We propose a systematic methodology for defining tournament solutions as extensions of maximality. The central concepts of this methodology are maximal qualified subsets and minimal stable sets. We thus obtain an infinite hierarchy of tournament solutions, encompassing the top cycle, the uncovered set, the Banks set, the minimal covering set, and the tournament equilibrium set. Moreover, the hi...

This paper presents the application of a Case-Based Reasoning approach to the selection and modification of behavioral assemblage parameters. The goal of this research is to reduce the process of defining a large set of robotic behaviors to defining only a small set of orthogonal behaviors. The case-based reasoning module selects a set of parameters for an active behavioral assemblage in real-t...

We agree with Dr. Macias that the frequency and microbiology of infusion-related infections vary according to nursing and medical practice in various hospitals and countries. Klebsiella infections are not a common cause of infusion-related bacteremia at our institution or in the United States of America in general. As we concluded in our study, "larger trials are required to determine whether d...

BACKGROUND currently road accidents are mostly monitored through mortality and injury rates. This paper reports the methodology and the results of a project set forth by the European Union (EU) and coordinated by the WHO aimed at identifying and evaluating a core set of indicators to monitor the causal chain of road accident health effects. The project is part of the ECOEHIS (Development of Env...

In lung cancer, outcome measurement has been mostly limited to survival. Proper assessment of the value of lung cancer treatments, and the performance of institutions delivering care, requires more comprehensive measurement of standardised outcomes.The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement convened an international, multidisciplinary working group of patient representatives, ...

The variety of principal minors of n× n symmetric matrices, denoted Zn, is invariant under the action of a group G ⊂ GL(2) isomorphic to (SL(2)) ×Sn. We describe an irreducible G-module of degree 4 polynomials that cuts out Zn set theoretically. This solves the set-theoretic version of a conjecture of Holtz and Sturmfels.

For the ring of differential operators D(O(X)) on a smooth affine algebraic variety X over a perfect field of characteristic p > 0, a set of algebra generators and a set of defining relations are found explicitly. A finite set of generators and a finite set of defining relations are given explicitly for the module DerK(O(X)) of derivations on the algebra O(X) of regular functions on the variety...

In [BS2] we introduced a technique to construct information sets for every semisimple abelian code by means of its defining set. This construction is a non trivial generalization of that given by H. Imai [Im] in the case of binary two-dimensional cyclic (TDC) codes. On the other hand, S. Sakata [Sak] showed a method for constructing information sets for binary TDC codes based on the computation...

BACKGROUND Value-based health care has been proposed as a unifying force to drive improved outcomes and cost containment. OBJECTIVE To develop a standard set of multidimensional patient-centered health outcomes for tracking, comparing, and improving localized prostate cancer (PCa) treatment value. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We convened an international working group of patients, regi...

Background and purpose - Routine outcome measurement has been shown to improve performance in several fields of healthcare. National spine surgery registries have been initiated in 5 Nordic countries. However, there is no agreement on which outcomes are essential to measure for adolescent and young adult patients with a spinal deformity. The aim of this study was to develop a core outcome set (...