Impact of selection bias on the evaluation of clusters of chemical compounds in the drug discovery process

Expert opinion plays an important role when selecting promising clusters of chemical compounds in the drug discovery process. Indeed, experts can qualitatively assess the potential of each cluster, and with appropriate statistical methods, these qualitative assessments can be quantified into a success probability for each of them. However, one crucial element often overlooked is the procedure by which the clusters are assigned to/selected by the experts for evaluation. In the present work, the impact such a procedure may have on the statistical analysis and the entire evaluation process is studied. It has been shown that some implementations of the selection procedure may seriously compromise the validity of the evaluation even when the rating and selection processes are independent. Consequently, the fully random allocation of the clusters to the experts is strongly advocated. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the complexity of achieving proportional representation

We demonstrate that winner selection in two prominent proportional representation voting systems is a computationally intractable problem—implying that these systems are impractical when the assembly is large. On a different note, in settings where the size of the assembly is constant, we show that the problem can be solved in polynomial time.     

Experiencing release: sex environments and escapism for HIV-positive men who have sex with men

There are nonsexual reasons that may motivate people to seek out sexual activity with others. Some men who have sex with men may seek out sex environments to engage in sexual behavior. Among the nonsexual reasons that exist for men who have sex with men is a desire to escape from distressing thoughts and feelings. The amplified sexuality and other unique characteristics of sex environments allow men to have more intense emotional experiences around sex. Using the cognitive escape model as a theoretical foundation, this analysis focuses on the emotional vulnerability that some of the men who visit these venues may be avoiding and how their experiences at these venues might act as releasing mechanisms to alleviate dissonant thoughts and feelings. Implications for public health services and future research are discussed.     

Therapy with lesbian and gay parents and their children

This article explores some of the social and clinical issues facing the many different kinds of gay and lesbian families that are becoming increasingly visible in the United States. Research findings are discussed that dispel popularly held myths and stereotypes concerning these families, gays and lesbians as parents, and their children. Clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate issues often encountered in the consulting room, some unique to gay and lesbian families and some common to all families.     

L’art des bergers et les moutons qualifiés Les figures sociales en jeu sur le marché agricole

On the basis of meticulous chronicles kept about the making of mutton in the Barèges valley in the French Pyrenees, this sociological study of markets examines changes in the complex relations formed between economic interests and local identities in farming. In the 1970s, pressure to standardize mutton for sale on a national market tended to efface the specific characteristics of local produce from this area in particular. In the 1980s however, producers tried to resist in various ways — direct sales in 1984, a brand name strategy in 1987 — against this loss of specificity in an undifferentiated marketplace. In 1995, a label of origin (AOC) was drawn up that not only singled out and stabilized local produce but also redefined groups of actors, ranging from producers who now focus on quality produce to consumers who increasingly look like gourmets searching for “originality”. Furthermore, this certification process led to closely linking the production and sale of produce to the promotion of a redefined local identity, which we might have imagined as being threatened owing to the expansion of business rationales.     

The inclusion of minority groups in clinical trials: problems of under representation and under reporting of data

Objective: To evaluate the representation of minority groups in randomized control trials (RCTs), and the frequency with which this information is reported. Study Design: Reviewers collected data on the racial/ethnic composition of study samples from all RCTs published in six leading medical journals in 1999. Results: Of the 280 RCTs, most (204, 71.3%) provided no information on the race/ethnicity of participants. Of the 89 U.S.-based RCTs, 50 (56.1%) reported their minority distribution. Relative to other trials, those funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) (n = 52) were more likely to report race/ethnicity data (55.8% vs. 23.7%; x2 = 20.9, p <_0.001) and to include nonwhite participants (13.5 % vs. 12.5%; x2=22.7, p<_0.001). Conclusion: Minority groups are currently under-represented in clinical trials. Information on the race and ethnicity of clinical trial participants is currently underreported in six leading medical journals. Reporting of minority group information was significantly better only in NIH funded trials, which also were more likely to include nonwhite participants. This suggests that mandatory reporting policies may have a positive effect on both reporting and representation.     

The reasonable man — a social choice approach

Most legal systems rely heavily on the notion of the reasonable man. Here an attempt is made to analyze the reasonable man in a social choice model. The main argument is that if the reasonable man satisfies a certain set of axioms, he essentially coincides with one of the individuals, both in terms of his preferences and in terms of his expectations.     

The Importance of Early Childhood Poverty

Most poor children achieve less, exhibit more problem behaviors and are less healthy than children reared in more affluent families. We look beyond correlations such as these to a recent set of studies that attempt to assess the causal impact of childhood poverty on adult well-being. We pay particular attention to the potentially harmful effects of poverty early in childhood on adult labor market success (as measured by earnings), but also show results for other outcomes, including out-of-wedlock childbearing, criminal arrests and health status. Evidence suggests that early poverty has substantial detrimental effects on adult earnings and work hours, but on neither general adult health nor such behavioral outcomes as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. We discuss implications for indicators tracking child well-being as well as policies designed to promote the well-being of children.