Natural disasters and governmental aid : is there a charity hazard?

In the aftermath of natural disasters, governments frequently provide financial aid for affected households. This policy can have adverse effects if individuals anticipate it and forgo private precaution measures. While theoretical literature unequivocally suggests this so called “charity hazard”, empirical studies yield ambiguous results. Drawing on rich survey data from German homeowners, we analyze charity hazard for different flood precaution strategies, namely insurance uptake and non-financial protection measures, and different flood risk areas. Our results indicate a substantial charity hazard in the insurance market for individuals residing in flood-prone areas. In contrast, we find a positive correlation between governmental aid and non-financial protection measures. Moreover, our results suggest that insurance and non-financial protection measures are rather complements than substitutes. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that status-quo bias might play an important role for insurance uptake

Electrophysiology of the rat medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala during behaviour

Classical Pavlovian conditioning is a relatively simple behavioural experiment where a conditioned stimulus signals the occurrence of a reward. The repeated presentation of the stimulus and the reward leads to the evolution of a conditioned response. However, the electrophysiological correlates of participating brain structures, including the medial prefrontal cortex, that plays a role in decision making, and the central nucleus of the amygdala, that is responsible for reward learning and motivation, have not yet been fully explored. This study explores the electrophysiological properties of the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in rats during Pavlovian conditioning, extinction and reacquisition. Multisite multichannel recordings showed a significant desynchronization in response to the conditioned stimulus. Additionally, the complex nature and role of a 4Hz activity and theta oscillation in both brain structures in reward conditioning was revealed. We found a consistent power and phase regulatory mechanism coordinating the 4Hz activity, while not affecting the theta oscillation, thus rendering these two distinct oscillations, with complementary roles, to fall out of synchrony. These findings might lay the foundations for further behavioural studies, mostly in the direction of social interaction and social behaviour

Primary care and the early phases of schizophrenia in the Czech Republic

Aim - To explore knowledge, treatment setting, attitudes and needs associated with patients in early phases of psychosis among general practitioners (GPs) in Prague, andto compare results with GPs from 6 countries participating in the International GP Study (IGPS) on Early Psychosis (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Norway,Austria). Methods - Survey questionnaires were mailed to 648 GPs in the city of Prague. Results - The response rate was 19.9%. Prague GPs showed significantly lower diagnostic knowledge of early phases of psychosis compared to their international colleagues. They frequently indicated depression/anxiety and somatic complaints as early warnings of psychosis. They more often considered their behaviour to be problematic and more commonly handed them over to specialists. The majority of Prague GPs wished specialized outpatient services for low-threshold referrals of such patients. Conclusions - Along the mental health reforms in the Czech Republic which emphasis the role of primary care, GPs' knowledge of the early warning signs of psychosis needs to be improved. Declaration of Interest: The study was supported by an unrestricted grant from Sanofi-Synthélabo SA, Switzerland, to the principal investigators of the IGPS (AES, DU). The authors have stated that there are none; all authors are independent from the funding body and the views expressed in this paper have not been influenced by the funding sourc

Breaking of valley degeneracy by magnetic field in monolayer MoSe2

Using polarization-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we investigate valley degeneracy breaking by out-of-plane magnetic field in back-gated monolayer MoSe$_2$ devices. We observe a linear splitting of $-0.22 \frac{\text{meV}}{\text{T}}$ between luminescence peak energies in $\sigma_{+}$ and $\sigma_{-}$ emission for both neutral and charged excitons. The optical selection rules of monolayer MoSe$_2$ couple photon handedness to the exciton valley degree of freedom, so this splitting demonstrates valley degeneracy breaking. In addition, we find that the luminescence handedness can be controlled with magnetic field, to a degree that depends on the back-gate voltage. An applied magnetic field therefore provides effective strategies for control over the valley degree of freedom.Comment: expanded discussion section, corrected typo in eq.

Primary care and the early phases of schizophrenia in the Czech Republic

Aim – To explore knowledge, treatment setting, attitudes and needs associated with patients in early phases of psychosis among general practitioners (GPs) in Prague, andto compare results with GPs from 6 countries participating in the International GP Study (IGPS) on Early Psychosis (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Norway,Austria). Methods – Survey questionnaires were mailed to 648 GPs in the city of Prague. Results – The response rate was 19.9%. Prague GPs showed significantly lower diagnostic knowledge of early phases of psychosis compared to their international colleagues. They frequently indicated depression/anxiety and somatic complaints as early warnings of psychosis. They more often considered their behaviour to be problematic and more commonly handed them over to specialists. The majority of Prague GPs wished specialized outpatient services for low-threshold referrals of such patients. Conclusions – Along the mental health reforms in the Czech Republic which emphasis the role of primary care, GPs' knowledge of the early warning signs of psychosis needs to be improved