Beyond chance? The persistence of performance in online poker

A major issue in the widespread controversy about the legality of poker and the appropriate taxation of winnings is whether poker should be considered a game of skill or a game of chance. To inform this debate we present an analysis into the role of skill in the performance of online poker players, using a large database with hundreds of millions of player-hand observations from real money ring games at three different stakes levels. We find that players whose earlier profitability was in the top (bottom) deciles perform better (worse) and are substantially more likely to end up in the top (bottom) performance deciles of the following time period. Regression analyses of performance on historical performance and other skill-related proxies provide further evidence for persistence and predictability. Simulations point out that skill dominates chance when performance is measured over 1,500 or more hands of play

Preparation of azide biosynthetic surrogates of myo-Inositol

As a prelude to biomolecular incorporation studies, practical routes to a series of four regioisomeric azido-deoxy derivatives of inositol that mimic the natural myo-stereochemistry are described. Starting from commercially available myo-inositol, the regioselective and stereoselective introduction of azide functionality was achieved at the C-2, C-3, C-4 and C-5 positions via azide displacement of the corresponding O-sulfonates of suitably protected scyllo-, chiro-, epi- and neo-inositols, respectively. Notably, a final one-pot acetolysis method conveniently allowed for rapid access to pentaacetate azido-deoxy inositols. Investigations on the metabolic incorporation of these myo-inositol azide surrogates in both acetate and free alcohol forms are in progress

Different approaches to research and innovation in physics education at college and university

In this article we report a Symposium organized by GTG-Physics Education Research at University (PERU) with different proposals that includes innovative educational approaches and research on problems of teaching-learning physics at university. In the second section, two research projects are described on teaching specific curriculum topics that present special difficulties for students. In the next section the third project on a work experience in the laboratory that takes into account the characteristics of scientific work, is presented. Finally, the fourth project presents a way to investigate the types of student reasoning. In the discussion, the importance of research projects that include not only conceptual understanding but also those areas such as laboratory work or "on-line physics courses" that involve practicing skills of scientific work, is highlighted.Publisher PD

On the role of chance moves and information in two-person games

Games with almost perfect information, value of information, player control, 91A10,

The PV top-up-roof

The extreme sustainability in building can be considered as three different aspects: 1. The construction of the building. 2. The operation of the building during its lifetime 3. The building being torn down after service life. Under the assumption that not building is the best solution for sustainability, Point 1 can be easily dealt with by renovating existing buildings. This also brings the solution for point 3: not tearing down buildings will eliminate pollution and waste disposal. These two solutions emphasize the need to focus on the most sustainable way of operating a building during its lifetime, reducing energy and water consumption and yet be a healthy place to live. A study of existing housing projects in the Netherlands that are now at the end of their service life reveals some significant issues. In general there is very limited thermal isolation or none at all, often only single pane windows and all spaces are generally small. The proposed solution is applying external thermal insulation, new windows and a specially designed new PV top-up-roof giving both extra space and photo voltaic energy. The new roof will consist of both thermal and photovoltaic cells generating energy and the roof will also be cantilevered giving protection against humidity and thus protecting windows and applied outside thermal insulation. Unfortunately PV elements are still too expensive to be installed on a large scale. An appropriate financing scheme will facilitate this integral model of housing upgrading. Fortunately recent examples in Germany prove that with a small change of financing system this problem too can be solved

Portable Instrument Panel for Rowers: Dataverwerking via Android applicatie

Op het moment zijn er geen gebruiksvriendelijke en betaalbare producten die de prestaties van een roeier kunnen meten op het water. In dit bachelor afstudeerproject wordt de software besproken die is ontworpen voor Android 4.4. Hier worden de keuzes die zijn gemaakt voor de software toegelicht. Met behulp van de verkregen kracht en hoek van de sensoren wordt het aantal slagen per minuut en het vermogen berekend. Voor de communicatie tussen de sensoren en de smartphone is Bluetooth low energy gekozen wegens het lage energieverbruik en de grote ondersteuning onder high-end smartphones. Dit in tegenstelling tot het handjevol smartphones die Ant+ ondersteunen. Om de locatiebepaling zo accuraat mogelijk te maken wordt er gebruik gemaakt van de netwerk provider in combinatie met WIFI en GPS. De locatie wordt twee keer opgevraagd en daarna worden de locaties met elkaar vergeleken. De locatie met de hoogste accuratie wordt gebruikt als locatie voor de afstandsbepaling. Het prototype van de applicatie werkt naar behoren. Er kan een Bluetooth low energy verbinding worden opgezet zodat de data kan worden ontvangen, verwerkt en opgeslagen in de database. Dezelfde kan vervolgens worden uitgelezen en in een grafiek worden gezet. In de toekomst moeten er nog meer functies worden toegevoegd. Zoals split-time, snelheid van de boot ten opzichte van de aarde en het water, en het vergelijken van data met andere roeiers. Wanneer ook Ant+ breed beschikbaar is zal deze mogelijk de Bluetooth low energy moeten vervangen. Aangezien er dan de mogelijkheid is dat ook de coach tegelijkertijd de data kan ontvangen op een eigen apparaat. De broncode van de Android applicatie is terug te vinden op bitbucket (https://bitbucket.org/boeaptutu/rowapp).Electrical EngineeringElectronic InstrumentationElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Excitation allocation for generic identifiability of linear dynamic networks with fixed modules

Identifiability of linear dynamic networks requires the presence of a sufficient number of external excitation signals. The problem of allocating a minimal number of external signals for guaranteeing generic network identifiability has been recently addressed in the literature. Here we will extend that work by explicitly incorporating the situation that some network modules are known, and thus are fixed in the parametrized model set. The graphical approach introduced earlier is extended to this situation, showing that the presence of fixed modules reduces the required number of external signals. An algorithm is presented that allocates the external signals in a systematic fashion