Cycle frequency in standard Rock-Paper-Scissors games: Evidence from experimental economics

The Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) game is a widely used model system in game theory. Evolutionary game theory predicts the existence of persistent cycles in the evolutionary trajectories of the RPS game, but experimental evidence has remained to be rather weak. In this work we performed laboratory experiments on the RPS game and analyzed the social-state evolutionary trajectories of twelve populations of N=6 players. We found strong evidence supporting the existence of persistent cycles. The mean cycling frequency was measured to be $0.029 \pm 0.009$ period per experimental round. Our experimental observations can be quantitatively explained by a simple non-equilibrium model, namely the discrete-time logit dynamical process with a noise parameter. Our work therefore favors the evolutionary game theory over the classical game theory for describing the dynamical behavior of the RPS game.Comment: 7 Page, 3 figure; Keyword: Rock-Paper-Scissors game; cycle; social state; population dynamics; evolutionary trajector

Translational Inhibition by MicroRNAs in Plants

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 21–24 nucleotide riboregulators, which selectively repress gene expression through transcript cleavage and/or translational inhibition. It was thought that most plant miRNAs act through target transcript cleavage due to the high degree of complementarity between miRNAs and their targets. However, recent studies have suggested widespread translational inhibition by miRNAs in plants. The mechanisms underlining translational inhibition by plant miRNAs are largely unknown, but existing evidence has indicated that plants and animals share some mechanistic similarity of translational inhibition. Translational inhibition by miRNAs has been shown to regulate floral patterning, floral timing, and stress responses. This chapter covers recent progress on plant miRNA-mediated translational control

Law and Development

This is a draft of a book to accompany a course on the sociology of law and law and development at Boston University

Benefits afforded by combined temozolomide, radiation and stem cell strategy for glioma therapy

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of temozolomide, radiation and stem cell therapy in glioma management.Methods: A total of 112 patients with glioblastoma were divided into four groups, each of 28 patients. Group I received daily temozolomide at 150 mg/m2; Group II radiotherapy of 30.0 Gy; Group III mesenchymal stem cells only; and Group IV all three treatments (temozolomide 100 mg/m2 + 30.0 Gy of radiotherapy + two infusions of mesenchymal stem cells, weekly for 3 weeks. All patients were assessed 1, 6, and 12 months following the conclusion of treatment.Results: Of Group I patients, the maximum improvement in tumor diameter was 58 % but only 28 % ultimately survived. Of Group II patients, the maximum improvement was 49 % but, again, only 28 % survived (p = 0.06 for both groups). Of Group III patients, the maximum improvement was 71 % and 40% survived. Of Group IV patients, who received all three treatments, the maximum improvement was 80%. The survival rate was 60 %.Conclusion: Stem cells improved patient outcomes and may be a useful alternative therapy for glioma.Keywords: Glioma therapy, Temozolomide, Stem cells, Prognosis, Radiotherap

Ethyl 2-(4-chloro­phenyl)-3-(2,4-di­fluoro­phenoxy)acrylate

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C17H13ClF2O3, the dihedral angles formed by the aromatic rings of the chloro­benzene and difluoro­benzene groups with the plane of the acrylate unit are 48.85 (12) and 9.07 (14)°, respectively. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter­actions, forming chains along the c axis