Showing papers by "Bowling Green State University published in 2009"

Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans.

Abstract: Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement(1). To this day, it affects world agriculture by causing the most destructive disease of potato, the fourth largest food crop and a critical alternative to the major cereal crops for feeding the world's population(1). Current annual worldwide potato crop losses due to late blight are conservatively estimated at $6.7 billion(2). Management of this devastating pathogen is challenged by its remarkable speed of adaptation to control strategies such as genetically resistant cultivars(3,4). Here we report the sequence of the P. infestans genome, which at similar to 240 megabases (Mb) is by far the largest and most complex genome sequenced so far in the chromalveolates. Its expansion results from a proliferation of repetitive DNA accounting for similar to 74% of the genome. Comparison with two other Phytophthora genomes showed rapid turnover and extensive expansion of specific families of secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes that are induced during infection or are predicted to have activities that alter host physiology. These fast-evolving effector genes are localized to highly dynamic and expanded regions of the P. infestans genome. This probably plays a crucial part in the rapid adaptability of the pathogen to host plants and underpins its evolutionary potential.

Long-term Effects of Parents' Education on Children's Educational and Occupational Success: Mediation by Family Interactions, Child Aggression, and Teenage Aspirations

Abstract: We examine the prediction of individuals' educational and occupational success at age 48 from contextual and personal variables assessed during their middle childhood and late adolescence. We focus particularly on the predictive role of the parents' educational level during middle childhood, controlling for other indices of socioeconomic status and children's IQ, and the mediating roles of negative family interactions, childhood behavior, and late adolescent aspirations. Data come from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, which began in 1960 when all 856 third graders in a semi-rural county in New York State were interviewed along with their parents; participants were reinterviewed at ages 19, 30, and 48 (Eron et al, 1971; Huesmann et al., 2002). Parents' educational level when the child was 8 years old significantly predicted educational and occupational success for the child 40 years later. Structural models showed that parental educational level had no direct effects on child educational level or occupational prestige at age 48 but had significant indirect effects that were independent of the other predictor variables' effects. These indirect effects were mediated through age 19 educational aspirations and age 19 educational level. These results provide strong support for the unique predictive role of parental education on adult outcomes 40 years later and underscore the developmental importance of mediators of parent education effects such as late adolescent achievement and achievement-related aspirations.

College Women's Experiences with Physically Forced, Alcohol- or Other Drug-Enabled, and Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Before and Since Entering College

Abstract: Objective: Research has shown associations between college women's alcohol and/or drug consumption and the risk of sexual assault, but few studies have measured the various means by which sexual as...

Bayesian Computation with R

Abstract: There has been a dramatic growth in the development and application of Bayesian inferential methods. Some of this growth is due to the availability of powerful simulation-based algorithms to summarize posterior distributions. There has been also a growing interest in the use of the system R for statistical analyses. R's open source nature, free availability, and large number of contributor packages have made R the software of choice for many statisticians in education and industry. Bayesian Computation with R introduces Bayesian modeling by the use of computation using the R language. The early chapters present the basic tenets of Bayesian thinking by use of familiar one and two-parameter inferential problems. Bayesian computational methods such as Laplace's method, rejection sampling, and the SIR algorithm are illustrated in the context of a random effects model. The construction and implementation of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods is introduced. These simulation-based algorithms are implemented for a variety of Bayesian applications such as normal and binary response regression, hierarchical modeling, order-restricted inference, and robust modeling. Algorithms written in R are used to develop Bayesian tests and assess Bayesian models by use of the posterior predictive distribution. The use of R to interface with WinBUGS, a popular MCMC computing language, is described with several illustrative examples. This book is a suitable companion book for an introductory course on Bayesian methods and is valuable to the statistical practitioner who wishes to learn more about the R language and Bayesian methodology. The LearnBayes package, written by the author and available from the CRAN website, contains all of the R functions described in the book. The second edition contains several new topics such as the use of mixtures of conjugate priors and the use of Zellners g priors to choose between models in linear regression. There are more illustrations of the construction of informative prior distributions, such as the use of conditional means priors and multivariate normal priors in binary regressions. The new edition contains changes in the R code illustrations according to the latest edition of the LearnBayes package.

Designing Experiments That Generalize

Abstract: Organizational research has relied too heavily on methods characterized by passive observation, likely because there is a widespread belief that experimental research has limited generalizability. However, this is often because researchers (and reviewers or editors) misunderstand the nature of generalizability and what it requires. This article reiterates the importance of experimental research for understanding organizational phenomena and separates the legitimate concerns about experimental generalizability from the irrelevant ones. Whereas most criticisms of experiments focus on sample characteristics and mundane realism (i.e., superficial resemblance to the real world), more attention needs to be paid to the degree to which the treatment manipulation is valid, representative, and strong.

The Association Between Motor Skill Competence and Physical Fitness in Young Adults

Abstract: We examined the relationship between competence in three fundamental motor skills (throwing, kicking, and jumping) and six measures of health-related physical fitness in young adults (ages 18–25). We assessed motor skill competence using product scores of maximum kicking and throwing speed and maximum jumping distance. A factor analysis indicated the 12-min run/walk, percent body fat, curl-ups, grip strength, and maximum leg press strength all loaded on one factor defining the construct of “overall fitness.” Multiple regression analyses indicated that the product scores for jumping (74%), kicking (58%), and throwing (59%) predicted 79% of the variance in overall fitness. Gender was not a significant predictor of fitness. Results suggest that developing motor skill competence may be fundamental in developing and maintaining adequate physical fitness into adulthood. These data represent the strongest to date on the relationship between motor skill competence and physical fitness.

Continuity of aggression from childhood to early adulthood as a predictor of life outcomes: implications for the adolescent‐limited and life‐course‐persistent models

Abstract: Using data from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a 40-year longitudinal study following an entire county's population of third-grade students from age 8 to 48, we examine questions about the long-term consequences of aggressive and antisocial behavior in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. We found moderate levels of continuity of aggression from age 8 to 48 both for males and for females. Contrary to what some have proposed, we found that continuity of aggressiveness is owing to not only the high-aggressive participants staying high but also owing to the low-aggressive participants staying low. Compared with life-course-persistent low aggressives, we found that life-course-persistent high aggressives had consistently poorer outcomes across domains of life success, criminal behavior, and psychosocial functioning at age 48 (e.g., arrests, traffic violations, aggression toward spouse and divorces, depression, health, occupational and educational attainment). In contrast, adolescent-limited and child-limited aggressives did not differ from life-course-persistent low aggressives on the age 48 outcomes. Finally, the outcomes for late-onset (early adulthood) aggressives were also problematic in some domains though not as problematic as those for life-course-persistent aggressives. Language: en

Beyond work and family: a measure of work/nonwork interference and enhancement

Abstract: Though early research on the work/nonwork interface was broader in scope, most recent research has focused on the interface between work and family. There is a need for an inclusive, validated measure of work/nonwork interference and enhancement that is appropriate for all workers regardless of their marital or family life status. The authors report here on 3 studies in which they develop a theoretically grounded and empirically validated multidimensional, bidirectional measure of work/nonwork interference and enhancement. All scale items refer to work/nonwork, whereas previous measures have mixed work/family and work/nonwork items or emphasize family roles in the nonwork domain. Quantitative analysis of the scale items yielded 17 items to measure work interference with personal life, personal life interference with work, work enhancement of personal life, and personal life enhancement of work. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling results provide evidence for convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity for the scale from 2 large samples of workers (N = 540, N = 384) across multiple job types and organizations.

Using the kaleidoscope career model to examine generational differences in work attitudes

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine, utilising the Kaleidoscope Career Model, whether members of the Baby Boom generation and Generation X differ in their needs for authenticity, balance, and challenge.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were obtained from 982 professionals located across the USA. Correlations, t‐tests, and multiple regressions were performed to test the hypotheses.Findings – Members of Generation X have higher needs for authenticity and balance than Baby Boomers. There was no difference in needs for challenge between Baby Boomers and members of Generation X.Research limitations/implications – A limitation in the study, as well as in most of the research on generational differences, is the use of cross‐sectional designs that fail to capture the influence of the aging process. A longitudinal, multi‐survey design over the lives of individuals would enable scholars to capture within‐ and between‐person differences and to permit a better understanding of whether difference...

Synthesis, stability, and photochemistry of pentacene, hexacene, and heptacene: a matrix isolation study.

Abstract: The photochemical bisdecarbonylation of bridged α-diketones (Strating−Zwanenburg reaction) to give the oligoacenes pentacene (2), hexacene (3), and heptacene (4) is investigated in solid inert gas matrices at cryogenic temperatures. The photodecomposition using visible light irradiation cleanly produces the corresponding oligoacene without formation of observable intermediates. This synthetic approach to the higher acenes allows a comprehensive comparative study of their electronic absorption and infrared spectral properties under identical conditions for the first time. In addition, the route makes it possible to investigate the thermal and photochemical stability of these higher acenes and addresses the problem of heptacene stability which dates back almost 70 years. This largest known member of the acene series is found to be unstable at room temperature. Furthermore, all oligoacenes 2−4 undergo a photoredox reaction upon 185 nm excitation, resulting in the concurrent formation of radical cations and a...

Frequency and isostericity of RNA base pairs

Abstract: Most of the hairpin, internal and junction loops that appear single-stranded in standard RNA secondary structures form recurrent 3D motifs, where non-Watson-Crick base pairs play a central role. Non-Watson-Crick base pairs also play crucial roles in tertiary contacts in structured RNA molecules. We previously classified RNA base pairs geometrically so as to group together those base pairs that are structurally similar (isosteric) and therefore able to substitute for each other by mutation without disrupting the 3D structure. Here, we introduce a quantitative measure of base pair isostericity, the IsoDiscrepancy Index (IDI), to more accurately determine which base pair substitutions can potentially occur in conserved motifs. We extract and classify base pairs from a reduced-redundancy set of RNA 3D structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and calculate centroids (exemplars) for each base combination and geometric base pair type (family). We use the exemplars and IDI values to update our online Basepair Catalog and the Isostericity Matrices (IM) for each base pair family. From the database of base pairs observed in 3D structures we derive base pair occurrence frequencies for each of the 12 geometric base pair families. In order to improve the statistics from the 3D structures, we also derive base pair occurrence frequencies from rRNA sequence alignments.

State Capacity, State Failure, and Human Rights:

Abstract: While it is universally recognized that states are responsible for human rights conditions in their jurisdictions, it is less often noticed that this responsibility has two dimensions, one normative and one empirical. Normatively, most people agree that states ought to prevent human rights abuses. Empirically, however, states may not always be able to do so. In weak and failing states, agency loss and the inability to police effectively can lead to abuses by private individuals and rogue agents of the state. Thus, on balance, weak states typically have worse human rights records than strong ones. This is demonstrated by a global time-series cross-section analysis showing that indicators of state weakness — low tax revenues, corruption, and lack of law and order — all have a negative impact on human rights to personal security. The effect differs for different kinds of rights. Extrajudicial killings are highly sensitive to state capacity, while political imprisonment is more sensitive to democracy. Overall...

Race and the Response of State Legislatures to Unauthorized Immigrants

Abstract: Increasingly, state legislatures are enacting laws to regulate immigrant populations. What accounts for these responses to foreign-born residents? To explain legislative activity at the state level, the authors examine a variety of factors, including the size and growth of foreign-born and Hispanic local populations, economic well-being, crime rates, and conservative or liberal political ideology in state government and among the citizenry. The authors find that economic indicators, crime rates, and demographic changes have little explanatory value for legislation aimed at restrictions on immigrant populations. Rather, conservative citizen ideology appears to drive immigrant-related restrictionist state legislation. Meanwhile, proimmigrant laws are associated with larger Hispanic concentrations, growing foreign-born populations, and more liberal citizen and governmental orientations. These findings suggest that ideological framing is the most consistently important factor determining legislative responses...

Family Boundary Ambiguity and the Measurement of Family Structure: The Significance of Cohabitation

Abstract: We used data from the first wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine family boundary ambiguity in adolescent and mother reports of family structure and found that the greater the family complexity, the more likely adolescent and mother reports of family structure were discrepant. This boundary ambiguity in reporting was most pronounced for cohabiting stepfamilies. Among mothers who reported living with a cohabiting partner, only one-third of their teenage children also reported residing in a cohabiting stepfamily. Conversely, for those adolescents who reported their family structure as a cohabiting stepfamily, just two-thirds of their mothers agreed. Levels of agreement between adolescents and mothers about residing in a two-biological-parent family, single-mother family, or married stepfamily were considerably higher. Estimates of the distribution of adolescents across family structures vary according to whether adolescent, mother, or combined reports are used. Moreover, the relationship between family structure and family processes differed depending on whose reports of family structure were used, and boundary ambiguity was associated with several key family processes. Family boundary ambiguity presents an important measurement challenge for family scholars.

Low Power Visible-to-UV Upconversion

Abstract: Low power visible-to-UV photon upconversion is demonstrated for the first time, achieved from two simple organic chromophores dissolved in benzene. Selective 442 nm excitation of the triplet sensitizer 2,3-butanedione (biacetyl) in the presence of the laser dye 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) results in the observation of singlet fluorescence from the latter in the UV centered at 360 nm, anti-Stokes shifted by a record 0.64 eV with respect to the excitation. All of the experimental data are consistent with the upconverted singlet PPO fluorescence being produced as a result of biacetyl-sensitized triplet−triplet annihilation (TTA) of triplet excited PPO chromophores. Nanosecond laser flash photolysis performed under pseudo-first-order conditions revealed the bimolecular rate constant of triplet−triplet energy transfer between the biacetyl sensitizer and PPO acceptor, kq = 9.0 × 108 M−1s−1. The TTA process was confirmed by the quadratic dependence of the upconverted integrated PPO emission intensity measured with...

A Social-Cognitive-Ecological Framework for Understanding the Impact of Exposure to Persistent Ethnic-Political Violence on Children’s Psychosocial Adjustment

Abstract: In this article, we describe a theoretical framework for understanding how persistent and extreme exposure to ethnic-political conflict and violence interacts with cognitive, emotional, and self processes to influence children's psychosocial adjustment. Three recent strands of theorizing guide our approach. First, we focus on how observational and social learning processes combine to influence the development of social-cognitive structures and processes that affect behavior. Second, we focus on the role of developing self and identity processes in shaping the child's interactions with the world and the consequences of those interactions. Third, we build on the complex systems perspective on development and assume that human development can only be understood accurately by examining how the multiple contexts affecting children and the adults in their lives interact to moderate biosocial factors which predispose individuals to develop in certain directions. We review the recent empirical literature on children's exposure to ethnic-political violence and we apply the social-cognitive-ecological framework to the empirical findings in this literature. Finally, we propose future directions for research and clinical implications derived from this framework.

Radiative recombination of spatially extended excitons in (ZnSe/CdS)/CdS heterostructured nanorods.

Abstract: We report on organometallic synthesis of luminescent (ZnSe/CdS)/CdS semiconductor heterostructured nanorods (hetero-NRs) that produce an efficient spatial separation of carriers along the main axis of the structure (type II carrier localization). Nanorods were fabricated using a seeded-type approach by nucleating the growth of 20−100 nm CdS extensions at [000 ± 1] facets of wurtzite ZnSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals. The difference in growth rates of CdS in each of the two directions ensures that the position of ZnSe/CdS seeds in the final structure is offset from the center of hetero-NRs, resulting in a spatially asymmetric distribution of carrier wave functions along the heterostructure. Present work demonstrates a number of unique properties of (ZnSe/CdS)/CdS hetero-NRs, including enhanced magnitude of quantum confined Stark effect and subnanosecond switching of absorption energies that can find practical applications in electroabsorption switches and ultrasensitive charge detectors.

Phenylbenzimidazole-Based New Bipolar Host Materials for Efficient Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Abstract: Two new bipolar host materials based on a 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)benzene (TPBI) core with the carbazole and diphenylamine groups were designed, synthesized, and applied in phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs). The DFT calculations indicated desirable distribution of HOMO and LUMO densities, suggesting potential for bipolar charge transport. In addition, the electrochemical and phosphorescence studies revealed that neither the LUMO level nor the triplet energies differ significantly from the parent TPBI suggesting that the new materials would be suitable as hosts capable of both electron and hole transport and suitable for harvesting green electrophosphorescence. As a result of broader charge recombination zone resulting from the bipolar properties of new hosts, the devices with a simple architecture achieved significantly better current efficiencies of 48 and 60 cd/A (the power efficiencies of 46 and 70 lm/W), compared with a device using conventional TPBI host (19 cd/A; 21...

Relationship dynamics and consistency of condom use among adolescents.

Abstract: CONTEXT: Research on adolescent condom use often focuses on the infl uence of parents, peers and environmental factors. Although most sexually active teenagers have sex within dating relationships, little is known about associations between the characteristics of these relationships and consistency of condom use. METHODS: Data on 269 participants in Wave 1 of the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study who had had sex in their current or most recent dating relationship were analyzed in logistic regression models to examine how positive and negative relationship qualities are associated with consistent condom use. RESULTS: Among teenagers who had had sex with their dating partner, both negative relationship dynamics (confl ict, partner’s controlling behavior, mistrust, jealousy, perceived partner inferiority) and positive qualities (love, enmeshment, salience, self-disclosure) were negatively associated with consistent condom use (odds ratios, 0.7–0.9). Asymmetries in partners’ age, race and school were not related to consistent condom use. Relationship duration was negatively associated with consistency (0.98–0.99), but the association was explained by feelings of relationship importance. Findings for relationship qualities were similar for males and females, with the exception of confl ict, which was positively associated with consistent condom use among females but not males. CONCLUSIONS: Although the relationship processes associated with consistent condom use are complex, such processes appeared to be more strongly associated with consistent condom use than were social and demographic characteristics. Programs should focus on relationship qualities and dynamics, recognizing that both negative and positive relationship features are associated with consistent condom use.

Beyond the beneficial effects of translocations as an effective tool for the genetic restoration of isolated populations

Abstract: Translocations are becoming increasingly popular as appropriate management strategies for the genetic restoration of endangered species and populations. Although a few studies have shown that the introduction of novel alleles has reversed the detrimental effects of inbreeding over the short-term (i.e., genetic rescue), it is not clear how effective such translocations are for both maintaining neutral variation that may be adaptive in the future (i.e., genetic restoration) and increasing population viability over the long-term. In addition, scientists have expressed concerns regarding the potential genetic swamping of locally adapted populations, which may eliminate significant components of genetic diversity through the replacement of the target population by the source individuals used for translocations. Here we show that bird translocations into a wild population of greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in southeastern Illinois were effective in both removing detrimental variation associated with inbreeding depression as well as restoring neutral genetic variation to historical levels. Furthermore, we found that although translocations resulted in immediate increases in fitness, the demographic recovery and long-term viability of the population appears to be limited by the availability of suitable habitat. Our results demonstrate that although translocations can be effective management tools for the genetic restoration of wild populations on the verge of extinction, their long-term viability may not be guaranteed unless the initial conditions that led to most species declines (e.g., habitat loss) are reversed.

A New Spectroscopic and Photometric Analysis of the Transiting Planet Systems TrES-3 and TrES-4

Abstract: We report new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the parent stars of the recently discovered transiting planets TrES-3 and TrES-4. A detailed abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra yields [Fe/H] = –0.19 ± 0.08, T_(eff) = 5650 ± 75 K, and log g = 4.4 ± 0.1 for TrES-3, and [Fe/H] = +0.14 ± 0.09, T_(eff) = 6200 ± 75 K, and log g = 4.0 ± 0.1 for TrES-4. The accuracy of the effective temperatures is supported by a number of independent consistency checks. The spectroscopic orbital solution for TrES-3 is improved with our new radial velocity measurements of that system, as are the light-curve parameters for both systems based on newly acquired photometry for TrES-3 and a reanalysis of existing photometry for TrES-4. We have redetermined the stellar parameters taking advantage of the strong constraint provided by the light curves in the form of the normalized separation a/R_* (related to the stellar density) in conjunction with our new temperatures and metallicities. The masses and radii we derive are M_* = 0.928^(+0.028)_(–0.048) M_⊙, R_* = 0.829^(+0.015)_(–0.022) R_⊙, and M_* = 1.404^(+0.066)_(–0.134) M_⊙, R_* = 1.846^(+0.096)_(–0.087) R_⊙ for TrES-3 and TrES-4, respectively. With these revised stellar parameters, we obtain improved values for the planetary masses and radii. We find M_p = 1.910^(+0.075)_(–0.080) M_(Jup), R_p = 1.336^(+0.031)_(–0.036) R_(Jup) for TrES-3, and M_p = 0.925 ± 0.082 M_(Jup), R_p = 1.783^(+0.093)_(–0.086) R_(Jup) for TrES-4. We confirm TrES-4 as the planet with the largest radius among the currently known transiting hot Jupiters.