627 research outputs found
Decentralised Coordination of Low-Power Embedded Devices Using the Max-Sum Algorithm
No full textThis paper considers the problem of performing decentralised coordination of low-power embedded devices (as is required within many environmental sensing and surveillance applications). Specifically, we address the generic problem of maximising social welfare within a group of interacting agents. We propose a novel representation of the problem, as a cyclic bipartite factor graph, composed of variable and function nodes (representing the agents’ states and utilities respectively). We show that such representation allows us to use an extension of the max-sum algorithm to generate approximate solutions to this global optimisation problem through local decentralised message passing. We empirically evaluate this approach on a canonical coordination problem (graph colouring), and benchmark it against state of the art approximate and complete algorithms (DSA and DPOP). We show that our approach is robust to lossy communication, that it generates solutions closer to those of DPOP than DSA is able to, and that it does so with a communication cost (in terms of total messages size) that scales very well with the number of agents in the system (compared to the exponential increase of DPOP). Finally, we describe a hardware implementation of our algorithm operating on low-power Chipcon CC2431 System-on-Chip sensor nodes
Reflections on the Inaugural Conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA)
No full textThe interview of Tudor Petcu with Rico Vitz. Rico Vitz is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Azusa Pacific University, and serves as the Executive Vice President-Treasurer of the Hume Society. He is the author of Reforming the Art of Living: Nature Virtue and Religion in Descartes’s Epistemology (Springer), and the editor of The Ethics of Belief (Oxford) and of Turning East: Contemporary Philosophers and the Ancient Christian Faith (St Vladimir’s Seminary Press). He is a member of St. Peter the Apostle Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Pomona, California, U.S.A
Capsaicin short term administration effect on different immune parameters
No full textType 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease affecting a higher and higher number of persons; for this reason, the study of diabetes, and its complications, has shown a major interest. In order to highlight the modifications appeared in this disease, it is essential to use a suitable model. In "Cantacuzino" NIRDMI there is a double transgenic murine model which develops a fulminating form of type 1 diabetes. Previous studies indicate the usefulness of this diabetic murine model in order to study neuropathy. Capsaicin treatment is one method to reduce neuropathic pain. This study was based on the assumption that intraperitoneal administration of a low dose of capsaicin, on a short period of time, can decrease pain sensations generation and transmission. If from the neurological point of view, capsaicin effects are known, its effects on the immune system are not clear yet. Therefore, in this study we have investigated capsaicin effects on oxygen and nitrogen free radicals generation by phagocytic immune cells, in lymphocyte populations, and also capsaicin effects on plasmatic protein oxidation. Our results point to minor modifications in oxygen reactive species production, simultaneous with a significantly decrease in nitric oxide generation, without affecting lymphocyte populations. Therefore, capsaicin short term administration can be used to reduce pain sensations, without the impairment of immune parameters
Review of behavioral finance: effects on investor decisión making and market anomalies
No full textTreball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs acadèmic: 2019/2020The following work focuses on identifying the inefficiencies of markets and investors and how behavioural finance explains these behaviours.
Therefore, the first section describes the bases of the financial market hypothesis, as Fama and French (quoted in Prosad, Kapoor and Sengupta, 2015) argue, in these markets it is operated under the condition that the prices of the securities show all the available and relevant information.
The second chapter analyses behavioural finance, starting with Tversky and Kahneman's (1974) prospective theory, then the most important biases are classified depending on whether they are cognitive or emotional, and ends with another classification according to the risk tolerance level of each bias
Optimized Ventriculo-Arterial Optimized Ventriculo-Arterial Interaction Explains Better Longitudinal Function in Endurance-Trained Athletes by Comparison with Strength-Trained Athletes
No full textnot availabl
Interview: The Uniqueness and Continuing Relevance of Gabriel Marcel
No full textThe interview of Tudor Petcu with Brendan Sweetman. Brendan Sweetman is a teacher, philosopher, and writer. From Dublin, Ireland, he is Professor of Philosophy and holds the Sullivan Chair in Philosophy at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He is the author or editor of twelve books, including Religion and Science: An Introduction (Continuum, 2010), The Vision of Gabriel Marcel (Rodopi, 2008), Religion: Key Concepts in Philosophy (Continuum, 2007), Why Politics Needs Religion: The Place of Religious Arguments in the Public Square (InterVarsity, 2006), Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology (Oxford U.P., 1992), A Gabriel Marcel Reader (St. Augustine’s Press, 2011), and, most recently, Evolution, Chance, and God (Bloomsbury, 2015). He has published more than one hundred articles and critical reviews in a variety of journals, collections, and reference works, including International Philosophical Quarterly, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Faith and Philosophy, Philosophia Christi, Philosophical Quarterly, Review of Metaphysics, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Polish Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and New Catholic Encyclopedia (for which he was a Consulting Editor). He has been a Visiting Scholar and Keynote Speaker at several universities and colleges in the U.S., and, internationally, has given lectures in many countries. Dr Sweetman is the current President of the Gabriel Marcel Society, Vice-President for North America of World Conference of Catholic University Institutions of Philosophy (COMIUCAP), and the editor of Marcel Studies. His books and articles have been translated into several languages, including Portuguese and Italian
Collagen-Coated Hyperelastic Bone Promotes Osteoblast Adhesion and Proliferation
No full textSuccessfully reconstructing bone and restoring its dynamic function represents a significant challenge for medicine. Critical size defects (CSDs), resulting from trauma, tumor removal, or degenerative conditions, do not naturally heal and often require complex bone grafting. However, these grafts carry risks, such as tissue rejection, infections, and surgical site damage, necessitating the development of alternative treatments. Three-dimensional and four-dimensional printed synthetic biomaterials represent a viable alternative, as they carry low production costs and are highly reproducible. Hyperelastic bone (HB), a biocompatible synthetic polymer consisting of 90% hydroxyapatite and 10% poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid, PLGA), was examined for its potential to support cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Specifically, we seeded collagen-coated HB with MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells. Our analysis revealed robust cell adhesion and proliferation over 7 days in vitro, with cells forming uniform monolayers on the external surface of the scaffold. However, no cells were present on the core of the fibers. The cells expressed bone differentiation markers on days 3 and 5. By day 7, the scaffold began to degrade, developing microscopic fissures and fragmentation. In summary, collagen-coated HB scaffolds support cell adhesion and proliferation but exhibit reduced structural support after 7 days in culture. Nevertheless, the intricate 3D architecture holds promise for cellular migration, vascularization, and early osteogenesis
Prison overcrowding and prisoners health: the Italian penitentiary system at the time of the pandemic.
No full textThe Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit Italy as first among European countries, has caused fear of dramatic consequences for the Italian prison population, due to the impossibility to guarantee compliance with the minimum distancing recommended by the health authorities inside prisons which have one of the highest occupancy rates in Europe. Despite the declaration of a state of emergency in prisons ten years ago and the consequent use of a series of deflationary measures, a new increase in the number of prisoners, many of them foreigners, had been recorded in the five years preceding 2020. The crisis of the penitentiary system therefore had not been tackled by rethinking criminal policies, especially those on drug and irregular immigration, but simply by introducing mechanisms for the decongestion of prisons without a large-scale intervention. Only thanks to the recent legislative measures adopted in the context of the Covid-19 emergency, the number of prisoners had started to decrease from March to July 2020, except then resuming its growth. However, a wave of riots broke out in numerous Italian prisons in March, as a protest against the suspension imposed on the talks with relatives, causing the death of some inmates and allowing the escape of others. The present contribution aims to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Italian prisons, reflecting on the current social and political state of the penitentiary system, with particular reference to the contradictions of the criminal policies adopted over time and to the social and health conditions of the prison population
Better longitudinal function in endurance-trained athletes in comparison with strength-trained athletes, related to optimized ventriculo-arterial interaction.
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