Interdependent network reciprocity in evolutionary games

Besides the structure of interactions within networks, also the interactions between networks are of the outmost importance. We therefore study the outcome of the public goods game on two interdependent networks that are connected by means of a utility function, which determines how payoffs on both networks jointly influence the success of players in each individual network. We show that an unbiased coupling allows the spontaneous emergence of interdependent network reciprocity, which is capable to maintain healthy levels of public cooperation even in extremely adverse conditions. The mechanism, however, requires simultaneous formation of correlated cooperator clusters on both networks. If this does not emerge or if the coordination process is disturbed, network reciprocity fails, resulting in the total collapse of cooperation. Network interdependence can thus be exploited effectively to promote cooperation past the limits imposed by isolated networks, but only if the coordination between the interdependent networks is not disturbe

Team performance indicators that predict match outcome and points difference in professional rugby league

Performance indicators allow for the objective quantification of performance, however, limited PI research for professional rugby league exists. Therefore, this paper assessed 24 relative PIs (home value minus away) from all 27 rounds of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 European Super League seasons, collected by Opta, amounting to 567 matches. Backwards logistic (match outcome) and linear (points difference) regression models were used alongside exhaustive Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection decision trees to identify performance indicators (PIs) and key performance indicators. Teams had a higher chance of winning and would gain more points when they scored first (OR = 1.6, β = 2.4) and increased completed sets (OR = 1.2, β = 1.2) by one unit. Conversely, teams had a lower chance of winning when they increased scoots (OR = 0.9, β = −0.2). However, some PIs which were thought to be important (as identified by previous literature) were removed from the analysis thus calling into question the appropriateness of stepwise methods. Future research may consider utilising dimension reduction techniques when analysing large data-sets that encompass multiple variables

Sustainable institutionalized punishment requires elimination of second-order free-riders

Although empirical and theoretical studies affirm that punishment can elevate collaborative efforts, its emergence and stability remain elusive. By peer-punishment the sanctioning is something an individual elects to do depending on the strategies in its neighborhood. The consequences of unsustainable efforts are therefore local. By pool-punishment, on the other hand, where resources for sanctioning are committed in advance and at large, the notion of sustainability has greater significance. In a population with free-riders, punishers must be strong in numbers to keep the "punishment pool" from emptying. Failure to do so renders the concept of institutionalized sanctioning futile. We show that pool-punishment in structured populations is sustainable, but only if second-order free-riders are sanctioned as well, and to a such degree that they cannot prevail. A discontinuous phase transition leads to an outbreak of sustainability when punishers subvert second-order free-riders in the competition against defectors.Comment: 7 two-column pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in Scientific Report

Critical phenomena in complex networks

The combination of the compactness of networks, featuring small diameters, and their complex architectures results in a variety of critical effects dramatically different from those in cooperative systems on lattices. In the last few years, researchers have made important steps toward understanding the qualitatively new critical phenomena in complex networks. We review the results, concepts, and methods of this rapidly developing field. Here we mostly consider two closely related classes of these critical phenomena, namely structural phase transitions in the network architectures and transitions in cooperative models on networks as substrates. We also discuss systems where a network and interacting agents on it influence each other. We overview a wide range of critical phenomena in equilibrium and growing networks including the birth of the giant connected component, percolation, k-core percolation, phenomena near epidemic thresholds, condensation transitions, critical phenomena in spin models placed on networks, synchronization, and self-organized criticality effects in interacting systems on networks. We also discuss strong finite size effects in these systems and highlight open problems and perspectives.Comment: Review article, 79 pages, 43 figures, 1 table, 508 references, extende

Diagnostico situacional sobre la fecundidad como problema de salud pública

Graficas, tablas, encuestaLa planificación familiar es un derecho que tiene todo hombre y toda mujer a decidir voluntariamente en qué momento y cuántos hijos desean y puedan tener. Toda pareja debe definir cuándo, cómo y con qué planificar el nacimiento de sus hijos puesto que son ellos responsables de velar por su bienestar. Estos planes no solo ayudan a prevenir embarazos no deseados, sino también a proteger la salud de las mujeres, espaciar el nacimiento de sus hijos, evitar abortos clandestinos así como infecciones de transmisión sexual como el VIH. La planificación familiar contribuye a mejorar la calidad de vida de los seres humanos, evitando embarazos no deseados, permitiendo a las parejas programar su descendencia. Los jóvenes pueden dedicar su tiempo y su esfuerzo a su capacitación y aprendizaje. Los padres con menor número de hijos tienen una mejor capacidad de proveer alimento, ropa, salud, vivienda y educación a sus niños. Los métodos de planificación familiar protegen la vida de la mujer con alto riesgo materno. Hacia el futuro solo la planificación familiar, podrá garantizar la supervivencia de la humanidad, ya que ante recursos naturales escasos como el agua y los suelos fértiles, el crecimiento demográfico no controlado disminuye la oportunidad de vida en el planeta.No Abstrac

Dynamical Patterns of Cattle Trade Movements

Despite their importance for the spread of zoonotic diseases, our understanding of the dynamical aspects characterizing the movements of farmed animal populations remains limited as these systems are traditionally studied as static objects and through simplified approximations. By leveraging on the network science approach, here we are able for the first time to fully analyze the longitudinal dataset of Italian cattle movements that reports the mobility of individual animals among farms on a daily basis. The complexity and inter-relations between topology, function and dynamical nature of the system are characterized at different spatial and time resolutions, in order to uncover patterns and vulnerabilities fundamental for the definition of targeted prevention and control measures for zoonotic diseases. Results show how the stationarity of statistical distributions coexists with a strong and non-trivial evolutionary dynamics at the node and link levels, on all timescales. Traditional static views of the displacement network hide important patterns of structural changes affecting nodes' centrality and farms' spreading potential, thus limiting the efficiency of interventions based on partial longitudinal information. By fully taking into account the longitudinal dimension, we propose a novel definition of dynamical motifs that is able to uncover the presence of a temporal arrow describing the evolution of the system and the causality patterns of its displacements, shedding light on mechanisms that may play a crucial role in the definition of preventive actions

Dynamical Patterns of Cattle Trade Movements

Despite their importance for the spread of zoonotic diseases, our understanding of the dynamical aspects characterizing the movements of farmed animal populations remains limited as these systems are traditionally studied as static objects and through simplified approximations. By leveraging on the network science approach, here we are able for the first time to fully analyze the longitudinal dataset of Italian cattle movements that reports the mobility of individual animals among farms on a daily basis. The complexity and inter-relations between topology, function and dynamical nature of the system are characterized at different spatial and time resolutions, in order to uncover patterns and vulnerabilities fundamental for the definition of targeted prevention and control measures for zoonotic diseases. Results show how the stationarity of statistical distributions coexists with a strong and non-trivial evolutionary dynamics at the node and link levels, on all timescales. Traditional static views of the displacement network hide important patterns of structural changes affecting nodes' centrality and farms' spreading potential, thus limiting the efficiency of interventions based on partial longitudinal information. By fully taking into account the longitudinal dimension, we propose a novel definition of dynamical motifs that is able to uncover the presence of a temporal arrow describing the evolution of the system and the causality patterns of its displacements, shedding light on mechanisms that may play a crucial role in the definition of preventive actions

Análisis biomecánico de la epifisiolisis de la cabeza femoral: comparación entre fémures sanos y enfermos

En este trabajo se desarrolla un análisis por elementos finitos cuyo objetivo principal es determinar las diferencias de tensiones en la placa de crecimiento que se producen entre fémures sanos, con epifisiolisis unilateral y con epifisiolisis bilateral, para evaluar sus posibles causas. Se elaboraron los modelos de elementos finitos correspondientes a 45 pacientes. Los resultados mostraron un patrón de esfuerzos similar en todos los grupos de fémures y, además, la aparición de tensiones mayores en el grupo con epifisiolisis con respecto al grupo control. Se observó también que el valor del ángulo axial-fisis dependía significativamente del tipo de fémur analizado, y, además, una mayor influencia de los factores geométricos en la incidencia de la enfermedad, en comparación con la del índice de masa corporal.In this work, a finite element analysis (FEA) is accomplished to study the differences of stresses in the growth plate, that are produced in healthy and unhealthy femurs, and to evaluate the possible causes of this illness. Finite element models of 45 patients were developed. The results demonstrated a similar pattern of stresses in all the groups of femurs and also the appearance of greater stresses in the group with slipped capital femoral epiphysis than in the control group. It was also observed a strong dependency on the value of the axial-fisis angle from the group of femur analyzed and a bigger influence of the geometric factors than of the body mass index, in the incidence of the illness

Structural and Spectroscopic Properties of Two New Isostructural Complexes of Lapacholate with Cobalt and Copper

The molecular structures of two isostructural complexes of lapacholate (Lap) anion and dimethylformamide (DMF), M(Lap)2(DMF)2 with M: Co Cu, were determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The substances crystallize in the triclinic space group P1 with one molecule per unit cell and cell constants a = 7.7591(3), b = 10.3560(3), c = 11.2224(4) A, α = 95.110(2), β = 94.310(2), and γ = 107.704(2)◦ for the Co complex and a = 7.9308(2), b = 10.0033(4), c = 10.7508(4), α = 97.387(2), β = 93.621(2), and γ = 103.980(2)◦ for the Cu complex. The structures were solved from 2933 (Co) and 2888 (Cu) reflections with I > 2σ (I) and refined by full matrix least squares to agreement R1-factors of 0.041 (Co) and 0.033 (Cu). The metal M(II) ion is sited on a crystallographic inversion center in a MO6 distorted octahedral environment. This ion is coordinated equatorially to two lapacholate anions through their adjacent carbonyl and phenol oxygen atoms [M–O bond distances of 2.134(1) and 2.008(1) A˚ (Co) and 2.301(1) and 1.914(1) A (Cu)] and axially to two DMF molecules through oxygen atoms [M–O bond lengths of 2.143(1) ˚ A (Co) and 2.069(1) ˚ A (Cu)]. The solid state IR transmittance and solution electronic absorption spectra of both Co and Cu ˚ compounds are also reported and compared to each other and to the corresponding spectra of other members of the lapacholate metal family of complexes.Instituto de Física La Plat

Expression of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins in epicardial adipose tissue in patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus: preliminary study

[Abstract] Objectives: Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP) genes are crucial in lipid biosynthesis and cardiovascular homeostasis. Their expression in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and their influence in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) and type-2 diabetes mellitus remain to be determined. The aim of our study was to evaluate the expression of SREBP genes in EAT in patients with CAD according to diabetes status and its association with clinical and biochemical data. Methods: SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 mRNA expression levels were measured in EAT from 49 patients with CAD (26 with diabetes) and 23 controls without CAD or diabetes. Results: Both SREBPs mRNA expression were significantly higher in patients with CAD and diabetes (p<0.001) and were identified as independent cardiovascular risk factor for coronary artery disease in patients with type-2 diabetes (SREBP-1: OR 1.7, 95%CI 1.1-2.5, p=0.02; SREBP-2: OR 1.6, 95%CI 1.2-3, p=0.02) and were independently associated with the presence of multivessel CAD, left main and anterior descending artery stenosis, and higher total and LDL cholesterol levels, and lower HDL cholesterol levels, in patients with CAD and diabetes. Conclusions: SREBP genes are expressed in EAT and were higher in CAD patients with diabetes than those patients without CAD or diabetes. SREBP expression was associated as cardiovascular risk factor for the severity of CAD and the poor lipid control. In this preliminary study we suggest the importance of EAT in the lipid metabolism and cardiovascular homeostasis for coronary atherosclerosis of patients with diabetes and highlight a future novel therapeutic target.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI13/02542Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI11/01661Red de Investigación Cardiovascular; RD12/0042/003