On the impossibility of inferring cohort fertility measures from period fertility measures

A particularly important struggle faced by demographic analysts is, how to arrive at statements about family formation processes from a cohort perspective from data that are essentially collected on an annual basis. The present paper is concerned with this struggle, mostly restricted to the case of fertility. The central question investigated here is: given observed period data, what can we conclude about the completed family size of real women? I review several existing methods to infer cohort fertility from period fertility measures. The conclusion is that, for each method, its justifiability can be verified only empirically: by looking at cohort fertility directly. To illustrate how this can be done, the paper analyses fertility data from a cohort perspective for two countries, Italy and the Netherlands.cohort fertility, demographic transition, fertility, Italy, Netherlands, period adjustment, tempo and quantum, total fertility rate

Order isomorphisms between cones of JB-algebras

In this paper we completely describe the order isomorphisms between cones of atomic JBW-algebras. Moreover, we can write an atomic JBW-algebra as an algebraic direct summand of the so-called engaged and disengaged part. On the cone of the engaged part every order isomorphism is linear and the disengaged part consists only of copies of $\mathbb{R}$. Furthermore, in the setting of general JB-algebras we prove the following. If either algebra does not contain an ideal of codimension one, then every order isomorphism between their cones is linear if and only if it extends to a homeomorphism, between the cones of the atomic part of their biduals, for a suitable weak topology

Photosynthesis is widely distributed among Proteobacteria as demonstrated by the phylogeny of PufLM reaction center proteins

Two different photosystems for performing bacteriochlorophyll-mediated photosynthetic energy conversion are employed in different bacterial phyla. Those bacteria employing a photosystem II type of photosynthetic apparatus include the phototrophic purple bacteria (Proteobacteria), Gemmatimonas and Chloroflexus with their photosynthetic relatives. The proteins of the photosynthetic reaction center PufL and PufM are essential components and are common to all bacteria with a type-II photosynthetic apparatus, including the anaerobic as well as the aerobic phototrophic Proteobacteria. Therefore, PufL and PufM proteins and their genes are perfect tools to evaluate the phylogeny of the photosynthetic apparatus and to study the diversity of the bacteria employing this photosystem in nature. Almost complete pufLM gene sequences and the derived protein sequences from 152 type strains and 45 additional strains of phototrophic Proteobacteria employing photosystem II were compared. The results give interesting and comprehensive insights into the phylogeny of the photosynthetic apparatus and clearly define Chromatiales, Rhodobacterales, Sphingomonadales as major groups distinct from other Alphaproteobacteria, from Betaproteobacteria and from Caulobacterales (Brevundimonas subvibrioides). A special relationship exists between the PufLM sequences of those bacteria employing bacteriochlorophyll b instead of bacteriochlorophyll a. A clear phylogenetic association of aerobic phototrophic purple bacteria to anaerobic purple bacteria according to their PufLM sequences is demonstrated indicating multiple evolutionary lines from anaerobic to aerobic phototrophic purple bacteria. The impact of pufLM gene sequences for studies on the environmental diversity of phototrophic bacteria is discussed and the possibility of their identification on the species level in environmental samples is pointed out. © 2018 Imhoff, Rahn, Künzel and Neulinger

Thiorhodococcus mannitoliphagus sp. nov., a new purple sulfur bacterium from the White Sea

A novel purple sulfur bacterium, strain WS(T), was isolated from a microbial mat from an estuary of the White Sea. Individual cells are coccoid shaped, motile by flagella and do not contain gas vesicles. The mean cell diameter is 1.85 mum (range 1.5-2.0 mum). Cell suspensions exhibit a purple-violet colour. They contain bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the rhodopinal series as photosynthetic pigments. The novel bacterium is an anoxygenic photoautotroph, using sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfite and elemental sulfur as electron donors for photosynthesis and is capable of photoassimilating several organic carbon sources in the presence of carbonate and a reduced sulfur source (sulfide and/or thiosulfate). Sulfur globules, formed during oxidation of sulfide, are stored transiently inside the cells. Optimal salinity and pH for growth are at 0.5-2.0 % NaCl and pH 7.0-7.5. The DNA base composition of strain WS(T) is 61.8 mol% G+C. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the new isolate belongs to the genus Thiorhodococcus, with Thiorhodococcus minor CE2203(T) as the nearest relative (sequence similarity of 97.3 %). Several distinct differences from described species necessitate the description of a novel species. Thiorhodococcus mannitoliphagus sp. nov. is the proposed name, with strain WS(T) (=ATCC BAA-1228(T)=VKM B-2393(T)) as the type strain

Education at home: the age-specific pattern of migration between the Netherlands and the former Dutch East Indies around 1930

The 1930 population census of the former Dutch East Indies (currently Indonesia) shows for the European population a striking shortage in the age range 10-20. This paper deals with the possible causes of this constriction in the age structure, in particular, the phenomenon of European children attending secondary education in the Netherlands. Using sample data from the city of The Hague, it is estimated that the proportion of students in the Netherlands born in the Dutch Indies was about 3 per cent, implying than the teenager gap in the Dutch Indies was for about half due to a cohort effect and for the other half due to the ‘education at home’ effect.age structure, age/aging, census, colonial times, Dutch East Indies, education, Europe, Europeans, Indonesia, migration, secondary education

Generation of topographic terrain models utilizing synthetic aperture radar and surface level data

Topographical terrain models are generated by digitally delineating the boundary of the region under investigation from the data obtained from an airborne synthetic aperture radar image and surface elevation data concurrently acquired either from an airborne instrument or at ground level. A set of coregistered boundary maps thus generated are then digitally combined in three dimensional space with the acquired surface elevation data by means of image processing software stored in a digital computer. The method is particularly applicable for generating terrain models of flooded regions covered entirely or in part by foliage

Principal Components as a Data Reduction and Noise Reduction Technique

The potential of principal components as a pipeline data reduction technique for thematic mapper data was assessed and principal components analysis and its transformation as a noise reduction technique was examined. Two primary factors were considered: (1) how might data reduction and noise reduction using the principal components transformation affect the extraction of accurate spectral classifications; and (2) what are the real savings in terms of computer processing and storage costs of using reduced data over the full 7-band TM complement. An area in central Pennsylvania was chosen for a study area. The image data for the project were collected using the Earth Resources Laboratory's thematic mapper simulator (TMS) instrument

<em>Marichromatium indicum</em> sp. nov., a new purple sulfur Gammaproteobacterium from mangroves of Goa, India

A reddish-brown bacterium was isolated from photoheterotrophic enrichments of mangrove soil from the western coast of India, in a medium that contained 10 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JA100T clusters with species of the genus Marichromatium of the class ‘Gammaproteobacteria’. Cells of strain JA100T are Gram-negative, motile rods with monopolar single flagella; they require NaCl, the optimum concentration being 1–4 %, and tolerate concentrations up to 13 %. The strain has vesicular internal membrane structures, bacteriochlorophyll a and, most probably, carotenoids of the spirilloxanthin series. No growth factors are required. A reduced sulfur source is required for growth, and, during growth on reduced sulfur sources as electron donors, sulfur is intermediately deposited as a single large granule within the cell. Strain JA100T could not grow at the expense of other tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, except malate. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and its morphological and physiological characteristics, strain JA100T is sufficiently different from other Marichromatium species to justify its designation as a novel species, for which the name Marichromatium indicum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JA100T (=DSM 15907T=ATCC BAA-741T=JCM 12653T)

Impulsivity and Depression in Adolescent Smokers and Nonsmokers

2008 Spring Department of Arts and Sciences Research Scholarship2008 Spring Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Grant2008 Autumn Social and Behavioral Sciences Research GrantLittle research has explored the relationship between depression and impulsive behavior in adolescent smokers and nonsmokers. The current study examined impulsive disinhibition, impulsive decision-making (delay discounting), and self-reported impulsivity in depressed and non-depressed adolescent smokers and nonsmokers (i.e., four groups of 15). Participants were recruited based on smoking status (verified via biomarkers for nicotine) and depression scores using a standardized self-report measure. Recommended cutoff scores for the measure of depression were used to categorize depressed and non-depressed participants. For the measure of impulsive disinhibition, the groups did not differ. On the measure of delay discounting, the non-depressed nonsmokers discounted significantly less (i.e., less impulsively) than the other three groups, while those three groups did not differ significantly. For the self-report measure of impulsivity, the non-depressed nonsmokers were again significantly less impulsive than the other three groups. However, for this measure, depressed smokers and nonsmokers were more impulsive than non-depressed smokers—suggesting depression is associated with greater impulsivity on this measure regardless of smoking status. These findings indicate that depression, even among nonsmokers, is associated with higher levels of impulsivity, although findings are different depending on the assessment of impulsivity considered. Collectively, depressed adolescents may be at a higher risk of cigarette smoking because of the association between depression and impulsivity. Future prospective research may help clarify any causal association between high levels of depression and impulsivity and the degree to which these adolescents may be at greater risk of initiating cigarette smoking.Research Institute at Nationwide Children's HospitalNo embarg