Investigating Pre-Service Teachers’ Mathematics Anxiety, Teaching Anxiety, Self-efficacy, Beliefs about Mathematics and Perceptions of the Learning Environment

This study investigated pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety, teaching anxiety, teaching self-efficacy, beliefs about mathematics, and perceptions of the learning environment. Relationships between variables, and differences across year groups, were examined. A cross-sectional research design, utilising five surveys developed or modified for purpose, was conducted with 184 participants across two higher education institutes in Abu Dhabi. The results offer insights for higher education institutes, the Abu Dhabi Education Council and the UAE Ministry of Education

University Student-parents’ Experiences in the UAE during COVID-19: Future Implications for Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and threw higher education institutions worldwide into a rapid transition from face-to-face to online learning modes. While students everywhere were grappling with the changes to their learning experiences, those with parenting responsibilities had additional pressures. This study investigated how university student-parents across the United Arab Emirates experienced the change, and their perceptions of the impact of COVID- 19 on their studies. One hundred seventy-five students responded to a questionnaire exploring domains such as their domestic set-up for study, levels of support from family and their institutions, and the situation’s impact on their learning, well-being, and peer and instructor interactions. It was found that while many students relished being more involved with their children’s online schoolwork, this caused tremendous strain for some. Many students had responsibility for at least one child beside them as they studied, leading to multiple distractions that affected their learning and ability to meet deadlines. While most students reported keeping up social support networks with peers, a majority also stated feeling less supported academically by peers and faculty. Many students also felt that their mental health and wellbeing had been diminished due to the situation. The implications of the findings to higher education are discussed

University Student-parents’ Experiences in the UAE during COVID-19: Future Implications for Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and threw higher education institutions worldwide into a rapid transition from face-to-face to online learning modes. While students everywhere were grappling with the changes to their learning experiences, those with parenting responsibilities had additional pressures. This study investigated how university student-parents across the United Arab Emirates experienced the change, and their perceptions of the impact of COVID- 19 on their studies. One hundred seventy-five students responded to a questionnaire exploring domains such as their domestic set-up for study, levels of support from family and their institutions, and the situation’s impact on their learning, well-being, and peer and instructor interactions. It was found that while many students relished being more involved with their children’s online schoolwork, this caused tremendous strain for some. Many students had responsibility for at least one child beside them as they studied, leading to multiple distractions that affected their learning and ability to meet deadlines. While most students reported keeping up social support networks with peers, a majority also stated feeling less supported academically by peers and faculty. Many students also felt that their mental health and wellbeing had been diminished due to the situation. The implications of the findings to higher education are discussed

Academic parenthood in the United Arab Emirates in the time of COVID-19

Since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, early research already indicates that the personal and professional impact on academics juggling parenting responsibilities with their academic work has been immense. This study, set in the United Arab Emirates, explores the experiences of academic parents and looks at ways in which various aspects of their professional lives have been affected by the pandemic. Survey data from 93 participant parents indicated that certain elements of research productivity have been reduced during the pandemic, and having to support children with online schoolwork while teaching online themselves has been particularly stressful. Working from home with no dedicated space was a frequent challenge for the academic parents, and this impacted their ability to perform research tasks that demanded quiet spaces, e.g., reading and writing. However, the data also indicated that parents appreciated greater working flexibility, a reduction in commuting time, and being able to be more involved in their family lives. Some indications were perhaps unexpected, such as no statistically significant impact being observed on academic parents’ ability to interact with students or peers at their institutions while working from home. The implications of these findings to faculty and institutions are discussed

Perceptual and conceptual processing of visual objects across the adult lifespan

Abstract: Making sense of the external world is vital for multiple domains of cognition, and so it is crucial that object recognition is maintained across the lifespan. We investigated age differences in perceptual and conceptual processing of visual objects in a population-derived sample of 85 healthy adults (24–87 years old) by relating measures of object processing to cognition across the lifespan. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded during a picture naming task to provide a direct measure of neural activity, that is not confounded by age-related vascular changes. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate neural responsivity for each individual, namely the capacity to represent visual or semantic information relating to the pictures. We find that the capacity to represent semantic information is linked to higher naming accuracy, a measure of task-specific performance. In mature adults, the capacity to represent semantic information also correlated with higher levels of fluid intelligence, reflecting domain-general performance. In contrast, the latency of visual processing did not relate to measures of cognition. These results indicate that neural responsivity measures relate to naming accuracy and fluid intelligence. We propose that maintaining neural responsivity in older age confers benefits in task-related and domain-general cognitive processes, supporting the brain maintenance view of healthy cognitive ageing

Distinct components of cardiovascular health are linked with age-related differences in cognitive abilities

Cardiovascular ageing contributes to cognitive impairment. However, the unique and synergistic contributions of multiple cardiovascular factors to cognitive function remain unclear because they are often condensed into a single composite score or examined in isolation. We hypothesized that vascular risk factors, electrocardiographic features and blood pressure indices reveal multiple latent vascular factors, with independent contributions to cognition. In a population-based deep-phenotyping study (n = 708, age 18–88), path analysis revealed three latent vascular factors dissociating the autonomic nervous system response from two components of blood pressure. These three factors made unique and additive contributions to the variability in crystallized and fluid intelligence. The discrepancy in fluid relative to crystallized intelligence, indicative of cognitive decline, was associated with a latent vascular factor predominantly expressing pulse pressure. This suggests that higher pulse pressure is associated with cognitive decline from expected performance. The effect was stronger in older adults. Controlling pulse pressure may help to preserve cognition, particularly in older adults. Our findings highlight the need to better understand the multifactorial nature of vascular aging

Poorer White Matter Microstructure Predicts Slower and More Variable Reaction Time Performance: Evidence for a Neural Noise Hypothesis in a Large Lifespan Cohort

Most prior research has focused on characterizing averages in cognition, brain characteristics, or behavior, and attempting to predict differences in these averages among individuals. However, this overwhelming focus on mean levels may leave us with an incomplete picture of what drives individual differences in behavioral phenotypes by ignoring the variability of behavior around an individual's mean. In particular, enhanced white matter (WM) structural microstructure has been hypothesized to support consistent behavioral performance by decreasing Gaussian noise in signal transfer. Conversely, lower indices of WM microstructure are associated with greater within-subject variance in the ability to deploy performance-related resources, especially in clinical populations. We tested a mechanistic account of the “neural noise” hypothesis in a large adult lifespan cohort (Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience) with over 2500 adults (ages 18-102; 1508 female; 1173 male; 2681 behavioral sessions; 708 MRI scans) using WM fractional anisotropy to predict mean levels and variability in reaction time performance on a simple behavioral task using a dynamic structural equation model. By modeling robust and reliable individual differences in within-person variability, we found support for a neural noise hypothesis (Kail, 1997), with lower fractional anisotropy predicted individual differences in separable components of behavioral performance estimated using dynamic structural equation model, including slower mean responses and increased variability. These effects remained when including age, suggesting consistent effects of WM microstructure across the adult lifespan unique from concurrent effects of aging. Crucially, we show that variability can be reliably separated from mean performance using advanced modeling tools, enabling tests of distinct hypotheses for each component of performance

Ageing increases reliance on sensorimotor prediction through structural and functional differences in frontostriatal circuits

This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Nature Publishing Group.The control of voluntary movement changes markedly with age. A critical component of motor control is the integration of sensory information with predictions of the consequences of action, arising from internal models of movement. This leads to sensorimotor attenuation – a reduction in the perceived intensity of sensations from self-generated compared to external actions. Here we show that sensorimotor attenuation occurs in 98% of adults in a population-based cohort (n=325; 18-88 years; the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience). Importantly, attenuation increases with age, in proportion to reduced sensory sensitivity. This effect is associated with differences in the structure and functional connectivity of the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), assessed with magnetic resonance imaging. The results suggest that ageing alters the balance between the sensorium and predictive models, mediated by the pre-SMA and its connectivity in frontostriatal circuits. This shift may contribute to the motor and cognitive changes observed with age.Cam-CAN research was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/H008217/1). JBR and NW were supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative, Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition. JBR was also supported by Wellcome Trust [103838] and the Medical Research Council [MC-A060-5PQ30]. DMW was supported by the Wellcome Trust [097803], Human Frontier Science Program and the Royal Society Noreen Murray Professorship in Neurobiology. RNH was supported by the Medical Research Council [MC-A060-5PR10]. RAK was supported by a Sir Henry Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship [107392]. LG was funded by a Rubicon grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

A somatic coliphage threshold approach to improve the management of activated sludge wastewater treatment plant effluents in resource-limited regions

Versión aceptada para publicaciónEffective wastewater management is crucial to ensure the safety of water reuse projects and 29 effluent discharge into surface waters. Multiple studies have demonstrated that municipal 30 wastewater treatment with conventional activated sludge processes is inefficient for the removal 31 of the wide spectrum of viruses in sewage. In this study, a well-accepted statistical approach was 32 used to investigate the relationship between viral indicators and human enteric viruses during 33 wastewater treatment in a resource-limited region. Influent and effluent samples from five urban 34 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Costa Rica were analyzed for somatic coliphage and 35 human enterovirus, hepatitis A virus, norovirus genotype I and II, and rotavirus. All WWTP 36 provide primary treatment followed by conventional activated sludge treatment prior to 37 discharge into surface waters that are indirectly used for agricultural irrigation. The results 38 revealed a statistically significant relationship between the detection of at least one of the five 39 human enteric viruses and somatic coliphage. Multiple logistic regression and Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis identified a threshold of 3.0 ×103 40 (3.5-log10) somatic 41 coliphage plaque forming unit per 100 mL, which corresponded to an increased likelihood of encountering enteric viruses above the limit of detection (>1.83×102 42 virus target/100 mL). 43 Additionally, quantitative microbial risk assessment was executed for famers indirectly reusing 44 WWTP effluent that met the proposed threshold. The resulting estimated median cumulative 45 annual disease burden complied with World Health Organization recommendations. Future 46 studies are needed to validate the proposed threshold for use in Costa Rica and other regions.Universidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaNational Science Foundation/[OCE-1566562]/NSF/Estados UnidosUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud (INISA)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Salud::Facultad de Microbiologí

Preserved cognitive functions with age are determined by domain-dependent shifts in network responsivity

Healthy ageing has disparate effects on different cognitive domains. The neural basis of these differences, however, is largely unknown. We investigated this question by using Independent Components Analysis to obtain functional brain components from 98 healthy participants aged 23–87 years from the population-based Cam-CAN cohort. Participants performed two cognitive tasks that show age-related decrease (fluid intelligence and object naming) and a syntactic comprehension task that shows age-related preservation. We report that activation of task-positive neural components predicts inter-individual differences in performance in each task across the adult lifespan. Furthermore, only the two tasks that show performance declines with age show age-related decreases in task-positive activation of neural components and decreasing default mode (DM) suppression. Our results suggest that distributed, multi-component brain responsivity supports cognition across the adult lifespan, and the maintenance of this, along with maintained DM deactivation, characterizes successful ageing and may explain differential ageing trajectories across cognitive domains.The Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) research was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant number BB/H008217/1). K.A.T. is supported by Wellcome Trust (RG73750-RRZA/040) and British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF160048)