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Zero-determinant strategies are memory-one strategies in repeated　games which unilaterally enforce linear relations between expected payoffs of　players. Recently, the concept of zero-determinant strategies was extended　to　the class of memory-n strategies with n _ 1, which enables more compli-cated control of payoffs by one player. However, what we can do by　memory-n　zero-determinant strategies is still not clear. Here, we show that memory-n　zero-determinant strategies in repeated games can be used to control condi-tional expectations of payoffs. Equivalently, they can be used to control ex-pected payoffs in biased ensembles, where a history of action pro_les with large　value of bias function is more weighted. Controlling conditional expectations　of payoffs is useful for strengthening zero-determinant strategies, because play-ers can choose conditions in such a way that only unfavorable action pro_les　to one player are contained in the conditions. We provide several examples　of memory-n zero-determinant strategies in the repeated prisoner's dilemma　game. We also explain that a deformed version of zero-determinant strategies　is easily extended to the memory-n case.

In the 2000s, English-Medium Instruction (EMI) in non-English countries developed worldwide. Japan is one of these countries and the number of English-based students who cannot utilize Japanese language increased. Some of the Japanese universities offer dormitories for international students, who can gradually get used to learning the Japanese way of life after they arrive in Japan. Some of the universities also offer cultural exchange programs for EMI students. However, due to the COVID-19, the situation has changed.

China has been struggling with waste classification for decades, even after the mandatory implementation of relevant policy in 2017. However, the causes of the failing performance of waste classification in developing countries attract little scholarly attention. A recent literature review also identified a failure to classify waste in developing countries, noting that its causes have attracted little scholarly interest. In this paper, we would like to examine the current situation and issues of policies for classifying household waste in China's urban sector. In this paper, we conducted a questionnaire survey of residents in Changsha City, Hunan Province, examined their awareness of waste classification, classifying behavior, and their awareness of paying for waste reduction, elucidated the factors that affect them, and estimated the amount of willing to pay (WTP) for waste reduction. In this paper, endogenous factors are more significant influencing behaviors than exogenous factors.

資産価格はしばしばファンダメンタル・バリューから乖離し，時として金融市場は資産価格の大きな下落や変動に見舞われる．急激な資産価格変動を緩和するための措置として，多くの国々で空売り規制が導入されてきた．本稿は空売り規制の導入が資産価格に与える影響を分析する．私的情報や価格支配力を持つ投資家と私的情報を持たない価格受容的な投資家が混在する資産市場を想定する．空売り規制の導入が事前に予期されていない場合，空売り規制が資産価格をファンダメンタル・バリューから乖離させることが明らかになった．これは資産価格の変動を大きくすることにもつながる．とりわけ資産価格の下支えが望まれるような下落相場の状況では，空売り規制の導入はより一層の価格下落をもたらすことになる．

Abstract Background: Recently, the importance of nutritional management in pressure ulcer control has been pointed out. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between nutritional indicators and the presence or absence of pressure ulcers in order to reveal the importance of nutritional management in pressure ulcer control. Method: We investigated 407 inpatients for blood tests, height, weight, BMI, the Ohura-Hotta (OH) scale, nutrition method, living independence, and the presence or absence of pressure ulcers. Results: In the comparison of patients with and without pressure ulcer, significant differences were found in gender, nutrition method, serum total protein, serum albumin, hemoglobin concentration, and the OH scales. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that gender, intravenous nutrition, serum albumin levels, and the OH scale were associated with the presence or absence of pressure ulcers. The results suggest that not only the OH scale, but the nutritional support was also important in the prediction of the pressure ulcer. It was suggested that shifting from intravenous feeding to tube feeding or oral feeding is important. Conclusion: we found that pressure ulcer was related to gender, intravenous nutrition, serum albumin level and the OH scale. The importance of nutritional management for pressure ulcer prevention was confirmed.

The Japanese Bridge Management System (J-BMS) RC version consists of the following three subsystems: (1) a bridge maintenance database system (J-BMS DB), (2) a concrete bridge rating expert system (RC-BREX) and (3) a maintenance plan optimization system (MPOS). Especially, in this paper, the RC-BREX system for deteriorating concrete bridges is described based on how to construct from a hierarchical neural network in order to carry out fuzzy inference and machine learning by using the neural network with the back-propagation method. Furthermore, the comparisons between diagnostic results by bridge experts and those of the proposed system are presented so as to demonstrate the validity of the system’s learning capability by using the training set for machine learning which obtained from inspection on actual in-service bridges and questionnaire surveys by bridge experts.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different postures (sitting and standing) and three different ambient temperatures (10℃, 20℃, and 30℃) on heart rate variability (HRV) among healthy young adults. Methods: Twelve young adult volunteers (males 6, females 6) were recruited. Following acclimatization to any the room temperature (10℃, 20℃ or 30℃), 5-min measurements of HRV were conducted in sitting and standing postures of the subjects. Results: Compared to the sitting posture, measurements obtained in the standing posture revealed a significant decrease in high-frequency power/HF, root mean square of successive differences between RR intervals, standard deviation of Poincaré plot perpendicular to the line-of-identity or SD1 and SD1/standard deviation of Poincaré plot along the line-of-identity or SD2, and a significant increase in lowfrequency power/LF and LF/HF under all experimental conditions (p<0.05 to 0.005). Majority of HRV parameters showed significant differences while the values obtained under 10℃ were compared with 20℃ and 30℃ conditions, respectively (p<0.05 to 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest the predominance of sympathetic tone in the standing compared with sitting posture. Furthermore, colder conditions caused a predominance of the parasympathetic activity in both sitting and standing postures, and such effects of ambient temperature on the sympathovagal balance were stronger in the latter posture.

Abstract Background: Expanding nursing workload is a worldwide problem. However, any nursing workload assessment (NWA) tool requires complicated analyses of the nursing job profile. To determine the imbalance in time assignments across all nursing operations and to reduce nursing workload, a nursing job survey was conducted. Methods: A total of 25 major job categories, common to all hospital wards, were identified, and an NWA tool was developed for efficient analyses to feature easy/flexible entry of the time spent for each job category and real-time visual profiling of job time allocation. The profile could be divided by job categories, wards, shifts, and years. Results: From the preliminary analyses, undesirable time allocation was revealed in several job categories, especially the time for recording and other nonessential nursing operations. Using the analytical functions of the NWA tool between 2014 and 2016, a series of corrective measures were successfully taken to many job categories, and they were found to be effective. Consequently, excessive overtime workload was reduced from 125 min/day/nurse in 2014 to 100 and 100 min/day/ nurse in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Conclusion: Notable improvements in nursing workload and time allocation for attentive patient care could be achieved employing the novel user-aimed NWA tool.

Abstract Objectives: This study examined the short-term outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) with the GORE VIABAHN VBX (VBX) which is a balloon-expandable covered stent in patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD) and acute limb ischemia (ALI). Methods: This was a single-center retrospective review of patients with AIOD and ALI who underwent EVT with the VBX between December 2018 and January 2021. Primary, assisted, and secondary patency rates were assessed, along with 30-day mortality rates. Results: Twenty-two patients underwent EVT with the VBX; 18 patients had AIOD, whereas 4 had ALI. The incidence of TransAtlantic Intersociety Classification II D lesions was 50% (n=9). Technical success was 100%. One patient with unilateral common iliac artery stenosis developed an intraoperative dissection of the distal edge of the VBX, which required an additional self-expanding VIABAHN stent on the distal edge of the VBX. The primary patency rate at 24 months was 100%. No patients required additional target vessel treatment at a median follow-up of 10 months (range, 1-27). EVT was also successful in the four patients with ALI, who had no complications of the target vessel. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that EVT with the VBX is effective for AIOD and ALI.

Since its inception, analytic philosophy has failed to attain dominance in Japan. However, the 21st century has seen analytic philosophy gain traction among Japanese philosophers. This paper, which examines the status quo of analytic philosophy in Japan since 2000, consists of two parts. The first part deals primarily with organizations—specifically, relevant associations, journals, conferences, universities, and publishers are illustrated. The second part explores key works in each area—namely, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of logic and mathematics, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. Key works in other areas are also briefly addressed.

Imitation is simple behavior which uses successful actions of others in order to deal with one’s own problems. Because success of imitation generally depends on whether profit of an imitating agent coincides with those of other agents or not, game theory is suitable for specifying situations where imitation can be successful. One of the concepts describing successfulness of imitation in repeated two-player symmetric games is unbeatability. For infinitely repeated two-player symmetric games, a necessary and sufficient condition for some imitation strategy to be unbeatable was specified. However, situations where imitation can be unbeatable in multi-player games are still not clear. In order to analyze successfulness of imitation in multi-player situations, here we introduce a class of totally symmetric games called unexploitable games, which is a natural extension of two-player symmetric games without exploitation cycles. We then prove that, for infinitely repeated unexploitable games, there exist unbeatable imitation strategies. Furthermore, we also prove that, for infinitely repeated non-trivial unexploitable games, there exist unbeatable zero-determinant strategies, which unilaterally enforce some relationships on payoffs of players. These claims are demonstrated in the public goods game, which is the simplest unexploitable game. These results show that there are situations where imitation is unbeatable even in multi-player games.