The effect of anchors and social information on behaviour

We use a ‘multi-player dictator game’ (MDG), with ‘social information’ about the monetary transfer made by a previous dictator to a recipient, to examine whether average contributions as well as the behavioural strategy adopted are affected by the first amount presented (the ‘anchor’) using a sequential strategy elicitation method. We find that average contributions are positively affected by the anchor. The anchor is also found to influence the behavioural strategy that individuals adopt, such that low anchors significantly increase the likelihood that players will adopt unconditional self-interested strategies, whereas high anchors increase the likelihood of adopting giving strategies. The distribution of strategies – and hence, the distribution of behavioural ‘types’ - is therefore affected by the initial conditions of play, lending support to the notion that behavioural strategies are context dependent

Metadata Deep Dive: Results from a Detailed Quality Assessment of NASA's Earth Observation Metadata

No abstract availabl

Complication prevalence following use of tutoplast-derived human acellular dermal matrix in prosthetic breast reconstruction: A retrospective review of 203 patients

SummaryUse of human acellular dermal matrix (ADM) during prosthetic breast reconstruction has increased. Several ADM products are available produced by differing manufacturing techniques. It is not known if outcomes vary with different products. This study reports the complication prevalence following use of a tutoplast-derived ADM (T-ADM) in prosthetic breast reconstruction. We performed a retrospective chart review of 203 patients (mean follow-up times 12.2 months) who underwent mastectomy and immediate prosthetic breast reconstruction utilizing T-ADM, recording demographic data, surgical indications and complication (infection, seroma, hematoma, wound healing exceeding three weeks and reconstruction failure). During a four-year period, 348 breast reconstructions were performed Complications occurred in 16.4% of reconstructed breasts. Infection occurred in 6.6% of breast reconstructions (3.7% – major infection, requiring intravenous antibiotics and 2.9% minor infection, requiring oral antibiotics only). Seromas occurred in 3.4% and reconstruction failure occurred in 0.6% of breast reconstructions. Analysis suggested that complication prevalence was significantly higher in patients with a BMI >30 (p = 0.03). The complication profile following T-ADM use is this series is comparable to that reported for with other ADM products. T-ADM appears to be a safe and acceptable option for use in ADM-assisted breast reconstruction

Language report for Catalan (English version)

The central objective of the Metanet4u project is to contribute to the establishment of a pan-European digital platform that makes available language resources and services, encompassing both datasets and software tools, for speech and language processing, and supports a new generation of exchange facilities for them.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Transfer of small plasmid DNA fragments from polyacrylamide gels onto nitrocellulose paper

The incorporation into a 7% polyacrylamide gel of a nucleic acid-specific photochemical reagent 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen at a concentration of 1 mg/dl of acrylamide solution improves both the sensitivity and the efficiency of the transfer of plasmid DNA fragments from the gel onto nitrocellulose filters. This improvement allows detection by blot hybridization of DNA fragments as small as 57 bp long.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25088/1/0000519.pd

Exposure to the World Trade Center Disaster and 9/11-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Household Disaster Preparedness

Objective In a population with prior exposure to the World Trade Center disaster, this study sought to determine the subsequent level of preparedness for a new disaster and how preparedness varied with population characteristics that are both disaster-related and non-disaster-related. Methods The sample included 4496 World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees who completed the Wave 3 (2011-2012) and Hurricane Sandy (2013) surveys. Participants were considered prepared if they reported possessing at least 7 of 8 standard preparedness items. Logistic regression was used to determine associations between preparedness and demographic and medical factors, 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) assessed at Wave 3, 9/11 exposure, and social support. Results Over one-third (37.5%) of participants were prepared with 18.8% possessing all 8 items. The item most often missing was an evacuation plan (69.8%). Higher levels of social support were associated with being prepared. High levels of 9/11 exposure were associated with being prepared in both the PTSD and non-PTSD subgroups. Conclusions Our findings indicate that prior 9/11 exposure favorably impacted Hurricane Sandy preparedness. Future preparedness messaging should target people with low social support networks. Communications should include information on evacuation zones and where to find information about how to evacuate

Molecular-Marker-Mediated Characterization of Favorable Exotic Alleles at Quantitative Trait Loci in Maize

Exotic maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm, shown to be useful for developing improved temperate cultivars, has remained little used partly because of many inherent shortcomings. Five F2 populations, developed from South American and U.S. germplasm, were used to detect favorable factors of exotic origin at quantitative trait loci (QTL) with isozymes and RFLPs. A number of traits of agronomic importance, including grain yield, were measured on F2 individuals and/or F3 families grown in several environments. Many QTLs, mostly with small effects, were identified. Major QTLs for grain yield and number of ears per plant were located on chromosomes 3 and 6. Stability of QTLs across environments was high. Favorable alleles of exotic origin were found at QTLs for several traits including grain yield and number of ears per plant. Most of these alleles also showed undesirable effects on other traits, however. Nevertheless, the superiority of exotic alleles over adapted alleles was demonstrated clearly at a few QTLs, re-affirming the usefulness of exotic germplasm for temperate maize breeding

Parametric envelope in LPC speech coders

During the last decade, many efforts have been devoted to the relative importance of associated functions like magnitude and phase of Fourier Transforms in image and signal bandwidth reduction. The reported work deals with the importance of the real envelope and instantaneous frequency in signal analysis/sintesis problems. In this paper authors show a method to parametrize the envelope and instantaneous frequency of a real signal. This method is very closed to spectral analysis methods in the sense that with an appropiate study, time domain and frequency domain can be analyced in a similar way.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Parametrización en envolvente y fase en sistemas de codificación

En estos últimos años, se han dedicado muchos esfuerzos al estudio de funciones asociadas como el módulo y la fase de la Transformada de Fourier para reducción de ancho de banda. En este trabajo se estudia la importancia de la envolvente y la frecuencia instantánea en problemas de análisis y síntesis. Los autores presentan un método para parametrizar la envolvente y la frecuencia instantánea de una señal real. Este método está muy relacionado con los de análisis espectral en el sentido de que bajo determinados aspectos, el dominio temporal y el dominio frecuencial pueden ser analizados en la misma forma.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Perineural liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative pain control in patients undergoing upper extremity orthopedic surgery: A prospective and randomized pilot study

Background: Upper extremity surgery is commonly performed in the ambulatory setting and is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain. Methods: Patients scheduled for upper extremity orthopedic surgery with a peripheral nerve block were randomized to receive either an ultrasound-guided single-injection supraclavicular block or ultrasound-guided median, ulnar, and radial nerve blocks (forearm blocks) performed at the level of the mid to proximal forearm with liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel) combined with a short-acting supraclavicular block. A sham block was performed in an attempt to blind enrollees in the control group. We administered the EuroQol 5D-5L questionnaire preoperatively and on postoperative days 1-3 and considered the results the primary outcome of our investigation. Block procedure times, postanesthesia care unit (PACU) length of stay, instances of nausea/vomiting, need for narcotic administration, and patient satisfaction were also assessed. Results: We observed no significant differences in postoperative EuroQol scores between the 2 groups and no significant differences in patient demographics, PACU length of stay, or side effects in the PACU. In some instances, the short-acting supraclavicular block resolved in the PACU, and these patients reported higher pain scores and required titration of analgesics prior to discharge. Conclusion: Larger prospective studies are needed to determine the safety and efficacy of liposomal bupivacaine in patients undergoing upper extremity surgery. Liposomal bupivacaine is currently only approved for local anesthetic infiltration use