Effects of math anxiety on student success in higher education

This study examines whether math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics have an effect on university students" academic achievement in a methodological course forming part of their degree. A total of 193 students were presented with a math anxiety test and some questions about their enjoyment, self-confidence and motivation regarding mathematics, and their responses were assessed in relation to the grades they had obtained during continuous assessment on a course entitled"Research Design". Results showed that low performance on the course was related to math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics. We suggest that these factors may affect students" performance and should therefore be taken into account in attempts to improve students" learning processes in methodological courses of this kind

Polarized interacting exciton gas in quantum wells and bulk semiconductors

We develop a theory to calculate exciton binding energies of both two- and three-dimensional spin polarized exciton gases within a mean field approach. Our method allows the analysis of recent experiments showing the importance of the polarization and intensity of the excitation light on the exciton luminescence of GaAs quantum wells. We study the breaking of the spin degeneracy observed at high exciton density $(5 \ \ 10^{10} cm ^2)$. Energy level splitting betwen spin +1 and spin -1 is shown to be due to many-body inter-excitonic exchange while the spin relaxation time is controlled by intra-exciton exchange.Comment: Revtex, 4 figures sent by fax upon request by e-mai

Desempenho de frangos de corte e digestibilidade de rações com sorgo ou milheto e complexo enzimático

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a digestibilidade de rações formuladas com sorgo (Sorghum bicolor), ou milheto (Pennisetum glaucum) e adição de um complexo enzimático comercial composto de amilase, carboidrases, proteases e fitase, e o desempenho de frangos de corte. Para avaliação de desempenho, foram alojados 1.800 pintos de corte machos em delineamento em blocos ao acaso, em arranjo fatorial 2x2, com quatro tratamentos (rações com sorgo ou milheto com ou sem adição de complexo enzimático) e cinco repetições com 60 aves por unidade experimental. Nos ensaios de metabolismo realizados dos 10 aos 14 e dos 24 aos 28 dias, foram distribuídos 420 pintos machos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2x2 (rações com milheto ou sorgo com ou sem adição de complexo enzimático). Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas com o teste F para contrastes ortogonais. Nas rações elaboradas com sorgo, a adição do complexo enzimático proporcionou melhores coeficientes de digestibilidade da gordura e do nitrogênio. A adição de complexo enzimático em rações formuladas com sorgo melhora a conversão alimentar somente na fase inicial de criação dos frangos, enquanto a adição de complexo enzimático não melhora o desempenho de frango nas rações elaboradas com milheto

Chromatin regulation by Histone H4 acetylation at Lysine 16 during cell death and differentiation in the myeloid compartment

Histone H4 acetylation at Lysine 16 (H4K16ac) is a key epigenetic mark involved in gene regulation, DNA repair and chromatin remodeling, and though it is known to be essential for embryonic development, its role during adult life is still poorly understood. Here we show that this lysine is massively hyperacetylated in peripheral neutrophils. Genome-wide mapping of H4K16ac in terminally differentiated blood cells, along with functional experiments, supported a role for this histone post-translational modification in the regulation of cell differentiation and apoptosis in the hematopoietic system. Furthermore, in neutrophils, H4K16ac was enriched at specific DNA repeats. These DNA regions presented an accessible chromatin conformation and were associated with the cleavage sites that generate the 50 kb DNA fragments during the first stages of programmed cell death. Our results thus suggest that H4K16ac plays a dual role in myeloid cells as it not only regulates differentiation and apoptosis, but it also exhibits a non-canonical structural role in poising chromatin for cleavage at an early stage of neutrophil cell death

Chromatin regulation by Histone H4 acetylation at Lysine 16 during cell death and differentiation in the myeloid compartment

Altres ajuts: Fundación Científica de la AECC (to R.G.U.); Fundación Ramón Areces (to M.F.F); FICYT (to E.G.T., M.G.G., A.C.); Asturias Regional Government [GRUPIN14-052 to M.F.F.]; Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, PCTI-Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación co-funding Fondos FEDER (grant number IDI/2018/146 to M.F.F. and IDI/2018/144 to C.L.); Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer [AECC-CI-2015]; P.M. acknowledges financial support from The Obra Social La Caixa-Fundaciò Josep Carreras. P.M. an investigator from the Spanish Cell Therapy cooperative network (TERCEL). The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Liberbank-Cajastur, Spain.Histone H4 acetylation at Lysine 16 (H4K16ac) is a key epigenetic mark involved in gene regulation, DNA repair and chromatin remodeling, and though it is known to be essential for embryonic development, its role during adult life is still poorly understood. Here we show that this lysine is massively hyperacetylated in peripheral neutrophils. Genome-wide mapping of H4K16ac in terminally differentiated blood cells, along with functional experiments, supported a role for this histone post-translational modification in the regulation of cell differentiation and apoptosis in the hematopoietic system. Furthermore, in neutrophils, H4K16ac was enriched at specific DNA repeats. These DNA regions presented an accessible chromatin conformation and were associated with the cleavage sites that generate the 50 kb DNA fragments during the first stages of programmed cell death. Our results thus suggest that H4K16ac plays a dual role in myeloid cells as it not only regulates differentiation and apoptosis, but it also exhibits a non-canonical structural role in poising chromatin for cleavage at an early stage of neutrophil cell death