Learning environment, motivation and interest: Perspectives on self-determination theory

The relationship between university students' motivation and their learning environment is the focus of this article. Following self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of interest, it is proposed that perceived support of basic psychological needs (support of autonomy, competence and social relatedness), as well as aspects of a constructivist learning environment (teachers' interest, relevance of contents, and quality of instruction, as well as transparency and fit of requirements) are associated with self-determined motivation and with study interest. The responses of a sample of undergraduate students in psychology (N = 123) to measures of these variables were analysed. The students were asked about their motivation to learn, their interest in psychology and about the perceived learning environment in psychology. The results showed that most of the students were motivated on an intrinsic and identified level, and displayed high study interest. Study interest, intrinsic motivation and self-determined forms of extrinsic motivation were particularly associated with perceived support of autonomy and competence, as well as with the relevance of the contents, the quality of instruction and with the perceived transparency of requirements

Tailoring the mass distribution and functional group density of dimethylsiloxane-based films by thermal evaporation

The tailoring of molecular weight distribution and the functional group density of vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by molecular beam deposition is demonstrated herein. Thermally evaporated PDMS and its residue are characterized using gel permeation chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. Thermal fragmentation of vinyl groups occurs for evaporation temperatures above 487 K (214 degrees C). At a background pressure of 10(-6) mbar, the maximum molecular weight distribution is adjusted from (700 +/- 100) g/mol to (6100 +/- 100) g/mol with a polydispersity index of 1.06 +/- 0.02. The content of vinyl-termination per repeating unit of PDMS is tailored from (2.8 +/- 0.2)% to (5.6 +/- 0.1)%. Molecular weights of vinyl-terminated PDMS evaporated at temperatures above 388 K (115 degrees C) correspond to those attributed to trimethyl-terminated PDMS. Side groups of linear PDMS dominate intermolecular interactions and vapor pressure

Social Mobilization in Partisan Spaces

Three decades ago Huckfeldt and Sprague hypothesised that partisan context constrains information sharing between neighbours. We develop their theory to identify implications for campaign mobilisation in homogeneous and mixed-partisan contexts. We argue that GOTV spillover effects should vary with the proportion of rival party supporters in a neighbourhood. Based on two samples of households that were either included or excluded pre-random assignment from a street-level GOTV experiment, we test this expectation of differential spillover effects. We estimate neighbourhood party preferences based on targeting data made available by the UK Labour Party. We find that spillover effects on party supporters are smaller in neighbourhoods that include larger shares of rival party supporters. Rival partisans are mobilised in mixed partisan neighbourhoods where the probability of spillovers from mixed partisan households is higher. This paper extends Huckfeldt and Sprague’s theory, and demonstrates the importance of social dynamics for parties’ campaign strategies

An enolase inhibitor for the targeted treatment of ENO1-deleted cancers

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp21/1197/thumbnail.jp

Strategies for feeding the world more sustainably with organic agriculture

The authors are grateful for the inputs from Caterina Batello, Jan Breithaupt, Carlo Cafiero, Marianna Campeanu, Reto Cumani, Rich Conant, Piero Conforti, Marie-Aude Even, Karen Franken, Andreas Gattinger, Pierre Gerber, Frank Hayer, Jippe Hoogeven, Stefan Hörtenhuber, Mathilde Iweins, John Lantham, Robert Mayo, Eric Meili, Soren Moller, Jamie Morrison, Alexander Müller, Noemi Nemes, Monica Petri, Tim Robinson, Nicolas Sagoff, Henning Steinfeld, Francesco Tubiello, Helga Willer, and thank Robert Home for checking the language. KHE gratefully acknowledges funding from ERC-2010-Stg-263522 (LUISE). The input of PS contributes to the DEVIL project (NE/M021327/1), funded under the Belmont Forum / FACCE-JPI. This paper contributes to the Global Land Project (www.globallandproject.org). The authors acknowledge funding for open access publication by the Institute of Environmental Decisions, Federal Institutes of Technology, Zurich.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Potential and effects of personalizing gameful fitness applications using behavior change intentions and Hexad user types

Personalizing gameful applications is essential to account for interpersonal differences in the perception of gameful design elements. Considering that an increasing number of people lead sedentary lifestyles, using personalized gameful applications to encourage physical activity is a particularly relevant domain. In this article, we investigate behavior change intentions and Hexad user types as factors to personalize gameful fitness applications. We first explored the potential of these two factors by analyzing differences in the perceived persuasiveness of gameful design elements using a storyboards-based online study (N=178). Our results show several significant effects regarding both factors and thus support the usefulness of them in explaining perceptual differences. Based on these findings, we implemented “Endless Universe,” a personalized gameful application encouraging physical activity on a treadmill. We used the system in a laboratory study (N=20) to study actual effects of personalization on the users’ performance, enjoyment and affective experiences. While we did not find effects on the immediate performance of users, positive effects on user experience-related measures were found. The results of this study support the relevance of behavior change intentions and Hexad user types for personalizing gameful fitness systems further

Effect of annealing treatments on photoluminescence and charge storage mechanism in silicon-rich SiNx:H films

In this study, a wide range of a-SiNx:H films with an excess of silicon (20 to 50%) were prepared with an electron-cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system under the flows of NH3 and SiH4. The silicon-rich a-SiNx:H films (SRSN) were sandwiched between a bottom thermal SiO2 and a top Si3N4 layer, and subsequently annealed within the temperature range of 500-1100°C in N2 to study the effect of annealing temperature on light-emitting and charge storage properties. A strong visible photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature has been observed for the as-deposited SRSN films as well as for films annealed up to 1100°C. The possible origins of the PL are briefly discussed. The authors have succeeded in the formation of amorphous Si quantum dots with an average size of about 3 to 3.6 nm by varying excess amount of Si and annealing temperature. Electrical properties have been investigated on Al/Si3N4/SRSN/SiO2/Si structures by capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage analysis techniques. A significant memory window of 4.45 V was obtained at a low operating voltage of ± 8 V for the sample containing 25% excess silicon and annealed at 1000°C, indicating its utility in low-power memory devices

Scalable transient gene expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells in instrumented and non-instrumented cultivation systems

Cell expansion, gene transfer and protein production were all executed with a single serum-free, animal protein-free commercial medium designed for suspension-adapted Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO DG44). This is a most important process to consider for clinical production of recombinant proteins. The transfection with polyethylenimine (PEI) was shown here to be scalable using both stirred-tank bioreactors of 3- and 150-l and novel agitated cultivation vessels (50ml ventilated centrifuge tubes and 1-l square-shaped glass bottles) that lack any instrumentation. The transient transfections spanned a range of working volumes from 2ml to 80l. The maximum transient recombinant antibody yield was 22mg/l, the highest ever reported for a multiliter transfection in CHO. The transiently expressed protein had the same extent of glycosylation as the same antibody produced from a stably transfected recombinant CHO cell lin

Forebrain CRF₁ modulates early-life stress-programmed cognitive deficits

Childhood traumatic events hamper the development of the hippocampus and impair declarative memory in susceptible individuals. Persistent elevations of hippocampal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), acting through CRF receptor 1 (CRF1), in experimental models of early-life stress have suggested a role for this endogenous stress hormone in the resulting structural modifications and cognitive dysfunction. However, direct testing of this possibility has been difficult. In the current study, we subjected conditional forebrain CRF1 knock-out (CRF1-CKO) mice to an impoverished postnatal environment and examined the role of forebrain CRF1 in the long-lasting effects of early-life stress on learning and memory. Early-life stress impaired spatial learning and memory in wild-type mice, and postnatal forebrain CRF overexpression reproduced these deleterious effects. Cognitive deficits in stressed wild-type mice were associated with disrupted long-term potentiation (LTP) and a reduced number of dendritic spines in area CA3 but not in CA1. Forebrain CRF1 deficiency restored cognitive function, LTP and spine density in area CA3, and augmented CA1 LTP and spine density in stressed mice. In addition, early-life stress differentially regulated the amount of hippocampal excitatory and inhibitory synapses in wild-type and CRF1-CKO mice, accompanied by alterations in the neurexin-neuroligin complex. These data suggest that the functional, structural and molecular changes evoked by early-life stress are at least partly dependent on persistent forebrain CRF1 signaling, providing a molecular target for the prevention of cognitive deficits in adults with a history of early-life adversity