Gender Differences in Sleep Deprivation Effects on Risk and Inequality Aversion: Evidence from an Economic Experiment

Excessive working hours—even at night—are becoming increasingly common in our modern 24/7 society. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is particularly vulnerable to the effects of sleep loss and, consequently, the specific behaviors subserved by the functional integrity of the PFC, such as risk-taking and pro-social behavior, may be affected significantly. This paper seeks to assess the effects of one night of sleep deprivation on subjects’ risk and social preferences, which are probably the most explored behavioral domains in the tradition of Experimental Economics. This novel cross-over study employs thirty-two university students (gender-balanced) participating to 2 counterbalanced laboratory sessions in which they perform standard risk and social preference elicitation protocols. One session was after one night of undisturbed sleep at home, and the other was after one night of sleep deprivation in the laboratory. Sleep deprivation causes increased sleepiness and decreased alertness in all subjects. After sleep loss males make riskier decisions compared to the rested condition, while females do the opposite. Females likewise show decreased inequity aversion after sleep deprivation. As for the relationship between cognitive ability and economic decisions, sleep deprived individuals with higher cognitive reflection show lower risk aversion and more altruistic behavior. These results show that one night of sleep deprivation alters economic behavior in a gender-sensitive way. Females’ reaction to sleep deprivation, characterized by reduced risky choices and increased egoism compared to males, may be related to intrinsic psychological gender differences, such as in the way men and women weigh up probabilities in their decision-making, and/or to the different neurofunctional substrate of their decision-making.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economic Competititveness (ECO2012-34928), Italian Ministry of University and Research MIUR (PRIN 20103S5RN3_002), Generalitat Valenciana (Research Projects Gruposo3/086), the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (IVIE), and the Ministero della Salute (RF-2009-1528677)

Nakts maiņas darba ietekme uz veselību

MedicīnaVeselības aprūpeMedicineHealth CareNakts maiņu darbs ir neizbēgams daudzās nozarēs. Nakts maiņas traucē cilvēka bioloģisko un loģisko ritmu. Tāpēc pēdējos gados daudzos pētījumos pievērsta uzmanība nakts maiņu darba ietekmei uz veselību. Pierādīts, ka nakts maiņu darbs ietekmē gan fizisko, gan garīgo veselību. Tā kā darbs nakts maiņās parasti nesaskan ar līdzcilvēku ikdienas ritmu, nevajadzētu atstāt novārtā ietekmi uz sociālo veselību. Tāpēc ir ļoti svarīgi izgaismot un pievērst uzmanību nakts maiņu darba ietekmei uz veselību un izvērtēt preventīvos pasākumus, lai mazinātu negatīvo ietekmi uz nakts maiņu darba ņēmēju veselību. Šā pētījuma mērķis ir sniegt pārskatu par nakts maiņu darba iespējamo ietekmi uz veselību un pievērst uzmanību iespējamam negatīvas ietekmes uz veselību riskam, kam pakļauti nakts maiņu darbinieki. Jāparāda arī profilaktiski pasākumi, lai mazinātu šo nakts maiņu darba ietekmi uz veselību un lai labāk tiktu galā ar nakts maiņu darbu.Night shift work is inevitable in many different sectors. Night shifts disrupt the human’s bio-logical rhythm. Thus, many studies in the last years focus on the effect of night shift work on health. It is shown that night shifts influence physical health as well as mental health. Since night shift work usually does not go along with the daily rhythm of fellow human beings, the impact on social health should not be neglected. Therefore, it is of major importance to throw light and to rise attention on the consequences of night shift work on health and evaluate preventive measures to reduce negative effects for the health of night shift workers. The aim of this research is to give an overview of the possible effects of night shift work on health and to rise attention on the possible risk for negative health effects night shift workers are exposed to. Also, preventive measures should be demonstrated to diminish those health effects of night shift work and to better cope with night shifts

A Collection of Tools for Making Automata Theory and Formal Languages Come Alive

We present a collection of new and enhanced tools for experimenting with concepts in formal languages and automata theory. New tools, written in Java, include JFLAP for creating and simulating finite automata, pushdown automata and Turing machines; Pate for parsing restricted and unrestricted grammars and transforming context-free grammars to Chomsky Normal Form; and PumpLemma for proving specific languages are not regular. Enhancements to previous tools LLparse and LRparse, instructional tools for parsing LL(1) and LR(1) grammars, include parsing LL(2) grammars, displaying parse trees, and parsing any context-free grammar with conflict resolution. 1 Introduction The majority of computer science courses have a hands-on approach, since they have a natural programming component. In the introductory courses, students learn a programming language and write programs to experiment with the language. In many later courses, students work on programming projects related to the topic, such as ..

A Collection of Tools for Making Automata Theory and Formal Languages Come Alive

We present a collection of new and enhanced tools for experimenting with concepts in formal languages and automata theory. New tools, written in Java, include JFLAP for creating and simulating finite automata, pushdown automata and Turing machines; Pate for parsing restricted and unrestricted grammars and transforming context-free grammars to Chomsky Normal Form; and PumpLemma for proving specific languages are not regular. Enhancements to previous tools LLparse and LRparse, instructional tools for parsing LL(1) and LR(1) grammars, include parsing LL(2) grammars, displaying parse trees, and parsing any context-free grammar with conflict resolution

Predictors of Loneliness among Homeless Individuals in Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify the frequency of loneliness and to examine the factors associated with loneliness among homeless individuals in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data were taken from the ‘national survey on the psychiatric and somatic health of homeless individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic’. The data collection took place from 26th July to 17th September 2021 (the analytical sample included n = 491 observations). The well-established UCLA-3 tool was used to quantify loneliness. Independent variables included sex, age, marital status, the existence of children and pets, level of education, country of origin, duration of homelessness, alcohol and drug consumption, mental health concerns and concerns regarding COVID-19 illness. Multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the predictors of loneliness. Results: The frequency of loneliness was 41.7% for the total sample. Multiple logistic regression analysis stratified by gender showed that a higher likelihood of loneliness was associated with being born in Germany, being middle aged (40 to 49 years compared to 18 to 29 years), having mental health problems and a short period of homelessness (1 month compared to longer periods) among women. In men, a higher likelihood of loneliness was associated with a higher fear of COVID-19 and a short period of homelessness. Conclusions: Our study revealed a high frequency rate of loneliness among homeless individuals. The study results highlight the associations between some explanatory variables (i.e., the duration of homelessness and mental health problems). Identifying the factors associated with loneliness may help to adequately address the problems of homeless individuals at risk of loneliness. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm our findings

Grain size analyses, Ca/Ti and other selected elemental ratios from XRF core scanning of sediment cores from the Apulian Margin

An extensive, high-resolution, sedimentological-geochemical survey was done using geo-acoustics, XRF-core scans, ICP-AES, AMS 14C-dating and grain size analyses of sediments in 11 cores from the Gulf of Taranto, the southern Adriatic Sea, and the central Ionian Sea spanning the last 16 cal. ka BP. Comparable results were obtained for cores from the Gallipoli Shelf (eastern Gulf of Taranto), and the southern Adriatic Sea suggesting that the dominant provenance of Gallipoli Shelf sediments is from the western Adriatic mud belt. The 210Pb and 14C-dated high-accumulation-rate sediments permit a detailed reconstruction of climate variability over the last 16 cal. ka BP. Although, the Glacial-Interglacial transition is generally dry and stable these conditions are interrupted by two phases of increased detrital input during the Bølling-Allerød and the late Younger Dryas. The event during the Younger Dryas period is characterized by increased sediment inputs from southern Italian sources. This suggests that run-off was higher in southern- compared to northern Italy. At approximately ~ 7 cal. ka BP, increased detrital input from the Adriatic mud belt, related to sea level rise and the onset of deep water formation in the Adriatic Sea, is observed and is coincident with the end of sapropel S1 formation in the southern Adriatic Sea. During the mid-to-late Holocene we observed millennial-scale events of increased detrital input, e.g. during the Roman Humid Period, and of decreased detrital input, e.g., Medieval Warm Period. These dry/wet spells are consistent with variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A negative state of the NAO and thus a more advanced penetration of the westerlies into the central Mediterranean, that result in wet conditions in the research area concord with events of high detrital input e.g., during the Roman Humid Period. In contrast, a positive state of the NAO, resulting in dry conditions in the Mediterranean, dominated during events of rapid climate change such as the Medieval Warm Period and the Bronze Age