Are LGBTQ legislators effective lawmakers? We build on theories that link voter discrimination to legislative effectiveness by arguing that voters’ biases against LGBTQ candidates narrow the candidate pool, leading to the election of only the most experienced and qualified LGBTQ candidates. As a result of this electoral selection effect, we expect that LGBTQ legislators will be more effective lawmakers than their non-LGBTQ counterparts. To test this, we combine data on state legislators’ LGBTQ identification with their State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES). Our findings reveal that LGBTQ legislators are meaningfully more effective than non-LGBTQ legislators. To link our findings to voter discrimination, we leverage over-time variation in discrimination toward LGBTQ individuals. Across four tests, we consistently find that LGBTQ lawmakers elected in high-discrimination environments are more effective than those elected from less discriminatory environments.

The lattice parameters and the crystal and magnetic structures of Fe2SiO4 have been determined from 10 K to 1453 K by high-resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. Fe2SiO4 undergoes two antiferromagnetic phase transformations on cooling from room temperature: the first, at 65.4 K, is to a collinear antiferromagnet with moments on two symmetry-independent Fe ions; the second transition, at ~23 K, is to a structure in which the moments on one of the sets of Fe ions (those on the ‘M1 site’) become canted. The magnetic unit cell is identical to the crystallographic (chemical) unit cell and the space group remains Pbnm throughout. The magnetic structures have been refined and the results found to be in good agreement with previous studies; however, we have determined the spontaneous magnetostrictive strains, which have not been reported previously. In the paramagnetic phase of Fe2SiO4, at temperatures of 70 K and above, we find that the temperature dependence of the linear thermal expansion coefficient of the b axis takes an unusual form. In contrast to the behaviour of the expansion coefficients of the unit-cell volume and of the a and c axes, which show the expected reduction in magnitude below ~300 K, that of the b axis remains almost constant between ~70 K and 1000 K.

Changes in plasma Cortisol concentrations in response to a stimulus have been used to indicate aversiveness. Hormone concentrations at any time point depend on the interaction between an animal's previous experience and its present physiological state. In order to assess how an animal's perception of, and thus its response to, a stimulus change as it gains experience of the stimulus, eight Welsh Mountain ewes were subject to 2h road transport daily on three occasions and then once again 4 days later. Differences in Cortisol concentrations in plasma samples taken every 15min were assessed using a general linear model and Tukey's test.

Stable perovskite and metastable post-perovskite NaCoF3 were deformed in pure-shear geometry in a deformation-DIA press with radiographic monitoring of the sample strain. In isothermal experiments where there was no transformation, post-perovskite was found to be 5 times weaker than perovskite. In temperature-ramping experiments where post-perovskite transformed to perovskite during the deformation experiment the initial post-perovskite sample was 5–10 times weaker than perovskite under comparable conditions and their strengths converged during the transformation, being equal on completion of the transformation. These results confirm recent findings which show that postperovskite is weaker than perovskite, regardless of the prior history of the sample.

The thermal diffusivity of diopside, jadeite and enstatite were measured at simultaneous pressures and temperatures of up to 7 GPa and 1200 K using the X-radiographic Ångström method. The measurements herein show that the pressure dependency of thermal diffusivity in pyroxenes is significantly greater than in olivine or garnet and that in the MORB-layer of a subducting slab the thermal diffusivity of pyroxenes are a factor of 1.5 greater than that of olivine. The temperature dependence of all the data sets is well described by a low-order polynomial fit to 1/K and the pressure dependence is exponential in 1/K, formulations which are consistent with the damped harmonic oscillator model for thermal properties.

This is a subject which during recent years has aroused considerable interest in all industries and particularly in the aircraft industry and a large amount of investigation work has been carried out. In some industries, both light and heavy, the growth of welding as a “ production tool ” has been phenomenal, and the same growth is at the present time occurring in the structural steel work and shipbuilding industries. If one views this change which is taking place it will be observed that the change is entirely at the expense of riveting and bolting, and before proceeding I will roughly summarise the general disadvantages of these two processes.

In general population samples, better childhood cognitive functioning is associated with decreased risk of depression in adulthood. However, this link has not been examined in extremely low birth weight survivors (ELBW, <1000 g), a group known to have poorer cognition and greater depression risk. This study assessed associations between cognition at age 8 and lifetime risk of major depressive disorder in 84 ELBW survivors and 90 normal birth weight (NBW, ⩾2500 g) individuals up to 29–36 years of age. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Revised (WISC-R), Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices and the Token Test assessed general, fluid, and verbal intelligence, respectively, at 8 years of age. Lifetime major depressive disorder was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview at age 29–36 years. Associations were examined using logistic regression adjusted for childhood socioeconomic status, educational attainment, age, sex, and marital status. Neither overall intelligence quotient (IQ) [WISC-R Full-Scale IQ, odds ratios (OR)=0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.43–1.77], fluid intelligence (WISC-R Performance IQ, OR=0.98, 95% CI=0.48–2.00), nor verbal intelligence (WISC-R Verbal IQ, OR=0.81, 95% CI=0.40–1.63) predicted lifetime major depression in ELBW survivors. However, every standard deviation increase in WISC-R Full-Scale IQ (OR=0.43, 95% CI=0.20–0.92) and Performance IQ (OR=0.46, 95% CI=0.21–0.97), and each one point increase on the Token Test (OR=0.80, 95% CI=0.67–0.94) at age 8 was associated with a reduced risk of lifetime depression in NBW participants. Higher childhood IQ, better fluid intelligence, and greater verbal comprehension in childhood predicted reduced depression risk in NBW adults. Our findings suggest that ELBW survivors may be less protected by superior cognition than NBW individuals.

Fertility performance is intrinsically linked to the quality of the animal environment, overall management and nutrition. This review describes the use of dairy herd records, metabolic profiles and ultrasonographic findings at veterinary fertility examinations to monitor and manage dairy herd fertility. After calving, a cow has to overcome a series of physiological hurdles before establishing a pregnancy. The selection of timely key performance indicators (KPIs) that monitor specific events in the postpartum and service periods is vital to correctly identify problems and their potential causes that hopefully can be rectified. Cumulative sum charts are the timeliest monitors of efficiency of detection of oestrus, insemination outcome and relationship between postpartum events and fertility, with the point of inflection indicating when a change took place. Other KPIs use data from specific cohorts, adding an inherent delay to when change is indicated. Metabolic profiles and milk constituent data allow monitoring of nutritional adequacy and developments to offer new possibilities of on-farm systems for regular measurements of milk constituents (including progesterone) and energy status. Examination of the reproductive tract can be used to indicate individual and herd fertility status but the currently available detail is under used. Recent advances in ultrasonography can improve the diagnosis of reproductive tract pathophysiology still further but the clinical use of these methods in veterinary practice needs further evaluation. Development of new KPIs to exploit research findings are needed to ensure this knowledge is used to improve on-farm performance.

The co-occurrence of child conduct problems (CPs) and callous–unemotional (CU) traits confers risk for psychopathy. The oxytocin (OXT) system is a likely candidate for involvement in the development of psychopathy. We tested variations in the OXT receptor gene (OXTR) in CP children and adolescents with varying levels of CU traits. Two samples of Caucasian children, aged 4–16 years, who met DSM criteria for disruptive behavior problems and had no features of autism spectrum disorder, were stratified into low versus high CU traits. Measures were the frequencies of nine candidate OXTR polymorphisms (single nucleotide polymorphisms). In Sample 1, high CU traits were associated with single nucleotide polymorphism rs1042778 in the 3′ untranslated region of OXTR and the CGCT haplotype of rs2268490, rs2254298, rs237889, and rs13316193. The association of rs1042778 was replicated in the second rural sample and held across gender and child versus adolescent age groups. We conclude that polymorphic variation of the OXTR characterizes children with high levels of CU traits and CPs. The results are consistent with a hypothesized role of OXT in the developmental antecedents of psychopathy, particularly the differential amygdala activation model of psychopathic traits, and add genetic evidence that high CU traits specify a distinct subgroup within CP children.

Child conduct problems (CPs) are a robust predictor of adult mental health; the concurrence of callous–unemotional (CU) traits confers specific risk for psychopathy. Psychopathy may be related to disturbances in the oxytocin (OXT) system. Evidence suggests that epigenetic changes in the OXT receptor gene (OXTR) are associated with lower circulating OXT and social–cognitive difficulties. We tested methylation levels of OXTR in 4- to 16-year-old males who met DSM criteria for a diagnosis of oppositional–defiant or conduct disorder and were stratified by CU traits and age. Measures were DNA methylation levels of six CpG sites in the promoter region of the OXTR gene (where a CpG site is a cytosine nucleotide occurs next to a guanine nucleotide in the linear sequence of bases along its lenth, linked together by phosphate binding), and OXT blood levels. High CU traits were associated with greater methylation of the OXTR gene for two cytosine nucleotide and guanine nucleotide phosphate linked sites and lower circulating OXT in older males. Higher methylation correlated with lower OXT levels. We conclude that greater methylation of OXTR characterizes adolescent males with high levels of CU and CPs, and this methylation is associated with lower circulating OXT and functional impairment in interpersonal empathy. The results add genetic evidence that high CU traits specify a distinct subgroup within CP children, and they suggest models of psychopathy may be informed by further identification of these epigenetic processes and their functional significance.

The current ethical norms of genomic biobanking creating and maintaining large repositories of human DNA and/or associated data for biomedical research have generated criticism from every angle, at both the practical and theoretical levels. The traditional research model has involved investigators seeking biospecimens for specific purposes that they can describe and disclose to prospective subjects, from whom they can then seek informed consent. In the case of many biobanks, however, the institution that collects and maintains the biospecimens may not itself be directly involved in research, instead banking the biospecimens and associated data for other researchers. Moreover, the future uses of biospecimens may be unknown, if not unknowable, at the time of collection. Biobanking may thus stretch the meanings of inform and consent to their breaking point: if you cannot inform subjects about what their biospecimens will be used for (because you do not know), what can they consent to? Given that informed consent by individual subjects is the ethical gold standard, the seeming dilution of the concept in the context of biobanking is a profound problem.

This paper examines how the relationships between the factors (predisposing, enabling and illness) of the 1973 Andersen framework and service use are influenced by changes in the caring role in older women of the 1921–26 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Outcome variables were the use of three formal community support services: (a) nursing or community health services, (b) home-making services and (c) home maintenance services. Predictor variables were survey wave and the following carer characteristics: level of education, country of birth, age, area of residence, ability to manage on income, need for care, sleep difficulty and changes in caring role. Carer changes were a significant predictor of formal service use. Their inclusion did not attenuate the relationship between the Andersen framework factors and service use, but instead provided a more complete representation of carers' situations. Women were more likely to have used support services if they had changed into or out of co-resident caring or continued to provide co-resident care for a frail, ill or disabled person, needed care themselves, and reported sleep difficulties compared with women who did not provide care. These findings are important because they indicate that support services are particularly relevant to women who are changing their caring role and who are themselves in need of care.