Bystander Responses to Bias‐Based Bullying in Schools: A Developmental Intergroup Approach

Research on bystanders' responses to bullying shows the valuable contribution that prosocial or defender behaviors can have in reducing bullying in schools. In this article, we propose that a developmental intergroup approach (i.e., a developing understanding of social identities and related intergroup processes) is required to understand fully when and why children and adolescents help bullied peers in diverse contexts. First, we review theory and evidence on intergroup social exclusion to demonstrate the strength of a developmental intergroup approach when understanding responses to complex social scenarios in childhood and adolescence. Then, we review recent evidence that demonstrates the importance of examining group membership, group identity, and group norms to understand children's and adolescents' responses as bystanders in the context of bias‐based bullying. Finally, we consider implications for school‐based interventions and next steps for research

The development of speciesism: Age-related differences in the moral view of animals

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordMaterials and data are available at: https://osf.io/bea9m/?view_only=b9d75d7875464984bbc0f2190f5993cfHumans care for the wellbeing of some animals (e.g., dogs), yet tacitly endorse the maltreatment of others (e.g., pigs). What treatment is deemed morally appropriate for an animal can depend on whether the animal is characterised as “food”. When such categorisation of animals emerges, and when a moral hierarchy of beings depending on their species-membership (speciesism) develops is poorly understood. We investigate this development across samples of children (9-11-years-old), young adults (18-21-years-old), and adults (29-59-years-old; total N=479). Compared to young adults and adults, children a) show less speciesism, b) are less likely to categorize farm animals as food than pets, c) think farm animals ought to be treated better, and d) deem eating meat and animal products to be less morally acceptable. These findings imply that there are key age-related differences in our moral view of animal worth that point to socially constructed development over the lifespan

Intellectual disability, unusual facial morphology and hand anomalies in sibs

Here we report on a Portuguese family with three sisters who shared moderate intellectual disability, unusual facial morphology (short palpebral fissures; broad nasal tip; thin upper and lower vermillion; broad and pointed chin) and hand anomalies in two of them (short left third and fifth right metacarpals in one case; marked syndactyly between the third and fourth fingers in another). One of the sisters had microcephaly and short stature, and the other two were obese. Obesity and somewhat similar facial features were also present in the otherwise healthy mother. Despite the overlap with several known syndromes (Albright osteodystrophy; Filippi syndrome; Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome; microdeletion 2q37), we suggest this condition is previously unreported, and most likely displays an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance

Cue-Reactors: Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Craving after Food or Smoking Abstinence

Background: Pavlovian conditioning plays a critical role in both drug addiction and binge eating. Recent animal research suggests that certain individuals are highly sensitive to conditioned cues, whether they signal food or drugs. Are certain humans also more reactive to both food and drug cues? Methods: We examined cue-induced craving for both cigarettes and food, in the same individuals (n = 15 adult smokers). Subjects viewed smoking-related or food-related images after abstaining from either smoking or eating. Results: Certain individuals reported strong cue-induced craving after both smoking and food cues. That is, subjects who reported strong cue-induced craving for cigarettes also rated stronger cue-induced food craving. Conclusions: In humans, like in nonhumans, there may be a ‘‘cue-reactive’ ’ phenotype, consisting of individuals who are highly sensitive to conditioned stimuli. This finding extends recent reports from nonhuman studies. Further understanding this subgroup of smokers may allow clinicians to individually tailor therapies for smoking cessation

Challenging the exclusion of immigrant peers

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordData availability: This study was not preregistered. Please contact the first author for access to data and study materials.The present study examined age-related differences in bystander reactions within the context of peer exclusion of national ingroup (British) and immigrant outgroup (Australian or Turkish) peers. The immigrant peers were from nations that varied in terms of their perceived intergroup status in Britain. Participants were British children (n = 110, 8–11 years) and adolescents (n = 193, 13–16 years) who were presented with one of three scenarios in which a British national, Australian immigrant, or Turkish immigrant peer was excluded by a British peer group. Participants indicated their bystander responses. Perceived similarity and bystander self-efficacy were examined as possible correlates of bystander reactions. Findings revealed that children were more likely to directly challenge the social exclusion when the excluded peer was British or Australian compared with when they were Turkish. In contrast, adolescents did not differentiate in their response—they were equally likely to directly challenge the exclusion regardless of the excluded peer’s nationality. Importantly, when the excluded peer was Turkish, moderated mediation analysis showed that, with age, there was higher bystander self-efficacy for challenging the exclusions. In turn, higher bystander self-efficacy was related to higher direct challenging. These novel findings demonstrate the importance of intergroup relations, perceived similarity, and bystander self-efficacy in the emergence of age-related differences in bystander reactions to the exclusion of immigrant peers.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)National Science Foundation (NSF)National Institutes of Health (NIH

Novel mutation of the PRNP gene of a clinical CJD case

BACKGROUND: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), a group of neurodegenerative diseases, are thought to be caused by an abnormal isoform of a naturally occurring protein known as cellular prion protein, PrP(C). The abnormal form of prion protein, PrP(Sc )accumulates in the brain of affected individuals. Both isoforms are encoded by the same prion protein gene (PRNP), and the structural changes occur post-translationally. Certain mutations in the PRNP gene result in genetic TSEs or increased susceptibility to TSEs. CASE PRESENTATION: A 70 year old woman was admitted to the hospital with severe confusion and inability to walk. Relatives recognized memory loss, gait and behavioral disturbances over a six month period prior to hospitalization. Neurological examination revealed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) related symptoms such as incontinence, Babinski sign and myoclonus. EEG showed periodic sharp waves typical of sporadic CJD and cerebrospinal fluid analysis (CSF) was positive for the presence of the 14-3-3-protein. As the disease progressed the patient developed akinetic mutism and died in the tenth month after onset of the disease symptoms. Unfortunately, no autopsy material was available. PRNP sequencing showed the occurrence of a point mutation on one allele at codon 193, which is altered from ACC, coding for a threonine, to ATC, encoding an isoleucine (T193I). CONCLUSION: Here we report a novel mutation of the PRNP gene found in an elderly female patient resulting in heterozygosity for isoleucine and threonine at codon 193, in which normally homozygosity for threonine is expected (T193). The patient presented typical clinical symptoms of CJD. EEG findings and the presence of the 14-3-3 protein in the CSF, contributed to CJD diagnosis, allowing the classification of this case as a probable CJD according to the World Health Organization (WHO) accepted criteria

Structural evolution and flip-flop recombination of chloroplast DNA in the fern genus Osmunda

The evolution and recombination of chloroplast genome structure in the fern genus Osmunda were studied by comparative restriction site mapping and filter hybridization of chloroplast DNAs (cpDNAs) from three species — 0. cinnamomea, 0. claytoniana and 0. regalis . The three 144 kb circular genomes were found to be colinear in organization, indicating that no major inversions or transpositions had occurred during the approximately 70 million years since their radiation from a common ancestor. Although overall size and sequence arrangement are highly conserved in the three genomes, they differ by an extensive series of small deletions and insertions, ranging in size from 50 bp to 350 by and scattered more or less at random throughout the circular chromosomes. All three chloroplast genomes contain a large inverted repeat of approximately 10 kb in size. However, hybridizations using cloned fragments from the 0. cinnamomea and 0. regalis genomes revealed the absence of any dispersed repeats in at least 50% of the genome. Analysis with restriction enzymes that fail to cleave the 10 kb inverted repeat indicated that each of the three fern chloroplast genomes exists as an equimolar population of two isomeric circles differing only in the relative orientation of their two single copy regions. These two inversion isomers are inferred to result from high frequency intramolecular recombination between paired inverted repeat segments. In all aspects of their general organization, recombinational heterogeneity, and extent of structural rearrangement and length mutation, these fern chloroplast genomes resemble very closely the chloroplast genomes of most angiosperms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46956/1/294_2004_Article_BF00418530.pd

Resident physician and hospital pharmacist familiarity with patient discharge medication costs

Objective Cost-related medication non-adherence is associated with increased health-care resource utilization and poor patient outcomes. Physicians-in-training generally receive little education regarding costs of prescribed therapy and may rely on hospital pharmacists for this information. However, little is documented regarding either of these health care providers’ familiarity with out-of pocket medication expenses borne by patients in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare resident physician and hospital pharmacist familiarity with what patients pay for medications prescribed once discharged. Setting A major tertiary patient care and medical teaching centre in Canada. Method Internal medicine residents and hospital pharmacists within a specific health care organization were invited to participate in an online survey. Eight patient case scenarios and associated discharge therapeutic regimens were outlined and respondents asked to identify the costs patients would incur when having the prescription filled once discharged. Main Outcome Measure Total number and proportion of estimates above and below actual cost were calculated and compared between the groups using χ2 tests. Responses ±10% of the true cost were considered correct. Mean absolute values and standard deviation estimated costs, as well as cost increments above and below 10%, were calculated to assess the magnitude of the discrepancy between the respondent estimates and the actual total cost. Results Forty-four percent of physician residents and 26% of hospital pharmacists accessed the survey. Overall 39% and 47% of medication costs were under-estimated, 32% and 33% were overestimated, and 29% and 21% were correctly estimated by residents and pharmacists, respectively (P = NS). Incorrect estimates were evident across all therapeutic classes and medical indications presented in the survey. The greatest absolute cost discrepancy for both groups was under-estimation of linezolid ($800 and$400) and over-estimation of clopidogrel ($80) and bisoprolol therapy ($22) by residents and pharmacists, respectively. Conclusion Resident physicians and hospital pharmacists are unfamiliar with what patients must pay for drug therapy once discharged

Extracellular Matrix Aggregates from Differentiating Embryoid Bodies as a Scaffold to Support ESC Proliferation and Differentiation

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have emerged as potential cell sources for tissue engineering and regeneration owing to its virtually unlimited replicative capacity and the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Current differentiation strategies primarily involve various growth factor/inducer/repressor concoctions with less emphasis on the substrate. Developing biomaterials to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation could aid in the realization of this goal. Extracellular matrix (ECM) components are important physiological regulators, and can provide cues to direct ESC expansion and differentiation. ECM undergoes constant remodeling with surrounding cells to accommodate specific developmental event. In this study, using ESC derived aggregates called embryoid bodies (EB) as a model, we characterized the biological nature of ECM in EB after exposure to different treatments: spontaneously differentiated and retinoic acid treated (denoted as SPT and RA, respectively). Next, we extracted this treatment-specific ECM by detergent decellularization methods (Triton X-100, DOC and SDS are compared). The resulting EB ECM scaffolds were seeded with undifferentiated ESCs using a novel cell seeding strategy, and the behavior of ESCs was studied. Our results showed that the optimized protocol efficiently removes cells while retaining crucial ECM and biochemical components. Decellularized ECM from SPT EB gave rise to a more favorable microenvironment for promoting ESC attachment, proliferation, and early differentiation, compared to native EB and decellularized ECM from RA EB. These findings suggest that various treatment conditions allow the formulation of unique ESC-ECM derived scaffolds to enhance ESC bioactivities, including proliferation and differentiation for tissue regeneration applications. © 2013 Goh et al

Evolution of a unique predatory feeding apparatus: functional anatomy, development and a genetic locus for jaw laterality in Lake Tanganyika scale-eating cichlids

Background While bilaterality is a defining characteristic of triploblastic animals, several assemblages have managed to break this symmetry in order to exploit the adaptive peaks garnered through the lateralization of behaviour or morphology. One striking example of an evolved asymmetry in vertebrates comes from a group of scale-eating cichlid fishes from Lake Tanganyika. Members of the Perissodini tribe of cichlid fishes have evolved dental and craniofacial asymmetries in order to more effectively remove scales from the left or right flanks of prey. Here we examine the evolution and development of craniofacial morphology and laterality among Lake Tanganyika scale-eating cichlids. Results Using both geometric and traditional morphometric methods we found that the craniofacial evolution in the Perissodini involved discrete shifts in skeletal anatomy that reflect differences in habitat preference and predation strategies. Further, we show that the evolutionary history of the Perissodini is characterized by an accentuation of craniofacial laterality such that certain taxa show elaborate sided differences in craniofacial shape consistent with the sub-partitioning of function between sides of the head during attacks. Craniofacial laterality in the scale-eating specialist Perissodus microlepis was found to be evident early in development and exhibited a unimodal distribution, which is contrary to the adult condition where jaw laterality has been described as a discrete, bimodal antisymmetry. Finally, using linkage and association analyses we identified a conserved locus for jaw handedness that segregates among East African cichlids. Conclusions We suggest that, during the evolution of the Perissodini, selection has accentuated a latent, genetically determined handedness of the craniofacial skeleton, enabling the evolution of jaw asymmetries in order to increase predation success. Continued work on the developmental genetic basis of laterality in the Perissodini will facilitate a better understanding of the evolution of this unique group of fishes, as well as of left-right axis determination among vertebrates in general