LYING ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW OR ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

We compare communication about private information to communication about actions in a one-shot 2-person public good game with private information. The informed player, who knows the exact return from contributing and whose contribution is unobserved, can send a message about the return or her contribution. Theoretically, messages can elicit the uninformed player's contribution, and allow the informed player to free-ride. The exact language used is not expected to matter. Experimentally, however, we find that free-ride depends on the language: the informed player free-rides less-and thereby lies less frequently-when she talks about her contribution than when she talks about the return. Further experimental evidence indicates that it is the promise component in messages about the contribution that leads to less free-ride and less lying. © 2013 by the European Economic Association

Extreme stiffness tunability through the excitation of nonlinear defect modes

The incremental stiffness characterizes the variation of a material's force response to a small deformation change. In lattices with noninteracting vibrational modes, the excitation of localized states does not have any effect on material properties, such as the incremental stiffness. We report that, in nonlinear lattices, driving a defect mode introduces changes in the static force-displacement relation of the material. By varying the defect excitation frequency and amplitude, the incremental stiffness can be tuned continuously to arbitrarily large positive or negative values. Furthermore, the defect excitation parameters also determine the displacement region at which the force-displacement relation is being tuned. We demonstrate this phenomenon experimentally in a compressed array of spheres tuning its incremental stiffness from a finite positive value to zero and continuously down to negative infinity

Engineered microenvironments for synergistic VEGF - integrin signalling during vascularization

We have engineered polymer-based microenvironments that promote vasculogenesis both in vitro and in vivo through synergistic integrin-growth factor receptor signalling. Poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) triggers spontaneous organization of fibronectin (FN) into nanonetworks which provide availability of critical binding domains. Importantly, the growth factor binding (FNIII12-14) and integrin binding (FNIII9-10) regions are simultaneously available on FN fibrils assembled on PEA. This material platform promotes synergistic integrin/VEGF signalling which is highly effective for vascularization events in vitro with low concentrations of VEGF. VEGF specifically binds to FN fibrils on PEA compared to control polymers (poly(methyl acrylate), PMA) where FN remains in a globular conformation and integrin/GF binding domains are not simultaneously available. The vasculogenic response of human endothelial cells seeded on these synergistic interfaces (VEGF bound to FN assembled on PEA) was significantly improved compared to soluble administration of VEGF at higher doses. Early onset of VEGF signalling (PLCγ1 phosphorylation) and both integrin and VEGF signalling (ERK1/2 phosphorylation) were increased only when VEGF was bound to FN nanonetworks on PEA, while soluble VEGF did not influence early signalling. Experiments with mutant FN molecules with impaired integrin binding site (FN-RGE) confirmed the role of the integrin binding site of FN on the vasculogenic response via combined integrin/VEGF signalling. In vivo experiments using 3D scaffolds coated with FN and VEGF implanted in the murine fat pad demonstrated pro-vascularization signalling by enhanced formation of new tissue inside scaffold pores. PEA-driven organization of FN promotes efficient presentation of VEGF to promote vascularization in regenerative medicine applications

Overview of methods used to evaluate the adequacy of nutrient intakes for individuals and populations

The objective of the present paper is to review the methods of measuring micronutrient intake adequacy for individuals and for populations in order to ascertain best practice. A systematic review was conducted to locate studies on the methodological aspects of measuring nutrient adequacy. The results showed that for individuals, qualitative methods (to find probability of adequacy) and quantitative methods (to find confidence of adequacy) have been proposed for micronutrients where there is enough data to set an average nutrient requirement (ANR). If micronutrients do not have ANR, an adequate intake (AI) is often defined and can be used to assess adequacy, provided the distribution of daily intake over a number of days is known. The probability of an individual's intake being excessive can also be compared with the upper level of safe intake and the confidence of this estimate determined in a similar way. At the population level, adequacy can be judged from the ANR using the probability approach or its short cut – the estimated average requirement cut-point method. If the micronutrient does not have an ANR, adequacy cannot be determined from the average intake and must be expressed differently. The upper level of safe intake can be used for populations in a similar way to that of individuals. All of the methodological studies reviewed were from the American continent and all used the methodology described in the Institute of Medicine publications. The present methodology should now be adapted for use in Europe

Contingut en fluor a les aigües de consum públic de Catalunya: aportació de dades i consells pràctics per al clínic

El coneixement del contingut de fluor a les aigües de consum públic és de gran importància pel que fa a l'ús de suplements d'aquest mineral en la prevenció i control de la caries dental. S'exposen dades deis nivells de fluorurs dels abastaments públics de Catalunya, i consells pràctics per al clínic en relació a l'ús de suplements. Quasi un 90 % de les xarxes tingueren ni­vells inferiors a O. 7 mg/1

Epstein-Barr virus and acute retinal necrosis in a 5-year-old immunocompetent child

Roberto Gallego-Pinazo1,2, Miguel Harto1, Jose J Garcia-Medina2,3, Inmaculada Serra1, Enrique España1, Maria D Pinazo-Duran2,41Ophthalmology Department, University Hospital, La Fe, Valencia, Spain; 2Ophthalmology Research Unit “Santiago Grisolia”, Valencia, Spain; 3Ophthalmology Department, Hospital La inmaculada, Huercal-Overa, Spain; 4Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Punta de Europa, Algeciras, SpainObjective: To describe a case of bilateral acute retinal necrosis syndrome (ARNS) in a 5-year-old boy.Method: A retrospective, interventional case is described in one child attending the pediatric ophthalmology section, complaining of sudden bilateral red eye and haze-impaired vision. A standardized ophthalmologic examination and specific serological probes supported the diagnosis of severe bilateral ARNS in an immunocompetent child.Results: The reduced visual acuity (<20/400), the ocular fundus signs (perivasculitis, thrombosis and retinal edema) and the positive immunoglobulin M anti-Epstein Barr virus serology, lead us to the ARNS definitive diagnosis. Antiviral therapy (Acyclovir; Zovirax®), ciclopentolate dilating eye drops, and antiplatelet treatment (acetil salicylic acid; Aspirin®) were administered until recovering the final visual acuity (20/40).Conclusions: The ARNS is an ocular disease with poor prognosis, which in turns may display better course when determining the etiopathogenic virus and selecting the appropriate and precocious therapy.Keywords: retinal necrosis, Epstein-Barr virus, antiviral serology, antiviral therap

Corn agronomic traits and recovery of nitrogen from fertilizer during crop season and off-season.

The objective of this work was to evaluate corn agronomic traits in a cultivation subjected to different N rates, during the fall?winter (off-season) and spring?summer crop seasons, and N recovery from fertilizer. The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design with four replicates, in a 5x2 factorial arrangement, with the following treatments: five N topdressing rates ? 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg ha-1 ?, using urea as source; and two crop seasons, fall?winter and spring?summer. The following variables were determined: plant height, height of the first ear insertion, number of grains per ear, diameter and length of ear, 1,000-grain weight, N concentration in the leaves and grains, grain-protein concentration, grain yield, N recovery from fertilizer, and soil-N supply. Nitrogen rates in the fertilizer in the fall?winter season had no effect on grain yield, although corn agronomic traits showed a greater reliance on fertilizer-N rates in that season than in the spring?summer, which is a season associated to a greater capacity of soil-N supply to plants. The quantification of soil-N supply enabled knowing the nutrient dynamics during the fall?winter and the spring?summer seasons, which may be useful to guide N fertilization of corn.Título em português: Características agronômicas do milho e recuperação de nitrogênio do fertilizante durante a safra e a safrinha

Nonradiative Electronic Deexcitation Time Scales in Metal Clusters

The life-times due to Auger-electron emission for a hole on a deep electronic shell of neutral and charged sodium clusters are studied for different sizes. We consider spherical clusters and calculate the Auger-transition probabilities using the energy levels and wave functions calculated in the Local-Density-Approximation (LDA). We obtain that Auger emission processes are energetically not allowed for neutral and positively charged sodium clusters. In general, the Auger probabilities in small Na$_N^-$ clusters are remarkably different from the atomic ones and exhibit a rich size dependence. The Auger decay times of most of the cluster sizes studied are orders of magnitude larger than in atoms and might be comparable with typical fragmentation times.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.