Marriage in an immigrant society: Education and the transition to first marriage in Hong Kong

Background: The prevalence of marriages between locals and immigrants is likely to alter the relationship between education and marriage. However, there has been little empirical research on the implications of a large immigration population for the relationship between education and marriage. Hong Kong provides an ideal setting to investigate this issue. Methods: This article examines the role of education in union formation for both men and women across two birth cohorts and the effect of education on marriages with local or immigrant spouses, using data from the 2011 Hong Kong Population Census and the Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics [HKPSSD]. Results: In contrast to findings in many other societies, local men’s education has little effect on union formation. Further analysis reveals that their education is positively associated with marrying a Hong Kong born spouse but negatively associated with marrying an immigrant spouse born in mainland China. For local women, education has a negative effect on marrying either local or immigrant spouses, but this effect diminishes over time. These findings suggest an increasing importance of women’s economic prospects in union formation in a society like Hong Kong with a high cost of living. Contribution: As the first study analysing the role of education on men and women’s marriages over time and with local or immigrant spouses in Hong Kong, this article shows the growing importance of women’s economic prospects in union formation. It also demonstrates that the presence of an enlarged pool of potential partners due to immigration can moderate the commonly assumed positive relationship between men’s education and marriage

Functional and effective connectivity analysis of drug-resistant epilepsy: a resting-state fMRI analysis

ObjectiveEpilepsy is considered as a neural network disorder. Seizure activity in epilepsy may disturb brain networks and damage brain functions. We propose using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data to characterize connectivity patterns in drug-resistant epilepsy.MethodsThis study enrolled 47 participants, including 28 with drug-resistant epilepsy and 19 healthy controls. Functional and effective connectivity was employed to assess drug-resistant epilepsy patients within resting state networks. The resting state functional connectivity (FC) analysis was performed to assess connectivity between each patient and healthy controls within the default mode network (DMN) and the dorsal attention network (DAN). In addition, dynamic causal modeling was used to compute effective connectivity (EC). Finally, a statistical analysis was performed to evaluate our findings.ResultsThe FC analysis revealed significant connectivity changes in patients giving 64.3% (18/28) and 78.6% (22/28) for DMN and DAN, respectively. Statistical analysis of FC was significant between the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral inferior parietal cortex for DMN. For DAN, it was significant between the left and the right intraparietal sulcus and the frontal eye field. For the DMN, the patient group showed significant EC connectivity in the right inferior parietal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex for the DMN. There was also bilateral connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, as well as between the left and right inferior parietal cortex. For DAN, patients showed significant connectivity in the right frontal eye field and the right intraparietal sulcus. Bilateral connectivity was also found between the left frontal eye field and the left intraparietal sulcus, as well as between the right frontal eye field and the right intraparietal sulcus. The statistical analysis of the EC revealed a significant result in the medial prefrontal cortex and the right intraparietal cortex for the DMN. The DAN was found significant in the left frontal eye field, as well as the left and right intraparietal sulcus.ConclusionOur results provide preliminary evidence to support that the combination of functional and effective connectivity analysis of rs-fMRI can aid in diagnosing epilepsy in the DMN and DAN networks

Individual Differences and Metacognitive Knowledge of Visual Search Strategy

A crucial ability for an organism is to orient toward important objects and to ignore temporarily irrelevant objects. Attention provides the perceptual selectivity necessary to filter an overwhelming input of sensory information to allow for efficient object detection. Although much research has examined visual search and the ‘template’ of attentional set that allows for target detection, the behavior of individual subjects often reveals the limits of experimental control of attention. Few studies have examined important aspects such as individual differences and metacognitive strategies. The present study analyzes the data from two visual search experiments for a conjunctively defined target (Proulx, 2007). The data revealed attentional capture blindness, individual differences in search strategies, and a significant rate of metacognitive errors for the assessment of the strategies employed. These results highlight a challenge for visual attention studies to account for individual differences in search behavior and distractibility, and participants that do not (or are unable to) follow instructions

Size Matters: Large Objects Capture Attention in Visual Search

Can objects or events ever capture one's attention in a purely stimulus-driven manner? A recent review of the literature set out the criteria required to find stimulus-driven attentional capture independent of goal-directed influences, and concluded that no published study has satisfied that criteria. Here visual search experiments assessed whether an irrelevantly large object can capture attention. Capture of attention by this static visual feature was found. The results suggest that a large object can indeed capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner and independent of displaywide features of the task that might encourage a goal-directed bias for large items. It is concluded that these results are either consistent with the stimulus-driven criteria published previously or alternatively consistent with a flexible, goal-directed mechanism of saliency detection

Tunable broadband terahertz polarizer using graphene-metal hybrid metasurface

We demonstrate an electrically tunable polarizer for terahertz (THz) frequency electromagnetic waves formed from a hybrid graphene-metal metasurface. Broadband (>3 THz) polarization-dependent modulation of THz transmission is demonstrated as a function of the graphene conductivity for various wire grid geometries, each tuned by gating using an overlaid ion gel. We show a strong enhancement of modulation (up to ∼17 times) compared to graphene wire grids in the frequency range of 0.2–2.5 THz upon introduction of the metallic elements. Theoretical calculations, considering both plasmonic coupling and Drude absorption, are in good agreement with our experimental findings

The Oslo Health Study: Is bone mineral density higher in affluent areas?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Based on previously reported differences in fracture incidence in the socioeconomic less affluent Oslo East compared to the more privileged West, our aim was to study bone mineral density (BMD) in the same socioeconomic areas in Oslo. We also wanted to study whether possible associations were explained by socio-demographic factors, level of education or lifestyle factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Distal forearm BMD was measured in random samples of the participants in The Oslo Health Study by single energy x-ray absorptiometry (SXA). 578 men and 702 women born in Norway in the age-groups 40/45, 60 and 75 years were included in the analyses. Socioeconomic regions, based on a social index dividing Oslo in two regions – East and West, were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Age-adjusted mean BMD in women living in the less affluent Eastern region was 0.405 g/cm²and significantly lower than in West where BMD was 0.419 g/cm². Similarly, the odds ratio of low BMD (Z-score ≤ -1) was 1.87 (95% CI: 1.22–2.87) in women in Oslo East compared to West. The same tendency, although not statistically significant, was also present in men. Multivariate analysis adjusted for education, marital status, body mass index, physical inactivity, use of alcohol and smoking, and in women also use of post-menopausal hormone therapy and early onset of menopause, did hardly change the association. Additional adjustments for employment status, disability pension and physical activity at work for those below the age of retirement, gave similar results.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found differences in BMD in women between different socioeconomic regions in Oslo that correspond to previously found differences in fracture rates. The association in men was not statistically significant. The differences were not explained by socio-demographic factors, level of education or lifestyle factors.</p

Impact of endophyte inoculation on the morphological identity of cultivars of Lolium perenne (L) and Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.)

Publication history: Accepted - 9 April 2020; Published online - 5 May 2020Grass endophytes have been shown to confer enhanced environmental resilience to symbiont cultivars with reports of modified growth. If inoculating with an endophyte (E+) made an accession morphologically distinct from its registered endophyte free (E−) accession, there could be protection and ownership issues for testing authorities and breeders. This study investigated if, in official Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) field trials, the morphological characteristics of E+and E− accessions of perennial ryegrass and tall fescue cultivars were sufficiently modified to designate them as mutually distinct and also distinct from their definitive accessions (Def), held by the testing authorities. Testing perennial ryegrass on 17 characters at 2 sites generated 48,960 observations and for tall fescue on 9 characters at 1 site, 12,960 observations (each for 3 accessions of 4 cultivars × 60 plants × 2 growing cycles). Distinctness required a p < 0.01 difference in a single character from the combined over years analysis (COYD). A few significant differences were recorded between E− and E+accessions. Cultivar Carn E+ was smaller than Carn E− for Infloresence Length (p < 0.01) in both years but COYD analysis (p < 0.05) was insufficient to declare distinctiveness. Overall, the number of observed differences between E−/E+ accessions was less or similar to the number expected purely by chance. In contrast, comparisons between Def and E− or E+ accessions showed a number of significant differences that were substantially more numerous than expected by chance. These results showed no conclusive evidence of endophyte inclusion creating false PBR distinctions but unexpectedly, several E− and E+ accessions were distinguished from their official definitive stock.This study was jointly funded by the EU Community Plant Variety Office, Angers, France and Euroseeds, Brussels, Belgium

Adenovirus vector delivery stimulates natural killer cell recognition

We report that delivery of first-generation replication-deficient adenovirus (RDAd) vectors into primary human fibroblasts is associated with the induction of natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytolysis in vitro. RDAd vector delivery induced cytolysis by a range of NK cell populations including the NK cell clone NKL, primary polyclonal NK lines and a proportion of NK clones (36 %) in autologous HLA-matched assays. Adenovirus-induced cytolysis was inhibited by antibody blocking of the NK-activating receptor NKG2D, implicating this receptor in this function. NKG2D is ubiquitously expressed on NK cells and CD8+ T cells. Significantly, γ-irradiation of the vector eliminated the effect, suggesting that breakthrough expression from the vector induces at least some of the pro-inflammatory responses of unknown aetiology following the application of RDAd vectors during in vivo gene delivery

The Impact of the Fusarium Mycotoxin Deoxynivalenol on the Health and Performance of Broiler Chickens

The aim of the present experiment was to investigate the effects of feeding grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on morphometric indices of jejunum and to follow the passage of deoxynivalenol (DON) through subsequent segments of the digestive tract of broilers. A total of 45 1-d-old broiler chickens (Ross 308 males) were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments (15 birds/treatment): (1) control diet; (2) diet contaminated with 1 mg DON/kg feed; (3) diet contaminated with 5 mg DON/kg feed for five weeks. None of the zootechnical traits (body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion) responded to increased DON levels in the diet. However, DON at both dietary levels (1 mg and 5 mg DON/kg feed) significantly altered the small intestinal morphology. In the jejunum, the villi were significantly (P < 0.01) shorter in both DON treated groups compared with the controls. Furthermore, the dietary inclusion of DON decreased (P < 0.05) the villus surface area in both DON treated groups. The absolute or relative organ weights (liver, heart, proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine, spleen, pancreas, colon, cecum, bursa of Fabricius and thymus) were not altered (P > 0.05) in broilers fed the diet containing DON compared with controls. DON and de-epoxy-DON (DOM-1) were analyzed in serum, bile, liver, feces and digesta from consecutive segments of the digestive tract (gizzard, cecum, and rectum). Concentrations of DON and its metabolite DOM-1 in serum, bile, and liver were lower than the detection limits of the applied liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. Only about 10 to 12% and 6% of the ingested DON was recovered in gizzard and feces, irrespective of the dietary DON-concentration. However, the DON recovery in the cecum as percentage of DON-intake varied between 18 to 22% and was not influenced by dietary DON-concentration. Interestingly, in the present trial, DOM-1 did not appear in the large intestine and in feces. The results indicate that deepoxydation in the present study hardly occurred in the distal segments of the digestive tract, assuming that the complete de-epoxydation occurs in the proximal small intestine where the majority of the parent toxin is absorbed. In conclusion, diets with DON contamination below levels that induce a negative impact on performance could alter small intestinal morphology in broilers. Additionally, the results confirm that the majority of the ingested DON quickly disappears through the gastrointestinal tract

Ratio of the Isolated Photon Cross Sections at \sqrt{s} = 630 and 1800 GeV

The inclusive cross section for production of isolated photons has been measured in \pbarp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 630$ GeV with the \D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The photons span a transverse energy ($E_T$) range from 7-49 GeV and have pseudorapidity $|\eta| < 2.5$. This measurement is combined with to previous \D0 result at $\sqrt{s} = 1800$ GeV to form a ratio of the cross sections. Comparison of next-to-leading order QCD with the measured cross section at 630 GeV and ratio of cross sections show satisfactory agreement in most of the $E_T$ range.Comment: 7 pages. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 251805, (2001