221 research outputs found
Path-Dependent Behavior with Asymmetric Information about Traders' Types
We define path-dependency as the generic phenomenon according to which agents take an action regardless of their private information. Path-dependency can be of two types contingent on whether agents act with the crowd (herding) or against the crowd (contrarianism). We consider a quote-driven market where traders can in some cases observe whether their predecessors were informed, although they cannot observe their private information, while in other cases they are left with the uncertainty that their predecessors acted purely for liquidity motives. In this setting we recover herding and contrarianism and we find that better-informed markets (i.e. where informed traders receive high precision signals) can generate path-dependent behavior more easily than poorly informed ones. Moreover, we illustrate how a market dominated by herding features a price that is more informative of the asset value than the price of a market where traders always follow their signal. We also discuss how contrarianism has the exact opposite effect by decreasing price informativeness
Transferrin receptor 2 is emerging as a major player in the control of iron metabolism
Abstract
Our knowledge of mammalian iron metabolism has advanced dramatically over recent years. Iron is an essential element for virtually all living organisms. Its intestinal absorption and accurate cellular regulation is strictly required to ensure the coordinated synthesis of the numerous iron-containing proteins involved in key metabolic processes, while avoiding the uptake of excess iron that can lead to organ damage. A range of different proteins exist to ensure this fine control within the various tissues of the body. Among these proteins, transferrin receptor (TFR2) seems to play a key role in the regulation of iron homeostasis. Disabling mutations in TFR2 are responsible for type 3 hereditary hemochromatosis (Type 3 HH). This review describes the biological properties of this membrane receptor, with a particular emphasis paid to the structure, function and cellular localization. Although much information has been garnered on TFR2, further efforts are needed to elucidate its function in the context of the iron regulatory network
VLT spectroscopy of globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy
We have obtained intermediate-resolution VLT spectroscopy of 75 globular
cluster candidates around the Sa galaxy M104 (NGC4594). Fifty-seven candidates
out to ~ 40 kpc in the halo of the galaxy were confirmed to be bona-fide
globular clusters, 27 of which are new. A first analysis of the velocities
provides only marginal evidence for rotation of the cluster system. From Hbeta
line strengths, almost all of the clusters in our sample have ages that are
consistent, within the errors, with Milky Way globular clusters. Only a few
clusters may be 1-2 Gyr old, and bulge and halo clusters appear coeval. The
absorption line indices follow the correlations established for the Milky Way
clusters. Metallicities are derived based upon new empirical calibrations with
Galactic globular clusters taking into account the non-linear behavior of some
indices (e.g., Mg2). Our sample of globular clusters in NGC4594 spans a
metallicity range of -2.13 < [Fe/H] < +0.26 dex, and the median metallicity of
the system is [Fe/H] = -0.85. Thus, our data provide evidence that some of the
clusters have super-solar metallicity. Overall, the abundance distribution of
the cluster system is consistent with a bimodal distribution with peaks at
[Fe/H] ~- 1.7 and -0.7. However, the radial change in the metallicity
distribution of clusters may not be straightforwardly explained by a varying
mixture of two sub-populations of red and blue clusters.Comment: 6 pages (incl. 4 figures) to appear in the proceedings of the ESO
workshop "Extragalactic Globular Cluster Systems", ESO Astrophysics Symp.,
Garching bei Muenchen (Germany), ed. Kissler-Patig M., Springer-Verlag:
Heidelber
Dwarf spheroidal satellites of M31: I. Variable stars and stellar populations in Andromeda XIX
We present B,V time-series photometry of Andromeda XIX (And XIX), the most
extended (half-light radius of 6.2') of Andromeda's dwarf spheroidal
companions, that we observed with the Large Binocular Cameras at the Large
Binocular Telescope. We surveyed a 23'x 23' area centered on And XIX and
present the deepest color magnitude diagram (CMD) ever obtained for this
galaxy, reaching, at V~26.3 mag, about one magnitude below the horizontal
branch (HB). The CMD shows a prominent and slightly widened red giant branch,
along with a predominantly red HB, which, however, extends to the blue to
significantly populate the classical instability strip. We have identified 39
pulsating variable stars, of which 31 are of RR Lyrae type and 8 are Anomalous
Cepheids (ACs). Twelve of the RR Lyrae variables and 3 of the ACs are located
within And XIX's half light radius. The average period of the fundamental mode
RR Lyrae stars ( = 0.62 d, \sigma= 0.03 d) and the period-amplitude
diagram qualify And XIX as an Oosterhoff-Intermediate system. From the average
luminosity of the RR Lyrae stars ( = 25.34 mag, \sigma= 0.10 mag) we
determine a distance modulus of (m-M)= mag in a scale where
the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is mag. The ACs
follow a well defined Period-Wesenheit (PW) relation that appears to be in very
good agreement with the PW relationship defined by the ACs in the LMC.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Evaluation of neurocognitive abilities in children affected by obstructive sleep apnea syndrome before and after adenotonsillectomy
Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is the most severe form of sleep-related disordered breathing (SRDB) and is characterised by snoring, apnoeas, and/or hypopnoeas associated to hypoxia, hypercarbia, or repeated arousals from sleep. OSAS has three major categories of morbidities: neurobehavioural, cardiovascular and somatic growth failure. The gold standard for objective diagnosis of obstructive-SRDB severity is polysomnography (PSG). The indication for surgical treatment in children is moderate-severe OSAS (AHI, apnoea hypopnoea index > 5/h) and in mild OSAS (AHI 2-5/h) with complications or morbidity. The entire spectrum of PSG-defined SRDB (ranging from Primary Snoring to severe OSAS) may correlate with behavioural, attentional and executive function deficits relating to hypoxia and sleep disruption: in some cases, these alterations may mimic attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of this research was to evaluate visuoperceptual and constructional abilities, paediatric sleep questionnaire and polysomnographic scores before and 6 months after adenotonsillectomy with objective and subjective information. We included 59 children who underwent neuropsychiatric and otolaryngologist clinical evaluation and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI); children parents were asked to fill in the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ); each child underwent PSG. At 6 months after adenotonsillectomy, all patients were evaluated again. There is a significant difference in PSQ parameters, VMI standard, visual tests scores and PSG parameters before and after adenotonsillectomy in children affected by OSAS. These results showed the achievement of therapeutic benefits with improvement of the quality of life for both children and their parents
Assessment of respiratory function in infants and young children wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic
Importance: Face masks have been associated with effective prevention of diffusion of viruses via droplets. However, the use of face masks among children, especially those aged younger than 3 years, is debated, and the US Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Physicians recommend the use of face mask only among individuals aged 3 years or older.Objective: To examine whether the use of surgical facial masks among children is associated with episodes of oxygen desaturation or respiratory distress.Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was conducted from May through June 2020 in a secondary-level hospital pediatric unit in Italy. Included participants were 47 healthy children divided by age (ie, group A, aged ≤24 months, and group B, aged >24 months to ≤144 months). Data were analyzed from May through June 2020.Interventions: All participants were monitored every 15 minutes for changes in respiratory parameters for the first 30 minutes while not wearing a surgical face mask and for the next 30 minutes while wearing a face mask. Children aged 24 months and older then participated in a walking test for 12 minutes.Main Outcomes and Measures: Changes in respiratory parameters during the use of surgical masks were evaluated.Results: Among 47 children, 22 children (46.8%) were aged 24 months or younger (ie, group A), with 11 boys (50.0%) and median (interquartile range [IQR]) age 12.5 (10.0-17.5) months, and 25 children (53.2%) were aged older than 24 months to 144 months or younger, with 13 boys (52.0%) and median (IQR) age 100.0 (72.0-120.0) months. During the first 60 minutes of evaluation in the 2 groups, there was no significant change in group A in median (IQR) partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (Petco2; 33.0 [32.0-34.0] mm Hg; P for Kruskal Wallis =.59), oxygen saturation (Sao2; 98.0% [97.0%-99.0%]; P for Kruskal Wallis =.61), pulse rate (PR; 130.0 [115.0-140.0] pulsations/min; P for Kruskal Wallis =.99), or respiratory rate (RR; 30.0 [28.0-33.0] breaths/min; P for Kruskal Wallis =.69) or for group B in median (IQR) Petco2 (36.0 [34.0-38.0] mm Hg; P for Kruskal Wallis =.97), Sao2 (98.0% [97.0%-98.0%]; P for Kruskal Wallis =.52), PR (96.0 [84.0-104.5] pulsations/min; P for Kruskal Wallis test=.48), or RR (22.0 [20.0-25.0] breaths/min; P for Kruskal Wallis =.55). After the group B walking test, compared with before the walking test, there was a significant increase in median (IQR) PR (96.0 [84.0-104.5] pulsations/min vs 105.0 [100.0-115.0] pulsations/min; P<.02) and RR (22.0 [20.0-25.0] breaths/min vs 26.0 [24.0-29.0] breaths/min; P<.05).Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study among infants and young children in Italy found that the use of facial masks was not associated with significant changes in Sao2 or Petco2, including among children aged 24 months and younger
Learning to Prompt in the Classroom to Understand AI Limits: A pilot study
Artificial intelligence's progress holds great promise in assisting society
in addressing pressing societal issues. In particular Large Language Models
(LLM) and the derived chatbots, like ChatGPT, have highly improved the natural
language processing capabilities of AI systems allowing them to process an
unprecedented amount of unstructured data. The consequent hype has also
backfired, raising negative sentiment even after novel AI methods' surprising
contributions. One of the causes, but also an important issue per se, is the
rising and misleading feeling of being able to access and process any form of
knowledge to solve problems in any domain with no effort or previous expertise
in AI or problem domain, disregarding current LLMs limits, such as
hallucinations and reasoning limits. Acknowledging AI fallibility is crucial to
address the impact of dogmatic overconfidence in possibly erroneous suggestions
generated by LLMs. At the same time, it can reduce fear and other negative
attitudes toward AI. AI literacy interventions are necessary that allow the
public to understand such LLM limits and learn how to use them in a more
effective manner, i.e. learning to "prompt". With this aim, a pilot educational
intervention was performed in a high school with 30 students. It involved (i)
presenting high-level concepts about intelligence, AI, and LLM, (ii) an initial
naive practice with ChatGPT in a non-trivial task, and finally (iii) applying
currently-accepted prompting strategies. Encouraging preliminary results have
been collected such as students reporting a) high appreciation of the activity,
b) improved quality of the interaction with the LLM during the educational
activity, c) decreased negative sentiments toward AI, d) increased
understanding of limitations and specifically We aim to study factors that
impact AI acceptance and to refine and repeat this activity in more controlled
settings.Comment: Submitted to AIXIA 2023 22nd International Conference of the Italian
Association for Artificial Intelligence 6 - 9 Nov, 2023, Rome, Ital
Salinomycin potentiates the cytotoxic effects of TRAIL on glioblastoma cell lines
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been reported to exhibit therapeutic activity in cancer. However, many tumors remain resistant to treatment with TRAIL. Therefore, small molecules that potentiate the cytotoxic effects of TRAIL could be used for combinatorial therapy. Here we found that the ionophore antibiotic salinomycin acts in synergism with TRAIL, enhancing TRAIL-induced apoptosis in glioma cells. Treatment with low doses of salinomycin in combination with TRAIL augmented the activation of caspase-3 and increased TRAIL-R2 cell surface expression. TRAIL-R2 upmodulation was required for mediating the stimulatory effect of salinomycin on TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, since it was abrogated by siRNA-mediated TRAIL-R2 knockdown. Salinomycin in synergism with TRAIL exerts a marked anti-tumor effect in nude mice xenografted with human glioblastoma cells. Our results suggest that the combination of TRAIL and salinomycin may be a useful tool to overcome TRAIL resistance in glioma cells and may represent a potential drug for treatment of these tumors. Importantly, salinomycin+TRAIL were able to induce cell death of well-defined glioblastoma stem-like lines
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