686 research outputs found
Single Parameter Combinatorial Auctions with Partially Public Valuations
We consider the problem of designing truthful auctions, when the bidders'
valuations have a public and a private component. In particular, we consider
combinatorial auctions where the valuation of an agent for a set of
items can be expressed as , where is a private single parameter
of the agent, and the function is publicly known. Our motivation behind
studying this problem is two-fold: (a) Such valuation functions arise naturally
in the case of ad-slots in broadcast media such as Television and Radio. For an
ad shown in a set of ad-slots, is, say, the number of {\em unique}
viewers reached by the ad, and is the valuation per-unique-viewer. (b)
From a theoretical point of view, this factorization of the valuation function
simplifies the bidding language, and renders the combinatorial auction more
amenable to better approximation factors. We present a general technique, based
on maximal-in-range mechanisms, that converts any -approximation
non-truthful algorithm () for this problem into
and -approximate truthful
mechanisms which run in polynomial time and quasi-polynomial time,
respectively
CMS Software Distribution on the LCG and OSG Grids
The efficient exploitation of worldwide distributed storage and computing
resources available in the grids require a robust, transparent and fast
deployment of experiment specific software. The approach followed by the CMS
experiment at CERN in order to enable Monte-Carlo simulations, data analysis
and software development in an international collaboration is presented. The
current status and future improvement plans are described.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, latex with hyperref
From Utopia to Science: Challenges of Personalised Genomics Information for Health Management and Health Enhancement
From 1900 onwards, scientists and novelists have explored the contours of a future society based on the use of âanthropotechnologiesâ (techniques applicable to human beings for the purpose of performance enhancement ranging from training and education to genome-based biotechnologies). Gradually but steadily, the technologies involved migrated from (science) fiction into scholarly publications, and from âutopiaâ (or âdystopiaâ) into science. Building on seminal ideas borrowed from Nietzsche, Peter Sloterdijk has outlined the challenges inherent in this development. Since time immemorial, and at least since the days of Platoâs Academy, human beings have been interested in possibilities for (physical or mental) performance enhancement. We are constantly trying to improve ourselves, both collectively and individually, for better or for worse. At present, however, new genomics-based technologies are opening up new avenues for self-amelioration. Developments in research facilities using animal models may to a certain extent be seen as expeditions into our own future. Are we able to address the bioethical and biopolitical issues awaiting us? After analyzing and assessing Sloterdijkâs views, attention will shift to a concrete domain of application, namely sport genomics. For various reasons, top athletes are likely to play the role of genomics pioneers by using personalized genomics information to adjust diet, life-style, training schedules and doping intake to the strengths and weaknesses of their personalized genome information. Thus, sport genomics may be regarded as a test bed where the contours of genomics-based self-management are tried out
SPEM dysfunction and general schizotypy as measured by the SSQ: a controlled study
Abstract Background SPEM dysfunction is a well-known phenomenon in schizophrenia. The principal aim of the present study was to examine whether SPEM dysfunction is already observable in subjects scoring high on a specific measure of schizotypy (SSQ General Schizotypy) that was selected because of its intimate relationship with schizophrenic prodromal unfolding. Methods Applying ANOVAs, we determined the relationship of subjects' scores on SSQ General Schizotypy and eye movements elicited by targets of different speed. We also examined whether there exists an association between our schizotypy measure and pupil size. Results We found more SPEM dysfunction in subjects scoring high on SSQ General Schizotypy than in subjects scoring average on that factor, irrespective of the speed of the target. No relationship was found between baseline pupil size and General Schizotypy. Conclusion The present study provides additional evidence that SPEM dysfunction is associated with schizotypic features that precede the onset of schizophrenia and is already observable in general population subjects that show these features
Rapidity and k_T dependence of HBT correlations in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV with PHOBOS
Two-particle correlations of identical charged pion pairs from Au+Au
collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV were measured by the PHOBOS experiment at
RHIC. Data for the most central (0--15%) events were analyzed with
Bertsch-Pratt (BP) and Yano-Koonin-Podgoretskii (YKP) parameterizations using
pairs with rapidities of 0.4 < y < 1.3 and transverse momenta 0.1 < k_T < 1.4
GeV/c. The Bertsch-Pratt radii decrease as a function of pair transverse
momentum. The pair rapidity Y_pipi roughly scales with the source rapidity
Y_YKP, indicating strong dynamical correlations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of Seventeenth
International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions
(Quark Matter 2004), Oakland, California from January 11-17, 2004. Submitted
to Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physic
Evidence of Final-State Suppression of High-p_T Hadrons in Au + Au Collisions Using d + Au Measurements at RHIC
Transverse momentum spectra of charged hadrons with 6 GeV/c have
been measured near mid-rapidity (0.2 1.4) by the PHOBOS experiment
at RHIC in Au + Au and d + Au collisions at . The spectra for different collision centralities are compared to collisions at the same energy. The resulting nuclear modification
factor for central Au + Au collisions shows evidence of strong suppression of
charged hadrons in the high- region ( GeV/c). In contrast, the d +
Au nuclear modification factor exhibits no suppression of the high-
yields. These measurements suggest a large energy loss of the high-
particles in the highly interacting medium created in the central Au + Au
collisions. The lack of suppression in d + Au collisions suggests that it is
unlikely that initial state effects can explain the suppression in the central
Au + Au collisions.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, International Europhysics Conference on High
Energy Physics EPS (July 17th-23rd 2003) in Aachen, German
Review of HBT or Bose-Einstein correlations in high energy heavy ion collisions
A brief review is given on the discovery and the first five decades of the
Hanbury Brown - Twiss effect and its generalized applications in high energy
nuclear and particle physics, that includes a meta-review. Interesting and
inspiring new directions are also highlighted, including for example source
imaging, lepton and photon interferometry, non-Gaussian shape analysis as well
as many other new directions. Existing models are compared to two-particle
correlation measurements and the so-called RHIC HBT puzzle is resolved.
Evidence for a (directional) Hubble flow is presented and the conclusion is
confirmed by a successful description of the pseudorapidity dependence of the
elliptic flow as measured in Au+Au collisions by the PHOBOS Collaboration.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 8 sub-figures, invited plenary talk at the
ICPA-QGP 2005 conference in Kolkata, Indi
Hadronic observables from SIS to SPS energies - anything strange with strangeness ?
We calculate and (+) rapidity
distributions and compare to experimental data from SIS to SPS energies within
the UrQMD and HSD transport approaches that are both based on string, quark,
diquark () and hadronic degrees of freedom. The
two transport models do not include any explicit phase transition to a
quark-gluon plasma (QGP). It is found that both approaches agree rather well
with each other and with the experimental rapidity distributions for protons,
's, and . Inspite of this apparent agreement both
transport models fail to reproduce the maximum in the excitation function for
the ratio found experimentally between 11 and 40 AGeV. A
comparison to the various experimental data shows that this 'failure' is
dominantly due to an insufficient description of pion rapidity distributions
rather than missing 'strangeness'. The modest differences in the transport
model results -- on the other hand -- can be attributed to different
implementations of string formation and fragmentation, that are not
sufficiently controlled by experimental data for the 'elementary' reactions in
vacuum.Comment: 46 pages, including 15 eps figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
The Landscape of Particle Production: Results from PHOBOS
Recent results from the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC are presented, both from
Au+Au collisions from the 2001 run and p+p and d+Au collisions from 2003. The
centrality dependence of the total charged particle multiplicity in p+p and
d+Au show features, such as Npart-scaling and limiting fragmentation, similar
to p+A collisions at lower energies. Multiparticle physics in Au+Au is found to
be local in (pseudo)rapidity, both when observed by HBT correlations and by
forward-backward pseudorapidity correlations. The shape of elliptic flow in
Au+Au, measured over the full range of pseudorapidity, appears to have a very
weak centrality dependence. Identified particle ratios in d+Au reactions show
little difference between the shape of proton and anti-proton spectra, while
the absolute yields show an approximate m_T scaling.Comment: 8 Pages, 11 Figures, Plenary talk at Quark Matter 2004, Oakland, CA,
January 11-18, 200
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