Status concerns, present-bias and the public provision of private goods

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A game theory framework for clustering

The Game Theory-based Multi-Agent System (GTMAS) of Toreyen and Salhi, [10] and [12], implements a loosely coupled hybrid algorithm that may involve any number of algorithms suitable, a priori, for the solution of a given optimisation problem. The system allows the available algorithms to co-operate toward the solution of the problem in hand as well as compete for the computing facilities they require to run. This co-operative/competitive aspect is captured through the implementation of the Prisoners? Dilemma paradigm of game theory. Here, we apply GTMAS to the problem of clustering European Union (EU) economies, including Turkey, to find out whether the latter, based on a number of criteria, can fit in the EU and find out which countries, if any, it has strong similaries with. This clustering problem is first converted into an optimisation problem, namely the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) before being solved with GTMAS involving two players (agents) each implementing a standard combinatorial optimisation algorithm. Computational results are included

REGULATING INITIAL COIN OFFERINGS? A TAXONOMY OF CRYPTO-ASSETS

In 2017, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed and many investors wanted to participate in the crypto-hype. Hence, a lot of companies took the new opportunity to obtain financing by issuing crypto-assets in initial coin offerings instead of going the heavily regulated way through venture capital or initial public offerings. Besides valuable projects, many projects fail or turn out to be a scam. Retail investors are not aware of the potentially high risks of ICO investments. Regulators of most jurisdictions have not yet proposed new rules, but monitor the new phenomenon to gain insights. Many regulators stick to regulation in place and pursue case-by-case assessments in order to apply existing rules. This paper develops a taxonomy of crypto-assets based on academic literature and empirical data. The taxonomy covers embodied investor rights, security-like characteristics, and crypto-specific features being able to support regulators with their case-by-case assessment. The taxonomy helps regulators to classify crypto-assets allowing them to decide which characteristics are subject to regulation and whether new rules are necessary to ensure market integrity and investor protection. Further, the taxonomy is also designed to support issuers with the design of new crypto-assets helping them to understand which characteristics might be subject to regulation

Gait Analysis for the Enhancement of AKA Gait Patterns

The amputation of a body part is both a physically and psychologically traumatic event for an individual. There are a number of gait deviations that often occur when a person has had a lower extremity amputation, especially when that amputation is above the knee. The entire locomotor mechanism of the body is altered by this change. The person must then adjust ahd relearn how to accommodate for the loss. This literature review will discuss specific causes of certain gait deviations to determine whether the deviation is due to a musculoskeletal deficit or habit pattern on the part of the patient or whether it is due to a prosthetic malalignment. The appearance of each deviation, when to observe each pattern, and how the physical therapist can help to enhance the overall gait pattern will be discussed. The purposes of this literature review are to help the physical therapist identify gait deviations that frequently occur with an above knee amputation, to recognize the primary or secondary causes of gait deviations, and to decide what action must be taken to enhance the gait pattern. It is a brief, yet comprehensive overview of the physical therapist\u27s role in the gait enhancement of patients who have had an above knee amputation

Classification Methods for 16S rRNA Based Functional Annotation

Microbial communities play an essential role in Earth’s ecosystems. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the functional potential of microorganisms forming these diverse communities can be directly identified using a 16S rRNA marker gene with supervised learning methods. The recently developed FAPROTAX database has been used along with the SILVA database to produce a training set where 16S rRNA sequences are linked to a number of metabolic functions. Since gene sequences cannot be explicitly used as feature vectors by most classification algorithms, the present research aimed to investigate possible feature engineering approaches for 16S rRNA. Techniques based on Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA) and N-grams are proposed and tested. The results showed that the feature representation based on the Ngrams outperformed MSA, especially when implemented with large and diverse functional groups. This suggests that a clustering-like alignment procedure results in a biased feature representation of the marker gene. Since classifiers trained using Random Forest and Support Vector Machines techniques were able to accurately detect a range of functional groups it is concluded that the 16S rRNA gene provides substantial information for the direct identification of functional capabilities

Evaluation Aspects of a Object-Oriented Deductive Database Language

Recently, F-logic has been proposed as an attempt to extend deductive databases by typical concepts of object-oriented languages. Among these concepts are complex objects, (term-based) object identity, methods, classes, typing, inheritance and browsing. In Kifer et al. syntax and model-theoretic semantics is discussed; however many algorithmic aspects which arise when computing the corresponding models are left open. In this paper we start to bridge this gap. Several topics in the context of the evaluation of programs are discussed in detail; among these are weak recursion, global stratification and dynamic type-checking

The T-cell oncogene Tal2 is a Target of PU.1 and upregulated during osteoclastogenesis

Transcription factors play a crucial role in regulating differentiation processes during human life and are important in disease. The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors Tal1 and Lyl1 play a major role in the regulation of gene expression in the hematopoietic system and are involved in human leukemia. Tal2, which belongs to the same family of transcription factors as Tal1 and Lyl1, is also involved in human leukaemia. However, little is known regarding the expression and regulation of Tal2 in hematopoietic cells. Here we show that Tal2 is expressed in hematopoietic cells of the myeloid lineage. Interestingly, we found that usage of the Tal2 promoter is different in human and mouse cells. Two promoters, hP1 and hP2 drive Tal2 expression in human erythroleukemia K562 cells, however in mouse RAW cells only the mP1 promoter is used. Furthermore, we found that Tal2 expression is upregulated during oesteoclastogenesis. We show that Tal2 is a direct target gene of the myeloid transcription factor PU.1, which is a key transcription factor for osteoclast gene expression. Strikingly, PU.1 binding to the P1 promoter is conserved between mouse and human, but PU.1 binding to P2 was only detected in human K562 cells. Additionally, we provide evidence that Tal2 influences the expression of the osteoclastic differentiation gene TRACP. These findings provide novel insight into the expression control of Tal2 in hematopoietic cells and reveal a function of Tal2 as a regulator of gene expression during osteoclast differentiation