A comprehensive framework for preference aggregation Parrondo's paradox.

Individuals can make choices for themselves that are beneficial or detrimental to the entire group. Consider two losing choices that some individuals have to make on behalf of the group. Is it possible that the losing choices combine to give a winning outcome? We show that it is possible through a variant of Parrondo's paradox-the preference aggregation Parrondo's paradox (PAPP). This new variant of Parrondo's paradox makes use of an aggregate rule that combines with a decision-making heuristic that can be applied to individuals or parts of the social group. The aim of this work is to discuss this PAPP framework and exemplify it on a social network. This work enhances existing research by constructing a feedback loop that allows individuals in the social network to adapt its behavior according to the outcome of the Parrondo's games played.

Extending the Lifespan of Multicellular Organisms via Periodic and Stochastic Intercellular Competition.

Resolution of the intrinsic conflict between the reproduction of single cells and the homeostasis of a multicellular organism is central to animal biology and has direct impact on aging and cancer. Intercellular competition is indispensable in multicellular organisms because it weeds out senescent cells, thereby increasing the organism's fitness and delaying aging. In this Letter, we describe the growth dynamics of multicellular organisms in the presence of intercellular competition and show that the lifespan of organisms can be extended and the onset of cancer can be delayed if cells alternate between competition (a fair strategy) and noncompetitive growth, or cooperation (a losing strategy). This effect recapitulates the weak form of the game-theoretic Parrondo's paradox, whereby strategies that are individually fair or losing achieve a winning outcome when alternated. We show in a population model that periodic and stochastic switching between competitive and cooperative cellular strategies substantially extends the organism lifespan and reduces cancer incidence, which cannot be achieved simply by optimizing the competitive ability of the cells. These results indicate that cells could have evolved to optimally mix competitive and cooperative strategies, and that periodic intercellular competition could potentially be exploited and tuned to delay aging.

A bio-functional polymer that prevents retinal scarring through modulation of NRF2 signalling pathway.

One common cause of vision loss after retinal detachment surgery is the formation of proliferative and contractile fibrocellular membranes. This aberrant wound healing process is mediated by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hyper-proliferation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Current treatment relies primarily on surgical removal of these membranes. Here, we demonstrate that a bio-functional polymer by itself is able to prevent retinal scarring in an experimental rabbit model of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. This is mediated primarily via clathrin-dependent internalisation of polymeric micelles, downstream suppression of canonical EMT transcription factors, reduction of RPE cell hyper-proliferation and migration. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signalling pathway was identified in a genome-wide transcriptomic profiling as a key sensor and effector. This study highlights the potential of using synthetic bio-functional polymer to modulate RPE cellular behaviour and offers a potential therapy for retinal scarring prevention.

Decision-making psychology and method under zero-knowledge context.

For a certain kind of decision event, the decision maker does not know the internal mechanism and knowledge information of the decision events.When this kind of decision events gives multiple selection branches, it is found that there is a decision psychological tendency to find the most common features by comparing the selection branches. Based on this, a zero-knowledge decision making (ZKDM) method is proposed. By defining the feature points and feature sets of the selection branches of the decision events, the characteristic moments of the system are constructed and the branch with the most common characteristics is obtained. It is observed that through the findings of investigation the probability of arriving at the correct choice based on the ZKDM method is high. The effectiveness of the ZKDM method may be related to the fact that the designers of decision events usually determine the correct selection branch first, before changing it to design other branches. A questionnaire survey of 279 respondents reveals that more than half of them actually adopt such a design idea. Furthermore, a separate questionnaire survey of 465 decision-makers reveal that 19.14% of the respondents clearly adopt ZKDM.

Antiangiogenic Nanomicelles for the Topical Delivery of Aflibercept to Treat Retinal Neovascular Disease.

The traditional intravitreal injection delivery of antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) to the posterior segment of the eye for treatment of retinal diseases is invasive and associated with sight-threatening complications. To avoid such complications, there has been significant interest in developing polymers for topical drug delivery to the retina. This study reports a nanomicelle drug delivery system made of a copolymer EPC (nEPCs), which is capable of delivering aflibercept to the posterior segment topically through corneal-scleral routes. EPC is composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), and polycaprolactone (PCL) segments. In this study, aflibercept-loaded nEPCs (nEPCs + A) are capable of penetrating the cornea in ex vivo porcine eye models and deliver a clinically significant amount of aflibercept to the retina in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) murine models, causing CNV regression. nEPCs + A also demonstrate biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, this study also suggests that nEPCs have intrinsic antiangiogenic properties. The ability to deliver anti-VEGF drugs and the intrinsic antiangiogenic properties of nEPCs may result in synergistic effects, which can be harnessed for effective therapeutics. nEPCs may be a promising topical anti-VEGF delivery platform for the treatment of retinal diseases.

Schizophrenia: A Survey of Artificial Intelligence Techniques Applied to Detection and Classification.

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare employs machine learning algorithms to emulate human cognition in the analysis of complicated or large sets of data. Specifically, artificial intelligence taps on the ability of computer algorithms and software with allowable thresholds to make deterministic approximate conclusions. In comparison to traditional technologies in healthcare, artificial intelligence enhances the process of data analysis without the need for human input, producing nearly equally reliable, well defined output. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health condition that affects millions worldwide, with impairment in thinking and behaviour that may be significantly disabling to daily living. Multiple artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms have been utilized to analyze the different components of schizophrenia, such as in prediction of disease, and assessment of current prevention methods. These are carried out in hope of assisting with diagnosis and provision of viable options for individuals affected. In this paper, we review the progress of the use of artificial intelligence in schizophrenia.

Relieving Cost of Epidemic by Parrondo's Paradox: A COVID-19 Case Study.

COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2, is a coronavirus that is highly pathogenic and virulent. It spreads very quickly through close contact, and so in response to growing numbers of cases, many countries have imposed lockdown measures to slow its spread around the globe. The purpose of a lockdown is to reduce reproduction, that is, the number of people each confirmed case infects. Lockdown measures have worked to varying extents but they come with a massive price. Nearly every individual, community, business, and economy has been affected. In this paper, switching strategies that take into account the total "cost" borne by a community in response to COVID-19 are proposed. The proposed cost function takes into account the health and well-being of the population, as well as the economic impact due to the lockdown. The model allows for a comparative study to investigate the effectiveness of various COVID-19 suppression strategies. It reveals that both the strategy to implement a lockdown and the strategy to maintain an open community are individually losing in terms of the total "cost" per day. However, switching between these two strategies in a certain manner can paradoxically lead to a winning outcome-a phenomenon attributed to Parrondo's paradox.

Superposition of COVID-19 waves, anticipating a sustained wave, and lessons for the future.

The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), also known as SARS-CoV-2, is highly pathogenic and virulent, and it spreads very quickly through human-to-human contact. In response to the growing number of cases, governments across the spectrum of affected countries have adopted different strategies in implementing control measures, in a hope to reduce the number of new cases. However, 5 months after the first confirmed case, countries like the United States of America (US) seems to be heading towards a trajectory that indicates a health care crisis. This is in stark contrast to the downward trajectory in Europe, China, and elsewhere in Asia, where the number of new cases has seen a decline ahead of an anticipated second wave. A data-driven approach reveals three key strategies in tackling COVID-19. Our work here has definitively evaluated these strategies and serves as a warning to the US, and more importantly, a guide for tackling future pandemics. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/gPkCi2_7tWo.

Parrondo paradoxical walk using four-sided quantum coins.

Two losing games can be played in a certain manner to produce a winning outcome-a phenomenon known as Parrondo's paradox. Of particular interest is the emergence of quantum game theory and the attempt to model known Parrondo's games through quantum computation notation. In this article, we investigate whether flipping four-sided quantum coins will result in the emergence of Parrondo's paradox. We discover that by playing two losing games A and B in a sequential order, a winning scenario can be derived. Furthermore, four-sided quantum coin is the first instance where the ratcheting effect from the classical Parrondo's game is necessary. Crucially, our study is designed with quantum protocols as its basis and does not have a direct classical counterpart.

Parrondo effect in quantum coin-toss simulations.

Game A + Game B = Game C. Parrondo's games follow this basic structure where A and B are losing games and C is a winning game-a phenomenon called Parrondo's paradox. These games can take on a wider class of definitions and exhibit these paradoxical results. In this paper, we show three paradoxical cases. (i) The successive "tossing" of a single fair quantum coin gives a biased result, a previously known result. (ii) The random tossing of two quantum coins, each with successive biased expectations, gives an average random walk position of approximately zero. (iii) The sequential periodic tossing of two quantum coins, each with successive negative biased expectations, gives an average random walk with positive expectation. Using these results, we then propose a protocol for identifying and classifying quantum operations that span the same Hilbert space for a two-level quantum system.

Acute Health Impacts of the Southeast Asian Transboundary Haze Problem-A Review.

Air pollution has emerged as one of the world's largest environmental health threats, with various studies demonstrating associations between exposure to air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Regional air quality in Southeast Asia has been seasonally affected by the transboundary haze problem, which has often been the result of forest fires from "slash-and-burn" farming methods. In light of growing public health concerns, recent studies have begun to examine the health effects of this seasonal haze problem in Southeast Asia. This review paper aims to synthesize current research efforts on the impact of the Southeast Asian transboundary haze on acute aspects of public health. Existing studies conducted in countries affected by transboundary haze indicate consistent links between haze exposure and acute psychological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological morbidity and mortality. Future prospective and longitudinal studies are warranted to quantify the long-term health effects of recurrent, but intermittent, exposure to high levels of seasonal haze. The mechanism, toxicology and pathophysiology by which these toxic particles contribute to disease and mortality should be further investigated. Epidemiological studies on the disease burden and socioeconomic cost of haze exposure would also be useful to guide policy-making and international strategy in minimizing the impact of seasonal haze in Southeast Asia.