A little autonomy support goes a long way. Daily autonomy-supportive parenting, child well-being, parental need fulfillment, and change in child, family, and parent adjustment across the adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examined the effects of daily parental autonomy support on changes in child behavior, family environment, and parental well-being across 3 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Day-to-day associations among autonomy-supportive parenting, parental need fulfillment, and child well-being were also assessed. Parents of school children (6–19 years) reported on adjustment measures at two measurement occasions and completed up to 21 daily online questionnaires in the weeks between these assessments. Results from dynamic structural equation models suggested reciprocal positive relations among autonomy-supportive parenting and parental need fulfillment. Daily parental autonomy support, parental need fulfillment, and child well-being partially predicted change in adjustment measures highlighting the central role of daily parenting for children’s adjustment during the pandemic. (DIPF/Orig.

Homeschooling während der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie. Die Rolle dispositioneller Selbstregulation und Eigenschaften täglicher Lernaufgaben für die tägliche Selbstregulation von Schüler*innen

As a means to counter the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, schools were closed throughout Germany between mid-March and end of April 2020. Schooling was translocated to the students\u27 homes where students were supposed to work on learning tasks provided by their teachers. Students\u27 self-regulation and attributes of the learning tasks may be assumed to have played important roles when adapting to this novel schooling situation. They may be predicted to have influenced students\u27 daily self-regulation and hence the independence with which they worked on learning tasks. The present work investigated the role of students\u27 trait self-regulation as well as task difficulty and task enjoyment for students\u27 daily independence from their parents in learning during the homeschooling period. Data on children\u27s trait self-regulation were obtained through a baseline questionnaire filled in by the parents of 535 children (Mage = 9.69, SDage = 2.80). Parents additionally reported about the daily task difficulty, task enjoyment, and students\u27 learning independence through 21 consecutive daily online questionnaires. The results showed students\u27 trait self-regulation to be positively associated with their daily learning independence. Additionally, students\u27 daily learning independence was shown to be negatively associated with task difficulty and positively with task enjoyment. The findings are discussed with regard to students\u27 daily self-regulation during the homeschooling period. Finally, implications for teaching practice during the pandemic-related school closures are derived. (DIPF/Orig.)Um die SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie einzudämmen, wurden zwischen Mitte März und Ende April 2020 deutschlandweit alle Schulen geschlossen. Während dieser Zeit wurden die Schüler*innen zu Hause beschult (\u27Homeschooling\u27) und arbeiteten an Lernaufgaben, die von ihren Lehrkräften bereitgestellt wurden. Bei der Anpassung an diese neuartige Beschulungssituation könnten sowohl die Selbstregulation der Schüler*innen als auch die Eigenschaften der Lernaufgaben eine wichtige Rolle gespielt haben. Es ist anzunehmen, dass diese insbesondere die tagtägliche Selbstregulation der Schüler*innen beim Bearbeiten der Lernaufgaben und damit die Selbstständigkeit, mit der sie an den Lernaufgaben arbeiteten beeinflusst haben. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersuchte, welche Rolle die dispositionelle Selbstregulation von Schüler*innen, die Schwierigkeit der Lernaufgaben und die Freude an den Aufgaben für die tagtägliche Selbstständigkeit der Bearbeitung der Aufgaben während des Homeschoolings spielten. Die dispositionelle Selbstregulation der Schüler*innen wurde zunächst über einen Eingangsfragebogen erfasst, der von den Eltern von 535 Kindern ausgefüllt wurde (MAlter = 9,69; SDAlter = 2,80). Die Eltern berichteten anschließend an 21 aufeinander folgenden Tagen über die tägliche Aufgabenschwierigkeit, die Freude an den Aufgaben und die Selbstständigkeit, mit der ihre Kinder die Lernaufgaben bearbeiteten. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die dispositionelle Selbstregulation der Schüler*innen positiv mit ihrer täglichen Selbstständigkeit beim Lernen assoziiert war. Darüber hinaus war die tägliche Selbstständigkeit der Schüler*innen beim Lernen negativ mit der Aufgabenschwierigkeit und positiv mit der Freude an den Aufgaben verbunden. Die Ergebnisse werden im Hinblick auf die tägliche Selbstregulation der Schüler*innen während der Beschulung zu Hause diskutiert. Abschließend werden Implikationen für die Lehrpraxis während der pandemiebedingten Schulschließungen abgeleitet. (DIPF/Orig.

Distance learning, parent-child interactions, and affective well-being of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. A diary study

To slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus, schools around the world were closed in early 2020, transferring children\u27s scholastic activities to the homes and imposing a massive burden on parents and school-age children. Using data of a 21-day diary study conducted between March and April 2020 in Germany, this work examined whether (a) distance learning and (b) parents\u27 involvement therein were associated with negative parent-child interactions and affective well-being of parents and children, over and above the effect of daily stressors. Participants were 562 parents (489 mothers, Mage = 42.79, SDage = 6.12, range = 25-63) most of whom were married (n = 382, 68.0%). They responded to the daily items with respect to the youngest child living in their household (Mage = 9.74, SDage = 2.81, range = 6-19). On days when children were working on school tasks, parents reported more negative parent-child interactions as well as lower parental and child positive affect and higher child negative affect, but not higher parental negative affect. Moreover, days when parents were more heavily involved in learning (i.e., when children worked less independently) were days with more negative parent-child interactions, lower parental and child positive affect, and higher parental and child negative affect. Negative parent-child interactions were linked to lower affective well-being of parents and children, and partially accounted for the relation among daily stressors and affective well-being. The present work highlights the need for measures to better support school-age children and their parents during distance learning. (DIPF/Orig.

Reciprocal relations of subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in late childhood

High sleep quality has been associated with beneficial outcomes across the life span. Intensive longitudinal studies suggest that these beneficial effects can also be observed on a day-to-day level. However, the dynamic interplay between subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in children\u27s daily life has only rarely been investigated. The aims of the present work were (a) to replicate findings from a prior ambulatory assessment study in this area (Könen et al., 2016), (b) to explore the effect of subjective sleep quality on well-being throughout the day, and (c) to examine the reciprocal relation between subjective sleep quality and well-being in more detail. Data from two ambulatory assessment studies with children between 8 and 11 years (N = 108/84, with assessments over 28/21 consecutive days) consistently showed that positive affect was higher and negative affect was lower after nights with better sleep quality, and that the effects of subjective sleep quality were stronger on well-being assessed in the morning compared with later in the day. Results from dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal effects of subjective sleep quality and positive affect. Negative affect was not consistently related to worse subsequent sleep quality after controlling for positive affect and prior night\u27s sleep quality. Results suggest a close relation of sleep quality and positive affect, which strengthens the idea behind interventions targeting both, children\u27s sleep and well-being. Differences between children in the dynamic interplay between sleep and affect may be important predictors of long-term outcomes. (DIPF/Orig.

Towards wave extraction in numerical relativity: the quasi-Kinnersley frame

The Newman-Penrose formalism may be used in numerical relativity to extract coordinate-invariant information about gravitational radiation emitted in strong-field dynamical scenarios. The main challenge in doing so is to identify a null tetrad appropriately adapted to the simulated geometry such that Newman-Penrose quantities computed relative to it have an invariant physical meaning. In black hole perturbation theory, the Teukolsky formalism uses such adapted tetrads, those which differ only perturbatively from the background Kinnersley tetrad. At late times, numerical simulations of astrophysical processes producing isolated black holes ought to admit descriptions in the Teukolsky formalism. However, adapted tetrads in this context must be identified using only the numerically computed metric, since no background Kerr geometry is known a priori. To do this, this paper introduces the notion of a quasi-Kinnersley frame. This frame, when space-time is perturbatively close to Kerr, approximates the background Kinnersley frame. However, it remains calculable much more generally, in space-times non-perturbatively different from Kerr. We give an explicit solution for the tetrad transformation which is required in order to find this frame in a general space-time.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

New Pulsars from an Arecibo Drift Scan Search

We report the discovery of pulsars J0030+0451, J0711+0931, and J1313+0931 that were found in a search of 470 square degrees at 430 MHz using the 305m Arecibo telescope. The search has an estimated sensitivity for long period, low dispersion measure, low zenith angle, and high Galactic latitude pulsars of ~1 mJy, comparable to previous Arecibo searches. Spin and astrometric parameters for the three pulsars are presented along with polarimetry at 430 MHz. PSR J0030+0451, a nearby pulsar with a period of 4.8 ms, belongs to the less common category of isolated millisecond pulsars. We have measured significant polarization in PSR J0030+0451 over more than 50% of the period, and use these data for a detailed discussion of its magnetospheric geometry. Scintillation observations of PSR J0030+0451 provide an estimate of the plasma turbulence level along the line of sight through the local interstellar medium.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for Publication in Ap

Ambulatory assessment of rumination and worry. Capturing perseverative cognitions in children\u27s daily life

Rumination and worry are common forms of perseverative cognition in children. Research has started to target perseverative cognitions in the everyday life of children, however, valid measurement instruments reliably capturing rumination and worry in children\u27s daily life are still missing. We conducted two ambulatory assessment studies validating short scales suitable for the measurement of rumination and worry in children\u27s daily life. Results of the first study (N = 110, 8-11 year-olds, 31 days, up to 4 daily measurements) supported a unidimensional structure of the rumination scale. Rumination was associated with negative affect (but not positive affect) on the within- and on the between-person level. On the between-person level, children who ruminated more showed poorer working memory performance. In the second study (N = 84, 8-10 year-olds, 21 days, up to 3 daily measurements), findings of Study 1 were largely replicated. Moreover, we established a unidimensional worry scale in Study 2 reliably capturing worry in children\u27s daily life. Importantly, Study 2 showed that worry and rumination share common variance but can be differentiated in children. On the within-person level, higher levels of worry were associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect. On the between-person level, worry was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower working memory performance. Altogether, findings of both studies demonstrated that the short scales had excellent psychometric properties suggesting that they are helpful tools for the assessment of rumination and worry in children\u27s daily life.person level, worry was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower working memory performance. Altogether, findings of both studies demonstrated that the short scales had excellent psychometric properties suggesting that they are helpful tools for the assessment of rumination and worry in children\u27s daily life. (DIPF/Orig.

Testing Gravity with Pulsars in the SKA Era

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will use pulsars to enable precise measurements of strong gravity effects in pulsar systems, which yield tests of gravitational theories that cannot be carried out anywhere else. The Galactic census of pulsars will discover dozens of relativistic pulsar systems, possibly including pulsar -- black hole binaries which can be used to test the "cosmic censorship conjecture" and the "no-hair theorem". Also, the SKA's remarkable sensitivity will vastly improve the timing precision of millisecond pulsars, allowing probes of potential deviations from general relativity (GR). Aspects of gravitation to be explored include tests of strong equivalence principles, gravitational dipole radiation, extra field components of gravitation, gravitomagnetism, and spacetime symmetries.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, to be published in: "Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array", Proceedings of Science, PoS(AASKA14)04

Characterizing the Temporal Evolution of Altered Cardiac Mechanics in Diet-Induced Obese Mice Using Cine DENSE CMR

Background Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Research suggests that altered cardiac mechanics (i.e., reduced strains, torsion, and synchrony of contraction) are present in obesity; yet, the causes of this mechanical dysfunction and its relationship to other sequelae of obesity (e.g., hypertension and elevated blood glucose) are not well understood. We hypothesize that diet-induced obesity in mice leads to reductions in measures of left ventricular (LV) mechanics, which develop in acute response to the onset of hyperglycemia, hypertension, and ventricular remodeling. Methods Twenty 4-week-old C57BL/6J mice were randomized (n = 10 per group) to either a high-fat (60% kcal from fat) or sucrose-matched low-fat (10% kcal from fat) diet for 28 weeks. After 4 weeks and every 6 weeks thereafter, LV mechanics were quantified using cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) on a 7T ClinScan MRI (Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany) with a 4-element phased array cardiac coil. Three short-axis and two long-axis slices were acquired with 13-20 frames per cardiac cycle. Semi-automated post-processing was performed using custom software in MATLAB (Mathworks, Natick, MA). Additionally, systolic blood pressure (via tail cuff measurement) and fasting blood glucose were assessed every 4 weeks on staggered schedules. Results Mice on the high-fat diet became obese relative to the low-fat controls (49.9 vs. 29.2 g, respectively, by week 28;). Fasting blood glucose was elevated in the high-fat group (202 vs. 112 mg/dL; p \u3c 0.05) starting from the earliest measurement (week 7 on diet), whereas significant differences in LV mass (88 vs. 79 mg) and systolic blood pressure (172 vs. 162 mmHg) developed much later (weeks 22 and 25 on diet, respectively). Significant reductions in peak LV radial (15%) and circumferential (8%) strains and reduced contractile synchrony were detected in the high-fat group for the first time in week 28. A 10% reduction in peak torsion was also observed at that time, but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.075). There were no differences in LV cavity volumes or ejection fraction. Conclusions Diet-induced obesity in mice is associated with reduced left ventricular mechanics. This dysfunction develops long after the manifestation of hyperglycemia in this model, which suggests that chronic alterations in glucose/insulin levels and/or signaling may contribute more to cardiac contractile dysfunction than acute elevations. Late development of concentric ventricular hypertrophy and hypertension prior to suppressed cardiac mechanics also suggests an important role of these processes in the reduced ventricular function

Loop lessons from Wilson loops in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory exhibits a rather surprising duality of Wilson-loop vacuum expectation values and scattering amplitudes. In this paper, we investigate this correspondence at the diagram level. We find that one-loop triangles, one-loop boxes, and two-loop diagonal boxes can be cast as simple one- and two- parametric integrals over a single propagator in configuration space. We observe that the two-loop Wilson-loop "hard-diagram" corresponds to a four-loop hexagon Feynman diagram. Guided by the diagrammatic correspondence of the configuration-space propagator and loop Feynman diagrams, we derive Feynman parameterizations of complicated planar and non-planar Feynman diagrams which simplify their evaluation. For illustration, we compute numerically a four-loop hexagon scalar Feynman diagram.Comment: 20 pages, many figures. Two references added. Published versio