Physics of randomness and regularities for cities, languages, and their lifetimes and family trees

Time evolution of the cities and of the languages is considered in terms of multiplicative noise and fragmentation processes; where power law (Pareto-Zipf law) and slightly asymmetric log-normal (Gauss) distribution result for the size distribution of the cities and for that of the languages, respectively. The cities and the languages are treated differently (and as connected; for example, the languages split in terms of splitting the cities, etc.) and thus two distributions are obtained in the same computation at the same time. Evolutions of lifetimes and families for the cities and the languages are also studied. We suggest that the regularities may be evolving out of randomness, in terms of the relevant processes.Comment: 22 pages including all figures; for Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 18 (2007

The relationship of the economic order to the moral ideal in the thought of Maritain, Brunner, Dewey, and Temple

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe first aim of this dissertation is to trace the historical development of the concern of philosophers for Political Economy. The second aim is to explore the writings of four thinkers with differing philosophical and theological perspectives whose writings have illuminated the relationship of the economic order to the moral ideal: Maritain (neo-Thomist),Brunner (nee-orthodox), Dewey (naturalist), and Temple (Christian realist). What relationships can be discerned in their thinking about economic values? (1) There seems to be no particular correlation between the metaphysical position of these philosophers and their specific suggestions concerning economic values. (2) Differing views of reason, however, do seem to affect their suggestions about economic values. Brunner finds reason corrupted by sin, and therefore distrusts all human orders. Dewey trusts only scientific reasoning in the ordering of human values. Maritain and Temple have great confidence that the economic order can be vastly improved by the organization of values in accordance with a more comprehensive reason. [TRUNCATED

Comparing Teachers\u27 and Students\u27 Perceptions of Bullying: Frequency, Location, and Intervention

Bullying is recognized as a significant problem in children and adolescents, and schools are a place where bullying often occurs. For this reason, schools have used programs, such as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP), to increase awareness of bullying and means of intervening. The purpose of this qualitative study is to gain insight into the perspectives of teachers and students on perceived aspects of the bullying problem within the school building and environment in a school where a new bullying prevention program was being implemented. The study examines differing perspectives between teachers and students regarding the frequency of occurrence, location, and teacher intervention in bullying situations. Data was gathered via survey questions and interviews from a sample of students, teachers trained in the new bullying prevention program, and teachers without such training. The outcomes of this study shed light upon various areas in which teacher perceptions of bullying and student perceptions of bullying differ. More specifically, there are vast differences in the ways that teachers and students perceive the frequency of bullying, the hot spots for bullying, and how often teachers intervene. Knowledge of such differences of opinion could be a valuable component of teacher training in a bullying prevention program

Celecoxib concentration predicts decrease in prostaglandin E\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e concentrations in nipple aspirate fluid from high risk women

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies suggest that long term low dose celecoxib use significantly lowers breast cancer risk. We previously demonstrated that 400 mg celecoxib taken twice daily for 2 weeks lowered circulating plasma and breast nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) prostaglandin (PG)E2 concentrations in post- but not premenopausal high risk women. We hypothesized that circulating concentrations of celecoxib influenced PGE2 response, and that plasma levels of the drug are influenced by menopausal status. To address these hypotheses, the aims of the study were to determine: 1) if circulating plasma concentrations of celecoxib correlated with the change in plasma or NAF PGE2 concentrations from baseline to end of treatment, and 2) whether menopausal status influenced circulating levels of celecoxib. METHODS: Matched NAF and plasma were collected from 46 high risk women who were administered celecoxib twice daily for two weeks, 20 subjects receiving 200 mg and 26 subjects 400 mg of the agent. NAF and plasma samples were collected before and 2 weeks after taking celecoxib. RESULTS: In women taking 400 mg bid celecoxib, plasma concentrations of the agent correlated inversely with the change in NAF PGE2 levels from pre- to posttreatment. Nonsignificant trends toward higher celecoxib levels were observed in post- compared to premenopausal women. There was a significant decrease in NAF but not plasma PGE2 concentrations in postmenopausal women who took 400 mg celecoxib (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: In high risk women taking 400 mg celecoxib twice daily, plasma concentrations of celecoxib correlated with downregulation of PGE2 production by breast tissue. Strategies synergistic with celecoxib to downregulate PGE2 are of interest, in order to minimize the celecoxib dose required to have an effect

Nationalism and protestantism

[In the study of history as in the study of philosophy or science we find many parallel developments, many institutions that have grown up side by side influencing each other and determining to a greater or less extent the height oy- the depth to which each may reach. But in most of these institutions we can see that one has had a decidedly more profound influence than the other. In the study of nationalism and Protestantism we find it to be,however, a pretty difficult task to determine which has had the greater influence on the other. In point of time they are almost contemporaneous. Nationalism may be said to antidate protestantism by a brief period, but a close study will reveal the fact that the leaven that finally broke out in the protestant Reformation had been quietly working deep down in society for many generations before Martin Luther nailed his ninety five theses to the door of the Wittenburg chapel October 31, 1517. Even though we may not be able to say which had the greater influence on the other,nationalism or protestantism, we may, I believe, contend that protestantism could never have developed without nationalism nor could nationalism ever have reached the high place it holds in world history and world politics today without protestantism.

Benefits of soy-based feeds for fetal estrogen levels and obesity in adulthood

Abstract only availableWe examined the effect of maternal exposure to naturally occurring estrogenic chemicals in diets on circulating levels of estradiol in mouse fetuses. An animal's specific response to estrogen can vary according to the time of exposure. The time when the fetus is sensitive to permanent “programming” effects of estrogen is called a “critical period” in development of organ systems. An important factor in the regulation of estrogen in the fetus is the composition of the mother's diet. Our hypothesis was that if a diet that was fed to pregnant mice during the fetal critical period contained estrogenic chemicals, these chemicals would “estrogenize” the fetus. In contrast to this prediction, a casein-based diet with virtually no estrogenic chemicals led to significantly higher levels of endogenous estradiol relative to a soy-based diet with very high levels of estrogenic chemicals. In a follow-up experiment we compared a soy-based diet containing estrogenic chemicals with a soy-based diet from which these estrogenic chemicals were extracted. The complete soy diet resulted in estrodiol levels of 60 pg/ml in fetal serum, while the extracted soy diet dramatically increased serum estradiol by over 50%. This finding shows that the naturally occurring estrogens in soy (phytoestrogens) fed to pregnant mice reduce endogenous estradiol levels in the fetuses. This is important since elevated levels of estradiol during fetal life "program" certain characteristics into the animal later on in adulthood. One of these characteristics is obesity. Obesity is associated with Type II diabetes, and the mice with elevated fetal estradiol levels show evidence of impaired glucose tolerance in later adulthood. These effects are relevant since obesity and diabetes are abnormalities in humans that are increasing.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

The Nature and Cause of Spectral Variability in LMC X-1

We present the results of a long-term observation campaign of the extragalactic wind-accreting black-hole X-ray binary LMC X-1, using the Proportional Counter Array on the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The observations show that LMC X-1's accretion disk exhibits an anomalous temperature-luminosity relation. We use deep archival RXTE observations to show that large movements across the temperature-luminosity space occupied by the system can take place on time scales as short as half an hour. These changes cannot be adequately explained by perturbations that propagate from the outer disk on a viscous timescale. We propose instead that the apparent disk variations reflect rapid fluctuations within the Compton up-scattering coronal material, which occults the inner parts of the disk. The expected relationship between the observed disk luminosity and apparent disk temperature derived from the variable occultation model is quantitatively shown to be in good agreement with the observations. Two other observations support this picture: an inverse correlation between the flux in the power-law spectral component and the fitted inner disk temperature, and a near-constant total photon flux, suggesting that the inner disk is not ejected when a lower temperature is observed.Comment: 35 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Ap