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Research at the intersection of social science and genomics, 'sociogenomics', is transforming our understanding of the interplay between genomics, individual outcomes and society. It has interesting and maybe unexpected implications for education research and policy. Here we review the growing sociogenomics literature and discuss its implications for educational researchers and policymakers. We cover key concepts and methods in genomic research into educational outcomes, how genomic data can be used to investigate social or environmental effects, the methodological strengths and limitations of genomic data relative to other observational social data, the role of intergenerational transmission and potential policy implications. The increasing availability of genomic data in studies can produce a wealth of new evidence for education research. This may provide opportunities for disentangling the environmental and genomic factors that influence educational outcomes and identifying potential mechanisms for intervention.

KEY POINTS: In one hospital-based safety-net dialysis unit, only one half of patients with ESKD knew their cause of kidney failure, which did not differ by English proficiency status. Patients with limited English proficiency (versus English-proficient patients) reported poorer communication with the dialysis care team (less listening, fewer clear explanations, less time spent). We highlight the need for tailored, patient-centered communication between limited English-proficient patients and dialysis care team members. BACKGROUND: ESKD is a chronic health condition for which communication between health care teams and patients is important to guide patient self-management activities. Yet, little is known about the quality of communication among patients with ESKD and their care team members. We examined the influence of patient's limited English proficiency (LEP) status on communication experiences at one dialysis center. METHODS: A survey was administered to adults receiving ESKD care at a dialysis unit within a public health care delivery system between July 2022 and February 2023, to ascertain kidney disease knowledge and perceptions of communication quality with the dialysis care team. Multivariable logistic and ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for age and sex were used to determine associations between LEP status and CKD knowledge. RESULTS: Among 93 eligible patients, 88.2% (n=82) completed the survey. Approximately 37.8% (n=31) had LEP, mean age was 58.8 years, 68.3% were men, mean dialysis vintage was 3.9 years, and 25% had a positive depression screen (LEP 30%; English-proficient 22%). A higher proportion of English-proficient patients screened positive for limited health literacy compared to those with LEP (74.5% versus 38.7%, P = 0.002). Overall, knowledge of assigned cause of ESKD (53.4%) and CKD/transplant knowledge (57.3%) was suboptimal. After adjustment, LEP status was not significantly associated with knowing the correct cause of kidney failure (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.19 to 1.27) but was significantly associated with having a higher score on a CKD/transplant knowledge scale (odds ratio, 3.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.66 to 9.58). Patients with LEP reported poorer communication quality with dialysis providers and staff (less listening, fewer clear explanations, less time spent with patients) compared with English-proficient patients, although differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Overall communication between patients with ESKD and members of the dialysis care team was suboptimal, regardless of English proficiency. Interventions to enhance communication for ESKD patients are needed.

Building on counterfactual theories of causal-selection, according to which humans intuitively evaluate the causal responsibility of events, we developed an experimental paradigm to examine the effect of causal-selection explanations on abductive causal inference. In our experiment, participants attempted to infer the rule responsible for winning outcomes of random draws from urns with varying sampling probabilities.Participants who were provided with causal-selection judgments as explanations for the outcomes made significantly closer inferences to the rule than those relying on observations alone, or on other explanations of causal relevance.We mirror these empirical results with a computational model of inference from explanation leveraging the theories of causal selection.

Investigating how people evaluate more or less complex causal theories has been a focal point of research. However, previous studies have either focused on token-level causation or restricted themselves to very small sets of explanatory variables. We provide a new approach for modeling theory selection that foregrounds the balance between observed and latent structure in the mechanism being explained. We combine a Bayesian framework with program induction, allowing an unbounded and partially observable model space through sampling, and reflecting how a preference for simplicity emerges naturally in this setting. Through simulation, we identify two rational principles: (1) Simpler explanations should be favored as latent uncertainty (the number of hidden variables) increases; (2) latent structure is attributed a larger role when the observable patterns become less compressible. We conducted a behavioral experiment and found that human judgments tended to reflect these principles, indicating that people are sensitive to latent uncertainty when selecting between explanations.

Research in lexical acquisition has frequently focused on children's ability to make rapid, context-informed guesses about the meaning of newly encountered words, known as ‘fast mapping'. However, there is a gap in research examining how children and adults revise and adjust these guesses about word meanings as they encounter words repeatedly applied to different referents. We propose, on computational grounds, that learners adjust word meanings incrementally to accommodate new evidence. To begin to test this proposal, we lay out a new research program probing how word meanings evolve. In a pilot experiment, adults learn the meaning of novel kinship terms and we probe their beliefs by repeatedly eliciting generalizations. We manipulate the order in which participants observe the same word used to refer to different members of a family tree. We find a mixed pattern of order effects but our inspection of individual trajectories suggestive of a syntax-level relationship between the current and previous hypothesis. This relationship was supported by a computational model based analysis of lexical meaning generation via a probabilistic language of thought.

Abstract We present the evolution of the electronic structure of CrSBr from its antiferromagnetic ground state to the paramagnetic phase above T N = 132 K, in both experiment and theory. Low-temperature angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) results are obtained using a novel method to overcome sample charging issues, revealing quasi-2D valence bands in the ground state. The results are very well reproduced by our $${\rm{QSG}}\hat{{\rm{W}}}$$ QSG W ̂ calculations, which further identify certain bands at the X points to be exchange-split pairs of states with mainly Br and S character. By tracing band positions as a function of temperature, we show the splitting disappears above T N . The energy splitting is interpreted as an effective exchange splitting in individual layers in which the Cr moments all align, within the so-called A-type antiferromagnetic arrangement. Our results lay firm foundations for the interpretation of the many other intriguing physical and optical properties of CrSBr.

Abstract Background A trial performed among unvaccinated, high-risk outpatients with COVID-19 during the delta period showed remdesivir reduced hospitalization. We used our real-world data platform to determine the effectiveness of remdesivir on reducing 28-day hospitalization among outpatients with mild-moderate COVID-19 during an Omicron period including BQ.1/BQ.1.1/XBB.1.5. Methods We did a propensity-matched, retrospective cohort study of non-hospitalized adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection between April 7, 2022, and February 7, 2023. Electronic healthcare record data from a large health system in Colorado were linked to statewide vaccination and mortality data. We included patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test or outpatient remdesivir administration. Exclusion criteria were other SARS-CoV-2 treatments or positive SARS-CoV-2 test more than seven days before remdesivir. The primary outcome was all-cause hospitalization up to day 28. Secondary outcomes included 28-day COVID-related hospitalization and 28-day all-cause mortality. Results Among 29,270 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 1,252 remdesivir-treated patients were matched to 2,499 untreated patients. Remdesivir was associated with lower 28-day all-cause hospitalization (1.3% vs. 3.3%, adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.39 [95% CI 0.23–0.67], p

Objective: The aim was to evaluate whether exercise induces different nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) responses in males and females. Methods: Twenty-two males and females (n = 11 per group; mean (s.d.): age: 25 (6) years, height: 1.71 (0.10) m, weight: 69.6 (12.3) kg) performed 100 drop jumps and 50 squat jumps. NRF2/antioxidant response element (ARE) binding in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, and immune markers influenced by NRF2 (interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes) were measured pre-exercise, post exercise, and 1 h post exercise. Results: NRF2/ARE binding did not significantly alter following exercise (P = 0.59), and no sex differences were evident (P = 0.17). Similarly, GPX activity did not change post exercise (P = 0.74) and did not differ between sexes (P = 0.61). IL-6 and TNF-α did not increase post exercise (P > 0.05 for both) but were lower in females (P < 0.01 for both). MMP-9 increased post exercise (P = 0.02), but no group differences were found (P = 0.27). VCAM-1 was unchanged after exercise (P = 0.38) and did not differ between groups (P = 0.11). Total leukocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes all increased post exercise (P < 0.01 for all); neutrophils were lower (P < 0.01), and monocytes were higher (P = 0.03) in females vs males. Conclusion: There were no sex differences in NRF2 activity at rest and in response to an exercise bout; however, several immune markers displayed sex-specific differences, independent to NRF2. Pre-registration: Open Science Framework = osf.io/5fpvn; Thorley, J., & Clifford, T. (2022, August 12). Curcumin supplementation, exercise, Nrf2/NFkB activity. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/C4UQ2. Identifier: osf-registrations-c4uq2-v1 Significance statement Sex differences in NRF2 signaling were not evident, suggesting males and females may incur similar redox-specific adaptations post exercise.

Abstract Van der Waals heterostructures have opened new opportunities to develop atomically thin (opto)electronic devices with a wide range of functionalities. The recent focus on manipulating the interlayer twist angle has led to the observation of out-of-plane room temperature ferroelectricity in twisted rhombohedral bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides. Here we explore the switching behaviour of sliding ferroelectricity using scanning probe microscopy domain mapping and tunnelling transport measurements. We observe well-pronounced ambipolar switching behaviour in ferroelectric tunnelling junctions with composite ferroelectric/non-polar insulator barriers and support our experimental results with complementary theoretical modelling. Furthermore, we show that the switching behaviour is strongly influenced by the underlying domain structure, allowing the fabrication of diverse ferroelectric tunnelling junction devices with various functionalities. We show that to observe the polarisation reversal, at least one partial dislocation must be present in the device area. This behaviour is drastically different from that of conventional ferroelectric materials, and its understanding is an important milestone for the future development of optoelectronic devices based on sliding ferroelectricity.

Abstract Objective PTEN, a known tumor suppressor gene, is a mediator of neurodevelopment. Individuals with germline pathogenic variants in the PTEN gene, molecularly defined as PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), experience a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric challenges during childhood, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the frequency and nature of seizures and the utilization of allied health services have not been described. Methods Young patients with PHTS and sibling controls were recruited across five centers in the United States and followed every 6–12 months for a mean of 2.1 years. In addition to the history obtained from caregivers, neurodevelopmental evaluations and structured dysmorphology examinations were conducted, and brain MRI findings, received therapies, and epilepsy characteristics were reported. Results One hundred and seven patients with PHTS (median age 8.7 years; range 3–21 years) and 38 controls were enrolled. ASD and epilepsy were frequent among patients with PHTS (51% and 15%, respectively), with generalized epilepsy strongly associated with ASD. Patients with epilepsy often required two antiseizure medications. Neuroimaging revealed prominent perivascular spaces and decreased peritrigonal myelination in individuals with PHTS‐ASD. Allied therapy use was frequent and involved physical, occupational, speech, and social skills therapies, with 89% of all patients with PHTS, regardless of ASD diagnosis, utilizing at least one service. Interpretation This prospective, longitudinal study highlights the wide neurological spectrum seen in young individuals with PHTS. ASD is common in PHTS, comorbid with epilepsy, and allied health services are used universally. Our findings inform care discussions with families about neurological outcomes in PHTS.

Abstract Isoprene is a key trace component of the atmosphere emitted by vegetation and other organisms. It is highly reactive and can impact atmospheric composition and climate by affecting the greenhouse gases ozone and methane and secondary organic aerosol formation. Marine fluxes are poorly constrained due to the paucity of long-term measurements; this in turn limits our understanding of isoprene cycling in the ocean. Here we present the analysis of isoprene concentrations in the atmosphere measured across the Southern Ocean over 4 months in the summertime. Some of the highest concentrations ( >500 ppt) originated from the marginal ice zone in the Ross and Amundsen seas, indicating the marginal ice zone is a significant source of isoprene at high latitudes. Using the United Kingdom Earth System Model we show that current estimates of sea-to-air isoprene fluxes underestimate observed isoprene by a factor >20. A daytime source of isoprene is required to reconcile models with observations. The model presented here suggests such an increase in isoprene emissions would lead to >8% decrease in the hydroxyl radical in regions of the Southern Ocean, with implications for our understanding of atmospheric oxidation and composition in remote environments, often used as proxies for the pre-industrial atmosphere.

Abstract Background Expiratory time constant (τ) objectively assesses the speed of exhalation and can guide adjustments of the respiratory rate and the I:E ratio with the goal of achieving complete exhalation. Multiple methods of obtaining τ are available, but they have not been compared. The purpose of this study was to compare six different methods to obtain τ and to test if the exponentially decaying flow corresponds to the measured time constants. Methods In this prospective study, pressure, flow, and volume waveforms of 30 postoperative patients undergoing volume (VCV) and pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) were obtained using a data acquisition device and analyzed. τ was measured as the first 63% of the exhaled tidal volume (VT) and compared to the calculated τ as the product of expiratory resistance (RE) and respiratory system compliance (CRS), or τ derived from passive flow/volume waveforms using previously published equations as proposed by Aerts, Brunner, Guttmann, and Lourens. We tested if the duration of exponentially decaying flow during exhalation corresponded to the duration of the predicted second and third τ, based on multiples of the first measured τ. Results Mean (95% CI) measured τ was 0.59 (0.57–0.62) s and 0.60 (0.58–0.63) s for PCV and VCV (p = 0.45), respectively. Aerts method showed the shortest values of all methods for both modes: 0.57 (0.54–0.59) s for PCV and 0.58 (0.55–0.61) s for VCV. Calculated (CRS * RE) and Brunner’s τ were identical with mean τ of 0.64 (0.61–0.67) s for PCV and 0.66 (0.63–069) s for VCV. Mean Guttmann’s τ was 0.64 (0.61–0.68) in PCV and 0.65 (0.62–0.69) in VCV. Comparison of each τ method between PCV and VCV was not significant. Predicted time to exhale 95% of the VT (i.e., 3*τ) was 1.77 (1.70–1.84) s for PCV and 1.80 (1.73–1.88) s for VCV, which was significantly longer than measured values: 1.27 (1.22–1.32) for PCV and 1.30 (1.25–1.35) s for VCV (p

In this study, we investigated human causal learning in a continuous time and space setting. Our experiments revealed that people are capable causal learners in such contexts, and that standard Bayesian updating of prior beliefs partially explains how priors impact their judgments. Specifically, individuals with strong prior beliefs consistent with the ground truth are less likely to misinterpret indirect effects as direct in structures like causal chains. When priors were inconsistent with the ground truth however, participants performed worse on average, choosing less informative interventions. Computational modelling revealed that to deal with the abundance of data in this setting, participants use interventions to mark informative data and focus on direct outgoing links from the variable they intervene on. This task-decomposition strategy, when paired with participants' interventions, achieves comparable accuracy to using the entirety of the dataset, despite ignoring almost half of the available data. These findings are in line with the resource rational framework, where discarding data outside of interventions saves computational costs and the full inference problem about the graph is broken down into sub-problems of inferring individual links between variables. Overall, our study reinforces the idea that humans are frugal and intuitive active learners who combine actions and inference to optimize learning while minimizing effort.

When we reason about what could have been, some possibilities seem plausible, and others far-fetched. According to a recent theory, counterfactual possibilities are plausible if they can be generated by making local, probabilistic adjustments to the causes of what actually happened. We provide evidence that people think about counterfactuals in this way even when they have to infer the causes of what happened. We told participants about the diet of a fictional animal, and then asked them simple counterfactual questions. For example, given that the animal has eaten 1 berry today, how much food could it plausibly have eaten instead? When the amount of food eaten by the animal licensed an inference about a causally upstream variable, participants inferred the state of this variable and used it to guide their counterfactual plausibility judgments. More generally, the distribution over counterfactual values derived from participants' judgments was remarkably similar to the distribution predicted by the model.

People need to generate and test hypotheses in order to create accurate representations of their environments. But how do they know which hypotheses to consider when there are often infinitely many possibilities? Here we explore the idea that evolutionary mental representation generation and selection processes – responsible for the generation of both local (i.e., within a task) and global (i.e., about a task) representations – enable people to address this problem. We investigated this through an active learning experiment, where participants’ task was to discover a hidden rule determining the behavior of a simple physical system. Specifically, we aimed to manipulate factors that constrain this process, particularly through experimental instructions and feedback. We found that providing more opportunities for participants to recognize when their initial task conceptualization was wrong and adjust it helped them create more accurate representations about the task, which in turn led to better accuracy within the task.

Counterfactual models perturb a situation model to measure the explanatory power of different causes. We modify one to explore how people explain others' behaviour in two online experiments. First, 90 UK-based adults rated the likelihood of various scenarios combining short biographies with characters' trajectories through a gridworld. Then 49 others saw each scenario and outcome, and verbally gave their best explanations for why the character went the way they did. Participants generated a range of explanations for even the most incongruous behaviour, citing factors outside the given information. Using the innovative features of crowdsourced parameters and free text responses, we show people anchor to real world dependency c.75% of the time, and stochastically sample the rest. We present an expanded version of the counterfactual effect size model (Quillien & Lucas 2022) which handle surprising behaviours and performs better than the existing model it is based on.

Research in psychology and artificial intelligence has sought to ground information-seeking behavior in rational terms, typically assuming that people or agents prefer more informative data over less informative data. While this seems reasonable on its surface, it assumes that informativeness is only a property of the data, rather than a joint property of the data and a (potentially bounded) learner. That is, to the extent that it is hard to draw the right inferences from data that are theoretically "high information," the data will not actually be highly informative to the learner. Here, we investigate active learning in humans using the code-breaking game Mastermind, which requires deductive reasoning from evidence. We find that people make queries that are less informative than random guesses, challenging standard rational or resource-rational accounts of information-seeking. We then show that people make queries are informative to them assuming they have a bounded capacity to draw inferences. We also find that participants prefer queries that provide easily-interpretable information over queries that provide more information but are less interpretable. Our results suggest that people are aware of their own cognitive limitations and seek information that they can use.

Abstract Skeletal muscle (SM) acts as a secretory organ, capable of releasing myokines and extracellular vesicles (SM‐EVs) that impact myogenesis and homeostasis. While age‐related changes have been previously reported in murine SM‐EVs, no study has comprehensively profiled SM‐EV in human models. To this end, we provide the first comprehensive comparison of SM‐EVs from young and old human primary skeletal muscle cells (HPMCs) to map changes associated with SM ageing. HPMCs, isolated from young (24 ± 1.7 years old) and older (69 ± 2.6 years old) participants, were immunomagnetically sorted based on the presence of the myogenic marker CD56 (N‐CAM) and cultured as pure (100% CD56+) or mixed populations (MP: 90% CD56+). SM‐EVs were isolated using an optimised protocol combining ultrafiltration and size exclusion chromatography (UF + SEC) and their biological content was extensively characterised using Raman spectroscopy (RS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC‐MS). Minimal variations in basic EV parameters (particle number, size, protein markers) were observed between young and old populations. However, biochemical fingerprinting by RS highlighted increased protein (amide I), lipid (phospholipids and phosphatidylcholine) and hypoxanthine signatures for older SM‐EVs. Through LC‐MS, we identified 84 shared proteins with functions principally related to cell homeostasis, muscle maintenance and transcriptional regulation. Significantly, SM‐EVs from older participants were comparatively enriched in proteins involved in oxidative stress and DNA/RNA mutagenesis, such as E3 ubiquitin‐protein ligase TTC3 (TTC3), little elongation complex subunit 1 (ICE1) and Acetyl‐CoA carboxylase 1 (ACACA). These data suggest SM‐EVs could provide an alternative pathway for homeostasis and detoxification during SM ageing.

Abstract Most herbivores must balance demands to meet nutritional requirements, maintain stable thermoregulation and avoid predation. Species‐specific predator and prey characteristics determine the ability of prey to avoid predation and the ability of predators to maximize hunting success. Using GPS collar data from African wild dogs, lions, impala, tsessebes, wildebeest and zebra in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, we studied proactive predation risk avoidance by herbivores. We considered predator activity level in relation to prey movement, predator and prey habitat selection, and preferential use of areas by prey. We compared herbivore behaviour to lion and wild dog activity patterns and determined the effect of seasonal resource availability and prey body mass on anti‐predator behaviour. Herbivore movement patterns were more strongly correlated with lion than wild dog activity. Habitat selection by predators was not activity level dependent and, while prey and predators differed to some extent in their habitat selection, there were also overlaps, probably caused by predators seeking habitats with high prey abundance. Areas favoured by lions were used by herbivores more when lions were less active, whereas wild dog activity level was not correlated with prey use. Prey body mass was not a strong predictor of the strength of proactive predation avoidance behaviour. Herbivores showed stronger anti‐predator behaviours during the rainy season when resources were abundant. Reducing movement when top predators are most active and avoiding areas with a high likelihood of predator use during the same periods appear to be common strategies to minimize predation risk. Such valuable insights into predator–prey dynamics are only possible when using similar data from multiple sympatric species of predator and prey, an approach that should become more prevalent given the ongoing integration of technological methods into ecological studies.