DYNAMIC LEARNING AND CONTEXT-DEPENDENCE IN SEQUENTIAL, ATTRIBUTE-BASED CONTINGENT VALUATION

A hybrid stated-preference model is developed that combines the referendum contingent valuation response format with an experimentally designed set of attributes. A sequence of valuation questions is asked to a random sample in a mail-out mail-back format. Econometric analysis shows that willingness to pay for policy attributes is formed dynamically.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Registration of retinal images from Public Health by minimising an error between vessels using an affine model with radial distortions

In order to estimate a registration model of eye fundus images made of an affinity and two radial distortions, we introduce an estimation criterion based on an error between the vessels. In [1], we estimated this model by minimising the error between characteristics points. In this paper, the detected vessels are selected using the circle and ellipse equations of the overlap area boundaries deduced from our model. Our method successfully registers 96 % of the 271 pairs in a Public Health dataset acquired mostly with different cameras. This is better than our previous method [1] and better than three other state-of-the-art methods. On a publicly available dataset, ours still better register the images than the reference method

Media Predictors during the 2012 Presidential Election: Political Understanding, Discussion and Candidate Likeability

This study examined the influence of traditional and online media variables on political understanding, discussion and likeability of the major 2012 U.S. presidential candidates. Political information seeking on web sites and blogs contributed to confidence in understanding political issues but not for reducing the complexity of government. All three online sources studied predicted increased interpersonal communication about politics, as did viewing television news and listening to radio news. Almost all of the media variables influenced evaluations of the major party candidates with some reducing positive evaluations and others increasing them. Exposure to radio news was a consistent predictor but varied based on measurement and candidate. Future studies should consider greater complexity of measures to consider type of discussion and social media

Exotic and excited-state radiative transitions in charmonium from lattice QCD

We compute, for the first time using lattice QCD methods, radiative transition rates involving excited charmonium states, states of high spin and exotics. Utilizing a large basis of interpolating fields we are able to project out various excited state contributions to three-point correlators computed on quenched anisotropic lattices. In the first lattice QCD calculation of the exotic 1-+ eta_c1 radiative decay, we find a large partial width Gamma(eta_c1 -> J/psi gamma) ~ 100 keV. We find clear signals for electric dipole and magnetic quadrupole transition form factors in chi_c2 -> J/psi gamma, calculated for the first time in this framework, and study transitions involving excited psi and chi_c1,2 states. We calculate hindered magnetic dipole transition widths without the sensitivity to assumptions made in model studies and find statistically significant signals, including a non-exotic vector hybrid candidate Y_hyb? -> eta_c gamma. As well as comparison to experimental data, we discuss in some detail the phenomenology suggested by our results and the extent to which it mirrors that of quark potential models and make suggestions for the interpretation of our results involving exotic quantum numbered states

Engagement of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (NOD1) by receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2) is insufficient for signal transduction.

Following activation, the cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (NOD1) interacts with its adaptor protein receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2) to propagate immune signaling and initiate a proinflammatory immune response. This interaction is mediated by the caspase recruitment domain (CARD) of both proteins. Polymorphisms in immune proteins can affect receptor function and predispose individuals to specific autoinflammatory disorders. In this report, we show that mutations in helix 2 of the CARD of NOD1 disrupted receptor function but did not interfere with RIP2 interaction. In particular, N43S, a rare polymorphism, resulted in receptor dysfunction despite retaining normal cellular localization, protein folding, and an ability to interact with RIP2. Mutation of Asn-43 resulted in an increased tendency to form dimers, which we propose is the source of this dysfunction. We also demonstrate that mutation of Lys-443 and Tyr-474 in RIP2 disrupted the interaction with NOD1. Mapping the key residues involved in the interaction between NOD1 and RIP2 to the known structures of CARD complexes revealed the likely involvement of both type I and type III interfaces in the NOD1·RIP2 complex. Overall we demonstrate that the NOD1-RIP2 signaling axis is more complex than previously assumed, that simple engagement of RIP2 is insufficient to mediate signaling, and that the interaction between NOD1 and RIP2 constitutes multiple CARD-CARD interfaces.This work was funded by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship (WT085090MA) to TPM. TAK is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), grant SFB670 and acknowledges support by the Koeln Fortune Program / Faculty of Medicine, University of CologneThis is the final published version. It's also available from the Journal of Biological Chemistry website at http://www.jbc.org/content/289/33/22900.abstract

Testing the Cavefish Model: An Organism-focused Theory of Biological Design

Poster Abstract The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is experimentally testing an engineering-based model of rapid biological adaptation: Continuous Environmental Tracking (CET). This model infers that organisms actively track conditions within specific environments to self-adjust through internal mechanisms and initiate adaptive functionality. The animal under investigation is Astyanax mexicanus (Mexican tetra), a freshwater fish with well-differentiated, interfertile morphotypes: eyed surface-dwelling fish (surface fish) with distinct pigmentation patterns, and eyeless cave-dwelling fish (cavefish) with minimal pigmentation. Aquaria within our newly established laboratory contain breeding pairs of cavefish exposed to either (A) cyclical light/dark patterns of full-spectrum high-intensity light, (B) minimal light combined with high CO2(low pH) levels or (C) deionized water. Preliminary results show that (1) cavefish rapidly increase pigmentation when exposed to high-intensity light, and (2) do not exhibit injurious behavior or physiology in low pH water; (3) surface fish lose pigmentation across their body in low pH or deionized water conditions; (4) adult cavefish and surface fish respond rapidly within weeks-to-months of experimental treatments. Thus far, preliminary results imply that high-intensity light may stimulate the induction of latent melanin synthesis pathways in adult cavefish. Second, pre-acclimation of cavefish to acidic water chemistry likely reflects conditions within their native cave environments. Third, comparative loss of pigmentation in adult surface fish exposed to darkness and low pH or deionized water suggests they actively self-adjust, and that adaptive traits are reversable. Fourth, in contrast to cavefish, surface fish indicate non-acclimation to a simulated cave environment. Lastly, all responses by A. mexicanus to experimental treatments occur without undergoing multigenerational cycles of death and survival. These implications do not support the conventional view that beneficial adaptations arise through random mutation, unregulated genomic recombination, or accumulation of unguided genetic variation – regardless of time scales. Therefore, organisms are the agents in control of adaptations and diversification. If correct, hypotheses attributing the exquisite fit of organisms to environments through the agency of nature are mistaken. We present a new direction in experimental science for the ICR, and Creation Science, that sees every organism as a divinely engineered creation with adaptive capacity across multiple environmental conditions

Trace Complexity of Chaotic Reversible Cellular Automata

Delvenne, K\r{u}rka and Blondel have defined new notions of computational complexity for arbitrary symbolic systems, and shown examples of effective systems that are computationally universal in this sense. The notion is defined in terms of the trace function of the system, and aims to capture its dynamics. We present a Devaney-chaotic reversible cellular automaton that is universal in their sense, answering a question that they explicitly left open. We also discuss some implications and limitations of the construction.Comment: 12 pages + 1 page appendix, 4 figures. Accepted to Reversible Computation 2014 (proceedings published by Springer

Validity of self-reported smoking status: comparison of patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome and the general population

Many studies rely on self-reported smoking status. We hypothesized that patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a smoking-related condition, would be more prone to misclassify themselves as ex-smokers, because of pressure to quit. We compared patients admitted with ACS with a general population survey conducted in the same country at a similar time. We determined whether ACS patients who classified themselves as ex-smokers (n = 635) were more likely to have cotinine levels suggestive of smoking deception than self-reported ex-smokers in the general population (n = 289). On univariate analysis, the percentage of smoking deceivers was similar among ACS patients and the general population (11% vs. 12%, p = .530). Following adjustment for age, sex and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, ACS patients were significantly more likely to misclassify themselves (adjusted OR = 14.06, 95% CI 2.13-93.01, p = .006). There was an interaction with age whereby the probability of misclassification fell significantly with increasing age in the ACS group (adjusted OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93-0.97, p<.001), but not in the general population. Overall, smoking deception was more common among ACS patients than the general population. Studies comparing patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy individuals risk introducing bias if they rely solely on self-reported smoking status. Biochemical confirmation should be undertaken in such studies

Preoperative bowel stimulation prior to ileostomy closure to restore bowel function more quickly and improve postoperative outcomes: a systematic review

Aim Closure of a diverting ileostomy following restorative surgery is often associated with significant short‐term morbidity and variable long‐term bowel function. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate if preoperative stimulation of the defunctioned bowel restores bowel function more quickly after ileostomy closure and improves postoperative outcomes when compared with standard preoperative care. Method MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for studies evaluating preoperative bowel stimulation in patients with a temporary ileostomy after low anterior resection or ileal pouch–anal anastomosis, regardless of their design, publication type or language. Study selection, data extraction and study assessment were performed by one reviewer and verified by another. Study results were synthesized narratively. The GRADE approach was used to assess the quality of evidence. Results Eight studies involving a total of 267 participants were included. The studies had a moderate to high risk of bias and were of varying methodological quality. Preoperative stimulation of the defunctioned bowel reduced the time to postoperative restoration of bowel function and the length of hospital stay when compared with standard preoperative care. Other functional outcomes and postoperative complication rates were similar to those of standard preoperative care. The overall quality of evidence was very low. Conclusion Despite these promising early results, there is insufficient high‐quality evidence to recommend routine implementation of preoperative bowel stimulation in clinical practice. Nevertheless, there is no evidence suggesting that the intervention worsens outcomes or is unsafe, paving the way for rigorous assessment of effectiveness, acceptability and cost‐effectiveness within the context of well‐designed clinical trials

Heavy-Quark Symmetry and the Electromagnetic Decays of Excited Charmed Strange Mesons

Heavy-hadron chiral perturbation theory (HH$\chi$PT) is applied to the decays of the even-parity charmed strange mesons, D_{s0}(2317) and D_{s1}(2460). Heavy-quark spin symmetry predicts the branching fractions for the three electromagnetic decays of these states to the ground states D_s and D_s^* in terms of a single parameter. The resulting predictions for two of the branching fractions are significantly higher than current upper limits from the CLEO experiment. Leading corrections to the branching ratios from chiral loop diagrams and spin-symmetry violating operators in the HH$\chi$PT Lagrangian can naturally account for this discrepancy. Finally the proposal that the D_{s0}(2317) (D_{s1}(2460)) is a hadronic bound state of a D (D^*) meson and a kaon is considered. Leading order predictions for electromagnetic branching ratios in this molecular scenario are in very poor agreement with existing data.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figure