Increasing negotiation performance at the edge of the network

Automated negotiation has been used in a variety of distributed settings, such as privacy in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and power distribution in Smart Grids. The most common protocol under which these agents negotiate is the Alternating Offers Protocol (AOP). Under this protocol, agents cannot express any additional information to each other besides a counter offer. This can lead to unnecessarily long negotiations when, for example, negotiations are impossible, risking to waste bandwidth that is a precious resource at the edge of the network. While alternative protocols exist which alleviate this problem, these solutions are too complex for low power devices, such as IoT sensors operating at the edge of the network. To improve this bottleneck, we introduce an extension to AOP called Alternating Constrained Offers Protocol (ACOP), in which agents can also express constraints to each other. This allows agents to both search the possibility space more efficiently and recognise impossible situations sooner. We empirically show that agents using ACOP can significantly reduce the number of messages a negotiation takes, independently of the strategy agents choose. In particular, we show our method significantly reduces the number of messages when an agreement is not possible. Furthermore, when an agreement is possible it reaches this agreement sooner with no negative effect on the utility.Comment: Accepted for presentation at The 7th International Conference on Agreement Technologies (AT 2020

Influencia de un injerto en el perfil de ácidos grasos y algunas propiedades fisicoquímicas de la semilla y el aceite de semillas de sandía

This study aimed to investigate the effects of grafting on the fatty acid profile and some physicochemical properties of watermelon seed and seed oil. The ‘Crimson Tide’ cultivar was used as the scion while two wild watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (A1 and A2)), one Lagenaria siceraria (A3) and one Cucurbita maxima Duchesne x Cucurbita moschata Duchesne (A4) were used as rootstocks. The use of rootstock significantly influenced the fatty acid profile and the physical parameters of seeds and seed oils. The highest linoleic acid ratio was found in the seed oil from A1 and A2, the oil from A3 had the highest oleic acid ratio. The results showed that the content and acid value in seed oils were improved, and that total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of both seed and oil were decreased by grafting. Wild rootstocks can be used in watermelon cultivation to obtain a watermelon seed which is rich in linoleic acid.El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar los efectos del injerto en el perfil de ácidos grasos y algunas propiedades fisicoquímicas de la semilla y el aceite de semillas de sandía. El cultivar ‘Crimson Tide’ se utilizó como vástago, mientras que dos sandías silvestres (Citrullus lanatus var. Citroides (A1 y A2)), una Lagenaria siceraria (A3) y una Cucurbita maxima Duchesne x Cucurbita moschata Duchesne (A4) se utilizaron como portainjertos. El uso de portainjertos influyó significativamente en el perfil de ácidos grasos y los parámetros físicos de semillas y aceites de semillas. La proporción de ácido linoleico más alta se encontró en el aceite de semillas de A1 y A2, el aceite de A3 tuvo la proporción de ácido oleico más alta. Los resultados mostraron que el contenido de aceite y el índice de acidez mejoró y los compuestos fenólicos totales y la actividad antioxidante tanto de la semilla como del aceite se redujeron mediante el injerto. Para obtener un aceite de semillas de sandía rico en ácido linoleico, se pueden utilizar portainjertos silvestres en el cultivo de sandía

Challenges and Main Results of the Automated Negotiating Agents Competition (ANAC) 2019

The Automated Negotiating Agents Competition (ANAC) is a yearly-organized international contest in which participants from all over the world develop intelligent negotiating agents for a variety of negotiation problems. To facilitate the research on agent-based negotiation, the organizers introduce new research challenges every year. ANAC 2019 posed five negotiation challenges: automated negotiation with partial preferences, repeated human-agent negotiation, negotiation in supply-chain management, negotiating in the strategic game of Diplomacy, and in the Werewolf game. This paper introduces the challenges and discusses the main findings and lessons learnt per league

Vitamin D and Foot and Ankle Trauma: An individual or societal problem?

Background Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health concern. Hypovitaminosis D may adversely affect recovery from bone injury. The authors aimed to perform an audit of the Vitamin D status of patients in three centres in the United Kingdom presenting with foot and ankle osseous damage. Methods Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (vitamin D) levels were obtained in patients presenting with imaging confirmed foot and ankle osseous trauma. Variables including age, gender, ethnicity, location, season, month, anatomical location and type of bone injury were recorded. Results 308 patients were included from three different centres. 66.6% were female. The average age was 47.7 (range; 10–85). The mean hydroxyvitamin-D levels were 52.0 nmol/L (SD 28.5). 18.8% were grossly deficient, 23.7% deficient, 34.7% insufficient and 22.7% within normal range. 351 separate bone injuries were identified of which 104 were categorised as stress reactions, 134 as stress fractures, 105 as fractures and 8 non-unions. Age, gender, anatomical location and fracture type did not statistically affect vitamin D levels. Ethnicity did affect Vitamin D levels: non-Caucasians mean levels were 32.4 nmols/L compared to Caucasian levels of 53.2 nmol/L (p = 0.0026). Conclusion Only 18.8% of our trauma patients had a normal Vitamin D level and 22.7% were grossly deficient. Patient age, gender, anatomical location and injury type did not statistically affect vitamin D levels. No difference between trauma and elective patients were found. Hypovitaminosis D is a problem of society in general rather than specific to certain foot and ankle injury patterns or particular patient groups sustaining trauma. Level of evidence 2b

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

TAXİCAB GEOMETRİ İLE İLGİLİ BAZI SONUÇLAR

Bu çalışmada ilk olarak, Euclid Geometrisi ile ilgili bazı özellikler ispata girmeksizin verilmektedir. Daha sonra Taxicab geometrinin bazı temel özellikleri incelenmektedir. Son olarak da Taxicab Geometri'nin düzlemde Euclid Geometri'den farklı olduğu gösterilmektedir

Seasonal variations in body composition, maximal oxygen uptake, and gas exchange threshold in cross-country skiers

Metin Polat,1 Selcen Korkmaz Eryılmaz,2 Sami Aydoğan3 1School of Physical Education and Sports, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey; 2School of Physical Education and Sports, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey; 3Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey Introduction: In order to ensure that athletes achieve their highest performance levels during competitive seasons, monitoring their long-term performance data is crucial for understanding the impact of ongoing training programs and evaluating training strategies. The present study was thus designed to investigate the variations in body composition, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and gas exchange threshold values of cross-country skiers across training phases throughout a season. Materials and methods: In total, 15 athletes who participate in international cross-country ski competitions voluntarily took part in this study. The athletes underwent incremental treadmill running tests at 3 different time points over a period of 1 year. The first measurements were obtained in July, during the first preparation period; the second measurements were obtained in October, during the second preparation period; and the third measurements were obtained in February, during the competition period. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat (%), as well as VO2max values and gas exchange threshold, measured using V-slope method during the incremental running tests, were assessed at all 3 time points. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 20 package software. Significant differences between the measurements were assessed using Friedman’s twoway variance analysis with a post hoc option. Results: The athletes’ body weights and BMI measurements at the third point were significantly lower compared with the results of the second measurement (p<0.001). Moreover, the incremental running test time was significantly higher at the third measurement, compared with both the first (p<0.05) and the second (p<0.01) measurements. Similarly, the running speed during the test was significantly higher at the third measurement time point compared with the first measurement time point (p<0.05). Body fat (%), time to reach the gas exchange threshold, running speed at the gas exchange threshold, VO2max, amount of oxygen consumed at gas exchange threshold level (VO2GET), maximal heart rate (HRmax), and heart rate at gas exchange threshold level (HRGET) values did not significantly differ between the measurement time points (p>0.05). Conclusion: VO2max and gas exchange threshold values recorded during the third measurements, the timing of which coincided with the competitive season of the cross-country skiers, did not significantly change, but their incremental running test time and running speed significantly increased while their body weight and BMI significantly decreased. These results indicate that the cross-country skiers developed a tolerance for high-intensity exercise and reached their highest level of athletic performance during the competitive season. Keywords: athletic performance, aerobic capacity, winter spor

Consequences of social isolation in rats on their antioxidant defense system and erythrocyte deformability

Purpose: In this study, our purpose was to investigate effect of oxidative stress composing in isolated rats on erythrocyte deformability and antioxidant system, considering importance of mechanical, and biochemical properties of erythrocytes in efficiency of blood circulation Material and Methods: Fourty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups according to their ages; where one of them consisted of 2 months old rats and the other 12 months old rats. Then, randomly selected ten rats in each group were isolated separately in a cage and hold 12/12 hour light-dark cycle lasting 21 days. Blood samples were collected at the end of the 21st day, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured spectrophotometrically. Changes in plasma nitric oxide level were determined by Griess method depending on total nitrite-nitrate. In addition, relative filtration rate (RFR), relative filtration time (RFT) and relative resistance (Rrel) of the erythrocytes were calculated as the indexes of erythrocyte deformability. Results: The SOD and CAT levels were found significantly lower in both of young and adult isolated rats when compared to the young and adult control groups. The nitric oxide levels were also found significantly lower in the young and adult isolated rats when compared to their control groups. The peroxidation of the lipids were also decreased by social isolation, in the erythrocyte membrane of both young and adult isolated rats compared to the controls. The indexes of erythrocyte deformability, RFR was found significantly higher, whereas the RFT was significantly lower in young and adult isolated rats compared to the young and adult controls. However, the Rrel of the erythrocytes were not altered dramatically. Conclusion: As a consequence, our data reveals that the social isolation causes a lack of plasma nitric oxide levels in the socially isolated rats and probably due to this decrease in one of the major oxidants for the erythrocyte membrane results in the decreased lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, our results reveal that the social isolation stress causes alterations in the antioxidant defense system and these alteration results in the changes in erythrocyte deformability reflecting that some tissue perfusion problems can occur with long term and repeated loneliness and especially in the early stages of the life span

Effects of repeated sprint training on isocapnic buffering phase in volleyball players [Efeitos de treinos de sprint repetidos na faixa de tamponamento ısocápnıco em jogadores de voleibol] [Efectos del entrenamiento de sprint repetido en la fase de tamponamiento isocápnico en jugadores de voleibol]

Introduction: The region between the ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP) is defined as the isocapnic buffering (ICB) phase and represents a phase of compensation for exercise-induced metabolic acidosis. There is sparse literature examining the effects of physical training on ICB phase in athletes. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a repeated sprint training program on the ICB phase of college volleyball players. Methods: Eighteen male volleyball players were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=9) or a control group (n=9) and followed a traditional volleyball training program three times per week for six weeks. The experimental group additionally performed a repeated sprint training protocol immediately before each volleyball training session. Before and after the 6-week training period, all participants performed an incremental treadmill test to determine VT, RCP, and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). The ICB phases were calculated as VO2 (ml/kg/min) and sprint speed (km/h). Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in ICB phase, RCP, VO2max and maximal sprint speed after training (p<0.01). There were no significant changes in VT after training in the experimental group (p>0.05). None of these variables changed significantly in the control group (p>0.05). Conclusions: These findings indicate that repeated sprint training can enhance the ICB phase of volleyball players, which may be attributable to an improvement in buffering capacity leading to a shift in RCP towards higher intensities without any change in VT. The increase in the ICB phase may an important factor in terms of improvement in the high-intensity exercise tolerance of athletes. Level of Evidence II; Therapeutic studies - Investigating the results of treatment. © 2018, Redprint Editora Ltda. All rights reserved

How microplastics quantities increase with flood events? An example from Mersin Bay NE Levantine coast of Turkey

PubMedID: 29674212Floods caused by heavy rain carry significant amounts of pollutants into marine environments. This study evaluates the effect of multiple floods that occurred in the northeastern Mediterranean region in Turkey between December 2016 and January 2017 on the microplastic pollution in the Mersin Bay. Sampling was repeated in four different stations both before and after the flood period, and it was determined that in the four stations, there was an average of 539,189 MPs/km2 before the flood, and 7,699,716 MPs/km2 afterwards, representing a 14-fold increase. Fourteen different polymer types were detected in an ATR FT-IR analysis, eight of which were not found in samples collected before the floods. The most common polymer type was identified as polyethylene both pre- and post-flood. The mean particle size, which was 2.37 mm in the pre-flood period, decreased to 1.13 mm in the post-flood period. A hydrodynamic modeling study was implemented to hindcast the current structure and the spatial and temporal distributions of microplastics within the study area. In conclusion, heavy rain and severe floods can dramatically increase the microplastic levels in the sea. © 2018 Elsevier Lt