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Determinants of county-level rent levels: A Bayesian model averaging approach
No full textThis paper uses Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to account for model uncertainty and to identify the robust determinants of county-level rent levels for a panel of 111 counties and independent cities in Virginia from 2008 to 2017. Of the fifteen determinants tested, the results show that single-family home prices, per capita education spending, and educational attainment are robust and positively associated with rent levels, while unemployment rate, population density, labour force participation, and the percent of the population that is Latino are robust and negatively associated with rent levels
Systematic review of invention education research landscape: State of the discipline and future directions
No full textInvention and innovation education and its associated practices (e.g., problem-finding, problem-defining, learning from failure, iterative problem-solving, innovation-focused curricula, collaboration, and maker spaces) are moving from the periphery to the center of education at an ever-increasing pace. Although the research and literature on invention and innovation education, collectively termed as Invention Education (IvE) in this research, is on the rise, to our knowledge no attempt has been made to systematically review the literature available on the topic. To address this gap, we identify, collect, and systematically review scientific literature on IvE. We conduct Bibliometrix-based and targeted analysis to identify the topics, sources, authors, and articles most cited, as well as prominent countries publishing IvE literature. Another objective of this research is to uncover the intellectual, conceptual, and social structures of IvE. A third objective is to identify the progress made and the challenges being faced in furthering IvE and propose future directions. Our review shows that the field has seen substantial growth, especially in recent years particularly in the United States. Research shows IvE’s importance in nurturing a well-rounded, innovative, and skilled future workforce, emphasizing creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. Although with a plethora of curricula and K-20 programs in United States, followed by South Korea, and China, IvE lacks unifying conceptualization, definitions and frameworks. The lack of commonly accepted terms and theoretical bases, and difficulties integrating invention into STEM coursework, are compounded by barriers like resource limitations, curriculum constraints, and the need for teacher training and support. The review underscores the need for IvE to address and dismantle inventor stereotypes and cultivate a diverse and inclusive generation of innovators. It points to the impact of gender and stereotypes on participation in IvE programs and the importance of promoting equity and access to IvE opportunities for all students. The article concludes with a discussion of challenges and future research directions to address the
Survival of hibernating little brown bats that are unaffected by white-nose syndrome: Using thermal cameras to understand arousal behavior
No full textWhite-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has decimated hibernating bats from multiple North American species. In 2014, the invasive fungus arrived at a hibernaculum of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) inside the spillway of Tippy Dam, located near Wellston, Michigan, USA, yet surprisingly, this population has not experienced the declines seen elsewhere. Unlike a typical subterranean hibernaculum, light enters the spillway through small ventilation holes. We hypothesized that this light causes the hibernating bats to maintain a circadian rhythm, thereby saving energy via social thermoregulation during synchronous arousals. To test this idea, we used high-resolution thermal cameras to monitor arousals from October 2019 to April 2020. We found that arousals followed a circadian rhythm, peaking after sunset, and that most observed arousals (\u3e68%) occurred within a cluster of bats allowing for social thermoregulation. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that light-induced synchronized arousals contribute to the unprecedented absence of mass mortality from white-nose syndrome in this large population. Using light to maintain a circadian rhythm in bats should be tested as a potential tool for mitigating mortality from white-nose syndrome. More generally, studying populations that have been largely unaffected by white-nose syndrome may provide insight into mitigation strategies for protecting the remaining populations
Accurate automated segmentation of autophagic bodies in yeast vacuoles using cellpose 2.0
No full textSegmenting autophagic bodies in yeast TEM images is a key technique for measuring changes in autophagosome size and number in order to better understand macroautophagy/autophagy. Manual segmentation of these images can be very time consuming, particularly because hundreds of images are needed for accurate measurements. Here we describe a validated Cellpose 2.0 model that can segment these images with accuracy comparable to that of human experts. This model can be used for fully automated segmentation, eliminating the need for manual body outlining, or for model-assisted segmentation, which allows human oversight but is still five times as fast as the current manual method. The model is specific to segmentation of autophagic bodies in yeast TEM images, but researchers working in other systems can use a similar process to generate their own Cellpose 2.0 models to attempt automated segmentations. Our model and instructions for its use are presented here for the autophagy community
Variational inequalities, Ky Fan minimax inequality, and strong nash equilibria in generalized games
No full textIn this paper, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions for variational inequalities and sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions for quasi-Ky Fan minimax inequality, quasi-variational inequalities, and generalized variational inequalities. As applications, we apply these results to derive existence results for strong Nash equilibria in generalized games which generalize some existence theorems for Nash equilibria in generalized games in the literature and the existence theorem for strong Nash equilibria in normal-form games by Nessah and Tian [J. Math. Anal. Appl. 414 (2014), 871-885]. We also provide sufficient conditions for the uniqueness of strong Nash equilibria in certain generalized games
Economic freedom determinants across U.S. states: A Bayesian model averaging approach
No full textThis study examines the potential determinants of state-level economic freedom for a panel of the 50 U.S. states from 1994 to 2020. To address model uncertainty in the identification of robust determinants, we use Bayesian model averaging to test the robustness (to the inclusion and exclusion of other determinants) of 17 potential determinants that have been recognized in the extant literature. The results show robustness with respect to the positive impact of the level of per capita real income and its growth, fiscal decentralization and neighbouring state economic freedom, whereas per capita fossil fuel production, population density, unemployment rate and democratic governorships have a negative impact. The remaining determinants were not robustly associated with economic freedom
International monetary spillovers to frontier financial markets: Evidence from Bangladesh
No full textThis paper investigates international monetary spillovers to stock prices in Bangladesh, a frontier market that has been excluded from prior studies in the literature. Using daily stock price data for over 300 publicly traded firms in a high-frequency event study framework, we find that contractionary monetary shocks originating from the US, euro area, and China lower stock prices, with Chinese monetary shocks having the largest impact. Contractionary shocks originating from India, on the other hand, lead to a statistically significant increase in stock returns. The positive response is driven by a small number of policy decisions. When these outlier decisions are removed from the sample, contractionary Indian monetary shocks lead to a decline in stock prices in line with spillovers from the other countries
A coordinated data analysis of four studies exploring age differences in social interactions and loneliness during a global pandemic
No full textObjectives Examining loneliness and social isolation during population-wide historical events may shed light on important theoretical questions about age differences, including whether these differences hold across different regions and the time course of the unfolding event. We used a systematic, preregistered approach of coordinated data analysis (CDA) of 4 studies (total N = 1,307; total observations = 18,492) that varied in design (intensive repeated-measures and cross-sectional), region, timing, and timescale during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.Methods We harmonized our data sets to a common period within 2020-2021 and created a common set of variables. We used a combination of ordinary least squares regression and multilevel modeling to address the extent to which there was within- and between-person variation in the associations between social isolation and loneliness, and whether these associations varied as a function of age.Results Within- and between-person effects of social interactions were negatively associated with loneliness in 1 study; in follow-up sensitivity analyses, these patterns held across early and later pandemic periods. Across all data sets, there was no evidence of age differences in the within-person or between-person associations of social interactions and loneliness.Discussion Applying the CDA methodological framework allowed us to detect common and divergent patterns of social interactions and loneliness across samples, ages, regions, periods, and study designs
Attachment style to body dissatisfaction, restrained eating, and disordered eating in adolescent girls: Differential weight communication mediators
No full textBody dissatisfaction and eating behaviors are disproportionately elevated amongst adolescent girls. Family relationships represent a context in which adolescent girls’ body image issues emerge. Thus, we integrated attachment and confirmation theories to examine whether weight related supportive messages (i.e., acceptance and challenge) mediated the relationship between attachment style (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) and body image outcomes (i.e., body dissatisfaction (BD), restrained eating (RE), and disordered eating (DE)). Acceptance refers to weight related support that is characterized by warmth and accepting messages; challenge refers to weight related support that is characterized by instrumental assistance and problem-solving messages. A sample of 106 adolescent girls, ages 11 to 21, completed self-report measures on attachment (Relationship Structures Questionnaire), acceptance and challenge (weight related Parental Behavior Questionnaire), body dissatisfaction (Eating Disorders Inventory), and eating behaviors (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire; Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale). Attachment anxiety directly related to all body image outcomes, whereas attachment avoidance only directly related to RE. Attachment avoidance only related to BD and DE indirectly through perceived acceptance. Those with high anxiety endorsed lower perceived challenge, whereas avoidant individuals endorsed lower perceived acceptance and challenge. We concluded that attachment dimension characteristics to be either hyperactivated regarding relationships (i.e., anxiety), or deactivated and distant (i.e., avoidance), are associated with how individuals perceive support, and in turn, are related to body image and eating behavior outcomes. Further, we clarify the differential roles of acceptance and challenge. Although both supportive, acceptance encompasses a layer of warmth that is more meaningful in body image, particularly for avoidantly attached individuals. By integrating qualities of attachment and supportive weight communication, we reveal that potential pathways of attachment to body image and eating behaviors