Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantifying and Modeling Coordination and Coherence in Pedestrian Groups

Coherent collective behavior emerges from local interactions between individuals that generate group dynamics. An outstanding question is how to quantify group coordination of non-rhythmic behavior, in order to understand the nature of these dynamics at both a local and global level. We investigate this problem in the context of a small group of four pedestrians walking to a goal, treating their speed, and heading as behavioral variables. To measure the local coordination between pairs of pedestrians, we employ cross-correlation to estimate coupling strength and cross-recurrence quantification (CRQ) analysis to estimate dynamic stability. When compared to reshuffled virtual control groups, the results indicate lower-dimensional behavior and a stronger, more stable coupling of walking speed in real groups. There were no differences in heading alignment observed between the real and virtual groups, due to the common goal. By modeling the local speed coupling, we can simulate coordination at the dyad and group levels. The findings demonstrate spontaneous coordination in pedestrian groups that gives rise to coherent global behavior. They also offer a methodological approach for investigating group dynamics in more complex settings.
Immunoepidemiology of Wuchereria bancrofti Infection: Parasite Transmission Intensity, Filaria-Specific Antibodies, and Host Immunity in Two East African Communities

ABSTRACT We compared the age profiles of infection and specific antibody intensities in two communities with different transmission levels in East Africa to examine the contribution of humoral responses to human immunity to the vector-borne helminth Wuchereria bancrofti. The worm intensities were higher and exhibited a nonlinear age pattern in a high-transmission community, Masaika, in contrast to the low but linearly increasing age infection profile observed for a low-transmission community, Kingwede. The mean levels of specific immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG2, IgG4, and IgE were also higher in Masaika, but intriguingly, the IgG3 response was higher in Kingwede. The age-antibody patterns differed in the two communities but in a manner apparently contrary to a role in acquired immunity when the data were assessed using simple correlation methods. By contrast, multivariate analyses showed that the antibody response to infection may be classified into three types and that two of these types, a IgG3-type response and a response measuring a trade-off in host production of IgG4 and IgG3 versus production of IgG1, IgG2, and IgE, had a negative effect on Wuchereria circulating antigen levels in a manner that supported a role for these responses in the generation of acquired immunity to infection. Mathematical modeling supported the conclusions drawn from empirical data analyses that variations in both transmission and worm intensity can explain community differences in the age profiles and impacts of these antibody response types. This study showed that parasite-specific antibody responses may be associated with the generation of acquired immunity to human filarial infection but in a form which is dependent on worm transmission intensity and interactions between immune components.
Low-cost global MPPT scheme for Photovoltaic systems under partially shaded conditions

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is a technique applied to improve the efficiency of power conversion in Photovoltaic (PV) systems. Under partially shadowed conditions, the Power-Voltage (P-V) characteristic exhibits multiple peaks and the existing MPPT methods such as the Perturb and Observe (P&O) are incapable of searching for the Global Maximum Power Point (GMPP). This paper proposes a low-cost on-line MPPT scheme to overcome this drawback. By using hybrid numerical searching process, the operating point approaches Local Maximum Power Points (LMPPs) gradually and the GMPP is caught by comparing all the LMPPs. Simulation results prove the effectiveness and correctness of the proposed method.
What does good content look like?: developing great online content for kids

LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website.
Varicella susceptibility and vaccine use among young adults enlisting in the United States Navy

Primary varicella infection, or chicken pox, is a threat to all young adults who join the United States (U.S.) military if they fail to develop immunity prior to enlistment. Historically, outbreaks of chicken pox have caused marked morbidity and impaired military readiness. In December 1996, the U.S. Navy began performing serologic testing for varicella among all new recruits, and vaccinating those found to be sero‐negative. We evaluated results of the screening program in its first 4 years, and used multivariable logistic regression modeling to describe factors associated with varicella susceptibility. Cases of chicken pox were tracked among all military services before and after program implementation. More than 190,000 young adults enlisted in the U.S. Navy between 1997 and 2000. Recruits originated from all 50 states and several foreign countries; 84% were male, and their average age was 19 years. Seven percent were found to be susceptible (sero‐negative) to varicella. In multivariable modeling, race/ethnicity was associated with susceptibility, but age, gender, and home state were not. The overall incidence of chicken pox in the Navy was reduced by more than 80% after initiation of the screening‐vaccination program. A successful varicella screening‐vaccination program has been implemented in the U.S. Navy. Results of serologic screening undertaken on this large number of young adults may be useful in tracking the changing epidemiology of varicella in the general population in the post‐vaccine era. J. Med. Virol. 70:S15–S19, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhanced biodegradation of endosulfan and its major metabolite endosulfate by a biosurfactant producing bacterium

The present study was carried out to isolate bacteria capable of producing biosurfactant that solublize endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10-Hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro- 6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepine-3-oxide) and for enhanced degradation of endosulfan and its major metabolite endosulfate. The significance of the study is to enhance the bioavailability of soil-bound endosulfan residues as its degradation is limited due to its low solubility. A mixed bacterial culture capable of degrading endosulfan was enriched from pesticide-contaminated soil and was able to degrade about 80% of α-endosulfan and 75% of β-endosulfan in five days. Bacterial isolates were screened for biosurfactant production and endosulfan degradation. Among the isolates screened, four strains produced biosurfactant on endosulfan. ES-47 showed better emulsification of endosulfan and degraded 99% of endosulfan and 94% of endosulfate formed during endosulfan degradation. The strain reduced the surface tension up to 37 dynes/cm. The study reveals that the strain was capable of degrading endosulfan and endosulfate with simultaneous biosurfactant production.
DNA Replication Stress Phosphoproteome Profiles Reveal Novel Functional Phosphorylation Sites on Xrs2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In response to replication stress, a phospho-signaling cascade is activated and required for coordination of DNA repair and replication of damaged templates (intra-S-phase checkpoint) . How phospho-signaling coordinates the DNA replication stress response is largely unknown. We employed state-of-the-art liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) approaches to generate high-coverage and quantitative proteomic and phospho-proteomic profiles during replication stress in yeast, induced by continuous exposure to the DNA alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) . We identified 32,057 unique peptides representing the products of 4296 genes and 22,061 unique phosphopeptides representing the products of 3183 genes. A total of 542 phosphopeptides (mapping to 339 genes) demonstrated an abundance change of greater than or equal to twofold in response to MMS. The screen enabled detection of nearly all of the proteins known to be involved in the DNA damage response, as well as many novel MMS-induced phosphorylations. We assessed the functional importance of a subset of key phosphosites by engineering a panel of phosphosite mutants in which an amino acid substitution prevents phosphorylation. In total, we successfully mutated 15 MMS-responsive phosphorylation sites in seven representative genes including APN1 (base excision repair); CTF4 and TOF1 (checkpoint and sister-chromatid cohesion); MPH1 (resolution of homologous recombination intermediates); RAD50 and XRS2 (MRX complex); and RAD18 (PRR). All of these phosphorylation site mutants exhibited MMS sensitivity, indicating an important role in protecting cells from DNA damage. In particular, we identified MMS-induced phosphorylation sites on Xrs2 that are required for MMS resistance in the absence of the MRX activator, Sae2, and that affect telomere maintenance.
A 3D algorithm for unsupervised face identification

With the increasing availability of low-cost 3D data acquisition devices, the use of 3D face data for the recognition of individuals is becoming more appealing and computationally feasible. This paper proposes a completely automatic algorithm for face registration and matching. The algorithm is based on the extraction of stable 3D facial features characterizing the face and the subsequent construction of a signature manifold. The facial features are extracted by performing a continuous-to-discrete scale-space analysis. Registration is driven from the matching of triplets of feature points and the registration error is computed as shape matching score. Conversely to most techniques in the literature, a major advantage of the proposed method is that no data pre-processing is required. Therefore all presented results have been obtained exclusively from the raw data available from the 3D acquisition device. The method has been tested on the Bosphorus 3D face database and the performances compared to the ICP baseline algorithm. Even in presence of noise in the data, the algorithm proved to be very robust and reported identification performances which are aligned to the current state of the art, but without requiring any pre-processing of the raw data.
Medidas macroprudenciales y política monetaria en una economía pequeña y abierta

Este documento estudia el rol de las medidas macroprudenciales en las fluctuaciones economicas, y su interaccion con la politica monetaria. Para ello, se introduce un sector bancario imperfectamente competitivo en un modelo de equilibrio general con fricciones financieras. Los bancos otorgan creditos a hogares y empresas, y obtienen financiamiento a traves de depositos, capital y adeudos del exterior. Las restricciones del balance bancario establecen un vinculo entre los ciclos economicos, la oferta y el costo de los creditos. Entre los principales resultados destaca que el uso de requerimientos de capital como instrumento macroprudencial incrementa los efectos reales de la politica monetaria al actuar de forma complementaria sobre la inflacion y reducir las fluctuaciones financieras ante choques monetarios. Sin embargo, no altera los efectos de los choques financieros sobre las principales variables macroeconomicas y financieras como creditos y tasas de interes.
Ligand-Receptor Pairing Via Tree Comparison

This paper introduces a novel class of tree comparison problems strongly motivated by an important and cost intensive step in drug discovery pipeline viz., mapping cell bound receptors to the ligands they bind to and vice versa. Tree comparison studies motivated by problems such as virus-host tree comparison, gene-species tree comparison and consensus tree problem have been reported. None of these studies are applicable in our context because in all these problems, there is a well-defined mapping of the nodes the trees are built on across the set of trees being compared. A new class of tree comparison problems arises in cases where finding the correspondence among the nodes of the trees being compared is itself the problem. The problem arises while trying to find the interclass correspondence between the members of a pair of coevolving classes, e.g., cell bound receptors and their ligands. Given the evolution of the two classes, the combinatorial problem is to find a mapping among the leaves of the two trees that optimizes a given cost function. In this work we formulate various combinatorial optimization problems motivated by the aforementioned biological problem for the first time. We present hardness results, give an efficient algorithm for a restriction of the problem and demonstrate its applicability.
What drives intermediation costs? A case of tennis betting market

ABSTRACT We demonstrate that there is a considerable variation in bookmaker margins across matches, time and bookmakers. Our results imply that using match, tournament and players’ characteristics explains the variations in margins hence, they can be helpful in managing intermediation cost in a market of state-contingent assets: fixed-odds betting markets. We also provide evidence that bookmakers protect themselves by increasing odds on the favourite player, thus attracting more bettors to the favourite player, while deterring bettors from betting on the underdog by reducing the odds. By that process, bookmakers are possibly sacrificing a portion of their margin.
Networks on Boards: A Survey of the Literature

Board composition and role have been under close scrutiny both in the academic and "civil" worlds. Independence has been advocated as a way to reinforce the board’s power over the managers. However, the empirical literature does not find convincing results to support this view. This paper offers a rapid review of these results and offers a survey of two other strings of the literature that could be used to solve this contradiction. On the one hand, it presents findings on how social connections can affect corporate governance and on the other hand, it outlines the main results of information aggregation and conformity effects in committees. Those have a part to play in boards and how they work.
Power-Law Scaling of the Impact Crater Size-Frequency Distribution on Pluto: A Preliminary Analysis Based on First Images from New Horizons' Flyby

The recent (14 July 2015) flyby of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft of the dwarf planet Pluto resulted in the first high-resolution images of the geological surfacefeatures of Pluto. Since previous studies showed that the impact crater size-frequency distribution (SFD) of different celestial objects of our solar system follows power-laws, the aim of the present analysis was to determine, for the first time, the power-law scaling behavior for Pluto’s crater SFD based on the first images available in mid-September 2015. The analysis was based on a high-resolution image covering parts of Pluto’s regions Sputnik Planum, Al-Idrisi Montes and Voyager Terra. 83 impact craters could be identified in these regions and their diameter (D) was determined. The analysis revealed that the crater diameter SFD shows a statistically significant power-law scaling (α = 2.4926 ± 0.3309) in the interval of D values ranging from 3.75 ± 1.14 km to the largest determined D value in this data set of 37.77 km. The value obtained for the scaling coefficient α is similar to the coefficient determined for the power-law scaling of the crater SFDs from the other celestial objects in our solar system. Further analysis of Pluto’s crater SFD is warranted as soon as new images are received from the spacecraft.
Reproducibility and Validity of a Simple Checklist-type Questionnaire for Food Intake and Dietary Behavior

BACKGROUND: A simple, reliable, and valid food questionnaire is needed in clinical dietary assessments, community health education, and multi-purpose epidemiologic studies to obtain a crude measure of dietary intake. METHODS: To assess the validity and reproducibility of a simple 4-point scale food intake and behavior checklist, it was compared to two 3-day weighed dietary records. The FBC was administered to 47 students of a dietician course and their parents (n=94) over a 9-month interval to assess the reproducibility. The mean intakes of selected food groups assessed by the two dietary records completed between food intake and behavior checklists were compared to the responses to the food intake and behavior checklist to assess its validity. RESULTS: The kappa statistics for reproducibility ranged from 0.25 for confectionaries to 0.63 for a preference for fatty foods (median, 0.39). There was a reasonable level of correlation between the dietary record and the food intake and behavior checklist in the intake of eggs, milk, and fruits (r=0.53, 0.56, and 0.50, respectively). There was a weaker but still significant correlation in the intake of vegetables, and alcohol (r=0.31and 0.45, respectively). No significant correlation was observed in the intake of meat, fish, confectionaries, and soft drinks. However, those who reported consuming mainly fish rather than meat were found to eat significantly less meat and animal fat. Similarly, those who did not prefer fatty foods consumed significantly less meat, animal fat, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. CONCLUSIONS: This simple food checklist was useful in collecting data on egg, milk, and fruit consumption. Assessing intake frequency of vegetables, meat or fish with the FBC may be useful in screening high- or low-intake individuals.
NARMA-L2-based control of wheeled mobile robots singularly perturbed by using neural networks: Curvilinear approach

The present paper uses the learning ability of neural networks (NN) for nonlinear systems in order to design a controller for trajectory tracking problems in wheeled mobile robots that have their kinematic constraints violated. The singular perturbation approach is used to highlight the presence of uncertainties related to the violation of the kinematic constraints and propose an alternative global feedback law in order to regard un-modeled dynamic terms. To this end, a robust control scheme based on NARMA-L2 approach and a modified version of an already existing dynamic backpropagation algorithm are used to improve the tracking error performance. The robustness of the proposed controller is compared with the classic static-state linearization techniques and a converging tracking error toward a small neighborhood containing the origin will be viewed.
Calcium Phosphate Transfection

This unit presents two methods of calcium phosphate‐based eukaryotic cell transfection that can be used for both transient and stable transfections. In these protocols, plasmid DNA is introduced to monolayer cell cultures via a precipitate that adheres to the cell surface. A HEPES‐buffered solution is used to form a calcium phosphate precipitate that is directly layered onto the cells. For some cells, shocking the cells with glycerol or DMSO improves transfection efficiency. In the alternate high‐efficiency method, a BES‐buffered system is used that allows the precipitate to form gradually in the medium and then drop onto the cells. While the alternate method is particularly efficient for stable transformation of cells with circular plasmid DNA, both protocols yield similar results for transformation with linear plasmid or genomic DNA, or for transient expression.
Remodeling of chick embryonic ventricular myoarchitecture under experimentally changed loading conditions

Adult myocardium adapts to changing functional demands by hyper‐ or hypotrophy while the developing heart reacts by hyper‐ or hypoplasia. How embryonic myocardial architecture adjusts to experimentally altered loading is not known. We subjected the chick embryonic hearts to mechanically altered loading to study its influence upon ventricular myoarchitecture.
High resolution harmonic radar imaging for safety and security applications

Harmonic radar is used in solving the problem of detecting and localizing electronic devices within a given measurement scene. The underlying measurement principle utilizes the frequency conversion, mixing and harmonics generation of the harmonic radars transmit signal in systems with nonlinear transfer functions. The nonlinearities in the signal transfer behavior of the targets of interest are due to electronic circuit elements and predominantly semiconductor components. Comparable to classic radar imaging techniques, it is possible to generate maps that give knowledge about the presence and the location of electronic devices within the observed scene. This work presents the current research done at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the field of harmonic radar. The development of a dual-mode (classic and harmonic radar) measurement system is shown. In addition, we present a signal processing algorithm for harmonic radar imaging based on wideband, pre-steered, frequency-smoothed robust capon direction-of-arrival estimation. The developed algorithm is analyzed and compared to classic imaging techniques using synthetic data. Concluding measurement results show the capabilities of the experimental measurement setup and validate the performance of the devised imaging algorithm and system demonstrator.
Role of Secondary Transporters and Phosphotransferase Systems in Glucose Transport by Oenococcus oeni

ABSTRACT Glucose uptake by the heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium Oenococcus oeni B1 was studied at the physiological and gene expression levels. Glucose- or fructose-grown bacteria catalyzed uptake of [14C]glucose over a pH range from pH 4 to 9, with maxima at pHs 5.5 and 7. Uptake occurred in two-step kinetics in a high- and low-affinity reaction. The high-affinity uptake followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and required energization. It accumulated the radioactivity of glucose by a factor of 55 within the bacteria. A large portion (about 80%) of the uptake of glucose was inhibited by protonophores and ionophores. Uptake of the glucose at neutral pH was not sensitive to degradation of the proton potential, Δp. Expression of the genes OEOE_0819 and OEOE_1574 (here referred to as 0819 and 1574), coding for secondary transporters, was induced by glucose as identified by quantitative real-time (RT)-PCR. The genes 1574 and 0819 were able to complement growth of a Bacillus subtilis hexose transport-deficient mutant on glucose but not on fructose. The genes 1574 and 0819 therefore encode secondary transporters for glucose, and the transports are presumably Δp dependent. O. oeni codes, in addition, for a phosphotransferase transport system (PTS) (gene OEOE_0464 [0464] for the permease) with similarity to the fructose- and mannose-specific PTS of lactic acid bacteria. Quantitative RT-PCR showed induction of the gene 0464 by glucose and by fructose. The data suggest that the PTS is responsible for Δp-independent hexose transport at neutral pH and for the residual Δp-independent transport of hexoses at acidic pH.