Achievement and social mobility: Relationships among IQ score,education, and occupation in two generations

This research tests the hypothesis that change over time in women’s status leads to improvements in their children’s health. Specifically, we examine whether change in resources and empowerment in mother’s roles as biological mothers, caregivers, and providers and social contexts that promote the rights and representation of and investment in women are associated with better nutritional status and survival of young children. Analysis is based on a broad sample of countries (n = 28), with data at two or more points in time to enable examination of change. Key indicators of child health show improvement in the last 13 years in developing nations. Much of this improvement—90 percent of the increase in nutritional status and 47 percent of the reduction in mortality—is associated with improving status of women. Increased maternal education, control over reproduction, freedom from violence, access to health care, legislation and enforcement of women’s rights, greater political representation, equality in the education system, and lower maternal mortality are improving children’s health. These results imply that further advancement of women’s position in society would be beneficial.     

Statistical methods for panel data from a semi-Markov process, with application to HPV

Continuous-time, multistate processes can be used to represent a variety of biological processes in the public health sciences; yet the analysis of such processes is complex when they are observed only at a limited number of time points. Inference methods for such panel data have been developed for time homogeneous Markov models, but there has been little research done for other classes of processes. We develop likelihood-based methods for panel data from a semi-Markov process, where transition intensities depend on the duration of time in the current state. The proposed methods account for possible misclassification of states. To illustrate the methods, we investigate a three- and a four-state models in detail and apply the results to model the natural history of oncogenic genital human papillomavirus infections in women.     

Complex Generalized Synchronization and Parameter Identification of Nonidentical Nonlinear Complex Systems

In this paper, generalized synchronization (GS) is extended from real space to complex space, resulting in a new synchronization scheme, complex generalized synchronization (CGS). Based on Lyapunov stability theory, an adaptive controller and parameter update laws are designed to realize CGS and parameter identification of two nonidentical chaotic (hyperchaotic) complex systems with respect to a given complex map vector. This scheme is applied to synchronize a memristor-based hyperchaotic complex Lü system and a memristor-based chaotic complex Lorenz system, a chaotic complex Chen system and a memristor-based chaotic complex Lorenz system, as well as a memristor-based hyperchaotic complex Lü system and a chaotic complex Lü system with fully unknown parameters. The corresponding numerical simulations illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Food web complexity and chaotic population dynamics

In mathematical models, very simple communities consisting of three or more species frequently display chaotic dynamics which implies that long‐term predictions of the population trajectories in time are impossible. Communities in the wild tend to be more complex, but evidence for chaotic dynamics from such communities is scarce. We used supercomputing power to test the hypothesis that chaotic dynamics become less frequent in model ecosystems when their complexity increases. We determined the dynamical stability of a universe of mathematical, nonlinear food web models with varying degrees of organizational complexity. We found that the frequency of unpredictable, chaotic dynamics increases with the number of trophic levels in a food web but decreases with the degree of complexity. Our results suggest that natural food webs possess architectural properties that may intrinsically lower the likelihood of chaotic community dynamics.     

Application of chaotic dynamics in a recurrent neural network to control: hardware implementation into a novel autonomous roving robot

Originating from a viewpoint that complex/chaotic dynamics would play an important role in biological system including brains, chaotic dynamics introduced in a recurrent neural network was applied to control. The results of computer experiment was successfully implemented into a novel autonomous roving robot, which can only catch rough target information with uncertainty by a few sensors. It was employed to solve practical two-dimensional mazes using adaptive neural dynamics generated by the recurrent neural network in which four prototype simple motions are embedded. Adaptive switching of a system parameter in the neural network results in stationary motion or chaotic motion depending on dynamical situations. The results of hardware implementation and practical experiment using it show that, in given two-dimensional mazes, the robot can successfully avoid obstacles and reach the target. Therefore, we believe that chaotic dynamics has novel potential capability in controlling, and could be utilized to practical engineering application.     

No evidence that facial attractiveness,femininity, averageness,or coloration are cues to susceptibility to infectious illnesses in a university sample of young adult women

Previous reports that women with attractive faces are healthier have been widely cited as evidence that sexual selection has shaped human mate preferences. However, evidence for correlations between women's physical health and facial attractiveness is equivocal. Moreover, positive results on this issue have generally come from studies of self-reported health in small samples. The current study took standardized face photographs of women who completed four different health questionnaires assessing susceptibility to infectious illnesses (N?=?590). Of these women, 221 also provided a saliva sample that was assayed for immunoglobulin A (a marker of immune function). Analyses showed no significant correlations between rated facial attractiveness and either scores on any of the health questionnaires or salivary immunoglobulin A. Furthermore there was no compelling evidence that objective measures of sexual dimorphism of face shape, averageness of face shape, or facial coloration were correlated with any of our health measures. While other measures of health may yet reveal robust associations with facial appearance, these null results do not support the prominent and influential assumption that women's facial attractiveness is a cue of young adult women's susceptibility to infectious illnesses, at least in our study population.     

Numerically evaluated functional equivalence between chaotic dynamics in neural networks and cellular automata under totalistic rules

Chaotic dynamics in a recurrent neural network model and in two-dimensional cellular automata, where both have finite but large degrees of freedom, are investigated from the viewpoint of harnessing chaos and are applied to motion control to indicate that both have potential capabilities for complex function control by simple rule(s). An important point is that chaotic dynamics generated in these two systems give us autonomous complex pattern dynamics itinerating through intermediate state points between embedded patterns (attractors) in high-dimensional state space. An application of these chaotic dynamics to complex controlling is proposed based on an idea that with the use of simple adaptive switching between a weakly chaotic regime and a strongly chaotic regime, complex problems can be solved. As an actual example, a two-dimensional maze, where it should be noted that the spatial structure of the maze is one of typical ill-posed problems, is solved with the use of chaos in both systems. Our computer simulations show that the success rate over 300 trials is much better, at least, than that of a random number generator. Our functional simulations indicate that both systems are almost equivalent from the viewpoint of functional aspects based on our idea, harnessing of chaos.     

Bioethics, vulnerability, and protection

What makes individuals, groups, or even entire countries vulnerable? And why is vulnerability a concern in bioethics? A simple answer to both questions is that vulnerable individuals and groups are subject to exploitation, and exploitation is morally wrong. This analysis is limited to two areas. First is the context of multinational research, in which vulnerable people can be exploited even if they are not harmed, and harmed even if they are not exploited. The type of multinational research likely to raise the most ethical concerns is that in which the investigators or sponsors are from a powerful industrialised country or a giant pharmaceutical company and the research is conducted in a developing country. Second is the situation of women, who are made vulnerable in cultural settings or in entire countries in which they are oppressed and powerless. In the face of cultural values and practices, or governmental policies, these women suffer serious consequences for their health and even lives. Examples are provided, and it is suggested that in some cases vulnerable individuals can be harmed but not exploited. On the positive side, recent developments reveal a new awareness of exploitation and efforts to enhance the ability of developing countries to protect themselves and their citizens from exploitation at the hands of powerful sponsors of research. In addition, human rights principles are increasingly being used to monitor the actions (or inaction) of governments regarding women's reproductive rights and vulnerability with respect to HIV/AIDS, and to take remedial actions.     

How the CIOMS guidelines contribute to fair inclusion of pregnant women in research

As early as 2002, CIOMS stated that pregnant women should be presumed eligible for participation in research. Despite this position and calls of other well‐recognized organizations, the health needs of pregnant women in research remain grossly under‐researched. Although the presumption of eligibility remains unchanged, the revision of the 2002 CIOMS International ethical guidelines for biomedical research involving human subjects involved a substantive rewrite of the guidance on research with pregnant women and related guidelines, such as those on fair inclusion and vulnerability. However, close reading of the guidelines reveals morally relevant different approaches to fair inclusion of pregnant women and other under‐represented groups, such as children and incompetents. Where CIOMS sets out that children and adolescents must be included unless a good scientific reason justifies their exclusion, no such claim of having to justify exclusion appears in the guideline on pregnant women. Instead, CIOMS claims that research relevant to pregnant women’s health needs must be promoted. This paper analyses how and to what extent the guideline on pregnant women differs from other guidance on fair inclusion in the document. Accordingly, the paper evaluates to what extent the current phrasing may contribute to fair inclusion of pregnant women in research. We will conclude that a system change towards a learning health system is essential to break down the status quo of knowledge generation in the field of medication use during pregnancy and argue that the CIOMS guidelines allow for this system change.     

Concept, measurement and use of acculturation in health and disease risk studies

Acculturation, a concept with its root in social science and cultural anthropology, is a process intimately related to health behavior and health status of minority populations in a multicultural society. This paper provides a brief review of the subject of acculturation as it relates to health research, showing that this concept has a potential to identify risk factors that underlie increased prevalence of chronic diseases, particularly in immigrant populations. A proper understanding of this is helpful in designing intervention programs to reduce the burden of such diseases and to increase the quality of life in such populations. The concept is defined with an outline of its history showing its evolution over time. Criteria for measuring acculturation are described to illustrate the need of accommodating its multidimensional features. Drawing examples from health research in US Hispanics, the role of acculturation on health behavior is discussed to document that the discordant findings are at least partially due to either use of incomplete dimensions of the concept, or not accounting for the dynamic aspect of its process. Finally, with illustration of a finding from a study among overweight Mexican American women of South Texas, a model of acculturation study is proposed that may be used in other immigrant populations undergoing the acculturation process.     

On the robustness of complex heterogeneous gene expression networks

We analyze a continuous gene expression model on the underlying topology of a complex heterogeneous network. Numerical simulations aimed at studying the chaotic and periodic dynamics of the model are performed. The results clearly indicate that there is a region in which the dynamical and structural complexity of the system avoid chaotic attractors. However, contrary to what has been reported for Random Boolean Networks, the chaotic phase cannot be completely suppressed, which has important bearings on network robustness and gene expression modeling.     

Health of the Land,Health of the People: A Case Study on Gwich’in Berry Harvesting in Northern Canada

Many Aboriginal groups, in northern Canada and elsewhere, recognize the strong relationship between the health and well-being of people and environment. Western science, including theory and literature related to forest ecosystem management, has been slow to recognize the complex and diverse values that Aboriginal people associate with their lands and resources. Through case study research on the berry-harvesting practices of Gwich’in women from the community of Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada, we investigated the values that Teetl’it Gwich’in women associate with the land or nan kak. Nine different values, as well as a set of detailed measures, were identified during the research, including individual preference and well-being, family well-being, social connectivity, cultural continuity, land and resource use, stewardship, self-government, and spirituality. The commercial value of berries was not identified as important to women. This interdisciplinary research has the potential to contribute to several bodies of literature including that on social-ecological systems.     

Iron Status and Reproduction in US Women: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2006

Women experience significant changes in iron status throughout their reproductive lifespans. While this is evident in regions with high rates of malnutrition and infectious disease, the extent of reproductive-related changes is less well known in countries with low rates of iron deficiency anemia, such as the United States. The goal of this study is determine the relationship between women''s reproductive variables (pregnancy, parity, currently breastfeeding, regular menstruation, hormonal contraceptive use, and age at menarche) and iron status (hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin receptor, and % transferrin saturation) using an anthropological framework for interpreting the results. Data from women aged 18–49 were taken from the 1999–2006 US NHANES, a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of US women. Using multiple imputation and complex survey statistics, women''s reproductive variables were regressed against indicators of iron status. Pregnant women had significantly poorer iron status, by most indicators, than non-pregnant women. All biomarkers demonstrated significantly lower iron levels with increasing parity. Women who were having regular periods had iron indicators that suggested decreased iron levels, while women who used hormonal contraceptives had iron indicators that suggested increased iron levels. Despite relatively good iron status and widespread availability of iron-rich foods in the US, women still exhibit patterns of iron depletion across several reproductive variables of interest. These results contribute to an ecological approach to iron status that seeks to understand variation in iron status, with the hopes that appropriate, population-specific recommendations can be developed to improve women''s health.     

Novel tracking function of moving target using chaotic dynamics in a recurrent neural network model

Chaotic dynamics introduced in a recurrent neural network model is applied to controlling an object to track a moving target in two-dimensional space, which is set as an ill-posed problem. The motion increments of the object are determined by a group of motion functions calculated in real time with firing states of the neurons in the network. Several cyclic memory attractors that correspond to several simple motions of the object in two-dimensional space are embedded. Chaotic dynamics introduced in the network causes corresponding complex motions of the object in two-dimensional space. Adaptively real-time switching of control parameter results in constrained chaos (chaotic itinerancy) in the state space of the network and enables the object to track a moving target along a certain trajectory successfully. The performance of tracking is evaluated by calculating the success rate over 100 trials with respect to nine kinds of trajectories along which the target moves respectively. Computer experiments show that chaotic dynamics is useful to track a moving target. To understand the relations between these cases and chaotic dynamics, dynamical structure of chaotic dynamics is investigated from dynamical viewpoint.     

Relative health effects of education, socioeconomic status and domestic gender inequity in Sweden: a cohort study

Introduction

Limited existing research on gender inequities suggests that for men workplace atmosphere shapes wellbeing while women are less susceptible to socioeconomic or work status but vulnerable to home inequities.

Methods

Using the 2007 Northern Swedish Cohort (n = 773) we identified relative contributions of perceived gender inequities in relationships, financial strain, and education to self-reported health to determine whether controlling for sex, examining interactions between sex and other social variables, or sex-disaggregating data yielded most information about sex differences.

Results and Discussion

Men had lower education but also less financial strain, and experienced less gender inequity. Overall, low education and financial strain detracted from health. However, sex-disaggregated data showed this to be true for women, whereas for men only gender inequity at home affected health. In the relatively egalitarian Swedish environment where women more readily enter all work arenas and men often provide parenting, traditional primacy of the home environment (for women) and the work environment (for men) in shaping health is reversing such that perceived domestic gender inequity has a significant health impact on men, while for women only education and financial strain are contributory. These outcomes were identified only when data were sex-disaggregated.     

Occupational mortality of California women, 1979-1981.

A review of California''s mortality data for 1979 through 1981, encompassing 61,561 female and 111,877 male deaths, shows differential female mortality risk by labor force status and by occupation. High patterns of risk were found for women in a number of occupations, including waitresses, licensed vocational nurses and health aides, cosmetologists, telephone operators, housekeepers and janitors, and launderers and dry cleaners. Patterns of mortality risk were similar for each race within these occupational groups. The mortality risks for women were generally higher than those for men. The association of mortality with certain occupational does not necessarily imply a causal relationship but is certainly a signal that further research is required and that physicians need to consider work-related factors in evaluating the health of women.     

城市生态系统健康综合评价

生态系统健康是生态学领域的研究热点之一.文中提出了对城市生态系统健康概念的理解; 从状态空间的角度, 解释了城市生态系统健康的内涵,并以此为基础,提出了目前研究中存在的不足; 从复合生态系统的角度,提出了一种新的城市生态系统健康评价方法——综合评价方法; 构建了城市生态系统健康综合评价模型,并将该方法应用于佛山市城市生态系统的健康评价.结果表明, 在研究时段内,佛山市城市生态系统健康水平逐年上升;综合评价方法不仅能反映城市整体健康状况,而且能辨别各子系统的相对健康水平,具有一定的理论价值和可操作性.     

神经起步点自发放电节律及节律转化的分岔规律

在神经起步点的实验中观察到了复杂多样的神经放电([Ca^2 ]o)节律模式,如周期簇放电、周期峰放电、混沌簇放电、混沌峰放电以及随机放电节律等。随着细胞外钙离子浓度的降低,神经放电节律从周期l簇放电,经过复杂的分岔过程(包括经倍周期分岔到混沌簇放电、混沌簇放电经激变到混沌峰放电、以及混沌峰放电经逆倍周期分岔到周期峰放电)转化为周期l峰放电。在神经放电理论模型——Chay模型中,调节与实验相关的参数(Ca^2 平衡电位),可以获得与实验相似的神经放电节律和节律转换规律。这表明复杂的神经放电节律之间存在着一定的分岔规律,它们是理解神经元信息编码的基础。