[Anti-rheumatic therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing hemodialysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Akiyama, Yuji

2011-01-01

Hemodialysis (HD) patients have been increasing recently. Some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients need hemodialysis (HD), though the proportion is not high. At present, such patients are almost treated with corticosteroids and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs alone, even if they have a high disease activity that would require disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy, partly because the safety of DMARDs in RA patients with end-stage renal disease has not been confirmed. Their joint destruction would be inevitable and lead to impaired activities of daily living. As there are no guidelines for the use of DMARDs in HD patients, here I reviewed the previous reports about the treatment of DMARDs including biologics for patients with RA undergoing HD.

Photoacoustic tomography of joints aided by an Etanercept-conjugated gold nanoparticle contrast agent-an ex vivo preliminary rat study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chamberland, David L; Agarwal, Ashish; Kotov, Nicholas; Fowlkes, J Brian; Carson, Paul L; Wang Xueding

2008-01-01

Monitoring of anti-rheumatic drug delivery in experimental models and in human diseases would undoubtedly be very helpful for both basic research and clinical management of inflammatory diseases. In this study, we have investigated the potential of an emerging hybrid imaging technology-photoacoustic tomography-in noninvasive monitoring of anti-TNF drug delivery. After the contrast agent composed of gold nanorods conjugated with Etanercept molecules was produced, ELISA experiments were performed to prove the conjugation and to show that the conjugated anti-TNF-α drug was biologically active. PAT of ex vivo rat tail joints with the joint connective tissue enhanced by intra-articularly injected contrast agent was conducted to examine the performance of PAT in visualizing the distribution of the gold-nanorod-conjugated drug in articular tissues. By using the described system, gold nanorods with a concentration down to 1 pM in phantoms or 10 pM in biological tissues can be imaged with good signal-to-noise ratio and high spatial resolution. This study demonstrates the feasibility of conjugating TNF antagonist pharmaceutical preparations with gold nanorods, preservation of the mechanism of action of TNF antagonist along with preliminary evaluation of novel PAT technology in imaging optical contrast agents conjugated with anti-rheumatic drugs. Further in vivo studies on animals are warranted to test the specific binding between such conjugates and targeted antigen in joint tissues affected by inflammation

The EULAR points to consider for use of antirheumatic drugs before pregnancy, and during pregnancy and lactation.

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Götestam Skorpen, Carina; Hoeltzenbein, Maria; Tincani, Angela; Fischer-Betz, Rebecca; Elefant, Elisabeth; Chambers, Christina; da Silva, Josè; Nelson-Piercy, Catherine; Cetin, Irene; Costedoat-Chalumeau, Nathalie; Dolhain, Radboud; Förger, Frauke; Khamashta, Munther; Ruiz-Irastorza, Guillermo; Zink, Angela; Vencovsky, Jiri; Cutolo, Maurizio; Caeyers, Nele; Zumbühl, Claudia; Østensen, Monika

2016-05-01

A European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) task force was established to define points to consider on use of antirheumatic drugs before pregnancy, and during pregnancy and lactation. Based on a systematic literature review and pregnancy exposure data from several registries, statements on the compatibility of antirheumatic drugs during pregnancy and lactation were developed. The level of agreement among experts in regard to statements and propositions of use in clinical practice was established by Delphi voting. The task force defined 4 overarching principles and 11 points to consider for use of antirheumatic drugs during pregnancy and lactation. Compatibility with pregnancy and lactation was found for antimalarials, sulfasalazine, azathioprine, ciclosporin, tacrolimus, colchicine, intravenous immunoglobulin and glucocorticoids. Methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil and cyclophosphamide require discontinuation before conception due to proven teratogenicity. Insufficient documentation in regard to fetal safety implies the discontinuation of leflunomide, tofacitinib as well as abatacept, rituximab, belimumab, tocilizumab, ustekinumab and anakinra before a planned pregnancy. Among biologics tumour necrosis factor inhibitors are best studied and appear reasonably safe with first and second trimester use. Restrictions in use apply for the few proven teratogenic drugs and the large proportion of medications for which insufficient safety data for the fetus/child are available. Effective drug treatment of active inflammatory rheumatic disease is possible with reasonable safety for the fetus/child during pregnancy and lactation. The dissemination of the data to health professionals and patients as well as their implementation into clinical practice may help to improve the management of pregnant and lactating patients with rheumatic disease. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Assessing the effectiveness of synthetic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in psoriatic arthritis – a systematic review

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Kingsley GH

2015-05-01

positive benefit. For biologics, TNF inhibitors already licensed for use were effective and similar benefits were seen with newer agents including ustekinumab, secukinumab, brodalumab, and abatacept, although the latter did not impact on skin problems. Important limitations of the systematic review included, first, the fact that for many agents there were little data and, second, much of the recent data for newer biologics were only available in abstract form. Conclusion: Conventional disease-modifying agents, with the possible exception of leflunomide, do not show clear evidence of disease-modifying effects in psoriatic arthritis, though a newer synthetic disease-modifying agents, apremilast, appears more effective. Biologic agents appear more beneficial, although more evidence is required for newer agents. This review suggests that it may be necessary to review existing national and international management guidelines for psoriatic arthritis. Keywords: psoriatic arthritis, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, biologics

Analysis of the data on pregnancy and lactation provided by patient information leaflets of anti-rheumatic drugs in Argentina.

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Sabando, Miguel Ormaza; Saavedra, Maira Arias; Sequeira, Gabriel; Kerzberg, Eduardo

2018-04-01

To analyse the level of consistency and updating of the information on pregnancy and lactation provided by patient information leaflets (PILs) of the antirheumatic drugs approved in Argentina. Inconsistencies between the 2016 EULAR Task Force recommendations on the use of anti-rheumatic drugs during pregnancy and lactation and the information provided by PILs of the same drugs approved in Argentina were analysed along with inconsistencies within the PILs of different registered trademarks of these drugs. Eighty-eight PILs of 32 drugs were analysed. Out of the 88 PILs, 50% presented information inconsistencies as to pregnancy. Medications comprised in this group were: hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, azathioprine, tacrolimus, cyclosporine, NSAIDs (during the first two trimesters), celecoxib, some glucocorticoids, colchicine, and some anti-TNF drugs (etanercept, adalimumab and infliximab) during part of the pregnancy. As for lactation, 56% had information inconsistencies. Medications encompassed in this group were: hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, sulfasalazine, azathioprine, tacrolimus, cyclosporine, NSAIDs, celecoxib, meprednisone, prednisone, colchicine, and anti-TNF drugs. Out of 17 drugs that had more than one registered trademark, information inconsistencies on pregnancy were found in the PILs of sulfasalazine, diclofenac, ibuprofen and methylprednisolone. Concerning lactation, inconsistencies were present in the PILs of hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, meprednisone, and colchicine. At least half of the PILs of anti-rheumatic drugs analysed in this study had information inconsistencies on pregnancy and lactation. This is a serious state of affairs because the consensual decision-making process between patient and professional may be compromised, which, in turn, may give rise to medical-legal issues.

A short history of anti-rheumatic therapy - VI. Rheumatoid arthritis drugs

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G. Pasero

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis traditionally includes symptomatic drugs, showing a prompt action on pain and infl ammation, but without any infl uence on disease progression, and other drugs that could modify the disease course and occasionally induce clinical remission (DMARDs or disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. This review describes the historical steps that led to the use of the main DMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis, such as gold salts, sulphasalazine, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, D-penicillamine, and other immunoactive drugs, including methotrexate, azathioprine, cyclosporin and lefl unomide. The historical evolution of use of these drugs is then discussed, including the strategy of progressive (“therapeutic pyramid” or of more aggressive treatment, through the simultaneous use of two or more DMARDs (“combination therapy”.

Drug control of an antirheumatic in Rheumatoid arthritis via scintigraphy of joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kafarnik, D.; Semmler, U.; Wiegmann, A.; Pfannenstiel, P.; Stiftung Deutsche Klinik fuer Diagnostik, Wiesbaden

1979-01-01

Sixteen rheumatoid arthritis patients each received diclofenac sodium or placebos in a double-blind study. The general assesment of the success of therapy on the part of the physician or the patient, can be corrected to some extent by means of a semiquantitatively evaluated sup(99m)Tc-pertechnetat joint scintigraphy used in the patients and in the controls. In particular, the comparative examinations of the wrists, which were evaluated clinically, semiquantitatively and quantitatively, showed that the sensitivity of joint scintigraphy is sufficient to demonstrate additionally the anti-inflammatory action of an antirheumatic drug even if the drug had been administered for 14 days only. (orig.) 891 AJ/orig. 892 BRE [de

Kynurenic acid content in anti-rheumatic herbs.

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Zgrajka, Wojciech; Turska, Monika; Rajtar, Grażyna; Majdan, Maria; Parada-Turska, Jolanta

2013-01-01

The use of herbal medicines is common among people living in rural areas and increasingly popular in urbanized countries. Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a metabolite of kynurenine possessing anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and pain reliving properties. Previous data indicated that the content of KYNA in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is lower than in patients with osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder affecting about 1% of the world's population. The aim of the presented study was to investigate the content of KYNA in 11 herbal preparations used in rheumatic diseases. The following herbs were studied: bean pericarp, birch leaf, dandelion root, elder flower, horsetail herb, nettle leaf, peppermint leaf and willow bark. An anti-rheumatic mixture of the herbs Reumatefix and Reumaflos tea were also investigated. The herbs were prepared according to producers' directions. In addition, the herbal supplement Devil's Claw containing root of Harpagophytum was used. KYNA content was measured using the high-performance liquid chromatography method, and KYNA was detected fluorometrically. KYNA was found in all studied herbal preparations. The highest content of KYNA was found in peppermint, nettle, birch leaf and the horsetail herb. The lowest content of KYNA was found in willow bark, dandelion root and in the extract from the root of Harpagophytum. These findings indicate that the use of herbal preparations containing a high level of KYNA can be considered as a supplementary measure in rheumatoid arthritis therapy, as well as in rheumatic diseases prevention.

Efficacy of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: a systematic literature review informing the 2013 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nam, Jackie L.; Ramiro, Sofia; Gaujoux-Viala, Cecile; Takase, Kaoru; Leon-Garcia, Mario; Emery, Paul; Gossec, Laure; Landewe, Robert; Smolen, Josef S.; Buch, Maya H.

2014-01-01

To update the evidence for the efficacy of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to inform the European League Against Rheumatism(EULAR) Task Force treatment recommendations. Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched for

Influence of Anti-TNF and Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Therapy on Pulmonary Forced Vital Capacity Associated to Ankylosing Spondylitis: A 2-Year Follow-Up Observational Study

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Alberto Daniel Rocha-Muñoz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To evaluate the effect of anti-TNF agents plus synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs versus DMARDs alone for ankylosing spondylitis (AS with reduced pulmonary function vital capacity (FVC%. Methods. In an observational study, we included AS who had FVC% <80% at baseline. Twenty patients were taking DMARDs and 16 received anti-TNF + DMARDs. Outcome measures: changes in FVC%, BASDAI, BASFI, 6-minute walk test (6MWT, Borg scale after 6MWT, and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire at 24 months. Results. Both DMARDs and anti-TNF + DMARDs groups had similar baseline values in FVC%. Significant improvement was achieved with anti-TNF + DMARDs in FVC%, at 24 months, when compared to DMARDs alone (P=0.04. Similarly, patients in anti-TNF + DMARDs group had greater improvement in BASDAI, BASFI, Borg scale, and 6MWT when compared to DMARDs alone. After 2 years of follow-up, 14/16 (87.5% in the anti-TNF + DMARDs group achieved the primary outcome: FVC% ≥80%, compared with 11/20 (55% in the DMARDs group (P=0.04. Conclusions. Patients with anti-TNF + DMARDs had a greater improvement in FVC% and cardiopulmonary scales at 24 months compared with DMARDs. This preliminary study supports the fact that anti-TNF agents may offer additional benefits compared to DMARDs in patients with AS who have reduced FVC%.

Aggressive treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis: recognizing the window of opportunity and treating to target goals.

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Resman-Targoff, Beth H; Cicero, Marco P

2010-11-01

Evidence supports the use of aggressive therapy for patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Clinical outcomes in patients with early RA can improve with a treat-to-target approach that sets the goal at disease remission. The current selection of antirheumatic therapies, including conventional and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), has made disease remission a realistic target for patients with early RA. The challenge is selecting the optimal antirheumatic drug or combination of drugs for initial and subsequent therapy to balance the clinical benefits, risks, and economic considerations. In some cases, the use of biologic agents as part of the treatment regimen has shown superior results compared with conventional DMARDs alone in halting the progression of disease, especially in reducing radiographic damage. However, the use of biologic agents as initial therapy is challenged by cost-effectiveness analyses, which favor the use of conventional DMARDs. The use of biologic agents may be justified in certain patients with poor prognostic factors or those who experience an inadequate response to conventional DMARDs as a means to slow or halt disease progression and its associated disability. In these cases, the higher cost of treatment with biologic agents may be offset by decreased societal costs, such as lost work productivity, and increased health-related quality of life. Further research is needed to understand optimal strategies for balancing costs, benefits, and risks of antirheumatic drugs. Some key questions are (1) when biologic agents are appropriate for initial therapy, and (2) when to conclude that response to conventional DMARDs is inadequate and biologic agents should be initiated.

Kinase inhibitors: a new class of antirheumatic drugs

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Kyttaris VC

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Vasileios C KyttarisDivision of Rheumatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USAAbstract: The outlook for patients with rheumatoid arthritis has improved significantly over the last three decades with the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. However, despite the use of methotrexate, cytokine inhibitors, and molecules targeting T and B cells, a percentage of patients do not respond or lose their response over time. The autoimmune process in rheumatoid arthritis depends on activation of immune cells, which utilize intracellular kinases to respond to external stimuli such as cytokines, immune complexes, and antigens. In the past decade, small molecules targeting several kinases, such as p38 MAPK, Syk, and JAK have been developed. Several p38 MAPK inhibitors proved ineffective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. The Syk inhibitor, fostamatinib, proved superior to placebo in Phase II trials and is currently under Phase III investigation. Tofacitinib, a JAK1/3 inhibitor, was shown to be efficacious in two Phase III trials, while VX-509, a JAK3 inhibitor, showed promising results in a Phase II trial. Fostamatinib and tofacitinib were associated with increased rates of infection, elevation of liver enzymes, and neutropenia. Moreover, fostamatinib caused elevations of blood pressure and diarrhea, while tofacitinib was associated with an increase in creatinine and elevation of lipid levels.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, kinase inhibitors, mitogen-activated phosphokinase p38, spleen tyrosine kinase, Janus kinases

Biologics or tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis in incomplete responders to methotrexate or other traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Jasvinder A; Hossain, Alomgir; Tanjong Ghogomu, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

, tocilizumab) and small molecule tofacitinib, versus comparator (MTX, DMARD, placebo (PL), or a combination) in adults with rheumatoid arthritis who have failed to respond to methotrexate (MTX) or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), i.e., MTX/DMARD incomplete responders (MTX.......78)) were similarly inconclusive and downgraded to low quality for both imprecision and indirectness.Main results text shows the results for tofacitinib and differences between medications. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Based primarily on RCTs of 6 months' to 12 months' duration, there is moderate quality evidence...

The marked and rapid therapeutic effect of tofacitinib in combination with subcutaneous methotrexate in a rheumatoid arthritis patient with poor prognostic factors who is resistant to standard disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologicals: A clinical case

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N. V. Demidova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Today, it is generally accepted that it is necessary to achieve clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA or as minimum a low disease activity. The paper describes a clinical case of a female patient diagnosed with RA who was observed to have inefficiency of standard disease-modifying antirheumatic therapy with methotrexate 25 mg/week, secondary inefficiency of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (adalimumab, and inefficiency/poor tolerance of the interlukin-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab. This determined the need to use fofacitinib (TOFA, a drug with another mechanism of action. TOFA is the first agent from a new group of immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory drugs, intracellular kinase inhibitors. Disease remission could be achieved during therapy with TOFA, which enables one to consider this synthetic drug as a therapy option that potentially competes with therapy with biologicals.

Small molecules as therapy for uveitis: a selected perspective of new and developing agents.

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Pleyer, Uwe; Algharably, Engi Abdel-Hady; Feist, Eugen; Kreutz, Reinhold

2017-09-01

Intraocular inflammation (uveitis) remains a significant burden of legal blindness. Because of its immune mediated and chronic recurrent nature, common therapy includes corticosteroids, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and more recently biologics as immune modulatory agents. The purpose of this article is to identify the role of new treatment approaches focusing on small molecules as therapeutic option in uveitis. Areas covered: A MEDLINE database search was conducted through February 2017 using the terms 'uveitis' and 'small molecule'. To provide ongoing and future perspectives in treatment options, also clinical trials as registered at ClinicalTrials.gov were included. Both, results from experimental as well as clinical research in this field were included. Since this field is rapidly evolving, a selection of promising agents had to be made. Expert opinion: Small molecules may interfere at different steps of the inflammatory cascade and appear as an interesting option in the treatment algorithm of uveitis. Because of their highly targeted molecular effects and their favorable bioavailability with the potential of topical application small molecules hold great promise. Nevertheless, a careful evaluation of these agents has to be made, since current experience is almost exclusively based on experimental uveitis models and few registered trials.

Rapid screening of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs illegally added in anti-rheumatic herbal supplements and herbal remedies by portable ion mobility spectrometry.

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Li, Mengjiao; Ma, Haiyan; Gao, Jinglin; Zhang, Lina; Wang, Xinyu; Liu, Di; Bian, Jing; Jiang, Ye

2017-10-25

In this work, for the first time, a high-performance ion mobility spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI-HPIMS) method has been employed as a rapid screening tool for the detection of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac sodium and indomethacin illegally added in anti-rheumatic herbal supplements and herbal remedies. Samples were dissolved and filtered through a 0.45μm microporous membrane, then the filtrate was directly injected into the high-performance ion mobility spectrometry for analysis. Using this approach, the screening of illegal additions can be accomplished in as rapid as two to three minutes with no pretreatment required. The proposed method provided a LOD of 0.06-0.33μgmL -1 , as well as a good seperation of the five NSAIDs. The precision of the method was 0.1-0.4% (repeatability, n=6) and 0.9-3.3% (reproducibility, n=3). The proposed method appeared to be simple, rapid and highly specific, thus could be effective for the in-situ screening of NSAIDs in anti-rheumatic herbal supplements and herbal remedies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biologic agents therapy for Saudi children with rheumatic diseases: indications and safety.

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Al-Mayouf, Sulaiman M; Alenazi, Abdullatif; AlJasser, Hind

2016-06-01

To report the indications and safety of biologic agents in childhood rheumatic diseases at a tertiary hospital. Children with rheumatic diseases treated with biologic agents at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2001 to December 2011 were included. All patients were reviewed for: demographic characteristics, diagnosis, concomitant treatment and indications of using biologic agents, age at start of therapy and side effects during the treatment period. In all, 134 children (89 female) with various rheumatic diseases were treated with biologic agents. Mean age at starting biologic treatment was 9.3 (4.25-14) years and mean therapy duration was 14.7 (3-88) months. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) was the most frequent diagnosis (70.1%) followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (12.7%) and vasculitis (4.5%). All patients received concomitant therapy (corticosteroids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). In total, 273 treatments with biologic agents were used, (95 etanercept, 52 rituximab, 47 adalimumab, 37 infliximab, 23 anakinra, 10 tocilizumab and nine abatacept). Therapy was switched to another agent in 57 (42.5%) patients, mainly because of inefficacy (89.4%) or adverse event (10.6%). A total of 95 (34.8%) adverse events were notified; of these, the most frequent were infusion-related reactions (33.7%) followed by infections (24.2%) and autoantibody positivity (10.6%). One patient developed macrophage activation syndrome. Biologic agents were used in children with a range of rheumatic diseases. Of these, the most frequent was JIA. Off-label use of biologic agents in our cohort is common. These agents seem safe. However, they may associated with various adverse events. Sequential therapy seems well tolerated. However, this should be carefully balanced and considered on an individual basis. © 2014 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Efficacy of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids and tofacitinib: a systematic literature review informing the 2013 update of the EULAR recommendations for management of rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaujoux-Viala, Cécile; Nam, Jackie; Ramiro, Sofia; Landewé, Robert; Buch, Maya H.; Smolen, Josef S.; Gossec, Laure

2014-01-01

To update a previous systematic review assessing the efficacy of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two systematic reviews of the literature using PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library were performed from 2009 until January 2013 to

Efficacy of VX-509 (decernotinib) in combination with a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Genovese, Mark C.; Yang, Fang; Østergaard, Mikkel

2016-01-01

Objective To assess early effects on joint structures of VX-509 in combination with stable disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy using MRI in adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods This phase II, placebo-controlled, double-blind, dose-ranging study randomised patients with RA......), and the RA MRI scoring (RAMRIS) system. Results ACR20 response at week 12 was 63.6%, 60.0% and 60.0% in the VX-509 100-mg, 200-mg and 300-mg groups, respectively, compared with 25.0% in the placebo group. DAS28-CRP scores decreased in a dose-dependent manner with increasing VX-509 doses. Decreases in RAMRIS...... to a DMARD alone. MRI responses were detected at week 12. Treatment was generally well tolerated. Trial registration number NCT01754935; results....

The Impact of Conventional and Biological Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs on Bone Biology. Rheumatoid Arthritis as a Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreira, Sofia Carvalho; Fonseca, João Eurico

2016-08-01

The bone and the immune system have a very tight interaction. Systemic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), induce bone loss, leading to a twofold increase in osteoporosis and an increase of fragility fracture risk of 1.35-2.13 times. This review focuses on the effects of conventional and biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on bone biology, in the context of systemic inflammation, with a focus on RA. Published evidence supports a decrease in osteoclastic activity induced by DMARDs, which leads to positive effects on bone mineral density (BMD). It is unknown if this effect could be translated into fracture risk reduction. The combination with antiosteoclastic drugs can have an additional benefit.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients after Initiation of a New Biologic Agent

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Courvoisier, D. S.; Alpizar-Rodriguez, D.; Gottenberg, Jacques-Eric

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Response to disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is often heterogeneous. We aimed to identify types of disease activity trajectories following the initiation of a new biologic DMARD (bDMARD). METHODS: Pooled analysis of nine national registries...

Ofatumumab, a human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with an inadequate response to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase I/II study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Mikkel; Baslund, Bo; Rigby, William

2010-01-01

To investigate the safety and efficacy of ofatumumab, a novel human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb), in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) whose disease did not respond to > or = 1 disease-modifying antirheumatic drug....

Needle-free and microneedle drug delivery in children: a case for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

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Shah, Utpal U; Roberts, Matthew; Orlu Gul, Mine; Tuleu, Catherine; Beresford, Michael W

2011-09-15

Parenteral routes of drug administration have poor acceptability and tolerability in children. Advances in transdermal drug delivery provide a potential alternative for improving drug administration in this patient group. Issues with parenteral delivery in children are highlighted and thus illustrate the scope for the application of needle-free and microneedle technologies. This mini-review discusses the opportunities and challenges for providing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) currently prescribed to paediatric rheumatology patients using such technologies. The aim is to raise further awareness of the need for age-appropriate formulations and drug delivery systems and stimulate exploration of these options for DMARDs, and in particular, rapidly emerging biologics on the market. The ability of needle-free and microneedle technologies to deliver monoclonal antibodies and fusion proteins still remains largely untested. Such an understanding is crucial for future drug design opportunities. The bioavailability, safety and tolerance of delivering biologics into the viable epidermis also need to be studied. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Therapeutic Concepts for Treatment of Patients with Non-infectious Uveitis Biologic Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs].

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Walscheid, Karoline; Pleyer, Uwe; Heiligenhaus, Arnd

2018-04-12

Biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) can be highly efficient in the treatment of various non-infectious uveitis entities. Currently, the TNF-α-inhibitor Adalimumab is the only in-label therapeutic option, whereas, all other bDMARDs need to be given as an off-label therapy. bDMARDs are indicated in diseases refractory to conventional synthetic DMARD therapy and/or systemic steroids, or in patients in whom treatment with those is not possible due to side effects. Therapeutic mechanisms currently employed are cytokine-specific (interferons, inhibition of TNF-α or of interleukin [IL]-1-, IL-6- or IL-17-signalling), inhibit T cell costimulation (CTLA-4 fusion protein), or act via depletion of B cells (anti-CD20). All bDMARDs need to be administered parenterally, and therapy is initiated by the treating internal specialist only after interdisciplinary coordination of all treating subspecialties and after exclusion of contraindications. Regular clinical and laboratory monitoring is mandatory for all patients while under bDMARD therapy. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC DISEASE-MODIFYING ANTIRHEUMATIC DRUGS, BIOLOGICAL AGENTS, AND PSYCHOPHARMACOTHERAPY ON THE MENTAL DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

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A. A. Abramkin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mental disorders (MDs of the anxiety-depressive spectrum (ADS and cognitive impairment (CI are characteristic of the majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; however, the effects of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs, biological agents (BAs, and their combinations with psychopharmacological drugs (PPDs on these abnormalities have been insufficiently studied. Objective: to investigate trends in the incidence of MDs in RA patients receiving different treatment regimens.Subjects and methods. The investigation included 128 RA patients (13% men and 87% women who fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria; their mean age was 47.4±0.9 years; the median duration of RA was 96 [48; 228] months. RA activity was found to be high, moderate, and low in 48, 56, and 24 patients, respectively. DAS28 averaged 5.34±0.17. 80% of the patients received DMARDs. MDs were diagnosed based on ICD-10 coding, by using a semi-structured interview and scales, such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Clinical and psychological procedures were used to diagnose CI. At the study inclusion stage, ADS disorders were detected in 123 (96.1% patients; CI was found in 88 (68.7%. Forty-one (32.1% patients were diagnosed with major depression (an obvious or moderate depressive episode, 53 (41.4% patients had minor depression (a mild depressive episode and dysthymia, and 29 (22.6% had anxiety disorders (ADs (adjustment disorders with anxiety symptoms, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. The dynamics of MDs was estimated in 112 (87.5% of the 128 patients and in 83 (64.8% at one- and five-year follow-ups, respectively. The following groups were identified according to the performed therapy: 1 synthetic DMARDs (n = 39; 2 synthetic DMARDs + PPDs (n = 43; 3 BAs + DMARDs (n = 32; 4 BAs + DMARDs + PPDs (n = 9.Results and discussion. In Group 1, the

[Antirheumatic substance and meridian tropism of Loranthus parasiticus based on "syndrome-efficacy-analysis of biological samples"].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ling-Ling; Wang, Jing; Cui, Ying; Wen, Pu; Guan, Jun; Yang, Shu; Ma, Kai

2016-05-01

To study the antirheumatic substance of Loranthus parasiticus and observe the relationship between its in vivo distribution and meridian tropism in rats by establishing adjuvant arthritis models corresponding to effectiveness. All rats except the negative control group were injected with 0.1 mL Freund's complete adjuvant on the left foot. After 8 days, the rats in negative control group and model group were given with normal saline while the rats in positive control group were given with tripterygium glycosides suspension 10 mg•kg-1, and the rats in L. parasiticus treatment groups were given with high(10 g•kg ⁻¹), medium(5 g•kg ⁻¹) and low(2.5 g•kg ⁻¹) dose decoction for 21 days. The left rear ankle joint diameter of rats were measured every 7 days from the 9th day of modeling. On the 22nd day, eyeball blood of part rats in L. parasiticus high-dose group was taken at different time points, and then they were sacrificed to take heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, large intestine, small intestine and brain tissues. For the remaining rats, eyeball blood was taken 30 min after drug treatment, and their left rear ankle joints were taken to detect interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in serum by ELISA method; rutin, avicularin and quercitrin levels in the tissues of high-dose group were detected by HPLC; pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed by using DAS 2.0. Our results showed that L. parasiticus decoction could significantly improve the paw edema situation of adjuvant arthritis model rats, and reduce IL-1β and TNF-α levels in rat serum. The in vivo efficacy substance analysis in rats showed that rutin was only present in the stomach with a small amount. AUC0-t of avicularin was stomach > small intestine > kidney, and the duration time in vivo was kidney=stomach > small intestine > lung > heart. AUC0-t of quercitrin was stomach > kidney > liver > heart > lung > spleen > small intestine > brain > large intestine

Systematic review and meta-analysis of serious infections with tofacitinib and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials.

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Strand, Vibeke; Ahadieh, Sima; French, Jonathan; Geier, Jamie; Krishnaswami, Sriram; Menon, Sujatha; Checchio, Tina; Tensfeldt, Thomas G; Hoffman, Elaine; Riese, Richard; Boy, Mary; Gómez-Reino, Juan J

2015-12-15

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Tofacitinib modulates the signaling of cytokines that are integral to lymphocyte activation, proliferation, and function. Thus, tofacitinib therapy may result in suppression of multiple elements of the immune response. Serious infections have been reported in tofacitinib RA trials. However, limited head-to-head comparator data were available within the tofacitinib RA development program to directly compare rates of serious infections with tofacitinib relative to biologic agents, and specifically adalimumab (employed as an active control agent in two randomized controlled trials of tofacitinib). A systematic literature search of data from interventional randomized controlled trials and long-term extension studies with biologics in RA was carried out. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) consensus was followed for reporting results of the review and meta-analysis. Incidence rates (unique patients with events/100 patient-years) for each therapy were estimated based on data from randomized controlled trials and long-term extension studies using a random-effects model. Relative and absolute risk comparisons versus placebo used Mantel-Haenszel methods. The search produced 657 hits. In total, 66 randomized controlled trials and 22 long-term extension studies met the selection criteria. Estimated incidence rates (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for abatacept, rituximab, tocilizumab, and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors were 3.04 (2.49, 3.72), 3.72 (2.99, 4.62), 5.45 (4.26, 6.96), and 4.90 (4.41, 5.44), respectively. Incidence rates (95% CIs) for tofacitinib 5 and 10 mg twice daily (BID) in phase 3 trials were 3.02 (2.25, 4.05) and 3.00 (2.24, 4.02), respectively. Corresponding incidence rates in long-term extension studies were 2.50 (2.05, 3.04) and 3.19 (2.74, 3.72). The risk ratios (95% CIs) versus placebo for tofacitinib 5 and 10 mg BID

TIME COURSE OF CHANGES IN BLOOD LIPID PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH EARLY RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS DURING TREAT-TO-TARGET ANTIRHEUMATIC THERAPY: ACCORDING TO 18-MONTH FOLLOW-UP FINDINGS

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E. V. Udachkina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The mechanisms for lowering a cardiovascular risk (CVR in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA when implementing the treat-to-target strategy remain inadequately investigated.Objective: to estimate the time course of changes in blood lipid parameters in patients with early RA during Treat-totarget antirheumatic therapy at an 18-month follow-up.Subjects and methods. Seventy-four patients (73% women; median age, 56 years with early RA meeting the respective 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR classification criteria and moderate or high activity (median DAS28-ESR score of 5.4 were examined within the framework of the REMARCA trial. After 6-month treatment, RA activity significantly reduced (p < 0.05. At months 6 to 18, no significant change in RA activity was recorded. After 18 months, remission was observed in 31 (42% patients: in 17 (55% on methotrexate (MTX monotherapy and in 14 (45% on combined therapy with MTX and a biological agent. Blood lipid levels were determined at inclusion in the investigation, 6 and 18 months later. The values of lipid parameters were estimated in terms of the total CVR. 67.6% of the patients were classified as at very high CVR. At 18 months of treatment, 34 (46% patients were treated with statins (median atorvastatin and rosuvastatin doses were 10 mg/day each.Results and discussion. Only 12% of the patients had optimal baseline values of just all lipid parameters. The concentration of total cholesterol (TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C correlated negatively with C-reactive protein (CRP levels, DAS28-ESR, DAS28-CRP, and HAQ (p < 0.05. After 6-month treatment, there were increases in TC by 7%, LDL-C by 12.5%, and HDL-C by 19.7%, and a decrease in the atherogenic index by 16% (p < 0.05. ΔCRP negatively correlated with ΔTC, ΔLDL-C, and ΔHDL-C (r = -0.3; p < 0.05. A correlation of TC and LDL-C with

Comparing Effects of Biologic Agents in Treating Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Multiple Treatment Comparison Regression Analysis.

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Ingunn Fride Tvete

Full Text Available Rheumatoid arthritis patients have been treated with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs and the newer biologic drugs. We sought to compare and rank the biologics with respect to efficacy. We performed a literature search identifying 54 publications encompassing 9 biologics. We conducted a multiple treatment comparison regression analysis letting the number experiencing a 50% improvement on the ACR score be dependent upon dose level and disease duration for assessing the comparable relative effect between biologics and placebo or DMARD. The analysis embraced all treatment and comparator arms over all publications. Hence, all measured effects of any biologic agent contributed to the comparison of all biologic agents relative to each other either given alone or combined with DMARD. We found the drug effect to be dependent on dose level, but not on disease duration, and the impact of a high versus low dose level was the same for all drugs (higher doses indicated a higher frequency of ACR50 scores. The ranking of the drugs when given without DMARD was certolizumab (ranked highest, etanercept, tocilizumab/ abatacept and adalimumab. The ranking of the drugs when given with DMARD was certolizumab (ranked highest, tocilizumab, anakinra/rituximab, golimumab/ infliximab/ abatacept, adalimumab/ etanercept [corrected]. Still, all drugs were effective. All biologic agents were effective compared to placebo, with certolizumab the most effective and adalimumab (without DMARD treatment and adalimumab/ etanercept (combined with DMARD treatment the least effective. The drugs were in general more effective, except for etanercept, when given together with DMARDs.

The effect of newer anti-rheumatic drugs on osteogenic cell proliferation: an in-vitro study

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Laing Patrick

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs may interfere with bone healing. Previous studies give conflicting advice regarding discontinuation of these drugs in the peri-operative setting. No consensus exists in current practice especially with the newer DMARDs such as Leflunomide, Etanercept, and Infliximab. The aim of this study was to assess the in-vitro effect of these drugs alone and in relevant clinical combinations on Osteoblast activity. Methods Osteoblasts were cultured from femoral heads obtained from five young otherwise healthy patients undergoing total hip replacement. The cells were cultured using techniques that have been previously described. A full factorial design was used to set up the experiment on samples obtained from the five donors. Normal therapeutic concentrations of the various DMARDs were added alone and in combination to the media. The cell proliferation was estimated after two weeks using spectrophotometric technique using Roche Cell proliferation Kit. Multilevel regression analysis was used to estimate which drugs or combination of drugs significantly affected cell proliferation. Results Infliximab and Leflunomide had an overall significant inhibitory effect (p Conclusion Our study indicates that in-vitro osteoblast proliferation can be inhibited by the presence of certain DMARDs. Combinations of drugs had an influence and could negate the action of a drug on osteoblast proliferation. The response to drugs may be donor-dependent.

Digestive comorbidity in patients with rheumatic diseases: Not only NSAID-induced gastropathy

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A. E. Karateev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Digestive comorbidity is a serious problem that significantly aggravates the course of rheumatic diseases. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT, liver, and pancreatobiliary system may present a threat to life and substantially worsen its quality. The incidence of many digestive diseases, such as gastric ulcer (including its complicated forms, cholelithiasis, and acute pancreatitis, in patients with rheumatic diseases (at least in those with rheumatoid arthritis is considerably higher than in the population. The presence of this comorbidity poses substantial challenges during active anti-rheumatic therapy. Rheumatologists are very familiar with issues in the prevention of GIT complications due to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, new time presents new challenges. The widespread use of immunosuppressive agents and biologic agents requires careful monitoring of complications associated with liver and bowel diseases. This review considers a relationship of rheumatic diseases and anti-rheumatic therapy to comorbidities, such as cholelithiasis, acute pancreatitis, viral hepatitis B and C, and intestinal diverticula. 

Adherence to synthetic disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of the OBSERVAR Study.

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Juan Mas, Antonio; Castañeda, Santos; Cantero Santamaría, José I; Baquero, José L; Del Toro Santos, Francisco J

2017-12-27

Treatment compliance with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) is essential to achieve the therapeutic goals in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, despite the need for good compliance, there is evidence that patients with RA frequently fail to use DMARD for the control of RA. Thus, the main objective of the OBSERVAR study is to evaluate the reasons for the lack of therapeutic adherence to synthetic DMARD in these patients. A Delphi process involving 18 randomly selected Spanish rheumatologists determined the level of agreement with 66 causes of noncompliance selected from the literature in relation to synthetic DMARD in RA. The reasons for noncompliance were consistent in 75.7%, although 3 reasons (4.5%) were highly consistent: 1) not knowing what to do in the case of an adverse event with DMARD; 2) not having undergone adherence screening by health personnel for early detection of "noncompliant patients"; and 3) not having undergone interventions or strategies that improve adherence. In order to improve adherence to RA treatment with synthetic DMARD, the patient should be adequately informed of each new treatment introduced, the patient's compliance profile should be incorporated into the clinical routine and the patient's motivation for therapeutic compliance be reinforced through the methods available to us. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

The effect of tofacitinib on function and quality of life indicators in patients with rheumatoid arthritis resistant to synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in real clinical practice: Results of a multicenter observational study

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D. E. Karateev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Tofacitinib (TOFA, a representative of a new class of targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (s-DMARD, is a promising drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA and other immune inflammatory diseases.Objective: to evaluate the efficiency and safety of therapy with TOFA in combination with methotrexate (MTX and other s-DMARDs in real clinical practice in patients with active RA and previous ineffective therapy.Patients and methods. A 6-month Russian multicenter study of function and quality of life enrolled 101 patients with resistant RA: 18 men and 83 women; mean age, 51.03±11.28 years; mean disease duration, 105.4±81.43 months; rheumatoid factor-positive individuals (89.1%; and anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody-positive ones (74.7%. 93 (92,1% of these patients completed a 24-week study. TOFA was used as both second-line drug (after failure of therapy with s-DMARD (n=74 and as a third-line drug (after failure of therapy with s-DMARDs and biological agents (BAs (n=74. The tools RAPID3, HAQ, and EQ-5D were used to determine disease outcomes from a patient's assessment.Results. All the three tools demonstrated significant positive changes at 3–6 months following therapy initiation. RAPID3 scores for the status of a patient achieving a low disease activity or remission coincided with the mean DAS28-ESR and SDAI scores in 60% and 68% of cases, respectively. The achievement rates of the minimally clinically significant improvement (ΔHAQ≥0.22 and functional remission (HAQ≤0.5 at 6 months of TOFA therapy were 79.6 and 30.1%, respectively. The mean change value in EQ-5D scores over 6 months was -0.162±0.21. There were no significant between the groups of patients who used TOFA as a second- or third-line agent in the majority of indicators, except EQ-5D scores at 6 months.Conclusions. The results of our multicenter study using considerable Russian material confirmed the pronounced positive effect of TOFA used

Management of coccidioidomycosis in patients receiving biologic response modifiers or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

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Taroumian, Sara; Knowles, Susan L; Lisse, Jeffrey R; Yanes, James; Ampel, Neil M; Vaz, Austin; Galgiani, John N; Hoover, Susan E

2012-12-01

Coccidioidomycosis (valley fever) is an endemic fungal infection of the American Southwest, an area with a large population of patients with rheumatic diseases. There are currently no guidelines for management of patients who develop coccidioidomycosis while under treatment with biologic response modifiers (BRMs) or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). We conducted a retrospective study of how both concurrent diseases were managed and the patient outcomes at 2 centers in Tucson, Arizona. A retrospective chart review identified patients who developed coccidioidomycosis during treatment with DMARDs or BRMs. Patients were seen at least once in a university-affiliated or Veterans Affairs outpatient rheumatology clinic in Tucson, Arizona, between 2007 and 2009. Forty-four patients were identified. Rheumatologic treatment included a BRM alone (n = 11), a DMARD alone (n = 8), or combination therapy (n = 25). Manifestations of coccidioidomycosis included pulmonary infection (n = 29), disseminated disease (n = 9), and asymptomatic positive coccidioidal serologies (n = 6). After the diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis, 26 patients had BRMs and DMARDs stopped, 8 patients had BRMs stopped but DMARD therapy continued, and 10 patients had no change in their immunosuppressive therapy. Forty-one patients had antifungal therapy initiated for 1 month or longer. Followup data were available for 38 patients. BRM and/or DMARD therapy was continued or resumed in 33 patients, only 16 of whom continued concurrent antifungal therapy. None of the patients have had subsequent dissemination or complications of coccidioidomycosis. Re-treating rheumatic disease patients with a BRM and/or a DMARD after coccidioidomycosis appears to be safe in some patients. We propose a management strategy based on coccidioidomycosis disease activity. Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.

Tofacitinib 5 mg Twice Daily in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inadequate Response to Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Phase 3 Efficacy and Safety.

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Bird, Paul; Bensen, William; El-Zorkany, Bassel; Kaine, Jeffrey; Manapat-Reyes, Bernadette Heizel; Pascual-Ramos, Virginia; Witcombe, David; Soma, Koshika; Zhang, Richard; Thirunavukkarasu, Krishan

2018-05-24

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We performed a comprehensive review of phase 3 studies of tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID) (approved dose in many countries) in patients with moderate to severe RA and inadequate response to prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. A search of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov identified 5 studies: ORAL Solo (NCT00814307), ORAL Sync (NCT00856544), ORAL Standard (included adalimumab 40 mg once every 2 weeks; NCT00853385), ORAL Scan (NCT00847613), and ORAL Step (NCT00960440). Efficacy and safety data for tofacitinib 5 mg BID, placebo, and adalimumab were analyzed. Across the 5 studies, 1216 patients received tofacitinib 5 mg BID, 681 received placebo, and 204 received adalimumab. At month 3, tofacitinib demonstrated significantly higher 20%, 50%, and 70% improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR20, ACR50, and ACR70, respectively) response rates, greater improvement in Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index, and a higher proportion of Disease Activity Score-defined remission than placebo. Frequencies of adverse events (AEs), serious AEs, and discontinuations due to AEs were similar for tofacitinib and placebo at month 3; serious infection events were more frequent for tofacitinib. In ORAL Standard, although not powered for formal comparisons, tofacitinib and adalimumab had numerically similar efficacy and AEs; serious AEs and serious infection events were more frequent with tofacitinib. Tofacitinib 5 mg BID reduced RA signs and symptoms and improved physical function versus placebo in patients with inadequate response to prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Tofacitinib 5 mg BID had a consistent, manageable safety profile across studies, with no new safety signals identified.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where

Management of osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

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Hoes, Jos N; Bultink, Irene E M; Lems, Willem F

2015-03-01

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, the risk of both vertebral and non-vertebral fractures is roughly doubled, which is for an important part caused by inflammation-mediated amplification of bone loss and by immobilization. New treatments have become available in the last two decades to treat both RA and osteoporosis. Epidemiology and assessment of osteoporosis and fracture risk (including the influence of RA disease activity and bone-influencing medications such as glucocorticoids), the importance of vertebral fracture assessment in addition to bone density measurement in patients with RA, the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and their effects on generalized bone loss, and current and possible future anti-osteoporotic pharmacotherapeutic options are discussed with special focus on RA. Assessment of osteoporosis in RA patients should include evaluation of the effects of disease activity and bone-influencing medications such as (the dose of) glucocorticoids, above standard risk factors for fractures or osteoporosis as defined by the FRAX instrument. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are now well able to control disease activity using treat to target strategies. This lowering of disease activity by antirheumatic medications such as anti-TNF-α results in hampering of generalized bone loss; however, no fracture data are currently available. When treating osteoporosis in RA patients, additional focus should be on calcium supplementation, particularly in glucocorticoid users, and also on sufficient vitamin D use. Several anti-osteoporotic medications are now on the market; oral bisphosphonates are most commonly used, but in recent years, more agents have entered the market such as the parenteral antiresorptives denosumab (twice yearly) and zoledronic acid (once yearly), and the anabolic agent parathyroid hormone analogues. New agents, such as odanacatib and monoclonal antibodies against sclerostin, are now being tested and will most likely enlarge the

Clinical utility of therapeutic drug monitoring in biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug treatment of rheumatic disorders: a systematic narrative review.

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Van Herwaarden, Noortje; Van Den Bemt, Bart J F; Wientjes, Maike H M; Kramers, Cornelis; Den Broeder, Alfons A

2017-08-01

Biological Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (bDMARDs) have improved the treatment outcomes of inflammatory rheumatic diseases including Rheumatoid Arthritis and spondyloarthropathies. Inter-individual variation exists in (maintenance of) response to bDMARDs. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) of bDMARDs could potentially help in optimizing treatment for the individual patient. Areas covered: Evidence of clinical utility of TDM in bDMARD treatment is reviewed. Different clinical scenarios will be discussed, including: prediction of response after start of treatment, prediction of response to a next bDMARD in case of treatment failure of the first, prediction of successful dose reduction or discontinuation in case of low disease activity, prediction of response to dose-escalation in case of active disease and prediction of response to bDMARD in case of flare in disease activity. Expert opinion: The limited available evidence does often not report important outcomes for diagnostic studies, such as sensitivity and specificity. In most clinical relevant scenarios, predictive value of serum (anti-) drug levels is absent, therefore the use of TDM of bDMARDs cannot be advocated. Well-designed prospective studies should be done to further investigate the promising scenarios to determine the place of TDM in clinical practice.

[Acupuncture Therapy versus Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs for the Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis--a Meta-analysis].

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Lv, Zheng-tao; Zhou, Xiang; Chen, An-min

2015-01-01

We conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the efficacy and safety of acupuncture compared to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Four databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and ISI Web of Science were searched in December 2014, taking also the reference section into account. Randomized controlled trials that aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture therapy were identified. The inclusion criteria for the outcome measurements were the clinical effect, ESR, occipital wall test, chest expansion, CRP and finger ground distance. Finally, six studies met these inclusion criteria. Two reviewers screened each article independently and were blinded to the findings of each other. We analyzed data from 6 RCTs involving 541 participants. Acupuncture therapy could further improve the clinical effect (OR = 3.01; 95% CI, 1.48-6.13; P = 0.002) and reduce ESR level (SMD = -0.77; 95% CI, -1.46 to -0.08; P = 0.03) compared to DMARDs; a combination of acupuncture and DMARDs could further improve clinical effect (OR = 3.20, 95% CI, 1.36-7.54; P = 0.008), occipital-wall distance (SMD = -0.84; 95% CI, -1.37 to -0.31; P = 0.002), chest expansion (SMD = 0.38; 95% CI, 0.16-0.60; P = 0.0009), and finger-ground distance (SMD = -0.48; 95% CI, -0.87 to -0.09; P = 0.02) as compared to DMARDs treatment alone. Our findings support that acupuncture therapy could be an option to relieve symptoms associated with AS. These results should be interpreted cautiously due to the generally poor methodological qualities of the included trials. © 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

The expert meeting dedicated to the discussion of results of a local open-label multicenter observational study of the efficiency and safety of tofacitinib in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis with the inefficiency of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and to the elaboration of recommendations for the use for tofacitinib in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis

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2016-01-01

Full Text Available The expert meeting dedicated to the discussion of results of a local open-label multicenter observational study of the efficiency and safety of tofacitinib in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis with the inefficiency of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and to the elaboration of recommendations for the use for tofacitinib in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis.

Association between use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and diabetes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis: a nationwide, population-based cohort study of 84,989 patients

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Chen HH

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Hsin-Hua Chen,1–7 Der-Yuan Chen,1–6 Chi-Chen Lin,1,2 Yi-Ming Chen,1–4 Kuo-Lung Lai,3,4 Ching-Heng Lin1 1Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 2Institute of Biomedical Science and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, 3School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, 4Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 5School of Medicine, Chung-Shan Medical University, 6Department of Medical Education, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 7Institute of Public Health and Community Medicine Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs and diabetes mellitus (DM in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS, rheumatoid arthritis (RA, or psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis (PS/PSA.Patients and methods: This retrospective cohort study used a nationwide, population-based administrative database to enroll 84,989 cases with AS, RA, or PS/PSA who initiated treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF drugs or nonbiologic DMARDs. Multivariable analysis was used to estimate the effect of different therapies on the risk of DM.Results: The incidence rates of DM per 1,000 person-years were 8.3 for users of anti-TNF drugs, 13.3 for users of cyclosporine (CSA, 8.4 for users of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, and 8.1 for users of other nonbiologic DMARDs. Compared with the users of nonbiologic DMARDs, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs for DM were significantly lower for those who used anti-TNF drugs with HCQ (aHR: 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36–0.66 and those who used HCQ alone (aHR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63–0.78, but not for those who used anti-TNFs without HCQ (aHR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.94–1.60 or CSA (aHR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.77–1

First human systemic infection caused by Spiroplasma.

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Aquilino, Ana; Masiá, Mar; López, Pilar; Galiana, Antonio J; Tovar, Juan; Andrés, María; Gutiérrez, Félix

2015-02-01

Spiroplasma species are organisms that normally colonize plants and insects. We describe the first case of human systemic infection caused by Spiroplasma bacteria in a patient with hypogammaglobulinemia undergoing treatment with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic agents. Spiroplasma turonicum was identified through molecular methods in several blood cultures. The infection was successfully treated with doxycycline plus levofloxacin. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Anticancer Agents: Does a Phosphonium Behave Like a Gold(I) Phosphine Complex? Let a "Smart" Probe Answer!

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Ali, Moussa; Dondaine, Lucile; Adolle, Anais; Sampaio, Carla; Chotard, Florian; Richard, Philippe; Denat, Franck; Bettaieb, Ali; Le Gendre, Pierre; Laurens, Véronique; Goze, Christine; Paul, Catherine; Bodio, Ewen

2015-06-11

Gold phosphine complexes, such as auranofin, have been recognized for decades as antirheumatic agents. Clinical trials are now underway to validate their use in anticancer or anti-HIV treatments. However, their mechanisms of action remain unclear. A challenging question is whether the gold phosphine complex is a prodrug that is administered in an inactive precursor form or rather that the gold atom remains attached to the phosphine ligand during treatment. In this study, we present two novel gold complexes, which we compared to auranofin and to their phosphonium analogue. The chosen ligand is a phosphine-based smart probe, whose strong fluorescence depends on the presence of the gold atom. The in vitro biological action of the gold complexes and the phosphonium derivative were investigated, and a preliminary in vivo study in healthy zebrafish larvae allowed us to evaluate gold complex biodistribution and toxicity. The different analyses carried out showed that these gold complexes were stable and behaved differently from phosphonium and auranofin, both in vitro and in vivo. Two-photon microscopy experiments demonstrated that the cellular targets of these gold complexes are not the same as those of the phosphonium analogue. Moreover, despite similar IC50 values in some cancer cell lines, gold complexes displayed a low toxicity in vivo, in contrast to the phosphonium salt. They are therefore suitable for future in vivo investigations.

Current concepts regarding pharmacologic treatment of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

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Wildy, K S; Wasko, M C

2001-05-01

Treating patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains challenging; however, new agents offer the chance for an improved quality of life. As an alternative to traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors provide pain relief for OA and RA patients with possible fewer side effects. Otherwise, OA patients may opt for topical agents, injections, or supplements. Rheumatoid arthritis research has led to an improved understanding of the inflammatory cascade and an appreciation of the early tissue destruction. A new treatment philosophy has thus emerged along with the development of new biologic agents; the latter, along with combination therapy and a new disease modifying antirheumatic drug, leflunomide, have greatly expanded the chances for disease control in RA patients.

Short time administration of antirheumatic drugs - Methotrexate as a strong inhibitor of osteoblast's proliferation in vitro

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Annussek Tobias

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Due to increasing use of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs as first line therapy in rheumatic diseases, dental and maxillofacial practitioner should be aware of drug related adverse events. Especially effects on bone-metabolism and its cells are discussed controversially. Therefore we investigate the in vitro effect of short time administration of low dose methotrexate (MTX on osteoblasts as essential part of bone remodelling cells. Methods Primary bovine osteoblasts (OBs were incubated with various concentrations of MTX, related to tissue concentrations, over a period of fourteen days by using a previously established standard protocol. The effect on cell proliferation as well as mitochondrial activity was assessed by using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT assay, imaging and counting of living cells. Additionally, immunostaining of extracellular matrix proteins was used to survey osteogenic differentiation. Results All methods indicate a strong inhibition of osteoblast`s proliferation by short time administration of low dose MTX within therapeutically relevant concentrations of 1 to 1000nM, without affecting cell differentiation of middle-stage differentiated OBs in general. More over a significant decrease of cell numbers and mitochondrial activity was found at these MTX concentrations. The most sensitive method seems to be the MTT-assay. MTX-concentration of 0,01nM and concentrations below had no inhibitory effects anymore. Conclusion Even low dose methotrexate acts as a potent inhibitor of osteoblast’s proliferation and mitochondrial metabolism in vitro, without affecting main differentiation of pre-differentiated osteoblasts. These results suggest possible negative effects of DMARDs concerning bone healing and for example osseointegration of dental implants. Especially the specifics of the jaw bone with its high vascularisation and physiological high tissue metabolism

Involvement of NFκB in the antirheumatic potential of Chenopodium album L., aerial parts extracts.

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Arora, Sumit K; Itankar, Prakash R; Verma, Prashant R; Bharne, Ashish P; Kokare, Dadasaheb M

2014-08-08

Chenopodium album L. (C. album) is commonly known as Bathua in Hindi (Family: Chenopodiaceae). Traditionally, the plant is used as a laxative, diuretic, sedative and the infusion of the plant is used for the treatment of rheumatism. However, no scientific validation is available on the antirheumatic potential of the plant. In the present investigation, role of NF kappa B (NFκB) in the antiarthritic potential of extracts of aerial parts of Chenopodium album was explored and evaluated. The defatted aerial parts of Chenopodium album were successively extracted with ethylacetate, acetone, methanol and 50% methanol to study their antioxidant capacity followed by antiarthritic potential using Complete Freund׳s adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis model in rats. The polyphenol, flavonoid and flavanone contents of different extracts were quantified and correlated with their antioxidant capacity, antiarthritic activity and NFκB inhibition potential. The experimental data indicated that the acetone extract of Chenopodium album (ACCA) has shown significant reduction in rat paw edema (80.13%) at dose level of 200 mg/kg per oral in 21 days of this study. On 22nd day, hematological and biochemical parameters were estimated and it was observed that the altered hematological parameters (Hb, RBC, WBC and ESR), biochemical parameters (Serum creatinine, total proteins and acute phase proteins) and loss in body weight in the arthritic rats were significantly brought back to near normal level by the ACCA extract. ACCA extract significantly decreased the NFκB expression in paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus and this effect is comparable with standard indomethacine in CFA treated rats. The polyphenolic and flavonoid content of different extracts were in the range of 14.56±0.21-42.00±0.2 mg (gallic acid equivalent/g extract) and 2.20±0.003-7.33±0.5 mg (rutin equivalent/g extract) respectively. The antiarthritic activity possessed by ACCA extract can be correlated directly to its

Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug use in pregnant women with rheumatic diseases: a systematic review of the risk of congenital malformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Corisande; Avina-Zubieta, Antonio; Rai, Sharan K; Carruthers, Erin; De Vera, Mary A

2016-01-01

Despite the high incidence of rheumatic diseases during the reproductive years, little is known about the impact of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) use during pregnancy. Our objective was to systematically review and appraise evidence in women with rheumatic disease on the use of traditional and biologic DMARDs during pregnancy and the risk of congenital malformation outcomes. We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL ABSTRACTS databases. Inclusion criteria were: 1) study sample including women with rheumatic disease; 2) use of traditional and/or biologic DMARDs during pregnancy; and 3) congenital malformation outcome(s) reported. We extracted information on study design, data source, number of exposed pregnancies, type of DMARD, number of live births, and number of congenital malformations. Altogether, we included 79 studies; the majority were based on designs that did not involve a comparison group, including 26 case reports, 17 case series, 20 cross-sectional studies, and 4 surveys. Studies that had a comparator group included 1 case control, 10 cohort studies, and 1 controlled trial. Hydroxychloroquine and azathioprine represent the most studied traditional DMARD exposures and, among biologics, most of the reports were on infliximab and etanercept. This is the first systematic review on the use of both traditional and biologic DMARDs during pregnancy among women with rheumatic diseases and congenital malformation outcomes, with a focus on study design and quality. Findings confirm the limited number of studies, as well as the need to improve study designs.

Adverse drug reactions associated with the use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Enrique Machado-Alba

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study describes the adverse drug reactions (ADRs and their incidence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were treated in the Colombian health system. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using information from all patients who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and attended specialized health care centers in the cities of Bogotá, Cali, Manizales, Medellin, and Pereira between 1 December 2009 and 30 August 2013. The ADRs were obtained from medical records and the pharmacovigilance system registry and sorted by frequency and affected tissue according to World Health Organization Adverse Reaction Terminology (WHO-ART. A total of 949 reports of ADRs were obtained from 419 patients (32.8 ADRs per 100 patient-years; these patients were from a cohort of 1 364 patients being treated for rheumatoid arthritis and followed up for an average of 23.8 months (± 12.9. The cohort was mostly female (366, 87.4% and had a mean age of 52.7 years (± 13.1. The highest numbers of ADRs were reported following the use of tocilizumab, rituximab, and infliximab (28.8, 23.1, and 13.3 reports per 100 patient-years respectively. The most frequently reported ADRs were elevated transaminase levels and dyspepsia. Overall, 87.7% of ADRs were classified as type A, 36.6% as mild, 40.7% as moderate, and 22.7% as severe. As a result, 73.2% of patients who experienced an ADR stopped taking their drugs. The occurrence of ADRs in patients treated for rheumatoid arthritis is common, especially in those associated with the use of biotechnologically produced anti-rheumatic drugs. This outcome should be studied in future research and monitoring is needed to reduce the risks in these patients.

Distribution of Podoplanin in Synovial Tissues in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Using Biologic or Conventional Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Takakubo, Yuya; Oki, Hiroharu; Naganuma, Yasushi; Saski, Kan; Sasaki, Akiko; Tamaki, Yasunobu; Suran, Yang; Konta, Tsuneo; Takagi, Michiaki

2017-01-01

Podoplanin (PDPN) mediates tumor cell migration and invasion, which phenomena might also play a role in severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, the precise cellular distribution of PDPN and it's relationships with inflammation was studied in RA treated with biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) or conventional DMARDs (cDMARD). PDPN+ cells were immunostained by NZ-1 mAb, and scored (3+; >50%/ area, 2+; 20%- 50%, 1+; 5%-20%, 0: <5%) in synovial tissues from RA treated with biologic DMARDs (BIO, n=20) or cDMARD (n=20) for comparison with osteoarthritis (OA, n=5), followed by cell grading of inflammation and cell-typing. Inflammatory synovitis score was 1.4 in both BIO and cDMARD, compared to only 0.2 in OA. PDPN+ cells were found in the lining layer (BIO 1.6, cDMARD 1.3, OA 0.2) and lymphoid aggregates (BIO 0.6, cDMRD 0.7, OA 0.2), and correlated with RA-inflammation in BIO- and cDMARD-groups in both area (r=0.7/0.9, r=0.6/0.7, respectively p<0.05). PDPN was expressed in CD68+ type A macrophage-like and 5B5+ type B fibroblast-like cells in the lining layer, and in IL- 17+ cells in lymphoid aggregates in RA. PDPN was markedly increased in the immunologically inflamed RA synovitis, which was surgically treated due to BIO- and cDMARD-resistant RA. PDPN may have potential of a new marker of residual arthritis in local joints for inflammation-associated severe RA. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib following inadequate response to conventional synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Charles-Schoeman, Christina; Burmester, Gerd; Nash, Peter; Zerbini, Cristiano A F; Soma, Koshika; Kwok, Kenneth; Hendrikx, Thijs; Bananis, Eustratios; Fleischmann, Roy

2016-07-01

Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have shown diminished clinical response following an inadequate response (IR) to ≥1 previous bDMARD. Here, tofacitinib was compared with placebo in patients with an IR to conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs; bDMARD-naive) and in patients with an IR to bDMARDs (bDMARD-IR). Data were taken from phase II and phase III studies of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily, or placebo, as monotherapy or with background methotrexate or other csDMARDs. Efficacy endpoints and incidence rates of adverse events (AEs) of special interest were assessed. 2812 bDMARD-naive and 705 bDMARD-IR patients were analysed. Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were generally similar between treatment groups within subpopulations. Across subpopulations, improvements in efficacy parameters at month 3 were generally significantly greater for both tofacitinib doses versus placebo. Clinical response was numerically greater with bDMARD-naive versus bDMARD-IR patients (overlapping 95% CIs). Rates of safety events of special interest were generally similar between tofacitinib doses and subpopulations; however, patients receiving glucocorticoids had more serious AEs, discontinuations due to AEs, serious infection events and herpes zoster. Numerically greater clinical responses and incidence rates of AEs of special interest were generally reported for tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily versus tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (overlapping 95% CIs). Tofacitinib demonstrated efficacy in both bDMARD-naive and bDMARD-IR patients with RA. Clinical response to tofacitinib was generally numerically greater in bDMARD-naive than bDMARD-IR patients. The safety profile appeared similar between subpopulations. (NCT00413660, NCT00550446, NCT00603512, NCT00687193, NCT00960440, NCT00847613, NCT00814307, NCT00856544, NCT00853385). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited

A comparison of discontinuation rates of tofacitinib and biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sun-Kyeong; Lee, Min-Young; Jang, Eun-Jin; Kim, Hye-Lin; Ha, Dong-Mun; Lee, Eui-Kyung

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the discontinuation rates of tofacitinib and biologics (tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), abatacept, rituximab, and tocilizumab) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients considering inadequate responses (IRs) to previous treatment(s). Randomised controlled trials of tofacitinib and biologics - reporting at least one total discontinuation, discontinuation due to lack of efficacy (LOE), and discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) - were identified through systematic review. The analyses were conducted for patients with IRs to conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs) and for patients with biologics-IR, separately. Bayesian network meta-analysis was used to estimate rate ratio (RR) of a biologic relative to tofacitinib with 95% credible interval (CrI), and probability of RR being tofacitinib and biologics in the cDMARDs-IR group. In the biologics-IR group, however, TNFi (RR 0.17, 95% CrI 0.01-3.61, P[RRtofacitinib did. Despite the difference, discontinuation cases owing to LOE and AEs revealed that tofacitinib was comparable to the biologics. The comparability of discontinuation rate between tofacitinib and biologics was different based on previous treatments and discontinuation reasons: LOE, AEs, and total (due to other reasons). Therefore, those factors need to be considered to decide the optimal treatment strategy.

Agent Programming Languages and Logics in Agent-Based Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, John

2018-01-01

and social behavior, and work on verification. Agent-based simulation is an approach for simulation that also uses the notion of agents. Although agent programming languages and logics are much less used in agent-based simulation, there are successful examples with agents designed according to the BDI...

Barriers and facilitators to disease-modifying antirheumatic drug use in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a qualitative theory-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Voshaar, Marieke; Vriezekolk, Johanna; van Dulmen, Sandra; van den Bemt, Bart; van de Laar, Mart

2016-10-21

Although disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the cornerstone of treatment for inflammatory rheumatic diseases, medication adherence to DMARDs is often suboptimal. Effective interventions to improve adherence to DMARDs are lacking, and new targets are needed to improve adherence. The aim of the present study was to explore patients' barriers and facilitators of optimal DMARD use. These factors might be used as targets for adherence interventions. In a mixed method study design, patients (n = 120) with inflammatory arthritis (IA) completed a questionnaire based on an existing adapted Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify facilitators and barriers of DMARD use. A subgroup of these patients (n = 21) participated in focus groups to provide insights into their facilitators and barriers. The answers to the questionnaires and responses of the focus groups were thematically coded by three researchers independently and subsequently categorized. The barriers and facilitators that were reported by IA patients presented large inter-individual variations. The identified barriers and facilitators could be captured in the following domains based on an adapted TDF: (i) knowledge, (ii) emotions, (iii) attention, memory, and decision processes, (iv) social influences, (v) beliefs about capability, (vi) beliefs about consequences, (vii) motivation and goals, (viii) goal conflict, (ix) environmental context and resources, and (x) skills. Patients with IA have a variety of barriers and facilitators with regard to their DMARD use. All of these barriers and facilitators could be categorized into adapted domains of the TDF. Interventions that address individual facilitators and barriers, based on capability, opportunity, and motivation, are needed to develop strategies for medication adherence that are tailored to individual patient needs.

Agents unleashed a public domain look at agent technology

CERN Document Server

Wayner, Peter

1995-01-01

Agents Unleashed: A Public Domain Look at Agent Technology covers details of building a secure agent realm. The book discusses the technology for creating seamlessly integrated networks that allow programs to move from machine to machine without leaving a trail of havoc; as well as the technical details of how an agent will move through the network, prove its identity, and execute its code without endangering the host. The text also describes the organization of the host's work processing an agent; error messages, bad agent expulsion, and errors in XLISP-agents; and the simulators of errors, f

Mobile Agent Data Integrity Using Multi-Agent Architecture

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McDonald, Jeffrey

2004-01-01

.... Security issues for mobile agents continue to produce research interest, particularly in developing mechanisms that guarantee protection of agent data and agent computations in the presence of malicious hosts...

New agents for scintigraphy in rheumatoid arthritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bois, M.H.W. de; Pauwels, E.K.J.; Breedveld, F.C.

1995-01-01

Radiopharmaceuticals have been used as investigative tools for the detection and treatment of arthritis activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) since the 1950s. Against the background of the pathophysiology of RA, the current status of joint scintigraphy and possible future developments are reviewed. Both non-specific (radiolabelled leucocytes and technetium-99m labelled human immunoglobulin) and specific targeting radiopharmaceuticals (including radiolabelled antibodies) are considered. The use of radiopharmaceuticals in the detection of arthritis activity has the advantages of allowing direct imaging of joints by means of whole-body scintigraphy and of joints that are difficult to assess clinically or radiographically. Promising results have been obtained with radiolabelled anti-CD4 and anti-E-selectin antibodies and with somatostatin receptor imaging, but more data are available regarding 99m Tc-IgG scintigraphy, which differentiates between the various degrees of arthritis activity and thus facilitates the choice of antirheumatic drug. Newer promising approaches to the imaging of RA include the use of radiolabelled J001 and cytokines, though studies on these are limited at present. (orig.)

PERIOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Amirdzhanova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the joint management of rheumatoid arthritis patients needing endoprosthetic replacement of the large joints of the lower extremities by rheumatologists and orthopedic traumatologists.Due to the fact that there are no conventional standards or guidelines for the perioperative management of patients with rheumatic diseases, adopted by international rheumatology associations, the authors generalize their experience in managing the patients in terms of international approaches and guidelines from different countries. The medical assessment and reduction of cardiovascular risks, the prevention of infectious complications, hemorrhages, and lower extremity deep vein thrombosis, and the specific features of management of patients with osteoporosis are under consideration. The authors' experience in managing the patients receiving antirheumatic therapy with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, such as methotrexate, leflunomide, sulfasalazine, and hydroxychloroquine, is detailed. Recommendations for managing patients taking glucocorticoids and biologic agents (tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors, anti-B-cell therapy, and interleukin-6 receptor inhibitors in the preoperative andpostoperative periods are given.

[Alkylating agents].

Science.gov (United States)

Pourquier, Philippe

2011-11-01

With the approval of mechlorethamine by the FDA in 1949 for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, alkylating agents are the oldest class of anticancer agents. Even though their clinical use is far beyond the use of new targeted therapies, they still occupy a major place in specific indications and sometimes represent the unique option for the treatment of refractory diseases. Here, we are reviewing the major classes of alkylating agents and their mechanism of action, with a particular emphasis for the new generations of alkylating agents. As for most of the chemotherapeutic agents used in the clinic, these compounds are derived from natural sources. With a complex but original mechanism of action, they represent new interesting alternatives for the clinicians, especially for tumors that are resistant to conventional DNA damaging agents. We also briefly describe the different strategies that have been or are currently developed to potentiate the use of classical alkylating agents, especially the inhibition of pathways that are involved in the repair of DNA lesions induced by these agents. In this line, the development of PARP inhibitors is a striking example of the recent regain of interest towards the "old" alkylating agents.

Delayed wound healing and postoperative surgical site infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with or without biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Masahiro; Inui, Kentaro; Sugioka, Yuko; Mamoto, Kenji; Okano, Tadashi; Kinoshita, Takuya; Hidaka, Noriaki; Koike, Tatsuya

2016-06-01

Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have become more popular for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Whether or not bDMARDs increase the postoperative risk of surgical site infection (SSI) has remained controversial. We aimed to clarify the effects of bDMARDs on the outcomes of elective orthopedic surgery. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to analyze risk factors for SSI and delayed wound healing among 227 patients with RA (mean age, 65.0 years; disease duration, 16.9 years) after 332 elective orthopedic surgeries. We also attempted to evaluate the effects of individual medications on infection. Rates of bDMARD and conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD) administration were 30.4 and 91.0 %, respectively. Risk factors for SSI were advanced age (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; P = 0.045), prolonged surgery (OR, 1.02; P = 0.03), and preoperative white blood cell count >10,000/μL (OR, 3.66; P = 0.003). Those for delayed wound healing were advanced age (OR, 1.16; P = 0.001), prolonged surgery (OR, 1.02; P = 0.007), preoperative white blood cell count >10,000/μL (OR, 4.56; P = 0.02), and foot surgery (OR, 6.60; P = 0.001). Risk factors for SSI and medications did not significantly differ. No DMARDs were risk factors for any outcome examined. Biological DMARDs were not risk factors for postoperative SSI. Foot surgery was a risk factor for delayed wound healing.

Effect of sanhuangwuji powder, anti-rheumatic drugs, and ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with peptic ulcer: a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Defang; Guo, Mingyang; Hu, Yonghe; Liu, Taihua; Yan, Jiao; Luo, Yong; Yun, Mingdong; Yang, Min; Zhang, Jun; Guo, Linglin

2015-06-01

To observe the efficacy and safety of oral sanhuangwuji powder, anti-rheumatic drugs (ARDs), and ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation at zusanli (ST 36) on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complicated by peptic ulcer. This prospective randomized controlled study included 180 eligible inpatients and outpatients randomly assigned to an ARD treatment (n.= 60), ginger-partitioned stimulation (n = 60), or combination treatment (n = 60). Patients assigned to the ARD group were given oral celecoxib, methotrexate, and esomeprazole. Patients assigned to the ginger-partitioned stimulation group were given ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation at zusanli (ST 36) in addition to the ARDs. Patients in the combination treatment group were given oral sanhuangwuji powder, ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation at susanli (ST 36), and ARDs. All patients were followed up for 2 months to evaluate clinical effects and safety. The study was registered in the World Health Organization database at the General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command Chinese People's Liberation Army (ChiCTR-TCC12002824). The combination treatment group had significantly greater improvements in RA symptoms, laboratory outcomes, and gastrointestinal symptom scores, compared with the other groups (P ginger-partitioned stimulation group (χ2= 6.171, P ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation at zusanli (ST 36), oral sanhuangwuji powder, and ARDs had a better clinical effect for RA with complicated peptic ulcer, compared with ARD treatmentalone or in combination with ginger-partitioned acupoint stimulation.

Incorporating BDI Agents into Human-Agent Decision Making Research

Science.gov (United States)

Kamphorst, Bart; van Wissen, Arlette; Dignum, Virginia

Artificial agents, people, institutes and societies all have the ability to make decisions. Decision making as a research area therefore involves a broad spectrum of sciences, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to economics to psychology. The Colored Trails (CT) framework is designed to aid researchers in all fields in examining decision making processes. It is developed both to study interaction between multiple actors (humans or software agents) in a dynamic environment, and to study and model the decision making of these actors. However, agents in the current implementation of CT lack the explanatory power to help understand the reasoning processes involved in decision making. The BDI paradigm that has been proposed in the agent research area to describe rational agents, enables the specification of agents that reason in abstract concepts such as beliefs, goals, plans and events. In this paper, we present CTAPL: an extension to CT that allows BDI software agents that are written in the practical agent programming language 2APL to reason about and interact with a CT environment.

Chemical warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuca, Kamil; Pohanka, Miroslav

2010-01-01

Chemical warfare agents are compounds of different chemical structures. Simple molecules such as chlorine as well as complex structures such as ricin belong to this group. Nerve agents, vesicants, incapacitating agents, blood agents, lung-damaging agents, riot-control agents and several toxins are among chemical warfare agents. Although the use of these compounds is strictly prohibited, the possible misuse by terrorist groups is a reality nowadays. Owing to this fact, knowledge of the basic properties of these substances is of a high importance. This chapter briefly introduces the separate groups of chemical warfare agents together with their members and the potential therapy that should be applied in case someone is intoxicated by these agents.

Logics for Intelligent Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyer, John-Jules Charles

2014-01-01

This chapter presents the history of the application of logic in a quite popular paradigm in contemporary computer science and artificial intelligence, viz. the area of intelligent agents and multi-agent systems. In particular we discuss the logics that have been used to specify single agents, the

Critical appraisal of efficacy and safety of abatacept in the treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Augustine JM

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Lisa M Lundquist1, Sabrina W Cole2, Jill M Augustine11Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Atlanta, GA, 2Wingate University School of Pharmacy, Wingate, NC, USAAbstract: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune disease that leads to significant disability and premature mortality. Various treatment options are available, but the foundation of treatment includes nonbiologic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The incidence of patients with rheumatoid arthritis refractory to first-line agents is estimated to be at least 20%. Abatacept, a T cell costimulation modulator, is the first agent to interfere with full T cell activation by competing with CD28 for binding of CD80 and CD86, which results in decreased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and autoantibody production. Current American College of Rheumatology treatment guidelines recommend abatacept for patients with at least moderate disease activity and a poor prognosis demonstrating an inadequate response to other agents. Several key Phase III trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of abatacept in patients with an inadequate response to methotrexate or anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapy. Response rates in all trials showed statistically significant improvements compared with placebo according to American College of Rheumatology criteria for disease improvement. The most common adverse event report in patients receiving abatacept was infection; however, the frequency of adverse events was similar to placebo. Abatacept is a safe and effective rheumatoid arthritis treatment for patients with an inadequate response to methotrexate or anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapy.Keywords: abatacept, rheumatoid arthritis, treatment refractory, biologic, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Biological Agents

Science.gov (United States)

... E-Tools Safety and Health Topics / Biological Agents Biological Agents This page requires that javascript be enabled ... 202) 693-2300 if additional assistance is required. Biological Agents Menu Overview In Focus: Ebola Frederick A. ...

O uso de drogas anti-reumáticas na gravidez Use of anti-rheumatic drugs during pregnancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger A. Levy

2005-06-01

Full Text Available A prescrição de drogas anti-reumáticas em pacientes férteis deve ter em conta o conhecimento atual sobre os efeitos na concepção, gestação e lactação. Um aconselhamento que levasse em consideração os riscos e benefícios do planejamento da gravidez, quando possível, seria o ideal. Com a incorporação de novas substâncias e o aparecimento constante de novos dados na literatura, esse assunto deve ser continuamente atualizado. O estagiamento de acordo com o fator de risco estabelecido pelo FDA é algumas vezes contraditório em relação a nossa prática, em parte porque os estudos em modelos animais podem não ser diretamente aplicáveis a humanos. A terapia com agentes modificadores da resposta biológica é aparentemente segura durante a gestação, considerando-se que tais agentes sejam compostos por moléculas grandes, incapazes de atravessar a placenta. Antiinflamatórios não-esteroidais (incluindo os inibidores específicos de COX-2 podem prejudicar a implantação do óvulo, mas o seu uso é possível no caso da gestação estar em curso, devendo ser evitados após 32 semanas do início da gravidez, quando estão relacionados com complicações fetais. Os inibidores específicos de COX-2 devem ser evitados pelo risco de malformação renal. Aspirina em baixa dose pode ser usada seguramente, quando indicada durante a gravidez. Há preferência pelas heparinas de baixo peso molecular, desde que a não fracionada apresente maior risco de induzir trombocitopenia e sangramento. A hidroxicloroquina é usada e de fato recomendada em gestantes com lúpus, com benefícios para a paciente e sem risco fetal. Varfarina é teratogênica se usada da 6ª a 9ª semana de gestação, mas pode ser usada durante o segundo e terceiro trimestres até a 34ª semana, quando deve ser interrompida com o intuito de evitar sangramento fetal. A imunoglobulina endovenosa é recomendada em casos difíceis de síndrome do anticorpo antifosfolipídeo e vem

Contrast agents for cardiac angiography: effects of a nonionic agent vs. a standard ionic agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bettmann, M.A.; Bourdillon, P.D.; Barry, W.H.; Brush, K.A.; Levin, D.C.

1984-01-01

The effects on cardiac hemodynamics and of a standard contrast agent, sodium methylglucamine diatrizoate [Renografin 76] were compared with the effects of a new nonionic agent (iohexol) in a double-blind study in 51 patietns undergoing coronary angiography and left ventriculography. No significant alteration in measured blood parameters occurred with either contrast agent. Hemodynamic changes occurred with both, but were significantly greater with the standard renografin than with the low-osmolality, nonionic iohexol. After left ventriculography, heart rate increased and peripheral arterial pressure fell with both agents, but less with iohexol. It is concluded that iohexol causes less alteration in cardiac function than does the agent currently most widely used. Nonionic contrast material is likely to improve the safety of coronary angiography, particularly in those patients at greatest risk

Long term effectiveness of RA-1, a standardized Ayurvedic medicine as a monotherapy and in combination with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chopra, Arvind; Saluja, Manjit; Kianifard, Toktam; Chitre, Deepa; Venugopalan, Anuradha

2018-03-08

Data on long term use of Ayurvedic drugs is sparse. They may prove useful if combined with modern medicine in certain clinical situations (integrative medicine). We present the results of a long term observational study of RA-1 (Ayurvedic drug) used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). On completion of a 16 week randomized controlled study, 165 consenting volunteer patients were enrolled into a three year open label phase (OLP) study. Patients were symptomatic with persistent active disease and naïve for disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD). 57 patients were on fixed low dose prednisone. Patients were examined every 10-14 weeks in a routine rheumatology practice using standard care norms. They continued RA-1 (Artrex ™, 2 tablets twice daily) throughout the study period and were generally advised to lead a healthy life style. Based on clinical judgment, rheumatologist added DMARD and/or steroids (modified if already in use) to patients with inadequate response; chloroquine and/or methotrexate commonly used. Treatment response was assessed using American College of Rheumatology (ACR) efficacy measures and ACR 20% improvement index standard update statistical software (SAS and SPSS) were used; significant at p Ayurveda Foundation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Composite Agent Architecture for Multi-Agent Simulations

OpenAIRE

VanPutte, Michael; Osborn, Brian; Hiles, John

2002-01-01

CGF Computer Generated Forces and Behavioral Representation The MOVES Institute’s Computer-Generated Autonomy Group has focused on a research goal of modeling complex and adaptive behavior while at the same time making the behavior easier to create and control. This research has led to several techniques for agent construction, that includes a social and organization relationship management engine, a composite agent architecture, an agent goal apparatus, a structure for capturi...

TACtic- A Multi Behavioral Agent for Trading Agent Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Khosravi, Hassan; Shiri, Mohammad E.; Khosravi, Hamid; Iranmanesh, Ehsan; Davoodi, Alireza

Software agents are increasingly being used to represent humans in online auctions. Such agents have the advantages of being able to systematically monitor a wide variety of auctions and then make rapid decisions about what bids to place in what auctions. They can do this continuously and repetitively without losing concentration. To provide a means of evaluating and comparing (benchmarking) research methods in this area the trading agent competition (TAC) was established. This paper describes the design, of TACtic. Our agent uses multi behavioral techniques at the heart of its decision making to make bidding decisions in the face of uncertainty, to make predictions about the likely outcomes of auctions, and to alter the agent's bidding strategy in response to the prevailing market conditions.

Multi-Agent Pathfinding with n Agents on Graphs with n Vertices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Förster, Klaus-Tycho; Groner, Linus; Hoefler, Torsten

2017-01-01

We investigate the multi-agent pathfinding (MAPF) problem with $n$ agents on graphs with $n$ vertices: Each agent has a unique start and goal vertex, with the objective of moving all agents in parallel movements to their goal s.t.~each vertex and each edge may only be used by one agent at a time....... We give a combinatorial classification of all graphs where this problem is solvable in general, including cases where the solvability depends on the initial agent placement. Furthermore, we present an algorithm solving the MAPF problem in our setting, requiring O(n²) rounds, or O(n³) moves...... of individual agents. Complementing these results, we show that there are graphs where Omega(n²) rounds and Omega(n³) moves are required for any algorithm....

9th KES Conference on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems : Technologies and Applications

CERN Document Server

Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

2015-01-01

Agents and multi-agent systems are related to a modern software paradigm which has long been recognized as a promising technology for constructing autonomous, complex and intelligent systems. The topics covered in this volume include agent-oriented software engineering, agent co-operation, co-ordination, negotiation, organization and communication, distributed problem solving, specification of agent communication languages, agent privacy, safety and security, formalization of ontologies and conversational agents. The volume highlights new trends and challenges in agent and multi-agent research and includes 38 papers classified in the following specific topics: learning paradigms, agent-based modeling and simulation, business model innovation and disruptive technologies, anthropic-oriented computing, serious games and business intelligence, design and implementation of intelligent agents and multi-agent systems, digital economy, and advances in networked virtual enterprises. Published p...

10th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Pérez, Javier; Golinska, Paulina; Giroux, Sylvain; Corchuelo, Rafael; Trends in Practical Applications of Agents and Multiagent Systems

2012-01-01

PAAMS, the International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems is an evolution of the International Workshop on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS is an international yearly tribune to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to exchange their experience in the development of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.   This volume presents the papers that have been accepted for the 2012 in the workshops: Workshop on Agents for Ambient Assisted Living, Workshop on Agent-Based Solutions for Manufacturing and Supply Chain and Workshop on Agents and Multi-agent systems for Enterprise Integration.

Riot Control Agents

Science.gov (United States)

... Submit What's this? Submit Button Facts About Riot Control Agents Interim document Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir What riot control agents are Riot control agents (sometimes referred to ...

Safety and effectiveness of tacrolimus add-on therapy for rheumatoid arthritis patients without an adequate response to biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs): Post-marketing surveillance in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuchi, Tsutomu; Ishida, Kota; Shiraki, Katsuhisa; Yoshiyasu, Takashi

2018-01-01

Post-marketing surveillance (PMS) was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of tacrolimus (TAC) add-on therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Patients with RA from 180 medical sites across Japan were registered centrally with an electronic investigation system. The observational period was 24 weeks from the first day of TAC administration concomitantly with biological DMARDs. Safety and effectiveness populations included 624 and 566 patients, respectively. Patients were predominantly female (81.1%), with a mean age of 61.9 years. Overall, 125 adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occurred in 94 patients (15.1%), and 15 serious ADRs occurred in 11 patients (1.8%). These incidences were lower compared with previously reported incidences after TAC treatment in PMS, and all of the observed ADRs were already known. A statistically significant improvement was observed in the primary effectiveness variable of Simplified Disease Activity Index after TAC treatment; 62.7% of patients achieved remission or low disease activity at week 24. TAC is well tolerated and effective when used as an add-on to biological DMARDs in Japanese patients with RA who do not achieve an adequate response to biological DMARDs in a real-world clinical setting.

Long-Term Outcomes in Puerto Ricans with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Receiving Early Treatment with Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs using the American College of Rheumatology Definition of Early RA.

Science.gov (United States)

Varela-Rosario, Noemí; Arroyo-Ávila, Mariangelí; Fred-Jiménez, Ruth M; Díaz-Correa, Leyda M; Pérez-Ríos, Naydi; Rodríguez, Noelia; Ríos, Grissel; Vilá, Luis M

2017-01-01

Early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) results in better long-term outcomes. However, the optimal therapeutic window has not been clearly established. To determine the clinical outcome of Puerto Ricans with RA receiving early treatment with conventional and/or biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) definition of early RA. A cross-sectional study was performed in a cohort of Puerto Ricans with RA. Demographic features, clinical manifestations, disease activity, functional status, and pharmacotherapy were determined. Early treatment was defined as the initiation of DMARDs (conventional and/or biologic) in less than 6 months from the onset of symptoms attributable to RA. Patients who received early (disease duration was 14.9 years and 337 (87.0%) patients were women. One hundred and twenty one (31.3%) patients received early treatment. In the multivariate analysis adjusted for age and sex, early treatment was associated with better functional status, lower probability of joint deformities, intra-articular injections and joint replacement surgeries, and lower scores in the physician's assessments of global health, functional impairment and physical damage of patients. Using the ACR definition of early RA, this group of patients treated with DMARDs within 6 months of disease had better long-term outcomes with less physical damage and functional impairment.

Constructing Secure Mobile Agent Systems Using the Agent Operating System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van t Noordende, G.J.; Overeinder, B.J.; Timmer, R.J.; Brazier, F.M.; Tanenbaum, A.S.

2009-01-01

Designing a secure and reliable mobile agent system is a difficult task. The agent operating system (AOS) is a building block that simplifies this task. AOS provides common primitives required by most mobile agent middleware systems, such as primitives for secure communication, secure and

Nondestructive Intervention to Multi-Agent Systems through an Intelligent Agent

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jing; Wang, Lin

2013-01-01

For a given multi-agent system where the local interaction rule of the existing agents can not be re-designed, one way to intervene the collective behavior of the system is to add one or a few special agents into the group which are still treated as normal agents by the existing ones. We study how to lead a Vicsek-like flocking model to reach synchronization by adding special agents. A popular method is to add some simple leaders (fixed-headings agents). However, we add one intelligent agent, called ‘shill’, which uses online feedback information of the group to decide the shill's moving direction at each step. A novel strategy for the shill to coordinate the group is proposed. It is strictly proved that a shill with this strategy and a limited speed can synchronize every agent in the group. The computer simulations show the effectiveness of this strategy in different scenarios, including different group sizes, shill speed, and with or without noise. Compared to the method of adding some fixed-heading leaders, our method can guarantee synchronization for any initial configuration in the deterministic scenario and improve the synchronization level significantly in low density groups, or model with noise. This suggests the advantage and power of feedback information in intervention of collective behavior. PMID:23658695

Nondestructive intervention to multi-agent systems through an intelligent agent.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Han

Full Text Available For a given multi-agent system where the local interaction rule of the existing agents can not be re-designed, one way to intervene the collective behavior of the system is to add one or a few special agents into the group which are still treated as normal agents by the existing ones. We study how to lead a Vicsek-like flocking model to reach synchronization by adding special agents. A popular method is to add some simple leaders (fixed-headings agents. However, we add one intelligent agent, called 'shill', which uses online feedback information of the group to decide the shill's moving direction at each step. A novel strategy for the shill to coordinate the group is proposed. It is strictly proved that a shill with this strategy and a limited speed can synchronize every agent in the group. The computer simulations show the effectiveness of this strategy in different scenarios, including different group sizes, shill speed, and with or without noise. Compared to the method of adding some fixed-heading leaders, our method can guarantee synchronization for any initial configuration in the deterministic scenario and improve the synchronization level significantly in low density groups, or model with noise. This suggests the advantage and power of feedback information in intervention of collective behavior.

Organizations as Socially Constructed Agents in the Agent Oriented Paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

G. Boella (Guido); L.W.N. van der Torre (Leon)

2005-01-01

htmlabstractIn this paper we propose a new role for the agent metaphor in the definition of the organizational structure of multiagent systems. The agent metaphor is extended to consider as agents also social entities like organizations, groups and normative systems, so that mental attitudes can

Neuroprotective "agents" in surgery. Secret "agent" man, or common "agent" machine?

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, R. J.

1999-01-01

The search for clinically-effective neuroprotective agents has received enormous support in recent years--an estimated $200 million by pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials for traumatic brain injury alone. At the same time, the pathophysiology of brain injury has proved increasingly complex, rendering the likelihood of a single agent "magic bullet" even more remote. On the other hand, great progress continues with technology that makes surgery less invasive and less risky. One example is the application of endovascular techniques to treat coronary artery stenosis, where both the invasiveness of sternotomy and the significant neurological complication rate (due to microemboli showering the cerebral vasculature) can be eliminated. In this paper we review aspects of intraoperative neuroprotection both present and future. Explanations for the slow progress on pharmacologic neuroprotection during surgery are presented. Examples of technical advances that have had great impact on neuroprotection during surgery are given both from coronary artery stenosis surgery and from surgery for Parkinson's disease. To date, the progress in neuroprotection resulting from such technical advances is an order of magnitude greater than that resulting from pharmacologic agents used during surgery. The progress over the last 20 years in guidance during surgery (CT and MRI image-guidance) and in surgical access (endoscopic and endovascular techniques) will soon be complemented by advances in our ability to evaluate biological tissue intraoperatively in real-time. As an example of such technology, the NASA Smart Probe project is considered. In the long run (i.e., in 10 years or more), pharmacologic "agents" aimed at the complex pathophysiology of nervous system injury in man will be the key to true intraoperative neuroprotection. In the near term, however, it is more likely that mundane "agents" based on computers, microsensors, and microeffectors will be the major impetus to improved

Advances on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 10th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Müller, Jörg; Rodríguez, Juan; Pérez, Javier

2012-01-01

Research on Agents and Multi-Agent Systems has matured during the last decade and many effective applications of this technology are now deployed. PAAMS provides an international forum to present and discuss the latest scientific developments and their effective applications, to assess the impact of the approach, and to facilitate technology transfer. PAAMS started as a local initiative, but has since grown to become THE international yearly platform to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to exchange their experience in the development and deployment of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS intends to bring together researchers and developers from industry and the academic world to report on the latest scientific and technical advances on the application of multi-agent systems, to discuss and debate the major ...

Highlights on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 10th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Sánchez, Miguel; Mathieu, Philippe; Rodríguez, Juan; Adam, Emmanuel; Ortega, Alfonso; Moreno, María; Navarro, Elena; Hirsch, Benjamin; Lopes-Cardoso, Henrique; Julián, Vicente

2012-01-01

Research on Agents and Multi-Agent Systems has matured during the last decade and many effective applications of this technology are now deployed. PAAMS provides an international forum to present and discuss the latest scientific developments and their effective applications, to assess the impact of the approach, and to facilitate technology transfer. PAAMS started as a local initiative, but has since grown to become THE international yearly platform to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to exchange their experience in the development and deployment of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS intends to bring together researchers and developers from industry and the academic world to report on the latest scientific and technical advances on the application of multi-agent systems, to discuss and debate the major ...

Radiographic scanning agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevan, J.A.

1983-01-01

This invention relates to radiodiagnostic agents and more particularly to a composition and method for preparing a highly effective technetium-99m-based bone scanning agent. One deficiency of x-ray examination is the inability of that technique to detect skeletal metastases in their incipient stages. It has been discovered that the methanehydroxydiphosphonate bone mineral-seeking agent is unique in that it provides the dual benefits of sharp radiographic imaging and excellent lesion detection when used with technetium-99m. This agent can also be used with technetium-99m for detecting soft tissue calcification in the manner of the inorganic phosphate radiodiagnostic agents

Acute fulminant drug induced necrotizing pancreatitis in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Miramontes

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Drug-induced acute necrotizing pancreatitis is a rare adverse event, although it has been reported in association with different drugs, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and analgesic agents commonly used in rheumatology. In different reviews of the pancreotoxicity of drugs, infliximab and etanercept are mentioned among all medications implicated in drug-induced pancreatitis, but clinical cases of acute pancreatitis complicating treatment with these anti-TNF-α agents have been exceptionally reported. We describe a patient with ankylosing spondylitis treated with etanercept, who developed an acute fulminant necrotizing pancreatitis that resulted in death. Doctors should pay close attention to patients taking biologic drugs in which a complaint of abdominal pain lasting for several days with no apparent cause may require a prompt referral for medical consultation.

Smart Agents and Sentiment in the Heterogeneous Agent Model

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vácha, Lukáš; Baruník, Jozef; Vošvrda, Miloslav

2009-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 3 (2009), s. 209-219 ISSN 1210-0455 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06075; GA ČR GP402/08/P207; GA ČR(CZ) GA402/09/0965 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : heterogeneous agent model * market structure * smart traders * Hurst exponent Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2009/E/vacha- smart agent s and sentiment in the heterogeneous agent model.pdf

Pharmacotherapy Options in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pradeep Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Drugs form the mainstay of therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA. Five main classes of drugs are currently used: analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs, glucocorticoids, nonbiologic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend that clinicians start biologic agents if patients have suboptimal response or intolerant to one or two traditional disease modifying agents (DMARDs. Methotrexate, sulfasalazine, leflunomide and hydroxychloroquine are the commonly used DMARDs. Currently, anti-TNF is the commonly used first line biologic worldwide followed by abatacept and it is usually combined with MTX. There is some evidence that tocilizumab is the most effective biologic as a monotherapy agent. Rituximab is generally not used as a first line biologic therapy due to safety issues but still as effective as anti-TNF. The long term data for the newer oral small molecule biologics such as tofacitinib is not available and hence used only as a last resort.

Asymptotically Optimal Agents

OpenAIRE

Lattimore, Tor; Hutter, Marcus

2011-01-01

Artificial general intelligence aims to create agents capable of learning to solve arbitrary interesting problems. We define two versions of asymptotic optimality and prove that no agent can satisfy the strong version while in some cases, depending on discounting, there does exist a non-computable weak asymptotically optimal agent.

Risk of malignancy in patients with rheumatic disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wong Victor Tak-lung

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, Sjogren’s syndrome (SS, and inflammatory myositis are at increased risk of developing malignancies. Treatment of these conditions, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs and biologic therapies, are also associated with increased risk of malignancies.Cancer adds to the disease burden in these patients, affecting their quality of life and life expectancy. The decision in choosing immunosuppressive agents in these rheumatic diseases should take into account the disease severity, expectation for disease control, comorbidities, as well asthe side effects including risks of cancer.

Traitement de l'hétérogénéité sémantique dans les interactions humain-agent et agent-agent

OpenAIRE

Mazuel , Laurent

2008-01-01

The main purpose of this thesis is the management of semantic heterogeneity in human-agent and agent-agent interaction. We especially focus on the situation where a software agent, supplied with a knowledge representation model, has to understand requests coming from different interlocutors; either it is a human user or another software agent.Most work in this domain either focus on human-agent interaction or agent-agent interaction. On the contrary, we suggest that it is possible to use a co...

Relay tracking control for second-order multi-agent systems with damaged agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Lijing; Li, Jing; Liu, Qin

2017-11-01

This paper investigates a situation where smart agents capable of sensory and mobility are deployed to monitor a designated area. A preset number of agents start tracking when a target intrudes this area. Some of the tracking agents are possible to be out of order over the tracking course. Thus, we propose a cooperative relay tracking strategy to ensure the successful tracking with existence of damaged agents. Relay means that, when a tracking agent quits tracking due to malfunction, one of the near deployed agents replaces it to continue the tracking task. This results in jump of tracking errors and dynamic switching of topology of the multi-agent system. Switched system technique is employed to solve this specific problem. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed tracking strategy and validity of the theoretical results are verified by conducting a numerical simulation. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agentes Comunitários de Saúde e os sentidos de "ser agente" Community Health Agents and the meanings of "being an agent"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viviane Milan Pupin

2008-08-01

Full Text Available O Programa Saúde da Família constitui-se enquanto estratégia de mudança do modelo assistencial. O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa qualitativa sobre os sentidos de "ser agente" produzidos, por meio de entrevistas abertas, com Agentes Comunitários de Saúde que trabalham nos cinco Núcleos de Saúde da Família da cidade de Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo, vinculados à Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP. As entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas na íntegra e analisadas segundo princípios da análise de conteúdo. A análise permitiu a descrição de sentidos acerca de ser agente subdivididos em: Sentidos produzidos na relação com a comunidade e Sentidos produzidos na relação com a equipe. A análise dos sentidos de ser agente possibilitou construir um diálogo sobre as tensões relacionadas a um fazer em saúde ora permeado por concepções atreladas ao modelo biomédico, ora atrelado aos novos paradigmas em saúde.The Family Health Program consists of a strategy to change the health care model. This article presents the results from a qualitative study about the meanings of "being an agent" obtained through open interviews with Community Health Agents who work in five Family Health Centers of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (University of São Paulo, located in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. Interviews were tape recorded, fully transcribed, and then content analyzed. The analysis allowed for descriptions of meanings toward "being an agent", subdivided into: Meanings produced by relationships with the community, and Meanings produced by relationships with the team. Analyzing the meanings of being an agent provided the establishment of a dialogue about the tensions related to a health practice that is at times influenced by conceptions associated with the biomedical method, and at other times with the new health paradigm.

Biological warfare agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duraipandian Thavaselvam

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The recent bioterrorist attacks using anthrax spores have emphasized the need to detect and decontaminate critical facilities in the shortest possible time. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Even then the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. Furthermore in the past decade there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographical regions. The preparedness against these agents need complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities, diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. This review on the biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents, their mode of transmission and spread and also the detection systems available to detect them. In addition the current information on the availability of commercially available and developing technologies against biological warfare agents has also been discussed. The risk that arise due to the use of these agents in warfare or bioterrorism related scenario can be mitigated with the availability of improved detection technologies.

Biological warfare agents

Science.gov (United States)

Thavaselvam, Duraipandian; Vijayaraghavan, Rajagopalan

2010-01-01

The recent bioterrorist attacks using anthrax spores have emphasized the need to detect and decontaminate critical facilities in the shortest possible time. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Even then the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. Furthermore in the past decade there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographical regions. The preparedness against these agents need complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities, diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. This review on the biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents, their mode of transmission and spread and also the detection systems available to detect them. In addition the current information on the availability of commercially available and developing technologies against biological warfare agents has also been discussed. The risk that arise due to the use of these agents in warfare or bioterrorism related scenario can be mitigated with the availability of improved detection technologies. PMID:21829313

Quantity and economic value of unused oral anti-cancer and biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs among outpatient pharmacy patients who discontinue therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bekker, C L; Melis, E J; Egberts, A C G; Bouvy, M L; Gardarsdottir, H; van den Bemt, B J F

2018-03-24

Patients sometimes discontinue the use of expensive oral anti-cancer drug (OACD) or biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) therapies early, leading to medication waste if the patient has not used all dispensed medication. To determine the proportion of patients who have unused OACDs or bDMARDs after therapy discontinuation, and the quantity and economic value of these unused medications. Furthermore, patients' reasons for therapy discontinuation and their disposal method for unused medications were determined. In a retrospective follow-up study using a Dutch outpatient pharmacy database, patients (≥18 years) who did not refill an OACD or bDMARD prescription, dispensed between November 2015 and February 2016, within two weeks of the prescription end date were contacted by phone and asked about their unused medication and reasons thereof. The economic value was calculated using Dutch medication prices. Data were descriptively analyzed in STATA13. The database included 1173 patients, of whom 159 likely had discontinued therapy and were contacted. Of these, 88 patients were excluded (39 refilled, 47 missing, and 2 other). Of the 71 patients who had discontinued therapy, 39 (54.9%) had unused medications, comprising 22 OACD users (mean age 63.0 (SD ± 15.9) years, 50.0% female) and 17 bDMARD users (mean age 50.7 (SD ± 13.5) years, 47.1% female). A total of 59 packages were unused, with a total value of €60,341. Unused OACD packages and bDMARD packages had median values of €179 (IQR €24-2487) and €992 (IQR €681-1093), respectively. Patients primarily discontinued therapy due to adverse or insufficient effects. This study illustrates that more than half of patients discontinuing OACD or bDMARD therapies have unused medication. This emphasizes the need for waste-reducing interventions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Cost-effectiveness of Sequences of Biological Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drug Treatment in England for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Who Can Tolerate Methotrexate.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Matt D; Wailoo, Allan J; Tosh, Jonathan C; Hernandez-Alava, Monica; Gibson, Laura A; Stevens, John W; Archer, Rachel J; Simpson, Emma L; Hock, Emma S; Young, Adam; Scott, David L

2017-07-01

To ascertain whether strategies of treatment with a biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) are cost-effective in an English setting. Results are presented for those patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those with severe RA. An economic model to assess the cost-effectiveness of 7 bDMARD was developed. A systematic literature review and network metaanalysis was undertaken to establish relative clinical effectiveness. The results were used to populate the model, together with estimates of Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score following European League Against Rheumatism response; annual costs, and utility, per HAQ band; trajectory of HAQ for patients taking bDMARD; and trajectory of HAQ for patients using nonbiologic therapy (NBT). Results were presented as those associated with the strategy with the median cost-effectiveness. Supplementary analyses were undertaken assessing the change in cost-effectiveness when only patients with the most severe prognoses taking NBT were provided with bDMARD treatment. The costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) values were compared with reported thresholds from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence of £20,000 to £30,000 (US$24,700 to US$37,000). In the primary analyses, the cost per QALY of a bDMARD strategy was £41,600 for patients with severe RA and £51,100 for those with moderate to severe RA. Under the supplementary analyses, the cost per QALY fell to £25,300 for those with severe RA and to £28,500 for those with moderate to severe RA. The cost-effectiveness of bDMARD in RA in England is questionable and only meets current accepted levels in subsets of patients with the worst prognoses.

14th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems : Special Sessions

CERN Document Server

Escalona, María; Corchuelo, Rafael; Mathieu, Philippe; Vale, Zita; Campbell, Andrew; Rossi, Silvia; Adam, Emmanuel; Jiménez-López, María; Navarro, Elena; Moreno, María

2016-01-01

PAAMS, the International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems is an evolution of the International Workshop on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS is an international yearly tribune to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to exchange their experience in the development of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. This volume presents the papers that have been accepted for the 2016 in the special sessions: Agents Behaviours and Artificial Markets (ABAM); Advances on Demand Response and Renewable Energy Sources in Agent Based Smart Grids (ADRESS); Agents and Mobile Devices (AM); Agent Methodologies for Intelligent Robotics Applications (AMIRA); Learning, Agents and Formal Languages (LAFLang); Multi-Agent Systems and Ambient Intelligence (MASMAI); Web Mining and ...

Developing Agent-Oriented Video Surveillance System through Agent-Oriented Methodology (AOM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheah Wai Shiang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Agent-oriented methodology (AOM is a comprehensive and unified agent methodology for agent-oriented software development. Although AOM is claimed to be able to cope with a complex system development, it is still not yet determined up to what extent this may be true. Therefore, it is vital to conduct an investigation to validate this methodology. This paper presents the adoption of AOM in developing an agent-oriented video surveillance system (VSS. An intruder handling scenario is designed and implemented through AOM. AOM provides an alternative method to engineer a distributed security system in a systematic manner. It presents the security system at a holistic view; provides a better conceptualization of agent-oriented security system and supports rapid prototyping as well as simulation of video surveillance system.

Agent Architectures for Compliance

Science.gov (United States)

Burgemeestre, Brigitte; Hulstijn, Joris; Tan, Yao-Hua

A Normative Multi-Agent System consists of autonomous agents who must comply with social norms. Different kinds of norms make different assumptions about the cognitive architecture of the agents. For example, a principle-based norm assumes that agents can reflect upon the consequences of their actions; a rule-based formulation only assumes that agents can avoid violations. In this paper we present several cognitive agent architectures for self-monitoring and compliance. We show how different assumptions about the cognitive architecture lead to different information needs when assessing compliance. The approach is validated with a case study of horizontal monitoring, an approach to corporate tax auditing recently introduced by the Dutch Customs and Tax Authority.

A Secure Protocol Based on a Sedentary Agent for Mobile Agent Environments

OpenAIRE

Abdelmorhit E. Rhazi; Samuel Pierre; Hanifa Boucheneb

2007-01-01

The main challenge when deploying mobile agent environments pertains to security issues concerning mobile agents and their executive platform. This paper proposes a secure protocol which protects mobile agents against attacks from malicious hosts in these environments. Protection is based on the perfect cooperation of a sedentary agent running inside a trusted third host. Results show that the protocol detects several attacks, such as denial of service, incorrect execution and re-execution of...

Moral actor, selfish agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Frimer, Jeremy A; Schaefer, Nicola K; Oakes, Harrison

2014-05-01

People are motivated to behave selfishly while appearing moral. This tension gives rise to 2 divergently motivated selves. The actor-the watched self-tends to be moral; the agent-the self as executor-tends to be selfish. Three studies present direct evidence of the actor's and agent's distinct motives. To recruit the self-as-actor, we asked people to rate the importance of various goals. To recruit the self-as-agent, we asked people to describe their goals verbally. In Study 1, actors claimed their goals were equally about helping the self and others (viz., moral); agents claimed their goals were primarily about helping the self (viz., selfish). This disparity was evident in both individualist and collectivist cultures, attesting to the universality of the selfish agent. Study 2 compared actors' and agents' motives to those of people role-playing highly prosocial or selfish exemplars. In content (Study 2a) and in the impressions they made on an outside observer (Study 2b), actors' motives were similar to those of the prosocial role-players, whereas agents' motives were similar to those of the selfish role-players. Study 3 accounted for the difference between the actor and agent: Participants claimed that their agent's motives were the more realistic and that their actor's motives were the more idealistic. The selfish agent/moral actor duality may account for why implicit and explicit measures of the same construct diverge, and why feeling watched brings out the better angels of human nature.

The Agent of Change: The Agent of Conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatfield, C. R., Jr.

This speech examines the role of change agents in third world societies and indicates that the change agent must, to some extent, manipulate the social situation, even if his view of society is a more optimistic one than he finds in reality. If he considers strains and stresses to be the lubricants of change, then his focus on conflict as a…

Interactions of ionic and nonionic contrast agents with thrombolytic agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fareed, J.; Moncada, R.; Scanlon, P.; Hoppensteadt, D.; Huan, X.; Walenga, J.M.

1987-01-01

Both the ionic and nonionic intravascular contrast media have been used before and after the administration of thrombolytic agents to evaluate clot lysis during angioplasty and the treatment of myocardial infarction. In experimental animal models, the authors found that the clot lytic efficacy of streptokinase, streptokinase-plasminogen complex, and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is markedly augmented if these agents are administered within 1 hour after the angiographic producers. Furthermore, contrast agents injected after the administration of t-Pa exhibit a synergistic action. In stimulated models administration of one ionic contrast medium (Angiovist, Berlex, Wayne, NJ) and two nonionic contrast agents (Isovue-370, Squibb Diagnostics, New Brunswick, NJ; Omnipaque-350, Winthrop, NY) 15 minutes before the administration of t-PA resulted in marked enhancement of the lytic activity. Although the mechanism of this interaction is unknown at this time, it should be taken into consideration in the treatment of patients with myocardial infarction, in whom contrast agents are continually used to evaluate the therapeutic lysis. Furthermore, this interaction may be partly related to the therapeutic efficacy and/or hemorrhagic actions observed

Use of tofacitinib in real clinical practice to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis resistant to synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: Results of a multicenter observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. E. Karateev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Tofacitinib (TOFA, a member of a new class of targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs, is a promising medication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA and other immunoinflammatory diseases. The paper describes the Russian experi-ence with TOFA used to treat severe RA.Patients and methods. 101 RA patients (18 men and 83 women; mean age, 51.03±11.28 years; mean disease duration, 105.4±81.43 months who were positive for rheumatoid factor (89.1% and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (74.7% and resistant to therapy with synthetic DMARDs (sDMARDs (80.2% and biological agents (19.8% were given TOFA at a dose of 5 mg twice daily, which could be doubled if necessary. TOFA was used alone (n=9 or in combination with methotrexate (MT (n=75 or other sDMARDs (n=17. The achievement of low disease activity (LDA and clinical remission at 3 and 6 months of treatment by DAS28-ESR SDAI, and CDAI scores, and the indices of safety and tolerability were assessed.Results. A total of 93 (92.1% of the 101 patients completed a 24-week period of the investigation. 8 (7.9% patients prematurely discontinued TOFA after an average of 2.75±0.71 months. At the end of the study, the patients achieved the primary endpoint (LDA including remission in terms of DAS28-ESR ≤3.2 (34.7%, SDAI ≤11 (47.5%, and CDAI ≤10 (48.5% and the secondary endpoints (clinical remission in terms of DAS28-ESR ≤2.6 (17.8%, SDAI ≤3.3 (8.9%, and CDAI ≤2.8 (6.9%. When TOFA was combined with MT, the discontinuation rate for the former was significantly lower (2.7% than when TOFA was used in combination with other sDMARDs (29.4% or alone (11.1%; p<0.01. At 3 and 6 months of follow-up, LDA was achieved more frequently when TOFA was combined with MT than when other treatment regimens were used. Fatal outcomes and serious adverse events (AEs, as AEs previously undescribed in the literature, were not seen during a follow-up within

Survey of agent for intelligent information retrieval; Chiteki kensaku no tame no agent no chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yazawa, T [Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

1996-09-01

Development of agent systems has been surveyed, to classify and arrange characteristic functions of the agents, and to grasp the realization situation of these agents in their development. In addition, prospective functions of information retrieval systems using the agents at maximum and functions to be developed among these in the future are clarified. The agents are characterized by the expression function, communication function, planning function, adaptive function, and learning function. The agents are desired to be classified into interface agents whose works are to respond to individual workers, coordinator agents which conduct works with high pervasion, such as assignment of works and their control, and task agents which conduct specialized works for individual examples. Thus, design and configuration of the agent system, and improvement and expansion of system functions can be effectively and easily conducted. 52 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

Agent and multi-Agent systems in distributed systems digital economy and e-commerce

CERN Document Server

Hartung, Ronald

2013-01-01

Information and communication technology, in particular artificial intelligence, can be used to support economy and commerce using digital means. This book is about agents and multi-agent distributed systems applied to digital economy and e-commerce to meet, improve, and overcome challenges in the digital economy and e-commerce sphere. Agent and multi-agent solutions are applied in implementing real-life, exciting developments associated with the need to eliminate problems of distributed systems.   The book presents solutions for both technology and applications, illustrating the possible uses of agents in the enterprise domain, covering design and analytic methods, needed to provide a solid foundation required for practical systems. More specifically, the book provides solutions for the digital economy, e-sourcing clusters in network economy, and knowledge exchange between agents applicable to online trading agents, and security solutions to both digital economy and e-commerce. Furthermore, it offers soluti...

Reasoning about emotional agents

OpenAIRE

Meyer, J.-J.

2004-01-01

In this paper we discuss the role of emotions in artificial agent design, and the use of logic in reasoning about the emotional or affective states an agent can reside in. We do so by extending the KARO framework for reasoning about rational agents appropriately. In particular we formalize in this framework how emotions are related to the action monitoring capabilities of an agent.

Double agents and secret agents: the emerging fields of exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer and T2-exchange magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for molecular imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Daryaei, Iman; Pagel, Mark D

2015-01-01

Two relatively new types of exogenous magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents may provide greater impact for molecular imaging by providing greater specificity for detecting molecular imaging biomarkers. Exogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agents rely on the selective saturation of the magnetization of a proton on an agent, followed by chemical exchange of a proton from the agent to water. The selective detection of a biomarker-responsive CEST signal and an unresponsive CEST signal, followed by the ratiometric comparison of these signals, can improve biomarker specificity. We refer to this improvement as a "double-agent" approach to molecular imaging. Exogenous T 2 -exchange agents also rely on chemical exchange of protons between the agent and water, especially with an intermediate rate that lies between the slow exchange rates of CEST agents and the fast exchange rates of traditional T 1 and T 2 agents. Because of this intermediate exchange rate, these agents have been relatively unknown and have acted as "secret agents" in the contrast agent research field. This review exposes these secret agents and describes the merits of double agents through examples of exogenous agents that detect enzyme activity, nucleic acids and gene expression, metabolites, ions, redox state, temperature, and pH. Future directions are also provided for improving both types of contrast agents for improved molecular imaging and clinical translation. Therefore, this review provides an overview of two new types of exogenous contrast agents that are becoming useful tools within the armamentarium of molecular imaging.

A CSP-Based Agent Modeling Framework for the Cougaar Agent-Based Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Gracanin, Denis; Singh, H. Lally; Eltoweissy, Mohamed; Hinchey, Michael G.; Bohner, Shawn A.

2005-01-01

Cognitive Agent Architecture (Cougaar) is a Java-based architecture for large-scale distributed agent-based applications. A Cougaar agent is an autonomous software entity with behaviors that represent a real-world entity (e.g., a business process). A Cougaar-based Model Driven Architecture approach, currently under development, uses a description of system's functionality (requirements) to automatically implement the system in Cougaar. The Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) formalism is used for the formal validation of the generated system. Two main agent components, a blackboard and a plugin, are modeled as CSP processes. A set of channels represents communications between the blackboard and individual plugins. The blackboard is represented as a CSP process that communicates with every agent in the collection. The developed CSP-based Cougaar modeling framework provides a starting point for a more complete formal verification of the automatically generated Cougaar code. Currently it is used to verify the behavior of an individual agent in terms of CSP properties and to analyze the corresponding Cougaar society.

Fundamental studies of oral contrast agents for MR. Comparison of manganese agent and iron agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Osamu; Hiraishi, Kumiko; Suginobu, Yoshito; Takeuchi, Masayasu; Narabayashi, Isamu

1996-01-01

We investigated and compared signal intensity and the effect of imaging the upper abdomen with blueberry juice (B.J.), a Mn agent utilizing the properties of paramagnetic metals, and FerriSeltz (F.S.), an iron agent. Since the relaxation effect was much stronger with B.J. than with F.S., the signal intensity required of a peroral contrast agent was able to be obtained at a much lower concentration of B.J. In imaging the upper abdomen, B.J. had a positive effect on imaging in T1-weighted images, and a negative effect in T2-weighted images. F.S. had a positive imaging effect in both, and because it showed extremely high signals in T2-weighted images, motion artifact arose. (author)

Effectiveness of biologic and non-biologic antirheumatic drugs on anaemia markers in 153,788 patients with rheumatoid arthritis: New evidence from real-world data.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Sanjoy Ketan; Montvida, Olga; Best, Jennie H; Gale, Sara; Pethoe-Schramm, Attila; Sarsour, Khaled

2018-02-01

To evaluate the impact of treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including IL-6 receptor inhibitor tocilizumab (TCZ), on anaemia markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Using the Centricity Electronic Medical Records from USA, patients with rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed between January 2000 and April 2016, who initiated TCZ (n = 3732); tofacitinib (TOFA, n = 3126); other biologic DMARD (obDMARD, n = 55,964); or other non-biologic DMARD (onbDMARD, n = 91,236) were identified. Changes in haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct) over 2 years of treatment initiation were evaluated, adjusting and balancing for confounders. Mean (95% CI) adjusted increase in Hb and Hct levels at 24 months in TCZ group were 0.23g/dL (0.14, 0.42) and 0.96% (0.41, 1.52) respectively. Among patients with anaemia in the TCZ group, Hb and Hct increased significantly by 0.72g/dL and 2.06%, respectively. Patients in the TCZ group were 86% (95% CI of OR: 1.43, 2.00) more likely to increase Hb ≥ 1g/dL compared to the other groups combined. No clinically significant changes in Hb were observed in the other groups. The obDMARD group demonstrated lower Hct increase than TCZ group, while no significant changes were observed in the remaining groups. Compared to those who initiated TCZ therapy after 1 year of diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, those who initiated earlier were 95% (OR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.19, 3.21; p < 0.001) more likely to increase Hb within 6 months. This real-world study suggests significant increase in Hb and Hct levels after TCZ therapy in anaemic and non-anaemic patients with rheumatoid arthritis, compared with other biologic and non-biologic DMARDs. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topical antifungal agents: an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Diehl, K B

1996-10-01

So many topical antifungal agents have been introduced that it has become very difficult to select the proper agent for a given infection. Nonspecific agents have been available for many years, and they are still effective in many situations. These agents include Whitfield's ointment, Castellani paint, gentian violet, potassium permanganate, undecylenic acid and selenium sulfide. Specific antifungal agents include, among others, the polyenes (nystatin, amphotericin B), the imidazoles (metronidazole, clotrimazole) and the allylamines (terbinafine, naftifine). Although the choice of an antifungal agent should be based on an accurate diagnosis, many clinicians believe that topical miconazole is a relatively effective agent for the treatment of most mycotic infections. Terbinafine and other newer drugs have primary fungicidal effects. Compared with older antifungal agents, these newer drugs can be used in lower concentrations and shorter therapeutic courses. Studies are needed to evaluate the clinical efficacies and cost advantages of both newer and traditional agents.

Interacting agents in finance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hommes, C.; Durlauf, S.N.; Blume, L.E.

2008-01-01

Interacting agents in finance represent a behavioural, agent-based approach in which financial markets are viewed as complex adaptive systems consisting of many boundedly rational agents interacting through simple heterogeneous investment strategies, constantly adapting their behaviour in response

Agent-based enterprise integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N. M. Berry; C. M. Pancerella

1998-12-01

The authors are developing and deploying software agents in an enterprise information architecture such that the agents manage enterprise resources and facilitate user interaction with these resources. The enterprise agents are built on top of a robust software architecture for data exchange and tool integration across heterogeneous hardware and software. The resulting distributed multi-agent system serves as a method of enhancing enterprises in the following ways: providing users with knowledge about enterprise resources and applications; accessing the dynamically changing enterprise; locating enterprise applications and services; and improving search capabilities for applications and data. Furthermore, agents can access non-agents (i.e., databases and tools) through the enterprise framework. The ultimate target of the effort is the user; they are attempting to increase user productivity in the enterprise. This paper describes their design and early implementation and discusses the planned future work.

Radiopharmaceutical scanning agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

This invention is directed to dispersions useful in preparing radiopharmaceutical scanning agents, to technetium labelled dispersions, to methods for preparing such dispersions and to their use as scanning agents

Agente adaptable y aprendizaje

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Angel Lara Rivero

2013-05-01

Full Text Available En este trabajo se contrasta el concepto de agente programado con el de agente complejo adaptable, se presenta una nueva visión ligada al aprendizaje y la estructura del agente. La imagen del agente se analiza considerando los modelos internos, la práctica, el concepto de rutina y la influencia en su comportamiento, y la importancia del aprendizaje ex ante y ex post. Por último se muestra que la resolución de problemas está sujeta a restricciones del agente y se describen las formas de explorar el espacio de soluciones mediante tres tipos de exploración: exhaustiva, aleatoria y selectiva.

Three-agent Peer Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Vicki Knoblauch

2008-01-01

I show that every rule for dividing a dollar among three agents impartially (so that each agent's share depends only on her evaluation by her associates) underpays some agent by at least one-third of a dollar for some consistent profile of evaluations. I then produce an impartial division rule that never underpays or overpays any agent by more than one-third of a dollar, and for most consistent evaluation profiles does much better.

A Verification Logic for GOAL Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Hindriks, K. V.

Although there has been a growing body of literature on verification of agents programs, it has been difficult to design a verification logic for agent programs that fully characterizes such programs and to connect agent programs to agent theory. The challenge is to define an agent programming language that defines a computational framework but also allows for a logical characterization useful for verification. The agent programming language GOAL has been originally designed to connect agent programming to agent theory and we present additional results here that GOAL agents can be fully represented by a logical theory. GOAL agents can thus be said to execute the corresponding logical theory.

Variations on agent-oriented programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalia Baziukė

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Occurrence of the agent paradigm and its further applications have stimulated the emergence of new concepts and methodologies in computer science. Today terms like multi-agent system, agent-oriented methodology, and agent-oriented programming (AOP are widely used. The aim of this paper is to clarify the validity of usage of the terms AOP and AOP language. This is disclosed in two phases of an analysis process. Determining to which concepts, terms like agent, programming, object-oriented analysis and design, object-oriented programming, and agent-oriented analysis and design correspond is accomplished in the first phase. Analysis of several known agent system engineering methodologies in terms of key concepts used, final resulting artifacts, and their relationship with known programming paradigms and modern tools for agent system development is performed in the second phase. The research shows that in most cases in the final phase of agent system design and in the coding stage, the main artifact is an object, defined according to the rules of the object-oriented paradigm. Hence, we say that the computing society still does not have AOP owing to the lack of an AOP language. Thus, the term AOP is very often incorrectly assigned to agent system development frameworks that in most cases, transform agents into objects.DOI: 10.15181/csat.v5i1.1361

Users, Bystanders and Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krummheuer, Antonia Lina

2015-01-01

Human-agent interaction (HAI), especially in the field of embodied conversational agents (ECA), is mainly construed as dyadic communication between a human user and a virtual agent. This is despite the fact that many application scenarios for future ECAs involve the presence of others. This paper...

Variation of Ursolic Acid Content in Eight Ocimum Species from Northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selene M. Morais

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Ursolic acid is a very important compound due to its biological potential as an anti-inflammatory, trypanocidal, antirheumatic, antiviral, antioxidant and antitumoral agent. This study presents the HPLC analysis of ursolic acid (UA content in eight different Ocimum species: O. americanum L., O. basilicum L, O. basilicum var purpurascens Benth, O. basilicum var. minimum L, O. gratissimum L, O. micranthum Willd, O. selloi Benth. and O. tenuiflorum L. grown in Northeastern Brazil. In these Ocimum species, UA was detected in different yields, with O. tenuiflorum showing the highest content (2.02%. This yield is very significant when compared with other sources of UA.

Hyperthermia and chemotherapy agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roizin-Towle, L.; Hall, E.J.

1981-01-01

The use of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer dates back to the late 19th century, but the modern era of chemotherapy drugs was ushered in during the 1940's with the development of the polyfunctional alkylating agent. Since then, numerous classes of drugs have evolved and the combined use of antineoplastic agents with other treatment modalities such as radiation or heat, remains a large relatively unexplored area. This approach, combining local hyperthermia with chemotherapy agents affords a measure of targeting and selective toxicity not previously available for drugs. In this paper, the effects of adriamycin, bleomycin and cis-platinum are examined. The adjuvant use of heat may also reverse the resistance of hypoxic cells noted for some chemotherapy agents

Reasoning about emotional agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyer, J.-J.

In this paper we discuss the role of emotions in artificial agent design, and the use of logic in reasoning about the emotional or affective states an agent can reside in. We do so by extending the KARO framework for reasoning about rational agents appropriately. In particular we formalize in

Clustering recommendations to compute agent reputation

Science.gov (United States)

Bedi, Punam; Kaur, Harmeet

2005-03-01

Traditional centralized approaches to security are difficult to apply to multi-agent systems which are used nowadays in e-commerce applications. Developing a notion of trust that is based on the reputation of an agent can provide a softer notion of security that is sufficient for many multi-agent applications. Our paper proposes a mechanism for computing reputation of the trustee agent for use by the trustier agent. The trustier agent computes the reputation based on its own experience as well as the experience the peer agents have with the trustee agents. The trustier agents intentionally interact with the peer agents to get their experience information in the form of recommendations. We have also considered the case of unintentional encounters between the referee agents and the trustee agent, which can be directly between them or indirectly through a set of interacting agents. The clustering is done to filter off the noise in the recommendations in the form of outliers. The trustier agent clusters the recommendations received from referee agents on the basis of the distances between recommendations using the hierarchical agglomerative method. The dendogram hence obtained is cut at the required similarity level which restricts the maximum distance between any two recommendations within a cluster. The cluster with maximum number of elements denotes the views of the majority of recommenders. The center of this cluster represents the reputation of the trustee agent which can be computed using c-means algorithm.

Agents Play Mix-game

Science.gov (United States)

Gou, Chengling

In recent years, economics and finance see the shift of paradigm from representative agent models to heterogeneous agent models [1, 2]. More and more economists and physicists made efforts in research on heterogeneous agent models for financial markets. Minority game (MG) proposed by D. Challet, and Y. C. Zhang [3] is an example among such efforts. Challet and Zhang's MG model, together with the original bar model of Arthur, attracts a lot of following studies [4-6]. Given MG's richness and yet underlying simplicity, MG has also received much attention as a financial market model [4]. MG comprises an odd number of agents choosing repeatedly between the options of buying (1) and selling (0) a quantity of a risky asset. The agents continually try to make the minority decision, i.e. buy assets when the majority of other agents are selling, and sell when the majority of other agents are buying. Neil F. Johnson [4, 5] and coworkers extended MG by allowing a variable number of active traders at each timestep— they called their modified game as the Grand Canonical Minority Game (GCMG). GCMG, and to a lesser extent the basic MG itself, can reproduce the stylized facts of financial markets, such as volatility clustering and fat-tail distributions.

Agent planning in AgScala

Science.gov (United States)

Tošić, Saša; Mitrović, Dejan; Ivanović, Mirjana

2013-10-01

Agent-oriented programming languages are designed to simplify the development of software agents, especially those that exhibit complex, intelligent behavior. This paper presents recent improvements of AgScala, an agent-oriented programming language based on Scala. AgScala includes declarative constructs for managing beliefs, actions and goals of intelligent agents. Combined with object-oriented and functional programming paradigms offered by Scala, it aims to be an efficient framework for developing both purely reactive, and more complex, deliberate agents. Instead of the Prolog back-end used initially, the new version of AgScala relies on Agent Planning Package, a more advanced system for automated planning and reasoning.

Multi-Agent Systems for E-Commerce

OpenAIRE

Solodukha, T. V.; Sosnovskiy, O. A.; Zhelezko, B. A.

2009-01-01

The article focuses on multi-agent systems (MAS) and domains that can benefit from multi-agent technology. In the last few years, the agent based modeling (ABM) community has developed several practical agent based modeling toolkits that enable individuals to develop agent-based applications. The comparison of agent-based modeling toolkits is given. Multi-agent systems are designed to handle changing and dynamic business processes. Any organization with complex and distributed business pro...

Identification of patients at risk of non-adherence to oral antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis using the Compliance Questionnaire in Rheumatology: an ARCO sub-study.

Science.gov (United States)

Marras, Carlos; Monteagudo, Indalecio; Salvador, Georgina; de Toro, Francisco J; Escudero, Alejandro; Alegre-Sancho, Juan J; Raya, Enrique; Ortiz, Ana; Carmona, Loreto; Mestre, Yvonne; Cea-Calvo, Luis; Calvo-Alén, Jaime

2017-07-01

The ARCO study (Study on Adherence of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients to SubCutaneous and Oral Drugs), a multicenter, non-interventional retrospective study, was primarily designed to assess the percentage of patients [aged ≥18 years with an established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis] with non-adherence to prescribed subcutaneous biologicals. This paper reports data for the secondary objective from a subset of patients, namely to evaluate non-adherence to prescribed oral antirheumatic drugs in RA patients in Spain using the validated Compliance Questionnaire Rheumatology (CQR). Patients also completed the Morisky-Green Medication Adherence Questionnaire, Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire, and a questionnaire (developed and validated in Spain) on patient satisfaction with RA treatment and preferences. A total of 271 patients (76.7% females; mean age 55.6 years) were being treated with oral drugs for RA, of which 234 completed the CQR questionnaire. Non-adherence was reported in 49/234 (20.9%) patients. The proportion of non-adherence in younger patients (aged ≤48 years; 37.5%) was double that recorded in patients aged >48 years (p = 0.006). Patients with a perception of lower efficacy also had a higher risk of non-adherence (p = 0.012). Multivariable analysis showed that younger age and male gender were independently associated with risk of non-adherence. There was only slight agreement between the CQR and Morisky-Green assessment tools (kappa coefficient = 0.186), possibly reflecting the fact that both questionnaires measure slightly different aspects of medication adherence. In conclusion, one out of five RA patients was identified as at risk for non-adherence with the CQR, and this was more frequent in younger patients and in males.

Simultaneous Response in Several Domains in Patients with Psoriatic Disease Treated with Etanercept as Monotherapy or in Combination with Conventional Synthetic Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Behrens, Frank; Meier, Lothar; Prinz, Jörg C; Jobst, Jürgen; Lippe, Ralph; Löschmann, Peter-Andreas; Lorenz, Hanns-Martin

2018-04-01

To evaluate patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) receiving etanercept (ETN) monotherapy or ETN plus conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD) to determine the proportion achieving a clinically meaningful response in arthritis, psoriasis, and quality of life simultaneously. A prospective, multicenter, 52-week observational study in patients with active PsA evaluated treatment with ETN in clinical practice (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00293722). This analysis assessed simultaneous achievement of 3 treatment targets: low disease activity (LDA) based on 28-joint count Disease Activity Score (DAS28); body surface area (BSA) involvement ≤ 3%; and a score > 45 on the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-12 (SF-12) physical component summary. Of 579 patients, 380 received ETN monotherapy and 199 received combination ETN plus csDMARD. At 52 weeks, data for all 3 disease domains were available for 251 patients receiving monotherapy and 151 receiving combination therapy. In the monotherapy and combination therapy groups, 61 (24.3%) and 37 (24.5%) patients, respectively, achieved all 3 treatment targets simultaneously. A significantly greater proportion of patients receiving monotherapy versus combination therapy achieved SF-12 > 45 (43.0% vs 31.8%; p < 0.05) and DAS28 LDA (72.5% vs 62.3%; p < 0.05). Conversely, BSA ≤ 3% was reached by a significantly greater proportion receiving combination therapy (75.5% vs 56.6%; p < 0.001). However, baseline BSA involvement was higher for the monotherapy group. While nearly half the patients achieved arthritis and psoriasis treatment targets simultaneously and one-fourth reached all 3 treatment targets, combining ETN and csDMARD did not substantially improve clinical response compared with ETN monotherapy in this real-world PsA patient population.

Tofacitinib in Combination With Conventional Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: Patient-Reported Outcomes From a Phase III Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, Vibeke; Kremer, Joel M; Gruben, David; Krishnaswami, Sriram; Zwillich, Samuel H; Wallenstein, Gene V

2017-04-01

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We compared patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with RA treated with tofacitinib or placebo in combination with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). In a 12-month, phase III randomized controlled trial (ORAL Sync), patients (n = 795) with active RA and previous inadequate response to therapy with ≥1 conventional or biologic DMARD were randomized 4:4:1:1 to tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID), tofacitinib 10 mg BID, placebo advanced to 5 mg BID, or placebo to 10 mg BID, in combination with stable background DMARD therapy. PROs included patient global assessment of arthritis (PtGA), patient assessment of arthritis pain (Pain), physical function (Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index [HAQ DI]), health-related quality of life (Short Form 36 health survey [SF-36]), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue [FACIT-F]), and sleep (Medical Outcomes Study Sleep [MOS Sleep]). At month 3, statistically significant improvements from baseline versus placebo were reported in PtGA, Pain, HAQ DI, all 8 SF-36 domains, FACIT-F, and MOS Sleep with tofacitinib 10 mg BID, and in PtGA, Pain, HAQ DI, 7 SF-36 domains, FACIT-F, and MOS Sleep with tofacitinib 5 mg BID. Improvements were sustained to month 12. Significantly more tofacitinib-treated patients reported improvements of greater than or equal to the minimum clinically important differences at month 3 versus placebo in all PROs, except the SF-36 role-emotional domain (significant for tofacitinib 10 mg BID). Patients with active RA treated with tofacitinib combined with background conventional DMARD therapy reported sustained, significant, and clinically meaningful improvements in PROs versus placebo. © 2016, The Authors. Arthritis Care & Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Rheumatology.

Efficacy and safety of golimumab as add-on therapy to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: results of the GO-MORE study in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Alberto; González, Carlos M; Ballina, Javier; García Vivar, María L; Gómez-Reino, Juan J; Marenco, Jose Luis; Fernández-Nebro, Antonio; Ordás, Carmen; Cea-Calvo, Luis; Arteaga, María J; Sanmartí, Raimon

2015-01-01

To assess the efficacy and safety of golimumab in the 140 patients included in Spain as the first part of the GO-MORE trial, a multinational study involving patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite treatment with different disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The patients received subcutaneous golimumab 50mg once a month during 6 months. The primary endpoint was the percentage of individuals with a good or moderate EULAR DAS28-ESR response after 6 months of treatment. A total of 140 patients were included. Of these, 76.4% had very active disease (DAS28-ESR>5.1). 76.4% were taking methotrexate, 40.0% other DMARDs in monotherapy or combined, and 65.0% received corticosteroids. After 6 months, 82.9% of the patients showed a good or moderate EULAR response, 41.4% had low disease activity, and 30.7% were in remission. The percentage of responders one month after the first dose was 69.3%. The efficacy was similar in patients treated with methotrexate or other DMARDs, with different methotrexate doses, with or without corticosteroids, or in subjects who had failed one or more DMARDs. The response to golimumab was observed from the first dose. Golimumab was well tolerated and its safety profile was consistent with the findings of previous studies. Serious adverse events were reported in 11 patients (7.9%). The addition of subcutaneous golimumab 50 mg once a month to different DMARDs in patients with active RA yielded a moderate or good response after 6 months in 82.9% of the cases. The response was observed early, from the start of the second month, after a single dose of golimumab. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Automatic Generation of Agents using Reusable Soft Computing Code Libraries to develop Multi Agent System for Healthcare

OpenAIRE

Priti Srinivas Sajja

2015-01-01

This paper illustrates architecture for a multi agent system in healthcare domain. The architecture is generic and designed in form of multiple layers. One of the layers of the architecture contains many proactive, co-operative and intelligent agents such as resource management agent, query agent, pattern detection agent and patient management agent. Another layer of the architecture is a collection of libraries to auto-generate code for agents using soft computing techni...

Effectiveness testing of spill-treating agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingas, M.F.; Stoodley, R.; Laroche, N.

1990-01-01

Laboratory effectiveness tests are described for four classes of spill-treating agents: solidifiers, demulsifying agents, surface-washing agents and dispersants. Many treating agents in these four categories have been tested for effectiveness and the results are presented. Solidifiers or gelling agents solidify oil, requiring a large amount of agent to solidify oil-ranging between 16% by weight, to over 200%. Emulsion breakers prevent or reverse the formation of water-in-oil emulsions. A newly-developed effectiveness test shows that only one product is highly effective; however, many products will work, but require large amounts of spill-treating agent. Surfactant--containing materials are of two types, surface-washing agents and dispersants. Testing has shown that an agent that is a good dispersant is conversely a poor surface-washing agent, and vice versa. Tests of surface-washing agents show that only a few agents have effectiveness of 25-40%, where this effectiveness is the percentage of heavy oil removed from a test surface. Results using the 'swirling flask' test for dispersant effectiveness are reported. Heavy oils show effectiveness values of about 1%, medium crudes of about 10%, light crude oils of about 30% and very light oils of about 90%. (author)

BSL-3 laboratory practices in the United States: comparison of select agent and non-select agent facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, Stephanie L; Pompei, Victoria C; Anderson, Alice

2014-01-01

New construction of biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories in the United States has increased in the past decade to facilitate research on potential bioterrorism agents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspect BSL-3 facilities and review commissioning documentation, but no single agency has oversight over all BSL-3 facilities. This article explores the extent to which standard operating procedures in US BSL-3 facilities vary between laboratories with select agent or non-select agent status. Comparisons are made for the following variables: personnel training, decontamination, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical surveillance, security access, laboratory structure and maintenance, funding, and pest management. Facilities working with select agents had more complex training programs and decontamination procedures than non-select agent facilities. Personnel working in select agent laboratories were likely to use powered air purifying respirators, while non-select agent laboratories primarily used N95 respirators. More rigorous medical surveillance was carried out in select agent workers (although not required by the select agent program) and a higher level of restrictive access to laboratories was found. Most select agent and non-select agent laboratories reported adequate structural integrity in facilities; however, differences were observed in personnel perception of funding for repairs. Pest management was carried out by select agent personnel more frequently than non-select agent personnel. Our findings support the need to promote high quality biosafety training and standard operating procedures in both select agent and non-select agent laboratories to improve occupational health and safety.

Agent Persuasion Mechanism of Acquaintance

Science.gov (United States)

Jinghua, Wu; Wenguang, Lu; Hailiang, Meng

Agent persuasion can improve negotiation efficiency in dynamic environment based on its initiative and autonomy, and etc., which is being affected much more by acquaintance. Classification of acquaintance on agent persuasion is illustrated, and the agent persuasion model of acquaintance is also illustrated. Then the concept of agent persuasion degree of acquaintance is given. Finally, relative interactive mechanism is elaborated.

Smart Agents and Sentiment in the Heterogeneous Agent Model

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vácha, Lukáš; Baruník, Jozef; Vošvrda, Miloslav

-, č. 81 (2010), s. 39-40 ISSN 0926-4981 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA402/09/0965; GA ČR GP402/08/P207 Grant - others:GAUK(CZ) GAUK 46108 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Smart traders * price movements * smart traders concept Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/E/vacha- smart agent s and sentiment in the heterogeneous agent model.pdf

Biologics for rheumatoid arthritis: an overview of Cochrane reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Jasvinder A; Christensen, Robin; Wells, George A

2010-01-01

the biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are very effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however there is a lack of head-to-head comparison studies.......the biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are very effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however there is a lack of head-to-head comparison studies....

10th KES Conference on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems : Technologies and Applications

CERN Document Server

Chen-Burger, Yun-Heh; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

2016-01-01

The modern economy is driven by technologies and knowledge. Digital technologies can free, shift and multiply choices, often intruding on the space of other industries, by providing new ways of conducting business operations and creating values for customers and companies. The topics covered in this volume include software agents, multi-agent systems, agent modelling, mobile and cloud computing, big data analysis, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, social systems, computer embedded systems and nature inspired manufacturing, etc. that contribute to the modern Digital Economy. This volume highlights new trends and challenges in agent, new digital and knowledge economy research and includes 28 papers classified in the following specific topics: business process management, agent-based modeling and simulation, anthropic-oriented computing, learning paradigms, business informatics and gaming, digital economy, and advances in networked virtual enterprises. Published papers were selected for presentatio...

Security Measures to Protect Mobile Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Dadhich, Piyanka; Govil, M. C.; Dutta, Kamlesh

2010-11-01

The security issues of mobile agent systems have embarrassed its widespread implementation. Mobile agents that move around the network are not safe because the remote hosts that accommodate the agents initiates all kinds of attacks. These hosts try to analyze the agent's decision logic and their accumulated data. So, mobile agent security is the most challenging unsolved problems. The paper analyzes various security measures deeply. Security especially the attacks performed by hosts to the visiting mobile agent (the malicious hosts problem) is a major obstacle that prevents mobile agent technology from being widely adopted. Being the running environment for mobile agent, the host has full control over them and could easily perform many kinds of attacks against them.

Mobile agent location in distributed environments

Science.gov (United States)

Fountoukis, S. G.; Argyropoulos, I. P.

2012-12-01

An agent is a small program acting on behalf of a user or an application which plays the role of a user. Artificial intelligence can be encapsulated in agents so that they can be capable of both behaving autonomously and showing an elementary decision ability regarding movement and some specific actions. Therefore they are often called autonomous mobile agents. In a distributed system, they can move themselves from one processing node to another through the interconnecting network infrastructure. Their purpose is to collect useful information and to carry it back to their user. Also, agents are used to start, monitor and stop processes running on the individual interconnected processing nodes of computer cluster systems. An agent has a unique id to discriminate itself from other agents and a current position. The position can be expressed as the address of the processing node which currently hosts the agent. Very often, it is necessary for a user, a processing node or another agent to know the current position of an agent in a distributed system. Several procedures and algorithms have been proposed for the purpose of position location of mobile agents. The most basic of all employs a fixed computing node, which acts as agent position repository, receiving messages from all the moving agents and keeping records of their current positions. The fixed node, responds to position queries and informs users, other nodes and other agents about the position of an agent. Herein, a model is proposed that considers pairs and triples of agents instead of single ones. A location method, which is investigated in this paper, attempts to exploit this model.

Stabilized radiographic scanning agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fawzi, M.B.

1982-01-01

Stable compositions useful as technetium 99m-based scintigraphic agents comprise gentisic acid or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or ester thereof in combination with a pertechnetate reducing agent or dissolved in pertechnetate-99m (sup(99m)TcOsub(4)sup(-)) solution. The compositions are especially useful in combination with a phosphate or phosphonate material that carries the radionuclide to bone, thus providing a skeletal imaging agent

Radiographic scintiscanning agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevan, J.A.

1979-01-01

A new technetium-based scintiscanning agent has been prepared comprising a water soluble sup(99m)Tc-methanehydroxydiphosphonate in combination with a reducing agent selected from stannous, ferrous, chromous and titanous salts. As an additional stabilizer salts and esters of gentisic or ascorbic acids have been used. (E.G.)

Agent-Based Optimization

CERN Document Server

Jędrzejowicz, Piotr; Kacprzyk, Janusz

2013-01-01

This volume presents a collection of original research works by leading specialists focusing on novel and promising approaches in which the multi-agent system paradigm is used to support, enhance or replace traditional approaches to solving difficult optimization problems. The editors have invited several well-known specialists to present their solutions, tools, and models falling under the common denominator of the agent-based optimization. The book consists of eight chapters covering examples of application of the multi-agent paradigm and respective customized tools to solve  difficult optimization problems arising in different areas such as machine learning, scheduling, transportation and, more generally, distributed and cooperative problem solving.

2015 Special Sessions of the 13th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Hernández, Josefa; Mathieu, Philippe; Campbell, Andrew; Fernández-Caballero, Antonio; Moreno, María; Julián, Vicente; Alonso-Betanzos, Amparo; Jiménez-López, María; Botti, Vicente; Trends in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems and Sustainability : the PAAMS Collection

2015-01-01

This volume presents the papers that have been accepted for the 2015 special sessions of the 13th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, held at University of Salamanca, Spain, at 3rd-5th June, 2015: Agents Behaviours and Artificial Markets (ABAM); Agents and Mobile Devices (AM); Multi-Agent Systems and Ambient Intelligence (MASMAI); Web Mining and Recommender systems (WebMiRes); Learning, Agents and Formal Languages (LAFLang); Agent-based Modeling of Sustainable Behavior and Green Economies (AMSBGE); Emotional Software Agents (SSESA) and Intelligent Educational Systems (SSIES). The volume also includes the paper accepted for the Doctoral Consortium in PAAMS 2015. PAAMS, the International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems is an evolution of the International Workshop on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS is an international yearly tribune to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest develo...

Agent independent task planning

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, William S.

1990-01-01

Agent-Independent Planning is a technique that allows the construction of activity plans without regard to the agent that will perform them. Once generated, a plan is then validated and translated into instructions for a particular agent, whether a robot, crewmember, or software-based control system. Because Space Station Freedom (SSF) is planned for orbital operations for approximately thirty years, it will almost certainly experience numerous enhancements and upgrades, including upgrades in robotic manipulators. Agent-Independent Planning provides the capability to construct plans for SSF operations, independent of specific robotic systems, by combining techniques of object oriented modeling, nonlinear planning and temporal logic. Since a plan is validated using the physical and functional models of a particular agent, new robotic systems can be developed and integrated with existing operations in a robust manner. This technique also provides the capability to generate plans for crewmembers with varying skill levels, and later apply these same plans to more sophisticated robotic manipulators made available by evolutions in technology.

A Framework for Organization-Aware Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Dignum, Virginia; Villadsen, Jørgen

2016-01-01

This short paper introduces and summarizes the AORTA reasoning framework that can be integrated into BDI-agents to enable organizational decision-making. This work has recently been published in the Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (JAAMAS), as [3].......This short paper introduces and summarizes the AORTA reasoning framework that can be integrated into BDI-agents to enable organizational decision-making. This work has recently been published in the Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (JAAMAS), as [3]....

A Comparison of Organization-Centered and Agent-Centered Multi-Agent Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Villadsen, Jørgen

2013-01-01

Whereas most classical multi-agent systems have the agent in center, there has recently been a development towards focusing more on the organization of the system, thereby allowing the designer to focus on what the system goals are, without considering how the goals should be fulfilled. We have d...

Contrast agents for MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonnemain, B.

1994-01-01

Contrast agents MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) have been developed to improve the diagnostic information obtained by this technic. They mainly interact on T1 and T2 parameters and increase consequently normal to abnormal tissues contrast. The paramagnetic agents which mainly act on longitudinal relaxation rate (T1) are gadolinium complexes for which stability is the main parameter to avoid any release of free gadolinium. The superparamagnetic agents that decrease signal intensity by an effect on transversal relaxation rate (T2) are developed for liver, digestive and lymph node imaging. Many area of research are now opened for optimal use of present and future contrast agents in MRI. (author). 28 refs., 4 tabs

Study of Crossling Agent and Couplink Agent Synergism on Mechanical Properties of HDPE-Cu Composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashuri; Sujud, A.A.; Karo Karo, Aloma

2001-01-01

The effects of crosslink agents, coupling agents and synergism on mechanical properties of HDPE-Cu composites materials has been investigated. The crosslink was made with dicumyl peroxide as crosslink agents of 2% concentration, so the interface adhesion of matrix-filler was made with 3-amino propyl triethoxysilane as coupling agents of 0.5% concentration. The results of research's showed, that the crosslink and interface adhesion of matrix-filler can increase tensile strength and elongation at break of HDPE-Cu composites. The synergism of two agents can increase tensile strength to 20% and elongation at break to 23% of HDPE-Cu composites materials

Overview of shoreline cleaning agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clayton, J.

1992-01-01

Chemical cleaning agents may be used to promote release of stranded oil from shorelines for reasons including biological sensitivity of indigenous fauna and flora to the oil, amenity considerations of the shoreline, or concern about refloating of the oil and subsequent stranding on adjacent shorelines. While use of chemical cleaning agents may be appropriate under proper toxic responses in circumstances, certain limitations should be recognized. The potential for toxic responses in indigenous fauna and flora to the cleaning agents must be considered. Enhanced penetration of oil into permeable shorelines following treatment with chemical cleaning agents also is not desirable. However, if conditions related to toxicity and substrate permeability are determined to be acceptable, the use of chemical cleaning agents for treatment of stranded oil can be considered. Chemical agents for cleaning oiled shorelines can be grouped into three categories: (1) non-surfactant-based solvents, (2) chemical dispersants, and (3) formulations especially designed to release stranded oil from shoreline substrates (i.e., shoreline-cleaning-agents). Depending on the specific circumstances present on an oiled shoreline, it is generally desirable that chemical agents used for cleaning will release oil from shoreline substrate(s) to surface waters. Recovery of the oil can then be accomplished by mechanical procedures such as booming and skimming operations

Radiographic scanning agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tofe, A.J.

1976-01-01

A stable radiographic scanning agent on a sup(99m)Tc basis has been developed. The substance contains a pertechnetate reduction agent, tin(II)-chloride, chromium(II)-chloride, or iron(II)-sulphate, as well as an organospecific carrier and ascorbic acid or a pharmacologically admissible salt or ester of ascorbic acid. (VJ) [de

Agent-Supported Mission Operations Teamwork

Science.gov (United States)

Malin, Jane T.

2003-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development of software agents to support of mission operations teamwork. The goals of the work was to make automation by agents easy to use, supervise and direct, manage information and communication to decrease distraction, interruptions, workload and errors, reduce mission impact of off-nominal situations and increase morale and decrease turnover. The accomplishments or the project are: 1. Collaborative agents - mixed initiative and creation of instructions for mediating agent 2. Methods for prototyping, evaluating and evolving socio-technical systems 3. Technology infusion: teamwork tools in mISSIons 4. Demonstrations in simulation testbed An example of the use of agent is given, the use of an agent to monitor a N2 tank leak. An incomplete instruction to the agent is handled with mediating assistants, or Intelligent Briefing and Response Assistant (IBRA). The IBRA Engine also watches data stream for triggers and executes Act-Whenever actions. There is also a Briefing and Response Instruction (BRI) which is easy for a discipline specialist to create through a BRI editor.

Agent Communications using Distributed Metaobjects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldsmith, Steven Y.; Spires, Shannon V.

1999-06-10

There are currently two proposed standards for agent communication languages, namely, KQML (Finin, Lobrou, and Mayfield 1994) and the FIPA ACL. Neither standard has yet achieved primacy, and neither has been evaluated extensively in an open environment such as the Internet. It seems prudent therefore to design a general-purpose agent communications facility for new agent architectures that is flexible yet provides an architecture that accepts many different specializations. In this paper we exhibit the salient features of an agent communications architecture based on distributed metaobjects. This architecture captures design commitments at a metaobject level, leaving the base-level design and implementation up to the agent developer. The scope of the metamodel is broad enough to accommodate many different communication protocols, interaction protocols, and knowledge sharing regimes through extensions to the metaobject framework. We conclude that with a powerful distributed object substrate that supports metaobject communications, a general framework can be developed that will effectively enable different approaches to agent communications in the same agent system. We have implemented a KQML-based communications protocol and have several special-purpose interaction protocols under development.

Odor Classification using Agent Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigeru OMATU

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In order to measure and classify odors, Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM can be used. In the present study, seven QCM sensors and three different odors are used. The system has been developed as a virtual organization of agents using an agent platform called PANGEA (Platform for Automatic coNstruction of orGanizations of intElligent Agents. This is a platform for developing open multi-agent systems, specifically those including organizational aspects. The main reason for the use of agents is the scalability of the platform, i.e. the way in which it models the services. The system models functionalities as services inside the agents, or as Service Oriented Approach (SOA architecture compliant services using Web Services. This way the adaptation of the odor classification systems with new algorithms, tools and classification techniques is allowed.

Believable Social and Emotional Agents.

Science.gov (United States)

1996-05-01

While building tools to support the creation of believable emotional agents, I had to make a number of important design decisions . Before describing...processing systems, it is difficult to give an artist direct control over the emotion - al aspects of the character. By making these decisions explicit, I hope...Woody on “Cheers”). Believable Agents BELIEVABLE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL AGENTS 11 Lesson: We don’t want agent architectures that enforce rationality and

The agent-relative/agent-neutral distinction: my two sense(s) | Lerm ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Careful analysis of various metaethics supports that there are these two senses – analysis, in particular, of a neo-Kantian metaethic, according to which reasons are agent-relative in the dependence sense but agent-neutral in the homogeneous sense, and – perhaps surprisingly – of Utilitarianism, according to which ...

Baricitinib in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and an Inadequate Response to Conventional Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in United States and Rest of World: A Subset Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Alvin F; Greenwald, Maria; Bradley, John D; Alam, Jahangir; Arora, Vipin; Kartman, Cynthia E

2018-06-01

This article evaluates the efficacy and safety of baricitinib 4 mg versus placebo in United States including Puerto Rico (US) and rest of the world (ROW) subpopulations using data pooled from RA-BEAM and RA-BUILD, which enrolled patients with moderate-to-severe adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In RA-BEAM, patients with an inadequate response (IR) to methotrexate, at least one X-ray erosion, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) ≥ 6 mg/L were randomized to placebo or orally administered baricitinib 4 mg daily or subcutaneously administered adalimumab 40 mg every other week. In RA-BUILD, patients with an IR to at least one conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD) and with hsCRP ≥ 3.6 mg/L were randomized to placebo or baricitinib 2 or 4 mg daily. Patients in both trials were biologic naive. In this post hoc analysis, data from both studies were pooled (714 baricitinib 4 mg-treated, 716 placebo-treated patients). Overall, 188 US and 1242 ROW patients were included. Subgroups differed in baseline characteristics including race, weight, age, time since RA diagnosis, current corticosteroid use, and previous csDMARD use. At weeks 12 and 24, baricitinib-treated patients had larger responses compared to placebo-treated patients for multiple efficacy outcomes: American College of Rheumatology 20/50/70 response, low disease activity, remission, Disease Activity Score 28-C-reactive protein, and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index. Overall, similar efficacy was observed in US and ROW subgroups with no notable safety differences between subgroups at weeks 12 or 24. Baricitinib 4 mg was efficacious compared to placebo in US and ROW subpopulations. Safety was similar between subgroups. Eli Lilly & Company and Incyte Corporation. ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers, NCT01721057; NCT01710358.

SECOND BUYING AGENT

CERN Multimedia

SPL - SERVICES ACHATS

2000-01-01

Last year the buying agent LOGITRADE started operations on the CERN site, processing purchasing requests for well-defined families of products up to a certain value. It was planned from the outset that a second buying agent would be brought in to handle the remaining product families. So, according to that plan, the company CHARLES KENDALL will be commencing operations at CERN on 8 May 2000 in Building 73, 1st floor, offices 31 and 35 (phone and fax numbers to be announced).Each buying agent will have its own specific list of product families and will handle purchasing requests up to 10'000 CHF.Whenever possible they will provide the requested supplies at a price (including the cost of their own services) which must be equivalent to or lower than the price mentioned on the purchasing request, changing the supplier if necessary. If a lower price cannot be obtained, agents will provide the necessary administrative support free of charge.To ensure that all orders are processed in the best possible conditions, us...

A waterproofing agent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shchipanov, A.I.; Bass, U.M.; Belousov, E.D.; Chernova, S.P.; Gioev, K.A.; Perlin, L.M.; Shapiro, B.O.; Silantev, U.R.

1979-12-25

A waterproofing agent is proposed with improved physiomechanical properties. The agent contains (by parts): bitumens: 100; emulsifier: .6-5; polyvinylpyrrolidone: .4-8; synthetic latex: 5.24; a corrosion inhibitor: .2-10; SPL methyl methacrylate with chloroprene: 2.24; hydrochlorinated amine of adduct diethylene triamine with diglycidyl diamine: 2-10, water: 118-220. The agent is prepared using either periodic or continuous action in emulsifying dispersion machines. The bitumen is dispersed in the machine in an aqueous emulsifying solution in which polyvinylpyrrolidone and the corrosion inihibitor are first introduced. Then a synthetic latex solution is introduced into the bitumen emulsion while being mixed in rotor-type turbulent mixers; a solution and a hydrochlorinated amine of adduct diethylene triamine with diglycidyl diamine solution until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Example: a waterproofing agent is obtained in parts: bitumen 100, emulsifyer (oxidized petrolatum): .6; polyvinylpyrrolidone: .4; synthetic latex (nitrile): 5; corrosion inhibitor (guanidine chromate): .2, SPL:2; and water 118. The properties of the proposed composition are better than the properties of the composition currently used.

Agent control of cooperating satellites

OpenAIRE

Lincoln, N.K.; Veres, S.M.; Dennis, Louise; Fisher, Michael; Lisitsa, Alexei

2011-01-01

A novel, hybrid, agent architecture for (small)swarms of satellites has been developed. The software architecture for each satellite comprises ahigh-level rational agent linked to a low-level control system. The rational agent forms dynamicgoals, decides how to tackle them and passes theactual implementation of these plans to the control layer. The rational agent also has access to aMatLabmodel of the satellite dynamics, thus allowing it to carry out selective hypothetical reasoningabout pote...

Assurance in Agent-Based Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilliom, Laura R.; Goldsmith, Steven Y.

1999-05-10

Our vision of the future of information systems is one that includes engineered collectives of software agents which are situated in an environment over years and which increasingly improve the performance of the overall system of which they are a part. At a minimum, the movement of agent and multi-agent technology into National Security applications, including their use in information assurance, is apparent today. The use of deliberative, autonomous agents in high-consequence/high-security applications will require a commensurate level of protection and confidence in the predictability of system-level behavior. At Sandia National Laboratories, we have defined and are addressing a research agenda that integrates the surety (safety, security, and reliability) into agent-based systems at a deep level. Surety is addressed at multiple levels: The integrity of individual agents must be protected by addressing potential failure modes and vulnerabilities to malevolent threats. Providing for the surety of the collective requires attention to communications surety issues and mechanisms for identifying and working with trusted collaborators. At the highest level, using agent-based collectives within a large-scale distributed system requires the development of principled design methods to deliver the desired emergent performance or surety characteristics. This position paper will outline the research directions underway at Sandia, will discuss relevant work being performed elsewhere, and will report progress to date toward assurance in agent-based systems.

Assurance in Agent-Based Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilliom, Laura R.; Goldsmith, Steven Y.

1999-01-01

Our vision of the future of information systems is one that includes engineered collectives of software agents which are situated in an environment over years and which increasingly improve the performance of the overall system of which they are a part. At a minimum, the movement of agent and multi-agent technology into National Security applications, including their use in information assurance, is apparent today. The use of deliberative, autonomous agents in high-consequence/high-security applications will require a commensurate level of protection and confidence in the predictability of system-level behavior. At Sandia National Laboratories, we have defined and are addressing a research agenda that integrates the surety (safety, security, and reliability) into agent-based systems at a deep level. Surety is addressed at multiple levels: The integrity of individual agents must be protected by addressing potential failure modes and vulnerabilities to malevolent threats. Providing for the surety of the collective requires attention to communications surety issues and mechanisms for identifying and working with trusted collaborators. At the highest level, using agent-based collectives within a large-scale distributed system requires the development of principled design methods to deliver the desired emergent performance or surety characteristics. This position paper will outline the research directions underway at Sandia, will discuss relevant work being performed elsewhere, and will report progress to date toward assurance in agent-based systems

From SMART to agent systems development

OpenAIRE

Ashri, R; Luck, M; d'Inverno, M

2005-01-01

In order for agent-oriented software engineering to prove effective it must use principled notions of agents and enabling specification and reasoning, while still considering routes to practical implementation. This paper deals with the issue of individual agent specification and construction, departing from the conceptual basis provided by the smart agent framework. smart offers a descriptive specification of an agent architecture but omits consideration of issues relating to\\ud construction...

Towards a Calendar Agent Society with Intelligent Agents in ASP-Updates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco A. Ramos C.

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Se presenta el análisis y algunas especificaciones para describir una sociedad multi-agente que representa agendas dinámicas en Answer Sets Programming, por medio de actualización de bases de conocimiento. Se trata de un estudio de caso para representar un grupo de agentes BD Iinteligentes con el fin común de programar una reunión, y se utiliza un ejemplo para mostrar la manera de distribuir y cambiar sus especificaciones bajo circunstancias imprevistas, así como un protocolo sencillo para realizar una reunión consensual. Sostenemos que el marco propuesto es apropiado para tener los beneficios de una base sólida como Answer Sets Programming, de la simplicidad de su programación lógica declarativa, así como de la practicidad para resolvedores existentes implementados, que pueden ser utilizados para un sistema más completo y útil de sociedades de agentes.We present the analysis and some preliminary specifications to describe a multi-agent society to represent dynamic appointments under in Answer-Sets Programming, by means of knowledge-base updates. This is a case study to represent a group of intelligent BDI agents with a common goal of scheduling a meeting, and we use an example to show how to distribute and change their specifications under unforeseen circumstances, as well as a simple protocol to realise a consensual meeting. We claim that the proposed framework is appropriate to have the benefits from a strong foundation like Answer-Sets Programming, simplicity for its declarative logic programming, as well as practicality for existent implemented solvers, which can be used to implement a more-complete and useful system of agent societies.

Knowledge Management in Role Based Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Kır, Hüseyin; Ekinci, Erdem Eser; Dikenelli, Oguz

In multi-agent system literature, the role concept is getting increasingly researched to provide an abstraction to scope beliefs, norms, goals of agents and to shape relationships of the agents in the organization. In this research, we propose a knowledgebase architecture to increase applicability of roles in MAS domain by drawing inspiration from the self concept in the role theory of sociology. The proposed knowledgebase architecture has granulated structure that is dynamically organized according to the agent's identification in a social environment. Thanks to this dynamic structure, agents are enabled to work on consistent knowledge in spite of inevitable conflicts between roles and the agent. The knowledgebase architecture is also implemented and incorporated into the SEAGENT multi-agent system development framework.

Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and the risk of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 50 years and over.

Science.gov (United States)

Roussy, J-P; Bessette, L; Bernatsky, S; Rahme, E; Lachaine, J

2013-09-01

Prevention of bone mineral density loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with use of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). However, in this study, we could not demonstrate a reduction in the risk of non-vertebral fractures. Additional research is required to clarify the impact of biologic DMARDs on fracture risk in RA. Small studies have suggested biologic DMARDs preserve bone mineral density at 6-12 months. Our objective was to determine the association between biologic DMARD use and the risk of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in RA subjects aged ≥50 years. A nested case-control study was conducted using Quebec physician billing and hospital discharge data. RA subjects were identified from International Classification of Disease-9/10 codes in billing and hospitalisation data and followed from cohort entry until the earliest of non-vertebral osteoporotic fracture, death, or end of study period. Controls were matched to cases (4:1 ratio) on age, sex, and date of cohort entry. Biologic DMARD exposure was defined as being on treatment for ≥180 days pre-fracture (index). Conditional logistic regression was used, adjusting for indicators of RA severity, comorbidity, drugs influencing fracture risk, and measures of health care utilisation. Over the study period, 1,515 cases were identified (6,023 controls). The most frequent fracture site was hip/femur (42.3%). In total, 172 subjects (49 cases and 123 controls) were exposed to biologic DMARDs. The median duration of exposure was 735 (interquartile range (IQR), 564) and 645 (IQR, 903) days in cases and controls, respectively. We were unable to demonstrate an association between biologic DMARDs and fracture risk (odds ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-2.53). RA duration significantly increased the fracture risk. Despite the positive impact of biologic DMARDs on bone remodelling observed in small studies, we were unable to demonstrate a reduction in the risk of non

Conversational Agents in E-Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Kerry, Alice; Ellis, Richard; Bull, Susan

This paper discusses the use of natural language or 'conversational' agents in e-learning environments. We describe and contrast the various applications of conversational agent technology represented in the e-learning literature, including tutors, learning companions, language practice and systems to encourage reflection. We offer two more detailed examples of conversational agents, one which provides learning support, and the other support for self-assessment. Issues and challenges for developers of conversational agent systems for e-learning are identified and discussed.

Taskable Reactive Agent Communities

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Myers, Karen

2002-01-01

The focus of Taskable Reactive Agent Communities (TRAC) project was to develop mixed-initiative technology to enable humans to supervise and manage teams of agents as they perform tasks in dynamic environments...

Sustainable Society Formed by Unselfish Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, Toshiko

It has been pointed out that if the social configuration of the three relations (market, communal and obligatory relations) is not balanced, a market based society as a total system fails. Using multi-agent simulations, this paper shows that a sustainable society is formed when all three relations are integrated and function respectively. When agent trades are based on the market mechanism (i.e., agents act in their own interest and thus only market relations exist), weak agents who cannot perform transactions die. If a compulsory tax is imposed to enable all weak agents to survive (i.e., obligatory relations exist), then the fiscal deficit increases. On the other hand, if agents who have excess income undertake the unselfish action of distributing their surplus to the weak agents (i.e., communal relations exist), then trade volume increases. It is shown that the existence of unselfish agents is necessary for the realization of a sustainable society. However, the survival of all agents is difficult in a communal society. In an artificial society, for all agents survive and fiscal balance to be maintained, all three social relations need to be fully integrated. These results show that adjusting the balance of the three social relations well lead to the realization of a sustainable society.

Security Infrastructure and Applicationsfor Mobile Agents

OpenAIRE

Shibli, Awais

2010-01-01

Research areas of this dissertation are security for mobile agents, for applications based on mobile agents, and for distributed network environments in which mobile agents execute. Mobile agents paradigm has captured researchers’ and industry’s interests long time ago because of its innovative capabilities and attractive applications. The ability of mobile agents to autonomously migrate from host to host, transferring their code and internal state, enables them to accomplish tasks in network...

Fairness in multi-agent systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, de S.; Tuyls, K.P.; Verbeeck, K.

2008-01-01

Multi-agent systems are complex systems in which multiple autonomous entities, called agents, cooperate in order to achieve a common or personal goal. These entities may be computer software, robots, and also humans. In fact, many multi-agent systems are intended to operate in cooperation with or as

On Programming Organization-Aware Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt

2013-01-01

Since it is difficult (or even impossible) to assume anything about the agents’ behavior and goals in an open multi-agent system, it is often suggested that an organization is imposed upon the agents, whichhich, by abstracting away from the agents, specifies boundaries and objectives that the age...

GOAL Agents Instantiate Intention Logic

OpenAIRE

Hindriks, Koen; van der Hoek, Wiebe

2008-01-01

It is commonly believed there is a big gap between agent logics and computational agent frameworks. In this paper, we show that this gap is not as big as believed by showing that GOAL agents instantiate Intention Logic of Cohen and Levesque. That is, we show that GOAL agent programs can be formally related to Intention Logic.We do so by proving that the GOAL Verification Logic can be embedded into Intention Logic. It follows that (a fragment of) Intention Logic can be used t...

New and emerging therapies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael G Feely

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Michael G FeelyDivision of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USAAbstract: The introduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF inhibitors in the late 1990s ­significantly changed the therapeutic approach for rheumatoid arthritis (RA. With the approval of subsequent TNF inhibitors as well as other biologic agents effective in the management of RA, the treatment paradigm has become increasingly complex. This review examines the current literature regarding the efficacy and toxicity of these and other new anti-rheumatic therapies and discusses effective therapeutic strategies for their use.Keywords: biologics, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, DMARDs, infliximab, etancercept, adalimumab, golimumab, certolizumab, abatacept, rituximab, tocilizumab

Dynamics of three-agent games

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mungan, Muhittin; Rador, Tonguc

2008-01-01

We study the dynamics and resulting score distribution of three-agent games where after each competition a single agent wins and scores a point. A single competition is described by a triplet of numbers p, t and q denoting the probabilities that the team with the highest, middle or lowest accumulated score wins. The three-agent game can be regarded as a social model where a player can be favored or disfavored for advancement, based on his/her accumulated score. We study the full family of solutions in the regime, where the number of agents and competitions is large, which can be regarded as a hydrodynamic limit. Depending on the parameter values (p, q, t), we find six qualitatively different asymptotic score distributions and we provide a qualitative explanation of these results. We also compare our analytical results against numerical simulations of the microscopic model and find these to be in excellent agreement. It is possible to decide the outcome of a three-agent game through a mini-tournament of two-agent competitions among the participating players and it turns out that the resulting possible score distributions are a subset of those obtained for the general three-agent games. We discuss how one can add a steady and democratic decline rate to the model and present a simple geometric construction that allows one to obtain the score evolution equations for n-agent games

Dynamics of three-agent games

Science.gov (United States)

Mungan, Muhittin; Rador, Tonguç

2008-02-01

We study the dynamics and resulting score distribution of three-agent games where after each competition a single agent wins and scores a point. A single competition is described by a triplet of numbers p, t and q denoting the probabilities that the team with the highest, middle or lowest accumulated score wins. The three-agent game can be regarded as a social model where a player can be favored or disfavored for advancement, based on his/her accumulated score. We study the full family of solutions in the regime, where the number of agents and competitions is large, which can be regarded as a hydrodynamic limit. Depending on the parameter values (p, q, t), we find six qualitatively different asymptotic score distributions and we provide a qualitative explanation of these results. We also compare our analytical results against numerical simulations of the microscopic model and find these to be in excellent agreement. It is possible to decide the outcome of a three-agent game through a mini-tournament of two-agent competitions among the participating players and it turns out that the resulting possible score distributions are a subset of those obtained for the general three-agent games. We discuss how one can add a steady and democratic decline rate to the model and present a simple geometric construction that allows one to obtain the score evolution equations for n-agent games.

Immunological effects of hypomethylating agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindblad, Katherine E; Goswami, Meghali; Hourigan, Christopher S; Oetjen, Karolyn A

2017-08-01

Epigenetic changes resulting from aberrant methylation patterns are a recurrent observation in hematologic malignancies. Hypomethylating agents have a well-established role in the management of patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. In addition to the direct effects of hypomethylating agents on cancer cells, there are several lines of evidence indicating a role for immune-mediated anti-tumor benefits from hypomethylating therapy. Areas covered: We reviewed the clinical and basic science literature for the effects of hypomethylating agents, including the most commonly utilized therapeutics azacitidine and decitabine, on immune cell subsets. We summarized the effects of hypomethylating agents on the frequency and function of natural killer cells, T cells, and dendritic cells. In particular, we highlight the effects of hypomethylating agents on expression of immune checkpoint inhibitors, leukemia-associated antigens, and endogenous retroviral elements. Expert commentary: In vitro and ex vivo studies indicate mixed effects on the function of natural killer, dendritic cells and T cells following treatment with hypomethylating agents. Clinical correlates of immune function have suggested that hypomethylating agents have immunomodulatory functions with the potential to synergize with immune checkpoint therapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancy, and has become an active area of clinical research.

Cooperative heuristic multi-agent planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Weerdt, M.M.; Tonino, J.F.M.; Witteveen, C.

2001-01-01

In this paper we will use the framework to study cooperative heuristic multi-agent planning. During the construction of their plans, the agents use a heuristic function inspired by the FF planner (l3l). At any time in the process of planning the agents may exchange available resources, or they may

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol cleaning agent

Science.gov (United States)

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1996-05-07

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene or terpineol cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Limonene and tetrahydrofurfurly alcohol cleaning agent

Science.gov (United States)

Bohnert, George W.; Carter, Richard D.; Hand, Thomas E.; Powers, Michael T.

1997-10-21

The present invention is a tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and limonene cleaning agent and method for formulating and/or using the cleaning agent. This cleaning agent effectively removes both polar and nonpolar contaminants from various electrical and mechanical parts and is readily used without surfactants, thereby reducing the need for additional cleaning operations. The cleaning agent is warm water rinsable without the use of surfactants. The cleaning agent can be azeotropic, enhancing ease of use in cleaning operations and ease of recycling.

Security Framework for Agent-Based Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Venkateshwaran

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Agent can play a key role in bringing suitable cloud services to the customer based on their requirements. In agent based cloud computing, agent does negotiation, coordination, cooperation and collaboration on behalf of the customer to make the decisions in efficient manner. However the agent based cloud computing have some security issues like (a. addition of malicious agent in the cloud environment which could demolish the process by attacking other agents, (b. denial of service by creating flooding attacks on other involved agents. (c. Some of the exceptions in the agent interaction protocol such as Not-Understood and Cancel_Meta protocol can be misused and may lead to terminating the connection of all the other agents participating in the negotiating services. Also, this paper proposes algorithms to solve these issues to ensure that there will be no intervention of any malicious activities during the agent interaction.

Persuasive Conversational Agent with Persuasion Tactics

Science.gov (United States)

Narita, Tatsuya; Kitamura, Yasuhiko

Persuasive conversational agents persuade people to change their attitudes or behaviors through conversation, and are expected to be applied as virtual sales clerks in e-shopping sites. As an approach to create such an agent, we have developed a learning agent with the Wizard of Oz method in which a person called Wizard talks to the user pretending to be the agent. The agent observes the conversations between the Wizard and the user, and learns how to persuade people. In this method, the Wizard has to reply to most of the user's inputs at the beginning, but the burden gradually falls because the agent learns how to reply as the conversation model grows.

Culturally Aware Agent Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias; Nakano, Yukiko; Koda, Tomoko

2012-01-01

Agent based interaction in the form of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) has matured over the last decade and agents have become more and more sophisticated in terms of their verbal and nonverbal behavior like facial expressions or gestures. Having such “natural” communication channels...... available for expressing not only task-relevant but also socially and psychologically relevant information makes it necessary to take influences into account that are not readily implemented like emotions or cultural heuristics. These influences have a huge impact on the success of an interaction...

Agentes hemostáticos locais e adesivos teciduais Topical haemostatic agents and tissue adhesives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus Vinicius H. de Carvalho

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Nos últimos dez anos os agentes hemostáticos e os adesivos teciduais têm sido usados frequentemente e são uma alternativa positiva para evitar a perda sanguínea excessiva. O objetivo dessa revisão é discutir as características de cada um desses agentes para facilitar a decisão do cirurgião na escolha do produto mais adequado para cada tipo de sangramento e natureza da hemorragia. Uma pesquisa da literatura sobre o assunto, nas línguas inglesa e portuguesa, foi conduzida usando o PubMed (www.pubmed.com e Google (www.google.com.br para encontrar artigos recentes sobre o tema. Com base nestes estudos, os autores fizeram uma revisão didática sobre os agentes hemostáticos e adesivos teciduais e concluem que existe um agente hemostático a ser usado em cada cenário específico.In the last ten years the hemostatic agents and tissue adhesives have been frequently used and they are positive alternatives to prevent excessive blood loss. The objective of this review is to discuss the characteristics of each of these agents to facilitate the surgeon's decision when choosing the most suitable product for every type of bleeding and nature of hemorrhage. A survey of the literature on the subject, in English and in Portuguese, was conducted using PubMed (www.pubmed.com and Google (www.google.com.br to find recent articles on the topic. Based on these studies, the authors conducted a didactic review on the hemostatic agents and tissue adhesives and concluded that there is a hemostatic agent to be used in each specific scenario.

Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib for active rheumatoid arthritis with an inadequate response to methotrexate or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Gwan Gyu; Bae, Sang-Cheol

2014-01-01

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib (5 and 10 mg twice daily) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib in patients with active RA was performed using the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register databases as well as manual searches. Results Five RCTs, including three phase-II and two phase-III trials involving 1,590 patients, met the inclusion criteria. The three phase-II RCTs included 452 patients with RA (144 patients randomized to 5 mg of tofacitinib twice daily, 156 patients randomized to 10 mg of tofacitinib twice daily, and 152 patients randomized to placebo) who were included in this meta-analysis. The American College of Rheumatology 20% response rate was significantly higher in the tofacitinib 5- and 10-mg groups than in the control group (relative risk [RR], 2.445; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.229 to 4.861; p = 0.011; and RR, 2.597; 95% CI, 1.514 to 4.455; p = 0.001, respectively). The safety outcomes did not differ between the tofacitinib 5- and 10-mg groups and placebo groups with the exception of infection in the tofacitinib 10-mg group (RR, 2.133; 95% CI, 1.268 to 3.590; p = 0.004). The results of two phase-III trials (1,123 patients) confirmed the findings in the phase-II studies. Conclusions Tofacitinib at dosages of 5 and 10 mg twice daily was found to be effective in patients with active RA that inadequately responded to methotrexate or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and showed a manageable safety profile. PMID:25228842

Business Intelligence using Software Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana-Ramona BOLOGA

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents some ideas about business intelligence today and the importance of developing real time business solutions. The authors make an exploration of links between business intelligence and artificial intelligence and focuses specifically on the implementation of software agents-based systems in business intelligence. There are briefly presented some of the few solutions proposed so far that use software agents properties for the benefit of business intelligence. The authors then propose some basic ideas for developing real-time agent-based software system for business intelligence in supply chain management, using Case Base Reasoning Agents.

Multi-agent and complex systems

CERN Document Server

Ren, Fenghui; Fujita, Katsuhide; Zhang, Minjie; Ito, Takayuki

2017-01-01

This book provides a description of advanced multi-agent and artificial intelligence technologies for the modeling and simulation of complex systems, as well as an overview of the latest scientific efforts in this field. A complex system features a large number of interacting components, whose aggregate activities are nonlinear and self-organized. A multi-agent system is a group or society of agents which interact with others cooperatively and/or competitively in order to reach their individual or common goals. Multi-agent systems are suitable for modeling and simulation of complex systems, which is difficult to accomplish using traditional computational approaches.

A Framework for Organization-Aware Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Dignum, Virginia; Villadsen, Jørgen

2017-01-01

boundaries and work towards the objectives of the organization. In this paper, we present the AORTA reasoning framework and show how it can be integrated into typical BDI-agents. We provide operational semantics that enables agents to make organizational decisions in order to coordinate and cooperate without......’ behavior space and describe the expected behavior of the agents. Assuming an open environment, where agents are developed independently of the Organizational structures, agents need to be able to reason about the structure, so that they can deliberate about their actions and act within the expected...

Ambient agents: embedded agents for remote control and monitoring using the PANGEA platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Villarrubia, Gabriel; De Paz, Juan F; Bajo, Javier; Corchado, Juan M

2014-07-31

Ambient intelligence has advanced significantly during the last few years. The incorporation of image processing and artificial intelligence techniques have opened the possibility for such aspects as pattern recognition, thus allowing for a better adaptation of these systems. This study presents a new model of an embedded agent especially designed to be implemented in sensing devices with resource constraints. This new model of an agent is integrated within the PANGEA (Platform for the Automatic Construction of Organiztions of Intelligent Agents) platform, an organizational-based platform, defining a new sensor role in the system and aimed at providing contextual information and interacting with the environment. A case study was developed over the PANGEA platform and designed using different agents and sensors responsible for providing user support at home in the event of incidents or emergencies. The system presented in the case study incorporates agents in Arduino hardware devices with recognition modules and illuminated bands; it also incorporates IP cameras programmed for automatic tracking, which can connect remotely in the event of emergencies. The user wears a bracelet, which contains a simple vibration sensor that can receive notifications about the emergency situation.

Ambient Agents: Embedded Agents for Remote Control and Monitoring Using the PANGEA Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Villarrubia

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Ambient intelligence has advanced significantly during the last few years. The incorporation of image processing and artificial intelligence techniques have opened the possibility for such aspects as pattern recognition, thus allowing for a better adaptation of these systems. This study presents a new model of an embedded agent especially designed to be implemented in sensing devices with resource constraints. This new model of an agent is integrated within the PANGEA (Platform for the Automatic Construction of Organiztions of Intelligent Agents platform, an organizational-based platform, defining a new sensor role in the system and aimed at providing contextual information and interacting with the environment. A case study was developed over the PANGEA platform and designed using different agents and sensors responsible for providing user support at home in the event of incidents or emergencies. The system presented in the case study incorporates agents in Arduino hardware devices with recognition modules and illuminated bands; it also incorporates IP cameras programmed for automatic tracking, which can connect remotely in the event of emergencies. The user wears a bracelet, which contains a simple vibration sensor that can receive notifications about the emergency situation.

Radiopharmaceutical agents for skeletal scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, S.E.; Van Aswegen, A.; Loetter, M.G.; Minnaar, P.C.; Otto, A.C.; Goedhals, L.; Dedekind, P.S.

1987-01-01

The quality of bone scan images obtained with a locally produced and with an imported radiopharmaceutical bone agent, methylene diphosphonate (MDP), was compared visually. Standard skeletal imaging was carried out on 10 patients using both agents, with a period of 2 to 7 days between studies with alternate agents. Equal amounts of activity were administered for both agents. All images were acquired on Polaroid film for subsequent evaluation. The acquisition time for standard amount of counts per study was recorded. Three physicians with applicable experience evaluated image quality (on a 4 point scale) and detectability of metastasis (on a 3 point scale). There was no statistically significant difference (p 0,05) between the two agents by paired t-test of Hotelling's T 2 analysis. It is concluded that the imaging properties of the locally produced and the imported MDP are similar

An Interactive Tool for Creating Multi-Agent Systems and Interactive Agent-based Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop; Pagliarini, Luigi

2011-01-01

Utilizing principles from parallel and distributed processing combined with inspiration from modular robotics, we developed the modular interactive tiles. As an educational tool, the modular interactive tiles facilitate the learning of multi-agent systems and interactive agent-based games...

N-grams Based Supervised Machine Learning Model for Mobile Agent Platform Protection against Unknown Malicious Mobile Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pallavi Bagga

2017-12-01

Full Text Available From many past years, the detection of unknown malicious mobile agents before they invade the Mobile Agent Platform has been the subject of much challenging activity. The ever-growing threat of malicious agents calls for techniques for automated malicious agent detection. In this context, the machine learning (ML methods are acknowledged more effective than the Signature-based and Behavior-based detection methods. Therefore, in this paper, the prime contribution has been made to detect the unknown malicious mobile agents based on n-gram features and supervised ML approach, which has not been done so far in the sphere of the Mobile Agents System (MAS security. To carry out the study, the n-grams ranging from 3 to 9 are extracted from a dataset containing 40 malicious and 40 non-malicious mobile agents. Subsequently, the classification is performed using different classifiers. A nested 5-fold cross validation scheme is employed in order to avoid the biasing in the selection of optimal parameters of classifier. The observations of extensive experiments demonstrate that the work done in this paper is suitable for the task of unknown malicious mobile agent detection in a Mobile Agent Environment, and also adds the ML in the interest list of researchers dealing with MAS security.

Variations in criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic DMARDs across European countries. Are differences related to country's wealth?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Putrik, Polina; Ramiro, Sofia; Kvien, Tore K

2014-01-01

To explore criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across Europe and to relate criteria to indicators of national socioeconomic welfare.......To explore criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across Europe and to relate criteria to indicators of national socioeconomic welfare....

Clinical course and therapeutic approach to varicella zoster virus infection in children with rheumatic autoimmune diseases under immunosuppression

OpenAIRE

Leuvenink, Raphael; Aeschlimann, Florence; Baer, Walter; Berthet, Gerald; Cannizzaro, Elvira; Hofer, Michael; Kaiser, Daniela; Schroeder, Silke; Heininger, Ulrich; Woerner, Andreas

2016-01-01

Background To analyze the clinical presentation and complications of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in children with rheumatic diseases treated with immunosuppressive medication such as biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and/or conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), and to analyze the therapeutic approach to VZV infections with respect to the concomitant immunosuppressive treatment. Methods Retrospective multicenter study using the Swiss ...

Continuum deformation of multi-agent systems

CERN Document Server

Rastgoftar, Hossein

2016-01-01

This monograph presents new algorithms for formation control of multi-agent systems (MAS) based on principles of continuum mechanics. Beginning with an overview of traditional methods, the author then introduces an innovative new approach whereby agents of an MAS are considered as particles in a continuum evolving in ℝn whose desired configuration is required to satisfy an admissible deformation function. The necessary theory and its validation on a mobile-agent-based swarm test bed are considered for two primary tasks: homogeneous transformation of the MAS and deployment of a random distribution of agents on a desired configuration. The framework for this model is based on homogeneous transformations for the evolution of an MAS under no inter-agent communication, local inter-agent communication, and intelligent perception by agents. Different communication protocols for MAS evolution, the robustness of tracking of a desired motion by an MAS evolving in ℝn, and the effect of communication delays in an MAS...

Adrenal imaging agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, M.A.; Hanson, R.N.; Holman, B.L.

1980-01-01

The goals of this proposal are the development of selenium-containing analogs of the aromatic amino acids as imaging agents for the pancreas and of the adrenal cortex enzyme inhibitors as imaging agents for adrenal pathology. The objects for this year include (a) the synthesis of methylseleno derivatives of phenylalanine and tryptophan, and (b) the preparation and evaluation of radiolabeled iodobenzoyl derivatives of the selenazole and thiazole analogs of metyrapone and SU-9055

Privacy-aware mobile agent: Protecting privacy in open systems by modelling social behaviour of software agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyer, A.P.

2004-01-01

In distributed problem solving with multi-agent systems it is assumed that collective behaviour emerges from interaction among rational agents. The dissemination of mobile agents will lead to open systems. Emergent behaviour in open systems must fulfil common goals based on goals of individual

Econophysics of agent-based models

CERN Document Server

Aoyama, Hideaki; Chakrabarti, Bikas; Chakraborti, Anirban; Ghosh, Asim

2014-01-01

The primary goal of this book is to present the research findings and conclusions of physicists, economists, mathematicians and financial engineers working in the field of "Econophysics" who have undertaken agent-based modelling, comparison with empirical studies and related investigations. Most standard economic models assume the existence of the representative agent, who is “perfectly rational” and applies the utility maximization principle when taking action. One reason for this is the desire to keep models mathematically tractable: no tools are available to economists for solving non-linear models of heterogeneous adaptive agents without explicit optimization. In contrast, multi-agent models, which originated from statistical physics considerations, allow us to go beyond the prototype theories of traditional economics involving the representative agent. This book is based on the Econophys-Kolkata VII Workshop, at which many such modelling efforts were presented. In the book, leading researchers in the...

Building Multi-Agent Systems Using Jason

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boss, Niklas Skamriis; Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Villadsen, Jørgen

2010-01-01

We provide a detailed description of the Jason-DTU system, including the used methodology, tools as well as team strategy. We also discuss the experience gathered in the contest. In spring 2009 the course “Artificial Intelligence and Multi- Agent Systems” was held for the first time...... on the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). A part of this course was a short introduction to the multi-agent framework Jason, which is an interpreter for AgentSpeak, an agent-oriented programming language. As the final project in this course a solution to the Multi-Agent Programming Contest from 2007, the Gold...

Aspects of agents for safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotte, U.

1999-01-01

With the development of the Internet and the WWW, information treatment has gained a new dimension. (Intelligent) software agents are one of the means expected to relieve human staff of the burden of information overload, and in the future to contribute to safeguards data acquisition, data evaluation and decision-making. An overview is given for the categories of Internet, intranet and desktop agents. Aspects of the potential application of agents are described in three fields: information access and delivery, collaboration and workflow management, adaptive interfaces and learning assistants. Routine application of agents is not yet in sight, but the scientific and technical progress seems to be encouraging. (author)

Stable agents for imaging investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tofe, A.J.

1976-01-01

This invention concerns highly stable compounds useful in preparing technetium 99m based scintiscanning exploration agents. The compounds of this invention include a pertechnetate reducing agent or a solution of oxidized pertechnetate and an efficient proportion, sufficient to stabilize the compounds in the presence of oxygen and of radiolysis products, of ascorbic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of this acid. The invention also concerns a perfected process for preparing a technetium based exploration agent, consisting in codissolving the ascorbic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of such an acid and a pertechnetate reducing agent in a solution of oxidized pertechnetate [fr

Radioactive scanning agents with stabilizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fawzi, M.B.

1982-01-01

Stable compositions useful as technetium 99-based scintigraphic agents comprise gentisyl alcohol or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or ester thereof in combination with a pertechnetate reducing agent or dissolved in pertechnetate-99m (sup(99m)TcOsub(4)sup(-)) solution. The compositions are especially useful in combination with a phosphate or phosphonate material that carries the radionuclide to bone, thus providing a skeletal imaging agent

Intelligent Agents in E-Commerce

OpenAIRE

Valentin LITOIU; Amelia BADICA; Cristian ETEGAN

2006-01-01

This paper emphasizes the importance of intelligent agents in e-commerce, with a particular focus on the B2C and B2B context. From the consumer buying behaviour perspective, agents can be used to assist the following stages: need identification, product brokering, buyer coalition formation, merchant brokering and negotiation. Related to B2B commerce, intelligent agents are involved in partnership formation, brokering and negotiation.

Complex responses to alkylating agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samson, L.D.

2003-01-01

Using Affymetrix oligonucleotide GeneChip analysis, we previously found that, upon exposure to the simple alkylating agent methylmethane sulfonate, the transcript levels for about one third of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome (∼2,000 transcripts) are induced or repressed during the first hour or two after exposure. In order to determine whether the responsiveness of these genes has any relevance to the protection of cells against alkylating agents we have undertaken several follow-up studies. First, we explored the specificity of this global transcriptional response to MMS by measuring the global response of S. cerevisiae to a broad range of agents that are known to induce DNA damage. We found that each agent produced a very different mRNA transcript profile, even though the exposure doses produced similar levels of toxicity. We also found that the selection of genes that respond to MMS is highly dependent upon what cell cycle phase the cells are in at the time of exposure. Computational clustering analysis of the dataset derived from a large number of exposures identified several promoter motifs that are likely to control some of the regulons that comprise this large set of genes that are responsive to DNA damaging agents. However, it should be noted that these agents damage cellular components other than DNA, and that the responsiveness of each gene need not be in response to DNA damage per se. We have also begun to study the response of other organisms to alkylating agents, and these include E. coli, cultured mouse and human cells, and mice. Finally, we have developed a high throughput phenotypic screening method to interrogate the role of all non-essential S. cerevisiae genes (about 4,800) in protecting S. cerevisiae against the deleterious effects of alkylating agents; we have termed this analysis 'genomic phenotyping'. This study has uncovered a plethora of new pathways that play a role in the recovery of eukaryotic cells after exposure to toxic

Monitoring volatile anaesthetic agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, W.J.

2000-01-01

Full text: The methods that have been used for monitoring volatile anaesthetic agents depend on some physical property such as Density, Refractometry, Mass, Solubility, Raman scattering, or Infra-red absorption. Today, refractometry and infra-red techniques are the most common. Refractometry is used for the calibration of vaporizers. All anaesthetic agents increase the refractive index of the carrier gas. Provided the mixture is known then the refractive change measures the concentration of the volatile anaesthetic agent. Raman Scattering is when energy hits a molecule a very small fraction of the energy is absorbed and re-emitted at one or more lower frequencies. The shift in frequency is a function of the chemical bonds and is a fingerprint of the substance irradiated. Electromagnetic (Infra-red) has been the commonest method of detection of volatile agents. Most systems use a subtractive system, i.e. the agent in the sampling cell absorbed some of the infrared energy and the photo-detector therefore received less energy. A different approach is where the absorbed energy is converted into a pressure change and detected as sound (Acoustic monitor). This gives a more stable zero reference. More recently, the detector systems have used multiple narrow-band wavelengths in the infrared bands and by shape matching or matrix computing specific agent identification is achieved and the concentration calculated. In the early Datex AS3 monitors, a spectral sweep across the 3 micron infrared band was used to create spectral fingerprints. The recently released AS3 monitors use a different system with five very narrow band filters in the 8-10 micron region. The transmission through each of these filters is a value in a matrix which is solved by a micro computer to identify the agent and its concentration. These monitors can assist in improving the safety and efficiency of our anaesthetics but do not ensure that the patient is completely anaesthetized. Copyright (2000

Monitoring volatile anaesthetic agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Russell, W J [Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA (Australia). Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

2000-12-01

Full text: The methods that have been used for monitoring volatile anaesthetic agents depend on some physical property such as Density, Refractometry, Mass, Solubility, Raman scattering, or Infra-red absorption. Today, refractometry and infra-red techniques are the most common. Refractometry is used for the calibration of vaporizers. All anaesthetic agents increase the refractive index of the carrier gas. Provided the mixture is known then the refractive change measures the concentration of the volatile anaesthetic agent. Raman Scattering is when energy hits a molecule a very small fraction of the energy is absorbed and re-emitted at one or more lower frequencies. The shift in frequency is a function of the chemical bonds and is a fingerprint of the substance irradiated. Electromagnetic (Infra-red) has been the commonest method of detection of volatile agents. Most systems use a subtractive system, i.e. the agent in the sampling cell absorbed some of the infrared energy and the photo-detector therefore received less energy. A different approach is where the absorbed energy is converted into a pressure change and detected as sound (Acoustic monitor). This gives a more stable zero reference. More recently, the detector systems have used multiple narrow-band wavelengths in the infrared bands and by shape matching or matrix computing specific agent identification is achieved and the concentration calculated. In the early Datex AS3 monitors, a spectral sweep across the 3 micron infrared band was used to create spectral fingerprints. The recently released AS3 monitors use a different system with five very narrow band filters in the 8-10 micron region. The transmission through each of these filters is a value in a matrix which is solved by a micro computer to identify the agent and its concentration. These monitors can assist in improving the safety and efficiency of our anaesthetics but do not ensure that the patient is completely anaesthetized. Copyright (2000

Homeostatic Agent for General Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Naoto

2018-03-01

One of the essential aspect in biological agents is dynamic stability. This aspect, called homeostasis, is widely discussed in ethology, neuroscience and during the early stages of artificial intelligence. Ashby's homeostats are general-purpose learning machines for stabilizing essential variables of the agent in the face of general environments. However, despite their generality, the original homeostats couldn't be scaled because they searched their parameters randomly. In this paper, first we re-define the objective of homeostats as the maximization of a multi-step survival probability from the view point of sequential decision theory and probabilistic theory. Then we show that this optimization problem can be treated by using reinforcement learning algorithms with special agent architectures and theoretically-derived intrinsic reward functions. Finally we empirically demonstrate that agents with our architecture automatically learn to survive in a given environment, including environments with visual stimuli. Our survival agents can learn to eat food, avoid poison and stabilize essential variables through theoretically-derived single intrinsic reward formulations.

Intelligent Agents in E-Commerce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentin LITOIU

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper emphasizes the importance of intelligent agents in e-commerce, with a particular focus on the B2C and B2B context. From the consumer buying behaviour perspective, agents can be used to assist the following stages: need identification, product brokering, buyer coalition formation, merchant brokering and negotiation. Related to B2B commerce, intelligent agents are involved in partnership formation, brokering and negotiation.

Comparison of Communication Models for Mobile Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xining Li

2003-04-01

Full Text Available An agent is a self-contained process being acting on behalf of a user. A Mobile Agent is an agent roaming the internet to access data and services, and carry out its assigned task remotely. This paper will focus on the communication models for Mobile Agents. Generally speaking, communication models concern with problems of how to name Mobile Agents, how to establish communication relationships, how to trace moving agents, and how to guarantee reliable communication. Some existing MA systems are purely based on RPC-style communication, whereas some adopts asynchronous message passing, or event registration/handling. Different communication concepts suitable for Mobile Agents are well discussed in [1]. However, we will investigate these concepts and existing models from a different point view: how to track down agents and deliver messages in a dynamic, changing world.

2APL: a practical agent programming language

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dastani, M.M.

2008-01-01

This article presents a BDI-based agent-oriented programming language, called 2APL (A Practical Agent Programming Language). This programming language facilitates the implementation ofmulti-agent systems consisting of individual agents thatmay share and access external environments. It realizes

11th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Hermoso, Ramon; Moreno, María; Rodríguez, Juan; Hirsch, Benjamin; Mathieu, Philippe; Campbell, Andrew; Suarez-Figueroa, Mari; Ortega, Alfonso; Adam, Emmanuel; Navarro, Elena

2013-01-01

Research on Agents and Multi-agent Systems has matured during the last decade and many effective applications of this technology are now deployed. PAAMS provides an international forum to presents and discuss the latest scientific developments and their effective applications, to assess the impact of the approach, and to facilitate technology transfer. PAAMS started as a local initiative, but since grown to become the international yearly platform to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to Exchange their experience in the development and deployment of Agents and Multiagents systems. PAAMS intends to bring together researchers and developers from industry and the academic world to report on the latest scientific and technical advances on the application of multi-agent systems, to discuss and debate the major iss...

Design and simulation of material-integrated distributed sensor processing with a code-based agent platform and mobile multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosse, Stefan

2015-02-16

Multi-agent systems (MAS) can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG) model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container) and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques.

Design and Simulation of Material-Integrated Distributed Sensor Processing with a Code-Based Agent Platform and Mobile Multi-Agent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Bosse

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Multi-agent systems (MAS can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques.

Switching dynamics of multi-agent learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrancx, P.; Tuyls, K.P.; Westra, R.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the dynamics of multi-agent reinforcement learning in multiple state problems. We extend previous work that formally modelled the relation between reinforcement learning agents and replicator dynamics in stateless multi-agent games. More precisely, in this work we use a

Extinguishing agent for combustible metal fires

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, John F.; Stauffer, Edgar Eugene

1976-10-12

A low chloride extinguishing agent for combustible metal fires comprising from substantially 75 to substantially 94 weight percent of sodium carbonate as the basic fire extinguishing material, from substantially 1 to substantially 5 weight percent of a water-repellent agent such as a metal stearate, from substantially 2 to substantially 10 weight percent of a flow promoting agent such as attapulgus clay, and from substantially 3 to substantially 15 weight percent of a polyamide resin as a crusting agent.

Stable radiographic scanning agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

Stable compositions which are useful in the preparation of Technetium-99m-based scintigraphic agents are discussed. They are comprised of ascorbic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester thereof in combination with a pertechnetate reducing agent or dissolved in oxidized pertechnetate-99m (sup(99m)TcO 4 - ) solution

Multi-Agent Framework in Visual Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Molina

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The recent interest in the surveillance of public, military, and commercial scenarios is increasing the need to develop and deploy intelligent and/or automated distributed visual surveillance systems. Many applications based on distributed resources use the so-called software agent technology. In this paper, a multi-agent framework is applied to coordinate videocamera-based surveillance. The ability to coordinate agents improves the global image and task distribution efficiency. In our proposal, a software agent is embedded in each camera and controls the capture parameters. Then coordination is based on the exchange of high-level messages among agents. Agents use an internal symbolic model to interpret the current situation from the messages from all other agents to improve global coordination.

CEST and PARACEST MR contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hancu, Ileana; Dixon, W. Thomas; Woods, Mark; Sherry, A. Dean; Vinogradov, Elena; Lenkinski, Robert E.

2010-01-01

In this review we describe the status of development for a new class of magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents, based on chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST). The mathematics and physics relevant to the description of the CEST effect in MR are presented in an appendix published in the online version only. We discuss the issues arising when translating in vitro results obtained with CEST agents to using these MR agents in in vivo model studies and in humans. Examples are given on how these agents are imaged in vivo. We summarize the status of development of these CEST agents, and speculate about the next steps that may be taken towards the demonstration of CEST MR imaging in clinical applications

Susceptibility of Haemophilus equigenitalis, the causal agent of contagious equine metritis, to 31 antimicrobial agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugimoto, C; Isayama, Y; Kashiwazaki, M; Mitani, K

1981-01-01

The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 31 antimicrobial agents were determined for 99 isolates of Haemophilus equigenitalis by the agar dilution method. All the isolates showed good susceptibility to 26 antimicrobial agents tests, minimal inhibitory concentrations of which were less than 3.13 micrograms/ml for more than 90% of the isolates. Of these agents, 4 macrolides (erythromycin, oleandomycin, kitasamycin, tylosin), 3 tetracyclines (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline), 1 peptide (colistin), 1 penicillin (ampicillin) and 1 pleuromutilin (tiamulin) were the most active agents, showing a minimal inhibitory concentration of less than 0.39 micrograms/ml for more than 90% of the isolates. The growth of more than 90% of the isolates was not inhibited by 800 micrograms/ml of streptomycin.

Imprecise Beliefs in a Principal Agent Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rigotti, L.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a principal-agent model where the agent has multiple, or imprecise, beliefs. We model this situation formally by assuming the agent's preferences are incomplete. One can interpret this multiplicity as an agent's limited knowledge of the surrounding environment. In this setting,

Individualism and Collectivism in Trade Agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofstede, G.J.; Jonker, C.M.; Verwaart, D.

2008-01-01

Agent-Based Modeling can contribute to the understanding of international trade processes. Models for the effects of culture and cultural differences on agent behavior are required for realistic agent-based simulation of international trade. This paper makes a step toward modeling of culture in

Modeling culture in intelligent virtual agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mascarenhas, S.; Degens, N.; Paiva, A.; Prada, R.; Hofstede, G.J.; Beulens, A.J.M.; Aylett, R.

2016-01-01

This work addresses the challenge of creating virtual agents that are able to portray culturally appropriate behavior when interacting with other agents or humans. Because culture influences how people perceive their social reality it is important to have agent models that explicitly consider social

Discussion: DMARDs and biologic therapies in the management of inflammatory joint diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaz, Austin; Lisse, Jeffrey; Rizzo, Warren; Albani, Salvatore

2009-05-01

Therapy for inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, includes various conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). These therapeutic agents are termed DMARDs because they have the potential to reduce or prevent joint damage and preserve joint integrity and function. Conventional DMARDs are used as monotherapy or in combination and include methotrexate, leflunomide, azathioprine, ciclosporin, hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, gold and minocycline. Biologic response modifiers, which are based on proteins made by living cells, are newer agents available for the treatment of various inflammatory joint diseases. Biologic therapies now approved for use in inflammatory joint diseases are TNF inhibitors, T-cell modulators and B-cell depleters. They have all been shown to have clinical efficacy and are able to retard structural damage. However, all current immune-modulating therapies also have potential side effects, and the decision to use a particular agent for treatment should be based on a thorough discussion of the benefits and risks with the patient. Newer biologic response modifiers and other immunologic therapies are currently being developed for the treatment of inflammatory joint diseases and are discussed in this review.

JAK Inhibitors: Treatment Efficacy and Safety Profile in Patients with Psoriasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leeyen Hsu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Janus kinase (JAK pathways are key mediators in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. Psoriasis treatment has evolved with the advent of targeted therapies, which inhibit specific components of the psoriasis proinflammatory cascade. JAK inhibitors have been studied in early phase trials for psoriasis patients, and the data are promising for these agents as potential treatment options. Tofacitinib, an oral or topically administered JAK1 and JAK3 inhibitor, and ruxolitinib, a topical JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, have been most extensively studied in psoriasis, and both improved clinical symptoms of psoriasis. Additional JAK1 or JAK3 inhibitors are being studied in clinical trials. In phase III trials for rheumatoid arthritis, tofacitinib was efficacious in patients with inadequate responses to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, methotrexate monotherapy, or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The results of phase III trials are pending for these therapies in psoriasis, and these agents may represent important alternatives for patients with inadequate responses to currently available agents. Further investigations with long-term clinical trials are necessary to verify their utility in psoriasis treatment and assess their safety in this patient population.

Multi-agent Cooperation in a Planning Framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Weerdt, M.M.; Bos, A.; Tonino, J.F.M.; Witteveen, C.

2000-01-01

The promise of multi-agent systems is that multiple agents can solve problems more efficiently than single agents can. In this paper we propose a method to implement cooperation between agents in the planning phase, in order to achive more cost-effective solutions than without cooperation. Two

Change Agent Survival Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, Folwell L.

2011-01-01

Consulting is a rough racket. Only a tarantula hair above IRS agents, meter maids and used car sales people, the profession is a prickly burr for slings and arrows. Throw in education, focus on dysfunctional schools and call oneself a "change agent," and this bad rap all but disappears. Unfortunately, though, consulting/coaching/mentoring in…

Modelling an Agent's Mind and Matter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Boman, M.

1997-01-01

In agent models often it is assumed that the agent maintains internal representations of the material world (e.g., its beliefs). An overall model of the agent and the material world necessarily incorporates sub-models for physical simulation and symbolic simulation, and a formalisation of the

Animated BDP agents in virtual environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Antinus; Egges, A.; op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Zwiers, Jakob; Krose, B.; de Rijke, M.; Schreiber, G.; van Someren, M.

2001-01-01

We introduce a Believes, Desires and Plans (BDP) agent that acts in a virtual environment using multi-modal interaction with the user. The environment is our virtual theatre environment. In this environment different agents have been introduced. In order to obtain a more uniform framework for agent

Principals, agents and research programmes

OpenAIRE

Elizabeth Shove

2003-01-01

Research programmes appear to represent one of the more powerful instruments through which research funders (principals) steer and shape what researchers (agents) do. The fact that agents navigate between different sources and styles of programme funding and that they use programmes to their own ends is readily accommodated within principal-agent theory with the help of concepts such as shirking and defection. Taking a different route, I use three examples of research programming (by the UK, ...

Agent-based modeling and network dynamics

CERN Document Server

Namatame, Akira

2016-01-01

The book integrates agent-based modeling and network science. It is divided into three parts, namely, foundations, primary dynamics on and of social networks, and applications. The book begins with the network origin of agent-based models, known as cellular automata, and introduce a number of classic models, such as Schelling’s segregation model and Axelrod’s spatial game. The essence of the foundation part is the network-based agent-based models in which agents follow network-based decision rules. Under the influence of the substantial progress in network science in late 1990s, these models have been extended from using lattices into using small-world networks, scale-free networks, etc. The book also shows that the modern network science mainly driven by game-theorists and sociophysicists has inspired agent-based social scientists to develop alternative formation algorithms, known as agent-based social networks. The book reviews a number of pioneering and representative models in this family. Upon the gi...

[Supramolecular Agents for Theranostics].

Science.gov (United States)

Deyev, S M; Lebedenko, E N

2015-01-01

This mini-review summarizes recent data obtained in the process of creation of a versatile module platform suitable for construction of supramolecular theranostic agents. As an example, we consider multifunctional hybrid agents for imaging and elimination of cancer cells. The use of an adapter protein system barnase:barstar for producing targeted multifunctional hybrid structures on the basis of highly specific peptides and mini-antibodies as addressing modules and recombinant proteins and/or nanoparticles of different nature (quantum dots, nanogold, magnetic nanoparticles, nanodiamonds, upconverting nanophosphores, polymer nanoparticles) as agents visualizing and damaging cancer cells is described. New perspectives for creation of selective and highly effective compounds for theranostics and personified medicine are contemplated.

An Agent Framework of Tourism Recommender System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Zhi Yang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes the development of an Agent framework for tourism recommender system. The recommender system can be featured as an online web application which is capable of generating a personalized list of preference attractions for tourists. Traditional technologies of classical recommender system application domains, such as collaborative filtering, content-based filtering and content-based filtering are effectively adopted in the framework. In the framework they are constructed as Agents that can generate recommendations respectively. Recommender Agent can generate recommender information by integrating the recommendations of Content-based Agent, collaborative filtering-based Agent and constraint-based Agent. In order to make the performance more effective, linear combination method of data fusion is applied. User interface is provided by the tourist Agent in form of webpages and mobile app.

Agent-based land markets: Heterogeneous agents, land proces and urban land use change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Filatova, Tatiana; Parker, Dawn C.; van der Veen, A.; Amblard, F.

2007-01-01

We construct a spatially explicit agent-based model of a bilateral land market. Heterogeneous agents form their bid and ask prices for land based on the utility that they obtain from a certain location (houte/land) and base on the state of the market (an excess of demand or supply). We underline the

Teaching Tourism Change Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stilling Blichfeldt, Bodil; Kvistgaard, Hans-Peter; Hird, John

2017-01-01

course that is part of a Tourism Master’s program, where a major challenge is not only to teach students about change and change agents, but to teach them how change feels and ho w to become change agents. The c hange management course contains an experiment inspired by experiential teaching literature...... change in tourism in the future....

Travel Agent Course Outline.

Science.gov (United States)

British Columbia Dept. of Education, Victoria.

Written for college entry-level travel agent training courses, this course outline can also be used for inservice training programs offered by travel agencies. The outline provides information on the work of a travel agent and gives clear statements on what learners must be able to do by the end of their training. Material is divided into eight…

Multi-agent systems simulation and applications

CERN Document Server

Uhrmacher, Adelinde M

2009-01-01

Methodological Guidelines for Modeling and Developing MAS-Based SimulationsThe intersection of agents, modeling, simulation, and application domains has been the subject of active research for over two decades. Although agents and simulation have been used effectively in a variety of application domains, much of the supporting research remains scattered in the literature, too often leaving scientists to develop multi-agent system (MAS) models and simulations from scratch. Multi-Agent Systems: Simulation and Applications provides an overdue review of the wide ranging facets of MAS simulation, i

The effectiveness testing of oil spill-treating agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingas, M.F.; Kyle, D.A.; Laroche, N.; Fieldhouse, B.; Sergy, G.; Stoodley, G.

1995-01-01

Laboratory effectiveness tests have been developed for four classes of oil spill treating agents: solidifiers, demulsifying agents, surface-washing agents and dispersants. Several treating agent products in these four categories have been tested for effectiveness. The aquatic toxicity of these agents is an important factor and has been measured for many products. These results are presented. Solidifiers or gelling agents solidify oil. Test results show that solidifiers require between 16% and 200% of agent by weight compared to the oil. De-emulsifying agents or emulsion breakers prevent the formation of or break water-in-oil emulsions. Surfactant-containing materials are of two types, surface-washing agents and dispersants. Testing has shown that effectiveness is orthogonal for these two types of treating agents. Tests of surface washing agents show that only a few agents have effectiveness of 25 to 55%, where this is defined as the percentage of oil removed from a test surface. Dispersant effectiveness results using the swirling flask test are reported. Heavy oils show effectiveness values of about 1%, medium crudes of about 10%, light crude oils of about 30% and very light oils of about 90%

21 CFR 181.28 - Release agents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Release agents. 181.28 Section 181.28 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN... Release agents. Substances classified as release agents, when migrating from food-packaging material shall...

Ontology-based multi-agent systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadzic, Maja; Wongthongtham, Pornpit; Dillon, Tharam; Chang, Elizabeth [Digital Ecosystems and Business Intelligence Institute, Perth, WA (Australia)

2009-07-01

The Semantic web has given a great deal of impetus to the development of ontologies and multi-agent systems. Several books have appeared which discuss the development of ontologies or of multi-agent systems separately on their own. The growing interaction between agents and ontologies has highlighted the need for integrated development of these. This book is unique in being the first to provide an integrated treatment of the modeling, design and implementation of such combined ontology/multi-agent systems. It provides clear exposition of this integrated modeling and design methodology. It further illustrates this with two detailed case studies in (a) the biomedical area and (b) the software engineering area. The book is, therefore, of interest to researchers, graduate students and practitioners in the semantic web and web science area. (orig.)

Update on the use of steroids in rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Magallón, Blanca; Silva-Fernández, Lucía; Andreu-Sánchez, José Luis

2013-01-01

Corticosteroids are a mainstay in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In recent years, a number of high-quality controlled clinical trials have shown their effect as a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) and a favourable safety profile in recent-onset RA. Despite this, they are more frequently used as bridge therapy while other DMARDs initiate their action than as true disease-modifying agents. Low-dose corticosteroid use during the first two years of disease slows radiologic damage and reduces the need of biologic therapy aimed at reaching a state of clinical remission in recent-onset RA. Thus, their systematic use in this clinical scenario should be considered. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Chemical Agents

Science.gov (United States)

... CR) see Riot Control Agents Digitalis Distilled mustard (HD) see Sulfur mustard E Ethylene glycol F Fentanyls and other opioids H Hydrazine Hydrofluoric acid (hydrogen fluoride) Hydrogen chloride Hydrogen cyanide (AC) Hydrogen ...

A principal-agent Model of corruption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groenendijk, Nico

1997-01-01

One of the new avenues in the study of political corruption is that of neo-institutional economics, of which the principal-agent theory is a part. In this article a principal-agent model of corruption is presented, in which there are two principals (one of which is corrupting), and one agent (who is

Radiation protective agents possessing anti-oxidative properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anzai, Kazunori; Ueno, Emi; Yoshida, Akira; Furuse, Masako; Ikota, Nobuo [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Research Center for Radiation Safety, Chiba, Chiba (Japan)

2005-11-15

The purpose of studies is to see mechanisms of radiation protection of agents possessing anti-oxidative properties because the initial step resulting in radiation hazard is the formation of radicals by water radiolysis. Agents were commercially available or synthesized proxyl derivatives (spin prove agents), commercially available spin-trapping agents, edaravone and TMG (a tocopherol glycoside). Mice and cultured cells were X-irradiated by Shimadzu Pantak HF-320 or 320S. Survivals of cells were determined by colony assay and of mice, to which the agents were given intraperitoneally before or after X-irradiation, within 30 days post irradiation. Plasma and marrow concentrations of proxyls were estimated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry. Mechanisms of their radiation protective effects were shown different from agent to agent. TMG was found effective even post irradiation, which suggests a possibility for a new drug development. Some (spin trapping agents and TMG), virtually ineffective at the cell level, were found effective in the whole body, suggesting the necessity of studies on their disposition and metabolism. (S.I.)

Radiation protective agents possessing anti-oxidative properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anzai, Kazunori; Ueno, Emi; Yoshida, Akira; Furuse, Masako; Ikota, Nobuo

2005-01-01

The purpose of studies is to see mechanisms of radiation protection of agents possessing anti-oxidative properties because the initial step resulting in radiation hazard is the formation of radicals by water radiolysis. Agents were commercially available or synthesized proxyl derivatives (spin prove agents), commercially available spin-trapping agents, edaravone and TMG (a tocopherol glycoside). Mice and cultured cells were X-irradiated by Shimadzu Pantak HF-320 or 320S. Survivals of cells were determined by colony assay and of mice, to which the agents were given intraperitoneally before or after X-irradiation, within 30 days post irradiation. Plasma and marrow concentrations of proxyls were estimated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry. Mechanisms of their radiation protective effects were shown different from agent to agent. TMG was found effective even post irradiation, which suggests a possibility for a new drug development. Some (spin trapping agents and TMG), virtually ineffective at the cell level, were found effective in the whole body, suggesting the necessity of studies on their disposition and metabolism. (S.I.)

Preemptive mobile code protection using spy agents

OpenAIRE

Kalogridis, Georgios

2011-01-01

This thesis introduces 'spy agents' as a new security paradigm for evaluating trust in remote hosts in mobile code scenarios. In this security paradigm, a spy agent, i.e. a mobile agent which circulates amongst a number of remote hosts, can employ a variety of techniques in order to both appear 'normal' and suggest to a malicious host that it can 'misuse' the agent's data or code without being held accountable. A framework for the operation and deployment of such spy agents is described. ...

Dynamics of Three Agent Games

OpenAIRE

Rador, Tonguc; Mungan, Muhittin

2007-01-01

We study the dynamics and resulting score distribution of three-agent games where after each competition a single agent wins and scores a point. A single competition is described by a triplet of numbers $p$, $t$ and $q$ denoting the probabilities that the team with the highest, middle or lowest accumulated score wins. We study the full family of solutions in the regime, where the number of agents and competitions is large, which can be regarded as a hydrodynamic limit. Depending on the parame...

CHI: A General Agent Communication Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldsmith, S.Y.; Phillips, L.R.; Spires, S.V.

1998-12-17

We have completed and exercised a communication framework called CHI (CLOS to HTML Interface) by which agents can communicate with humans. CHI follows HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and produces HTML (HyperText Markup Language) for use by WWW (World-Wide Web) browsers. CHI enables the rapid and dynamic construction of interface mechanisms. The essence of CHI is automatic registration of dynamically generated interface elements to named objects in the agent's internal environment. The agent can access information in these objects at will. State is preserved, so an agent can pursue branching interaction sequences, activate failure recovery behaviors, and otherwise act opportunistically to maintain a conversation. The CHI mechanism remains transparent in multi-agent, multi-user environments because of automatically generated unique identifiers built into the CHI mechanism. In this paper we discuss design, language, implementation, and extension issues, and, by way of illustration, examine the use of the general CHI/HCHI mechanism in a specific international electronic commerce system. We conclude that the CHI mechanism is an effective, efficient, and extensible means of the agent/human communication.

VigilAgent for the development of agent-based multi-robot surveillance systems

OpenAIRE

Gascueña Noheda, José Manuel; Navarro Martínez, Elena María; Fernández Caballero, Antonio

2011-01-01

Usually, surveillance applications are developed following an ad-hoc approach instead of using a methodology to guide stakeholders in achieving quality standards expected from commercial software. To solve this gap, our conjecture is that surveillance applications can be fully developed from their initial design stages by means of agent-based methodologies. Specifically, this paper describes the experience and the results of using a multi-agent systems approach according to the process provid...

What makes virtual agents believable?

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanovych, Anton; Trescak, Tomas; Simoff, Simeon

2016-01-01

In this paper we investigate the concept of believability and make an attempt to isolate individual characteristics (features) that contribute to making virtual characters believable. As the result of this investigation we have produced a formalisation of believability and based on this formalisation built a computational framework focused on simulation of believable virtual agents that possess the identified features. In order to test whether the identified features are, in fact, responsible for agents being perceived as more believable, we have conducted a user study. In this study we tested user reactions towards the virtual characters that were created for a simulation of aboriginal inhabitants of a particular area of Sydney, Australia in 1770 A.D. The participants of our user study were exposed to short simulated scenes, in which virtual agents performed some behaviour in two different ways (while possessing a certain aspect of believability vs. not possessing it). The results of the study indicate that virtual agents that appear resource bounded, are aware of their environment, own interaction capabilities and their state in the world, agents that can adapt to changes in the environment and exist in correct social context are those that are being perceived as more believable. Further in the paper we discuss these and other believability features and provide a quantitative analysis of the level of contribution for each such feature to the overall perceived believability of a virtual agent.

Radioactive scanning agents with hydroquinone stabilizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehouse, H.S.

1982-01-01

Stable compositions useful as technetium 99m-based scintigraphic agents comprise hydroquinone in combination with a pertechnetate reducing agent or dissolved in pertechnetate-99m (sup(99m)TcOsub(4)sup(-)) solution. The compositions are especially useful in combination with a phosphate or phosphonate material which carries the radionuclide to bone, thus providing a skeletal imaging agent

21 CFR 178.3860 - Release agents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Release agents. 178.3860 Section 178.3860 Food and... and Production Aids § 178.3860 Release agents. Substances listed in paragraph (b) of this section may be safely used as release agents in petroleum wax complying with § 178.3710 and in polymeric resins...

Applications of Multi-Agent Technology to Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Takeshi

Currently, agents are focus of intense on many sub-fields of computer science and artificial intelligence. Agents are being used in an increasingly wide variety of applications. Many important computing applications such as planning, process control, communication networks and concurrent systems will benefit from using multi-agent system approach. A multi-agent system is a structure given by an environment together with a set of artificial agents capable to act on this environment. Multi-agent models are oriented towards interactions, collaborative phenomena, and autonomy. This article presents the applications of multi-agent technology to the power systems.

Improving Multi-Agent Systems Using Jason

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vester, Steen; Boss, Niklas Skamriis; Jensen, Andreas Schmidt

2011-01-01

We describe the approach used to develop the multi-agent system of herders that competed as the Jason-DTU team at the Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2010. We also participated in 2009 with a system developed in the agentoriented programming language Jason which is an extension of AgentSpeak. We ...... used the implementation from 2009 as a foundation and therefore much of the work done this year was on improving that implementation. We present a description which includes design and analysis of the system as well as the main features of our agent team strategy. In addition we discuss...

Fault Reconnaissance Agent for Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elhadi M. Shakshuki

2010-01-01

Full Text Available One of the key prerequisite for a scalable, effective and efficient sensor network is the utilization of low-cost, low-overhead and high-resilient fault-inference techniques. To this end, we propose an intelligent agent system with a problem solving capability to address the issue of fault inference in sensor network environments. The intelligent agent system is designed and implemented at base-station side. The core of the agent system – problem solver – implements a fault-detection inference engine which harnesses Expectation Maximization (EM algorithm to estimate fault probabilities of sensor nodes. To validate the correctness and effectiveness of the intelligent agent system, a set of experiments in a wireless sensor testbed are conducted. The experimental results show that our intelligent agent system is able to precisely estimate the fault probability of sensor nodes.

[Decorporation agents for internal radioactive contamination].

Science.gov (United States)

Ohmachi, Yasushi

2015-01-01

When radionuclides are accidentally ingested or inhaled, blood circulation or tissue/organ deposition of the radionuclides causes systemic or local radiation effects. In such cases, decorporation therapy is used to reduce the health risks due to their intake. Decorporation therapy includes reduction and/or inhibition of absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, isotopic dilution, and the use of diuretics, adsorbents, and chelating agents. For example, penicillamine is recommended as a chelating agent for copper contamination, and diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid is approved for the treatment of internal contamination with plutonium. During chelation therapy, the removal effect of the drugs should be monitored using a whole-body counter and/or bioassay. Some authorities, such as the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and International Atomic Energy Agency, have reported recommended decorporation agents for each radionuclide. However, few drugs are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and many are off-label-use agents. Because many decontamination agents are drugs that have been available for a long time and have limited efficacy, the development of new, higher-efficacy drugs has been carried out mainly in the USA and France. In this article, in addition to an outline of decorporation agents for internal radioactive contamination, an outline of our research on decorporation agents for actinide (uranium and plutonium) contamination and for radio-cesium contamination is also presented.

Characterization of chemical agent transport in paints.

Science.gov (United States)

Willis, Matthew P; Gordon, Wesley; Lalain, Teri; Mantooth, Brent

2013-09-15

A combination of vacuum-based vapor emission measurements with a mass transport model was employed to determine the interaction of chemical warfare agents with various materials, including transport parameters of agents in paints. Accurate determination of mass transport parameters enables the simulation of the chemical agent distribution in a material for decontaminant performance modeling. The evaluation was performed with the chemical warfare agents bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide (distilled mustard, known as the chemical warfare blister agent HD) and O-ethyl S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioate (VX), an organophosphate nerve agent, deposited on to two different types of polyurethane paint coatings. The results demonstrated alignment between the experimentally measured vapor emission flux and the predicted vapor flux. Mass transport modeling demonstrated rapid transport of VX into the coatings; VX penetrated through the aliphatic polyurethane-based coating (100 μm) within approximately 107 min. By comparison, while HD was more soluble in the coatings, the penetration depth in the coatings was approximately 2× lower than VX. Applications of mass transport parameters include the ability to predict agent uptake, and subsequent long-term vapor emission or contact transfer where the agent could present exposure risks. Additionally, these parameters and model enable the ability to perform decontamination modeling to predict how decontaminants remove agent from these materials. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Evaluation of clot formation in blood-contrast agent mixture: experimental study on ionic/nonionic contrast agents and plastic/ glass syringes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shim, Hyung Jin; Lee, Jong Beum; Lee, Yong Chul; Lee, Kwan Seh; Kim, Kun Sang

1991-01-01

Recent introduction of low-osmolar nonionic contrast agents has allowed the performance of angiography with certain advantages such as reduced pain, reduced osmotic load and other potential advantages, over high osmolar ionic contrast agents. But the potential thrombogenic risk of nonionic contrast agent has been debate because of their weak anticoagulation effect. Several reports have recently documented the formation of thrombi in catheters and syringes containing nonionic contrast agent, and thromboembolic episodes have been noted during angiographic procedures. We have also been experienced blood clotting within blood mixed contrast agent syringe during angiography. Thus, we have studied with blood mixed ionic (Diatrizoate, Ioglicate) agents and nonionic (Iopamidol, Iopromide) agents, that used usually in our hospital, and saline in plastic and glass syringes. Each syringes were checked the clot formation on 10,30,60,90 minutes. Total 340 samples were obtained from 8 adults before angiography. Our data showed that nonionic contrast agents had significantly lesser anticoagulation effect than ionic contrast agents (ρ < 0.0001) on Chi-square test), both in plastic and glass syringes. And formation of clotting in glass syringes were significantly greater than that in plastic syringes (ρ < 0.0001). Thus meticulous technique is required to prevent thrombosis during angiographic procedure using nonionic contrast agents

Introducing ALAS: A Novel Agent-Oriented Programming Language

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrović, Dejan; Ivanović, Mirjana; Vidaković, Milan

2011-09-01

Agent-oriented programming languages represent a family of programming languages that provide developers with high-level abstractions and constructs necessary for implementing and using agent-related concepts. In this paper a novel agent-oriented programming language for rapid and efficient development of reactive agents, named ALAS, is presented. The simple, but powerful set of language constructs is designed to support the execution of agents in heterogenous environments, and to enable easy employment of advanced agent features, such as mobility and web service integration.

Computational Intelligence Agent-Oriented Modelling

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Neruda, Roman

2006-01-01

Roč. 5, č. 2 (2006), s. 430-433 ISSN 1109-2777 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0567 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : multi-agent systems * adaptive agents * computational intelligence Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science

Reactive agents and perceptual ambiguity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dartel, M. van; Sprinkhuizen-Kuyper, I.G.; Postma, E.O.; Herik, H.J. van den

2005-01-01

Reactive agents are generally believed to be incapable of coping with perceptual ambiguity (i.e., identical sensory states that require different responses). However, a recent finding suggests that reactive agents can cope with perceptual ambiguity in a simple model (Nolfi, 2002). This paper

Noncontraceptive use of contraceptive agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Nickles, Monique Collier; Alderman, Elizabeth

2014-06-01

• On the basis of strong research evidence, there are many noncontraceptive advantages to use of hormonal contraceptive agents in adolescent girls. (3) (4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, most of these agents are safe with minor adverse effects. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, through application of evidence-based approaches and proper counseling, pediatricians can use various contraceptive agents to treat several medical conditions and to help alleviate many of the undesired symptoms and complications associated with menstrual periods. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13) (14). • On the basis of research evidence and consensus, these agents may be used in sexually active adolescents to simultaneously help prevent unintended adolescent pregnancies. (2)(3)(4)(5)(7)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14).

Cranial nerve contrast using nerve-specific fluorophores improved by paired-agent imaging with indocyanine green as a control agent

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Veronica C.; Vuong, Victoria D.; Wilson, Todd; Wewel, Joshua; Byrne, Richard W.; Tichauer, Kenneth M.

2017-09-01

Nerve preservation during surgery is critical because damage can result in significant morbidity. This remains a challenge especially for skull base surgeries where cranial nerves (CNs) are involved because visualization and access are particularly poor in that location. We present a paired-agent imaging method to enhance identification of CNs using nerve-specific fluorophores. Two myelin-targeting imaging agents were evaluated, Oxazine 4 and Rhodamine 800, and coadministered with a control agent, indocyanine green, either intravenously or topically in rats. Fluorescence imaging was performed on excised brains ex vivo, and nerve contrast was evaluated via paired-agent ratiometric data analysis. Although contrast was improved among all experimental groups using paired-agent imaging compared to conventional, solely targeted imaging, Oxazine 4 applied directly exhibited the greatest enhancement, with a minimum 3 times improvement in CNs delineation. This work highlights the importance of accounting for nonspecific signal of targeted agents, and demonstrates that paired-agent imaging is one method capable of doing so. Although staining, rinsing, and imaging protocols need to be optimized, these findings serve as a demonstration for the potential use of paired-agent imaging to improve contrast of CNs, and consequently, surgical outcome.

Institutions, Behavior of Agents and Efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukharev Oleg, S.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We study the efficiency criterion, describing the behavior and choices of agents, the influence of moral norms on the model of behavior, as well as the criterion of efficiency as an institution to assess the behavior and development of the economic system. Curve proposed institutional compromise that allows to determine the possibility of changes in the welfare of interacting agents and their compliance with ethical standards when welfare increases due to violation or compliance with these standards. For the purposes of this demonstration of the influence of the model of chart-based dilemmas Holmes-Moriarty. Incentives in determining the agents behaviors play a key role in their formation due to the moral principles of behavior. However, in economics there are situations when moral principles are derived certain behaviors or interactions agents. Holmes and Moriarty there is an alternative interaction, which they can not take advantage of, and there is a full range of alternatives that actually programs the strategic outcomes of interactions that reflect the curves of "institutional compromise." Choosing an agent of moral standards as a potential model determines its behavior and, most importantly, interaction with other agents, adhering to certain moral principles. Assess the condition and the possibility of using a static criterion of Pareto efficiency for the analysis of situations where it is important to measure the economic efficiency. Showing institutional aspects that must be considered in the application or formulation of new performance criteria. It is proved that there is a connection microeconomic efficiency / inefficiency and parameters of behavior of agents that actualizes the need to impact on the behavior of agents incentives to solve the task of changing the structure.

[Community health agents: profile and education].

Science.gov (United States)

Marzari, Carla Kowalski; Junges, José Roque; Selli, Lucilda

2011-01-01

This research discusses the profile and education of the community health agents. There is no clarity about the kind of professional needed and the appropriate training to the fulfillment of the function. The research is a case study with exploratory methodology and qualitative approach. The data was collected with a focused group, formed by ten agents, intentional selected from those with more time in service in Family Health Strategy teams from the municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State. The discussions were recorded and transcribed by the researcher. The data was interpreted by content analysis. The results pointed to some important questions concerning the identity of the community health agents: integration on the health team, insertion in the community, profile and education. The profile which emerges from the research, is not different from the one proposed by the Ministry of Health. However, the difference is the professionalization, an initiative assumed by the agent, guided by reality, which he faces in his activity. The gaps, perceived in his formation, cause the agent to construct his professional identity, determined more by the technical aspect of the scientific knowledge than by his social competence as a community agent.

Agents in E-learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Mencke

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a framework to describe thecrossover domain of e-learning and agent technology.Furthermore it is used to classify existing work and possiblestarting points for the future development of agenttechniques and technologies order to enhance theperformance and the effectiveness of several aspects of elearningsystems. Agents are not a new concept but their usein the field of e-learning constitutes a basis for consequentialadvances.

A Multi-Agent Environment for Negotiation

Science.gov (United States)

Hindriks, Koen V.; Jonker, Catholijn M.; Tykhonov, Dmytro

In this chapter we introduce the System for Analysis of Multi-Issue Negotiation (SAMIN). SAMIN offers a negotiation environment that supports and facilitates the setup of various negotiation setups. The environment has been designed to analyse negotiation processes between human negotiators, between human and software agents, and between software agents. It offers a range of different agents, different domains, and other options useful to define a negotiation setup. The environment has been used to test and evaluate a range of negotiation strategies in various domains playing against other negotiating agents as well as humans. We discuss some of the results obtained by means of these experiments.

Agent-Based Negotiation in Uncertain Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Debenham, John; Sierra, Carles

An agent aims to secure his projected needs by attempting to build a set of (business) relationships with other agents. A relationship is built by exchanging private information, and is characterised by its intimacy — degree of closeness — and balance — degree of fairness. Each argumentative interaction between two agents then has two goals: to satisfy some immediate need, and to do so in a way that develops the relationship in a desired direction. An agent's desire to develop each relationship in a particular way then places constraints on the argumentative utterances. The form of negotiation described is argumentative interaction constrained by a desire to develop such relationships.

A study on development and applications of agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sun Hee; Sohn, Jae Min

2000-06-01

An agent study is variously applied from the restricted research of an early AI field to the practical SW development of the design and implementation of a high level, distributed hybrid system. Among the detailed research fields of AI, making a new research field called distributed AI, the trial of resolving a problem based on an agent, has begun. Related to it, the requirement of an intelligent system to offer convenience to easily do a job which the user wants, with the recent trial of an approach for internet agents of various types, were developed to be performed automatically and the agent anticipate the user's need. In this paper, the basic concepts regarding an agent system, research direction and applications were analyzed and outlined. The consisting elements were also analyzed. such as background, needs, basic concepts and properties of the agent. The agent's research status was recently analyzed, and the development and related property of an intelligent agent were written. Application and the instance of a generalized agent about applicable fields in the real world were studied, functions and services about intelligent agents were analyzed. The applicable field of an agent technique becomes various not in information retrieval on a web site, but in the processing of internet information, and in the electronic commerce, industry and medical fields. Through analyzing and comparing the general concept of various agents, this study will aid in establishing a future direction of research in this field

Multi-Agent Information Classification Using Dynamic Acquaintance Lists.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, Snehasis; Peng, Shengquan; Raje, Rajeev; Palakal, Mathew; Mostafa, Javed

2003-01-01

Discussion of automated information services focuses on information classification and collaborative agents, i.e. intelligent computer programs. Highlights include multi-agent systems; distributed artificial intelligence; thesauri; document representation and classification; agent modeling; acquaintances, or remote agents discovered through…

Artificial agents learning human fairness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, de S.; Tuyls, K.P.; Verbeeck, K.; Padgham, xx; Parkes, xx

2008-01-01

Recent advances in technology allow multi-agent systems to be deployed in cooperation with or as a service for humans. Typically, those systems are designed assuming individually rational agents, according to the principles of classical game theory. However, research in the field of behavioral

Requirements Modeling with Agent Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Dasgupta, Aniruddha; Krishna, Aneesh; Ghose, Aditya K.

Agent-oriented conceptual modeling notations are highly effective in representing requirements from an intentional stance and answering questions such as what goals exist, how key actors depend on each other, and what alternatives must be considered. In this chapter, we review an approach to executing i* models by translating these into set of interacting agents implemented in the CASO language and suggest how we can perform reasoning with requirements modeled (both functional and non-functional) using i* models. In this chapter we particularly incorporate deliberation into the agent design. This allows us to benefit from the complementary representational capabilities of the two frameworks.

Trends and developments in MRI contrast agent research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavagna, F.M.; Dapra, M.; Castelli, P.M.; Maggioni, F.; Kirchin, M.A.

1997-01-01

The currently prevailing trends in industrial contrast agent research for MRI are discussed. Specific mention is made of contrast agents for liver imaging using both static and delayed procedures, of the potential for blood pool agents and the form such agents may take, and of the ultimate challenge for contrast agent R and D: tissue-targeting in a wider sense to both normal and pathologic tissues. (orig.)

Persistent agents in Axelrod's social dynamics model

Science.gov (United States)

Reia, Sandro M.; Neves, Ubiraci P. C.

2016-01-01

Axelrod's model of social dynamics has been studied under the effect of external media. Here we study the formation of cultural domains in the model by introducing persistent agents. These are agents whose cultural traits are not allowed to change but may be spread through local neighborhood. In the absence of persistent agents, the system is known to present a transition from a monocultural to a multicultural regime at some critical Q (number of traits). Our results reveal a dependence of critical Q on the occupation probability p of persistent agents and we obtain the phase diagram of the model in the (p,Q) -plane. The critical locus is explained by the competition of two opposite forces named here barrier and bonding effects. Such forces are verified to be caused by non-persistent agents which adhere (adherent agents) to the set of traits of persistent ones. The adherence (concentration of adherent agents) as a function of p is found to decay for constant Q. Furthermore, adherence as a function of Q is found to decay as a power law with constant p.

Reversal agents in anaesthesia and critical care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nibedita Pani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the advent of short and ultra-short acting drugs, an in-depth knowledge of the reversal agents used is a necessity for any anaesthesiologist. Reversal agents are defined as any drug used to reverse the effects of anaesthetics, narcotics or potentially toxic agents. The controversy on the routine reversal of neuromuscular blockade still exists. The advent of newer reversal agents like sugammadex have made the use of steroidal neuromuscular blockers like rocuronium feasible in rapid sequence induction situations. We made a review of the older reversal agents and those still under investigation for drugs that are regularly used in our anaesthesia practice.

Chemical warfare agents identification by thermal neutron detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Boxue; Ai Xianyun; Tan Daoyuan; Zhang Dianqin

2000-01-01

The hydrogen concentration determination by thermal neutron detection is a non-destructive, fast and effective method to identify chemical warfare agents and TNT that contain different hydrogen fraction. When an isotropic neutron source is used to irradiate chemical ammunition, hydrogen atoms of the agent inside shell act as a moderator and slow down neutrons. The number of induced thermal neutrons depends mainly upon hydrogen content of the agent. Therefore measurement of thermal neutron influence can be used to determine hydrogen atom concentration, thereby to determine the chemical warfare agents. Under a certain geometry three calibration curves of count rate against hydrogen concentration were measured. According to the calibration curves, response of a chemical agent or TNT could be calculated. Differences of count rate among chemical agents and TNT for each kind of shells is greater than five times of standard deviations of count rate for any agent, so chemical agents or TNT could be identified correctly. Meanwhile, blast tube or liquid level of chemical warfare agent could affect the response of thermal neutron count rate, and thereby the result of identification. (author)

Agent-Based Models in Social Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Quang, Le Anh; Jung, Nam; Cho, Eun Sung; Choi, Jae Han; Lee, Jae Woo

2018-06-01

We review the agent-based models (ABM) on social physics including econophysics. The ABM consists of agent, system space, and external environment. The agent is autonomous and decides his/her behavior by interacting with the neighbors or the external environment with the rules of behavior. Agents are irrational because they have only limited information when they make decisions. They adapt using learning from past memories. Agents have various attributes and are heterogeneous. ABM is a non-equilibrium complex system that exhibits various emergence phenomena. The social complexity ABM describes human behavioral characteristics. In ABMs of econophysics, we introduce the Sugarscape model and the artificial market models. We review minority games and majority games in ABMs of game theory. Social flow ABM introduces crowding, evacuation, traffic congestion, and pedestrian dynamics. We also review ABM for opinion dynamics and voter model. We discuss features and advantages and disadvantages of Netlogo, Repast, Swarm, and Mason, which are representative platforms for implementing ABM.

Application Framework with Abstractions for Protocol and Agent Role

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Bent Bruun

2016-01-01

In multi-agent systems, agents interact by sending and receiving messages and the actual sequences of message form interaction structures between agents. Protocols and agents organized internally by agent roles support these interaction structures. Description and use of protocols based on agent ...... roles are supported by a simple and expressive application framework....

Three essays in agent-based macroeconomics

OpenAIRE

Canzian, Giulia

2009-01-01

The dissertation is aimed at offering an insight into the agent-based methodology and its possible application to the macroeconomic analysis. Relying on this methodology, I deal with three different issues concerning heterogeneity of economic agents, bounded rationality and interaction. Specifically, the first chapter is devoted to describe the distinctive characteristics of agent-based economics and its advantages-disadvantages. In the second chapter I propose a credit market framework c...

Dendrimer-based Macromolecular MRI Contrast Agents: Characteristics and Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hisataka Kobayashi

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Numerous macromolecular MRI contrast agents prepared employing relatively simple chemistry may be readily available that can provide sufficient enhancement for multiple applications. These agents operate using a ~100-fold lower concentration of gadolinium ions in comparison to the necessary concentration of iodine employed in CT imaging. Herein, we describe some of the general potential directions of macromolecular MRI contrast agents using our recently reported families of dendrimer-based agents as examples. Changes in molecular size altered the route of excretion. Smaller-sized contrast agents less than 60 kDa molecular weight were excreted through the kidney resulting in these agents being potentially suitable as functional renal contrast agents. Hydrophilic and larger-sized contrast agents were found better suited for use as blood pool contrast agents. Hydrophobic variants formed with polypropylenimine diaminobutane dendrimer cores created liver contrast agents. Larger hydrophilic agents are useful for lymphatic imaging. Finally, contrast agents conjugated with either monoclonal antibodies or with avidin are able to function as tumor-specific contrast agents, which also might be employed as therapeutic drugs for either gadolinium neutron capture therapy or in conjunction with radioimmunotherapy.

Tocilizumab in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors: subanalysis of Spanish results of an open-label study close to clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Álvaro-Gracia, José M; Fernández-Nebro, Antonio; García-López, Alicia; Guzmán, Manuel; Blanco, Francisco J; Navarro, Francisco J; Bustabad, Sagrario; Armendáriz, Yolanda; Román-Ivorra, José A

2014-01-01

To analyze the Spanish experience in an international study which evaluated tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) in a clinical practice setting. Subanalysis of 170 patients with RA from Spain who participated in a phase IIIb, open-label, international clinical trial. Patients presented inadequate response to DMARDs or TNFis. They received 8mg/kg of tocilizumab every 4 weeks in combination with a DMARD or as monotherapy during 20 weeks. Safety and efficacy of tocilizumab were analyzed. Special emphasis was placed on differences between failure to a DMARD or to a TNFi and the need to switch to tocilizumab with or without a washout period in patients who had previously received TNFi. The most common adverse events were infections (25%), increased total cholesterol (38%) and transaminases (15%). Five patients discontinued the study due to an adverse event. After six months of tocilizumab treatment, 71/50/30% of patients had ACR 20/50/70 responses, respectively. A higher proportion of TNFi-naive patients presented an ACR20 response: 76% compared to 64% in the TNFi group with previous washout and 66% in the TNFi group without previous washout. Safety results were consistent with previous results in patients with RA and an inadequate response to DMARDs or TNFis. Tocilizumab is more effective in patients who did not respond to conventional DMARDs than in patients who did not respond to TNFis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Agent-based modeling of sustainable behaviors

CERN Document Server

Sánchez-Maroño, Noelia; Fontenla-Romero, Oscar; Polhill, J; Craig, Tony; Bajo, Javier; Corchado, Juan

2017-01-01

Using the O.D.D. (Overview, Design concepts, Detail) protocol, this title explores the role of agent-based modeling in predicting the feasibility of various approaches to sustainability. The chapters incorporated in this volume consist of real case studies to illustrate the utility of agent-based modeling and complexity theory in discovering a path to more efficient and sustainable lifestyles. The topics covered within include: households' attitudes toward recycling, designing decision trees for representing sustainable behaviors, negotiation-based parking allocation, auction-based traffic signal control, and others. This selection of papers will be of interest to social scientists who wish to learn more about agent-based modeling as well as experts in the field of agent-based modeling.

Mobile Agents in Networking and Distributed Computing

CERN Document Server

Cao, Jiannong

2012-01-01

The book focuses on mobile agents, which are computer programs that can autonomously migrate between network sites. This text introduces the concepts and principles of mobile agents, provides an overview of mobile agent technology, and focuses on applications in networking and distributed computing.

Exchanging large data object in multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Yaseen, Wathiq Laftah; Othman, Zulaiha Ali; Nazri, Mohd Zakree Ahmad

2016-08-01

One of the Business Intelligent solutions that is currently in use is the Multi-Agent System (MAS). Communication is one of the most important elements in MAS, especially for exchanging large low level data between distributed agents (physically). The Agent Communication Language in JADE has been offered as a secure method for sending data, whereby the data is defined as an object. However, the object cannot be used to send data to another agent in a different location. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to propose a method for the exchange of large low level data as an object by creating a proxy agent known as a Delivery Agent, which temporarily imitates the Receiver Agent. The results showed that the proposed method is able to send large-sized data. The experiments were conducted using 16 datasets ranging from 100,000 to 7 million instances. However, for the proposed method, the RAM and the CPU machine had to be slightly increased for the Receiver Agent, but the latency time was not significantly different compared to the use of the Java Socket method (non-agent and less secure). With such results, it was concluded that the proposed method can be used to securely send large data between agents.

Protecting mobile agents from external replay attacks

OpenAIRE

Garrigues Olivella, Carles; Migas, Nikos; Buchanan, William; Robles, Sergi; Borrell Viader, Joan

2014-01-01

Peer-reviewed This paper presents a protocol for the protection of mobile agents against external replay attacks. This kind of attacks are performed by malicious platforms when dispatching an agent multiple times to a remote host, thus making it reexecute part of its itinerary. Current proposals aiming to address this problem are based on storing agent identifiers, or trip markers, inside agent platforms, so that future reexecutions can be detected and prevented. The problem of these solut...

Process for preparation of MR contrast agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2002-01-01

The present invention provides a process for the preparation of an MR contrast agent, said process comprising: i) obtaining a solution in a solvent of a hydrogenatable, unsaturated substrate compound and a catalyst for the hydrogenation of said substrate compound; ii) introducing said solution...... in droplet form into a chamber containing hydrogen gas (H2) enriched in para-hydrogen (p-1H2) and/or ortho-deuterium (o-2H2) whereby to hydrogenate said substrate to form a hydrogenated imaging agent; iii) optionally subjecting said hydrogenated imaging agent to a magnetic field having a field strength below...... earth's ambient field strength; iv) optionally dissolving said imaging agent in an aqueous medium; v) optionally separating said catalyst from the solution of said imaging agent in said aqueous medium; vi) optionally separating said solvent from the solution of said imaging agent in said aqueous medium...

Pinning synchronization of a mobile agent network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Lei; Sun, You-xian

2009-01-01

We investigate the problem of controlling a group of mobile agents in a plane in order to move them towards a desired orbit via pinning control, in which each agent is associated with a chaotic oscillator coupled with those of neighboring agents, and the pinning strategy is to have the common linear feedback acting on a small fraction of agents by random selection. We explore the effects of the pinning probability, feedback gains and agent density in the pinning synchronization of a mobile agent network under a fast-switching constraint, and perform numerical simulations for validation. In particular, we show that there exists a critical pinning density for network synchronization with an unbounded region: above the threshold, the dynamical network can be controlled by pinning; below it, anarchy prevails. And for the network with a single bounded synchronization region, pinning control has little effect as regards enhancing network synchronizability

22 CFR 51.22 - Passport agents and passport acceptance agents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... misdemeanor conviction for crimes involving moral turpitude or breach of trust, including but not limited to...) Safeguarding passport application information under the Privacy Act of 1974. Passport acceptance agents...

Transfection Agent Induced Nanoparticle Cell Loading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karin Montet-Abou

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Loading cells with magnetic nanoparticles, and tracking their fate in vivo by high resolution MRI, is an attractive approach for enhancing the efficacy of cell-based therapies including those utilizing hematopoietic stem cells, neuroprogenitor cells, and T cells. The transfection agent (internalization agent assisted loading with the Feridex IV® nanoparticle is an attractive method of loading because of the low cost of materials, and possible low regulatory barriers for eventual clinical use. We therefore explored the interaction between Feridex IV® and three internalization agents protamine (PRO, polylysine (PLL, and lipofectamine (LFA. Feridex reacted with internalization agents to form aggregates, except when either the internalization agent or Feridex was present in large excess. When Jurkat T cells were incubated with Feridex/LFA or Feridex/PRO mixtures, and washed by centrifugation, nanoparticle aggregates co-purified with cells. With C17.2 cells large iron oxide particles adhered to the cell surface. At 30 μg/mL Feridex and 3 μg/mL LFA, internalization was largely mediated by LFA and was largely cytoplasmic. However, we found that the conditions used to label cells with Feridex and transfection agents need to be carefully selected to avoid the problems of surface adsorption and nanoparticle precipitation.

Anticipatory vehicle routing using delegate multi-agent systems

OpenAIRE

Weyns, Danny; Holvoet, Tom; Helleboogh, Alexander

2007-01-01

This paper presents an agent-based approach, called delegate multi-agent systems, for anticipatory vehicle routing to avoid traffic congestion. In this approach, individual vehicles are represented by agents, which themselves issue light-weight agents that explore alternative routes in the environment on behalf of the vehicles. Based on the evaluation of the alternatives, the vehicles then issue light-weight agents for allocating road segments, spreading the vehicles’ intentions and coordi...

31 CFR 10.4 - Eligibility for enrollment as enrolled agent or enrolled retirement plan agent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) Enrollment as an enrolled agent upon examination. The Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility may grant enrollment as an enrolled agent to an applicant who demonstrates special competence in tax... the Office of Professional Responsibility and who has not engaged in any conduct that would justify...

Internet-enabled collaborative agent-based supply chains

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Weiming; Kremer, Rob; Norrie, Douglas H.

2000-12-01

This paper presents some results of our recent research work related to the development of a new Collaborative Agent System Architecture (CASA) and an Infrastructure for Collaborative Agent Systems (ICAS). Initially being proposed as a general architecture for Internet based collaborative agent systems (particularly complex industrial collaborative agent systems), the proposed architecture is very suitable for managing the Internet enabled complex supply chain for a large manufacturing enterprise. The general collaborative agent system architecture with the basic communication and cooperation services, domain independent components, prototypes and mechanisms are described. Benefits of implementing Internet enabled supply chains with the proposed infrastructure are discussed. A case study on Internet enabled supply chain management is presented.

Recent advances in agent-based complex automated negotiation

CERN Document Server

Ito, Takayuki; Zhang, Minjie; Fujita, Katsuhide; Robu, Valentin

2016-01-01

This book covers recent advances in Complex Automated Negotiations as a widely studied emerging area in the field of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. The book includes selected revised and extended papers from the 7th International Workshop on Agent-Based Complex Automated Negotiation (ACAN2014), which was held in Paris, France, in May 2014. The book also includes brief introductions about Agent-based Complex Automated Negotiation which are based on tutorials provided in the workshop, and brief summaries and descriptions about the ANAC'14 (Automated Negotiating Agents Competition) competition, where authors of selected finalist agents explain the strategies and the ideas used by them. The book is targeted to academic and industrial researchers in various communities of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems, such as agreement technology, mechanism design, electronic commerce, related areas, as well as graduate, undergraduate, and PhD students working in those areas or having interest in them.

Regulated open multi-agent systems (ROMAS) a multi-agent approach for designing normative open systems

CERN Document Server

Garcia, Emilia; Botti, Vicente

2015-01-01

Addressing the open problem of engineering normative open systems using the multi-agent paradigm, normative open systems are explained as systems in which heterogeneous and autonomous entities and institutions coexist in a complex social and legal framework that can evolve to address the different and often conflicting objectives of the many stakeholders involved. Presenting  a software engineering approach which covers both the analysis and design of these kinds of systems, and which deals with the open issues in the area, ROMAS (Regulated Open Multi-Agent Systems) defines a specific multi-agent architecture, meta-model, methodology and CASE tool. This CASE tool is based on Model-Driven technology and integrates the graphical design with the formal verification of some properties of these systems by means of model checking techniques. Utilizing tables to enhance reader insights into the most important requirements for designing normative open multi-agent systems, the book also provides a detailed and easy t...

Modelling User Preferences and Mediating Agents in Electronic Commerce

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dastani, M.M.; Jacobs, N.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.

2005-01-01

An important ingredient in agent-mediated electronic commerce is the presence of intelligent mediating agents that assist electronic commerce participants (e.g. individual users, other agents, organisations). These mediating agents are in principle autonomous agents that interact with their

Modeling culture in intelligent virtual agents

OpenAIRE

Mascarenhas, S.; Degens, N.; Paiva, A.; Prada, R.; Hofstede, G.J.; Beulens, A.J.M.; Aylett, R.

2016-01-01

This work addresses the challenge of creating virtual agents that are able to portray culturally appropriate behavior when interacting with other agents or humans. Because culture influences how people perceive their social reality it is important to have agent models that explicitly consider social elements, such as existing relational factors. We addressed this necessity by integrating culture into a novel model for simulating human social behavior. With this model, we operationalized a par...

[Biological agents].

Science.gov (United States)

Amano, Koichi

2009-03-01

There are two types of biological agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. Among the latter, etanercept, a recombinant fusion protein of soluble TNF receptor and IgG was approved in 2005 in Japan. The post-marketing surveillance of 13,894 RA patients revealed the efficacy and safety profiles of etanercept in the Japanese population, as well as overseas studies. Abatacept, a recombinant fusion protein of CTLA4 and IgG, is another biological agent for RA. Two clinical trials disclosed the efficacy of abatacept for difficult-to-treat patients: the AIM for MTX-resistant cases and the ATTAIN for patients who are resistant to anti-TNF. The ATTEST trial suggested abatacept might have more acceptable safety profile than infliximab. These biologics are also promising for the treatment of RA for not only relieving clinical symptoms and signs but retarding structural damage.

Modeling User Preferences and Mediating Agents in Electronic Commerce

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dastani, M.M.; Jacobs, N.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Dignum, F.; Sierra, C.

2001-01-01

An important ingredient in agent-mediated Electronic Commerce is the presence of intelligent mediating agents that assist Electronic Commerce participants (e.g., individual users, other agents, organisations). These mediating agents are in principle autonomous agents that will interact with their

Evolutionary game theory using agent-based methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Adami, Christoph; Schossau, Jory; Hintze, Arend

2016-12-01

Evolutionary game theory is a successful mathematical framework geared towards understanding the selective pressures that affect the evolution of the strategies of agents engaged in interactions with potential conflicts. While a mathematical treatment of the costs and benefits of decisions can predict the optimal strategy in simple settings, more realistic settings such as finite populations, non-vanishing mutations rates, stochastic decisions, communication between agents, and spatial interactions, require agent-based methods where each agent is modeled as an individual, carries its own genes that determine its decisions, and where the evolutionary outcome can only be ascertained by evolving the population of agents forward in time. While highlighting standard mathematical results, we compare those to agent-based methods that can go beyond the limitations of equations and simulate the complexity of heterogeneous populations and an ever-changing set of interactors. We conclude that agent-based methods can predict evolutionary outcomes where purely mathematical treatments cannot tread (for example in the weak selection-strong mutation limit), but that mathematics is crucial to validate the computational simulations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metareasoning and Social Evaluations in Cognitive Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Pinyol, Isaac; Sabater-Mir, Jordi

Reputation mechanisms have been recognized one of the key technologies when designing multi-agent systems. They are specially relevant in complex open environments, becoming a non-centralized mechanism to control interactions among agents. Cognitive agents tackling such complex societies must use reputation information not only for selecting partners to interact with, but also in metareasoning processes to change reasoning rules. This is the focus of this paper. We argue about the necessity to allow, as a cognitive systems designers, certain degree of freedom in the reasoning rules of the agents. We also describes cognitive approaches of agency that support this idea. Furthermore, taking as a base the computational reputation model Repage, and its integration in a BDI architecture, we use the previous ideas to specify metarules and processes to modify at run-time the reasoning paths of the agent. In concrete we propose a metarule to update the link between Repage and the belief base, and a metarule and a process to update an axiom incorporated in the belief logic of the agent. Regarding this last issue we also provide empirical results that show the evolution of agents that use it.

New antithrombotic agents in the ambulatory setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Neville M; Weightman, William M; Watts, Stephen A

2014-12-01

Many patients presenting for surgical or other procedures in an ambulatory setting are taking new antiplatelet or anticoagulant agents. This review assesses how the novel features of these new agents affect the management of antithrombotic therapy in the ambulatory setting. There have been very few studies investigating the relative risks of continuing or ceasing new antithrombotic agents. Recent reviews indicate that the new antithrombotic agents offer greater efficacy or ease of administration but are more difficult to monitor or reverse. They emphasize the importance of assessing the bleeding risk of the procedure, the thrombotic risk if the agent is ceased, and patient factors that increase the likelihood of bleeding. The timing of cessation of the agent, if required, depends on its pharmacokinetics and patients' bleeding risks. Patients at high risk of thrombotic complications may require bridging therapy. Once agreed upon, the perioperative plan should be made clear to all involved. As there are few clinical studies to guide management, clinicians must make rational decisions in relation to continuing or ceasing new antithrombotic agents. This requires knowledge of their pharmacokinetics, and a careful multidisciplinary assessment of the relative thrombotic and bleeding risks in individual patients.

Agents Within our Midst

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-14

agents; and the development of bio -monitoring protocols for civilian and service personnel during a chemical attack. These efforts have resulted in greater...produced by staphylococcal bacteria that is and is classified as a CDC select agent which has the potential to be used as a biological weapon .1...NMR chemical shift perturbation titrations with Fab (fragment, antigen binding regions) domains of 20B1, 14G8, and 6D3 using deuterated (2H) SEB

Multi-Agent Framework for Virtual Learning Spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheremetov, Leonid; Nunez, Gustavo

1999-01-01

Discussion of computer-supported collaborative learning, distributed artificial intelligence, and intelligent tutoring systems focuses on the concept of agents, and describes a virtual learning environment that has a multi-agent system. Describes a model of interactions in collaborative learning and discusses agents for Web-based virtual…

14 CFR 29.1199 - Extinguishing agent containers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Extinguishing agent containers. 29.1199....1199 Extinguishing agent containers. (a) Each extinguishing agent container must have a pressure relief to prevent bursting of the container by excessive internal pressures. (b) The discharge end of each...

14 CFR 25.1199 - Extinguishing agent containers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Extinguishing agent containers. 25.1199....1199 Extinguishing agent containers. (a) Each extinguishing agent container must have a pressure relief to prevent bursting of the container by excessive internal pressures. (b) The discharge end of each...

14 CFR 23.1199 - Extinguishing agent containers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Extinguishing agent containers. 23.1199... Powerplant Fire Protection § 23.1199 Extinguishing agent containers. For commuter category airplanes, the following applies: (a) Each extinguishing agent container must have a pressure relief to prevent bursting of...

An Important Chemical Weapon Group: Nerve Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan Yaren

2007-12-01

Full Text Available As a result of developing modern chemistry, nerve agents, which are one of the most important group of efficient chemical warfare agents, were developed just before Second World War. They generate toxic and clinical effects via inhibiting acetylcholinesterase irreversibly and causing excessive amounts of acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses in the body. Clinical symptoms are occurred as a result of affected muscarinic (stimulation of secretuar glands, miosis, breathing problems etc., nicotinic (stimulation of skeletal muscles, paralyse, tremors etc. and central nerve system (convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma etc. areas. In case of a nerve agent exposure, treatment includes the steps of ventilation, decontamination, antidotal treatment (atropine, oximes, diazepam and pyridostigmine bromide and supportive theraphy. Because of arising possibility of using chemical warfare agents due to current conjuncture of the world, medical staff should know about nerve agents, their effects and how to treat the casualties exposured to nerve agents. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2007; 6(6.000: 491-500

An Important Chemical Weapon Group: Nerve Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan Yaren

2007-12-01

Full Text Available As a result of developing modern chemistry, nerve agents, which are one of the most important group of efficient chemical warfare agents, were developed just before Second World War. They generate toxic and clinical effects via inhibiting acetylcholinesterase irreversibly and causing excessive amounts of acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses in the body. Clinical symptoms are occurred as a result of affected muscarinic (stimulation of secretuar glands, miosis, breathing problems etc., nicotinic (stimulation of skeletal muscles, paralyse, tremors etc. and central nerve system (convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma etc. areas. In case of a nerve agent exposure, treatment includes the steps of ventilation, decontamination, antidotal treatment (atropine, oximes, diazepam and pyridostigmine bromide and supportive theraphy. Because of arising possibility of using chemical warfare agents due to current conjuncture of the world, medical staff should know about nerve agents, their effects and how to treat the casualties exposured to nerve agents. [TAF Prev Med Bull. 2007; 6(6: 491-500

Story telling engine based on agent interaction

OpenAIRE

Porcel, Juan Carlos

2008-01-01

Comics have been used as a programming tool for agents, giving them instructions on how to act. In this thesis I do this in reverse, I use comics to describe the actions of agents already interacting with each other to create a storytelling engine that dynamically generate stories, based on the interaction of said agents. The model for the agent behaviours is based on the improvisational puppets model of Barbara Hayes-Roth. This model is chosen due to the nature of comics themselves. Comics ...

Prostate Activated Prodrugs and Imaging Agents

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jones, Graham B

2004-01-01

.... The substrate chosen was a 3 component system composed of a peptide sequence with affinity for PSA, an imaging agent and a deactivating bridge-linker, which electronically incapacitates the imaging agent...

Reducing Interaction Costs for Self-interested Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunqi; Larson, Kate

In many multiagent systems, agents are not able to freely interact with each other or with a centralized mechanism. They may be limited in their interactions by cost or by the inherent structure of the system. Using a combinatorial auction application as motivation, we study the impact of interaction costs and structure on the strategic behaviour of self-interested agents. We present a particular model of costly agent-interaction, and argue that self-interested agents may wish to coordinate their actions with their neighbours so as to reduce their individual costs. We highlight the issues that arise in such a setting, propose a cost-sharing mechanism that agents can use, and discuss group coordination procedures. Experimental work validates our model.

Targeting different angiogenic pathways with combination of curcumin, leflunomide and perindopril inhibits diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasr, Magda; Selima, Eman; Hamed, Omar; Kazem, Amany

2014-01-15

No effective chemopreventive agent has been approved against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to date. Since HCC is one of the hypervascular solid tumors, blocking angiogenesis represents an intriguing approach to HCC chemoprevention. The aim of the current study was to examine the combined effect of the anti-angiogenic agents: leflunomide; a disease modifying antirheumatic drug, perindopril; an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and curcumin; the active principle of turmeric, on diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC in mice. Eight weeks following DEN administration, there was a significant rise in immunohistochemical staining of CD31-positive endothelial cells and consequently hepatic microvessel density (MVD) as compared to normal liver. DEN treatment was associated with elevation in hepatic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level as compared to normal controls (Pcurcumin alone abrogated the DEN-induced increased MVD as well as the elevated expression of VEGF, while only curcumin inhibited HIF-1α hepatic expression. Combination of these agents showed further inhibitory action on neovascularization and synergistic attenuation of hepatic VEGF (1954.27±115pg/ml) when compared to each single agent. Histopathological examination revealed a more beneficial chemopreventive activity in the combination group compared to each monotherapy. In conclusion, the combination treatment of leflunomide, perindopril and curcumin targeting different angiogenic pathways, resulted in synergistic inhibition of angiogenesis and consequently more effective chemoprevention of HCC. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pharmacological therapy of spondyloarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Palazzi, Carlo; D'Angelo, Salvatore; Gilio, Michele; Leccese, Pietro; Padula, Angela; Olivieri, Ignazio

2015-01-01

The current pharmacological therapy of spondyloarthritis (SpA) includes several drugs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic drugs. A systematic literature search was completed using the largest electronic databases (Medline, Embase and Cochrane), starting from 1995, with the aim to review data on traditional and biologic agents commercialised for SpA treatment. Randomised controlled trials and large observational studies were considered. In addition, studies performed in SpA patients treated with other, still unapproved, drugs (rituximab, anti-IL6 agents, apremilast, IL17 inhibitors and anakinra) were also taken into account. Biologic agents, especially anti-TNF drugs, have resulted in significant progress in improving clinical symptoms and signs, reducing inflammatory features in laboratory tests and imaging findings, and recovering all functional indexes. Anti-TNF drugs have radically changed the evolution of radiographic progression in peripheral joints; the first disappointing data concerning their efficacy on new bone formation of axial SpA has been recently challenged by studies enrolling patients who have been earlier diagnosed and treated. The opportunity to extend the interval of administration or to reduce the doses of anti-TNF agents can favourably influence the costs. Ustekinumab, the first non-anti-TNF biologic drug commercialised for psoriatic arthritis, offers new chances to patients that are unresponsive to anti-TNF.

Learning in engineered multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Anup

Consider the problem of maximizing the total power produced by a wind farm. Due to aerodynamic interactions between wind turbines, each turbine maximizing its individual power---as is the case in present-day wind farms---does not lead to optimal farm-level power capture. Further, there are no good models to capture the said aerodynamic interactions, rendering model based optimization techniques ineffective. Thus, model-free distributed algorithms are needed that help turbines adapt their power production on-line so as to maximize farm-level power capture. Motivated by such problems, the main focus of this dissertation is a distributed model-free optimization problem in the context of multi-agent systems. The set-up comprises of a fixed number of agents, each of which can pick an action and observe the value of its individual utility function. An individual's utility function may depend on the collective action taken by all agents. The exact functional form (or model) of the agent utility functions, however, are unknown; an agent can only measure the numeric value of its utility. The objective of the multi-agent system is to optimize the welfare function (i.e. sum of the individual utility functions). Such a collaborative task requires communications between agents and we allow for the possibility of such inter-agent communications. We also pay attention to the role played by the pattern of such information exchange on certain aspects of performance. We develop two algorithms to solve this problem. The first one, engineered Interactive Trial and Error Learning (eITEL) algorithm, is based on a line of work in the Learning in Games literature and applies when agent actions are drawn from finite sets. While in a model-free setting, we introduce a novel qualitative graph-theoretic framework to encode known directed interactions of the form "which agents' action affect which others' payoff" (interaction graph). We encode explicit inter-agent communications in a directed

CATS-based Air Traffic Controller Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Callantine, Todd J.

2002-01-01

This report describes intelligent agents that function as air traffic controllers. Each agent controls traffic in a single sector in real time; agents controlling traffic in adjoining sectors can coordinate to manage an arrival flow across a given meter fix. The purpose of this research is threefold. First, it seeks to study the design of agents for controlling complex systems. In particular, it investigates agent planning and reactive control functionality in a dynamic environment in which a variety perceptual and decision making skills play a central role. It examines how heuristic rules can be applied to model planning and decision making skills, rather than attempting to apply optimization methods. Thus, the research attempts to develop intelligent agents that provide an approximation of human air traffic controller behavior that, while not based on an explicit cognitive model, does produce task performance consistent with the way human air traffic controllers operate. Second, this research sought to extend previous research on using the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS) as the basis for intelligent agents. The agents use a high-level model of air traffic controller activities to structure the control task. To execute an activity in the CATS model, according to the current task context, the agents reference a 'skill library' and 'control rules' that in turn execute the pattern recognition, planning, and decision-making required to perform the activity. Applying the skills enables the agents to modify their representation of the current control situation (i.e., the 'flick' or 'picture'). The updated representation supports the next activity in a cycle of action that, taken as a whole, simulates air traffic controller behavior. A third, practical motivation for this research is to use intelligent agents to support evaluation of new air traffic control (ATC) methods to support new Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts. Current approaches that use large, human

Real Estate Agent Commission Disputes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anida Duarte

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among Procuring Cause Law, real estate agent years of experience, and real estate commission disputes. A pilot survey was conducted in the southwestern United States among real estate agents, realtor(s, and brokers. After testing the hypothesis, the decision was made to fail to reject the hypothesis and conclude that real estate agent experience and not Procuring Cause Law produced favorable outcomes in disputes. As a result, the following recommendations were made: (a Agency seller and buyer’s agreements should be used in each transaction to avoid disputes, (b proper expectations and guidelines should be reviewed prior to starting any real estate transaction, (c a checklist may assist in the assurance that all valuable information is reviewed, (d agents could benefit from fully understanding Procuring Cause Law and sharing this information with their clients, (e state and national regulatory requirements of the law could be modified for easier understanding and use, and (f consumers who willfully violate the law could be subject to monetary penalties.

Fuzzy Constraint-Based Agent Negotiation

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Menq-Wen Lin; K. Robert Lai; Ting-Jung Yu

2005-01-01

Conflicts between two or more parties arise for various reasons and perspectives. Thus, resolution of conflicts frequently relies on some form of negotiation. This paper presents a general problem-solving framework for modeling multi-issue multilateral negotiation using fuzzy constraints. Agent negotiation is formulated as a distributed fuzzy constraint satisfaction problem (DFCSP). Fuzzy constrains are thus used to naturally represent each agent's desires involving imprecision and human conceptualization, particularly when lexical imprecision and subjective matters are concerned. On the other hand, based on fuzzy constraint-based problem-solving, our approach enables an agent not only to systematically relax fuzzy constraints to generate a proposal, but also to employ fuzzy similarity to select the alternative that is subject to its acceptability by the opponents. This task of problem-solving is to reach an agreement that benefits all agents with a high satisfaction degree of fuzzy constraints, and move towards the deal more quickly since their search focuses only on the feasible solution space. An application to multilateral negotiation of a travel planning is provided to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of our framework.

inventory management, VMI, software agents, MDV model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Wieczerzycki

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Background: As it is well know, the implementation of instruments of logistics management is only possible with the use of the latest information technology. So-called agent technology is one of the most promising solutions in this area. Its essence consists in an entirely new way of software distribution on the computer network platform, in which computer exchange among themselves not only data, but also software modules, called just agents. The first aim is to propose the alternative method of the implementation of the concept of the inventory management by the supplier with the use of intelligent software agents, which are able not only to transfer the information but also to make the autonomous decisions based on the privileges given to them. The second aim of this research was to propose a new model of a software agent, which will be both of a high mobility and a high intelligence. Methods: After a brief discussion of the nature of agent technology, the most important benefits of using it to build platforms to support business are given. Then the original model of polymorphic software agent, called Multi-Dimensionally Versioned Software Agent (MDV is presented, which is oriented on the specificity of IT applications in business. MDV agent is polymorphic, which allows the transmission through the network only the most relevant parts of its code, and only when necessary. Consequently, the network nodes exchange small amounts of software code, which ensures high mobility of software agents, and thus highly efficient operation of IT platforms built on the proposed model. Next, the adaptation of MDV software agents to implementation of well-known logistics management instrument - VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory is illustrated. Results: The key benefits of this approach are identified, among which one can distinguish: reduced costs, higher flexibility and efficiency, new functionality - especially addressed to business negotiation, full automation

The highly intelligent virtual agents for modeling financial markets

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, G.; Chen, Y.; Huang, J. P.

2016-02-01

Researchers have borrowed many theories from statistical physics, like ensemble, Ising model, etc., to study complex adaptive systems through agent-based modeling. However, one fundamental difference between entities (such as spins) in physics and micro-units in complex adaptive systems is that the latter are usually with high intelligence, such as investors in financial markets. Although highly intelligent virtual agents are essential for agent-based modeling to play a full role in the study of complex adaptive systems, how to create such agents is still an open question. Hence, we propose three principles for designing high artificial intelligence in financial markets and then build a specific class of agents called iAgents based on these three principles. Finally, we evaluate the intelligence of iAgents through virtual index trading in two different stock markets. For comparison, we also include three other types of agents in this contest, namely, random traders, agents from the wealth game (modified on the famous minority game), and agents from an upgraded wealth game. As a result, iAgents perform the best, which gives a well support for the three principles. This work offers a general framework for the further development of agent-based modeling for various kinds of complex adaptive systems.

Agent review phase one report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zubelewicz, Alex Tadeusz; Davis, Christopher Edward; Bauer, Travis LaDell

2009-12-01

This report summarizes the findings for phase one of the agent review and discusses the review methods and results. The phase one review identified a short list of agent systems that would prove most useful in the service architecture of an information management, analysis, and retrieval system. Reviewers evaluated open-source and commercial multi-agent systems and scored them based upon viability, uniqueness, ease of development, ease of deployment, and ease of integration with other products. Based on these criteria, reviewers identified the ten most appropriate systems. The report also mentions several systems that reviewers deemed noteworthy for the ideas they implement, even if those systems are not the best choices for information management purposes.

Anti-Infectious Agents against MRSA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuhiro Koyama

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Clinically useful antibiotics, β-lactams and vancomycin, are known to inhibit bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan synthesis. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA has a unique cell wall structure consisting of peptidoglycan and wall teichoic acid. In recent years, new anti-infectious agents (spirohexaline, tripropeptin C, DMPI, CDFI, cyslabdan, 1835F03, and BPH-652 targeting MRSA cell wall biosynthesis have been discovered using unique screening methods. These agents were found to inhibit important enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis such as undecaprenyl pyrophosphate (UPP synthase, FemA, flippase, or UPP phosphatase. In this review, the discovery, the mechanism of action, and the future of these anti-infectious agents are described.

Culture-specific communication management for virtual agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Endrass, Birgit; Rehm, Matthias; André, Elisabeth

2009-01-01

Human interaction depends on several individual factors such as personality, social relations, age or gender. But also the society we live in influences our behaviour. Thus culture affects the way communication is led. As virtual agents interact in a more and more human-like manner, culture......, the use of pauses in speech as well as the occurrence of overlapping speech was analyzed and integrated into a demonstrator using virtual agents. In a preliminary study, we investigated whether subjects perceive a difference between agent dialogs that are in line with culture-specific findings and agent...

Chronotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis: current perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

To H

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Hideto To Department of Medical Pharmaceutics, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences for Research, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA is an autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology. Morning stiffness, a characteristic feature of RA, shows a 24-hour rhythm. Cytokines, which are considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA, also exhibit a 24-hour rhythm, with a peak in the early morning. These rhythms have been attributed to the endogenous hormone balance and changes in expression levels of clock-related genes. Chronotherapy based on the 24-hour rhythm of RA has been performed using glucocorticoids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. In a previous study, it was reported that modified-release prednisone tablets were administered to patients with RA at night, which demonstrated that the severity of morning stiffness was markedly less than that in patients receiving the standard treatment. Methotrexate (MTX is the most frequently used RA drug worldwide. In a basic study, cytokines and inflammatory responses in RA model animals showed 24-hour rhythms, based on which MTX was administered and exerted dosing time-dependent antirheumatic effects. Plasma C-reactive protein and cytokine levels also exhibit 24-hour rhythms in patients with RA, with peaks occurring in the early morning. MTX has been shown to markedly inhibit the exacerbation of arthritis in patients with RA when it is administered as inflammatory responses and tumor necrosis factor-α levels begin to increase. Tacrolimus (TAC is an immunosuppressive agent that is administered to patients who undergo organ transplants. Since one of the mechanisms of action of TAC is the inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production, it is used as an RA therapeutic drug. When TAC was previously administered in the early light or early dark phase to RA model animals, the group treated in the early light phase had notably inhibited

Embodied artificial agents for understanding human social cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wykowska, Agnieszka; Chaminade, Thierry; Cheng, Gordon

2016-05-05

In this paper, we propose that experimental protocols involving artificial agents, in particular the embodied humanoid robots, provide insightful information regarding social cognitive mechanisms in the human brain. Using artificial agents allows for manipulation and control of various parameters of behaviour, appearance and expressiveness in one of the interaction partners (the artificial agent), and for examining effect of these parameters on the other interaction partner (the human). At the same time, using artificial agents means introducing the presence of artificial, yet human-like, systems into the human social sphere. This allows for testing in a controlled, but ecologically valid, manner human fundamental mechanisms of social cognition both at the behavioural and at the neural level. This paper will review existing literature that reports studies in which artificial embodied agents have been used to study social cognition and will address the question of whether various mechanisms of social cognition (ranging from lower- to higher-order cognitive processes) are evoked by artificial agents to the same extent as by natural agents, humans in particular. Increasing the understanding of how behavioural and neural mechanisms of social cognition respond to artificial anthropomorphic agents provides empirical answers to the conundrum 'What is a social agent?' © 2016 The Authors.

Multi-Agent Software Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2014-01-01

This paper proposed an alarm-monitoring system for people based on multi-agent using maps. The system monitors the users physical context using their mobile phone. The agents on the mobile phones are responsible for collecting, processing and sending data to the server. They can determine the parameters of their environment by sensors. The data are processed and sent to the server. On the other side, a set of agents on server can store this data and check the preconditions of the restrictions associated with the user, in order to trigger the appropriate alarms. These alarms are sent not only to the user who is alarmed to avoid the appeared restriction, but also to his supervisor. The proposed system is a general purpose alarm system that can be used in different critical application areas. It has been applied for monitoring the workers of radiation sites. However, these workers can do their activity tasks in the radiation environments safely

Teaching tourism change agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blichfeldt, Bodil Stilling; Kvistgaard, Hans-Peter; Hird, John

2017-01-01

This article discuss es know ledge, competencies and skills Master’s students should obtain during their academic studies and particularly, the differences between teaching about a topic and teaching to do. This is ex emplified by experiential learning theory and the case of a change management...... course that is part of a Tourism Master’s program, where a major challenge is not only to teach students about change and change agents, but to teach them how change feels and ho w to become change agents. The c hange management course contains an experiment inspired by experiential teaching literature...... and methods. The experiment seeks to make students not only hear/learn about change agency and management, but to make them feel cha nge, hereby enabling them to develop the skills and competencies necessary for them to take on the role as change agent s and thus enable them to play key role s in implementing...

Establish an Agent-Simulant Technology Relationship (ASTR)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-04-14

collective protection; CP; decontamination ; decon; contamination avoidance; CA; chemical biological radiological; CBR 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION...Within chemical defense, the individual protection (IP), collective protection (CP), decontamination (decon), and contamination avoidance (CA...OT). c. Testing may use chemical warfare agent (CWA), biological warfare agent (BWA), radiological agent, or simulant (surrogate). A simulant is a

Novel insights in agent-based complex automated negotiation

CERN Document Server

Lopez-Carmona, Miguel; Ito, Takayuki; Zhang, Minjie; Bai, Quan; Fujita, Katsuhide

2014-01-01

This book focuses on all aspects of complex automated negotiations, which are studied in the field of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. This book consists of two parts. I: Agent-Based Complex Automated Negotiations, and II: Automated Negotiation Agents Competition. The chapters in Part I are extended versions of papers presented at the 2012 international workshop on Agent-Based Complex Automated Negotiation (ACAN), after peer reviews by three Program Committee members. Part II examines in detail ANAC 2012 (The Third Automated Negotiating Agents Competition), in which automated agents that have different negotiation strategies and are implemented by different developers are automatically negotiated in the several negotiation domains. ANAC is an international competition in which automated negotiation strategies, submitted by a number of universities and research institutes across the world, are evaluated in tournament style. The purpose of the competition is to steer the research in the area of bilate...

A real-time architecture for time-aware agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Prouskas, Konstantinos-Vassileios; Pitt, Jeremy V

2004-06-01

This paper describes the specification and implementation of a new three-layer time-aware agent architecture. This architecture is designed for applications and environments where societies of humans and agents play equally active roles, but interact and operate in completely different time frames. The architecture consists of three layers: the April real-time run-time (ART) layer, the time aware layer (TAL), and the application agents layer (AAL). The ART layer forms the underlying real-time agent platform. An original online, real-time, dynamic priority-based scheduling algorithm is described for scheduling the computation time of agent processes, and it is shown that the algorithm's O(n) complexity and scalable performance are sufficient for application in real-time domains. The TAL layer forms an abstraction layer through which human and agent interactions are temporally unified, that is, handled in a common way irrespective of their temporal representation and scale. A novel O(n2) interaction scheduling algorithm is described for predicting and guaranteeing interactions' initiation and completion times. The time-aware predicting component of a workflow management system is also presented as an instance of the AAL layer. The described time-aware architecture addresses two key challenges in enabling agents to be effectively configured and applied in environments where humans and agents play equally active roles. It provides flexibility and adaptability in its real-time mechanisms while placing them under direct agent control, and it temporally unifies human and agent interactions.

Subjective performance evaluations and reciprocity in principal-agent relations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sebald, Alexander Christopher; Walzl, Markus

2014-01-01

. In contrast to existing models of reciprocity, we find that agents tend to sanction whenever the feedback of principals is below their subjective self-evaluations even if agents' pay-offs are independent of it. In turn, principals provide more positive feedback (relative to their actual performance assessment......We conduct a laboratory experiment with agents working on, and principals benefiting from, a real effort task in which the agents' performance can only be evaluated subjectively. Principals give subjective performance feedback to agents, and agents have an opportunity to sanction principals...... of the agent) if this does not affect their pay-off....

Teamwork in Multi-Agent Systems A Formal Approach

CERN Document Server

Dunin-Keplicz, Barbara Maria

2010-01-01

What makes teamwork tick?. Cooperation matters, in daily life and in complex applications. After all, many tasks need more than a single agent to be effectively performed. Therefore, teamwork rules!. Teams are social groups of agents dedicated to the fulfilment of particular persistent tasks. In modern multiagent environments, heterogeneous teams often consist of autonomous software agents, various types of robots and human beings. Teamwork in Multi-agent Systems: A Formal Approach explains teamwork rules in terms of agents' attitudes and their complex interplay. It provides the first comprehe

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents: A Review of Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Sahraei

2015-10-01

Full Text Available  Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI contrast agents most commonly agents used in diagnosing different diseases. Several agents have been ever introduced with different peculiar characteristics. They vary in potency, adverse reaction and other specification, so it is important to select the proper agent in different situations. We conducted a systematic literature search in MEDLINE/PUBMED, Web of Science (ISI, Scopus,Google Scholar by using keywords "gadolinium" and "MRI contrast Medias", "Gadofosvest", "Gadobenate" and "Gadoxetate". The most frequent contrast media agents made based on gadolinium (Gd. These are divided into two categories based on the structure of their chelating parts, linear agents and macrocyclic agents. All characteristics of contrast media factors, including efficiency, kinetic properties, stability, side effects and the rate of resolution are directly related to the structure of chelating part of that formulation.In vitro data has shown that the macrocyclic compounds are the most stable Gd-CA as they do not bind to serum proteins, they all possess similar and relatively low relaxivity and the prevalence of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF has decreased by increasing the use of macrocyclic agents in recent years. No cases of NSF have been recorded after the administration of any of the high-relaxivity protein interacting agents, the vascular imaging agent gadofosveset trisodium (Ablavar, the hepatic imaging agent gadoxetate meglumine (Eovist, and the multipurpose agent gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance. In pregnancy and lactating women, stable macrocyclic agent is recommended.

Intelligent Agent Transparency in Human-Agent Teaming for Multi-UxV Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercado, Joseph E; Rupp, Michael A; Chen, Jessie Y C; Barnes, Michael J; Barber, Daniel; Procci, Katelyn

2016-05-01

We investigated the effects of level of agent transparency on operator performance, trust, and workload in a context of human-agent teaming for multirobot management. Participants played the role of a heterogeneous unmanned vehicle (UxV) operator and were instructed to complete various missions by giving orders to UxVs through a computer interface. An intelligent agent (IA) assisted the participant by recommending two plans-a top recommendation and a secondary recommendation-for every mission. A within-subjects design with three levels of agent transparency was employed in the present experiment. There were eight missions in each of three experimental blocks, grouped by level of transparency. During each experimental block, the IA was incorrect three out of eight times due to external information (e.g., commander's intent and intelligence). Operator performance, trust, workload, and usability data were collected. Results indicate that operator performance, trust, and perceived usability increased as a function of transparency level. Subjective and objective workload data indicate that participants' workload did not increase as a function of transparency. Furthermore, response time did not increase as a function of transparency. Unlike previous research, which showed that increased transparency resulted in increased performance and trust calibration at the cost of greater workload and longer response time, our results support the benefits of transparency for performance effectiveness without additional costs. The current results will facilitate the implementation of IAs in military settings and will provide useful data to the design of heterogeneous UxV teams. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Reaching High Interactive Levels with Situated Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guzmán-Obando J.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available El documento presenta un proceso coordinado a través del cual los agentes situados son capaces de trabajar en forma conjunta con el conocimiento de sus habilidades para interactuar con otras entidades similares. Una buena coordinación se deriva de que cada agente situado es capaz de representar sus tasas de idoneidad para llevar a cabo cualquier acción de una manera eficaz. Además de utilizar dichas tasas, un agente puede coordinar sus acciones con otros agentes. En este sentido, cada agente situado trata de seleccionar y realizar sólo las acciones con los mayores índices de ejecución. Algunos experimentos en un verdadero fútbol robótico banco de pruebas están diseñadas para poner en práctica el enfoque coordinado propuesto. Observaciones finales concluir la eficacia y las ventajas de la obra presentada con el fin de aumentar el rendimiento de un equipo integrado por agentes situados cuando tienen que resolver tareas complejas en un escenario dinámico, competitivo e impredecible.

Most Trial Eligibility Criteria and Patient Baseline Characteristics Do Not Modify Treatment Effect in Trials Using Targeted Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Anton Wulf; Tarp, Simon; Furst, Daniel E

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine if variations in trial eligibility criteria and patient baseline characteristics could be considered effect modifiers of the treatment response when testing targeted therapies (biological agents and targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs....... Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated from the response rates and compared among the trial eligibility criteria/patient baseline characteristics of interest. Comparisons are presented as the Ratio of Odds Ratios (ROR). RESULTS: Sixty-two trials (19,923 RA patients) were included in the primary analyses...... using ACR20 response. Overall, targeted therapies constituted an effective treatment (OR 3.96 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.41 to 4.60). The majority of the trial eligibility criteria and patient baseline characteristics did not modify treatment effect. The added benefit of targeted therapies was lower...

Mechanisms of resistance to alkylating agents

OpenAIRE

Damia, G.; D‘Incalci, M.

1998-01-01

Alkylating agents are the most widely used anticancer drugs whose main target is the DNA, although how exactly the DNA lesions cause cell death is still not clear. The emergence of resistance to this class of drugs as well as to other antitumor agents is one of the major causes of failure of cancer treatment. This paper reviews some of the best characterized mechanisms of resistance to alkylating agents. Pre- and post-target mechanisms are recognized, the former able to limit the formation of...

An Update on Treatment of Pediatric Chronic Non-Infectious Uveitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sood, Arjun B; Angeles-Han, Sheila T

2017-03-01

There are no standardized treatment protocols for pediatric non-infectious uveitis. Topical corticosteroids are the typical first-line agent, although systemic corticosteroids are used in intermediate, posterior and panuveitic uveitis. Corticosteroids are not considered to be long-term therapy due to potential ocular and systemic side effects. In children with severe and/or refractory uveitis, timely management with higher dose disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologic agents is important. Increased doses earlier in the disease course may lead to improved disease control and better visual outcomes. In general, methotrexate is the usual first-line steroid-sparing agent and given as a subcutaneous weekly injection at >0.5 mg/kg/dose or 10-15 mg/m2 due to better bioavailability. Other DMARDs, for instance mycophenolate, azathioprine, and cyclosporine are less common treatments for pediatric uveitis. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents, primarily infliximab and adalimumab are used as second line agents in children refractory to methotrexate, or as first-line treatment in those with severe complicated disease at presentation. Infliximab may be given at a minimum of 7.5 mg/kg/dose every 4 weeks after loading doses, up to 20 mg/kg/dose. Adalimumab may be given up to 20 or 40 mg weekly. In children who fail anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents, develop anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibodies, experience adverse effects, or have difficulty with tolerance, there is less data available regarding subsequent treatment. Promising results have been noted with tocilizumab infusions every 2-4 weeks, abatacept monthly infusions and rituximab.

A survey of the sequence-specific interaction of damaging agents with DNA: emphasis on antitumor agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, V

1999-01-01

This article reviews the literature concerning the sequence specificity of DNA-damaging agents. DNA-damaging agents are widely used in cancer chemotherapy. It is important to understand fully the determinants of DNA sequence specificity so that more effective DNA-damaging agents can be developed as antitumor drugs. There are five main methods of DNA sequence specificity analysis: cleavage of end-labeled fragments, linear amplification with Taq DNA polymerase, ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single-strand ligation PCR, and footprinting. The DNA sequence specificity in purified DNA and in intact mammalian cells is reviewed for several classes of DNA-damaging agent. These include agents that form covalent adducts with DNA, free radical generators, topoisomerase inhibitors, intercalators and minor groove binders, enzymes, and electromagnetic radiation. The main sites of adduct formation are at the N-7 of guanine in the major groove of DNA and the N-3 of adenine in the minor groove, whereas free radical generators abstract hydrogen from the deoxyribose sugar and topoisomerase inhibitors cause enzyme-DNA cross-links to form. Several issues involved in the determination of the DNA sequence specificity are discussed. The future directions of the field, with respect to cancer chemotherapy, are also examined.

A Novel Security Approach in Mobile Agent Using Encryption

OpenAIRE

Nidhi Gupta; Dr. Anurag Dixit

2012-01-01

The appearance of software agents has given rise too much discussion of what such an agent is and how it differs from programs in general. An agent is anything that can be viewed as perceiving its environment through sensors & acting upon that environment through actuators. The existing systems can be classified in the context of singleagent systems and multi-agent systems. Mobile agents cantransport themselves from one host to another. Mobile agents have been developed as an extension to and...

Intelligent Design of Nano-Scale Molecular Imaging Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takeaki Ozawa

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Visual representation and quantification of biological processes at the cellular and subcellular levels within living subjects are gaining great interest in life science to address frontier issues in pathology and physiology. As intact living subjects do not emit any optical signature, visual representation usually exploits nano-scale imaging agents as the source of image contrast. Many imaging agents have been developed for this purpose, some of which exert nonspecific, passive, and physical interaction with a target. Current research interest in molecular imaging has mainly shifted to fabrication of smartly integrated, specific, and versatile agents that emit fluorescence or luminescence as an optical readout. These agents include luminescent quantum dots (QDs, biofunctional antibodies, and multifunctional nanoparticles. Furthermore, genetically encoded nano-imaging agents embedding fluorescent proteins or luciferases are now gaining popularity. These agents are generated by integrative design of the components, such as luciferase, flexible linker, and receptor to exert a specific on–off switching in the complex context of living subjects. In the present review, we provide an overview of the basic concepts, smart design, and practical contribution of recent nano-scale imaging agents, especially with respect to genetically encoded imaging agents.

Detection of Alkylating Agents using Electrical and Mechanical Means

Science.gov (United States)

Gerchikov, Yulia; Borzin, Elena; Gannot, Yair; Shemesh, Ariel; Meltzman, Shai; Hertzog-Ronen, Carmit; Tal, Shay; Stolyarova, Sara; Nemirovsky, Yael; Tessler, Nir; Eichen, Yoav

2011-08-01

Alkylating agents are reactive molecules having at least one polar bond between a carbon atom and a good leaving group. These often simple molecules are frequently used in organic synthesis, as sterilizing agents in agriculture and even as anticancer agents in medicine. Unfortunately, for over a century, some of the highly reactive alkylating agents are also being used as blister chemical warfare agents. Being relatively simple to make, the risk is that these will be applied by terrorists as poor people warfare agents. The detection and identification of such alkylating agents is not a simple task because of their high reactivity and simple structure of the reactive site. Here we report on new approaches to the detection and identification of such alkylating agents using electrical (organic field effect transistors) and mechanical (microcantilevers) means.

Detection of Alkylating Agents using Electrical and Mechanical Means

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerchikov, Yulia; Borzin, Elena; Gannot, Yair; Shemesh, Ariel; Meltzman, Shai; Hertzog-Ronen, Carmit; Eichen, Yoav; Tal, Shay; Stolyarova, Sara; Nemirovsky, Yael; Tessler, Nir

2011-01-01

Alkylating agents are reactive molecules having at least one polar bond between a carbon atom and a good leaving group. These often simple molecules are frequently used in organic synthesis, as sterilizing agents in agriculture and even as anticancer agents in medicine. Unfortunately, for over a century, some of the highly reactive alkylating agents are also being used as blister chemical warfare agents. Being relatively simple to make, the risk is that these will be applied by terrorists as poor people warfare agents. The detection and identification of such alkylating agents is not a simple task because of their high reactivity and simple structure of the reactive site. Here we report on new approaches to the detection and identification of such alkylating agents using electrical (organic field effect transistors) and mechanical (microcantilevers) means.

Method and apparatus to characterize ultrasonically reflective contrast agents

Science.gov (United States)

Pretlow, Robert A., III (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A method and apparatus for characterizing the time and frequency response of an ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is disclosed. An ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is injected, under constant pressure, into a fluid flowing through a pump flow circuit. The fluid and the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent are uniformly mixed in a mixing chamber, and the uniform mixture is passed through a contrast agent chamber. The contrast agent chamber is acoustically and axially interposed between an ultrasonic transducer chamber and an acoustic isolation chamber. A pulse of ultrasonic energy is transmitted into the contrast agent chamber from the ultrasonic transducer chamber. An echo waveform is received from the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent, and it is analyzed to determine the time and frequency response of the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent.

Detection of Alkylating Agents using Electrical and Mechanical Means

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerchikov, Yulia; Borzin, Elena; Gannot, Yair; Shemesh, Ariel; Meltzman, Shai; Hertzog-Ronen, Carmit; Eichen, Yoav [Schulich Department of Chemistry, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, 32000, Haifa (Israel) (Israel); Tal, Shay [Present address: Systems Biology Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Stolyarova, Sara; Nemirovsky, Yael; Tessler, Nir, E-mail: chryoav@tx.technion.ac.il [Department of Electrical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, 32000, Haifa (Israel)

2011-08-17

Alkylating agents are reactive molecules having at least one polar bond between a carbon atom and a good leaving group. These often simple molecules are frequently used in organic synthesis, as sterilizing agents in agriculture and even as anticancer agents in medicine. Unfortunately, for over a century, some of the highly reactive alkylating agents are also being used as blister chemical warfare agents. Being relatively simple to make, the risk is that these will be applied by terrorists as poor people warfare agents. The detection and identification of such alkylating agents is not a simple task because of their high reactivity and simple structure of the reactive site. Here we report on new approaches to the detection and identification of such alkylating agents using electrical (organic field effect transistors) and mechanical (microcantilevers) means.

Learning Sequences of Actions in Collectives of Autonomous Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Kagan; Agogino, Adrian K.; Wolpert, David H.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In this paper we focus on the problem of designing a collective of autonomous agents that individually learn sequences of actions such that the resultant sequence of joint actions achieves a predetermined global objective. We are particularly interested in instances of this problem where centralized control is either impossible or impractical. For single agent systems in similar domains, machine learning methods (e.g., reinforcement learners) have been successfully used. However, applying such solutions directly to multi-agent systems often proves problematic, as agents may work at cross-purposes, or have difficulty in evaluating their contribution to achievement of the global objective, or both. Accordingly, the crucial design step in multiagent systems centers on determining the private objectives of each agent so that as the agents strive for those objectives, the system reaches a good global solution. In this work we consider a version of this problem involving multiple autonomous agents in a grid world. We use concepts from collective intelligence to design goals for the agents that are 'aligned' with the global goal, and are 'learnable' in that agents can readily see how their behavior affects their utility. We show that reinforcement learning agents using those goals outperform both 'natural' extensions of single agent algorithms and global reinforcement, learning solutions based on 'team games'.

Intelligent agents for e-commerce applications

Science.gov (United States)

Vuppala, Krishna

1999-12-01

This thesis focuses on development of intelligent agent solutions for e-commerce applications. E-Commerce has several complexities like: lack of information about the players, learning the nature of one's business partners/competitors, finding the right business partner to do business with, using the right strategy to get best profit out of the negotiations etc. The agent models developed can be used in any agent solution for e-commerce. Concepts and techniques from Game Theory and Artificial Intelligence are used. The developed models have several advantages over the existing ones as: the models assume the non-availability of information about other players in the market, the models of players get updated over the time as and when new information comes about the players, the negotiation model incorporates the patience levels of the players and expectations from other players in the market. Power industry has been chosen as the application area for the demonstration of the capabilities and usage of the developed agent models. Two e-commerce scenarios where sellers and buyers can go through the power exchanges to bid in auctions, or make bilateral deals outside of the exchange are addressed. In the first scenario agent helps market participants in coordinating strategies with other participants, bidding in auctions by analyzing and understanding the behavior of other participants. In the second scenario, called "Power Traders Assistant" agent helps power trader, who buys and sells power through bilateral negotiations, in negotiating deals with his customers.

Modelling of robotic work cells using agent based-approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sękala, A.; Banaś, W.; Gwiazda, A.; Monica, Z.; Kost, G.; Hryniewicz, P.

2016-08-01

In the case of modern manufacturing systems the requirements, both according the scope and according characteristics of technical procedures are dynamically changing. This results in production system organization inability to keep up with changes in a market demand. Accordingly, there is a need for new design methods, characterized, on the one hand with a high efficiency and on the other with the adequate level of the generated organizational solutions. One of the tools that could be used for this purpose is the concept of agent systems. These systems are the tools of artificial intelligence. They allow assigning to agents the proper domains of procedures and knowledge so that they represent in a self-organizing system of an agent environment, components of a real system. The agent-based system for modelling robotic work cell should be designed taking into consideration many limitations considered with the characteristic of this production unit. It is possible to distinguish some grouped of structural components that constitute such a system. This confirms the structural complexity of a work cell as a specific production system. So it is necessary to develop agents depicting various aspects of the work cell structure. The main groups of agents that are used to model a robotic work cell should at least include next pattern representatives: machine tool agents, auxiliary equipment agents, robots agents, transport equipment agents, organizational agents as well as data and knowledge bases agents. In this way it is possible to create the holarchy of the agent-based system.

Towards Culturally-Aware Virtual Agent Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Endrass, Birgit; André, Elisabeth; Rehm, Matthias

2010-01-01

Globalization leads to an increase in intercultural encounters with a risk of misunderstandings due to different patterns of behavior and understanding. Learning applications have been proposed that employ virtual agents as their primary tool. Through their embodiment, learning can be done...... in a game-like environment in a more interesting way than for example learning with a textbook. The authors support the idea that virtual agents are a great opportunity for teaching cultural awareness. Realizing this, the concept of culture needs to be translated into computational models and the advantages...... of different systems using virtual agents need to be considered. Therefore, the authors reflect in this chapter on how virtual agents can help to learn about culture, scan definitions of culture from the social sciences, give an overview on how multiagent systems developed over time and classify the state...

Contrast Agent in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vu-Quang, Hieu

2015-01-01

Nanoparticles have been employed as contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to improve sensitivity and accuracy in diagnosis. In addition, these contrast agents are potentially combined with other therapeutic compounds or near infrared bio-imaging (NIR) fluorophores to obtain...... theranostic or dual imaging purposes, respectively. There were two main types of MRI contrast agent that were synthesized during this PhD project including fluorine containing nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles. In regard of fluorine containing nanoparticles, there were two types contrast agent...... cancer cells for cancer diagnosis in MRI. F127-Folate coated SPION were stable in various types of suspension medium for over six months. They could specifically target folate receptor of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo thus enhancing the contrast in MRI T2/T2* weighted images. These are preliminary...

Intelligent agents in data-intensive computing

CERN Document Server

Correia, Luís; Molina, José

2016-01-01

This book presents new approaches that advance research in all aspects of agent-based models, technologies, simulations and implementations for data intensive applications. The nine chapters contain a review of recent cross-disciplinary approaches in cloud environments and multi-agent systems, and important formulations of data intensive problems in distributed computational environments together with the presentation of new agent-based tools to handle those problems and Big Data in general. This volume can serve as a reference for students, researchers and industry practitioners working in or interested in joining interdisciplinary work in the areas of data intensive computing and Big Data systems using emergent large-scale distributed computing paradigms. It will also allow newcomers to grasp key concepts and potential solutions on advanced topics of theory, models, technologies, system architectures and implementation of applications in Multi-Agent systems and data intensive computing. .

Agentes de software móviles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crisman Martínez Barrera

2001-10-01

Full Text Available Los agentes móviles son programas de software inteligentes que realizan un objetivo que involucran desarrollos soportados en técnicas de Inteligencia Artificial, los cuales pretenden facilitar la interoperabilidad de sistemas. Este artículo define las disciplinas, plataformas y herramientas necesarias para el desarrollo de agentes móviles, sus características principales y las arquitecturas predominantes de éstas; presenta además una evaluación de sus perspectivas futuras.Mobile agents are intelligent software programs that can obtain an objective that involucrates developments supported in Artificial Intelligence techniques. These pretend to facilitate the interoperability of systems. This article defines disciplines, platforms and tools necessary for the development of mobile agents, their principal characteristics and the predominant architectures of these. A final evaluation and future perspectives are offered.

AORTA: Adding Organizational Reasoning to Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Dignum, Virginia

2014-01-01

the expected behavior of the agents. Agents need to be able to reason about the regulations, so that they can act within the expected boundaries and work towards the objectives of the organization. This extended abstract introduces AORTA, a component that can be integrated into agents’ reasoning mechanism......, allowing them to reason about (and act upon) regulations specified by an organizational model using simple reasoning rules. The added value is that the organizational model is independent of that of the agents, and that the approach is not tied to a specific organizational model....

Optimization of extinguishing agents for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boleman, M.; Lipar, M.; Balog, K.

1998-01-01

Focus is placed on use of extinguishing agents in nuclear power plants. The advantages and disadvantages of these agents are compared. Further perspectives for using particular extinguishing agents in nuclear power plants are outlined. (author)

Bridging humans via agent networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishida, Toru

1994-01-01

Recent drastic advance in telecommunication networks enabled the human organization of new class, teleorganization, which differ from any existing organization in that the organization which is easy to create by using telecommunication networks is virtual and remote, that people can join multiple organizations simultaneously, and that the organization can involve people who may not know each other. In order to enjoy the recent advance in telecommunication, the agent networks to help people organize themselves are needed. In this paper, an architecture of agent networks, in which each agent learns the preference or the utility functioin of the owner, and acts on behalf of the owner in maintaining the organization, is proposed. When an agent networks supports a human organization, the conventional human interface is divided into personal and social interfaces. The functionalities of the social interface in teleconferencing and telelearning were investigated. In both cases, the existence of B-ISDN is assumed, and the extension to the business meeting scheduling using personal handy phone (PHS) networks with personal digital assistant (PDA) terminals is expected. These circumstances are described. Mutual selection protocols (MSP) and their dynamic properties are explained. (K.I.)

Using Cognitive Agents to Train Negotiation Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher A. Stevens

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Training negotiation is difficult because it is a complex, dynamic activity that involves multiple parties. It is often not clear how to create situations in which students can practice negotiation or how to measure students' progress. Some have begun to address these issues by creating artificial software agents with which students can train. These agents have the advantage that they can be “reset,” and played against multiple times. This allows students to learn from their mistakes and try different strategies. However, these agents are often based on normative theories of how negotiators should conduct themselves, not necessarily how people actually behave in negotiations. Here, we take a step toward addressing this gap by developing an agent grounded in a cognitive architecture, ACT-R. This agent contains a model of theory-of-mind, the ability of humans to reason about the mental states of others. It uses this model to try to infer the strategy of the opponent and respond accordingly. In a series of experiments, we show that this agent replicates some aspects of human performance, is plausible to human negotiators, and can lead to learning gains in a small-scale negotiation task.

Using Cognitive Agents to Train Negotiation Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Christopher A; Daamen, Jeroen; Gaudrain, Emma; Renkema, Tom; Top, Jakob Dirk; Cnossen, Fokie; Taatgen, Niels A

2018-01-01

Training negotiation is difficult because it is a complex, dynamic activity that involves multiple parties. It is often not clear how to create situations in which students can practice negotiation or how to measure students' progress. Some have begun to address these issues by creating artificial software agents with which students can train. These agents have the advantage that they can be "reset," and played against multiple times. This allows students to learn from their mistakes and try different strategies. However, these agents are often based on normative theories of how negotiators should conduct themselves, not necessarily how people actually behave in negotiations. Here, we take a step toward addressing this gap by developing an agent grounded in a cognitive architecture, ACT-R. This agent contains a model of theory-of-mind, the ability of humans to reason about the mental states of others. It uses this model to try to infer the strategy of the opponent and respond accordingly. In a series of experiments, we show that this agent replicates some aspects of human performance, is plausible to human negotiators, and can lead to learning gains in a small-scale negotiation task.

History of chemical and biological warfare agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szinicz, L.

2005-01-01

Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents

History of chemical and biological warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Szinicz, L

2005-10-30

Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents.

Alkylating agents for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kun; Tan, Jianlong; Wu, Taixiang

2009-01-21

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia (WM) is an uncommon B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by bone marrow infiltration and production of monoclonal immunoglobulin. Uncertainty remains if alkylating agents, such as chlorambucil, melphalan or cyclophosphamide, are an effective form of management. To assess the effects and safety of the alkylating agents on Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia (WM). We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 1, 2008), MEDLINE (1966 to 2008), EMBASE (1980 to 2008), the Chinese Biomedical Base (1982 to 2008) and reference lists of articles.We also handsearched relevant conference proceedings from 1990 to 2008. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing alkylating agents given concomitantly with radiotherapy, splenectomy, plasmapheresis, stem-cell transplantation in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of WM. Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information. We collected adverse effects information from the trials. One trial involving 92 participants with pretreated/relapsed WM compared the effect of fludarabine versus the combination of cyclophosphamide (the alkylating agent), doxorubicin and prednisone (CAP). Compared to CAP, the Hazard ratio (HR) for deaths of treatment with fludarabine was estimated to be 1.04, with a standard error of 0.30 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.48) and it indicated that the mean difference of median survival time was -4.00 months, and 16.00 months for response duration. The relative risks (RR) of response rate was 2.80 (95% CI 1.10 to 7.12). There were no statistically difference in overall survival rate and median survival months, while on the basis of response rate and response duration, fludarabine seemed to be superior to CAP for pretreated/relapsed patients with macroglobulinaemia. Although alkylating agents have been used for decades they have never actually been tested in a proper randomised trial. This

Agent-based method for distributed clustering of textual information

Science.gov (United States)

Potok, Thomas E [Oak Ridge, TN; Reed, Joel W [Knoxville, TN; Elmore, Mark T [Oak Ridge, TN; Treadwell, Jim N [Louisville, TN

2010-09-28

A computer method and system for storing, retrieving and displaying information has a multiplexing agent (20) that calculates a new document vector (25) for a new document (21) to be added to the system and transmits the new document vector (25) to master cluster agents (22) and cluster agents (23) for evaluation. These agents (22, 23) perform the evaluation and return values upstream to the multiplexing agent (20) based on the similarity of the document to documents stored under their control. The multiplexing agent (20) then sends the document (21) and the document vector (25) to the master cluster agent (22), which then forwards it to a cluster agent (23) or creates a new cluster agent (23) to manage the document (21). The system also searches for stored documents according to a search query having at least one term and identifying the documents found in the search, and displays the documents in a clustering display (80) of similarity so as to indicate similarity of the documents to each other.

Agent Control for Reconfigurable Open Kinematic Chain Manipulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janez Sluga

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a method for the autonomous control of differently structured open kinematic chains based on multi-agent system technology. The appropriate level of distributing local autonomy (agents to a manipulative structure is defined, which makes it possible to dynamically change the number, type and structure of manipulative components without modifying their behavioural logic. To achieve fast reconfigurable and scalable manipulative systems, a new multi-agent method is developed for controlling the manipulator kinematics. The new method enables independent manipulator structure from the control system because of its structural and system modularity. The proposed method consists of kinematic equations for use in an agent environment, agent motion-planning algorithms, evaluation functions, agent control logic and kinematic algorithms. The results of simulations and real-world experiments demonstrate the usefulness of the approach for different non-redundant and redundant manipulation structures.

Do you get it? User-evaluated explainable BDI agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broekens, J.; Harbers, M.; Hindriks, K.; Bosch, K. van den; Jonker, C.; Meyer, J.J.C.

2010-01-01

In this paper we focus on explaining to humans the behavior of autonomous agents, i.e., explainable agents. Explainable agents are useful for many reasons including scenario-based training (e.g. disaster training), tutor and pedagogical systems, agent development and debugging, gaming, and

Java-based mobile agent platforms for wireless sensor networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aiello, F.; Carbone, A.; Fortino, G.; Galzarano, S.; Ganzha, M.; Paprzycki, M.

2010-01-01

This paper proposes an overview and comparison of mobile agent platforms for the development of wireless sensor network applications. In particular, the architecture, programming model and basic performance of two Java-based agent platforms, Mobile Agent Platform for Sun SPOT (MAPS) and Agent

Collaborative Information Agents on the World Wide Web

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, James R.; Mathe, Nathalie; Wolfe, Shawn; Koga, Dennis J. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

In this paper, we present DIAMS, a system of distributed, collaborative information agents which help users access, collect, organize, and exchange information on the World Wide Web. Personal agents provide their owners dynamic displays of well organized information collections, as well as friendly information management utilities. Personal agents exchange information with one another. They also work with other types of information agents such as matchmakers and knowledge experts to facilitate collaboration and communication.

Non-radiological contrast agents (MRI)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonnemain, B.; Lautrou, J.; Meyer, D.; Doucet, D.

1987-01-01

Over the past few years, extensive research has been carried out in an attempt to develop contrast agents that could help improve both the performance (acquisition times) and the diagnostic efficacy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques. On the basis of physicochemical and pharmacological criteria discussed in this presentation, a few efficacious, well-tolerated compounds could be developed. Two of them, the gadolinium complexes Gd-DOTA and Gd-DTPA, are currently being tried in man. This first generation of contrast agents, which are aspecific markers of the intravascular space, has been shown to have good diagnostic potential in conventional MRI procedures. The diagnostic contribution of these contrast agents will probably be a most essential factor in new MRI techniques using low field strengh or fast imaging sequences [fr

Prophylaxis and Therapy Against Chemical Agents

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

Hematopoietic Consequences F. Dorandeu 5) pH Dependent Toxicity of Sulphur Mustard In Vitro J. Mikler Nerve Agents / Scavengers 1) Mutagenesis...symptoms such as salivation or shortness of breath and lower level exposures could be rendered inconsequential. B.2 CURRENT THERAPY FOR NERVE AGENT

Deliberate Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brazier, F.M.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, N.J.E.; Gabbay, D.

2001-01-01

Evolution in societies of agents is a challenging phenomenon, both from a fundamental perspective and from an applied perspective. In the literature often genetic programming approaches are used and relatively simple agents are considered, which have no deliberate influence on the direction of the

Vivid agents : theory, architecture, and applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schroeder, M.; Wagner, G.R.

2000-01-01

Vivid agents (Wagner, 1996) are software-controlled systems whose state comprises the mental components of knowledge, perceptions, tasks, and intentions, and whose behavior is represented by means of action and reaction rules. An execution model for vivid agents is presented, which is based on an

Mansion, A Distributed Multi-Agent System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van t Noordende, G.; Brazier, F.M.; Tanenbaum, A.S.

2001-01-01

In this position summary we present work in progress on a worldwide, scalable multi-agent system, based on a paradigm of hyperlinked rooms. The framework offers facilities for managing distribution, security and mobility aspects for both active elements (agents) and passive elements (objects) in the

The design of interacting agents for use in interfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Connah, D.M.; Brouwer-Janse, M.D.; Harrington, T.L.

1994-01-01

In this paper situated agents are contrasted with agents which rely on a planning-based model of action. It is suggested that situated agents are particularly appropriate for skill-based tasks and that skill forms the basis of many important applications. The impact of situated agents on

Agent Based Modeling Applications for Geosciences

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, J. S.

2004-12-01

Agent-based modeling techniques have successfully been applied to systems in which complex behaviors or outcomes arise from varied interactions between individuals in the system. Each individual interacts with its environment, as well as with other individuals, by following a set of relatively simple rules. Traditionally this "bottom-up" modeling approach has been applied to problems in the fields of economics and sociology, but more recently has been introduced to various disciplines in the geosciences. This technique can help explain the origin of complex processes from a relatively simple set of rules, incorporate large and detailed datasets when they exist, and simulate the effects of extreme events on system-wide behavior. Some of the challenges associated with this modeling method include: significant computational requirements in order to keep track of thousands to millions of agents, methods and strategies of model validation are lacking, as is a formal methodology for evaluating model uncertainty. Challenges specific to the geosciences, include how to define agents that control water, contaminant fluxes, climate forcing and other physical processes and how to link these "geo-agents" into larger agent-based simulations that include social systems such as demographics economics and regulations. Effective management of limited natural resources (such as water, hydrocarbons, or land) requires an understanding of what factors influence the demand for these resources on a regional and temporal scale. Agent-based models can be used to simulate this demand across a variety of sectors under a range of conditions and determine effective and robust management policies and monitoring strategies. The recent focus on the role of biological processes in the geosciences is another example of an area that could benefit from agent-based applications. A typical approach to modeling the effect of biological processes in geologic media has been to represent these processes in

Priming of supernatural agent concepts and agency detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Elk, M.; Rutjens, B.T.; van der Pligt, J.; van Harreveld, F.

2016-01-01

In evolutionary approaches to religion it is argued that belief in supernatural agents is strongly related to a perceptual bias to over-detect the presence of agents in the environment. We report five experiments that investigate whether processing concepts about supernatural agents facilitates

Social Psychology Of Persuasion Applied To Human-agent Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenghua Liu

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses and evaluates the application of a social psychologically enriched, user-centered approach to agent architecture design. The major aim is to facilitate human-agent interaction (HAI by making agents not only algorithmically more intelligent but also socially more skillful in communicating with the user. A decision-making model and communicative argumentation strategies have been incorporated into the agent architecture. In the presented content resource management experiments, enhancement of human task performance is demonstrated for users that are supported by a persuasive agent. This superior performance seems to be rooted in a more trusting collaborative relationship between the user and the agent, rather than in the appropriateness of the agent's decision-making suggestions alone. In particular, the second experiment demonstrated that interface interaction design should follow the principles of task-orientation and implicitness. Making the influence of the agent too salient can trigger counterintentional effects, such as users' discomfort and psychological reactance.

Agent-based Simulation of the Maritime Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Vaněk

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a multi-agent based simulation platform is introduced that focuses on legitimate and illegitimate aspects of maritime traffic, mainly on intercontinental transport through piracy afflicted areas. The extensible architecture presented here comprises several modules controlling the simulation and the life-cycle of the agents, analyzing the simulation output and visualizing the entire simulated domain. The simulation control module is initialized by various configuration scenarios to simulate various real-world situations, such as a pirate ambush, coordinated transit through a transport corridor, or coastal fishing and local traffic. The environmental model provides a rich set of inputs for agents that use the geo-spatial data and the vessel operational characteristics for their reasoning. The agent behavior model based on finite state machines together with planning algorithms allows complex expression of agent behavior, so the resulting simulation output can serve as a substitution for real world data from the maritime domain.

Macroeconomic Policies and Agent Heterogeneity

OpenAIRE

GOTTLIEB, Charles

2012-01-01

Defence date: 24 February 2012 Examining Board: Giancarlo Corsetti, Arpad Abraham, Juan Carlos Conesa, Jonathan Heathcote. This thesis contributes to the understanding of macroeconomic policies’ impact on the distribution of wealth. It belongs to the strand of literature that departs from the representative agent assumption and perceives agent heterogeneity and the induced disparities in wealth accumulation, as an important dimension of economic policy-making. Within such economic envir...

Business Intelligence using Software Agents

OpenAIRE

Ana-Ramona BOLOGA; Razvan BOLOGA

2011-01-01

This paper presents some ideas about business intelligence today and the importance of developing real time business solutions. The authors make an exploration of links between business intelligence and artificial intelligence and focuses specifically on the implementation of software agents-based systems in business intelligence. There are briefly presented some of the few solutions proposed so far that use software agents properties for the benefit of business intelligence. The authors then...

AFECS. multi-agent framework for experiment control systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyurjyan, V; Abbott, D; Heyes, G; Jastrzembski, E; Timmer, C; Wolin, E [Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Ave. MS-12B3, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States)], E-mail: gurjyan@jlab.org

2008-07-01

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC.

AFECS. Multi-Agent Framework for Experiment Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vardan Gyurjyan; David Abbott; William Heyes; Edward Jastrzembski; Carl Timmer; Elliott Wolin

2008-01-23

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC.

AFECS. multi-agent framework for experiment control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyurjyan, V; Abbott, D; Heyes, G; Jastrzembski, E; Timmer, C; Wolin, E

2008-01-01

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC

Cognitive agent programming : A semantic approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riemsdijk, M.B. van

2006-01-01

In this thesis we are concerned with the design and investigation of dedicated programming languages for programming agents. We focus in particular on programming languages for rational agents, i.e., flexibly behaving computing entities that are able to make "good" decisions about what to do. An

Agentes comunitários de saúde: perfil e formação Community health agents: profile and education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla Kowalski Marzari

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A pesquisa discute o perfil e a formação dos agentes comunitários de saúde. Não existe ainda clareza sobre o tipo de profissional necessário e a formação adequada para o desempenho da função. Trata-se de um estudo de caso com metodologia exploratória e abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados foi com grupo focal formado por dez agentes, selecionados intencionalmente entre aqueles com mais tempo de serviço nas Equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família do município de Santa Maria (RS. As discussões foram gravadas e transcritas. Os dados foram trabalhados através da análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apontaram para algumas questões centrais sobre a identidade dos agentes: integração na equipe de saúde, inserção na comunidade, perfil e formação. O perfil que emerge da pesquisa não é diferente daquele proposto pelo Ministério da Saúde. No entanto, o diferencial é a busca por profissionalização, iniciativa assumida pelo próprio agente, efetivada e pautada pela realidade que ele enfrenta a partir da sua atuação. As lacunas percebidas na sua formação levam o agente a construir sua própria identidade profissional, pautada mais pelo aspecto técnico do conhecimento científico do que pela sua competência social como agente comunitário.This research discusses the profile and education of the community health agents. There is no clarity about the kind of professional needed and the appropriate training to the fulfillment of the function. The research is a case study with exploratory methodology and qualitative approach. The data was collected with a focused group, formed by ten agents, intentional selected from those with more time in service in Family Health Strategy teams from the municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State. The discussions were recorded and transcribed by the researcher. The data was interpreted by content analysis. The results pointed to some important questions concerning the identity of

Competing intelligent search agents in global optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Streltsov, S.; Vakili, P. [Boston Univ., MA (United States); Muchnik, I. [Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States)

1996-12-31

In this paper we present a new search methodology that we view as a development of intelligent agent approach to the analysis of complex system. The main idea is to consider search process as a competition mechanism between concurrent adaptive intelligent agents. Agents cooperate in achieving a common search goal and at the same time compete with each other for computational resources. We propose a statistical selection approach to resource allocation between agents that leads to simple and efficient on average index allocation policies. We use global optimization as the most general setting that encompasses many types of search problems, and show how proposed selection policies can be used to improve and combine various global optimization methods.

Agent-Based Decentralized Control Method for Islanded Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Qiang; Chen, Feixiong; Chen, Minyou

2016-01-01

as a local control processor together with communication devices, so agents can collect present states of distributed generators and loads, when communication lines are added between two layers. Moreover, each agent can also exchange information with its neighboring agents of the network. After information...

Putative neuroprotective agents in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodd, Seetal; Maes, Michael; Anderson, George; Dean, Olivia M; Moylan, Steven; Berk, Michael

2013-04-05

In many individuals with major neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, their disease characteristics are consistent with a neuroprogressive illness. This includes progressive structural brain changes, cognitive and functional decline, poorer treatment response and an increasing vulnerability to relapse with chronicity. The underlying molecular mechanisms of neuroprogression are thought to include neurotrophins and regulation of neurogenesis and apoptosis, neurotransmitters, inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, cortisol and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and epigenetic influences. Knowledge of the involvement of each of these pathways implies that specific agents that act on some or multiple of these pathways may thus block this cascade and have neuroprotective properties. This paper reviews the potential of the most promising of these agents, including lithium and other known psychotropics, aspirin, minocycline, statins, N-acetylcysteine, leptin and melatonin. These agents are putative neuroprotective agents for schizophrenia and mood disorders. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quitina y carboximetilquitosana como agentes desintegrantes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sol A Fernández Monagas

1998-08-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio comparativo de la quitina y la carboximetilquitosana como agentes desintegrantes, y se evaluó la influencia ejercida por el método empleado en la elaboración de las tabletas sobre la actividad desintegrante de ambos polímeros. La quitina presentó buenas características como agente desintegrante independientemente del método utilizado en la elaboración de las tabletas, mientras que la actividad desintegrante de la carboximetilquitosana fue afectada por el proceso de granulación.A comparative study of chitin and carboxymethylchitosan as disintegrating agents was wade made. The influence exerted bu tje method used in the preparation of the tablets on the disintegrating activity of both polymers was evaluated. Chitin proved to have good characteristics as a disintegrating agent independently of the method used to make tablets. The disintegrating activity of carboxymethylchitosan was affected by the granulation process.

Pharmacological stress agents in nuclear cardiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buscombe, J.R.

2004-01-01

Treadmill test combined with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) is a commonly used technique in the assessment of coronary artery disease. However there are a group of patients who may not be able to undergo treadmill tests. Patients with underlying conditions like neuromuscular disease, musculoskeletal disorder, heart failure and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on renal dialysis would find it difficult to perform exercise on a treadmill or bicycle ergometer. These conditions prevent them from performing adequate exercise. Such patients would benefit from pharmacological stress procedures combined with MPS. Nuclear medicine departments use various pharmacological agents while performing stress tests on cardiac patients. The most commonly used pharmacological agents for cardiac stress are coronary vasodilators and catecholamines. In addition to these agents, adjuvant use of nitrates and atropine is also a common practice in nuclear cardiology. This review addresses various physiological and pharmacological properties of the commonly used pharmacological stress agents in MPS and critically analyses their advantages and disadvantages, as well as their safety and efficacy. (author)

Unibot, a Universal Agent Architecture for Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saša Mladenović

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Today there are numerous robots in different applications domains despite the fact that they still have limitations in perception, actuation and decision process. Consequently, robots usually have limited autonomy, they are domain specific or have difficulty to adapt on new environments. Learning is the property that makes an agent intelligent and the crucial property that a robot should have to proliferate into the human society. Embedding the learning ability into the robot may simplify the development of the robot control mechanism. The motivation for this research is to develop the agent architecture of the universal robot – Unibot. In our approach the agent is the robot i.e. Unibot that acts in the physical world and is capable of learning. The Unibot conducts several simultaneous simulations of a problem of interest like path-finding. The novelty in our approach is the Multi-Agent Decision Support System which is developed and integrated into the Unibot agent architecture in order to execute simultaneous simulations. Furthermore, the Unibot calculates and evaluates between multiple solutions, decides which action should be performed and performs the action. The prototype of the Unibot agent architecture is described and evaluated in the experiment supported by the Lego Mindstorms robot and the NetLogo.

Multi-Agent System for Recruiting Patients for Clinical Trials

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-01

Managing Agent: The Trial Managing Agent has been implemented in Java , with support from a MySQL back-end database. This is used to conveniently exchange...these principles via simulation. • Recruitment Agent: The Recruitment Agent has been imple- mented in Java and has been used by 124 GPs so far

Bacterial agents and sensitivity pattern of neonatal conjuctivitis in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: In Africa alone, between 1000 – 4000 children are blinded annually by conjunctivitis. In view of the changing aetiological agents documented in other parts of the world and evolving resistance of infective agents to therapeutic agents, the present study was designed to define the bacterial agents, their antibiotic ...

Modern approaches to agent-based complex automated negotiation

CERN Document Server

Bai, Quan; Ito, Takayuki; Zhang, Minjie; Ren, Fenghui; Aydoğan, Reyhan; Hadfi, Rafik

2017-01-01

This book addresses several important aspects of complex automated negotiations and introduces a number of modern approaches for facilitating agents to conduct complex negotiations. It demonstrates that autonomous negotiation is one of the most important areas in the field of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. Further, it presents complex automated negotiation scenarios that involve negotiation encounters that may have, for instance, a large number of agents, a large number of issues with strong interdependencies and/or real-time constraints.

Software agent constrained mobility for network performance monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bohoris, C.; Liotta, A.; Pavlou, G.

2000-01-01

During the recent years of research on mobile agents, significant effort has been directed towards the identification of models of agent mobility suitable for network management applications. Also, a lot of research work is currently being carried out trying to provide an assessment of mobile agent

Heterogenous Agents Model with the Worst Out Algorithm

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vácha, Lukáš; Vošvrda, Miloslav

-, č. 8 (2006), s. 3-19 ISSN 1801-5999 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : efficient market hypothesis * fractal market hypothesis * agents' investment horizons * agents' trading strategies * technical trading rules * heterogeneous agent model with stochastic memory * Worst out algorithm Subject RIV: AH - Economics

Strategic farsighted learning in competitive multi-agent games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

t Hoen, P.J.; Bohté, S.M.; Poutré, la J.A.; Brewka, G.; Coradeschi, S.; Perini, A.

2006-01-01

We describe a generalized Q-learning type algorithm for reinforcement learning in competitive multi-agent games. We make the observation that in a competitive setting with adaptive agents an agent's actions will (likely) result in changes in the opponents policies. In addition to accounting for the

A Multi-Agent Traffic Control Model Based on Distributed System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian WU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With the development of urbanization construction, urban travel has become a quite thorny and imminent problem. Some previous researches on the large urban traffic systems easily change into NPC problems. We purpose a multi-agent inductive control model based on the distributed approach. To describe the real traffic scene, this model designs four different types of intelligent agents, i.e. we regard each lane, route, intersection and traffic region as different types of intelligent agents. Each agent can achieve the real-time traffic data from its neighbor agents, and decision-making agents establish real-time traffic signal plans through the communication between local agents and their neighbor agents. To evaluate the traffic system, this paper takes the average delay, the stopped time and the average speed as performance parameters. Finally, the distributed multi-agent is simulated on the VISSIM simulation platform, the simulation results show that the multi-agent system is more effective than the adaptive control system in solving the traffic congestion.

Deliberate normative agents : principles and architecture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dignum, F.P.M.; Castelfranchi, C.; Jonker, C.; Treur, J.; Jennings, N.R.; Lespérance, Y.

2000-01-01

In this paper norms are assumed to be useful in agent societies. It is claimed that not only following norms, but also the possibility of ‘intelligent’ norm violation can be useful. Principles for agents that are able to behave deliberatively on the basis of explicitly represented norms are

13 CFR 120.952 - Fiscal agent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Fiscal Agent to assess the financial markets, minimize the cost of sales, arrange for the production of... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fiscal agent. 120.952 Section 120.952 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Development Company...

Human-Agent Decision-making: Combining Theory and Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarit Kraus

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Extensive work has been conducted both in game theory and logic to model strategic interaction. An important question is whether we can use these theories to design agents for interacting with people? On the one hand, they provide a formal design specification for agent strategies. On the other hand, people do not necessarily adhere to playing in accordance with these strategies, and their behavior is affected by a multitude of social and psychological factors. In this paper we will consider the question of whether strategies implied by theories of strategic behavior can be used by automated agents that interact proficiently with people. We will focus on automated agents that we built that need to interact with people in two negotiation settings: bargaining and deliberation. For bargaining we will study game-theory based equilibrium agents and for argumentation we will discuss logic-based argumentation theory. We will also consider security games and persuasion games and will discuss the benefits of using equilibrium based agents.

Building Agents to Serve Customers

OpenAIRE

Barbuceanu, Mihai; Fox, Mark S.; Hong, Lei; Lallement, Yannick; Zhang, Zhongdong

2004-01-01

AI agents combining natural language interaction, task planning, and business ontologies can help companies provide better-quality and more costeffective customer service. Our customer-service agents use natural language to interact with customers, enabling customers to state their intentions directly instead of searching for the places on the Web site that may address their concern. We use planning methods to search systematically for the solution to the customer's problem, ensuring that a r...

Endotoxins, Glucans and Other Microbial Cell Wall Agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Basinas, Ioannis; Elholm, Grethe; Wouters, Inge M.

2017-01-01

During the last decades an increasing interest in microbial cell wall agents has been established, since exposure to these agents has been linked to a wide range of adverse and beneficial health effects. The term microbial cell wall agents refers to a group of molecules of different composition that

The mobile agent rendezvous problem in the ring

CERN Document Server

Kranakis, Evangelos; Marcou, Euripides

2010-01-01

Mobile agent computing is being used in fields as diverse as artificial intelligence, computational economics and robotics. Agents' ability to adapt dynamically and execute asynchronously and autonomously brings potential advantages in terms of fault-tolerance, flexibility and simplicity. This monograph focuses on studying mobile agents as modelled in distributed systems research and in particular within the framework of research performed in the distributed algorithms community. It studies the fundamental question of how to achieve rendezvous, the gathering of two or more agents at the same n

An Emotional Agent Model Based on Granular Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Hu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Affective computing has a very important significance for fulfilling intelligent information processing and harmonious communication between human being and computers. A new model for emotional agent is proposed in this paper to make agent have the ability of handling emotions, based on the granular computing theory and the traditional BDI agent model. Firstly, a new emotion knowledge base based on granular computing for emotion expression is presented in the model. Secondly, a new emotional reasoning algorithm based on granular computing is proposed. Thirdly, a new emotional agent model based on granular computing is presented. Finally, based on the model, an emotional agent for patient assistant in hospital is realized, experiment results show that it is efficient to handle simple emotions.

Global optimization of minority game by intelligent agents

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yan-Bo; Wang, Bing-Hong; Hu, Chin-Kun; Zhou, Tao

2005-10-01

We propose a new model of minority game with intelligent agents who use trail and error method to make a choice such that the standard deviation σ2 and the total loss in this model reach the theoretical minimum values in the long time limit and the global optimization of the system is reached. This suggests that the economic systems can self-organize into a highly optimized state by agents who make decisions based on inductive thinking, limited knowledge, and capabilities. When other kinds of agents are also present, the simulation results and analytic calculations show that the intelligent agent can gain profits from producers and are much more competent than the noise traders and conventional agents in original minority games proposed by Challet and Zhang.

Halon firefighting agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, P.R.; Dalzell, G.A.

1991-01-01

This paper examines the current state of the International agreements on the use of halons and the subsequent National and industry approaches to the subject. It examines the definition of Essential Use and gives particular examples to clarify its interpretation. Alternative methods of loss control are reviewed. It does not address alternative active firefighting agents but examines the need for protection in particular areas. It addresses reduction of the hazards and consequences so that the need for protection can be minimized. Practical measures to minimize the installed quantities of halon are described. This covers specifications for new, essential, systems and the short term reduction of inventories in existing systems. The causes of leakage and accidental releases are studied and preventive measures are proposed. The paper concludes with an overview of the current research into replacement agents and the future outlook

Multi-issue Agent Negotiation Based on Fairness

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Baohe; Zheng, Sue; Wu, Hong

Agent-based e-commerce service has become a hotspot now. How to make the agent negotiation process quickly and high-efficiently is the main research direction of this area. In the multi-issue model, MAUT(Multi-attribute Utility Theory) or its derived theory usually consider little about the fairness of both negotiators. This work presents a general model of agent negotiation which considered the satisfaction of both negotiators via autonomous learning. The model can evaluate offers from the opponent agent based on the satisfaction degree, learn online to get the opponent's knowledge from interactive instances of history and negotiation of this time, make concessions dynamically based on fair object. Through building the optimal negotiation model, the bilateral negotiation achieved a higher efficiency and fairer deal.

Towards Agent-Based Model Specification in Smart Grid: A Cognitive Agent-based Computing Approach

OpenAIRE

Akram, Waseem; Niazi, Muaz A.; Iantovics, Laszlo Barna

2017-01-01

A smart grid can be considered as a complex network where each node represents a generation unit or a consumer. Whereas links can be used to represent transmission lines. One way to study complex systems is by using the agent-based modeling (ABM) paradigm. An ABM is a way of representing a complex system of autonomous agents interacting with each other. Previously, a number of studies have been presented in the smart grid domain making use of the ABM paradigm. However, to the best of our know...

Reactivity of Dual-Use Decontaminants with Chemical Warfare Agents

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-01

REACTIVITY OF DUAL-USE DECONTAMINANTS WITH CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS ECBC-TR-1384... Decontaminants with Chemical Warfare Agents 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Willis, Matthew P...extraction) of chemical warfare agents from materials. 15. SUBJECT TERMS GD HD Decontamination Hazard mitigation VX Chemical warfare agent Liquid-phase

Liposomes as carriers of imaging agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caride, V.J.

1985-01-01

This review discusses the utilization of liposomes as imaging agents or as vehicles for contrast materials. The initial approach was the use of radiolabeled liposomes for scintigraphy. To this end liposomes were either labeled in the lipid membrane or aqueous radiotracers were incorporated inside the lipid vesicles. The lipid labeling provides a more stable association of the radioactive tracer and the lipid vesicles, while the use of water-soluble radiotracers provides a wider selection of compounds. Early attempts at selective tumor imaging using radiolabeled liposomes were unsuccessful. The use of monoclonal antibodies attached to liposomes offers new hopes. Several strategies have been proposed in this respect and several others can be envisioned. The use of liposomes permits the use of several administration routes for imaging agents. Of particular interest is the subcutaneous administration for lymph node visualization. Liposomes offer clear advantages over most radiocontrast agents for prolonged hepatosplenic contrast enhancement. This is particularly relevant in the diagnostic evaluation of the abdomen with computed tomography. Important research efforts are being conducted in this area. Two different approaches have been advanced: the incorporation of contrast agents into liposomes and the preparation of radiopaque liposomes from radiodense lipids. Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging can also benefit from contrast agents. Several centers are investigating this exciting field using liposomes loaded with paramagnetic elements.152 references

Agents for navigating virtual reality E-commerce environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Anton; van Dijk, Betsy; Sebaaly, Milad Fares

2001-01-01

We report about work in progress on capabilities of navigation agents in virtual environments. These agents may help a user to explore the environment: where to go, where to buy, where to find, etc. The agents may make suggestions based on a user profile, earlier visits and earlier given advice and

A multi-agent system for coordinating international shipping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldsmith, S.Y.; Phillips, L.R.; Spires, S.V.

1998-05-01

Moving commercial cargo across the US-Mexico border is currently a complex, paper-based, error-prone process that incurs expensive inspections and delays at several ports of entry in the Southwestern US. Improved information handling will dramatically reduce border dwell time, variation in delivery time, and inventories, and will give better control of the shipment process. The Border Trade Facilitation System (BTFS) is an agent-based collaborative work environment that assists geographically distributed commercial and government users with transshipment of goods across the US-Mexico border. Software agents mediate the creation, validation and secure sharing of shipment information and regulatory documentation over the Internet, using the World Wide Web to interface with human actors. Agents are organized into Agencies. Each agency represents a commercial or government agency. Agents perform four specific functions on behalf of their user organizations: (1) agents with domain knowledge elicit commercial and regulatory information from human specialists through forms presented via web browsers; (2) agents mediate information from forms with diverse otologies, copying invariant data from one form to another thereby eliminating the need for duplicate data entry; (3) cohorts of distributed agents coordinate the work flow among the various information providers and they monitor overall progress of the documentation and the location of the shipment to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met prior to arrival at the border; (4) agents provide status information to human actors and attempt to influence them when problems are predicted.

Glutamic acid as anticancer agent: An overview

OpenAIRE

Dutta, Satyajit; Ray, Supratim; Nagarajan, K.

2013-01-01

The objective of the article is to highlight various roles of glutamic acid like endogenic anticancer agent, conjugates to anticancer agents, and derivatives of glutamic acid as possible anticancer agents. Besides these emphases are given especially for two endogenous derivatives of glutamic acid such as glutamine and glutamate. Glutamine is a derivative of glutamic acid and is formed in the body from glutamic acid and ammonia in an energy requiring reaction catalyzed by glutamine synthase. I...

Emotional Storytelling using Virtual and Robotic Agents

OpenAIRE

Costa, Sandra; Brunete, Alberto; Bae, Byung-Chull; Mavridis, Nikolaos

2016-01-01

In order to create effective storytelling agents three fundamental questions must be answered: first, is a physically embodied agent preferable to a virtual agent or a voice-only narration? Second, does a human voice have an advantage over a synthesised voice? Third, how should the emotional trajectory of the different characters in a story be related to a storyteller's facial expressions during storytelling time, and how does this correlate with the apparent emotions on the faces of the list...

Modeling of a production system using the multi-agent approach

Science.gov (United States)

Gwiazda, A.; Sękala, A.; Banaś, W.

2017-08-01

The method that allows for the analysis of complex systems is a multi-agent simulation. The multi-agent simulation (Agent-based modeling and simulation - ABMS) is modeling of complex systems consisting of independent agents. In the case of the model of the production system agents may be manufactured pieces set apart from other types of agents like machine tools, conveyors or replacements stands. Agents are magazines and buffers. More generally speaking, the agents in the model can be single individuals, but you can also be defined as agents of collective entities. They are allowed hierarchical structures. It means that a single agent could belong to a certain class. Depending on the needs of the agent may also be a natural or physical resource. From a technical point of view, the agent is a bundle of data and rules describing its behavior in different situations. Agents can be autonomous or non-autonomous in making the decision about the types of classes of agents, class sizes and types of connections between elements of the system. Multi-agent modeling is a very flexible technique for modeling and model creating in the convention that could be adapted to any research problem analyzed from different points of views. One of the major problems associated with the organization of production is the spatial organization of the production process. Secondly, it is important to include the optimal scheduling. For this purpose use can approach multi-purposeful. In this regard, the model of the production process will refer to the design and scheduling of production space for four different elements. The program system was developed in the environment NetLogo. It was also used elements of artificial intelligence. The main agent represents the manufactured pieces that, according to previously assumed rules, generate the technological route and allow preprint the schedule of that line. Machine lines, reorientation stands, conveyors and transport devices also represent the

Fluid extraction using carbon dioxide and organophosphorus chelating agents

Science.gov (United States)

Smart, Neil G.; Wai, Chien M.; Lin, Yuehe; Kwang, Yak Hwa

1998-01-01

Methods for extracting metalloid and metal species from a solid or liquid material by exposing the material to a fluid solvent, particularly supercritical CO.sub.2, and a chelating agent are described. The chelating agent forms a chelate with the species, the chelate being soluble in the fluid to allow removal of the species from the material. In preferred embodiments the extraction solvent is supercritical CO.sub.2 and the chelating agent comprises an organophosphorous chelating agent, particularly sulfur-containing organophosphorous chelating agents, including mixtures of chelating agents. Examples of chelating agents include monothiophosphinic acid, di-thiophosphinic acid, phosphine sulfite, phosphorothioic acid, and mixtures thereof. The method provides an environmentally benign process for removing metal and metalloids from industrial waste solutions, particularly acidic solutions. Both the chelate and the supercritical fluid can be regenerated and the contaminant species recovered to provide an economic, efficient process.

Perspectives in the development of hybrid bifunctional antitumour agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Musso, Loana; Dallavalle, Sabrina; Zunino, Franco

2015-08-15

In spite of the development of a large number of novel target-specific antitumour agents, the single-agent therapy is in general not able to provide an effective durable control of the malignant process. The limited efficacy of the available agents (both conventional cytotoxic and novel target-specific) reflects not only the expression of defence mechanisms, but also the complexity of tumour cell alterations and the redundancy of survival pathways, thus resulting in tumour cell ability to survive under stress conditions. A well-established strategy to improve the efficacy of antitumour therapy is the rational design of drug combinations aimed at achieving synergistic effects and overcoming drug resistance. An alternative strategy could be the use of agents designed to inhibit simultaneously multiple cellular targets relevant to tumour growth/survival. Among these novel agents are hybrid bifunctional drugs, i.e. compounds resulting by conjugation of different drugs or containing the pharmocophores of different drugs. This strategy has been pursued using various conventional or target-specific agents (with DNA damaging agents and histone deacetylase inhibitors as the most exploited compounds). A critical overview of the most representative compounds is provided with emphasis on the HDAC inhibitor-based hybrid agents. In spite of some promising results, the actual pharmacological advantages of the hybrid agents remain to be defined. This commentary summarizes the recent advances in this field and highlights the pharmacological basis for a rational design of hybrid bifunctional agents. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Use of contrast agents for liver MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, Janice

2007-01-01

Contrast-enhanced MRI is recognised as one of the most accurate imaging methods for investigating diseases of the liver. Uniquely several different types of contrast agents are available for liver MRI. They can be divided into non-specific extracellular fluid space (ECF), hepatocyte specific and reticulo-endothelial system (RES) specific agents. They are used to improve the detection of focal liver lesions by increasing normal-abnormal tissue contrast and to assist in lesion characterisation by demonstrating tissue perfusion and cellular function. ECF-gadolinium (Gd) chelates have been widely used in abdominal MRI for many years. They provide valuable information regarding the vascularisation and perfusion characteristics of lesions and assist in lesion detection, particularly of hypervascular lesions. The hepatocyte and RES-specific agents further improve lesion detection, provide important functional information and allow the distinction between hepatocellular and non-hepatocellular tumours. This article describes the different MR contrast agents and discusses their current status for diagnosing focal liver lesions. The importance of optimised technique and appropriate selection of contrast agent is emphasised

Analytical interference by contrast agents in biochemical assays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Otnes, Sigrid; Fogh-Andersen, Niels; Rømsing, Janne

2017-01-01

Objective. To provide a clinically relevant overview of the analytical interference by contrast agents (CA) in laboratory blood test measurements. Materials and Methods. The effects of five CAs, gadobutrol, gadoterate meglumine, gadoxetate disodium, iodixanol, and iomeprol, were studied on the 29...... most frequently performed biochemical assays. One-day-old plasma, serum, and whole blood were spiked with doses of each agent such that the gadolinium agents and the iodine agents reached concentrations of 0.5mMand 12mg iodine/mL, respectively. Subsequently, 12 assays were reexamined using 1/2 and 1...

Improving Disability Awareness among Extension Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Mahadevan, Lakshmi; Peterson, Rick L.; Grenwelge, Cheryl

2014-01-01

Increasing prevalence rates and legislative mandates imply that educators, parents, and Extension agents will need better tools and resources to meet the needs of special populations. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service addresses this issue by using e-learning tools. Extension agents can take advantage of these courses to gain critical…

An Agent-Based Monetary Production Simulation Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun, Charlotte

2006-01-01

An Agent-Based Simulation Model Programmed in Objective Borland Pascal. Program and source code is downloadable......An Agent-Based Simulation Model Programmed in Objective Borland Pascal. Program and source code is downloadable...

AGENTES DE SOFTWARE MÓVILES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crisman Martínez Barrera

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Los agentes móviles son programas de software inteligentes que realizan un objetivo que involucran desarrollos soportados en técnicas de Inteligencia Artificial, los cuales pretenden facilitar la interoperabilidad de sistemas. Este artículo define las disciplinas, plataformas y herramientas necesarias para el desarrollo de agentes móviles, sus características principales y las arquitecturas predominantes de éstas; presenta además una evaluación de sus perspectivas futuras.

The interaction of MRI contrast agents with phospholipids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jendrasiak, Gordon L.; Smith, Ralph L.; Ribeiro, Anthony A.

2000-01-01

The molecular interactions of three clinically used MRI contrast agents with lipid vesicles, consisting of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC), have been studied using high-field NMR techniques. At a molar ratio of one contrast agent molecule to five phospholipid molecules, a significant increase in the proton resonance line width occurred for certain lipid head group moieties. A large decrease in the T 1 relaxation times for the head group moieties was also observed. These two effects occurred regardless of the ionic status and the chelate structure of the three contrast agents. The structure of the contrast agents did, however, affect the magnitude of the two NMR parameter changes. These NMR effects also differed in magnitude amongst the various head group entities. The NMR effects were greatest for the head group moieties at or near the vesicle-water interface. The results are discussed in terms of the structure of the phospholipid-water interface. Since the use of contrast agents has become routine in clinical MRI, our results are of importance in terms of the interaction of the agents with physiological surfaces, many of which contain phospholipids. The understanding of such interactions should be of value not only for improved diagnostics, but also in the development of new contrast agents. (author)

Monitoring presence of chemical agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preston, J.M.

1984-01-01

The specification describes a case for use with a hand-portable chemical agent detector for continuously monitoring an atmosphere for the presence of predetermined chemical agents. The detector having means for ionizing air samples and providing at an output terminal electrical signals representative of the mobility spectrum of ionized chemical vapours produced by the ionizing means. The case comprises means for defining a chamber in the case for supporting and removably enclosing the detector, means for communicating ambient atmosphere to the chamber, electrical circuit means in the case, the circuit means being adapted to be detachably connected to the detector output terminal when the detector is positioned in the chamber and being responsive to the electrical signals for producing an alarm signal when the signals detect a chemical agent concentration in the atmosphere exceeding a predetermined concentration level, and alarm means responsive to the alarm signal. (author)

21 CFR 178.3295 - Clarifying agents for polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Clarifying agents for polymers. 178.3295 Section... SANITIZERS Certain Adjuvants and Production Aids § 178.3295 Clarifying agents for polymers. Clarifying agents may be safely used in polymers that are articles or components of articles intended for use in contact...

Preparing Students for Future Learning with Teachable Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Doris B.; Dohmen, Ilsa M.; Cheng, Britte H.; Oppezzo, Marily A.; Chase, Catherine C.; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2010-01-01

One valuable goal of instructional technologies in K-12 education is to prepare students for future learning. Two classroom studies examined whether Teachable Agents (TA) achieves this goal. TA is an instructional technology that draws on the social metaphor of teaching a computer agent to help students learn. Students teach their agent by…

Alternative inerting agents

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Du

1997-08-01

Full Text Available Final Project Report ALTERNATIVE INERTING AGENTS Author/s: J J L DU PLESSIS Research Agency: OSIR MINING TECHNOLOGY Project No: Date: 3 2 7 2 COL 443 APRIL 1999 N’ ) ( G~6~ I Title: 9 / The results show...

Halide test agent replacement study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, E.M.; Freeman, W.P.; Kovach, B.J. [and others

1995-02-01

The intended phaseout of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from commercial use required the evaluation of substitute materials for the testing for leak paths through both individual adsorbers and installed adsorbent banks. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Committee on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT) is in charge of maintaining the standards and codes specifying adsorbent leak test methods for the nuclear safety related air cleaning systems. The currently published standards and codes cite the use of R-11, R-12 and R-112 for leak path test agents. All of these compounds are CFCs. There are other agencies and organizations (USDOE, USDOD and USNRC) also specifying testing for leak paths or in some cases for special life tests using the above compounds. The CONAGT has recently developed criteria for the suitability evaluation of substitute test agents. On the basis of these criteria, several compounds were evaluated for their acceptability as adsorbent bed leak and life test agents. The ASME CONAGT Test Agent Qualification Criteria. The test agent qualification is based on the following parameters: (1) Similar retention times on activated carbons at the same concentration levels as one of the following: R-11, R-12, R-112 or R-112a. (2) Similar lower detection limit sensitivity and precision in the concentration range of use as R-11, R-12, R-112 and R-112a. (3) Gives the same in-place leak test results as R-11, R-12, R-112, or R-112a. (4) Chemical and radiological stability under the use conditions. (5) Causes no degradation of the carbon and its impregnant or of the other NATS components under the use conditions. (6) Is listed in the USEPA Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) inventory for commercial use.

26 CFR 1.1502-77 - Agent for the group.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 12 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Agent for the group. 1.1502-77 Section 1.1502... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Administrative Provisions and Other Rules § 1.1502-77 Agent for the group. (a) Scope... consolidated return year is the sole agent (agent for the group) that is authorized to act in its own name with...

Biomaterials for mediation of chemical and biological warfare agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Alan J; Berberich, Jason A; Drevon, Geraldine F; Koepsel, Richard R

2003-01-01

Recent events have emphasized the threat from chemical and biological warfare agents. Within the efforts to counter this threat, the biocatalytic destruction and sensing of chemical and biological weapons has become an important area of focus. The specificity and high catalytic rates of biological catalysts make them appropriate for decommissioning nerve agent stockpiles, counteracting nerve agent attacks, and remediation of organophosphate spills. A number of materials have been prepared containing enzymes for the destruction of and protection against organophosphate nerve agents and biological warfare agents. This review discusses the major chemical and biological warfare agents, decontamination methods, and biomaterials that have potential for the preparation of decontamination wipes, gas filters, column packings, protective wear, and self-decontaminating paints and coatings.

Contrast-enhanced peripheral MRA. Technique and contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, Yousef W.; Thomsen, Henrik S.

2012-01-01

In the last decade contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) has gained wide acceptance as a valuable tool in the diagnostic work-up of patients with peripheral arterial disease. This review presents current concepts in peripheral CE-MRA with emphasis on MRI technique and contrast agents. Peripheral CE-MRA is defined as an MR angiogram of the arteries from the aortic bifurcation to the feet. Advantages of CE-MRA include minimal invasiveness and lack of ionizing radiation. The basic technique employed for peripheral CE-MRA is the bolus-chase method. With this method a paramagnetic MRI contrast agent is injected intravenously and T1-weighted images are acquired in the subsequent arterial first-pass phase. In order to achieve high quality MR angiograms without interfering venous contamination or artifacts, a number of factors need to be taken into account. This includes magnetic field strength of the MRI system, receiver coil configuration, use of parallel imaging, contrast bolus timing technique, and k-space filling strategies. Furthermore, it is possible to optimize peripheral CE-MRA using venous compression techniques, hybrid scan protocols, time-resolved imaging, and steady-state MRA. Gadolinium(Gd)-based contrast agents are used for CE-MRA of the peripheral arteries. Extracellular Gd agents have a pharmacokinetic profile similar to iodinated contrast media. Accordingly, these agents are employed for first-pass MRA. Blood-pool Gd-based agents are characterized by prolonged intravascular stay, due to macromolecular structure or protein binding. These agents can be used for first-pass, as well as steady-state MRA. Some Gd-based contrast agents with low thermodynamic stability have been linked to development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal insufficiency. Using optimized technique and a stable MRI contrast agent, peripheral CE-MRA is a safe procedure with diagnostic accuracy close to that of conventional catheter X

FY1995 community support by mobile agents; 1995 nendo mobile agent ni yoru community keisei shien

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

The purpose is to develop fundamental technologies for navigation systems and mobile computing systems in museums, theme parks and cities. Concretely, we implement software agents into the mobile computing environment which consists of PHS, mobile computers and mobile robots, and realize various functions to access regional information. We have studied on Communityware which supports human activities and communities by using mobile agents implemented into mobile computers and town robots. The mobile agents, which intelligently process information obtained in physical and virtual worlds, access regional information which is omnipresent in the environment. With respect to the approach using mobile computers, we have provided one hundred mobile computers in the international conference on multiagent systems 1996 and carried out the first experimentation of mobile computing in the world. The mobile computer has two functions: Community Viewer which displays interactions between members of communities and Social Matchmaker which supports to hold meetings by searching for people who have common interests. With respect to the approach using town robots, we have developed a robot system which can robustly behave in a complex outdoor environment by using vision agents embedded in the environment. The system aims at support of people in streets. (NEDO)

Economic modelling with low-cognition agents

Science.gov (United States)

Ormerod, Paul

2006-10-01

The standard socio-economic model (SSSM) postulates very considerable cognitive powers on the part of its agents. They are able to gather all relevant information in any given situation, and to take the optimal decision on the basis of it, given their tastes and preferences. This behavioural rule is postulated to be universal. The concept of bounded rationality relaxes this somewhat, by permitting agents to have access to only limited amounts of information. But agents still optimise subject to their information set and tastes. Empirical work in economics over the past 20 years or so has shown that in general these behavioural postulates lack empirical validity. Instead, agents appear to have limited ability to gather information, and use simple rules of thumb to process the information which they have in order to take decisions. Building theoretical models on these realistic foundations which give better accounts of empirical phenomena than does the SSSM is an important challenge to both economists and econophysicists. Considerable progress has already been made in a short space of time, and examples are given in this paper.

Common Agents used in parasuicide in Buffalo City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiran Sukeri

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Background. Parasuicide is a serious public health concern. Understanding the methods used will help in developing preventive strategies. Objective. To investigate the agent(s used in parasuicide attempts by individuals aged 10 - 20 years in Buffalo City (which includes the municipalities of East London, King William’s Town and Bhisho in the Eastern Cape. Method. All referrals for parasuicide to the East London Mental Health Unit, the only mental health facility servicing Buffalo City, for the period January 2006 to December 2008 were analysed with regard to age, agent(s, number of attempts and psychiatric disorder. Results. Of 1 169 patients referred after parasuicide by ingestion of substances, 360 (31% were between the ages of 10 and 20 years. Eighty-three per cent were female and 17% male. Cattle dip was the commonest agent used, followed by amitriptyline. Conclusion. The study showed that organophosphates were the commonest agent used in parasuicide in Buffalo City and that the incidence of parasuicide was higher in females than in males.

Evaluating Water Demand Using Agent-Based Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, T. S.

2004-12-01

The supply and demand of water resources are functions of complex, inter-related systems including hydrology, climate, demographics, economics, and policy. To assess the safety and sustainability of water resources, planners often rely on complex numerical models that relate some or all of these systems using mathematical abstractions. The accuracy of these models relies on how well the abstractions capture the true nature of the systems interactions. Typically, these abstractions are based on analyses of observations and/or experiments that account only for the statistical mean behavior of each system. This limits the approach in two important ways: 1) It cannot capture cross-system disruptive events, such as major drought, significant policy change, or terrorist attack, and 2) it cannot resolve sub-system level responses. To overcome these limitations, we are developing an agent-based water resources model that includes the systems of hydrology, climate, demographics, economics, and policy, to examine water demand during normal and extraordinary conditions. Agent-based modeling (ABM) develops functional relationships between systems by modeling the interaction between individuals (agents), who behave according to a probabilistic set of rules. ABM is a "bottom-up" modeling approach in that it defines macro-system behavior by modeling the micro-behavior of individual agents. While each agent's behavior is often simple and predictable, the aggregate behavior of all agents in each system can be complex, unpredictable, and different than behaviors observed in mean-behavior models. Furthermore, the ABM approach creates a virtual laboratory where the effects of policy changes and/or extraordinary events can be simulated. Our model, which is based on the demographics and hydrology of the Middle Rio Grande Basin in the state of New Mexico, includes agent groups of residential, agricultural, and industrial users. Each agent within each group determines its water usage

Agent-based simulation of a financial market

Science.gov (United States)

Raberto, Marco; Cincotti, Silvano; Focardi, Sergio M.; Marchesi, Michele

2001-10-01

This paper introduces an agent-based artificial financial market in which heterogeneous agents trade one single asset through a realistic trading mechanism for price formation. Agents are initially endowed with a finite amount of cash and a given finite portfolio of assets. There is no money-creation process; the total available cash is conserved in time. In each period, agents make random buy and sell decisions that are constrained by available resources, subject to clustering, and dependent on the volatility of previous periods. The model proposed herein is able to reproduce the leptokurtic shape of the probability density of log price returns and the clustering of volatility. Implemented using extreme programming and object-oriented technology, the simulator is a flexible computational experimental facility that can find applications in both academic and industrial research projects.

Autonomous Formations of Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dhali, Sanjana; Joshi, Suresh M.

2013-01-01

Autonomous formation control of multi-agent dynamic systems has a number of applications that include ground-based and aerial robots and satellite formations. For air vehicles, formation flight ("flocking") has the potential to significantly increase airspace utilization as well as fuel efficiency. This presentation addresses two main problems in multi-agent formations: optimal role assignment to minimize the total cost (e.g., combined distance traveled by all agents); and maintaining formation geometry during flock motion. The Kuhn-Munkres ("Hungarian") algorithm is used for optimal assignment, and consensus-based leader-follower type control architecture is used to maintain formation shape despite the leader s independent movements. The methods are demonstrated by animated simulations.

Dynamic aggregation evolution of competitive societies of cooperative and noncooperative agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Zhen-Quan; Ye Gao-Xiang

2013-01-01

We propose an evolution model of cooperative agent and noncooperative agent aggregates to investigate the dynamic evolution behaviors of the system and the effects of the competing microscopic reactions on the dynamic evolution. In this model, each cooperative agent and noncooperative agent are endowed with integer values of cooperative spirits and noncooperative spirits, respectively. The cooperative spirits of a cooperative agent aggregate and the noncooperative spirits of a noncooperative agent aggregate change via four competing microscopic reaction schemes: the win-win reaction between two cooperative agents, the lose-lose reaction between two noncooperative agents, the win-lose reaction between a cooperative agent and a noncooperative agent (equivalent to the migration of spirits from cooperative agents to noncooperative agents), and the cooperative agent catalyzed decline of noncooperative spirits. Based on the generalized Smoluchowski's rate equation approach, we investigate the dynamic evolution behaviors such as the total cooperative spirits of all cooperative agents and the total noncooperative spirits of all noncooperative agents. The effects of the three main groups of competition on the dynamic evolution are revealed. These include: (i) the competition between the lose-lose reaction and the win-lose reaction, which gives rise to respectively the decrease and increase in the noncooperative agent spirits; (ii) the competition between the win-win reaction and the win-lose reaction, which gives rise to respectively the increase and decrease in the cooperative agent spirits; (iii) the competition between the win-lose reaction and the catalyzed-decline reaction, which gives rise to respectively the increase and decrease in the noncooperative agent spirits. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Co-creating value through agents interaction within service network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okdinawati, L.; Simatupang, T.M.; Sunitiyoso, Y.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to gives further understanding on value co-creation mechanisms in B-to-B service network by reinforcing the processes, the relationships, and influences of other agents where Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) forms might be best employed. Design/methodology/approach: In order to model the interactions among agents in the collaboration processes and the value co-creation processes, this research used three collaboration cases in Indonesia. Then, the agent-based simulation was used to capture both the collaboration process and the value co-creation process of the three collaboration cases. Findings: The interactions among the agents both inside and outside their collaboration environment determined agent’s role as a value co-creator. The willingness of an agent to accept the opinion of another agent determined the degree of their willingness to co-operate and to change their strategies, and perceptions. Therefore, influenced the size of the value obtained by them in each collaboration process. Research limitations/implications: The findings of the simulations subject to assumptions based on the collaboration cases. Further research is related to how to encourage agents to co-operate and adjust their perceptions. Practical implications: It is crucial for the practitioners to interact with another agent both inside and outside their collaboration environment. The opinions of another agent inside the collaboration environment also need to be considered. Originality/value: This research is derived from its emphasis on how a value is co-created by reinforcing both the collaborative processes and the interactions among agents as well as on how CTM might be best employed.

Co-creating value through agents interaction within service network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okdinawati, L.; Simatupang, T.M.; Sunitiyoso, Y.

2017-07-01

The purpose of this paper is to gives further understanding on value co-creation mechanisms in B-to-B service network by reinforcing the processes, the relationships, and influences of other agents where Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) forms might be best employed. Design/methodology/approach: In order to model the interactions among agents in the collaboration processes and the value co-creation processes, this research used three collaboration cases in Indonesia. Then, the agent-based simulation was used to capture both the collaboration process and the value co-creation process of the three collaboration cases. Findings: The interactions among the agents both inside and outside their collaboration environment determined agent’s role as a value co-creator. The willingness of an agent to accept the opinion of another agent determined the degree of their willingness to co-operate and to change their strategies, and perceptions. Therefore, influenced the size of the value obtained by them in each collaboration process. Research limitations/implications: The findings of the simulations subject to assumptions based on the collaboration cases. Further research is related to how to encourage agents to co-operate and adjust their perceptions. Practical implications: It is crucial for the practitioners to interact with another agent both inside and outside their collaboration environment. The opinions of another agent inside the collaboration environment also need to be considered. Originality/value: This research is derived from its emphasis on how a value is co-created by reinforcing both the collaborative processes and the interactions among agents as well as on how CTM might be best employed.

Fundamental study of DSA images using gadolinium contrast agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, Hiroyuki; Shiraishi, Akihisa; Igarashi, Hitoshi; Sakamoto, Hajime; Sano, Yoshitomo

2002-01-01

Most contrast agents used in digital subtraction angiography (DSA) are non-ionic iodinated contrast agents, which can cause severe side effects in patients with contraindications for iodine or allergic reactions to iodine. Therefore, DSA examinations using carbon dioxide gas or examinations done by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) were carried out in these patients. However, none of these examinations provided mages as clear as those of DSA with an iodinated contrast agent. We experienced DSA examination using a gadolinium contrast agent in a patient contraindicated for iodine. The patient had undergone MRI examination with a gadolinium contrast agent previously without side effects. The characteristics of gadolinium and the iodinated contrast agent were compared, and the DSA images obtained clinically using these media were also evaluated. The signal-to-noise (SN) ratio of the gadolinium contrast agent was the highest at tube voltages of 70 to 80 kilovolts and improved slightly when the image intensifier (I.I.) entrance dose was greater than 300 μR (77.4 nC/kg). The dilution ratios of five iodinated contrast agents showed the same S/N value as the undiluted gadolinium contrast agent. Clinically, the images obtained showed a slight decrease in contrast but provided the data necessary to make a diagnosis and made it possible to obtain interventional radiology (IVR) without any side effects. DSA examinations using a gadolinium contrast agent have some benefit with low risk and are thought to be useful for patients contraindicated for iodine. (author)

The Fall and Rise of the Travel Agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve Jermanok

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In the age of online travel agencies, there are questions of whether personal travel agents remain relevant. This article argues that travel agents have never been more necessary because the proliferation of options is overwhelming for many consumers. Travel agents are also much more personal than their online counterparts, providing services that cannot be found online.

The Fall and Rise of the Travel Agent

OpenAIRE

Steve Jermanok

2014-01-01

In the age of online travel agencies, there are questions of whether personal travel agents remain relevant. This article argues that travel agents have never been more necessary because the proliferation of options is overwhelming for many consumers. Travel agents are also much more personal than their online counterparts, providing services that cannot be found online.

An Immune Agent for Web-Based AI Course

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Tao; Cai, Zixing

2006-01-01

To overcome weakness and faults of a web-based e-learning course such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), an immune agent was proposed, simulating a natural immune mechanism against a virus. The immune agent was built on the multi-dimension education agent model and immune algorithm. The web-based AI course was comprised of many files, such as HTML…

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikodem Kuźnik

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI is one of the most commonly used tomography techniques in medical diagnosis due to the non-invasive character, the high spatial resolution and the possibility of soft tissue imaging. Contrast agents, such as gadolinium complexes and superparamagnetic iron oxides, are administered to spotlight certain organs and their pathologies. Many new models have been proposed that reduce side effects and required doses of these already clinically approved contrast agents. These new candidates often possess additional functionalities, e.g., the possibility of bioactivation upon action of particular stimuli, thus serving as smart molecular probes, or the coupling with therapeutic agents and therefore combining both a diagnostic and therapeutic role. Nanomaterials have been found to be an excellent scaffold for contrast agents, among which carbon nanotubes offer vast possibilities. The morphology of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, their magnetic and electronic properties, the possibility of different functionalization and the potential to penetrate cell membranes result in a unique and very attractive candidate for a new MRI contrast agent. In this review we describe the different issues connected with MWCNT hybrids designed for MRI contrast agents, i.e., their synthesis and magnetic and dispersion properties, as well as both in vitro and in vivo behavior, which is important for diagnostic purposes. An introduction to MRI contrast agent theory is elaborated here in order to point to the specific expectations regarding nanomaterials. Finally, we propose a promising, general model of MWCNTs as MRI contrast agent candidates based on the studies presented here and supported by appropriate theories.

Instructable autonomous agents. Ph.D. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, Scott Bradley

1994-01-01

In contrast to current intelligent systems, which must be laboriously programmed for each task they are meant to perform, instructable agents can be taught new tasks and associated knowledge. This thesis presents a general theory of learning from tutorial instruction and its use to produce an instructable agent. Tutorial instruction is a particularly powerful form of instruction, because it allows the instructor to communicate whatever kind of knowledge a student needs at whatever point it is needed. To exploit this broad flexibility, however, a tutorable agent must support a full range of interaction with its instructor to learn a full range of knowledge. Thus, unlike most machine learning tasks, which target deep learning of a single kind of knowledge from a single kind of input, tutorability requires a breadth of learning from a broad range of instructional interactions. The theory of learning from tutorial instruction presented here has two parts. First, a computational model of an intelligent agent, the problem space computational model, indicates the types of knowledge that determine an agent's performance, and thus, that should be acquirable via instruction. Second, a learning technique, called situated explanation specifies how the agent learns general knowledge from instruction. The theory is embodied by an implemented agent, Instructo-Soar, built within the Soar architecture. Instructo-Soar is able to learn hierarchies of completely new tasks, to extend task knowledge to apply in new situations, and in fact to acquire every type of knowledge it uses during task performance - control knowledge, knowledge of operators' effects, state inferences, etc. - from interactive natural language instructions. This variety of learning occurs by applying the situated explanation technique to a variety of instructional interactions involving a variety of types of instructions (commands, statements, conditionals, etc.). By taking seriously the requirements of flexible

Antiangiogenic agents in the treatment of recurrent or newly diagnosed glioblastoma: Analysis of single-agent and combined modality approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beal, Kathryn; Abrey, Lauren E; Gutin, Philip H

2011-01-01

Surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma can prolong survival, but it is not curative. For patients with disease progression after frontline therapy, there is no standard of care, although further surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy may be used. Antiangiogenic therapies may be appropriate for treating glioblastomas because angiogenesis is critical to tumor growth. In a large, noncomparative phase II trial, bevacizumab was evaluated alone and with irinotecan in patients with recurrent glioblastoma; combination treatment was associated with an estimated 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 50.3%, a median overall survival of 8.9 months, and a response rate of 37.8%. Single-agent bevacizumab also exceeded the predetermined threshold of activity for salvage chemotherapy (6-month PFS rate, 15%), achieving a 6-month PFS rate of 42.6% (p < 0.0001). On the basis of these results and those from another phase II trial, the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval of single-agent bevacizumab for the treatment of glioblastoma that has progressed following prior therapy. Potential antiangiogenic agents-such as cilengitide and XL184-also show evidence of single-agent activity in recurrent glioblastoma. Moreover, the use of antiangiogenic agents with radiation at disease progression may improve the therapeutic ratio of single-modality approaches. Overall, these agents appear to be well tolerated, with adverse event profiles similar to those reported in studies of other solid tumors. Further research is needed to determine the role of antiangiogenic therapy in frontline treatment and to identify the optimal schedule and partnering agents for use in combination therapy

Blasting agent package

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fox, R.

1971-03-17

A protected preassembled package for blasting agents susceptible to desensitization by water consists of, in combination: (1) an inner rigid and self-supporting tube, the upper end of which is suited to be connected, or attached, to the discharge end of a loading hose for a blasting agent and the lower end of which is open; and (2) a flexible tubular liner made of water-resistant film, having a diameter greater than that of the inner tube and a length at least equal to the desired depth of its insertion into the borehole, the liner being sleeved over the length of the inner tube, the upper end of the liner being attached to the inner tube and the lower end of the liner being closed so as to prevent substantial discharge of the explosive mixture therefrom when the latter is pumped into it. (24 claims)

Validation of Agent Based Distillation Movement Algorithms

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gill, Andrew

2003-01-01

Agent based distillations (ABD) are low-resolution abstract models, which can be used to explore questions associated with land combat operations in a short period of time Movement of agents within the EINSTein and MANA ABDs...

Anabolic agent use in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Heather D; Barry, Peter J; Jones, Andrew M

2015-10-01

The use of non-prescribed anabolic agents amongst non-athletes is increasing with young, adult males with cystic fibrosis (CF) in the highest risk demographic. There is evidence that anabolic agents increase weight and muscle mass in adults with a variety of catabolic conditions but there is no evidence for their use in hormone sufficient adults with CF. We report a case of anabolic agent use in a male adult with CF and review the clinical features of anabolic agent use with a focus on adults with CF. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generative Agents for Player Decision Modeling in Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmgård, Christoffer; Liapis, Antonios; Togelius, Julian

2014-01-01

This paper presents a method for modeling player decision making through the use of agents as AI-driven personas. The paper argues that artificial agents, as generative player models, have properties that allow them to be used as psyhometrically valid, abstract simulations of a human player......’s internal decision making processes. Such agents can then be used to interpret human decision making, as personas and playtesting tools in the game design process, as baselines for adapting agents to mimic classes of human players, or as believable, human-like opponents. This argument is explored...... in a crowdsourced decision making experiment, in which the decisions of human players are recorded in a small-scale dungeon themed puzzle game. Human decisions are compared to the decisions of a number of a priori defined “archetypical” agent-personas, and the humans are characterized by their likeness...

Magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents: Overview and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Guoping; Robinson, Leslie; Hogg, Peter

2007-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive clinical imaging modality, which has become widely used in the diagnosis and/or staging of human diseases around the world. Some MRI examinations include the use of contrast agents. The categorizations of currently available contrast agents have been described according to their effect on the image, magnetic behavior and biodistribution in the body, respectively. In this field, superparamagnetic iron oxide particles and soluble paramagnetic metal chelates are two main classes of contrast agents for MRI. This review outlines the research and development of MRI contrast agents. In future, the ideal MRI contrast agent will be focused on the neutral tissue- or organ-targeting materials with high relaxivity and specificity, low toxicity and side effects, suitable long intravascular duration and excretion time, high contrast enhancement with low dose in vivo, and with minimal cost

Rare earth contrast agents in hepatic computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seltzer, S.E.

1981-01-01

Materials with atomic numbers ranging from the upper 50's to the lower 70's proved to have the highest computed tomography (CT) numbers when scanned at 120 kVp. Therefore, to produce particulate contrast agents possessing maximum radiopacity, suspensions of cerium oxide, gadolinium, and dysprosium oxides as well as silver iodide colloid were prepared. All 4 agents were selectively concentrated in the reticulo-endothelial system. The agents produced greater and longer opacification of the normal liver and larger liver-to-tumor differences in rabbits with hepatic tumors than did equivalent amounts of standard intravenous iodinated agents. Lesions as small as 5 mm were visible with CT. These materials have favorable characteristics as hepatic contrast agents, but their toxicity (LD 50 in mice = 5.4 g/kg for Ce) and long-term retention may limit clinical use. (Auth.)

Newer agents for the management of overactive bladder | Epstein ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Newer agents for the management of overactive bladder. ... that these newer agents decrease the frequency of incontinence episodes, the number ... for selection of an appropriate agent based on individual factors such as cost and tolerability.

Agents of support: psychometric properties of the Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support (CPASS) questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldzweig, Gil; Hasson-Ohayon, Ilanit; Meirovitz, Amichay; Braun, Michal; Hubert, Ayala; Baider, Lea

2010-11-01

The current study presents the development and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support (CPASS). The CPASS is a new self-rating instrument devised in order to enable both cancer patients and their spouses to report on the level of perceived social support they get. The CPASS evaluates the support given by different agents of support (spouse, family, friends and spiritual or religious beliefs) in several dimensions (emotional, cognitive and instrumental). The study sample comprised 662 cancer patients and their spouses recruited during a routine medical evaluation from three major cancer centers in Israel. The participants completed the CPASS and two other standardized instruments: The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Principal component analysis confirmed a three-factor structure based upon the agent of support (spouse; friends/family; spiritual/religious beliefs). Cronbach's α coefficients for the agent of support indexes were high (0.80-0.95), while Cronbach's α levels for the kind of support were lower (0.45-0.72). Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) also confirmed the theoretical structure of the CPASS. Pearson correlation coefficients to the other study variables were high and significant. As a whole, the CPASS was found to be a valid tool for the current Israeli sample. Theoretical and practical conclusions and socio-cultural implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reliability of the discrete choice experiment at the input and output level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjoldborg, Ulla Slothuus; Lauridsen, Jørgen; Junker, Peter

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the issue of conjoint reliability over time. METHODS: A discrete choice experiment was applied using scenarios that describe the effect of treating rheumatoid arthritis patients with TNF-alpha inhibitors, a novel class of highly effective, but expensive antirheumatic...... agents. Respondents participated in three face-to-face interviews over a period of 4 months. Reliability was measured both at the input level, where the consistency of matches made by respondents to the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) question between replications was determined, and at the output level...... and the final choice in survey 3. Output level: The confidence intervals for WTP figures in surveys 1 and 2 and 1 and 3 were overlapping, implying that the DCE was reliable at the output level over time. CONCLUSION: The proportion of consistent responses was higher than would be expected by chance. Conjoint...

Biomorphic Multi-Agent Architecture for Persistent Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Lodding, Kenneth N.; Brewster, Paul

2009-01-01

A multi-agent software/hardware architecture, inspired by the multicellular nature of living organisms, has been proposed as the basis of design of a robust, reliable, persistent computing system. Just as a multicellular organism can adapt to changing environmental conditions and can survive despite the failure of individual cells, a multi-agent computing system, as envisioned, could adapt to changing hardware, software, and environmental conditions. In particular, the computing system could continue to function (perhaps at a reduced but still reasonable level of performance) if one or more component( s) of the system were to fail. One of the defining characteristics of a multicellular organism is unity of purpose. In biology, the purpose is survival of the organism. The purpose of the proposed multi-agent architecture is to provide a persistent computing environment in harsh conditions in which repair is difficult or impossible. A multi-agent, organism-like computing system would be a single entity built from agents or cells. Each agent or cell would be a discrete hardware processing unit that would include a data processor with local memory, an internal clock, and a suite of communication equipment capable of both local line-of-sight communications and global broadcast communications. Some cells, denoted specialist cells, could contain such additional hardware as sensors and emitters. Each cell would be independent in the sense that there would be no global clock, no global (shared) memory, no pre-assigned cell identifiers, no pre-defined network topology, and no centralized brain or control structure. Like each cell in a living organism, each agent or cell of the computing system would contain a full description of the system encoded as genes, but in this case, the genes would be components of a software genome.

An implementation of norm-based agent negotiation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Pieter; Prakken, H.; Vey Mestdagh, C.N.J. de

2007-01-01

In this paper, we develop our previous outline of a multi-agent architecture for regulated information exchange in crime investigations. Interactions about information exchange between agents (representing police officers) are further analysed as negotiation dialogues with embedded persuasion

Chemotherapy Agents: A Primer for the Interventional Radiologist

OpenAIRE

Mihlon, Frank; Ray, Charles E.; Messersmith, Wells

2010-01-01

In this article, the authors review the basic principles of cancer chemotherapy and provide an overview of each of the general classes of chemotherapeutic agents with a target audience of interventional radiologists in mind. Special attention is paid to agents used in regional chemotherapy as well as agents commonly included in systemic chemotherapeutic regimens for patients who also require regional chemotherapy.

Multi-agent Water Resources Management

Science.gov (United States)

Castelletti, A.; Giuliani, M.

2011-12-01

Increasing environmental awareness and emerging trends such as water trading, energy market, deregulation and democratization of water-related services are challenging integrated water resources planning and management worldwide. The traditional approach to water management design based on sector-by-sector optimization has to be reshaped to account for multiple interrelated decision-makers and many stakeholders with increasing decision power. Centralized management, though interesting from a conceptual point of view, is unfeasible in most of the modern social and institutional contexts, and often economically inefficient. Coordinated management, where different actors interact within a full open trust exchange paradigm under some institutional supervision is a promising alternative to the ideal centralized solution and the actual uncoordinated practices. This is a significant issue in most of the Southern Alps regulated lakes, where upstream hydropower reservoirs maximize their benefit independently form downstream users; it becomes even more relevant in the case of transboundary systems, where water management upstream affects water availability downstream (e.g. the River Zambesi flowing through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique or the Red River flowing from South-Western China through Northern Vietnam. In this study we apply Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) theory to design an optimal management in a decentralized way, considering a set of multiple autonomous agents acting in the same environment and taking into account the pay-off of individual water users, which are inherently distributed along the river and need to coordinate to jointly reach their objectives. In this way each real-world actor, representing the decision-making entity (e.g. the operator of a reservoir or a diversion dam) can be represented one-to-one by a computer agent, defined as a computer system that is situated in some environment and that is capable of autonomous action in this environment in

Decontamination Data - Blister Agents

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Decontamination efficacy data for blister agents on various building materials using various decontamination solutions. This dataset is associated with the following...

Synchronization of multi-agent systems with metric-topological interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin; Chen, Guanrong

2016-09-01

A hybrid multi-agent systems model integrating the advantages of both metric interaction and topological interaction rules, called the metric-topological model, is developed. This model describes planar motions of mobile agents, where each agent can interact with all the agents within a circle of a constant radius, and can furthermore interact with some distant agents to reach a pre-assigned number of neighbors, if needed. Some sufficient conditions imposed only on system parameters and agent initial states are presented, which ensure achieving synchronization of the whole group of agents. It reveals the intrinsic relationships among the interaction range, the speed, the initial heading, and the density of the group. Moreover, robustness against variations of interaction range, density, and speed are investigated by comparing the motion patterns and performances of the hybrid metric-topological interaction model with the conventional metric-only and topological-only interaction models. Practically in all cases, the hybrid metric-topological interaction model has the best performance in the sense of achieving highest frequency of synchronization, fastest convergent rate, and smallest heading difference.

Protecting software agents from malicious hosts using quantum computing

Science.gov (United States)

Reisner, John; Donkor, Eric

2000-07-01

We evaluate how quantum computing can be applied to security problems for software agents. Agent-based computing, which merges technological advances in artificial intelligence and mobile computing, is a rapidly growing domain, especially in applications such as electronic commerce, network management, information retrieval, and mission planning. System security is one of the more eminent research areas in agent-based computing, and the specific problem of protecting a mobile agent from a potentially hostile host is one of the most difficult of these challenges. In this work, we describe our agent model, and discuss the capabilities and limitations of classical solutions to the malicious host problem. Quantum computing may be extremely helpful in addressing the limitations of classical solutions to this problem. This paper highlights some of the areas where quantum computing could be applied to agent security.

On the opinion formation of mobile agents with memory

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunhong; Liu, Qipeng; Wang, Zhenling; Zhang, Siying

2018-02-01

This paper studies the opinion formation problem in a group of mobile agents using a multi-agent modeling method. Suppose that all agents move in a two-dimensional space following a certain rule. The interaction range of each agent is determined by its physical location and its opinion similarity with other agents. Moreover, agents have memory of the opinions of their previous interactive neighbors. We investigate the influence of three factors on the formation of group opinion: moving probability, interactive radius, and population density. Using simulations, we find that an opinion consensus can be achieved easily under a small moving probability and a small interactive radius, which is a relatively counterintuitive phenomenon. We also find that a large interactive radius or the model with memory can facilitate the convergence of opinions in a group to either consensus or clusters.