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When decision makers are informed about the decisions of their peers, does this make them more selfish or more generous? We study the effect of social information on selfishness (as measured by dictator game giving) in a twice-repeated setting. We vary whether or not dictators receive information about the allocation decisions of other dictators. Independently we vary whether being the dictator is determined randomly or earned. We find that dictators act more generously in the first round with than without social information in case dictator positions are randomly assigned; no such effect is found in case dictators' positions are earned. Allocations in the second round are generally more selfish than those in the first round. This effect is significantly stronger with than without social information, indicating that being informed about the decisions of their peers makes dictators more selfish. These results indicate that transparency about allocation decisions is unlikely to make such decisions more generous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Emotions play an important role in shaping behaviors within public goods games with and without punishment opportunities. • In standard public goods games, the emotion of anger and having contributed more than others are correlated, and agents adjust their contribution downward overtime to possibly avoid negative emotions. • In public goods games with monetary punishment, saction fosters future cooperation without relying on emotional impact. • In public goods games with non-monetary punishment, sanctioning improves sanctioner's emotion and deteriorates receivers' emotions. • Disgust, rather than angry as conventionally thought explains the sanctioning decision. We consider the emotional correlates of activity in the Public Good game when monetary and non-monetary punishments are available, and when no punishment is possible. In our experiment, emotions are measured using Face Reading software that tracks the emotional content of facial expressions in real time. When no punishment is possible, greater anger and more negative emotional valence correlate with learning that one has contributed more than others. Lower valence and happiness, in turn, are associated with reducing one's cooperation in the next period. When non-monetary punishment in the form of expressed disapproval is possible, positive emotional valence is associated with cooperation, punishment of free-riders, and an increase in cooperation from one period to the next. Negative valence, on the other hand, is associated with the receipt of punishment, suggesting that the expression of disapproval inherent in the non-monetary punishment was well understood and had an effect on the emotions of the recipient. The data support the conjecture that the reinforcement that positive emotion provides is what allows non-monetary punishment to increase cooperation. In contrast, when monetary punishment is available, emotional correlates are less consistent, suggesting that monetary punishment is less reliant on emotions to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effect of a futures market, in which contracts maturing in the last period of the life of the asset can be traded. Our experiment has two treatments, one in which a spot market operates on its own, and a second treatment, in which a spot and a futures market are active simultaneously. Futures markets lower spot prices, but increase price volatility. The futures markets themselves exhibit considerable overpricing. Individuals with higher cognitive reflection test (CRT) scores achieve greater earnings, and tend to sell in the overpriced futures market, while traders with lower CRT scores make purchases in the futures market. Greater average CRT score among a group of traders is associated with better price discovery when no futures market is present but there is no such relationship in the presence of a futures market. Modified measures of CRT, which take into account different types of incorrect responses, are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Carthamus tinctorius L. (Compositae), a widely used traditional Chinese medicine, was known as Hong hua (Chinese: ▪), safflower. Safflower with a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects has been used to treat dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, postpartum abdominal pain and mass, trauma and pain of joints, etc. The present paper reviews the advancements in investigation of botany and ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of safflower. Finally, the possible tendency and perspective for future investigation of this plant are discussed, too. Materials and methods: The information on safflower was collected via piles of resources including classic books about Chinese herbal medicine, and scientific databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACS, Web of science, CNKI and others. Results: Over 104 compounds from this plant have been isolated and identified, and quinochalcones and flavonoids are considered as the characteristic and active constituents of safflower. Safflower with its active compounds possesses wide-reaching biological activities, including dilating coronary artery, improving myocardial ischemia, modulating immune system, anticoagulation and antithrombosis, antioxidation, antiaging, antihypoxia, antifatigue, antiinflammation, anti-hepatic fibrosis, antitumor, analgesia, etc. Conclusions: As an important traditional Chinese medicine, it is important to investigate the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of this plant based on modern realization of diseases' pathophysiology. More bioactive components should be identified using bioactivity-guided isolation strategies, and the possible mechanism of action as well as potential synergistic or antagonistic effects of multi-component mixtures derived from safflower need to be evaluated integrating pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, bioavailability-centered and physiological approaches. Further studies on safflower can lead to the development of new drugs and therapeutics for various diseases, and how to utilize it better should be paid more attention to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microscopic and macroscopic experiments on the effects of non-ionic anti-agglomerants were carried out. • The adhesion force between hydrate particle and droplet on wall surface was affected by liquid bridge and its solidification. • The optimal concentrations of CDEA and AEO-9 to reduce adhesion between hydrate particle and droplet on wall surface are 0. 5 wt% and 0. 1 wt% respectively. • The feedback torque is the smallest for the CDEA and AEO-9 solutions at their optimal concentrations respectively. Non-ionic anti-agglomerants (AAs) are important agents to prevent hydrate deposition. In this study, the microscopical experimental results show that the adhesion force between hydrate particle and droplet on wall surface mainly depends on the force of the liquid bridge under low subcoolings; while it is dependent on the resultant force of the liquid bridge and hydrate shell under high subcoolings. Below the concentration of 2 wt%, the optimal concentrations of CDEA and AEO-9 to reduce the adhesion are 0. 5 wt% and 0. 1 wt%, respectively. The adhesion force decreases gradually with the increase of their concentrations when their concentrations are lower than the optimal values, but gradually rises with the increase of their concentrations when higher than the optimal values. Moreover, the hydrate formation experiments in a stirred reactor show that the feedback torques are the smallest at the optimal concentrations of them, which is consistent with the results of the microscopical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here new zircon U-Pb age and Hf-isotope as well as geochemical analyses of the recently discovered Archean-Paleoproterozoic Zhongxiang Complex in the northern-central Yangtze Craton, South China, and interpret the early crustal evolution of the Yangtze Craton. Zircon LA-ICP-MS dating yielded magmatic crystallization ages of ca. 2.90–2.87 Ga for two monzogranites, ca. 2.77 Ga for a trondhjemitic gneiss, and ca. 2.67–2.62 Ga for three potassic granites. The trondhjemitic gneiss also contains zircon rims that record a metamorphic event at ca. 2.08 Ga. These results demonstrate that the Zhongxiang Complex is significantly older than previously thought, and it contains the only potential TTG with ages of 2.8–2.7 Ga for the Yangtze Craton. These granitoids vary considerably in zircon Hf isotopic and geochemical characteristics. The ca. 2.90–2.87 Ga monzogranites correspond in composition to alkaline and calc-alkalic peraluminous granites originated from mixing of ancient and juvenile crustal components at relatively shallow depths. In contrast, the ca. 2.77 Ga trondhjemitic gneisses are calc-alkalic and peraluminous with relatively high Sr/Y and (La/Yb) N ratios and slightly evolved zircon Hf signatures, but without significant Eu anomaly that is, typical of a medium-pressure TTG component. Consequently, they are interpreted to be the products of partial melting of a basaltic source with appreciable involvement of pre-existing crustal components (i.e., tonalites), with garnet and amphibole in the residue. The ca. 2.67–2.62 Ga potassic granites are alkaline, faintly peraluminous and ferroan, exhibiting a high-silica A-type granite affinity. They are characterized by low Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratios with dominantly undepleted zircons, suggesting their derivation from melting of meta-sedimentary rocks under high-temperature conditions with plagioclase as the main residual phases. The Zhongxiang Complex thereby differs from the Kongling Complex and other Archean provinces in the Yangtze Craton by preserving distinct magmatic pulses (ca. 2.90–2.87 Ga; ca. 2.77 Ga; ca. 2.67–2.62 Ga) with different nature and sources. A comparative analysis of the crustal evolution of the Zhongxiang Complex and other Archean provinces of the Yangtze Craton indicates a compositionally heterogeneous Archean Yangtze Craton, which likely comprises several Archean terranes that accreted together to form a uniform craton during the late Archean to Paleoproterozoic time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]