Minor Extension Research Articles

Significant range extensions for two fish species at Pitcairn Island, South Pacific.

A baited videographic survey at Pitcairn Island has significantly extended the known range for two reef-fish species: blue-lined triggerfish Xanthichthys caeruleolineatus and greater amberjack Seriola dumerili, with an additional minor extension noted for giant trevally Caranx ignobilis. This highlights the importance of further research in this remote, poorly studied island group and provides evidence supplementing the understanding of oceanographic patterns in the South Pacific.

$\epsilon$-Nash Equilibria for Partially Observed LQG Mean Field Games With a Major Player

Huang (2010) and Nguyen and Huang (2012) solved the linear quadratic mean field systems and control problem in the case where there is a major agent (i.e. non-asymptotically vanishing as the population size goes to infinity) together with a population of minor agents (i.e. individually asymptotically negligible). The new feature in this case is that the mean field becomes stochastic and then, by minor agent state extension, the existence of $\epsilon$ -Nash equilibria together with the individual agents' control laws that yield the equilibria may be established. This paper presents results initially announced by Caines and Kizilkale (2013, 2014) where it is shown that if the major agent's state is partially observed by the minor agents, and if the major agent completely observes its own state, all agents can recursively generate estimates (in general individually distinct) of the major agent's state and the mean field, and thence generate feedback controls yielding $\epsilon$ -Nash equilibria.

Early Mode of Life and Hatchling Size in Cephalopod Molluscs: Influence on the Species Distributional Ranges.

Cephalopods (nautiluses, cuttlefishes, squids and octopuses) exhibit direct development and display two major developmental modes: planktonic and benthic. Planktonic hatchlings are small and go through some degree of morphological changes during the planktonic phase, which can last from days to months, with ocean currents enhancing their dispersal capacity. Benthic hatchlings are usually large, miniature-like adults and have comparatively reduced dispersal potential. We examined the relationship between early developmental mode, hatchling size and species latitudinal distribution range of 110 species hatched in the laboratory, which represent 13% of the total number of live cephalopod species described to date. Results showed that species with planktonic hatchlings reach broader distributional ranges in comparison with species with benthic hatchlings. In addition, squids and octopods follow an inverse relationship between hatchling size and species latitudinal distribution. In both groups, species with smaller hatchlings have broader latitudinal distribution ranges. Thus, squid and octopod species with larger hatchlings have latitudinal distributions of comparatively minor extension. This pattern also emerges when all species are grouped by genus (n = 41), but was not detected for cuttlefishes, a group composed mainly of species with large and benthic hatchlings. However, when hatchling size was compared to adult size, it was observed that the smaller the hatchlings, the broader the latitudinal distributional range of the species for cuttlefishes, squids and octopuses. This was also valid for all cephalopod species with benthic hatchlings pooled together. Hatchling size and associated developmental mode and dispersal potential seem to be main influential factors in determining the distributional range of cephalopods.

A Pedicle Flap Based on the Middle Dorsal Branch of the Proper Digital Artery for Tissue Defects in Fingertip

Objectives: We report our experience in using a perforator island flap based on the middle dorsal branch of the proper palmar digital artery for repairing fingertip defect and analyze the clinical outcomes in 25 patients. Methods: Between January 2014 and July 2015, we repaired soft tissue defects of 25 fingers, including 10 index, 4 middle, 5 ring, and 6 little fingers, using this pedicle perforator flap. The middle dorsal branch of the proper palmar digital artery was dissected out and was used as the pedicle with fascia tissue of about 5 mm preserved surrounding the pedicle to ensure venous return. The donor located on the dorsal aspect of the proximal phalanx. The defects in the fingertip were pulp defects on the volar or lateral sides, mostly involving the bone or with bone exposure. Donor site was covered with full-thickness skin graft. The flap survival rate and hand function recovery were analyzed. Results: All flaps survived completely. The patients were followed up for 6 to 18 months. The blood circulation, thickness, skin texture, and the color of the transferred flap match those of normal fingertip. The static 2-point discrimination of the flap ranged from 8 to 11 mm. Minor or mild extension contracture of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint was noted in most cases, but no severe scar contracture of the DIP and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints. Conclusions: We found that the perforator island flap based on the middle dorsal branch of the proper palmar digital artery is an additional good option of distal finger soft tissue repair. The merit of this flap is no sacrifice of the proper digital artery and close proximity of the donor to the fingertip. The vascular supplies to this flap are reliable for a pedicle perforator flap transfer based on our experience.

Cenozoic paleogeographic evolution of the Elko Basin and surrounding region, northeast Nevada

Geologic mapping, supported by 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, reveals the details of the Cenozoic depositional and tectonic history of the eastern Pinon Range and central Huntington Valley in the north-central Basin and Range Province, Nevada (USA). Cretaceous to Miocene supracrustal successions were studied in detail in order to compare the geologic evolution of the upper crust near the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range (RMEH) metamorphic core complex (MCC) with the magmatic, metamorphic, and deformational history of the deep crust in the developing MCC. During the well-documented Late Cretaceous–Oligocene history of partial melting and infrastructure development within the RMEH, surface deposits in Huntington Valley reflect general tectonic quiescence, with evidence for the development of the shallow Elko Basin, minor extension, and eruption of southward-younging ignimbrite flare-up volcanism. Thin, discontinuous successions of Cretaceous–early Cenozoic sedimentary strata were locally blanketed by rhyodacite ignimbrites, domes, and subvolcanic intrusions of the Robinson Mountain volcanic field between 38.5 and 36.8 Ma. This magmatic event represents the first local expression of Cenozoic volcanism linked to the ignimbrite flare-up, and its onset occurred slightly after a renewal of partial melting in the RMEH beginning ca. 42 Ma. The volcanic section was subsequently tilted ∼10°–15° west before ca. 33.9 ± 0.4 Ma. Although melting continued at depth in the RMEH until after 30 Ma, there was no eruption of volcanic rocks after Robinson Mountain volcanism. An additional ≥10°–15° of westward tilting occurred between 31.1 ± 0.3 Ma and ca. 24.4 Ma, as bracketed by the 31 Ma tuff of Hackwood Ranch (which was probably erupted from a distant caldera) and an angular unconformity beneath the overlying Miocene Humboldt Formation. Neither of these tilting events and unconformities appears to represent significant (>∼1 km each) extension, but they could be surface expressions of magmatism, metamorphism, and crustal flow at depth. The Humboldt Formation includes >2000 m of sediment deposited mostly between ca. 16 and 12 Ma, with deposition lasting until at least ca. 8.2 Ma. Humboldt Formation sediments thicken eastward, toward the west-dipping fault that bounds the RMEH, and are interpreted as a basin that developed in the hanging wall of this fault system. Motion on this normal fault system led to the exhumation of metamorphic and igneous rocks of the core complex ∼10 m.y. after the documented cessation of partial melting, high-temperature metamorphism, and intrusion of granitoids into the deep crust ca. 29 Ma. Metamorphic clasts and a detrital zircon signature thought to represent RMEH provenance are first detected in 14.2 Ma or younger sediments.

Challenging Convergences in Lay Thought and STS Practice: A Reply to My Critics

David Hess and Sujatha Raman have penned what might seem to be fairly damning critiques of my proposal to view technological determinism and permissionless innovation as psychocultural barriers to the democratization of technology. They quickly chop down my suggestion to look to fields like communications and social psychology for help in developing oppositional rhetorical strategies. Some of their concerns are quite reasonable, though I will contend that they are not as damaging to my proposal as they suggest. Other criticisms, however, appear to be rooted in pretty extreme interpretations of my argument. Whatever the cause of the miscommunication, I relish the chance to challenge the more unfortunate renderings of my position. Furthermore, I will turn a critical eye back toward the commentators. Not only do they neglect the technological or material concerns that I raised in my paper, but also fail to seriously engage with the potential incremental benefits of developing and prudently deploying the communicative tools that I describe. A fairly typical defensive response to any claim that some gap exists in the existing literature or that some practice is missing from current scholarly activity is “Where have you been?” Just such a response is one of the main thrusts of Raman’s (2015) critique: “Battles over some abstraction called ‘technological determinism’ seem a distant memory.” She cites her own work within a rich research community—including responsible innovation, engagement with technoscientific policy regimes, and laboratory interventions—in order to depict my assertion that a preoccupation with nomological forms of technological determinism has continued to infect STS scholarship as out-of-touch with more recent academic realities. Contrary to Raman’s (2015) interpretation of my fairly minor extension of claims already made by other science and technology studies (STS) scholars (see Wyatt 2008; Dafoe 2015), I did not intend to imply that absolutely nothing was being done in the field regarding normative

Petrosectomy and Topographical Anatomy in Traditional Kawase and Posterior Intradural Petrous Apicectomy (PIPA) Approach: An Anatomical Study

To compare the anatomical exposure and petrosectomy extent in the Kawase and posterior intradural petrous apicectomy (PIPA) approaches. Kawase and PIPA approaches were performed on 4 fixed cadaveric heads (3 alcohol-fixed, 1 formaldehyde-fixed silicone-injected; 4 Kawase and 4 PIPA approaches). The microsurgical anatomy was examined by means of Zeiss Opmi CS/NC-4 microscopes. HD Karl Storz Endoscopes (AIDA system) were used to display intradural exposure. Petrosectomy volumes was assessed by comparing pre- and postoperative thin-slice computed tomography scans (Analyze 12.0; AnalyzeDirect Mayo Clinic). The Kawase approach exposed the rhomboid fossa with Meckel's cave extradurally, the upper half of the clivus, superior cerebellopontine angle, ventrolateral brainstem, the intrameatal region, basilar apex, and the preganglionic root of cranial nerve (CN) V, CN III-IV-VI intradurally. The PIPA approach exposed the cerebello-pontine angle with CN VI-XII, Meckel's cave, CN III-V, and the middle and lower clivus intradurally from a posterior view. The area of surgical exposure is wide in both approaches; however, the volume of petrosectomy, the working angle, and surgical corridor differ significantly. The Kawase approach allows wide exposure of the middle cranial fossa (MCF) and posterior cranial fossa, requiring extradural temporal lobe retraction and an extradural petrosectomy with preservation of the internal acoustic meatus and cochlea. No temporal lobe retraction and direct control of neurovascular structures make the PIPA approach a valid alternative for lesions extending mostly in the Posterior cranial fossa with minor extension in the MCF. The longer surgical corridor, cerebellar retraction, and limited exposure of the anterior brainstem make this approach less indicated for lesions with major extension in the MCF and the anterior cavernous sinus.

Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic tectonic transition from collision to transtension, Honduran Borderlands and Nicaraguan Rise, NW Caribbean Plate boundary

Abstract Northern Honduras and its offshore area include an active transtensional margin separating the Caribbean and North American plates. We use deep-penetration seismic-reflection lines combined with gravity and magnetic data to describe two distinct structural domains in the Honduran offshore area: (1) an approximately 120 km-wide Honduran Borderlands (HB) adjacent to the Cayman Trough characterized by narrow rift basins controlled by basement-involving normal faults subparallel to the margin; and (2) the Nicaraguan Rise (NR), characterized by small-displacement normal faulting and sag-type basins influenced by Paleocene–Eocene shelf sedimentation beneath an Oligocene–Recent, approximately 1–2 km-thick carbonate platform. Thinning of continental crust from 25–30 km beneath the NR to 6–8 km beneath the oceanic Cayman Trough is attributed to an Oligocene–Recent phase of transtension. Five tectonostratigraphic phases established in the HB and NR include: (1) a Late Cretaceous uplift in the north and south-dipping thrusting related to the collision in the south, between the Chortis continental block and arc and oceanic plateau rocks of the Caribbean; (2) Eocene sag basins in the NR and minor extension in the HB; two phases (3) and (4) of accelerated extension (transtension) across the subsidence mainly of the HB; and (5) Pliocene–Recent minor fault activity in the HB and a stable carbonate platform in the NR.

The overshoot and phenotypic equilibrium in characterizing cancer dynamics of reversible phenotypic plasticity

The paradigm of phenotypic plasticity indicates reversible relations of different cancer cell phenotypes, which extends the cellular hierarchy proposed by the classical cancer stem cell (CSC) theory. Since it is still questionable if the phenotypic plasticity is a crucial improvement to the hierarchical model or just a minor extension to it, it is worthwhile to explore the dynamic behavior characterizing the reversible phenotypic plasticity. In this study we compare the hierarchical model and the reversible model in predicting the cell-state dynamics observed in biological experiments. Our results show that the hierarchical model shows significant disadvantages over the reversible model in describing both long-term stability (phenotypic equilibrium) and short-term transient dynamics (overshoot) in cancer cell populations. In a very specific case in which the total growth of population due to each cell type is identical, the hierarchical model predicts neither phenotypic equilibrium nor overshoot, whereas the reversible model succeeds in predicting both of them. Even though the performance of the hierarchical model can be improved by relaxing the specific assumption, its prediction to the phenotypic equilibrium strongly depends on a precondition that may be unrealistic in biological experiments. Moreover, it still does not show as rich dynamics as the reversible model in capturing the overshoots of both CSCs and non-CSCs. By comparison, it is more likely for the reversible model to correctly predict the stability of the phenotypic mixture and various types of overshoot behavior.

Implementing the Modified 2009 American Thyroid Association Risk Stratification System in Thyroid Cancer Patients with Low and Intermediate Risk of Recurrence

The primary purpose of this study was to validate the proposed modified 2009 American Thyroid Association Risk Stratification System (M-2009-RSS) in patients with thyroid cancer and to compare the findings with those of the 2009 ATA Risk of Recurrence (2009 ATA-RR) and the Ongoing Risk of recurrence system. The secondary purpose was to assess which risk stratification system had the best predictive value to foresee the probability of structural incomplete response or the no evidence of disease (NED) status at the end of follow-up. This retrospective review included 149 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer who had low and intermediate 2009 ATA-RR and were treated at a single experienced center and followed-up for a median of 6 years (range 3-12 years). Each patient was risk stratified using both the 2009 ATA-RR and the M-2009-RSS. The primary endpoints were 1) the best response to initial therapy defined as either excellent response, biochemical or structural incomplete response, or indeterminate response; 2) clinical status at final follow-up defined as either NED, biochemical incomplete response, structural incomplete response, indeterminate response, or recurrence (biochemical or structural disease identified after a period of NED), and 3) ongoing RR defined as low or high risk according several outcomes after initial treatment. Mean age of included patients was 45.3±13 years. Both the ATA 2009-RR and the M-2009-RSS provided clinically meaningful graded estimates with regard to the status of NED at the end of follow-up in low-risk patients (84% for 2009 ATA-RR and 74% for M-2009-RSS) or the likelihood of having persistent structural disease (0% for 2009 ATA RR and 3.6% for the M-2009-RSS). When patients were classified as low risk, the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) to predict structural disease was 0% and 88.7% for the 2009 ATA-RR, 3.6% and 86.5% for the M-2009-RSS, and 1.6% and 68.2% for the ongoing RR (p=0.022 and 0.055 of chi-square test for PPV and NPV, respectively). Despite expanding the definition of low risk to include small-volume lymph node metastases, minor extrathyroidal extension, and minimally invasive follicular thyroid cancer, the M-2009-RSS predicts clinical outcomes (structural incomplete response and NED at the end of follow-up) that are very similar to the previously validated 2009 ATA RR classification system.

SWAN: NGC 253's Nucleated Star Bursting Environment

AbstractWe present the first results from SWAN: “Survey of Water and Ammonia in Nearby galaxies”. Nearby galaxies are conveniently located to probe molecular gas properties on scales of 10 to 200 pc, which are appropriate for the study of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs). The resolution of the Very Large Array in D and C configurations corresponds to a few 10s of parsecs in these galaxies. To advance studies of galaxy evolution it is paramount to understand how processes in the molecular Interstellar Medium(ISM) and star formation are linked on these scales. We have observed the metastable transitions of ammonia and the 22GHz water maser line in four nearby galaxies: NGC 253, IC 342, NGC 2146, and NGC 6946 using the VLA. These galaxies were chosen to span an order of magnitude in star formation rate, and a range of galactic ecosystems. We use the ammonia transitions to derive kinetic temperatures, which exposes the heating and cooling balance of the ISM. We then aim to relate these conditions to energetic feedback from star formation as indicated by water masers.Currently, our analysis is focused on NGC 253. NGC 253 is a barred spiral starburst galaxy with a nucleated star formation rate (SFR) of ≈ 3M⊙ per year. We use a distance of 3.9Mpc for analysis. We have observed ammonia transitions (1,1) to (5,5) and the 22GHz water maser line with a resolution of ≈63pc. We have identified nine regions across the nucleated starburst for study. The ammonia (3,3) line appears to be masing in the centermost 200pc. We have identified two regions of water maser emission. The first region is a minor axis extension, about the center of the galaxy, and is very close to the outflow. By means of these measurements, we gain an understanding of the molecular ISM associated with the nucleated starburst environment in NGC 253.

Photodynamic Action Mechanism Mediated by Zinc(II) 2,9,16,23-Tetrakis[4-(N-methylpyridyloxy)]phthalocyanine in Candida albicans Cells.

The photoreaction type I/type II pathways mediated by zinc(II) 2,9,16,23-tetrakis[4-(N-methylpyridyloxy)]phthalocyanine (ZnPPc(4+) ) was studied in Candida albicans cells. This photosensitizer was strongly bound to C.albicans cells at short times. After 30min irradiation, 5μM ZnPPc(4+) produced ~5 log decrease in cell viability. Different probes were used todetect reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cell suspensions (~10(6) CFUmL(-1) ). Singlet molecular oxygen, O2 ((1) Δg ), was observedby the reaction with 9,10-dimethylanthracene (DMA) and tetrasodium 2,2-(anthracene-9,10-diyl)bis(methylmalonate) (ABMM), whereas the nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) method was used to sense superoxide anion radical (O2·-). Moreover, the effects produced by an anoxic atmosphere and cell suspensions in D2 O, as well as the addition of sodium azide and mannitol as ROS trapping were evaluated in the PDI of C.albicans. These investigation indicates that O2 ((1) Δg ) is generated in the cells, although a minor extension other radical species can also be involved in the PDI of C.albicans mediated by ZnPPc(4+) .

On Lipschitz optimization based on gray-box piecewise linearization

We address the problem of minimizing objectives from the class of piecewise differentiable functions whose nonsmoothness can be encapsulated in the absolute value function. They possess local piecewise linear approximations with a discrepancy that can be bounded by a quadratic proximal term. This overestimating local model is continuous but generally nonconvex. It can be generated in its abs-normal form by a minor extension of standard algorithmic differentiation tools. Here we demonstrate how the local model can be minimized by a bundle-type method, which benefits from the availability of additional gray-box information via the abs-normal form. In the convex case our algorithm realizes the consistent steepest descent trajectory for which finite convergence was established earlier, specifically covering counterexamples where steepest descent with exact line-search famously fails. The analysis of the abs-normal representation and the design of the optimization algorithm are geared toward the general case, whereas the convergence proof so far covers only the convex case.

Rifting and subsidence following lithospheric removal in continental back arcs

It has been suggested that post-orogenic lithospheric removal in continental back arcs promotes extension and surface subsidence. However, the surface response of this process and its primary difference from “classical” back-arc opening have remained uncertain. Here, the back-arc extension process with varying continental mantle lithosphere thickness and thermal heterogeneities is studied by using thermomechanical subduction experiments. The experiments illustrate that models with only slab retreat result in minor surface subsidence and extension in the back-arc region. Alternatively, there is notable extension due to the slab retreat and a localized high-temperature zone in the back arc with uniform lithospheric thickness. Models with advecting mantle (after lithospheric removal) in the extending back arc predict rifting (stretching factor b > 2) and surface subsidence (>1.5 km) in the center of the basin. The results of this work suggest that lithospheric removal may be an important trigger for continental back-arc development rather than slab retreat alone causing lithospheric extension and subsidence. The findings help explain rift formation and subsidence in the Aegean Sea–west Anatolia, and possibly other Mediterranean back arcs, such as the Alboran Sea and the Pannonian Basin.

First Record of the anchialine shrimp Parhippolyte sterreri (Decapoda, Barbouriidae) from San Salvador Island, Bahamas, with observations on Barbouria cubensis

Sterrer's cave shrimp (Parhippolyte sterreri) is recorded for the first time from San Salvador Island, Bahamas. A single adult specimen was collected in June 2011 with hand nets at the southern conduit mouth in Mermaid Pond, an anchialine pond on the south-east corner of the island. Twelve additional specimens were collected in June 2013 from two additional sites near Mermaid Pond (Dunk City Pond and the Pigeon Creek Conduit). These collections represent a minor range extension ofP. sterreriin the Bahamas. Additionally, we report on populations ofBarbouria cubensisobserved in 17 other anchialine ponds on San Salvador Island.

Photodynamic therapy in the treatment of intracranial gliomas: A review of current practice and considerations for future clinical directions

Invasive grade III and IV malignant gliomas remain difficult to treat with a typical survival time post-diagnosis hovering around 16 months with only minor extension thereof seen in the past decade, whereas some improvements have been obtained towards five-year survival rates for which completeness of resection is a prerequisite. Optical techniques such as fluorescence guided resection (FGR) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are promising adjuvant techniques to increase the tumor volume reduction fraction. PDT has been used in combination with surgical resection or alternatively as standalone treatment strategy with some success in extending the median survival time of patients compared to surgery alone and the current standard of care. This document reviews the outcome of past clinical trials and highlights the general shift in PDT therapeutic approaches. It also looks at the current approaches for interstitial PDT and research options into increasing PDT's glioma treatment efficacy through exploiting both physical and biological-based approaches to maximize PDT selectivity and therapeutic index, particularly in brain adjacent to tumor (BAT). Potential reasons for failing to demonstrate a significant survival advantage in prior PDT clinical trials will become evident in light of the improved understanding of glioma biology and PDT dosimetry.

Logical gaps in the approximate solutions of the social learning game and an exact solution.

After the social learning models were proposed, finding solutions to the games becomes a well-defined mathematical question. However, almost all papers on the games and their applications are based on solutions built either upon an ad-hoc argument or a twisted Bayesian analysis of the games. Here, we present logical gaps in those solutions and offer an exact solution of our own. We also introduce a minor extension to the original game so that not only logical differences but also differences in action outcomes among those solutions become visible.

Anticoagulant therapy in head injury-associated cerebral sinovenous thrombosis in children.

Head injury is a risk factor for cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) in children. Literature concerning head injury-associated CSVT (HIA-CSVT) is scarce. Data supporting safety and efficacy of anticoagulant therapy (ACT) in childhood CSVT is emerging. However, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) occurs frequently in children with HIA-CSVT at diagnosis making initiation of ACT controversial due to the fear of worsening of ICH. We conducted a retrospective descriptive review of a consecutive cohort of children with HIA-CSVT from 1998 to 2012. Twenty patients (14 males, mean age 7 years) with HIA-CSVT were identified. Most (19/20 [95%]) had significant ICH at diagnosis. None received ACT at diagnosis. Fourteen (70%) were later (median 7 days post-trauma, range 2-48 days) treated with ACT due to CSVT persistence (nine) and propagation (five), despite ICH in 13. None of the treated patients, including the 13 with pre-existing ICH, had significant worsening of hemorrhage. Three (21%) treated patients had minor asymptomatic extension of their hemorrhage and further ACT was withheld. No patient died while on ACT. No patient experienced CSVT propagation on ACT. Clinical outcomes were normal (no neurologic deficits) in 5/20(25%), mild neurological deficits in 10/20(50%), and moderate-severe neurological deficits in 5/20(25%). Small sample size did not permit assessment of the effect of ACT on outcome. Anticoagulant therapy is safe in selected children with HIA-CSVT. ICH is not an absolute contraindication to ACT in children with HIA-CSVT.

Optimizing join enumeration in transformation-based query optimizers

Query optimizers built on the Volcano/Cascades framework, which is based on transformation rules, are used in many commercial databases. Transformation rulesets proposed earlier for join order enumeration in such a framework either allow enumeration of joins with cross-products (which can significantly increase the cost of optimization), or generate a large number of duplicate derivations. In this paper we propose two new rulesets for generating cross-product free trees. One of the rulesets is a minor extension of a simple but inefficient ruleset, which we prove is complete (we also show that a naive extension of an efficient ruleset leads to incompleteness). We then propose an efficient new ruleset, which is based on techniques proposed recently for top-down join order enumeration, but unlike earlier work it is cleanly integrated into the Volcano/Cascades framework, and can be used in conjunction with other transformation rules. We show that our ruleset is complete (i.e., it generates the entire search space without cross products) while avoiding inefficiency due to duplicate derivations. We have implemented this ruleset in the PyroJ Optimizer (an implementation of the Volcano optimizer framework) and show that it significantly outperforms the alternatives, in some cases by up to two orders of magnitude, in terms of time taken.

Sequential sampling and paradoxes of risky choice.

The common-ratio, common-consequence, reflection, and event-splitting effects are some of the best-known findings in decision-making research. They represent robust violations of expected utility theory, and together form a benchmark against which descriptive theories of risky choice are tested. These effects are not currently predicted by sequential sampling models of risky choice, such as decision field theory (Busemeyer & Townsend 1993). This paper, however, shows that a minor extension to decision field theory, which allows for stochastic error in event sampling, can provide a parsimonious, cognitively plausible explanation for these effects. Moreover, these effects are guaranteed to emerge for a large range of parameter values, including best-fit parameters obtained from preexisting choice data.