Resolving Conflicts in Highly Reactive Teams

In distributed cooperation frameworks for completely autonomous agents, conflicts between the involved agents can occur due to inconsistent data available to the agents. In highly dynamic domains, such as RoboCup, it is often neccessary to accept a certain level of conflicts in order to decrease reaction time of single agents, instead of relying on error-free, but extensive communication. However, this may lead to situations in which unresolved conflicts linger and cause cooperation to break down completely. In our cooperation framework, ALICA, we designed and implemented a simple but effective approach to detect these cases and resolve them quickly through a bully algorithm

La disyunción laclausiana: entre el horizonte discursivo y el callejón hegemónico

El texto es una revisión crítica de los usos y apropiaciones de la teoría de la Hegemonía, desarrollada por Ernesto Laclau.Fil: Saur, Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Centro de Investigaciones (CIFFyH); Argentina.Ciencias Sociales Interdisciplinaria

Ernesto Laclau y Eliseo Verón: Espacios compartidos, diálogos posibles, tensiones, divergencias

Este trabajo está centrado en las figuras de Ernesto Laclau y Eliseo Verón, dos de los intelectuales argentinos más prominentes de los últimos cincuenta años. Si bien existen diferencias en sus objetos de interés, en sus posicionamientos políticos y en sus fundamentos y construcciones conceptuales, las coincidencias biográficas e intelectuales de estos dos pensadores son sorprendentes. Estas coincidencias hacen notorio el escaso trabajo de articulación, de estudio relacional y comparado de sus obras, considerando los numerosos puntos de contacto -así como tensiones y divergencias- que posibilitarían un amplio y productivo espacio de debate, reflexión y potenciación recíproca con importantes contribuciones para los estudios sobre la significación. Este texto es tanto una introducción al debate de las coincidencias y divergencias entre estos dos autores, como una invitación a su profundizació

Homenaje a Eliseo Verón

El 15 de abril de 2014 falleció Eliseo Verón, uno de los intelectuales más destacados de la Argentina de los últimos 50 años.Con este dossier tenemos la intención de rendir homenaje al intelectual y maestro que marcó la formación de un número significativo de investigadores sociales en las últimas décadas

Traditional taro (Colocasia esculenta) cultivation in the swamp forest of Guadeloupe (F.W.I.): impact on forest structure and plant biodiversity

In Guadeloupe, traditional taro monoculture (Colocasia esculenta) is conducted under partial, natural shade in the Pterocarpus swamp forest. The impact of this original agroforestry practice on forest structure, soil and flora was investigated on inventory plots totalling 4000 m2 within the MAB reserve, in the Bay of the Grand Cul-de-sac Marin. Taro cultivation was responsible for important qualitative and quantitative changes of vegetation and, to a lesser extent, soil characteristics. Stem density decreased by 80 %, and a number of weeds invaded cultivated stands while several shade-tolerant understorey species were eliminated. However, such disturbances were confined to the landward forest edge, and forest recovery appeared to be efficient on formerly cultivated stands. Regarding the development of conservation strategies applicable to the Pterocarpus swamp forest, and providing that complementary studies on especially endangered species be conducted, we believe that this sustainable agroforestry system could be a useful tool in the building of effective “buffer zones”En Guadeloupe, le taro (Colocasia esculenta) est cultivé traditionellement dans la forêt marécageuse à Pterocarpus sous couvert partiel. L'impact de cette pratique agroforestière originale sur la structure, le sol et la flore de la forêt a été étudié dans la Baie du Grand Cul-de-sac Marin, au sein de la réserve MAB, dans des parcelles d'inventaire totalisant 4000 m2. Il s'avère que la culture du taro entraîne d'importantes modifications qualitatives et quantitatives de la végétation et, dans une moindre mesure, du sol. Dans les peuplements cultivés, la densité de tiges était réduite de 80 % et de nombreuses espèces herbacées opportunistes apparaissaient alors que plusieurs espèces sciaphiles du sous-bois, elles, disparaissaient. Cependant, ces perturbations étaient localisées à la frange amont de la forêt, et le couvert forestier semblait se reconstituer sans difficulté dans les peuplements anciennement cultivés. Nous croyons que, dans le cadre de la mise en place d'une stratégie de conservation de la forêt marécageuse à Pterocarpus et dans la mesure où des études complémentaires sur des espèces particulièrement menacées pourront être menées, ce type d'agroforesterie durable constitue un intéressant outil pour la mise en oeuvre effective du concept de « zone tampon »

UA3/3/1 Analysis of the Demand for Married Student Housing at WKU, 1966-1967

The purpose of this study is to bring forth relevant information needed to determine the feasibility of an investment project for a married student housing complex on the campus of Western Kentucky University. Only the demand side of the market is analyzed; a potential investor will have the construction and land costs for such an enterprise at his disposal. With the information presented in this study it is hoped that a decision to construct a housing complex will be forthcoming. The study group attempted to present information that will allow a potential investor to make an intelligent decision as to the profitability of the investment. It is hoped that the critical questions concerning the investment have been answered by this study. The time period in which the study was carried out was January, 1967 to June, 1967, i.e., the second semester of the 1966-67 school year. The information presented was obtained from a single sample of the married population. Seventy married family units (8.4 percent of the population) were stratified according to class standing (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and Graduate) and then picked randomly within the class stratifications. A more desirable method would have been a sequential sampling method, but the time and expense of the method did not allow its use. Future studies can be carried out in order to substantiate the data presented at this time. The estimated size of the investment would seem to warrant at least one more comprehensive examination of the market in order that a more exact market character can be determined. The study group contacted state institutions that have married housing units in order to see if any useful information could be obtained from their experience in the determination of market character and size of their married students. None of the schools contacted had conducted a market study prior to the construction of such a housing unit. Discovering this factor did not disturb the study group. It was assumed that the market character at the various educational institutions would be significantly different with reference to income, rent, family size, etc., that no useful comparison could be made. The reason for this assumption rests on the fact that the educational institutions differ in such things as type and size of the graduate program and community size and industrial development. These factors have a direct influence on the family unit\u27s income, numbers, and the rate of growth of the married student body. The purpose of contacting the various institutions was to examine the methodology used in the study of the market for married student housing

The structural plasticity of white matter networks following anterior temporal lobe resection

Anterior temporal lobe resection is an effective treatment for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. The structural consequences of such surgery in the white matter, and how these relate to language function after surgery remain unknown. We carried out a longitudinal study with diffusion tensor imaging in 26 left and 20 right temporal lobe epilepsy patients before and a mean of 4.5 months after anterior temporal lobe resection. The whole-brain analysis technique tract-based spatial statistics was used to compare pre- and postoperative data in the left and right temporal lobe epilepsy groups separately. We observed widespread, significant, mean 7%, decreases in fractional anisotropy in white matter networks connected to the area of resection, following both left and right temporal lobe resections. However, we also observed a widespread, mean 8%, increase in fractional anisotropy after left anterior temporal lobe resection in the ipsilateral external capsule and posterior limb of the internal capsule, and corona radiata. These findings were confirmed on analysis of the native clusters and hand drawn regions of interest. Postoperative tractography seeded from this area suggests that this cluster is part of the ventro-medial language network. The mean pre- and postoperative fractional anisotropy and parallel diffusivity in this cluster were significantly correlated with postoperative verbal fluency and naming test scores. In addition, the percentage change in parallel diffusivity in this cluster was correlated with the percentage change in verbal fluency after anterior temporal lobe resection, such that the bigger the increase in parallel diffusivity, the smaller the fall in language proficiency after surgery. We suggest that the findings of increased fractional anisotropy in this ventro-medial language network represent structural reorganization in response to the anterior temporal lobe resection, which may damage the more susceptible dorso-lateral language pathway. These findings have important implications for our understanding of brain injury and rehabilitation, and may also prove useful in the prediction and minimization of postoperative language deficits

Additive value of [18F]PI-2620 perfusion imaging in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome

Purpose: Early after [18F]PI-2620 PET tracer administration, perfusion imaging has potential for regional assessment of neuronal injury in neurodegenerative diseases. This is while standard late-phase [18F]PI-2620 tau-PET is able to discriminate the 4-repeat tauopathies progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome (4RTs) from disease controls and healthy controls. Here, we investigated whether early-phase [18F]PI-2620 PET has an additive value for biomarker based evaluation of 4RTs. Methods: Seventy-eight patients with 4RTs (71 ± 7 years, 39 female), 79 patients with other neurodegenerative diseases (67 ± 12 years, 35 female) and twelve age-matched controls (69 ± 8 years, 8 female) underwent dynamic (0-60 min) [18F]PI-2620 PET imaging. Regional perfusion (0.5-2.5 min p.i.) and tau load (20-40 min p.i.) were measured in 246 predefined brain regions [standardized-uptake-value ratios (SUVr), cerebellar reference]. Regional SUVr were compared between 4RTs and controls by an ANOVA including false-discovery-rate (FDR, p < 0.01) correction. Hypoperfusion in resulting 4RT target regions was evaluated at the patient level in all patients (mean value - 2SD threshold). Additionally, perfusion and tau pattern expression levels were explored regarding their potential discriminatory value of 4RTs against other neurodegenerative disorders, including validation in an independent external dataset (n = 37), and correlated with clinical severity in 4RTs (PSP rating scale, MoCA, activities of daily living). Results: Patients with 4RTs had significant hypoperfusion in 21/246 brain regions, most dominant in thalamus, caudate nucleus, and anterior cingulate cortex, fitting to the topology of the 4RT disease spectrum. However, single region hypoperfusion was not specific regarding the discrimination of patients with 4RTs against patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. In contrast, perfusion pattern expression showed promise for discrimination of patients with 4RTs from other neurodegenerative diseases (AUC: 0.850). Discrimination by the combined perfusion-tau pattern expression (AUC: 0.903) exceeded that of the sole tau pattern expression (AUC: 0.864) and the discriminatory power of the combined perfusion-tau pattern expression was replicated in the external dataset (AUC: 0.917). Perfusion but not tau pattern expression was associated with PSP rating scale (R = 0.402; p = 0.0012) and activities of daily living (R = - 0.431; p = 0.0005). Conclusion: [18F]PI-2620 perfusion imaging mirrors known topology of regional hypoperfusion in 4RTs. Single region hypoperfusion is not specific for 4RTs, but perfusion pattern expression may provide an additive value for the discrimination of 4RTs from other neurodegenerative diseases and correlates closer with clinical severity than tau pattern expression