Evaluating Flexibility Metrics on Simple Temporal Networks with Reinforcement Learning

Simple Temporal Networks (STNs) were introduced by Tsamardinos (2002) as a means of describing graphically the temporal constraints for scheduling problems. Since then, many variations on the concept have been used to develop and analyze algorithms for multi-agent robotic scheduling problems. Many of these algorithms for STNs utilize a flexibility metric, which measures the slack remaining in an STN under execution. Various metrics have been proposed by Hunsberger (2002); Wilson et al. (2014); Lloyd et al. (2018). This thesis explores how adequately these metrics convey the desired information by using them to build a reward function in a reinforcement learning problem

Leadership Inference for Multi-Agent Interactions

Effectively predicting intent and behavior requires inferring leadership in multi-agent interactions. Dynamic games provide an expressive theoretical framework for modeling these interactions. Employing this framework, we propose a novel method to infer the leader in a two-agent game by observing the agents' behavior in complex, long-horizon interactions. We make two contributions. First, we introduce an iterative algorithm that solves dynamic two-agent Stackelberg games with nonlinear dynamics and nonquadratic costs, and demonstrate that it consistently converges. Second, we propose the Stackelberg Leadership Filter (SLF), an online method for identifying the leading agent in interactive scenarios based on observations of the game interactions. We validate the leadership filter's efficacy on simulated driving scenarios to demonstrate that the SLF can draw conclusions about leadership that match right-of-way expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted for publication to IEEE Robotics and Automation Letter

Status of wonder women: challenges for young future women entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan face numerous difficulties in their successful business career and poses unusual status and intensity. These challenges affect women entrepreneurs differently depending on diverse situations. This study is aimed to shed light on the challenges affecting women to get success in business and to point out the issues faced by them while being entrepreneurs. It highlighted the challenges confronted by Pakistani business women and to open discussion which may empower researchers to get the clear scenario of occupations and industry down to the four-digit code. Gathering primary data from Labor Force Survey,(2014-15), UN Women, (2016), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.(2015),The little data book on financial inclusion, (2015), Women Economic Participation and Empowerment Status Report, (2016-2015), this study provides recommendations, assisting the federal and provincial agencies to introduce women friendly laws to reduce gender biases as well as to take notes on gender -specific measure to ease the business environment for women in Pakistan

Molecular dynamics studies of human β-Glucuronidase

Problem statement: The enzyme β-glucuronidase is being used as a reporter molecule in the area of genetic engineering, as a component of prodrug therapy in cancer treatment and in the scouring process of cotton fabrics. However, a detailed understanding of the factors responsible for the stability and the activity of this enzyme is still not available. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations provide an estimate of equilibrium and dynamic properties of enzyme systems that cannot be calculated analytically. With this perspective, molecular dynamics simulations of human β- glucuronidase (GUS) have been carried out to determine the behavior of this enzyme in vacuum and solvent environments at a defined temperature. Approach: CHARMM force field along with distance dependent dielectric model was used to represent the solvent environment in the MD simulations. The parameters employed in various stages of MD simulations had been selected based on repeated trials under various conditions as a method of choosing the optimum parameters for each stage. Results: It was found that simulations in vacuum caused the backbone of GUS to have smaller fluctuations from their mean values compared with the fluctuation in implicit solvent simulations, due to the fact that vacuum environment did not provide for the electrostatic interactions affecting the backbone of GUS that may otherwise exist in a solvent environment. Conclusion: Inclusion of solvent effects in MD simulations is crucial in understanding structural flexibility and stability of β-glucuronidase. Implicit solvent method can provide a realistic inclusion of backbone flexibility and structural compactness of GUS, which will have profound influence on the stability and activity of the enzymes, with a marginal increase in computational time

Status of Wonder Women: Challenges for Young Future Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan face numerous difficulties in their successful business career and poses unusual status and intensity. These challenges affect women entrepreneurs differently depending on diverse situations. This study aimed is to shed light on the challenges affecting women to get success in business and to point out the issues faced by them while being entrepreneurs. It highlighted the challenges confronted by Pakistani business women and to open discussion which may empower researchers to get the clear scenario of occupations and industry down to the four-digit code. Gathering secondary data from Labor Force Survey-2014-15, UN Women (2016), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics 2015, the little data book on financial inclusion 2015, Women Economic Participation and Empowerment Status Report, (2016-2015), this study provides recommendations assisting the federal and provincial agencies to introduce women friendly laws to reduce gender biases as well as to take note on gender specific measure to ease the business environment for women in Pakistan.

Homology Modeling Of β-Glucuronidases From E. Coli and T. Maritima

The enzyme β-Glucuronidases (GUS) which belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family of enzymes, can hydrolyze any aglycne conjugated to D-glucuronic acid through a β-O~glycosidic linkage. It is present in almost all tissues of vertebrates and their residentinal flora, including E. coli. However, GUS enzymes obtained from different sources have different stability towards heat, resistance to detergents and varying catalytic activities. A good understanding or the reasons for this variation can lead to designing new enzymes with desired level of property. having great prospect in the industry. For this purpose, studies on the three-dimensional structure of GUS enzyme can offer insights on the structure-function correlations, and provide information on the distribution or certain residues both in E. coli and T. maritima enzymes. The structures of GUS enzymes from E. coli and T. maritima are not known experimentally. As such in the current work, homology modeling or the three-dimensional structure of both variants of the GUS enzyme was carried out based on the solved crystal structure of Human GUS enzyme. Multiple sequence alignment for both enzyme sequences was carried out in order to locate the most suitable template for homology modeling and the models thus prepared were found to cotain 32-43% sequence identity with the template. Superposition of the model obtained with the template as well as structural alignment were carried out to classify the structural differences. This paper will also present an analysis and verification studies of the model based on various criteria. The current work offers a better understanding of the structural differences between GUS enzymes from different sources, as well as suggests regions for further modification using experimental and computational methods

Detecting suspected scaphoid fractures? the role of different imaging modalities within a district general hospital during the pandemic

Background: This study evaluates the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) versus computerised tomography (CT) scans for persistent wrist pain at the thumb base following injury in adults and children during covid. This was part of a pathway introduced as access to MRI scan was limited. Methods: Patients were identified as having possible scaphoid fractures within the emergency department but had no fracture identified on initial imaging over a 3-month period. These were triaged to a scaphoid pathway during the covid pandemic from a virtual clinic. Patients were reviewed clinically and radiographically within the hand clinic using further imaging with CT or MRI scan. Results: During the study time 45 patients with scaphoid fractures were detected on initial radiography in ED and 187 with suspected scaphoid fractures were selected for further review. Ninety (48%) were referred to the hand clinic where 2 (1%) scaphoid fractures were diagnosed on a second radiograph and ninety-seven (52%) were to be seen in an upper limb clinic where 2 (1%) further fractures were detected. 92% of scaphoid fractures were identified on radiography either in ED or orthopaedic clinic. Of the remaining 178 with two negative radiographs further imaging was requested in 45 cases (25%). Pathology was found in 17 (58%) MRI scans and in 7 (39%) CT scans. Conclusions: Imaging needs to be timely to enable effective treatment. Obtaining MRI scans while diagnostically superior is not always achievable especially in times of resource depletion. Back up pathways using alternative imaging can be effective

Malaysian government officials induced in public procurement fraud through the lens of fraud diamond analysis

Public procurement fraud by government officials has resulted in a sizeable loss of public funds, subsequently smearing a bad reputation of a local institution in the eyes of the public. The appropriate parties and the government as the trustees of public funds should tackle the presence of the propelling elements in driving government officials to engage in fraudulent behaviour. Besides, they should also ensure to eradicate, or at the least, prevent the problem from worsening. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the effect of fraud diamond analysis on public procurement fraud. Fraud Diamond is measured by perceived pressure, rationalisation, opportunity, and capability. The researchers gathered primary data through a survey using 165 questionnaires distributed to the government officials of all 27 ministries at the Federal level. Several statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis were used to analyse the data from the survey. Four hypotheses were developed, and the findings showed that perceived pressure, perceived rationalisation, and perceived capability significantly influenced public procurement fraud by government officials, hence being accepted. In contrast, the perceived opportunity was rejected. This study aids academics, legislators, lawmakers, sociologists, psychologists, and those engaged in financial crime scene investigation, such as authorities and regulators, to understand the reason behind the fraudulent behaviour of fraudsters

Study the Effect of Imposing Surfactants toward the Evaporation of Low Molecular Weight Alcohol

In this paper, Reversed-Flow Gas Chromatography (RF-GC) is utilized to investigate the evaporation of low molecular weight alcohol. Evaporation rates as well as the diffusion rates of methanol are determined with a surfactant monolayer on the surface of the liquid; while nitrogen acts as carrier gas, at 313 K. The precision (>99.9) and accuracy of this investigation demonstrates the potential of current methodologies for environmental impact studies; this is further verified when the results are compared with the available literature. The varying evaporation rates of methanol in the presence of varying amounts of Triton X-100 reflects that application of surfactants do damper the evaporation rates of liquid pollutants; without interference with the former’s diffusion coefficients. High amounts of Triton X-100 are required for retardation of evaporation rates, suggesting the formation of a densely packed surface monolayer or the formation of an insoluble monolayer