Deposit Games with Reinvestment

In a deposit game coalitions are formed by players combining their capital. The proceeds of their investments then have to be divided among those players. The current model extends earlier work on capital deposits by allowing reinvestment of returns. Two specific subclasses of deposit games are introduced. It is seen that each term dependent deposit game possesses a core element. Capital dependent deposit games are also shown to have a core element and even a population monotonic allocation scheme if the revenue function exhibits increasing returns to scale. Furthermore, it is shown that all superadditive games are deposit games if one allows for debt.cooperative game theory;deposit games;core elements;population monotonic allo- cation schemes;superadditive games

Transfers, Contracts and Strategic Games

This paper analyses the role of transfer payments and strategic con- tracting within two-person strategic form games with monetary pay- offs. First, it introduces the notion of transfer equilibrium as a strat- egy combination for which individual stability can be supported by allowing the possibility of transfers of the induced payoffs. Clearly, Nash equilibria are transfer equilibria, but under common regularity conditions the reverse is also true. This result typically does not hold for finite games without the possibility of randomisation, and transfer equilibria for this particular class are studied in some detail. The second part of the paper introduces, also within the setting of finite games, contracting on monetary transfers as an explicit strategic option, resulting in an associated two-stage contract game. In the first stage of the contract game each player has the option of proposing transfer schemes for an arbitrary collection of outcomes. Only if the players fully agree on the entire set of transfer proposals, the payoffs of the game to be played in the second stage are modified accordingly. The main results provide explicit characterisations of the sets of payoff vectors that are supported by Nash equilibrium and virtual subgame perfect equilibrium, respectively.monetary transfer scheme;transfer equilibrium;contract game;virtual subgame perfect equilibrium;Folk theorems

Conformity and controversies in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up evaluation of canine nodal lymphoma: a systematic review of the last 15 years of published literature

Diagnostic methods used in the initial and post-treatment evaluation of canine lymphoma are heterogeneous and can vary within countries and institutions. Accurate reporting of clinical stage and response assessment is crucial in determining the treatment efficacy and predicting prognosis. This study comprises a systematic review of all available canine multicentric lymphoma studies published over 15 years. Data concerning diagnosis, clinical stage evaluation and response assessment procedures were extracted and compared. Sixty-three studies met the eligibility criteria. Fifty-five (87.3%) studies were non-randomized prospective or retrospective studies. The survey results also expose variations in diagnostic criteria and treatment response assessment in canine multicentric lymphoma. Variations in staging procedures performed and recorded led to an unquantifiable heterogeneity among patients in and between studies, making it difficult to compare treatment efficacies. Awareness of this inconsistency of procedure and reporting may help in the design of future clinical trials

Diferencias en las propiedades reológicas de suspensiones de cal calcítica y dolomítica: influencia de las características de las partículas e implicaciones prácticas en la fabricación de morteros de cal

The study of the rheological properties of lime suspensions is a useful means to evaluate the workability of lime mortars. In this work, we studied the flow behaviour of two industrial hydrated limes, one of calcitic and the other of dolomitic composition, by means of two types of rheometer with different geometry and setup mode. The obtained results were interpreted taking into account the differences in microstructure and surface properties of the suspended particles. Calcitic lime dry particles are formed by angular and polydisperse clusters and, once dispersed in water, they behave like thixotropic materials. On the other hand, the dolomitic lime is formed by nanoparticles and small round cluster and it shows a pronounced plastic behaviour in suspension. This fundamental difference between the two materials explains the traditional preference for dolomitic lime mortars for plastering and rendering applications.El estudio de las propiedades reológicas de suspensiones de cal es una herramienta muy útil para evaluar la trabajabilidad de morteros de cal. En este trabajo se ha estudiado el comportamiento en suspensión de dos cales hidratadas, de composición calcítica y dolomítica, mediante dos tipos de reómetros con geometría y modalidades distintas de medida. Los resultados obtenidos se han interpretado teniendo en cuenta las diferencias en la microestructura y las propiedades de superficie de las partículas en suspensión. Las partículas de cal calcítica están formadas por aglomerados angulares y polidispersos y, una vez dispersadas en agua, presentan un comportamiento tixotrópico. Por su parte, la cal dolomítica está formada por nanopartículas y pequeños agregados redondeados y muestra en suspensión un pronunciado comportamiento plástico. Esta importante diferencia entre las dos cales explica la preferencia tradicional de morteros de cal dolomítica para aplicaciones en revocos

Advancing the remote sensing of precipitation

Satellite-based global precipitation data has addressed the limitations of rain gauges and weather radar systems in forecasting applications and for weather and climate studies. Inspite of this ability, a number of issues that require the development of advanced concepts to address key challenges in satellite-based observations of precipitation were identified during the Advanced Concepts Workshop on Remote Sensing of Precipitation at Multiple Scales at the University of California. These include quantification of uncertainties of individual sensors and their propagation into multisensor products warrants a great deal of research. The development of metrics for validation and uncertainty analysis are of great importance. Bias removal, particularly probability distribution function (PDF)-based adjustment, deserves more in-depth research. Development of a near-real-time probabilistic uncertainty model for satellitebased precipitation estimates is highly desirable