Framing Effects in the Elicitation of Risk Aversion: An Experimental Study

In most risk elicitation tasks, lotteries are presented through a verbal description stating the outcomes and their likelihoods (e.g., "Win $5 with probability 10$5"), sometimes accompanied by a pictorial representation (a pie chart or bar graph). Literature on risk communication suggests that alternative but supposedly equivalent numeric formats (e.g., percentages vs ratios) and pictorial displays (e.g., continuous vs discrete) may lead to a different perception of risk and concern for it. The present experiment (N = 95) tests for numeric and pictorial framing effects in a multiple price list (MPL), where risk information is presented either as percentages ("10%") or as ratios ("1 out of 10") and is accompanied by either two-slice or ten-slice pies. Results show that neither the numeric framing (adopting ratios) nor the pictorial framing (slicing pies) significantly altered per se the average elicited risk aversion. Nonetheless, the pictorial framing significantly reduced the elicited risk aversion for those participants who focused on the probability of the lottery's high outcome in their decisions

Shell-supported footbridges

Architects and engineers have been always attracted by concrete shell structures due to their high efficiency and plastic shapes. In this paper the possibility to use concrete shells to support footbridges is explored. Starting from Musmeci's fundamental research andwork in shell bridge design, the use of numerical formfinding methods is analysed. The form-finding of a shellsupported footbridge shaped following Musmeci's work is first introduced. Coupling Musmeci's and Nervi's experiences, an easy construction method using a stay-inplace ferrocement formwork is proposed. Moreover, the advantage of inserting holes in the shell through topology optimization to remove less exploited concrete has been considered. Curved shell-supported footbridges have been also studied, and the possibility of supporting the deck with the shell top edge, that is along a single curve only, has been investigated. The form-finding of curved shell-supported footbridges has been performed using a Particle-Spring System and Thrust Network Analysis. Finally, the form-finding of curved shell-supported footbridges subjected to both vertical and horizontal forces (i.e. earthquake action) has been implemented

Captive Breeding Programs Based on Family Groups in Polyploid Sturgeons

In species with long life cycles and discontinuous availability of individuals to reproduction, implementing a long-term captive breeding program can be difficult or impossible. In such cases, managing diversity among familiar groups instead of individuals could become a suitable approach to avoid inbreeding and increase the possibility to accomplish a breeding scheme. This is the case of several sturgeon species including the Adriatic sturgeon, whose recovery depends on the management of a few captive stocks directly descended from the same group of wild parents. In the present study, relatedness among 445 potential breeders was inferred with a novel software for pedigree reconstruction in tetraploids ("BreedingSturgeons"). This information was used to plan a breeding scheme considering familiar groups as breeding units and identifying mating priorities. A two-step strategy is proposed: a short-term breeding program, relying on the 13 remaining F0 individuals of certain wild origin; and a long-term plan based on F1 families. Simulations to evaluate the loss of alleles in the F2 generation under different pairing strategies and assess the number of individuals to breed, costs and logistical aquaculture constraints were performed. The strategy proposed is transferable to the several other tetraploid sturgeon species on the brink of extinction

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Extracellular Matrix (ECM) Stiffness in the Development of the Leech Hirudo verbana

The invertebrate leech Hirudo verbana represents a powerful experimental animal model for improving the knowledge about the functional interaction between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cells within the tissue microenvironment (TME), and the key role played by ECM stiffness during development and growth. Indeed, the medicinal leech is characterized by a simple anatomical organization reproducing many aspects of the basic biological processes of vertebrates and in which a rapid spatiotemporal development is well established and easily assessed. Our results show that ECM structural organization, as well as the amount of fibrillar and non-fibrillar collagen are deeply different from hatching leeches to adult ones. In addition, the changes in ECM remodelling occurring during the different leech developmental stages, leads to a gradient of stiffness regulating both the path of migratory cells and their fates. The ability of cells to perceive and respond to changes in ECM composition and mechanics strictly depend on nuclear or cytoplasmic expression of Yes-Associated Protein 1 (YAP1), a key mediator converting mechanical signals into transcriptional outputs, expression, and activation

Curved footbridges supported by a shell obtained through thrust network analysis

After Maillart's concrete curved arch bridges were built before the Second World War, in the second half of the past century and this century, many curved bridges have been built with both steel and concrete. Conversely, since the construction of Musmeci's shell supported bridge in Potenza, few shell bridges have been constructed. This paper explains how to design a curved footbridge supported by an anticlastic shell by shaping the shell via a thrust network analysis (TNA). By taking advantage of the peculiar properties of anticlastic membranes, the unconventional method of shaping a shell by a TNA is illustrated. The shell top edge that supports the deck has an assigned layout, which is provided by the road curved layout. The form of the bottom edge is obtained by the form-finding procedure as a thrust line, by applying the thrust network analysis (TNA) in a non-standard manner, shaping the shell by applying the boundary conditions and allowing relaxation. The influence of the boundary conditions on the bridge shape obtained as an envelope of thrust lines is investigated. A finite element analysis was performed. The results indicate that the obtained shell form is effective in transferring deck loads to foundations via compressive stresses and taking advantage of concrete mechanical properties

Exploring the parent population of beamed NLS1s: from the black hole to the jet

The aim of this work is to understand the nature of the parent population of beamed narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s), by studying the physical properties of three parent candidates samples: steep-spectrum radio-loud NLS1s, radio-quiet NLS1s and disk-hosted radio-galaxies. In particular, we focused on the black hole mass and Eddington ratio distribution and on the interactions between the jet and the narrow-line region.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Proceedings of High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows (HEPRO) V, Workshop Series of the Argentinian Astronomical Societ

Molecular Hydrogen Formation on Low Temperature Surfaces in Temperature Programmed Desorption Experiments

The study of the formation of molecular hydrogen on low temperature surfaces is of interest both because it allows to explore elementary steps in the heterogeneous catalysis of a simple molecule and because of the applications in astrochemistry. Here we report results of experiments of molecular hydrogen formation on amorphous silicate surfaces using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). In these experiments beams of H and D atoms are irradiated on the surface of an amorphous silicate sample. The desorption rate of HD molecules is monitored using a mass spectrometer during a subsequent TPD run. The results are analyzed using rate equations and the activation energies of the processes leading to molecular hydrogen formation are obtained from the TPD data. We show that a model based on a single isotope provides the correct results for the activation energies for diffusion and desorption of H atoms. These results can thus be used to evaluate the formation rate of H_2 on dust grains under the actual conditions present in interstellar clouds.Comment: 30 pages, 1 table, 6 figures. Published versio

Unveiling the parent population of beamed narrow-line Seyfert 1s

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are active galactic nuclei (AGN) recently identified as a new class of $\gamma$-ray sources. The high energy emission is explained by the presence of a relativistic jet observed at small angles, just like in the case of blazars. When the latter are observed at larger angles they appear as radio-galaxies, but an analogue parent population for beamed NLS1s has not yet been determined. In this work we analyze this problem by studying the physical properties of three different samples of parent sources candidates: steep-spectrum radio-loud NLS1s, radio-quiet NLS1s, and disk-hosted radio-galaxies, along with compact steep-spectrum sources. In our approach, we first derived black hole mass and Eddington ratio from the optical spectra, then we investigated the interaction between the jet and the narrow-line region from the [O III] $\lambda\lambda$4959,5007 lines. Finally, the radio luminosity function allowed us to compare their jet luminosity and hence determine the relations between the samples.Comment: 6 pages, no figures. Proceedings of the 28th Texas Symposium, Geneva, December 13-18, 201