3,032 research outputs found
A mediation meta-analysis of the role of maternal responsivity in the association between socioeconomic risk and children's language
This meta-analysis tested maternal responsivity as a mediator of the association between socioeconomic risk and children's preschool language abilities. The search included studies up to 2017 and meta-analytic structural equation modeling, allowed us to examine the magnitude of the indirect effect across 17 studies (k = 19). The meta-analysis included 6433 predominantly White, English speaking children (Mage  = 36 months; 50% female) from Western, industrialized countries. All paths in the model were statistically significant, notably, the indirect effect was significant (b = -.052), showing that maternal responsivity may be a proximal intervening variable between socioeconomic risk and children's language development. Moderator analyses found that the indirect effect was stronger for sensitive parenting than warmth and when parenting was assessed in the family home
Avoiding spurious feedback loops in the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks with dynamic bayesian networks
Feedback loops and recurrent structures are essential to the regulation and stable control of complex biological systems. The application of dynamic as opposed to static Bayesian networks is promising in that, in principle, these feedback loops can be learned. However, we show that the widely applied BGe score is susceptible to learning spurious feedback loops, which are a consequence of non-linear regulation and autocorrelation in the data. We propose a non-linear generalisation of the BGe model, based on a mixture model, and demonstrate that this approach successfully represses spurious feedback loops
Perfectionism and training distress in junior athletes: A longitudinal investigation
Perfectionistic athletes may train harder and for longer than non-perfectionistic athletes, leaving them susceptible to elevated levels of training distress. So far, however, no study has investigated the relationships between perfectionism and training distress, a key indicator of overtraining syndrome. Furthermore, no study has determined psychological predictors of overtraining syndrome. Using a two-wave design, the present study examined perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and training distress in 141 junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years, range 16-19 years) over 3 months of active training. Multiple regression analyses were employed to test cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between perfectionism and training distress. In all analyses, perfectionism emerged as a significant predictor, but strivings and concerns showed differential relationships. When the cross-sectional relationships were regarded, perfectionistic concerns positively predicted training distress (p .05). The findings suggest that sports scientists who wish to identify athletes at risk of overtraining syndrome may monitor athletesâ perfectionistic concerns as a possible risk factor
LArPix: Demonstration of low-power 3D pixelated charge readout for liquid argon time projection chambers
We report the demonstration of a low-power pixelated readout system designed
for three-dimensional ionization charge detection and digital readout of liquid
argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Unambiguous 3D charge readout was
achieved using a custom-designed system-on-a-chip ASIC (LArPix) to uniquely
instrument each pad in a pixelated array of charge-collection pads. The LArPix
ASIC, manufactured in 180 nm bulk CMOS, provides 32 channels of
charge-sensitive amplification with self-triggered digitization and multiplexed
readout at temperatures from 80 K to 300 K. Using an 832-channel LArPix-based
readout system with 3 mm spacing between pads, we demonstrated low-noise
(500 e RMS equivalent noise charge) and very low-power (100
W/channel) ionization signal detection and readout. The readout was used
to successfully measure the three-dimensional ionization distributions of
cosmic rays passing through a LArTPC, free from the ambiguities of existing
projective techniques. The system design relies on standard printed circuit
board manufacturing techniques, enabling scalable and low-cost production of
large-area readout systems using common commercial facilities. This
demonstration overcomes a critical technical obstacle for operation of LArTPCs
in high-occupancy environments, such as the near detector site of the Deep
Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, 1 ancillary animation. V3 includes minor
revisions based on referee comment
The impact of realistic models of mass segregation on the event rate of extreme-mass ratio inspirals and cusp re-growth
One of the most interesting sources of gravitational waves (GWs) for LISA is
the inspiral of compact objects on to a massive black hole (MBH), commonly
referred to as an "extreme-mass ratio inspiral" (EMRI). The small object,
typically a stellar black hole (bh), emits significant amounts of GW along each
orbit in the detector bandwidth. The slowly, adiabatic inspiral of these
sources will allow us to map space-time around MBHs in detail, as well as to
test our current conception of gravitation in the strong regime. The event rate
of this kind of source has been addressed many times in the literature and the
numbers reported fluctuate by orders of magnitude. On the other hand, recent
observations of the Galactic center revealed a dearth of giant stars inside the
inner parsec relative to the numbers theoretically expected for a fully relaxed
stellar cusp. The possibility of unrelaxed nuclei (or, equivalently, with no or
only a very shallow cusp) adds substantial uncertainty to the estimates. Having
this timely question in mind, we run a significant number of direct-summation
body simulations with up to half a million particles to calibrate a much
faster orbit-averaged Fokker-Planck code. We then investigate the regime of
strong mass segregation (SMS) for models with two different stellar mass
components. We show that, under quite generic initial conditions, the time
required for the growth of a relaxed, mass segregated stellar cusp is shorter
than a Hubble time for MBHs with
(i.e. nuclei in the range of LISA). SMS has a significant impact boosting the
EMRI rates by a factor of for our fiducial models of Milky Way type
galactic nuclei.Comment: Accepted by CQG, minor changes, a bit expande
Bodies, building and bricks: Women architects and builders in eight eco-communities in Argentina, Britain, Spain, Thailand and USA
Eco-building is a male domain where men are presumed to be better builders and designers, more men than women build and women find their design ideas and contributions to eco-building are belittled. This article suggests that a focus on bodies, embodiment and the âdoingâ of building is a potentially productive way to move beyond current gender discrimination. This article makes three key interventions using empirical material from eight case studies of eco-communities in Britain, Thailand, Spain, the USA and Argentina. First, it uses a focus on eco-communities to illustrate the enduring persistence of gender divisions in architecture and building. Second, by using multi-site examples of eco-communities from diverse countries this article finds more commonalities than differences in gender discrimination across cultures and nationalities. Third, it outlines three spaces of opportunity through which more gender-neutral approaches are being developed in eco-building: (1) in challenging the need for âstrongâ bodies, (2) by practising more embodied ways of building and (3) by making visible women's bodies in building. The âdoingâ and manual aspect of eco-building is unfamiliar for many (not just women) and interviewees commented on the need to (re)learn how to be practical and to understand the physical possibilities (and limitations) of their bodies
Accounting students' IT applicaton skills over a 10-year period
This paper reports on the changing nature of a range of information technology (IT) application skills that students declare on entering an accounting degree over the period from 1996 to 2006. Accounting educators need to be aware of the IT skills students bring with them to university because of the implications this has for learning and teaching within the discipline and the importance of both general and specific IT skills within the practice and craft of accounting. Additionally, IT skills constitute a significant element within the portfolio of employability skills that are increasingly demanded by employers and emphasized within the overall Higher Education (HE) agenda. The analysis of students' reported IT application skills on entry to university, across a range of the most relevant areas of IT use in accounting, suggest that their skills have continued to improve over time. However, there are significant differential patterns of change through the years and within cohorts. The paper addresses the generalizability of these findings and discusses the implications of these factors for accounting educators, including the importance of recognising the differences that are potentially masked by the general increase in skills; the need for further research into the changing nature, and implications, of the gender gap in entrants' IT application skills; and the low levels of entrants' spreadsheet and database skills that are a cause for concern
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