Together After All: Competition and Joint Action

Competition and cooperation are often perceived as opposites, but there is a middle ground in which they come together: competitive games like chess or soccer. Leading accounts of joint action theory fail to explain games of this sort. I propose a definition of cooperative competitions as joint events in which agents possess a joint competitive intention. An agent has a joint competitive intention when a) she has the goal to win or snatch an advantage over her opponent, b) she agrees to act in an uncoerced way, and c) she has the intention to follow the norms governing the activity in question. Finally, I defend my definition from objections and show how my account can helpfully reframe our understanding of what a cooperation is to make room for agonistic aims

PONAŠANJE KAMENIH PROČELJA U URBANIM OKOLIŠIMA NOVE TEHNOLOGIJE GRAĐENJA

An innovative technology using stone and granite as exterior sheeting of modern steel and concrete tall buildings is presented, Granites are chosen for the indubitable superior durability in any wheather and polluted atmosfere condition. But to guarantee durability stone sheets have to be mounted in such a way as to avoid any inner irregular stress. In particular stresses from deformation of the main structure must not be trasmitted to the exterior sheeting. Moreover an all-proof wheather barrier has to be incorporated in the factory builded sheeting panel. The innovative technology allowing use of granite and stone in facing of tall buildings is here presented along with two very important realisations: The North Tower in Genoa and the Canary Wharf in London.Prezentirana je inovirana tehnologija korištenja kamena za oblaganje pločama pročelja modernih željeznih i betonskih građevina. Graniti su odabrani zbog nesumnjivo superiorne otpornosti prema traženju i utjecaju onečišćene atmosfere. Ali, otpornost kamenih ploča zagarantirana je ugrađivanjem na takav način da se izbjegnu bilo kakva unutrašnja naprezanja. Naprezanja zbog deformacije strukture objekta ne smiju se prenositi na vanjsku oblogu. Osim toga, otpornost na vremenske promjene treba da je ispitana u tvornici u kojoj se prave paneli od ploča. Inovirana tehnologija uz korištenje granita za oblaganje visokih građevina prezentirana je s dvije značajne realizacije: Sjeverni toranj u Genovi i Kanarsko pristanište u Londonu

Elliptic Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions in an external magnetic field: The statics

We have investigated the static properties of one-dimensional planar Josephson tunnel junctions in the most general case of elliptic annuli. We have analyzed the dependence of the critical current in the presence of an external magnetic field applied either in the junction plane or in the perpendicular direction. We report a detailed study of both short and long elliptic annular junctions having different eccentricities. For junctions having a normalized perimeter less than one the threshold curves are derived and computed even in the case with one trapped Josephson vortex. For longer junctions a numerical analysis is carried out after the derivation of the appropriate Perturbed sine-Gordon Equation. For a given applied field we find that a number of different phase profiles exist which differ according to the number of fluxon-antifluxon pairs. We demonstrate that in samples made by specularly symmetric electrodes a transverse magnetic field is equivalent to an in-plane field applied in the direction of the current flow. Varying the ellipse eccentricity we reproduce all known results for linear and ring-shaped Josephson tunnel junctions. Experimental data on high-quality Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb elliptic annular junctions support the theoretical analysis provided self-field effects are taken into account.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figure

Brief assessment of negative dysmorphic signs

Body dysmorphic disorder is a body image dysperception, characterized either by an excessive preoccupation with a presumed or minimal flaw in appearance, or by unrecognition, denial, or even neglect regarding an obvious defect. These features are evaluated by a novel questionnaire, the Brief Assessment of Negative Dysmorphic Signs (BANDS). Moreover, the temperament and character background is examined. The relationship with addictive mentality/behavior and schizoaffectivity is also highlighted. Lastly, the potential shift toward cognitive impairment and dementia is considered

Multi-agent quality of experience control

In the framework of the Future Internet, the aim of the Quality of Experience (QoE) Control functionalities is to track the personalized desired QoE level of the applications. The paper proposes to perform such a task by dynamically selecting the most appropriate Classes of Service (among the ones supported by the network), this selection being driven by a novel heuristic Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) algorithm. The paper shows that such an approach offers the opportunity to cope with some practical implementation problems: in particular, it allows to face the so-called “curse of dimensionality” of MARL algorithms, thus achieving satisfactory performance results even in the presence of several hundreds of Agents

Entropy function from toric geometry

It has recently been claimed that a Cardy-like limit of the superconformal index of 4d N = 4 SYM accounts for the entropy function, whose Legendre transform corresponds to the entropy of the holographic dual AdS5 rotating black hole. Here we study this Cardy-like limit for N = 1 toric quiver gauge theories, observing that the corresponding entropy function can be interpreted in terms of the toric data. Furthermore, for some families of models, we compute the Legendre transform of the entropy function, comparing with similar results recently discussed in the literature

Rocking of a rigid block freestanding on a flat pedestal

The seismic protection of objects contained within Museums is a topic of great interest, especially with reference to how they are displayed or stored. This problem is the same as that of a large class of non-structural components, such as mechanical and electrical hospital and laboratory equipment that could lose their functionality because of earthquakes. Statues and ceramics simply supported on the floor represent a significant set of case. In some cases, like the Bronzes of Riace, isolation systems have been developed. However, in general museum exhibits are not equipped with devices capable of mitigating the oscillations induced by possible earthquakes. The case study of a marble statue placed on a freestanding squat rigid pedestal is examined. The system of algebraic differential equations governing the problem has been derived and included in an ad-hoc numerical procedure. It is shown that the insertion of a squat rigid body with low frictional resistance at the lower interface with the floor, and high frictional resistance at the upper interface with the artifact significantly reduces the amplitude of the rocking response. As a result the artifact rocks without sliding on the rigid base that slides without rocking with respect to the floor. The numerical analysis performed can be a tool to help in the choice of the optimal friction values in the surfaces of the flat block, designed as a simple isolation system

Can the outside-in half-tunnel technique reduce femoral tunnel widening in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction? A CT study

There are different techniques for drilling the femoral tunnel in the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but their influence in the bone tunnel enlargement in unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare two different surgical techniques for evaluating femoral tunnel enlargement in ACLR. The hypothesis was that tunnel placement using the outside-in technique leads to less tunnel enlargement compared to the transtibial technique. METHODS: Forty-four patients treated for ACLR between March 2013 and March 2014 were prospectively enrolled in this study. According to the surgical technique, subjects were assigned to Group A (Out-in) or Group B (Transtibial). All patients underwent CT examination in order to evaluate the femoral tunnel enlargement at four different levels. Moreover, all patients were evaluated with the Lachman test and pivot shift test, and the KT1000 arthrometer was used to measure the anterior laxity of the knee. A subjective evaluation was performed using the 2000 International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee score, Lysholm knee score and Tegner activity scale. All patients were assessed after 24 months of follow-up. RESULTS: At the final follow-up, there were statistically significant differences (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In ACLR with a suspension system, the outside-in technique leads to less enlargement of the femoral tunnel lower than the transtibial technique. KEYWORDS: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction; CT imaging; Drilling technique; Femoral tunnel enlargement PMID: 28389757 DOI: 10.1007/s00590-017-1950-8 Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+ LinkOut - more resource

Approaches for Future Internet architecture design and Quality of Experience (QoE) Control

Researching a Future Internet capable of overcoming the current Internet limitations is a strategic investment. In this respect, this paper presents some concepts that can contribute to provide some guidelines to overcome the above-mentioned limitations. In the authors' vision, a key Future Internet target is to allow applications to transparently, efficiently and flexibly exploit the available network resources with the aim to match the users' expectations. Such expectations could be expressed in terms of a properly defined Quality of Experience (QoE). In this respect, this paper provides some approaches for coping with the QoE provision problem