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

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

Effects of invasion games on physical fitness in primary school children

Studies concerning the effects of different invasion games on physical fitness in school children are scarce. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the application of invasion games on physical fitness in primary school children. A total of 62 primary school children aged 10-12 years voluntarily participated in this study. They were divided into experimental (32) and control (30) group. Physical fitness of children was estimated by the following tests: Standing broad jump, Vertical jump, Bent-arm hang, Sit-ups, Pushups, Medicine ball test and Andersen test. The experimental group had twice per week invasion games on non-consecutive days for 12 weeks. Participants in control group did not perform specific program but attended their regular PE class twice per week. Compared with initial measurement, there was a significant (p 0.05). To conclude, invasion games were an effective way of improving physical fitness in primary school children, because the results of this study indicate that this method was more effective for physical fitness than traditional school program

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

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