A Longitudinal Analysis of Cars, Transit, and Employment Outcomes

Access to cars and transit can influence individuals’ ability to reach opportunities such as jobs, health care, and other important activities. While access to cars and public transit varies considerably across time, space, and across populations, most research portrays car access as a snapshot in time; some people have a car and others do not. But does this snapshot approach mask variation in car ownership over time? And how does access to particular types of transportation resources influence individuals’ economic outcomes? The authors improve upon existing research by using panel data from 1999 to 2013 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine levels of automobile access in groups that have variable access: poor families, immigrants, and people of color. They further employ two new national datasets of access to jobs using public transit. These datasets are used to examine the effect of transit and automobile access on income growth over time within families, controlling for a number of relevant variables. The research found that for most families, being “carless” is a temporary condition. While 13% of families in the US are carless in any given year, only 5% of families are carless for all seven waves of data examined in the analysis. The research also found that poor families, immigrants, and people of color (particularly blacks) are considerably more likely to transition into and out car owner-ship frequently and are less likely to have a car in any survey year than are non-poor families, the US-born, and whites. The research also found that improving automobile access is associated with a decreased probability of future unemployment and is associated with greater income gains. However, the analysis suggests that the costs of owning and maintaining a car may be greater than the income gains associated with in-creased car ownership. The relationship between public transit and improved economic outcomes is less clear. The research found that living in areas with access to high-quality public transportation has no relationship with future earnings. However, transit serves an important purpose in providing mobility for those who cannot or choose not to own a car

On the Nature of “Good” Goods and the Ethical Role of Marketing

The purpose of this essay is to elaborate on an important section of a document titled, Vocation of the Business Leader, published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Subtitled “A Reflection,” this document is an 87 paragraph, 13,000 word (in English) statement about the ideals of business leadership as inspired by Christian values and ethics. It was sponsored by Peter K.A. Cardinal Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso in consultation with assorted educators, theologians, economists, and philosophers. The document developed from reflections and discussions on Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate, particularly a seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in February 2011. As such, it extends Caritas in Veritate, especially with regard to economics and business

Religion-motivated Enterprises in the Marketplace: A Macromarketing Inquiry

This exploratory essay identifies and examines a variety of religiously affiliated or inspired enterprises operating in otherwise secular marketplaces. While explicitly recognizing that some marketplace manifestations of religion can be controversial, even dysfunctional, it argues for the evident macromarketing relevance of this project. The approach for analyzing what this paper refers to as “religion-motivated enterprises” (RMEs) consists of (1) a nominal classification scheme to illustrate and categorize the diversity of RME examples; (2) some foundational principles shared among major faith traditions that provide a basis for an RME ethos; and (3) basic propositions that, with future empirical testing, may explain the contributions of these organizations to improved market performance. Our commentary includes environmental factors that prompted the establishment of many RMEs, the nature of their sustainability, and the importance of mission statements to their operations. Finally, we identify opportunities for additional research and summarize the macromarketing contributions of this article

Deep gene sequence cluster analyses of multi-virus infected mucosal tissue reveal enhanced transmission of acute HIV-1

Exposure of the genital mucosa to a genetically diverse viral swarm from the donor HIV-1 can result in breakthrough and systemic infection by a single transmitted/founder (TF) virus in the recipient. The highly diverse HIV-1 envelope (Env) in this inoculating viral swarm may have critical role in transmission and subsequent immune response. Thus, chronic (Envchronic) and acute (Envacute) Env chimeric HIV-1 were tested using multi-virus competition assays in human mucosal penile and cervical tissues. Viral competition analysis revealed that Envchronic viruses resided and replicated mainly in the tissue while Envacute viruses penetrated the human tissue and established infection of CD4(+) T cells more efficiently. Analysis of the replication fitness, as tested in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), showed similar replication fitness of Envacute and Envchronic viruses, which did not correlate with transmission fitness in penile tissue. Further, we observed that chimeric env viruses with higher replication in genital mucosal tissue (chronic Env viruses) had higher binding affinity to C-type lectins. Data presented herein suggests that the inoculating HIV-1 may be sequestered in the genital mucosal tissue (represented by chronic Env HIV-1) but that a single HIV-1 clone (e.g. acute Env HIV-1) can escape this trapped replication for systemic infection. Importance: During heterosexual HIV-1 transmission, a genetic bottleneck occurs in the newly infected individual as the virus passes from the mucosa and leading to systemic infection of a single transmitted HIV-1 clone in the recipient. This bottleneck in the recipient has just been described and the mechanisms involved in this selection process have not been elucidated. However, understanding mucosal restriction is of the utmost importance to understanding dynamics of infections and to now design focused vaccines. Using our human penile and cervical mucosal tissue models for mixed HIV infections, we provide evidence that HIV-1 from acute/early as compared to chronic infection can more efficiently traverse the mucosal epithelium and transmitted to T cells, suggesting higher transmission fitness. These studies focused on the role of the HIV-1 envelope in transmission and provides strong evidence that HIV transmission may involve breaking the mucosal lectin trap

Serious discrepancies between nuclear magnetic resonance and neutron scattering measurements in the critical region of classic two-dimensional magnets and anomalous behaviors at low temperatures

A characterization of 2D critical behavior in the classic 2D antiferromagnets K2NiF4, Rb2MnF4, and K2MnF4 made originally by Birgeneau et al. [Phys. Rev. B 1, 2211 (1970)], using neutron scattering (NS), is used to review NMR data in these compounds and in some classic 2D ferromagnets. On analyzing the NMR data, very serious discrepancies were found between the NMR and NS results for the critical exponent ß, with the values of the NMR ßs being some 50% higher. Some novel results were also found, including 2D cases where ß = 0.33 (but characterized by a non-3D parameter, D~1). The discrepancies surely need to be resolved, and if the present analysis of the NMR data is further validated, these results could present a clear and nontrivial hurdle for current critical-region theories. Additionally, from the NMR data it was found that the low-temperature behaviors of these classical 2D systems are at odds with the predictions of conventional spin-wave theory analyses

Is EuSe a pseudo two-dimensional magnetic system?

We present 77Se NMR measurements in EuSe and review previous 153Eu NMR measurements that show that EuSe displays 2D characteristics at both ends of the magnetization curve. The lowtemperature behavior, in agreement with previous measurements, follows a simple 2D T2 falloff. At the higher temperatures, a critical-exponent fit shows an apparent 2D behavior with ß ~ 0.18 ± 0.02. EuSe has always appeared to be a complicated magnetic system, with a number of co-existing magnetic phases and an alleged first-order magnetic transition. We argue that the multiple magnetic structures are in fact compatible with 2D behavior, and that there is actually no firm evidence of a first-order transition. In the ferromagnetic state of EuSe (obtained under pressure or by an applied field), a ß ~ 0.33 is found, but with a D ~ 1, characteristic of the behavior of the classic 2D magnets K2CuF4 and CrCl3, and not of 3D critical behavior. Additional experiments to verify the 2D nature of EuSe are suggested. The nontrivial implications of the two-dimensionality of EuSe regarding the nature of magnetic interactions in general are also discussed

Evolution and dispersal of snakes across the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction.

Mass extinctions have repeatedly shaped global biodiversity. The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction caused the demise of numerous vertebrate groups, and its aftermath saw the rapid diversification of surviving mammals, birds, frogs, and teleost fishes. However, the effects of the K-Pg extinction on the evolution of snakes-a major clade of predators comprising over 3,700 living species-remains poorly understood. Here, we combine an extensive molecular dataset with phylogenetically and stratigraphically constrained fossil calibrations to infer an evolutionary timescale for Serpentes. We reveal a potential diversification among crown snakes associated with the K-Pg mass extinction, led by the successful colonisation of Asia by the major extant clade Afrophidia. Vertebral morphometrics suggest increasing morphological specialisation among marine snakes through the Paleogene. The dispersal patterns of snakes following the K-Pg underscore the importance of this mass extinction event in shaping Earth's extant vertebrate faunas

Elevated left and reduced right orbitomedial prefrontal fractional anisotropy in adults with bipolar disorder revealed by tract-based spatial statistics

Context - Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in adults with bipolar disorder (BD) indicate altered white matter (WM) in the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC), potentially underlying abnormal prefrontal corticolimbic connectivity and mood dysregulation in BD. Objective - To use tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to examine WM skeleton (ie, the most compact whole-brain WM) in subjects with BD vs healthy control subjects. Design - Cross-sectional, case-control, whole-brain DTI using TBSS. Setting - University research institute. Participants - Fifty-six individuals, 31 having a DSM-IV diagnosis of BD type I (mean age, 35.9 years [age range, 24-52 years]) and 25 controls (mean age, 29.5 years [age range, 19-52 years]). Main Outcome Measures - Fractional anisotropy (FA) longitudinal and radial diffusivities in subjects with BD vs controls (covarying for age) and their relationships with clinical and demographic variables. Results - Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly greater FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the left uncinate fasciculus (reduced radial diffusivity distally and increased longitudinal diffusivity centrally), left optic radiation (increased longitudinal diffusivity), and right anterothalamic radiation (no significant diffusivity change). Subjects with BD vs controls had significantly reduced FA (t > 3.0, P = .05 corrected) in the right uncinate fasciculus (greater radial diffusivity). Among subjects with BD, significant negative correlations (P < .01) were found between age and FA in bilateral uncinate fasciculi and in the right anterothalamic radiation, as well as between medication load and FA in the left optic radiation. Decreased FA (P < .01) was observed in the left optic radiation and in the right anterothalamic radiation among subjects with BD taking vs those not taking mood stabilizers, as well as in the left optic radiation among depressed vs remitted subjects with BD. Subjects having BD with vs without lifetime alcohol or other drug abuse had significantly decreased FA in the left uncinate fasciculus. Conclusions - To our knowledge, this is the first study to use TBSS to examine WM in subjects with BD. Subjects with BD vs controls showed greater WM FA in the left OMPFC that diminished with age and with alcohol or other drug abuse, as well as reduced WM FA in the right OMPFC. Mood stabilizers and depressed episode reduced WM FA in left-sided sensory visual processing regions among subjects with BD. Abnormal right vs left asymmetry in FA in OMPFC WM among subjects with BD, likely reflecting increased proportions of left-sided longitudinally aligned and right-sided obliquely aligned myelinated fibers, may represent a biologic mechanism for mood dysregulation in BD