Potential Maximization and Coalition Government Formation

A model of coalition government formation is presented in which inefficient, non-minimal winning coalitions may form in Nash equilibrium. Predictions for five games are presented and tested experimentally. The experimental data support potential maximization as a refinement of Nash equilibrium. In particular, the data support the prediction that non-minimal winning coalitions occur when the distance between policy positions of the parties is small relative to the value of forming the government. These conditions hold in games 1, 3, 4 and 5, where subjects played their unique potential-maximizing strategies 91, 52, 82 and 84 percent of the time, respectively. In the remaining game (Game 2) experimental data support the prediction of a minimal winning coalition. Players A and B played their unique potential-maximizing strategies 84 and 86 percent of the time, respectively, and the predicted minimal-winning government formed 92 percent of the time (all strategy choices for player C conform with potential maximization in Game 2). In Games 1, 2, 4 and 5 over 98 percent of the observed Nash equilibrium outcomes were those predicted by potential maximization. Other solution concepts including iterated elimination of dominated strategies and strong/coalition proof Nash equilibrium are also tested.Coalition formation, Potential maximization, Nash equilibrium refinements, Experimental study, Minimal winning

Ti3SiC2-Cf composites by spark plasma sintering: Processing, microstructure and thermo-mechanical properties

MAX phases, and particularly Ti3SiC2, are interesting for high temperature applications. The addition of carbon fibers can be used to reduce the density and to modify the properties of the matrix. This work presents the densification and characterization of Ti3SiC2 based composites with short carbon fibers using a fast and simple fabrication approach: dry mixing and densification by Spark Plasma Sintering. Good densification level was obtained below 1400 °C even with a high amount of fibers. The reaction of the fibers with the matrix is limited thanks to the fast processing time and depends on the amount of fibers in the composite. Bending strength at room temperature, between 437 and 120 MPa, is in the range of conventional CMCs with short fibers and according to the resistance of the matrix and the presence of residual porosity. Thermo-mechanical properties of the composites up to 1500 °C are also presented.This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon2020 “Research and innovation programme” under grant agreement No 685594 (C3HARME

Hydroxyapatite coating on titanium by a low energy plasma spraying mini-gun

Plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings are used on metallic implants to improve osseointegration and bone growth. The purpose of this work was to determine the microstructure and composition of HA coatings obtained with a newly developed low energy plasma spray mini-gun employing an HA feedstock powder with smaller granulometry than that commonly used. The microstructure and the phase composition of the coatings obtained by varying the number of mini-gun runs were examined using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared and micro-Raman spectroscopy. In all cases, the results indicate the presence of an amorphous phase and oxyapatite in the coatings due to hydroxyl group removal. No other foreign crystalline phases were detected. The absence of foreign phases was attributed to the fast cooling rate of the small particles used in the experiments and the low amount of energy employed with the mini-gun. Decomposition in the υ1PO4 region of the Raman spectra allowed a semi-quantitative evaluation of the phase contents as a function of the number of runs. Micro-Raman spectroscopy appears to be a powerful technique providing comprehensive and localised information concerning calcium phosphate phases in coatings

Supplementary use of HbA1c as hyperglycemic criterion to detect metabolic syndrome

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors including hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity and hypertension. An effective detection of MetS not only reflects the prediction risk of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases but also helps to plan for management strategy which could reduce the healthcare burden of the society. This study aimed to compare the use of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) as the hyperglycemic component in MetS diagnosis. Methods: Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, FPG, and HbA1c were examined in 120 Hong Kong Chinese adults with MetS and 120 without MetS. After reviewing the subject basal characteristics, 11 of them were found with undiagnosed diabetes (FPG ≧7.0 mmol/L) and were excluded for further analysis. Results: The most prevalent MetS components among the included subjects were elevated systolic blood pressure and central obesity. Significant correlation relationships existed between FPG and HbA1c in both subject pools diagnosed with and without MetS (p < 0.001). The diagnostic rate of MetS using HbA1c was compared to FPG by the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis which suggested an area under curve of 0.807 (95% CI: 0.727 to 0.887). The agreement was 90.7% in MetS-positive group with increased FPG as one of the criterion co-existed with elevated HbA1c. If including HbA1c as an additional criterion to FPG in the MetS diagnosis, 30 more participants in MetS-negative group would be MetS-positive leading to an increase in detection rate. Furthermore, 47 subjects (38 from MetS-positive group and 9 from MetS-negative group) were found having HbA1c ≧6.5%, who would have been diagnosed with diabetes based on the diagnostic criteria implemented by the Expert Group in 2009. Conclusion: These findings suggest that HbA1c enhances the detection of hyperglycemia for the diagnosis of MetS.Department of Health Technology and Informatic

Анализ и исследование условий образования и эффективности мер предотвращения солеотложений при эксплуатации скважин на Шингинском нефтяном месторождении (Томская область)

Предотвращение солеобразования оборудования эксплуатационных скважин. Объектом являются добывающие и нагнетательные скважины, пробы попутно-добываемой и нагнетаемой воды. Целью работы является увеличения межремонтного периода работы осложнённого фонда скважин и разработки рекомендаций по увеличению срока защиты подземного оборудования. В процессе исследования проводились анализ химического состава и определение типа попутно добываемой, пластовой и нагнетаемой воды, изучение внутренней структуры солеотложения, прогноз вероятности образования солеотложений в подземном оборудовании скважин, анализ экономической эффективности за счет изменения межремонтного периода работы скважин.Scale formation is a major problem in the oil industry. They may occur downhole or in surface facilities. The formations of these scales plug production lines and equipment and impair fluid flow. Their consequence could be production equipment failure, emergency shutdown, increased maintenance cost, and an overall decrease in production efficiency. The failure of production equipment and instruments could result in safety hazards

Proteasome inhibition alleviates prolonged moderate compression-induced muscle pathology

Background: The molecular mechanism initiating deep pressure ulcer remains to be elucidated. The present study tested the hypothesis that the ubiquitin proteasome system is involved in the signalling mechanism in pressure-induced deep tissue injury. Methods. Adult Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to an experimental compression model to induce deep tissue injury. The tibialis region of the right hind limb was subjected to 100 mmHg of static pressure for six hours on each of two consecutive days. The compression pressure was continuously monitored by a three-axial force transducer within the compression indentor. The left hind limb served as the intra-animal control. Muscle tissues underneath the compressed region were collected and used for analyses. Results: Our results demonstrated that the activity of 20S proteasome and the protein abundance of ubiquitin and MAFbx/atrogin-1 were elevated in conjunction with pathohistological changes in the compressed muscle, as compared to control muscle. The administration of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 was found to be effective in ameliorating the development of pathological histology in compressed muscle. Furthermore, 20S proteasome activity and protein content of ubiquitin and MAFbx/atrogin-1 showed no apparent increase in the MG132-treated muscle following compression. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the ubiquitin proteasome system may play a role in the pathogenesis of pressure-induced deep tissue injury. © 2011 Siu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A new approach to predict the fish fillet shelf-life in presence of natural preservative agents

Three data sets concerning the behaviour of spoilage flora of fillets treated with natural preservative substances (NPS) were used to construct a new kind of mathematical predictive model. This model, unlike other ones, allows expressing the antibacterial effect of the NPS separately from the prediction of the growth rate. This approach, based on the introduction of a parameter into the predictive primary model, produced a good fitting of observed data and allowed characterising quantitatively the increase of shelf-life of fillets