Stepwise Thinking in Strategic Games with Incomplete Information

This paper proposes a general incomplete information framework for studying behavior in strategic games with stepwise (viz. `level-k' or `cognitive hierarchy') thinking, which has been found to describe strategic behavior well in experiments involving players' initial responses to games. It is shown that there exist coherent stepwise beliefs, implied by step types, that have the potential to encode all relevant information. In the structure of stepwise beliefs, players are unaware of opponents doing at least as much thinking as themselves. As a result, there exists a Bayesian Nash equilibrium strategy profile in which any player at some step fixes the best responses of opponents at lower steps and then best responds herself.game theory; interactive epistemology; unawareness; Bayesian Nash equilibrium; bounded rationality; level-k; cognitive hierarchy

Unawareness in Dynamic Psychological Games

Building on Battigalli and Dufwenberg (2009)'s framework of dynamic psychological games and the recent progress in the modeling of dynamic unawareness, we provide a general framework that allows for `unawareness' in the strategic interaction of players motivated by belief-dependent psychological preferences like reciprocity and guilt. We show that unawareness has a pervasive impact on the strategic interaction of psychologically motivated players. Intuitively, unawareness influences players' beliefs concerning, for example, the intentions and expectations of others which in turn impacts their behavior. Moreover, we highlight the strategic role of communication concerning feasible paths of play in these environments.unawareness; extensive-form games; communication; belief-dependent preferences; sequential equilibrium

Spatial temperature distribution in human hairy and glabrous skin after infrared CO2 laser radiation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CO₂lasers have been used for several decades as an experimental non-touching pain stimulator. The laser energy is absorbed by the water content in the most superficial layers of the skin. The deeper located nociceptors are activated by passive conduction of heat from superficial to deeper skin layers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current study, a 2D axial finite element model was developed and validated to describe the spatial temperature distribution in the skin after infrared CO₂laser stimulation. The geometry of the model was based on high resolution ultrasound scans. The simulations were compared to the subjective pain intensity ratings from 16 subjects and to the surface skin temperature distributions measured by an infrared camera.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The stimulations were sensed significantly slower and less intense in glabrous skin than they were in hairy skin (MANOVA, p < 0.001). The model simulations of superficial temperature correlated with the measured skin surface temperature (r > 0.90, <it>p </it>< 0.001). Of the 16 subjects tested; eight subjects reported pricking pain in the hairy skin following a stimulus of 0.6 J/cm²(5 W, 0.12 s, d1/e²= 11.4 mm) only two reported pain to glabrous skin stimulation using the same stimulus intensity. The temperature at the epidermal-dermal junction (depth 50 μm in hairy and depth 133 μm in glabrous skin) was estimated to 46°C for hairy skin stimulation and 39°C for glabrous skin stimulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As compared to previous one dimensional heat distribution models, the current two dimensional model provides new possibilities for detailed studies regarding CO₂laser stimulation intensity, temperature levels and nociceptor activation.</p

Uremia does not affect neointima formation in mice

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a major complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD leads to uremia, which modulates the phenotype of aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Phenotypic modulation of SMCs plays a key role in accelerating atherosclerosis. We investigated the hypothesis that uremia potentiates neointima formation in response to vascular injury in mice. Carotid wire injury was performed on C57BL/6 wt and apolipoprotein E knockout (Apoe−/−) mice two weeks after induction of uremia by 5/6 nephrectomy. Wire injury led to neointima formation and downregulation of genes encoding classical SMC markers (i.e., myocardin, α-smooth muscle actin, SM22-alpha, and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain) in both wt and Apoe−/− mice. Contrary to our expectations, uremia did not potentiate neointima formation, nor did it affect intimal lesion composition as judged from magnetic resonance imaging and histological analyses. Also, there was no effect of uremia on SMC marker gene expression in the injured carotid arteries, suggesting that there may be different effects of uremia on SMCs in different vascular beds. In conclusion, uremia does not accelerate neointima formation in response to wire injury of the carotid artery in mice.</p

Understanding Experimental Economics

Experiments have become a well-established methodological tool in economics. e development of experi- mental economics and the diversi cation of experimental methods have equipped economists with new and powerful means of scienti c investigation. eir worth is readily demonstrated in the exciting and promising results they have produced, and will continue to produce. Against the background of this success story, our selective discussion critically highlights four important aspects of experimentation in economics. We concen- trate on the role and importance of material incentives, potentially confounding experimenter demand e ects and strategies to minimise these, the no deception rule as well as the issue of external validity.

The Effects of Free-Living Interval-Walking Training on Glycemic Control, Body Composition, and Physical Fitness in Type 2 Diabetes Patients:A randomized, controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of free-living walking training in type 2 diabetic patients and to investigate the effects of interval-walking training versus continuous-walking training upon physical fitness, body composition, and glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Subjects with type 2 diabetes were randomized to a control (n = 8), continuous-walking (n = 12), or interval-walking group (n = 12). Training groups were prescribed five sessions per week (60 min/session) and were controlled with an accelerometer and a heart-rate monitor. Continuous walkers performed all training at moderate intensity, whereas interval walkers alternated 3-min repetitions at low and high intensity. Before and after the 4-month intervention, the following variables were measured: VO(2)max, body composition, and glycemic control (fasting glucose, HbA(1c), oral glucose tolerance test, and continuous glucose monitoring [CGM]). RESULTS: Training adherence was high (89 ± 4%), and training energy expenditure and mean intensity were comparable. VO(2)max increased 16.1 ± 3.7% in the interval-walking group (P < 0.05), whereas no changes were observed in the continuous-walking or control group. Body mass and adiposity (fat mass and visceral fat) decreased in the interval-walking group only (P < 0.05). Glycemic control (elevated mean CGM glucose levels and increased fasting insulin) worsened in the control group (P < 0.05), whereas mean (P = 0.05) and maximum (P < 0.05) CGM glucose levels decreased in the interval-walking group. The continuous walkers showed no changes in glycemic control. CONCLUSIONS: Free-living walking training is feasible in type 2 diabetic patients. Continuous walking offsets the deterioration in glycemia seen in the control group, and interval walking is superior to energy expenditure–matched continuous walking for improving physical fitness, body composition, and glycemic control