Construction and Simulation of the General Economic Equilibrium Model Meg-Ismea for the Italian Economy

Common Agricultural Policy, Agricultural policy, reform, Computable general equilibrium models.

Homeopathic Doses of Gelsemium sempervirens Improve the Behavior of Mice in Response to Novel Environments

Gelsemium sempervirens is used in homeopathy for treating patients with anxiety related symptoms, however there have been few experimental studies evaluating its pharmacological activity. We have investigated the effects of homeopathic doses of G. sempervirens on mice, using validated behavioral models. Centesimal (CH) dilutions/dynamizations of G. sempervirens, the reference drug diazepam (1 mg/kg body weight) or a placebo (solvent vehicle) were intraperitoneally delivered to groups of mice of CD1 strain during 8 days, then the effects were assessed by the Light-Dark (LD) choice test and by the Open-Field (OF) exploration test, in a fully blind manner. In the LD test, the mean time spent in the illuminated area by control and placebo-treated animals was 15.98%, for mice treated with diazepam it increased to 19.91% (P = .047), while with G. sempervirens 5 CH it was 18.11% (P = .341, non-significant). The number of transitions between the two compartments increased with diazepam from 6.19 to 9.64 (P < .001) but not with G. Sempervirens. In the OF test, G. sempervirens 5 CH significantly increased the time spent and the distance traveled in the central zone (P = .009 and P = .003, resp.), while diazepam had no effect on these OF test parameters. In a subsequent series of experiments, G. sempervirens 7 and 30 CH also significantly improved the behavioral responses of mice in the OF test (P < .01 for all tested variables). Neither dilutions of G. sempervirens affected the total distance traveled, indicating that the behavioral effect was not due to unspecific changes in locomotor activity. In conclusion, homeopathic doses of G. sempervirens influence the emotional responses of mice to novel environments, suggesting an improvement in exploratory behavior and a diminution of thigmotaxis or neophobia

Social influence bias in ratings: A field experiment in the hospitality sector

We investigate the empirical phenomenon of rating bubbles, that is, the presence of a disproportionate number of extremely positive ratings in user-generated content websites. We test whether customers are influenced by prior ratings when evaluating their stay at a hotel through a field experiment that exogenously manipulates information disclosure. Results show the presence of (asymmetric) social influence bias (SIB): access to information on prior ratings that are above the average positively influences the consumers’ rating of the hotel. In contrast, information on ratings that are below the average does not affect reviewers. Furthermore, customers who have never been to the hotel before the intervention are more susceptible to prior ratings than customers who have repeatedly been to the hotel before. Finally, customers who are not used to writing online reviews are more prone to SIB than customers who frequently write online reviews. Our findings suggest that online rating systems should be adjusted to mitigate this bias, especially as these platforms become more relevant and widespread in the hospitality sector

Response to a comment by Luigi Cervo and Valter Torri on: “Dose–effect study of Gelsemium sempervirens in high dilutions on anxiety-related responses in mice” (Magnani P. et al., Psychopharmacology, 2010)

Commentar

Proposal for an Optical Test of the Einstein Equivalence Principle

The Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) underpins all metric theories of gravity. Its key element is the local position invariance of non-gravitational experiments, which entails the gravitational red-shift. Precision measurements of the gravitational red-shift tightly bound violations of the EEP only in the fermionic sector of the Standard Model, however recent developments of satellite optical technologies allow for its investigation in the electromagnetic sector. Proposals exploiting light interferometry traditionally suffer from the first-order Doppler effect, which dominates the weak gravitational signal necessary to test the EEP, making them unfeasible. Here, we propose a novel scheme to test the EEP, which is based on a double large-distance optical interferometric measurement. By manipulating the phase-shifts detected at two locations at different gravitational potentials it is possible to cancel-out the first-order Doppler effect and observe the gravitational red-shift implied by the EEP. We present the detailed analysis of the proposal within the post-Newtonian framework and the simulations of the expected signals obtained by using two realistic satellite orbits. Our proposal to overcome the first-order Doppler effect in optical EEP tests is feasible with current technology.Comment: manuscript improve

Adaptive Bayesian and frequentist data processing for quantum tomography

The outcome statistics of an informationally complete quantum measurement for a system in a given state can be used to evaluate the ensemble expectation of any linear operator in the same state, by averaging a function of the outcomes that depends on the specific operator. Here we introduce two novel data-processing strategies, non-linear in the frequencies, which lead to faster convergence to theoretical expectations.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, revised versio

Testing Homeopathy in Mouse Emotional Response Models: Pooled Data Analysis of Two Series of Studies

Two previous investigations were performed to assess the activity of Gelsemium sempervirens (Gelsemium s.) in mice, using emotional response models. These two series are pooled and analysed here. Gelsemium s. in various homeopathic centesimal dilutions/dynamizations (4C, 5C, 7C, 9C, and 30C), a placebo (solvent vehicle), and the reference drugs diazepam (1 mg/kg body weight) or buspirone (5 mg/kg body weight) were delivered intraperitoneally to groups of albino CD1 mice, and their effects on animal behaviour were assessed by the light-dark (LD) choice test and the open-field (OF) exploration test. Up to 14 separate replications were carried out in fully blind and randomised conditions. Pooled analysis demonstrated highly significant effects of Gelsemium s. 5C, 7C, and 30C on the OF parameter “time spent in central area” and of Gelsemium s. 5C, 9C, and 30C on the LD parameters “time spent in lit area” and “number of light-dark transitions,” without any sedative action or adverse effects on locomotion. This pooled data analysis confirms and reinforces the evidence that Gelsemium s. regulates emotional responses and behaviour of laboratory mice in a nonlinear fashion with dilution/dynamization

Impara l'Arte!

Chiunque si occupi di Riabilitazione in Psichiatria e de-sideri confrontarsi con un testo che valichi il solito ma-nuale applicativo di tecniche pi\uf9 o meno standardizza-te e pi\uf9 o meno scientifiche, ma che al contempo non sia nemmeno una ascetico manuale esclusivamente teorico, ben pi\uf9 simile a un polveroso tomo di filosofia, credo possa sentirsi sollevato, perch\ue9 ritengo che que-ste pagine siano proprio l\u2019oggetto della sua tanto sof-ferta ricerca

Inappropriate Asystole Detection in Early Postoperative Phase after Loop Recorder Implantation

The implantable loop recorder is a useful diagnostic tool for patients with unexplained syncope. The capability to automatically detect and store arrhythmic events, implemented in the last generations of these devices, can further improve the diagnostic yield, but this feature can be compromised by inappropriate detection of false arrhythmias. We herein report the case of a patient in which several inappropriate activations of long-lasting asystole occurred in the two days following the implant, probably because of an intermittently loose contact between the device and subcutaneous tissue for a small pocket haematoma