946 research outputs found
Network Analysis with the Enron Email Corpus
We use the Enron email corpus to study relationships in a network by applying
six different measures of centrality. Our results came out of an in-semester
undergraduate research seminar. The Enron corpus is well suited to statistical
analyses at all levels of undergraduate education. Through this note's focus on
centrality, students can explore the dependence of statistical models on
initial assumptions and the interplay between centrality measures and
hierarchical ranking, and they can use completed studies as springboards for
future research. The Enron corpus also presents opportunities for research into
many other areas of analysis, including social networks, clustering, and
natural language processing.Comment: in Journal of Statistics Education, Volume 23, Number 2, 201
Systemic Risk: Simulating Local Shocks To A Global System
Using our updated model of the payment exchange system within the banking industry, we have introduced sudden local economic shocks and calculated their effect on the stability of the financial system. Our results suggest that the probability of a total banking failure, i.e., the systemic risk of the system, is insignificant unless the degree of the shock and the degree of integration between banks are very large. We find that the larger the shock, i.e., the greater the amount of loss amongst all banks, and the more isolated banks are within the payment system, the greater the likelihood of a localized or global banking system failure. However, given the current limits percentages of capitol banks can loan each other, only worldwide economic crises of cataclysmic significance would cause a collapse of the entire banking system. Hence we affirm the findings of our previous work which considered the effects of a bank failure generated by factors internal to the banking system (internal instead of internal shocks), which suggest there is minimal systemic risk in an integrated, minimally regulated, banking system.
Finding the Missing Links among Metabolites, Microbes, and the Host
The unexpected diversity of the human microbiome and metabolome far exceeds the complexity of the human genome. Although we now understand microbial taxonomic and genetic repertoires in some populations, we are just beginning to assemble the necessary computational and experimental tools to understand the metabolome in comparable detail. However, even with the limited current state of knowledge, individual connections between microbes and metabolites, between microbes and immune function, and between metabolites and immune function are being established. Here, we provide our perspective on these connections and outline a systematic research program that could turn these individual links into a broader network that allows us to understand how these components interact. This program will enable us to exploit connections among the microbiome, metabolome, and host immune system to maintain health and perhaps help us understand how to reverse the processes that lead to a wide range of immune and other diseases
Ionization efficiency for nuclear recoils in silicon from eV to MeV
We present a model for the nuclear recoil ionization efficiency in silicon
based on an extension of Lindhard's theory where atomic bond disruption is
modeled as a function of the initial ion energy, the interatomic potential, and
the average ion-vacancy production energy. A better description of the
electronic stopping than the one assumed by Lindhard, the effect of electronic
straggling, as well as charge screening and Coulomb repulsion effects of ions
are also considered. The model describes the available data over nearly four
orders of magnitude in nuclear recoil energy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
French translation and validation of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Health Professions Student version
Background: Background: Jefferson Scale of Empathy is one of the most widely used tools worldwide to assess empathy.
The extended version for Health Professions Students (JSE HPS) has not yet been translated into French. Objective:
The aim of our study was to translate the JSE HPS into French and assess the psychometric properties of this new
version (JSE HPS Fr). Methods: The JSE HPS was translated according to international recommendations. The main
psychometric qualities (test-retest reliability, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects and construct validity) were studied in a sample of physiotherapy students. Participants provided general information (age, gender, year of study) and completed the JSE HPS Fr and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE). Participants were also asked to complete the JSE-HPS-Fr again one week later to assess its test-retest reliability. Results: 408 students (161 males and 247 females; mean age: 21.3 years) participated. The JSE HPS Fr demonstrated good test-retest reliability for the total score (ICC=0.81) and good internal consistency (α Cronbach: 0.79). The JSE HPS also showed good convergent validity with the QCAE questionnaire (r=0.41, p<0.05). No floor or ceiling effects were observed. Conclusions: The results indicate that the JSE HPS Fr is a valid and reliable tool to assess the level of empathy of French-speaking physiotherapy students
Systemic Risk : Simulating Local Shocks To A Global System
Using our updated model of the payment exchange system within the banking industry, we have introduced sudden local economic shocks and calculated their effect on the stability of the financial system. Our results suggest that the probability of a total banking failure, i.e., the systemic risk of the system, is insignificant unless the degree of the shock and the degree of integration between banks are very large. We find that the larger the shock, i.e., the greater the amount of loss amongst all banks, and the more isolated banks are within the payment system, the greater the likelihood of a localized or global banking system failure. However, given the current limits percentages of capitol banks can loan each other, only worldwide economic crises of cataclysmic significance would cause a collapse of the entire banking system. Hence we affirm the findings of our previous work which considered the effects of a bank failure generated by factors internal to the banking system (internal instead of internal shocks), which suggest there is minimal systemic risk in an integrated, minimally regulated, banking system
Gut-seeded α-synuclein fibrils promote gut dysfunction and brain pathology specifically in aged mice
Parkinson’s disease is a synucleinopathy that is characterized by motor dysfunction, death of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and accumulation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregates. Evidence suggests that α-Syn aggregation can originate in peripheral tissues and progress to the brain via autonomic fibers. We tested this by inoculating the duodenal wall of mice with α-Syn preformed fibrils. Following inoculation, we observed gastrointestinal deficits and physiological changes to the enteric nervous system. Using the AAV-PHP.S capsid to target the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase for peripheral gene transfer, we found that α-Syn pathology is reduced due to the increased expression of this protein. Lastly, inoculation of α-Syn fibrils in aged mice, but not younger mice, resulted in progression of α-Syn histopathology to the midbrain and subsequent motor defects. Our results characterize peripheral synucleinopathy in prodromal Parkinson’s disease and explore cellular mechanisms for the gut-to-brain progression of α-Syn pathology
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