Narcissism, risk and uncertainties: analysis in the light of prospect and fuzzy-trace theories

Purpose This study aims to analyze the relationship between the nonpathological traits of narcissism and decisions under conditions of uncertainty and risk in light of the prospect (PT) and fuzzy-trace theories (FTT). Design/methodology/approach This paper conducted an empirical-theoretical study with 210 Brazilian academics from the business area (accountants and managers), using a self-reported questionnaire to collect data. This paper analyzed the data through descriptive statistical techniques, correlation, test of hypotheses and logistic regression. Findings The results point to a lower disposition of respondents to narcissistic traits, although the characteristics of self-sufficiency, authority, exploitation and superiority have been demonstrated. Most participants chose the sure gain in positive scenarios and risk in light of possibility of losses. However, those with high levels of narcissism showed higher propensity to make risky decisions, both in positive and negative scenarios. Research limitations/implications The empirical results about risky decision-making behavior of individuals with narcissist traits spur further investigation on the impacts of attitudes and behaviors in organizations as they are affected by psychosocial factors. These attitudes and behaviors, reflected in administrative and financial reports, influence future decisions of investors. Originality/value The interaction between the areas of business administration and psychology in regard to the effects of the narcissist personality trait and the FTT is both original and valuable for the business area. The simplest scenario based on the FTT theory can help eliminate issues around the interpretation and complexities of calculations regarding decision-making scenarios in PT format

Real-Time Synthesis is Hard!

We study the reactive synthesis problem (RS) for specifications given in Metric Interval Temporal Logic (MITL). RS is known to be undecidable in a very general setting, but on infinite words only; and only the very restrictive BRRS subcase is known to be decidable (see D'Souza et al. and Bouyer et al.). In this paper, we precise the decidability border of MITL synthesis. We show RS is undecidable on finite words too, and present a landscape of restrictions (both on the logic and on the possible controllers) that are still undecidable. On the positive side, we revisit BRRS and introduce an efficient on-the-fly algorithm to solve it

Interaction of metal phthalocyanines with carbon zigzag and armchair nanotubes with different diameters

Quantum-chemical calculations of the association of metal free, cobalt, copper and zinc phthalocyanines (MPc) with carbon zigzag and armchair nanotubes (CNTs) with diameters in the range of 7–14 Å were carried out by the DFT method with the use of BH van der Waals density functional and DZP atomic basis set. It was shown that interaction energy between the phthalocyanine molecules and the CNTs, as a whole, increases with an increase of the diameter of carbon nanotubes. However, in the case of CNT(n,0) the energy reaches its maximal value at n = 16 or 17 depending on the central metal atom and phthalocyanine orientation on the carbon nanotubes surface. Up to diameter of 10.5 Å of the CNTs, stronger binding of the considered MPc macrocyclic molecules is observed with carbon armchair nanotubes. However, in the case of higher diameters the phthalocyanines are associated more strongly with the zigzag CNTs

Generic meta-modelling with concepts, templates and mixin layers

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16145-2_2Proceedings of 13th International Conference, MODELS 2010, Oslo, Norway, October 3-8, 2010.Meta-modelling is a key technique in Model Driven Engineering, where it is used for language engineering and domain modelling. However, mainstream approaches like the OMG’s Meta-Object Facility provide little support for abstraction, modularity, reusability and extendibility of (meta-)models, behaviours and transformations. In order to alleviate this weakness, we bring three elements of generic programming into meta-modelling: concepts, templates and mixin layers. Concepts permit an additional typing for models, enabling the definition of behaviours and transformations independently of meta-models, making specifications reusable. Templates use concepts to express requirements on their generic parameters, and are applicable to models and meta-models. Finally, we define functional layers by means of meta-model mixins which can extend other meta-models. As a proof of concept we also report on MetaDepth, a multi-level meta-modelling framework that implements these ideas.Work sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science, project TIN2008-02081 and mobility grants JC2009-00015 and PR2009-0019, and by the R&D programme of the Community of Madrid, project S2009/TIC-165

Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Candidates in the M81 Group: Signatures of Group Accretion

The faint and ultrafaint dwarf galaxies in the Local Group form the observational bedrock upon which our understanding of small-scale cosmology rests. In order to understand whether this insight generalizes, it is imperative to use resolved-star techniques to discover similarly faint satellites in nearby galaxy groups. We describe our search for ultrafaint galaxies in the M81 group using deep ground-based resolved-star data sets from Subaru’s Hyper Suprime-Cam. We present one new ultrafaint dwarf galaxy in the M81 group and identify five additional extremely low surface brightness candidate ultrafaint dwarfs that reach deep into the ultrafaint regime to M V ∼ − 6 (similar to current limits for Andromeda satellites). These candidates’ luminosities and sizes are similar to known Local Group dwarf galaxies Tucana B, Canes Venatici I, Hercules, and Boötes I. Most of these candidates are likely to be real, based on tests of our techniques on blank fields. Intriguingly, all of these candidates are spatially clustered around NGC 3077, which is itself an M81 group satellite in an advanced state of tidal disruption. This is somewhat surprising, as M81 itself and its largest satellite M82 are both substantially more massive than NGC 3077 and, by virtue of their greater masses, would have been expected to host as many or more ultrafaint candidates. These results lend considerable support to the idea that satellites of satellites are an important contribution to the growth of satellite populations around Milky Way-mass galaxies

VEGAS: A VST Early-type GAlaxy Survey. II. Photometric study of giant ellipticals and their stellar halos

Observations of diffuse starlight in the outskirts of galaxies are thought to be a fundamental source of constraints on the cosmological context of galaxy assembly in the $\Lambda$CDM model. Such observations are not trivial because of the extreme faintness of such regions. In this work, we investigate the photometric properties of six massive early type galaxies (ETGs) in the VEGAS sample (NGC 1399, NGC 3923, NGC 4365, NGC 4472, NGC 5044, and NGC 5846) out to extremely low surface brightness levels, with the goal of characterizing the global structure of their light profiles for comparison to state-of-the-art galaxy formation models. We carry out deep and detailed photometric mapping of our ETG sample taking advantage of deep imaging with VST/OmegaCAM in the g and i bands. By fitting the light profiles, and comparing the results to simulations of elliptical galaxy assembly, we identify signatures of a transition between "relaxed" and "unrelaxed" accreted components and can constrain the balance between in situ and accreted stars. The very good agreement of our results with predictions from theoretical simulations demonstrates that the full VEGAS sample of $\sim 100$ ETGs will allow us to use the distribution of diffuse light as a robust statistical probe of the hierarchical assembly of massive galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The novel CXCR4 antagonist POL5551 mobilizes hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells with greater efficiency than Plerixafor

Mobilized blood has supplanted bone marrow (BM) as the primary source of hematopoietic stem cells for autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Pharmacologically enforced egress of hematopoietic stem cells from BM, or mobilization, has been achieved by directly or indirectly targeting the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis. Shortcomings of the standard mobilizing agent, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), administered alone or in combination with the only approved CXCR4 antagonist, Plerixafor, continue to fuel the quest for new mobilizing agents. Using Protein Epitope Mimetics technology, a novel peptidic CXCR4 antagonist, POL5551, was developed. In vitro data presented herein indicate high affinity to and specificity for CXCR4. POL5551 exhibited rapid mobilization kinetics and unprecedented efficiency in C57BL/6 mice, exceeding that of Plerixafor and at higher doses also of G-CSF. POL5551-mobilized stem cells demonstrated adequate transplantation properties. In contrast to G-CSF, POL5551 did not induce major morphological changes in the BM of mice. Moreover, we provide evidence of direct POL5551 binding to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in vivo, strengthening the hypothesis that CXCR4 antagonists mediate mobilization by direct targeting of HSPCs. In summary, POL5551 is a potent mobilizing agent for HSPCs in mice with promising therapeutic potential if these data can be orroborated in humans

Near-IR period-luminosity relations for pulsating stars in ω\omega Centauri (NGC 5139)

$\omega$ Centauri (NGC 5139) hosts hundreds of pulsating variable stars of different types, thus representing a treasure trove for studies of their corresponding period-luminosity (PL) relations. Our goal in this study is to obtain the PL relations for RR Lyrae, and SX Phoenicis stars in the field of the cluster, based on high-quality, well-sampled light curves in the near-infrared (IR). $\omega$ Centauri was observed using VIRCAM mounted on VISTA. A total of 42 epochs in $J$ and 100 epochs in $K_{\rm S}$ were obtained, spanning 352 days. Point-spread function photometry was performed using DoPhot and DAOPHOT in the outer and inner regions of the cluster, respectively. Based on the comprehensive catalogue of near-IR light curves thus secured, PL relations were obtained for the different types of pulsators in the cluster, both in the $J$ and $K_{\rm S}$ bands. This includes the first PL relations in the near-IR for fundamental-mode SX Phoenicis stars. The near-IR magnitudes and periods of Type II Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars were used to derive an updated true distance modulus to the cluster, with a resulting value of $(m-M)_0 = 13.708 \pm 0.035 \pm 0.10$ mag, where the error bars correspond to the adopted statistical and systematic errors, respectively. Adding the errors in quadrature, this is equivalent to a heliocentric distance of $5.52\pm 0.27$ kpc.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Deficiency and Also Transgenic Overexpression of Timp-3 Both Lead to Compromised Bone Mass and Architecture In Vivo

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) regulates extracellular matrix via its inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases and membrane-bound sheddases. Timp-3 is expressed at multiple sites of extensive tissue remodelling. This extends to bone where its role, however, remains largely unresolved. In this study, we have used Micro-CT to assess bone mass and architecture, histological and histochemical evaluation to characterise the skeletal phenotype of Timp-3 KO mice and have complemented this by also examining similar indices in mice harbouring a Timp-3 transgene driven via a Col-2a-driven promoter to specifically target overexpression to chondrocytes. Our data show that Timp-3 deficiency compromises tibial bone mass and structure in both cortical and trabecular compartments, with corresponding increases in osteoclasts. Transgenic overexpression also generates defects in tibial structure predominantly in the cortical bone along the entire shaft without significant increases in osteoclasts. These alterations in cortical mass significantly compromise predicted tibial load-bearing resistance to torsion in both genotypes. Neither Timp-3 KO nor transgenic mouse growth plates are significantly affected. The impact of Timp-3 deficiency and of transgenic overexpression extends to produce modification in craniofacial bones of both endochondral and intramembranous origins. These data indicate that the levels of Timp-3 are crucial in the attainment of functionally-appropriate bone mass and architecture and that this arises from chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages