A Behavioral Test of the Affinity-Seeking Model: Nonverbal Tactics Among Strangers and Acquaintances.

This research examined the Affinity-Seeking model devised by Bell and Daly (1984). Two components of the model were considered: preinteraction expectancies constraining a social encounter and the competency of the individual as an affinity-seeker. It was hypothesized that strangers would approach a friendly target through the reciprocity strategy and an unfriendly target through the compensatory strategy by increasing behavioral cues of immediacy (e.g., eye-gaze, smiling/laughter, verbalizations, and proximity). It was hypothesized, on the other hand, that acquaintances would not increase their behavioral involvement in view of a friendly expectancy while they would compensate for an unfriendly one. The findings revealed that neither strangers nor acquaintances actively sought affinity with their partners. Rather, they adopted passive affinity-seeking strategies (concede control, conversational rule-keeping) as the means to ensure a pleasant and polite encounter. The behavioral components of affinity-seeking competency were addressed

The Anopheles Mosquito Microbiota and Their Impact on Pathogen Transmission

International audienc

CAwa-NeRF: Instant Learning of Compression-Aware NeRF Features

Modeling 3D scenes by volumetric feature grids is one of the promising directions of neural approximations to improve Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF). Instant-NGP (INGP) introduced multi-resolution hash encoding from a lookup table of trainable feature grids which enabled learning high-quality neural graphics primitives in a matter of seconds. However, this improvement came at the cost of higher storage size. In this paper, we address this challenge by introducing instant learning of compression-aware NeRF features (CAwa-NeRF), that allows exporting the zip compressed feature grids at the end of the model training with a negligible extra time overhead without changing neither the storage architecture nor the parameters used in the original INGP paper. Nonetheless, the proposed method is not limited to INGP but could also be adapted to any model. By means of extensive simulations, our proposed instant learning pipeline can achieve impressive results on different kinds of static scenes such as single object masked background scenes and real-life scenes captured in our studio. In particular, for single object masked background scenes CAwa-NeRF compresses the feature grids down to 6% (1.2 MB) of the original size without any loss in the PSNR (33 dB) or down to 2.4% (0.53 MB) with a slight virtual loss (32.31 dB).Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Modèle multi-domaine d’un actionneur électro-hydrostatique à haut niveau de détails validé expérimentalement

Ce travail a pour but premier de proposer un modèle de système d’actionnement d’aileron basé sur l’utilisation d’un actionneur électro-hydrostatique rendant compte du fonctionnement détaillé du système à tous les niveaux, les spécifications de chaque domaine physique concerné devant y être représentées. Le système considéré va de l’entrée triphasée de l’électronique de puissance du moteur à l’aileron, incluant la commande globale. La modélisation a été faite sur le logiciel Matlab/Simulink et tire profit des différents modules physiques de la librairie Simscape. Dans un premier temps elle prend en compte les différentes sources d’inertie et de frottements hydrauliques et mécaniques, ainsi que les résistances et inductances électriques. Les non-linéarités inhérentes aux topologies utilisées aussi bien au niveau de l’électronique de puissance (pont de diodes et onduleur à IGBTs, tension fixe du bus DC) qu’au niveau hydraulique (circuit hydraulique interne contenant un accumulateur, clapets anti-retour et valves de surpression) sont considérées. Pour améliorer la précision, l’influence des imperfections des composants – tels que les forces de friction rotationnelles du moteur et translationnelles du cylindre, les jeux dans les engrenages de la pompe hydraulique et de la transmission mécanique, la zone morte de la pompe et les résistances hydrauliques des tubes – est aussi insérée aux résultats. Enfin l’intégration des saturations de commande nécessaires à un bon fonctionnement du système permet d’analyser les répercussions de la commande sur le système. Les résultats de simulation sont fournis à l’utilisateur sous forme de courbes et d’animation 3D. Tirant profit d’un prototype développé à l’université McMaster, le modèle d’actionneur électro-hydrostatique contenu dans le système d’actionnement d’aileron décrit précédemment va être isolé puis validé expérimentalement à l’aide de plusieurs signaux physiques mesurés lors de deux expériences successives. La validité du modèle globale étant assurée, celui-ci sera utilisé dans différentes phases de dimensionnement du régulateur de position et d’évolution de la topologie du système

Differential effects of azithromycin, doxycycline and co-trimoxazole in ingested blood on the vectorial capacity of malaria mosquitoes

Background.  The gut microbiota of malaria vector mosquitoes grows after a blood meal and limits Plasmodium infection. We previously showed that penicillin and streptomycin in the ingested blood affect bacterial growth and positively impact mosquito survival and permissiveness to Plasmodium. In this study, we examine the effects of doxycycline, azithromycin, and co-trimoxazole. All 3 antibiotics are used in mass drug administration programs and have antimicrobial activities against bacteria and various stages of malaria parasites. Methods.  The effects of blood meal supplementation with antibiotics on the mosquito microbiota, lifespan, and permissiveness to Plasmodium falciparum were assessed. Results.  Ingestion of any of the 3 antibiotics significantly affected the mosquito microbiota. Azithromycin decreased P falciparum infection load and mosquito lifespan, whereas at high concentrations, doxycycline increased P falciparum infection load. Co-trimoxazole negatively impacted infection intensity but had no reproducible effect on mosquito lifespan. Conclusions.  Our data suggest that the overall effect of antibiotic treatment on parameters critical for mosquito vectorial capacity is drug specific. The negative effect of azithromycin on malaria transmission is consistent with current efforts for disease elimination, whereas additional, larger scale investigations are required before conclusions can be drawn about doxycycline

The peptidoglycan recognition proteins PGRPLA and PGRPLB regulate Anopheles immunity to bacteria and affect infection by Plasmodium

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) form a family of immune regulators that is conserved from insects to mammals. In the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles coluzzii , the peptidoglycan receptor PGRPLC activates the Imd pathway limiting both t he microbiota load and Plasmodium infection. Here, we carried out an RNAi screen to examine the rol e of all seven Anopheles PGRPs in infections with Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum . We show that, in addition to PGRPLC, PGRPLA and PGRPS2/S3 also participate in antiparas itic defenses, and that PGRPLB promotes mosquito permissiveness to P. falciparum . We also demonstrate that following a mosquito blood feeding, which promotes growth of the gut microbiota, PGRPLA and PGRPLB positively and negatively regulate the activation of the Imd pathway, respective ly. Our data demonstrate that PGRPs are important regulators of the mosquito epithelial immunity and vector comp etence

CO2CRC/Otway Project - Influence of Geological and Reservoir Parameters on expected time-lapse seismic signal

In the field of CO2 storage, one important goal is to be able to prove that the injected CO2 is safely stored, and that no leak is occurring. Time-lapse seismic is one of the most powerful tools available for this purpose. However, it is generally used in a qualitative way, to map the injected CO2. Several attempts have been made to use it quantitatively, which are based on the measured time-shifts throughout the seismic volume. Here, we assess the impact of geological and reservoir parameters on the predicted time-lapse signal, which is a first step towards quantification. Uncertainties occur when trying to evaluate the expected timelapse seismic signal. Porosity and permeability are constrained at the wells, but, as is standard in the E&P industry, statistics are used to distribute them throughout the reservoir volume, which is a source of uncertainty. Some reservoir parameters need to be measured, and are poorly constrained for CO2. Our results show that these parameters have an impact on seismic signal prediction, which is not overwhelming (generally below 30%)

Seismic monitoring and verification for the Co2CRC Ottway Basin project

The Otway Project conducted under the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) is the first of its kind, where CO2 is injected into a depleted gas reservoir. The use of depleted fields for CO2 storage is likely to become widely adopted globally and, therefore, the project will provide important experience for monitoring under these conditions. However, such scenario is not favorable for the application of geophysical techniques for the purpose of CO2 monitoring and verification (M&V) because the injection of CO2 into a CH4 depleted reservoir is modeled to produce very subtle changes in elastic properties of the reservoir rock which may be very difficult to measure. Consequently geophysical program for the Otway site was design according to the expected time-lapse effects. It combines both surface and borehole seismic methods. Surface seismic should provide a global vision of the underground and an indirect confirmation of the CO2 containment by recording no differences between the successive time-lapse experiments. Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) surveys are expected to provide an improved characterization of the reservoir and hopefully a direct indication of the fluid distribution and/or its potential upward migration along the reservoir bounding fault pattern. Indeed the results of the current analysis of both pre-base line (test) and base-line 2D and 3D VSP data are encouraging. The availability of vector wave field (three-component) data recorded in VSP surveys should significantly improve the outcomes of M&V program at Naylor site