Risk preference and choice stochasticity during decisions for other people

In several contexts, such as finance and politics, people make choices that are relevant for others but irrelevant for oneself. Focusing on decision-making under risk, we compared monetary choices made for one’s own interest with choices made on behalf of an anonymous individual. Consistent with the previous literature, other-interest choices were characterized by an increased gambling propensity. We also investigated choice stochasticity, which captures how much decisions vary in similar conditions. An aspect related to choice stochasticity is how much decisions are tuned to the option values, and we found that this was higher during self-interest than during other-interest choices. This effect was observed only in individuals who reported a motivation to distribute rewards unequally, suggesting that it may (at least partially) depend on a motivation to make accurate decisions for others. Our results indicate that, during decision-making under risk, choices for other people are characterized by a decreased tuning to the values of the options, in addition to enhanced risk seeking

Dopamine Increases a Value-Independent Gambling Propensity

Although the impact of dopamine on reward learning is well documented, its influence on other aspects of behavior remains the subject of much ongoing work. Dopaminergic drugs are known to increase risk-taking behavior, but the underlying mechanisms for this effect are not clear. We probed dopamine’s role by examining the effect of its precursor L-DOPA on the choices of healthy human participants in an experimental paradigm that allowed particular components of risk to be distinguished. We show that choice behavior depended on a baseline (ie, value-independent) gambling propensity, a gambling preference scaling with the amount/variance, and a value normalization factor. Boosting dopamine levels specifically increased just the value-independent baseline gambling propensity, leaving the other components unaffected. Our results indicate that the influence of dopamine on choice behavior involves a specific modulation of the attractiveness of risky options—a finding with implications for understanding a range of reward-related psychopathologies including addiction

New onset of loss of smell or taste in household contacts of home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of smell or taste impairment in household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. Methods: Cross-sectional study based on ad hoc questions. Results: Of 214 mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients managed at home under self-isolation, 179 reported to have at least one household contact, with the total number of no study participants contacts being 296. Among 175 household contacts not tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, 67 (38.3%) had SARS-CoV-2 compatible symptoms, 39 (22.3%) had loss of smell or taste with 7 (4.0%) having loss of smell or taste in the absence of other symptoms. The prevalence of smell or taste impairment was 1.5% in patients tested negative compared to 63.0% of those tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Smell or taste impairment are quite common in not-tested household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. This should be taken into account when estimating the burden of loss of sense of smell and taste during COVID-19 pandemic, and further highlights the value of loss of sense of smell and taste as a marker of infection

Associação de características de planta em cultivares de aveia com habilidade competitiva

Características morfológicas de plantas cultivadas que confiram maior habilidade competitiva podem integrar medidas de manejo cultural de plantas daninhas e, com isso, reduzir o uso de herbicidas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se o crescimento inicial por plantas de cultivares de aveia se associa ao seu potencial competitivo com plantas infestantes. Para isso, foi conduzido um experimento a campo na Universidade Federal de Pelotas, em Capão do Leão-RS, durante a estação de crescimento de 2006. Compararam-se os cultivares de aveia: ALBASUL, CFT 1, UPFA 22 e URS 22, os quais foram testados sob três condições de competição (ausência de plantas concorrentes, presença de trigo ou de linho, como competidores). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi completamente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Avaliaram-se diversas características morfológicas em plantas de aveia no início do ciclo de desenvolvimento e outras características agronômicas no final do ciclo da aveia e de seus competidores. Os cultivares de aveia responderam diferentemente à presença de plantas competidoras. O cultivar UPFA 22, em geral, apresentou maiores valores para características morfológicas de planta associadas com habilidade competitiva, enquanto o cultivar URS 22, ao contrário, mostrou deficiências em características vantajosas à competição. Os cultivares UPFA 22 e CFT 1 demonstraram elevada capacidade de competir com as espécies concorrentes. Características morfológicas em plantas de cultivares de aveia no início do ciclo de desenvolvimento, de modo geral, não mostraram habilidade competitiva até o final do ciclo.Morphological crop plant traits which confer greater competitive ability may integrate cultural weed management measures, thus reducing the use of herbicides. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a fast initial growth of oat cultivars relate to their competitive potential with concurrent plants. A field experiment was conducted at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, in Capão do Leão-RS, during the 2006 growing season. The oat cultivars ALBASUL, CFT 1, UPFA 22, and URS 22, which were tested under three competition conditions (absence of concurrent plants, presence of flax or of wheat as competitors) were used. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, with four replicates. Many morphological characteristics in oat plants were evaluated at the initial phase of their development, as well as other agronomic traits at the end of the oat cycle and of the cycle of its competitors. Oat cultivars reacted differently to the presence of concurrent plants. The UPFA 22 cultivar generally presented greater values for the morphological plant traits associated with competitive ability; whereas URS 22 showed deficiencies in traits advantageous to competition. The cultivars UPFA 22 and CFT 1 demonstrated a high potential to compete with concurrent plants. The morphological traits of oat cultivars evaluated at the beginning of their development, in general, did not sustain the competitive ability until the end of their cycles

Human resources for health at the district level in Indonesia: the smoke and mirrors of decentralization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2001 Indonesia embarked on a rapid decentralization of government finances and functions to district governments. One of the results is that government has less information about its most valuable resource, the people who provide the services. The objective of the work reported here is to determine the stock of human resources for health in 15 districts, their service status and primary place of work. It also assesses the effect of decentralization on management of human resources and the implications for the future.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We enumerated all health care providers (doctors, nurses and midwives), including information on their employment status and primary place of work, in each of 15 districts in Java. Data were collected by three teams, one for each province.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Provider density (number of doctors, nurses and midwives/1000 population) was low by international standards – 11 out of 15 districts had provider densities less than 1.0. Approximately half of all three professional groups were permanent public servants. Contractual employment was also important for both nurses and midwives. The private sector as the primary source of employment is most important for doctors (37% overall) and increasingly so for midwives (10%). For those employed in the public sector, two-thirds of doctors and nurses work in health centres, while most midwives are located at village-level health facilities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the health system established after Independence, the facilities established were staffed through a period of obligatory service for all new graduates in medicine, nursing and midwifery. The last elements of that staffing system ended in 2007 and the government has not been able to replace it. The private sector is expanding and, despite the fact that it will be of increasing importance in the coming decades, government information about providers in private practice is decreasing. Despite the promise of decentralization to increase sectoral "decision space" at the district level, the central government now has control over essentially all public sector health staff at the district level, marking a return to the situation of 20 years ago. At the same time, Indonesia has changed dramatically. The challenge now is to envision a new health system that takes account of these changes. Envisioning the new system is a crucial first step for development of a human resources policy which, in turn, will require more information about health care providers, public and private, and increased capacity for human resource planning.</p

Motor coordination, working memory, and academic achievement in a normative adolescent sample: Testing a mediation model

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the relationship between motor coordination and academic achievement is mediated by working memory (WM) in a normative adolescent sample. Participants included 93 adolescents aged 12–16. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 provided three indicators of motor coordination (Manual Dexterity, Aiming and Catching, and Balance), the WM Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV and the N-back paradigm provided two indicators of WM, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II provided three indicators of academic achievement (Word Reading, Spelling, and Numerical Operations). Structural equation modeling, controlling for verbal comprehension, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and socioeconomic status, suggested that the association between motor coordination and academic achievement may be best understood in terms of a mechanism whereby motor coordination (specifically, Aiming and Catching skills) has an indirect impact on academic outcomes via WM. These findings have important implications for the assessment and treatment of motor coordination and learning difficulties as well as in increasing the understanding of the possible neural mechanisms underpinning the relationship between these areas