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The mere mention of mathematics and its related courses such as quantitative research methods drive down shivers and create anxiety among most students. However, this phenomenon has not will been addressed among preservice teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preservice teachers test anxiety and performance in quantitative research methods in education. And to achieve this purpose, a random sample of 313 preservice teachers from a teacher education University in Ghana were administered the test anxiety inventory (TAI) and the data analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed a significant inverse relationship between test anxiety and preservice teachers' performance. Similarly, factors such as the examiner, the exam format, previous failures, examination time, presence of invigilator, and lack of adequate preparations were identified as determinants of test anxiety. In terms of coping strategies, it was revealed that respondents adopted cognitive, and educational strategies to mitigate the effect of test anxiety.

The hallmark of keratoconus is central or paracentral stromal thinning, accompanied by apical protrusion and irregular astigmatism. Patients typically experience variable reductions in visual acuity, image distortion, and increased sensitivity to glare and light. The latter becomes of major interest when patients with keratoconus present with a cataract which contributes to a further visual decline. PURPOSE: To present a case report of a patient who underwent cataract surgery, with implantation of an intraocular implant called pinhole and correction of an irregular corneal astigmatism as a result of keratoconus. METHODS: A report of a rare case, the first implantation of XtraFocus implant in Bulgaria for the correction of keratoconus combined with cataract. RESULTS: All necessary measurements were performed using an iTrace aberrometer and IOL Master 700. The cataract removal was performed by standard phacoemulsification followed by implantation of a pinhole implant in the capsular bag. No complications related to the position of the implant were observed in the postoperative period. Optimal correction of the distance vision and near vision was achieved, and the results were monitored within six months after surgery. CONCLUSION: The pinhole implant was securely positioned in the capsular bag. Well tolerated by the patient, the implant played a key role in effectively overcoming the irregular corneal astigmatism. There is a significant improvement in visual acuity with results satisfying the patient's high expectations.

Background: Learning pre-reading skills through formal education in early childhood is vital for a child's future personal and professional development. In this regard, integrating appropriate teaching methods and didactic strategies with the support of information and communication technologies (ICT) can facilitate this phase in the development of reading skills. Aim: To conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate and analyse the scientific and academic production of methods, didactic strategies, and educational experiences with ICT applied to pre-reading development in children aged 3 years to 5 years. Method: This study was carried out through an SLR, involving eight steps that enabled the systematic and structured selection, evaluation, and analysis of qualitative research located in Scopus and Google Scholar, using quality criteria systematically and structurally. Results: The selected and analysed studies correspond to the period 2017-2022, responding to the research questions raised in this work. Notable methods include Global, Doman, Geempa, Montessori, and synthetic, among others. The integration of interactive stories, songs, images, role-playing, dramatisations, visual cards, and other strategies was highlighted to enhance pre-reading learning. Research demonstrates their importance in promoting pre-reading activities through the use of digital tablets, multimedia resources, e-books, and applications. Conclusion: The utilisation of suitable didactic methods and strategies, coupled with the implementation of educational practices involving ICT, enhances the pre-reading process in preschool children. Contribution: An amalgamation of methods, didactic strategies, and technological resources, transferrable to diverse contexts, facilitates the development of pre-reading skills in early childhood.

This paper discusses engineering praxis ethos (EPE), a proposed framework for constructing a STEM learning environment embedding interrelated components of learner experience and design activity, which can support curriculum and instructional design and evaluation in STEM education. The authors propose that STEM is a meta-discipline that relies on the design life cycle, the intellectual root of engineering disciplinary knowledge. The nature of design and design activity calls attention to domain-specific needs of STEM teachers and focuses discussions and critiques about the epistemological adequacy of integrated STEM content knowledge. Given the urgent need for learners to develop 21st century skills in STEM, the authors argue for the feasibility of incorporating both mathematical and simulation models using new technologies when designing experiences for learners. An example of teaching and learning systems thinking in undergraduate engineering education highlights how EPE can be a viable theory of action for STEM educators.

This study explores the potential of a new perspective on research into the impact of higher education on students' civic engagement. We propose shifting from viewing engagement as the key dependent variable to two "fundamental constituents": political interest and agency. Both constituents have been presented as either static or determined entirely by factors external to education, such as maturation, but also as dynamic and affected by various aspects of the educational experience in higher education. Furthermore, as analyses of these effects based on sample means do not account sufficiently for the intersectionality of background variables that define the student experience, we propose that data are explored through cluster analysis. Employing this type of analysis, a case study conducted at a small international liberal arts college in the Netherlands showed four distinctly different patterns in the development of both constituents of civic engagement. Based on further data obtained from the same sample, we offer suggestions for specific foci in further research about the impact of higher education on the development of civic engagement.

In today's educational environment, the convergence of emerging technologies and active methodologies has become a fundamental driver of change in university education. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning, and data analytics, are redefining the dynamics of higher education. Active methodologies, such as problem-based learning, collaborative learning, and flipped learning, center the pedagogical focus on the student, encouraging active participation and problem-solving. The combination of emerging technologies and active methodologies creates a powerful synergy, enabling the effective implementation of personalized and immersive learning experiences. This convergence not only enhances learning, but also prepares students to be autonomous learners, critical thinkers, and 21st century problem solvers.

Introduction: Different international guidelines indicate the need for improving educational procedures. This study aims to contribute to the professional development training program of higher education professors from a Physical Education Teacher Education degree in México. Methodology: This qualitative study used a participatory action research design through four cycles: (a) diagnosis; (b) elaboration of the action plan; (c) implementation and evaluation; and (d) feedback. The participants were the professor, six experts, and 17 students. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with students and the professor, the analysis of the class syllabus, and nonparticipatory observations. Findings: The importance of carrying out a diagnostic cycle allowed us to identify the specific needs of the class. Similarly, the model of development and evaluation of academic competencies (M-DECA) allowed the professor to develop specific pedagogical and disciplinary competencies from the training program. Conclusion: A continuous professional development training program for university professors in pedagogical and disciplinary strategies generates better learning results. The inclusion of innovative content in the class syllabus was also crucial.

In social stratification research, the most frequently used social class schema are based on employment relations (EGP and ESEC). These schemes have been propelled to paradigms for research on social mobility and educational inequalities and applied in cross-national research for both genders. Using the European Working Conditions Survey, we examine their criterion and construct validity across 31 countries and for both genders. We investigate whether classes are welldelineated by the theoretically assumed dimensions of employment relations and we assess how several measures of occupational advantage differ across classes. We find broad similarity in the criterion validity of EGP and ESEC across genders and countries as well as satisfactory levels of construct validity. However, the salariat classes are too heterogeneous and their boundaries with the intermediate classes are blurred. To improve the measurement of social class, we propose to differentiate managerial and professional occupations within the lower and higher salariat respectively. We show that implementing these distinctions in ESEC and EGP improves their criterion validity and allows to better identify privileged positions.

Purpose: This study assessed the correlation between corneal sensitivity and subjective symptoms in patients with chronic corneal ulcers before and after treatment. Methods: Corneal sensitivity was measured with Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometry in twenty patients with mean age of53 years SD±20.65. Impression cytology was used to assess conjunctivalization, inflammation and keratinization. The epithelial integrity and stromal reaction were determined by anterior segment OCT. Treatment included either conservative measures or surgical ocular surface reconstruction. A questionnaire on subjective symptoms was implemented in order to obtain comparable data about their severity and effect on everyday life. Results: Mean corneal aesthesiometry was 143.03±81.68 mm/grms before treatment and 72.48±72.80 mm/grms on follow-up (p=0.001). An inverse correlation between age and corneal sensitivity was observed before treatment (p=0.002), but not after (p=0.102). Anterior segment OCT on follow-up demonstrated epithelialized corneal surface, reduced stromal reaction and scar tissue preventing further melting. All tested subjective symptoms demonstrated significant change after treatment except driving. Spearman’s analysis demonstrated a correlation between corneal sensitivity and pain (p=0.033), hyperemia (p=0.009) and driving (p=0.043). The change in corneal sensitivity correlated with tearing reduction (p=0.046) and prolonged tolerance to phone use (p=0.044). Conclusions: Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometry is a useful diagnostic tool for evaluating corneal nerve function and monitoring the effect of treatment.

Abstract: —J. Blunden and T. Boyer In 2023, La Niña conditions that generally prevailed in the eastern Pacific Ocean from mid-2020 into early 2023 gave way to a strong El Niño by October. Atmospheric concentrations of Earth’s major greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—all increased to record-high levels. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rose to 419.3±0.1 ppm, which is 50% greater than the pre-industrial level. The growth from 2022 to 2023 was 2.8 ppm, the fourth highest in the record since the 1960s. The combined short-term effects of El Niño and the long-term effects of increasing levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere contributed to new records for many essential climate variables reported here. The annual global temperature across land and oceans was the highest in records dating as far back as 1850, with the last seven months (June–December) having each been record warm. Over land, the globally averaged temperature was also record high. Dozens of countries reported record or near-record warmth for the year, including China and continental Europe as a whole (warmest on record), India and Russia (second warmest), and Canada (third warmest). Intense and widespread heatwaves were reported around the world. In Vietnam, an all-time national maximum temperature record of 44.2°C was observed at Tuong Duong on 7 May, surpassing the previous record of 43.4°C at Huong Khe on 20 April 2019. In Brazil, the air temperature reached 44.8°C in Araçuaí in Minas Gerais on 20 November, potentially a new national record and 12.8°C above normal. The effect of rising temperatures was apparent in the cryosphere, where snow cover extent by June 2023 was the smallest in the 56-year record for North America and seventh smallest for the Northern Hemisphere overall. Heatwaves contributed to the greatest average mass balance loss for Alpine glaciers around the world since the start of the record in 1970. Due to rapid volume loss beginning in 2021, St. Anna Glacier in Switzerland and Ice Worm Glacier in the United States disappeared completely. In August, as a direct result of glacial thinning over the past 20 years, a glacial lake on a tributary of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska burst through its ice dam and caused unprecedented flooding on Mendenhall River near Juneau. Across the Arctic, the annual surface air temperature was the fourth highest in the 124-year record, and summer (July–September) was record warm. Smaller-than-normal snow cover extent in May and June contributed to the third-highest average peak tundra greenness in the 24-year record. In September, Arctic minimum sea ice extent was the fifth smallest in the 45-year satellite record. The 17 lowest September extents have all occurred in the last 17 years. In Antarctica, temperatures for much of the year were up to 6°C above average over the Weddell Sea and along coastal Dronning Maud Land. The Antarctic Peninsula also experienced well-above-average temperatures during the 2022/23 melt season, which contributed to its fourth consecutive summer of above-average surface melt. On 21 February, Antarctic sea ice extent and sea ice area both reached all-time lows, surpassing records set just a year earlier. Over the course of the year, new daily record-low sea ice extents were set on 278 days. In some instances, these daily records were set by a large margin, for example, the extent on 6 July was 1.8 million km2 lower than the previous record low for that day. Across the global oceans, the annual sea surface temperature was the highest in the 170-year record, far surpassing the previous record of 2016 by 0.13°C. Daily and monthly records were set from March onward, including an historic-high daily global mean sea surface temperature of 18.99°C recorded on 22 August. Approximately 94% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2023, while 27% experienced at least one cold spell. Globally averaged ocean heat content from the surface to 2000-m depth was record high in 2023, increasing at a rate equivalent to ∼0.7 Watts per square meter of energy applied over Earth’s surface. Global mean sea level was also record high for the 12th consecutive year, reaching 101.4 mm above the 1993 average when satellite measurements began, an increase of 8.1±1.5 mm over 2022 and the third highest year-over-year increase in the record. A total of 82 named tropical storms were observed during the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’ storm seasons, below the 1991–2020 average of 87. Hurricane Otis became the strongest landfalling hurricane on record for the west coast of Mexico at 140 kt (72 m s−1), causing at least 52 fatalities and $12–16 billion U.S. dollars in damage. Freddy became the world’s longest-lived tropical cyclones on record, developing into a tropical cyclone on 6 February and finally dissipating on 12 March. Freddy crossed the full width of the Indian Ocean and made one landfall in Madagascar and two in Mozambique. In the Mediterranean Sea—outside of traditional tropical cyclone basins—heavy rains and flooding from Storm Daniel killed more than 4300 people and left more than 8000 missing in Libya. The record-warm temperatures in 2023 created conditions that helped intensify the hydrological cycle. Measurements of total-column water vapor in the atmosphere were the highest on record, while the fraction of cloud area in the sky was the lowest since records began in 1980. The annual global mean precipitation total over land surfaces for 2023 was among the lowest since 1979, but global one-day maximum totals were close to average, indicating an increase in rainfall intensity. In July, record-high areas of land across the globe (7.9%) experienced extreme drought, breaking the previous record of 6.2% in July 2022. Overall, 29.7% of land experienced moderate or worse categories of drought during the year, also a record. Mexico reported its driest (and hottest) year since the start of its record in 1950. In alignment with hot and prolonged dry conditions, Canada experienced its worst national wildfire season on record. Approximately 15 million hectares burned across the country, which was more than double the previous record from 1989. Smoke from the fires were transported far into the United States and even to western European countries. August to October 2023 was the driest three-month period in Australia in the 104-year record. Millions of hectares of bushfires burned for weeks in the Northern Territory. In South America, extreme drought developed in the latter half of the year through the Amazon basin. By the end of October, the Rio Negro at Manaus, a major tributary of the Amazon River, fell to its lowest water level since records began in 1902. The transition from La Niña to El Niño helped bring relief to the prolonged drought conditions in equatorial eastern Africa. However, El Niño along with positive Indian Ocean dipole conditions also contributed to excessive rainfall that resulted in devastating floods over southeastern Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya during October to December that displaced around 1.5 million people. On 5 September, the town of Zagora, Greece, broke a national record for highest daily rainfall (754 mm in 21 hours, after which the station ceased reporting) due to Storm Daniel; this one-day accumulation was close to Zagora’s normal annual total.

Hematopoietic stem cells and multipotential progenitors emerge in multiple, overlapping waves of fetal development. Some of these populations seed the bone marrow and sustain adult B- and T-cell development long-term after birth. However, others are present transiently, but whether they are vestigial or generate B and T cells that contribute to the adult immune system is not well understood. We now report that transient fetal progenitors distinguished by expression of low levels of the PU.1 transcription factor generated activated and memory T and B cells that colonized and were maintained in secondary lymphoid tissues. These included the small and large intestines, where they may contribute to the maintenance of gut homeostasis through at least middle age. At least some of the activated/memory cells may have been the progeny of B-1 and marginal zone B cells, as transient PU.1low fetal progenitors efficiently generated those populations. Taken together, our data demonstrate the potential of B- and T-cell progeny of transient PU.1low fetal progenitors to make an early and long-term contribution to the adult immune system.

The present research analyses the impact that the time spent on the Internet by primary school (3rd and 6th grade) students may have on their academic progression in terms of test scores. In order to go beyond a correlational analysis, we have applied a time fixed-effects estimation using a recent longitudinal database of 15,974 students from the Spanish region of the Canary Islands. Our results show that, in general, an increasingly frequent use of the Internet has a negative influence on students' academic achievement progression, with higher use of instant messaging applications being particularly linked to girls' poorer mathematics academic performance progression. This negative influence may be a consequence of replacing time to academic activities (e.g., reading books or homework) with time using the Internet, which can also ultimately lead students to adopt unhealthy study habits that can affect their future academic success. Furthermore, we find that there is not a negative impact of playing videogames on the mathematics competence, as the development of spatial-visual (digital) skills possibly counterbalances the negative influence of time substitution between academically oriented tasks and the Internet.

Fifty years ago, the expansion of access to higher education was expected to result in greater socio-economic equality. Instead, segmentation in mass higher education systems has called into question the effective democratization of access to higher education. This phenomenon appeared first in higher income countries, allowing the identification of some factors that contribute to segmentation. This article seeks to provide evidence from the Chilean case, evaluating how students' social backgrounds affect admission to different types of universities. Data for the study were taken from the applications of 57,780 students admitted in 2019. Multinomial logistic regression was employed. The results showed that, depending on their background, students of the same level of academic performance follow different paths. Students from families with a high level of income or graduated from private secondary school were more likely to be admitted to private universities. Some of the dynamics present in European countries and the United States are also observed in Chile, particularly those related to the segregation of the school system and private provision and funding at the tertiary level.

Previous studies have shown that (preservice) teachers have more negative stereotypes toward students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds than toward students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. School-specific studies on different low socioeconomic origins have been non-existent so far. Evidence collected in non-school settings shows that welfare recipients are stereotyped more negatively than the working poor. This mixed methods study therefore surveyed cultural stereotypes and individual constructions of difference concerning the working poor and welfare recipients by German preservice teachers. In the quantitative study (N = 196), more stereotypes were mentioned in relation to welfare recipients than to the working poor, and more negative and fewer positive stereotypes were mentioned in relation to welfare recipients. In addition to social status, the individual characteristics (e.g., commitment) of welfare recipients were more frequently stereotyped negatively than those of the working poor. In the qualitative interview study (N = 10), preservice teachers reported that the general public perceives welfare recipients more negatively than the working poor. Preservice teachers who obtain their information about welfare recipients from public perception attributed individual failure (e.g., low commitment) as the cause for welfare recipients and structural failure (e.g., incorrect decisions by policy-makers) as the cause for the working poor. Other preservice teachers disagreed with the negative public perception based on personal experience and described welfare recipients as only being in a worse social position than the working poor. The results of the mixed methods study reveal the need to distinguish between different low socioeconomic origins in future stereotype studies.

How does a policy of free tuition affect student applications to universities? This article assesses how free tuition influences applications in terms of the selectivity of the university, length of the degree program, cost of the program, and application to a program in the STEM field. The study based on a quasi-experimental design was carried out in Chile using OLS, regression adjustment and matching analysis, and governmental data. Participants in the study were 384,830 applicants from three cohorts of high school graduates who applied to 30 selective universities. Two groups of applicants were compared: those who applied in 2015, before the introduction of free tuition; and those who applied in 2016 and 2017, when free tuition was introduced. The comparison was made considering the group with the lowest family income. Except for cost, the results show that the offer of free tuition had a small impact on the choices of applicants. With free tuition, a few more students applied to higher cost programs. The response may be explained in part by the fact that free education replaced the financing mechanism based on scholarships and loans, which covered a large part of the costs of the degree programs.

Purpose: To determine whether the wearing time of contact lenses affects the condition of the meibomian glands and the tear film breakup time. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 150 eyes ( 75 patients) with an age between 18 to 65 years. Five groups were allocated, with distribution criteria being the soft contact lenses wearing time: up to 5 years, from 6 to 10 years, from 11 to 20 years and more than 20 years. All subjects used soft contact lenses daily, at least 5 hours a day and 4 days a week. All patients underwent a thorough ophthalmic examination and non invasive tear film breakup time (NIBUT), and meibomian gland loss (MGL) investigated with Oculus Keratograph 5 M. Results: A statistically significant relation with the soft contact lenses wearing time has been found for the indicator MGL,% (U) (p = 0.025). In the general study of male and female patients, a significant association was only observed in female patients (p = 0.04). A statistically significant relation to the soft contact lenses wearing time has been found for the indicators NIBUT 1, s ( P=0.035) и NIBUT Av, s ( P=0.023). The same relation has been found only in female patients - NIBUT 1, s ( P=0.035] и NIBUT Av, s ( P=0.023). Conclusion: Long-term contact lenses wearing is proportional to the change in gland function and may contribute to the development of dry eye syndrome.

El Rāmāyaṇa fue una de las primeras obras de la literatura clásica de India que llamó la atención del orientalismo europeo. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, este interés alcanzó también a los círculos intelectuales hispanos, como dan cuenta traducciones indirectas, reseñas, notas periodísticas y otros documentos publicados de manera casi simultánea en España, Argentina y México. Este trabajo reúne y estudia por primera vez esos materiales y reconstruye el proceso de recepción del Rāmāyaṇa en el mundo de habla hispana durante los años 1860-1880, identificando tres variantes de representación asociadas con tres figuras: en España, Manuel de la Revilla, cuyo acercamiento al Rāmāyaṇa se adhiere a la interpretación racial en boga en países como Alemania, Francia e Italia; en Argentina, Lucio Vicente López, quien da muestras de un sutil distanciamiento respecto a dicha interpretación; en México, José González de la Torre, quien da un paso más allá y ofrece una lectura abiertamente nacionalista del Rāmāyaṇa. Juntos, estos testimonios ponen de manifiesto un episodio fundamental, pero a la fecha ignorado, del orientalismo hispanohablante por el que India adquirió una función simbólica bien delineada.

BACKGROUND: Data on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of normocephalic children (born with normal head circumference) exposed to Zika virus in utero are scarce. We aimed to compare neurodevelopmental outcomes in normocephalic children up to age 48 months with and without Zika virus exposure in utero. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we included infants from two cohorts of normocephalic children born in León and Managua, Nicaragua during the 2016 Zika epidemic. In León, all women pregnant during the two enrolment periods were eligible. In Managua, mother-child pairs were included from three districts in the municipality of Managua: all women who became pregnant before June 15, 2016, and had a due date of Sept 15, 2016 or later were eligible. Infants were serologically classified as Zika virus-exposed or Zika virus-unexposed in utero and were followed up prospectively until age 48 months. At 36 months and 48 months of age, the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) assessment was administered. Primary outcomes were MSEL early learning composite (ELC) scores at 30-48 months in León and 36-48 months in Managua. We used an inverse probability weighting generalised estimating equations model to assess the effect of Zika virus exposure on individual MSEL cognitive domain scores and ELC scores, adjusted for maternal education and age, poverty status, and infant sex. FINDINGS: The initial enrolment period for the León cohort was between Jan 31 and April 5, 2017 and the second was between Aug 30, 2017, and Feb 22, 2018. The enrolment period for the Managua cohort was between Oct 24, 2019, and May 5, 2020. 478 mothers (482 infants) from the León cohort and 615 mothers (609 infants) from the Managua cohort were enrolled, of whom 622 children (303 from the León cohort; 319 from the Managua cohort) were included in the final analysis; four children had microcephaly at birth and thus were excluded from analyses, two from each cohort. 33 (11%) of 303 children enrolled in León and 219 (69%) of 319 children enrolled in Managua were exposed to Zika virus in utero. In both cohorts, no significant differences were identified in adjusted mean ELC scores between Zika virus-exposed and unexposed infants at 36 months (between-group difference 1·2 points [95% CI -4·2 to 6·5] in the León cohort; 2·8 [-2·4 to 8·1] in the Managua cohort) or at 48 months (-0·9 [-10·8 to 8·8] in the León cohort; 0·1 [-5·1 to 5·2] in the Managua cohort). No differences in ELC scores between Zika virus-exposed and unexposed infants exceeded 6 points at any time between 30 months and 48 months in León or between 36 months and 48 months in Managua, which was considered clinically significant in other settings. INTERPRETATION: We found no significant differences in neurodevelopmental scores between normocephalic children with in-utero Zika virus exposure and Zika virus-unexposed children at age 36 months or 48 months. These findings are promising, supporting typical neurodevelopment in Zika virus-exposed normocephalic children, although additional follow-up and research is warranted. FUNDING: National Institute of Child Health and Development, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Fogarty International Center. TRANSLATION: For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Human natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies are under assessment for treating various cancers, but cryopreservation reduces both the recovery and function of NK cells, thereby limiting their therapeutic feasibility. Using cryopreservation protocols optimized for T cells, here we find that ~75% of NK cells die within 24 h post-thaw, with the remaining cells displaying reduced cytotoxicity. Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and confocal microscopy, we find that cryopreserved NK cells largely die via apoptosis initiated by leakage of granzyme B from cytotoxic vesicles. Pretreatment of NK cells with a combination of Interleukins-15 (IL-15) and IL-18 prior to cryopreservation improves NK cell recovery to ~90-100% and enables equal tumour control in a xenograft model of disseminated Raji cell lymphoma compared to non-cryopreserved NK cells. The mechanism of IL-15 and IL-18-induced protection incorporates two mechanisms: a transient reduction in intracellular granzyme B levels via degranulation, and the induction of antiapoptotic genes.

The size of the human head is highly heritable, but genetic drivers of its variation within the general population remain unmapped. We perform a genome-wide association study on head size (N = 80,890) and identify 67 genetic loci, of which 50 are novel. Neuroimaging studies show that 17 variants affect specific brain areas, but most have widespread effects. Gene set enrichment is observed for various cancers and the p53, Wnt, and ErbB signaling pathways. Genes harboring lead variants are enriched for macrocephaly syndrome genes (37-fold) and high-fidelity cancer genes (9-fold), which is not seen for human height variants. Head size variants are also near genes preferentially expressed in intermediate progenitor cells, neural cells linked to evolutionary brain expansion. Our results indicate that genes regulating early brain and cranial growth incline to neoplasia later in life, irrespective of height. This warrants investigation of clinical implications of the link between head size and cancer.