Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning via Mirror Descent Policy Optimization

This paper presents an extension of the Mirror Descent method to overcome challenges in cooperative Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) settings, where agents have varying abilities and individual policies. The proposed Heterogeneous-Agent Mirror Descent Policy Optimization (HAMDPO) algorithm utilizes the multi-agent advantage decomposition lemma to enable efficient policy updates for each agent while ensuring overall performance improvements. By iteratively updating agent policies through an approximate solution of the trust-region problem, HAMDPO guarantees stability and improves performance. Moreover, the HAMDPO algorithm is capable of handling both continuous and discrete action spaces for heterogeneous agents in various MARL problems. We evaluate HAMDPO on Multi-Agent MuJoCo and StarCraftII tasks, demonstrating its superiority over state-of-the-art algorithms such as HATRPO and HAPPO. These results suggest that HAMDPO is a promising approach for solving cooperative MARL problems and could potentially be extended to address other challenging problems in the field of MARL

Determination of equilibrium isotherms and proper mathematical model for lime slices

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) at different air relative humidity and temperatures is a vital parameter in optimization of drying and storage processes. In the present study amount of moisture content in lime (Local variety) slice at different ambient temperatures of 30°C, 40°C and 50°C were measured using gravimetric method. The obtained E.M.C experimental values were employed to plot the isotherm curve at different environmental air temperatures. These data also were fed to fourteen popular mathematical models. The well-known statistical factors such as Coefficient of determination (R^2), Chi-square (χ2), Root of mean square error (RMSE) and Mean of relative deviation (MRD) were calculated to validate the goodness of fit. The Peleg Model was selected as the best model for predicting the EMC at each three temperatures level. The result of present research displayed that the amount of EMC decreased with increasing the ambient temperature. The monolayer moisture content (m0) was also determined using Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) equation. The monolayer moisture content values were 0.023, 0.021 and 0.014 g.H_2 O/g solid at 30°C, 40°Cand 50°C, respectively, and the corresponding constant values of the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller equation were found to be −4.925, −6.543 and −7.035, respectively

Adaptive Molecule Transmission Rate for Diffusion Based Molecular Communication

In this paper, a simple memory limited transmitter for molecular communication is proposed, in which information is encoded in the diffusion rate of the molecules. Taking advantage of memory, the proposed transmitter reduces the ISI problem by properly adjusting its diffusion rate. The error probability of the proposed scheme is derived and the result is compared with the lower bound on error probability of the optimum transmitter. It is shown that the performance of introduced transmitter is near optimal (under certain simplifications). Simplicity is the key feature of the presented communication system: the transmitter follows a simple rule, the receiver is a simple threshold decoder and only one type of molecule is used to convey the information

Some Weeds Community Percent in Response to Pumice Application on Soil under Water Stress Conditions

A factorial experiment (using RCBD design) with three replications was conducted in 2014 at the University of Tabriz-Iran, in order to determine the effects of pumice application (P1, P2, P3 and P4: control, 30, 60 and 90 tons per ha) on soil and water stress (I1, I2 and I3: 100%, 70% and 50% water requirement calculated from class A pan, respectively) on dominante weeds community percent. Results showed that community percent of weed species changed as a result of water stress and pumice application on soil. Distributions of Chenopodium album and Malva sylvestris were sensitive to water stress but, Amaranthus retroflexus and Solanum nigrum were neutral to water stress. In contrast, Amaranthus retroflexus, Cardaria draba, Setaria viridis, Sisymbrium irio, Xanthium strumarium, Convolvulus arvensis and Salsola rigida distribution were resistant to water stress. Community percent of Chenopodium album as sensitive species to water stress and Salsola rigida as resistance species to water stress positively affected by pumice application especially under water stress condition. Amaranthus retroflexus, Xanthium strumarium and Convolvulus arvensis were positively affected by pumice application under well and limited water supply conditions. In contrast, Cardaria draba, Sisymbrium irio and Solanum nigrum negatively affected by pumice under water stress and it had positive effect on community of these species under well watering conditions. Thus, application of pumice and water stress are two factors which change weed community precent

Identifying the underlying factors affecting the development of participation of student sport in Iran

The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying factors that have an effect on the development of participation of student sport in Iran. The research method is qualitative and with Grounded Theory approach and it is inductive and exploratory. The research area consisted of 20 experts in sport management and student sport. The sampling method used a snowball based on the theoretical approach and continued until the categories reached theoretical saturation. The research tool was in-depth and exploratory semi-structured interviews. The validity of the findings was determined by matching methods by peer members and experimental interviews. Data were analysed using open, axial and selective coding using MAXQDA 2018 software. According to the results of the research, the underlying factors that have an effect on the development of participation of student sport were identified and extracted in nine main categories including community dynamism, synergy, financing, provide education, program-oriented activities, social capital, promoting participation culture, role-playing of managers, extracurricular activities in the field of student sport. Thus, student sport policymakers can use the concepts, components, and categories identified in their future plans to promote the status of school sports, especially in the international arena, and promote community health and to have a healthy and dynamic lifestyle, as well as the synergy of organizations and institutions to promote student sport

Association of M55L and Q192R polymorphisms of paraoxonase 1 gene (PON1) with recurrent pregnancy loss risk: A case–control study

Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) refers to the incidence of two or more abortions before the first half of pregnancy. Oxidative stress has been hypothesized to play a central role in RPL. Objective: To investigate the relationship between Q192R and L55M polymorphisms of PON1 as antioxidant enzyme and the risk of RPL. Materials and Methods: In this case–control study, 110 women with RPL (case) and 110 healthy fertile women (control) referred to the Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, Shiraz, Iran were enrolled. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood in all participants. Polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Results: Statistical analysis of Q192R polymorphism showed a significant difference for the RR genotype between the case and control group (OR = 11, CI = 1.39–86.87, p = 0.005) but none for the QR and QQ genotypes. No significant association was observed between the R and Q allelic frequency in the RPL participants compared to the control group (p = 0.53). Also, statistical analysis of the L55M polymorphism for MM genotype in the case group compared with the control group showed a significant difference (OR = 3.59, CI = 0.97–13.30, p = 0.042), but none for the LM and LL genotypes. Conclusion: The findings showed a significant correlation between the Q192R polymorphisms and the L55M PON1 enzyme and RPL in this study population. Key words: Pregnancy, Abortion, PON1, Polymorphism, Recurrent pregnancy loss

Study of the inhibitory effect of the small molecule Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide, as an anti- Alzheimer's candidate drug on human recombinant tau aggregation

Background and aims: Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is affected by different factors. Forming aggregations of the tau proteins in the brain is one of the most commonly observation in the patients’ brains suffered from this disease. Several strategies have been devised to target the tau aggregates in the neuronal cells of the patients. Recently, chaperones have drawn the attention of the researchers as a tool to inhibit or disaggregate the tau protein aggregations. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of small molecule chaperone called Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide on the formation of tau aggregates. Methods: In this basic laboratory study, Tau protein was expressed in bacteria. Then, Tau protein was purified by the ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography, and its purity was evaluated by SDS-PAGE. Heparin was added as the inducer of tau aggregation, and the inductive effect of heparin on tau aggregation was examinated by circular dichroism (CD) method. Then, Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide chaperones was added to the aggregated tau and its effect was evaluated using SDS-PAGE and thioflavin T fluorescence assay. Results: Electrophoresis SDS-PAGE confirmed the expression of tau protein and its purity. CD validated the successful induction of tau aggregation by heparin. Following treatment of the tau aggregates with Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide, the results of SDS-PAGE showed that induced aggregation, remarkably reduced compared to the control sample. Thioflavin T fluorescence assay was used to confirm the results of SDS-PAGE analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide could inhibit the aggregation of the tau protein which they were produced in the presence of heparin inductor. These results can propose Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide as a potential treatment to target the tau aggregates in people with Alzheimer’s disease

Assessing the Diagnostic Power of Cystatin C and Creatinine in Detection of Chronic Kidney Disease

 Introduction: In patients with renal disorders, a sudden decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) would not result in rapid rise concentrations of Creatinine. The present study aimed to assess diagnostic accuracy of serum Cystatin C as an appropriate alternative to serum Creatinine for early detection of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).Materials and Methods: In this study, 72 patients, 48 female and 24 male were selected. Serum Cystatin C and serum Creatinine were assayed, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and routine methods, respectively. Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated by Cockcroft and Gault formula. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was adopted to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of serum Cystatin C and serum Creatinine.Results: Using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient analysis among Creatinine, Cystatin C and eGFR showed Serum Cystatin C was better than Creatinine. The sensitivity, specificity and AUC for Serum Cystatin C were 0.88, 0.70 and 0.85, and for Serum Creatinine, they  were 0.60, 0.80 and 0.68 respectively.Conclusion: Our results showed that in early stages of CKD, Cystatin C is a more accurate biomarker for kidney function than Creatinine  

LABORATORIJSKI TEST ČVRSTOĆE MLAZNOGA BETONA DOBIVENOGA MOKRIM POSTUPKOM UPORABOM NANOMATERIJALA

Adding nanomaterials to concrete extends the size range of constituent particles well into nano-scale dimensions, which could help the compacting of particles in cement-based materials. Regarding the differences between shotcrete and cast concrete, in this study, the properties of shotcrete with nano and micro-silica and nano-clay were experimentally studied. The micro and nanomaterials have been added at different percentages (6%, 9%, and 12%) to a shotcrete paste. The comparison was based on the uniaxial compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, and porosity tests of different specimens. The results indicated that the maximum increase in compressive, flexural, and tensile strengths of shotcrete was related to 12% nano-SiO2, while for 12% nano-clay, all of these strengths were decreased at 28 days. The optimum percentage for shotcrete substitution by nano-clay was established to be 6%. Also, the application of the nanomaterials led to a decrease in the water absorption and porosity of shotcrete. Eventually, the results revealed that the improvement of mechanical properties by the introduction of the nanomaterials in shotcrete could be satisfactory.Dodavanje nanomaterijala betonu proširuje veličinu čestica od kojih se on sastoji prema nanodimenzijama. To može pomoći zbijanju takvih materijala. Usporedbom razlika između mlaznoga i lijevanoga betona, načinjenom u ovoj studiji, eksperimentalno su istražena svojstva mlaznoga betona kojemu su dodane nano i mikro silikatne te glinovite čestice. Mikromaterijali i nanomaterijali dodani su u različitim postotcima (6, 9 i 12 %) u masu betona. Usporedba je načinjena promatranjem jednoosne kompresijske čvrstoće, čvrstoće na svijanje i smicanje te opažanjem šupljikavosti različitih uzoraka. Rezultati su pokazali kako je najveće povećanje navedenih čvrstoća mlaznoga betona postignuto dodavanjem 12-postotnoga nanosilikata, a najveći pad s 12-postotnom nanoglinom, nakon 28 dana. Primjena nanomaterijala dovela je i do smanjenja apsorpcije vode i šupljikavosti. Poboljšanje svojstava mlaznoga betona dodavanjem nanomaterijala ocijenjeno je zadovoljavajućim