Secondary transfer effect among children: The role of social dominance orientation and outgroup attitudes

Research has provided evidence that the effects of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction are not limited to the outgroup one has contact with (primary outgroup). Rather, they extend to secondary outgroups uninvolved in the contact situation (secondary transfer effect; Pettigrew, 2009, Social Psychology, 40, 55). We aimed to provide the first empirical evidence for the emergence of the secondary transfer effect among children. Majority (Italian) and minority (with an immigrant background) elementary schoolchildren were administered a questionnaire including measures of contact with the primary outgroup (minority children for the majority, majority children for the minority), prejudice towards the primary outgroup and towards a dissimilar secondary outgroup (disabled children), and social dominance orientation. Results revealed that among the majority group, contact with the primary outgroup had indirect associations with reduced prejudice towards the secondary outgroup. Specifically, we found evidence for sequential mediation by social dominance orientation and prejudice towards the primary outgroup. No secondary transfer effects emerged among minority group members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the findings, arguing for the importance of identifying the core processes driving the secondary transfer effec

Concert recording 2017-11-06

[Track 1]. Sebben crudele / Antonio Caldara -- [Track 2]. Orpheus with his lute / William Schuman -- [Track 3]. Heaven help my heart -- [Track 4]. Little elegy / John Duke -- [Track 5]. Bel piacere / G.F. Handel -- [Track 6]. I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables / Claude-Michel Schönberg -- [Track 7]. In questa tomba oscura / Ludwig van Beethoven -- [Track 8]. Lasst mich nur auf meinem Sattel gelten! from Freisinn / Robert Shumann -- [Track 9]. Für Musik / Robert Franz -- [Track 10]. Edelweiss from The sound of music / Rodgers & Hammerstein -- [Track 11]. Tu lo sai / Giuseppe Torelli -- [Track 12]. Glück / Max Reger -- [Track 13] Le colibri / Ernest Chausson -- [Track 14] Der Der Schäfer / Hugo Wolf -- [Track 15]. A route to the sky / Jake Heggie -- [Track 16]. Ich liebe dich / Edvard Grieg -- [Track 17]. When it all fall down from Chaplin / Christopher Curtis -- [Track 18]. Voyage a Paris / Francis Poulenc -- [Track 19]. Crucifixion / arr. Hall Johnson -- [Track 20]. Bright is the ring of words / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 21]. Non t\u27amo piu / Francesco Paolo Tosti -- [Track 22]. Se tu m\u27ami / Alessandro Parisotti -- [Track 23]. I love the way from Something\u27s rotten / Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick -- [Track 24]. A madrigal / Herbert Howells -- [Track 25]. El majo discrete / Enrique Granados -- [Track 26]. The roadside fire / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 27]. Che fiero costume / Giovanni Legrenzi -- [Track 28]. An die Musik / Franz Shubert -- [Track 29]. I will sing new songs of gladness / Anton Dvorak -- [Track 30]. Full fathom five from The tempest / Henry Purcell -- [Track 31]. Nimmerstate Libe / Hugo Wolf -- [Track 32]. Deposuit potentes from Magnificat / Johann Sebastian Bach -- [Track 33]. Vaghissima sembiante / Stefano Donaudy -- [Track 34]. Tormani a vaghegghiar from Alcina / G.F. Handel -- [Track 35]. Nobody knows this little rose / John Duke -- [Track 36]. Let beauty awake / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 37]. Steal away / arr. Hall Johnson -- [Track 38]. Come paride vezzoso from L\u27elisir d\u27amore / Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick -- [Track 39]. Dich, teure Halle from Tannhaüser / Richard Wagner -- [Track 40]. Non t\u27accotare all\u27urna / Giuseppe Verdi -- [Track 41]. Zur Rosenzeit / Edvard Grieg

Predictive social perception: Towards a unifying framework from action observation to person knowledge

Action observation is central to human social interaction. It allows people to derive what mental states drive others' behaviour and coordinate (and compete) effectively with them. Although previous accounts have conceptualised this ability in terms of bottom-up (motoric or conceptual) matching processes, more recent evidence suggests that such mechanisms cannot account for the complexity and uncertainty of the sensory input, even in cases where computations should be much simpler (i.e., low-level vision). It has therefore been argued that perception in general, and social perception in particular, is better described as a process of top–down hypothesis testing. In such models, any assumption about others—their goals, attitudes, and beliefs—is translated into predictions of expected sensory input and compared with incoming stimulation. This allows perception and action to be based on these expectations or—in case of a mismatch—for one's prior assumptions to be revised until they are better aligned with the individual's behaviour. This article will give a (selective) review of recent research from experimental psychology and (social) neuroscience that supports such views, discuss the relevant underlying models, and current gaps in research. In particular, it will argue that much headway can be made when current research on predictive social perception is integrated with classic findings from social psychology, which have already shown striking effects of prior knowledge on the processing of other people's behaviour

Gene Expression Profiling of Liver Cancer Stem Cells by RNA-Sequencing

Background: Accumulating evidence supports that tumor growth and cancer relapse are driven by cancer stem cells. Our previous work has demonstrated the existence of CD90 + liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, the characteristics of these cells are still poorly understood. In this study, we employed a more sensitive RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) to compare the gene expression profiling of CD90 + cells sorted from tumor (CD90 +CSCs) with parallel non-tumorous liver tissues (CD90 +NTSCs) and elucidate the roles of putative target genes in hepatocarcinogenesis. Methodology/Principal Findings: CD90 + cells were sorted respectively from tumor and adjacent non-tumorous human liver tissues using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The amplified RNAs of CD90 + cells from 3 HCC patients were subjected to RNA-Seq analysis. A differential gene expression profile was established between CD90 +CSCs and CD90 +NTSCs, and validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) on the same set of amplified RNAs, and further confirmed in an independent cohort of 12 HCC patients. Five hundred genes were differentially expressed (119 up-regulated and 381 down-regulated genes) between CD90 +CSCs and CD90 +NTSCs. Gene ontology analysis indicated that the over-expressed genes in CD90 +CSCs were associated with inflammation, drug resistance and lipid metabolism. Among the differentially expressed genes, glypican-3 (GPC3), a member of glypican family, was markedly elevated in CD90 +CSCs compared to CD90 +NTSCs. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that GPC3 was highly expressed in forty-two human liver tumor tissues but absent in adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues. Flow cytometry indicated that GPC3 was highly expressed in liver CD90 +CSCs and mature cancer cells in liver cancer cell lines and human liver tumor tissues. Furthermore, GPC3 expression was positively correlated with the number of CD90 +CSCs in liver tumor tissues. Conclusions/Significance: The identified genes, such as GPC3 that are distinctly expressed in liver CD90 +CSCs, may be promising gene candidates for HCC therapy without inducing damages to normal liver stem cells. © 2012 Ho et al.published_or_final_versio

Veto Players in Post-Conflict DDR Programs: Evidence from Nepal and the DRC

Under what conditions are Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs successfully implemented following intrastate conflict? Previous research is dominated by under-theorized case studies that lack the ability to detect the precise factors and mechanisms that lead to successful DDR. In this article, we draw on game theory and ask how the number of veto players, their policy distance, and their internal cohesion impact DDR implementation. Using empirical evidence from Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we show that the number of veto players, rather than their distance and cohesion, explains the (lack of) implementation of DDR

Early ultrasound surveillance of newly-created haemodialysis arteriovenous fistula

IntroductionWe assess if ultrasound surveillance of newly-created arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) can predict nonmaturation sufficiently reliably to justify randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of ultrasound-directed salvage intervention.MethodsConsenting adults underwent blinded fortnightly ultrasound scanning of their AVF after creation, with scan characteristics that predicted AVF nonmaturation identified by logistic regression modeling.ResultsOf 333 AVFs created, 65.8% matured by 10 weeks. Serial scanning revealed that maturation occurred rapidly, whereas consistently lower fistula flow rates and venous diameters were observed in those that did not mature. Wrist and elbow AVF nonmaturation could be optimally modeled from week 4 ultrasound parameters alone, but with only moderate positive predictive values (PPVs) (wrist, 60.6% [95% confidence interval, CI: 43.9–77.3]; elbow, 66.7% [48.9–84.4]). Moreover, 40 (70.2%) of the 57 AVFs that thrombosed by week 10 had already failed by the week 4 scan, thus limiting the potential of salvage procedures initiated by that scan’s findings to alter overall maturation rates. Modeling of the early ultrasound characteristics could also predict primary patency failure at 6 months; however, that model performed poorly at predicting assisted primary failure (those AVFs that failed despite a salvage attempt), partly because patency of at-risk AVFs was maintained by successful salvage performed without recourse to the early scan data.ConclusionEarly ultrasound surveillance may predict fistula maturation, but is likely, at best, to result in only very modest improvements in fistula patency. Power calculations suggest that an impractically large number of participants (>1700) would be required for formal RCT evaluation