Social transmission of reproductive behavior increases frequency of inherited disorders in a young-expanding population

The observation of high frequencies of certain inherited disorders in the population of Saguenay–Lac Saint Jean can be explained in terms of the variance and the correlation of effective family size (EFS) from one generation to the next. We have shown this effect by using the branching process approach with real demographic data. When variance of EFS is included in the model, despite its profound effect on mutant allele frequency, any mutant introduced in the population never reaches the known carrier frequencies (between 0.035 and 0.05). It is only when the EFS correlation between generations is introduced into the model that we can explain the rise of the mutant alleles. This correlation is described by a c parameter that reflects the dependency of children’s EFS on their parents’ EFS. The c parameter can be considered to reflect social transmission of demographic behavior. We show that such social transmission dramatically reduces the effective population size. This could explain particular distributions in allele frequencies and unusually high frequency of certain inherited disorders in some human populations.

A Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach in an Undergraduate Plant Physiology Class1

We used Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach (CAPA), a networked teaching and learning tool that generates computer individualized homework problem sets, in our large-enrollment introductory plant physiology course. We saw significant improvement in student examination performance with regular homework assignments, with CAPA being an effective and efficient substitute for hand-graded homework. Using CAPA, each student received a printed set of similar but individualized problems of a conceptual (qualitative) and/or quantitative nature with quality graphics. Because each set of problems is unique, students were encouraged to work together to clarify concepts but were required to do their own work for credit. Students could enter answers multiple times without penalty, and they were able to obtain immediate feedback and hints until the due date. These features increased student time on task, allowing higher course standards and student achievement in a diverse student population. CAPA handles routine tasks such as grading, recording, summarizing, and posting grades. In anonymous surveys, students indicated an overwhelming preference for homework in CAPA format, citing several features such as immediate feedback, multiple tries, and on-line accessibility as reasons for their preference. We wrote and used more than 170 problems on 17 topics in introductory plant physiology, cataloging them in a computer library for general access. Representative problems are compared and discussed.

A demographic approach to selection

The concepts of demography provide a means of combining the ecological approach to population growth with the genetical approach to natural selection. We have utilized the demographic theory of natural selection developed by Norton and Charlesworth to analyze life history schedules of births and deaths for populations of genotypes in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Our populations illustrate a stable genetic equilibrium, an unstable genetic equilibrium, and a case of no equilibrium. We have estimated population growth rates and Darwinian fitnesses of the genotypes and have explored the role of population growth in determining natural selection. The age-specific rates of births and deaths provide insights into components of selection. Both viability and fertility are important components in our populations.

Gene genealogies and population variation in plants

Early in the development of plant evolutionary biology, genetic drift, fluctuations in population size, and isolation were identified as critical processes that affect the course of evolution in plant species. Attempts to assess these processes in natural populations became possible only with the development of neutral genetic markers in the 1960s. More recently, the application of historically ordered neutral molecular variation (within the conceptual framework of coalescent theory) has allowed a reevaluation of these microevolutionary processes. Gene genealogies trace the evolutionary relationships among haplotypes (alleles) with populations. Processes such as selection, fluctuation in population size, and population substructuring affect the geographical and genealogical relationships among these alleles. Therefore, examination of these genealogical data can provide insights into the evolutionary history of a species. For example, studies of Arabidopsis thaliana have suggested that this species underwent rapid expansion, with populations showing little genetic differentiation. The new discipline of phylogeography examines the distribution of allele genealogies in an explicit geographical context. Phylogeographic studies of plants have documented the recolonization of European tree species from refugia subsequent to Pleistocene glaciation, and such studies have been instructive in understanding the origin and domestication of the crop cassava. Currently, several technical limitations hinder the widespread application of a genealogical approach to plant evolutionary studies. However, as these technical issues are solved, a genealogical approach holds great promise for understanding these previously elusive processes in plant evolution.

Multilocus analysis of extracellular putative virulence proteins made by group A Streptococcus: Population genetics, human serologic response, and gene transcription

Species of pathogenic microbes are composed of an array of evolutionarily distinct chromosomal genotypes characterized by diversity in gene content and sequence (allelic variation). The occurrence of substantial genetic diversity has hindered progress in developing a comprehensive understanding of the molecular basis of virulence and new therapeutics such as vaccines. To provide new information that bears on these issues, 11 genes encoding extracellular proteins in the human bacterial pathogen group A Streptococcus identified by analysis of four genomes were studied. Eight of the 11 genes encode proteins with a LPXTG(L) motif that covalently links Gram-positive virulence factors to the bacterial cell surface. Sequence analysis of the 11 genes in 37 geographically and phylogenetically diverse group A Streptococcus strains cultured from patients with different infection types found that recent horizontal gene transfer has contributed substantially to chromosomal diversity. Regions of the inferred proteins likely to interact with the host were identified by molecular population genetic analysis, and Western immunoblot analysis with sera from infected patients confirmed that they were antigenic. Real-time reverse transcriptase–PCR (TaqMan) assays found that transcription of six of the 11 genes was substantially up-regulated in the stationary phase. In addition, transcription of many genes was influenced by the covR and mga trans-acting gene regulatory loci. Multilocus investigation of putative virulence genes by the integrated approach described herein provides an important strategy to aid microbial pathogenesis research and rapidly identify new targets for therapeutics research.

Clinical Implications for Working with Gay Men A Self Psychological Treatment Approach.

Specific training for conducting psychotherapy with gay men is limited for psychologists, particularly when using a Self Psychology theoretical orientation (Robertson, 1996). In fact, psychologists often are faced with conflicting and contradictory points of view that mirror society's condemnation of homosexuality (Robertson, 1996). This paper is written from a self-psychological perspective to address the lack of a constructive body of literature that explains the unique treatment needs which impact gay men. Estimates of the prevalence of male homosexuality have generated considerable debate. A common assumption is that there are homosexual and non-homosexual men. However, scientists have long been aware that sexual responsiveness to others of the same sex, like most human traits, is continuously distributed in the population (Michaels, 1996). Still the presumption exists that such traits are stable within each man over time (Michaels, 1996). Conflating same-sex sexual experiences with a categorization of the man as homosexual is problematic, in that defining sexuality solely on the basis of experience excludes people who fantasize about sex with others of the same sex but never have sexual contact. Thus, most modern conceptions of sexual orientation consider personal identification, sexual behavior, and sexual fantasy (McWhirter, Sanders & Reinisch, 1990). Gay men's mental health can only be understood in the context of homosexuality throughout history, since religious and moral objections to sexual attraction between men have existed for centuries. Men who desired other men were regarded as sinful and depraved if not ill or abnormal, and same sex contacts were not distinguished from lewd behaviors (Weeks, 1989). Although most people, regardless of sexual orientation, have experienced some feelings of personal rejection, rarely do heterosexuals become targets for disapproval based on the nature of their attractions and behaviors relative to the same and to the other sex. For lesbians, bisexuals, and gay men, however, homosexuality becomes the focus of aspects of themselves that make them feel hated and hateful (Isay, 1989). While gay men and lesbians are often considered together because of the same-sex nature of their relationships and the similar issues that they may experience in their treatment within society, there are many issues where they might be best studied separately. Issues involving with health, parenthood, sexuality and perceived roles and status in society, for example, are often related more to gender than to any shared concept of a 'gay and lesbian community'. Many issues surrounding lesbians and lesbian culture will have more to do with women's issues, and some issues involving with gay men will have more to do with the gay male subculture and with masculinity. The author of this paper has limited experience in working with lesbian and bisexual individuals, and although it is likely that some of the concepts articulated in this paper could translate to working with lesbian and bisexual individuals, further research is indicated to examine the beneficence of utilizing a Self Psychological orientation in psychotherapy with lesbian women and bisexual individuals. This paper presents an overview of the literature including historical treatments of homosexuality, the history of Self Psychology, key principles in Self Psychology, research on Self Psychology, identity development models for gay men, and Self Psychological perspectives on identity development related to gay men. The literature review is followed by a section on treatment implications for psychologists seeking to treat gay men, including case vignettes based on work from my own practice. I have preserved the anonymity of clients by changing demographics, and rearranging and combining presenting issues and historical backgrounds among the case examples.

From The Holding Cell to the Holding Environment: Applying an Intersubjective Approach into Trauma Treatment with Women in the Correctional Setting

Abstract This paper investigates themes and parallels related to the traumatic experiences women face within the correctional setting and how these experiences influence women's behavior choices that increase their risk of recidivism. Intersubjective Systems Theory is used to conceptualize the distinct dynamics and impact of trauma with this particular population. Intersubjectivity also informs the changes needed to create an environment that would help women in correctional settings to heal, avoid recidivism, and foster successful community reintegration. Principles from Intersubjective Systems Theory are reviewed in this paper to demonstrate: (a) how developmental trauma impacts the lives of incarcerated women, (b) how these women's attempts at self-healing are often maladaptive and lead to arrests, (c) how the current climate in corrections leads to retraumatization and promotes later recidivism, and (d) what changes in the corrections system would promote optimal healing and better outcomes for incarcerated women. Improved outcomes are defined as healthy boundaries, empowerment in choice of relationships, improvement of social support and occupational skills, and reduction of relapse and recidivism.

An evolutive approach for the delineation of local labour markets

This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labour markets based on evolutionary computation. The main objective is the regionalisation of a given territory into functional regions based on commuting flows. According to the relevant literature, such regions are defined so that (a) their boundaries are rarely crossed in daily journeys to work, and (b) a high degree of intra-area movement exists. This proposal merges municipalities into functional regions by maximizing a fitness function that measures aggregate intra-region interaction under constraints of inter-region separation and minimum size. Real results are presented based on the latest database from the Census of Population in the Region of Valencia. Comparison between the results obtained through the official method which currently is most widely used (that of British Travel-to-Work Areas) and those from our approach is also presented, showing important improvements in terms of both the number of different market areas identified that meet the statistical criteria and the degree of aggregate intra-market interaction.

Population synthesis of isolated neutron stars with magneto-rotational evolution

We revisit the population synthesis of isolated radio-pulsars incorporating recent advances on the evolution of the magnetic field and the angle between the magnetic and rotational axes from new simulations of the magneto-thermal evolution and magnetosphere models, respectively. An interesting novelty in our approach is that we do not assume the existence of a death line. We discuss regions in parameter space that are more consistent with the observational data. In particular, we find that any broad distribution of birth spin periods with P0 ≲ 0.5 s can fit the data, and that if the alignment angle is allowed to vary consistently with the torque model, realistic magnetospheric models are favoured compared to models with classical magneto-dipolar radiation losses. Assuming that the initial magnetic field is given by a lognormal distribution, our optimal model has mean strength 〈log B0[G]〉 ≈ 13.0–13.2 with width σ(log B0) = 0.6–0.7. However, there are strong correlations between parameters. This degeneracy in the parameter space can be broken by an independent estimate of the pulsar birth rate or by future studies correlating this information with the population in other observational bands (X-rays and γ-rays).

Population synthesis of isolated neutron stars with magneto-rotational evolution – II. From radio-pulsars to magnetars

Population synthesis studies constitute a powerful method to reconstruct the birth distribution of periods and magnetic fields of the pulsar population. When this method is applied to populations in different wavelengths, it can break the degeneracy in the inferred properties of initial distributions that arises from single-band studies. In this context, we extend previous works to include X-ray thermal emitting pulsars within the same evolutionary model as radio-pulsars. We find that the cumulative distribution of the number of X-ray pulsars can be well reproduced by several models that, simultaneously, reproduce the characteristics of the radio-pulsar distribution. However, even considering the most favourable magneto-thermal evolution models with fast field decay, lognormal distributions of the initial magnetic field overpredict the number of visible sources with periods longer than 12 s. We then show that the problem can be solved with different distributions of magnetic field, such as a truncated lognormal distribution, or a binormal distribution with two distinct populations. We use the observational lack of isolated neutron stars (NSs) with spin periods P > 12 s to establish an upper limit to the fraction of magnetars born with B > 1015 G (less than 1 per cent). As future detections keep increasing the magnetar and high-B pulsar statistics, our approach can be used to establish a severe constraint on the maximum magnetic field at birth of NSs.

Une ethnographie de la gestion de la population rom en Albanie

Cette thèse propose une ethnographie de la gestion de la population rom en Albanie, saisie sur deux périodes historiques : communisme et postcommunisme. L’analyse porte sur la façon dont divers instruments de gestion des populations en tant que techniques de pouvoir, sont mises en œuvre ; comment une population donnée devient-elle un sujet politique ? Quels sont les effets d’une telle gestion sur les populations en général et sur les populations roms en particulier ? Cette approche, une approche foucaldienne, replace ainsi au centre de l’analyse empirique les politiques, les pratiques et les discours concernant les Roms en Albanie et essaye de saisir les effets qu’ils produisent sur cette population. Cette thèse part de ces éléments pour interroger plus largement les transformations sociétales dans l’Albanie postcommuniste. Ce travail s’inscrit dans le champ de l’anthropologie politique et conjugue à la fois une anthropologie de l’État et une anthropologie de la violence. Il s’articule autour de trois parties. La première porte sur la contextualisation de cette thèse, du point de vue conceptuel, méthodologique et théorique. La deuxième partie propose une analyse des relations que l’État a entretenues avec les Roms pendant la période communiste, phase durant laquelle la population rom a été exposée à diverses mesures administratives visant sa normalisation, à travers une sédentarisation forcée et d’autres mesures coercitives. La troisième partie, précédée par un intermède sur la période de la transition, interroge la relation entre l’État, la violence, la mobilité et la gestion de la population rom en Albanie depuis la chute du communisme. L’analyse se fait à partir d’un cas spécifique, celui des familles roms déplacées et en déplacement aux alentours de Tirana ; une mobilité forcée notamment par peu d’opportunités de sortir de la précarité pour plusieurs familles roms, mais aussi une mobilité induite par les politiques, les pratiques et les discours étatiques, notamment par leur non-action. Au fur et à mesure que l’analyse des pratiques et des discours – complétée par une ethnographie des documents d’archives et dans les quartiers et les campements roms – s’approfondit pendant les deux périodes historiques, elle dévoile de nombreuses – mais différentes – contradictions et controverses au sein du dispositif, lesquelles produisent à leur tour discrimination, exclusion, violence, indifférence et abandon.

Helping Moldova stay on the EU course. Proposals for a real 'more for more' approach. EPC Policy Brief, 11 December 2013

At the Vilnius Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit in November, Moldova initialled its Association Agreement including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU and became the first EaP country to meet all the requirements of their Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. 2014 may prove to be a make or break year for Moldova, with Chisinau facing a number of serious challenges. From the EU’s point of view, it could also prove to be a make or break year for the Eastern Partnership. The period following Vilnius should be a soul-searching time for the EU. Of the three pillars (AA, DCFTA, visa regime) of the Eastern Partnership, two are now being openly challenged by Russia. While the EU should not engage in a populist competition with Russia, it does need to adapt its actions to the realities on the ground. In this Policy Brief, Cristian Ghinea, Amanda Paul and Victor Chirila argue that the EU should work for greater visibility, better public diplomacy and deliver visible, tangible benefits to the Moldovan population as rapidly as possible. Not only will this help counter Russian activities, but it will also help shore up support for pro-EU reformers in the country.

Une ethnographie de la gestion de la population rom en Albanie

Cette thèse propose une ethnographie de la gestion de la population rom en Albanie, saisie sur deux périodes historiques : communisme et postcommunisme. L’analyse porte sur la façon dont divers instruments de gestion des populations en tant que techniques de pouvoir, sont mises en œuvre ; comment une population donnée devient-elle un sujet politique ? Quels sont les effets d’une telle gestion sur les populations en général et sur les populations roms en particulier ? Cette approche, une approche foucaldienne, replace ainsi au centre de l’analyse empirique les politiques, les pratiques et les discours concernant les Roms en Albanie et essaye de saisir les effets qu’ils produisent sur cette population. Cette thèse part de ces éléments pour interroger plus largement les transformations sociétales dans l’Albanie postcommuniste. Ce travail s’inscrit dans le champ de l’anthropologie politique et conjugue à la fois une anthropologie de l’État et une anthropologie de la violence. Il s’articule autour de trois parties. La première porte sur la contextualisation de cette thèse, du point de vue conceptuel, méthodologique et théorique. La deuxième partie propose une analyse des relations que l’État a entretenues avec les Roms pendant la période communiste, phase durant laquelle la population rom a été exposée à diverses mesures administratives visant sa normalisation, à travers une sédentarisation forcée et d’autres mesures coercitives. La troisième partie, précédée par un intermède sur la période de la transition, interroge la relation entre l’État, la violence, la mobilité et la gestion de la population rom en Albanie depuis la chute du communisme. L’analyse se fait à partir d’un cas spécifique, celui des familles roms déplacées et en déplacement aux alentours de Tirana ; une mobilité forcée notamment par peu d’opportunités de sortir de la précarité pour plusieurs familles roms, mais aussi une mobilité induite par les politiques, les pratiques et les discours étatiques, notamment par leur non-action. Au fur et à mesure que l’analyse des pratiques et des discours – complétée par une ethnographie des documents d’archives et dans les quartiers et les campements roms – s’approfondit pendant les deux périodes historiques, elle dévoile de nombreuses – mais différentes – contradictions et controverses au sein du dispositif, lesquelles produisent à leur tour discrimination, exclusion, violence, indifférence et abandon.

A topical outline for the teaching of family health : a life-cycle approach (nursing and midwifery) /

"Project no. AID-PHA/CM/C-73-33"--T.p. verso.

Modeling Depression Progression Dynamics from Electronic Health Record

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06