Showing papers by "Hartwick College published in 2015"

Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

Abstract: We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost 400,000 polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of Western and Far Eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ∼8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ∼24,000-year-old Siberian. By ∼6,000-5,000 years ago, farmers throughout much of Europe had more hunter-gatherer ancestry than their predecessors, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but also from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ∼4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ∼75% of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ∼3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.

Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians

Abstract: Ancient DNA makes it possible to observe natural selection directly by analysing samples from populations before, during and after adaptation events. Here we report a genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA, capitalizing on the largest ancient DNA data set yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians who lived between 6500 and 300 bc, including 163 with newly reported data. The new samples include, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide ancient DNA from Anatolian Neolithic farmers, whose genetic material we obtained by extracting from petrous bones, and who we show were members of the population that was the source of Europe's first farmers. We also report a transect of the steppe region in Samara between 5600 and 300 bc, which allows us to identify admixture into the steppe from at least two external sources. We detect selection at loci associated with diet, pigmentation and immunity, and two independent episodes of selection on height.

The Language of Mathematics: The Importance of Teaching and Learning Mathematical Vocabulary.

Abstract: Vocabulary understanding is a major contributor to overall comprehension in many content areas, including mathematics. Effective methods for teaching vocabulary in all content areas are diverse and long standing. Teaching and learning the language of mathematics is vital for the development of mathematical proficiency. Students’ mathematical vocabulary learning is a very important part of their language development and ultimately mathematical proficiency. This article draws on current research-based evidence to (a) provide a rationale for teaching vocabulary, (b) offer a review of research that supports the importance of teaching mathematics vocabulary, and (c) describe specific strategies for teaching mathematics vocabulary. It also addresses implications and the need for future research.

The Indo-European Homeland from Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives

Abstract: Archaeological evidence and linguistic evidence converge in support of an origin of Indo-European languages on the Pontic-Caspian steppes around 4,000 years BCE. The evidence is so strong that arguments in support of other hypotheses should be reexamined.

The Alfalfa “Almost Darks” Campaign: Pilot VLA HI Observations of Five High Mass-To-Light Ratio Systems

Abstract: We present new Very Large Array (VLA) H i spectral line imaging of five sources discovered by the ALFALFA extragalactic survey. These targets are drawn from a larger sample of systems that were not uniquely identified with optical counterparts during ALFALFA processing, and as such have unusually high H i mass to light ratios. The candidate “Almost Dark” objects fall into four broad categories: (1) objects with nearby H i neighbors that are likely of tidal origin; (2) objects that appear to be part of a system of multiple H i sources, but which may not be tidal in origin; (3) objects isolated from nearby ALFALFA H i detections, but located near a gas-poor early type galaxy; (4) apparently isolated sources, with no object of coincident redshift within ˜400 kpc. Roughly 75% of the 200 objects without identified counterparts in the α.40 database (Haynes et al. 2011) fall into category 1 (likely tidal), and were not considered for synthesis follow-up observations. The pilot sample presented here (AGC193953, AGC208602, AGC208399, AGC226178, and AGC233638) contains the first five sources observed as part of a larger effort to characterize H i sources with no readily identifiable optical counterpart at single dish resolution (3.‧5). These objects span a range of H i mass [7.41

Eight thousand years of natural selection in Europe

Abstract: The arrival of farming in Europe around 8,500 years ago necessitated adaptation to new environments, pathogens, diets, and social organizations. While indirect evidence of adaptation can be detected in patterns of genetic variation in present-day people, ancient DNA makes it possible to witness selection directly by analyzing samples from populations before, during and after adaptation events. Here we report the first genome-wide scan for selection using ancient DNA, capitalizing on the largest genome-wide dataset yet assembled: 230 West Eurasians dating to between 6500 and 1000 BCE, including 163 with newly reported data. The new samples include the first genome-wide data from the Anatolian Neolithic culture, who we show were members of the population that was the source of Europe's first farmers, and whose genetic material we extracted by focusing on the DNA-rich petrous bone. We identify genome-wide significant signatures of selection at loci associated with diet, pigmentation and immunity, and two independent episodes of selection on height.

Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe

Abstract: We generated genome-wide data from 69 Europeans who lived between 8,000-3,000 years ago by enriching ancient DNA libraries for a target set of almost four hundred thousand polymorphisms. Enrichment of these positions decreases the sequencing required for genome-wide ancient DNA analysis by a median of around 250-fold, allowing us to study an order of magnitude more individuals than previous studies and to obtain new insights about the past. We show that the populations of western and far eastern Europe followed opposite trajectories between 8,000-5,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Neolithic period in Europe, ~8,000-7,000 years ago, closely related groups of early farmers appeared in Germany, Hungary, and Spain, different from indigenous hunter-gatherers, whereas Russia was inhabited by a distinctive population of hunter-gatherers with high affinity to a ~24,000 year old Siberian6. By ~6,000-5,000 years ago, a resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry had occurred throughout much of Europe, but in Russia, the Yamnaya steppe herders of this time were descended not only from the preceding eastern European hunter-gatherers, but from a population of Near Eastern ancestry. Western and Eastern Europe came into contact ~4,500 years ago, as the Late Neolithic Corded Ware people from Germany traced ~3/4 of their ancestry to the Yamnaya, documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery. This steppe ancestry persisted in all sampled central Europeans until at least ~3,000 years ago, and is ubiquitous in present-day Europeans. These results provide support for the theory of a steppe origin of at least some of the Indo-European languages of Europe.

Decreased plasma myeloperoxidase associated with probiotic therapy in autistic children.

Abstract: Aim: To assess plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels in autistic children and to test the hypothesis that there is an association between decreased MPO concentration and probiotic therapy. Subjects and methods: Plasma from 49 autistic children (39 males; mean age 11.4 years) (17 with diagnosed gastrointestinal (GI) disease – chronic diarrhea and/or constipation (10 of these GI patients were taking probiotics) and 26 receiving probiotic therapy) and 36 neurotypical controls (29 males; mean age 10.2 years; controls were not assessed for GI disease) were tested for MPO plasma concentration using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs). Plasma concentration of MPO in autistic individuals was compared to plasma concentration of copper and zinc. Results: We found that individuals with autism, receiving no therapy, did not have significantly lower plasma MPO levels when compared to controls. In the autistic group, MPO levels were significantly lower in individuals taking probiotic therapy. In addition, plasma copper levels were significantly lower in autistic individuals taking probiotics compared to those not taking probiotics, but plasma zinc levels were not different in the probiotic group. Discussion: These results suggest a relationship between low MPO levels found in a group of autistic individuals and probiotic therapy. By possibly changing gut bacterial flora and thereby changing absorption properties in the gut, probiotic therapy was also associated with lower copper levels.

Prior experience with a pain stimulus as a predictor of placebo analgesia.

Abstract: Placebo effects are important in pain reduction, but the effects are inconsistent. Prior experience with a pain stimulus may moderate placebo analgesia. The current study tests the effect of prior experience with a pain stimulus on placebo analgesia during a laboratory pain task. Healthy normotensive undergraduates (66 women, 68 men) who either did or did not report prior experience with pain from submerging a limb in cold water were enrolled. In the laboratory, an experimenter applied an inert, medicinal-smelling cream to participants’ non-dominant hand. Participants randomized to the no-expectation group were told that the cream was a hand cleanser. Participants randomized to the placebo expectation group were told that the cream would reduce the pain associated with the cold pressor task. Participants then completed the cold pressor task and reported their pain on the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Analysis of variance revealed a main effect of expectation (p < .05), such that participants in the placebo expectation group reported less pain. An interaction was also found between expectation and prior experience (p < .05), such that participants with prior experience with pain from cold water immersion showed no difference in pain reports between expectation groups. In a pain context, prior experience with the pain stimulus may prevent a placebo expectation from reducing the experience of pain.

The case for moral perception

Abstract: In this paper, I defend the view that we can literally perceive the morally right and wrong, or something near enough. In defending this claim, I will try to meet three primary objectives: (1) to clarify how an investigation into moral phenomenology should proceed, (2) to respond to a number of misconceptions and objections that are most frequently raised against the very idea of moral perception, and (3) to provide a model for how some moral perception can be seen as literal perception. Because I take “moral perception” to pick out a family of different experiences, I will limit myself (for the most part) to a discussion of the moral relevance of the emotions.

Decreased Phosphorylated Protein Kinase B (Akt) in Individuals with Autism Associated with High Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Low Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

Abstract: Dysregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway could contribute to the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders. In this study, phosphorylated Akt concentration was measured in 37 autistic children and 12, gender and age similar neurotypical, controls using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Akt levels were compared to biomarkers known to be associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and c-Met (hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor) pathways and severity levels of 19 autism-related symptoms. We found phosphorylated Akt levels significantly lower in autistic children and low Akt levels correlated with high EGFR and HGF and low gamma-aminobutyric acid, but not other biomarkers. Low Akt levels also correlated significantly with increased severity of receptive language, conversational language, hypotonia, rocking and pacing, and stimming, These results suggest a relationship between decreased phosphorylated Akt and selected symptom severity in autistic children and support the suggestion that the AKT pathways may be associated with the etiology of autism.

Authority and Compulsion in Legal-Historical Method

Abstract: Case law is often used as evidence of a political action, similar to a pamphlet or speech. Yet, legal decisions are different from other sources in that when they function as precedent they have authority not only in the case at hand, but also in similar future cases. Recovering and using case law in the process of doing qualitative research is then inherently normative in the sense that researchers’ actions may influence the outcome of future legal cases. This article argues that case law in the common law world is a unique type of source presenting normative entanglements and challenges not found in other historical documents, and that these normative issues have been overlooked because the concept of authority has received little attention in qualitative methodology. Consideration of the authority of our source material helps us to understand not only the context of the original source, but also to anticipate and appreciate the future uses to which others may put our work.

Perceiving Sympathetically: Moral Perception, Embodiment, and Medical Ethics.

Abstract: In recent literature on moral perception, much attention has been paid to questions about the relationship between metaethical commitments and moral experience. Far less attention has been paid to the nature of moral perception, its context-sensitivity, and the role it might play in carrying out everyday tasks with decency and care. I would like to reflect on just these features of moral perception in the context of healthcare. I will argue that healthcare providers do in fact have at least an imperfect duty (in Kant’s sense) to develop their capacities to perceive with sympathy. I will further suggest, for some familiar reasons, that this development is not best accomplished through the model of adherence to ‘ethics codes.’

Are they really so different? Climate change rule development in the USA and UK

Abstract: Climate change is an increasingly complex and global environmental issue. As a result, scholars have begun to compare the efforts of specific countries such as the UK and the USA in dealing with climate change. However, missing within this comparative literature is a discussion of the important role that administrative agencies play in implementing climate change policy through rulemaking. More specifically, it is unclear how administrative processes may impact or explain variations in the policy implemented within a given country. In fact, it has been over 25 years since Vogel's work compared the regulatory processes of the USA and UK. As a result, this paper's interviews with agency rule writers in both countries provide an updated comparison of their rulemaking processes, which is essential to understanding why countries may vary in the climate change policy they implement. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decay Kinetics of UV-Sensitive Materials: An Introductory Chemistry Experiment

Abstract: First-order kinetic decay rates can be obtained by measuring the time-dependent reflection spectra of ultraviolet-sensitive objects as they returned from their excited, colored state back to the ground, colorless state. In this paper, a procedure is described which provides an innovative and unique twist on standard, undergraduate, kinetics experiments. Specifically, UV-sensitive beads and threads are utilized as the time changing system, as opposed to more conventional wet chemical systems. The spectral data is collected and analyzed by the students during a standard laboratory session, and the class results are pooled so that the reflection spectra and decay curves of all colors for both UV sensitive beads and threads can be compared. This new approach to a kinetics experiment increases student interest in a safe, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly way.

Institutionalizing renewable electricity: the long-term potential for policy learning

Abstract: Renewable electricity (RE) remains an elusive goal for many in the United States. However, particularly as a result of wind power in the past decade, RE is a growing segment of the United States economy and state energy portfolios. As a result, officials at every level of government, federal, state, and local, continue to be confronted with policy choices relating to the expansion of renewable electricity generation (REG). This paper examines the potential long-term effects of the construction of utility-scale (20+ megawatts or MW) REG power plants on the public lands, defined here as those lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The argument following suggests that these facilities contain the potential to institutionalize REG in a way that can inform policy learning within the energy sector at all levels of government, particularly intergovernmental policy collaboration.