Hedonism versus accuracy: the influence of motivation and affect on the evaluation of multiple gains and losses

The perceived value of multiple gains and losses may be influenced by a perceiver's goals or affective state. In this research, insights from prospect theory were combined with the heuristic-systematic model to shed light on the information-processing strategies that underlie motivated and affect-related preference formation in the context of valuating multiple gains and losses. Specifically, findings from two experiments examine the influence of motivation and affect on preferences for segregated versus integrated gains and losses. In the first experiment—consistent with hypotheses—accuracy motivation was found to induce systematic processing for gains. The mixed results in the loss condition are explained with the influence of negative affect. Overall, the evidence supports the notion that people's value functions might be more flexible than predicted by prospect theory, depending on people's current goals. The second experiment substantiates these findings, identifying the influence of negative versus positive affect on the valuation of gains and losses. The results suggest that mood-management determines information processing and preferences depending on the congruence of the valence of affect (e.g. negative such as sadness) and the valence event (e.g. a positive event such as a gain). From a managerial perspective these studies add to practical knowledge on price communication, bundling, surcharges, or sequences of payments. When setting prices, salaries or other compensation schemes managers should consider whether their target group tends to be more accuracy or more feeling motivate

A Molecular Docking and Pharmacokinetic Prediction of Thiazolidine-2, 4-dione Derivatives: Toward Novel Therapeutic Targets for Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading endocrine disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by hyperglycemia and high insulin resistance. The commonly prescribed oral therapeutic for insulin resistance in T2DM is Thiazolidine-2, 4-diones (TZDs). TZDs are a class of oral hypoglycemic agents that act on Peroxisome proliferator activating receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) receptors and are mainly expressed in the adipose tissues. In this work, we derive novel classes of TZDs and predict the nature of structural affinity using docking studies against the PPAR-γ.

Pragya Mathur's Quick Files

The Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity

Not All That Glitters is Golden: The Impact of Procedural Fairness Perceptions on Firm Evaluations and Customer Satisfaction with Favorable Outcomes

Firms often strive to delight their customers and build strong customer-firm relationships by providing favored benefits to their customers. Drawing from the organizational justice literature, we show that even when customers receive favorable outcomes from distributively fair firm actions, considerations of procedural unfairness may adversely affect their firm evaluations. Procedural fairness salience and customers’ perceived relationship with the firm determine the extent to which procedural fairness affects firm-evaluations. Customers in communal relationships, focused on social/relational factors, are more sensitive to procedural fairness, leading to improved (diminished) firm evaluations when the procedure is perceived as fair (unfair). Those in exchange relationships are unaffected by procedural fairness and evaluate the firm based largely on outcome favorability. Firm trustworthiness mediates the impact of procedural fairness on evaluations. Implications of procedural fairness being driven by relational and non-instrumental considerations are discussed

A Framework to Subquery Optimization using Casebased Reasoning

Query optimizers in current database management systems (DBMS) often face problems such as intolerably long optimization time and/or poor optimization results when optimizing complex subqueries using classical techniques [1]. There are computational environments where metadata acquisition and support is very expensive. A ubiquitous computing environment is an appropriate example where classical query optimization techniques are not useful any more. To tackle this challenge, we present a new similaritybased optimization technique using case-based reasoning in this paper[2]. The key idea is to identify cases of similar subqueries that often appear in a complex query and share the optimization result within each case in the query [3]. An efficient algorithm to identify similar queries in a given query and optimize the query based on similarity is presented. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique is quite promising in optimizing complex subqueries in a DBMS. It is possible to learn from each new experience in order to suggest better solutions to solve future queries. Keywords Classical query optimization techniques, ubiquitous computing environment, metadata, case-based reasoning, similarity function 1

Comparative analysis of saponins, flavonoids, phenolics and antioxidant activities of field acclimatized and in vitro propagated Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell from different locations in India

259-268Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell, a well-documented nootropic plant, commonly called ‘herb of grace’ and traditionally Brahmi, is extensively used in herbal formulations for neurological disorder. However, variations in active phytopharmaceutically important compounds in the formulations often affect their therapeutic efficacy and market acceptance. In this study, we compared pharmaceutically important phytocompounds viz. saponins, flavonoids and phenolics along with antioxidant activities in field acclimatized B. monnieri plants from different geographical locations in India. Results have shown comparatively higher saponins, phenolics and flavonoids yield in BM-7 (field acclimatized from Haridwar, Uttranchal) and higher antioxidant activities in BM-4 (field acclimatized from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh). The soil samples of the plants sources have also shown variations in the macronutrient compositions. In comparison, when propagated in in vitro conditions using four different culture media, all plants respond differently with comparatively higher dry weights in Murashige and Skoog medium (1962). Further, analyses of the phytocompounds in MS medium revealed variations in the phytocompounds yield and antioxidant activities. While BMT-3 (Jammu) and BMT-6 (Lucknow) reported around 9 to 11 fold increase in saponins yield compared to field acclimatized plants, BMT-2 (Delhi) showed 10 and 12 fold increase in total phenolic content and antioxidant activities, respectively. The studies may help understanding the role of environmental and in vitro propagation conditions in regulating biosynthesis of therapeutically important phytocompounds better, and thereby useful in developing a scalable process

Cranial migration of ventriculoperitoneal shunt

We report a rare case of an 11-month male infant with cranial migration of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt assembly. The shunt chamber was lying inside the ventricles. At the time of shunt revision, outsized burr hole and wide dural opening were observed. The ventricular migrated chamber of VP shunt was first retrieved from the ventricle followed by the removal of whole shunt assembly. A new VP shunt was placed on the other side with the chamber firmly anchored to the pericranium. The diagnosis was timely done and prevented complete shunt migration into the ventricles. We attribute factors such as outsized burr hole, wide dural opening, and poor anchoring of the straight connector of shunt chamber to periosteum because of poor tissue preservation (redo operation). Repeated flushing of the shunt chamber by cranial direction pressing on it by the mother might be a contributing factor for loosening of anchor sutures and cranial migration. Patients undergoing VP shunt procedure must be under regular follow-up for early recognition of this potential complication. Cranial migration of VP shunt is usually not a fatal complication