Comparative Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Five Species of Ricaniidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) and Phylogenetic Implications

Ricaniidae is a relatively small planthopper family with about 69 genera and 442 species worldwide. Members of this family occur throughout the warm temperate and tropical regions. Some species cause devastating damage to major agricultural and economic plants. However, the relationship between Ricaniidae and other families of Fulgoroidea needs to be further explored. The morphological definitions of the two biggest genera, Pochazia Amyot & Serville, 1843 and Ricania Germar, 1818 (the type genus of Ricaniidae) remain controversial. In this study, mitogenomes of five representatives in these two genera were decoded using the next-generation sequence method and genome assembly. Results showed that their complete mitogenomes are circular DNA molecules with 15,457 to 16,411 bp. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) begin with the start codon ATN, GTG or TTG and end with TAA, TAG, an incomplete stop codon single T or an incomplete stop codon single A. A lost DHU arm was discovered in the trnS gene of the five mitogenomes and the trnV gene within Pochaziaconfusa, Pochazia guttifera and Ricania simulans. The remnant tRNAs folded into clover-leaf structures. The sliding window, genetic distance, and Ka/Ks analyses indicated that the cox1 gene is the slowest evolving and is relatively conserved. The phylogenetic tree topologies support (Delphacidae + (((Issidae + (Lophopidae + Caliscelidae)) + (Flatidae + Ricaniidae)) + (Achilidae + (Dictyopharidae + Fulgoridae)))) as the best topology, as recognized by both PhyloBayes, RAxML and MrBayes based on four data sets (PCG, PCGRNA, PCG12, PCG12RNA). The monophyly of Ricaniidae and the sister group status of two families Flatidae and Ricaniidae are supported, but all analyses failed to support the monophyly of Pochazia and Ricania. The diagnoses between these two genera cannot be resolved until more evidence is acquired.

My Fight or Yours: Stereotypes of Activists From Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups

In social movements, activists may belong to either the disadvantaged or the advantaged group (e.g., Black racial justice activists or White racial justice activists). Across three experimental survey studies, we examined the content of these stereotypes by asking participants to freely generate a list of characteristics to describe each target group—a classic paradigm in stereotype research. Specifically, we examined the stereotypes applied to Black and White activists within racial justice movements (Study 1, n = 154), female and male activists within feminist movements (Study 2, n =134), and LBGT and straight activists within Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender movements (Study 3, n =156). We found that the “activist” category was consistently differentiated into subcategories based on group status: Disadvantaged group activists were stereotyped as strong and aggressive, whereas advantaged group activists were stereotyped as altruistic and superficial. These findings underscore the importance of considering status differences to understand the social perception of activists.

Ethnic Identity and Patriotism in Adolescents: The Role of Age, Group Status and Social Context

The aim of this study was to examine age differences of minority and majority adolescents regarding ethnic identity, in-group bias (as a form of ethnic attachment), and constructive and blind patriotism (as a form of national attachment). The study was conducted in four multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia: Croatian-Czech, Croatian-Hungarian, Croatian-Serbian and Croatian-Italian. The results of N = 924 students of primary (sixth, seventh and eighth grade) and secondary (second, third and fourth grade) schools were analysed. The average age was M = 14.99, SD = 2.17 years. Younger pupils express higher levels of ethnic identity and blind patriotism, whereas constructive patriotism was more expressed in older students. There were no age differences in in-group bias. Minority pupils exhibit lower levels of bias, while majority members are more prone to bias in the Croatian-Serbian and Croatian- -Hungarian contexts. Furthermore, majority pupils are more willing to express constructive, but also blind patriotism.

Separate Roles for State and Trait Anxiety in the Formation of SHU Syndrome: Testing a Moderated Mediation Hypothesis

It has been proposed that state anxiety, aroused when an inmate is initially placed in restrictive housing, interacts with the sequestering Special Housing Unit (SHU) environment to overtax the individual's already limited coping resources, and promotes later emotional problems and psychological deterioration. This study tested a SHU syndrome hypothesis with a moderated mediation path analysis of 69 male inmates. Results revealed that group status (general population vs. restrictive housing) interacted with state anxiety to increase trait anxiety and ineffective coping, which then gave rise to higher staff ratings of psychological disturbance in inmates with no prior history of mental illness.

RASE: Modeling cumulative disadvantage due to marginalized group status in academia

We propose a framework of Resources, Achievement, Status, and Events (RASE) that allows the many disparate but well-documented phenomena affecting underrepresented groups in STEM to be assembled into a story of career trajectories, illuminating the possible cumulative impact of many small inequities. Our framework contains a three-component deterministic cycle of (1) production of Achievements from Resources, (2) updated community Status due to Achievements, and (3) accrual of additional Resources based on community Status. A fourth component, stochastic Events, can influence an individual’s level of Resources or Achievements at each time step of the cycle. We build a specific mathematical model within the RASE framework and use it to investigate the impact of accumulated disadvantages from multiple compounding variables. We demonstrate that the model can reproduce data of observed disparities in academia. Finally, we use a publicly available visualization and networking tool to provide a sandbox for exploring career outcomes within the model. The modeling exercise, results, and visualization tool may be useful in the context of training STEM faculty to recognize and reduce effects of bias.

Lifespan Developmental Analysis of Health Problems and Problem Drinking Across White and Underrepresented Adults

Research has illustrated potential health benefits from moderate drinking, but also health risks from excessive drinking. Few studies have contrasted drinking effects on health across different periods of the lifespan, and how such contrasts may vary across sociodemographic subpopulations. In this study, we investigated underrepresented racial and ethnic group status as a moderator of drinking effects on health across the lifespan. Analyses used data from two waves of a large U.S.-representative sample. We estimated a series of 3*3 between-persons ANOVAs testing effects of Wave-1 drinking group (abstainer, moderate drinkers, and excessive drinkers), age (young adulthood, midlife, and older adulthood), and drinking-group-by-age interactions in White versus underrepresented status. The outcome variable was Wave-2 hypertension (controlling for Wave-1 hypertension). In the older-adult White group, results reflected the familiar “j-shaped” curve of alcohol effects on health. Specifically, abstainers experienced higher hypertension than moderate drinkers (with marginal significance: p=.054), and excessive drinkers experienced higher hypertension than moderate drinkers (p= .002). In contrast, among underrepresented older adults, hypertension levels did not vary significantly by drinking group. Graphical results clarified that the lack of drinking effects among underrepresented older adults reflected that they had similarly elevated hypertension across all three drinking groups, whereas the White older adults only had comparably elevated hypertension in the excessive-drinker group. These findings suggest that the positive health effects of moderate drinking apply primarily to White older adults. Our poster will discuss potential explanations for the apparent lack of health benefits of safe-drinking practices among underrepresented older adults.

Study Engagement and Burnout of the PhD Candidates in Medicine: A Person-Centered Approach

This study focused on exploring individual variations in doctoral candidates’ well-being, in terms of experienced research engagement and burnout by using a person-centered approach. In addition, the associations between well-being profiles and gender, country of origin, study status (full-time or part-time), research group status and drop-out intentions were explored. The participants were 692 PhD candidates in the field of medicine. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify the well-being profiles. Four distinct profiles were identified: high engagement–low burnout, high engagement–moderate burnout, moderate engagement–moderate burnout, and moderate engagement–high burnout. Working in a clinical unit or hospital and working in a research group seemed to be related to increased engagement and reduced risk for suffering burnout, while the intentions to quit one’s doctoral studies were more frequently reported in profiles with moderate levels of engagement. The findings imply that although a significant number of PhD candidates in medicine had an increased risk for developing burnout, for most of the PhD candidates research education is an engaging experience.

Do Members of Disadvantaged Groups Explain Group Status With Group Stereotypes?

Recent research on group attitudes in members of disadvantaged groups has provided evidence that group evaluations closely align with societal stigma, reflecting outgroup favoritism in members of those groups that are most strongly stigmatized. While outgroup favoritism is clearly evident among some groups, there is still debate about the psychological mechanisms underlying outgroup favoritism. The current research focuses on a less intensively examined aspect of outgroup favoritism, namely the use of status-legitimizing group stereotypes. We present data from members of four disadvantaged groups (i.e., persons who self-categorize as gay or lesbian, n = 205; Black or African American, n = 209; overweight n = 200, or are aged 60–75 years n = 205), who reported the perceived status of their ingroup and a comparison majority outgroup and provided explanations for their status perceptions. Contrary to assumptions from System Justification Theory, participants rarely explained perceived group status differences with group stereotypes, whereas they frequently explained ingroup disadvantage with perceived stigmatization and/or systemic reasons. Further exploratory analyses indicated that participants’ status explanations were related to measures of intergroup attitudes, ideological beliefs, stigma consciousness, and experienced discrimination. Our results highlight the need to develop a better understanding whether, under what circumstances, and with which consequences members of disadvantaged groups use group stereotypes as attributions of ingroup status and status differences.