Naming Game on Adaptive Weighted Networks

We examine a naming game on an adaptive weighted network. A weight of connection for a given pair of agents depends on their communication success rate and determines the probability with which the agents communicate. In some cases, depending on the parameters of the model, the preference toward successfully communicating agents is basically negligible and the model behaves similarly to the naming game on a complete graph. In particular, it quickly reaches a single-language state, albeit some details of the dynamics are different from the complete-graph version. In some other cases, the preference toward successfully communicating agents becomes much more relevant and the model gets trapped in a multi-language regime. In this case gradual coarsening and extinction of languages lead to the emergence of a dominant language, albeit with some other languages still being present. A comparison of distribution of languages in our model and in the human population is discussed.Comment: 22 pages, accepted in Artificial Lif

Empty spaces and the value of symbols: Estonia's 'war of monuments' from another angle

Taking as its point of departure the recent heightened discussion surrounding publicly sited monuments in Estonia, this article investigates the issue from the perspective of the country's eastern border city of Narva, focusing especially upon the restoration in 2000 of a 'Swedish Lion' monument to mark the 300th anniversary of Sweden's victory over Russia at the first Battle of Narva. This commemoration is characterised here as a successful local negotiation of a potentially divisive past, as are subsequent commemorations of the Russian conquest of Narva in 1704. A recent proposal to erect a statue of Peter the Great in the city, however, briefly threatened to open a new front in Estonia's ongoing 'war of monuments'. Through a discussion of these episodes, the article seeks to link the Narva case to broader conceptual issues of identity politics, nationalism and post-communist transition

The significance of 'the visit' in an English category-B prison: Views from prisoners, prisoners' families and prison staff

A number of claims have been made regarding the importance of prisoners staying in touch with their family through prison visits, firstly from a humanitarian perspective of enabling family members to see each other, but also regarding the impact of maintaining family ties for successful rehabilitation, reintegration into society and reduced re-offending. This growing evidence base has resulted in increased support by the Prison Service for encouraging the family unit to remain intact during a prisoner’s incarceration. Despite its importance however, there has been a distinct lack of research examining the dynamics of families visiting relatives in prison. This paper explores perceptions of the same event – the visit – from the families’, prisoners’ and prison staffs' viewpoints in a category-B local prison in England. Qualitative data was collected with 30 prisoners’ families, 16 prisoners and 14 prison staff, as part of a broader evaluation of the visitors’ centre. The findings suggest that the three parties frame their perspective of visiting very differently. Prisoners’ families often see visits as an emotional minefield fraught with practical difficulties. Prisoners can view the visit as the highlight of their time in prison and often have many complaints about how visits are handled. Finally, prison staff see visits as potential security breaches and a major organisational operation. The paper addresses the current gap in our understanding of the prison visit and has implications for the Prison Service and wider social policy

Progress in the Development of the 1 m Model of the 70 mm Aperture Quadrupole for the LHC Low-β\beta Insertions

Within the LHC magnet development program Oxford Instruments has built a one metre model of the 70 mm aperture low-beta quadrupole. The magnet features a four layer coil wound from two 8.2 mm wide graded NbTi cables, and is designed for 250 T/m at 1.9 K. The magnet has previously been tested between 4.5 K and 2.3 K. In this paper we review the magnet rebuild and the subsequent tests. Results on magnet training at 4.3 K and 1.9 K are presented along with the results related to quench protection studies.

Quench Performance and Field Quality Measurements of the First LHC low-β\beta Quadrupole Model

As part of the LHC magnet development program, CERN in collaboration with Oxford Instruments has designed, built and tested a one metre model of a 70 mm aperture low-beta quadrupole. The magnet features a four layer coil, and is designed for 250 T/m at 1.9 K. We review the results of the magnet training and quench propagation studies performed at 4.3 K and 1.9 K, and report on the magnetic field measurements

THSim v3.2: The Talking Heads simulation tool

The field of language evolution and computation may benefit from using efficient and robust simulation tools that are based on widely exploited principles within the field. The tool presented in this paper is one that could fulfil such needs. The paper presents an overview of the tool -- THSim v3.2 -- and discusses some research questions that can be investigated with it

Language structure in the n-object naming game

We examine a naming game with two agents trying to establish a common vocabulary for n objects. Such efforts lead to the emergence of language that allows for an efficient communication and exhibits some degree of homonymy and synonymy. Although homonymy reduces the communication efficiency, it seems to be a dynamical trap that persists for a long, and perhaps indefinite, time. On the other hand, synonymy does not reduce the efficiency of communication, but appears to be only a transient feature of the language. Thus, in our model the role of synonymy decreases and in the long-time limit it becomes negligible. A similar rareness of synonymy is observed in present natural languages. The role of noise, that distorts the communicated words, is also examined. Although, in general, the noise reduces the communication efficiency, it also regroups the words so that they are more evenly distributed within the available "verbal" space.Comment: minor change

Delivery of multipotent adult progenitor cells via a functionalized plasma polymerized surface accelerates healing of murine diabetic wounds

Introduction: Stem cell therapies have been investigated as potential treatment modalities for chronic wounds however there has been limited success to date. Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells (MAPCs©) have been identified as having potential as an allogenic stem cell product due to their high population doubling number and their characteristic dampening of T-cell proliferation. This helps to prevent autoimmunity and graft/cell rejection.Methods: We have developed a dressing, consisting of medical grade silicone coated with a heptylamine plasma polymer, which supports the growth and transfer of MAPCs to skin. To determine if the dressing can deliver functional stem cells into diabetic wounds, they were loaded with MAPCs and then placed over excisional wounds in both normal and diabetic mice.Results and discussion: Accelerated healing was observed in both the normal and diabetic wounds with wound gape being significantly smaller at day 3 when compared to controls. Wound analysis showed that treatment with the MAPC dressings dampened the inflammatory response with reduced numbers of neutrophils and macrophages observed. Additionally, an increase in pro-angiogenic VEGF and CD31 positive endothelial cells was observed indicating improved new blood vessel formation. The MAPC dressings had no effect on fibrosis with collagen I and III being equally affected in both control and treated wounds. Overall, the functionalized MAPC dressings improve healing responses particularly in diabetic mice with impaired healing responses and therefore, show potential for development as an advanced therapeutic approach for the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds

The State of Manganese in the Photosynthetic Apparatus. I. Exafs Studies on Chloroplasts and Di-U-Oxo Bridged Di-Manganese Model Compounds

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) studies on the manganese contained in spinach chloroplasts and on certain di-u-oxo bridged manganese dimers of the form (X{sub 2}Mn)O{sub 2}(MnX{sub 2} (X=2,2'-bypyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline) are reported. From these studies, the manganese associated with photosynthetic oxygen evolution is suggested to occur as a bridged transition metal dimer with most likely another manganese. Extensive details on the analysis are included