How to Help a Patient Choose a Surrogate Decision Maker #378

The z and the Student t distribution estimate the population mean using the sample mean and standard deviation. However, to decide which distribution to use for a calculation, one needs to determine the sample size, the nature of the distribution, and whether the population standard deviation is known. If the population standard deviation is known and the population is normally distributed, or if the sample size is greater than 30, the z distribution is preferred. The Student t distribution is...

Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel—University of Southern California
Decision-making is an important component of human executive function, in which a choice about a course of action or cognition is made from many possibilities. Damage to the inferior parts of the frontal lobes can affect a person's ability to make good decisions. However, while decision-making deficits can have a large impact on one's life, these deficits can be difficult to quantify in the...

We demonstrate a method to generate 3D breast cancer surrogates, which can be cultured using a perfusion bioreactor system to deliver oxygen and nutrients. Following growth, surrogates are fixed and processed to paraffin for evaluation of parameters of interest. The evaluation of one such parameter, cell density, is...

Microglia (immune cells of the brain), are used as a surrogate biosensor to determine how nanoparticles influence neurotoxicity. We describe a series of experiments designed to assay microglial response to nanoparticles and exposure of hypothalamic neurons to supernatant from activated microglia to determine...

Selecting an underwriter is critical for businesses aiming to raise capital through securities. Underwriters play a key role in pricing, marketing, and distributing securities, directly influencing the success of the issuance. Companies should evaluate several key factors to ensure they make the right choice.Reputation and ExpertiseAn underwriter’s reputation and experience are crucial. Firms with a proven track record in managing complex or high-profile transactions lend credibility to the...

Source: Peter Mende-Siedlecki & Jay Van Bavel—New York University
When we are considering a tough choice between two or more attractive options, we often end up actively weighing the pros and cons of each alternative. By reflecting on their advantages and disadvantages, we attempt to fit a complex, subjective decision into an orderly set of criteria. However, research in psychology suggests that this sort of introspective approach might not always yield the most optimal outcomes.1
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