Rôle de l’autodétermination et des aptitudes scolaires dans la prédiction des absences scolaires et l’intention de décrocher

Le but de l’étude était d’examiner l’importance relative de la motivation autodéterminée et des aptitudes scolaires dans la prédiction des absences scolaires et de l’intention d’abandonner les études. Un examen de rendement mesurant diverses aptitudes scolaires ainsi que l’échelle de motivation en éducation ont été administrés à 914 élèves de huitième année. Les résultats obtenus appuient les hypothèses de départ. Ainsi, les deux variables indépendantes présentent des liens avec les mesures d’absentéisme et d’intention de décrocher. Les analyses révèlent que des niveaux élevés de motivation autodéterminée et une bonne performance aux sous-tests d’aptitudes scolaires seraient négativement associés aux mesures d’absences scolaires et d’intention d’abandonner l’école.The purpose of the study was to examine the relative importance of self-determined motivation and scholarly abilities in the prediction of absenteeism and the intention to drop out of school. A performance examination measuring various scholarly abilities as well as the scale of motivation in education were administered to 914 eight graders. The results obtained support the initial assumptions. The two independent variables are related with the measurements of absenteeism and of the intention of dropping out. The analyses reveal that high levels of self-determined motivation and a good performance on the scholarly abilities sub-tests are negatively related to absenteeism and intention of dropping outmeasurements.El objetivo del estudio era de analizar la importancia relativa de la motivación autodeterminada y de las aptitudes escolares en la predicción de las ausencias escolares y el deseo de abandonar los estudios. Un examen de rendimiento que mide varias aptitudes escolares así como la escala de motivación en educación han sido aplicados a 914 alumnos de octavo grado. Los resultados conseguidos confirman esas hipótesis iniciales. Es decir que las dos variables independientes presentan vínculos con las medidas de ausentismo y de deseo de abandonar. Los análisis indican que altos niveles de motivación autodeterminada y buenos resultados a las subpruebas de aptitudes escolares estarían ligados de forma negativa a las medidas de ausencias escolares y de deseo de abandonar la escuela.Das Ziel der Studie bestand darin, die relative Bedeutung der selbstbestimmten Motivation zu untersuchen und die der Schuleignung bei vorausgesagten Schulabwesenheiten und der Absicht, die Schule aufzugeben. Eine Leistungsprüfung, die dieunterschiedlichen Schuleignung sowie die Stufender Motivation in der Erziehung messen sollte, wurde an 914 Schülern der achten Klasse durchgefuehrt. Die erzielten Ergebnisse bestätigen die Anfangshypothesen. Somit stellen die zwei unabhängige Variablen Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Mass der Abwesenheit undder Absicht, die Schule aufzugeben, dar. Die Analysen zeigen, dass ein hohes Niveau an selbstbestimmter Motivation und eine gute Leistung an den schulischen Unter-Eignungstests mit den Maßnahmen wegen schulischer Abwesenheit und der Absicht, die Schule aufzugeben, negativ verbunden werden könnten

Peroxisome Turnover and Diurnal Modulation of Antioxidant Activity in Retinal Pigment Epithelia Utilizes Microtubule-Associated Protein 1 Light Chain 3B (LC3B)

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) supports the outer retina through essential roles in the retinoid cycle, nutrient supply, ion exchange, and waste removal. Each day the RPE removes the oldest ∼10% of photoreceptor outer segment (OS) disk membranes through phagocytic uptake, which peaks following light onset. Impaired degradation of phagocytosed OS material by the RPE can lead to toxic accumulation of lipids, oxidative tissue damage, inflammation, and cell death. OSs are rich in very long chain fatty acids, which are preferentially catabolized in peroxisomes. Despite the importance of lipid degradation in RPE function, the regulation of peroxisome number and activity relative to diurnal OS ingestion is relatively unexplored. Using immunohistochemistry, immunoblot analysis, and catalase activity assays, we investigated peroxisome abundance and activity at 6 AM, 7 AM (light onset), 8 AM, and 3 PM, in wild-type (WT) mice and mice lacking microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (Lc3b), which have impaired phagosome degradation. We found that catalase activity, but not the amount of catalase protein, is 50% higher in the morning compared with 3 PM, in RPE of WT, but not Lc3b-/-, mice. Surprisingly, we found that peroxisome abundance was stable during the day in RPE of WT mice; however, numbers were elevated overall in Lc3b-/- mice, implicating LC3B in autophagic organelle turnover in RPE. Our data suggest that RPE peroxisome function is regulated in coordination with phagocytosis, possibly through direct enzyme regulation, and may serve to prepare RPE peroxisomes for daily surges in ingested lipid-rich OS. Copyright © 2019 the American Physiological Society

Leukotoxin Diols from Ground Corncob Bedding Disrupt Estrous Cyclicity in Rats and Stimulate MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of ground corncob bedding extracts characterized two components (peak I and peak II) that disrupted endocrine function in male and female rats and stimulated breast and prostate cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The active substances in peak I were identified as an isomeric mixture of 9,12-oxy-10,13-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 10,13-oxy-9,12-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid, collectively designated tetrahydrofurandiols (THF-diols). Studies presented here describe the purification and identification of the HPLC peak II component as 9,10-dihydroxy-12-octadecenoic acid (leukotoxin diol; LTX-diol), a well-known leukotoxin. A synthetic mixture of LTX-diol and 12,13-dihydroxy-9-octadecenoic acid (isoleukotoxin diol; i-LTX-diol) isomers was separated by HPLC, and each isomer stimulated (p < 0.001) MCF-7 cell proliferation in an equivalent fashion. The LTX-diol isomers failed to compete for [(3)H]estradiol binding to the estrogen receptor or nuclear type II sites, even though oral administration of very low doses of these compounds (>> 0.8 mg/kg body weight/day) disrupted estrous cyclicity in female rats. The LTX-diols did not disrupt male sexual behavior, suggesting that sex differences exist in response to these endocrine-disruptive agents

The translational potential of research on the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics

Federally funded research on the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics (“ELSI” research) includes a programmatic charge to consider policy-relevant questions and to communicate findings in venues that help inform the policy-making process. In addressing this goal, investigators must consider the range of policies that are relevant to human genetics, how foundational research in bioethics, law, and the social sciences might inform those policies, and the potential professional issues that this translational imperative raises for ELSI investigators. We review these questions in the light of experiences from a consortium of federally funded Centers of Excellence in ELSI Research, and offer a set of policy recommendations for program design and evaluation of ELSI research. We conclude that it would be a mistake to require that ELSI research programs demonstrate a direct impact on science or health policy; however, ELSI researchers can take steps to increase the relevance of their work to policy makers. Similarly, funders of ELSI research concerned to facilitate policy development can help by building cross-disciplinary translational research capacities, and universities can take steps to make policy-relevant research more rewarding for scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and law

Gastric emptying of low- and high-caloric liquid meals measured using ultrasonography in healthy volunteers

Purpose Delayed gastric emptying is present in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD), diabetes mellitus, and neurological diseases. Diet may affect gastric emptying symptoms in patients with FD. We sought to determine the extent to which gastric emptying and symptoms of dyspepsia are influenced by caloric content in healthy subjects using ultrasonography. Materials and Methods 32 healthy volunteers were given 2 meals with different caloric content in random order. Gastric emptying was determined using ultrasonography to measure antral area when fasting, and postprandially at intervals of 0, 10, 20, and 30 min. Dyspeptic symptoms including discomfort, nausea, and fullness were graded. Results The antral area following a high-caloric meal compared to a low-caloric meal was significantly increased at 0, 10, 20, and 30 min (P=0.0203,<0.0001<0.0001,<0.0001, respectively), as was the median fullness (P<0.0048, 0.0001, 0.0009, 0.0001, respectively) measured at the same time points. There was a weak correlation (r2=0.1, P<0.0001) between the antral area and subjective fullness. No differences between gastric emptying in males and females were found. Conclusion The caloric content of a meal influences gastric emptying. Using ultrasonography to measure the antral area helps us to assess gastric emptying and therefore to assess patients with functional dyspepsia.publishedVersio

Inhibiting caspase cleavage of huntingtin reduces toxicity and aggregate formation in neuronal and nonneuronal cells.

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG expansion that results in expansion of a polyglutamine tract at the extreme N terminus of huntingtin (htt). htt with polyglutamine expansion is proapoptotic in different cell types. Here, we show that caspase inhibitors diminish the toxicity of htt. Additionally, we define htt itself as an important caspase substrate by generating a site-directed htt mutant that is resistant to caspase-3 cleavage at positions 513 and 530 and to caspase-6 cleavage at position 586. In contrast to cleavable htt, caspase-resistant htt with an expanded polyglutamine tract has reduced toxicity in apoptotically stressed neuronal and nonneuronal cells and forms aggregates at a much reduced frequency. These results suggest that inhibiting caspase cleavage of htt may therefore be of potential therapeutic benefit in Huntington's disease

Rapamycin‐mediated lifespan increase in mice is dose and sex dependent and metabolically distinct from dietary restriction

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107367/1/acel12194.pd