Is education a fundamental right? People's lay theories about intellectual potential drive their positions on education

Does every child have a fundamental right to receive a high quality education? We propose that people’s beliefs about whether “nearly everyone” or “only some people” have high intellectual potential drive their positions on education. Three studies found that the more people believed that nearly everyone has high potential, the more they viewed education as a fundamental human right. Further, people who viewed education as a fundamental right, in turn, (1) were more likely to support the institution of free public education; (2) were more concerned upon learning that students in the country were not performing well academically compared to students in peer nations; and (3) were more likely to support redistributing educational funds more equitably across wealthier and poorer school districts. The studies show that people’s beliefs about intellectual potential can influence their positions on education, which can affect the future quality of life for countless students

Reducing gender bias in the evaluation and selection of future leaders: the role of decision makers’ mindsets about the universality of leadership potential

Extensive research has documented organizational decision makers’ preference for men over women when they evaluate and select candidates for leadership positions. We conceptualize a novel construct—mindsets about the universality of leadership potential—that can help reduce this bias. People can believe either that only some individuals have high leadership potential (i.e., a nonuniversal mindset) or that most individuals have high leadership potential (i.e., a universal mindset). Five studies investigated the relationship between these mindsets and decision makers’ gender biases in leader evaluation and selection decisions. The more senior government officials in China held a universal mindset, the less they showed gender bias when rating their subordinates’ leadership capability (Study 1). Working adults in the UK who held a more universal mindset exhibited less gender bias when evaluating and selecting job candidates for a leadership position (Study 2). In an experiment, Singaporean students exposed to a universal mindset exhibited less gender bias when evaluating and selecting candidates than those exposed to a nonuniversal mindset (Study 3). Another experiment with working adults in China replicated this pattern and added a control condition to confirm the directionality of the effect (Study 4). Finally, Study 5 showed that a more universal mindset was associated with less gender bias, particularly among decision makers with stronger gender stereotypes in the domain of leadership. This research demonstrates that, although they are seemingly unrelated to gender, mindsets about the universality of leadership potential can influence the extent to which people express gender bias in the leadership context

The maintenance gap: a new theoretical perspective on the evolution of aging

One of the prevailing theories of aging, the disposable soma theory, views aging as the result of the accumulation of damage through imperfect maintenance. Aging, then, is explained from an evolutionary perspective by asserting that this lack of maintenance exists because the required resources are better invested in reproduction. However, the amount of maintenance necessary to prevent aging, ‘maintenance requirement’ has so far been largely neglected and has certainly not been considered from an evolutionary perspective. To our knowledge we are the first to do so, and arrive at the conclusion that all maintenance requirement needs an evolutionary explanation. Increases in maintenance requirement can only be selected for if these are linked with either higher fecundity or better capabilities to cope with environmental challenges to the integrity of the organism. Several observations are suggestive of the latter kind of trade-off, the existence of which leads to the inevitable conclusion that the level of maintenance requirement is in principle unbound. Even the allocation of all available resources to maintenance could be unable to stop aging in some organisms. This has major implications for our understanding of the aging process on both the evolutionary and the mechanistic level. It means that the expected effect of measures to reallocate resources to maintenance from reproduction may be small in some species. We need to have an idea of how much maintenance is necessary in the first place. Our explorations of how natural selection is expected to act on the maintenance requirement provides the first step in understanding this

Meta-lay theories of scientific potential drive underrepresented students’ sense of belonging to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)

The current research investigates people’s perceptions of others’ lay theories (or mindsets), an understudied construct that we call meta-lay theories. Six studies examine whether underrepresented students’ meta-lay theories influence their sense of belonging to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The studies tested whether underrepresented students who perceive their faculty as believing most students have high scientific aptitude (a universal metatheory) would report a stronger sense of belonging to STEM than those who think their faculty believe that not everyone has high scientific aptitude (a nonuniversal metatheory). Women Ph.D. candidates in STEM fields who held universal rather than nonuniversal metatheories felt greater sense of belonging to their field, both when metatheories were measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2). Undergraduates who held more universal metatheories reported a higher sense of belonging to STEM (Studies 3 and 4) and earned higher final course grades (Study 3). Experimental manipulations depicting a professor communicating the universal lay theory eliminated the difference between African American and European American students’ attraction to a STEM course (Study 5) and between women and men’s sense of belonging to STEM (Study 6). Mini meta-analyses indicated that the universal metatheory increases underrepresented students’ sense of belonging to STEM, reduces the extent of social identity threat they experience, and reduces their perception of faculty as endorsing stereotypes. Across different underrepresented groups, types of institutions, areas of STEM, and points in the STEM pipeline, students’ metaperceptions of faculty’s lay theories about scientific aptitude influence their sense of belonging to STEM

Towards defining heterotic gene pools using SSR markers in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

Pearl millet is a climate resilient crop and the most widely grown millet worldwide. In a maiden attempt to identify potential heterotic groups for grain yield in pearl millet, a total of 88 polymorphic SSR markers were used to genotype 343 hybrid parental lines of pearl millet. The SSR markers generated a total of 532 alleles with a mean value of 6.05 alleles per locus, mean gene diversity of 0.55, and an average PIC of 0.50. Out of 532 alleles, 443 (83.27%) alleles were contributed by B- lines with a mean of 5.03 alleles per locus. R- lines contributed 476 alleles (89.47%) with a mean of 5.41, while 441 (82.89%) alleles were shared commonly between B- and R- lines. The gene diversity and PIC were high among R- lines (0.55 and 0.50) than B- lines (0.49 and 0.44) revealed that R- lines were more diverse than B- lines. The unweighted neighbor-joining tree based on simple matching dissimilarity matrix obtained from SSR data clearly differentiated B- lines into 10 sub-clusters (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9 and B10), and Rlines into 11 sub-clusters (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10 and R11). The parents, three checks and 99 hybrids generated by crossing between representative lines of each of the B- cluster with that of each of the R- cluster were evaluated in line ? tester design over three environments. Based on pooled mean performance, the cross combinations generated between clusters B1 and R3, B2 and R4, B3 and R5, B4 and undetermined cluster, B5 and 11R, B6 and R3, B8 and R4, B9 and R7 and B10 and R5 had shown higher grain yield per plant compared to their counterparts. Based on per se performance, high sca effects and standard heterosis over superior check, F1s generated from crosses between representatives of groups B3 and B10 with representative of group R5 resulted in best heterotic combinations for grain yield. These represent putative heterotic gene pools in pearl millet.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The surged faradic stimulation to the pelvic floor muscles as an adjunct to the medical management in children with rectal prolapse

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess the role of the surged faradic stimulation to the pelvic floor muscles as an adjunct to the conservative management in the children of idiopathic rectal prolapse</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Study design</it>: Prospective</p> <p><it>Setting</it>: Pediatric Surgery Department, Pt BD Sharma, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak</p> <p><it>Subjects</it>: 47 consecutive children with idiopathic rectal prolapse attending the Pediatric Surgery out patient department from July 2005 to June 2006</p> <p><it>Methodology</it>: The information pertaining to duration and the extent of rectal prolapse, predisposing or associated medical conditions, results of local clinical examination were noted. Surged faradic stimulation using modified intraluminal rectal probe, was given on the alternate days. The conventional conservative medical management was also continued. The extent of relief and the number of the sittings of faradic stimulation required were noted at various stages of follow-ups</p> <p><it>Statistical Methods</it>: Mean values between those completely cured and others; poor responders and others were compared with t-test and proportions were compared with Chi square test. The p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean number of sittings in the completely cured group (n = <b>28</b>(64%)) was (12.4 ± 7.8) and was comparable with very poor responder (n = 6(13%). There was higher percentage of relief (76%) at the first follow up (at 15 days) in completely cured Vs other (37%) and also the poor responders showed (20%) Vs other (68%) and was statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With use of faradic stimulation, even the long-standing rectal prolapse can be fully cured. The follow up visit at 2 weeks is very important to gauge the likely success of this modality in treatment of the patients with rectal prolapse. Those showing poor response at this stage may require alternative treatment or take a long time to get cured</p

Spallation reactions. A successful interplay between modeling and applications

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200 MeV deuterons and 400 MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. The same year R. Serber describes the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a worskhop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.Comment: 59 pages, 54 figures, Revie

Open science, communal culture, and women’s participation in the movement to improve science

Science is undergoing rapid change with the movement to improve science focused largely on reproducibility/replicability and open science practices. This moment of change—in which science turns inward to examine its methods and practices—provides an opportunity to address its historic lack of diversity and noninclusive culture. Through network modeling and semantic analysis, we provide an initial exploration of the structure, cultural frames, and women’s participation in the open science and reproducibility literatures (n = 2,926 articles and conference proceedings). Network analyses suggest that the open science and reproducibility literatures are emerging relatively independently of each other, sharing few common papers or authors. We next examine whether the literatures differentially incorporate collaborative, prosocial ideals that are known to engage members of underrepresented groups more than independent, winner-takes-all approaches. We find that open science has a more connected, collaborative structure than does reproducibility. Semantic analyses of paper abstracts reveal that these literatures have adopted different cultural frames: open science includes more explicitly communal and prosocial language than does reproducibility. Finally, consistent with literature suggesting the diversity benefits of communal and prosocial purposes, we find that women publish more frequently in high-status author positions (first or last) within open science (vs. reproducibility). Furthermore, this finding is further patterned by team size and time. Women are more represented in larger teams within reproducibility, and women’s participation is increasing in open science over time and decreasing in reproducibility. We conclude with actionable suggestions for cultivating a more prosocial and diverse culture of science

Outcomes in patients with gunshot wounds to the brain.

Introduction:Gunshot wounds to the brain (GSWB) confer high lethality and uncertain recovery. It is unclear which patients benefit from aggressive resuscitation, and furthermore whether patients with GSWB undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have potential for survival or organ donation. Therefore, we sought to determine the rates of survival and organ donation, as well as identify factors associated with both outcomes in patients with GSWB undergoing CPR. Methods:We performed a retrospective, multicenter study at 25 US trauma centers including dates between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017. Patients were included if they suffered isolated GSWB and required CPR at a referring hospital, in the field, or in the trauma resuscitation room. Patients were excluded for significant torso or extremity injuries, or if pregnant. Binomial regression models were used to determine predictors of survival/organ donation. Results:825 patients met study criteria; the majority were male (87.6%) with a mean age of 36.5 years. Most (67%) underwent CPR in the field and 2.1% (n=17) survived to discharge. Of the non-survivors, 17.5% (n=141) were considered eligible donors, with a donation rate of 58.9% (n=83) in this group. Regression models found several predictors of survival. Hormone replacement was predictive of both survival and organ donation. Conclusion:We found that GSWB requiring CPR during trauma resuscitation was associated with a 2.1% survival rate and overall organ donation rate of 10.3%. Several factors appear to be favorably associated with survival, although predictions are uncertain due to the low number of survivors in this patient population. Hormone replacement was predictive of both survival and organ donation. These results are a starting point for determining appropriate treatment algorithms for this devastating clinical condition. Level of evidence:Level II