A simple model of decision-making in the application process

In decision-making, individuals often rely on intuition, which can occasionally yield suboptimal outcomes. This study examines the impact of intuitive decision-making on individuals who are confronted with limited position information in the job application process. We propose a measure, the mismatch index, that gauges allocation efficiency by comparing the final application rate to the preset admission rate. By simulation and analytical results, we counter-intuitively find that under the intuitive strategy, acquiring more information does not always lead to more efficient allocation. Additionally, a shift from despondency to a bandwagon effect occurs when the initial application rate surpasses the admission rate, which can be observed in our field experiments. Meanwhile, experimental data also unveil variations in individuals' reliance on intuition, indicating the presence of inherent adventurous and conservative inclinations. To account for these effects, we introduce an enhancement factor into our model. The improved results align well with these real data, showing that compared to mediate competitive scenarios, individuals exhibit a stronger conservative tendency in fierce or less competitive scenarios. These findings offer significant insights into resource allocation, especially in the competitive job market context.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Comparison of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and T2 Relaxation Time Variation Patterns in Assessment of Age and Disc Level Related Intervertebral Disc Changes

Purpose To compare the variation patterns of ADC and T2 values in different age and intervertebral disc (IVD) levels, thus to identify their sensitivities in assessing age and disc level related IVDs changes. Materials and Methods The T2 and ADC values were recorded from 345 IVDs of 69 volunteers. Kendall's correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between age and T2/ADC mean values respectively. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc analysis was then applied to test the differences of T2 and ADC values among different IVD levels and age groups, followed by linear regression analysis between age (45 years) and T2/ADC mean values. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Results: Significant negative correlation was observed between age and T2/ADC mean values. The T2 and ADC values showed significant differences among IVD levels and among age groups except for T2 values in age group 1 (25–34 years) and group 2 (35–44 years), and for ADC values at L1–2 level. Both T2 and ADC values showed significant differences between young (age45 years) at each IVD level. A linear relationship was observed between age and T2/ADC mean values in the elderly group as well as in the young group for the ADC mean values, while no such tendency was identified in the young group for the T2 mean values. Conclusions: ADC values may be a more sensitive parameter than T2 in assessing age and disc level related intervertebral disc changes

Matrix Converter Based on Trapezoidal Current Injection

The Matrix Converter (MC) is a direct AC-AC power converter featuring high power density and high efficiency. However, the conventional MC (CMC) topologies require high control complexity and high transistor capacity, hindering the wide applications. An emerging MC topology (3CI-MC) based on the third-harmonic current injection (3CI) reduces the control complexity, but require more transistors and complex clamping circuit. This paper proposes the trapezoidal current injection (TCI) technique to form a novel MC topology (TCI-MC), which consists of a line-commutated converter (LCC), a TCI circuit and a voltage source converter (VSC). Compared with the 3CI-MC, the proposed TCI-MC not only maintains the advantages of simple modulation and independent voltage control, but also achieves lower current stress on the LCC part of the circuit. The total transistor capacity of the proposed TCI-MC is the lowest among all the considered MC topologies. The clamping circuit is also simplified and the bidirectional switches are eliminated, reducing the implementation cost. Simulation and experimental results have verified the validity of the proposed topology

Chloroplast genome sequencing of Carya Illinoinensis cv. Xinxuan-4, a new pecan pollinated cultivar

Carya illinoinensis, is a highly valuable nut plant that is cultivated worldwide. As a precious pecan pollination resource, C. illinoinensis cv. Xinxuan-4 is protandrous, with a very early bud break in China. In this study, the chloroplast (cp) genome of 'Xinxuan-4' was sequenced and compared with closely related cultivars. The cp genome was found to be 160,819 bp in length, and it had a common quadripartite architecture with one large single copy (LSC; 90,022 bp), one small single copy (SSC; 18,791 bp), and two inverted repeats (IRs; 26,003 bp). The genome contained 132 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes, with a GC content of 36.1%. Furthermore, 278 simple sequence repeats and 59 long repeat sequences were identified, and the genome comparisons revealed that there was a greater divergence in the noncoding regions than in the coding regions. According to the gene selective pressure analysis, five genes (petD, rpl16, rps12, rpoC2, and rpoC1) were identified to be potentially under positive selection when contrasted with the other Carya genotypes. Phylogenetic analysis of the cp genome of 'Xinxuan-4' and 17 other species inferred that Carya is monophyletic and that the genetic relationship between 'Xinxuan-4' and 'Pawnee' is quite close from an evolutionary perspective. The currently characterized cp genome of 'Xinxuan-4' offers useful data for subsequent research on this pecan species

Network Pharmacology Based Research on the Combination Mechanism Between Escin and Low Dose Glucocorticoids in Anti-rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by chronic progressive symmetrical synovitis and destruction of multiple joints. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used in the treatment of RA. However, their adverse effects can be serious. Escin, which is isolated from Aesculus hippocastanum L., has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated the anti-RA effect of Escin combined with low dose GCs (dexamethasone, Dex) and the underlying mechanism. Adjuvant-induced RA rats and lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-injured RAW264.7 cells were used to investigate the anti-RA effects of Escin combined with low dose Dex in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that Escin combined with low-dose Dex significantly decreased arthritic index, serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels, reduced paw swelling, and ameliorated the joint pathology and immune organ pathology. Gene chip results revealed that Nr3c1 (GR) expression was significantly altered, and that GR was activated by Escin and low dose Dex in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, Escin combined with low dose Dex also significantly increased GR mRNA expression. However, when GR expression was suppressed by its specific inhibitor, the anti-RA effect of Escin combined with low-dose Dex was abolished. The data in this study demonstrated that Escin combined with Dex reduced the dose of Dex, and exerted significant anti-RA effects, which could also reduce the adverse effects of Dex. This combination might result from GR activation. This study might provide a new combination of drugs for the treatment of RA

Evaluation of Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Chronic Hepatitis B in Chinese: Two Independent Case-Control Studies

BACKGROUND: A recent genome-wide scan has identified two genetic variants in the HLA-DP region strongly associated with hepatitis B infection in Japanese. This study evaluates the effects of these risk variants in Chinese, where the HBV infection is the most popular in the world. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We have assessed the relationship between these two single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs3077 and rs9277535) and chronic hepatitis B infection in two independent case-control studies. The first population in Chinese Han included 736 patients and 782 spontaneously recovered controls. The second set was established in Chinese Zhuang minority of 177 patients and 208 controls. Both A alleles of rs3077 and rs9277535 significantly deceased the risk to CHB in Chinese Han (OR = 0.540, 95%CI: 0.464-0.628, P = 4.068×10(-16) and OR = 0.696, 95%CI: 0.601-0.806, P = 1.062×10(-6), respectively). Conceivably, rs9277535 was found to be associated with decreased risk of the disease in Chinese Zhuang, with an OR of 0.606 (95%CI, 0.441-0.833, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Chronic hepatitis B susceptibility loci in HLA-DP region (rs3077 and rs9277535) identified by genome-wide scan in Japanese population were validated in Chinese population. These findings might provide clues to develop screening and surveillance strategies

Dissociation of subtraction and multiplication in the right parietal cortex: Evidence from intraoperative cortical electrostimulation

Previous research has consistently shown that the left parietal cortex is critical for numerical processing, but the role of the right parietal lobe has been much less clear. This study used the intraoperative cortical electrical stimulation approach to investigate neural dissociation in the right parietal cortex for subtraction and multiplication. Results showed that multiplication (as well as picture naming) was not affected by the cortical electrical stimulation on all the targeted sites of the right parietal cortex as well as those of the right temporal cortex. In contrast, stimulation at three right parietal sites (two sites in the right inferior parietal lobule and one in the right angular gyrus) impaired performance on simple subtraction problems. This study provided the first evidence from an intraoperative cortical electrical stimulation study to show the dissociation of arithmetic operations in the right parietal cortex. This dissociation between subtraction and multiplication suggests that the right parietal cortex plays a more significant role in quantity processing (subtraction) than in verbal processing (multiplication) in numerical processing

A Boundedly Rational Decision-Making Model Based on Weakly Consistent Preference Relations

Completeness is one of the basic assumptions about the rational preference relation in classical decision theory. Strongly and weakly consistent preferences are presented by abandoning the completeness of the rational preference relation. Some expansion and contraction conditions are proposed and the relationships between these conditions of rationality are discussed. The relationships between the conditions of rationality and boundedly rational choice behavior based on strongly and weakly consistent preferences are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, an example about the choices of chocolates with interval ordinal numbers is given to explain some of the main conclusions in this paper. The results can be used as references for the study of boundedly rational decisions