821 research outputs found
âAn ethnographic seductionâ: how qualitative research and Agent-based models can benefit each other
We provide a general analytical framework for empirically informed agent-based simulations. This methodology provides present-day agent-based models with a sound and proper insight as to the behavior of social agents â an insight that statistical data often fall short of providing at least at a micro level and for hidden and sensitive populations. In the other direction, simulations can provide qualitative researchers in sociology, anthropology and other fields with valuable tools for: (a) testing the consistency and pushing the boundaries, of specific theoretical frameworks; (b) replicating and generalizing results; (c) providing a platform for cross-disciplinary validation of results
How to Choose a Champion
League competition is investigated using random processes and scaling
techniques. In our model, a weak team can upset a strong team with a fixed
probability. Teams play an equal number of head-to-head matches and the team
with the largest number of wins is declared to be the champion. The total
number of games needed for the best team to win the championship with high
certainty, T, grows as the cube of the number of teams, N, i.e., T ~ N^3. This
number can be substantially reduced using preliminary rounds where teams play a
small number of games and subsequently, only the top teams advance to the next
round. When there are k rounds, the total number of games needed for the best
team to emerge as champion, T_k, scales as follows, T_k ~N^(\gamma_k) with
gamma_k=1/[1-(2/3)^(k+1)]. For example, gamma_k=9/5,27/19,81/65 for k=1,2,3.
These results suggest an algorithm for how to infer the best team using a
schedule that is linear in N. We conclude that league format is an ineffective
method of determining the best team, and that sequential elimination from the
bottom up is fair and efficient.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Power Law of Customers' Expenditures in Convenience Stores
In a convenience store chain, a tail of the cumulative density function of
the expenditure of a person during a single shopping trip follows a power law
with an exponent of -2.5. The exponent is independent of the location of the
store, the shopper's age, the day of week, and the time of day.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of the
Physical Society of Japan Vol.77No.
Comparative analysis of miRNAs and their targets across four plant species
BACKGROUND: MicroRNA (miRNA) mediated regulation of gene expression has been recognized as a major posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism also in plants. We performed a comparative analysis of miRNAs and their respective gene targets across four plant species: Arabidopsis thaliana (Ath), Medicago truncatula(Mtr), Brassica napus (Bna), and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Cre). RESULTS: miRNAs were obtained from mirBase with 218 miRNAs for Ath, 375 for Mtr, 46 for Bna, and 73 for Cre, annotated for each species respectively. miRNA targets were obtained from available database annotations, bioinformatic predictions using RNAhybrid as well as predicted from an analysis of mRNA degradation products (degradome sequencing) aimed at identifying miRNA cleavage products. On average, and considering both experimental and bioinformatic predictions together, every miRNA was associated with about 46 unique gene transcripts with considerably variation across species. We observed a positive and linear correlation between the number miRNAs and the total number of transcripts across different plant species suggesting that the repertoire of miRNAs correlates with the size of the transcriptome of an organism. Conserved miRNA-target pairs were found to be associated with developmental processes and transcriptional regulation, while species-specific (in particular, Ath) pairs are involved in signal transduction and response to stress processes. Conserved miRNAs have more targets and higher expression values than non-conserved miRNAs. We found evidence for a conservation of not only the sequence of miRNAs, but their expression levels as well. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the notion of a high birth and death rate of miRNAs and that miRNAs serve many species specific functions, while conserved miRNA are related mainly to developmental processes and transcriptional regulation with conservation operating at both the sequence and expression level
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sorghum: factors that affect transformation efficiency.
The results presented in this work support the hypothesis that Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sorghum is feasible, analogous to what has been demonstrated for other cereals such as rice, maize, barley and wheat. The four factors that we found most influenced transformation were: the sensitivity of immature sorghum embryos to Agrobacterium infection, the growth conditions of the donor plant, type of explant and co-cultivation medium. A major problem during the development of our protocol was a necrotic response which developed in explants after co-cultivation. Immature sorghum embryos proved to be very sensitive to Agrobacterium infection and we found that the level of embryo death after co-cultivation was the limiting step in improving transformation efficiency. The addition of coconut water to the co-cultivation medium, the use of vigorous and actively growing immature embryos and the removal of excess bacteria significantly improved the survival rate of sorghum embryos and was critical for successful transformation. Hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) proved to be a good selectable marker for sorghum. We also found that β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity was low in most of the transgenic plant tissues tested, although it was very high in immature inflorescences. Although promising, the overall transformation efficiency of the protocol is still low and further optimization will require particular attention to be given to the number of Agrobacterium in the inoculum and the selection of sorghum genotypes and explants less sensitive to Agrobacterium infection
Unpacking virtual workâs dual effects on employee well-being: an integrative review and future research agenda
Virtual work arrangements whereby dispersed employees interact with each other using technology-mediated communication can both positively and negatively impact their psychological well-being. Yet, research on these dual effects in different virtual work research domains (e.g., telecommuting, virtual teams, and computer-mediated work) is not wellintegrated, which limits insights into how their findings overlap and inform each other. Using a work design theoretical lens to synthesize findings from 115 empirical articles, we develop an integrative framework that advances understanding of how virtual work both helps and harms
well-being. The framework explicates different pathways linking subdimensions of technology dependence and dispersionâtwo core dimensions underlying different types of virtual workâto
well-being through employeesâ perceived work characteristics. We identify four technology dependence and three dispersion subdimensions that differ in their degree of positive versus
negative impact on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being outcomes as well as in the work characteristics that explain these effects. These findings suggest that employeesâ well-being experiences in virtual work depend on the subdimensions involved. Our analysis also shows that the same subdimension can influence well-being both positively and negatively. Across the subdimensions, a dominant set of work characteristics in four categories (task, knowledge, social, and work context) explain these opposing effects moderated by contingencies related to the individual, team, organization, and external context. These multilevel contingencies point to potential interventions for enhancing the benefits and mitigating the downsides of virtual work for employee well-being. Based on these insights, we develop a future research agenda and
discuss practical implications
Functional Specialization of the Plant miR396 Regulatory Network through Distinct MicroRNAâTarget Interactions
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are âŒ21 nt small RNAs that regulate gene expression in animals and plants. They can be grouped into families comprising different genes encoding similar or identical mature miRNAs. Several miRNA families are deeply conserved in plant lineages and regulate key aspects of plant development, hormone signaling, and stress response. The ancient miRNA miR396 regulates conserved targets belonging to the GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR (GRF) family of transcription factors, which are known to control cell proliferation in Arabidopsis leaves. In this work, we characterized the regulation of an additional target for miR396, the transcription factor bHLH74, that is necessary for Arabidopsis normal development. bHLH74 homologs with a miR396 target site could only be detected in the sister families Brassicaceae and Cleomaceae. Still, bHLH74 repression by miR396 is required for margin and vein pattern formation of Arabidopsis leaves. MiR396 contributes to the spatio-temporal regulation of GRF and bHLH74 expression during leaf development. Furthermore, a survey of miR396 sequences in different species showed variations in the 5âČ portion of the miRNA, a region known to be important for miRNA activity. Analysis of different miR396 variants in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that they have an enhanced activity toward GRF transcription factors. The interaction between the GRF target site and miR396 has a bulge between positions 7 and 8 of the miRNA. Our data indicate that such bulge modulates the strength of the miR396-mediated repression and that this modulation is essential to shape the precise spatio-temporal pattern of GRF2 expression. The results show that ancient miRNAs can regulate conserved targets with varied efficiency in different species, and we further propose that they could acquire new targets whose control might also be biologically relevant
Quantifying trading behavior in financial markets using Google Trends
Crises in financial markets affect humans worldwide. Detailed market data on trading decisions reflect some of the complex human behavior that has led to these crises. We suggest that massive new data sources resulting from human interaction with the Internet may offer a new perspective on the behavior of market participants in periods of large market movements. By analyzing changes in Google query volumes for search terms related to finance, we find patterns that may be interpreted as âearly warning signsâ of stock market moves. Our results illustrate the potential that combining extensive behavioral data sets offers for a better understanding of collective human behavior
Dynamical Properties of One-Dimensional Multicomponent Quantum Liquids in Metallic Phase
We investigate low-energy dynamical properties of one-dimensional
multicomponent quantum liquids with the short-range interaction as well as the
-type long-range interaction. By calculating the single-particle spectrum
and the dynamical spin susceptibility by means of the bosonization method, we
discuss how the orbital degeneracy and the band splitting affect the dynamical
response functions. The effect of the long-range interaction is also addressed.
Although the long-range interaction suppresses charge fluctuations, it
effectively enhances spin fluctuations via the formation of the Wigner crystal.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure
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