Strong stability in the Hospitals/Residents problem

We study a version of the well-known Hospitals/Residents problem in which participants' preferences may involve ties or other forms of indifference. In this context, we investigate the concept of strong stability, arguing that this may be the most appropriate and desirable form of stability in many practical situations. When the indifference is in the form of ties, we describe an O(a^2) algorithm to find a strongly stable matching, if one exists, where a is the number of mutually acceptable resident-hospital pairs. We also show a lower bound in this case in terms of the complexity of determining whether a bipartite graph contains a perfect matching. By way of contrast, we prove that it becomes NP-complete to determine whether a strongly stable matching exists if the preferences are allowed to be arbitrary partial orders

The hospitals/residents problem with ties

The hospitals/residents problem is an extensively-studied many-one stable matching problem. Here, we consider the hospitals/residents problem where ties are allowed in the preference lists. In this extended setting, a number of natural definitions for a stable matching arise. We present the first linear-time algorithm for the problem under the strongest of these criteria, so-called super-stability . Our new results have applications to large-scale matching schemes, such as the National Resident Matching Program in the US, and similar schemes elsewhere

Corporate financing decisions: UK survey evidence

Despite theoretical developments in recent years, our understanding of corporate capital structure remains incomplete. Prior empirical research has been dominated by archival regression studies which are limited in their ability to fully reflect the diversity found in practice. The present paper reports on a comprehensive survey of corporate financing decision-making in UK listed companies. A key finding is that firms are heterogeneous in their capital structure policies. About half of the firms seek to maintain a target debt level, consistent with trade-off theory, but 60 per cent claim to follow a financing hierarchy, consistent with pecking order theory. These two theories are not viewed by respondents as either mutually exclusive or exhaustive. Many of the theoretical determinants of debt levels are widely accepted by respondents, in particular the importance of interest tax shield, financial distress, agency costs and also, at least implicitly, information asymmetry. Results also indicate that cross-country institutional differences have a significant impact on financial decisions

Numerical evidence for `multi-scalar stars'

We present a class of general relativistic soliton-like solutions composed of multiple minimally coupled, massive, real scalar fields which interact only through the gravitational field. We describe a two-parameter family of solutions we call ``phase-shifted boson stars'' (parameterized by central density rho_0 and phase delta), which are obtained by solving the ordinary differential equations associated with boson stars and then altering the phase between the real and imaginary parts of the field. These solutions are similar to boson stars as well as the oscillating soliton stars found by Seidel and Suen [E. Seidel and W.M. Suen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 1659 (1991)]; in particular, long-time numerical evolutions suggest that phase-shifted boson stars are stable. Our results indicate that scalar soliton-like solutions are perhaps more generic than has been previously thought.Comment: Revtex. 4 pages with 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Neutrophils alter epithelial response to Porphyromonas gingivalis in a gingival crevice model

A gingival crevice model (epithelial cell- Porphyromonas gingivalis – neutrophil) was established and used to profile gingipain, matrix metalloproteinase, MMP mediators (NGAL and TIMP-1) and cytokine networks. Smoking is the primary environmental risk factor for periodontitis. Therefore, the influence of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) was also monitored in the same model. P. gingivalis alone induced low levels of IL-1β and IL-8 from epithelial cells, but high levels of both cytokines were produced on the addition of neutrophils. CSE-exposure (100 and 1000 ng/ml nicotine equivalency) significantly compromised P. gingivalis-induced cytokine secretion (both p < 0.05). P. gingivalis induced impressive secretion of NGAL (p < 0.05) which was not influenced by CSE. The influence of CSE on gingipains production was strain-specific. Purified gingipains effectively and rapidly degraded both TIMP-1 and MMP-9. Induction of large amounts of NGAL, degradation of TIMP-1, and increased gingipain activity would each be expected to prolong collagen degradation and promote disease progression. However, gingipains also degrade MMP-9. Thus, P. gingivalis exerts a complex influence on the proteolytic balance of a gingival crevice model. CSE-exposure reduces the pro-inflammatory cytokine burden, which may be expected to promote P. gingivalis survival. In addition to novel findings that provide mechanistic insight into periodontal disease progression, these results are in keeping with the recognized clinical dogma of decreased inflammation / increased disease in smokers. Thus, this straightforward gingival crevice model is established as a suitable vehicle for the elucidation of mechanisms that contribute to susceptibility to periodontitis

Prevalence, risk factors and risk perception of tuberculosis infection among medical students and healthcare workers in Johannesburg, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) are both recommended for routine screening of healthcare workers (HCWs) in low tuberculosis (TB)-burden countries. More recently, based on scarce data, the World Health Organization strongly recommended that IGRA should not be used for occupational screening in high-burden settings. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) determined among highly exposed HCWs and low-exposed medical students in Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional study using both TSTs and IGRAs to determine the prevalence rate of LTBI in 79 medical students and 120 HCWs providing HIV and/or TB care. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBI among HCWs was 2- to 4-fold higher than that among medical students (56.7% v. 26.6% TST-positive; 69.2% v.15.2% IGRA-positive, respectively), with 3-fold higher odds for TST positivity and 12-fold higher odds for IGRA positivity among HCWs compared with students. Despite the perception of being at high risk, few HCWs protected themselves against LTBI. The majority of HCWs reported that they would participate in annual TST or IGRA screening. CONCLUSION: Infection control strategies and occupational screening programmes for professional and lay HCWs, as well as medical students, should be implemented in all high-burden settings. Further research is needed to determine whether IGRA or TST is the optimal assay for periodical screening of HCWs in high-burden settings

A terminal assessment of stages theory : introducing a dynamic states approach to entrepreneurship

Stages of Growth models were the most frequent theoretical approach to understanding entrepreneurial business growth from 1962 to 2006; they built on the growth imperative and developmental models of that time. An analysis of the universe of such models (N=104) published in the management literature shows no consensus on basic constructs of the approach, nor is there any empirical confirmations of stages theory. However, by changing two propositions of the stages models, a new dynamic states approach is derived. The dynamic states approach has far greater explanatory power than its precursor, and is compatible with leading edge research in entrepreneurship