Determinants of sexual arousal and accuracy of its self-estimation in sexually functional males

Men with and without sexual dysfunction present with varying patterns of agreement between subjective estimates of sexual arousal and more objective psychophysiological measures of the same construct. This relative accuracy seems to be associated with sexual function, with men who have sexual dysfunction presenting less accurate estimations (mostly reporting below measured arousal levels). The purpose of this study is to clarify the processes underlying sexual arousal and the accuracy of its self-estimation. We looked at potential predictors of sexual arousal (subjective and physiological) and accuracy in estimating objective sexual arousal in a sample of 60 sexually functional males. Predictors included pre-existing sexual attitudes (erotophobia), both trait and state positive and negative affect, self-focused attention, and interoceptive awareness. Results indicate that this sexually functional sample generally reported below their own erection level. Interestingly, trait negative affect was associated with somewhat lower levels of subjective arousal and higher levels of physiological arousal. On the other hand, state positive affect facilitated both subjective and objective arousal and increased somewhat the accuracy of estimates of erectile responding. Pre-existing sexual attitudes as well as variations in self-focused attention and interoceptive awareness evidenced little effect on sexual arousal or the accuracy of its estimation.     

Global and multiple test procedures using ordered p-values—a review

This paper reviews global and multiple tests for the combination ofn hypotheses using the orderedp-values of then individual tests. In 1987, Röhmel and Streitberg presented a general method to construct global level α tests based on orderedp-values when there exists no prior knowledge regarding the joint distribution of the corresponding test statistics. In the case of independent test statistics, construction of global tests is available by means of recursive formulae presented by Bicher (1989), Kornatz (1994) and Finner and Roters (1994). Multiple test procedures can be developed by applying the closed test principle using these global tests as building blocks. Liu (1996) proposed representing closed tests by means of “critical matrices” which contain the critical values of the global tests. Within the framework of these theoretical concepts, well-known global tests and multiple test procedures are classified and the relationships between the different tests are characterised.     

Uncertainty,pluralism, and the knowledge-based theory of the firm: From J.-C. Spender’s contribution to a socio-cognitive approach

J.-C. Spender’s award-winning, knowledge-based theory of the firm is based on four premises: (1) The firm can be sufficiently understood as a system of knowledge, (2) explicit and implicit knowing can be clearly dissociated, (3) organizations are conceived as cognizing entities, and (4) intuition shaped by shared cultural practices is a superior source of managerial knowledge. This line of reasoning represents a social constructionist view of the enactment, transfer, and storage of knowledge according to which managerial knowledge is largely tacitly shaped by industry recipes and the firm’s socio-cultural conventions and other social processes. Although comprehensive in scope, we argue that a knowledge-based theory of the firm needs to integrate a cognitivist approach that includes the synergetic production of tacit and explicit knowledge, the role of reflective thinking in resolving strategic uncertainties, and the interaction between the individual and the social. This socio-cognitive theory of the firm posits that sustained competitive advantage of a firm is founded on the ability to align knowledge internally within the firm as well as externally with its stakeholders through the individual sense-making of feedback from other individuals.     

New avenues to be opened for social protection in the Arab world: the case of Egypt*

This article looks at social protection in the Arab world. Giving the example of Egypt, it asks why poverty is so widespread and why – despite the country's numerous social protection systems – social risks are a major contributing factor to it. It concludes that reforms are due. The existing systems are well funded but inefficient and more to the benefit of the better‐off than the poor. A reform approach is proposed which builds on both conventional and more innovative strategies: campaigns should be launched to raise public awareness of social risks; social assistance spending should be increased; and the operating public pension schemes should be reformed. At the same time, new avenues have to be opened to meet the specific needs of informal sector workers who have extreme difficulty in being covered by social insurance or social assistance. To this purpose, micro‐insurance is a promising approach for the Arab‐world region.     

Science,measurement, and validity: Is completion of Samuel Messick's synthesis possible?

Messick's (1989) theory of test validity is profoundly influential (Hubley and Zumbo, 1996; Angoff, 1988) in part because it brings together disparate contributions into a unified framework for building validity arguments. At the heart of Messick's theory lies a synthesis of realism and constructivism with respect to both scientific facts and measurement. Within this synthesis there remains a tension between the evidential basis and the consequential basis for test interpretation and use. This cannot be sidestepped simply by limiting the evidential basis to test interpretation and the consequential basis to test use: Interpretation and use are not so easily held separate. The roles of constructivism and context in Messick's theory underline the inherent link between facts and values, but the assumption that facts are objective and values are subjective goes unquestioned in Messick's theory. The inherent link between facts and values combines with this assumption to produce the unresolved tension in Messick's theory. This suggests that a unified theory of test validity requires a theory of value justification.     

Extended pairwise local alignment of wild card DNA/RNA sequences using dynamic programming

Optimal string alignment is used to discover evolutionary relationships or mutations in DNA/RNA or protein sequences. Errors, missing parts or uncertainty in such a sequence can be covered with wild cards, so-called wild bases. This makes an alignment possible even when the data are corrupted or incomplete. The extended pairwise local alignment of wild card DNA/RNA sequences requires additional calculations in the dynamic programming algorithm and necessitates a subsequent best- and worst-case analysis for the wild card positions. In this paper, we propose an algorithm which solves the problem of input data wild cards, offers a highly flexible set of parameters and displays a detailed alignment output and a compact representation of the mutated positions of the alignment. An implementation of the algorithm can be obtained at https://github.com/sysbio-bioinf/swat+ and http://sysbio.uni-ulm.de/?Software:Swat+.     

Spectral Estimation of Covolatility from Noisy Observations Using Local Weights

We propose localized spectral estimators for the quadratic covariation and the spot covolatility of diffusion processes, which are observed discretely with additive observation noise. The appropriate estimation for time‐varying volatilities is based on an asymptotic equivalence of the underlying statistical model to a white‐noise model with correlation and volatility processes being constant over small time intervals. The asymptotic equivalence of the continuous‐time and discrete‐time experiments is proved by a construction with linear interpolation in one direction and local means for the other. The new estimator outperforms earlier non‐parametric methods in the literature for the considered model. We investigate its finite sample size characteristics in simulations and draw a comparison between various proposed methods.     

Examining the association between Medicaid coverage and preterm births using 2010–2013 National Vital Statistics Birth Data

Reducing the number of preterm births is a high public health priority in the U.S. Preterm birth, affecting an estimated 380,000 infants annually, is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity and is associated with individual and systemic characteristics. Preterm birth is estimated to cost society $26 billion annually. Despite an elevated financial burden caused by preterm birth, very little is known about who bears these costs. This study seeks to understand the relationship between Medicaid and private insurance payment for preterm birth, using multiple years of vital statistics data, which for the first time since 2010 include information on payment source. The nationwide data cover births that occur in all settings, including non-hospital settings, and many maternal characteristics not available in other datasets, improving upon previous analyses. These data can be used to promote better Medicaid coverage of interventions known to be effective in reducing preterm births.