295 research outputs found
Coreness of Cooperative Games with Truncated Submodular Profit Functions
Coreness represents solution concepts related to core in cooperative games,
which captures the stability of players. Motivated by the scale effect in
social networks, economics and other scenario, we study the coreness of
cooperative game with truncated submodular profit functions. Specifically, the
profit function is defined by a truncation of a submodular function
: if and
otherwise, where is a given threshold. In this paper, we
study the core and three core-related concepts of truncated submodular profit
cooperative game. We first prove that whether core is empty can be decided in
polynomial time and an allocation in core also can be found in polynomial time
when core is not empty. When core is empty, we show hardness results and
approximation algorithms for computing other core-related concepts including
relative least-core value, absolute least-core value and least average
dissatisfaction value
Microcalorimeter as a Biologic Activity Monitor for the Study of \u3cem\u3eBrachiaria Brizantha\u3c/em\u3e Seed Germination Process
Calorimetry helps better understanding of biological processes (Calvet & Prat, 1963). Very sensitive thermal sensors and microcalorimeters allow real time investigation and monitoring heat production of seed germination but few experiments have been performed in this area (Sigstad & Prado, 1999). Moreover, experimental procedures correlating germination phenomena and chemical thermodynamics are exceptional (Barboza, 2002). One can detect calorimetrically the heat flow produced during seed germination and compare the results with data recorded using standard germination methodology (ISTA, 1985). Seed germination and the biomass increase respiration and determination of the energy involved aids understanding of the energetic cycle involved. This work analysed the germination of Brachiaria brizantha seeds, including the water uptake phase
Using an Escape Room toolbox approach to enhance pharmacology education
Background: Faculty are encouraged to use a variety of teaching/learning strategies to engage nursing students. While simulation and games are now common, there were no reports in the nursing literature using an âescape roomâ concept. Escape rooms use an entertainment approach as teams engage in critical thinking to solve puzzles and find clues to escape a room. In the classroom setting, this concept is modified to solve a mystery by finding various objects through a series of puzzles to locate clues. Some of these games involve finding numerical clues to open locks on a box, such as a toolbox. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of a toolbox gaming strategy based on an escape room concept to help students learn about cardiovascular medications in a pharmacology course. Methods: This pilot study employed a descriptive qualitative method to investigate an approach to pharmacology education. The sample consisted of first semester nursing students. Results: Student responses to criteria-based questions resulted in three themes: engaging, teamwork, and frustration, related to using a toolbox scenario strategy as a pathway to learning. Conclusions: This descriptive study yielded mixed results from the students who were frustrated by time constraints but engaged in the learning experience. Lessons are offered for future improvements
Resource Competition on Integral Polymatroids
We study competitive resource allocation problems in which players distribute
their demands integrally on a set of resources subject to player-specific
submodular capacity constraints. Each player has to pay for each unit of demand
a cost that is a nondecreasing and convex function of the total allocation of
that resource. This general model of resource allocation generalizes both
singleton congestion games with integer-splittable demands and matroid
congestion games with player-specific costs. As our main result, we show that
in such general resource allocation problems a pure Nash equilibrium is
guaranteed to exist by giving a pseudo-polynomial algorithm computing a pure
Nash equilibrium.Comment: 17 page
Stable Sets in {ISKâ,wheel}-Free Graphs
An ISK4 in a graph G is an induced subgraph of G that is isomorphic to a subdivision of Kâ (the complete graph on four vertices). A wheel is a graph that consists of a chordless cycle, together with a vertex that has at least three neighbors in the cycle. A graph is {ISKâ,wheel}-free if it has no ISKâ and does not contain a wheel as an induced subgraph. We give an O(|V(G)|â·)-time algorithm to compute the maximum weight of a stable set in an input weighted {ISKâ,wheel}-free graph G with non-negative integer weights
OA011-03. Clusterin, a natural ligand of DC-SIGN present in human semen inhibits HIV capture and transmission by dendritic cells
International audiencen.
Asymptotic properties of quantum Markov chains
The asymptotic dynamics of quantum Markov chains generated by the most
general physically relevant quantum operations is investigated. It is shown
that it is confined to an attractor space on which the resulting quantum Markov
chain is diagonalizable. A construction procedure of a basis of this attractor
space and its associated dual basis is presented. It applies whenever a
strictly positive quantum state exists which is contracted or left invariant by
the generating quantum operation. Moreover, algebraic relations between the
attractor space and Kraus operators involved in the definition of a quantum
Markov chain are derived. This construction is not only expected to offer
significant computational advantages in cases in which the dimension of the
Hilbert space is large and the dimension of the attractor space is small but it
also sheds new light onto the relation between the asymptotic dynamics of
quantum Markov chains and fixed points of their generating quantum operations.Comment: 10 page
Broadly neutralizing human monoclonal JC polyomavirus VP1-specific antibodies as candidate therapeutics for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
In immunocompromised individuals, JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) may mutate and gain access to the central nervous system resulting in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an often fatal opportunistic infection for which no treatments are currently available. Despite recent progress, the contribution of JCPyV-specific humoral immunity to controlling asymptomatic infection throughout life and to eliminating JCPyV from the brain is poorly understood. We examined antibody responses against JCPyV major capsid protein VP1 (viral protein 1) variants in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of healthy donors (HDs), JCPyV-positive multiple sclerosis patients treated with the anti-VLA-4 monoclonal antibody natalizumab (NAT), and patients with NAT-associated PML. Before and during PML, CSF antibody responses against JCPyV VP1 variants show "recognition holes"; however, upon immune reconstitution, CSF antibody titers rise, then recognize PML-associated JCPyV VP1 variants, and may be involved in elimination of the virus. We therefore reasoned that the memory B cell repertoire of individuals who recovered from PML could be a source for the molecular cloning of broadly neutralizing antibodies for passive immunization. We generated a series of memory B cell-derived JCPyV VP1-specific human monoclonal antibodies from HDs and a patient with NAT-associated PML-immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). These antibodies exhibited diverse binding affinity, cross-reactivity with the closely related BK polyomavirus, recognition of PML-causing VP1 variants, and JCPyV neutralization. Almost all antibodies with exquisite specificity for JCPyV, neutralizing activity, recognition of all tested JCPyV PML variants, and high affinity were derived from one patient who had recovered from PML. These antibodies are promising drug candidates for the development of a treatment of PML
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