Compromise Solutions for Bankruptcy Situations with References

This paper deals with bankruptcy situations in which in addition to the claims, an exogenously given reference point for the allocation of the estate is present.We introduce and analyse two types of compromise solutions and show that they coincide with the T value of two corresponding TU games.We apply our solutions to a real-life case of allocating university money to degree courses.bankruptcy;allocation;t-value;games

A DEA Approach for Evaluating the Labor Efficiency in the Rural Hotel Industry: A Case Study in Spain

In this paper, labor efficiency in the rural hotel industry is analyzed while considering the characteristics regarding labor and infrastructure of the various Spanish provinces. The methodological procedure consisted of the analysis of 52 Spanish provinces. As analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Multivariate Analysis have been used. Although rural tourism is consolidated in the Spanish holiday culture, the effect of labor efficiency on Spanish provinces is uneven. Performance depends on the geographical area; thus, labor efficiency is only achieved in Asturias and Balearic Islands, where rural tourism has a strong and positive impact on employment. The variable length of stay of the holiday period carries important weight for labor efficiency to be reached in said provinces. It can be observed that hotels located in places with charm and with special environmental protection contribute directly to the labor efficiency of the area due to the direct relationship between the area of protected land and the labor efficiency of the province. Several provincial groups are established with a variety of different characteristics, which confirms that the level of labor efficiency in the sector has yet to be maximized

Analysis of the readiness to buy cultural tourism online by means of latent variable models

The offer of tourism products online has increased considerably in recent years. The degree of acceptance of this new form of purchasing tourism products and services on the demand side is influenced by variables of different nature. While today's tourists routinely use online consultation for any particular destination, online booking is not as common as might have been expected, and actually purchasing online is decidedly uncommon. The aim of this study was to determine which aspects most affect the readiness to buy tourism products online. To this end, the data from a survey were used as input to different latent models with errors of measurement to segment demand in terms of attitude towards online purchases of tourism products and services

Influence of coaches training on athletes motivation

El objetivo del estudio era conocer la influencia de las formaciones académica y federativa de los entrenadores sobre los niveles de motivación, diversión, aburrimiento e intención de persistencia en jóvenes deportistas. Para ello, participaron 432 jóvenes con edades entre 10 y 16 años (M = 13,44; DT = 2,92), pertenecientes a disciplinas deportivas individuales (n = 162) y colectivas (n = 270), de género masculino (n = 245) y femenino (n = 187), seleccionados mediante un muestreo por conglomerados. También, participaron 88 entrenadores deportivos, con edades entre los 20 y 56 años (M = 35,79; DT = 9,58). Se llevó a cabo un análisis de diferencias en función de la cualificación académica y federativa de los entrenadores. Los resultados señalaron que los deportistas dirigidos por entrenadores sin formación federativa presentaban mayores niveles de desmotivación. Asimismo, los deportistas entrenados por técnicos sin titulación académica obtuvieron mayores puntuaciones en las regulaciones extrínsecas (identificada y externa). Por tanto, los hallazgos respaldan parcialmente la relevancia de la formación de los entrenadores, obteniéndose diferencias en regulaciones alejadas del máximo nivel de autodeterminación (externa), desmotivación y aburrimientoThe aim of the study was to examine the influence of the coaches´ academic and federative training on motivation, enjoyment, boredom and intention to persist levels in youth athletes. Participants were 432 youth athletes (male = 245, female = 187) ranged from 10 to 16 years old (M = 13.44; SD = 2.92) who participated in individual (n = 163) and collectives sports (n = 270) selected by cluster sampling. Moreover, 88 sport coaches, ranged from 20 to 56 years old (M = 35,79; SD = 9,58), participated in the study. An analysis of differences with regard to academic and federative coaches´ qualification was conducted. Results revealed that athletes trained by coaches without federative training showed greater amotivation levels. Moreover, individuals trained by coaches without academic qualification had higher scores in extrinsic regulation (identified and external). Therefore, findings partially supported the relevance of coaches’ qualification levels, due to the differences found in some extrinsic regulations (external), amotivation and boredo

Improved linkage analysis of Quantitative Trait Loci using bulk segregants unveils a novel determinant of high ethanol tolerance in yeast

Background: Bulk segregant analysis (BSA) coupled to high throughput sequencing is a powerful method to map genomic regions related with phenotypes of interest. It relies on crossing two parents, one inferior and one superior for a trait of interest. Segregants displaying the trait of the superior parent are pooled, the DNA extracted and sequenced. Genomic regions linked to the trait of interest are identified by searching the pool for overrepresented alleles that normally originate from the superior parent. BSA data analysis is non-trivial due to sequencing, alignment and screening errors. Results: To increase the power of the BSA technology and obtain a better distinction between spuriously and truly linked regions, we developed EXPLoRA (EXtraction of over-rePresented aLleles in BSA), an algorithm for BSA data analysis that explicitly models the dependency between neighboring marker sites by exploiting the properties of linkage disequilibrium through a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Reanalyzing a BSA dataset for high ethanol tolerance in yeast allowed reliably identifying QTLs linked to this phenotype that could not be identified with statistical significance in the original study. Experimental validation of one of the least pronounced linked regions, by identifying its causative gene VPS70, confirmed the potential of our method. Conclusions: EXPLoRA has a performance at least as good as the state-of-the-art and it is robust even at low signal to noise ratio's i.e. when the true linkage signal is diluted by sampling, screening errors or when few segregants are available

Solving the Location Area Problem by Using Differential Evolution

In mobile networks, one of the hard tasks is to determine the best partitioning in the Location Area problem, but it is also an important strategy to try to reduce all the involved management costs. In this paper we present a new approach to solve the location management problem based on the Location Area partitioning, as a cost optimization problem. We use a Differential Evolution based algorithm to find the best configuration to the Location Areas in a mobile network. We try to find the best values for the Differential Evolution parameters as well as define the scheme that enables us to obtain better results, when compared to classical strategies and to other authors’ results. To obtain the best solution we develop four distinct experiments, each one applied to one Differential Evolution parameter. This is a new approach to this problem that has given us good results

SPOC: A widely distributed domain associated with cancer, apoptosis and transcription

BACKGROUND: The Split ends (Spen) family are large proteins characterised by N-terminal RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) and a conserved SPOC (Spen paralog and ortholog C-terminal) domain. The aim of this study is to characterize the family at the sequence level. RESULTS: We describe undetected members of the Spen family in other lineages (Plasmodium and Plants) and localise SPOC in a new domain context, in a family that is common to all eukaryotes using profile-based sequence searches and structural prediction methods. CONCLUSIONS: The widely distributed DIO (Death inducer-obliterator) family is related to cancer and apoptosis and offers new clues about SPOC domain functionality

Managing daily surgery schedules in a teaching hospital: a mixed-integer optimization approach

Background: This study examined the daily surgical scheduling problem in a teaching hospital. This problem relates to the use of multiple operating rooms and different types of surgeons in a typical surgical day with deterministic operation durations (preincision, incision, and postincision times). Teaching hospitals play a key role in the health-care system; however, existing models assume that the duration of surgery is independent of the surgeon's skills. This problem has not been properly addressed in other studies. We analyze the case of a Spanish public hospital, in which continuous pressures and budgeting reductions entail the more efficient use of resources. Methods: To obtain an optimal solution for this problem, we developed a mixed-integer programming model and user-friendly interface that facilitate the scheduling of planned operations for the following surgical day. We also implemented a simulation model to assist the evaluation of different dispatching policies for surgeries and surgeons. The typical aspects we took into account were the type of surgeon, potential overtime, idling time of surgeons, and the use of operating rooms. Results: It is necessary to consider the expertise of a given surgeon when formulating a schedule: such skill can decrease the probability of delays that could affect subsequent surgeries or cause cancellation of the final surgery. We obtained optimal solutions for a set of given instances, which we obtained through surgical information related to acceptable times collected from a Spanish public hospital. Conclusions: We developed a computer-aided framework with a user-friendly interface for use by a surgical manager that presents a 3-D simulation of the problem. Additionally, we obtained an efficient formulation for this complex problem. However, the spread of this kind of operation research in Spanish public health hospitals will take a long time since there is a lack of knowledge of the beneficial techniques and possibilities that operational research can offer for the health-care system