Bodily attractiveness and egalitarianism are negatively related in males.

Ancestrally, relatively attractive individuals and relatively formidable males may have had reduced incentives to be egalitarian (i.e., to act in accordance with norms promoting social equality). If selection calibrated one's egalitarianism to one's attractiveness/formidability, then such people may exhibit reduced egalitarianism ("observed egalitarianism") and be perceived by others as less egalitarian ("perceived egalitarianism") in modern environments. To investigate, we created 3D body models of 125 participants to use both as a source of anthropometric measurements and as stimuli to obtain ratings of bodily attractiveness and perceived egalitarianism. We also measured observed egalitarianism (via an economic "dictator" game) and indices of political egalitarianism (preference for socialism over capitalism) and "equity sensitivity." Results indicated higher egalitarianism levels in women than in men, and moderate-to-strong negative relationships between (a) attractiveness and observed egalitarianism among men, (b) attractiveness and perceived egalitarianism among both sexes, and (c) formidability and perceived egalitarianism among men. We did not find support for two previously-reported findings: that observed egalitarianism and formidability are negatively related in men, and that wealth and formidability interact to explain variance in male egalitarianism. However, this lack of support may have been due to differences in variable measurement between our study and previous studies

Influence of Social and Behavioural Characteristics of Users on Their Evaluation of Subjective Loudness and Acoustic Comfort in Shopping Malls

A large-scale subjective survey was conducted in six shopping malls in Harbin City, China, to determine the influence of social and behavioural characteristics of users on their evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort. The analysis of social characteristics shows that evaluation of subjective loudness is influenced by income and occupation, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.40 (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Meanwhile, evaluation of acoustic comfort evaluation is influenced by income, education level, and occupation, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.60 (p<0.05 or p<0.01). The effect of gender and age on evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort is statistically insignificant. The effects of occupation are mainly caused by the differences in income and education level, in which the effects of income are greater than that of education level. In terms of behavioural characteristics, evaluation of subjective loudness is influenced by the reason for visit, frequency of visit, and length of stay, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.40 (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Evaluation of acoustic comfort is influenced by the reason for visit to the site, the frequency of visit, length of stay, and also season of visit, with correlation coefficients of 0.10 to 0.30 (p<0.05 or p<0.01). In particular, users who are waiting for someone show lower evaluation of acoustic comfort, whereas users who go to shopping malls more than once a month show higher evaluation of acoustic comfort. On the contrary, the influence of the period of visit and the accompanying persons are found insignificant

Incarceration and mortality in the United States

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the role of America's overcrowded prisons as vectors of ill health, but robust analyses of the degree to which high rates of incarceration impact population-level health outcomes remain scarce. In this paper, we use county-level panel data from 2927 counties across 43 states between 1983 and 2014 and a novel instrumental variable technique to study the causal effect of penal expansion on age-standardised cause-specific and all-cause mortality rates. We find that higher rates of incarceration have substantively large effects on deaths from communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases in the short and medium term, whilst deaths from non-communicable disease and from all causes combined are impacted in the short, medium, and long run. These findings are further corroborated by a between-unit analysis using coarsened exact matching and a simulation-based regression approach to predicting geographically anchored mortality differences

Identification of nonlinearity in conductivity equation via Dirichlet-to-Neumann map

We prove that the linear term and quadratic nonlinear term entering a nonlinear elliptic equation of divergence type can be uniquely identified by the Dirichlet to Neuman map. The unique identifiability is proved using the complex geometrical optics solutions and singular solutions

Inhomogeneous electronic structure probed by spin-echo experiments in the electron doped high-Tc superconductor Pr_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y}

63Cu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-echo decay rate (T_2^{-1}) measurements are reported for the normal and superconducting states of a single crystal of Pr_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y} (PCCO) in a magnetic field B_0=9T over the temperature range 2K<T<200K. The spin-echo decay rate is temperature-dependent for T<55K, and has a substantial dependence on the radio frequency (rf) pulse parameters below T~25K. This dependence indicates that T_2^{-1} is strongly effected by a local magnetic field distribution that can be modified by the rf pulses, including ones that are not at the nuclear Larmor frequency. The low-temperature results are consistent with the formation of a static inhomogeneous electronic structure that couples to the rf fields of the pulses.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Preoperative bowel stimulation prior to ileostomy closure to restore bowel function more quickly and improve postoperative outcomes: a systematic review

Aim Closure of a diverting ileostomy following restorative surgery is often associated with significant short‐term morbidity and variable long‐term bowel function. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate if preoperative stimulation of the defunctioned bowel restores bowel function more quickly after ileostomy closure and improves postoperative outcomes when compared with standard preoperative care. Method MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for studies evaluating preoperative bowel stimulation in patients with a temporary ileostomy after low anterior resection or ileal pouch–anal anastomosis, regardless of their design, publication type or language. Study selection, data extraction and study assessment were performed by one reviewer and verified by another. Study results were synthesized narratively. The GRADE approach was used to assess the quality of evidence. Results Eight studies involving a total of 267 participants were included. The studies had a moderate to high risk of bias and were of varying methodological quality. Preoperative stimulation of the defunctioned bowel reduced the time to postoperative restoration of bowel function and the length of hospital stay when compared with standard preoperative care. Other functional outcomes and postoperative complication rates were similar to those of standard preoperative care. The overall quality of evidence was very low. Conclusion Despite these promising early results, there is insufficient high‐quality evidence to recommend routine implementation of preoperative bowel stimulation in clinical practice. Nevertheless, there is no evidence suggesting that the intervention worsens outcomes or is unsafe, paving the way for rigorous assessment of effectiveness, acceptability and cost‐effectiveness within the context of well‐designed clinical trials

A Study of Shape Memory Polymer Based Slat-Cove Filler

Aircraft noise reduction is an application of current intense interest for which smart materials show significant potential. Specifically, the aeroacoustic noise produced by the unsteady aerodynamic flow about the leading-edge high-lift device, such as leading-edge slat, of typical transport-aircraft wings is of particular interest. Concepts with the most promise to mitigate this noise source, most notably the slat-cove filler concept, have focused on highly reconfigurable structures that change shape between different phases of the flight envelope. These shape changes often involve large deformation, which has stimulated the consideration of shape memory materials. In recent years, shape memory materials (SMMs) have drawn greater interest for applications such as smart fabrics, intelligent medical devices, self-deployable space structures, morphing structures and packaging. Compared to other shape memory materials, like shape memory alloys (SMAs) or shape memory ceramics (SMCs), shape memory polymers (SMPs) have desirable advantages such as high elastic deformation to enable large shape change, broad tailorability of mechanical properties, potential biocompatibility and biodegradability, ductility, light weight and ease of processing. However, SMPs still have some critical disadvantages such as insufficient mechanical and thermal characteristics for structural applications, low recovery stress, and long response time. The new LaRC shape memory thermosetting polymer composite (LaRC-SMPC) discussed herein was synthesized with nontoxic monomers and conductive/magnetic fillers to yield enhanced thermal/mechanical characteristics and faster response times. LaRC-SMPCs with a variety of fiber reinforcements [Kevlar, carbon fiber (standard and thin-ply), and carbon-nanotube (CNT) sheet] were fabricated to tailor the physical properties and test for suitability as a slat-cove filler (SCF). The performance of SCF prototypes fabricated with the developed LaRC-SMPCs was evaluated using a bench-top test apparatus. The SCFs made of Kevlar fiber fabric or carbon fiber fabric infused shape memory polymer composite (SMPC) exhibited kinking during simulated deployment and stowage, which can be problematic during operation. The SCF made of CNT sheet/SMP composite did not exhibit kinking, but the deployment was sluggish compared to carbon fiber fabric/SMP composite. This report documents the evolution of designing SMPCs as slat-cove fillers for aircraft noise reduction. In the course of the investigation, several 2 approaches were investigated to address shortcomings in material characteristics based on performance requirements of operational slat-cove fillers

One-dimensional collision carts computer model and its design ideas for productive experiential learning

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In the field of designing computer simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations such as 1) consistent simulation world view with pen paper representation, 2) data table, scientific graphs and symbolic mathematical representations for ease of data collection and multiple representational visualizations and 3) game for simple concept testing that can further support learning. We also suggest using physical world setup to be augmented complimentary with simulation while highlighting three advantages of real collision carts equipment like tacit 3D experience, random errors in measurement and conceptual significance of conservation of momentum applied to just before and after collision. General feedback from the students has been relatively positive, and we hope teachers will find the simulation useful in their own classes. 2015 Resources added: http://iwant2study.org/ospsg/index.php/interactive-resources/physics/02-newtonian-mechanics/02-dynamics/46-one-dimension-collision-js-model http://iwant2study.org/ospsg/index.php/interactive-resources/physics/02-newtonian-mechanics/02-dynamics/195-elastic-collisionComment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, 1 L. K. Wee, Physics Education 47 (3), 301 (2012); ISSN 0031-912