Gender Gaps in the Measurement of Public Opinion About Homosexuality in Cross-national Surveys: A Question-Wording Experiment

Measures of attitudes towards homosexuality in cross-national studies have received criticism for not being ‘gender-sensitive’. The current study used a split-ballot design allowing for separate analyses of the attitudes towards ‘gay men and lesbian women’, ‘gay men’, and ‘lesbian women’ in a pooled sample of 3,381 participants from Great Britain, Hungary, and Portugal. Analyses controlling for sociodemographics showed that differences in attitudes towards male and female targets were generally small and did not interact with the gender of the rater. In addition, results showed that men’s attitudes towards homosexuality were more strongly related to their gender ideology than women’s attitudes. Implications of these findings for cross-national studies measuring attitudes towards homosexuality are discussed

Stammzellen der Neuralleiste im Gastrointestinaltrakt: Ansatz zur kausalen Therapie des Morbus Hirschsprung?

Zusammenfassung: Stammzellen sind selbsterneuernde Zellelemente mit dem Potenzial, verschiedene Zelltypen hervorzubringen. Der menschliche Körper benötigt Stammzellen zum Aufbau der Organe während der Embryonalentwicklung. Nach Abschluss der Organentwicklung sind Stammzellen auch zur Gewebeerhaltung ("Homöostase") und zur Gewebeerneuerung notwendig. Angesichts der vielfältigen Funktionen von Stammzellen erstaunt es nicht, dass Stammzellfehlentwicklungen zu Krankheiten führen können, wie z.B. zu M.Hirschsprung, einer Krankheit des enterischen Nervensystems mit komplexer Ätiologie. Ob Stammzellen zur Regeneration von krankhaften Organen eingesetzt werden könnten, wie dem enterischen Nervensystem bei M.Hirschsprung, ist Gegenstand intensiver Forschun

Dynamic hysteresis in Finemet thin films

We performed a series of dynamic hysteresis measurements on three series of Finemet films with composition Fe$_{73.5}$Cu$_1$Nb$_3$Si$_13.5$B$_9$, using both the longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and the inductive fluxometric method. The MOKE dynamic hysteresis loops show a more marked variability with the frequency than the inductive ones, while both measurements show a similar dependence on the square root of frequency. We analyze these results in the frame of a simple domain wall depinning model, which accounts for the general behavior of the data.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Geochemical and spectral characterization of naturally altered rock surfaces

The possibility of using the visible-near infrared region for compositional analysis of remotely sensed rock surfaces is studied. This would allow mapping rock type both on the Earth's surface and on other planetary surfaces. Reflectance spectroscopy, economic geology, optical depth determination, and X-ray diffraction mineralogy are discussed

Investigation of scaling properties of hysteresis in Finemet thin films

We study the behavior of hysteresis loops in Finemet Fe$_{73.5}$Cu$_1$Nb$_3$Si$_{18.5}$B$_4$ thin films by using a fluxometric setup based on a couple of well compensated pickup coils. The presence of scaling laws of the hysteresis area is investigated as a function of the amplitude and frequency of the applied field, considering sample thickness from about 20 nm to 5 $\mu$m. We do not observe any scaling predicted by theoretical models, while dynamic loops show a logarithmic dependence on the frequency.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure

A Statistical Model for Simultaneous Template Estimation, Bias Correction, and Registration of 3D Brain Images

Template estimation plays a crucial role in computational anatomy since it provides reference frames for performing statistical analysis of the underlying anatomical population variability. While building models for template estimation, variability in sites and image acquisition protocols need to be accounted for. To account for such variability, we propose a generative template estimation model that makes simultaneous inference of both bias fields in individual images, deformations for image registration, and variance hyperparameters. In contrast, existing maximum a posterori based methods need to rely on either bias-invariant similarity measures or robust image normalization. Results on synthetic and real brain MRI images demonstrate the capability of the model to capture heterogeneity in intensities and provide a reliable template estimation from registration

Discovering Novel Gas-phase Nitrogen-heterocycle Formation Pathways With An Ab Initio Nanoreactor

Nitrogen-containing heterocycles pose an intriguing astrochemical mystery. 45 different varieties have been detected on meteorites with non-terrestrial isotopic abundances, but none have been detected in space, despite numerous search attempts. It is unclear if these species are more likely to form through low-temperature gas-phase chemistry, photoprocessing of icy grains, aqueous chemistry in a meteorite parent body, or a combination of processes. Further exploration of this question requires a broader catalog of potential N-heterocycle precursors, particularly for low temperature gas-phase chemistry. Here, results of \textit{ab initio} molecular dynamics simulations of gas-phase N-heterocycle forming reactions will be discussed. These simulations were performed with an \textit{ab initio} nanoreactor, a computational tool developed for chemical reaction discovery. Multiple novel gas-phase N-heterocycle formation pathways have been revealed, and many reactants are similar to known interstellar molecules. These simulations also reinforce previous experimental and theoretical studies which demonstrated that smaller N-heterocycles are potential precursors to larger ones. While these simulations cannot provide direct insight into interstellar chemistry, they have revealed nonintuitive N-heterocycle precursors that warrant further experimental and astronomical study