Parents’ education, less so their money, nurtures the intelligence of their children: Results of 19 studies in six countries at different development levels

<p>International Society for Intelligence Research, ISIR 2010</p> <p>11th Annual Conference</p> <p>December 9 to 11, 2010</p> <p>Holiday Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria/Washington</p> <p>Thursday, 9th December 2010, 1100-1120</p

The Cognitive Competences of Immigrants and Natives across the World: An Analysis of Gaps, Causes and Impact

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>Immigration, immigration policies and education of immigrants alter competence levels of nations. We analysed their effects using PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS data (1995 to 2012, NC=93 nations) for natives’ and immigrants’ competences, competence gaps and their population proportions. The mean native-immigrant gap is equivalent to 4.71 IQ points.<br><br>The correlation between native and migrant IQ is r=.92 (see Figure 1). <br>Figure 2 shows large differences across countries in gaps ranging from around + 12 to -10 IQ points. The largest immigrant-based ‘brain gains’ are observed for Arabian oil-based economies, and the largest ‘brain losses’ for Central Europe.<br>Figure 3 shows how national educational quality may reduce gaps. A one standard deviation increase in school quality represents a closing of around 1 IQ point in the native-immigrant gap, corresponding to 738 US$ of GNI per IQ-score, capita and year.<br><br><em>Poster presented at the 15th ISIR Conference, Graz, Austria,December 12-14, 2014</em></p> <p> </p

APOBEC2 Is a Monomer in Solution: Implications for APOBEC3G Models

Although the physiological role of APOBEC2 is still largely unknown, a crystal structure of a truncated variant of this protein was determined several years ago [Prochnow, C. (2007) <i>Nature</i> <i>445</i>, 447–451]. This APOBEC2 structure had considerable impact in the HIV field because it was considered a good model for the structure of APOBEC3G, an important HIV restriction factor that abrogates HIV infectivity in the absence of the viral accessory protein Vif. The quaternary structure and the arrangement of the monomers of APOBEC2 in the crystal were taken as being representative for APOBEC3G and exploited in explaining its enzymatic and anti-HIV activity. Here we show, unambiguously, that in contrast to the findings for the crystal, APOBEC2 is monomeric in solution. The nuclear magnetic resonance solution structure of full-length APOBEC2 reveals that the N-terminal tail that was removed for crystallization resides close to strand β2, the dimer interface in the crystal structure, and shields this region of the protein from engaging in intermolecular contacts. In addition, the presence of the N-terminal region drastically alters the aggregation propensity of APOBEC2, rendering the full-length protein highly soluble and not prone to precipitation. In summary, our results cast doubt on all previous structure–function predictions for APOBEC3G that were based on the crystal structure of APOBEC2

Presence of predicted orthologs of SMCL-1, DPY-27 (I^DC), and SMC-4 (I & II) in various species.

<p>Phylogenetic tree built from all available <i>Caenorhabditis</i> species with sequenced and well-assembled genomes, other selected nematode species, and other selected model organisms. “<i>+”</i> symbol denotes the presence of SMCL-1-like protein based on similarity in a BLAST search and the additional criteria of short length, imperfect signature motif, and a Walker B motif lacking the catalytic glutamate (see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006614#sec014" target="_blank">Methods</a> and <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006614#pgen.1006614.s003" target="_blank">S3 Fig</a>). “1” denotes orthologs detected using a high-confidence Ensemble-COMPARA method and “2” denotes orthologs detected using BLAST-neighbor-joining tree methods.</p

SMCL-1 expression and protein features.

<p>(A) Adult hermaphrodites from wild-type (WT) and a strain carrying the <i>map</i>::<i>smcl-1</i> transgene driven by endogenous <i>smcl-1</i> 5’ and 3’ elements. A section of the germline is shown, imaged by DIC to show structures and fluorescent microscopy to detect mVenus expression from the MAP tag. Arrowheads denote the first four oocytes. (B) A typical SMC protein folds back on itself at a hinge domain, bringing coil regions together and creating a “head domain” (yellow) from ATPase domains in the N- and C-termini. SMCL-1 lacks predicted coil and hinge domains, but has N- and C-terminal ATPase domains that may be capable of forming a head domain (purple). (C) SMC head domain and the ATPase cycle, showing binding of ATP (red circle), ATP-dependent engagement of heads from two SMC proteins, and disengagement upon ATP hydrolysis. (D) SMCL-1 amino acid sequence aligned to <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i> condensin SMC proteins. Shown are regions surrounding three conserved motifs found in SMCs and related ATPases: the Walker A motif, ABC transporter signature motif, and Walker B motifs, and their consensus sequences. SMCL-1 shares a conserved Walker A motif, but differs from consensus signature motif and Walker B motif at residues shown in red. Asterisk denotes catalytic amino acid required for ATP hydrolysis. x = any amino acid and h = hydrophobic amino acid.</p

Condensin subunits co-purify with MAP::SMCL-1.

<p>(A-B) Proteins that co-purified with MAP::SMCL-1 but not untagged control adult extracts, identified by tandem affinity purification and MudPIT mass spectrometry. Numbers represent average NSAF values from two replicas. Co-purified proteins with the highest NSAF values are shown in (A), values for other condensin subunits are shown in (B), and all other proteins are shown in <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006614#pgen.1006614.s011" target="_blank">S5 Table</a>. Condensin SMC subunits are highlighted.</p

SMCL-1 overexpression in the gut disrupts condensin I^DC localization on the X chromosomes.

<p>(A) Heat shock regimen for data in (B-E). Bolt represents the single heat-shock pulse given to young adult hermaphrodites from the wild-type or inducible <i>hs</i>:<i>smcl-1(+)</i> transgenic strain. (B-E) Adult hermaphrodite gut tissue of the indicated strain and treatment was stained with DAPI to image DNA (green in merge) and immuno-stained with antibody against CAPG-1(B-C), DPY-27 (D) and DPY-28 (E), (red in merges). Antibody against SMCL-1 was also included in (B and C), showing overexpression upon heat shock (blue in merge). The foci of staining created by condensin I^DC subunit association with the X chromosomes are lost when SMCL-1 is overexpressed. (C) A mosaic animal in which anti-SMCL-1 staining indicates that one cell lacks the transgene (left) and shows foci of anti-CAPG-1, while a neighboring cells has the <i>smcl-1</i> overexpression transgene (right) and CAPG-1 staining is weak and not localized to foci (also see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006614#pgen.1006614.s006" target="_blank">S6C and S6D Fig</a>). HS = heat shock.</p

Chaudhary et al. public data

Data used for analysis in: Polygyny without wealth: popularity in gift games predicts polygyny in BaYaka Pygmies (Chaudhary et al. 2015)

Student & tutor consensus: A partnership in assessment for learning

The mistakes made when attempting tasks often prove to be some of the most invaluable learning experiences. Despite this, outcome and results driven assessment formats largely penalise student performance errors or reward students who succeed by chance. The consequences of this paradigm are visible effects on student relationships with assessment. The student–tutor consensus approach to assessment was introduced to capture student learning achieved ‘from’ assessment to complement the measurement of performance outcomes. This approach parallels student and tutor judgement in a grade negotiation, affording the student an opportunity to share with their assessor what they have learned from the assessment activity. This student self-awareness was then considered alongside the conventional outcome-based score awarded by the tutor to generate a final grade for the assessed activity. Our study evaluated the perceptions of 90 undergraduate students enrolled in the bachelor of paramedic studies, who participated in this novel assessment approach as part of a final-year capstone topic. The results comprehensively indicated value for all aspects of the assessment approach, as well as a recognition that the skills will be useful in their future professional roles

Lymphocytosis by foraging

Data necessary to run analysis on the influence of foraging on Lymphocytosis. Given small population sizes all data have been randomised to protect individuals identity