The Value of Fighting Irreversible Demise by Softening the Irreversible Cost

We study a novel issue in the real-options-based technology innovation literature by means of double barrier contingent claims analysis.We show how much a ¯rm with the monopoly over a project is willing to spend in investment technology innovation that softens the irreversible cost of accessing the project before its irreversible demise.The answer depends on the project's characteristics and on the e®ectiveness demanded from technology innovation.Double barrier options;cost irreversibility;demise irreversibility;technology innovation

Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence.

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults

”THE CASE OF THE BEAU-VALLON”: MENTAL ILLNESSES OF DEAF PEOPLE TO THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

Objective: This article aims to examine data on Psychiatric diagnoses among deaf people in comparison with hearing people in the psychiatric hospital in Beau-Vallon. Method: This work proposes to study the diagnostic data from the Summary Psychiatric Minimum (Résumé psychiatrique minimum: RPM) from the years 2000 until 2009 from the psychiatric hospital Beau Vallon and for which a hearing problem has been highlighted on Axis III. The sample data of the deaf population will be compared with the sample of the total population represented by all patients for the year 2008. Both samples were found to be equivalent after a Mann-Whitney test to study the relationship between two independent samples with quantitative data. Results: The results show an overrepresentation of the diagnosis of psychotic disorders (40.7% against 29.3%), an equivalence of depressive disorders (18.5% against 18 %) but bipolar disorders were absent in the deaf while they were found in 5.7% of patients with normal hearing, an overrepresentation in the deaf population of anxiety disorders (11.1% against 3.4%), intellectual disabilities (37% against 13.4% in the hearing population) and an under-representation of personality disorders (25.9% against 61.2% in the hearing population) Conclusion: In this example, several concepts can be put forward to demonstrate bias and prejudice in the specific diagnostic support for deaf people with psychiatric teams who are not specialized in the treatment of deafnes

Les migraines: des gènes à l'environnement

Peer reviewe

Differential Responses of Human Regulatory T Cells (Treg) and Effector T Cells to Rapamycin

Background: The immunosuppressive drug rapamycin (RAPA) promotes the expansion of CD4+ CD25highFoxp3+ regulatory\ud T cells via mechanisms that remain unknown. Here, we studied expansion, IL-2R-c chain signaling, survival pathways and resistance to apoptosis in human Treg responding to RAPA.\ud Methodology/Principal Findings: CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25neg T cells were isolated from PBMC of normal controls (n = 21)\ud using AutoMACS. These T cell subsets were cultured in the presence of anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies and 1000 IU/mL IL-2 for 3 to 6 weeks. RAPA (1–100 nM) was added to half of the cultures. After harvest, the cell phenotype, signaling via the PI3K/ mTOR and STAT pathways, expression of survival proteins and Annexin V binding were determined and compared to values obtained with freshly-separated CD4+CD25high and CD4+CD25neg T cells. Suppressor function was tested in co-cultures with autologous CFSE-labeled CD4+CD25neg or CD8+CD25neg T-cell responders. The frequency and suppressor activity of Treg were increased after culture of CD4+CD25+ T cells in the presence of 1–100 nM RAPA (p,0.001). RAPA-expanded Treg were largely CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ cells and were resistant to apoptosis, while CD4+CD25neg T cells were sensitive. Only Treg upregulated anti-apoptotic and down-regulated pro-apoptotic proteins. Treg expressed higher levels of the PTEN protein than CD4+CD25neg cells. Activated Treg6RAPA preferentially phosphorylated STAT5 and STAT3 and did not utilize the PI3K/ mTOR pathway.\ud Conclusions/Significance: RAPA favors Treg expansion and survival by differentially regulating signaling, proliferation and sensitivity to apoptosis of human effector T cells and Treg after TCR/IL-2 activation

Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) for headache prophylaxis: initial experience

peer reviewe