Complex adaptive systems and game theory: An unlikely union

A Complex Adaptive System is a collection of autonomous, heterogeneous agents, whose behavior is defined with a limited number of rules. A Game Theory is a mathematical construct that assumes a small number of rational players who have a limited number of actions or strategies available to them. The CAS method has the potential to alleviate some of the shortcomings of GT. On the other hand, CAS researchers are always looking for a realistic way to define interactions among agents. GT offers an attractive option for defining the rules of such interactions in a way that is both potentially consistent with observed real‐world behavior and subject to mathematical interpretation. This article reports on the results of an effort to build a CAS system that utilizes GT for determining the actions of individual agents. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 16,24–42, 2010     

Spectrophotometric Determination of L-Ascorbic Acid Based on Its Oxidation by Potassium Peroxodisulfate in the Presence of Cu(II) as Catalyst

A new, selective and accurate direct spectrophotometric procedure was developed for the determination of L-ascorbic acid (AA) in pharmaceuticals. Background correction was based on the oxidation of AA by potassium peroxodisulfate in the presence of Cu(II) as a catalyst. The molar absorptivity of the proposed procedure was 1.04 × 10⁴ L/(mol cm) at 262 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.68–16.00 μg/mL for AA. The detection limit was 0.20 μg/mL, and the relative standard deviation was 0.91% (n = 7) for 8.00 μg/mL AA. Other compounds commonly found in pharmaceutical preparations did not interfere with the detection of AA. The proposed procedure was successfully applied to the determination of AA in pharmaceuticals, and the results obtained agreed with those obtained by iodine titration.