A Replication of Beyond the Turk: Alternative Platforms for Crowdsourcing Behavioral Research – Sometimes Preferable to Student Groups

This study is a replication of one of two studies found in “Beyond the Turk: Alternative platforms for crowdsourcing behavioral research” (Peer, Brandimarte, Samat, & Acquisti, 2017). We conduct an empirical analysis and comparison between two online crowdsourcing platforms, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Prolific Academic (ProA), as well as to a traditional student group. The online crowdsourcing platform (e.g., MTurk and others) used for years as a launching point for many types of microwork, including academic research. Today, MTurk has several competitors, including one that was built to focus on research tasks, ProA. Across the four segments, we reinforce the original study by finding both MTurk and ProA to provide inexpensive, reliable, and significantly faster methods of conducting surveys over traditional methods. Our results indicate that ProA provides superior service. By centering on research, ProA results are similar to MTurk’s. However, ProA’s response and completion rates, diversity, attention, naivety, reproducibility, and dishonest behavior are better

The transcriptomic evolution of mammalian pregnancy:gene expression innovations in endometrial stromal fibroblasts

The endometrial stromal fibroblast (ESF) is a cell type present in the uterine lining of therian mammals. In the stem lineage of eutherian mammals, ESF acquired the ability to differentiate into decidual cells in order to allow embryo implantation. We call the latter cell type “neo-ESF” in contrast to “paleo-ESF” which is homologous to eutherian ESF but is not able to decidualize. In this study, we compare the transcriptomes of ESF from six therian species: Opossum (Monodelphis domestica; paleo-ESF), mink, rat, rabbit, human (all neo-ESF), and cow (secondarily nondecidualizing neo-ESF). We find evidence for strong stabilizing selection on transcriptome composition suggesting that the expression of approximately 5,600 genes is maintained by natural selection. The evolution of neo-ESF from paleo-ESF involved the following gene expression changes: Loss of expression of genes related to inflammation and immune response, lower expression of genes opposing tissue invasion, increased markers for proliferation as well as the recruitment of FOXM1, a key gene transiently expressed during decidualization. Signaling pathways also evolve rapidly and continue to evolve within eutherian lineages. In the bovine lineage, where invasiveness and decidualization were secondarily lost, we see a re-expression of genes found in opossum, most prominently WISP2, and a loss of gene expression related to angiogenesis. The data from this and previous studies support a scenario, where the proinflammatory paleo-ESF was reprogrammed to express anti-inflammatory genes in response to the inflammatory stimulus coming from the implanting conceptus and thus paving the way for extended, trans-cyclic gestation

Modeling Caribbean Tourism Demand: An Augmented Gravity Approach

This study uses a gravity framework to model tourism demand for the Caribbean. The basic model is augmented by Linder’s hypothesis—tourist flows are partly determined by the similarity in preferences between the destination and source markets—and climate distance, which measures the gap between climate conditions in origin and destination countries. The results indicate that traditional gravity variables are significant in explaining demand for the region. Habit persistence has the largest impact on demand, a result which holds promise for regional policymakers. Evidence is also unearthed that similarity in preferences between the region and its source markets, and climate distance are important demand determinants

Modeling Caribbean Tourism Demand: An Augmented Gravity Approach

This study uses a gravity framework to model tourism demand for the Caribbean. The basic model is augmented by Linder’s hypothesis—tourist flows are partly determined by the similarity in preferences between the destination and source markets—and climate distance, which measures the gap between climate conditions in origin and destination countries. The results indicate that traditional gravity variables are significant in explaining demand for the region. Habit persistence has the largest impact on demand, a result which holds promise for regional policymakers. Evidence is also unearthed that similarity in preferences between the region and its source markets, and climate distance are important demand determinants

Modeling Caribbean Tourism Demand: An Augmented Gravity Approach

This study uses a gravity framework to model tourism demand for the Caribbean. The basic model is augmented by Linder’s hypothesis—tourist flows are partly determined by the similarity in preferences between the destination and source markets—and climate distance, which measures the gap between climate conditions in origin and destination countries. The results indicate that traditional gravity variables are significant in explaining demand for the region. Habit persistence has the largest impact on demand, a result which holds promise for regional policymakers. Evidence is also unearthed that similarity in preferences between the region and its source markets, and climate distance are important demand determinants

Stem cell therapy in necrotizing enterocolitis: Current state and future directions

Stem cell therapy is a promising treatment modality for necrotizing enterocolitis. Among the many promising stem cells identified to date, it is likely that mesenchymal stem cells will be the most useful and practical cell-based therapies for this condition. Using acellular components such as exosomes or other paracrine mediators are promising as well. Multiple mechanisms are likely at play in the positive effects provided by these cells, and further research is underway to further elucidate these effects

A DVH‐guided IMRT optimization algorithm for automatic treatment planning and adaptive radiotherapy replanning

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135098/1/mp5700.pd