Competition and norms: a self-defeating combination?

This paper investigates the effects of information feedback mechanisms on electricity and heating usage at a student hall of residence in London. In a randomised control trial, we formulate different treatments such as feedback information and norms, as well as prize competition among subjects. We show that information and norms lead to a sharp – more than 20% - reduction in overall energy consumption. Because participants do not pay for their energy consumption this response cannot be driven by cost saving incentives. Interestingly, when combining feedback and norms with a prize competition for achieving low energy consumption, the reduction effect – while present initially – disappears in the long run. This could suggest that external rewards reduce and even destroy intrinsic motivation to change behaviour

Descriptive and spatial epidemiology of bovine cysticercosis in North-Eastern Spain (Catalonia).

From March 2005 to December 2007, 284 animals from 67 cattle farms (24 dairy and 43 beef) affected by bovine cysticercosis were detected in the region of Catalonia (North-Eastern Spain). Dairy farms were almost twice more likely to be affected than beef farms (OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.08-2.96, p<0.05), and infected premises have a statistically significant (p<0.05) larger number of animals when compared to uninfected farms in Catalonia. The geographical distribution of the infected farms was evaluated and two statistically significant clusters were identified. The most likely cluster was located in the western part of the study region, with 8 out of 10 farms infected. Epidemiological investigations revealed that the 8 farms belonged to the same company. The secondary cluster was located in Eastern Catalonia with 12 infected farms out of 167 cattle farms. No epidemiological links were found among the 12 infected premises. A questionnaire, based on the EFSA risk assessment, was used to assess the most likely route of introduction into each affected farm. Water supply for animals was the route with the highest score in 41.8% of the cases

Targeting of the P2X7 receptor in pancreatic cancer and stellate cells

The ATP‐gated receptor P2X7 (P2X7R) is involved in regulation of cell survival and has been of interest in cancer field. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly cancer and new markers and therapeutic targets are needed. PDAC is characterized by a complex tumour microenvironment, which includes cancer and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), and potentially high nucleotide/side turnover. Our aim was to determine P2X7R expression and function in human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro as well as to perform in vivo efficacy study applying P2X7R inhibitor in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model of PDAC. In the in vitro studies we show that human PDAC cells with luciferase gene (PancTu‐1 Luc cells) express high levels of P2X7R protein. Allosteric P2X7R antagonist AZ10606120 inhibited cell proliferation in basal conditions, indicating that P2X7R was tonically active. Extracellular ATP and BzATP, to which the P2X7R is more sensitive, further affected cell survival and confirmed complex functionality of P2X7R. PancTu‐1 Luc migration and invasion was reduced by AZ10606120, and it was stimulated by PSCs, but not by PSCs from P2X7(‐/‐) animals. PancTu‐1 Luc cells were orthotopically transplanted into nude mice and tumour growth was followed noninvasively by bioluminescence imaging. AZ10606120‐treated mice showed reduced bioluminescence compared to saline‐treated mice. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed P2X7R expression in cancer and PSC cells, and in metaplastic/neoplastic acinar and duct structures. PSCs number/activity and collagen deposition was reduced in AZ10606120‐treated tumours

The eVALuate study: two parallel randomised trials, one comparing laparoscopic with abdominal hysterectomy, the other comparing laparoscopic with vaginal hysterectomy

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of laparoscopic hysterectomy and abdominal hysterectomy in the abdominal trial, and laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy in the vaginal trial. DESIGN: Two parallel, multicentre, randomised trials. Setting 28 UK centres and two South African centres. Participants 1380 women were recruited; 1346 had surgery; 937 were followed up at one year. PRIMARY OUTCOME: outcome Rate of major complications. RESULTS: In the abdominal trial laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with a higher rate of major complications than abdominal hysterectomy (11.1% v 6.2%, P = 0.02; difference 4.9%, 95% confidence interval 0.9% to 9.1%) and the number needed to treat to harm was 20. Laparoscopic hysterectomy also took longer to perform (84 minutes v 50 minutes) but was less painful (visual analogue scale 3.51 v 3.88, P = 0.01) and resulted in a shorter stay in hospital after the operation (3 days v 4 days). Six weeks after the operation, laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with less pain and better quality of life than abdominal hysterectomy (SF-12, body image scale, and sexual activity questionnaires). In the vaginal trial we found no evidence of a difference in major complication rates between laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy (9.8% v 9.5%, P = 0.92; difference 0.3%, − 5.2% to 5.8%), and the number needed to treat to harm was 333.We found no evidence of other differences between laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy except that laparoscopic hysterectomy took longer to perform (72 minutes v 39 minutes) and was associated with a higher rate of detecting unexpected pathology (16.4% v 4.8%, P = < 0.01). However, this trial was underpowered. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with a significantly higher rate of major complications than abdominal hysterectomy. It also took longer to perform but was associated with less pain, quicker recovery, and better short term quality of life. The trial comparing vaginal hysterectomy with laparoscopic hysterectomy was underpowered and is inconclusive on the rate of major complications; however, vaginal hysterectomy took less time

Under-ice observations of water column temperature, salinity and spring phytoplankton dynamics: Eastern Bering Sea shelf

The inundation of two moored platforms by sea ice in late winter and early spring of 1995 provided unique time series of water column temperature, salinity, estimated chlorophyll-a, and phytoplankton fluorescence under advancing and retreating sea ice. One platform was located at 72 m in the weakly advective middle shelf regime. Here, chlorophyll-a concentrations began increasing shortly after the arrival of the ice (arch) during the period of weak stratification and continued to increase while wind actively mixed the water column to \u3e60 m. Changes in water column structure and properties resulted from an event of strong advection rather than vertical fluxes. During winter, such advective events can replenish the nutrients required to support the rich blooms that occur over the middle shelf during spring. The advancing ice was associated with the coldest waters and a deep (\u3e50 m ) mixed layer. The ice melt enhanced the two-layer system previously established by advection. A second mooring was located at the 120 misobath on the more advective outer shelf. The ice reached this site on April 6, and chlorophyll-a concentrations increased as the sea ice melted. At the third mooring, located on the shelf farther south beyond the range of ice, the spring bloom began on ~ May 9

Contribuição ao estudo das populações naturais de Drosophila willistoni do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Forty six samples of natural populations of D. willistoni from three places of Rio Grande do Sul state were studied between december 1978 and july 1981. The data sugest that this species have a regulation of populacional size by a interection between temperature and humidity. A small coconut (Arecastrum romanzoffianum) show to be a suitable substrate to nurture·and also to ovoposition. Among the places studied, at the Parque Florestal Estadual do Turvo it was possible to observe a fit population of D. willistoni in majority of gathering periods, probabily because the ecological and climatic conditions were move benefic at this place than at the two others.Quarenta e seis amostras de populações naturais de D. willistoni de três localidades do estado do Rio Grande do Sul foram estudadas entre de dezembro de 1978 e julho de 1981. Os dados sugerem que essa espécie tem o tamanho populacional regulado por uma interação entre temperatura e umidade. O coquinho (Arecastrum romanzoffianum) mostrou ser substrato adequado tanto para alimentação como para ovoposição. Entre as localidades estudadas, no Parque Florestal Estadual do Turvo foi possível observar uma população adequada de D. willistoni na maioria dos períodos de coleta, provavelmente devido às condições climáticas e ecológicas mais favoráveis para a espécie nesse local

Efficient classical simulation of random shallow 2D quantum circuits

Random quantum circuits are commonly viewed as hard to simulate classically. In some regimes this has been formally conjectured, and there had been no evidence against the more general possibility that for circuits with uniformly random gates, approximate simulation of typical instances is almost as hard as exact simulation. We prove that this is not the case by exhibiting a shallow circuit family with uniformly random gates that cannot be efficiently classically simulated near-exactly under standard hardness assumptions, but can be simulated approximately for all but a superpolynomially small fraction of circuit instances in time linear in the number of qubits and gates. We furthermore conjecture that sufficiently shallow random circuits are efficiently simulable more generally. To this end, we propose and analyze two simulation algorithms. Implementing one of our algorithms numerically, we give strong evidence that it is efficient both asymptotically and, in some cases, in practice. To argue analytically for efficiency, we reduce the simulation of 2D shallow random circuits to the simulation of a form of 1D dynamics consisting of alternating rounds of random local unitaries and weak measurements -- a type of process that has generally been observed to undergo a phase transition from an efficient-to-simulate regime to an inefficient-to-simulate regime as measurement strength is varied. Using a mapping from quantum circuits to statistical mechanical models, we give evidence that a similar computational phase transition occurs for our algorithms as parameters of the circuit architecture like the local Hilbert space dimension and circuit depth are varied

Surveillance of Influenza Viruses in Waterfowl Used As Decoys in Andalusia, Spain

A longitudinal study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in waterfowl used as decoys in Andalusia, southern Spain. A total of 2319 aquatic birds from 193 flocks were analyzed before and after the hunting season 2011–2012. In the first sampling, 403 out of 2319 (18.0%, CI95%: 15.8–19.0) decoys showed antibodies against AIVs by ELISA. The AI seroprevalence was significantly higher in geese (21.0%) than in ducks (11.7%) (P,0.001). Besides, the spatial distribution of AIVs was not homogeneous as significant differences among regions were observed. The prevalence of antibodies against AIVs subtypes H5 and H7 were 1.1% and 0.3%, respectively, using hemagglutination inhibition test (HI). The overall and H5 seroprevalences slightly increased after the hunting period (to 19.2% and 1.4%, respectively), while the H7 seroprevalence remained at the same level (0.3%). The proportion of flocks infected by AIVs was 65.3%, while 11.2% and 4.9% of flocks were positive for H5 and H7, respectively. Viral shedding was not detected in any of the 47 samples positive by both ELISA and HI, tested by RRT-PCR. The individual incidence after the hunting season was 3.4%. The fact that 57 animals seroconverted, 15 of which were confirmed by HI (12 H5 and 3 H7), was indication of contact with AIVs during the hunting period. The results indicate that waterfowl used as decoys are frequently exposed to AIVs and may be potentially useful as sentinels for AIVs monitoring. The seroprevalence detected and the seropositivity against AIVs H5 and H7, suggest that decoys can act as reservoirs of AIVs, which may be of animal and public health concer

Reducing the effects of fouling on chlorophyll estimates derived from long-term deployments of optical instruments

Two methods to alleviate the problem of fouling of moored flow tube optical instruments are presented. A chemical method diffuses a concentrated solution of bromine into the flow tube between sampling periods, creating a toxic environment for microorganisms. An optical method removes a baseline value from the red peak of chlorophyll a. Three spectral absorption meters equipped with the chemical system were deployed in the south eastern Bering Sea from March to September 1993. For a 40-, instrument the system prevented biofouling for the entire deployment, while an 11-m instrument was free of contamination for approximately 3.5 months. Reasonable estimates of in situ chlorophyll a were obtained from all three instruments by the subtraction of the baseline

Experimental study of the susceptibility of a European Aedes albopictus strain to dengue virus under a simulated Mediterranean temperature regime

Dengue virus (DENV) has re‐emerged in Europe driven by the geographic expansion of the mosquito species Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) and the introduction of the virus by viraemic travellers. In the present study, the vector competence (VC) of Ae. albopictus collected in Catalonia (northeast Spain) was evaluated for two different DENV strains, DENV‐1 and DENV‐2, the serotypes responsible for all outbreaks of dengue that have occurred in Europe. Mosquitoes were reared under environmental conditions mimicking the mean temperature and humidity recorded in July on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia. Mosquitoes were fed on an artificial infectious bloodmeal and, at 14 days post‐exposure, infection, disseminated infection and transmission rates (IR, DIR, TR) and transmission efficiency (TE) were determined by testing the virus in the body, legs and saliva. The tested Ae. albopictus strain was found to be susceptible to both DENV‐1 and DENV‐2 and to be able to transmit DENV‐1. This is the first time that the VC of Ae. albopictus for DENV has been tested in Europe in this specific context (i.e. mimicking the Mediterranean temperature and humidity recorded in Catalonia in July). This study confirms the potential of Ae. albopictus to start autochthonous DENV transmission cycles in the Mediterranean basin.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio