5,960 research outputs found
Marsupials and monotremes sort genome treasures from junk
A recent landmark paper demonstrates the unique contribution of marsupials and monotremes to comparative genome analysis, filling an evolutionary gap between the eutherian mammals (including humans) and more distant vertebrate species
Thanks, but no thanks: women's avoidance of help-seeking in the context of a dependency-related stereotype
The stereotype that women are dependent on men is a commonly verbalized, potentially damaging aspect of benevolent sexism. We investigated how women may use behavioral disconfirmation of the personal applicability of the stereotype to negotiate such sexism. In an experiment (N = 86), we manipulated female college studentsâ awareness that women may be stereotyped by men as dependent. We then placed participants in a situation where they needed help. Women made aware of the dependency stereotype (compared to controls who were not) were less willing to seek help. They also displayed a stronger negative correlation between help-seeking and post help-seeking affect - such that the more help they sought, the worse they felt. We discuss the relevance of these findings for research concerning womenâs help-seeking and their management of sexist stereotyping in everyday interaction. We also consider the implications of our results for those working in domains such as healthcare, teaching and counseling, where interaction with individuals in need and requiring help is common
Predictive Modeling of Cholera Outbreaks in Bangladesh
Despite seasonal cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh, little is known about the
relationship between environmental conditions and cholera cases. We seek to
develop a predictive model for cholera outbreaks in Bangladesh based on
environmental predictors. To do this, we estimate the contribution of
environmental variables, such as water depth and water temperature, to cholera
outbreaks in the context of a disease transmission model. We implement a method
which simultaneously accounts for disease dynamics and environmental variables
in a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible (SIRS) model. The entire system
is treated as a continuous-time hidden Markov model, where the hidden Markov
states are the numbers of people who are susceptible, infected, or recovered at
each time point, and the observed states are the numbers of cholera cases
reported. We use a Bayesian framework to fit this hidden SIRS model,
implementing particle Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to sample from the
posterior distribution of the environmental and transmission parameters given
the observed data. We test this method using both simulation and data from
Mathbaria, Bangladesh. Parameter estimates are used to make short-term
predictions that capture the formation and decline of epidemic peaks. We
demonstrate that our model can successfully predict an increase in the number
of infected individuals in the population weeks before the observed number of
cholera cases increases, which could allow for early notification of an
epidemic and timely allocation of resources.Comment: 43 pages, including appendices, 5 figures, 1 table in the main tex
Study of fuel cell on-site, integrated energy systems in residential/commercial applications
Three building applications were selected for a detailed study: a low rise apartment building; a retail store, and a hospital. Building design data were then specified for each application, based on the design and construction of typical, actual buildings. Finally, a computerized building loads analysis program was used to estimate hourly end use load profiles for each building. Conventional and fuel cell based energy systems were designed and simulated for each building in each location. Based on the results of a computer simulation of each energy system, levelized annual costs and annual energy consumptions were calculated for all systems
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