Predicted Causality in Decision Making: The Role of Culture

In the wider sense, decision making is embedded in the problem-solving process and its many stages (Davidson and Sternberg, 2003; Güss et al., 2010). In the narrow sense, decision making is understood as the ability to select one of several alternatives and to act accordingly (Güss 2004). Previous research has often focused on decision making in relatively predictable environments with clear goals (e.g., expected utility theory of von Neumann and Morgenstern, 1944). In recent decades the focus has been on decision making heuristics, i.e., strategies or rules of thumb, applied in uncertain situations (e.g., Tversky and Kahneman, 1974; Simon, 1979; Gigerenzer and Gaissmaier, 2011). Causality plays an important role in many cognitive processes – and causal cognition is itself influenced by culture (e.g., Norenzayan and Nisbett, 2000; Medin and Atran, 2004; Beller et al., 2009; Bender and Beller, 2011; for a controversial discussion of causal cognition, see Sperber et al., 1995). Causality is especially important during the decision-making process, because the decision maker has to predict what consequences specific decisions bring about before making a decision

Comment on 'A first map of tropical Africa's above-ground biomass derived from satellite imagery'

Copyright Institute of Physics © 2011We present a critical evaluation of the above-ground biomass (AGB) map of Africa published in this journal by Baccini et al (2008 Environ. Res. Lett. 3 045011). We first test their map against an independent dataset of 1154 scientific inventory plots from 16 African countries, and find only weak correspondence between our field plots and the AGB value given for the surrounding 1 km pixel by Baccini et al. Separating our field data using a continental landcover classification suggests that the Baccini et al map underestimates the AGB of forests and woodlands, while overestimating the AGB of savannas and grasslands. Secondly, we compare their map to 216 000 × 0.25 ha spaceborne LiDAR footprints. A comparison between Lorey's height (basal-area-weighted average height) derived from the LiDAR data for 1 km pixels containing at least five LiDAR footprints again does not support the hypothesis that the Baccini et al map is accurate, and suggests that it significantly underestimates the AGB of higher AGB areas. We conclude that this is due to the unsuitability of some of the field data used by Baccini et al to create their map, and overfitting in their model, resulting in low accuracies outside the small areas from which their field data are drawn

Abelian-Higgs and Vortices from ABJM: towards a string realization of AdS/CMT

We present ans\"{a}tze that reduce the mass-deformed ABJM model to gauged Abelian scalar theories, using the fuzzy sphere matrices $G^\alpha$. One such reduction gives a Toda system, for which we find a new type of nonabelian vortex. Another gives the standard Abelian-Higgs model, thereby allowing us to embed all the usual (multi-)vortex solutions of the latter into the ABJM model. By turning off the mass deformation at the level of the reduced model, we can also continuously deform to the massive $\phi^4$ theory in the massless ABJM case. In this way we can embed the Landau-Ginzburg model into the AdS/CFT correspondence as a consistent truncation of ABJM. In this context, the mass deformation parameter $\mu$ and a field VEV $$ act as $g$ and $g_c$ respectively, leading to a well-motivated AdS/CMT construction from string theory. To further this particular point, we propose a simple model for the condensed matter field theory that leads to an approximate description for the ABJM abelianization. Finally, we also find some BPS solutions to the mass-deformed ABJM model with a spacetime interpretation as an M2-brane ending on a spherical M5-brane.Comment: 43 pages, latex, explanations added in the introduction, end of section 4, and on page 2

A soliton menagerie in AdS

We explore the behaviour of charged scalar solitons in asymptotically global AdS4 spacetimes. This is motivated in part by attempting to identify under what circumstances such objects can become large relative to the AdS length scale. We demonstrate that such solitons generically do get large and in fact in the planar limit smoothly connect up with the zero temperature limit of planar scalar hair black holes. In particular, for given Lagrangian parameters we encounter multiple branches of solitons: some which are perturbatively connected to the AdS vacuum and surprisingly, some which are not. We explore the phase space of solutions by tuning the charge of the scalar field and changing scalar boundary conditions at AdS asymptopia, finding intriguing critical behaviour as a function of these parameters. We demonstrate these features not only for phenomenologically motivated gravitational Abelian-Higgs models, but also for models that can be consistently embedded into eleven dimensional supergravity.Comment: 62 pages, 21 figures. v2: added refs and comments and updated appendice

Spectral plots and the representation and interpretation of biological data

It is basic question in biology and other fields to identify the char- acteristic properties that on one hand are shared by structures from a particular realm, like gene regulation, protein-protein interaction or neu- ral networks or foodwebs, and that on the other hand distinguish them from other structures. We introduce and apply a general method, based on the spectrum of the normalized graph Laplacian, that yields repre- sentations, the spectral plots, that allow us to find and visualize such properties systematically. We present such visualizations for a wide range of biological networks and compare them with those for networks derived from theoretical schemes. The differences that we find are quite striking and suggest that the search for universal properties of biological networks should be complemented by an understanding of more specific features of biological organization principles at different scales.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

The effect of high dose antibiotic impregnated cement on rate of surgical site infection after hip hemiarthroplasty for fractured neck of femur : a protocol for a double-blind quasi randomised controlled trial

Background: Mortality following hip hemiarthroplasty is in the range of 10-40% in the first year, with much attributed to post-operative complications. One such complication is surgical site infection (SSI), which at the start of this trial affected 4.68% of patients in the UK having this operation. Compared to SSI rates of elective hip surgery, at less than 1%, this figure is elevated. The aim of this quasi randomised controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if high dose antibiotic impregnated cement can reduce the SSI in patients at 12-months after hemiarthroplasty for intracapsular fractured neck of femur. Methods: 848 patients with an intracapsular fractured neck of femur requiring a hip hemiarthroplasty are been recruited into this two-centre double-blind quasi RCT. Participants were recruited before surgery and quasi randomised to standard care or intervention group. Participants, statistician and outcome assessors were blind to treatment allocation throughout the study. The intervention consisted of high dose antibiotic impregnated cement consisting of 1 gram Clindamycin and 1 gram of Gentamicin. The primary outcome is Health Protection Agency (HPA) defined deep surgical site infection at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include HPA defined superficial surgical site infection at 30 days, 30 and 90-day mortality, length of hospital stay, critical care stay, and complications. Discussion: Large randomised controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of a surgical intervention are uncommon, particularly in the speciality of orthopaedics. The results from this trial will inform evidence-based recommendations for antibiotic impregnated cement in the management of patients with a fractured neck of femur undergoing a hip hemiarthroplasty. If high dose antibiotic impregnated cement is found to be an effective intervention, implementation into clinical practice could improve long-term outcomes for patients undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty

First Results from Lattice Simulation of the PWMM

We present results of lattice simulations of the Plane Wave Matrix Model (PWMM). The PWMM is a theory of supersymmetric quantum mechanics that has a well-defined canonical ensemble. We simulate this theory by applying rational hybrid Monte Carlo techniques to a naive lattice action. We examine the strong coupling behaviour of the model focussing on the deconfinement transition.Comment: v3 20 pages, 8 figures, comment adde

Gauge-theoretic invariants for topological insulators: A bridge between Berry, Wess-Zumino, and Fu-Kane-Mele

We establish a connection between two recently-proposed approaches to the understanding of the geometric origin of the Fu-Kane-Mele invariant $\mathrm{FKM} \in \mathbb{Z}_2$, arising in the context of 2-dimensional time-reversal symmetric topological insulators. On the one hand, the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant can be formulated in terms of the Berry connection and the Berry curvature of the Bloch bundle of occupied states over the Brillouin torus. On the other, using techniques from the theory of bundle gerbes it is possible to provide an expression for $\mathrm{FKM}$ containing the square root of the Wess-Zumino amplitude for a certain $U(N)$-valued field over the Brillouin torus. We link the two formulas by showing directly the equality between the above mentioned Wess-Zumino amplitude and the Berry phase, as well as between their square roots. An essential tool of independent interest is an equivariant version of the adjoint Polyakov-Wiegmann formula for fields $\mathbb{T}^2 \to U(N)$, of which we provide a proof employing only basic homotopy theory and circumventing the language of bundle gerbes.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Letters in Mathematical Physic

The design, evaluation, and reporting on non- pharmacological, cognition- oriented treatments for older adults: Results of a survey of experts

IntroductionCognitive decline and dementia significantly affect independence and quality of life in older adults; therefore, it is critical to identify effective cognition- oriented treatments (COTs; eg, cognitive training, rehabilitation) that can help maintain or enhance cognitive functioning in older adults, as well as reduce dementia risk or alleviate symptoms associated with pathological processes.MethodsThe Cognitive Intervention Design Evaluation and Reporting (CIDER), a working group from the Non- Pharmacological Interventions Professional Interest Area (NPI- PIA) of the Alzheimer’s Association conducted as survey in 2017 with experts in COTs worldwide. The survey’s aims were three- fold: (1) determine the common attitudes, beliefs, and practices of experts involved in the COTs research targeting older people; (2) identify areas of relative agreement and disagreement among experts in the field; and (3) offer a critical review of the literature, including recommendations for future research.ResultsThe survey identified several areas of agreements among experts on critical features of COTs, and on study design and outcome measures. Nevertheless, there were some areas with relative disagreement. Critically, expert opinions were not always supported by scientific evidence, suggesting that methodologic improvements are needed regarding design, implementation, and reporting of COTs. There was a clear consensus that COTs provide benefits and should be offered to cognitively unimpaired older adults, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild dementia, but opinions differed for moderate and severe dementia. In addition, there is no consensus on the potential role of COTs in dementia prevention, indicating that future research should prioritize this aspect.DiscussionEvidence of COTs in older adults is encouraging, but additional evidence is needed to enhance dementia prevention. Consensus building and guidelines in the field are critical to improve and accelerate the development of high- quality evidence for COTs in cognitively unimpaired older adults, and those with MCI and dementia.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155935/1/trc212024_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155935/2/trc212024.pd

An Exact Fluctuating 1/2-BPS Configuration

This work explores the role of thermodynamic fluctuations in the two parameter giant and superstar configurations characterized by an ensemble of arbitrary liquid droplets or irregular shaped fuzzballs. Our analysis illustrates that the chemical and state-space geometric descriptions exhibit an intriguing set of exact pair correction functions and the global correlation lengths. The first principle of statistical mechanics shows that the possible canonical fluctuations may precisely be ascertained without any approximation. Interestingly, our intrinsic geometric study exemplifies that there exist exact fluctuating 1/2-BPS statistical configurations which involve an ensemble of microstates describing the liquid droplets or fuzzballs. The Gaussian fluctuations over an equilibrium chemical and state-space configurations accomplish a well-defined, non-degenerate, curved and regular intrinsic Riemannian manifolds for all physically admissible domains of black hole parameters. An explicit computation demonstrates that the underlying chemical correlations involve ordinary summations, whilst the state-space correlations may simply be depicted by standard polygamma functions. Our construction ascribes definite stability character to the canonical energy fluctuations and to the counting entropy associated with an arbitrary choice of excited boxes from an ensemble of ample boxes constituting a variety of Young tableaux.Comment: Minor changes, added references, 30 pages, 4 figures, PACS numbers: 04.70.-s: Physics of black holes; 04.70.-Bw: Classical black holes; 04.50.Gh Higher-dimensional black holes, black strings, and related objects; 04.60.Cf Gravitational aspects of string theory, accepted for publication in JHE