Ranking Information in Networks

Abstract not provide

Global gene expression analysis provides insight into local adaptation to geothermal streams in tadpoles of the Andean toad Rhinella spinulosa

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.The anuran Rhinella spinulosa is distributed along the Andes Range at altitudes that undergo wide daily and seasonal variation in temperature. One of the populations inhabits geothermal streams, a stable environment that influences life history traits such as the timing of metamorphosis. To investigate whether this population has undergone local adaptation to this unique habitat, we carried out transcriptome analyses in animals from two localities in two developmental stages (prometamorphic and metamorphic) and exposed them to two temperatures (20 and 25 degrees C). RNA-Seq, de novo assembly and annotation defined a transcriptome revealing 194,469 high quality SNPs, with 1,507 genes under positive selection. Comparisons among the experimental conditions yielded 1,593 differentially expressed genes. A bioinformatics search for candidates revealed a total of 70 genes that are highly likely to be implicated in the adaptive response of the population living in a stable environment, compared to those living in an environment with variable temperatures. Most importantly, the population inhabiting the geothermal environment showed decreased transcriptional plasticity and reduced genetic variation compared to its counterpart from the non-stable environment. This analysis will help to advance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that account for the local adaptation to geothermal streams in anurans.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-01982-

The Role of Human-Automation Consensus in Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Scheduling

Objective: This study examined the impact of increasing automation replanning rates on operator performance and workload when supervising a decentralized network of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles. Background: Futuristic unmanned vehicles systems will invert the operator-to-vehicle ratio so that one operator can control multiple dissimilar vehicles connected through a decentralized network. Significant human-automation collaboration will be needed because of automation brittleness, but such collaboration could cause high workload. Method: Three increasing levels of replanning were tested on an existing multiple unmanned vehicle simulation environment that leverages decentralized algorithms for vehicle routing and task allocation in conjunction with human supervision. Results: Rapid replanning can cause high operator workload, ultimately resulting in poorer overall system performance. Poor performance was associated with a lack of operator consensus for when to accept the automation’s suggested prompts for new plan consideration as well as negative attitudes toward unmanned aerial vehicles in general. Participants with video game experience tended to collaborate more with the automation, which resulted in better performance. Conclusion: In decentralized unmanned vehicle networks, operators who ignore the automation’s requests for new plan consideration and impose rapid replans both increase their own workload and reduce the ability of the vehicle network to operate at its maximum capacity. Application: These findings have implications for personnel selection and training for futuristic systems involving human collaboration with decentralized algorithms embedded in networks of autonomous systems.Aurora Flight Sciences Corp.United States. Office of Naval Researc

Long-term survival after successful out-of-hospital resuscitation

Between 1983 and 1989, 962 patients in Rotterdam were resuscitated outside hospital, of whom 240 (25%) could be discharged alive. A follow-up study was performed to determine prognosis in these patients. Of the 240 survivors of out-of-hospital resuscitation 80% survived after 1 year and 61% after 5 years. During the first year, 9% suffered from myocardial (re)infarction and 13% underwent coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty. Within the first 3 years after resuscitation 60% of the patients were readmitted to hospital. Permanent or temporary neurological deficits were observed in 30 patients (14%). Patients with a primary arrhythmia without myocardial infarction had a worse prognosis than patients with a cardiac arrest in the context of an infarct. Survival was better in patients in whom resuscitation was initiated by physicians or ambulance-nurses, than in patients resuscitated by lay-people. Multivariate analysis revealed that this difference could be explained by a larger proportion of patients with a primary arrhythmia in the latter group. Since long-term prognosis after out-of-hospital resuscitation is satisfactory, programmes for resuscitation courses should be stimulated. Such programmes should aim predominantly at relatives of patients with known heart disease, police officers and children

Verslag van een graslandverbeteringsproefveld op rivierkleikomgrond te Enspijk

CILO onderzoek graslandverbetering komkleigronde

Comparisons of Supergranule Characteristics During the Solar Minima of Cycles 22/23 and 23/24

Supergranulation is a component of solar convection that manifests itself on the photosphere as a cellular network of around 35 Mm across, with a turnover lifetime of 1-2 days. It is strongly linked to the structure of the magnetic field. The horizontal, divergent flows within supergranule cells carry local field lines to the cell boundaries, while the rotational properties of supergranule upflows may contribute to the restoration of the poloidal field as part of the dynamo mechanism that controls the solar cycle. The solar minimum at the transition from cycle 23 to 24 was notable for its low level of activity and its extended length. It is of interest to study whether the convective phenomena that influences the solar magnetic field during this time differed in character to periods of previous minima. This study investigates three characteristics (velocity components, sizes and lifetimes) of solar supergranulation. Comparisons of these characteristics are made between the minima of cycles 22/23 and 23/24 using MDI Doppler data from 1996 and 2008, respectively. It is found that whereas the lifetimes are equal during both epochs (around 18 h), the sizes are larger in 1996 (35.9 +/- 0.3 Mm) than in 2008 (35.0 +/- 0.3 Mm), while the dominant horizontal velocity flows are weaker (139 +/- 1 m/s in 1996; 141 +/- 1 m/s in 2008). Although numerical differences are seen, they are not conclusive proof of the most recent minimum being inherently unusual.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures. Solar Physics, in pres

Monopole characteristics in various Abelian gauges

Renormalization group (RG) smoothing is employed on the lattice to investigate and to compare the monopole structure of the SU(2) vacuum as seen in different gauges (maximally Abelian (MAG), Polyakov loop (PG) and Laplacian gauge (LG)). Physically relevant types of monopoles (LG and MAG) are distinguished by their behavior near the deconfining phase transition. For the LG, Abelian projection reproduces well the gauge independent monopole structure encoded in an auxiliary Higgs field. Density and localization properties of monopoles, their non-Abelian action and topological charge are studied. Results are presented confirming the Abelian dominance with respect to the non-perturbative static potential for all gauges considered.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figure

Why Primate Models Matter

Research involving nonhuman primates (NHPs) has played a vital role in many of the medical and scientific advances of the past century. NHPs are used because of their similarity to humans in physiology, neuroanatomy, reproduction, development, cognition, and social complexity – yet it is these very similarities that make the use of NHPs in biomedical research a considered decision. As primate researchers, we feel an obligation and responsibility to present the facts concerning why primates are used in various areas of biomedical research. Recent decisions in the United States, including the phasing out of chimpanzees in research by the National Institutes of Health and the pending closure of the New England Primate Research Center, illustrate to us the critical importance of conveying why continued research with primates is needed. Here we review key areas in biomedicine where primate models have been, and continue to be, essential for advancing fundamental knowledge in biomedical and biological research