Conceptualization And Manifestation Of Depression In An Asian Context: Formal Construction And Validation Of A Children’S Depression Scale In Singapore

Understanding that the conceptualization and manifestation of depression vary across cultures, in a preliminary study, Koh and colleagues (2002) identified a cultural model and a prototype measure of depression for Asian children. The present study sought to provide further examination of the initially identified conceptualization, manifestation, and measurement of depression in Asian children. Involving a community sample of 442 Singaporean Chinese children (6 to 12 years old), a culturally salient factor, Negative Social Self, was established to constitute part of depression, in addition to three universally recognized factors: Negative Affect and Cognitive Dysfunction, Loss of Interest, and Psychosomatic Manifestations. The Asian Children Depression Scale (ACDS) and Negative Social Self (NSS) were found to be positively related to hopelessness and negatively related to self-esteem, subjective well-being, and control-related beliefs, establishing support for convergent validity. Notably, NSS was found to account for significant incremental validity over that of the universally recognized factors in predicting most of the above-mentioned variables, supporting its added value as a factor of depression in Asian children. The results suggested that the ACDS and the culturally salient dimension reflect the phenomenological experiences and manifestations of depression in Asian children.     

Wallace’s Other Line: Human Biogeography and Field Practice in the Eastern Colonial Tropics

This paper examines how the 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace used biogeographical mapping practices to draw a boundary line between Malay and Papuan groups in the colonial East Indies in the 1850s. Instead of looking for a continuous gradient of variation between Malays and Papuans, Wallace chose to look for a sharp discontinuity between them. While Wallace’s “human biogeography” paralleled his similar project to map plant and animal distributions in the same region, he invoked distinctive “mental and moral” features as more decisive than physical ones. By following Wallace in the field, we can see his field mapping practices in action – how he conquered the problem of local particularity in the case of human variation. His experiences on the periphery of expanding European empires, far from metropolitan centers, shaped Wallace’s observations in the field. Taking his cues from colonial racial categories and his experiences collaborating with local people in the field, Wallace constructed the boundary line between the Malay and Papuan races during several years of work in the field criss-crossing the archipelago as a scientific collector. This effort to map a boundary line in the field was a bold example of using the practices of survey science to raise the status of field work by combining fact gathering with higher-level generalizing, although the response back in the metropole was less than enthusiastic. Upon his return to Britain in the 1860s, Wallace found that appreciation for observational facts he had gathered in the field was not accompanied by agreement with his theoretical interpretations and methods for doing human biogeography.     

Of lice and men: The return of the ’comparative parasitology‘ debate

The question of whether or not parasite phylogeny provides information about host relationships (‘comparative parasitology’) reached a peak in 1957 in a vigorous debate between Gunther Timmermann and Ernst Mayr. Timmermann argued that parasites were associated with their hosts by descent and that this produced congruent host and parasite phylogenies. In contrast, Mayr argued that parasites were often associated by colonization and that this led to incongruence between host and parasite phylogenies. To test these differing views. Adrian Paterson, Russell Gray and Graham Wallis derived a procellaniform phylogeny. This tree is here compared with Timmermann's tree based on the relationships of feather lice. Timmermann's tree is more similar to the seabird phylogeny than would be expected by chance. Thus, support is found for the ‘comparative parasitology’ approach.     

Acceptance of Wife Beating and Its Association with Physical Violence towards Women in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Couple’s Data

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious global public health issue. Acceptance of wife beating is known to be associated with IPV, but few studies have analysed the acceptance of wife beating from both women and men’s points of view. The objective of this study was to examine whether acceptance of wife beating among couples is associated with lifetime and past one-year physical IPV perpetration towards wives in Nepal.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2011, with 717 randomly selected couples with wives aged 18 to 49 years old from the Kirtipur municipality and Bhaktapur district of Nepal. Wives’ and husbands’ acceptance of wife beating was measured by six scale items, while physical IPV experience among wives was measured by seven physical assault scale items. To assess the association between acceptance of wife beating and physical IPV, multiple logistic regression analysis was used.

Results

Nearly 30% of wives and husbands indicated that beating of wives is acceptable under certain circumstances. Statistically, no significant difference was detected between wives’ and husbands’ level of acceptance of wife beating. However, husbands’ acceptance of wife beating was positively associated with lifetime and past one-year perpetration of physical IPV, whereas wives’ acceptance of wife beating was neither associated with lifetime nor past one-year victimization of physical IPV. The positive association for husbands remained even after controlling for their partner’s factors.

Conclusions

Acceptance of wife beating is an important risk factor, which must be considered to prevent perpetration of physical IPV towards wives in Nepal. Future studies should include men to better understand the structure and dynamics of IPV in Nepal, and prevention programs should also target men to change their attitudes or to identify which couples are at more risk of physical IPV occurring toward wives.     

SORL1 Is Associated with the Risk of Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease: a Replication Study and Meta-Analyses

The sorting-related receptor gene (SORL1) has been defined as an interesting candidate gene for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recently, one novel variant, rs11218343, within SORL1 was reported to be related to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) in Caucasians, Korean, and Japanese. The aim of this case–control study is to investigate whether SORL1 rs11218343 contributes to susceptibility for LOAD in Chinese. Furthermore, our data, along with previously studies, were pooled for determining the risk of the rs11218343 polymorphism on LOAD. The rs11218343 polymorphism was genotyped in the 2350 independent subjects from Northern Han Chinese population (including 992 cases and 1358 age- and gender-matched controls). Result of the case–control study showed the association between rs11218343 polymorphism and the risk of LOAD in a Northern Han Chinese population (recessive model: odds ratio (OR)?=?0.641, 95 % confidence interval (CI)?=?0.464–0.884, P?=?0.007; additive model: OR?=?0.873, 95 % CI?=?0.765–0.996, P?=?0.043). The results of meta-analysis in subgroups (Caucasian and Asian) and the whole showed that the minor allele (C allele) within rs11218343 played a protective effect on AD risk (OR (95 % CI), 0.77 (0.72–0.83), 0.85 (0.79–0.91), 0.81 (0.76–0.85), respectively). In conclusion, the C allele in SORL1 rs11218343 may be a protective factor for LOAD in both Caucasian and Han Chinese.     

Separated at Birth: The Interlinked Origins of Darwin’s Unconscious Selection Concept and the Application of Sexual Selection to Race

This essay traces the interlinked origins of two concepts found in Charles Darwin’s writings: “unconscious selection,” and sexual selection as applied to humanity’s anatomical race distinctions. Unconscious selection constituted a significant elaboration of Darwin’s artificial selection analogy. As originally conceived in his theoretical notebooks, that analogy had focused exclusively on what Darwin later would call “methodical selection,” the calculated production of desired changes in domestic breeds. By contrast, unconscious selection produced its results unintentionally and at a much slower pace. Inspiration for this concept likely came from Darwin’s early reading of works on both animal breeding and physical ethnology. Texts in these fields described the slow and unplanned divergence of anatomical types, whether animal or human, under the guidance of contrasting ideals of physical perfection. These readings, it is argued, also led Darwin to his theory of sexual selection as applied to race, a theme he discussed mainly in his book The Descent of Man (1871). There Darwin described how the racial version of sexual selection operated on the same principle as unconscious selection. He thereby effectively reunited these kindred concepts.     

‘Agent Plus’ and ‘Practical Reasoner’: A Comparative Study of the Ethical Person

This paper explores an understanding of the person in terms of practical reason. Based on my fieldwork among the Jenu Kurumba and on ethnographic data on four other communities, I analyse how these five communities conceptualise the ethical person. To understand these concepts, I consult studies of an anthropology of ethics concerned with practical reason. Additionally I draw on Charles Taylor's concept of the ‘agent plus’ and Alasdair MacIntyre's notion of the ‘practical reasoner’. I argue that both Neo-Aristotelian notions are fundamentally important for understanding the concepts of the ethical person among the five cultural formations investigated in this paper.     

Complexation of the mycotoxin zearalenone with β-cyclodextrin: Study of the interaction and first promising applications

This work reports the study of the interactions between native and substituted β-cyclodextrins and zearalenone and its derivatives α- and β-zearelonol. The data obtained by fluorescence and NMR experiments suggested that zearalenone, α- and β-zearalenol and cyclodextrins give rise to host-guest complexation, with the inclusion of the phenolic moiety inside the cyclodextrin cavity. The high stability of these complexes induces a high fluorescence enhancement upon complexation. These results have been successfully applied to the spectrofluorimetric determination of zearalenone in maize raw samples, without any chromatographic separation. Presented at the 29^th Mykotoxin-Workshop, Fellbach, Germany, May 14–16, 2007 Financial support: Emilia-Romagna region (project SIQUAL)     

Engaging with Lyell: Alfred Russel Wallace’s Sarawak Law and Ternate papers as reactions to Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) and Charles Darwin (1809–1882) are honored as the founders of modern evolutionary biology. Accordingly, much attention has focused on their relationship, from their independent development of the principle of natural selection to the receipt by Darwin of Wallace’s essay from Ternate in the spring of 1858, and the subsequent reading of the Wallace and Darwin papers at the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858. In the events of 1858 Wallace and Darwin are typically seen as central players, with Darwin’s friends Charles Lyell (1797–1875) and Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911) playing supporting roles. This narrative has resulted in an under-appreciation of a more central role for Charles Lyell as both Wallace’s inspiration and foil. The extensive anti-transmutation arguments in Lyell’s landmark Principles of Geology were taken as the definitive statement on the subject. Wallace, in his quest to solve the mystery of species origins, engaged with Lyell’s arguments in his private field notebooks in a way that is concordant with his engagement with Lyell in the 1855 and 1858 papers. I show that Lyell was the object of Wallace’s Sarawak Law and Ternate papers through a consideration of the circumstances that led Wallace to send his Ternate paper to Darwin, together with an analysis of the material that Wallace drew upon from the Principles. In this view Darwin was, ironically, intended for a supporting role in mediating Wallace’s attempted dialog with Lyell.     

Children’s Comprehension of Sentences with Focus Particles and the Role of Cognitive Control: An Eye Tracking Study with German-Learning 4-Year-Olds

Children’s interpretations of sentences containing focus particles do not seem adult-like until school age. This study investigates how German 4-year-old children comprehend sentences with the focus particle ‘nur’ (only) by using different tasks and controlling for the impact of general cognitive abilities on performance measures. Two sentence types with ‘only’ in either pre-subject or pre-object position were presented. Eye gaze data and verbal responses were collected via the visual world paradigm combined with a sentence-picture verification task. While the eye tracking data revealed an adult-like pattern of focus particle processing, the sentence-picture verification replicated previous findings of poor comprehension, especially for ‘only’ in pre-subject position. A second study focused on the impact of general cognitive abilities on the outcomes of the verification task. Working memory was related to children’s performance in both sentence types whereas inhibitory control was selectively related to the number of errors for sentences with ‘only’ in pre-subject position. These results suggest that children at the age of 4 years have the linguistic competence to correctly interpret sentences with focus particles, which–depending on specific task demands–may be masked by immature general cognitive abilities.     

Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life: A Study Concerning the Use of Colours and its Relationship with Age

This study examines the drawings that elementary grade school children make on the subject of plant life. More specifically, the pictorial elements drawn by children are analysed together with their colour choices and the size of coloured surfaces. Furthermore, the results are put into perspective with the age of the children in the sample. The results indicate that there are significant differences in terms of both the content of the drawings and how colours are used. These findings are linked to the process of the comprehension of the plant world that, according to several studies, initially begins in elementary education. The conclusions highlight the convenience of considering the study of young children’s drawings and colour choices in order to achieve a clearer picture regarding the initial steps of the process of the understanding of biological phenomena in early childhood.     

Genome-Wide Association Study SNPs in the Human Genome Diversity Project Populations: Does Selection Affect Unlinked SNPs with Shared Trait Associations?

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 2,000 trait-SNP associations, and the number continues to increase. GWAS have focused on traits with potential consequences for human fitness, including many immunological, metabolic, cardiovascular, and behavioral phenotypes. Given the polygenic nature of complex traits, selection may exert its influence on them by altering allele frequencies at many associated loci, a possibility which has yet to be explored empirically. Here we use 38 different measures of allele frequency variation and 8 iHS scores to characterize over 1,300 GWAS SNPs in 53 globally distributed human populations. We apply these same techniques to evaluate SNPs grouped by trait association. We find that groups of SNPs associated with pigmentation, blood pressure, infectious disease, and autoimmune disease traits exhibit unusual allele frequency patterns and elevated iHS scores in certain geographical locations. We also find that GWAS SNPs have generally elevated scores for measures of allele frequency variation and for iHS in Eurasia and East Asia. Overall, we believe that our results provide evidence for selection on several complex traits that has caused changes in allele frequencies and/or elevated iHS scores at a number of associated loci. Since GWAS SNPs collectively exhibit elevated allele frequency measures and iHS scores, selection on complex traits may be quite widespread. Our findings are most consistent with this selection being either positive or negative, although the relative contributions of the two are difficult to discern. Our results also suggest that trait-SNP associations identified in Eurasian samples may not be present in Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, possibly due to differences in linkage disequilibrium patterns. This observation suggests that non-Eurasian and non-East Asian sample populations should be included in future GWAS.     

Continuous Bioconversion of the Lipids of Corn,Wheat, and Triticale Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles to Biodiesel in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Characterization of the Products

Lipids of corn, wheat, and triticale distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) were extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and converted to biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters; FAME) in a continuous SC-CO₂ bioreactor using immobilized lipase. Different properties of the products obtained were characterized. FAME content of the products ranged between 87.1 % (corn DDGS lipid biodiesel; CB) and 92.0 % (triticale DDGS lipid biodiesel; TB). CB had a higher viscosity (6.24 mm²/s) than those of wheat DDGS lipid biodiesel (WB) (5.97 mm²/s) and TB (5.67 mm²/s). Cloud point of CB, WB, and TB were ?8.48, ?6.52, and ?5.04 °C, respectively. Oxidative stability of WB and TB was higher than that of CB. Heat of combustion of products was 39.4–39.6 kJ/g. Continuous bioconversion of DDGS lipids to biodiesel in SC-CO₂ is a simple, efficient, and “green” alternative to the conventional process and targets new opportunities for the biodiesel industry.     

Concatenation of Observed Grasp Phases with Observer’s Distal Movements: A Behavioural and TMS Study

The present study aimed at determining how actions executed by two conspecifics can be coordinated with each other, or more specifically, how the observation of different phases of a reaching-grasping action is temporary related to the execution of a movement of the observer. Participants observed postures of initial finger opening, maximal finger aperture, and final finger closing of grasp after observation of an initial hand posture. Then, they opened or closed their right thumb and index finger (experiments 1, 2 and 3). Response times decreased, whereas acceleration and velocity of actual finger movements increased when observing the two late phases of grasp. In addition, the results ruled out the possibility that this effect was due to salience of the visual stimulus when the hand was close to the target and confirmed an effect of even hand postures in addition to hand apparent motion due to the succession of initial hand posture and grasp phase. In experiments 4 and 5, the observation of grasp phases modulated even foot movements and pronunciation of syllables. Finally, in experiment 6, transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to primary motor cortex 300 ms post-stimulus induced an increase in hand motor evoked potentials of opponens pollicis muscle when observing the two late phases of grasp. These data suggest that the observation of grasp phases induced simulation which was stronger during observation of finger closing. This produced shorter response times, greater acceleration and velocity of the successive movement. In general, our data suggest best concatenation between two movements (one observed and the other executed) when the observed (and simulated) movement was to be accomplished. The mechanism joining the observation of a conspecific’s action with our own movement may be precursor of social functions. It may be at the basis for interactions between conspecifics, and related to communication between individuals.     

‘A Dispassionate and Objective Effort:’ Negotiating the First Study on the Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation

The National Academy of Science’s 1956 study on the Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation (BEAR) was designed to provide an objective analysis to assess conflicting statements by leading geneticists and by officials in the Atomic Energy Commission. Largely because of its status as a detached, non-governmental evaluation by eminent scientists, no studies have had a broader impact on the development of biological thinking in regard to nuclear policies. This paper demonstrates that despite the first BEAR study’s reputation as an objective and independent study, it was the product of careful negotiation between Academy scientists, the Atomic Energy Commission, and Britain’s Medical Research Council. This paper also reveals the fragility of the consensus that produced the Academy’s report, the range of political uses of the report, and the subsequent disaffection of the scientists who took part in it.     

Darwin,Malthus, Süssmilch,and Euler: The Ultimate Origin of the Motivation for the Theory of Natural Selection

It is fairly well known that Darwin was inspired to formulate his theory of natural selection by reading Thomas Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population. In fact, by reading Darwin’s notebooks, we can even locate one particular sentence which started Darwin thinking about population and selection. What has not been done before is to explain exactly where this sentence – essentially Malthus’s ideas about geometric population growth – came from. In this essay we show that eighteenth century mathematician Leonhard Euler is responsible for this sentence, and in fact forms the beginning of the logical chain which leads to the creation of the theory of natural selection. We shall examine the fascinating path taken by a mathematical calculation, the many different lenses through which it was viewed, and the path through which it eventually influenced Darwin.     

Levodopa Effects on Hand and Speech Movements in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A fMRI Study

Levodopa (L-dopa) effects on the cardinal and axial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) differ greatly, leading to therapeutic challenges for managing the disabilities in this patient’s population. In this context, we studied the cerebral networks associated with the production of a unilateral hand movement, speech production, and a task combining both tasks in 12 individuals with PD, both off and on levodopa (L-dopa). Unilateral hand movements in the off medication state elicited brain activations in motor regions (primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, cerebellum), as well as additional areas (anterior cingulate, putamen, associative parietal areas); following L-dopa administration, the brain activation profile was globally reduced, highlighting activations in the parietal and posterior cingulate cortices. For the speech production task, brain activation patterns were similar with and without medication, including the orofacial primary motor cortex (M1), the primary somatosensory cortex and the cerebellar hemispheres bilaterally, as well as the left- premotor, anterior cingulate and supramarginal cortices. For the combined task off L-dopa, the cerebral activation profile was restricted to the right cerebellum (hand movement), reflecting the difficulty in performing two movements simultaneously in PD. Under L-dopa, the brain activation profile of the combined task involved a larger pattern, including additional fronto-parietal activations, without reaching the sum of the areas activated during the simple hand and speech tasks separately. Our results question both the role of the basal ganglia system in speech production and the modulation of task-dependent cerebral networks by dopaminergic treatment.