Genetic and environmental contributions to population group differences on the Raven's Progressive Matrices estimated from twins reared together and apart

We carried out two studies to test the hypothesis that genetic and environmental influences explain population group differences in general mental ability just as they do individual differences within a group. We estimated the heritability and environmentality of scores on the diagrammatic puzzles of the Raven's Coloured and/or Standard Progressive Matrices (CPM/SPM) from two independent twin samples and correlated these estimates with group differences on the same items. In Study 1, 199 pairs of 5- to 7-year-old monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins reared together provided estimates of heritability and environmentality for 36 puzzles from the CPM. These estimates correlated with the differences between the twins and 94 Serbian Roma (both rs=0.32; Ns=36; ps<0.05). In Study 2, 152 pairs of adult MZ and DZ twins reared apart provided estimates of heritability and environmentality for 58 puzzles from the SPM. These estimates correlated with the differences among 11 diverse samples including (i) the reared-apart twins, (ii) another sample of Serbian Roma, and (iii) East Asian, White, South Asian, Coloured and Black high school and university students in South Africa. In 55 comparisons, group differences were more pronounced on the more heritable and on the more environmental items (mean rs=0.40 and 0.47, respectively; Ns=58; ps<0.05). After controlling for measurement reliability and variance in item pass rates, the heritabilities still correlated with the group differences, although the environmentalities did not. Puzzles found relatively difficult (or easy) by the twins were those found relatively difficult (or easy) by the others (mean r=0.87). These results suggest that population group differences are part of the normal variation expected within a universal human cognition

Factorial and construct validity of sit-up test of different durations to assess muscular endurance of police students

Background: The number of completed sit-ups in a given period of time is a commonly used assessment to measure trunk endurance in tactical populations. This study investigated factorial and construct validity of three different durations of a sit-up test&mdash;30 s, 60 s, and 120 s; Methods: Anthropometric characteristics and sit-ups performed for 30, 60, and 120 s by101 (&#9794;: n = 62 and &#9792;: n = 39) police students were assessed. A factorial analysis was used to determine if three test durations group together in one factor, correlation analysis determined whether the sit-up tests were associated with anthropometric measures and whether the three variations in the test duration correlated between each other, and the Fisher&rsquo;s transformation determined whether these correlations differed significantly; Results: All three sit-up variations loaded together into one factor in both sexes, providing factorial validity for all three test durations. Anthropometrics were associated with sit-up tests lasting 30 s in males and 120 s in females. A sit-up test lasting 60 s correlated significantly stronger to 120 s than to the 30 s sit-up test; Conclusions: The 60 s sit-up test seems to have the highest construct validity, as it was not affected by anthropometrics, and it may be an optimal choice for its lower risk of lower back injuries. By applying the results of this study, agencies could reduce the bias that may occur during the sit-up test and reduce the risk of injury during physical fitness assessment

The LSST Era of Supermassive Black Hole Accretion Disk Reverberation Mapping

peer reviewedThe Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will detect an unprecedentedly large sample of actively accreting supermassive black holes with typical accretion disk (AD) sizes of a few light days. This brings us to face challenges in the reverberation mapping (RM) measurement of AD sizes in active galactic nuclei using interband continuum delays. We examine the effect of LSST cadence strategies on AD RM using our metric AGN_TimeLagMetric. It accounts for redshift, cadence, the magnitude limit, and magnitude corrections for dust extinction. Running our metric on different LSST cadence strategies, we produce an atlas of the performance estimations for LSST photometric RM measurements. We provide an upper limit on the estimated number of quasars for which the AD time lag can be computed within 0 1000 sources in each deep drilling field (DDF; (10 deg2)) in any filter, with the redshift distribution of these sources peaking at z ≍ 1. We find the LSST observation strategies with a good cadence (≲5 days) and a long cumulative season (~9 yr), as proposed for LSST DDF, are favored for the AD size measurement. We create synthetic LSST light curves for the most suitable DDF cadences and determine RM time lags to demonstrate the impact of the best cadences based on the proposed metric

PRIMENA EVROPSKOG NALOGA ZA HAPŠENJE

The paper analyses the European Arrest Warrant which is based on the principle of mutual recognition and the principle of effective cooperation, which represent the foundations of judicial cooperation in criminal legal matters. The authors analyse whether there are obstacles to mutual recognition of decisions and how effective cooperation is when it comes to the European Arrest Warrant. The paper includes the conducted research regarding appeals against the European Arrest Warrant addressed to the Supreme Court and the High Criminal Court of the Republic of Croatia. The aim is to use a random sample to determine which criminal offenses are most often the subject of the European Arrest Warrant, as well as the number of rejections or acceptance of appeals against the European Arrest Warrant. In particular, by using the case study method, cases were analysed in which the appeal was accepted, i.e., to determine the shortcomings of the first instance courts in making decisions. According to the available data, an analysis was performed on the number of issued and executed warrants for individual countries from 2014 to 2018, which shows the functionality of the implementation.U radu je prikazan Evropski nalog za hapšenje koji se bazira na načelu uzajamnog priznavanja i na načelu efikasne saradnje što su temelji pravosudne saradnje u krivičnopravnim stvarima. Autori u radu analiziraju postoje li prepreke za uzajamno priznavanje odluka te koliko je efikasna saradnja kod Evropskog naloga za hapšenje. U radu je sprovedeno istraživanje žalbi na Evropski nalog za hapšenje koje su upućene Vrhovnom sudu i Visokom kaznenom sudu RH. Cilj je na slučajnom uzorku utvrditi koja su krivična djela najčešće predmet Evropskog naloga za hapšenje, te brojnost odbijanja, odnosno prihvatanja žalbi na Evropski nalog za hapšenje. Posebno su kroz metodu studije slučaja analizirani predmeti u kojima je došlo do prihvatanja žalbe, odnosno koje su bile manjkavosti prvostepenih sudova prilikom donošenja odluka. Prema dostupnim podacima izvršena je i analiza o broju izdatih i izvršenih naloga za pojedine drzave u razdoblju od 2014. do 2018. iz koje se vidi funkcionalnost implementacije

Maternal IQ and child mortality in 222 Serbian Roma (Gypsy) women

A significant negative correlation (r = -0.26) is found between maternal IQ measured by the Raven's Matrices and child mortality in 222 Serbian Roma (Gypsy) women. Statistical adjustments for schooling, age, religion, number of marriages, age at first reproduction, and birth spacing did not remove the correlation. Indeed, maternal schooling had no association with child mortality after controlling for IQ. We suggest that in addition to cognitively mediated self-management, an explanation for the relationship may lie in a cross-species life-history theory in which IQ scores are linked to brain size and a robust constitution

Significance of ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for the detection of laryngeal occult metastases

Background/Aim. To evaluate ultrasound criteria based on a node size, shape, vascularity and cytology findings with respect to their value for the comparative determination of metastatic lymph nodes in laryngeal carcinoma. Methods. A prospective study included 30 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma without node enlargement on computerized tomography, at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, the University Hospital, Zemun. Thirty-six neck lymph nodes were evaluated sonographically and aspirated with an ultrasound-guided fine-needle. They were examined cytologically and/or histopathologically and compared to the sonographic assessment of their malignancy. Results. Of the 36 neck lymph nodes evaluated cytologically, the 13 were found to be with a metastatic deposit. The assessment of a lymph node malignancy using the parameter of size had the sensitivity of 84%, the specificity of 70%, and the reliability of 75%. Using the criteria of a lymph node shape for the assessment of malignancy, the sensitivity of 61%, specificity of 65%, and the reliability of 64% were achieved. The evaluation of a lymph node vascularity by the use of the effect of Doppler showed the sensitivity of 69%, the specificity of 95%, and the reliability of 86%. Concluson. Ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology should be always used for the preoperative staging and for the postoperative follow-up of the status of the neck with cancer of the larynx becouse of their high accuracy, availability and semiinvasivity, and in order to enhance the reliability of the evaluation of the malignant disease progression

Accuracy and predictive capability of body mass index in evaluation of obesity and body fatness level in police officers

This study evaluated the accuracy and predictive value of body mass index (BMI) in evaluation of obesity and body fatness. Data on BMI and percent body fat (PBF) were collected on 953 male police officers who were allocated into age groups: 20-29 years, 30-39 years, and 40-49 years. BMI > 30.0 kg/m2 and PBF > 25% were classified as obese, and those with lower values were classified as non-obese. Chi-square was used to evaluate the accuracy in classification in obese and non-obese when officers' BMI was matched to PBF. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analyses determined the prediction value of BMI. Chi-square revealed significant difference in obesity prevalence when evaluated by BMI and PBF, with classification accuracy of 44.5%-71.8%, depending on age. BMI had moderate prediction value of body fatness. If the assessment of PBF is not attainable, BMI needs to be used carefully as it is likely to underestimate obesity among police officers