Integration of multi-scale biosimulation models via light-weight semantics

Currently, biosimulation researchers use a variety of computational environments and languages to model biological processes. Ideally, researchers should be able to semi- automatically merge models to more effectively build larger, multi-scale models. How- ever, current modeling methods do not capture the underlying semantics of these models sufficiently to support this type of model construction. In this paper, we both propose a general approach to solve this problem, and we provide a specific example that demon- strates the benefits of our methodology. In particular, we describe three biosimulation models: (1) a cardio-vascular fluid dynamics model, (2) a model of heart rate regulation via baroreceptor control, and (3) a sub-cellular-level model of the arteriolar smooth mus- cle. Within a light-weight ontological framework, we leverage reference ontologies to match concepts across models. The light-weight ontology then helps us combine our three models into a merged model that can answer questions beyond the scope of any single model

Purchases, Penalties, and Power: The Relationship between Earnings and Housework

Studies examining the association of housework with earnings have not tested for causal directionality despite competing theories about causal ordering. Autonomy theory, and the relative resources, gender display, and gender deviance neutralization hypotheses suggest personal and relative earnings affect time in housework while human capital theory implies the opposite. Using data from N = 3,719 continuously married couples in Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households and structural equation models, we find that wives\u27 personal earnings and housework are reciprocally related. Her earnings have a stronger effect on housework than vice versa. For husbands, time in routine housework affects earnings only. We find little evidence that relative earnings affect husbands’ or wives’ housework time, rather we identify a significant effect of housework on one’s share of couple’s earnings. The results provide support for autonomy theory for wives and a human capital perspective for both spouses

The Division of Childcare, Sexual Intimacy, and Relationship Quality in Couples

Increasingly, both mothers and fathers are expected to play an equal role in child rearing. Nonetheless, we know little about how childcare arrangements affect couples’ sexual intimacy and relationship quality. Research has focused on the effect of the division of paid labor and housework on couples’ relationships - finding that egalitarianism is problematic for sexual intimacy, relationship quality, and relationship stability. These findings, nonetheless, come almost universally from studies utilizing decades old data and which fail to examine the division of childcare. In this study we update this work by utilizing data from the 2006 Marital and Relationship Study (MARS) (N = 974) to examine how the division of childcare affects the relationship quality and sexual intimacy of heterosexual couples in the United States. Results indicate that men’s performance of childcare is generally associated with more satisfaction with the division of childcare, more satisfying sexual relationships, and higher quality relationships. Importantly, we find that egalitarian childcare arrangements have positive consequences for both men and women. These findings contribute to a growing body of research that challenges the costs of egalitarianism and indicates instead that egalitarianism is associated with higher quality, more intimate relationships than gender traditional arrangements

If I [Take] Leave, Will You Stay? Paternity Leave and Relationship Stability

This article has been published in a revised form in Journal of Social Policy https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279419000928. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use. © copyright holder.Recent European studies suggest that fathers’ leave-taking may contribute to parental relationship stability. Paternity leave-taking may signal a commitment by fathers toward a greater investment in family life, which may reduce the burden on mothers and strengthen parental relationships. This study uses longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to analyze the association between paternity leave-taking and relationship stability in the United States. Results indicate that paternity leave-taking, and taking relatively short leaves (i.e. two weeks or less) in particular, is associated with greater relationship stability. These findings increase our understanding of the potential benefits of paternity leave, and can inform policy decisions that aim to increase family stability

Considering Vermont\u27s Future in a Changing Climate: The First Vermont Climate Assessment

The Vermont Climate Assessment (VCA) paints a vivid picture of a changing climate in Vermont and calls for immediate strategic planning to sustain the social, economic and environmental fabric of our state. The VCA is the first state-scale climate assessment in the country and speaks directly to the impacts of climate change as they pertain to our rural towns, cities and communities, including impacts on Vermont tourism and recreation, agriculture, natural resources and energy

The Gendered Division of Housework and Couples’ Sexual Relationships: A Re-Examination

Contemporary men and women increasingly express preferences for egalitarian unions. One recent high profile study (Kornrich, Brines, & Leupp, 2013) found that married couples with more equal divisions of labor had sex less frequently than couples with conventional divisions of domestic labor. Others (Gager & Yabiku, 2010) found that performing more domestic labor was associated with greater sexual frequency, regardless of gender. Both studies drew from the same data source, which was over two decades old. We utilize data from the 2006 Marital and Relationship Survey (MARS) to update this work. We find no significant differences in sexual frequency and satisfaction among conventional or egalitarian couples. Couples where the male partner does the majority of the housework, however, have less frequent and lower quality sexual relationships than their counterparts. Couples are content to modify conventional housework arrangements, but reversing them entirely has consequences for other aspects of their unions

Excited Baryon Decay Widths in Large N_c QCD

We study excited baryon decay widths in large N_c QCD. It was suggested previously that some spin-flavor mixed-symmetric baryon states have strong couplings of O(N_c^{-1/2}) to nucleons [implying narrow widths of O(1/N_c)], as opposed to the generic expectation based on Witten's counting rules of an O(N_c^0) coupling. The calculation obtaining these narrow widths was performed in the context of a simple quark-shell model. This paper addresses the question of whether the existence of such narrow states is a general property of large N_c QCD. We show that a general large N_c QCD analysis does not predict such narrow states; rather they are a consequence of the extreme simplicity of the quark model.Comment: 9 page

Wicked Good Sports Medicine Symposium 2012 Program

2012 sports medicine symposium at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. Presenters and topics included: Daniel E. Lieberman: Why Exercise Really is Medicine (An Evolutionary Explanation); Samuel Headley: Exercise and Chronic Kidney Disease; Stella L. Volpe: Prevention of Weight Gain in a Large Portion Society; J. Timothy Lightfoot: Can You Be Born a Couch Potato? The Genetics that Control Your Physical Activity; Samuel N. Cheuvront: Answers to 10 Common Questions about Hydration; David Epstein: Missing the Phenotypes for the Genotypes.https://dune.une.edu/wgsms/1000/thumbnail.jp