Texas A&M University

About: Texas A&M University is a education organization based out in College Station, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Finite element method. The organization has 72169 authors who have published 164372 publications receiving 5764236 citations.

The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles

Abstract: The origins of sex differences in human behavior can lie mainly in evolved dispositions that differ by sex or mainly in the differing placement of women and men in the social structure. The present article contrasts these 2 origin theories of sex differences and illustrates the explanatory power of each to account for the overall differences between the mate selection preferences of men and women. Although this research area often has been interpreted as providing evidence for evolved dispositions, a reanalysis of D. M. Buss's (1989a) study of sex differences in the attributes valued in potential mates in 37 cultures yielded cross-cultural variation that supports the social structural account of sex differences in mate preferences.

Anger Is an Approach-Related Affect: Evidence and Implications.

Abstract: The authors review a range of evidence concerning the motivational underpinnings of anger as an affect, with particular reference to the relationship between anger and anxiety or fear. The evidence supports the view that anger relates to an appetitive or approach motivational system, whereas anxiety relates to an aversive or avoidance motivational system. This evidence appears to have 2 implications. One implication concerns the nature of anterior cortical asymmetry effects. The evidence suggests that such asymmetry reflects direction of motivational engagement (approach vs. withdrawal) rather than affective valence. The other implication concerns the idea that affects form a purely positive dimension and a purely negative dimension, which reflect the operation of appetitive and aversive motivational systems, respectively. The evidence reviewed does not support that view. The evidence is, however, consistent with a discrete-emotions view (which does not rely on dimensionality) and with an alternative dimensional approach.

Tests of quantum gravity from observations of γ-ray bursts

Abstract: The recent confirmation that at least some γ-ray bursts originate at cosmological distances1,2,3,4 suggests that the radiation from them could be used to probe some of the fundamental laws of physics. Here we show that γ-ray bursts will be sensitive to an energy dispersion predicted by some approaches to quantum gravity. Many of the bursts have structure on relatively rapid timescales5, which means that in principle it is possible to look for energy-dependent dispersion of the radiation, manifested in the arrival times of the photons, if several different energy bands are observed simultaneously. A simple estimate indicates that, because of their high energies and distant origin, observations of these bursts should be sensitive to a dispersion scale that is comparable to the Planck energy scale (∼1019 GeV), which is sufficient to test theories of quantum gravity. Such observations are already possible using existing γ-ray burst detectors.

Circadian rhythms from multiple oscillators: lessons from diverse organisms

Abstract: The organization of biological activities into daily cycles is universal in organisms as diverse as cyanobacteria, fungi, algae, plants, flies, birds and man. Comparisons of circadian clocks in unicellular and multicellular organisms using molecular genetics and genomics have provided new insights into the mechanisms and complexity of clock systems. Whereas unicellular organisms require stand-alone clocks that can generate 24-hour rhythms for diverse processes, organisms with differentiated tissues can partition clock function to generate and coordinate different rhythms. In both cases, the temporal coordination of a multi-oscillator system is essential for producing robust circadian rhythms of gene expression and biological activity.

deal.II—A general-purpose object-oriented finite element library

Abstract: An overview of the software design and data abstraction decisions chosen for deal.II, a general purpose finite element library written in Cpp, is given. The library uses advanced object-oriented and data encapsulation techniques to break finite element implementations into smaller blocks that can be arranged to fit users requirements. Through this approach, deal.II supports a large number of different applications covering a wide range of scientific areas, programming methodologies, and application-specific algorithms, without imposing a rigid framework into which they have to fit. A judicious use of programming techniques allows us to avoid the computational costs frequently associated with abstract object-oriented class libraries.The paper presents a detailed description of the abstractions chosen for defining geometric information of meshes and the handling of degrees of freedom associated with finite element spaces, as well as of linear algebra, input/output capabilities and of interfaces to other software, such as visualization tools. Finally, some results obtained with applications built atop deal.II are shown to demonstrate the powerful capabilities of this toolbox.