Background: According to a widespread belief, the average IQ of university students is 115 to 130 IQ points, that is, substantially higher than the average IQ of the general population ( M = 100, SD ...= 15). We traced the origin of this belief to obsolete intelligence data collected in 1940s and 1950s when university education was the privilege of a few. Examination of more recent IQ data indicate that IQ of university students and university graduates dropped to the average of the general population. The decline in students’ IQ is a necessary consequence of increasing educational attainment over the last 80 years. Today, graduating from university is more common than completing high school in the 1940s. Method: We conducted a meta-analysis of the mean IQ scores of college and university students samples tested with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale between 1939 and 2022. Results: The results show that the average IQ of undergraduate students today is a mere 102 IQ points and declined by approximately 0.2 IQ points per year. The students’ IQ also varies substantially across universities and is correlated with the selectivity of universities (measured by average SAT scores of admitted students). Discussion: These findings have wide-ranging implications. First, universities and professors need to realize that students are no longer extraordinary but merely average, and have to adjust curricula and academic standards. Second, employers can no longer rely on applicants with university degrees to be more capable or smarter than those without degrees. Third, students need to realize that acceptance into university is no longer an invitation to join an elite group. Fourth, the myth of brilliant undergraduate students in scientific and popular literature needs to be dispelled. Fifth, estimating premorbid IQ based on educational attainment is vastly inaccurate, obsolete, not evidence based, and mere wishful thinking. Sixth, obsolete IQ data or tests ought not to be used to make high-stakes decisions about individuals, for example, by clinical psychologists to opine about the intelligence and cognitive abilities of their clients.
The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail is an AVA region in Southern Illinois that is an undiscovered attraction with untapped potential in viticulture and winemaking. This case study aims to discover the most ...notable features of this wine-growing region and how its wineries can be improved to enhance quality and notoriety. To address these issues, the 12 wineries on the trail were visited, surveys were distributed to customers (n = 109), and extended oral history interviews were conducted with owners or representatives of the wineries (n = 9). Results show that the primary motivations for customer consumption of wine are social experience and relaxation. Surveys and interviews reveal that the natural beauty of the area enhances relaxation and that the welcoming atmosphere enhances socializing. It is perceived that wineries can be improved by decreasing incidence of intoxication, which is possible by customer education to enhance appreciation of complex varietals over sweet, overly palatable wines. This strategy will increase popularity and production of complex, quality varietals that are worthy of international attention.
A Tale of Two Cities Gibson, Lacey
Gastronomica,
12/2018, Volume:
18, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The French Paradox is the theory that France has an unexpectedly low prevalence of coronary heart disease compared to levels that would be predicted by their high consumption of fats. Aside from ...high-fat foods, wine is portrayed by English media to be a staple of the French diet. In this article, I explore the wine-drinking cultures in Nice, France, and London, England, that were revealed by conducting semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and descriptive surveys. I describe two mealtime vignettes of my ethnographic experience that are symbolic of my main findings from this study. Specifically, I find that residents of Nice consume wine in smaller portions, often during shared social experiences at meals, whereas Londoners are more likely to consume wine in larger portions and more frequently for relaxation than their counterparts in Nice. Wine connoisseurship in London is a relatively novel practice, and wine drinking is often associated with the potential for inebriation, whereas mindful appreciation of high-quality wines is a staple element of French identity in Nice. Further epidemiological research is needed to determine causality of French wine culture’s impact on cardiovascular health. However, it is evident from my research that the aesthetics of French wine culture may be a powerful tool to promote mindfulness and moderation.
The European Union member states received about 385,000 asylum applications from children and adolescents below 18 years in 2015, and 398,000 in 2016. The latest political crises and war have led to ...an upsurge in refugee movements into European countries, giving rise to a re-evaluation of the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders and mental health problems among young refugees and asylum seekers. We systematically searched five electronic databases and reference lists of pertinent review articles. We then screened the results of forward citation tracking of key articles for relevant studies in the field for the period from January 1990 to October 2017. We dually reviewed citations and assessed risk of bias. We reported the results narratively, as meta-analyses were impeded due to high heterogeneity. We included 47 studies covered in 53 articles. Overall, the point prevalence of the investigated psychiatric disorders and mental health problems varied widely among studies (presenting interquartile ranges): for posttraumatic stress disorder between 19.0 and 52.7%, for depression between 10.3 and 32.8%, for anxiety disorders between 8.7 and 31.6%, and for emotional and behavioural problems between 19.8 and 35.0%. The highly heterogeneous evidence base could be improved by international, methodologically comparable studies with sufficiently large sample sizes drawn randomly among specific refugee populations. The prevalence estimates suggest, nevertheless, that specialized mental health care services for the most vulnerable refugee and asylum-seeking populations are needed.
Registration
The systematic review protocol was registered in PROSPERO on October 19th, 2017 with the number: CRD42017080039 and is available from:
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=80039
Programs aiming to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) increasingly seek to shift social norms. Few interventions have been rigorously evaluated for their impact on norms and incidence of IPV, ...particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Shifting norms at the community level and subsequent pathways to behavior change remain poorly understood. We assessed shifts in individual- and couple-level factors, social norms, and IPV from an 18-month community-based trial of the Masculinity, Faith, and Peace (MFP) program—a faith-based, norms-shifting approach—in Plateau state, Nigeria. This study was part of a community-based, mixed-methods, two-arm cluster randomized control trial (cRCT) to evaluate the MFP program. Quantitative surveys were conducted with women 18 to 35 years old (n = 350) and their male partners (n = 281). Respondents came from 10 Muslim and 10 Christian congregations. Social norms were measured based on results from factor analysis. Intent-to-treat analyses assessed intervention effects. Qualitative research in MFP congregations explored pathways of change. All forms of IPV reduced over time among MFP participants. Regression analyses showed a significant 61% reduction in odds of reporting experiencing any IPV among women, a 64% reduction among Christians, and a 44% reduction in MFP congregations compared to their respective controls. In addition to improvement in norms, we found significant intervention effects on individual attitudes toward IPV and gender roles, relationship quality, and community cohesion. Qualitative findings reinforce these pathways, suggesting that critical reflection and dialogue on existing norms and the focus on faith and religious texts were valued by participants and supported IPV reductions. This study demonstrates that a faith-based, norms-shifting intervention can significantly reduce IPV in a short time. There are several pathways through which MFP reduced IPV, including shifts in norms, attitudes, relationship quality, and community cohesion.
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy among women in the US and causes 14,600 deaths annually. Unfortunately, despite intensive research towards detection and treatment ...of ovarian cancer, long term survival has only fractionally improved. Lack of a model animal, early detection, and curative chemotherapy has hampered progress in the fight against ovarian cancer. The laying hen is proving to be a robust model of spontaneous ovarian cancer that mimics human disease. Nutritive intervention with flaxseed, high in omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), has shown promise for reducing severity and incidence of ovarian cancer, by reprogramming cellular metabolism, ameliorating inflammatory pathways in comparison with a diet high in omega 6 PUFA, such as corn oil. We have demonstrated that omega 3 fatty acids and phytoestrogens lignans has greatly reduced cancer incidence and severity in the laying hen by targeting inflammatory pathways. Another finding from our flaxseed feeding study, is that the overall wellbeing of the hens was also improved by the diet. Mortality was significantly reduced and the lean body mass of the hens was improved and maintained.
The objective of this study was to determine if 6 different diets consisting of: control meal, defatted flax meal, whole flax seed, corn oil, fish oil, and flax oil affect the plasma metabolomics profile compared to a control diet, hence contributing to their anti and pro-carcinogenic effects on ovarian cancer. Old, cancer prone hens were fed a diet for one year, after 6 months, blood was collected through wing vein, plasma was prepared. Samples were snap frozen within 5 minutes or less of collection. Plasma was subjected to one-carbon base metabolomics analysis at UT Southwestern by Ralph DeBerardinis and Zeping Hu.
Discovery based metabolomic analysis results indicate that a host of differences among 125 metabolites were found. 63% of the variability in the metabolites can be accounted for by the 6 diets. The analysis indicates that there are suites of metabolites associated with the different dietary treatments. Principal component analysis and hierarchal clustering revealed within the flax fed group urea, hypoxanthine adenosine, and myo-inositol metabolites increased compared to the control diet. This could be indicative of a protective effect. Conversely, homoserine, lysine, methionine, and sulfoxide were decreased in the flax diet compared to the control diet. Hens fed a corn oil diet gave rise to an increase in homoserine, lysine, methionine sulfoxide metabolites compared to the control diets, which has been associated with systemic oxidative stress. Also with the corn oil diet, a decrease in the concentration of urea, hypoxanthine, adenosine, and myo-inositol metabolites was observed, compared to the control diet. Interestingly, it has been previously reported that a reduction in these metabolites has been observed from patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphomas. The changes in the concentration of metabolites are suspected to be the result of the diet-driven alterations in surrogate cancer endpoints. To further map observable changes in the metabolic profile of tumor metabolism, analysis of tissue level metabolites will be assessed next with emphasis on malignant tissue versus normal tissues within the respective diets.
Supported by NIH AT004085, AT005295
Citation Format: Stephanie M. Eastwood, Lacey Gibson, Dale Buchanan Hales. Dietary reprogramming of the metabolome of the laying hen: Prevention and suppression of ovarian cancer. abstract. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Metabolism and Cancer; Jun 7-10, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(1_Suppl):Abstract nr B74.
Leiomyosarcomas are rare, aggressive tumors, which exhibit a poor prognosis regardless of stage. Pre-operative diagnosis can be difficult as leiomyosarcoma can mimic features of the more common, ...benign uterine leiomyoma. The goal of this study was to identify specific molecular markers to discriminate between uterine leiomyosarcomas and leiomyomas to facilitate timely, accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Gene expression profiles of three leiomyosarcomas, leiomyomas, and normal myometrial tissue samples were analyzed using the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST Array. GC-robust multiarray average calculation and ANOVA statistical testing were used to identify differentially expressed genes. Sixty genes, with functional roles in tumor progression or suppression, exhibited divergent expression profiles in leiomyosarcomas and leiomyomas, compared to normal myometrium. Differential RNA and protein levels of seven genes, with the most discriminatory expression patterns, were confirmed by RTPCR and immunohistochemistry in an additional 10 leiomyosarcoma and 20 leiomyoma independent samples. CHI3L1, MELK, PRC1, TOP2A, and TPX2 were overexpressed in leiomyosarcomas, while HPGD and TES were overexpressed in leiomyomas. Distinguishing leiomyosarcomas from leiomyomas represents a diagnostic challenge, particularly in the context of minimally invasive surgery. The unique gene expression signatures identified in this study may accurately differentiate between these tumor types at the earliest stage and provides potential prognostic factors and novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of leiomyosarcoma.
•Differential gene expression between leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma.•Identification and validation of a discriminatory, diagnostic gene signature.•Novel targets for treatment of leiomyosarcoma.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 43% of children under 5 years of age suffer from stunting, and the majority (60%) of children, 6–59 months of age, are anaemic. Malaria, acute respiratory ...infections, and diarrheal diseases are common among children less than 5 years of age, with 31% of children 6–59 months affected by malaria. This qualitative implementation science study aimed to identify gaps and opportunities available to strengthen service delivery of nutrition within integrated community case management (iCCM) at the health facility and community level in Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, through the following objectives: (a) examine cultural beliefs and perceptions of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and child illness, (b) explore the perspectives and knowledge of facility‐based and community‐based health providers on nutrition and iCCM, and (c) gain an understanding of the influence of key family and community members on IYCF and care‐seeking practices. This study involved in‐depth interviews with mothers of children under 5 years of age (n = 48), grandmothers (n = 20), fathers (n = 21), facility‐based providers (n = 18), and traditional healers (n = 20) and eight focus group discussions with community health workers. Study findings reveal most mothers reported diminished quantity and quality of breastmilk linked to child/maternal illness, inadequate maternal diet, and feedings spaced too far apart. Mothers' return to work in the field led to early introduction of foods prior to 6 months of age, impeding exclusive breastfeeding. Moreover, children's diets are largely limited in frequency and diversity with small quantities of foods fed. Most families seek modern and traditional medicine to remedy child illness, dependent on type of disease, its severity, and cost. Traditional healers are the preferred source of information for families on certain child illnesses and breastmilk insufficiency. Community health workers often refer and accompany families to the health centre, yet are underutilized for nutrition counselling, which is infrequently given. Programme recommendations are to strengthen health provider capacity to counsel on IYCF and iCCM while equipping health workers with updated social and behavior change communication (SBCC) materials and continued supportive supervision. In addition, targeting key influencers to encourage optimal IYCF practices is needed through community and mother support groups. Finally, exploring innovative ways to work with traditional healers, to facilitate referrals for sick/malnourished children and provide simple nutrition advice for certain practices (i.e., breastfeeding), would aid in strengthening nutrition within iCCM.
Inconsistent post-anesthetic advice imparted to breastfeeding mothers leads to unnecessary weaning or premature abandonment of nursing. This Doctoral of Nurse Practice (DNP) project set out to ...identify evidence-based research regarding post-anesthetic advice to communicate to breastfeeding mothers from their anesthesia providers. The first phase of the project involved the systematic development of a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) based on current evidence in the literature. The second phase of the project was the appraisal of the developed CPG by an interdisciplinary panel utilizing the AGREE II instrument. The overall quality of the developed guideline resulted in a combined score of 92%, representative of a high-quality guideline. Appraiser’s judgment concerning the recommended use of the developed guideline resulted with an answer of ‘Yes’ to the recommended use of the guideline. The overwhelming evidence suggests that drugs administered to a breastfeeding mother during the perioperative period are not harmful and will not precipitate adverse outcomes in the healthy breastfed infants (Dalal, Bosak, & Berlin, 2014). A breastfeeding mothers return to baseline mentation and strength, suggest drug redistribution from plasma and milk, and termination of drug action (Cobb et al., 2015). Mothers are encouraged to continue breastfeeding and disregard the past recommendation to “pump and dump.” The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs surmises, “The benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risk of exposure of most therapeutic agents via breastmilk” (Sachs, 2013, p. 805).
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