10,320 research outputs found
Evolution of cooperation in multilevel public goods games with community structures
In a community-structured population, public goods games (PGG) occur both
within and between communities. Such type of PGG is referred as multilevel
public goods games (MPGG). We propose a minimalist evolutionary model of the
MPGG and analytically study the evolution of cooperation. We demonstrate that
in the case of sufficiently large community size and community number, if the
imitation strength within community is weak, i.e., an individual imitates
another one in the same community almost randomly, cooperation as well as
punishment are more abundant than defection in the long run; if the imitation
strength between communities is strong, i.e., the more successful strategy in
two individuals from distinct communities is always imitated, cooperation and
punishment are also more abundant. However, when both of the two imitation
intensities are strong, defection becomes the most abundant strategy in the
population. Our model provides insight into the investigation of the
large-scale cooperation in public social dilemma among contemporary
communities.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by EP
The happiness - suicide paradox
Suicide is an important scientific phenomenon. Yet its causes remain poorly understood. This study documents a paradox: the happiest places have the highest suicide rates. The study combines findings from two large and rich individual-level data sets—one on life satisfaction and another on suicide deaths—to establish the paradox in a consistent way across U.S. states. It replicates the finding in data on Western industrialized nations and checks that the paradox is not an artifact of population composition or confounding factors. The study concludes with the conjecture that people may find it particularly painful to be unhappy in a happy place, so that the decision to commit suicide is influenced by relative comparisons.Happiness ; Suicide
Partially frustrated Ising models in two dimensions
Journal ArticleWe examine ordered, periodic, Ising models on a sq lattice at varying levels x of frustration. The thermodynamic singularity of the fully frustrated model (x=1) is at T=0 while those of partially frustrated lattices (0<x<1) occur at finite Tc . The critical indices in the partially frustrated lattices that we consider-including the logarithmic specific heat-are all identical to those in the ferromagnet (x=0.) We display exact values of Tc and of ground-state energy and entropy Eo and So , at x=1, 2/3, 1/2 , 2/5 ,...,0
miR-9 Acts as an OncomiR in Prostate Cancer through Multiple Pathways That Drive Tumour Progression and Metastasis
Identification of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in prostate cancer is critical not only for diagnosis, but also differentiation between the aggressive and indolent forms of the disease. miR-9 was identified as an oncomiR through both miRNA panel RT-qPCR as well as high-throughput sequencing analysis of the human P69 prostate cell line as compared to its highly tumorigenic and metastatic subline M12, and found to be consistently upregulated in other prostate cell lines including DU-145 and PC3. While miR-9 has been characterized as dysregulated either as an oncomiR or tumour suppressor in a variety of other cancers including breast, ovarian, and nasopharyngeal carcinomas, it has not been previously evaluated and proven as an oncomiR in prostate cancer. miR-9 was confirmed an oncomiR when found to be overexpressed in tumour tissue as compared to adjacent benign glandular epithelium through laser-capture microdissection of radical prostatectomy biopsies. Inhibition of miR-9 resulted in reduced migratory and invasive potential of the M12 cell line, and reduced tumour growth and metastases in male athymic nude mice. Analysis showed that miR-9 targets e-cadherin and suppressor of cytokine signalling 5 (SOCS5), but not NF-ĸB mRNA. Expression of these proteins was shown to be affected by modulation in expression of miR-9
The viscous slowing down of supercooled liquids as a temperature-controlled superArrhenius activated process: a description in terms of frustration-limited domains
We propose that the salient feature to be explained about the glass
transition of supercooled liquids is the temperature-controlled superArrhenius
activated nature of the viscous slowing down, more strikingly seen in
weakly-bonded, fragile systems. In the light of this observation, the relevance
of simple models of spherically interacting particles and that of models based
on free-volume congested dynamics are questioned. Finally, we discuss how the
main aspects of the phenomenology of supercooled liquids, including the
crossover from Arrhenius to superArrhenius activated behavior and the
heterogeneous character of the relaxation, can be described by an
approach based on frustration-limited domains.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted in J. Phys.: Condensed Matter,
proceedings of the Trieste workshop on "Unifying Concepts in Glass Physics
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