Hardness of Games and Graph Sampling

The work presented in this document is divided into two parts. The �rst part presents the hardness of games and the second part presents Graph sampling. Non-deterministic constraint logic[1] is used to prove the hardness of games. The games which are considered in this work is Reversi (2 player bounded game), Peg Solitaire (single player bounded game), Badland (single player bounded game). It also contains a theoretical study of peg solitaire on special graph classes. Reversi is proved to be PSPACE-Complete using Bounded 2CL, Peg Solitaire is proved to be NP-Complete using Bounded NCL. Badland is proved to be NP-Complete by a reduction from 3-SAT. The objective of study of peg solitaire of special graph classes is to �nd the maximum number of marbles we can remove from a fully �lled board, if the player is given the privilege to remove a marble from any cell initially, then following the rules after the initial move. The second part of the work is dedicated to graph sampling. Given a graph G, we try to sample a represen- tative subgraph Gs which is similar to the original graph G. The properties that are being studied are Degree Distribution, Clustering Coefficient, Average Shortest Path Length, Largest Connected Component Size. To measure the similarity between the original graph and sample we use the metrics Kolmogorov - Smirnov test and Kullback - Leibler divergence test. Tightly Induced Edge Sampling performs well on general graphs but it's performance decreases when the graph is a tree. Overall TIBFS and KARGER produces a sample which closely matches the distribution of original graphs.

The Effect of Independent Directors on Corporate Governance: Using Association Rules of Data Mining Techniques

The literature on corporate governance and various codes emphasis that the Board of directors should provide direction to the company, evaluate and approve strategies, appoint and remove the chief executive officer and decide the compensation for him and other members of the top management. While an Independent Director should focus on the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems, they are expected to protect the interest of non-controlling shareholders, should be watchful to identify weaknesses and should act tough only when required. Despite Enron, World Com and Satyam's Boards having many Independent Directors, their presence could not avert the major corporate disasters. The challenges of Independent Directors are many folds and growing day by day. The government expects Independent Directors to bring an independent judgment to bear on the Board's deliberations especially on the issue of strategy, performance; risk management, resources, key appointments and standards of conduct and bring an objective view in the evaluation of performance of Board and management. The public outrage in many corporate failures suggests that there is a huge expectation gap between what Independent Directors can do and what stakeholders expect to do. This gap is created because all the stakeholders have hyped the role of Independent Directors under the code of corporate governance. In order to be effective, they need to understand they can effectively protect the interest of non-controlling shareholders even when the Board is devoid of certain critical responsibilities. This paper attempts to find out "the ultimate measure of Independent Directors not where they stand in moments of comfort, but where they actually stand and should stand at the time of challenges and controversy.

HPV Genotypes distribution in Indian women with and without cervical carcinoma: Implication for HPV vaccination program in Odisha, Eastern India

Abstract Background Considering the limited cross protection offered by the current HPV vaccines, understanding the HPV genotype distribution among the different population is essential in predicting the efficacy of current vaccine and devising new vaccine strategy. The present work aimed at investigating the HPV genotypes distribution among women with and without cervical carcinoma in Odisha, Eastern India. Methods A total of 607 participants have been enrolled between January 2014 and June 2016. L1-PCR, sequencing, and E6/E7 nested multiplex type- specific PCR were performed for HPV detection and genotyping. Cytological distribution of 440 cases includes invasive cervical carcinoma or ICC ( n \u2009=\u2009210), inflammatory smear ( n \u2009=\u2009162), normal cytology ( n \u2009=\u200968). Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS version 20.0 software and MediCal version 14.10.2(7). A p -value of\u2009\u2264\u20090.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The overall prevalence of HPV infection was (359/595) 60.33%. Prevalence of HPV infection was 93.80% (197/210) in invasive cervical cancer (ICC) cases, 54.32% (88/162) in inflammatory smear and 19.11% (13/68) in normal cervical cytology. The most prevalent genotype was HPV16 (87.28%) followed by HPV18 (24.56%) and HPV 51(3.46%). The overall prevalence of single type was 76.58% and highest (78.9%) among ICC cases. The most frequent genotype combination after HPV16\u2009+\u200918(9.4%) was HPV16\u2009+\u200966\u2009+\u200968(2.7%) which was frequently observed in inflammatory cytology. Age\u2009>\u200945years, parity \u22653, low socio-economic condition, rural residential area and post menopause state were significantly associated with HPV infection. Multiple infections did not have a significant association with any of the clinicopathological variables (stage, LN metastasis, cell type) except tumor size\u2009\u2265\u20092cm in ICC cases. The impact of 2v, 4v, and 9v vaccines in preventing cervical cancer in Odisha were 89.99, 91.65, and 92.16% respectively. Conclusion This data would help planning an appropriate strategy for disease monitoring and provides baseline data for post-vaccination surveillance in the region. The nonavalent vaccine would be significant in preventing cervical carcinoma in Odisha. Hence an effective vaccination program based on regional HPV epidemiological profile along with the cervical cancer screening is necessary to reduce the cervical cancer burden in India

HPV genotypes co-infections associated with cervical carcinoma: Special focus on phylogenetically related and non-vaccine targeted genotypes.

HPV is the major causative agent for cervical cancer. Study on the risk of cervical cancer associated with different hr-HPV genotypes would be useful for disease management and new vaccine strategy. With limited reports available, the present study aimed to investigate the pattern of HPV genotypes coinfections and risk of cervical carcinoma associated with them in Indian population. 15 HPV genotypes were detected by E6/E7 multiplex nested type-specific PCR in the HPV-positive cervical samples of 172 cervical cancer cases and 174 subjects with normal cytology. Association between the genotypes and cervical cancer was estimated by calculating the Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Risk of cervical carcinoma was associated with multiple genotypes excluding HPV16 (OR:5.87; 95% CI-1.28-26-29; p = .02), multiple genotypes excluding HPV18 (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.09-6.05; p = .03), multiple genotypes of α9 species(OR = 5.3 95% CI = 1.14-24.03; p = .007), and multiple genotypes of α7 species (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = .49-13.45; p = .2). Genotypes not targeted by quadrivalent vaccine types (OR = 2.94 95% CI = 1.48-5.80; p = .001) conferred 2.94 fold higher risk of cervical carcinoma. Cases those coinfected with phylogenetically related genotypes (OR = 2.29; 95% CI(.69-7.59) p = .17) were at 2.9 fold higher risk of invasive cervical carcinoma than those infected with other genotypes although it is not statistically significant. Whereas phylogenetically unrelated genotypes coinfection is negatively associated with cervical carcinoma (OR = .44 95% CI (.244-.8) p = .007) and it is statistically significant.Genotypes not targeted by 9-valent vaccines (OR = .40; 95% CI = .19-.85; p = .017) associated with lesser risk of cervical carcinoma as compared to other genotypes. Subjects infected with any HPV genotype/genotypes excluding HPV16 in association with HPV 18 (OR = 4.1; 95% CI = 1.81-9.25 P = < .001) were at 4.1 fold higher risk of developing invasive cervical carcinoma.In conclusion, the risk of development of cervical cancer is genotype specific and might be associated with type-specific interactions between the genotypes in multiple infections

Distribution of cases infected with different species of HPV genotypes.

<p>Distribution of cases infected with different species of HPV genotypes.</p

Association of multiple infections with the risk of cervical cancer.

<p>Association of multiple infections with the risk of cervical cancer.</p

Enrollment of cases and outcomes.

<p>Enrollment of cases and outcomes.</p

Demographic factors associated with cervical carcinoma.

<p>Demographic factors associated with cervical carcinoma.</p