Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls.

Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls' STEM participation

A genetic cause of Alzheimer disease: mechanistic insights from Down syndrome

Down syndrome, caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, is associated with a greatly increased risk of early onset Alzheimer disease. It is thought that this risk is conferred by the presence of three copies of the gene encoding amyloid precursor protein (APP), an Alzheimer risk factor, although the possession of extra copies of other chromosome 21 genes may also play a role. Further study of the mechanisms underlying the development of Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome could provide insights into the mechanisms that cause dementia in the general population

Recommendations for the treatment of epilepsy in adult patients in general practice in Belgium: an update

In 2008, a group of Belgian epilepsy experts published recommendations for antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment of epilepsies in adults and children. Selection of compounds was based on the registration and reimbursement status in Belgium, the level of evidence for efficacy, common daily practice and the personal views and experiences of the authors. In November 2011 the validity of these recommendations was reviewed by the same group of Belgian epilepsy experts who contributed to the preparation of the original paper. The recommendations made in 2008 for initial monotherapy in paediatric patients were still considered to be valid, except for the first choice treatment for childhood absence epilepsy. This update therefore focuses on the treatment recommendations for initial monotherapy and add-on treatment in adult patients. Several other relevant aspects of treatment with AEDs are addressed, including considerations for optimal combination of AEDs (rational polytherapy), pharmacokinetic properties, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interaction profile, adverse effects, comorbidity, treatment of elderly patients, AED treatment during pregnancy, and generic substitution of AEDs

Environmental Influences on Mate Preferences as Assessed by a Scenario Manipulation Experiment

Many evolutionary psychology studies have addressed the topic of mate preferences, focusing particularly on gender and cultural differences. However, the extent to which situational and environmental variables might affect mate preferences has been comparatively neglected. We tested 288 participants in order to investigate the perceived relative importance of six traits of an ideal partner (wealth, dominance, intelligence, height, kindness, attractiveness) under four different hypothetical scenarios (status quo/nowadays, violence/post-nuclear, poverty/resource exhaustion, prosperity/global well-being). An equal number of participants (36 women, 36 men) was allotted to each scenario; each was asked to allocate 120 points across the six traits according to their perceived value. Overall, intelligence was the trait to which participants assigned most importance, followed by kindness and attractiveness, and then by wealth, dominance and height. Men appraised attractiveness as more valuable than women. Scenario strongly influenced the relative importance attributed to traits, the main finding being that wealth and dominance were more valued in the poverty and post-nuclear scenarios, respectively, compared to the other scenarios. Scenario manipulation generally had similar effects in both sexes, but women appeared particularly prone to trade off other traits for dominance in the violence scenario, and men particularly prone to trade off other traits for wealth in the poverty scenario. Our results are in line with other correlational studies of situational variables and mate preferences, and represent strong evidence of a causal relationship of environmental factors on specific mate preferences, corroborating the notion of an evolved plasticity to current ecological conditions. A control experiment seems to suggest that our scenarios can be considered as realistic descriptions of the intended ecological conditions

Environmental Influences on Mate Preferences as Assessed by a Scenario Manipulation Experiment

Many evolutionary psychology studies have addressed the topic of mate preferences, focusing particularly on gender and cultural differences. However, the extent to which situational and environmental variables might affect mate preferences has been comparatively neglected. We tested 288 participants in order to investigate the perceived relative importance of six traits of an ideal partner (wealth, dominance, intelligence, height, kindness, attractiveness) under four different hypothetical scenarios (status quo/nowadays, violence/post-nuclear, poverty/resource exhaustion, prosperity/global well-being). An equal number of participants (36 women, 36 men) was allotted to each scenario; each was asked to allocate 120 points across the six traits according to their perceived value. Overall, intelligence was the trait to which participants assigned most importance, followed by kindness and attractiveness, and then by wealth, dominance and height. Men appraised attractiveness as more valuable than women. Scenario strongly influenced the relative importance attributed to traits, the main finding being that wealth and dominance were more valued in the poverty and post-nuclear scenarios, respectively, compared to the other scenarios. Scenario manipulation generally had similar effects in both sexes, but women appeared particularly prone to trade off other traits for dominance in the violence scenario, and men particularly prone to trade off other traits for wealth in the poverty scenario. Our results are in line with other correlational studies of situational variables and mate preferences, and represent strong evidence of a causal relationship of environmental factors on specific mate preferences, corroborating the notion of an evolved plasticity to current ecological conditions. A control experiment seems to suggest that our scenarios can be considered as realistic descriptions of the intended ecological conditions

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Bridging big data in the ENIGMA consortium to combine non-equivalent cognitive measures

Data availability: Raw data are available upon reasonable request pending appropriate study approvals and data transfer agreements between participating institutions. Interested researchers should contact Emily Dennis ([email protected]). Code used for analysis and online tool creation are available upon request.Investigators in neuroscience have turned to Big Data to address replication and reliability issues by increasing sample size. These efforts unveil new questions about how to integrate data across distinct sources and instruments. The goal of this study was to link scores across common auditory verbal learning tasks (AVLTs). This international secondary analysis aggregated multisite raw data for AVLTs across 53 studies totaling 10,505 individuals. Using the ComBat-GAM algorithm, we isolated and removed the component of memory scores associated with site effects while preserving instrumental effects. After adjustment, a continuous item response theory model used multiple memory items of varying difficulty to estimate each individual’s latent verbal learning ability on a single scale. Equivalent raw scores across AVLTs were then found by linking individuals through the ability scale. Harmonization reduced total cross-site score variance by 37% while preserving meaningful memory effects. Age had the largest impact on scores overall (− 11.4%), while race/ethnicity variable was not significant (p > 0.05). The resulting tools were validated on dually administered tests. The conversion tool is available online so researchers and clinicians can convert memory scores across instruments. This work demonstrates that global harmonization initiatives can address reproducibility challenges across the behavioral sciences.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Instituto de Salud Carlos III: PI15-00852, PI18-00945, JR19-00024, PI17-00481, PI20-00721, Sara Borrell contract (CD19-00149); European Union: NextGenerationEU (PMP21/00051), PI19/01024, Structural Funds, Seventh Framework Program, H2020 Program under the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking: Project PRISM-2 (Grant agreement No.101034377), Project AIMS-2-TRIALS (Grant agreement No 777394), Horizon Europe; National Institutes of Health: U01MH124639, P50MH115846, R01MH113827, R25MH080663, K08MH068540, R01NS100973, R01EB006841, P20GM103472, RO1MH083553, T32MH019535, R01 HD061504, RO1MH083553, R01AG050595, R01AG076838, R01AG060470, R01AG064955, P01AG055367, K23MH095661, R01MH094524, R01MH121246, T32MH019535, R01NS124585, R01NS122827, R61NS120249, R01NS122184, U54EB020403, R01MH116147, R56AG058854, P41EB015922, R01MH111671, P41RR14075, M01RR01066, R01EB006841, R01EB005846, R01 EB000840, RC1MH089257, U24 RR021992, NCRR 5 month-RR001066 (MGH General Clinical Research Center); NSF: 2112455; Madrid Regional Government: B2017/BMD-3740 AGES-CM-2; Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation; Research Nova Scotia, RNS-NHIG-2021-1931; US Department of Defense: Award # AZ150145; US Department of Veterans Affairs: 1I01RX003444; NJ Commission on TBI Research Grants: CBIR11PJT020, CBIR13IRG026: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo; Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital: HF F32NS119285; Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Grant 166098; Neurological Foundation of New Zealand; Canterbury Medical Research Foundation, University of Otago. Biogen US, Investigator-initiated grant; Italian Ministry of Health: RF-2019-12370182, Ricerca Corrente RC 23; National Institute on Aging: National Health and Medical Research Council, Investigator Grant APP1176426; PA Health Research: Grant SAP #4100077082 to Dr. Hillary; La Caixa Foundation, ID: 100010434, fellowship code: LCF/BQ/PR22/11920017; Research Council of Norway: 248238; Health Research Council of New Zealand: Sir Charles Hercus Early Career Development (17/039), 14-440; South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, 2018076; Norwegian ExtraFoundation for Health and Rehabilitation: 2015/ FO5146, 2015044; Stiftelsen K.G. Jebsen, SKGJ MED-02; German Research Foundation: DFG grant FOR2107 to Andreas Jansen, JA 1890/7-1, JA 1890/7-2, DFG grant FOR2107 to Igor Nenadić, NE2254/1-2,NE2254/3-1,NE2254/4-1, DFG grant FOR2107, KI588/14-1 and FOR2107, KI588/14-2, DFG, grant FOR2107 DA1151/5-1 and DA1151/5-2, SFB-TRR58, Projects C09 and Z02; Central Norway Regional Health Authority (RHA) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); National Health and Medical Research Council: APP1020526; Brain Foundation, Wicking Trust, Collie Trust, Sidney and Fiona Myer Family Foundation. U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC): Award #13129004; Department of Energy: DE- FG02-99ER62764: Mind Research Network, National Association for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders: Young Investigator Award, Blowitz Ridgeway and Essel Foundations, NOW ZonMw TOP 91211021, UCLA Easton Clinic for Brain Health, UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Stan and Patty Silver, Clinical and Translational Research Center: UL1RR033176, UL1TR000124; Mount Sinai Institute for NeuroAIDS Disparities, VA Rehab SPIRE, CDMRP PRAP, VA RR&D IK2RX002922, Veski Fellowship, Femino Foundation grant, Fundación Familia Alonso, Fundación Alicia Koplowitz, CIBERSAM, Madrid Regional Government (B2017/BMD-3740 AGES-CM-2), 2019R1C1C1002457, 21-BR-03-01, 2020M3E5D9079910, 21-BR-03-01, Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF) of the medical faculty of Münster