474 research outputs found
Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children: What are Salient Development and Research Factors to Consider?
Early childhood professionals are increasingly pressed to use evidence-based measures when assessing young children. Professional time and resources to investigate research is limited, and takes time away from the delivery of direct services. The literature review is to describe the progression of a widely used curriculum-based assessment (CBA), the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS). In addition to sharing the development of this early childhood measure, we identified 19 studies from the available research found in various databases that have investigated the evidence supporting the use of this measure. Findings have implications for the validity, reliability, and utility of the AEPS
Learning and innovative elements of strategy adoption rules expand cooperative network topologies
Cooperation plays a key role in the evolution of complex systems. However,
the level of cooperation extensively varies with the topology of agent networks
in the widely used models of repeated games. Here we show that cooperation
remains rather stable by applying the reinforcement learning strategy adoption
rule, Q-learning on a variety of random, regular, small-word, scale-free and
modular network models in repeated, multi-agent Prisoners Dilemma and Hawk-Dove
games. Furthermore, we found that using the above model systems other long-term
learning strategy adoption rules also promote cooperation, while introducing a
low level of noise (as a model of innovation) to the strategy adoption rules
makes the level of cooperation less dependent on the actual network topology.
Our results demonstrate that long-term learning and random elements in the
strategy adoption rules, when acting together, extend the range of network
topologies enabling the development of cooperation at a wider range of costs
and temptations. These results suggest that a balanced duo of learning and
innovation may help to preserve cooperation during the re-organization of
real-world networks, and may play a prominent role in the evolution of
self-organizing, complex systems.Comment: 14 pages, 3 Figures + a Supplementary Material with 25 pages, 3
Tables, 12 Figures and 116 reference
A Search for Very Low-mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in the Young sigma Orionis Cluster
We present a CCD-based photometric survey covering 870 sq. arcmin in a young
stellar cluster around the young multiple star sigma Orionis. Our survey
limiting R, I, and Z magnitudes are 23.2, 21.8, and 21.0, respectively. From
our colour-magnitude diagrams, we have selected 49 faint objects, which
smoothly extrapolate the photometric sequence defined by more massive known
members. Adopting the currently accepted age interval of 2-10 Myr for the Orion
1b association and considering recent evolutionary models, our objects may span
a mass range from 0.1 down to 0.02 Msun, well within the substellar regime.
Follow-up low-resolution optical spectroscopy (635-920 nm) for eight of our
candidates (I=16-19.5) shows that they have spectral types M6-M8.5 which are
consistent with the expectations for true members. Compared with their Pleiades
counterparts of similar types, Halpha emission is generally stronger, while NaI
and KI absorption lines appear weaker, as expected for lower surface gravities
and younger ages. Additionally, TiO bands and in particular VO bands appear
clearly enhanced in our candidate with the latest spectral type, SOri 45 (M8.5,
I=19.5), compared to objects of similar types in older clusters and the field.
We have estimated the mass of this candidate at only 0.020-0.040 Msun, hence it
is one of the least massive brown dwarfs yet discovered. We also discuss in
this paper the potential role of deuterium as a tracer of both substellar
nature and age in very young clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Main Journal. 32 pages of text and
tables + 9 pages of figures. Figures 3a and 3b (gif format) provided
separatel
Bacteroides fragilis requires the ferrous-iron transporter FeoAB and the CobN-like proteins BtuS1 and BtuS2 for assimilation of iron released from heme
The intestinal commensal and opportunistic anaerobic pathogen Bacteroides fragilis has an essential requirement for both heme and free iron to support growth in extraintestinal infections. In the absence of free iron, B. fragilis can utilize heme as the sole source of iron. However, the mechanisms to remove iron from heme are not completely understood. In this study, we show that the inner membrane ferrous iron
transporter ∆feoAB mutant strain is no longer able to grow with heme as the sole source of iron. Genetic complementation with the feoAB gene operon completely restored growth. Our data indicate that iron is removed from heme in the periplasmic space, and the released iron is transported by the FeoAB system. Interestingly, when B. fragilis utilizes iron from heme, it releases heme-derived porphyrins by a dechelatase activity which is upregulated under low iron conditions. This is supported by the findings showing that formation of heme-derived porphyrins in the ∆feoAB mutant and the parent strain increased 30-fold and fivefold (respectively) under low iron conditions compared to iron replete conditions. Moreover, the btuS1 btuS2 doublemutant strain (lacking the predicted periplasmic, membrane anchored CobN-like proteins) also showed growth defect with heme as the sole source of iron, suggesting that BtuS1 and BtuS2 are involved in heme-iron assimilation. Though the dechelatase mechanism remains uncharacterized, assays performed in bacterial crude extracts show that BtuS1 and BtuS2 affect the regulation of the dechelatase-specific activities in an iron-dependent manner. These findings suggest that the mechanism to extract iron from heme in Bacteroides requires a group of proteins, which spans the
periplasmic space to make iron available for cellular functions
RR Lyrae Stars Belonging to the Candidate Globular Cluster Patchick 99
Patchick 99 is a candidate globular cluster located in the direction of the
Galactic bulge, with a proper motion almost identical to the field and extreme
field star contamination. A recent analysis suggests it is a low-luminosity
globular cluster with a population of RR Lyrae stars. We present new spectra of
stars in and around Patchick 99, targeting specifically the 3 RR Lyrae stars
associated with the cluster as well as the other RR Lyrae stars in the field. A
sample of 53 giant stars selected from proper motions and a position on CMD are
also observed. The three RR Lyrae stars associated with the cluster have
similar radial velocities and distances, and two of the targeted giants also
have radial velocities in this velocity regime and [Fe/H] metallicities that
are slightly more metal-poor than the field. Therefore, if Patchick 99 is a
bonafide globular cluster, it would have a radial velocity of -92+/-10 km s-1,
a distance of 6.7+/-0.4 kpc (as determined from the RR Lyrae stars), and an
orbit that confines it to the inner bulge.Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Replaced due to a typo
in the titl
Agent model for evaluating efficiency of regional human resource
In this paper we study influence of regional programs on the population resettlement in the Russian Federation at the example of the Belgorod region, where the Program of regional human resource development is being implemente
Cooperation, Norms, and Revolutions: A Unified Game-Theoretical Approach
Cooperation is of utmost importance to society as a whole, but is often
challenged by individual self-interests. While game theory has studied this
problem extensively, there is little work on interactions within and across
groups with different preferences or beliefs. Yet, people from different social
or cultural backgrounds often meet and interact. This can yield conflict, since
behavior that is considered cooperative by one population might be perceived as
non-cooperative from the viewpoint of another.
To understand the dynamics and outcome of the competitive interactions within
and between groups, we study game-dynamical replicator equations for multiple
populations with incompatible interests and different power (be this due to
different population sizes, material resources, social capital, or other
factors). These equations allow us to address various important questions: For
example, can cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma be promoted, when two
interacting groups have different preferences? Under what conditions can costly
punishment, or other mechanisms, foster the evolution of norms? When does
cooperation fail, leading to antagonistic behavior, conflict, or even
revolutions? And what incentives are needed to reach peaceful agreements
between groups with conflicting interests?
Our detailed quantitative analysis reveals a large variety of interesting
results, which are relevant for society, law and economics, and have
implications for the evolution of language and culture as well
Communication Research
Contains reports on seven research projects.Rockefeller FoundationCarnegie Foundatio
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