The role of truth and bias in parents' judgments of children's science interests.

Parents' judgments about their children's level of interest in different science topics may affect the science-learning opportunities they provide their children. However, little is known about how parents judge these interests. We used the truth and bias model of judgment of West and Kenny (Psychological Review [2011], Vol. 118, pp. 357-378) to examine factors that may affect parents' judgments of their children's science interests such as the truth (children's self-reported interest) and potential sources of parental bias. We also investigated whether several individual difference measures moderated the effect of truth or bias on judgments. Children (N = 139, ages 7-11 years) rated their level of interest in five science and five non-science topics. Separately, parents (N = 139) judged their children's interest in the same topics. Overall, parents accurately judged their children's science interests, but we also found evidence of some forms of bias, namely that parents generally under-estimated their children's science interests. In addition, parents' personal science attitudes were related to judgments of science interests, such that parents more favorable of science tended to rate their children's interest in science topics higher than parents with a less favorable view. We did not find evidence that individual differences among parents moderated the effect of truth or bias on judgments; however, parents were more accurate at judging the non-science interests of older children than younger children. Parents should be aware that they may be under-estimating their children's interest in science topics and that their personal attitudes about science may be influencing their judgments of their children's science interests.

What would happen if?: A comparison of fathers' and mothers' questions to children during a science activity.

Parents' questions are an effective strategy for fostering the development of young children's science understanding and discourse. However, this work has not yet distinguished whether the frequency of questions about scientific content differs between mothers and fathers, despite some evidence from other contexts (i.e., book reading) showing that fathers ask more questions than mothers. The current study compared fathers' and mothers' questions to their four- to six-year-old children (N = 49) while interacting with scientific stimuli at a museum research exhibit. Results indicated that fathers asked significantly more questions than mothers, and fathers' questions were more strongly related to children's scientific discourse. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of adult questions for the development of children's scientific understanding as well as broadening research to include interlocutors other than mothers.

Single-cell RNA sequencing and binary hierarchical clustering define lung interstitial macrophage heterogeneity in response to hypoxia.

Few studies have examined lung interstitial macrophage (IM) molecular phenotypes after being exposed to hypoxia in vivo at the single-cell level, even though macrophages contribute to hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH). We aimed to determine IM diversity and its association with hypoxia-induced PH. We hypothesized that integrating single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) and binary hierarchal clustering (BHC) could resolve IM heterogeneity under normal homeostatic conditions and changes induced by hypoxia exposure. Cx3cr1GFP/+ reporter mice were exposed to normoxic conditions (∼21% [Formula: see text]) or exposed to 1 day (D1) or 7 days (D7) of hypoxia (∼10% [Formula: see text]). We used flow cytometry to isolate Cx3cr1+ IMs and the 10X Genomics platform for scRNAseq, Cell Ranger, Seurat, ClusterMap, monocle, ingenuity pathway analysis, and Fisher's exact test (q value < 0.05) for functional investigations. n = 374 (normoxia), n = 2,526 (D1), and n = 1,211 (D7) IMs were included in the analyses. We identified three normoxia-related cell types, five hypoxia-associated cell types that emerged at D1, and three that appeared at D7. We describe the existence of a putative resident trained innate IM, which is present in normoxia, transiently depleted at D1, and recovered after 7 days of sustained hypoxia. We also define a rare putative pathogenic population associated with transcripts implicated in PH development that emerges at D7. In closing, we describe the successful integration of BHC with scRNAseq to determine IM heterogeneity and its association with PH. These results shed light on how resident-trained innate IMs become more heterogeneous but ultimately accustomed to hypoxia.

Investigating Science Together: Inquiry-Based Training Promotes Scientific Conversations in Parent-Child Interactions.

This study examined the effects of two pedagogical training approaches on parent-child dyads' discussion of scientific content in an informal museum setting. Forty-seven children (mean age = 5.43) and their parents were randomly assigned to training conditions where an experimenter modeled one of two different pedagogical approaches when interacting with the child and a science-based activity: (1) a scientific inquiry-based process or (2) a scientific statement-sharing method. Both approaches provided the same information about scientific mechanisms but differed in the process through which that content was delivered. Immediately following the training, parents were invited to model the same approach with their child with a novel science-based activity. Results indicated significant differences in the process through which parents prompted discussion of the targeted information content: when talking about causal scientific concepts, parents in the scientific inquiry condition were significantly more likely to pose questions to their child than parents in the scientific statements condition. Moreover, children in the scientific inquiry condition were marginally more responsive to parental causal talk and provided significantly more scientific content in response. These findings provide initial evidence that training parents to guide their children using scientific inquiry-based approaches in informal learning settings can encourage children to participate in more joint scientific conversations.

"I Want to Know More!": Children Are Sensitive to Explanation Quality When Exploring New Information.

When someone encounters an explanation perceived as weak, this may lead to a feeling of deprivation or tension that can be resolved by engaging in additional learning. This study examined to what extent children respond to weak explanations by seeking additional learning opportunities. Seven- to ten-year-olds (N = 81) explored questions and explanations (circular or mechanistic) about 12 animals using a novel Android tablet application. After rating the quality of an initial explanation, children could request and receive additional information or return to the main menu to choose a new animal to explore. Consistent with past research, there were both developmental and IQ-related differences in how children evaluated explanation quality. But across development, children were more likely to request additional information in response to circular explanations than mechanistic explanations. Importantly, children were also more likely to request additional information in direct response to explanations that they themselves had assigned low ratings, regardless of explanation type. In addition, there was significant variability in both children's explanation evaluation and their exploration, suggesting important directions for future research. The findings support the deprivation theory of curiosity and offer implications for education.

"Omics" data integration and functional analyses link Enoyl-CoA hydratase, short chain 1 to drug refractory dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Large-scale "omics" datasets have not been leveraged and integrated with functional analyses to discover potential drivers of cardiomyopathy. This study addresses the knowledge gap. METHODS: We coupled RNA sequence (RNA-Seq) variant detection and transcriptome profiling with pathway analysis to model drug refractory dilated cardiomyopathy (drDCM) using the BaseSpace sequencing hub and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. We used RNA-Seq case-control datasets (n = 6 cases, n = 4 controls), exome sequence familial DCM datasets (n = 3 Italians, n = 5 Italians, n = 5 Chinese), and controls from the HapMap project (n = 5 Caucasians, and n = 5 Asians) for disease modeling and putative mutation discovery. Variant replication datasets: n = 128 cases and n = 15 controls. Source of datasets: NCBI Sequence Read Archive. STATISTICS: Pairwise differential expression analyses to determine differentially expressed genes and t-tests to calculate p-values. We adjusted for false discovery rates and reported q-values. We used chi-square tests to assess independence among variables, the Fisher's Exact Tests and overlap p-values for the pathways and p-scores to rank network. RESULTS: Data revealed that ECHS1(enoyl-CoA hydratase, short chain 1(log2(foldchange) = 1.63329) hosts a mirtron, MIR3944 expressed in drDCM (FPKM = 5.2857) and not in controls (FPKM = 0). Has-miR3944-3p is a putative target of BAG1 (BCL2 associated athanogene 1(log2(foldchange) = 1.31978) and has-miR3944-5p of ITGAV (integrin subunit alpha V(log2(foldchange) = 1.46107) and RHOD (ras homolog family member D(log2(foldchange) = 1.28851). There is an association between ECHS1:11 V/A(rs10466126) and drDCM (p = 0.02496). The interaction (p = 2.82E-07) between ECHS1:75 T/I(rs1049951) and ECHS1:rs10466126 is associated with drDCM (p < 2.2e-16). ECHS1:rs10466126 and ECHS1:rs1049951 are in linkage disequilibrium (D' = 1). The interaction (p = 7.84E-08) between ECHS1:rs1049951 and the novel ECHS1:c.41insT variant is associated with drDCM (p < 2.2e-16). The interaction (p = 0.001096) between DBT (Dihydrolipoamide branched chain transacylase E2):384G/S(rs12021720) and ECHS1:rs10466126 is associated with drDCM (p < 2.2e-16). At the mRNA level, there is an association between ECHS1 (log2(foldchange) = 1.63329; q = 0.013927) and DBT (log2(foldchange) = 0.955072; q = 0.0368792) with drDCM. ECHS1 is involved in valine (-log (p = 3.39E00)), isoleucine degradation (p = 0.00457), fatty acid ß-oxidation (-log(p) = 2.83E00), and drug metabolism:cytochrome P450 (z-score = 2.07985196) pathways. The mitochondria (-log(p) = 8.73E00), oxidative phosphorylation (-log(p) = 5.35E00) and TCA-cycle II (-log(p) = 2.70E00) are dysfunctional. CONCLUSIONS: We introduce an integrative data strategy that considers the interplay between the DNA, mRNA, and associated pathways, which represents a possible diagnostic, prognostic, biomarker, and personalized treatment discovery approach in genomically heterogeneous diseases.

Children's success at detecting circular explanations and their interest in future learning.

These studies explore elementary-school-aged children's ability to evaluate circular explanations and whether they respond to receiving weak explanations by expressing interest in additional learning. In the first study, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds (n = 53) heard why questions about unfamiliar animals. For each question, they rated the quality of single explanations and later selected the best explanation between pairs of circular and noncircular explanations. When judging single explanations, 8- and 10-year-olds, and to some extent 6-year-olds, provided higher ratings for noncircular explanations compared to circular ones. When selecting between pairs of explanations, all age groups preferred noncircular explanations to circular ones, but older children did so more consistently than 6-year-olds. Children who recognized the weakness of the single circular explanations were more interested in receiving additional information about the question topics. In Study 2, all three age groups (n = 87) provided higher ratings for noncircular explanations compared to circular ones when listening to responses to how questions, but older children showed a greater distinction in their ratings than 6-year-olds. Moreover, the link between recognizing circular explanations as weak and interest in future learning could not be accounted for solely by individual differences in verbal intelligence. These findings illustrate the developmental trajectory of explanation evaluation and support that recognition of weak explanations is linked to interest in future learning across the elementary years. Implications for education are discussed.