A genetically mediated bias in decision making driven by failure of amygdala control.

Genetic variation at the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with altered amygdala reactivity and lack of prefrontal regulatory control. Similar regions mediate decision-making biases driven by contextual cues and ambiguity, for example the "framing effect." We hypothesized that individuals hemozygous for the short (s) allele at the 5-HTTLPR would be more susceptible to framing. Participants, selected as homozygous for either the long (la) or s allele, performed a decision-making task where they made choices between receiving an amount of money for certain and taking a gamble. A strong bias was evident toward choosing the certain option when the option was phrased in terms of gains and toward gambling when the decision was phrased in terms of losses (the frame effect). Critically, this bias was significantly greater in the ss group compared with the lala group. In simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data, the ss group showed greater amygdala during choices made in accord, compared with those made counter to the frame, an effect not seen in the lala group. These differences were also mirrored by differences in anterior cingulate-amygdala coupling between the genotype groups during decision making. Specifically, lala participants showed increased coupling during choices made counter to, relative to those made in accord with, the frame, with no such effect evident in ss participants. These data suggest that genetically mediated differences in prefrontal-amygdala interactions underpin interindividual differences in economic decision making.

The price of pain and the value of suffering.

Estimating the financial value of pain informs issues as diverse as the market price of analgesics, the cost-effectiveness of clinical treatments, compensation for injury, and the response to public hazards. Such valuations are assumed to reflect a stable trade-off between relief of discomfort and money. Here, using an auction-based health-market experiment, we show that the price people pay for relief of pain is strongly determined by the local context of the market, that is, by recent intensities of pain or immediately disposable income (but not overall wealth). The absence of a stable valuation metric suggests that the dynamic behavior of health markets is not predictable from the static behavior of individuals. We conclude that the results follow the dynamics of habit-formation models of economic theory, and thus, this study provides the first scientific basis for this type of preference modeling.

Human pavlovian-instrumental transfer.

The vigor with which a participant performs actions that produce valuable outcomes is subject to a complex set of motivational influences. Many of these are believed to involve the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, which act as an interface between limbic and motor systems. One prominent class of influences is called pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT), in which the motivational characteristics of a predictor influence the vigor of an action with respect to which it is formally completely independent. We provide a demonstration of behavioral PIT in humans, with an audiovisual predictor of the noncontingent delivery of money inducing participants to perform more avidly an action involving squeezing a handgrip to earn money. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that this enhanced motivation was associated with a trial-by-trial correlation with the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the nucleus accumbens and a subject-by-subject correlation with the BOLD signal in the amygdala. Our data dovetails well with the animal literature and sheds light on the neural control of vigor.

Advanced carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube fibers for biosensing applications

Since the discovery of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) by Iijima in 1991[1, 2], there has been an explosion of research into the physical and chemical properties of this novel material. CNT based biosensors can play an important role in amperometric, immunosensor and nucleic-acid sensing devices, e.g. for detection of life threatening biological agents in time of war or in terrorist attacks, saving life and money for the NHS. CNTs offer unique advantages in several areas, like high surfacevolume ratio, high electrical conductivity, chemical stability and strong mechanical strength, and CNT based sensors generally have higher sensitivities and lower detection limit than conventional ones. In this review, recent advances in biosensors utilising carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube fibres will be discussed. The synthesis methods, nanostructure approaches and current developments in biosensors using CNTs will be introduced in the first part. In the second part, the synthesis methods and up-to-date progress in CNT fibre biosensors will be reviewed. Finally, we briefly outline some exciting applications for CNT and CNT fibres which are being targeted. By harnessing the continual advancements in micro and nano- technology, the functionality and capability of CNT-based biosensors will be enhanced, thus expanding and enriching the possible applications that can be delivered by these devices. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers. All rights reserved.

Generating Options for Active Risk Control (GO-ARC): introducing a novel technique.

BACKGROUND: After investing significant amounts of time and money in conducting formal risk assessments, such as root cause analysis (RCA) or failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), healthcare workers are left to their own devices in generating high-quality risk control options. They often experience difficulty in doing so, and tend toward an overreliance on administrative controls (the weakest category in the hierarchy of risk controls). This has important implications for patient safety and the cost effectiveness of risk management operations. This paper describes a before and after pilot study of the Generating Options for Active Risk Control (GO-ARC) technique, a novel tool to improve the quality of the risk control options generation process. OUTCOME MEASURES: The quantity, quality (using the three-tiered hierarchy of risk controls), variety, and novelty of risk controls generated. RESULTS: Use of the GO-ARC technique was associated with improvement on all measures. CONCLUSIONS: While this pilot study has some notable limitations, it appears that the GO-ARC technique improved the risk control options generation process. Further research is needed to confirm this finding. It is also important to note that improved risk control options are a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward the implementation of more robust risk controls.

Does temporal discounting explain unhealthy behavior? A systematic review and reinforcement learning perspective.

The tendency to make unhealthy choices is hypothesized to be related to an individual's temporal discount rate, the theoretical rate at which they devalue delayed rewards. Furthermore, a particular form of temporal discounting, hyperbolic discounting, has been proposed to explain why unhealthy behavior can occur despite healthy intentions. We examine these two hypotheses in turn. We first systematically review studies which investigate whether discount rates can predict unhealthy behavior. These studies reveal that high discount rates for money (and in some instances food or drug rewards) are associated with several unhealthy behaviors and markers of health status, establishing discounting as a promising predictive measure. We secondly examine whether intention-incongruent unhealthy actions are consistent with hyperbolic discounting. We conclude that intention-incongruent actions are often triggered by environmental cues or changes in motivational state, whose effects are not parameterized by hyperbolic discounting. We propose a framework for understanding these state-based effects in terms of the interplay of two distinct reinforcement learning mechanisms: a "model-based" (or goal-directed) system and a "model-free" (or habitual) system. Under this framework, while discounting of delayed health may contribute to the initiation of unhealthy behavior, with repetition, many unhealthy behaviors become habitual; if health goals then change, habitual behavior can still arise in response to environmental cues. We propose that the burgeoning development of computational models of these processes will permit further identification of health decision-making phenotypes.

功能菌强化应急处理苯胺突发污染事故研究

近年来各种环境污染事故频发，据统计仅2001~2003年间，发生的各类环境污染事故就高达5606次，其中水污染事故3235次，占全部的57.7%。这些事故不仅给人民生命财产造成巨大损失，也给生态环境造成严重的破坏。因此开发安全高效的应急处理技术迫在眉睫。本研究以筛选高效苯胺降解菌为基础，通过对高效菌降解性能的研究指导将高效菌作为功能郡主投加到已有生物处理系统强化应急处理苯胺突发污染事故废液，取得了良好的效果。 苯胺高效降解菌AN-P1为红球菌（Rhodococcus sp.），其通过间位途径降解苯胺，AN-P1利用苯胺生长和降解的最佳pH为6，最适浓度为2000 mg/L，最适温度为30 ℃，最佳接种量为0.3‰。AN-P1降解含500 mg/L、1000 mg/L、2000 mg/L苯胺的培养物分别经过28 h、24 h、32 h降解，出水苯胺含量能达到《污水综合排放标准》（GB8978-1996）一级标准。但由于苯胺降解过程中释放了大量氨氮，出水氨氮仍较高未能达标排放。而常规SBR系统应急处理效果较差，苯胺和COD去除率均低于10%，出水未能达标排放。活性碳吸附后的回收和后续处理也会带来操作不变和二次污染问题，且处理后出水往往难于达标排放，尚需进行进一步处理。 生物处理系统应急处理后恢复运行处理效果监测和PCR-DGGE图谱分析显示，用AN-P1菌强化应急处理系统后不仅能快速高效的去除苯胺，而且可以有效保障处理系统对污染物的净化性能，有效的保护系统中的功能微生物免受苯胺毒害。 研究结果表明，从实际处理效果、对原有生物系统性能保护及实际应用操作等多方面考虑，用AN-P1菌强化应急处理苯胺突发污染事故在技术上都是可行的。本研究为应急处理苯胺突然污染事故废液提供了新的方法。 Recent years, environment pollution accidents happened frequently, the data showed that there are 5606 accidents between 2001 and 2003, including 3235 water environment accidents, which is 57.7% of all. These accedents not only caused money lost and life lost but also caused serious damage to the ecologicl environment. So exploring highly-effective and secure methods to solve these accidents is an urgent mission. We screened a highly-effective aniline-degrading bacterium and did some researches on its ability to degrade aniline, in order to guide the emergency treatment of aniline containing wastewater that caused by sudden accident pollution with bioaugmentation. A highly-effective aniline-degrading bacterium AN-P1 was isolate and characterized as Rhodococcus sp. It degrades aniline through meta-cleavage pathway. The optimal pH and temperature for cell growth and aniline degradation were 6 and 30 ℃, respectively, and the opitimal concentration of aniline was 2000 mg/L, the optimal inoculation amount was 0.3‰.It took bacterium AN-P1 only 18 h, 24 h and 32 h, respectively, for the treatment of MSB containing 500 mg/L, 1000 mg/L, 2000 mg/L aniline to meet the first grade of national some of the NH4+-N which caused by aniline degradation. It took bacterium AN-P1 only 10 h, 20 h and 32 h, respectively, for the treatment of wastewater containing 500 mg/L, 1000 mg/L, 2000 mg/L aniline to meet the first grade of national integrated wastewater discharge standard. The bacterium AN-P1 can also remove some of the NH4+-N which caused by aniline degradation. It took bacterium AN-P1 only 10 h, 20 h and 32 h, respectively, for the treatment of wastewater containing 500 mg/L, 1000 mg/L, 2000 mg/L aniline to meet the first grade of national integrated wastewater discharge standard. By combing AN-P1 with regular SBR system, it took only 36 h for the emergency treatment of wastewater containing 2000 mg/L aniline under simulating engineering conditions to meet the discharge standard. While the NH4+-N of effluent can not meet the standard because of the high amount NH4+-N caused by aniline degradation. The regular SBR system was not good at aniline and COD removal. The removal efficiency of which are less than 10%. It cost 67.8 g activated carbon to absorbed 1000 mg aniline. It is inconvenient to transport and use it for the emergency treatment of aniline when the sudden pollution accident happened. Meanwhile, it was complex ad hard to recycle the activated carbon and treat the aniline wastewater get from activated carbon recycling too. Hard to meet the effluent standard was also a problem of activated carbon absorption method. According to the PCR-DGGE profile and removal efficiency of pollutants and COD when the systerm recover from emergency treatment, AN-P1 can efficiently protect the microbial community of regular activated sludge system against the aniline. It proved that combing AN-P1 with regular biological system is a feasible strategy for emergency treatment of aniline sudden pollution accident. The research offered a new way for emergency treatment of aniline sudden pollution accident.

地理信息系统支持下的滑坡灾害空间分析预测-以云南小江流域为例

As a typical geological and environmental hazard, landslide has been causing more and more property and life losses. However, to predict its accurate occurring time is very difficult or even impossible due to landslide's complex nature. It has been realized that it is not a good solution to spend a lot of money to treat with and prevent landslide. The research trend is to study landslide's spatial distribution and predict its potential hazard zone under certain region and certain conditions. GIS(Geographical Information System) is a power tools for data management, spatial analysis based on reasonable spatial models and visualization. It is new and potential study field to do landslide hazard analysis and prediction based on GIS. This paper systematically studies the theory and methods for GIS based landslide hazard analysis. On the basis of project "Mountainous hazard study-landslide and debris flows" supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences and the former study foundation, this paper carries out model research, application, verification and model result analysis. The occurrence of landslide has its triggering factors. Landslide has its special landform and topographical feature which can be identify from field work and remote sensing image (aerial photo). Historical record of landslide is the key to predict the future behaviors of landslide. These are bases for landslide spatial data base construction. Based on the plenty of literatures reviews, the concept framework of model integration and unit combinations is formed. Two types of model, CF multiple regression model and landslide stability and hydrological distribution coupled model are bought forward. CF multiple regression model comes form statistics and possibility theory based on data. Data itself contains the uncertainty and random nature of landslide hazard, so it can be seen as a good method to study and understand landslide's complex feature and mechanics. CF multiple regression model integrates CF (landslide Certainty Factor) and multiple regression prediction model. CF can easily treat with the problems of data quantifying and combination of heteroecious data types. The combination of CF can assist to determine key landslide triggering factors which are then inputted into multiple regression model. CF regression model can provide better prediction results than traditional model. The process of landslide can be described and modeled by suitable physical and mechanical model. Landslide stability and hydrological distribution coupled model is such a physical deterministic model that can be easily used for landslide hazard analysis and prediction. It couples the general limit equilibrium method and hydrological distribution model based on DEM, and can be used as a effective approach to predict the occurrence of landslide under different precipitation conditions as well as landslide mechanics research. It can not only explain pre-existed landslides, but also predict the potential hazard region with environmental conditions changes. Finally, this paper carries out landslide hazard analysis and prediction in Yunnan Xiaojiang watershed, including landslide hazard sensitivity analysis and regression prediction model based on selected key factors, determining the relationship between landslide occurrence possibility and triggering factors. The result of landslide hazard analysis and prediction by coupled model is discussed in details. On the basis of model verification and validation, the modeling results are showing high accuracy and good applying potential in landslide research.

我国彩票购买人群的心理行为特征及购彩成瘾倾向研究

The aims of this research were to explore Chinese lottery buyers’ and addictive buyers’ characteristics and influencing factors of lottery buying．Three studies were carried out: study 1 was to find out the psychological and behavioral characteristics of Chinese lottery buyers. Study 2 was to find out the psychological and behavioral characteristics of addictive lottery buyers. High addictive tendency group and control group were selected, and general information, personality traits and lottery buying behavior characteristics were compared between the two groups. Study 3 was to explore the influences of locus of control and coping style on Chinese lottery buyers’ addictive tendency. 7,160 subjects were rectuited from the Welfare Betting shops in 114 cities of the 31 provinces of China. It was found that: 1. The main characteristics of Chinese lottery buyers are: male, marride, non-religious, 26-45 years old, having at least high school level of education. 2. Chinese lottery buyer’s reasons of first buying were curiosity, to donate for charity, to have amusement, to chase big prize and others’ influence. At present the main reasons of lottery buying were charity, amusment and big prize. 3. 40 percent of Chinese lottery buyers spent more than 20% of their income on lottery. Higher income buyers spent more than the lower ones, but the lower income buyers’ ratio of lottery buying money per month was higher than that of the higher income ones. 4. Chinese high addictive lottery buyers’ characteristics were middle-aged, married, low educational and low-income males . 5. Lottery buyers’ buying behavior is reinforced with lottery winning ratio during the first lottery buying . The addictive tendency of lottery buying is unrelated with the length of lottery buying experience. 6. External control, negative coping style and education level, are associated with the high addictive lottery buying behavior.

泛化信任与风险倾向的关系

While many researchers appear to accept this relationship between risk and trust, the relationship between the risk propensity of the truster and trusting behavior has not been explicitly studied. This study uses both expect value questions and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure subjects’ risk propensity and uses various scenarios to investigate subjects’ general trust. And by these results we discuss about the relationship between risk propensity and general trust. The results show (1) there is significant correlation between explicit risk propensity and general trust in the scenarios of borrowing money (Eckel &Wilson，2003) and PD/R game (Yamagishi, 2005), (2) there is significant correlation between implicit risk propensity and general trust in the scenario of borrowing money, (3) there are significant differences between the rating of different trust scenarios regarding to trust and risk. The resulting findings support following conclusion: the relationship between risk propensity and general trust depends on scenarios and measurements. In sum, this study analyzes different views in this field at present, and investigates the relationship between risk propensity and general trust through two investigation and experiment, and explores some new ways for future study of this topic.

金钱启动与道德的关系及道德认同的调节

In this article, we begin from the research about how money influences the behavior of people, and try to discuss how money influences people's moral judgment on the five degrees of morality (harm/care, fairness/reciprocal, loyalty/in-group, authority/respect, purity/sanctity). Meanwhile, we try to discuss whether the money priming is based on the mechanism of competition priming. Besides that, we want to find out whether moral identification and positive vocabulary could rescue the change of moral judgment after money priming. The money priming in this research is based on picture priming and syntax priming; the competition priming and moral identification priming are based on imagination priming. We chose the undergraduate, graduate student and adult as sample, combined the scale investigation with computer based experiment. This research contains five standard case experiments, which form three. Based on all the research above, we have some conclusions: 1. Money priming has impacts on moral judgment, which are not consistent on different degree of morality. But the total effect of money priming is that it changes moral judgment to a worse state. 2. Money priming is not complete competition priming, but social value orientation (including competition orientation) could mediate the influence of money priming on moral judgment. Generally, people with personal orientation or competition orientation could be influenced more easily by money priming. 3. After money priming, the moral judgment could be influence by moral identification and positive vocabulary. In all, both the moral judgment and positive vocabulary could make the moral judgment to a better state. But the function of them may be different, moral identification is more related to moral cognition and positive vocabulary is more related to moral emotional regulation. This research is based on priming method, and supports the money influence on psychology, the concept of morality and moral identification with experimental evidence. Also this research discusses the measurement of morality.

North Wales Clinical Librarian project. Final project report

Urquhart, C., Durbin, J. & Turner, J. (2005). North Wales Clinical Librarian project. Final project report. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies. Summary report, plus individual site summary reports also available from http://users.aber.ac.uk/cju/ Sponsorship: NHS Trusts in North Wales

JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five

Urquhart, C., Spink, S., Thomas, R., Yeoman, A., Durbin, J., Turner, J., Fenton, R. & Armstrong, C. (2004). JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: JISC

Procurement of electronic content across the UK National Health Service and Higher Education sectors. Report to JISC executive and LKDN executive.

Spink, S., Urquhart, C., Cox, A. & Higher Education Academy - Information and Computer Sciences Subject Centre. (2007). Procurement of electronic content across the UK National Health Service and Higher Education sectors. Report to JISC executive and LKDN executive. Sponsorship: JISC/LKDN

Continuity and change in monetary policy and banking in Ireland 1922-43

The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the development of monetary policy and banking in southern Ireland from the attainment of independence in 1922 (gained through the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921) to the establishment of the Central Bank of Ireland in 1943. This research serves to challenge the overwhelming concentration on the findings of a small number of major works, most notably by Ronan Fanning, Maurice Moynihan and Cormac Ó’Gráda, in the existing historiography. This thesis is based on the research hypothesis that there were two key factors impacting on the development of monetary and banking institutions in Ireland in the 1922-1943 period. First, an exogenous institutional context, primarily Anglo-Irish in focus, in which the wider macroeconomic landscape directly influenced monetary policy and banking in Ireland. Second, an individualist context in which the development of relationships between key individuals dictated development patterns and institutional structures. This research highlights that key Irish policymakers, such as Joseph Brennan, evidenced a more flexible and realistic approach to banking and monetary affairs than is currently recognised. It also develops three further issues which have been overlooked in the existing historiography. First, a germ of monetary reform existed in Ireland from as early as the mid-1920s and was consistent in promoting alternative policies in the period to 1943. Second, this research challenges the view that the creation of the Currency Commission in 1927 and the establishment of the Central Bank of Ireland in 1943 were insignificant events given the continued stagnation in Irish monetary policy in the decades after 1943. Third, this thesis identifies that wider international trends did influence Irish monetary and banking affairs in the 1922-43 period. At both an institutional and more individual level the process of monetary institution building in Ireland was directly impacted by wider international experiences.