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This paper addresses the question of whether higher welfare benefit levels help or hurt poor children in the long run. The effect of the AFDC guarantee on the number of years of schooling children completed by 1985 is examined with longitudinal survey data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The findings indicate that higher AFDC guarantees available to children following the separation of their parents are associated with higher education attainment. The findings suggest that, rather than creating a negative environment for children, welfare is used by the family in positive ways as are other resources available to the family, such as the family's own income and help from friends and relatives. The overall effect of the welfare guarantee is due mainly to the impact of the guarantee on increasing the likelihood that children complete 1 to 4 years of postsecondary school.

Abstract: To identify prospectively measured risk factors of sexual assault (SA) among girls age 17 and younger. The data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and are derived from interviews with 1,087 girls, their primary caregivers, and household heads. The data were collected from the girls’ first year of life through their early twenties. Factors measured during childhood were used to predict whether the girls experienced a subsequent first sexual assault before the age of 18. Prospectively measured risk factors associated with subsequent child SA included the absence of one or both parents, maternal education less than college, family income below 400% of the federal poverty threshold, low caregiver warmth, child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, impulsivity, low achievement scores, and having been classified by their school as needing special education. Girls with behavioral health problems and learning challenges are at heightened risk for sexual assault. Research on behavioral health consequences of SA should control for preexisting SA risk factors to more accurately estimate the impact of child SA on subsequent behavioral health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Familial late-onset Alzheimer''s disease (LOAD) shows high heritability. However, with the exception of ApoE, no well-replicated susceptibility genes have been identified to date. Several genome-wide linkage studies have nominated potential susceptibility loci but results are inconsistent, with individual scans showing few significant LOD scores. We have pooled linkage results from five independent genome scans and used the genome search meta-analysis (GSMA) method to analyse these data. The combined sample results in 2206 affected individuals and 785 families from Caucasian and Caribbean Hispanic ethnicities. The Caucasian samples included subjects from the US, the Netherlands and Sweden. Genome-wide suggestive evidence for linkage was observed on chromosomes 1p13.3-q31.1, 7pter-p21.1 and 8p22-p21.1 in the weighted GSMA analysis. The chromosome 8p region achieved the lowest summed rank p-value of 0.001. We also identified seven loci with nominally significant evidence for linkage to 3q12.3-q22.1, 6p21.1-q15, 7p14.1-q21.11, 17q24.3-qter and 19p13.3-qter. The GSMA finding suggests that these loci may harbour susceptibility genes for LOAD. We have also developed a web resource (http://alzres.iop.kcl.ac.uk/) to present additional GSMA analyses with different study selection criteria, facilitate the reanalysis of genome-wide linkage data and provide open access to the GSMA data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Amongst the family members of Cys-loop LGICs, the atypical ability of the 5-HT3A subunit to form functional homomeric receptors allowed a direct investigation of the role of the C-terminus. Deletion of the three C-terminal amino acids (ΔGln453-ΔTyr454-ΔAla455) from the h5-HT3A subunit prevented formation of a specific radioligand binding site as well as expression within the cell membrane. Removal of merely the C-terminal residue (ΔAla455) reduced specific radioligand binding (to 4±1% relative to the wild-type; cells grown at 37°C) and also cell membrane expression; these reductions were less evident when the ΔAla455 expressing cells were grown at 27°C (specific radioligand binding levels 27±5% relative to wild-type also grown at 27°C). Mutation of the h5-HT3A C-terminal amino acid, alanine, for either glycine (Ala455Gly), valine (Ala455Val) or leucine (Ala455Leu) reduced specific radioligand binding levels by 24±23%, 32±12% and 88±1%, respectively; the latter mutant also displaying reduced membrane expression. In contrast, mutation to alanine of the two amino acids preceding the C-terminal alanine (Gln453Ala and Tyr454Ala) had no detrimental effects on specific radioligand binding or cell membrane expression levels. The present study demonstrates an important role for the C-terminus in the formation of the functional h5-HT3A receptor. The partial restoration of 5-HT3 receptor binding and cell membrane expression when cells expressing C-terminal mutant 5-HT3A subunits were grown at a lower temperature (27°C) suggests that the C-terminus stabilises the 5-HT3 receptor allowing subunit folding and subsequent maturation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sulloway's 'born to rebel' hypothesis posits that later-borns develop personality characteristics which diverge from the status quo. Considering inconsistencies in the birth order literature as well as theoretical and methodological criticisms levied against this theory, we tested predictions derived from it using a sample of N = 2011 participants from the UK and Poland. We predicted later-borns would more likely have tattoos, and that this would be mediated by openness, risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and need for uniqueness. Tattooed individuals had higher risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and need for uniqueness, but birth order was not a predictor of having tattoos. Furthermore, although later-borns had higher risk-taking and sensation-seeking, they had lower need for uniqueness. Our results do not provide support for the 'born to rebel' hypothesis. • The 'born to rebel' hypothesis posits later-borns are more likely to diverge from the status quo. • Study tests if first-borns and later-borns differ in personality and likelihood of having tattoos. • First-borns and later-borns did not differ in having tattoos, or in number or visibility of tattoos. • Later-borns reported higher risk-taking and sensation-seeking but lower need for uniqueness. • Tattooed individuals reported higher risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and need for uniqueness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tattoos bring risks yet no obvious evolutionary benefit. Koziel et al. (2010) reported increased fluctuating symmetry (a proxy for low developmental instability) in tattooed men, suggesting they could serve as fitness indicators.Aims: We replicate and extend the findings of Koziel et al. by examining fluctuating asymmetry of finger lengths and digit ratio (2D:4D) (a putative indicator of prenatal testosterone exposure) as predictors of adult tattoo prevalence.Study Design: We used an online survey with a correlational design.Subjects: Participants were recruited from the UK and Poland via university participant pools and social media. Data were available for presence/absence of tattoos and at least one predictor variable (composite Fluctuating Asymmetry [cFA], right-hand digit ratio [R2D:4D] and left-hand digit ratio [L2D:4D]) for n = 186 males and n = 997 females.Outcome Measures: We firstly assessed presence/absence of tattoos; when at least one tattoo was present, we also examined overall number and highest visibility.Results: Greater cFA was associated with lower likelihood of having tattoos in males, though in females greater cFA was associated with higher numbers of tattoos. R2D:4D and L2D:4D correlated negatively with number of tattoos in males, and a positive correlation between L2D:4D and number of tattoos was observed in females. However, these latter findings did not remain significant after controlling for covariates.Conclusions: Tattoos may act as fitness indicators in males, though this explanation appears not to extend to females. Prenatal testosterone may also play a role, though doubt is cast on this premise because 2D:4D effects did not remain statistically significant after controlling for covariates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Serotonin type 3 (5-HT3) receptor partial agonists are being targeted as potential new drugs for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Two new chemical series bearing indazole and indole cores have exhibited nanomolar binding affinity for the h5-HT3A receptor. A range of partial agonist activities in HEK cells heterologously expressing the h5-HT3A receptor were measured for the indazole series. Excellent 5-HT3 receptor selectivity, favorable in vitro metabolic stability and CYP inhibition properties, and good oral in vivo potency in the murine von Bezold–Jarisch reflex model is exemplified thereby indicating the series to have potential utility as improved IBS agents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of motor neurons that results in progressive weakness and death from respiratory failure, commonly within about 3 years. Previous studies have shown association of a locus on chromosome 9p with ALS and linkage with ALS-frontotemporal dementia. We aimed to test whether this genomic region is also associated with ALS in an independent set of UK samples, and to identify risk factors associated with ALS in a further genome-wide association study that combined data from the independent analysis with those from other countries.Methods: We collected samples from patients with sporadic ALS from 20 UK hospitals and obtained UK control samples from the control groups of the Depression Case Control study, the Bipolar Affective Case Control Study, and the British 1958 birth cohort DNA collection. Genotyping of DNA in this independent analysis was done with Illumina HumanHap550 BeadChips. We then undertook a joint genome-wide analysis that combined data from the independent set with published data from the UK, USA, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, France, Sweden, and Belgium. The threshold for significance was p=0·05 in the independent analysis, because we were interested in replicating a small number of previously reported associations, whereas the Bonferroni-corrected threshold for significance in the joint analysis was p=2·20×10(-7)Findings: After quality control, samples were available from 599 patients and 4144 control individuals in the independent set. In this analysis, two single nucleotide polymorphisms in a locus on chromosome 9p21.2 were associated with ALS: rs3849942 (p=2·22×10(-6); odds ratio [OR] 1·39, 95% CI 1·21-1·59) and rs2814707 (p=3·32×10(-6); 1·38, 1·20-1·58). In the joint analysis, which included samples from 4312 patients with ALS and 8425 control individuals, rs3849942 (p=4·64×10(-10); OR 1·22, 95% CI 1·15-1·30) and rs2814707 (p=4·72×10(-10); 1·22, 1·15-1·30) were associated with ALS.Interpretation: We have found strong evidence of a genetic association of two single nucleotide polymorphisms on chromosome 9 with sporadic ALS, in line with findings from previous independent GWAS of ALS and linkage studies of ALS-frontotemporal dementia. Our findings together with these earlier findings suggest that genetic variation at this locus on chromosome 9 causes sporadic ALS and familial ALS-frontotemporal dementia. Resequencing studies and then functional analysis should be done to identify the defective gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]