1,538 research outputs found
Counterfactual thinking in cooperation dynamics
Counterfactual Thinking is a human cognitive ability studied in a wide
variety of domains. It captures the process of reasoning about a past event
that did not occur, namely what would have happened had this event occurred,
or, otherwise, to reason about an event that did occur but what would ensue had
it not. Given the wide cognitive empowerment of counterfactual reasoning in the
human individual, the question arises of how the presence of individuals with
this capability may improve cooperation in populations of self-regarding
individuals. Here we propose a mathematical model, grounded on Evolutionary
Game Theory, to examine the population dynamics emerging from the interplay
between counterfactual thinking and social learning (i.e., individuals that
learn from the actions and success of others) whenever the individuals in the
population face a collective dilemma. Our results suggest that counterfactual
reasoning fosters coordination in collective action problems occurring in large
populations, and has a limited impact on cooperation dilemmas in which
coordination is not required. Moreover, we show that a small prevalence of
individuals resorting to counterfactual thinking is enough to nudge an entire
population towards highly cooperative standards.Comment: 18 page
Fitting the incidence data from the city of Campinas, Brazil, based on dengue transmission modellings considering time-dependent entomological parameters
FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFour time-dependent dengue transmission models are considered in order to fit the incidence data from the City of Campinas, Brazil, recorded from October 1st 1995 to September 30th 2012. The entomological parameters are allowed to depend on temperature and precipitation, while the carrying capacity and the hatching of eggs depend only on precipitation. The whole period of incidence of dengue is split into four periods, due to the fact that the model is formulated considering the circulation of only one serotype. Dengue transmission parameters from human to mosquito and mosquito to human are fitted for each one of the periods. The time varying partial and overall effective reproduction numbers are obtained to explain the incidence of dengue provided by the models.Four time-dependent dengue transmission models are considered in order to fit the incidence data from the City of Campinas, Brazil, recorded from October 1st 1995 to September 30th 2012. The entomological parameters are allowed to depend on temperature and precipitation, while the carrying capacity and the hatching of eggs depend only on precipitation. The whole period of incidence of dengue is split into four periods, due to the fact that the model is formulated considering the circulation of only one serotype. Dengue transmission parameters from human to mosquito and mosquito to human are fitted for each one of the periods. The time varying partial and overall effective reproduction numbers are obtained to explain the incidence of dengue provided by the models113FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO2009/15098-
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Urinary incontinence related to perineal muscle strength in the first trimester of pregnancy: cross-sectional study
Objective To analyze pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS), urinary continence and quality of life related to urinary incontinence (UI) of women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Method Cross-sectional study with a sample of 500 women who started prenatal care in a complementary healthcare facility in Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, from 2012 and 2013. Pelvic floor muscle strength was evaluated through perineometry. The pregnant women who presented UI answered the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF). Results It was found that maternal age (OR=1.06; CI95% 1.02-1.11) and prior UI (OR=15.12; 95%CI 8.19-27.92) are the variables that, in tandem, best explain the occurrence of UI at the beginning of pregnancy. The mean score on the ICIQ-SF was 8.2 (SD=3.9), considered a moderate impact on quality of life. Conclusion Older pregnant women with prior UI are more likely to have UI in the first trimester of pregnancy.
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Molecular Mechanisms of the Diabetogenic Effects of Arsenic: Inhibition of Insulin Signaling by Arsenite and Methylarsonous Acid
BACKGROUND: Increased prevalences of diabetes mellitus have been reported among individuals chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic (iAs). However, the mechanisms underlying the diabetogenic effects of iAs have not been characterized. We have previously shown that trivalent metabolites of iAs, arsenite (iAs(III)) and methylarsonous acid (MAs(III)) inhibit insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by suppressing the insulin-dependent phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to identify the molecular mechanisms responsible for the suppression of PKB/Akt phosphorylation by iAs(III) and MAs(III). METHODS: The effects of iAs(III) and MAs(III) on components of the insulin-activated signal transduction pathway that regulate PKB/Akt phosphorylation were examined in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. RESULTS: Subtoxic concentrations of iAs(III) or MAs(III) had little or no effect on the activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K), which synthesizes phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP(3)), or on phosphorylation of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten), a PIP(3) phosphatase. Neither iAs(III) nor MAs(III) interfered with the phosphorylation of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1) located downstream from PI-3K. However, PDK-1 activity was inhibited by both iAs(III) and MAs(III). Consistent with these findings, PDK-1-catalyzed phosphorylation of PKB/Akt(Thr308) and PKB/Akt activity were suppressed in exposed cells. In addition, PKB/Akt(Ser473) phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by a putative PDK-2, was also suppressed. Notably, expression of constitutively active PKB/Akt restored the normal ISGU pattern in adipocytes treated with either iAs(III) or MAs(III). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that inhibition of the PDK-1/PKB/Akt-mediated transduction step is the key mechanism for the inhibition of ISGU in adipocytes exposed to iAs(III) or MAs(III), and possibly for impaired glucose tolerance associated with human exposures to iAs
2MASS photometry of edge-on spiral galaxies. I. Sample and general results
A sample of edge-on spiral galaxies aimed at a study of the main structural
and photometric parameters of edge-on galaxies both of early and late types is
presented. The data were taken from the 2MASS in the J, H and K_s filters. The
sample consists of 175 galaxies in the K_s-filter, 169 galaxies in the H-filter
and 165 galaxies in the J-filter. We present bulge and disc decompositions of
each galaxy image. All galaxies have been modelled with a Sersic bulge and
exponential disc with the BUDDA v2.1 package.
The main conclusions of our general statistical analysis of the sample are:
(1) The distribution of the apparent bulge axis ratio q_b for the subsample
with n < 2 can be attributed to triaxial, nearly prolate bulges that are seen
from different projections, while n > 2 bulges seem to be oblate spheroids with
moderate flattening.
(2) For the sample galaxies, the effective radius of the bulge r_{e,b}, the
disc scalelength h and the disc scaleheight z_0 are well correlated. However,
there is a clear trend for the ratio r_{e,b}/h to increase with n.
(3) There is a hint that the fundamental planes of discs, which links only
disc parameters and the maximum rotational velocity of gas, are different for
galaxies with different bulges.
(4) The investigation of the Photometric Plane of sample bulges shows that
the plane is not flat and has a prominent curvature towards small values of n.
For bulges this fact was not noticed earlier.
(5) The clear relation between the flattening of stellar discs h/z_0 and the
relative mass of a spherical component, including a dark halo, is confirmed not
for bulgeless galaxies but for galaxies with massive bulges. (Abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Electric Field-Tuned Topological Phase Transition in Ultra-Thin Na3Bi - Towards a Topological Transistor
The electric field induced quantum phase transition from topological to
conventional insulator has been proposed as the basis of a topological field
effect transistor [1-4]. In this scheme an electric field can switch 'on' the
ballistic flow of charge and spin along dissipationless edges of the
two-dimensional (2D) quantum spin Hall insulator [5-9], and when 'off' is a
conventional insulator with no conductive channels. Such as topological
transistor is promising for low-energy logic circuits [4], which would
necessitate electric field-switched materials with conventional and topological
bandgaps much greater than room temperature, significantly greater than
proposed to date [6-8]. Topological Dirac semimetals(TDS) are promising systems
in which to look for topological field-effect switching, as they lie at the
boundary between conventional and topological phases [3,10-16]. Here we use
scanning probe microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and angle-resolved
photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) to show that mono- and bilayer films of TDS
Na3Bi [3,17] are 2D topological insulators with bulk bandgaps >400 meV in the
absence of electric field. Upon application of electric field by doping with
potassium or by close approach of the STM tip, the bandgap can be completely
closed then re-opened with conventional gap greater than 100 meV. The large
bandgaps in both the conventional and quantum spin Hall phases, much greater
than the thermal energy kT = 25 meV at room temperature, suggest that ultrathin
Na3Bi is suitable for room temperature topological transistor operation
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