Kevin MacDonald

... Social and personality development: An evolutionary synthesis. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: MacDonald, Kevin B. ... SUBJECT(S): Socialization; Personalitydevelopment; Parent and child; Genetic psychology; Sociobiology. DISCIPLINE: No discipline ...

... Page 2. 4 Kevin MacDonald of asymmetries in genetic self-interest (see Chaps. 10 & 11 for a more detailed account). These events paved the way for EO Wilson's (1975) highly influential work, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. ...

ABSTRACT The main thrust of Frost's comment on my article (MacDonald 1990) is that polygyny is “limited” or nonexistent among human societies with the exception of those in Subsaharan Africa and New Guinea. The issue raised is an important one for an evolutionary account of human societies. Resource polygyny follows naturally from the evolutionary theory of sex. Roughly, males are expected to benefit much more than females by having multiple mates, so that under certain ecological conditions, males are expected to compete for females as a limiting resource. I argue here that an evolutionary/ ecological approach is not incompatible with supposing that there are ecological circumtances in which polygyny is absent or highly limited. The point is that these conditions did not occur in the populations of Western Europe, so that there is no ecological reason to suppose that the polygyny which did occur was limited in any interesting sense. There are, however, non-ecological reasons which might have limited polygyny, and these will be considered as well.

... A people that shall dwell alone: Judaism as a group evolutionary strategy. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ... PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xi, 302 p. SUBJECT(S): Jews; Collectivism; Judaism; Antisemitism; Social conditions; Identity; Segregation; History; Philosophy. ...

ABSTRACT The goal of this special section is to provide an evolutionary framework for conceptualising children's resource-directed behaviour in peer relationships. Resource-directed behaviour is of importance for an evolutionary approach to behaviour because it raises fundamental theoretical issues centring on the role of self-interest, co-operation, competition, and altruism in human relationships. These issues have been central to biological theory since Darwin but they have taken on increased importance in recent years. Indeed, one might say that the revolution in evolutionary biology which has occurred since the publication of G.C. Williams' Adaptation and natural selection (1966) and E.O. W ilson's Sociobiology: The new synthesis (1975) has been fundamentally concerned with these issues. At the heart of these issues is the question of altruism. It would be difficult to overestimate the theoretical importance of altruism in evolutionary accounts of behaviour. Altruism is deeply problematic because it implies that individuals engage in self-sacrificing behaviour which benefits others. Such behaviour could only evolve as the result of natural selection at the level of the group, and indeed, beginning with Darwin, several theorists have put forward this possibility (Darwin, 1871): It must not be forgotten that although a high standard of morality gives but a slight or no advantage to each individual man and his children of the same tribe, yet an increase in the number of well-endowed men and advancement in the standard of morality will certainly give an immense advantage to one tribe over another. A tribe including many members who, possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sym pathy, who were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the comm on good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection (p. 500).

We report that a light-induced structural transformation between different phases of gallium provides a mechanism for a strong optical nonlinearity. The nonlinearity has been studied in transient pump-probe experiments on nanoparticle films deposited on the ends of optical fibers. The magnitude and relaxation time of the response show hysteretic dependencies on temperature in the range from 100 to 300 K, are enhanced near the phase transition points and disappear at temperatures above 220 K.

ABSTRACT A new optical near-field force between plasmonic metamaterials and dielectric/metallic surfaces is identified. It can exceed Casimir, radiation and gravitational forces to provide an optically-controlled adhesion mechanism mimicking the gecko toe.

In a single gallium nanoparticulate, self-assembled (from an atomic beam) in a nano-aperture at the tip of a tapered optical fiber, we have observed evidence for a sequence of reversible light-induced transformations between five different structural phases (gamma - epsilon - delta - beta - liquid), stimulated by optical excitation at nanowatt power levels.

ABSTRACT form only given. For more than ten years now, significant effort has been focused on the engineering of metamaterials to achieve artificial optical magnetism, most notably for applications in negative refractive media. However, the challenges associated with the fact that the metals conventionally employed as the foundation of photonic metamaterials suffer from high inherent energy dissipation due to resistive losses remain. It has been shown recently that dielectric structures can provide optical magnetic responses based on Mie/cavity resonances [1] and here we experimentally demonstrate that near-infrared magnetic resonances, analogous to the 'trapped mode' response familiar to metallic asymmetric split rings [2], can be realized in all-dielectric metamaterials via coupling between pairs of closely spaced, geometrically dissimilar nano-bars.Metamaterial samples were fabricated in PECVD silicon films on silica substrates by focused ion beam milling. These comprise square arrays of 900 nm unit cells, each containing a dissimilar pair of silicon bars with identical height and width but differing lengths (Fig. 1a). Optical transmission, reflection and absorption spectra for the metamaterial show a resonance at around λ = 1700 nm for normally incident light polarized (i.e. with electric field) parallel to the long axis of the dielectric nano-bars (Fig. 1b). The critical importance of the asymmetry within the metamaterial unit cell to this resonance is illustrated by control samples with symmetric unit cells, comprising pairs of identical bars, which display no resonance (Fig. 1c). Full three-dimensional numerical simulations reveal that the resonance in the asymmetric dielectric array originates from electric coupling to the magnetic resonances of the structure. The magnetic resonance quality factor to values Q ~15 in current experimental samples by fabrication imperfections but the computational model indicates that Q-factors of several hundred may b- achieved by silicon-based metamaterials in the visible and near-infrared spectral range.In summary, we experimentally demonstrate a new form of planar dielectric metamaterial, comprising asymmetric silicon nano-bar unit cells, exhibiting a sharp magnetic resonance in the VIS-NIR range. Such structures open new paths to the realization of low loss magnetism at optical frequencies and the exploitation of optical forces on the nanoscale, and they present new opportunities for controlling the output of quantum emitters and developing 'lasing spasers'.

Two types of automotive-related wastes, namely Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) which is a fibreglass-reinforced polymer and automotive (shredder) fluff (AF) are examined for their potential recyclability. The potential recycling techniques first involve the pyrolysis of either the SMC or AF and then the incorporation of the residual ash (either pyrolysed SMC (PSMC) or pyrolysed automotive fluff (PAF)) into concrete. The research results show that PSMC incorporation improves some of the properties of concrete, namely it increases the strength, reduces the alkali-aggregate (A–R) reactivity and increases the resistance to chloride ion diffusion. Also, using PSMC does not significantly change the freeze-thaw characteristics of the concrete. Using PAF in concrete can also reduce the A–R reactivity, but PAF additions have a negative influence on other properties such as strength, sulphate resistance and drying shrinkage.

The neuromuscular system of helminths controls a variety of essential biological processes and therefore represents a good source of novel drug targets. The neuroactive substance, acetylcholine controls movement of Schistosoma mansoni but the mode of action is poorly understood. Here, we present first evidence of a functional G protein-coupled acetylcholine receptor in S. mansoni, which we have named SmGAR. A bioinformatics analysis indicated that SmGAR belongs to a clade of invertebrate GAR-like receptors and is related to vertebrate muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Functional expression studies in yeast showed that SmGAR is constitutively active but can be further activated by acetylcholine and, to a lesser extent, the cholinergic agonist, carbachol. Anti-cholinergic drugs, atropine and promethazine, were found to have inverse agonist activity towards SmGAR, causing a significant decrease in the receptor's basal activity. An RNAi phenotypic assay revealed that suppression o...

Globally, asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease affecting over 300 million people. Some asthma patients remain poorly controlled by conventional therapies and experience more life-threatening exacerbations. Vitamin D, as an adjunct therapy, may improve disease control in severe asthma patients since vitamin D enhances glucocorticoid responsiveness and mitigates airway smooth muscle (ASM) hyperplasia. We sought to characterize differences in transcriptome responsiveness to vitamin D between fatal asthma- and non-asthma-derived ASM by using RNA-Seq to measure ASM transcript expression in five donors with fatal asthma and ten non-asthma-derived donors at baseline and with vitamin D treatment. Based on a Benjamini-Hochberg corrected p-value <0.05, 838 genes were differentially expressed in fatal asthma vs. non-asthma-derived ASM at baseline, and vitamin D treatment compared to baseline conditions induced differential expression of 711 and 867 genes in fatal asthma- and...

Decreasing hospital length of stay may attenuate costs associated with total knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine if updates to an existing orthopedic enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway would improve length of hospitalization. Clinical and demographic data were collected on 252 primary total knee arthroplasties between January 2012 and July 2013. Pre-updated and post-updated ERAS pathway cohorts were analyzed for length of stay, clinical outcomes, and re-admissions. The mean length of stay decreased from 76.6hours to 56.1hours after implementation of the evidence-based orthopedic enhanced recovery after surgery pathway (P<0.001). This improvement was possible without a concomitant increase in readmission rates.

This paper proposes a theory of different types of Conduct Disorder based on individual differences in five sex-differentiated evolved personality systems: The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) underlying sensation seeking and aggressive pursuit of reward and social dominance; the Nurturance/Pair Bonding System, low levels of which are linked to the callous-coldhearted personality trait associated with behavior that victimizes others; the Reactivity/Affect Intensity System underlying individual differences in emotional intensity, most notably, in proneness to anger; the Prefrontal Executive Control underlying the ability to control sub-cortical impulses related to behavioral approach and emotionality; and the Behavioral Inhibition System underlying fear and other reactions to personal threat. The most socially destructive combination of these traits appears in individuals who are callous-coldhearted and high on behavioral approach. When low in prefrontal executive control, such indiv...

The concept of general intelligence as measured by standard IQ tests has always been a difficult fit for evolutionary psychology. This paper argues that intelligence is a set of domain general abilities which was not designed to solve any specific problem from the human evolutionary past. Rather, general intelligence equips humans to make mental models of the environment and to develop action plans based on these models. It is thus ideally suited to solve evolutionarily ancient problems of survival and reproduction, but also to solve novel problems and to create ideologies (e.g., Marxism) that guide and rationalize behavior. In the human Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA), these action plans evolved as means of achieving affective states, such as assuaging hunger, achieving social status, or other evolved goal states. Moreover, it is argued that the most important mechanism underlying general intelligence, the executive processes of working memory, is not tied to regulari...

Optical responses in conventional metamaterials based on plasmonic metal nanostructures are inevitably accompanied by Joule losses, which obstruct practical applications by limiting resonance quality factors and compromising the efficiency of metamaterial devices. Here we experimentally demonstrate a fully-dielectric metamaterial that exhibits a 'trapped mode' resonance at optical frequencies, founded upon the excitation by incident light of anti-parallel displacement currents in meta-molecules comprising pairs of parallel, geometrically dissimilar dielectric nano-bars. The phenomenon is demonstrated in the near-infrared part of the spectrum using silicon, showing that in principle strong, lossless resonant responses are possible anywhere in the optical spectral range.

Recent scholarly work has emphasized the importance of evolutionary theory as an element of Freud's thought. This paper compares the evolutionary logic of Civilization and Its Discontentswith modern evolutionary logic, as represented by human sociobiology. Some ...

persistent theme among critics of Jews—particularly those on the pre-World War II right—has been that the Bolshevik revolution was a Jewish revolution and that the Soviet Union was dominated by Jews. This theme appears in a wide range of writings, from Henry Ford's International Jew, to published statements by a long list of British, French, and American political figures in

Acetylcholine is the canonical excitatory neurotransmitter of the mammalian neuromuscular system. However, in the trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni, cholinergic stimulation leads to muscle relaxation and a flaccid paralysis, suggesting an inhibitory mode of action. Information about the pharmacological mechanism of this inhibition is lacking. Here, we used a combination of techniques to assess the role of cholinergic receptors in schistosome motor function. The neuromuscular effects of acetylcholine are typically mediated by gated cation channels of the nicotinic receptor (nAChR) family. Bioinformatics analyses identified numerous nAChR subunits in the S. mansoni genome but, interestingly, nearly half of these subunits carried a motif normally associated with chloride-selectivity. These putative schistosome acetylcholine-gated chloride channels (SmACCs) are evolutionarily divergent from those of nematodes and form a unique clade within the larger family of nAChRs. Pharmacologic...

Beginning in the ancient world, Jewish populations have repeatedly attained a position of power and influence within Western societies. I will discuss Jewish background traits conducive to influence: ethnocentrism, intelligence and wealth, psychological intensity, aggressiveness, with most of the focus on ethnocentrism. I discuss Jewish ethnocentrism in its historical, anthropological, and evolutionary context and in its relation to three critical

The history of Zionism illustrates a dynamic within the Jewish community in which the most radical elements end up pulling the entire community in their direction. Zionism began among the most ethnocentric Eastern European Jews and had explicitly racialist and nationalist overtones. However, Zionism was viewed as dangerous among the wider Jewish community, especially the partially assimilated Jews in Western countries, because it opened Jews up to charges of disloyalty and because the Zionists' open racialism and ethnocentric nationalism conflicted with the assimilationist strategy then dominant among Western Jews. Zionist activists eventually succeeded in making Zionism a mainstream Jewish movement, due in large part to the sheer force of numbers of the Eastern European vanguard. Over time, the more militant, expansionist Zionists (the Jabotinskyists, the Likud Party, fundamentalists, and West Bank settlers) have won the day and have continued to push for territorial expansion...

... In this paper, an existing pervious concrete pavement was analyzed for stiffness and fatigue by means of Westergaard's theory of a medium-thick plate on a Winkler foundation. ... Verifying Application of Westergaard's Theory with ISLAB2005 ...