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  • Olsson Bruus posted an update 4 hours, 36 minutes ago

    Bounded rationality is an important consideration stemming from the fact that agents often have limits on their processing abilities, making the assumption of perfect rationality inapplicable to many real tasks. We propose an information-theoretic approach to the inference of agent decisions under Smithian competition. The model explicitly captures the boundedness of agents (limited in their information-processing capacity) as the cost of information acquisition for expanding their prior beliefs. The expansion is measured as the Kullblack-Leibler divergence between posterior decisions and prior beliefs. When information acquisition is free, the homo economicus agent is recovered, while in cases when information acquisition becomes costly, agents instead revert to their prior beliefs. The maximum entropy principle is used to infer least biased decisions based upon the notion of Smithian competition formalised within the Quantal Response Statistical Equilibrium framework. The incorporation of prior beliefs into such a framework allowed us to systematically explore the effects of prior beliefs on decision-making in the presence of market feedback, as well as importantly adding a temporal interpretation to the framework. We verified the proposed model using Australian housing market data, showing how the incorporation of prior knowledge alters the resulting agent decisions. Specifically, it allowed for the separation of past beliefs and utility maximisation behaviour of the agent as well as the analysis into the evolution of agent beliefs.The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the accuracy of the proximal and occlusal contacts of single implant crowns fabricated with four data capture methods. The resin models were mounted on an articulator, digitized using a laboratory scanner, and saved as a standard tessellation language (STL) file to serve as the master reference model (MRM). Two different intraoral scan body (ISB) systems were evaluated polyetheretherketone (PEEK) short scan body (SSB) and PEEK long scan body (LSB) (n = 12). The digital impressions (SSB and LSB) were acquired using an intraoral scanner with ISB. Two different conventional techniques were also evaluated PEEK short scan body with coping plastic cap (CPC) and pick-up coping (PUC) (n = 12). The implant impressions (CPC and PUC) were recorded using a conventional impression technique. The crown and abutment were fabricated with a milling machine and then placed on the resin model and scanned using a laboratory scanner. The scanned files were saved as STL files to serve as test datasets. The MRM and test datasets were superimposed, and the mesial, distal, and occlusal distances were calculated using a 3D inspection software and statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test (α = 0.05). The direct data capture group had more accurate contact points on the three surfaces, with mesial contact of 64.7 (12.8) µm followed by distal contact of 65.4 (15) µm and occlusal contact of 147 (35.8) µm in the SSB group, and mesial contact of 84.9 (22.6) µm followed by distal contact of 69.5 (19.2) µm and occlusal contact of 115.9 (27.7) µm in the LSB group (p less then 0.001). The direct data capture groups are closer to the ideal proximal and occlusal contacts for single implant crowns than the indirect data capture groups. There was no difference in the accuracy between the two types of scan body (SSB and LSB).The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of polyphenolic and isoprenoid compounds and organic acids in the fruit skin + pulp, seeds, and leaves of six new biotypes of Elaeagnus multiflora Thunb., as well as their in vitro biological potency. The polyphenols and isoprenoids were determined with UPLC-PDA-MS/MS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry) and RRLC-MS/MS (rapid resolution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry) methods, the organic acid with HPLC-RID (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a Refractive Index Detector), and the antioxidant capacity using ABTS and FRAP assays. Enzymatic activity was established as the ability to inhibit α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase. Owing to such an effective technique, 88 compounds were recorded, with 17 polyphenolic compounds and 3 isoprenoids identified for the first time in the seeds and leaves of cherry silverberry. In total, 55 compounds were identified in the leaves, 36 in the seeds, and 31 in the fruit skin + pulp. The predominant polyphenol was polymeric procyanidin (66-95% of total polyphenolics), whereas the predominant isoprenoids were chlorophyll b and (all-E)-lycopene. The results of our work noted that there are significant differences in the profiles of several secondary metabolites between the analyzed parts of the plant, and depending on the need, the compounds can be used to develop different innovative food or cosmetic products.Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are promising candidates for regenerative therapy of the infarcted heart. However, poor cell retention within the transplantation site limits their potential. We hypothesized that MSC benefits could be enhanced through a dual-cell approach using jointly endothelial colony forming cells (ECFC) and MSC. To assess this, we comparatively evaluated the effects of the therapy with MSC and ECFC versus MSC-only in a mouse model of myocardial infarction. Heart function was assessed by echocardiography, and the molecular crosstalk between MSC and ECFC was evaluated in vitro through direct or indirect co-culture systems. We found that dual-cell therapy improved cardiac function in terms of ejection fraction and stroke volume. In vitro experiments showed that ECFC augmented MSC effector properties by increasing Connexin 43 and Integrin alpha-5 and the secretion of healing-associated molecules. Moreover, MSC prompted the organization of ECFC into vascular networks. K-Ras(G12C) inhibitor 12 nmr This indicated a reciprocal modulation in the functionality of MSC and ECFC. In conclusion, the crosstalk between MSC and ECFC augments the therapeutic properties of MSC and enhances the angiogenic properties of ECFC. Our data consolidate the dual-cell therapy as a step forward for the development of effective treatments for patients affected by myocardial infarction.