Empirical Tests of Intransitivity Predicted by Models of Risky Choice

Recently proposed models of risky choice imply systematic violations of transitivity of preference. Five studies explored whether people show patterns of intransitivity predicted by four descriptive models. To distinguish ?true? violations from those produced by ?error,? a model was fit in which each choice can have a different error rate and each person can have a different pattern of true preferences that need not be transitive. Error rate for a choice is estimated from preference reversals between repeated presentations of the same choice. Results of five studies showed that very few people repeated intransitive patterns. We can retain the hypothesis that transitivity best describes the data of the vast majority of participants. --decision making,errors,gambling effect,reference points,regret,transitivity

Efficient testing based on logical architecture

The rapid increase of software-intensive systems' size and complexity makes it infeasible to exhaustively run testing on the low level of source code. Instead, the testing should be executed on the high level of system architecture, i.e., at a level where component or subsystems relate and interoperate or interact collectively with the system environment. Testing at this level is system testing, including hardware and software in union. Moreover, when integrating complex, distributed systems and providing support for conformance, interoperability and interoperation tests, we need to have an explicit test description. In this vision paper, we discuss (1) how to select tests from logical architecture, especially based on the dependencies within the system, and (2) how to represent the selected tests in explicit and readable manner, so that the software systems can be cost-e!ciently maintained and evolved over their entire life-cycle. In addition, we further study the relevance between di↵erent tests, based on which, we can optimise the test suites for e!cient testing, and propose optimal resource allocation strategies for cloud-based testing

Требования к узлу сопряжения секций геохода

Проведен анализ работы узла сопряжения секций (УСС) геохода. Сформированы требования к узлу сопряжения секций геохода.The analysis of the operation of the bearing unit of the geokhod is carried out. The requirements for the bearing unit of the geokhod are formed

The Proteasome System in Infection: Impact of β5 and LMP7 on Composition, Maturation and Quantity of Active Proteasome Complexes

Proteasomes are the major enzyme complexes for non-lysosomal protein degradation in eukaryotic cells. Mammals express two sets of catalytic subunits: the constitutive subunits β1, β2 and β5 and the immunosubunits LMP2 (β1i), MECL-1 (β2i) and LMP7 (β5i). The LMP7-propeptide (proLMP7) is required for optimal maturation of LMP2/MECL-1-containing precursors to mature immunoproteasomes, but can also mediate efficient integration into mixed proteasomes containing β1 and β2. In contrast, the β5-propeptide (proβ5) has been suggested to promote preferential integration into β1/β2-containing precursors, consequently favouring the formation of constitutive proteasomes. Here, we show that proβ5 predominantly promotes integration into LMP2/MECL-1-containing precursors in IFNγ-stimulated, LMP7-deficient cells and infected LMP7-deficient mice. This demonstrates that proβ5 does not direct preferential integration into β1/β2-containing precursors, but instead promotes the formation of mixed LMP2/MECL-1/β5 proteasomes under inflammatory conditions. Moreover, the propeptides substantially differ in their capacity to promote proteasome maturation, with proLMP7 showing a significantly higher chaperone activity as compared to proβ5. Increased efficiency of proteasome maturation mediated by proLMP7 is required for optimal MHC class I cell surface expression and is equally important as the catalytic activity of immunoproteasomes. Intriguingly, induction of LMP7 by infection not only results in rapid exchange of constitutive by immunosubunits, as previously suggested, but also increases the total proteasome abundance within the infected tissue. Hence our data identify a novel LMP7-dependend mechanism to enhance the activity of the proteasome system in infection, which is based on the high chaperone activity of proLMP7 and relies on accelerated maturation of active proteasome complexes

Gammaretrovirus-mediated correction of SCID-X1 is associated with skewed vector integration site distribution in vivo

We treated 10 children with X-linked SCID (SCID-X1) using gammaretrovirus-mediated gene transfer. Those with sufficient follow-up were found to have recovered substantial immunity in the absence of any serious adverse events up to 5 years after treatment. To determine the influence of vector integration on lymphoid reconstitution, we compared retroviral integration sites (RISs) from peripheral blood CD3(+) T lymphocytes of 5 patients taken between 9 and 30 months after transplantation with transduced CD34(+) progenitor cells derived from 1 further patient and I healthy donor. Integration occurred preferentially in gene regions on either side of transcription start sites, was clustered, and correlated with the expression level in CD34(+) progenitors during transduction. In contrast to those in CD34(+) cells, RISs recovered from engrafted CD3(+)T cells were significantly overrepresented within or near genes encoding proteins with kinase or transferase activity or involved in phosphorus metabolism. Although gross patterns of gene expression were unchanged in transduced cells, the divergence of RIS target frequency between transduced progenitor cells and post-thymic T lymphocytes indicates that vector integration influences cell survival, engraftment, or proliferation

Universality of electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers

Using a large set of simulated extensive air showers, we investigate universality features of electron and positron distributions in very-high-energy cosmic-ray air showers. Most particle distributions depend only on the depth of the shower maximum and the number of particles in the cascade at this depth. We provide multi-dimensional parameterizations for the electron-positron distributions in terms of particle energy, vertical and horizontal momentum angle, lateral distance, and time distribution of the shower front. These parameterizations can be used to obtain realistic electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers for data analysis and simulations of Cherenkov radiation, fluorescence signal, and radio emission.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, 1 tabl

A Stellar Population Gradient in VII Zw 403 - Implications for the Formation of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies

We present evidence for the existence of an old stellar halo in the Blue Compact Dwarf galaxy VII Zw 403. VII Zw 403 is the first Blue Compact Dwarf galaxy for which a clear spatial segregation of the resolved stellar content into a "core-halo" structure is detected. Multicolor HST/WFPC2 observations indicate that active star formation occurs in the central region, but is strikingly absent at large radii. Instead, a globular-cluster-like red giant branch suggests the presence of an old (> 10 Gyr) and metal poor (=-1.92) stellar population in the halo. While the vast majority of Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies has been recognized to possess halos of red color in ground-based surface photometry, our observations of VII Zw 403 establish for the first time a direct correspondence between a red halo color and the presence of old, red giant stars. If the halos of Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies are all home to such ancient stellar populations, then the fossil record conflicts with delayed-formation scenarios for dwarfs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Ap

The Expression of Epac2 and GluA3 in an Alzheimer's Disease Experimental Model and Postmortem Patient Samples

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau accumulation in the brain. Recent studies indicated that memory retrieval, rather than memory formation, was impaired in the early stage of AD. Our previous study reported that pharmacological activation of hippocampal Epac2 promoted memory retrieval in C57BL/6J mice. A recent study suggested that pharmacological inhibition of Epac2 prevented synaptic potentiation mediated by GluA3-containing AMPARs. In this study, we aimed to investigate proteins associated with Epac2-mediated memory in hippocampal postmortem samples of AD patients and healthy controls compared with the experimental AD model J20 and wild-type mice. Epac2 and phospho-Akt were downregulated in AD patients and J20 mice, while Epac1 and phospho-ERK1/2 were not altered. GluA3 was reduced in J20 mice and tended to decrease in AD patients. PSD95 tended to decrease in AD patients and J20. Interestingly, AKAP5 was increased in AD patients but not in J20 mice, implicating its role in tau phosphorylation. Our study points to the downregulation of hippocampal expression of proteins associated with Epac2 in AD. </p