The perception of the autonomy supportive behaviour as a predictor of perceived effort and physical self-esteem among school students from four nations

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this study tested a model of motivational sequence in which perceived autonomy support from teachers in a physical education (PE) context predicted the perceived effort and physical self-esteem via self-determined motivation in school students. School students aged 12 to 16 years from Estonia (N = 816), Lithuania (N = 706), Hungary (N = 664), and Spain (N = 922) completed measures of perceived autonomy support from PE teachers, need satisfaction for autonomy, competence, relatedness, self-determined motivation, perceived effort and physical self-esteem. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) of each sample indicated that the students’ perceived autonomy support from the teacher was directly related to effort and indirectly via autonomous motivation, whereas physical self-esteem was related indirectly. Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-sample structural equation revealed well-fitting models within each sample with the invariances of the measurement parameters across four nations. The findings support the generalizability of the measures in the motivational sequence model to predict perceived effort and physical self-estee

Identification of common blood gene signatures for the diagnosis of renal and cardiac acute allograft rejection.

To test, whether 10 genes, diagnostic of renal allograft rejection in blood, are able to diagnose and predict cardiac allograft rejection, we analyzed 250 blood samples from heart transplant recipients with and without acute rejection (AR) and with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection by QPCR. A QPCR-based logistic regression model was built on 5 of these 10 genes (AR threshold composite score >37%  = AR) and tested for AR prediction in an independent set of 109 samples, where it correctly diagnosed AR with 89% accuracy, with no misclassifications for AR ISHLT grade 1b. CMV infection did not confound the AR score. The genes correctly diagnosed AR in a blood sample within 6 months prior to biopsy diagnosis with 80% sensitivity and untreated grade 1b AR episodes had persistently elevated scores until 6 months after biopsy diagnosis. The gene score was also correlated with presence or absence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) irrespective of rejection grade. In conclusion, there is a common transcriptional axis of immunological trafficking in peripheral blood in both renal and cardiac organ transplant rejection, across a diverse recipient age range. A common gene signature, initially identified in the setting of renal transplant rejection, can be utilized serially after cardiac transplantation, to diagnose and predict biopsy confirmed acute heart transplant rejection

Gene expression profiling to study racial differences after heart transplantation.

BackgroundThe basis for increased mortality after heart transplantation in African Americans and other non-Caucasian racial groups is poorly defined. We hypothesized that increased risk of adverse events is driven by biologic factors. To test this hypothesis in the Invasive Monitoring Attenuation through Gene Expression (IMAGE) study, we determined whether the event rate of the primary outcome of acute rejection, graft dysfunction, death, or retransplantation varied by race as a function of calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) levels and gene expression profile (GEP) scores.MethodsWe determined the event rate of the primary outcome, comparing racial groups, stratified by time after transplant. Logistic regression was used to compute the relative risk across racial groups, and linear modeling was used to measure the dependence of CNI levels and GEP score on race.ResultsIn 580 patients monitored for a median of 19 months, the incidence of the primary end point was 18.3% in African Americans, 22.2% in other non-Caucasians, and 8.5% in Caucasians (p < 0.001). There were small but significant correlations of race and tacrolimus trough levels to the GEP score. Tacrolimus levels were similar among the races. Of patients receiving tacrolimus, other non-Caucasians had higher GEP scores than the other racial groups. African American recipients demonstrated a unique decrease in expression of the FLT3 gene in response to higher tacrolimus levels.ConclusionsAfrican Americans and other non-Caucasian heart transplant recipients were 2.5-times to 3-times more likely than Caucasians to experience outcome events in the Invasive Monitoring Attenuation through Gene Expression study. The increased risk of adverse outcomes may be partly due to the biology of the alloimmune response, which is less effectively inhibited at similar tacrolimus levels in minority racial groups

Le renforcement des capacités d'action et de négociation des organisations paysannes : le cas des organisations paysannes engagées dans la filière cacao au Cameroun

Les paysants camerounais engagés dans les filières des produits agrocoles de base (cacao, café, coton) sont entrés en 1990 dans une phase de crise agravée par les effets de la baisse des cours mondiaux des produits agricoles d'exportation et la mise en place par l'Etat d'une politique de libéralisation de l'économie. Cette politique s'est traduite sur le terrain par l'arrêt des subventions dans le secteur des intrants agricoles, la libéralisation de la commercialisation des produits agricoles d'exportation, la libéralisation des fonctions d'appui à la production. En particulier, les planteurs de cacao, sans y être préparés, se sont trouvés à affronté un environnement économique nouveau caractérisé par une multitudes d'intermédiaires, mieux organisés et mieux informés des rouages de l'économie de marché. Les nouvelles dispositions juridiques prises par l'Etat à partir de 1990 ont permis la création des organisations rurales qui y ont trouvé un cadre règlementaire propice à leur émergence. Mais la jeunesse des organisations rurales les fragilise face à la multiplicité des acteurs qui ont apparus et qui s'intéressent pour des raisons diverses aux organisations paysannes. De manière générale on assiste dès 1990 à la création, à la structuration et à la multiplication des organisations rurales portées par une élite paysanne ou suscité par des intervenants extérieurs (SODECAO par exemple) tandis que les adhérents à la base sont parfois réduits à des simples observateurs. La présente étude, menée auprès des organisations rurales engagées dans la filière cacao, de l'arrondissement de Bokito (province du Centre, Cameroun) s'inscrit dans le cadre du projet d'Appui aux Stratégies Paysannes et à la Professionnalisation de l'agriculture (ASPPA). Ce projet est un des programmes d'accompagnement des organisations paysannes mise en place par l'Etat camerounais et qui s'occupe de l'appui au renforcement des capacités de négociation des organisations paysannes dans leur relation économiques avec les autres partenaires des filières concernées. L'objectif de cette étude est de mettre en évidence la réalité économique et sociale des organisations paysannes (fondements et régulations), leurs priorités ainsi que l'intérêt que les organisations et leurs adhérents portent aux filières. La démarche d'investigation utilisée a privilégié un diagnostic concerté à travers des entretiens de groupes avec les menbres des organisations rurales retenues sur la base d'un choix raisonné, des entretiens avec les responsables traditionnels locaux et les autres acteurs institutionnels et partenaires des organisations paysannes (acheteurs locaux du cacao, prestataires de service d'appui, projet ASPPA, responsables du Ministère de l'agriculture). Ces entretiens ont permis de mettre en évidence la vie interne des organisations paysannes et les stratégies quelles construisent pour s'adapter à leur environnement. L'analyse de la dynamique des responsables a permis de caractériser 3 types de leaders qui se différencient par leurs attitudes, leurs ambitions, leurs motivations et la vision qu'ils se font de leur organisation. Cette étude fournit des informations sur la situation des organisations paysannes, les enjeux et les défis auxquels elles doivent faire face. L'étude présente également les besoins exprimés par les organisations rurales et fait des propositions sur le type d'accompagnement nécessaire à l'émergence et au renforcement des organisations paysannes. Enfin, l'étude ouvre également des pistes de reflexion pour des études spécifiques sur la dynamique d'organisations paysannes au Cameroun. (Résumé d'auteur

The Intention to Use Fitness and Physical Activity Apps: A Systematic Review

Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the intention to use mobile applications (Apps) related to fitness and physical activity by consumers. This systematic review is a critical evaluation of the evidence from quantitative studies in the field of assessment of consumer behavior towards sport applications. A total of 13 studies are analyzed that propose models for evaluating the intentions to use fitness applications by sport consumers. The results revealed several key conclusions: (a) Technology Acceptance Model is the most widely used model; (b) the relationship between perceived utility and future intentions is the most analyzed; and (c) the most evaluated applications are diet/fitness. These findings could help technology managers to know the most important key elements to take into account in the development of future applications in sport organizations

The Effect of teacher motivation and instructional methodologies on student outcomes in integrated science in the upper east region, Ghana

This study\u27s focus was to ascertain how teaching strategies and teacher motivation affected students\u27 performance in integrated science in Ghana\u27s Upper East. The researcher employed a survey design. Heads of senior high schools and teachers of integrated science constitute the study\u27s population. Purposeful and straightforward random samplings were utilised to choose the respondents. 84 respondents made up the sample, comprising 80 integrated science teachers and 4 school heads. A structured questionnaire served as the primary tool, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse the data (SPSS). The data analysis revealed that a large percentage of integrated science instructors (52.5%) thought that teacher motivation led them to perform in-depth study in order to teach effectively. Additionally, it was found that every integrated science instructor stated that skilled teachers employ effective teaching strategies to raise student achievement

Combining sport and academic career: exploring the current state of student-athletes' dual career research field

Understanding the Dual Career as the process of combining the athletic career with an academic career or work, the main purpose of this paper is to study the current state of research on this reality. Based on this, a review of the scientific literature published in journals indexed on the Web of Science has been performed. This review consists of a bibliometric analysis, which provides basic bibliometric indicators, the co-authorship and keyword networks, and a thematic analysis of the search. Secondly, a systematic review of the most representative documents of each thematic cluster has been carried out. The results indicate that research on Dual Career is in an intermediate state, where there is a growing interest during the last years, and show that Europe is the main focus of research on this reality, despite the need of further research considering non-European terms to refer to this reality. The paper provides an overview of Dual Career research's current state and may serve as a starting point to guide future research, and help education and sport policy makers to develop better measures to facilitate student-athletes' Dual Career

Towards Equity in Health: Researchers Take Stock

For the 2016 end-of-the-year editorial, the PLOS Medicine editors asked 7 global health leaders to discuss developments relevant to the equitable provision of medical care to all populations. The result is a collection of expert views on ethical trial design, research during outbreaks, high-burden infectious diseases, diversity in research and protection of migrants