Somehow Or Other

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Women’s adaptation to STEM domains promotes resilience and a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking

Experiences that compel people to challenge social stereotypes can promote enhanced cognitive flexibility on a range of judgmental domains. Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are chronically exposed to such experiences and may therefore also demonstrate these benefits. Two studies examined the differential effects of counterstereotypical experiences on women from STEM and non-STEM fields. Results showed that imagining or recollecting these experiences led women from STEM fields to exhibit a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking compared to women from non-STEM fields, and this difference was mediated by self-perceived resilience to the negative impact of gender stereotyping. Implications for psychologists’ and educators’ understanding of the relationship between counterstereotypical experiences and heuristic thinking are discussed

Lipoxin A4 stable analogs reduce allergic airway responses via mechanisms distinct from CysLT1 receptor antagonism

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154665/1/fsb2fj078653com.pd

The Factor Analysis of Ipsative Measures

This article deals with the problem of analyzing sets of ipsative variables using the common factor model. We demonstrate that the usual assumptions of the common factor model, especially the assumption of uncorrelated disturbances, are not appropriate for sets of ipsative variables. We develop a common factor model that takes into account the ipsative properties of such data and show how this model can be applied to any set of ipsative measures using the methods of confirmatory factor analysis. We then suggest that the application of this model may be useful in modeling the latent content of sets ofrankings and other measures that have the ipsative property as a result of the measurement procedure. Finally, we apply the model to Kohn's measures of parental values, using sample data from the General Social Surveys.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68736/2/10.1177_004912418000900206.pd

A Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems: Computational Creativity Evaluation Based on What it is to be Creative

Computational creativity is a flourishing research area, with a variety of creative systems being produced and developed. Creativity evaluation has not kept pace with system development with an evident lack of systematic evaluation of the creativity of these systems in the literature. This is partially due to difficulties in defining what it means for a computer to be creative; indeed, there is no consensus on this for human creativity, let alone its computational equivalent. This paper proposes a Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems (SPECS). SPECS is a three-step process: stating what it means for a particular computational system to be creative, deriving and performing tests based on these statements. To assist this process, the paper offers a collection of key components of creativity, identified empirically from discussions of human and computational creativity. Using this approach, the SPECS methodology is demonstrated through a comparative case study evaluating computational creativity systems that improvise music

A novel diffuse gastric cancer susceptibility variant in E-cadherin (CDH1) intron 2: A case control study in an Italian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inherited genetic factors such as E-cadherin (<it>CDH1</it>) promoter variants are believed to influence the risk towards sporadic diffuse gastric cancer (DGC). Recently, a new regulatory region essential for <it>CDH1 </it>transcription has been identified in <it>CDH1 </it>intron 2.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped all known polymorphisms located within conserved sequences of <it>CDH1 </it>intron 2 (rs10673765, rs9932686, rs1125557, rs9282650, rs9931853) in an Italian population consisting of 134 DGC cases and 100 healthy controls (55 patient relatives and 45 unrelated, matched individuals). The influence of individual variants on DGC risk was assessed using χ²-tests and logistic regression. The relative contribution of alleles was estimated by haplotype analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed a significant (p < 0.0004) association of the <it>CDH1 </it>163+37235G>A variant (rs1125557) with DGC risk. Odds ratios were 4.55 (95%CI = 2.09–9.93) and 1.38 (95%CI = 0.75–2.55) for AA and GA carriers, respectively. When adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol intake and <it>H. pylori </it>infection, the risk estimates remained largely significant for AA carriers. Haplotype analysis suggested the 163+37235A-allele contributes to disease risk independently of the other variants studied.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>CDH1 </it>163+37235G>A polymorphism may represent a novel susceptibility variant for sporadic DGC if confirmed in other populations. Considering the broad expression of E-cadherin in epithelia, this exploratory study encourages further evaluation of the 163+37235A-allele as a susceptibility variant in other carcinomas.</p

A hypothetico-deductive approach to assessing the social function of chemical signalling in a non-territorial solitary carnivore

The function of chemical signalling in non-territorial solitary carnivores is still relatively unclear. Studies on territorial solitary and social carnivores have highlighted odour capability and utility, however the social function of chemical signalling in wild carnivore populations operating dominance hierarchy social systems has received little attention. We monitored scent marking and investigatory behaviour of wild brown bears Ursus arctos, to test multiple hypotheses relating to the social function of chemical signalling. Camera traps were stationed facing bear ‘marking trees’ to document behaviour by different age sex classes in different seasons. We found evidence to support the hypothesis that adult males utilise chemical signalling to communicate dominance to other males throughout the non-denning period. Adult females did not appear to utilise marking trees to advertise oestrous state during the breeding season. The function of marking by subadult bears is somewhat unclear, but may be related to the behaviour of adult males. Subadults investigated trees more often than they scent marked during the breeding season, which could be a result of an increased risk from adult males. Females with young showed an increase in marking and investigation of trees outside of the breeding season. We propose the hypothesis that females engage their dependent young with marking trees from a young age, at a relatively ‘safe’ time of year. Memory, experience, and learning at a young age, may all contribute towards odour capabilities in adult bears

Frequency of CDH1 germline mutations in gastric carcinoma coming from high- and low-risk areas: metanalysis and systematic review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The frequency of E-cadherin germline mutations in countries with different incidence rates for gastric carcinoma has not been well established. The goal of this study was to assess the worldwide frequency of <it>CDH1 </it>germline mutations in gastric cancers coming from low- and high-risk areas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>English articles using MEDLINE access (from 1998 to 2011). Search terms included <it>CDH1</it>, E-cadherin, germline mutation, gastric cancer, hereditary, familial and diffuse histotype.</p> <p>The study included all E-cadherin germline mutations identified in gastric cancer patients; somatic mutations and germline mutations reported in other tumors were excluded.</p> <p>The method of this study was scheduled in accordance with the "PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses". Countries were classified as low- or middle/high risk-areas for gastric carcinoma incidence. Statistical analysis was performed to correlate the <it>CDH1 </it>mutation frequency with gastric cancer incidence areas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 122 E-cadherin germline mutations have been identified; the majority (87.5%) occurred in gastric cancers coming from low-risk areas. In high-risk areas, we identified 16 mutations in which missense mutations were predominant. (68.8%). We verified a significant association between the mutation frequency and the gastric cancer risk area (<it>p </it>< 0.001: overall identified mutations in low- vs. middle/high-risk areas).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>E-cadherin genetic screenings performed in low-risk areas for gastric cancer identified a higher frequency of <it>CDH1 </it>germline mutations. This data could open new approaches in the gastric cancer prevention test; before proposing a proband candidate for the <it>CDH1 </it>genetic screening, geographic variability, alongside the family history should be considered.</p