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This brief research note aims to estimate the magnitude of the association between general intelligence and physical attractiveness with large nationally representative samples from two nations. In the United Kingdom, attractive children are more intelligent by 12.4 IQ points (r=0.381), whereas in the United States, the correlation between intelligence and physical attractiveness is somewhat smaller (r=0.126). The association between intelligence and physical attractiveness is stronger among men than among women in both nations. The association remains significant net of a large number of control variables for social class, body size, and health. (Contains 8 tables.)

In "IQ and the Wealth of Nations" (2002), Lynn and Vanhanen estimate the mean IQs of 185 nations and demonstrate that national IQs strongly correlate with the macroeconomic performance of the nations, explaining about half of the variance in GDP per capita. I seek to replicate Lynn and Vanhanen's results across states within the United States. I first estimate "state IQs" from the SAT data, and show that the state IQs correlate moderately with the economic performance of the states, explaining about a quarter of the variance in GSP (gross state product) per capita.

Background: HIV cure research involving cell and gene therapy has intensified in recent years. There is a growing need to identify ethical standards and safeguards to ensure cell and gene therapy (CGT) HIV cure research remains valued and acceptable to as many stakeholders as possible as it advances on a global scale.Methods: To elicit preliminary ethical and practical considerations to guide CGT HIV cure research, we implemented a qualitative, in-depth interview study with three key stakeholder groups in the United States: (1) biomedical HIV cure researchers, (2) bioethicists, and (3) community stakeholders. Interviews permitted evaluation of informants' perspectives on how CGT HIV cure research should ethically occur, and were transcribed verbatim. We applied conventional content analysis focused on inductive reasoning to analyze the rich qualitative data and derive key ethical and practical considerations related to CGT towards an HIV cure.Results: We interviewed 13 biomedical researchers, 5 community members, and 1 bioethicist. Informants generated considerations related to: perceived benefits of CGT towards an HIV cure, perceived risks, considerations necessary to ensure an acceptable benefit/risk balance, CGT strategies considered unacceptable, additional ethical considerations, and considerations for first-in-human CGT HIV cure trials. Informants also proposed important safeguards to developing CGT approaches towards an HIV cure, such as the importance of mitigating off-target effects, mitigating risks associated with long-term duration of CGT interventions, and mitigating risks of immune overreactions.Conclusion: Our study identified preliminary considerations for CGT-based HIV cure across three key stakeholder groups. Respondents identified an ideal cure strategy as one which would durably control HIV infection, protect the individual from re-acquisition, and eliminate transmission to others. Known and unknown risks should be anticipated and perceived as learning opportunities to preserve and honor the altruism of participants. Preclinical studies should support these considerations and be transparently reviewed by regulatory experts and peers prior to first-in-human studies. To protect the public trust in CGT HIV cure research, ethical and practical considerations should be periodically revisited and updated as the science continues to evolve. Additional ethics studies are required to expand stakeholder participation to include traditionally marginalized groups and clinical care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the next frontiers in HIV research is focused on finding a cure. A new priority includes people with HIV (PWH) with non-AIDS terminal illnesses who are willing to donate their bodies at the end-of-life (EOL) to advance the search towards an HIV cure. We endeavored to understand perceptions of this research and to identify ethical and practical considerations relevant to implementing it. Methods: We conducted 20 in-depth interviews and 3 virtual focus groups among four types of key stakeholders in the United States (PWH, biomedical HIV cure researchers, HIV clinicians, and bioethicists) to obtain triangulated viewpoints because little was known about the ethics of this topic. Each group was queried as to ethical considerations, safeguards, and protections for conducting HIV cure-related research at the EOL to ensure this research remains acceptable. Results: All four key stakeholder groups generally supported HIV cure-related research conducted at the EOL because of the history of altruism within the PWH community and the potential for substantial scientific knowledge to be gained. Our informants expressed that: (1) Strong stakeholder and community involvement are integral to the ethical and effective implementation, as well as the social acceptability of this research; (2) PWH approaching the EOL should not inherently be considered a vulnerable class and their autonomy must be respected when choosing to participate in HIV cure-related research at the EOL; (3) Greater diversity among study participants, as well as multi-disciplinary research teams, is necessitated by HIV cure-related research at the EOL; (4) The sensitive nature of this research warrants robust oversight to ensure a favorable risk/benefit balance and to minimize the possibility of therapeutic misconception or undue influence; and (5) Research protocols should remain flexible to accommodate participants' comfort and needs at the EOL. Conclusion: Because of the ethical issues presented by HIV cure-related research at the EOL, robust ethical safeguards are of utmost importance. The proposed ethical and practical considerations presented herein is a first step in determining the best way to maximize this research's impact and social value. More much inquiry will need to be directed towards understanding context-specific and cultural considerations for implementing EOL HIV cure research in diverse settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An increasing number of HIV cure trials involve combining multiple potentially curative interventions. Until now, considerations for designing and implementing complex combination HIV cure trials have not been thoroughly considered. Methods: We used a purposive method to select key informants for our study. Informants included biomedical HIV cure researchers, regulators, policy makers, bioethicists, and community members. We used in-depth interviews to generate ethical and practical considerations to guide the design and implementation of combination HIV cure research. We analyzed the qualitative data using conventional content analysis focused on inductive reasoning. Results: We interviewed 11 biomedical researchers, 4 community members, 2 regulators, 1 policy researcher, and 1 bioethicist. Informants generated considerations for designing and implementing combination interventions towards an HIV cure, focused on ethical aspects, as well as considerations to guide trial design, benefit/risk determinations, regulatory requirements, prioritization and sequencing and timing of interventions, among others. Informants also provided considerations related to combining specific HIV cure research modalities, such as broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), cell and gene modification products, latency-reversing agents and immune-based interventions. Finally, informants provided suggestions to ensure meaningful therapeutic improvements over standard antiretroviral therapy, overcome challenges of designing combination approaches, and engage communities around combination HIV cure research. Conclusion: The increasing number of combination HIV cure trials brings with them a host of ethical and practical challenges. We hope our paper will inform meaningful stakeholder dialogue around the use of combinatorial HIV cure research approaches. To protect the public trust in HIV cure research, considerations should be periodically revisited and updated with key stakeholder input as the science continues to advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A unique window of opportunity currently exists to generate ethical and practical considerations presented by interventional HIV cure-related research at the end-of-life (EOL). Because participants would enroll in these studies for almost completely altruistic reasons, they are owed the highest ethical standards, safeguards, and protections. This qualitative empirical ethics study sought to identify ethical and practical considerations for interventional HIV cure-related research at the EOL. Methods and findings: We conducted 20 in-depth interviews and three virtual focus groups (N = 36) with four key stakeholder groups in the United States: 1) bioethicists, 2) people with HIV, 3) HIV care providers, and 4) HIV cure researchers. This study produced six key themes to guide the ethical implementation of interventional HIV cure-related research at the EOL: 1) all stakeholder groups supported this research conditioned upon a clearly delineated respect for participant contribution and autonomy, participant understanding and comprehension of the risks associated with the specific intervention(s) to be tested, and broad community support for testing of the proposed intervention(s); 2) to ensure acceptable benefit-risk profiles, researchers should focus on limiting the risks of unintended effects and minimizing undue pain and suffering at the EOL; 3) only well-vetted interventions that are supported by solid pre-clinical data should be tested in the EOL translational research model; 4) the informed consent process must be robust and include process consent; 5) research protocols should be flexible and adopt a patient/participant centered approach to minimize burdens and ensure their overall comfort and safety; and 6) a participant's next-of-kin/loved ones should be a major focus of EOL research but only if the participant consents to such involvement. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this empirical ethics study generated the first ethical and practical considerations for interventional HIV cure-related research at the EOL. The ethical complexities of such research must be considered now. We must navigate this ethical conundrum so that we are good stewards of the participants' extremely altruistic gifts by maximizing the impact and social value of this research. We hope that this study will serve as the foundation for future research and discussion on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation in social behaviors that enhance group-level fitness may be influenced by mutations that affect patterns of social epistasis in human populations. Mutations that cause individuals to not participate in these behaviors may weaken the ability of members of a group to coordinate and regulate behavior, which may in turn negatively affect fitness. To investigate the possibility that de novo mutations degrade these adaptive social behaviors, we examine the effect of paternal age (as a well-established proxy for de novo mutation load) on one such social behavior, namely religious observance, since religiosity may be a group-level cultural adaptation facilitating enhanced social coordination. Using two large samples (Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and AddHealth), each of a different US birth cohort, paternal age was used to hierarchically predict respondent's level of church attendance after controlling for multiple covariates. The effect is absent in WLS (β =.007, ns, N = 4560); however, it is present in AddHealth (β = −.046, p <.05, N = 4873) increasing the adjusted model R2 by.005. The WLS respondents were (mostly) born in the 1930s, whereas the AddHealth respondents were (mostly) born in the 1970s. This may indicate that social-epistatic regulation of behavior has weakened historically in the USA, which might stem from and enhance the ability for de novo mutations to influence behavior among more recently born cohorts—paralleling the secular rise in the heritability of age at sexual debut after the sexual revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the life and work of Sei Fujii, a lawyer and plaintiff in the 1952 case of Fujii v. California in which the Supreme Court ruled against the state's Alien Land Law on constitutional grounds. Topics discussed include the documentary film "Lil Tokyo Reporter," based on Fujii's life as the founder of the "Kashu Mainichi" newspaper in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo and producing a radio program to highlight Japanese Americans' contributions to Los Angeles community.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of different overdenture attachment systems on the stress generated in peri-implant bone during overdenture dislodgement and loading. Two implants were placed in the canine regions on an acrylic edentulous mandibular model. Four strain gauges were attached to the resin surface adjacent to the left implant. Bar, ball, and magnetic attachments were examined. Three experimental overdentures were fabricated, and the denture parts of the attachment systems were incorporated into the mucosal surface. Retentive forces and strains generated in peri-implant bone during three types of dislodgement (vertical, anterior and posterior) and loading (left first molar region, right first molar region and mid-anterior region) were measured. The bar attachment showed the highest retentive force and reduced strain on posterior dislodgement. The ball attachment demonstrated the largest strain on loading at molar regions. The magnetic attachment showed the smallest retentive force and little strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The generalized Trivers-Willard hypothesis (gTWH) proposes that parents who possess any heritable trait which increases male reproductive success at a greater rate than female reproductive success in a given environment will have a higher-than-expected offspring sex ratio, and parents who possess any heritable trait which increases the female reproductive success at a greater rate than male reproductive success in a given environment will have a lower-than-expected offspring sex ratio. Aim: One heritable trait which increases the reproductive success of sons much more than that of daughters is unrestricted sociosexual orientation. We therefore predict that parents with unrestricted sociosexual orientation (measured by the number of sexual partners, frequency of sex, and attitudes toward relationship commitment and sexual exclusivity) have a higher-than-expected offspring sex ratio (more sons). Subjects and method: We analyse the US General Social Surveys and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), both with large nationally representative samples. Results: Our analyses support the prediction from the gTWH. Conclusion: One standard deviation increase in unrestrictedness of sociosexual orientation increases the odds of having a son by 12-19% in the representative American samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Included in the Cooperative Cope Thunder exercises from Japan to Alaska is one of the longest distance flight missions carried out by Japan Air-Self Defense Force F-15 pilots. The magnitude of the flight stress of these pilots is considered to be quite high. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the flight stress induced by the long-distance flights. The subjects were eight pilots who participated on a volunteer basis. Samples of urine were collected ~30 minutes before (preflight) and 20 minutes after (postflight) the flights. The ratios (post-:preflight) of noradrenaline levels were 1.20 ± 0.09 (Japan-Alaska) and 1.32 ± 0.12 (Alaska-Japan), and those of adrenaline were 4.03 ± 1.06 and 3.68 ± 0.98. These results strongly suggest that psychological stress during the long-distance flights is increased in the fighter pilots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical scholarship on the politics of nineteenth-century Chinese immigration emphasizes the interests of labor and management in the genesis of congressional legislation in 1882 that limited Chinese immigration into the United States. This article examines early state attempts at the exclusion of Chinese workers after the first major wave of Chinese immigration during the California Gold Rush. Opposition to exclusion occurred in California in the early 1850s because Chinese immigrants were important taxpayers when both the state and localities were experiencing major fiscal difficulties. State attempts to legislate exclusion were successful only after financial conditions improved in the late 1850s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analyses of the General Social Survey data from 1974 to 2000 replicate earlier findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth that racial disparity in earnings disappears once cognitive ability is controlled for. The results are robust across many alternative specifications, and further show that blacks receive significantly greater returns to their cognitive ability than nonblacks. The trend data show that there was no sign of racial discrimination in the United States as early as 1970s. The analyses call into question the necessity of and justification for preferential treatment of ethnic minorities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can evolutionary psychology explain human behavior in post-industrial societies? Critics point out that, contrary to its prediction, wealthy men in contemporary societies do not have more children than poor men. I replicate Pérusse's (1993) finding with a large, representative sample and demonstrate that, while they do not have more children, wealthy men nonetheless have more sex partners and copulate more frequently than poor men. They would therefore have achieved greater reproductive success in the ancestral environment without effective means of contraception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an economic perspective on the historical origins of restrictions on an important class of water transfers, namely, ones involving groundwater in California in the nineteenth century. Important conceptual issues related to the economic determinants of property rights definition; Relationship of these issues to common law; Doctrinal antecedents to California law in early civil law and English common law.

Putnam [J. Democracy 6 (1995) Putnam, R. D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000). New York: Simon & Schuster.] claims that Americans are socially and civically disengaged because they watch too much TV. I contend that, because evolved psychological mechanisms have difficulty comprehending entities that did not exist in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA), humans should fail to distinguish between real friends and the imaginary ones they see on TV. Consistent with my contention, the analysis of the US General Social Survey (GSS) data indicates that people who watch certain types of TV are more satisfied with their friendships as if they had more friends and socialized with them more often. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reports the social problem regarding desertion of children by noncustodial parents in the United States. Impact of parental support on the children; Amount of support afforded by custodial parents to the children; Possible reasons for child desertion; Association with parental desertion to the age of children.

Reports on the United States government policy on product liability. Coherent rules and policies; Avoidance of labels; General theory of reasonableness.

Examines the political economy of public land disposal from 1789 to 1830 in the United States. Evolution of federal policies for disposal of public lands; Impact of squatters on policy change; Results of an econometric analysis of congressional roll-call voting.

Examines the early development of California water law from 1850 to 1911 to understand how such a hybrid system emerged and how well it promoted economic growth. Argument that 19th-century jurists worked within the confines of the doctrine to mitigate some of its potential inefficiencies; Existence of evidence that jurists selectively promoted appropriative claims in order to encourage reallocation of water from existing riparian uses.

Many policy analysts have criticized and continue to criticize the pricing policies of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for encouraging western farmers to consume excessive amounts of water. The conclusions presented in the article concern the longer-run effects of bureau pricing on entry and exit from western agriculture. The analysis has assumed, for example, that increasing the bureau price will not drive marginal farmers out of the market. The important question remains of determining the nature of the effect on entry and exit of increasing or decreasing the bureau pricing subsidy. The conclusions presented in the article hold with greater force when the entry-exit response is small.

The article analyzes the implications of entitlement ceilings for U.S. federal water policies and several proposals for policy reform, including eliminating transfer restrictions, reducing pricing subsidies and imposing groundwater pump taxes. According to the article, farmers buy water from the Bureau of Reclamation under long-term contracts that exempt them from repaying interest costs that the Bureau incurs in developing the water. Both state and federal law and the Bureau's administrative practices mandate a variety of restrictions on subsequent transfer.

Abstract: Human can easily detect other’s eyes and gaze from early in life. Such sensitivity is supported by the contrast polarity of human eyes, which have a white sclera contrasting with the darker colored iris (Kobayashi & Kohshima, (1997). Nature, 387, 767–768; Kobayashi & Kohshima, (2001). Journal of Human Evolution, 40, 419–435). Recent studies suggest that the contrast polarity around the eyes plays an important role in infants’ face processing. Newborns preferred upright face images to inverted ones in contrast-preserved faces, but not in contrast-reversed faces (Farroni et al., (2005). Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102, p. 17245–17250). Seven- to 8-month-old infants failed to discriminate between faces when the contrast polarity of eyes was reversed (Otsuka et al., (2013). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115, 598–606). Neuroimaging study with adults revealed that full-negative faces induced less activation in the right fusiform gyrus than either full-positive faces or negative faces with contrast-preserved eyes (Gilad et al., (2009). Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, p. 5353–5358). In the present study, we investigated whether contrast-reversed eyes diminish infants’ brain activity related to face processing. We measured hemodynamic responses in the bilateral temporal area of 5- to 6-month-old infants. Their hemodynamic responses to faces with positive eyes and those with negative eyes were compared against the baseline activation during the presentation of object images. We found that the presentation of faces with positive eyes increased the concentration of oxy-Hb in the right temporal area and those of total-Hb in the bilateral temporal areas. No such change occurred for faces with negative eyes. Our results suggest the importance of contrast polarity of the eyes in the face-selective neural responses from early development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]