Transmission of Sex Preferences Across Generations: The Allocation of Educational Resources Among Siblings

The purpose of this paper is to test whether there is an intergenerational transmission of gender preferences in educational resource allocation among children. The unique data set of Taiwan’s Panel Study of Family Dynamics project provides us a rich 3-generation education information and allows us to probe into this question. We performed our analysis along two directions: the first is to see whether the society as a whole has any macro change in gender-specific education achievement, and the second is to see whether there is any within-lineage transmission of gender preferences across generations. After carefully reviewing the education system and societal characteristics in Taiwan, we set up an empirical model to estimate and test the hypotheses of intergenerational transmission of gender preferences. We also perform various statistical analyses to support our findings, e.g. contraposition of a proposition. As far as the macro pattern is concerned, we found that although there is a clear tendency of differential treatment against females in the old generation, this tendency is significantly weakened and nearly vanishes in the young generation. Furthermore, the supporting effect of senior siblings in the old generation becomes a crowding (resource-dilution) effect in the young generation. However, within each micro lineage, there is a mild “habitus” effect in gender-specific educational resource allocation in the sense that parents who had the experience of gender-specific differential treatment tend to treat their children in a similar fashion. Moreover, this mild habitus effect is stronger for female respondents (who were the deprived group) than for male respondents (who were the privileged group).

A New Model for Family Resource Allocation Among Siblings: Competition, Forbearance, and Support

Previous research analyzing within-family education resource allocation usually employs the sibship and birth order of a child as explanatory variables. We argue in this paper that to correctly characterize the resource competition and support scenario within a family, one should identify the Sex, Seniority, and most importantly Age Difference of a child’s sibling structure, and hence we call our analysis a SSAD model of family resource allocation. We show that siblings with different combinations of SSAD may play distinct roles in family resource allocation. Ignoring such facts may distort the significance and/or direction of the prediction. We support our analysis with empirical evidence using data from Taiwan.

A regional chemical transport modeling to identify the influences of biomass burning during 2006 BASE-ASIA

To evaluate the impact of biomass burning from Southeast Asia to East Asia, this study conducted numerical simulations during NASA\u27s 2006 Biomass-burning Aerosols in South-East Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment (BASE-ASIA). Two typical episode periods (27–28 March and 13–14 April) were examined. Two emission inventories, FLAMBE and GFED, were used in the simulations. The influences during two episodes in the source region (Southeast Asia) contributed to CO, O3 and PM2.5 concentrations as high as 400 ppbv, 20 ppbv and 80 μg/m3, respectively. The perturbations with and without biomass burning of the above three species were in the range of 10 to 60%, 10 to 20% and 30 to 70%, respectively. The impact due to long-range transport could spread over the southeastern parts of East Asia and could reach about 160 to 360 ppbv, 8 to 18 ppbv and 8 to 64 μg/m3 on CO, O3 and PM2.5, respectively; the percentage impact could reach 20 to 50% on CO, 10 to 30% on O3, and as high as 70% on PM2.5. An impact pattern can be found in April, while the impact becomes slightly broader and goes up to Yangtze River Delta. Two cross-sections at 15° N and 20° N were used to compare the vertical flux of biomass burning. In the source region (Southeast Asia), CO, O3 and PM2.5 concentrations had a strong upward tendency from surface to high altitudes. The eastward transport becomes strong from 2 to 8 km in the free troposphere. The subsidence contributed 60 to 70%, 20 to 50%, and 80% on CO, O3 and PM2.5, respectively to surface in the downwind area. The study reveals the significant impact of Southeastern Asia biomass burning on the air quality in both local and downwind areas, particularly during biomass burning episodes. This modeling study might provide constraints of lower limit. An additional study is underway for an active biomass burning year to obtain an upper limit and climate effects. doi:10.5194/acpd-11-3071-201

A regional chemical transport modeling to identify the influences of biomass burning during 2006 BASE-ASIA

To evaluate the impact of biomass burning from Southeast Asia to East Asia, this study conducted numerical simulations during NASA\u27s 2006 Biomass-burning Aerosols in South-East Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment (BASE-ASIA). Two typical episode periods (27–28 March and 13–14 April) were examined. Two emission inventories, FLAMBE and GFED, were used in the simulations. The influences during two episodes in the source region (Southeast Asia) contributed to CO, O3 and PM2.5 concentrations as high as 400 ppbv, 20 ppbv and 80 μg/m3, respectively. The perturbations with and without biomass burning of the above three species were in the range of 10 to 60%, 10 to 20% and 30 to 70%, respectively. The impact due to long-range transport could spread over the southeastern parts of East Asia and could reach about 160 to 360 ppbv, 8 to 18 ppbv and 8 to 64 μg/m3 on CO, O3 and PM2.5, respectively; the percentage impact could reach 20 to 50% on CO, 10 to 30% on O3, and as high as 70% on PM2.5. An impact pattern can be found in April, while the impact becomes slightly broader and goes up to Yangtze River Delta. Two cross-sections at 15° N and 20° N were used to compare the vertical flux of biomass burning. In the source region (Southeast Asia), CO, O3 and PM2.5 concentrations had a strong upward tendency from surface to high altitudes. The eastward transport becomes strong from 2 to 8 km in the free troposphere. The subsidence contributed 60 to 70%, 20 to 50%, and 80% on CO, O3 and PM2.5, respectively to surface in the downwind area. The study reveals the significant impact of Southeastern Asia biomass burning on the air quality in both local and downwind areas, particularly during biomass burning episodes. This modeling study might provide constraints of lower limit. An additional study is underway for an active biomass burning year to obtain an upper limit and climate effects. doi:10.5194/acpd-11-3071-201

Ribosomal protein synthesis is not regulated at the translational level in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: balanced accumulation of ribosomal proteins L16 and rp59 is mediated by turnover of excess protein.

We have investigated the mechanisms whereby equimolar quantities of ribosomal proteins accumulate and assemble into ribosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Extra copies of the cry1 or RPL16 genes encoding ribosomal proteins rp59 or L16 were introduced into yeast by transformation. Excess cry1 or RPL16 mRNA accumulated in polyribosomes in these cells and was translated at wild-type rates into rp59 or L16 proteins. These excess proteins were degraded until their levels reached those of other ribosomal proteins. Identical results were obtained when the transcription of RPL16A was rapidly induced using GAL1-RPL16A promoter fusions, including a construct in which the entire RPL16A 5\u27-noncoding region was replaced with the GAL1 leader sequence. Our results indicate that posttranscriptional expression of the cry1 and RPL16 genes is regulated by turnover of excess proteins rather than autogenous regulation of mRNA splicing or translation. The turnover of excess rp59 or L16 is not affected directly by mutations that inactivate vacuolar hydrolases

Deep Wide-Field Spectrophotometry of the Open Cluster M67

We present nine color CCD intermediate-band spectrophotometry of a two square degree field centered on the old open cluster M67, from 3890$\rm \AA$ to nearly 1$\mu$. These observations are taken as a part of the BATC (Beijing-Arizona-Taipei-Connecticut) Color Survey of the Sky, for both scientific and calibration reasons. With these data we show that the BATC survey can reach its goal of obtaining spectrophotometry to a zero point accuracy of 0.01 mag, and down to V = 21 with 0.3 mag random error. We fit the color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) with Worthey's theoretical models. The net result is the excellent fit of the 4.0 Gyr, [Fe/H] = $-0.10$ model to our data, including a good fit to the main sequence (MS) turn-off. Our data are consistent with a toy model with 50\% of the stars in M67 being binaries and a random distribution of binary mass-ratios, although other models with different mass-ratio distributions cannot be ruled out. The spatial distribution and mass function (MF) of stars in M67 show marked effects of dynamical evolution and evaporation of stars from the cluster. Blue stragglers and binary stars are the most condensed within the cluster, with degree of condensation depending on mass.We find M67 to have an elongated shape, oriented at an angle of $15^{\circ}$ relative to the galactic plane. Within its tidal radius, the observed MF of M67 between 1.2 $\rm M_\odot$ and $\rm 0.8 M_\odot$ has a Salpeter slope $\rm \eta = -1.93 \pm 0.66$. For stars of mass below 0.8 $\rm M_\odot$, $\rm \eta \sim 0$. It is plausible that the leveling-off of the MF at lower masses is a result of evaporation of lower mass stars in this mass range at a rate of one every $\sim 10^7$ years. If so, it is plausible that the IMF of M67 has the canonical field value of $\rm \eta = -2.0$.Comment: 74 pages, including 19 ps figures. Accepted for publication in AJ, Aug, 199

Output feedback robust H∞ control with D-stability and variance constraints: A parametrization approach

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2005 Springer Ltd.In this paper, we study the problem of robust H∞ controller design for uncertain continuous-time systems with variance and D-stability constraints. The parameter uncertainties are allowed to be unstructured but norm-bounded. The aim of this problem is the design of an output feedback controller such that, for all admissible uncertainties, the closed-loop poles be placed within a specified disk, the H∞ norm bound constraint on the disturbance rejection attenuation be guaranteed, and the steady-state variance for each state of the closed-loop system be no more than the prescribed individual upper bound, simultaneously. A parametric design method is exploited to solve the problem addressed. Sufficient conditions for the existence of the desired controllers are derived by using the generalized inverse theory. The analytical expression of the set of desired controllers is also presented. It is shown that the obtained results can be readily extended to the dynamic output feedback case and the discrete-time case

Analysis of urinary oligosaccharides in lysosomal storage disorders by capillary high-performance anion-exchange chromatography–mass spectrometry

Many lysosomal storage diseases are characterized by an increased urinary excretion of glycoconjugates and oligosaccharides that are characteristic for the underlying enzymatic defect. Here, we have used capillary high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) hyphenated to mass spectrometry to analyze free oligosaccharides from urine samples of patients suffering from the lysosomal storage disorders fucosidosis, α-mannosidosis, GM1-gangliosidosis, GM2-gangliosidosis, and sialidosis. Glycan fingerprints were registered, and the patterns of accumulated oligosaccharides were found to reflect the specific blockages of the catabolic pathway. Our analytical approach allowed structural analysis of the excreted oligosaccharides and revealed several previously unpublished oligosaccharides. In conclusion, using online coupling of HPAEC with mass spectrometric detection, our study provides characteristic urinary oligosaccharide fingerprints with diagnostic potential for lysosomal storage disorders