Search for autonomy in motor task learning in physical education university students

The study focused on discovering the influence that an autonomous motor task learning programme had on the improvement of perceived competence, intrinsic regulation, incremental belief and motivational orientations. The study was performed with two groups of participants (n = 22 and n = 20) aged between 19 and 35 years. The instruments used were the incremental factor of the Conceptions of the Nature of Athletic Ability Questionnaire (CNAAQ-2), the Goal Orientation in Exercise Scale (GOES), the intrinsic regulation factor of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2), the perceived autonomy factor of the autonomy measurement scale (EMA) and the perceived competence factor of the Motives for Physical Activity Measure Revised Scale (MPAM-R). The questionnaires were handed out over 3 months in a weekly session with pre-test and post-test. The results showed that the use of an autonomy-based teaching programme increased perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, incremental ability belief and task-involving motivational orientation.     

Institutional experience of PTH evaluation on fine-needle washing after aspiration biopsy to locate hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue

Assaying parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the washing liquid after fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) seems to be a valid approach to locate parathyroid tissue. PTH-FNAB was evaluated in 47 patients with a clinical picture of primary hyper-parathyroidism (PHP) and ultrasonography (US) suggestive of parathyroid lesion. The patients were subdivided into two groups on the basis of the absence or presence of US thyroid alterations. The result of PTH-FNAB was compared with those of cytology, scintigraphy and, in 24 patients, surgical outcome. PTH-FNAB samples with a value higher than that recorded in the serum and higher than our institutional cut-off were deemed to be probable samples of parathyroid tissue. Cytology proved diagnostic for benign thyroid lesions, non-diagnostic for thyroid lesions, hyperplastic parathyroid tissue, undetermined or malignant thyroid lesions and other lesions in 45%, 30%, 17%, 4%, and 4% of cases, respectively. In 47% of cases, PTH-FNAB indicated that the sample had been taken in parathyroid tissue. In patients without US alterations, the diagnostic accuracy of PTH-FNAB was greater than that of scintigraphy. After surgery, comparison between the results of PTH-FNAB and scintigraphy, in terms of positive predictive value (PPV), revealed the superiority of PTH-FNAB; PPV was 94% for FNAB and 71% for scintigraphy, while sen-sitivity was 83% and 69%, respectively. PTH-FNAB evaluation after FNAB appears to be more diagnostic than cytology and scintigraphy. Of all the procedures used, PTH-FNAB appears to be the method of choice when the target is US suggestive and reachable. PTH-FNAB appears to be a useful method of guiding surgical intervention.     

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN HUNGARY

Mrs. Deri, after stating that in Hungary today there is a satisfactory number of women students in higher education, splits up the total figures for women students at university into fields of study and shows which ones women usually prefer. She then reviews briefly the results of a sociological survey concerning various questions related to women in higher education, before and after graduation, their professional choices and career opportunities

Mrs. Vera Deri is attached to the Pedagogical Research Centre for Higher Education, Budapest, Hungary     

Correction to: Examining Agency in Children’s Nonfiction Picture Books

Children's Literature in Education - In the original publication of the article unfortunately contained a mistake in the name of co-author Vera Sotirvoska.The correct name should be Vera...     

Baseline Intraocular Pressure Is Associated With Subjective Sensitivity to Physical Exertion in Young Males

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to (a) investigate the effect of physical effort (cycling for 60 min at 60 ± 5% of individually computed reserve heart-rate capacity), combined with 2 different levels of cognitive demand (2-back, oddball), on intraocular pressure (IOP) and subjective judgments of perceived exertion (ratings of perceived exertion [RPE]), affect (Affective Valence subscale of the Self-Assessment Manikin [SAM]), and mental workload (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index [NASA-TLX]); and (b) ascertain whether baseline IOP, measured before exercise, is associated with individual differences in subjective assessments of effort and affective response during exercise. Method: Seventeen participants (M_age = 23.28 ± 2.37 years) performed 2 physical/cognitive dual tasks, matched in physical demand but with different mental requirements (2-back, oddball). We assessed IOP before exercise, after 2 min of active recovery, and after 15 min of passive recovery, and we also collected RPE and SAM measures during the sessions (28 measurement points). We used NASA-TLX and cognitive performance as checks of the mental manipulation. Results: (a) Intraocular pressure increased after concomitant physical/mental effort, with the effect reaching statistical significance after the 2-back task (p = .002, d = 0.35) but not after the oddball condition (p = .092, d = 0.29). (b) Baseline IOP was associated with subjective sensitivity to effort and showed statistical significance for the oddball condition (p = .03, ?_p² = .622) but not for the 2-back task (F < 1). Conclusions: Results suggest a relationship between IOP and physical/cognitive effort, which could have implications for the management of glaucoma. Additionally, a rapid measure of IOP could be used as a marker of individual effort sensitivity in applied settings.