Noncooperative foundations of the area monotonic solution

Given a finite set of alternatives, players alternate making offers. Player 1 offers some alternative that 2 can accept or veto. If 2 accepts, it is enforced, and the game ends. Otherwise, 2 makes a counteroffer among the remaining alternatives, and so on. If all alternatives are vetoed, a disagreement alternative is enforced. First, we characterize the unique outcome of any subgame perfect equilibrium of this game. Then, we show that this outcome converges to the Area Monotonic Solution if the alternatives are uniformly distributed over the bargaining set, and as the number of alternatives tends to infinity.

Azimuth

The exhibition,"Azimuth", looks at earth and space in a series of visually spectaculor works by the two artists. Daniel Armstrong’s series of digital photographs are heavily manipulated grids of astronomical images sampled from the night sky with time exposures of a number of seconds using both analog and digital recording equipment. These grids are reconfigurations of those stars that impose such presence on one’s visual nocturnal experience of regional Victoria. James McArdle's photographs deal with the human sensations of being on the ground, in the landscape.

A robust learning control for SISO Nonlinear systems with T-S Fuzzy Model : C02-robust control

In this paper, a robust learning control is developed for a class of single input single output (SISO) nonlinear systems with T-S fuzzy model. It is seen that the proposed sliding mode learning control with the powerful Lipshitz-like condition can guarantee the stability, convergence and robustness of the closed-loop system without involving any assumptions on uncertain system dynamics. In addition, theconcept that the local system with the maximum membership function dominates the system dynamic behaviours helps to greatly simplify the control system design. It will be further seen that the continuous learning control ensures the advantage of chattering-free that may occur in conventional sliding mode systems. Simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed learning control through the comparison with the H-infinity control.

Measuring the capacity of image fusion

Multisource image fusion is usually achieved by repeatedly fusing source images in pairs. However, there is no guarantee on the delivered quality considering the amount of information to be squeezed into the same spatial dimension. This paper presents a fusion capacity measure and examines the limits at which fusing more images will not add further information. The fusion capacity index employs Mutual Information (MI) to measure how far the histogram of the examined image is from a uniformly distributed histogram of a saturated image.

Learning from ordered sets and applications in collaborative ranking

Ranking over sets arise when users choose between groups of items. For example, a group may be of those movies deemed 5 stars to them, or a customized tour package. It turns out, to model this data type properly, we need to investigate the general combinatorics problem of partitioning a set and ordering the subsets. Here we construct a probabilistic log-linear model over a set of ordered subsets. Inference in this combinatorial space is highly challenging: The space size approaches (N!/2)6.93145N+1 as N approaches infinity. We propose a split-and-merge Metropolis-Hastings procedure that can explore the state-space efficiently. For discovering hidden aspects in the data, we enrich the model with latent binary variables so that the posteriors can be efficiently evaluated. Finally, we evaluate the proposed model on large-scale collaborative filtering tasks and demonstrate that it is competitive against state-of-the-art methods.

The impact of column connection on band broadening in very high pressure liquid chromatography

A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the degree of band broadening in very high pressure LC due to column connections. Different column manufacturers use slightly different designs for their column fittings. If the same column connections are repeatedly used to attach columns of different origins, different void volumes form between capillary tubes and column inlets. An Agilent Ultra Low Dispersion Kit (tubing id 75 μm) was installed on an Agilent Infinity 1290 ultra HPLC and used to connect successively an Agilent, a Phenomenex, and a Waters column. A series of uracil (unretained) samples were injected and eluted at a wide range of flow rates with a water/acetonitrile mixture as eluent. In order to determine the variance contribution from column connections as accurately as possible a nonretained probe compound was selected because the variance contribution from the column is the smallest for analytes, which have very low k values. Yet, this effect still has an impact on the resolution for moderately retained compounds (k > 2) for narrow-bore columns packed with fine particles, since variance contributions are additive for linear chromatographic systems. Each injection was replicated five times under the same experimental conditions. Then NanoViper column connections (tubing id 75 μm) were used and the same injections were made. This system was designed to minimize connection void volumes for any column. Band variances were calculated as the second central moment of elution peaks and used to assess the degree of band broadening due to the column connections. Band broadening may increase from 3.8 to 53.9% when conventional metal ferrules were used to join columns to connection sites. The results show that the variance contribution from improper connections can generate as much as 60.5% of the total variance observed. This demonstrates that column connections can play a larger role than the column packing with respect to band dispersion.

Partial state estimation for linear systems with output and input time delays.

This paper deals with the problem of partial state observer design for linear systems that are subject to time delays in the measured output as well as the control input. By choosing a set of appropriate augmented Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals with a triple-integral term and using the information of both the delayed output and input, a novel approach to design a minimal-order observer is proposed to guarantee that the observer error is ε-convergent with an exponential rate. Existence conditions of such an observer are derived in terms of matrix inequalities for the cases with time delays in both the output and input and with output delay only. Constructive design algorithms are introduced. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the design procedure, practicality and effectiveness of the proposed observer.

A simple test for nonstationarity in mixed panels: A further investigation

The test of Ng (2008) is one of the few that enables general inference regarding the proportion of non-stationary units in panel data. The current paper furthers the investigation of Ng (2008) in two directions. First, the existing sequential limit analysis is generalized to a very flexible asymptotic framework in which the number of time periods, T, can be either fixed or tending to infinity jointly with the number of cross-section units, N. Second, the test statistic is evaluated not only under the null hypothesis, but also under alternatives that can be either fixed or local.

Stochastic stability of nonlinear discrete-time Markovian jump systems with time-varying delay and partially unknown transition rates

This paper is concerned with stochastic stability of a class of nonlinear discrete-time Markovian jump systems with interval time-varying delay and partially unknown transition probabilities. A new weighted summation inequality is first derived. We then employ the newly derived inequality to establish delay-dependent conditions which guarantee the stochastic stability of the system. These conditions are derived in terms of tractable matrix inequalities which can be computationally solved by various convex optimized algorithms. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.

Partial state estimation of LTI systems with multiple constant time-delays

Functional observer design for Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) systems with multiple mixed time delays in the states of the system is addressed. Two structures for the design of a minimum-order observer are considered: 1 - delay-dependent, and 2 - internal-delay independent. The parameters of the delay-dependent observer are designed using the Lyapunov Krasovskii approach. The delay-dependent exponential stability of the observer for a specified convergence rate and delay values is guaranteed upon the feasibility of a set of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs) together with a rank condition. Using the descriptor transformation, a modified Jensen's inequality, and improved Park's inequality, the results can be less conservative than the available functional observer design methods that address LTI systems with single state delay. Furthermore, the necessary and sufficient conditions of the asymptotic stability of the internal-delay independent observer are obtained, which are shown to be independent of delay. Two illustrative numerical examples and simulation studies confirm the validity and highlight the performance of the proposed theoretical achievements.

Like a porcupine or hedgehog?: The prose poem as post-romantic fragment

Prose poems are frequently characterised as fragmentary or incomplete in the way that they gesture to a larger, often unnamed, frame of reference; present small, sometimes unfinished narratives which are implied to be parts of larger narrative structures; and are often characterised by considerable indeterminacy. In this respect, it may be argued that prose poetry traces part of its lineage back to Romantic fragment poems—indeed, at least as far back as James Macpherson’s Ossian “translations”. In the Romantic period, fragments were understood as reflecting the idea of the imperfectability of contemporary human existence, aided by the antiquarian attraction of many Romantic writers to the ruins and relics of the classical past and an associated preference for the evocation of notions of infinitude and boundlessness. This paper argues that prose poems gesture to this Romantic genealogy in their concern with openness and diversity, and the reshaping of literary-aesthetic boundaries to metonymically explore incompleteness. The paper takes its name from Friedrich Schelgel’s Igel. Schlegel famously described the fragment as an Igel, or hedgehog, because of its autonomy and isolation from the wider world. One way of understanding the renaissance of the prose poem in the last 35 years, is to apply the Schlegelian metaphor of a hedgehog to contemporary prose poems in order to argue that this hybrid genre remains in dialogue with the fragmented literary works of the past. This paper argues that as prose poetry continues to explore fissured identity and plurality in a postmodern society, it owes a significant debt to postmodernism’s Romantic and fragmented inheritance.

The lost room

Solid cast glass house, polished and sandblasted with cast glass furniture and mirrored walls. Metal stand with light fitting. "Two seperate spaces: a hidden interior extends into infinity; a visually transparent but material house form radiates a third space, an exterior scene of a forest. The three places co-exist within the one object, their boundaries blurred."

Static output feedback frequency stabilization of time-delay power systems with coordinated electric vehicles state of charge control

In this paper, for the first time, electric vehicles are used for both the primary and secondary frequency controls to support power plants to rapidly suppress fluctuations in the system frequency due to load disturbances. Via networked control and wide-area communication infrastructures, multiple interval time-varying delays exist in the communication channels between the control center, power plant, and an aggregation of electric vehicles. By coordinating batteries’ state of charge control, the behaviors of the vehicle owners and the uncertainties imposed by the changes of the batteries’ state of charge are taken intoconsideration. A power system model incorporating multiple time-varying delays and uncertainties is first proposed. Then, a robust static output feedback frequency controller is designed to guarantee the resulting closed-loop system stable with an H∞ attenuation level. By utilizing a novel integral inequality, namely refined-Jensen inequality, and an improved reciprocally convex combination, the design conditions are formulated in terms of tractable linear matrix inequalities which can be efficiently solved by various computational tools. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by extensive simulations.