Second Mover Advantage and Bertrand Dynamic Competition: An Experiment

In this paper we provide an experimental test of a dynamic Bertrand duopolistic model, where firms move sequentially and their informational setting varies across different designs. Our experiment is composed of three treatments. In the first treatment, subjects receive information only on the costs and demand parameters and on the price’ choices of their opponent in the market in which they are positioned (matching is fixed); in the second and third treatments, subjects are also informed on the behaviour of players who are not directly operating in their market. Our aim is to study whether the individual behaviour and the process of equilibrium convergence are affected by the specific informational setting adopted. In all treatments we selected students who had previously studied market games and industrial organization, conjecturing that the specific participants’ expertise decreased the chances of imitation in treatment II and III. However, our results prove the opposite: the extra information provided in treatment II and III strongly affects the long run convergence to the market equilibrium. In fact, whilst in the first session, a high proportion of markets converge to the Nash-Bertrand symmetric solution, we observe that a high proportion of markets converge to more collusive outcomes in treatment II and more competitive outcomes in treatment III. By the same token, players’ profits significantly differ in three settings. An interesting point of our analysis relates to the assessment of the individual behavioural rules in the second and third treatments. When information on the behaviour of participants on uncorrelated markets is provided, players begin to adopt mixed behavioural rules, in the sense that they follow myopic best reply rules as long as their profits are in line with the average profits on all markets, and , when their gains fall below that threshold, they start imitating successful strategies adopted on other markets

Altered social attention in anorexia nervosa during real social interaction

The capacity to devote attentional resources in response to body-related signals provided by others is still largely unexplored in individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Here, we tested this capacity through a novel paradigm that mimics a social interaction with a real partner. Healthy individuals (Experiment 1) and individuals with AN (Experiment 2) completed a task with another person which consisted in performing, alternatively, rapid aiming movements to lateralised targets. Generally, this task leads to a form of Inhibition of Return (IOR), which consists of longer reaction times when an individual has to respond to a location previously searched by either himself (individual IOR) or by the partner (social IOR) as compared to previously unexplored locations. IOR is considered as an important attentional mechanism that promotes an effective exploration of the environment during social interaction. Here, healthy individuals displayed both individual and social IOR that were both reliable and of the same magnitude. Individuals with AN displayed a non-significant individual IOR but a reliable social IOR that was also significantly stronger than individual IOR. These results suggest the presence of a reduced sensitivity in processing body-related stimuli conveyed by oneself in individuals with AN which is reflected in action-based attentional processes

Enhancement of anti-leukemia activity of NK cells in vitro and in vivo by inhibition of leukemia cell-induced NK cell damage

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells induce, in vitro, NK cell abnormalities (NKCAs) including apoptosis and activating receptor down-regulation. The potential negative impact of AML cells on the therapeutic efficacy of NK cell-based strategies prompted us to analyze the mechanisms underlying NKCAs and to develop approaches to protect NK cells from NKCAs. NKCA induction by the AML leukemia cells target a subpopulation of peripheral blood NK cells and is interleukin-2 independent but is abrogated by a long-term culture of NK (LTNK) cells at 37°C. LTNK cells displayed a significantly enhanced ability to damage AML cells in vitro and inhibited the subcutaneous growth of ML-2 cells grafted into CB17 SCID mice. Actinomycin D restored the susceptibility of LTNK cells to NKCAs while TAPI-0, a functional analog of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 3, inhibits ML-2 cell-induced NKCAs suggesting that the generation of NK cell resistance to NKCAs involves RNA transcription and metalloproteinase (MPP) inactivation. This conclusion is supported by the reduced susceptibility to AML cell-induced NKCAs of LTNK cells in which TIMP3 gene and protein are over-expressed. This information may contribute to the rational design of targeted strategies to enhance the efficacy of NK cell-based-immunotherapy of AML with haploidentical NK cells

A role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in breast cancer susceptibility within Sardinian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, numerous studies have assessed the prevalence of germline mutations in <it>BRCA1 </it>and <it>BRCA2 </it>genes in various cohorts. We here extensively investigated the prevalence and geographical distribution of <it>BRCA1-2 </it>mutations in the entire genetically-homogeneous Sardinian population. The occurrence of phenotypic characteristics which may be predictive for the presence of <it>BRCA1-2 </it>germline mutations was also evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three hundred and forty-eight breast cancer patients presenting a familial recurrence of invasive breast or ovarian carcinoma with at least two affected family members were screened for <it>BRCA1-2 </it>mutations by DHPLC analysis and DNA sequencing. Association of <it>BRCA1 </it>and <it>BRCA2 </it>mutational status with clinical and pathological parameters was evaluated by Pearson's Chi-Squared test.</p> <p>Results and Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, 8 <it>BRCA1 </it>and 5 <it>BRCA2 </it>deleterious mutations were detected in 35/348 (10%) families; majority (23/35;66%) of mutations was found in <it>BRCA2 </it>gene. The geographical distribution of <it>BRCA1-2 </it>mutations was related to three specific large areas of Sardinia, reflecting its ancient history: <it>a</it>) the Northern area, linguistically different from the rest of the island (where a <it>BRCA2 c.8764_8765delAG </it>mutation with founder effect was predominant); <it>b</it>) the Middle area, land of the ancient Sardinian population (where <it>BRCA2 </it>mutations are still more common than <it>BRCA1 </it>mutations); and <it>c</it>) the South-Western area, with many Phoenician and Carthaginian locations (where <it>BRCA1 </it>mutations are prevalent). We also found that phenotypic features such as high tumor grading and lack of expression of estrogen/progesterone receptors together with age at diagnosis and presence of ovarian cancer in the family may be predictive for the presence of <it>BRCA1-2 </it>germline mutations.</p

A Role of <i>BRCA1</i> and <i>BRCA2</i> germline mutations in breast cancer susceptibility within Sardinian population

Background. In recent years, numerous studies have assessed the prevalence of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in various cohorts. We here extensively investigated the prevalence and geographical distribution of BRCA1-2 mutations in the entire genetically-homogeneous Sardinian population. The occurrence of phenotypic characteristics which may be predictive for the presence of BRCA1-2 germline mutations was also evaluated. Methods. Three hundred and forty-eight breast cancer patients presenting a familial recurrence of invasive breast or ovarian carcinoma with at least two affected family members were screened for BRCA1-2 mutations by DHPLC analysis and DNA sequencing. Association of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutational status with clinical and pathological parameters was evaluated by Pearson's Chi-Squared test. Results and Conclusion. Overall, 8 BRCA1 and 5 BRCA2 deleterious mutations were detected in 35/348 (10%) families; majority (23/35;66%) of mutations was found in BRCA2 gene. The geographical distribution of BRCA1-2 mutations was related to three specific large areas of Sardinia, reflecting its ancient history: a) the Northern area, linguistically different from the rest of the island (where a BRCA2 c.8764_8765delAG mutation with founder effect was predominant); b) the Middle area, land of the ancient Sardinian population (where BRCA2 mutations are still more common than BRCA1 mutations); and c) the South-Western area, with many Phoenician and Carthaginian locations (where BRCA1 mutations are prevalent). We also found that phenotypic features such as high tumor grading and lack of expression of estrogen/progesterone receptors together with age at diagnosis and presence of ovarian cancer in the family may be predictive for the presence of BRCA1-2 germline mutations

Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands

Gender Effects, Culture and Social Influence in the Dictator Game: An Italian Study

There is little consensus on whether women are more generous than men; some research results indicate a higher propensity towards giving of female dictators, whilst others suggest the opposite. Two explanations have been put forward. According to the first one, women are more generous than men and the conflicting results are due to the way preferences are elicited (Eckel and Grossman, 2002), since women are more sensitive to “social cues” and their preferences are more “malleable” (Croson and Gneezy, 2009). According to the second one, the institutional culture and the role women have in society are key elements in shaping gender differences in preferences. In fact, in matrilineal societies (Gong et al.; 2014; Gneezy et al.; 2009), women are self-oriented, more competitive and less generous than men, since they have an important role as economic decision makers in the family and the society. We test these alternative hypotheses running Dictators experiments in Italy, a western country with a matrilineal culture, introducing – at the same time – social influence in the design. We find more support to the hypothesis on the cultural role in shaping preferences, rather than the effects of social influence. JE

Second Mover Advantage and Bertrand Dynamic Competition: An Experiment

In this paper we provide an experimental test of a dynamic Bertrand duopolistic model, where firms move sequentially and their informational setting varies across different designs. Our experiment is composed of three treatments. In the first treatment, subjects receive information only on the costs and demand parameters and on the price’ choices of their opponent in the market in which they are positioned (matching is fixed); in the second and third treatments, subjects are also informed on the behaviour of players who are not directly operating in their market. Our aim is to study whether the individual behaviour and the process of equilibrium convergence are affected by the specific informational setting adopted. In all treatments we selected students who had previously studied market games and industrial organization, conjecturing that the specific participants’ expertise decreased the chances of imitation in treatment II and III. However, our results prove the opposite: the extra information provided in treatment II and III strongly affects the long run convergence to the market equilibrium. In fact, whilst in the first session, a high proportion of markets converge to the Nash-Bertrand symmetric solution, we observe that a high proportion of markets converge to more collusive outcomes in treatment II and more competitive outcomes in treatment III. By the same token, players’ profits significantly differ in three settings. An interesting point of our analysis relates to the assessment of the individual behavioural rules in the second and third treatments. When information on the behaviour of participants on uncorrelated markets is provided, players begin to adopt mixed behavioural rules, in the sense that they follow myopic best reply rules as long as their profits are in line with the average profits on all markets, and , when their gains fall below that threshold, they start imitating successful strategies adopted on other markets.price competition, learning, strategic information.

Third party punishment and criminal behavior: an experiment with the Italian Camorra prison inmates

In this paper, we report the results of two experiments, each comprising two designs (a prisoner dilemma and a third party punishment; Fehr et al. 2004). The experiments were conducted with a sample of university students and a sample of Camorra prison inmates, both coming from the same Italian region. Our research hypothesis is that there are consistent differences in cooperative and sanctioning behavior between the two samples. The presence of these differences would justify the claim that economic analyses of crime must be integrated with a behavioral perspective. The results of the experiments fully support our research hypothesis, as Camorra inmates exhibit higher propensity to cooperate and to punish defecting behavior