Sibling Models Can Test Causal Claims without Experiments: Applications for Psychology.

Randomized experiments are the "gold standard" for inferring causation and are designed to collect covariate information. Yet, many questions cannot be answered with experiments practically or ethically. Often, potential confounds are controlled statistically as covariates in quasi-experimental designs.

Contributions of inherited mtDNA to longevity: evidence from extended pedigrees with 176 million kinship pairs.

Background: Mitochondria are bacteria-like organelles with their own DNA (mtDNA) that exist in the cellular cytoplasm of almost every cell in the human body. Because mitochondria are critical for sustaining life, it follows that inherited mtDNA could be a key aetiologic element underlying longevity. Unfortunately, biometric approaches able to quantify heritable contributions of mtDNA have not been available.

Detecting mtDNA Effects with an Extended Pedigree Model: An Analysis of Statistical Power and Estimation Bias.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) plays a crucial role in numerous cellular processes, yet its impact on human complex behavior remains underexplored. The current paper proposes a novel covariance structure model with seven parameters to specifically isolate and quantify mtDNA effects on human complex traits. This approach uses extended pedigrees to obtain estimates of mtDNA variance while controlling for other genetic and environmental influences.

Boosting fast and stable sodium-ion storage in TiO by amorphization engineering and superstructure design.

We introduce a hierarchical lamellar superstructure colloidally co-assembled from MXene-derived amorphous TiO nanosheets (am-TiO NSs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Leveraging the synergistic effect of active amorphous NSs and an open-accessible architecture, the am-TiO-CNT electrode demonstrates exceptional rate capabilities and cycling stabilities in SIBs.

Detecting mtDNA effects with an Extended Pedigree Model: An Analysis of Statistical Power and Estimation Bias.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) plays a crucial role in numerous cellular processes, yet its impact on human behavior remains underexplored. The current paper proposes a novel covariance structure model with seven parameters to specifically isolate and quantify mtDNA effects on human behavior. This approach uses extended pedigrees to obtain estimates of mtDNA variance while controlling for other genetic and environmental influences.

Molecularly Confined Topochemical Transformation of MXene Enables Ultrathin Amorphous Metal-Oxide Nanosheets.

Two-dimensional (2D) amorphous nanosheets with ultrathin thicknesses have properties that differ from their crystalline counterparts. However, conventional methods for growing 2D materials often produce either crystalline flakes or amorphous nanosheets with an uncontrollable thickness. Here, we report that ultrathin amorphous metal-oxide nanosheets featuring superior flatness can be realized through the molecularly confined topochemical transformation of MXene.

BGmisc: An R Package for Extended Behavior Genetics Analysis.

Behavior genetics is a field that studies how our genes and environment contribute to differences in behavior and traits among individuals. Traditionally, twin studies have long been a cornerstone of this field, helping researchers understand how genetics influence behavior. Recently, the focus has expanded to include studies with more complex family structures, e.

Effects of Genetic Relatedness of Kin Pairs on Univariate ACE Model Performance.

The current study explored the impact of genetic relatedness differences (ΔH) and sample size on the performance of nonclassical ACE models, with a focus on same-sex and opposite-sex twin groups. The ACE model is a statistical model that posits that additive genetic factors (A), common environmental factors (C), and specific (or nonshared) environmental factors plus measurement error (E) account for individual differences in a phenotype. By extending Visscher's (2004) least squares paradigm and conducting simulations, we illustrated how genetic relatedness of same-sex twins (H) influences the statistical power of additive genetic estimates (A), AIC-based model performance, and the frequency of negative estimates.

Mismatched ligand density enables ordered assembly of mixed-dimensional, cross-species materials.

The ordered coassembly of mixed-dimensional species-such as zero-dimensional (0D) nanocrystals and 2D microscale nanosheets-is commonly deemed impracticable, as phase separation almost invariably occurs. Here, by manipulating the ligand grafting density, we achieve ordered coassembly of 0D nanocrystals and 2D nanosheets under standard solvent evaporation conditions, resulting in macroscopic, freestanding hybrid-dimensional superlattices with both out-of-plane and in-plane order. The key to suppressing the notorious phase separation lies in hydrophobizing nanosheets with molecular ligands identical to those of nanocrystals but having substantially lower grafting density.

A universal, green, and self-reliant electrolytic approach to high-entropy layered (oxy)hydroxide nanosheets for efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation.

The development and exploration of high-entropy materials with tunable chemical compositions and unique structural characteristics, although challenging, have attracted increasingly greater attention over the past few years. Here, we report a universal and green method to prepare high-entropy layered (oxy)hydroxide (HE-LH) nanosheets under ambient conditions. This method is based on a self-reliant electrochemical process, utilizing only low-cost metal foils and electrolytes as reactant, with no need of involving extra alkali salts and/or organic reagents.