Organisational Abstractions for the Analysis and Design of Multi-Agent Systems

The architecture of a multi-agent system can naturally be viewed as a computational organisation. For this reason, we believe organisational abstractions should play a central role in the analysis and design of such systems. To this end, the concepts of agent roles and role models are increasingly being used to specify and design multi-agent systems. However, this is not the full picture. In this paper we introduce three additional organisational concepts - organisational rules, organisational structures, and organisational patterns - that we believe are necessary for the complete specification of computational organisations. We view the introduction of these concepts as a step towards a comprehensive methodology for agent-oriented systems

A shock isolator for diode laser operation on a closed-cycle refrigerator

A device developed to isolate the diode laser from impact shocks delivered during the expansion phase of the Solvay cycle of a helium refrigerator is briefly described. The device uses intermediate cold stations in the stand-off, which permit the stand-off to be short and rigid while minimizing the thermal load at the diode mount

Building Interiors

Building Interiors (BI) with $18 million annual sales has been acquired by Lone Star Supply, another building material distributor. Lone Star's strategy is to leave top management of the acquired firm in place with the expectation of achieving a certain financial performance. BI has failed to do so. One BI top manager has resigned and a second has been demoted. A Lone Star senior manager with a reputation of being a "turnaround specialist" has been appointed BI’s top manager. The case explores this new manager's approach for achieving the required profitability level

Predicting reference points and associated uncertainty from life histories for risk and status assessment

To assess status of fish populations and the risks of overexploitation, management bodies compare fishing mortality rates and abundance estimates with reference points (RP). Generic, “data-poor” methods for estimating RP are garnering attention because they are faster and cheaper to implement than those based on extensive life history data. Yet data-poor RP are subject to many unquantified uncertainties. Here, we predict fishing mortality RP based on five levels of increasingly comprehensive data, to quantify effects of parameter and structural uncertainty on RP. Level I RP (least data) are estimated solely from species' maximum size and generic life history relationships, while level V RP (most data) are estimated from population-specific growth and maturity data. By estimating RP at all five data levels, for each of 12 North Sea populations, we demonstrate marked changes in the median RP values, and to a lesser extent uncertainty, when growth parameters come from data rather than life history relationships. As a simple rule, halving the median level I RP gives almost 90% probability that a level V median RP is not exceeded. RP and uncertainty were substantially affected by assumed gear selectivity; plausible changes in selectivity had a greater effect on RP than adding level V data. Calculations of RP using data for successive individual years from 1984 to 2014 showed that the median RP based on data for any given year would often fall outside the range of uncertainty for RP based on data from earlier or later years. This highlighted the benefits of frequent RP updates when suitable data are available. Our approach provides a quantitative method to inform risk-based management and decisions about acceptable targets for data collection and quality. Ultimately, however, the utility and extent of adoption of data-poor methods for estimating RP will depend on the risk aversion of managers

Case of chronic indolent pheochromocytoma that caused medically controlled hypertension but treatment-resistant diabetes mellitus

No abstract available

History of the Class of \u2791

A history of Wofford College\u27s Class of 1891, prepared by members of the class and published after their graduation. The booklet includes biographies of the members of the class as well as stories about activities during their time at Wofford.https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/collegebooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Observations of the 10 micrometer natural laser emission from the mesospheres of Mars and Venus

Observations of the total flux and center to limb dependence of the nonthermal emission occurring in the cores of the 9.4 and 10.4 micrometers CO2 bands on Mars are compared to a theoretical model based on this mechanism. The model successfully reproduces the observed center to limb dependence of this emission, to within the limits imposed by the spatial resolution of the observations of Mars and Venus. The observed flux from Mars agrees closely with the prediction of the model; the flux observed from Venus is 74% of the flux predicted by the model. This emission is used to obtain the kinetic temperatures of the Martian and Venusian mesospheres. For Mars near 70 km altitude, a rotational temperature analysis using five lines gives T = 135 + or - 20 K. The frequency width of the emission is also analyzed to derive a temperature of 126 + or - 6 K. In the case of the Venusian mesosphere near 109 km, the frequency width of the emission gives T = 204 + or - 10 K

Evaluation and management implications of uncertainty in a multispecies size-structured model of population and community responses to fishing

1. Implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries requires advice on trade-offs among fished species and between fisheries yields and biodiversity or food web properties. However, the lack of explicit representation, analysis and consideration of uncertainty in most multispecies models has limited their application in analyses that could support management advice. 2. We assessed the consequences of parameter uncertainty by developing 78 125 multispecies size-structured fish community models, with all combinations of parameters drawn from ranges that spanned parameter values estimated from data and literature. This unfiltered ensemble was reduced to 188 plausible models, the filtered ensemble (FE), by screening outputs against fish abundance data and ecological principles such as requiring species' persistence. 3. Effects of parameter uncertainty on estimates of single-species management reference points for fishing mortality (FMSY, fishing mortality rate providing MSY, the maximum sustainable yield) and biomass (BMSY, biomass at MSY) were evaluated by calculating probability distributions of estimated reference points with the FE. There was a 50% probability that multispecies FMSY could be estimated to within ±25% of its actual value, and a 50% probability that BMSY could be estimated to within ±40% of its actual value. 4. Signal-to-noise ratio was assessed for four community indicators when mortality rates were reduced from current rates to FMSY. The slope of the community size spectrum showed the greatest signal-to-noise ratio, indicating that it would be the most responsive indicator to the change in fishing mortality F. Further, the power of an ongoing international monitoring survey to detect predicted responses of size spectrum slope was higher than for other size-based metrics. 5. Synthesis and applications: Application of the ensemble model approach allows explicit representation of parameter uncertainty and supports advice and management by (i) providing uncertainty intervals for management reference points, (ii) estimating working values of reference points that achieve a defined reduction in risk of not breaching the true reference point, (iii) estimating the responsiveness of population, community, food web and biodiversity indicators to changes in F, (iv) assessing the performance of indicators and monitoring programmes and (v) identifying priorities for data collection and changes to model structure to reduce uncertainty

Growth inhibition of cytosolic Salmonella by caspase-1 and caspase-11 precedes host cell death

Sensing bacterial products in the cytosol of mammalian cells by NOD-like receptors leads to the activation of caspase-1 inflammasomes, and the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-1β. In addition, mouse caspase-11 (represented in humans by its orthologs, caspase-4 and caspase-5) detects cytosolic bacterial LPS directly. Activation of caspase-1 and caspase-11 initiates pyroptotic host cell death that releases potentially harmful bacteria from the nutrient-rich host cell cytosol into the extracellular environment. Here we use single cell analysis and time-lapse microscopy to identify a subpopulation of host cells, in which growth of cytosolic Salmonella Typhimurium is inhibited independently or prior to the onset of cell death. The enzymatic activities of caspase-1 and caspase-11 are required for growth inhibition in different cell types. Our results reveal that these proteases have important functions beyond the direct induction of pyroptosis and proinflammatory cytokine secretion in the control of growth and elimination of cytosolic bacteria