Androgen Receptor and Vasopressin Receptor (AVPR1a) Genetic Polymorphisms are not associated with Marital Status or Fertility among Ariaal Men of Northern Kenya

A growing body of scholarship implicates testosterone and vasopressin in male reproductive behavior, including in humans. Since hormones exert their effects through their respective receptors, an open question has been whether genetic polymorphisms in the androgen receptor and vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) impact human male social behavior. Here, we sought to test for associations between polymorphisms in the coding region of the androgen receptor and promoter region of AVPR1a in relation to marital status and fertility among pastoralist Ariaal men of northern Kenya. None of the three polymorphisms were related to marital status (single, monogamously married, polygynously married) or fertility (number of current living children). We discuss these null findings in light of existing data

Projection of two biphoton qutrits onto a maximally entangled state

Bell state measurements, in which two quantum bits are projected onto a maximally entangled state, are an essential component of quantum information science. We propose and experimentally demonstrate the projection of two quantum systems with three states (qutrits) onto a generalized maximally entangled state. Each qutrit is represented by the polarization of a pair of indistinguishable photons - a biphoton. The projection is a joint measurement on both biphotons using standard linear optics elements. This demonstration enables the realization of quantum information protocols with qutrits, such as teleportation and entanglement swapping.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published versio

Ground state of two-component degenerate fermionic gases

We analyze the ground state of the two--component gas of trapped ultracold fermionic atoms. We neglect the forces between atoms in the same hyperfine state (the same component). For the case when the forces between distinguishable atoms (i.e., atoms in different hyperfine states) are repulsive (positive mutual scattering length), we find the existence of critical interaction strength above which one atomic fraction expels the other from the center of the trap. When atoms from different components attract each other (negative mutual scattering length) the ground state of the system dramatically changes its structure for strong enough attraction -- the Cooper pairs built of atoms in different hyperfine states appear.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure

Addressing the Zeros Problem: Regression Models for Outcomes with a Large Proportion of Zeros, with an Application to Trial Outcomes

In law‐related and other social science contexts, researchers need to account for data with an excess number of zeros. In addition, dollar damages in legal cases also often are skewed. This article reviews various strategies for dealing with this data type. Tobit models are often applied to deal with the excess number of zeros, but these are more appropriate in cases of true censoring (e.g., when all negative values are recorded as zeros) and less appropriate when zeros are in fact often observed as the amount awarded. Heckman selection models are another methodology that is applied in this setting, yet they were developed for potential outcomes rather than actual ones. Two‐part models account for actual outcomes and avoid the collinearity problems that often attend selection models. A two‐part hierarchical model is developed here that accounts for both the skewed, zero‐inflated nature of damages data and the fact that punitive damage awards may be correlated within case type, jurisdiction, or time. Inference is conducted using a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme. Tobit models, selection models, and two‐part models are fit to two punitive damage awards data sets and the results are compared. We illustrate that the nonsignificance of coefficients in a selection model can be a consequence of collinearity, whereas that does not occur with two‐part models

Regular expressions as violin bowing patterns

String players spend a significant amount of practice time creating and learning bowings. These may be indicated in the music using up-bow and down-bow symbols, but those traditional notations do not capture the complex bowing patterns that are latent within the music. Regular expressions, a mathematical notation for a simple class of formal languages, can describe precisely the bowing patterns that commonly arise in string music. A software tool based on regular expressions enables performers to search for passages that can be handled with similar bowings, and to edit them consistently. A computer-based music editor incorporating bowing patterns has been implemented, using Lilypond to typeset the music. Our approach has been evaluated by using the editor to study ten movements from six violin sonatas by W. A. Mozart. Our experience shows that the editor is successful at finding passages and inserting bowings; that relatively complex patterns occur a number of times; and that the bowings can be inserted automatically and consistently

Polarization of interacting bosons with spin

We demonstrate rigorously that in the absence of explicit spin-dependent forces one of the ground states of interacting bosons with spin is always fully polarized -- however complicated the many-body interaction potential might be. Depending on the particle spin, the polarized ground state will generally be degenerate with other states, but one can specify the exact degeneracy. For T>0 the magnetization and susceptibility necessarily exceed that of a pure paramagnet. These results are relevant to recent experiments exploring the relation between triplet superconductivity and ferromagnetism, and the Bose-Einstein condensation of atoms with spin. They eliminate the possibility, raised in some theoretical speculations, that the ground state or positive temperature state might be antiferromagnetic.Comment: v4: as published in PR

Deadly Confusion: Juror Instructions in Capital Cases

A fatal mistake. A defendant is sentenced to die because the jury was misinformed about the law. The justice system should be designed to prevent such a tragic error. Yet our interviews with jurors who served in South Carolina capital cases indicate that this nightmare is a reality. Although our data are limited to South Carolina, the question whether jurors are adequately instructed in capital cases is of national concern. For example, the issue whether jurors should be more fully informed about the alternative to a death sentence has arisen in other states. And the question whether jurors understand the burdens of proof in capital cases can arise in any death penalty state. As with many death penalty issues, it is tempting to view the question of juror instructions solely as a question for resolution by the Supreme Court as a matter of federal constitutional law. This narrow perspective may be reinforced by the Supreme Court\u27s grant of certiorari in State v. Simmons to decide whether a jury should be informed when a life sentence means life without the possibility of parole. However important Supreme Court death penalty decisions are, the initial responsibility for instructing jurors rests with trial judges. Our data and analysis should inform trial judges about the real impact of the instructions they choose to give and not to give. Even if the Constitution does not mandate full and clear instructions, trial judges and reviewing courts should provide them in the sound exercise of their discretion. After describing the data and the law in Part I, Part II shows that jurors\u27 false expectations about alternatives to the death sentence probably influence their sentencing decisions. Part III establishes that jurors do not understand the burdens of proof governing the sentencing phase of murder trials. Part IV shows that confusion works against the defendant because the jurors\u27 strong initial inclination is to sentence to death

Inbreeding in Law School Hiring: Assessing the Performance of Faculty Hired from Within

This study compares the scholarly impact of inbred entry-level law school faculty members with the scholarly impact of noninbred entry-level law school faculty members. The sample includes 32 law schools and approximately 700 entry-level faculty members. By our measure of performance, scholarly impact as measured by citation frequency, inbred entry-level law school faculty members do not perform as well as noninbred entry-level faculty members