Preferences for symmetry in faces change across the menstrual cycle

Symmetry in human male faces may be a cue to heritable fitness benefits and is found attractive. Preferences for facial masculinity, another proposed marker of genetic quality, have been found to vary in ways that may maximise evolutionary relevant benefits and masculinity is found to be of increased attractiveness at peak fertility across the menstrual cycle. Here we show that women prefer more symmetric faces at peak fertility (Study 1) and that such shifting preferences may be potentially strategic preferences as we found them to occur only for judgements concerning short-term relations and when women already had a partner (Study 2). Such preferences potentially indicate a strategy that maximises the quality of extra-pair/short-term partners or a quality dependent response to hormones. Such strategic preferences for symmetry may support the role of symmetry in signalling potential good-gene benefits.     

Potential users’ preferences towards cardiac telemedicine: A discrete choice experiment investigation in Sardinia

Background

Potential users’ preferences for telemedicine services directed to cardio-vascular diseases are investigated applying a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Given the potential of telemedicine to minimize costs without reducing overall efficiency, assessing preferences for these types of services represents a priority for policy makers. This is especially true for those pathologies that absorb a relatively high quota of total health expenditure. The empirical setting is Sardinia (Italy) because of its insularity and the underdeveloped internal transport network. Telemedicine is likely to mitigate distance between healthcare providers and final users.

The eyes have it: Using eye tracking to inform information processing strategies in multi‐attributes choices

Although choice experiments (CEs) are widely applied in economics to study choice behaviour, understanding of how individuals process attribute information remains limited. We show how eye‐tracking methods can provide insight into how decisions are made. Participants completed a CE, while their eye movements were recorded. Results show that although the information presented guided participants' decisions, there were also several processing biases at work. Evidence was found of (a) top‐to‐bottom, (b) left‐to‐right, and (c) first‐to‐last order biases. Experimental factors—whether attributes are defined as “best” or “worst,” choice task complexity, and attribute ordering—also influence information processing. How individuals visually process attribute information was shown to be related to their choices. Implications for the design and analysis of CEs and future research are discussed.     

Modeling Clinical Outcomes in Prostate Cancer: Application and Validation of the Discrete Event Simulation Approach

Objectives

Treatment landscape in prostate cancer has changed dramatically with the emergence of new medicines in the past few years. The traditional survival partition model (SPM) cannot accurately predict long-term clinical outcomes because it is limited by its ability to capture the key consequences associated with this changing treatment paradigm. The objective of this study was to introduce and validate a discrete-event simulation (DES) model for prostate cancer.

Optimal linear quadratic Gaussian control for discrete time-varying system with simultaneous input delay and state/control-dependent noises

This article focuses on the problem of linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control for discrete time-varying system with input delay and state/control-dependent noises. When the state variables can be exactly observed, first, we obtain the maximum principle by applying the method of variation. Second, a nonhomogeneous relationship between the state and the costate is developed in virtue of the obtained maximum principle and the mathematical induction. It is noted that the nonhomogeneous relationship is the solution to the forward and backward stochastic difference equations (FBSDEs). Finally, based on the solution to the FBSDEs, a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal LQG control is derived in terms of coupled Riccati equations. Moreover, the analytical expression of the optimal controller is presented. The derived results are applied in networked control systems with packet dropout. Numerical examples are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

Dissociable Contributions of Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Basolateral Amygdala on a Rodent Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Task of Cognitive Effort

Personal success often requires the choice to expend greater effort for larger rewards, and deficits in such effortful decision making accompany a number of illnesses including depression, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Animal models have implicated brain regions such as the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in physical effort-based choice, but disentangling the unique contributions of these two regions has proven difficult, and effort demands in industrialized society are predominantly cognitive in nature. Here we utilize the rodent cognitive effort task (rCET), a modification of the five-choice serial reaction-time task, wherein animals can choose to expend greater visuospatial attention to obtain larger sucrose rewards. Temporary inactivation (via baclofen–muscimol) of BLA and ACC showed dissociable effects: BLA inactivation caused hard-working rats to ‘slack off'' and ‘slacker'' rats to work harder, whereas ACC inactivation caused all animals to reduce willingness to expend mental effort. Furthermore, BLA inactivation increased the time needed to make choices, whereas ACC inactivation increased motor impulsivity. These data illuminate unique contributions of BLA and ACC to effort-based decision making, and imply overlapping yet distinct circuitry for cognitive vs physical effort. Our understanding of effortful decision making may therefore require expanding our models beyond purely physical costs.     

Combined Peridynamics and Discrete Multiphysics to Study the Effects of Air Voids and Freeze-Thaw on the Mechanical Properties of Asphalt

This paper demonstrates the use of peridynamics and discrete multiphysics to assess micro crack formation and propagation in asphalt at low temperatures and under freezing conditions. Three scenarios are investigated: (a) asphalt without air voids under compressive load, (b) asphalt with air voids and (c) voids filled with freezing water. The first two are computed with Peridynamics, the third with peridynamics combined with discrete multiphysics. The results show that the presence of voids changes the way cracks propagate in the material. In asphalt without voids, cracks tend to propagate at the interface between the mastic and the aggregate. In the presence of voids, they ‘jump’ from one void to the closest void. Water expansion is modelled by coupling Peridynamics with repulsive forces in the context of Discrete Multiphysics. Freezing water expands against the voids’ internal surface, building tension in the material. A network of cracks forms in the asphalt, weakening its mechanical properties. The proposed methodology provides a computational tool for generating samples of ‘digital asphalt’ that can be tested to assess the asphalt properties under different operating conditions.