Contextual cueing is not flexible.

Target detection is faster when search displays repeat, but properties of the memory representations that give rise to this contextual cueing effect remain uncertain. We adapted the contextual cueing task using an ABA design and recorded the eye movements of healthy young adults to determine whether the memory representations are flexible. Targets moved to a new location during the B phase and then returned to their original locations (second A phase). Contextual cueing effects in the first A phase were reinstated immediately in the second A phase, and response time costs eventually gave way to a repeated search advantage in the B phase, suggesting that two target-context associations were learned. However, this apparent flexibility disappeared when eye tracking data were used to subdivide repeated displays based on B-phase viewing of the original target quadrant. Therefore, memory representations acquired in the contextual cueing task resist change and are not flexible.

A pilot-scale study of cryolite precipitation from high fluoride-containing wastewater in a reaction-separation integrated reactor.

Fluoride removal by traditional precipitation generates huge amounts of a water-rich sludge with low quality, which has no commercial or industrial value. The present study evaluated the feasibility of recovering fluoride as low water content cryolite from industrial fluoride-containing wastewater. A novel pilot-scale reaction-separation integrated reactor was designed. The results showed that the seed retention time in the reactor was prolonged to strengthen the induced crystallization process. The particle size of cryolite increased with increasing seed retention time, which decreased the water content. The recovery rate of cryolite was above 75% under an influent fluoride concentration of 3500 mg/L, a reaction temperature of 500C, and an influent flow of 40 L/hr. The cryolite products that precipitated from the reactor were small in volume, large in particle size, low in water content, high in crystal purity, and recyclable.

Development of an Assessment of Ethics for Chinese Physical Education Teachers: A Study Using the Delphi and Expert Ranking Methods.

BACKGROUND: Developing the ethics of physical education (PE) teachers is important for promoting the overall development of students. However, it is unclear which indicators can be used to assess the ethics of PE teachers in China. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an assessment of ethics for Chinese physical education teachers (AECPET) using the Delphi and expert ranking methods. METHODS: Two rounds of the Delphi method were performed to develop the assessment. An expert ranking method was used to determine the weight of each domain and indicator. RESULTS: The developed AECPET is a multi-dimensional model with eight domains: (1) Policy Implementation (PI), (2) Legal Compliance and Patriotism (LCP), (3) Love for Students (LS), (4) Daily Performance (DP), (5) Philosophy of Educating Students (PES), (6) Attitude towards Scientific Research (ASR), (7) Awareness of Self-discipline and Honesty (ASH), and (8) Attitude towards Serving Society (ASS); and 42 indicators. The weight of PI, LCP, LS, DP, PES, ASR, ASH, and ASS are 18.1%, 19.1%, 16.2%, 11.1%, 16.3%, 7.2%, 9.1%, and 4.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The AECPET is an evaluating system constructed based on the perspective of Chinese PE teachers, which also has a potentially global perspective and can be used by PE teachers with different cultural views. Applied by the government, schools, PE teachers, and students, the AECPET can improve the level of ethics of Chinese PE teachers.

School Violence and Teacher Professional Engagement: A Cross-National Study.

School violence research has mainly focused on the impact on students. Very few studies, even fewer from a cross-cultural perspective, have examined the relationships between school violence and teacher professional engagement, and the role played by teacher self-efficacy and school climate related factors. The present study utilizes a SEM research methodology to analyze the 2013 TALIS data. The purpose is to understand and compare the relationships in four different cultural contexts; the U.S., England, South Korea, and Mexico. Results indicate, on average, that the significant and negative impacts of school violence on teacher professional engagement are partly mediated by teacher self-efficacy. The negativity of school violence is significantly alleviated by enhancing participation among school stakeholders and improving teacher-student relationships. The relationships among the factors apply across all four cultural systems, though, the effects of factors and variables vary to a degree. The paper also discusses other relevant issues and differences as well as their implications.

Does the Economic Growth Improve Public Health? A Cross-Regional Heterogeneous Study in China.

On public health, the effect of economic growth in China is analyzed in this paper by using the panel threshold regression model. The empirical study from 2000 to 2017 shows that China's economic growth has a significant threshold effect on public health. After the threshold is exceeded, public health will be improved dramatically. The threshold effect is heterogeneous at the regional level. The eastern region has no threshold, and both central and western regions have a single significant threshold. However, the threshold value and threshold effect in the central and western regions are also different. The heterogeneity is caused by the different levels of regional economic development. Therefore, based on public health utility maximization, the government should make different health policies according to the characteristics of regional development.

State Anxiety Impairs Proactive but Enhances Reactive Control.

Cognitive control is a construct that prioritizes how we process stimuli and information to flexibly and efficiently adapt to internal goals and external environmental changes. The Dual Mechanism of Control (DMC) theory delineates two distinct cognitive control operations: proactive control and reactive control (Braver, 2012). Anxiety has been posited to differentially affect proactive and reactive control, due to its influence on working memory and attention allocation (Eysenck et al., 2007; Fales et al., 2008). However, no study has yet directly compared the influence of anxiety on proactive and reactive control in the same individuals. In this study, we examined how state anxiety affected proactive control, using the AX-continuous performance task (AX-CPT), and reactive control, using the classic Stroop task. Based on theory and previous investigations, we expected that state anxiety would enhance reactive control but impair proactive control. Consistent with our predictions, we found that state anxiety, induced with a threat of shock manipulation, inhibited proactive control on the AX-CPT test, but increased reactive control in the Stroop task. Anxiety may impair proactive control in contexts requiring goal maintenance by occupying limited working memory capacity, whereas it may enhance reactive control via facilitated attention allocation to threat and engaging the conflict monitoring system to quickly modify behavior.

The effects of treadmill exercise on autophagy in hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

The ß-amyloid (Aß) deposition is one of the major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Dysfunction in autophagy has been reported to lead to the Aß deposition. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of treadmill exercise on autophagy activity and the Aß deposition and to demonstrate whether exercise-induced reduction in the Aß deposition was associated with changes in autophagy activity. APP/PS1 transgenic mice were divided into transgenic sedentary (TG-SED, n=12) and transgenic exercise (TG-EXE, n=12) groups. Wild-type mice were also divided into sedentary (WT-SED, n=12) and exercise (WT-EXE, n=12) groups. The WT-EXE and TG-EXE mice were subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks. The levels of Aß plaques and soluble forms of Aß, autophagy markers light chain 3 and P62, and lysosomal marker lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (Lamp1) were measured in the hippocampus. Both Aß plaques and soluble forms of Aß (Aß40 and Aß42) were significantly increased in TG-SED mice compared with WT-SED mice, whereas exercise reduced Aß deposition in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Coincidentally, TG-SED mice displayed a decrease in autophagy activity as evidenced by a significant increase in the levels of light chain 3-II and P62, as well as an accumulation of lysosome as evidenced by a significant over-expression of Lamp1. Interestingly, exercise increased autophagy activity as evidenced by a significant reduction in the levels of P62 and Lamp1 in TG-EXE mice. These findings suggest that treadmill exercise is efficient in decreasing Aß deposition by enhancing autophagy-lysosomal activity in APP/PS1 transgenic mice, demonstrating a possible approach in Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment.