Social responsibility promotes conservative risk behavior

Previous studies show that group risk taking can be more conservative than individual risk taking. Two common, but untested reasons for this greater caution are the influence of social responsibility and a tendency to conform to the preferences of others. We study changes in risk taking in simple settings, where another's risk taking can sometimes be observed, and where decisions affect not only one's own payoffs but sometimes also affect those of a passive, second party. We find that social responsibility leads to more conservative risk behavior in group decision making. Conformism has a more symmetric effect: observing the choice of another tends to lead both individual and social decisions toward whatever the other's expressed risk preference is. Direct tests fail to link the social behavior we observe to the social preference for distributional fairness common in decision-making under certainty. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Electron-beam-induced patterned deposition of allylcyclopentadienyl palladium using scanning tunneling microscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy has been used to study the electron-induced decomposition of allylcyclopentadienyl palladium [Pd(η3-C3H5)( η5-C5H5)] and subsequent deposition on a Si(111) surface. Deposition occurs via an electron impact mechanism on either the tip or surface, depending on the bias polarity, and is observed with voltages of 2.75 V. This is close to the predicted condensed phase dissociation energy of 2.3 eV for Pd(η3-C3H5)(η5-C5H5)→Pd+C3H5+C5H5. Metallic deposits of nanometer dimensions can be written on the surface. Deposition onto an electrochemically etched tip results in a narrow conductive secondary tip which gives improved spatial resolution when imaging high-aspect ratio features on the surface. ©1994 American Institute of Physics

Fabricating magnetic Co-Ni-C thin-film alloys by organometallic chemical vapor deposition

We have deposited CoxNiy-C films with a variety of compositions to verify dependence of the saturation magnetization on the composition. These experiments suggest that we can produce CoxNiy-C films with a variety of magnetic properties. The CoxNiy-C films were fabricated by ultraviolet decomposition of cobaltocene and nickelocene. We demonstrated that the photolytic decomposition of these metallocenes produces cyclopentadienyl (C5H5) species, consistent with recent studies of the energetics of the ligand metal bonds

Non-Invasive Spectroscopic Determination of the Antioxidative Status of Gravidae and Neonates

Pregnancy and postpartum adaptation cause an increased formation of free radicals. This is associated with various perinatological diseases, e.g. necrotising enterocolitis. The human body has developed a protective system in the form of the antioxidative potential. The present study was the first to investigate the kinetics of the cutaneous antioxidative status in pregnant women and newborns using a non-invasive spectroscopic method. Eighteen pregnant women and their babies took part in the study. A light-emitting diode-based compact scanner system was used for quick non-invasive measurements of carotenoid antioxidants in human skin based on reflection spectroscopy. It could be shown that the antioxidative status of the expectant mothers significantly declined during labour (p < 0.001) and on day 1 after delivery (p < 0.01). Compared to the mothers, the newborns exhibited a significantly higher cutaneous carotenoid concentration on both day 1 (p < 0.01) and 5 (p < 0.01) after delivery. These results suggest that the oxidative stress due to postpartum adaptation is counteracted by an enhanced reservoir of carotenoid antioxidants in the subcutaneous fatty tissue. The peripartum cutaneous carotenoid level of mothers declines continuously, whereas term newborns show very high cutaneous antioxidant values. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Base