Bounded Rationality,Group Formation and the Emergence of Trust: An Agent-Based Economic Model

Computational Economics - It is possible to model trust as an investment game, where a player in order to receive a reward or a better outcome, accepts a certain risk of defection by another...     

Revolving Vernier Mechanism Controls Size of Linear Homomultimer

A new kind of the Vernier mechanism that is able to control the size of linear assembly of DNA origami nanostructures is proposed. The mechanism is realized by mechanical design of DNA origami, which consists of a hollow cylinder and a rotatable shaft in it connected through the same scaffold. This nanostructure stacks with each other by the shape complementarity at its top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder, while the number of stacking is limited by twisting angle of the shaft. Experiments have shown that the size distribution of multimeric assembly of the origami depends on the twisting angle of the shaft; the average lengths of the multimer are decamer, hexamer, and tetramer for 0°, 10°, and 20° twist, respectively. In summary, it is possible to affect the number of polymerization by adjusting the precise shape and movability of a molecular structure.     

A biped static balance control and torque pattern learning under unknown periodic external forces

This paper addresses a biped balancing task in which an unknown external force is exerted, using the so-called ‘ankle strategy’ model. When an external force is periodic, a human adaptively maintains the balance, next learns how much force should be produced at the ankle joint from its repeatability, and finally memorized it as a motion pattern. To acquire motion patterns with balancing, we propose a control and learning method: as the control method, we adopt ground reaction force feedback to cope with an uncertain external force, while, as the learning method, we introduce a motion pattern generator that memorizes the torque pattern of the ankle joint by use of Fourier series expansion. In this learning process, the period estimation of the external force is crucial; this estimation is achieved based on local autocorrelation of joint trajectories. Computer simulations and robot experiments show effective control and learning results with respect to unknown periodic external forces.     

A study on a quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm based on pair swap

A quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm (QEA) is proposed as a stochastic algorithm to perform combinatorial optimization problems. The QEA is evolutionary computation that uses quantum bits and superposition states in quantum computation. Although the QEA is a coarse-grained parallel algorithm, it involves many parameters that must be adjusted manually. This paper proposes a new method, named pair swap, which exchanges each best solution information between two individuals instead of migration in the QEA. Experimental results show that our proposed method is a simpler algorithm and can find a high quality solution in the 0-1 knapsack problem. This work was presented in part at the 12th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 25–27, 2007     

Bottom-up pyramid cellular acceptors with three-dimensional layers

In 1997, C.R. Dyer and A. Rosenfeld introduced an acceptor on a two-dimensional pattern (or tape), called the pyramid cellular acceptor, and demonstrated that many useful recognition tasks are executed by pyramid cellular acceptors in time proportional to the logarithm of the diameter of the input. They also introduced a bottom-up pyramid cellular acceptor which is a restricted version of the pyramid cellular acceptor, and proposed some interesting open problems of the bottom-up pyramid cellular acceptors. On the other hand, we think that the study of threedimensional automata has been meaningful as the computational model of three-dimensional information processing such as computer vision, robotics, and so forth. In this paper, we investigate about bottom-up pyramid cellular acceptors with three-dimensional layers, and show their some accepting powers. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008     

Motion mapping and mode decision for MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding

This paper describes novel transcoding techniques aimed for low-complexity MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding. An important application for this type of conversion is efficient storage of broadcast video in consumer devices. The architecture for such a system is presented, which includes novel motion mapping and mode decision algorithms. For the motion mapping, two algorithms are presented. Both efficiently map incoming MPEG-2 motion vectors to outgoing H.264/AVC motion vectors regardless of the block sizes that the motion vectors correspond to. In addition, the algorithm maps motion vectors to different reference pictures, which is useful for picture type conversion and prediction from multiple reference pictures. We also propose an efficient rate-distortion optimised macroblock coding mode decision algorithm, which first evaluates candidate modes based on a simple cost function so that a reduced set of candidate modes is formed, then based on this reduced set, we evaluate the more complex Lagrangian cost calculation to determine the coding mode. Extensive simulation results show that our proposed transcoder incorporating the proposed algorithms achieves very good rate-distortion performance with low complexity. Compared with the cascaded decoder-encoder solution, the coding efficiency is maintained while the complexity is significantly reduced.

Dynamic alternation of primate response properties during trial-and-error knowledge updating

Humans and animals seek appropriate solutions to novel problems through trial-and-error (TE) actions and observation of their outcomes. Once an individual has obtained the knowledge (rule) to solve a problem, knowledge-based (KB) actions may be applied in a stereotypical manner. Solutions can thus be based on TE or KB actions. To characterize this learning process at the behavioral level, we developed a new cognitive task for a laboratory monkey (Macaca fuscata) to perform. In this task, a search array consisting of six elements of different colors was presented, one of which was the behaviorally relevant target. The target color was changed unpredictably with no instruction or signal, requiring the monkey to use a TE search strategy to find the target color. We found that once the monkey identified the relevant color by chance after a color change, correct performance increased in a step-like manner and at the same time, other response properties (reaction time and color-choice tendency) also changed discontinuously. These step-like alternations in behavioral performance may be attributed to the subject’s switching between TE and KB search strategies in the two phases. The present study has therefore provided behavioral evidence for the timing and manner of switching between search strategies during the process of updating knowledge.     

Morphological characteristics of flood refugia of cobble-bed vegetation

Periodic flooding alters riverine vegetation community composition; moderate flood disturbance maintains communities at an early seral stage, whereas severe floods may remove entire communities. After disturbance, plants may recolonize riverbeds from refugia.Here, we investigated the morphological characteristics of refugia where riverine plants survived large floods. At three sites, plant communities growing on cobble-bars were surveyed, and the hydraulic characteristics of each site were analyzed. The populations of an indicator plant, Anaphalis margaritacea sub-species yedoensis (Franch. et Savat.) were assessed after major floods in 2004 and 2009. At each survey, the particle size and bed composition were measured, and the critical shear-stress required to move particles at each site was calculated. A one-dimensional flow and the average and local shear-stress at ten different discharges, including that of the largest flood were calculated. The results demonstrate that the A. margaritacea community is maintained at locations where the local shear-stress at peak discharge in large-floods does not exceed a critical value. These conditions were achieved in locations with particular morphological characteristics, where the river is not constrained by levees and is restricted by a downstream narrow-pass; in this reach river width increases with discharge thus limiting the increase in water depth with increasing discharge and allowing the establishment of refugia where plant species may survive large floods.Flooding and reestablishment from refugia maintain a characteristic riverbed community in equilibrium.     

Triglyceride analysis by combined argentation/nonaqueous reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography

Full analysis of triglycerides of natural fats and oils has been investigated by the combination of argentation high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with nonaqueous reversed phase (NARP) HPLC. An infrared detector was used in argentation HPLC, because it indicated molar responsibility to all triglycerides. After peak trapping with argentation HPLC, each triglyceride fraction was analyzed with NARP chromatography using the glyceride-selective post-column reactor detector. The results of the analyses of triglycerides of palm oil and cocoa butter by the proposed method agreed well with those reported earlier.     

Chemical response of Picea glehnii seed-epiphytic Penicillium species to Pythium vexans under in vitro competitive conditions for mycelial growth

The potential protection of Picea glehnii seedlings from damping-off by seed-epiphytic Penicillium species was investigated. We studied the chemical response of seed-epiphytic Penicillium species (Pen. cyaneum, Pen. damascenum, and Pen. implicatum) to Pythium vexans, a damping-off fungus, in vitro. Penicillium species were cultured singly or cocultured with Pyt. vexans for 14 or 18 d, and mycelial growth, pH of culture filtrate, antifungal activity of the culture filtrate against Pyt. vexans, and the amount of antifungal compound produced by each Penicillium species, were examined. The filtrate of both the single culture of Penicillium and the coculture of Penicillium and Pyt. vexans showed antifungal activity against Pyt. vexans. In a coculture with Pyt. vexans, Pen. cyaneum produced an antifungal compound (patulin) as in the single culture. Pen. damascenum cocultured with Pyt. vexans produced an antifungal compound (citrinin), as it did in the single culture and in larger amounts on day 10. Pen. implicatum produced two antifungal compounds, frequentin and palitantin, and the ratio of frequentin (with higher antifungal activity than palitantin) to palitantin was higher in the coculture with Pyt. vexans than in the single culture. Our results indicate that these Penicillium species have the ability to produce antifungal compounds and to keep antifungal activity under competitive condition with Pyt. vexans. The chemical response of these Penicillium species to Pyt. vexans may contribute to protect P. glehnii seedlings from damage by Pyt. vexans.