Coalition-structured governance improves cooperation to provide public goods

While the benefits of common and public goods are shared, they tend to be scarce when contributions are provided voluntarily. Failure to cooperate in the provision or preservation of these goods is fundamental to sustainability challenges, ranging from local fisheries to global climate change. In the real world, such cooperative dilemmas occur in multiple interactions with complex strategic interests and frequently without full information. We argue that voluntary cooperation enabled across overlapping coalitions (akin to polycentricity) not only facilitates a higher generation of non-excludable public goods, but it may also allow evolution toward a more cooperative, stable, and inclusive approach to governance. Contrary to any previous study, we show that these merits of multi-coalition governance are far more general than the singular examples occurring in the literature, and they are robust under diverse conditions of excludability, congestion of the non-excludable public good, and arbitrary shapes of the return-to-contribution function. We first confirm the intuition that a single coalition without enforcement and with players pursuing their self-interest without knowledge of returns to contribution is prone to cooperative failure. Next, we demonstrate that the same pessimistic model but with a multi-coalition structure of governance experiences relatively higher cooperation by enabling recognition of marginal gains of cooperation in the game at stake. In the absence of enforcement, public-goods regimes that evolve through a proliferation of voluntary cooperative forums can maintain and increase cooperation more successfully than singular, inclusive regimes.Supported by US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (D17AC00005), National Science Foundation grant GEO-1211972, and Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) through grants PTDC/MAT/STA/3358/2014, PTDC/EEI-SII/5081/2014, and UID/BIA/04050/2013. P.M.H. was supported by the Walbridge Fund at the Princeton Environmental Institute

Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) and calprotectin in equine laminar tissue after jejunal obstruction, treated or not with hidrocortisone

Laskoski L.M., Valadao C.A.A., Vasconcelos R.O., Faleiros R.R., Mendes H.M.F., Ferrucci D., Silva J.A.F. & Machado D.D.R.S. 2012. [Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) and calprotectin in equine laminar tissue after jejunal obstruction, treated or not with hidrocortisone.] Lipocalina associada a gelatinase de neutrofilos (NGAL) e calprotectina no tecido laminar de equinos apos obstrucao jejunal, tratados ou nao com hidrocortisona. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 32(9):817-823. Departamento de Clinica e Cirurgia Veterinaria, Faculdade de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal, SP 14884-900, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected] Laminitis is a severe hoof condition in horses that may cause intense suffering. In this study, leukocyte infiltration in hoof laminar tissue was investigated in horses subject to intestinal obstruction using immunohistochemistry to detect calprotectin, and zymography to detect neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL). There were four groups: the Control Group (Gc), with seven horses, without surgical procedures; the Sham-operated Group (Gi), with five horses that were subjected to surgical procedure without intestinal obstruction; the No Treat group (Gnt), with four horses subjected to intestinal obstruction (jejunal distention using an intraluminal balloon) without treatment; and Treated group (Gt), with four horses subjected to intestinal obstruction and treated with hydrocortisone. Positive calprotectin imunostaining was detected in all experimental groups, with increase cell counts in horses of the distended group compared with the control group. NGAL expression was increased in Gd compared with Gc e Gi. The Gt did not differ from the others. In conclusion, small intestine distension can promote leukocyte in filtration in equine hoof laminar tissue, and NGAL zymography was considered a useful method for leukocyte tissue detection in horses. New studies will be conducted to verify the possible beneficial anti-inflammatory effects of hydrocortisone in hoof of horses with intestinal obstruction.32981782

Advantages of a Polycentric Approach to Climate Change Policy

Lack of progress in global climate negotiations has led scholars to reconsider polycentric approaches to climate policy. Several examples of subglobal mechanisms to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions have been touted, but it remains unclear why they might achieve better climate outcomes than global negotiations alone. Decades of work conducted by researchers associated with the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University have emphasized two chief advantages of polycentric approaches over monocentric ones: they provide more opportunities for experimentation and learning to improve policies over time, and they increase communications and interactions — formal and informal, bilateral and multilateral — among parties to help build the mutual trust needed for increased cooperation. A wealth of theoretical, empirical and experimental evidence supports the polycentric approach

Speech Graphs Provide a Quantitative Measure of Thought Disorder in Psychosis

Background: Psychosis has various causes, including mania and schizophrenia. Since the differential diagnosis of psychosis is exclusively based on subjective assessments of oral interviews with patients, an objective quantification of the speech disturbances that characterize mania and schizophrenia is in order. In principle, such quantification could be achieved by the analysis of speech graphs. A graph represents a network with nodes connected by edges; in speech graphs, nodes correspond to words and edges correspond to semantic and grammatical relationships. Methodology/Principal Findings: To quantify speech differences related to psychosis, interviews with schizophrenics, manics and normal subjects were recorded and represented as graphs. Manics scored significantly higher than schizophrenics in ten graph measures. Psychopathological symptoms such as logorrhea, poor speech, and flight of thoughts were grasped by the analysis even when verbosity differences were discounted. Binary classifiers based on speech graph measures sorted schizophrenics from manics with up to 93.8% of sensitivity and 93.7% of specificity. In contrast, sorting based on the scores of two standard psychiatric scales (BPRS and PANSS) reached only 62.5% of sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions/Significance: The results demonstrate that alterations of the thought process manifested in the speech of psychotic patients can be objectively measured using graph-theoretical tools, developed to capture specific features of the normal and dysfunctional flow of thought, such as divergence and recurrence. The quantitative analysis of speech graphs is not redundant with standard psychometric scales but rather complementary, as it yields a very accurate sorting of schizophrenics and manics. Overall, the results point to automated psychiatric diagnosis based not on what is said, but on how it is said.FINEP [01.06.1092.00]FINEPCNPq Universal [481506/2007-1]CNPq UniversalCNPqCNPqCapesCAPESad Associacao Alberto Santos Dumont para Apoio a Pesquisa (AASDAP)a'd Associacao Alberto Santos Dumont para Apoio a Pesquisa (AASDAP

A new method for class prediction based on signed-rank algorithms applied to Affymetrix® microarray experiments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The huge amount of data generated by DNA chips is a powerful basis to classify various pathologies. However, constant evolution of microarray technology makes it difficult to mix data from different chip types for class prediction of limited sample populations. Affymetrix^®technology provides both a quantitative fluorescence signal and a decision (<it>detection call</it>: absent or present) based on signed-rank algorithms applied to several hybridization repeats of each gene, with a per-chip normalization. We developed a new prediction method for class belonging based on the detection call only from recent Affymetrix chip type. Biological data were obtained by hybridization on U133A, U133B and U133Plus 2.0 microarrays of purified normal B cells and cells from three independent groups of multiple myeloma (MM) patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After a call-based data reduction step to filter out non class-discriminative probe sets, the gene list obtained was reduced to a predictor with correction for multiple testing by iterative deletion of probe sets that sequentially improve inter-class comparisons and their significance. The error rate of the method was determined using leave-one-out and 5-fold cross-validation. It was successfully applied to (i) determine a sex predictor with the normal donor group classifying gender with no error in all patient groups except for male MM samples with a Y chromosome deletion, (ii) predict the immunoglobulin light and heavy chains expressed by the malignant myeloma clones of the validation group and (iii) predict sex, light and heavy chain nature for every new patient. Finally, this method was shown powerful when compared to the popular classification method Prediction Analysis of Microarray (PAM).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This normalization-free method is routinely used for quality control and correction of collection errors in patient reports to clinicians. It can be easily extended to multiple class prediction suitable with clinical groups, and looks particularly promising through international cooperative projects like the "Microarray Quality Control project of US FDA" MAQC as a predictive classifier for diagnostic, prognostic and response to treatment. Finally, it can be used as a powerful tool to mine published data generated on Affymetrix systems and more generally classify samples with binary feature values.</p

Ontogenetic Development of Weberian Ossicles and Hearing Abilities in the African Bullhead Catfish

BACKGROUND: The weberian apparatus of otophysine fishes facilitates sound transmission from the swimbladder to the inner ear to increase hearing sensitivity. It has been of great interest to biologists since the 19(th) century. No studies, however, are available on the development of the weberian ossicles and its effect on the development of hearing in catfishes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the development of the weberian apparatus and auditory sensitivity in the catfish Lophiobagrus cyclurus. Specimens from 11.3 mm to 85.5 mm in standard length were studied. Morphology was assessed using sectioning, histology, and X-ray computed tomography, along with 3D reconstruction. Hearing thresholds were measured utilizing the auditory evoked potentials recording technique. Weberian ossicles and interossicular ligaments were fully developed in all stages investigated except in the smallest size group. In the smallest catfish, the intercalarium and the interossicular ligaments were still missing and the tripus was not yet fully developed. Smallest juveniles revealed lowest auditory sensitivity and were unable to detect frequencies higher than 2 or 3 kHz; sensitivity increased in larger specimens by up to 40 dB, and frequency detection up to 6 kHz. In the size groups capable of perceiving frequencies up to 6 kHz, larger individuals had better hearing abilities at low frequencies (0.05-2 kHz), whereas smaller individuals showed better hearing at the highest frequencies (4-6 kHz). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data indicate that the ability of otophysine fish to detect sounds at low levels and high frequencies largely depends on the development of the weberian apparatus. A significant increase in auditory sensitivity was observed as soon as all weberian ossicles and interossicular ligaments are present and the chain for transmitting sounds from the swimbladder to the inner ear is complete. This contrasts with findings in another otophysine, the zebrafish, where no threshold changes have been observed

Expressed sequence tags from Atta laevigata and identification of candidate genes for the control of pest leaf-cutting ants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leafcutters are the highest evolved within Neotropical ants in the tribe Attini and model systems for studying caste formation, labor division and symbiosis with microorganisms. Some species of leafcutters are agricultural pests controlled by chemicals which affect other animals and accumulate in the environment. Aiming to provide genetic basis for the study of leafcutters and for the development of more specific and environmentally friendly methods for the control of pest leafcutters, we generated expressed sequence tag data from <it>Atta laevigata</it>, one of the pest ants with broad geographic distribution in South America.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis of the expressed sequence tags allowed us to characterize 2,006 unique sequences in <it>Atta laevigata</it>. Sixteen of these genes had a high number of transcripts and are likely positively selected for high level of gene expression, being responsible for three basic biological functions: energy conservation through redox reactions in mitochondria; cytoskeleton and muscle structuring; regulation of gene expression and metabolism. Based on leafcutters lifestyle and reports of genes involved in key processes of other social insects, we identified 146 sequences potential targets for controlling pest leafcutters. The targets are responsible for antixenobiosis, development and longevity, immunity, resistance to pathogens, pheromone function, cell signaling, behavior, polysaccharide metabolism and arginine kynase activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags from <it>Atta laevigata </it>have provided important genetic basis for future studies on the biology of leaf-cutting ants and may contribute to the development of a more specific and environmentally friendly method for the control of agricultural pest leafcutters.</p

Common Sole Larvae Survive High Levels of Pile-Driving Sound in Controlled Exposure Experiments

In view of the rapid extension of offshore wind farms, there is an urgent need to improve our knowledge on possible adverse effects of underwater sound generated by pile-driving. Mortality and injuries have been observed in fish exposed to loud impulse sounds, but knowledge on the sound levels at which (sub-)lethal effects occur is limited for juvenile and adult fish, and virtually non-existent for fish eggs and larvae. A device was developed in which fish larvae can be exposed to underwater sound. It consists of a rigid-walled cylindrical chamber driven by an electro-dynamical sound projector. Samples of up to 100 larvae can be exposed simultaneously to a homogeneously distributed sound pressure and particle velocity field. Recorded pile-driving sounds could be reproduced accurately in the frequency range between 50 and 1000 Hz, at zero to peak pressure levels up to 210 dB re 1µPa2 (zero to peak pressures up to 32 kPa) and single pulse sound exposure levels up to 186 dB re 1µPa2s. The device was used to examine lethal effects of sound exposure in common sole (Solea solea) larvae. Different developmental stages were exposed to various levels and durations of pile-driving sound. The highest cumulative sound exposure level applied was 206 dB re 1µPa2s, which corresponds to 100 strikes at a distance of 100 m from a typical North Sea pile-driving site. The results showed no statistically significant differences in mortality between exposure and control groups at sound exposure levels which were well above the US interim criteria for non-auditory tissue damage in fish. Although our findings cannot be extrapolated to fish larvae in general, as interspecific differences in vulnerability to sound exposure may occur, they do indicate that previous assumptions and criteria may need to be revised