Commitment games with conditional information revelation

The conditional commitment abilities of mutually transparent computer agents have been studied in previous work on commitment games and program equilibrium. This literature has shown how these abilities can help resolve Prisoner's Dilemmas and other failures of cooperation in complete information settings. But inefficiencies due to private information have been neglected thus far in this literature, despite the fact that these problems are pervasive and might also be addressed by greater mutual transparency. In this work, we introduce a framework for commitment games with a new kind of conditional commitment device, which agents can use to conditionally reveal private information. We prove a folk theorem for this setting that provides sufficient conditions for ex post efficiency, and thus represents a model of ideal cooperation between agents without a third-party mediator. Connecting our framework with the literature on strategic information revelation, we explore cases where conditional revelation can be used to achieve full cooperation while unconditional revelation cannot. Finally, extending previous work on program equilibrium, we develop an implementation of conditional information revelation. We show that this implementation forms program $\epsilon$-Bayesian Nash equilibria corresponding to the Bayesian Nash equilibria of these commitment games.Comment: Accepted at the Games, Agents, and Incentives Workshop at AAMAS 202

Welfare Diplomacy: Benchmarking Language Model Cooperation

The growing capabilities and increasingly widespread deployment of AI systems necessitate robust benchmarks for measuring their cooperative capabilities. Unfortunately, most multi-agent benchmarks are either zero-sum or purely cooperative, providing limited opportunities for such measurements. We introduce a general-sum variant of the zero-sum board game Diplomacy -- called Welfare Diplomacy -- in which players must balance investing in military conquest and domestic welfare. We argue that Welfare Diplomacy facilitates both a clearer assessment of and stronger training incentives for cooperative capabilities. Our contributions are: (1) proposing the Welfare Diplomacy rules and implementing them via an open-source Diplomacy engine; (2) constructing baseline agents using zero-shot prompted language models; and (3) conducting experiments where we find that baselines using state-of-the-art models attain high social welfare but are exploitable. Our work aims to promote societal safety by aiding researchers in developing and assessing multi-agent AI systems. Code to evaluate Welfare Diplomacy and reproduce our experiments is available at https://github.com/mukobi/welfare-diplomacy

A single-point modeling approach for the intercomparison and evaluation of ozone dry deposition across chemical transport models (Activity 2 of AQMEII4)

A primary sink of air pollutants and their precursors is dry deposition. Dry deposition estimates differ across chemical transport models, yet an understanding of the model spread is incomplete. Here, we introduce Activity 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative Phase 4 (AQMEII4). We examine 18 dry deposition schemes from regional and global chemical transport models as well as standalone models used for impact assessments or process understanding. We configure the schemes as single-point models at eight Northern Hemisphere locations with observed ozone fluxes. Single-point models are driven by a common set of site-specific meteorological and environmental conditions. Five of eight sites have at least 3 years and up to 12 years of ozone fluxes. The interquartile range across models in multiyear mean ozone deposition velocities ranges from a factor of 1.2 to 1.9 annually across sites and tends to be highest during winter compared with summer. No model is within 50 % of observed multiyear averages across all sites and seasons, but some models perform well for some sites and seasons. For the first time, we demonstrate how contributions from depositional pathways vary across models. Models can disagree with respect to relative contributions from the pathways, even when they predict similar deposition velocities, or agree with respect to the relative contributions but predict different deposition velocities. Both stomatal and nonstomatal uptake contribute to the large model spread across sites. Our findings are the beginning of results from AQMEII4 Activity 2, which brings scientists who model air quality and dry deposition together with scientists who measure ozone fluxes to evaluate and improve dry deposition schemes in the chemical transport models used for research, planning, and regulatory purposes

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Domestication potential and marketing of Canarium indicum nuts in the Pacific: producer and consumer surveys in Papua New Guinea (East New Britain)

As part of a feasibility study of (he commercialization potential of C. indicum nuts in Papua New Guinea, participatory rural appraisals assessed the interest of 148 producers across three areas of East New Britain (Gazelle, Duke of York atolls and Pomio), and the interest of 174 consumers in urban markets and supermarkets in three urban centres (Rabaul, Lae and Port Moresby). Producers and consumers ranked C. indicum as the most important nut tree species for both food and income generation. The tree also produces a quality timber and other forest products. All consumers interviewed regularly ate the nut kernels, both raw and as an ingredient prepared with other foods. The average farming family generally had access to 5 to 12 trees. Most farmers would like to grow more of these trees to meet needs for food security and income generation. Only small numbers of trees have been deliberately planted by farmers, usually using local germplasm. Trees are recognized as varying in fruit/nut/kernel size and shape, kernel number per nut, fruit colour, shell colour, and in the ease of cracking the shell, and certain forms are preferred by producers and consumers. The kernels are generally sold direct to the general public at local markets wrapped in banana leaves or in baskets. The price is lowest in remote rural areas and highest in major towns.\ud On average, farming families, in addition to bartering, make about US$13.6 per year from selling, but the distribution is skewed and some make much more. Income from the sale of kernels is generally used to offset food, store goods, medical expenses and transport costs. Most farmers said they could sell more kernels if they had them. Most consumers said that they would buy more if they were available. Evidence suggested that there would not be any consumer resistance to commercially processed and packaged nut industry in PNG. Two of the main problems recognized\ud by farmers were the irregularity/seasonality of fruiting and lack of planting materials. In addition to inadequate supply, consumers indicated issues of low kernel quality arising from poor post-harvest handling, processing and storage. Farmers indicated enthusiasm to plant improved cultivars. Despite these problems, this survey concluded that both producers and consumers see great potential for the industry to grow, producing both fresh kernel for sale in local markets and commercially processed and packaged products for supermarkets and niche markets. Consequently, a joint domestication/commercialization programme for C. indicum has been initiated in support of enhanced livelihoods for subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea

An enhanced educational program for kidney transplant candidates and their supports: Knowledge gained but room for improvement.

Given the complexities of transplantation, success relies on both medical and lifestyle management. Patients and their support systems require extensive education on the requirements of living with organ transplantation (e.g., medication regimen, dietary & lifestyle modifications). However, to date, methods to improve education have not been well defined. Methods: The multidisciplinary kidney transplant team developed and integrated a clinic aimed at identifying and addressing risks for negative outcomes in patients listed and likely to receive a transplant in the near future (patients high on the UNOS waitlist at a large, Midwestern transplant center). An integral element of the clinic included an enhanced educational session, taught by patient lifestyle coaches, focused on preparedness for kidney transplant and lifestyle changes after surgery. Patients were required to bring at least two social supports, to both educate support persons and verify willingness/ability to assist post-transplant. Patients and supports were invited to complete two 15-item quizzes, before and after the clinic, on thematic content covered in the educational session to assess knowledge and learning as result of participation. Results: Quizzes were collected from November 2016 through August 2017. There were significant improvements in the number of correct responses from pre- to post-quiz (Table 1). However, 17.8% of patients and 11% of supports continued to miss two or more items on the quiz after the educational session. The most frequently incorrectly answered pre-quiz item by both patients (22.4%) and supports (18.6%) was on activity-related lifestyle changes including avoiding gardening, cleaning up after animals, and swimming. However, after clinic, these scores improved (patients 12.1% and supports 3.4% incorrect). Conclusions: Although patients\u27 and supports\u27 quiz scores significantly improved following participation in the clinic, there continues to be gaps in important areas of knowledge regarding lifestyle management post-kidney transplantation. Strategies for further programmatic improvements will be discussed. Pre-Quiz Post-Quiz N M± N M± p Patients 46 13.9(±1.2) 56 14.3(±1.5) .012 Supports 110 13.9(±1.0) 118 14.5(±0.9) \u3c.001 CITATION INFORMATION: Clifton E., Eshelman A., Kim D., Patel A., Williams P., Nicholson D., Hogan K., Rubinstein E., Ramirez D., Sadik N., Jesse M. An Enhanced Educational Program for Kidney Transplant Candidates and Their Supports: Knowledge Gained but Room for Improvement Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3)

An enhanced educational program for kidney transplant candidates and their supports: Knowledge gained but room for improvement

Given the complexities of transplantation, success relies on both medical and lifestyle management. Patients and their support systems require extensive education on the requirements of living with organ transplantation (e.g., medication regimen, dietary & lifestyle modifications). However, to date, methods to improve education have not been well defi ned. Methods: The multidisciplinary kidney transplant team developed and integrated a clinic aimed at identifying and addressing risks for negative outcomes in patients listed and likely to receive a transplant in the near future (patients high on the UNOS waitlist at a large, Midwestern transplant center). An integral element of the clinic included an enhanced educational session, taught by patient lifestyle coaches, focused on preparedness for kidney transplant and lifestyle changes after surgery. Patients were required to bring at least two social supports, to both educate support persons and verify willingness/ability to assist post-transplant. Patients and supports were invited to complete two 15-item quizzes, before and after the clinic, on thematic content covered in the educational session to assess knowledge and learning as result of participation. Results: Quizzes were collected from November 2016 through August 2017. There were significant improvements in the number of correct responses from pre-to postquiz (Table 1). However, 17.8% of patients and 11% of supports continued to miss two or more items on the quiz after the educational session. The most frequently incorrectly answered pre-quiz item by both patients (22.4%) and supports (18.6%) was on activity-related lifestyle changes including avoiding gardening, cleaning up after animals, and swimming. However, after clinic, these scores improved (patients 12.1% and supports 3.4% incorrect). Conclusions: Although patients\u27 and supports\u27 quiz scores significantly improved following participation in the clinic, there continues to be gaps in important areas of knowledge regarding lifestyle management post-kidney transplantation. Strategies for further programmatic improvements will be discussed