An evolutionary behaviorist perspective on orgasm

Evolutionary explanations for sexual behavior and orgasm most often posit facilitating reproduction as the primary function (i.e. greater rate of fertilization). Other reproductive benefits of sexual pleasure and orgasm such as improved bonding of parents have also been discussed but not thoroughly. Although sex is known to be highly reinforcing, behaviorist principles are rarely invoked alongside evolutionary psychology in order to account for human sexual and social behavior. In this paper, I will argue that intense sexual pleasure, especially orgasm, can be understood as a primary reinforcer shaped by evolution to reinforce behavior that facilitates reproductive success (i.e. conception through copulation). Next, I will describe an evolutionary account of social shaping. In particular, I will focus on how humans evolved to use orgasm and sexual arousal to shape the social behavior and emotional states of others through both classical and operant conditioning and through both reproductive and non-reproductive forms of sexual behavior. Finally, I will describe how orgasm is a signal of sensitivity to reinforcement that is itself reinforcing

Roaring nineties: Accounting history comes of age

The paper outlines developments in the accounting history literature during the 1990s. The introduction chronicles the immense broadening of publication opportunities in accounting history that characterized the decade. To a certain extent, this enhancement of outlets resulted from a richer dialogue among accounting historians who became increasingly willing to debate paradigmatic and methodological issues. In this context, the paper identifies and discusses traditional and critical forms of accounting history and reviews work within the paradigms of economic-rationalist, Foucauldian, and Marxist/labor-process studies. The major elements of debate between old and new perspectives on accounting history are discussed and linked to later collaborative efforts and refinements in the work of each genre. Major research projects published during the 1990s are identified, tabulated, and discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of accounting history as the decade closed, with a particular focus on the opportunities and threats that may lie ahead for the field

Loss of Rail Competition as an Issue in the Proposed Sale of Conrail to Norfolk Southern: Valid Concern or Political Bogeyman

The Department of Transportation\u27s plan to return Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) to the private sector by selling the federal government\u27s controlling interest to Norfolk Southern Corporation has, not surprisingly, been the subject of a spirited debate in the transportation and political community since its announcement in February, 1985. Critics have said that the sale proposal runs directly contrary to [antitrust] policy goals and would have a serious, adverse effect on competition. The proposal is a flagrant violation of antitrust laws and would create an unconscionable monopoly. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal standards historically and currently applied to considering the competitive impacts of rail consolidations in conjunction with the goals of the legislation relating to Conrail. With that perspective, a viewpoint will be offered as to whether the competitive effects of the proposed sale have been addressed in a manner consistent with those standards and goals

Optimizing Photonic Nanostructures via Multi-fidelity Gaussian Processes

We apply numerical methods in combination with finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations to optimize transmission properties of plasmonic mirror color filters using a multi-objective figure of merit over a five-dimensional parameter space by utilizing novel multi-fidelity Gaussian processes approach. We compare these results with conventional derivative-free global search algorithms, such as (single-fidelity) Gaussian Processes optimization scheme, and Particle Swarm Optimization---a commonly used method in nanophotonics community, which is implemented in Lumerical commercial photonics software. We demonstrate the performance of various numerical optimization approaches on several pre-collected real-world datasets and show that by properly trading off expensive information sources with cheap simulations, one can more effectively optimize the transmission properties with a fixed budget.Comment: NIPS 2018 Workshop on Machine Learning for Molecules and Materials. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1811.0075

Menstrually related mood disorders and a history of abuse:moderators of pain sensitivity.

Objective. Women with menstrually related mood disorders (MRMD) have substantial rates of physical and sexual abuse, are more sensitive to experimental pain stimuli than women without MRMD, and endorse increased sensitivity to interpersonal rejection (emotional pain) in the premenstrual phase. For the first time, this study examined physical and emotional pain sensitivity in women with MRMD and in non-MRMD controls as a function of abuse history. Methods. A total of 126 women (63 MRMD, 34 with an abuse history and 63 non-MRMD, 31 with an abuse history) were evaluated for: (1) sensitivity to cold pressor and forearm ischemic pain; (2) emotional pain sensitivity based on daily prospective ratings of sensitivity to interpersonal rejection; and (3) basal plasma cortisol and norepinephrine (NE) concentrations. Exploratory analyses examined relationships between plasma cortisol and NE concentrations and physical pain sensitivity. Results. Women with MRMD and an abuse history showed increased sensitivity to both cold pressor and ischemic pain and lower basal cortisol concentrations, an effect not seen in the non-MRMD women. However, non-MRMD women with an abuse history showed increased sensitivity to emotional pain relative to non-MRMD women with no such history. In all subjects, the expected relationship between greater plasma cortisol concentration and reduced sensitivity to physical pain was observed. While only in women with MRMD, plasma NE predicted pain sensitivity. Conclusions. MRMD status moderates the effect of a history of abuse on both physical and emotional pain sensitivity. The results also suggest that the hypocortisolemia documented in the women with MRMD and an abuse history may contribute to their greater sensitivity to noxious experimental stimuli. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that a history of abuse may identify a clinically distinct subgroup of women with MRMD

Testing the affiliation hypothesis of homoerotic motivation in humans:the effects of progesterone and priming

The frequency of homoerotic behavior among individuals who do not identify as having an exclusively homosexual sexual orientation suggests that such behavior potentially has adaptive value. Here, we define homoerotic behavior as intimate erotic contact between members of the same sex and affiliation as the motivation to make and maintain social bonds. Among both male and female nonhuman primates, affiliation is one of the main drivers of homoerotic behavior. Correspondingly, in humans, both across cultures and across historical periods, homoerotic behavior appears to play a role in promoting social bonds. However, to date, the affiliation explanation of human homoerotic behavior has not been adequately tested experimentally. We developed a measure of homoerotic motivation with a sample of 244 men and women. Next, we found that, in women (n = 92), homoerotic motivation was positively associated with progesterone, a hormone that has been shown to promote affiliative bonding. Lastly, we explored the effects of affiliative contexts on homoerotic motivation in men (n = 59), finding that men in an affiliative priming condition were more likely to endorse engaging in homoerotic behavior compared to those primed with neutral or sexual concepts, and this effect was more pronounced in men with high progesterone. These findings constitute the first experimental support for the affiliation account of the evolution of homoerotic motivation in humans

Advanced radiator concepts utilizing honeycomb panel heat pipes

The feasibility of fabricating and processing moderate temperature range vapor chamber type heat pipes in a low mass honeycomb panel configuration for highly efficient radiator fins for potential use on the space station was investigated. A variety of honeycomb panel facesheet and core-ribbon wick concepts were evaluated within constraints dictated by existing manufacturing technology and equipment. Concepts evaluated include type of material, material and panel thickness, wick type and manufacturability, liquid and vapor communication among honeycomb cells, and liquid flow return from condenser to evaporator facesheet areas. A thin-wall all-welded stainless steel design with methanol as the working fluid was the initial prototype unit. It was found that an aluminum panel could not be fabricated in the same manner as a stainless steel panel due to diffusion bonding and resistance welding considerations. Therefore, a formed and welded design was developed. The prototype consists of ten panels welded together into a large panel 122 by 24 by 0.15 in., with a heat rejection capability of 1000 watts and a fin efficiency of essentially 1.0

Релятивистское приближение для определения положений минимумов дифференциальных сечений и точек полной спиновой поляризации процесса упругого рассеяния электронов на тяжелых атомах

Пропонується метод оптичного потенціалу для описання процесу потенціального пружного розсіювання електронів багатоелектронними атомами з релятивістською поправкою до обмінної взаємодії. Ця поправка також використовується при самоузгоджених розрахунках атомних характеристик та величини дипольної статичної поляризовності атома-мішені. Підхід базується на наближенні локальної густини теорії функціонала густини та застосовується для розрахунку енергій та кутів особливостей у диференціальних перерізах і функціях спінової поляризації — відповідно критичних мінімумів та точок повної (100%) поляризації — при розсіюванні електронів на атомах ртуті в широкій, 10–1500 еВ, області енергій зіткнень.The optical potential approach has been suggested to describe the process of potential elastic electron scattering by a multielectron atom with the relativistic correction to the exchange interaction. This correction is also used for the self-consistent calculation of atomic characteristics and the target atom dipole static polarizability. The above approach is based on the local density approximation of the density functional theory. It is applied to calculate the energies and angles of the features in the differential cross sections and spin polarization functions, i.e. the critical minima and the points of total (100%) polarization of the electron scattering by Hg atoms in the wide (10–1500 eV) impact energy range

Sensor recorded changes in rates of hand washing with soap in response to the media reports of the H1N1 pandemic in Britain

Objectives To examine how the frequency of information regarding a real disease threat influences hand washing with soap. Design and setting The authors installed wireless devices in highway service station lavatories in England to record the proportion of individuals washing hands with soap from May 2009 to January 2010. Participants Participants were users of men's and women's toilets. Combined there was an average of 6800 participant entrances into the lavatories daily. Primary outcome measure The primary outcome measure is the proportion of soap usage to the number of entries into the lavatories. Results Hand-washing rates were positively related to both H1NI coverage in blogs and the news; however, these relationships were stronger for men than for women. Conclusions Hand washing with soap increases proportionally to the frequency of media key words related to H1N1. Women's hand washing was more strongly associated with incidence of media keywords than men's