Adult learners' satisfaction and its relation to characteristics of the individual and the educational institution

This article explores satisfactory learning experiences of adult learners in Flemish formal adult education. Satisfaction is an important issue in motivational psychology. We used the Comprehensive Lifelong Learning Participation Model of Boeren, Nicaise and Baert and explored whether satisfactory experiences relate to characteristics of the individual and/or characteristics of the educational institution. Results revealed that satisfactory learning experiences relate strongly to perceptions of classroom environment.status: publishe

Theoretical models of participation in adult education:The need for an integrated model

The European Union has set a goal that by 2010, 12.5% of the working age population should be taking part in lifelong learning. This participation rate has not yet been achieved in many countries. A partial explanation is the fact that the decision to participate depends on a variety of factors at three levels: the individual; the educational provisions; and the socio‐economic context, including the regulating authorities. The authors of this article provide insights into the matching process in the educational market, discussing the relevant literature on this issue, including the modelling used in the research literature. In the final section of the article, the authors present an outline of an integrated model of participation in adult education, aimed at creating a better understanding of the complexity of participation and the factors that affect the three levels of the educational market

Why do adults learn? Developing a motivational typology across 12 European countries

Participation in adult education is today generally considered an individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments. This paper explores the motives of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries. Analysis shows consistent patterns comparable to welfare state typologies. Further exploration demonstrates that motives to participate in adult education courses can be interpreted in relation to the labour market, education and social policy in the country of participation.status: publishe

A Glucanase Gene Cosegregates with a QTL for Crown Rust Resistance in \u3cem\u3eL. Perenne\u3c/em\u3e

An important disease in Lolium spp. is crown rust caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia coronata. In order to study the genetic background of crown rust resistance in L. perenne, a mapping study was carried out and is discussed below. To identify genomic regions or genes involved in resistance, STS markers are extremely useful. This candidate gene approach was applied in the present study

Individual and Multi Vortex Pinning in Systems with Periodic Pinning Arrays

We examine multi and individual vortex pinning in thin superconductors with periodic pinning arrays. For multi-vortex pinning we observe peaks in the critical current of equal magnitude at every matching field, while for individual vortex pinning we observe a sharp drop in the critical current after the first matching field in agreement with experiments. We examine the scaling of the critical current at commensurate and incommensurate fields for varied pinning strength and show that the depinning force at incommensurate fields decreases faster than at the commensurate fields.Comment: 4 figuure

Commensurate and Incommensurate Vortex States in Superconductors with Periodic Pinning Arrays

As a function of applied field, we find a rich variety of ordered and partially-ordered vortex lattice configurations in systems with square or triangular arrays of pinning sites. We present formulas that predict the matching fields at which commensurate vortex configurations occur and the vortex lattice orientation with respect to the pinning lattice. Our results are in excellent agreement with recent imaging experiments on square pinning arrays [K. Harada et al., Science 274, 1167 (1996)].Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to Physical Review

Developing an advanced module for back-contact solar cells

This paper proposes a novel concept for integrating ultrathin solar cells into modules. It is conceived as a method for fabricating solar panels starting from back-contact crystalline silicon solar cells. However, compared to the current state of the art in module manufacturing for back-contact solar cells, this novel concept aims at improvements in performance, reliability, and cost through the use of an alternative encapsulant, namely silicones as opposed to ethylene vinyl acetate, an alternative deposition technology, being wet coating as opposed to dry lamination; and alternative module-level metallization techniques, as opposed to cell-level tabbing-stringing or conductive foil interconnects. The process flow is proposed, and the materials and fabrication technologies are discussed. As the durability of the module, translated into the module's lifetime, is very important in the targeted application, namely solar cell modules, modeling and reliability testing results and considerations are presented to illustrate how the experimental development process may be guided by experience and theoretical derivations. Finally, feasibility is demonstrated in some first proofs of the concept, and an outlook is given pointing out the direction for further research

Frustration and Melting of Colloidal Molecular Crystals

Using numerical simulations we show that a variety of novel colloidal crystalline states and multi-step melting phenomena occur on square and triangular two-dimensional periodic substrates. At half-integer fillings different kinds of frustration effects can be realized. A two-step melting transition can occur in which individual colloidal molecules initially rotate, destroying the overall orientational order, followed by the onset of interwell colloidal hopping, in good agreement with recent experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 postscript figures. Procedings of International Conference on Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems, Santa Fe, 200

Opposite macrophage polarization in different subsets of ovarian cancer: observation from a pilot study

The role of the innate immune system in ovarian cancer is gaining importance. The relevance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) is insufficiently understood. In this pilot project, comprising the immunofluorescent staining of 30 biopsies taken from 24 patients with ovarian cancer, we evaluated the presence of total TAM (cluster of differentiation (CD) 68 expression), M1 (major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II expression), and M2 (anti-mannose receptor C type 1 (MRC1) expression), and the blood vessel diameter. We observed a high M1/M2 ratio in low-grade ovarian cancer compared to high-grade tumors, more total TAM and M2 in metastatic biopsies, and a further increase in total TAM and M2 at interval debulking, without beneficial effects of bevacizumab. The blood vessel diameter was indicative for M2 tumor infiltration (Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.65). These data mainly reveal an immune beneficial environment in low-grade ovarian cancer in contrast to high-grade serous ovarian cancer, where immune suppression is not altered by neoadjuvant therapy