A Cognitive Architecture Based on a Learning Classifier System with Spiking Classifiers

© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Learning classifier systems (LCS) are population-based reinforcement learners that were originally designed to model various cognitive phenomena. This paper presents an explicitly cognitive LCS by using spiking neural networks as classifiers, providing each classifier with a measure of temporal dynamism. We employ a constructivist model of growth of both neurons and synaptic connections, which permits a genetic algorithm to automatically evolve sufficiently-complex neural structures. The spiking classifiers are coupled with a temporally-sensitive reinforcement learning algorithm, which allows the system to perform temporal state decomposition by appropriately rewarding “macro-actions”, created by chaining together multiple atomic actions. The combination of temporal reinforcement learning and neural information processing is shown to outperform benchmark neural classifier systems, and successfully solve a robotic navigation task

Blood neutrophil counts are associated with exacerbation frequency and mortality in COPD

BACKGROUND: Identifying patients with COPD at increased risk of poor outcomes is challenging due to disease heterogeneity. Potential biomarkers need to be readily available in real-life clinical practice. Blood eosinophil counts are widely studied but few studies have examined the prognostic value of blood neutrophil counts (BNC). METHODS: In a large population-based COPD registry in the East of Scotland (TARDIS: Tayside Allergic and Respiratory Disease Information System), BNC were compared to measures of disease severity and mortality for up to 15 years follow-up. Potential mechanisms of disease modification by BNC were explored in a nested microbiome substudy. RESULTS: 178,120 neutrophil counts were obtained from 7220 people (mean follow up 9 years) during stable disease periods. Median BNC was 5200cells/μL (IQR 4000-7000cells/μL). Mortality rates among the 34% of patients with elevated BNCs (defined as 6000-15000cells/μL) at the study start were 80% higher (14.0/100 person years v 7.8/100py, P < 0.001) than those with BNC in the normal range (2000-6000cells/μL). People with elevated BNC were more likely to be classified as GOLD D (46% v 33% P < 0.001), have more exacerbations (mean 2.3 v 1.3/year, P < 0.001), and were more likely to have severe exacerbations (13% vs. 5%, P < 0.001) in the following year. Eosinophil counts were much less predictive of these outcomes. In a sub-cohort (N = 276), patients with elevated BNC had increased relative abundance of Proteobacteria and reduced microbiome diversity. CONCLUSIONS: High BNC may provide a useful indicator of risk of exacerbations and mortality in COPD patients

Influence of daily beer or ethanol consumption on physical fitness in response to a high-intensity interval training program. The BEER-HIIT study

The authors would like to thank all the participants that took part of the study for their time and effort. We are grateful to Ms. Ana Yara PostigoFuentes for her assistance with the English language. This study is part of Cristina Molina-Hidalgo’s Doctoral Thesis conducted in the Official Doctoral Programme in Psychology of the University of Granada, Spain.Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective approach to improve physical fitness, but consuming beer, which is a regular practice in many physically active individuals, may interfere with these effects. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of a 10-week (2 days/week) HIIT program on cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength and power parameters, and also to assess the possible influence on them of a moderate consumption of beer (at least from Monday to Friday) or its alcohol equivalent. Methods: Young (24 ± 6 years old) healthy adults (n = 73, 35 females) were allocated to five groups. Four groups participated in the HIIT intervention program while the fifth group was a control Non-Training group (n = 15). Participants in the training groups chose whether they preferred receiving alcohol or alcohol-free beverages. Those choosing alcohol were randomized to either beer or ethanol intake: (i) T-Beer group (alcohol beer, 5.4%; n = 13) or (ii) T-Ethanol (sparkling water with vodka, 5.4%; n = 14). Those choosing alcohol-free intake were randomized to (iii) T-Water group (sparkling water, 0.0%; n = 16), or (iv) T-0.0Beer group (alcohol-free beer, 0.0%; n = 15). Men ingested 330 ml of the beverage at lunch and 330 ml at dinner; women ingested 330 ml at dinner. Before and after the intervention, maximal oxygen uptake in absolute and relative terms (VO2max.), maximal heart rate, total test duration, hand grip strength and four types of vertical jumps were measured. Results: HIIT induced significant improvements in absolute and relative values of VO2max, and total test duration (all p < 0.05) in all the training groups; also, clinical improvements were found in hand grip strength. These positive effects were not influenced by the regular intake of beer or alcohol. No changes in the vertical jumps occurred in any of the groups. Conclusions: A moderate beer or alcohol intake does not mitigate the positive effect of a 10-week HIIT on physical fitness in young healthy adults. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03660579. Registered 20 September 2018. Retrospectively registered.Centro de Informacion Cerveza y Salud (CICS), Madrid, SpainSpanish Government FPU14/04172 FPU15/0396

ExploRing Persistence in Financial Time Series

Edited by W. Härdle, Z. Hlávka, and S. Klinke</p

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Nicotinic receptors mediate stress-nicotine detrimental interplay via dopamine cells’ activity

Epidemiological studies report strong association between mood disorders and tobacco addiction. This high comorbidity requires adequate treatment but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We demonstrate that nicotine exposure, independent of drug withdrawal effects, increases stress sensitivity, a major risk factor in mood disorders. Nicotine and stress concur to induce long-lasting cellular adaptations within the dopamine (DA) system. This interplay is underpinned by marked remodeling of nicotinic systems, causing increased ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons’ activity and stress-related behaviors, such as social aversion. Blocking β2 or α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) prevents, respectively, the development and the expression of social stress-induced neuroadaptations; conversely, facilitating α7 nAChRs activation specifically in the VTA promotes stress-induced cellular and behavioral maladaptations. Our work unravels a complex nicotine-stress bidirectional interplay and identifies α7 nAChRs as a promising therapeutic target for stress-related psychiatric disorders