Preferences and Beliefs in a Sequential Social Dilemma: A Within-Subjects Analysis

Within-subject data from sequential social dilemma experiments reveal a correlation of first-and second-mover decisions for which two channels may be responsible, that our experiment allows to separate: i) a direct, preference-based channel that influences both first- and second-mover decisions; ii) an indirect channel, where second-mover decisions influence beliefs via a consensus effect, and the first-mover decision is a best response to these beliefs. We find strong evidence for the indirect channel: beliefs about second-mover cooperation are biased toward own second-mover behavior, and most subjects best respond to stated beliefs. But when first movers know the true probability of second-mover cooperation, subjects' own second moves still have predictive power regarding their first moves, suggesting that the direct channel also plays a role.experimental economics, consensus effect, social dilemmas

Cosmic ray spectral hardening due to dispersion in the source injection spectra

Recent cosmic ray (CR) experiments discovered that the CR spectra experience a remarkable hardening for rigidity above several hundred GV. We propose that this is caused by the superposition of the CR energy spectra of many sources that have a dispersion in the injection spectral indices. Adopting similar parameters as those of supernova remnants derived from the Fermi $\gamma$-ray observations, we can reproduce the observational CR spectra of different species well. This may be interpreted as evidence to support the supernova remnant origin of CRs below the knee. We further propose that the same mechanism may explain the "ankle" of the ultra high energy CR spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures and 1 table. Updated with the diffusion propagation model, accepted by Phys. Rev.

Possible "dawn" and "dusk" roles of light pulses shifting the phase of a circadian rhythm

A new automatic photoelectric method used in recording the eclosion rate of flies is described. The phase responses of the circadian rhythm of eclosion in Drosophila pseudoobscura to light pulses, of 1000 lx intensity and durations varying between 30 min and 12 h, were studied. The rhythm responds selectively either to the "on" or to the "off" transition of light pulses offered during the subjective night. The light pulses shift phase with the off transition during the first half of the night (dusk effect) and shift phase with the "on" transition during the second half of the night (dawn effect). The present findings are briefly discussed in the context of the work of other authors in this field

Interference Leakage Neutralization in Two-Hop Wiretap Channels with Partial CSI

In this paper, we analyze the four-node relay wiretap channel, where the relay performs amplify-and-forward. There is no direct link between transmitter and receiver available. The transmitter has multiple antennas, which assist in securing the transmission over both phases. In case of full channel state information (CSI), the transmitter can apply information leakage neutralization in order to prevent the eavesdropper from obtaining any information about the signal sent. This gets more challenging, if the transmitter has only an outdated estimate of the channel from the relay to the eavesdropper. For this case, we optimize the worst case secrecy rate by choosing intelligently the beamforming vectors and the power allocation at the transmitter and the relay

Blurring Borders: Innate Immunity with Adaptive Features

Adaptive immunity has often been considered the penultimate of immune capacities. That system is now being deconstructed to encompass less stringent rules that govern its initiation, actual effector activity, and ambivalent results. Expanding the repertoire of innate immunity found in all invertebrates has greatly facilitated the relaxation of convictions concerning what actually constitutes innate and adaptive immunity. Two animal models, incidentally not on the line of chordate evolution (C. elegans and Drosophila), have contributed enormously to defining homology. The characteristics of specificity and memory and whether the antigen is pathogenic or nonpathogenic reveal considerable information on homology, thus deconstructing the more fundamentalist view. Senescence, cancer, and immunosuppression often associated with mammals that possess both innate and adaptive immunity also exist in invertebrates that only possess innate immunity. Strict definitions become blurred casting skepticism on the utility of creating rigid definitions of what innate and adaptive immunity are without considering overlaps

Cosmic-ray propagation properties for an origin in SNRs

We have studied the impact of cosmic-ray acceleration in SNR on the spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei in the Galaxy using a series expansion of the propagation equation, which allows us to use analytical solutions for part of the problem and an efficient numerical treatment of the remaining equations and thus accurately describes the cosmic-ray propagation on small scales around their sources in three spatial dimensions and time. We found strong variations of the cosmic-ray nuclei flux by typically 20% with occasional spikes of much higher amplitude, but only minor changes in the spectral distribution. The locally measured spectra of primary cosmic rays fit well into the obtained range of possible spectra. We further showed that the spectra of the secondary element Boron show almost no variations, so that the above findings also imply significant fluctuations of the Boron-to-Carbon ratio. Therefore the commonly used method of determining CR propagation parameters by fitting secondary-to-primary ratios appears flawed on account of the variations that these ratios would show throughout the Galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

The Most Likely Sources of High Energy Cosmic-Ray Electrons in Supernova Remnants

Evidences of non-thermal X-ray emission and TeV gamma-rays from the supernova remnants (SNRs) has strengthened the hypothesis that primary Galactic cosmic-ray electrons are accelerated in SNRs. High energy electrons lose energy via synchrotron and inverse Compton processes during propagation in the Galaxy. Due to these radiative losses, TeV electrons liberated from SNRs at distances larger than ~1 kpc, or times older than ~10^5 yr, cannot reach the solar system. We investigated the cosmic-ray electron spectrum observed in the solar system using an analytical method, and considered several candidate sources among nearby SNRs which may contribute to the high energy electron flux. Especially, we discuss the effects for the release time from SNRs after the explosion, as well as the deviation of a source spectrum from a simple power-law. From this calculation, we found that some nearby sources such as the Vela, Cygnus Loop, or Monogem could leave unique signatures in the form of identifiable structure in the energy spectrum of TeV electrons and show anisotropies towards the sources, depending on when the electrons are liberated from the remnant. This suggests that, in addition to providing information on the mechanisms of acceleration and propagation of cosmic-rays, specific cosmic-ray sources can be identified through the precise electron observation in the TeV region.Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap