Do Natural Disasters Affect Trust/Trustworthiness? Evidence from the 2010 Chilean Earthquake

A series of trust games were conducted in Chile to analyze whether the past 2010 earthquake affected trust and trustworthiness in rural communities. Results show that trust levels are invariant between villages affected by the earthquake and villages not affected by this shock (control group). However, we find statistical evidence that trustworthiness has diminished in areas affected by the earthquake. Results are relevant for policy regarding aid and recovery of communities affected by these types of disasters.Trust games, natural disasters, trustworthiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, C93, O13,

Toward improved statistical methods for analyzing Cotinine-Biomarker health association data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Serum cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, is frequently used in research as a biomarker of recent tobacco smoke exposure. Historically, secondhand smoke (SHS) research uses suboptimal statistical methods due to censored serum cotinine values, meaning a measurement below the limit of detection (LOD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We compared commonly used methods for analyzing censored serum cotinine data using parametric and non-parametric techniques employing data from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). To illustrate the differences in associations obtained by various analytic methods, we compared parameter estimates for the association between cotinine and the inflammatory marker homocysteine using complete case analysis, single and multiple imputation, "reverse" Kaplan-Meier, and logistic regression models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Parameter estimates and statistical significance varied according to the statistical method used with censored serum cotinine values. Single imputation of censored values with either 0, LOD or LOD/√2 yielded similar estimates and significance; multiple imputation method yielded smaller estimates than the other methods and without statistical significance. Multiple regression modelling using the "reverse" Kaplan-Meier method yielded statistically significant estimates that were larger than those from parametric methods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Analyses of serum cotinine data with values below the LOD require special attention. "Reverse" Kaplan-Meier was the only method inherently able to deal with censored data with multiple LODs, and may be the most accurate since it avoids data manipulation needed for use with other commonly used statistical methods. Additional research is needed into the identification of optimal statistical methods for analysis of SHS biomarkers subject to a LOD.</p

James J. Kaput (1942–2005) imagineer and futurologist of mathematics education

Jim Kaput lived a full life in mathematics education and we have many reasons to be grateful to him, not only for his vision of the use of technology in mathematics, but also for his fundamental humanity. This paper considers the origins of his ‘big ideas’ as he lived through the most amazing innovations in technology that have changed our lives more in a generation than in many centuries before. His vision continues as is exemplified by the collected papers in this tribute to his life and work

Reaction kinetics of muonium with the halogen gases (F2, Cl2, and Br2)

Copyright @ 1989 American Institute of PhysicsBimolecular rate constants for the thermal chemical reactions of muonium (Mu) with the halogen gases—Mu+X2→MuX+X—are reported over the temperature ranges from 500 down to 100, 160, and 200 K for X2=F2,Cl2, and Br2, respectively. The Arrhenius plots for both the chlorine and fluorine reactions show positive activation energies Ea over the whole temperature ranges studied, but which decrease to near zero at low temperature, indicative of the dominant role played by quantum tunneling of the ultralight muonium atom. In the case of Mu+F2, the bimolecular rate constant k(T) is essentially independent of temperature below 150 K, likely the first observation of Wigner threshold tunneling in gas phase (H atom) kinetics. A similar trend is seen in the Mu+Cl2 reaction. The Br2 data exhibit an apparent negative activation energy [Ea=(−0.095±0.020) kcal mol−1], constant over the temperature range of ∼200–400 K, but which decreases at higher temperatures, indicative of a highly attractive potential energy surface. This result is consistent with the energy dependence in the reactive cross section found some years ago in the atomic beam data of Hepburn et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 69, 4311 (1978)]. In comparing the present Mu data with the corresponding H atom kinetic data, it is found that Mu invariably reacts considerably faster than H at all temperatures, but particularly so at low temperatures in the cases of F2 and Cl2. The current transition state calculations of Steckler, Garrett, and Truhlar [Hyperfine Interact. 32, 779 (986)] for Mu+X2 account reasonably well for the rate constants for F2 and Cl2 near room temperature, but their calculated value for Mu+Br2 is much too high. Moreover, these calculations seemingly fail to account for the trend in the Mu+F2 and Mu+Cl2 data toward pronounced quantum tunneling at low temperatures. It is noted that the Mu kinetics provide a crucial test of the accuracy of transition state treatments of tunneling on these early barrier HX2 potential energy surfaces.NSERC (Canada), Donors of the Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society, for their partial support of this research and the Canada Council

The Imprinted Retrotransposon-Like Gene PEG11 (RTL1) Is Expressed as a Full-Length Protein in Skeletal Muscle from Callipyge Sheep

peer-reviewedMembers of the Ty3-Gypsy retrotransposon family are rare in mammalian genomes despite their abundance in invertebrates and some vertebrates. These elements contain a gag-pol-like structure characteristic of retroviruses but have lost their ability to retrotranspose into the mammalian genome and are thought to be inactive relics of ancient retrotransposition events. One of these retrotransposon-like elements, PEG11 (also called RTL1) is located at the distal end of ovine chromosome 18 within an imprinted gene cluster that is highly conserved in placental mammals. The region contains several conserved imprinted genes including BEGAIN, DLK1, DAT, GTL2 (MEG3), PEG11 (RTL1), PEG11as, MEG8, MIRG and DIO3. An intergenic point mutation between DLK1 and GTL2 causes muscle hypertrophy in callipyge sheep and is associated with large changes in expression of the genes linked in cis between DLK1 and MEG8. It has been suggested that over-expression of DLK1 is the effector of the callipyge phenotype; however, PEG11 gene expression is also strongly correlated with the emergence of the muscling phenotype as a function of genotype, muscle type and developmental stage. To date, there has been no direct evidence that PEG11 encodes a protein, especially as its anti-sense transcript (PEG11as) contains six miRNA that cause cleavage of the PEG11 transcript. Using immunological and mass spectrometry approaches we have directly identified the full-length PEG11 protein from postnatal nuclear preparations of callipyge skeletal muscle and conclude that its over-expression may be involved in inducing muscle hypertrophy. The developmental expression pattern of the PEG11 gene is consistent with the callipyge mutation causing recapitulation of the normal fetal-like gene expression program during postnatal development. Analysis of the PEG11 sequence indicates strong conservation of the regions encoding the antisense microRNA and in at least two cases these correspond with structural or functional domains of the protein suggesting co-evolution of the sense and antisense genes

Centers of Mass and Rotational Kinematics for the Relativistic N-Body Problem in the Rest-Frame Instant Form

In the Wigner-covariant rest-frame instant form of dynamics it is possible to develop a relativistic kinematics for the N-body problem. The Wigner hyperplanes define the intrinsic rest frame and realize the separation of the center-of-mass. Three notions of {\it external} relativistic center of mass can be defined only in terms of the {\it external} Poincar\'e group realization. Inside the Wigner hyperplane, an {\it internal} unfaithful realization of the Poincar\'e group is defined. The three concepts of {\it internal} center of mass weakly {\it coincide} and are eliminated by the rest-frame conditions. An adapted canonical basis of relative variables is found. The invariant mass is the Hamiltonian for the relative motions. In this framework we can introduce the same {\it dynamical body frames}, {\it orientation-shape} variables, {\it spin frame} and {\it canonical spin bases} for the rotational kinematics developed for the non-relativistic N-body problem.Comment: 78 pages, revtex fil