Parenting styles and parents\u27 attitudes toward learning and performance in their children

The study attempted to show that parenting styles are directly related to parents\u27 goals with respect to their children\u27s education. Parents\u27 goals, and the behaviors they motivate, were assumed to be a mechanism accounting for well-established effects of parenting style on children\u27s school achievement. The sample consisted of 223 undergraduate college mothers enrolled in psychology courses. The results indicated that parents\u27 use of an authoritative style was positively related to their adoption of learning goals with respect to their child, as evident, for example, in their use of a process focus and indirect homework assistance strategies. Moreover, mothers\u27 use of an authoritarian style was positively related to their adoption of performance goals, as evident in their use of a product focus. Results are discussed in terms of goal theory and the limitations of self-report methods

Identification of crystal orientation for turbine blades with anisotropy materials

A novel approach to identify the crystal orientation of turbine blades with anisotropy materials is proposed. Based on enhanced mode basis, with the main advantages of its efficiency, accuracy and general applicability, the blade vibration mode of each order is linearly constructed by several specified mode shapes, which are obtained from the considered turbine blade with specified crystal orientations correspondingly. Then, a surrogate model based on Kriging method is introduced for constructing the condensed perturbed matrix of stiffness in order to improve the efficiency even further. The constructed surrogate model allows to perform the modal analysis of turbine blades with arbitrary crystal orientations in higher efficiency, due to the fact that the elements of condensed perturbed matrix of stiffness are considered in construction of the surrogate model rather than concerning the perturbation of all the elements of the initial stiffness matrix for the blade. Genetic algorithm is finally employed to optimize the defined fitness functions in order to identify the crystal orientation angles of turbine blades. Several corresponding examples demonstrated the accuracy, efficiency and general applicability of the proposed method

Biomechanics-mediated endocytosis in atherosclerosis

Biomechanical forces, including vascular shear stress, cyclic stretching, and extracellular matrix stiffness, which influence mechanosensitive channels in the plasma membrane, determine cell function in atherosclerosis. Being highly associated with the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, endocytosis is the key point in molecule and macromolecule trafficking, which plays an important role in lipid transportation. The process of endocytosis relies on the mobility and tension of the plasma membrane, which is sensitive to biomechanical forces. Several studies have advanced the signal transduction between endocytosis and biomechanics to elaborate the developmental role of atherosclerosis. Meanwhile, increased plaque growth also results in changes in the structure, composition and morphology of the coronary artery that contribute to the alteration of arterial biomechanics. These cross-links of biomechanics and endocytosis in atherosclerotic plaques play an important role in cell function, such as cell phenotype switching, foam cell formation, and lipoprotein transportation. We propose that biomechanical force activates the endocytosis of vascular cells and plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis

Tetrahedral Lithium Stuffing in Disordered Rocksalt Cathodes for High-Power-Density and Energy-Density Batteries

Li-rich cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) materials introduce new paradigms in the design of high-capacity Li-ion battery cathode materials. However, DRX materials show strikingly sluggish kinetics due to random Li percolation with poor rate performance. Here, we demonstrate that Li stuffing into the tetrahedral sites of the Mn-based rocksalt skeleton injects a novel tetrahedron-octahedron-tetrahedron diffusion path, which acts as a low-energy-barrier hub to facilitate high-speed Li transport. Moreover, the enhanced stability of lattice oxygen and the suppression of transition metal migration preserve the efficacy of the Li percolation network during cycling. Overall, the tetrahedral Li stuffing DRX material exhibits high energy density (311 mAh g-1, 923 Wh kg-1) and high power density (251 mAh g-1, 697 Wh kg-1 at 1000 mA g-1). Our results highlight the potential to develop high-performance and earth-abundant cathode materials within the extensive range of rocksalt compounds

A comprehensive database of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients (0–18 years old) in East China

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD). However, clinical trials with new therapeutic strategies are being conducted or considered. A comprehensive database is critical for patient recruitment and efficacy evaluation. China has the largest population, yet, no comprehensive database for DMD/BMD is available. Our study registered the data of the DMD/BMD patients in East China. METHODS: A modified registry form of Remudy (http://www.remudy.jp/) was applied to Chinese DMD/BMD patients through the outpatient clinic at Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai during the period of August 2011 to December 2013. The data included geographic distribution of patients, age at diagnosis, clinical manifestation, genetic analysis and treatment status. RESULTS: 194 DMD and 35 BMD patients were registered. Most patients lived in East China, namely Jiangsu province, Anhui province, Zhejiang province, Jiangxi province, Shanghai, Fujian province and Shandong province. All individuals aged less than 18 years (age limit to a children’s hospital). Diagnosis was made for a majority of patients during the age of 3–4 (16.6%) and 7–8 (14.8%) years old. Exon deletion was the most frequent genetic mutations (65.5% and 74.3%) followed by point mutations (14.4% and 11.4%), duplications (9.8% and 8.6%) and small insertion/deletion (9.3% and 2.9%) for DMD and BMD, respectively. 82.5% of DMD registrants were ambulatory, and all the BMD registrants were able to walk. 26.3% of DMD registrants have been treated with steroids. Cardiac functions were examined for 46.4% DMD boys and 45.7% BMD boys and respiratory functions were examined for 18.6% DMD boys and 14.3% BMD boys. Four boys with abnormal cardiac function were prescribed for treatment with cardiac medicine. 33.2% of DMD patients are eligible for exon skipping therapy, and among them 9.2% and 4.3% patients are eligible for skipping exon 51 and 53, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The database is the first linking accurate genetic diagnosis with clinical manifestation and treatment status of dystrophinopathy patients in East China. It provides comprehensive information essential for further patient management, especially for promotion of international cooperation in developing experimental therapies such as exon skipping and read-through of nonsense mutations targeting a subgroup of DMD patient population

Bacillus sp. alone or combined with salicylic acid inhibited Trichoderma spp. infection on harvested white Hypsizygus marmoreus

IntroductionWhite Hypsizygus marmoreus is a popular edible mushroom. It is rich in nutrition and flavor but vulnerable to fungal disease, resulting in nutrient loss and aging.MethodsIn this study, the pathogenic fungus Trichoderma spp. BBP-6 and its antagonist Bacillus sp. 1–23 were isolated and identified. The negative effects caused by this pathogen were judged by detecting a series of changes in the infected white H. marmoreus. The effects of Bacillus sp. 1–23 on Trichoderma spp. BBP-6 and the infected white H. marmoreus were detected. The effect of Bacillus sp. 1–23 treatment combined with salicylic acid (SA) was also considered.ResultsThe results showed that Trichoderma spp. BBP-6 could affect the activities of antioxidant enzymes PAL, POD, CAT, SOD, GR, PPO, and APX to interfere with the stability of the white H. marmoreus antioxidant enzyme system and cause the mushroom severe browning and nutrition loss, as well as general quality deterioration. Bacillus sp. 1–23 could produce chitinase and chitosanase enzymes to inhibit Trichoderma spp. BBP-6 directly. SA reinforced this inhibitory. Bacillus sp. 1–23 alone or combined with SA could help white H. marmoreus from the Trichoderma spp. BBP-6 infection to effectively maintain nutrients, restore and stabilize the antioxidant system, and reduce the production of malondialdehyde, superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide.DiscussionThus, such treatments could be considered potential methods to alleviate damage from disease and extend the shelf life of white H. marmoreus

Explicit Constructions of Perfect Hash Families from Algebraic Curves over Finite Fields

AbstractLet A be a set of order n and B be a set of order m. An (n, m, w)-perfect hash family is a set H of functions from A to B such that for any X⊆A with |X|=w, there exists an element h∈H such that h is one-to-one when restricted to X. Perfect hash families have many applications to computer science, such as database management, circuit complexity theory and cryptography. In this paper, we provide explicit constructions of perfect hash families based on algebraic curves over finite fields. In particular, using the Garcia–Stichtenoth curves, we obtain infinite classes of (n, m, w)-perfect hash families with |H|=O(logn) for fixed m and w, which are among the most efficient explicit constructions for perfect hash families known in the literature. We also exhibit examples to show the efficiency of the new constructions and their applications to the constructions of cover-free families