Expected and Unexpected Consequences of the Educational Expansion in Europe and the US. Theoretical approaches and empirical findings in comparative perspective

A main mechanism behind the change in European and North American societies in the second half of the 20th century is the educational expansion, i.e. the increase in educational opportunities and the higher demand for education. Whereas other abstract social processes like modernization have been widely theorized in social science literature, the educational expansion and its consequences in particular have not been well studied. Therefore the main aim of this compilation is to deal with the question of whether the demands of the educational reforms have been fulfilled and which other consequences the educational expansion has had. This book will focus on consequences of the educational expansion for individuals and their life courses as well as for the social structure and other societal areas such as culture and politics. Aspects that will be analysed in the light of educational expansion include participation in education, educational inequalities, labour market outcomes, educational returns, and gender differences as well as crime, life expectancy, and lifestyles. Countries analysed in the book include West European countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain, East European countries (Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic) as well as the US.

Youth criminality and urban social conflict in the city of Rosario, Argentina. Analysis and proposals for conflict transformation

The present article describes and analyses youth criminality in the city of Rosario, Argentina between the years 2003-2006. Key actors’ understandings of and responses to the conflict were investigated by means of semi-structured interviews, observations, discourse analysis of policy documents, analysis of secondary data, and draw heavily on the experience of the author, a citizen and youth worker of Rosario. The actors examined were the police, the local government, young delinquents and youth organisations. Youth criminality is analysed from a conflict transformation approach using conflict analysis tools. Whereas, the provincial police understand the issue as a delinquency problem, other actors perceive it as an expression of a wider urban social conflict between those that are “included” and those that are “excluded” and as one of the negative effects of globalisation processes. The results suggest that police responses addressing only direct violence are ineffective, even contributing to increased tensions and polarisation, whereas strategies addressing cultural and structural violence are more suitable for this type of social urban conflict. Finally, recommendations for local youth policy are proposed to facilitate participation and inclusion of youth and as a tool for peaceful conflict transformation.

Genome sequence, comparative analysis, and population genetics of the domestic horse

We report a high-quality draft sequence of the genome of the horse (Equus caballus). The genome is relatively repetitive but has little segmental duplication. Chromosomes appear to have undergone few historical rearrangements: 53% of equine chromosomes show conserved synteny to a single human chromosome. Equine chromosome 11 is shown to have an evolutionary new centromere devoid of centromeric satellite DNA, suggesting that centromeric function may arise before satellite repeat accumulation. Linkage disequilibrium, showing the influences of early domestication of large herds of female horses, is intermediate in length between dog and human, and there is long-range haplotype sharing among breeds.

Generalizability and Applicability of Model-Based Business Process Compliance-Checking Approaches – A State-of-the-Art Analysis and Research Roadmap

With a steady increase of regulatory requirements for business processes, automation support of compliance management is a field garnering increasing attention in Information Systems research. Several approaches have been developed to support compliance checking of process models. One major challenge for such approaches is their ability to handle different modeling techniques and compliance rules in order to enable widespread adoption and application. Applying a structured literature search strategy, we reflect and discuss compliance-checking approaches in order to provide an insight into their generalizability and evaluation. The results imply that current approaches mainly focus on special modeling techniques and/or a restricted set of types of compliance rules. Most approaches abstain from real-world evaluation which raises the question of their practical applicability. Referring to the search results, we propose a roadmap for further research in model-based business process compliance checking.

Cancer, meta-analysis and reporting biases: the case of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.

Reporting and publication bias is a well-known problem in meta-analysis and healthcare research. In 2002 we conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) on overall survival in cancer patients, which suggested some evidence for improved survival in patients receiving ESAs compared with controls. However, a meta-analysis of individual patient data conducted several years later showed the opposite of our first meta-analysis, that is, evidence for increased on-study mortality and reduced overall survival in cancer patients receiving ESAs. We aimed to determine whether the results of our first meta-analysis could have been affected by publication and reporting biases and, if so, whether timely access to clinical study reports and individual patient data could have prevented this. We conducted a hypothetical meta-analysis for overall survival including all studies and study data that could have been available in 2002, at the time when we conducted our first meta-analysis. Compared with our original meta-analysis, which suggested an overall survival benefit for cancer patients receiving ESAs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67‒0.99], our hypothetical meta-analysis based on the results of all studies conducted at the time of the first analysis did not show evidence for a beneficial effect of ESAs on overall survival (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.83‒1.12). Thus we have to conclude that our first meta-analysis showed misleading overall survival benefits due to publication and reporting biases, which could have been prevented by timely access to clinical study reports and individual patient data. Unrestricted access to clinical study protocols including amendments, clinical study reports and individual patient data is needed to ensure timely detection of both beneficial and harmful effects of healthcare interventions.

Anti-Americanism in Europe: Theoretical Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence

One of the most popular explanations for post-9/11 anti-Americanism argues that resentment against America and Americans is mainly a function of the US government’s unpopular actions. The present article challenges this interpretation: first, it argues that neither the vitality of the resentment in times when the United States had no influence in the respective parts of the world nor its recent radical manifestations are accounted for in a political reductionist framework. In fact, specific traditions of anti-Americanism have an influence on the negative attitudes observed today, as a comparison between Britain, France, Germany, and Poland reveals. Second, this article suggests an alternative theoretical approach. Anti-Americanism can be explained by two basic mechanisms: it functions as a strategy to project denied and disliked self-concepts onto an external object, and it offers an interpretation frame for complex social processes that allows to reduce cognitive dissonance. Multivariate analyses based on empirical data collected in the Pew surveys of 2002 and 2007 show the fruitfulness of our theoretical approach.

Protein deficiency and the growing rat lung. II. Morphometric analysis and morphology

Effects of protein deficiency during the whole period of postnatal development and intensive growth were studied in the rat lung parenchyma. Dams received a low protein diet as follows: early restriction, 8% casein diet from parturition, and delayed restriction, 12% then 8% casein diet from lactation d 8. After weaning (d 21), early restriction and delayed restriction group rats were maintained on the 8% casein diet until d 49, wherefore they were returned to normal food (18% casein) for 11 wk. Lungs were processed for light and electron microscopic morphometry on d 21, 49, and 126. The diffusion capacity of the lung for O2 (DLO2) was also determined from the morphologic parameters. Volume and surface densities of the parenchymal components of malnourished rats did not consistently differ from controls. Because of lower lung volumes, absolute values, including DLO2, were all significantly decreased. Further, although lung volume growth was less impaired than body growth and thus deviated from the normal allometric relationship, most morphometric parameters paralleled body weight changes. Visually, we detected minor morphologic alterations at d 21 and 49, not necessarily reflected by morphometric data. But, importantly, lung parenchyma appeared mature at weaning despite the growth retardation. Normal refeeding resulted in a striking regrowth of the lung parenchyma. Although early restriction rats did not fully catch up in lung volume, most parenchymal parameters and DLO2 were largely restored in both refed groups.

Interdisciplinary assessment of complex regional water systems and their future evolution: how socioeconomic drivers can matter more than climate

Modeling of future water systems at the regional scale is a difficult task due to the complexity of current structures (multiple competing water uses, multiple actors, formal and informal rules) both temporally and spatially. Representing this complexity in the modeling process is a challenge that can be addressed by an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. The assessment of the water system of the Crans-Montana-Sierre area (Switzerland) and its evolution until 2050 were tackled by combining glaciological, hydrogeological, and hydrological measurements and modeling with the evaluation of water use through documentary, statistical and interview-based analyses. Four visions of future regional development were co-produced with a group of stakeholders and were then used as a basis for estimating future water demand. The comparison of the available water resource and the water demand at monthly time scale allowed us to conclude that for the four scenarios socioeconomic factors will impact on the future water systems more than climatic factors. An analysis of the sustainability of the current and future water systems based on four visions of regional development allowed us to identify those scenarios that will be more sustainable and that should be adopted by the decision-makers. The results were then presented to the stakeholders through five key messages. The challenges of communicating the results in such a way with stakeholders are discussed at the end of the article.

14C Analysis and Sample Preparation at the New Bern Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA)

The University of Bern has set up the new Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) equipped with an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) MICADAS (MIni CArbon Dating System) to continue its long history of 14C analysis based on conventional counting. The new laboratory is designated to provide routine 14C dating for archaeology, climate research, and other disciplines at the University of Bern and to develop new analytical systems coupled to the gas ion source for 14C analysis of specific compounds or compound classes with specific physical properties. Measurements of reference standards and wood samples dated by dendrochronology demonstrate the quality of the 14C analyses performed at the new laboratory.

Recommendations for sex/gender neuroimaging research: Key principles and implications for research design, analysis and interpretation

Neuroimaging (NI) technologies are having increasing impact in the study of complex cognitive and social processes. In this emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience, a central goal should be to increase the understanding of the interaction between the neurobiology of the individual and the environment in which humans develop and function. The study of sex/gender is often a focus for NI research, and may be motivated by a desire to better understand general developmental principles, mental health problems that show female-male disparities, and gendered differences in society. In order to ensure the maximum possible contribution of NI research to these goals, we draw attention to four key principles—overlap, mosaicism, contingency and entanglement—that have emerged from sex/gender research and that should inform NI research design, analysis and interpretation. We discuss the implications of these principles in the form of constructive guidelines and suggestions for researchers, editors, reviewers and science communicators.

Molecular cloning, expression analysis and assignment of the porcine tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 10 gene (TNFSF10) to SSC13q34-->q36 by fluorescence in situ hybridization and radiation hybrid mapping

We have cloned the complete coding region of the porcine TNFSF10 gene. The porcine TNFSF10 cDNA has an ORF of 870 nucleotides and shares 85% identity with human TNFSF10, and 75% and 72% identity with rat and mouse Tnfsf10 coding sequences, respectively. The deduced porcine TNFSF10 protein consists of 289 amino acids with the calculated molecular mass of 33.5 kDa and a predicted pI of 8.15. The amino acid sequence similarities correspond to 86, 72 and 70% when compared with human, rat and mouse sequences, respectively. Northern blot analysis detected TNFSF10-specific transcripts (approximately 1.7 kb) in various organs of a 10-week-old pig, suggesting ubiquitous expression. Real-time RT-PCR studies of various organs from fetal (days 73 and 98) and postnatal stages (two weeks, eight months) demonstrated developmental and tissue-specific regulation of TNFSF10 mRNA abundance. The chromosomal location of the porcine TNFSF10 gene was determined by FISH of a specific BAC clone to metaphase chromosomes. This TNFSF10 BAC clone has been assigned to SSC13q34-->q36. Additionally, the localization of the TNFSF10 gene was verified by RH mapping on the porcine IMpRH panel.

Innovative Agricultural Approaches of Promoting Food Security in Eritrea: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth: Proceedings of the Workshop of the Association of Eritreans in Agricultural Sciences (AEAS)

Eritrea is a Sahel country in terms of climate, and rainfall is low and highly variable. Shortage of food is thus a recurrent problem, and food security one of the key issues in development. The present publication presents the results of a nationwide workshop organised in 2006 in Asmara, Eritrea, by the Association of Eritreans in Agricultural Sciences (AEAS). The workshop was attended by over 200 participants from government administration, academia, development circles including NGOs and UN organisations. Specifically, the present publication deals with themes such as biotechnology, non-wood forest products, spate irrigation, the role of women relating to food security, and institutional and organisational aspects of food security. It also contains a chapter with policy recommendations, as well as an extensive summary of the main findings (paper abstracts) in Tigrinya.