Review Section : Nature/Nurture Revisited I

Biologically oriented approaches to the study of human conflict have thus far been limited largely to the study of aggression. A sample of the literature on this topic is reviewed, drawing upon four major approaches: comparative psychology, ethology (including some popularized accounts), evolutionary-based theories, and several areas of human physiology. More sophisticated relationships between so-called "innate" and "acquired" determinants of behavior are discussed, along with the proper relevance of animal behavior studies for human behavior. Unless contained in a comprehensive theory which includes social and psychological variables, biolog ically oriented theories (although often valid within their domain) offer at best severely limited and at worst highly misleading explanations of complex social conflicts. The review concludes with a list of several positive contributions of these biological approaches and suggests that social scientists must become more knowledgeable about them.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68270/2/10.1177_002200277401800206.pd

A muon-track reconstruction exploiting stochastic losses for large-scale Cherenkov detectors

IceCube is a cubic-kilometer Cherenkov telescope operating at the South Pole. The main goal of IceCube is the detection of astrophysical neutrinos and the identification of their sources. High-energy muon neutrinos are observed via the secondary muons produced in charge current interactions with nuclei in the ice. Currently, the best performing muon track directional reconstruction is based on a maximum likelihood method using the arrival time distribution of Cherenkov photons registered by the experiment\u27s photomultipliers. A known systematic shortcoming of the prevailing method is to assume a continuous energy loss along the muon track. However at energies >1 TeV the light yield from muons is dominated by stochastic showers. This paper discusses a generalized ansatz where the expected arrival time distribution is parametrized by a stochastic muon energy loss pattern. This more realistic parametrization of the loss profile leads to an improvement of the muon angular resolution of up to 20% for through-going tracks and up to a factor 2 for starting tracks over existing algorithms. Additionally, the procedure to estimate the directional reconstruction uncertainty has been improved to be more robust against numerical errors

Population‐Based Case‐Control Association Studies

This unit provides an overview of the design and analysis of population‐based case‐control studies of genetic risk factors for complex disease. Considerations specific to genetic studies are emphasized. The unit reviews basic study designs, differentiating case‐control studies from others, discusses selection of genetic markers for use in studies, introduces basic methods of analysis of case‐control data, and discusses measures of association and impact. Controlling for confounding (including population stratification), consideration of multiple loci, and haplotype analysis are briefly discussed. Readers are referred to basic texts on epidemiology for more details on general conduct of case‐control studies

Data from: Latitudinal patterns of herbivore pressure in a temperate herb support the biotic interactions hypothesis

The longstanding biotic interactions hypothesis predicts that herbivore pressure declines with latitude, but the evidence is mixed. To address gaps in previous studies, we measured herbivory and defense in the same system, quantified defense with bioassays, and considered effects of leaf age. We quantified herbivory and defense of young and mature leaves along a continental gradient in eastern North America in the native herb Phytolacca americana. Herbivory in the field declined with latitude and was strongly correlated with Lepidopteran abundance. Laboratory bioassays revealed that leaf palatability was positively correlated with latitude of origin. Young leaves were more damaged than mature leaves at lower latitudes in the field, but less palatable in bioassays. Both defense and palatability displayed non-linear latitudinal patterns, suggesting potential mechanisms based on biological or climatic thresholds. In sum, observational and experimental studies find patterns consistent with high herbivore pressure and stronger plant defenses at lower latitudes