A Model-Based Heuristic to the Min Max K-Arc Routing for Connectivity Problem

We consider the post-disaster road clearing problem with the goal of restoring network connectivity in shortest time. Given a set of blocked edges in the road network, teams positioned at depot nodes are dispatched to open a subset of them that reconnects the network. After a team finishes working on an edge, others can traverse it. The problem is to find coordinated routes for the teams. We generate a feasible solution using a constructive heuristic algorithm after solving a relaxed mixed integer program. In almost 70 percent of the instances generated both randomly and from Istanbul data, the relaxation solution turned out to be feasible, i.e. optimal for the original problem

Negotiation Processes: Tactics of Preparing a Successful Negotiation

Negotiation is a fast-paced activity. That is, the negotiation process is evaluated and changed throughout the process, from beginning to end. Before taking any action or retaliating, both sides consider their own interests and aims in order to analyze their own and the other's positions. These judgments and estimations are frequently susceptible to change during the negotiation process. The fresh information that comes in must be categorized and assessed. The dialogue's complexity and difficulty stems from its dynamic and variable nature. If each negotiation has three stages: preparation, advancement and leadership, negotiation, and conclusion, the stage of preparing for the negotiation in advance to accomplish the desired result in a successful negotiation will be very significant and effective. Therefore, in this article, some hints are given as to how to prepare for a successful negotiation by using strategies and tactics

The effect of traditional games in fundamental motor skill development in 7-­9 year old boys

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of traditional games on fundamental motor skills in seven to nine year-old boys. Methods: Forty subjects of seven to nine year-old boys selected randomly by a personal information questionnaire. After pretest by Test of Gross Motor Development, edition 2 (TGMD-2), gross motor skill, locomotor and object control motor skills, subjects were divided by random matching into two groups. The first group performed traditional games and the second group performed daily activities. Then children in first group played traditional game at 24 sessions. After 12 and 24 sessions, traditional game and daily activity groups participated in the mid and post tests. Data were analyzed by Variance Analyze of Repeated Measures. Findings: The results showed that traditional games with mean difference in fundamental motor skill development (17.12, P<0.001), and also with mean difference in locomotor (2.23, P=0.002), and mean difference in object control skill development (2.27, P=0.002) significantly are more effective than daily activities. Conclusion: Traditional game program is appropriate for a fundamental motor skill development

Ključna uloga faktora tumorske nekroze alfa (TNF-α) u kalifornijskih pastrva cijepljenih ozračenim trofontom parazita Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.

In this study, in order to characterize the immune response against Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (I. multifiliis) in the skin, liver, gills and head kidney of immunized rainbow trout, with two types of killed vaccines (γ-irradiation and formalin inactivation of trophont), the gene expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α1 and TNF-α2) were evaluated. The vaccinated fish showed significant protection against I. multifiliis 30 days after the second vaccination. We showed that the pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α1, was expressed in rainbow trout after vaccination, not only in the skin but also in the head kidney and liver, whereas TNF-α2 expression was seen in the liver. Also, parasite-related changes in TNF-α1 expression could be detected only in the gills of fish that were exposed to live I. multifiliis trophonts during this experiment. Finally, according to previous reports and the current study, TNF-α1 could be involved in an immune mechanism that can control I. multifiliis infection in vaccinated rainbow trout.Istražen je imunosni odgovor u koži, jetri, škrgama i bubregu kalifornijskih pastrva cijepljenih dvjema vrstama inaktiviranih cjepiva pripravljenih od parazita Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Jedna je bilo pripravljena ozračivanjem trofonta γ-zrakama, a druga njegovim ubijanjem formalinom. Istražena je razina genske ekspresije proupalnih citokina odnosno faktora tumorske nekroze α (TNF-α1 i TNF-α2). Cijepljene ribe pokazivale su značajnu zaštitu protiv I. multifiliis 30 dana nakon drugog cijepljenja. Pokazalo se da je proupalni citokin TNF-α1 bio izražen u pastrva nakon cijepljenja ne samo u koži već i u bubregu i jetri, dok je ekspresija TNF-α2 bila dokazana samo u jetri. U ovom je pokusu također ustanovljeno da se promjene u ekspresiji TNF-α1 mogu dokazati samo u škrgama riba izloženima živim trofontima I. multifiliis. Na osnovi prijašnjih izvješća i ovog istraživanja može se zaključiti da bi TNF-α1 mogao biti upleten u imunosne mehanizme za kontrolu invazije vrstom I. multifiliis u cijepljenih kalifornijskih pastrva

Online Failure Diagnosis in Interdependent Networks

Motivation. In interdependent networks, nodes are connected to each other with respect to their failure dependency relations. As a result of this dependency, a failure in one of the nodes of one of the networks within a system of several interdependent networks can cause the failure of the entire system. Diagnosing the initial source of the failure in a collapsed system of interdependent networks is an important problem to be addressed. We study an online failure diagnosis problem defined on a collapsed system of interdependent networks where the source of the failure is at an unknown node (v). In this problem, each node of the system has a positive inspection cost and the source of the failure is diagnosed when v is inspected. The objective is to provide an online algorithm which considers dependency relations between nodes and diagnoses v with minimum total inspection cost. Methodology. We address this problem from worst-case competitive analysis perspective for the first time. In this approach, solutions which are provided under incomplete information are compared with the best solution that is provided in presence of complete information using the competitive ratio (CR) notion. Results. We give a lower bound of the CR for deterministic online algorithms and prove its tightness by providing an optimal deterministic online algorithm. Furthermore, we provide a lower bound on the expected CR of randomized online algorithms and prove its tightness by presenting an optimal randomized online algorithm. We prove that randomized algorithms are able to obtain better CR compared to deterministic algorithms in the expected sense for this online problem

Non-Aggressive Treatment in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients: A Literature Review

Introduction: High prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in Iran and the subsequent disability have resulted in representing multifarious non-aggressive interventions with distinct influences on the disease. The aim of this study was to review previous domestic studies about the effects of conservative therapeutic options on patients with knee OA. Materials and Methods: Using search engines involving IranMedex, MedLib, ISC, Google Scholar, Magiran, SID, rehabilitation, and medical journals based on defined keywords, 98 Persian language articles were found, and 37 studies were finally included in our study after applying the exclusion criteria. The type of study, the pattern of choosing subjects, patient information, the measurements, interventions, and the results were exploited from each article, and the physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro) scale was administrated to evaluate the studies. Results: Based on analysis of PEDro scale results (Mean±SD for articles score: 5.89±1.29), the quality of most articles was as fair and good. The focus of conservative treatments was on exercise therapy methods, assistive devices, and physical therapy management. From a clinical perspective, the evidence indicates the appropriate effects of such treatment choices on alleviating pain, enhancing function, and improving quality of life in individuals with knee OA. Conclusion: Most conservative methods can reduce pain, and improve quality of life and physical performance in patients with knee OA. However, further high-quality studies with larger sample sizes and long-term follow-ups are required to determine whether knee OA can be managed by conservative methods

Estimation of atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles from MODIS data and radiosond data using artificial neural network

The aim of this study is to test the quality of the neural network for retrieving the temperature and humidity by comparison with the radiosond values and a linear regression method. Remote sensed images give useful information about the atmosphere. In this article, MODIS data is used to retrieve temperature and humidity profiles of the atmosphere. Two methods of linear regression and artificial neural network are used to retrieve the temperature and humidity profiles. A multilayer feed-forward neural network is tested to estimate the desired geophysical profiles. Retrievals are validated by comparison with coincident radiosond profiles

Multi-vehicle synchronized arc routing problem to restore post-disaster network connectivity

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. After a natural disaster roads can be damaged or blocked by debris, while bridges and viaducts may collapse. This commonly observed hazard causes some road sections to be closed and may even disconnect the road network. In the immediate disaster response phase work teams are dispatched to open a subset of roads to reconnect the network. Closed roads are traversable only after they are unblocked/cleared by one of the teams. The main objective of this research is to provide an efficient solution method to generate a synchronized work schedule for the road clearing teams. The solution should specify the synchronized routes of each clearing team so that: 1) connectivity of the network is regained, and 2) none of the closed roads are traversed unless their unblocking/clearing procedure is finished. In this study we develop an exact Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) formulation to solve this problem. Furthermore, we propose a matheuristic that is based on an MIP-relaxation and a local search algorithm. We prove that the optimality gap of the relaxation solution is bounded by K times the lower bound obtained from the relaxed model, where K is the number of teams. We show computationally that the matheuristic obtains optimal or near-optimal solutions