Ambiguity seeking as a result of the status quo bias

Several factors affect attitudes toward ambiguity. What happens, however, when people are asked to exchange an ambiguous alternative in their possession for an unambiguous one? We present three experiments in which individuals preferred to retain the former. This status quo bias emerged both within- and between-subjects, with and without incentives, with different outcome distributions, and with endowments determined by both the experimenter and the participants themselves. Findings emphasize the need to account for the frames of reference under which evaluations of probabilistic information take place as well as modifications that should be incorporated into descriptive models of decision making.Ambiguity, risk, status quo bias, decision making, uncertainty, Leex

Independent [1,2]-number versus independent domination number

A [1, 2]-set S in a graph G is a vertex subset such that every vertex not in S has at least one and at most two neighbors in it. If the additional requirement that the set be independent is added, the existence of such sets is not guaranteed in every graph. In this paper we provide local conditions, depending on the degree of vertices, for the existence of independent [1, 2]-sets in caterpillars. We also study the relationship between independent [1, 2]-sets and independent dominating sets in this graph class, that allows us to obtain an upper bound for the associated parameter, the independent [1, 2]-number, in terms of the independent domination number.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Oramed: optimization of radiation protection of medical staff

Postprint (published version

On the probability of reaching a barrier in an Erlang(2) risk process

In this paper the process of aggregated claims in a non-life insurance portfolio as defined in the classical model of risk theory is modified. The Compound Poisson process is replaced with a more general renewal risk process with interoccurrence times of Erlangian type. We focus our analysis on the probability that the process of surplus reaches a certain level before ruin occurs, X (u, b). Our main contribution is the generalization obtained in the computation of X (u, b) for the case of interoccurrence time between claims distributed as Erlang(2, ß) and the individual claim amount as Erlang (n, y). En aquest article es modifica el procés de reclamacions agregades d'una cartera d'assegurances de no-vida en el model clàssic de la teoria de risc. El procés de Poisson compost és reemplaçat per un procés de renaixement de risc més general amb temps d'inter-ocurrència de tipus erlangià. Concentrem la nostra anàlisi en la probabilitat que el procés de sobrepassar assoleixi cert nivell abans d'arribar a ruïna, X (u,b). La nostra principal contribució és la generalització obtinguda en el càlcul d'X (u,b) per al cas de temps d'inter-ocurrència entre reclamacions distribuïdes com Erlang (2, ß) i les quantitats de reclamacions individuals com Erlang (n, y)

Allanite in Variscan Post-Collisional Lamprophyre Dykes from Les Guilleries (NE Iberia) as a Part of Rare Earth Elements Recycling in Collisional Orogens

Recent studies of Late Permian calc-alkaline lamprophyre dykes located in the Les Guilleries Paleozoic massif of the Catalan Coastal Range have revealed that allanite is present as the main REE-bearing accessory phase, which is the object of this study. The lamprophyre dykes are amphibole-plagioclase-dominated spessartites with a wide variety of accessory phases, including titanite, ilmenite, allanite, fluorapatite, spinel, zircon, and sulfides, and show complex alteration textures related to secondary albite, chlorite, epidote, titanite and calcite. The allanite crystal composition, analyzed by SEM-EPMA and LA-ICP-MS, evidences the solid solution between epidote and allanite with a ferriallanite component, similar to what is found in Variscan post-collisional granitoids from western Europe. However, heterogeneity in crystal shapes, sizes, type of zoning, dissolution embayment textures, growth of epidote coronas, mineral paragenesis, and the unique geochemical characteristics of allanite crystals suggest multiple crystallization events. At least two types of allanite-epidote composite grains have been identified: allanite Type I, with regular allanite-epidote core-to-rim zoning and a secondary allanite rim; and allanite Type II, with anhedral allanite cores surrounded by epidote coronas. Additionally, irregular zoning, complex dissolution textures and REE redistribution suggest the occurrence of deuteric and/or post-magmatic processes, which are also common in Variscan post-collisional plutons from the Catalan Coastal Range and nearby Paleozoic massifs. Multivariate statistical analyses of major elements in allanite-epidote composite grains show a relationship between major textural and geochemical variations for three out of ten principal components, mainly related to cationic substitutions between ferriallanite-(Ce) and epidote, but also involving Mn and Ti(REE + Fe + Ti + Mg + Mn = Al + Ca + Fe). The allanite U-Pb-Th- weighted mean age of 265 ± 15 Ma (MSWD = 0.57) is roughly similar to the age of emplacement of the lamprophyres in the upper crust in the mid-late Permian, and coincides with the period following the main tectonometamorphic and magmatic events of the post-collisional evolution in the Catalan Coastal Range. Th/U and La/Sm ratios suggest a metamorphic origin for most allanite grains, but a combination of metamorphic processes prior to partial melting, early-late magmatic crystallization, and/or post-magmatic hydrothermal processes is the most plausible explanation to account for the diversity of allanite grains in Les Guilleries lamprophyres

On the probability of reaching a barrier in an Erlang(2) risk process

HolaIn this paper the process of aggregated claims in a non-life insurance portfolio as defined in the classical model of risk theory is modified. The Compound Poisson process is replaced with a more general renewal risk process with interoccurrence times of Erlangian type. We focus our analysis on the probability that the process of surplus reaches a certain level before ruin occurs, χ(u,b). Our main contribution is the generalization obtained in the computation of χ(u,b) for the case of interoccurrence time between claims distributed as Erlang(2, β) and the individual claim amount as Erlang (n, γ).Peer Reviewe

The generalized Robinson-Foulds distance for phylogenetic trees

The Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance, one of the most widely used metrics for comparing phylogenetic trees, has the advantage of being intuitive, with a natural interpretation in terms of common splits, and it can be computed in linear time, but it has a very low resolution, and it may become trivial for phylogenetic trees with overlapping taxa, that is, phylogenetic trees that share some but not all of their leaf labels. In this article, we study the properties of the Generalized Robinson-Foulds (GRF) distance, a recently proposed metric for comparing any structures that can be described by multisets of multisets of labels, when applied to rooted phylogenetic trees with overlapping taxa, which are described by sets of clusters, that is, by sets of sets of labels. We show that the GRF distance has a very high resolution, it can also be computed in linear time, and it is not (uniformly) equivalent to the RF distance.This research was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universitiesand the European Regional Development Fund through project PGC2018-096956-B-C43 (FEDER/MICINN/AEI), and by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) throughgrant 2017-SGR-786 (ALBCOM).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A Definition of the Magnetic Transition Temperature Using Valence Bond Theory

Macroscopic magnetic properties are analyzed using Valence Bond theory. Commonly the critical temperature TC for magnetic systems is associated with a maximum in the energy-based heat capacity Cp(T). Here a more broadly applicable definition of the magnetic transition temperature TC is described using the spin moment expectation value (i.e., applying the spin exchange density operator) instead of energy. Namely, the magnetic capacity Cs(T) reflects variation in the spin multiplicity as a function of temperature, which is shown to be related to ∂[χT(T)]/∂T. Magnetic capacity Cs(T) depends on long-range spin interactions that are not relevant in the energy-based heat capacity Cp(T). Differences between Cs(T) and Cp(T) are shown to be due to spin order/disorder within the crystal that can be monitored via a Valence Bond analysis of the corresponding magnetic wave function. Indeed the concept of the Boltzmann spin-alignment order is used to provide information about the spin correlation between magnetic units. As a final illustration, the critical temperature is derived from the magnetic capacity for several molecular magnets presenting different magnetic topologies that have been experimentally studied. A systematic shift between the transition temperatures associated with Cs(T) and Cp(T) is observed. It is demonstrated that this shift can be attributed to the loss of long-range spin correlation. This suggests that the magnetic capacity Cs(T) can be used as a predictive tool for the magnetic topology and thus for the synthetic chemists