An Approach to Fuzzy Noncooperative Nash Games

Systems that involve more than one decision maker are often optimized using the theory of games. In the traditional game theory, it is assumed that each player has a well-defined quantitative utility function over a set of the player decision space. Each player attempts to maximize/minimize his/her own expected utility and each is assumed to know the extensive game in full. At present, it cannot be claimed that the first assumption has been shown to be true in a wide variety of situations involving complex problems in economics, engineering, social and political sciences due to the difficulty inherent in defining an adequate utility function for each player in these types of problems. On the other hand, in many of such complex problems, each player has a heuristic knowledge of the desires of the other players and a heuristic knowledge of the control choices that they will make in order to meet their ends.In this paper, we utilize fuzzy set theory in order to incorporate the players' heuristic knowledge of decision making into the framework of conventional game theory or ordinal game theory. We define a new approach to N-person static fuzzy noncooperative games and develop a solution concept such as Nash for these types of games. We show that this general formulation of fuzzy noncooperative games can be applied to solve multidecision-making problems where no objective function is specified. The computational procedure is illustrated via application to a multiagent optimization problem dealing with the design and operation of future military operations.     

A Borsuk–Ulam Theorem for Maps from a Sphere to a Generalized Manifold

H. J. Munkholm obtained a generalization for topological manifolds of the famous Borsuk–Ulam type theorem proved by Conner and Floyd. The purpose of this paper is to prove a version of Conner and Floyd's theorem for generalized manifolds.     

Limit Regimes of Braking of Disc-Type Composite Flywheels Made by Filament Winding

A set of invariants describing the limit regimes of braking disk-type wound composite flywheels is suggested. The limit regime is determined by using a linear failure criterion. It is shown that, for generating short-time impulses of very high power, a set of small identical flywheels is more effective than one large flywheel with an equivalent mass. Particular examples illustrating the theory considered are discussed.     

Oscillator strength of a two-dimensional D ion in magnetic fields

In the present paper we determine the oscillator strength of two-dimensional (2D) D⁻ ions under the influence of a static magnetic field. The results are important for the analysis of the optical transitions observed in semiconductor quantum wells. We have applied the ab initio procedure Hyperspherical Adiabatic Approach, based on the use of hyperspherical coordinates. This approach uses an adiabatic separation of the total wave function that allows accurate energies determination from molecular-like potential curves. The convergence is obtained in a systematic way by the inclusion of non-adiabatic couplings without the need of adjustable parameters.     

Should Epstein strip arrangement be changed?

The paper describes effect of texture on the anisotropy of magnetic properties and shows that an Epstein strip arrangement including strips cut in a direction 45° to the rolling direction gives property values that are closer to the average values than the traditional RD+TD arrangement.     

Phenomenological and neural-network modeling of cephalosporin C production bioprocess

Cephalosporin C production process withCephalosporium acremonium ATCC 48272 in synthetic medium was investigated and the experimental results allowed the development of a mathematical model describing the process behavior. The model was able to explain fairly well the diauxic phenomenon, higher growth rate during the glucose-consumption phase, and the production occurring only in the sucrose-consumption phase. Moreover, the process was simulated utilizing the neural-networks technique. Two feed-forward neural-networks with one hidden layer were employed. Both models, phenomenological and neural-networks based, satisfactorily describe the bioprocess. The difficulties in determining kinetic parameters are avoided when neural networks are utilized.     

Collaborative monitoring study of airborne particulate matters among seven Asian countries

Summary Seven Asian countries have been collaborating in collecting airborne particulate matter (APM) in their individual countries and analyzing them by neutron activation analysis as a common analytical tool. APM samples were collected into two fractions of fine and coarse grains (PM2 and PM2-10, respectively). Analytical data were compared from several viewpoints such as particulate sizes, locality of sampling sites (either urban or rural) and geographical location of participating countries. Chemical composition and their monthly variations as well as mass concentrations appear to be highly characteristic for individual sampling sites, suggesting that NAA data are suitable for evaluating the air quality in each site.     

Characterization and complementation of a Pichia stipitis mutant unable to grow on d-xylose or l-arabinose

Pichia stipitis CBS 6054 will grow on d-xylose, d-arabinose, and l-arabinose. d-Xylose and l-arabinose are abundant in seed hulls of maize, and their utilization is important in processing grain residues. To elucidate the degradation pathway for l-arabinose, we obtained a mutant, FPL-MY30, that was unable to grow on d-xylose and l-arabinose but that could grow on d-arabinitol. Activity assays of oxidoreductase and pentulokinase enzymes involved in d-xylose, d-arabinose, and l-arabinose pathways indicated that FPL-MY30 is deficient in d-xylitol dehydrogenase (D-XDH), d- and l-arabinitol dehydrogenases, and d-ribitol dehydrogenase. Transforming FPL-MY30 with a gene for xylitol dehydrogenase (PsXYL2), which was cloned from CBS 6054 (Gen Bank AF127801), restored the D-XDH activity and the capacity for FPL-MY30 to grow on l-arabinose. This suggested that FPL-MY30 is critically deficient in XYL2 and that the d-xylose and l-arabinose metabolic pathways have xylitolas a common intermediate. The capacity for FPL-MY30 to grow on d-arabinitol could proceed through d-ribulose.