We consider stationary consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents with fixed topologies. At each time instant, each agent knows only its and its neighbors’ state, but must reach consensus on a group decision value that is function of all the agents’ initial state. We show that the agents can reach consensus if the value of such a function is time-invariant when computed over the agents’...

Protein function annotation and rational drug discovery rely on the knowledge of binding sites for small organic compounds, and yet the quality of existing binding site predictors was never systematically evaluated. We assess predictions of ten representative geometry-, energy-, threading-, and consensus-based methods on a new benchmark data set that considers apo and holo protein structures wi...

Humans do not always make rational choices, a fact that experimental economics is putting on solid grounds. The social context plays an important role in determining our actions, and often we imitate friends or acquaintances without any strategic consideration. We explore here the interplay between strategic and social imitative behavior in a coordination problem on a social network. We observe...

OBJECTIVE To update the Portuguese recommendations in order to assist the rational and safe prescribing of biological therapies in children and adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) as more evidence and experience with these drugs are available. METHODS The recommendations were formulated by Rheumatologists and Pediatricians, with experience in Pediatric Rheumatology, based on ...

In group decision making (GDM) processes, prior to the selection of the best alternative(s), it would be desirable that experts achieve a high degree of consensus or agreement between them. Due to the complexity of most decision making problems, individuals’ preferences may not satisfy formal properties. ‘Consistency’ is one of such properties, and it is associated with the transitivity propert...