Information and preference reversals in lotteries

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Several approaches have been proposed for evaluating information in expected utility theory. Among the most popular approaches are the expected utility increase, the selling price and the buying price. While the expected utility increase and the selling price always agree in ranking information alternatives, Hazen and Sounderpandian [11] have demonstrated that the buying price may not always agree with the other two. That is, in some cases, where the expected utility increase would value information A more highly than information B, the buying price may reverse these preferences. In this paper, we discuss the conditions under which all these approaches agree in a generic decision environment where the decision maker may choose to acquire arbitrary information bundles. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Morphable Models for Representation of complex movements for Imitation Learning

Imitation learning is a promising technique for teaching robots complex movement sequences. One key problem in this area is the transfer of perceived movement characteristics from perception to action. For the solution of this problem, representations are required that are suitable for the analysis and the synthesis of complex action sequences. We describe the method of Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Morphable Models that allows an automatic segmentation of movements sequences into movement primitives, and a modeling of these primitives by morphing between a set of prototypical trajectories. We use HSTMMs in an imitation learning task for human writing movements. The models are learned from recorded trajectories and transferred to a human-like robot arm. Due to the generalization proper- ties of our movement representation, the arm is capable of synthesizing new writing movements with only a few learning examples

Multivariate Regression with Stiefel Constraints

We introduce a new framework for regression between multi-dimensional spaces. Standard methods for solving this problem typically reduce the problem to one-dimensional regression by choosing features in the input and/or output spaces. These methods, which include PLS (partial least squares), KDE (kernel dependency estimation), and PCR (principal component regression), select features based on different a-priori judgments as to their relevance. Moreover, loss function and constraints are chosen not primarily on statistical grounds, but to simplify the resulting optimisation. By contrast, in our approach the feature construction and the regression estimation are performed jointly, directly minimizing a loss function that we specify, subject to a rank constraint. A major advantage of this approach is that the loss is no longer chosen according to the algorithmic requirements, but can be tailored to the characteristics of the task at hand; the features will then be optimal with respect to this objective. Our approach also allows for the possibility of using a regularizer in the optimization. Finally, by processing the observations sequentially, our algorithm is able to work on large scale problems

Is immersion in mint oil or apple vinegar solution a valid antifungal approach for acrylic soft liners?

Objectives: In-vitro assessment of the validity of immersion in mint oil or apple vinegar solutions as antifungal approach for acrylic soft liners. Materials and methods: Sixty disc-shaped specimens: 9mm in diameter and 2mm in length, and sixty cylinders: 12.5mm in diameter and 20mm in length of Vertex-Dental Heat-cured acrylic soft liner were prepared for antifungal activity and resilience measurements respectively. Specimens were divided into three groups; twenty in each, for immersion in mint oil, apple vinegar and distilled water (control). The groups were divided into four subgroups, five in each, for the different immersion periods: one day, one week, three weeks and six weeks. For each group, the daily immersion protocol was 8 h of immersion in the testing solution followed by 16 h in artificial saliva. This was repeated for each immersion period. Antifungal activity was assessed using disc diffusion method by measuring the inhibition zone for each disc twice: after 24 and 48 h incubation. Modulus of resilience was determined using a universal testing machine, where a stress-strain curve was obtained for each specimen and the area under the elastic portion of the curve was calculated. Results: A significantly higher antifungal activity was revealed following immersion in mint oil compared to apple vinegar solution. The immersion period was a significant variable for the antifungal activity measured after 24 h following immersion in either solution whereas it was an insignificant variable for the antifungal activity measured after 48 h following immersion in apple vinegar solution. A significant reduction in the antifungal activity was noted as the incubation period was increased from 24 to 48 h except after six weeks immersion in apple vinegar solution. Modulus of resilience of the acrylic soft liner was adversely affected by immersion in mint oil solution for more than one day and in apple vinegar solution for more than one week. Conclusions: Mint oil and Apple vinegar represent possible natural antifungal immersion solutions for acrylic soft liner provided that the immersion protocol is implemented properly

Which politicians receive abuse? Four factors illuminated in the UK general election 2019

The 2019 UK general election took place against a background of rising online hostility levels toward politicians, and concerns about the impact of this on democracy, as a record number of politicians cited the abuse they had been receiving as a reason for not standing for re-election. We present a four-factor framework in understanding who receives online abuse and why. The four factors are prominence, events, online engagement and personal characteristics. We collected 4.2 million tweets sent to or from election candidates in the six week period spanning from the start of November until shortly after the December 12th election. We found abuse in 4.46% of replies received by candidates, up from 3.27% in the matching period for the 2017 UK general election. Abuse levels have also been climbing month on month throughout 2019. Abuse also escalated throughout the campaign period. Abuse focused mainly on a small number of high profile politicians, with the most prominent individuals receiving not only more abuse by volume, but also as a percentage of replies. Abuse is ``spiky'', triggered by external events such as debates, or certain tweets. Some tweets may become viral targets for personal abuse. On average, men received more general and political abuse; women received more sexist abuse. Conservative candidates received more political and general abuse. We find that individuals choosing not to stand for re-election had received more abuse across the preceding year

Mainstreaming of genomic medicine in gastroenterology, present and future: a Nationwide Survey of UK Gastroenterology Trainees

Objective: Genomics and personalised medicine are increasingly relevant for patients with gastroenterological conditions. We aim to capture the current state of genomics training in gastroenterology to review current understanding, clinical experience and long-term educational needs of UK trainees.Design & Setting: A web-based nationwide survey of all UK gastroenterology specialty trainees was conducted in 2017.Results: 100 trainees (14% of UK gastroenterology trainees) completed this survey. Only 9% and 16% of respondents believe that their local training programme adequately prepares them for future clinical practice utilising genomic medicine and personalised medicine respectively. Barriers identified include the need for greater trainee education (95%), inadequate clinical guidance to base interventions on the results of genomic testing (53%), concerns over misinterpretation by patients (43%) and overuse/misuse of testing by clinicians (34%).Survey respondents felt prepared to perform HFE genotyping (98%), assess TPMT status (97%), and interpret HLA-subtyping for suspected coeliac disease (85%). However, only a minority felt prepared to perform the following investigations: polyposis screening (34%), hereditary pancreatitis screening (30%), testing for Lynch Syndrome (33%), and KRAS testing for colorectal cancer (20%).Most respondents would support holding dedicated training days on genomic medicine (83%), formal training provisions for the mainstreaming of genomic testing (64%), an update to the UK gastroenterology specialty training curriculum and examinations (57%), and better-defined referral pathways for local genomic services (91%).Conclusion: Most gastroenterology trainees in this survey feel ill-equipped to practice genomic and personalised medicine as consultants. We propose specific revisions to the UK gastroenterology specialty curriculum that address trainees needs

Online abuse toward candidates during the UK general election 2019 : working paper

The 2019 UK general election took place against a background of rising online hostility levels toward politicians and concerns about its impact on democracy. We collected 4.2 million tweets sent to or from election candidates in the six week period spanning from the start of November until shortly after the December 12th election. We found abuse in 4.46\% of replies received by candidates, up from 3.27\% in the matching period for the 2017 UK general election. Abuse levels have also been climbing month on month throughout 2019. Abuse also escalated throughout the campaign period. Abuse focused mainly on a small number of high profile politicians. Abuse is "spiky", triggered by external events such as debates, or certain tweets. Abuse increases when politicians discuss inflammatory topics such as borders and immigration. There may also be a backlash on topics such as social justice. Some tweets may become viral targets for personal abuse. On average, men received more general and political abuse; women received more sexist abuse. MPs choosing not to stand again had received more abuse during 2019

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between independent III-V on silicon waveguide integrated lasers

The versatility of silicon photonic integrated circuits has led to a widespread usage of this platform for quantum information based applications, including Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). However, the integration of simple high repetition rate photon sources is yet to be achieved. The use of weak-coherent pulses (WCPs) could represent a viable solution. For example, Measurement Device Independent QKD (MDI-QKD) envisions the use of WCPs to distill a secret key immune to detector side channel attacks at large distances. Thus, the integration of III-V lasers on silicon waveguides is an interesting prospect for quantum photonics. Here, we report the experimental observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with 46\pm 2% visibility between WCPs generated by two independent III-V on silicon waveguide integrated lasers. This quantum interference effect is at the heart of many applications, including MDI-QKD. Our work represents a substantial first step towards an implementation of MDI-QKD fully integrated in silicon, and could be beneficial for other applications such as standard QKD and novel quantum communication protocols.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Erratum

Genetic characterization of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) germplasm from Southeast Anatolia by SSR markersVitis 50 (3), 99-106 (2011