Physiological Effects of Slot Play in Women

The purpose of this study is to describe the physiological responses occurring during slot gambling in 23 females with problematic and non-problematic gambling backgrounds in two sites: at a casino using their own money and at a casino laboratory without wagering money. Using the National Opinion Research Center Diagnostic Screen (NODS), 12 women were not-at-risk gamblers and 11 were at-risk, problem, or pathological gamblers. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), skin conductance (SC), and skin temperature (ST) were measured for 5 min before gambling (baseline), 10 min while gambling, and 5 min after gambling (recovery). In the casino, SBP (p = .001), DBP (p = .031), HR (p = .030), and RR (p = 004) rose during gambling and fell during recovery; ST rose throughout the study (p = .006). There were no differences between subjects based on NODS score. A total of 12 subjects were also studied in the laboratory. SBP (p = .004), DBP (p = .000); HR (p = .023); RR (p = .000) and SC (p = .002) rose during gambling and fell during recovery; ST rose throughout the study (p = .006). There were no significant differences by location. The observed effects suggest that females find slot play physiologically arousing, with or without financial stakes, because physiological changes were consistent with an arousal response.     

Physiological responses to cold (10° C) in men after six months' practice of yoga exercises

A study was conducted on 30 healthy soldiers (age: 40–46 years) to assess the effect of selected yogic exercises (asanas) on some physiological responses to cold exposure. They were randomly divided into two groups of 15 each. One group performed regular physical exercises of physical training (PT), while the other group practised yogic exercises. At the end of 6 months of training, both the groups were exposed together to cold stress at 10°C for 2 h, and the following parameters were periodically monitored during cold exposure: heart rate (fH), blood pressure (BP), cardiac output , oral temperature (T_or), skin temperature (T _sk), respiratory rate (fR), minute ventilation , oxygen consumption , and shivering response by integrated electromyogram (EMG). There were progressive increases inBP, fR, , , and and decreases infH,T _or andT _sk during cold exposure in both the groups. However, the decrease inT _or and the increases in and were relatively lower (P<0.01) in the yoga group as compared to the PT group. The shivering response appeared much earlier and was more intense in the PT group. These findings suggest that practice of yoga exercises may improve cold tolerance.     

Biological ability of Malpura rams to counter heat stress challenges and its consequences on production performance in a semi-arid tropical environment

A study was conducted to assess the biological ability of Malpura rams to counter heat stress challenges and its impact on the productive performance in a semi-arid tropical environment. The eighteen adult Malpura rams (average body weight 55.0 kg) were divided into two groups, GI (n = 9; Control) and GII (n = 9; heat stress). The study was conducted for a period of 60 days. The results showed that body weight, body condition score, heart girth and feed intake were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in GII as compared to GI rams. The physiological responses i.e. respiration rate, pulse rate, rectal temperature and sweating rate (body and scrotum) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in rams exposed to heat stress. Among the endocrine parameters, plasma T₃, T₄ and testosterone concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in GII rams, while cortisol concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in GII rams. In addition, heat stress significantly (p < 0.05) reduced semen volume, total sperm motility, sperm concentration and progressive sperm motility in GII rams. The results indicated that Malpura rams adapted to the heat stress condition, however, while doing so their production performances were compromised.     

Spatial effects in social dilemmas

Social dilemmas and the evolutionary conundrum of cooperation are traditionally studied through various kinds of game theoretical models such as the prisoner's dilemma, public goods games, snowdrift games or by-product mutualism. All of them exemplify situations which are characterized by different degrees of conflicting interests between the individuals and the community. In groups of interacting individuals, cooperators produce a common good benefitting the entire group at some cost to themselves, whereas defectors attempt to exploit the resource by avoiding the costly contributions. Based on synergistic or discounted accumulation of cooperative benefits a unifying theoretical framework was recently introduced that encompasses all games that have traditionally been studied separately (Hauert, Michor, Nowak, Doebeli, 2005. Synergy and discounting of cooperation in social dilemmas. J. Theor. Biol., in press.). Within this framework we investigate the effects of spatial structure with limited local interactions on the evolutionary fate of cooperators and defectors. The quantitative effects of space turn out to be quite sensitive to the underlying microscopic update mechanisms but, more general, we demonstrate that in prisoner's dilemma type interactions spatial structure benefits cooperation-although the parameter range is quite limited-whereas in snowdrift type interactions spatial structure may be beneficial too, but often turns out to be detrimental to cooperation.     

The IGF-1/cortisol ratio as a useful marker for monitoring training in young boxers

Training effects on plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/cortisol ratio were investigated in boxers. Thirty subjects were assigned to either the training or the control group (n = 15 in both). They were tested before the beginning of training (T0), after 5 weeks of intensive training (T1), and after 1 week of tapering (T2). Physical performances (Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level-1), training loads, and blood sampling were obtained at T0, T1, and T2. Controls were only tested for biochemical and anthropometric parameters at T0 and T2. A significantly higher physical performance was observed at T2 compared to T1. At T1, cortisol levels were significantly increased whereas IGF-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels remained unchanged compared to baseline. At T2, cortisol levels decreased while IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels increased. The IGF-1/cortisol ratio decreased significantly at T1 and increased at T2, and its variations were significantly correlated with changes in training loads and Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (IRT1) performance over the training period. Cortisol variations correlated with changes in training load (r = 0.64; p < 0.01) and Yo-Yo IRT1 performance (r = 0.78; p < 0.001) at T1 whereas IGF-1 variations correlated only with changes in Yo-Yo IRT1 performance at T2 (r = 0.71; p < 0.001). It is concluded that IGF-1/cortisol ratio could be a useful tool for monitoring training loads in young trained boxers.     

How reinforcer type affects choice in economic games

Behavioral economists stress that experiments on judgment and decision-making using economic games should be played with real money if the results are to have generality. Behavior analysts have sometimes disputed this contention and have reported results in which hypothetical rewards and real money have produced comparable outcomes. We review studies that have compared hypothetical and real money and discuss the results of two relevant experiments. In the first, using the Sharing Game developed in our laboratory, subjects' choices differed markedly depending on whether the rewards were real or hypothetical. In the second, using the Ultimatum and Dictator Games, we again found sharp differences between real and hypothetical rewards. However, this study also showed that time off from a tedious task could serve as a reinforcer every bit as potent as money. In addition to their empirical and theoretical contributions, these studies make the methodological point that meaningful studies may be conducted with economic games without spending money: time off from a tedious task can serve as a powerful reward.     

格木幼苗对硝普钠-酸铝互作的生理响应

以格木（Erythrophleum fordii Oliv.）幼苗为材料,采用双因素完全随机设计实验方法,测定不同处理幼苗的光合色素和可溶性糖等生理指标,研究格木幼苗对硝普钠（SNP）-氯化铝（AlCl₃）互作的生理响应。结果显示,格木幼苗叶片中叶绿素a、叶绿素b和类胡萝卜素含量均在处理4（0.2 mmol/L AlCl₃、0.1 mmol/L SNP）时最高,在处理9（0.8 mmol/L AlCl₃、0 mmol/L SNP）时含量最低,而叶片中丙二醛（MDA）、游离脯氨酸含量则相反;叶片可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白含量在处理4时最高,在处理9时最低;处理10（0.8 mmol/L AlCl₃、0.1 mmol/L SNP）的超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性最高。施加SNP后,格木幼苗叶片中的叶绿素a、叶绿素b、类胡萝卜素、可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白含量及SOD、POD、CAT活性均显著高于未施加SNP处理。相关性分析表明,叶绿素a、类胡萝卜素、总叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量等指标间均呈极显著正相关（P < 0.01）。本研究结果得出,低浓度AlCl₃（0.2 mmol/L）胁迫可促进格木幼苗的生长,添加外源SNP对高浓度AlCl₃（0.8 mmol/L）胁迫格木幼苗产生的毒害具有一定的缓解作用,可在格木幼苗的培育及抗性研究中推广应用。     

Evolutionary stable strategies and game dynamics for n-person games

This note contains a generalization of the definition of an evolutionary stable strategy and of the corresponding game dynamics from 2-person to n-person games. This broader framework also allows modelling of several interacting populations or of populations containing different types of individuals, for example males and females.     

Evolutionary dynamics in structured populations

Evolutionary dynamics shape the living world around us. At the centre of every evolutionary process is a population of reproducing individuals. The structure of that population affects evolutionary dynamics. The individuals can be molecules, cells, viruses, multicellular organisms or humans. Whenever the fitness of individuals depends on the relative abundance of phenotypes in the population, we are in the realm of evolutionary game theory. Evolutionary game theory is a general approach that can describe the competition of species in an ecosystem, the interaction between hosts and parasites, between viruses and cells, and also the spread of ideas and behaviours in the human population. In this perspective, we review the recent advances in evolutionary game dynamics with a particular emphasis on stochastic approaches in finite sized and structured populations. We give simple, fundamental laws that determine how natural selection chooses between competing strategies. We study the well-mixed population, evolutionary graph theory, games in phenotype space and evolutionary set theory. We apply these results to the evolution of cooperation. The mechanism that leads to the evolution of cooperation in these settings could be called ‘spatial selection’: cooperators prevail against defectors by clustering in physical or other spaces.     

Spatial invasion of cooperation

The evolutionary puzzle of cooperation describes situations where cooperators provide a fitness benefit to other individuals at some cost to themselves. Under Darwinian selection, the evolution of cooperation is a conundrum, whereas non-cooperation (or defection) is not. In the absence of supporting mechanisms, cooperators perform poorly and decrease in abundance. Evolutionary game theory provides a powerful mathematical framework to address the problem of cooperation using the prisoner's dilemma. One well-studied possibility to maintain cooperation is to consider structured populations, where each individual interacts only with a limited subset of the population. This enables cooperators to form clusters such that they are more likely to interact with other cooperators instead of being exploited by defectors. Here we present a detailed analysis of how a few cooperators invade and expand in a world of defectors. If the invasion succeeds, the expansion process takes place in two stages: first, cooperators and defectors quickly establish a local equilibrium and then they uniformly expand in space. The second stage provides good estimates for the global equilibrium frequencies of cooperators and defectors. Under hospitable conditions, cooperators typically form a single, ever growing cluster interspersed with specks of defectors, whereas under more hostile conditions, cooperators form isolated, compact clusters that minimize exploitation by defectors. We provide the first quantitative assessment of the way cooperators arrange in space during invasion and find that the macroscopic properties and the emerging spatial patterns reveal information about the characteristics of the underlying microscopic interactions.     

Effects of asynchronism on evolutionary games

We analyze the influence of the update dynamics on symmetric 2-player evolutionary games, which are among the most used tools to study the emergence of cooperation in populations of interacting agents. A synchronous dynamics means that, at each time step, all the agents of the population update their strategies simultaneously. An extreme case of asynchronism is sequential dynamics, in which only one agent is updated each time. We first show that these two opposite update dynamics can lead to very different outcomes and that sequential dynamics is detrimental to the emergence of cooperation only when the probability of imitating the most successful neighbors is high. In this sense, we can say that, when the update dynamics has some influence, in general asynchronism is beneficial to the emergence of cooperation. We then explore the consequences of using intermediate levels of asynchronism, where only a fraction of the agents update their behavior each time. In general, the level of cooperation changes smoothly and monotonically as we gradually go from synchronous to sequential dynamics. However, there are some exceptions that should be taken into account. In addition, the results show that the possibility of agents taking irrational decisions has a key role in the sensitivity of these models to changes in the update dynamics. Explanations for the observed behaviors are advanced.     

Probabilistic participation in public goods games

Voluntary participation in public goods games (PGGs) has turned out to be a simple but effective mechanism for promoting cooperation under full anonymity. Voluntary participation allows individuals to adopt a risk-aversion strategy, termed loner. A loner refuses to participate in unpromising public enterprises and instead relies on a small but fixed pay-off. This system leads to a cyclic dominance of three pure strategies, cooperators, defectors and loners, but at the same time, there remain two considerable restrictions: the addition of loners cannot stabilize the dynamics and the time average pay-off for each strategy remains equal to the pay-off of loners. Here, we introduce probabilistic participation in PGGs from the standpoint of diversification of risk, namely simple mixed strategies with loners, and prove the existence of a dynamical regime in which the restrictions ono longer hold. Considering two kinds of mixed strategies associated with participants (cooperators or defectors) and non-participants (loners), we can recover all basic evolutionary dynamics of the two strategies: dominance; coexistence; bistability; and neutrality, as special cases depending on pairs of probabilities. Of special interest is that the expected pay-off of each mixed strategy exceeds the pay-off of loners at some interior equilibrium in the coexistence region.     

Physiological responses induced by copper bioaccumulation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eichhornia crassipes</Emphasis> (Mart.)

Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) has strong ability to remove Cu²⁺ from copper-contaminated water. Physiological responses in E. crassipes exposed to known concentrations of Cu²⁺ were examined in this study, and demonstrated that E. crassipes could accumulate 314 mg kg⁻¹ dry weight of Cu when exposed to 5 mg l⁻¹ of Cu²⁺ for periods up to 14 d. However, there were marked changes in physiology of the plant commencing at Cu²⁺ concentrations of 1 mg l⁻¹. Results of this study showed that E. crassipes could tolerate moderate concentrations (i.e. 0.5 mg l⁻¹) of Cu²⁺, without significant changes in photosynthetic pigment concentrations, while high concentrations (i.e. 5 and 10 mg l⁻¹) of Cu²⁺ resulted in substantial loss in pigment concentrations. Increases in malondiadehyde (MDA) content were also demonstrated in plant exposure to high Cu²⁺ concentrations. Soluble protein content increased to a level slightly higher than the control at <0.5 mg l⁻¹ of Cu²⁺, but then decreased with exposure to >1 mg l⁻¹ of Cu²⁺. Our results suggest that E. crassipes has a substantial capacity to accumulate copper when cultivated at moderate concentrations of Cu²⁺, without marked changes in its physiology. The findings indicate that E. crassipes is a promising possibility for phytoremediation of moderately Cu-contaminated water bodies. Handling editor: S. M. Thomaz     

Evolutionary stability on graphs

Evolutionary stability is a fundamental concept in evolutionary game theory. A strategy is called an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS), if its monomorphic population rejects the invasion of any other mutant strategy. Recent studies have revealed that population structure can considerably affect evolutionary dynamics. Here we derive the conditions of evolutionary stability for games on graphs. We obtain analytical conditions for regular graphs of degree k>2. Those theoretical predictions are compared with computer simulations for random regular graphs and for lattices. We study three different update rules: birth-death (BD), death-birth (DB), and imitation (IM) updating. Evolutionary stability on sparse graphs does not imply evolutionary stability in a well-mixed population, nor vice versa. We provide a geometrical interpretation of the ESS condition on graphs.