2,763 research outputs found
Reactions to Skill Assessment: The Forgotten Factor in Explaining Motivation to Learn
This study examined the effects of trainees’ reactions to skill assessment on their motivation to learn. A model was developed that suggests that two dimensions of trainees’ assessment reactions – distributive justice and utility – influence training motivation and overall training effectiveness. The model was tested using a sample of individuals (N = 113) enrolled in a truck driving training program. Results revealed that trainees’ who perceived higher levels of distributive justice and utility had higher motivation to learn. Training motivation was found to significantly predict several measures of training effectiveness. Trainees’ performance on the pre-training assessment and trait goal orientation exhibited direct and interactive effects on their reactions to the skill assessment. Implications of these findings for future research on reactions to skill assessments are identified along with the practical implications for the design and conduct of training needs assessment
A reaction-diffusion model of cholinergic retinal waves
Prior to receiving visual stimuli, spontaneous, correlated activity called
retinal waves drives activity-dependent developmental programs. Early-stage
waves mediated by acetylcholine (ACh) manifest as slow, spreading bursts of
action potentials. They are believed to be initiated by the spontaneous firing
of Starburst Amacrine Cells (SACs), whose dense, recurrent connectivity then
propagates this activity laterally. Their extended inter-wave intervals and
shifting wave boundaries are the result of the slow after-hyperpolarization of
the SACs creating an evolving mosaic of recruitable and refractory cells, which
can and cannot participate in waves, respectively. Recent evidence suggests
that cholinergic waves may be modulated by the extracellular concentration of
ACh. Here, we construct a simplified, biophysically consistent,
reaction-diffusion model of cholinergic retinal waves capable of recapitulating
wave dynamics observed in mice retina recordings. The dense, recurrent
connectivity of SACs is modeled through local, excitatory coupling occurring
via the volume release and diffusion of ACh. In contrast with previous,
simulation-based models, we are able to use non-linear wave theory to connect
wave features to underlying physiological parameters, making the model useful
in determining appropriate pharmacological manipulations to experimentally
produce waves of a prescribed spatiotemporal character. The model is used to
determine how ACh mediated connectivity may modulate wave activity, and how the
noise rate and sAHP refractory period contributes to critical wave size
variability.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figure
Explicit constructions of RIP matrices and related problems
We give a new explicit construction of matrices satisfying the
Restricted Isometry Property (RIP). Namely, for some c>0, large N and any n
satisfying N^{1-c} < n < N, we construct RIP matrices of order k^{1/2+c}. This
overcomes the natural barrier k=O(n^{1/2}) for proofs based on small coherence,
which are used in all previous explicit constructions of RIP matrices. Key
ingredients in our proof are new estimates for sumsets in product sets and for
exponential sums with the products of sets possessing special additive
structure. We also give a construction of sets of n complex numbers whose k-th
moments are uniformly small for 1\le k\le N (Turan's power sum problem), which
improves upon known explicit constructions when (\log N)^{1+o(1)} \le n\le
(\log N)^{4+o(1)}. This latter construction produces elementary explicit
examples of n by N matrices that satisfy RIP and whose columns constitute a new
spherical code; for those problems the parameters closely match those of
existing constructions in the range (\log N)^{1+o(1)} \le n\le (\log
N)^{5/2+o(1)}.Comment: v3. Minor correction
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A postsynaptic PI3K-cII dependent signaling controller for presynaptic homeostatic plasticity.
Presynaptic homeostatic plasticity stabilizes information transfer at synaptic connections in organisms ranging from insect to human. By analogy with principles of engineering and control theory, the molecular implementation of PHP is thought to require postsynaptic signaling modules that encode homeostatic sensors, a set point, and a controller that regulates transsynaptic negative feedback. The molecular basis for these postsynaptic, homeostatic signaling elements remains unknown. Here, an electrophysiology-based screen of the Drosophila kinome and phosphatome defines a postsynaptic signaling platform that includes a required function for PI3K-cII, PI3K-cIII and the small GTPase Rab11 during the rapid and sustained expression of PHP. We present evidence that PI3K-cII localizes to Golgi-derived, clathrin-positive vesicles and is necessary to generate an endosomal pool of PI(3)P that recruits Rab11 to recycling endosomal membranes. A morphologically distinct subdivision of this platform concentrates postsynaptically where we propose it functions as a homeostatic controller for retrograde, trans-synaptic signaling
Streamflow response to increasing precipitation extremes altered by forest management
Published (Publication status
100 Years of Training and Development Research: What We Know and Where We Should Go
Training and development research has a long tradition within applied psychology dating back to the early 1900’s. Over the years, not only has interest in the topic grown but there have been dramatic changes in both the science and practice of training and development. In the current article, we examine the evolution of training and development research using articles published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) as a primary lens to analyze what we have learned and to identify where future research is needed. We begin by reviewing the timeline of training and development research in JAP from 1918 to the present in order to elucidate the critical trends and advances that define each decade. These trends include the emergence of more theory-driven training research, greater consideration of the role of the trainee and training context, examination of learning that occurs outside the classroom, and understanding training’s impact across different levels of analysis. We then examine in greater detail the evolution of four key research themes: training criteria, trainee characteristics, training design and delivery, and the training context. In each area, we describe how the focus of research has shifted over time and highlight important developments. We conclude by offering several ideas for future training and development research
The Immune Regulatory Function of Lymphoproliferative Double Negative T Cells In Vitro and In Vivo
Lymphoproliferative (lpr) mice, which lack functional Fas receptor expression and develop autoimmune lymphoproliferative disease, have an accumulation of T cell receptor-αβ+CD4−CD8− (double negative T cells [DNTC]) in the periphery. The function of the accumulating DNTC is not clear. In this study we demonstrate that B6/lpr DNTC can dose dependently kill syngeneic CD8+ and CD4+ T cells from wild-type B6 mice through Fas/Fas ligand interactions in vitro. We also demonstrate that B6/lpr DNTC that are activated and expand in vivo are able to specifically down-regulate allogeneic immune responses mediated by syngeneic Fas+CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in vivo. B6/lpr DNTC that have been preactivated in vivo by infusion of either class I– (bm1) or class II– (bm12) mismatched allogeneic lymphocytes are able to specifically enhance the survival of bm1 or bm12, but not third-party skin allografts when adoptively transferred into naive B6+/+ mice. These findings clearly demonstrate that B6/lpr DNTC have a potent immune regulatory function in vitro and in vivo. They also provide new insights into the mechanisms involved in the development of autoimmune disease in lpr mice
Longitudinal Sex Differences During Landing in Knee Abduction in Young Athletes
Purpose—
The objective of this study was to determine if biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors related to abnormal movement patterns increased in females, but not males, during the adolescent growth spurt.
Methods—
315 subjects participated in two testing sessions approximately one year apart. Male and female subjects were classified based on their maturation status as pubertal or post-pubertal.Three trials of a drop vertical jump (DVJ) were collected. Maximum knee abduction angle and external moments were calculated during the DVJ deceleration phase using a 3D motion analysis system. Changes in knee abduction from the first to second year were compared among four subject groups (female pubertal, female post-pubertal, male pubertal and male post-pubertal).
Results—
There were no sex differences in peak knee abduction angle or moment during DVJ between pubertal males and females (p\u3e0.05). However, pubertal females increased peak abduction angle from the first to second year (pp=0.90) in the matched developmental stages. Following puberty, the peak abduction angle and moment were greater in females relative to males (angle: female -9.3±5.7°, male -3.6±4.6°, pp=0.017).
Conclusion—
This study identified, through longitudinal analyses, that knee abduction angle was significantly increased in pubertal females during rapid adolescent growth, while males showed no similar change. In addition, knee abduction motion and moments were significantly greater for subsequent year in young female athletes, following rapid adolescent growth, compared to males
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