NameBuzzer

The NameExpert is an iOS mobile application that will help users remember the names of new acquaintances. Many people often experience situations where they would run into someone they have been introduced to before, but could not remember the name to. Situations like this tend to instigate feelings of frustration and awkwardness between both parties. Names are important as part of identity and so the NameExpert would allow individuals to connect names to things like location of the meet, appearances, and other systematic ways. The NameExpert would utilize an algorithm that is derived from a proven psychological research regarding the human memory to help the individual retain the new names

Combinatorial complexity of signed discs

AbstractLet C+ and C− be two collections of topological discs. The collection of discs is ‘topological’ in the sense that their boundaries are Jordan curves and each pair of Jordan curves intersect at most twice. We prove that the region ∪C+ − ∪C− has combinatorial complexity at most 10n − 30 where p = |C+|, q = |C−| and n = p + q ≥ 5. Moreover, this bound is achievable. We also show less precise bounds that are stated as functions of p and q

Coexistence of a generalist owl with its intraguild predator: distance-sensitive or habitat-mediated avoidance?

Intraguild predation is increasingly reported as a population-limiting factor for vertebrate predators. However, long-term coexistence of the intraguild prey with its predator is a common occurrence usually maintained by some form of predator avoidance, which may be achieved through distance-sensitive avoidance (selection of sites as far as possible from the intraguild predator), and/or habitat-mediated avoidance (avoidance of habitats associated with high predation risk). The former is expected when the distribution of the predator is heterogeneous, leaving gaps which can be exploited by the prey, while the latter is expected at high predator densities, when few predation refugia are available. To date, few studies have focused on such switch in predator avoidance under changing scenarios of intraguild predator density. To test this hypothesis, we censused tawny owls (Strix aluco, body mass ∼0.4-0.7 kg) and their intraguild predator, the eagle owl (Bubo bubo, ∼1.5-4 kg), in 12 areas of the Alps. As predicted, tawny owls were indifferent to predator distance in an area of low predation risk, they switched to distance-sensitive avoidance in an area of medium predator density and to habitat-mediated avoidance in an area of high predator density with few available refugia. Actual predation rates were low, but increased with proximity to the intraguild predator nest. Similarly, tawny owl breeding output declined with closeness to an eagle owl nest. Habitat loss associated with predator avoidance translated into population effects, leading to a negative relationship between the densities of the two owl species. The spatial gaps in tawny owl distribution caused by eagle owls indirectly favoured other owl species, resulting in higher diversity of the overall owl community and suggesting that eagle owls acted as keystone predators. Our results suggest that intraguild predation may alter habitat choices and affect density, productivity and guild structure of vertebrate mesopredators. Such effects are probably more common than previously thought. © 2007 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.Peer Reviewe

A Federated Database for Obesity Research:An IMI-SOPHIA Study

Obesity is considered by many as a lifestyle choice rather than a chronic progressive disease. The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) SOPHIA (Stratification of Obesity Phenotypes to Optimize Future Obesity Therapy) project is part of a momentum shift aiming to provide better tools for the stratification of people with obesity according to disease risk and treatment response. One of the challenges to achieving these goals is that many clinical cohorts are siloed, limiting the potential of combined data for biomarker discovery. In SOPHIA, we have addressed this challenge by setting up a federated database building on open-source DataSHIELD technology. The database currently federates 16 cohorts that are accessible via a central gateway. The database is multi-modal, including research studies, clinical trials, and routine health data, and is accessed using the R statistical programming environment where statistical and machine learning analyses can be performed at a distance without any disclosure of patient-level data. We demonstrate the use of the database by providing a proof-of-concept analysis, performing a federated linear model of BMI and systolic blood pressure, pooling all data from 16 studies virtually without any analyst seeing individual patient-level data. This analysis provided similar point estimates compared to a meta-analysis of the 16 individual studies. Our approach provides a benchmark for reproducible, safe federated analyses across multiple study types provided by multiple stakeholders.</p

Geographic and temporal trends in the molecular epidemiology and genetic mechanisms of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance:an individual-patient- and sequence-level meta-analysis

Regional and subtype-specific mutational patterns of HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance (TDR) are essential for informing first-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy guidelines and designing diagnostic assays for use in regions where standard genotypic resistance testing is not affordable. We sought to understand the molecular epidemiology of TDR and to identify the HIV-1 drug-resistance mutations responsible for TDR in different regions and virus subtypes.status: publishe

A multi-ancestry genome-wide study incorporating gene-smoking interactions identifies multiple new loci for pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure

Elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, is influenced by both genetic and lifestyle factors. Cigarette smoking is one such lifestyle factor. Across five ancestries, we performed a genome-wide gene-smoking interaction study of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP) in 129 913 individuals in stage 1 and follow-up analysis in 480 178 additional individuals in stage 2. We report here 136 loci significantly associated with MAP and/or PP. Of these, 61 were previously published through main-effect analysis of BP traits, 37 were recently reported by us for systolic BP and/or diastolic BP through gene-smoking interaction analysis and 38 were newly identified (P <5 x 10(-8), false discovery rate <0.05). We also identified nine new signals near known loci. Of the 136 loci, 8 showed significant interaction with smoking status. They include CSMD1 previously reported for insulin resistance and BP in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. Many of the 38 new loci show biologic plausibility for a role in BP regulation. SLC26A7 encodes a chloride/bicarbonate exchanger expressed in the renal outer medullary collecting duct. AVPR1A is widely expressed, including in vascular smooth muscle cells, kidney, myocardium and brain. FHAD1 is a long non-coding RNA overexpressed in heart failure. TMEM51 was associated with contractile function in cardiomyocytes. CASP9 plays a central role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Identified only in African ancestry were 30 novel loci. Our findings highlight the value of multi-ancestry investigations, particularly in studies of interaction with lifestyle factors, where genomic and lifestyle differences may contribute to novel findings.Peer reviewe

Combinatorial Complexity of Signed Discs

Let C + and C \Gamma be two collections of topological discs of arbitrary radii. The collection of discs is `topological&apos; in the sense that their boundaries are Jordan curves and each pair of Jordan curves intersect at most twice. We prove that the region [C + \Gamma [C \Gamma has combinatorial complexity at most 10n \Gamma 30 where p = jC + j, q = jC \Gamma j and n = p+q 5. Moreover, this bound is achievable. We also show less precise bounds that are stated as functions of p and q. 1 CKY is supportedby NSF grants #DCR-84-01898 and #CCR-87-03458; DLS is supported by NSF grants #CCR-88-03549 and #CCR-91-04732. 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1 Introduction Analysis of the combinatorial complexity of geometric or topological arrangements is often a prelude to the complexity analysis of algorithms. There have been several recent papers on the combinatorial complexity of arrangements of planar curves. In particular, Kedem et al. [4] shows that if C is a collection of n 0 topological di..