between a tutor’s self-identified race and LOC orientation. White tutors more readily attributed levels of achievement to the nature of the student (external LOC); non-white tutors treated achievement levels more as products of the consultation techniques (internal LOC). (3) Qualitative data show that communication center personnel must balance the tensions between different LOC orientations, perhaps by ranging across the continuum from highly internal to highly external

Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits

Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting for environment in genetic analyses. Our results suggest that tobacco smoking may alter the genetic susceptibility to overall adiposity and body fat distribution.Peer reviewe

Locus of Control Synergies in New Language Learning and Cultural Adaptation: A Communication Center Perspective

This study documents how students learning English as a second language exhibit various levels of internal and external locus of control in their learning process. Focus group interviews were conducted with 21 non-native English speakers from seven nations enrolled in an intensive English language learning program at a mid-size research university in the southeastern United States. All participants engaged regularly in conversational practice at the university’s oral communication center. Participants were asked about the processes they used for learning English and what their sources of motivation were. Thematic content analysis revealed that internal and external locus of control tended to operate synergistically in the process of learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. Motivation to initiate and persist in new language acquisition emerged from a blend of personal agency, inspiration from family and teachers, and social exigencies. The dynamic interplay between internal and external locus of control challenges common portrayals of these dimensions as antagonistic. Learners often range across levels of internal and external orientations, suggesting need to reconsider characterizations of internality primarily as an enhancer and externality primarily as an inhibitor of learning

Rational Design, synthesis, and evaluation of a key analogues of CC-1065 and the duocarmycins.

12The design, synthesis, and evaluation of a predictably more potent analogue of CC-1065 entailing the substitution replacement of a single skeleton atom in the alkylation subunit are disclosed and were conducted on the basis of design principles that emerged from a fundamental parabolic relationship between chemical reactivity and cytotoxic potency. Consistent with projections, the 7-methyl-1,2,8,8a-tetrahydrocyclopropa[ c]thieno[3,2-e]indol-4-one (MeCTI) alkylation subunit and its isomer 6-methyl-1,2,8,8a-tetrahydrocyclopropa[ c]thieno[2,3-e]indol-4-one (iso-MeCTI) were found to be 5-6 times more stable than the MeCPI alkylation subunit found in CC-1065 and slightly more stable than even the DSA alkylation subunit found in duocarmycin SA, placing it at the point of optimally balanced stability and reactivity for this class of antitumor agents.nonemixedMARK S. TICHENOR; KAREN S. MACMILLAN; JAMES S. STOVER; SCOTT E. WOLKENBERG; MARIA G. PAVANI; LORENZO ZANELLA; ABDEL N. ZAID; SPALLUTO G.; THOMAS J. RAYL; INKYU HWANG; PIER GIOVANNI BARALDI; DALE L. BOGERMARK S., Tichenor; KAREN S., Macmillan; JAMES S., Stover; SCOTT E., Wolkenberg; MARIA G., Pavani; Lorenzo, Zanella; ABDEL N., Zaid; Spalluto, Giampiero; THOMAS J., Rayl; Inkyu, Hwang; PIER GIOVANNI, Baraldi; DALE L., Boge

Growth Hormone Decreases Visceral Fat and Improves Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Women with Hypopituitarism: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

Context: Data regarding gender-specific efficacy of GH on critical endpoints are lacking. There are no randomized, placebo-controlled studies of physiological GH therapy solely in women