Information Aggregation and Strategic Abstention in Large Laboratory Elections

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The Swing Voter’s Curse in the Laboratory

This paper reports the first laboratory study of the swing voter’s curse and provides insights on the larger theoretical and empirical literature on "pivotal voter" models. Our experiment controls for different information levels of voters, as well as the size of the electorate, the distribution of preferences, and other theoretically relevant parameters. The design varies the share of partisan voters and the prior belief about a payoff relevant state of the world. Our results support the equilibrium predictions of the Feddersen-Pesendorfer model, and clearly reject the notion that voters in the laboratory use naive decision-theoretic strategies. The voters act as if they are aware of the swing voter’s curse and adjust their behavior to compensate. While the compensation is not complete and there is some heterogeneity in individual behavior, we find that aggregate outcomes, such as efficiency, turnout, and margin of victory, closely track the theoretical predictions

Submerged Lands of Texas, Brownsville-Harlingen Area: Sediments, Geochemistry, Benthic Macroinvertebrates..

Surface sediment textures, sediment geochemistry, and benthic fauna of the State-owned submerged lands were mapped and described using bottom samples collected at 1-mi (1.6-km) intervals from bays, estuaries, and lagoons, and the inner continental shelf. In one area of Laguna Madre samples were collected at 0.5-mi (0.8-km) intervals. In addition, the distribution of wetlands in adjacent areas was mapped using color infrared photographs taken primarily in 1979. Textural maps of the Brownsville-Harlingen area show that sand and muddy sand, having a mean grain size of between 2.5 and 5, are the dominant sediment types in bay-estuary-lagoon and inner-shelf areas. Generally, in Laguna Madre sands occur on the barrier island side of the lagoon, whereas muddier sediments are more abundant along the mainland side and in deeper areas. Muddy sand is dominant in the relatively wide southern end of Laguna Madre, and sand is dominant along the narrower, northern two-thirds of the lagoon where broad sandy wind-tidal flats on Padre Island grade into shallow subaqueous lagoon sands. Dominantly sand-sized sediments blanket most of the inner shelf and extend about 10 mi (16 km) offshore from Padre Island. The greatest extent of sand is associated with marine reworked late Pleistocene fluvial-deltaic deposits that underlie much of the inner shelf. Water depths average about 90 ft (30 m) at the outer limits of this sand-rich area. A nearshore patch of mud occurs near the mouth of the Rio Grande and represents the most recent deposition of the river. To the east and north the mud grades into muddy sand that represents a mixture of relict shelf sands and more modern fluvial muds.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Realistic Design Specifications Increase Pump Reliability

PaperPg. 101-109.Many design specifications are incomplete relative to pumping system operation and can inadvertently place unrealistic restrictions on the pump designer. Meaningful cooperation between pump suppliers, architect/engineers (A. E.), and users can result in specifications being written to meet the customer's requirement and also provide design parameters to the manufacturer which will allow production of a machine with optimum reliability and operating life. Pressure pulsation levels and vibration amplitudes are usually lowest when centrifugal pumps operate at capacities near the best efficiency point. On the other hand, pulsation and vibration are generally higher as the pump operates at "off peak" capacities. These conditions are due to hydraulic instability resulting from secondary flows and separation, with resultant stall in the hydraulic passages. This paper, which will study hydraulic instability and the phenomenon of low flow recirculation, is based on actual field case studies. Field experience can provide a basis for establishing realistic design requirements toward obtaining optimum pump performance and system reliability. In addition, this paper will review the corrective action required to minimize these problems through optimum design specification

Reshaping the tumor stroma for treatment of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is accompanied by a fibrotic reaction that alters interactions between tumor cells and the stroma to promote tumor progression. Consequently, strategies to target the tumor stroma might be used to treat patients with pancreatic cancer. We review recently developed approaches for reshaping the pancreatic tumor stroma and discuss how these might improve patient outcomes. We also describe relationships between the pancreatic tumor extracellular matrix, the vasculature, the immune system, and metabolism, and discuss the implications for the development of stromal compartment−specific therapies

Molecular evidence for gender differences in the migratory behaviour of a small seabird

Molecular sexing revealed an unexpectedly strong female bias in the sex ratio of pre-breeding European Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), attracted to playback of conspecific calls during their northwards migration past SW Europe. This bias was consistent across seven years, ranging from 80.8% to 89.7% female (mean annual sex ratio ± SD = 85.5% female ±4.1%). The sex ratio did not differ significantly from unity (i.e., 50% female) among (i) Storm Petrel chicks at a breeding colony in NW France, (ii) adults found dead on beaches in Southern Portugal, (iii) breeding birds attending nest burrows in the UK, captured by hand, and (iv) adults captured near a breeding colony in the UK using copies of the same sound recordings as used in Southern Europe, indicating that females are not inherently more strongly attracted to playback calls than males. A morphological discriminant function analysis failed to provide a good separation of the sexes, showing the importance of molecular sexing for this species. We found no sex difference in the seasonal or nocturnal timing of migration past Southern Europe, but there was a significant tendency for birds to be caught in sex-specific aggregations. The preponderance of females captured in Southern Europe suggests that the sexes may differ in migration route or in their colony-prospecting behaviour during migration, at sites far away from their natal colonies. Such differences in migration behaviour between males and females are poorly understood but have implications for the vulnerability of seabirds to pollution and environmental change at sea during the non-breeding season

CAF subpopulations: a new reservoir of stromal targets in pancreatic cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the most significant components in the tumour microenvironment (TME), where they can perform several protumourigenic functions. Several studies have recently reported that CAFs are more heterogenous and plastic than was previously thought. As such, there has been a shift in the field to study CAF subpopulations and the emergent functions of these subsets in tumourigenesis. In this review, we explore how different aspects of CAF heterogeneity are defined and how these manifest in multiple cancers, with a focus on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We also discuss therapeutic approaches to selectively target protumourigenic CAF functions, while avoiding normal fibroblasts, providing insight into the future of stromal targeting for the treatment of PDAC and other solid tumours

Chromospheric jets around the edges of sunspots

Aims. Evidence is beginning to be put forward that demonstrates the role of the chromosphere in supplying energy and mass to the corona. We aim to asses the role of chromospheric jets in active region dynamics. Methods. Using a combination of the Hinode/SOT Ca II H and TRACE 1550 Å and 1600 Å filters we examine chromospheric jets situated at the edge of a sunspot. Results. Analysis reveals a near continuous series of jets, that raise chromospheric material into the low corona above a sunspot. The jets have average rise speeds of 30 km/s and a range of 10−100 km/s. Enhanced emission observed at the jets leading edge suggests the formation of a shock front. Increased emission in TRACE bandpasses above the sunspot and the disappearance of the jets from the Ca II filter suggests that some of the chromospheric jet material is at least heated to ∼ 0.1 MK. The evidence suggests that the jets could be a mechanism which provides a steady, low-level heating for active region features