Beauty Contested. How much of Keynes’ remains in Behavioural Economics Beauty Contests?

In one of the most famous passages of economic literature, John Maynard Keynes (1936, p.156) likens the stock market to a beauty contest in which the winners are those who anticipate the average opinion. Recently there have been attempts at investigating the BC experimentally (Nagel 1995, Duffy & Nagel 1997, Ho et al. 1998, Bosch-Domenech et al. 2002, Güth et al. 2002). In Experimental Beauty Contests, participants choose a real number from a closed interval, e.g. I [0,100]. Whoever picks the number closest to p times the average (usuallywith p = 2/3) is the winner of a monetary reward. An experiment like this is dominance solvable: the process of iterated elimination of dominated strategies leads to the unique and stable equilibrium at which every player chooses zero, and every player wins. Keynes’ metaphor, on the other hand, referred to a situation in which not all participants can win, so that the goal of individual investors and speculators must be “to outwit the crowd” (p. 152). Despite the differences, the Keynesian theory of decision under uncertainty tallies with the behaviour observed in Experimental Beauty Contests.Beauty Contest, Behavioural Economics, Keynes, Reasoning.

What is Behavioural Economics Like?

Behavioural Economics’ milestones, Endowment Effect and Loss Aversion, have been recognized as ‘well documented,’ ‘robust,’ and ‘important’ even by the critics. But well documented, robust, and important what? Are these stylized facts, theoretical constructs, or psychological truths? Do they express genuine preferences or are they judgement mistakes? We discuss the problems with the nature of these claims in the lights of the goals of Behavioural Economics: to improve economics’ realisticness and to be considered mainstream. We argue that, under sensible interpretations of Loss Aversion and Endowment Effect, Behavioural Economics is neither more realistic than, nor part of the mainstream.Behavioural Economics, Decision-Making, Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, Uncertainty

What is Behavioural Economics Like?

Behavioural Economics’ milestones, Endowment Effect and Loss Aversion, have been recognized as ‘well documented,’ ‘robust,’ and ‘important’ even by the critics. But well documented, robust, and important what? Are these stylized facts, theoretical constructs, or psychological truths? Do they express genuine preferences or are they judgement mistakes? We discuss the problems with the nature of these claims in the lights of the goals of Behavioural Economics: to improve economics’ realisticness and to be considered mainstream. We argue that, under sensible interpretations of Loss Aversion and Endowment Effect, Behavioural Economics is neither more realistic than, nor part of the mainstream

What is Behavioural Economics Like?

Behavioural Economics’ milestones, Endowment Effect and Loss Aversion, have been recognized as ‘well documented,’ ‘robust,’ and ‘important’ even by the critics. But well documented, robust, and important what? Are these stylized facts, theoretical constructs, or psychological truths? Do they express genuine preferences or are they judgement mistakes? We discuss the problems with the nature of these claims in the lights of the goals of Behavioural Economics: to improve economics’ realisticness and to be considered mainstream. We argue that, under sensible interpretations of Loss Aversion and Endowment Effect, Behavioural Economics is neither more realistic than, nor part of the mainstream

Fluid dynamics and cell-bound Psl polysaccharide allows microplastic capture, aggregation and subsequent sedimentation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in water.

Funder: 2019 University of Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Analytical Science (UNICAS)Decades after incorporating plastics into consumer markets, research shows that these polymers have spread worldwide. Fragmentation of large debris leads to smaller particles, collectively called microplastics (MPs), which have become ubiquitous in aquatic environments. A fundamental aspect of understanding the implications of MP contamination on ecosystems is resolving the complex interactions of these artificial substrates with microbial cells. Using polystyrene microparticles as model polymers, we conducted an exploratory study where these interactions are quantitatively analyzed using an in vitro system consisting of single-bacterial species capturing and aggregating MPs in water. Here we show that the production of Psl exopolysaccharide by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) does not alter MPs colloidal stability but plays a key role in microspheres adhesion to the cell surface. Further aggregation of MPs by PA cells depends on bacterial mobility and the presence of sufficient flow to prevent rapid sedimentation of early MP-PA assembles. Surprisingly, cells in MP-PA aggregates are not in a sessile state despite the production of Psl, enhancing the motility of the aggregates by an order of magnitude relative to passive diffusion. The generated data could inform the creation of predictive models that accurately describe the dynamics and influence of bacterial growth on plastics debris

Diamond-based sensors for in vitro cellular radiobiology: Simultaneous detection of cell exocytic activity and ionizing radiation

The investigation of secondary effects induced by ionizing radiation represents a new and ever-growing research field in radiobiology. This new paradigm cannot be investigated only using standard instrumentation and methodologies, but rather requires novel technologies to achieve significant progress. In this framework, we developed diamond-based sensors that allow simultaneous real-time measurements with a high spatial resolution of the secretory activity of a network of cells cultured on the device, as well as of the dose at which they are exposed during irradiation experiments. The devices were functionally characterized by testing both the above-mentioned detection schemes, namely: amperometric measurements of neurotransmitter release from excitable cells (such as dopamine or adrenaline) and dosimetric evaluation using different ionizing particles (alpha particle and X-ray photons). Finally, the sensors were employed to investigate the effects induced by X-rays on the exocytotic activity of PC12 neuroendocrine cells by monitoring the modulation of the dopamine release in real-time

Simultaneous Tracking of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility in liquid and at the Solid-Liquid Interface Reveals Differential Roles for the Flagellar Stators

Bacteria sense chemicals, surfaces, and other cells and move toward some and away from others. Studying how single bacterial cells in a population move requires sophisticated tracking and imaging techniques. We have established quantitative methodology for label-free imaging and tracking of individual bacterial cells simultaneously within the bulk liquid and at solid-liquid interfaces by utilizing the imaging modes of digital holographic microscopy (DHM) in three dimensions (3D), differential interference contrast (DIC), and total internal reflectance microscopy (TIRM) in two dimensions (2D) combined with analysis protocols employing bespoke software. To exemplify and validate this methodology, we investigated the swimming behavior of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa wild-type strain and isogenic flagellar stator mutants (motAB and motCD) within the bulk liquid and at the surface at the single-cell and population levels. Multiple motile behaviors were observed that could be differentiated by speed and directionality. Both stator mutants swam slower and were unable to adjust to the near-surface environment as effectively as the wild type, highlighting differential roles for the stators in adapting to near-surface environments. A significant reduction in run speed was observed for the P. aeruginosa mot mutants, which decreased further on entering the near-surface environment. These results are consistent with the mot stators playing key roles in responding to the near-surface environment