Self-efficacy, Motivation and Academic Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of the Number of Friends at University.

Background: Academic satisfaction (AS) is a key marker of educational success at university. It is therefore extremely important to investigate any factors that may enhance AS. Drawing on social cognitive theory, Lent's model of life satisfaction, and self-determination theory, the present study examined the roles of academic self-efficacy (ASE) and type of motivation for attending university in AS, while controlling for sex and course year.

Children's performance in mental rotation tasks: orientation-free features flatten the slope.

Studies of the development of mental rotation have yielded conflicting results, apparently because different mental rotation tasks draw on different cognitive abilities. Children may compare two stimuli at different orientations without mental rotation if the stimuli contain orientation-free features. Two groups of children (78 6-year-olds and 92 8-year-olds) participated in an experiment investigating development of the ability to mentally rotate and the ability to recognize and use orientation-free features.

CagA seropositivity and the severity of Helicobacter pylori infection in dyspeptic children.

Aim: To assess the incidence of cagA (cytotoxin-associated protein) and to evaluate its correlation with endoscopic-histologic findings and with eradication rate in a series of children affected by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis.

Methods: Fifty consecutive H.