Monte Carlo Planning method estimates planning horizons during interactive social exchange

Reciprocating interactions represent a central feature of all human exchanges. They have been the target of various recent experiments, with healthy participants and psychiatric populations engaging as dyads in multi-round exchanges such as a repeated trust task. Behaviour in such exchanges involves complexities related to each agent's preference for equity with their partner, beliefs about the partner's appetite for equity, beliefs about the partner's model of their partner, and so on. Agents may also plan different numbers of steps into the future. Providing a computationally precise account of the behaviour is an essential step towards understanding what underlies choices. A natural framework for this is that of an interactive partially observable Markov decision process (IPOMDP). However, the various complexities make IPOMDPs inordinately computationally challenging. Here, we show how to approximate the solution for the multi-round trust task using a variant of the Monte-Carlo tree search algorithm. We demonstrate that the algorithm is efficient and effective, and therefore can be used to invert observations of behavioural choices. We use generated behaviour to elucidate the richness and sophistication of interactive inference

An assessment of the impact of flood events in Makurdi, Nigeria

Flood disaster is not a recent phenomenon in Makurdi people in the town have been experiencing its destructive tendencies which are sometimes enormous. Using information sourced from questionnaire, personal observation, and archival records of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and newspaper reports; this paper examines flood events and its impacts on the people of Makurdi Town. A sample size of 400 respondents was drawn from flood prone areas of the town and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a modified 4-point Likert Scale Rating System. The results of the analyses show that floods in Makurdi occur at the event of high rainfall intensity and mostly between September and October. When flooded, it takes 2-3 days for the flood water to recede depending on the magnitude of event. Apart from rainfall, other factors that influence flooding in the study area included lack of and poor drainage networks, dumping of wastes/refuse in drainage and water channels, and degree of built up areas leading to and increased runoffs. Although, personal properties and public infrastructure suffer all forms of flood damages, residents in the flood prone areas have remained on the basis of having no alternative, cultural ethnic affinity, family home where parent were buried and cheaper houses to rent. Identified flood mitigation measures include river dredging, raising house foundations and building of levees and embankment. Public enlightenment and necessary legislation and enforcement are recommended to checkmate activities aiding flooding. Keywords: Flooding, Hazards, Rainfall, Causes, Management measures and Infrastructur

РЕАЛІЗАЦІЯ ФІЗИЧНОЇ ТЕРАПІЇ ПРИ КОМПЛЕКСНОМУ ЛІКУВАННІ ГОСТРОЇ ХІРУРГІЧНОЇ ПАТОЛОГІЇ ОРГАНІВ ЧЕРЕВНОЇ ПОРОЖНИНИ В УМОВАХ ЗАГАЛЬНОХІРУРГІЧНОГО ВІДДІЛЕННЯ

Summary. Theoretical and methodological justification of physical therapy in the treatment of acute surgical pathology of the abdominal cavity remains insufficiently studied and insufficiently covered in the literature, in particular due to the lack of a standard for its use, and poorly studied impact on treatment results. The aim of the study – to learn the state of practical solution of the problem of physical therapy in the complex treatment of urgent abdominal surgical diseases in a separate general surgery department as a representative unit of care for patients with acute surgical pathology of the abdominal cavity. Materials and Methods. The results of 420 inpatients’ treatment for acute surgical abdominal pathology during 2019 in the general surgical departments of two secondary health care facilities were retrospectively analyzed. The severity of patients was assessed according to the scale of anesthesiological assessment of the patient's physical condition before ASA II surgery and the prognosis of adverse effects according to the integrated risk assessment system for complications and mortality POSSUM (Physiologic and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity), found a number of significant related and mutually aggravating factors that determined the severity of the disease and influenced the results of treatment. Results. Given the results of a retrospective study of the treatment of acute surgical pathology of the abdominal cavity, the relevance of the scientific and applied problem of theoretical and methodological justification of physical therapy (PT) as an important integrated component of a comprehensive treatment of urgent surgical diseases was proven. Conclusions. Further tasks to be solved are: identification of patterns, establishment of principles and methodological provisions, development of the concept, determination of application criteria, experimental verification of the effectiveness of the implementation provisions of the concept of physical therapy in the system of complex treatment of acute surgical pathology.Резюме. Теоретико-методичне обґрунтування фізичної терапії у системі лікування гострої хірургічної патології органів черевної порожнини залишається недостатньо дослідженим та мало висвітленим у спеціальній літературі, зокрема з огляду відсутності стандарту її застосування, та слабко вивченого впливу на результати лікування. Метою дослідження ­– вивчити стан практичного розв’язання проблеми фізичної терапії при комплексному лікуванні невідкладних абдомінальних хірургічних захворювань в умовах окремого загальнохірургічного відділення як репрезентуючої одиниці системи надання допомоги хворим із гострою хірургічною патологією органів черевної порожнини. Матеріали і методи. Ретроспективно проаналізовано результати стаціонарного лікування 420 пацієнтів, пролікованих у зв’язку із гострою хірургічною абдомінальною патологією упродовж 2019 р. у загальнохірургічних відділеннях двох закладів охорони здоров’я вторинної ланки. Проведено оцінку тяжкості стану пацієнтів за шкалою анестезіологічної оцінки фізичного стану пацієнта перед операцією ASA ІІ та прогнозу несприятливих наслідків за інтегральною системою оцінки ризику ускладнень та смертності POSSUM (Physiologic and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity), виявлено ряд достовірно значущих взаємопов’язаних та взаємообтяжуючих чинників, що зумовлювали тяжкість перебігу захворювання та впливали на результати лікування. Результати. З огляду на результати проведеного ретроспективного дослідження результатів лікування гострої хірургічної патології органів черевної порожнини, доведено актуальність науково-прикладної проблеми теоретико-методичного обґрунтування фізичної терапії (ФТ) як важливої інтегрованої складової системи комплексного лікування невідкладних абдомінальних хірургічних захворювань. Висновки. Подальшими завданнями, що повинні бути вирішені для розв’язання, є: виявлення закономірностей, встановлення принципів та методичних положень, розробка концепції, визначення критеріїв застосування, експериментальна перевірка ефективності реалізаційних положень концепції фізичної терапії у системі комплексного лікування гострої хірургічної патології органів черевної порожнини

Perceptions of institutional complexity and lobbyists’ decisions to join lobbying coalitions – evidence from the European Union context

YesWe use data from in-depth interviews with business lobbyists in Brussels to investigate why they choose to join lobbying coalitions. We find that lobbyists face two competing institutional incentives. First, they are confronted with incentives to ally with other European organisations, develop multilateral policy messages, and communicate messages to the Commission and the Parliament. Simultaneously, they face inducements to join narrower coalitions, develop bilateral policy messages, and direct those messages at the Council. Lobbyists’ receptivity to these incentives – and thus their choices of lobbying coalitions – differs with their age, educational background, and with the type and ownership structure of the organisations they represent. Combined, our findings contribute to the limited, mainly American literature on interest coalitions by demonstrating that lobbyists operate in complex institutional environments, and that their interpretations of and reactions to institutional complexity are shaped by individual- and organisational-level factors

Multi-round trust game quantifies inter-individual differences in social exchange from adolescence to adulthood

Investing in strangers in a socio-economic exchange is risky, as we may be uncertain whether they will reciprocate. Nevertheless, the potential rewards for cooperating can be great. Here, we used a cross sectional sample (n = 784) to study how the challenges of cooperation versus defection are negotiated across an important period of the lifespan: from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 14 to 25). We quantified social behaviour using a multi round investor-trustee task, phenotyping individuals using a validated model whose parameters characterise patterns of real exchange and constitute latent social characteristics. We found highly significant differences in investment behaviour according to age, sex, socio-economic status and IQ. Consistent with the literature, we showed an overall trend towards higher trust from adolescence to young adulthood but, in a novel finding, we characterized key cognitive mechanisms explaining this, especially regarding socio-economic risk aversion. Males showed lower risk-aversion, associated with greater investments. We also found that inequality aversion was higher in females and, in a novel relation, that socio-economic deprivation was associated with more risk averse play

Mindfulness training increases cooperative decision making in economic exchanges: evidence from fMRI

Emotions have been shown to exert influences on decision making during economic exchanges. Here we investigate the underlying neural mechanisms of a training regimen which is hypothesized to promote emotional awareness, specifically mindfulness training (MT). We test the hypothesis that MT increases cooperative economic decision making using fMRI in a randomized longitudinal design involving 8weeks of either MT or active control training (CT). We find that MT results in an increased willingness to cooperate indexed by higher acceptance rates to unfair monetary offers in the Ultimatum Game. While controlling for acceptance rates of monetary offers between intervention groups, subjects in the MT and CT groups show differential brain activation patterns. Specifically, a subset of more cooperative MT subjects displays increased activation in the septal region, an area linked to social attachment, which may drive the increased willingness to express cooperative behavior in the MT cohort. Furthermore, MT resulted in attenuated activity in anterior insula compared with the CT group in response to unfair monetary offers post-training, which may suggest that MT enables greater ability to effectively regulate the anterior insula and thereby promotes social cooperation. Finally, functional connectivity analyses show a coupling between the septal region and posterior insula in the MT group, suggesting an integration of interoceptive inputs. Together, these results highlight that MT may be employed in contexts where emotional regulation is required to promote social cooperation

Setting a research agenda to inform intensive comprehensive aphasia programs

Research into intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) has yet to show that this service delivery model is efficacious, effective, has cost utility, or can be broadly implemented. This article describes a phased research approach to the study of ICAPs and sets out a research agenda that considers not only the specific issues surrounding ICAPs, but also the phase of the research. Current ICAP research is in the early phases, with dosing and outcome measurement as prime considerations as well as refinement of the best treatment protocol. Later phases of ICAP research are outlined, and the need for larger scale collaborative funded research is recognized. The need for more rapid translation into practice is also acknowledged, and the use of hybrid models of phased research is encouraged within the ICAP research agenda

The effect of N-stearoylethanolamine on the lipid composition of the rat testes and testosterone level during the early stages of streptozotocin-іnduced diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with multiorgan complications, including reproductive system dysfunction where lipid imbalance of germ cells play an important role. N-stearoylethanolamine (NSE) shows a modulatory effect on the lipid composition under different pathologies. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the NSE effect on the testes lipid composition and testosterone level in plasma of diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by a single streptozotocin injection (50 mg/kg). Animals with glucose levels of 8-12 mmol/l were further selected. NSE was administrated to rats (50 mg/kg) for 10 days at 1.5 months after the streptozotocin injection. The rat testes were used for lipid analysis, namely, phospholipid level, fatty acid methyl esters and plasma testosterone estimation. NSE administration to diabetic rats triggered normalization of total and individual phospholipid content, as well as composition of free and phospholipids fatty acids in the rat testes. In addition, the testosterone content showed a slight increase under the action of NSE. Our results showed that the early stages of diabetes caused destructive changes in rat testes that may induce a decrease in future testicular function. NSE administration to diabetic rats normalized the lipid content of rat testes and was correlated with an increased testosterone level. NSE induced the restoration of testes structure and function during the early stages of streptozotocin-іnduced diabetes in rats