Inference in Predictive Regression Models with Persistent Regressors

This thesis comprises three papers on predictive regressions with persistent regressors. Standard approaches such as OLS suffer from second-order bias and corresponding test statistics show nonstandard limiting distributions in the presence of endogenous and persistent regressors. I discuss three different approaches to deal with this issue as well as further pitfalls such as nonlinearity and model uncertainty within this thesis. Two M-based tests are aggregated in Chapter 2, yielding a standard distribution for stable as well as persistent regressors. The setup is extended to nonlinear predictability and the performance of nonparametric and IV-based tests are compared in Chapter 3. Finally, the focus in Chapter 4 lies on multivariate predictions of different tree-based methods

Inferring Topology of Networks With Hidden Dynamic Variables

Inferring the network topology from the dynamics of interacting units constitutes a topical challenge that drives research on its theory and applications across physics, mathematics, biology, and engineering. Most current inference methods rely on time series data recorded from all dynamical variables in the system. In applications, often only some of these time series are accessible, while other units or variables of all units are hidden, i.e. inaccessible or unobserved. For instance, in AC power grids, frequency measurements often are easily available whereas determining the phase relations among the oscillatory units requires much more effort. Here, we propose a network inference method that allows to reconstruct the full network topology even if all units exhibit hidden variables. We illustrate the approach in terms of a basic AC power grid model with two variables per node, the local phase angle and the local instantaneous frequency. Based solely on frequency measurements, we infer the underlying network topology as well as the relative phases that are inaccessible to measurement. The presented method may be enhanced to include systems with more complex coupling functions and additional parameters such as losses in power grid models. These results may thus contribute towards developing and applying novel network inference approaches in engineering, biology and beyond

Stable Engraftment of \u3ci\u3eBifidobacterium longum\u3c/i\u3e AH1206 in the Human Gut Depends on Individualized Features of the Resident Microbiome

Live bacteria (such as probiotics) have long been used to modulate gut microbiota and human physiology, but their colonization is mostly transient. Conceptual understanding of the ecological principles as they apply to exogenously introduced microbes in gut ecosystems is lacking. We find that, when orally administered to humans, Bifidobacterium longum AH1206 stably persists in the gut of 30% of individuals for at least 6 months without causing gastrointestinal symptoms or impacting the composition of the resident gut microbiota. AH1206 engraftment was associated with low abundance of resident B. longum and underrepresentation of specific carbohydrate utilization genes in the pre-treatment microbiome. Thus, phylogenetic limiting and resource availability are two factors that control the niche opportunity for AH1206 colonization. These findings suggest that bacterial species and functional genes absent in the gut microbiome of individual humans can be reestablished, providing opportunities for precise and personalized microbiome reconstitution

Stable Engraftment of \u3ci\u3eBifidobacterium longum\u3c/i\u3e AH1206 in the Human Gut Depends on Individualized Features of the Resident Microbiome

Live bacteria (such as probiotics) have long been used to modulate gut microbiota and human physiology, but their colonization is mostly transient. Conceptual understanding of the ecological principles as they apply to exogenously introduced microbes in gut ecosystems is lacking. We find that, when orally administered to humans, Bifidobacterium longum AH1206 stably persists in the gut of 30% of individuals for at least 6 months without causing gastrointestinal symptoms or impacting the composition of the resident gut microbiota. AH1206 engraftment was associated with low abundance of resident B. longum and underrepresentation of specific carbohydrate utilization genes in the pre-treatment microbiome. Thus, phylogenetic limiting and resource availability are two factors that control the niche opportunity for AH1206 colonization. These findings suggest that bacterial species and functional genes absent in the gut microbiome of individual humans can be reestablished, providing opportunities for precise and personalized microbiome reconstitution

Unverpixelter Hass

UNVERPIXELTER HASS Unverpixelter Hass / Kahane, Anetta (Rights reserved) ( -

knights-lab/shi7: SHI7 for Linux and Mac; all-in-one package

Changes Fixed some wording in the options and output logs Changed defaults for trimming (now stricter) Changed defaults for stitching (now allows as little as 10 bases of overlap) Added '-outies' shorthand (use as -outies f for instance) Increased aggressiveness of trimming in palindrome (paired end) mode when safe Now has a DOI for citation purposes Installation instructions: Extract to a directory in your executable PATH (or anywhere, and add that directory to PATH). Use by calling shi7.py anywhere

Assessment of auditory distance in a territorial songbird: Accurate feat or rule of thumb?

Territorial passerines presumably benefit from their ability to use auditory cues to judge the distance to singing conspecifics, by increasing the efficiency of their territorial defence. Here, we report data on the approach of male territorial chaffinches, Fringilla coelebs, to a loudspeaker broadcasting conspecific song simulating a rival at various distances by different amounts of song degradation. Songs were degraded digitally in a computer-simulated forest emulating distances of 0, 20, 40, 80 and 120 m. The approach distance of chaffinches towards the loudspeaker increased with increasing amounts of degradation indicating a perceptual representation of differences in distance of a sound source. We discuss the interindividual variation of male responses with respect to constraints resulting from random variation of ranging cues provided by the environmental song degradation, the perception accuracy and the decision rules. (C) 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.</p