The New Normal: Amotivation, Sense of Purpose, and Associated Factors Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study examines differences in college students' responses to COVID-19-related stress over time, beginning in fall 2019 before the pandemic and continuing through fall 2022. A total of 957 students completed measures of motivation, sense of purpose, academic adjustment, grit, and COVID-related stress across 7 semesters. Results indicated that motivation stayed steady throughout much of the pandemic as compared to the fall 2019 semester, with the exception of the spring 2022 semester. Academic adjustment, grit, and sense of purpose all fluctuated during the pandemic. After the onset of COVID-19, students reported high levels of stress and reported that they were experiencing higher than usual levels of stress. However, as the pandemic continued, students continued to report high stress levels, but no longer reported that the stress was unusual. That is, over time, high levels of stress and anxiety related to COVID-19 became viewed as normal. This pattern of results suggests that the student response to the pandemic has differed over time and, since COVID-19 remains prevalent, highlights the need for colleges to continue to be prepared to address students' COVID-related adjustment and well-being.

Reproductive schedules in southern bluefin tuna: are current assumptions appropriate?

Southern bluefin tuna (SBT) appear to comprise a single stock that is assumed to be both mixed across its distribution and having reproductive adults that are obligate, annual spawners. The putative annual migration cycle of mature SBT consists of dispersed foraging at temperate latitudes with migration to a single spawning ground in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean. Spawning migrations have been assumed to target two peaks in spawning activity; one in September-October and a second in February-March. SBT of sizes comparable to that of individuals observed on the spawning ground were satellite tagged in the Tasman Sea region (2003-2008) and demonstrated both migrations to the spawning grounds and residency in the Tasman Sea region throughout the whole year. All individuals undertaking apparent spawning migrations timed their movements to coincide with the second recognised spawning peak or even later. These observations suggest that SBT may demonstrate substantial flexibility in the scheduling of reproductive events and may even not spawn annually as currently assumed. Further, the population on the spawning grounds may be temporally structured in association with foraging regions. These findings provide new perspectives on bluefin population and spatial dynamics and warrant further investigation and consideration of reproductive schedules in this species.

Emotional lateralisation in the second year of life: evidence from oral asymmetries.

Oral asymmetries for positive and negative emotional expressions were studied in 41 infants, ranging in age from 12 to 24 months. Single-frame analysis of videotapes of each infant's mouth showed that the left side of the mouth opened wider than the right side during negative emotional expressions but a mirror-image effect was not found for the expression of positive emotion. In addition, this directional bias strengthened with age. These results are interpreted as reflecting lateralisation of negative emotional production to the right hemisphere in infants as young as 12 months of age, a developmental enhancement of right hemisphere control of negative emotional expression that is evident by 24 months of age, and an absence of lateralisation for positive emotional expression in infants between 12 and 24 months of age.

Evidence for an association between gender-role identity and a measure of executive function.

Two studies assessed the relation between gender role and executive function. In Study One (N = 234) analyses indicated that among college students executive function, assessed by the Coolidge and Griego scale, is related to masculine gender-role classification, measured by the Bem Sex-role Inventory. This relationship remained significant when biological sex was controlled. Further, factor analysis of the Bem Sex-role Inventory identified six components, three related to executive function. Two of these scales were associated with masculine characteristics, and the third was associated with the denial of several feminine items. Study Two (N = 53) further assessed the relationship among undergraduates through additional measures of executive functions and mood, in addition to the Bem Sex-role Inventory. In this study, executive functioning, as measured by the Coolidge and Griego scale, was again generally related to masculinity. Psychological well-being was not related to gender identity or executive functioning.

Intense Photosensitized Emission from Stoichiometric Compounds Featuring Mn(2+) in Seven- and Eightfold Coordination Environments.

Synthetic, structural and luminescence studies of stoichiometric crown ether compounds of Mn(2+) in well-defined coordination environments were undertaken in an effort to understand the origin of emitting crystal defects found in cubic F23 [(K18C6)(4)MnBr(4)][TlBr(4)](2) crystals (Fender, N. S.; et al. Inorg. Chem. 1997, 36, 5539). The new compound [Mn(12C4)(2)][MnBr(4)](2)[N(CH(3))(4)](2) (3) features Mn(2+) ions in eight- and fourfold coordination environments of [Mn(12C4)(2)](2+) and MnBr(4)(2)(-) respectively, while Mn(2+) in [Mn(15C5)(H(2)O)(2)][TlBr(5)] (4) is in the sevenfold coordination polyhedron of [Mn(15C5)(H(2)O)(2)](2+). Crystal data for 3: monoclinic, P2(1)/c (No. 14); a = 14.131(3) Å, b = 12.158(1) Å, c = 14.239(2) Å, beta = 110.37(1) degrees, Z = 2, R1 = 0.039 and wR2 = 0.083. For 3, long-lived emission (77 K decay rate approximately 3 x 10 s(-)(1)) from [Mn(12C4)(2)](2+) (the first for eight-coordinate Mn(2+) in stoichiometric compounds) is observed (lambda(max) approximately 546 nm) along with that of the sensitizing MnBr(4)(2)(-) (lambda(max) approximately 513 nm), which is partially quenched. Emission from the seven-coordinate [Mn(15C5)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) species of 4 and [Mn(15C5)(H(2)O)(2)][MnBr(4)] (the first for seven-coordinate Mn(2+) in stoichiometric compounds) peaks at lambda(max) approximately 592 nm. Unusually intense absorptions attributable to the seven-coordinate species are observed at 317 ((2)T(2)((2)I) <-- (6)A(1)), 342 ((4)T(1)((4)P) <-- (6)A(1)), 406 ((4)E((4)G) <-- (6)A(1)), and 531 ((4)T(1)((4)G) <-- (6)A(1)) nm.