The critical role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordSustaining large-scale public goods requires individuals to make environmentally friendly decisions today to benefit future generations. Recent research suggests that second-order normative beliefs are more powerful predictors of behaviour than first-order personal beliefs. We explored the role that second-order normative beliefs—the belief that community members think that saving energy helps the environment—play in curbing energy use. We first analysed a data set of 211 independent, randomized controlled trials conducted in 27 US states by Opower, a company that uses comparative information about energy consumption to reduce household energy usage (pooled N = 16,198,595). Building off the finding that the energy savings varied between 0.81% and 2.55% across states, we matched this energy use data with a survey that we conducted of over 2,000 individuals in those same states on their first-order personal and second-order normative beliefs. We found that second-order normative beliefs predicted energy savings but first-order personal beliefs did not. A subsequent pre-registered experiment provides causal evidence for the role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation above first-order personal beliefs. Our results suggest that second-order normative beliefs play a critical role in promoting energy conservation and have important implications for policymakers concerned with curbing the detrimental consequences of climate change

The transition to parenthood in obstetrics: Enhancing prenatal care for 2-generation impact

Obstetrics, the specialty overseeing infant and parent health before birth, could be expanded to address the interrelated areas of parents\u27 prenatal impact on children\u27s brain development and their own psychosocial needs during a time of immense change and neuroplasticity. Obstetrics is primed for the shift that is happening in pediatrics, which is moving from its traditional focus on physical health to a coordinated, whole-child, 2- or multigeneration approach. Pediatric care now includes developmental screening, parenting education, parent coaching, access to developmental specialists, brain-building caregiving skills, linkages to community resources, and tiered interventions with psychologists. Drawing on decades of developmental origins of health and disease research highlighting the prenatal beginnings of future health and new studies on the transition to parenthood describing adult development from pregnancy to early postpartum, we have proposed that, similar to pediatrics, the integration of education and intervention strategies into the prenatal care ecosystem should be tested for its potential to improve child cognitive and social-emotional development and parental mental health. Pediatric care programs can serve as models of change for the systematic development, testing and, incorporation of new content into prenatal care as universal, first-tier treatment and evidenced-based, triaged interventions according to the level of need. To promote optimal beginnings for the whole family, we have proposed an augmented prenatal care ecosystem that aligns with, and could build on, current major efforts to enhance perinatal care individualization through consideration of medical, social, and structural determinants of health

The Imbibing Idiot Bias: Consuming Alcohol Can be Hazardous to Your (Perceived) Intelligence

Alcohol consumption and cognitive impairment frequently co-occur. We propose that the relationship is so familiar that exposure to alcohol cues primes expectations of cognitive impairment. Across five studies, we find that in the absence of any evidence of reduced cognitive performance, people who hold an alcoholic beverage are perceived to be less intelligent than those who do not, a mistake we term the imbibing idiot bias. In fact, merely priming observers with alcohol cues causes them to judge targets who hold no beverage at all as less intelligent. The bias is not driven by a belief that less intelligent people are more likely to consume alcohol. We find that the bias may be costly in professional settings. Job candidates who ordered wine during an interview held over dinner were viewed as less intelligent and less hireable than candidates who ordered soda. However, prospective candidates believe that ordering wine rather than soda will help them appear more intelligent

An early years toolbox for assessing early executive function, language, self-Regulation, and social development validity, reliability, and preliminary norms

Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) offers substantial advantages for early assessment of language, EF, self-regulation, and social development. In the current study, results of our large-scale administration of this toolbox to 1,764 preschool and early primary school students indicated very good reliability, convergent validity with existing measures, and developmental sensitivity. Results were also suggestive of better capture of children’s emerging abilities relative to comparison measures. Preliminary norms are presented, showing a clear developmental trajectory across half-year age groups. The accessibility of the EYT, as well as its advantages over existing measures, offers considerably enhanced opportunities for objective measurement of young children’s abilities to enable research and educational applications

Privacy in crowdsourcing:a systematic review

The advent of crowdsourcing has brought with it multiple privacy challenges. For example, essential monitoring activities, while necessary and unavoidable, also potentially compromise contributor privacy. We conducted an extensive literature review of the research related to the privacy aspects of crowdsourcing. Our investigation revealed interesting gender differences and also differences in terms of individual perceptions. We conclude by suggesting a number of future research directions.</p

CYP2B6 Genotype‐Dependent Inhibition of CYP1A2 and Induction of CYP2A6 by the Antiretroviral Drug Efavirenz in Healthy Volunteers

We investigated the effect of efavirenz on the activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A2, CYP2A6, xanthine oxidase (XO), and N‐acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), using caffeine as a probe. A single 150 mg oral dose of caffeine was administered to healthy volunteers (n = 58) on two separate occasions; with a single 600 mg oral dose of efavirenz and after treatment with 600 mg/day efavirenz for 17 days. Caffeine and its metabolites in plasma and urine were quantified using liquid chromatography/tandem‐mass spectrometry. DNA was genotyped for CYP2B6*4 (785A>G), CYP2B6*9 (516G>T), and CYP2B6*18 (983T>C) alleles using TaqMan assays. Relative to single‐dose efavirenz treatment, multiple doses of efavirenz decreased CYP1A2 (by 38%) and increased CYP2A6 (by 85%) activities (P < 0.05); XO and NAT2 activities were unaffected. CYP2B6*6*6 genotype was associated with lower CYP1A2 activity following both single and multiple doses of efavirenz. No similar association was noted for CYP2A6 activity. This is the first report showing that efavirenz reduces hepatic CYP1A2 and suggesting chronic efavirenz exposure likely enhances the elimination of CYP2A6 substrates. This is also the first to report the extent of efavirenz–CYP1A2 interaction may be efavirenz exposure‐dependent and CYP2B6 genotype‐dependent

Work‒family interface in the context of career success: A qualitative inquiry

Work–family researchers are increasingly recognizing the need to expand their focus to advance the field. One population largely neglected by work‒family researchers is individuals who have been extremely successful in their careers. In addition, organizational career scholars have largely neglected the interplay between employees’ work and family lives. This study contributes to the work‒family literature by studying work‒family interface (WFI) in the context of career success. We sought to explore the lived experiences of 28 distinguished professors who are among the top 2‒5% scholars in their field, to provide an in-depth understanding of their WFI and the prominent factors affecting it over their careers. Our findings have theoretical implications for both work‒family and career success literature

Neuroinflammation and structural injury of the fetal ovine brain following intra-amniotic Candida albicans exposure.

BackgroundIntra-amniotic Candida albicans (C. Albicans) infection is associated with preterm birth and high morbidity and mortality rates. Survivors are prone to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The mechanisms leading to these adverse neonatal brain outcomes remain largely unknown. To better understand the mechanisms underlying C. albicans-induced fetal brain injury, we studied immunological responses and structural changes of the fetal brain in a well-established translational ovine model of intra-amniotic C. albicans infection. In addition, we tested whether these potential adverse outcomes of the fetal brain were improved in utero by antifungal treatment with fluconazole.MethodsPregnant ewes received an intra-amniotic injection of 10(7) colony-forming units C. albicans or saline (controls) at 3 or 5 days before preterm delivery at 0.8 of gestation (term ~ 150 days). Fetal intra-amniotic/intra-peritoneal injections of fluconazole or saline (controls) were administered 2 days after C. albicans exposure. Post mortem analyses for fungal burden, peripheral immune activation, neuroinflammation, and white matter/neuronal injury were performed to determine the effects of intra-amniotic C. albicans and fluconazole treatment.ResultsIntra-amniotic exposure to C. albicans caused a severe systemic inflammatory response, illustrated by a robust increase of plasma interleukin-6 concentrations. Cerebrospinal fluid cultures were positive for C. albicans in the majority of the 3-day C. albicans-exposed animals whereas no positive cultures were present in the 5-day C. albicans-exposed and fluconazole-treated animals. Although C. albicans was not detected in the brain parenchyma, a neuroinflammatory response in the hippocampus and white matter was seen which was characterized by increased microglial and astrocyte activation. These neuroinflammatory changes were accompanied by structural white matter injury. Intra-amniotic fluconazole reduced fetal mortality but did not attenuate neuroinflammation and white matter injury.ConclusionsIntra-amniotic C. albicans exposure provoked acute systemic and neuroinflammatory responses with concomitant white matter injury. Fluconazole treatment prevented systemic inflammation without attenuating cerebral inflammation and injury