Are curiosity and situational interest different? Exploring distinct antecedents and consequences.

BACKGROUND: A controversy over the distinction between curiosity and situational interest has recently resurfaced. Nonetheless, empirical research comparing the two is noticeably lacking. AIMS: We attempted to fill this gap and provide much-needed evidence of the distinction between curiosity and situational interest by examining the antecedents and consequences of the two constructs. METHODS: We assessed enjoyment, novelty, uncertainty and surprise as potential antecedents and information seeking, individual interest, career intention and achievement as potential outcomes of curiosity and situational interest among 219 Korean sixth graders in the domain of science. RESULTS: Of the hypothesized antecedents, enjoyment during science class related most strongly to students' situational interest in science, whereas novelty in science class related most strongly to students' science curiosity. Uncertainty and surprise in science class related to only science curiosity and not situational interest in science. Among the outcomes considered, situational interest in science related to only students' individual interest in science. In comparison, science curiosity related significantly to all science outcomes measured in this study. Science curiosity also significantly mediated the relationships between the antecedents and outcomes in science. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results support the distinction between curiosity and situational interest and suggest different ways to promote each motivation construct depending on desired outcomes in the science classroom.

Highly Flexible and Durable Thermoelectric Power Generator Using CNT/PDMS Foam by Rapid Solvent Evaporation.

Using a simple, rapid solvent evaporation process, the authors produced 3D carbon nanotube (CNT)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) foams with both high thermoelectric (TE) and good mechanical performance and used them to fabricate highly flexible and durable TE generators. The numerous pores and interfaces in the CNT/PDMS foams, which have porosities exceeding 87%, afford very low thermal conductivity of 0.13 W m-1 K-1 . The foam has a zT value of 6.6 × 10-3 , which is twice as high as that of pristine CNT foam. Importantly, the CNT/PDMS foam exhibits good tensile strength of 0.78 MPa, elongation greater than 20%, and excellent resilience even at compressive strain of 80%. This foam is used to fabricate a highly flexible TE foam generator that exhibits a moderate output power of 1.9 µW generated from the large temperature gradient of 18.1 K produced by applied heat. The authors also demonstrate a practical TE foam generator that produces sustainable output power of 3.1 µW under a compressive strain of 80% and 38.2 nW under the continuous vibrational stress produced by a car engine. The TE foam generator also exhibits excellent stability and durability under cyclic bending and harsh vibrational stress.

Correlations between Changes in Medical Opioid Dispensing and Contributions of Fentanyl to Opioid-Related Overdose Fatalities: Exploratory Analyses from Canada.

Canada is experiencing an epidemic of opioid-related mortality, with increasing yet heterogeneous fatality patterns from illicit/synthetic (e.g., fentanyl) opioids. The present study examined whether differential provincial reductions in medical opioid dispensing following restrictive regulations (post-2010) were associated with differential contributions of fentanyl to opioid mortality. Annual provincial opioid dispensing totals in defined daily doses/1000 population/day, and change rates in opioid dispensing for the 10 provinces for (1) 2011-2018 and (2) "peak-year" to 2018 were derived from a pan-Canadian pharmacy-based dispensing panel. Provincial contribution rates of fentanyl to opioid-related mortality (2016-2019) were averaged. Correlation values (Pearson's R) between provincial changes in opioid dispensing and the relative fentanyl contributions to mortality were computed for the two scenarios. The correlation between province-based changes in opioid dispensing (2011-2018) and the relative contribution of fentanyl to total opioid deaths (2016-2019) was -0.70 (t = 2.75; df = 8; p = 0.03); the corresponding correlation for opioid dispensing changes ("peak-year" to 2018) was -0.59 (t = -2.06; df = 8; p = 0.07). Provincial reductions in medical opioid dispensing indicated (near-)significant correlations with fentanyl contribution rates to opioid-related death totals. Differential reductions in pharmaceutical opioid availability may have created supply voids for nonmedical use, substituted with synthetic/toxic (e.g., fentanyl) opioids and leading to accelerated opioid mortality. Implications of these possible unintended adverse consequences warrant consideration for public health policy.

Boys are Affected by Their Parents More Than Girls are: Parents' Utility Value Socialization in Science.

Gender differences in parental value socialization of their children's motivation, achievement, and career aspirations in science were investigated. Direct and indirect modes of parental value socialization were examined by asking parents about their perception of the utility value of science for their children and for themselves. A total of 260 dyads of Korean parents (86.5% mothers) and their 5 or 6th grade children (45.8% girls) participated in the study. Boys aspired STEM-related careers more strongly than did girls despite comparable levels of motivation and achievement in science. Parents' value beliefs did not predict their daughters' science motivation and achievement but were highly predictive of those of their sons. Parents' perception of the utility value of science for their sons, which may have been directly communicated to and imposed on children, predicted their sons' STEM career aspirations and science achievement. In contrast, parents' perception of the utility value of science for themselves, which may have been indirectly endorsed and embedded in parental behavior, predicted only their sons' science achievement. In male-favored domains like STEM, parents alone may be able to socialize their sons on task values, whereas a more diverse range of socializers may be needed to shape and develop girls' values.

The benefits of negative yet informative feedback.

We investigated whether negative feedback with information could benefit both behavioral and neural responses. Fifteen participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while receiving various feedbacks in a novel perceptual task. Behavioral data showed that reaction times of task performance were faster after receiving negative informative feedback compared to negative confirmatory feedback. The fMRI analysis of the interaction contrast between feedback type (informative vs. confirmatory) and valence (negative vs. positive) showed greater activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and the ventral striatum in response to negative informative compared to confirmatory feedback. The psychophysiological interactions (PPI) analyses showed that the vlPFC activation was positively correlated with the amygdala and the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ). The ventral striatum activation was negatively correlated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). These results suggest that negative but informative feedback benefits subsequent performance and its primary function is to elicit positive prediction error (instructive signal) and to induce cognitive control to guide subsequent goal-directed behavior.

Effect of Semi-Fluorinated Alkyl Side Chains on Conjugated Polymers with Planar Backbone in Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Newly synthesized donor-acceptor (D-A) type of conjugated copolymer (PCTV-BTzF) with semi-fluorinated alkyl side chains, which has good solubility in common organic solvents, is described. Unlike polymers with hydrocarbon-based alkyl side chains, semi-fluorocabonated polymer leads to intriguing results. First, the self-organization behavior of the semi-fluoroalkyl side chains by the self-aggregate propensity between hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon induces patterned microstructural morphology in polymer films; second, it dominates the molecular orientation of polymers with planar back structure. Such unusual properties of the polymer with semi-fluoroalkyl side chains compared to that with the hydrocarbon ones are verified and characterized though various systematic characterizations, including temperature-dependent UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and 2D-grazing incident X-ray diffraction measurement. As a result, PCTV-BTzF-based OFETs show the maximum p-type field-effect mobility of 1.02 cm2  V-1  s-1 in the 200 °C annealed films.

Cooperative and Competitive Contextual Effects on Social Cognitive and Empathic Neural Responses.

We aimed to differentiate the neural responses to cooperative and competitive contexts, which are the two of the most important social contexts in human society. Healthy male college students were asked to complete a Tetris-like task requiring mental rotation skills under individual, cooperative, and competitive contexts in an fMRI scanner. While the participants completed the task, pictures of others experiencing pain evoking emotional empathy randomly appeared to capture contextual effects on empathic neural responses. Behavioral results indicated that, in the presence of cooperation, participants solved the tasks more accurately and quickly than what they did when in the presence of competition. The fMRI results revealed activations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) related to executive functions and theory of mind when participants performed the task under both cooperative and competitive contexts, whereas no activation of such areas was observed in the individual context. Cooperation condition exhibited stronger neural responses in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dmPFC than competition condition. Competition condition, however, showed marginal neural responses in the cerebellum and anterior insular cortex (AIC). The two social contexts involved stronger empathic neural responses to other's pain than the individual context, but no substantial differences between cooperation and competition were present. Regions of interest analyses revealed that individual's trait empathy modulated the neural activity in the state empathy network, the AIC, and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) depending on the social context. These results suggest that cooperation improves task performance and activates neural responses associated with reward and mentalizing. Furthermore, the interaction between trait- and state-empathy was explored by correlation analyses between individual's trait empathy score and changing empathic brain activations along with the exposure to the cooperative and competitive social contexts.

The long-term effects of the health coaching self-management program for nursing-home residents.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Little is known about whether a self-management program for nursing-home residents (NHR) with cognitive impairment is likely to have an impact on the care of this growing population. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the health-coaching self-management program for NHR (HCSMP-NHR) on 1) self-efficacy and goal attainment scaling (GAS), 2) health status and quality of life (QoL) among older people, including those with cognitive impairment, in Korean nursing homes. METHODS: This was a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Participants in the intervention group (n=43, mean age =80.91±7.65 years) received the HCSMP-NHR intervention, composed of group health education and individual coaching, for 8 weeks. Conventional care was provided to the conventional group (n=47, mean age =80.19±7.53 years) during the same period. The effects of the HCSMP-NHR were measured three times: at baseline, week 9, and week 20. RESULTS: The intervention group showed better results for self-efficacy (P=0.007), health distress (P=0.007), depression (P<0.001), and QoL (P=0.04) at week 9. Mean GAS score of the intervention group gradually increased from -0.38 to 0.74. The time × group interaction showed that the intervention group had significant improvements in QoL (P=0.047), and significant reductions in health distress (P=0.016) and depression (P<0.001), while showing no deterioration in shortness of breath (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study findings indicate that the HCSMP-NHR improved self-efficacy and GAS and enhanced the health status and QoL of NHR with chronic conditions who also had mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment. Moreover, these effects were successfully maintained over the 5 months of the trial. Further research is needed to establish the optimum intervention period and to assess the possibility of nationwide implementation of the HCSMP-NHR.

Precise Side-Chain Engineering of Thienylenevinylene-Benzotriazole-Based Conjugated Polymers with Coplanar Backbone for Organic Field Effect Transistors and CMOS-like Inverters.

Two donor-acceptor (D-A) alternating conjugated polymers based on thienylenevinylene-benzotriazole (TV-BTz), PTV6B with a linear side chain and PTVEhB with a branched side chain, were synthesized and characterized for organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-like inverters. According to density functional theory (DFT), polymers based on TV-BTz exhibit a coplanar and rigid structure with no significant twists, which could cause to an increase in charge-carrier mobility in OFETs. Alternating alkyl side chains of the polymers impacted neither the band gap nor the energy level. However, it significantly affected the morphology and crystallinity when the polymer films were thermally annealed. To investigate the effect of thermal annealing on the morphology and crystallinity, we characterized the polymer films using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and 2D-grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (2D-GIWAXD). Fibrillary morphologies with larger domains and increased crystallinity were observed in the polymer films after thermal annealing. These polymers exhibited improved charge-carrier mobilities in annealed films at 200 °C and demonstrated optimal OFET device performance with p-type transport characteristics with charge-carrier mobilities of 1.51 cm2/(V s) (PTV6B) and 2.58 cm2/(V s) (PTVEhB). Furthermore, CMOS-like inorganic (ZnO)-organic (PTVEhB) hybrid bilayer inverter showed that the inverting voltage (Vinv) was positioned near the ideal switching point at half (1/2) of supplied voltage (VDD) due to fairly balanced p- and n-channels.

Protective effects of N-acetylcysteine and selenium against doxorubicin toxicity in rats.

To investigate the neutralizing effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and selenium (Se) against doxorubicin (DOX) toxicity in rats, NAC (140 mg/kg, p.o.) and Se (0.5 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered for 2 days before DOX injection and then 3 times a week. Cell viability and the level of lipid peroxidation were examined in cultured-rat astrocytes. Severe morphologic changes in the kidney of DOX group; thickening of Bowmans capsule, presence of multifocal tubular casts were observed, but not in the other treated groups. Vacuoles in some hepatic cells and focal aggregation of stellate macrophages were also detected in DOX group, but not in the other treated groups. However, the severe inhibition of spermatogenesis was found in all treated groups. The cell viability of DOX (10 mg/ml) treated group and NAC (5 mM) or Se (0.001 mg/ml) combined-treated group was 52.5-/+2.0 %, 85.3-/+4.5 % and 75.5-/+1.6 %, respectively. In MDA (malondialdehyde) assay, the level of lipid peroxidation on DOX (10 mg/ml), NAC (5 mM) and Se (0.001 mg/ml) was 0.77-/+0.06, 0.35-/+0.06 and 0.54-/+0.11 nmol/mg protein, respectively. Thus, it is known that NAC and Se have protective effects in kidney and liver but not in the testes. Morphological change was not detected in brain and heart in all groups for experiment period. From this in vitro study, it is known that NAC and Se protect well the astrocytes against DOX induced-cell damage.