How competition modulates risky decision making? Evidence from event-related oscillations (EROs) and event-related potentials (ERPs)

The current research proposal envisages designing three experiments (the flow chart see Figure 6). While both the experimental approach and the design have their strengths and limitations, they will complement one another. In study 1, I sought to investigate the rewards and losses sensitivity under monetary and social competitive context by using two edited versions of classic experimental paradigms (the doors task and the island getaway task) and manipulating two ambiguity competitive contexts in order to adapt the invisible competitive pressure in the real society (Levinson et al., 2017). In study 2 and study 3, I intend to use the monetary and social BART to measure the risk preference under monetary-drive and social-drive competition. Study 2 will focus primarily on one-on-one competitive context while study 3 will replicate the similar influence in multi-people competition. In these two studies, social reference points will be considered as an important moderator in both monetary and social competition. The distance (far and near) of social reference points will also be included in these two studies.

Frequent Intergenotypic Recombination Between the Non-Structural and Structural Genes is a Major Driver of Epidemiological Fitness in Caliciviruses

The diversity of lagoviruses (Caliciviridae) in Australia has increased considerably in recent years. By the end of 2017, five variants from three viral genotypes were present in populations of Australian rabbits, while prior to 2014 only two variants were known. To understand the evolutionary interactions among these lagovirus variants we monitored their geographical distribution and relative incidence over time in a continental-scale competition study. Within three years of the incursion of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2, denoted genotype GI.1bP-GI.2 [polymerase genotype]P-[capsid genotype]) into Australia, two novel recombinant lagovirus variants emerged: RHDV2-4e (genotype GI.4eP-GI.2) in New South Wales and RHDV2-4c (genotype GI.4cP-GI.2) in Victoria. Although both novel recombinants contain non-structural genes related to those from benign, rabbit-specific, enterotropic viruses, these variants were recovered from the livers of both rabbits and hares that had died acutely. This suggests that the determinants of host and tissue tropism for lagoviruses are associated with the structural genes, and that tropism is intricately connected with pathogenicity. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the RHDV2-4c recombinant emerged independently on multiple occasions, with five distinct lineages observed. Both the new RHDV2-4e and 4c recombinant variants replaced the previous dominant parental RHDV2 (genotype GI.1bP-GI.2) in their respective geographical areas, despite sharing an identical or near-identical (i.e. single amino acid change) VP60 major capsid protein with the parental virus. This suggests that the observed replacement by these recombinants was not driven by antigenic variation in VP60, implicating the non-structural genes as key drivers of epidemiological fitness. Molecular clock estimates place the RHDV2-4e recombination event in early to mid-2015, while the five RHDV2-4c recombination events occurred from late 2015 through to early 2017. The emergence of at least six viable recombinant variants within a two-year period highlights the high frequency of these events, detectable only through intensive surveillance, and demonstrates the importance of recombination in lagovirus evolution.

Design, Synthesis and Binding Affinity Evaluation of Cytochrome P450 1B1 Targeted Chelators

Background: Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) is specifically expressed in a variety of tumors which makes it a promise imaging target of tumor. Objective: We aimed to design and synthesize CYP1B1 targeted chelators for the potential application in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of tumor. Methods: 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4-diiacetic acid (NODA) was connected to the CYP1B1 selective inhibitor we developed before through polyethylene glycol (PEG) linkers with different lengths. The inhibitory activities of chelators 6a-c against CYP1 family were evaluated by 7-ethoxyresorufin o-deethylation (EROD) assay. The manual docking between the chelators and the CYP1B1 are conducted subsequently. To determine the binding affinities of 6a-c to CYP1B1 in cells, we further performed a competition study at the cell level. Results: Among three chelators, 6a with the shortest linker showed the best inhibitory activity against CYP1B1. In the following molecular simulation study, protein-inhibitor complex of 6a showed the nearest F-heme distance which is consistent with the results of enzymatic assay. Finally, the cell based competitive assay proved the binding affinity of 6a-c to CYP1B1 enzyme. Conclusion: We designed and synthesized a series of chelators which can bind to CYP1B1 enzyme in cancer cells.To our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to construct CYP1B1 targeted chelators for radiolabeling and we hope it will prompt the application of CYP1B1 imaging in tumor detection.

Frequent intergenotypic recombination between the non-structural and structural genes is a major driver of epidemiological fitness in caliciviruses

The diversity of lagoviruses (Caliciviridae) in Australia has increased considerably. By the end of 2017, five variants from three viral genotypes were present in populations of Australian rabbits, while prior to 2014 only two variants were known. To understand the interactions between these lagovirus variants we monitored their geographical distribution and relative incidence over time through a landscape-scale competition study, and from this, revealed potential drivers of epidemiological fitness. Within three years of the arrival of GI.1bP-GI.2 (RHDV2) into Australia, we observed the emergence of two novel recombinant lagovirus variants, GI.4eP-GI.2 (4e-recombinant) in New South Wales and GI.4cP-GI.2 (4c-recombinant) in Victoria. Although both novel recombinants contain the non-structural genes from benign, rabbit-specific, enterotropic viruses, these variants were recovered from the livers of both rabbits and hares that had died acutely. This suggests that determinants of host and tissue tropism for lagoviruses are associated with the structural genes, and that tropism is intricately connected with pathogenicity. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the 4c-recombinant emerged independently on multiple occasions, with five distinct lineages observed. Both new recombinant variants replaced the previous dominant parental RHDV2 in their respective geographical areas, despite sharing an identical or near-identical (i.e., single amino acid change) major capsid protein with the parental virus. This suggests that epidemiological fitness of these recombinants was not driven by antigenic variation in the capsid, implicating the non-structural genes as key drivers of epidemiological fitness. Molecular clock estimates place the GI4.e recombination event in early to mid-2015, while the five GI.4c recombination events occurred from late 2015 through to early 2017. The emergence of at least six viable recombinant variants within a two-year period highlights an unprecedented frequency of these events, detectable only due to intensive surveillance, and demonstrates the importance of recombination in lagovirus evolution.

A Cooperation Advantage for Theory of Mind in Children and Adults

Three studies test whether people engage in mental state reasoning or theory of mind (ToM) differently across two fundamental social contexts: cooperation and competition. Study 1 examines how children with an emerging understanding of false beliefs deploy ToM across these contexts. We find that young preschool children are better able to plant false beliefs in others' minds in a cooperative versus competitive context; this difference does not emerge for other cognitive capacities tested (e.g., executive functioning, memory). Studies 2a and 2b reveal the same systematic difference in adults' ToM for cooperation and competition, even after accounting for relevant predictors (e.g., preference for a task condition, feelings about deception). Together, these findings provide initial evidence for enhanced ToM for cooperation versus competition in early development and also adulthood.

Modulation of αVβ6 integrin in osteoarthritis-related synovitis and the interaction with VTN(381–397 a.a.) competing for TGF-β1 activation

Osteoarthritis is characterized by structural alteration of joints. Fibrosis of the synovial tissue is often detected and considered one of the main causes of joint stiffness and pain. In our earlier proteomic study, increased levels of vitronectin (VTN) fragment (amino acids 381–397) were observed in the serum of osteoarthritis patients. In this work, the affinity of this fragment for integrins and its putative role in TGF-β1 activation were investigated. A competition study determined the interaction of VTN(381–397 a.a.) with αVβ6 integrin. Subsequently, the presence of αVβ6 integrin was substantiated on primary human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) by western blot and flow cytometry. By immunohistochemistry, β6 was detected in synovial membranes, and its expression showed a correlation with tissue fibrosis. Moreover, β6 expression was increased under TGF-β1 stimulation; hence, a TGF-β bioassay was applied. We observed that αVβ6 could mediate TGF-β1 bioavailability and that VTN(381–397 a.a.) could prevent TGF-β1 activation by interacting with αVβ6 in human FLSs and increased α-SMA. Finally, we analyzed serum samples from healthy controls and patients with osteoarthritis and other rheumatic diseases by nano-LC/Chip MS–MS, confirming the increased expression of VTN(381–397 a.a.) in osteoarthritis as well as in lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis. These findings corroborate our previous observations concerning the overexpression of VTN(381–397 a.a.) in osteoarthritis but also in other rheumatic diseases. This fragment interacts with αVβ6 integrin, a receptor whose expression is increased in FLSs from the osteoarthritic synovial membrane and that can mediate the activation of the TGF-β1 precursor in human FLSs.

No change in oxytocin level before a human intergroup competition: study among Polish players before rugby and handball matches

ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to assess the changes in urinary oxytocin concentration during the period between five days before, and on the day of match, among rugby and handball players.MethodsThe study used a repeated measures design with the relative oxytocin level as the outcome variable measured at two subsequent points of time, viz., on five days before as well as on the days of matches. Nine male rugby players with a mean age of 27.62 years (SD = 4.21) and 18 male handball players with a mean age of 17.03 years (SD = 0.57) participated. Urinary oxytocin level was measured by ELISA immunoassay as a ratio to the concentration of creatinine [mg/ml] measured through colorimetric detection. Differences in oxytocin level were assessed by ANOVA with repeated measurements.ResultsThe OT/CRE levels significantly differed between the type of player (rugby or handball) but not between times of measurements. Tukey’s post-hoc tests revealed that significant differences were only between OT/CRE level in a day of match in rugby players and in 5 days before match in handball players (p<0.05).ConclusionThere was no change in oxytocin levels during the time periods between five days before and on the day of a match, in either of the two kinds of players. The change in oxytocin might be traceable during the match but not before a match and thus perhaps depends on a more subtle context of competition, but not on the assumption of competition.

Inventory prediction and management in Nigeria using market basket analysis associative rule mining: memetic algorithm based approach

<p class="Text">A key challenge in businesses today is determining inventory level for each product (to be) sold to clients. A pre-knowledge will suppress inventory stock-up and help avert unnecessary demurrage. It will also avoid stock out and avert loss of clients to competition. Study aims to unveil customer’s behavior in purchasing goods and thus, predict a next time purchase as well as serve as decision support to determine the required amount of each goods inventory. Study is conducted for Delta Mall (Asaba and Warri branches) department store. We adapt the memetic algorithm on market basket dataset to examine buying behavior of customers, their preference and frequency at which goods are purchased in common (basket). Result shows some items placed in basket allow customers to purchase items of similar value, or best combined with the selected items due to shelf-placement via concept of feature drift. Model yields 21-rules for eight items obtained from data transaction mining dataset acquired from Delta Mall.</p>

Ingroup vigilance in collectivistic cultures

Collectivistic cultures have been characterized as having harmonious, cooperative ingroup relationships. However, we find evidence that people in collectivistic cultures are more vigilant toward ingroup members, mindful of their possible unethical intentions. Study 1 found that Chinese participants were more vigilant than Americans in within-group competitions, anticipating more unethical behaviors from their peers. Study 2 replicated this finding by comparing areas within China, finding that people from China’s collectivistic rice-farming regions exhibit greater ingroup vigilance than people from the less collectivistic wheat-farming regions. The rice/wheat difference was mediated by greater perceived within-group competition. Study 3 found that Chinese participants were more likely than Americans to interpret a peer’s friendly behavior as sabotage in disguise. We also manipulated within-group competition and found that it increased ingroup vigilance in both cultures. Finally, study 3 identified two boundary conditions where cultural differences in ingroup vigilance decrease: an unambiguously competitive win–lose situation where Americans also exhibit vigilance, and an unambiguously cooperative win–win situation where Chinese participants relax their vigilance. This research contributes to a more balanced view of collectivism, revealing its interpersonal tensions in the forms of within-group competition and ingroup vigilance.