6,604 research outputs found
Computing the Least-core and Nucleolus for Threshold Cardinality Matching Games
Cooperative games provide a framework for fair and stable profit allocation
in multi-agent systems. \emph{Core}, \emph{least-core} and \emph{nucleolus} are
such solution concepts that characterize stability of cooperation. In this
paper, we study the algorithmic issues on the least-core and nucleolus of
threshold cardinality matching games (TCMG). A TCMG is defined on a graph
and a threshold , in which the player set is and the profit of
a coalition is 1 if the size of a maximum matching in
meets or exceeds , and 0 otherwise. We first show that for a TCMG, the
problems of computing least-core value, finding and verifying least-core payoff
are all polynomial time solvable. We also provide a general characterization of
the least core for a large class of TCMG. Next, based on Gallai-Edmonds
Decomposition in matching theory, we give a concise formulation of the
nucleolus for a typical case of TCMG which the threshold equals . When
the threshold is relevant to the input size, we prove that the nucleolus
can be obtained in polynomial time in bipartite graphs and graphs with a
perfect matching
Banding pattern indicative of echinococcosis in a commercial cysticercosis western blot
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>A commercial cysticercosis Western blot was evaluated for serological cross-reactivity of sera from patients with alveolar (AE) and cystic echinococcosis (CE).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 161 sera were examined, including 31 sera from AE-patients, 11 sera from CE-patients, 9 sera from patients with other parasitic diseases and 109 sera from patients with unrelated medical conditions. All AE-and CE-sera were also examined by the echinococcosis Western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>More sera from patients with AE than with CE showed cross-reactivity in the form of ladder-like patterns ("Mikado aspect") and untypical bands at 6-8 kDa (71% and 77.4% versus 27.3% and 45.5%, respectively). In contrast, triplets of bands in the area above 50 kDa and between 24 and 39-42 kDa were more frequent in CE than in AE sera. The fuzzy band at 50-55 kDa typical for cysticercosis was absent in all AE and CE sera.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Atypical banding patterns in the cysticercosis Western blot should raise the suspicion of a metacestode infection different from Taenia solium, i.e. Echinococcus multilocularis or E. granulosus, especially when the Mikado aspect and an altered 6-8 kDa band is visible in the absence of a fuzzy 50-55 kDa band.</p
Preferred auditory temporal processing regimes and auditory-motor synchronization
Decoding the rich temporal dynamics of complex sounds such as speech is constrained by the underlying neuronal-processing mechanisms. Oscillatory theories suggest the existence of one optimal perceptual performance regime at auditory stimulation rates in the delta to theta range (< 10 Hz), but reduced performance in the alpha range (10–14 Hz) is controversial. Additionally, the widely discussed motor system contribution to timing remains unclear. We measured rate discrimination thresholds between 4 and 15 Hz, and auditory-motor coupling strength was estimated through a behavioral auditory-motor synchronization task. In a Bayesian model comparison, high auditory-motor synchronizers showed a larger range of constant optimal temporal judgments than low synchronizers, with performance decreasing in the alpha range. This evidence for optimal processing in the theta range is consistent with preferred oscillatory regimes in auditory cortex that compartmentalize stimulus encoding and processing. The findings suggest, remarkably, that increased auditory-motor synchronization might extend such an optimal range towards faster rates
Infrared Imaging of Capella with the IOTA Closure Phase Interferometer
We present infrared aperture synthesis maps produced with the upgraded IOTA
interferometer. Michelson interferograms on the close binary system Capella
(Alpha Aur) were obtained in the H-band between 2002 November 12 and 16 using
the IONIC3 beam combiner. With baselines of 15m < B < 38m, we were able to
determine the relative position of the binary components with milliarcsecond
(mas) precision and to track their movement along the approx. 14 degree arc
covered by our observation run. We briefly describe the algorithms used for
visibility and closure phase estimation. Three different Hybrid Mapping and
Bispectrum Fitting techniques were implemented within one software framework
and used to reconstruct the source brightness distribution. By dividing our
data into subsets, the system could be mapped at three epochs, revealing the
motion of the stars. The precise position of the binary components was also
determined with model fits, which in addition revealed I_Aa/I_Ab=1.49 +/- 0.10
and apparent stellar uniform-disk (UD) diameters of Theta_Aa=8.9 +/- 0.6 mas
and Theta_Ab=5.8 +/- 0.8 mas.
To improve the u, v-plane coverage, we compensated this orbital motion by
applying a rotation-compensating coordinate transformation. The resulting
model-independent map with a beam size of 5.4 x 2.6 mas allows the resolution
of the stellar surfaces of the Capella giants themselves.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal (2005-03-21
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