Asynchronous Network Formation in Unknown Unbounded Environments

In this paper, we study the Online Network Formation Problem (ONFP) for a mobile multi-robot system. Consider a group of robots with a bounded communication range operating in a large open area. One of the robots has a piece of information which has to be propagated to all other robots. What strategy should the robots pursue to disseminate the information to the rest of the robots as quickly as possible? The initial locations of the robots are unknown to each other, therefore the problem must be solved in an online fashion. For this problem, we present an algorithm whose competitive ratio is $O(H \cdot \max\{M,\sqrt{M H}\})$ for arbitrary robot deployments, where $M$ is the largest edge length in the Euclidean minimum spanning tree on the initial robot configuration and $H$ is the height of the tree. We also study the case when the robot initial positions are chosen uniformly at random and improve the ratio to $O(M)$. Finally, we present simulation results to validate the performance in larger scales and demonstrate our algorithm using three robots in a field experiment

Currency substitution: a numerical dynamic programming approach

Ankara : Department of Economics and the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 1998.Thesis(Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1998.Includes bibliographical references leaves 24-26.This thesis conducts a theoretical study on currency substitution in an infinitelylived small open financially repressed economy which is subject to stochastic inflation shocks. For this purpose, a dynamic programming model is constructed under the assumption that purchasing power parity holds. The solution of the model through value function iteration shows that under high inflation, and financial repression, the inhibitants of an economy will demand foreign currency to the extend that it provides a better protection of their wealth against inflation.Volkan, EnginM.S

Psikolojik İyi Oluşun İş Becerikliliği Üzerine Etkisi

Günümüzde, bireylerin çevresiyle iyi ilişkiler kurabilmesi, kişiliğine olan olumlu tutumu, geçmişiyle barışık olması, hayatında belli bir amacının ve hedefinin bulunması ve tek başına kararlar alabilmesi gibi etkenler kişinin psikolojik iyi oluş seviyesini belirleyen bazı unsurlardır. Psikolojik iyi oluş seviyesi yüksek olan çalışanlar görevlerini yerine getirirken ufak değişiklikler yaparak işlerini daha kolay ve eğlenceli hale getirmekte ve bu durum iş becerikliliğiyle bağdaşmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı psikolojik iyi oluşun iş becerikliliği üzerine etkisini incelemektir. Araştırmanın örneklemini, bankacılık sektöründe görev yapan 235 kişi oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın verileri anket yöntemi ile elde edilmiştir. Araştırmada; Psikolojik İyi Oluş Ölçeği ve İş Becerikliliği Ölçeğinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırmada değişkenler arasındaki bağlantıları ölçmek için korelasyon analizi, nedenselliği ölçmek için regresyon analizi ve ölçeklerin uygunluğunu ölçmek için faktör analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre psikolojik iyi oluşla iş becerikliliği arasında pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu görülmektedir. Ayrıca, psikolojik iyi oluşun iş becerikliliğinin alt boyutu olan “görev becerikliliği”, “bilişsel beceriklilik” ve “ilişkisel beceriklilik” ile pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişkisi olduğu görülmektedir. Bu kapsamda psikolojik iyi oluş düzeyi yüksek olan çalışanların hem görev düzeyinde hem bilişsel düzeyde hem de ilişkisel düzeyde iş beceriklilikleri de yüksek olmaktadır. Yazın taraması sonucunda psikolojik iyi oluşun iş becerikliliği üzerine etkisini araştıran bir çalışmaya rastlanmamıştır. Bu yönüyle yazına katkı sağlaması ve bulguları itibariyle tüm araştırmacılara destek olması hedeflenmektedir. Çalışanların işlerini yaparken amacını ve kapsamını değiştirmemesi koşuluyla ufak değişiklikler yapılmasına üstler ve yöneticiler tarafından izin verilebilir. Bu durum çalışanların işlerinden daha keyif almasına katkı sağlayacağı gibi işe olan bağlılıklarını ve psikolojik iyi oluş düzeylerine de katkı sağlayacaktır. Çalışanların psikolojik iyi oluş düzeylerini destekleyici etkinlikler düzenlenebilir. Üstler tarafından çalışanların farkındalık düzeylerini artırmak için sorumluluklar verilebilir. Bu şekilde çalışanın güçlü yönlerini tanıması, bağımsız kararlar verebilmesi ve sınırlılıklarının farkında olması sağlanır

RICo: Rotate-Inpaint-Complete for Generalizable Scene Reconstruction

General scene reconstruction refers to the task of estimating the full 3D geometry and texture of a scene containing previously unseen objects. In many practical applications such as AR/VR, autonomous navigation, and robotics, only a single view of the scene may be available, making the scene reconstruction a very challenging task. In this paper, we present a method for scene reconstruction by structurally breaking the problem into two steps: rendering novel views via inpainting and 2D to 3D scene lifting. Specifically, we leverage the generalization capability of large language models to inpaint the missing areas of scene color images rendered from different views. Next, we lift these inpainted images to 3D by predicting normals of the inpainted image and solving for the missing depth values. By predicting for normals instead of depth directly, our method allows for robustness to changes in depth distributions and scale. With rigorous quantitative evaluation, we show that our method outperforms multiple baselines while providing generalization to novel objects and scenes

The protective effects of different treatments on rat salivary glands after radiotherapy

WOS: 000387700400056PubMed ID: 27324888This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of treatment modalities for minimizing salivary gland damage caused by radiotherapy. Forty rats were divided into five groups. Group 1 had no irradiation or any treatment. Group 2 underwent only 15 Gy single dose radiotherapy. N-acetylcysteine, dexamethasone, hyperbaric oxygen treatment were given, respectively to the group 3, 4 and 5 for 5 days. 15 Gy single dose radiotherapy was applied to the group 3, 4 and 5 on the second day. Pyknosis, lysis, and vacuolization were examined in ductal cells and pyknosis, lysis, vacuolization, inflammation and collective duct damage in acinar cells. Dexamethasone and hyperbaric oxygen did not prove to have a positive effect on acinar and ductal cell. N-acetylcysteine-applied group had statistically significantly lower amount of damage. We determined that the decrease of ductal and acinar cell damage in parotid glands of N-acetylcysteine-applied rats was more distinct and statistically

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels >2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p < 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168