Comparisons of normalization methods for relative quantitative in real-time polymerase chain reaction

The real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) provides sensitive and accurate quantitative results and becomes a widespread technique in analyzing gene expressions. House-keeping genes are required as references to normalize data of target genes, which may be unstable. This normalization process is similar to the normalization in analyzing high-density oligonucleotide arrays. This article evaluates the feasibility of normalizations for high-density oligonucleotide arrays to normalize data collected in rtPCR experiments. Since data features are different, simulations are used to evaluate the performance of these normalizations to rtPCR data based on five indices. Their feasibilities are illustrated by a rtPCR data.     

When does multitasking facilitate information processing? Effects of Internet-based multitasking on information seeking and information gain

This study examined whether Internet-based multitasking facilitates information gain by allowing users to seek additional information online. Study 1, using survey data, suggested that TV-Internet multitasking increased information gain, whereas TV-print media multitasking reduced it. In addition, online information seeking mediated the effect of TV-Internet multitasking on information gain. Study 2, using experimental data, confirmed the differential effects of TV-Internet multitasking and TV-print multitasking on information gain. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are further discussed.     

The elephant in the room is awake and takes things personally: The North Korean nuclear threat and the general public's estimation of American diplomacy

The general audience for a global crisis can become a grassroots force in the ultimate fate of policy decisions. Focusing on the North Korean nuclear crisis case, certain contingent factors (dominant coalition characteristics, external threat, and external public characteristics) were overall strong predictors for public estimation about the government stance. Further, perception of situational factors (external threat and external public characteristics) was a stronger predictor for the participants’ stance estimation than perception of predisposing factors (dominant coalition characteristics). Implications for international diplomacy were discussed.     

Precursors and pathways to adolescent prostitution in taiwan

This paper identifies the major precursors and pathways to prostitution for contemporary Taiwanese girls and the socio‐economic and cultural changes that have facilitated the shift in pathways over the past 10 years. Special attention is paid to the case of Taiwanese aborigines, who have particularly suffered systemic disruption due to prostitution. Analysis of case files and interviews provide quantitative and qualitative data that highlight the role of filial piety and the shift from indenture to runaway as the major pathway in Taiwan. Discussion includes relation of these findings to juvenile entry into prostitution in other countries, directions for future research, and policy recommendations for Taiwan's government.     

Distribution-free confidence bounds for pr y< when fx and gy = fx-6 are continuous and symmetric

For and continuous and symmetric and differing at most by a shift parameter, distribution-free confidence intervals for are obtained by means of the Chebyshev inequality and an upper bound for the variance of the Mann-Whitney statistic. The (two-sided) intervals are reliable for small samples and about 20 to 30 per cent shorter than those obtained by Ury for and completely unknown for equal sample sizes, with larger savings otherwise. They are also shorter than the upper bounds obtained by Birnbaum and McCarty (1958) when the confidence coefficient does not exceed 0.95.     

Relocation Stress, Coping, and Sense of Control Among Resettlers Resulting from China’s Three Gorges Dam Project

The involuntary relocation of people for development purposes has become prevalent across the world in recent decades. Depression is one of the documented negative outcomes of involuntary relocation among resettlers. Viewing the affected population simply as passive victims, past studies have largely ignored the coping strategies employed by individual resettlers in dealing with stress they experienced in the relocation process. Focusing on Three Gorges Project-induced relocation in China, this study examines coping strategies employed by resettlers using panel data collected before and after relocation. We found that emotion-focused coping was more effective than problem-focused coping in combating relocation-related depression. Unsuccessful problem-focused coping was found to elevate, rather than reduce depression. Emotion-focused coping reduces depression not only directly but also indirectly by restoring resettlers’ sense of control. This study contributes to the literature by identifying coping strategies, as well as their mechanisms, that are effective in combating relocation-induced distress.     

Improved construction for pooling design

Pooling design is a mathematical tool with many applications in molecular biology, specially to reduce the number of tests for DNA library screening. In this note, we study construction of pooling design and present an improvement to a recent new construction given by Du et al. (J. Comput. Biol. 13:990–995, 2006). P. Deng and W. Wu supported in part by National Science Foundation under grants CCF-0514796 and CNS-0524429. T. Znati supported in part by National Science Foundation under grant CCF-0548895.     

Exploratory analysis of verbal aggression in romantic relationships among unmarried men and women: Predictive patterns by gender and race

This is an exploratory study that examined verbal aggression in romantic relationships among unmarried Black and White women and men as a function of gender and race. We employed an ecological approach to examine the receipt of verbal aggression separately for men and women at the levels of individual, relationship, and community. We also explored whether gender-specific correlates of verbal aggression interacted with race. Analyses were based on a sample of 212 women and 133 men in non-marital romantic relationships recruited from 21 U.S. cities for a larger study. Linear mixed-effects models revealed that factors related to experiencing verbal aggression differed substantially for unmarried women and men in romantic relationships. Interesting racial differences also emerged distinctly for women and men.