Comment to the article 'Setting policy agenda for the social dimension of the Bologna Process' by Yasemin Yagci (2014)

Reply to: Setting Policy Agenda for the Social Dimension of the Bologna Process, by Yasemin Yagci doi:10.1057/hep.2013.38 (published online 7 Jan 2014

Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe: Synopsis of indicators - Final report - Eurostudent IV 2008-2011

This publication is a compendium of key indicators on the social dimension of higher education. It presents the findings of the 4th round of the EUROSTUDENT project, to which 25 countries forming part of the European Higher Education Area have contributed. With a view to obtaining internationally comparable data on the social and economic conditions of student life in Europe, more than 200,000 students were surveyed by the 25 national partners between 2008 and 2011. The thematic design of this report reflects a lifelong learning student's course of study, from transition into higher education to a forecast on future studies. It concentrates on 3 main topic areas: access to higher education and the organisation of studies, students' resources and expenses as well as international student mobility. The Synopsis of Indicators intends to contribute to the ongoing process of establishing a European-wide monitoring infrastructure on the social dimension of higher education, thereby inspiring policy debates and further research in the field. "This Synopsis of Indicators, together with the associated national reports and the online data base, provide an important resource for higher education policy makers and researchers." (Extract from Foreword by Prof. Patrick Clancy

C−\mathcal {C}-IBI: Targeting cumulative coordination within an iterative protocol to derive coarse-grained models of (multi-component) complex fluids

We present a coarse-graining strategy that we test for aqueous mixtures. The method uses pair-wise cumulative coordination as a target function within an iterative Boltzmann inversion (IBI) like protocol. We name this method coordination iterative Boltzmann inversion ($\mathcal {C}-$IBI). While the underlying coarse-grained model is still structure based and, thus, preserves pair-wise solution structure, our method also reproduces solvation thermodynamics of binary and/or ternary mixtures. Additionally, we observe much faster convergence within $\mathcal {C}-$IBI compared to IBI. To validate the robustness, we apply $\mathcal {C}-$IBI to study test cases of solvation thermodynamics of aqueous urea and a triglycine solvation in aqueous urea

Non-Markovian data-driven modeling of single-cell motility

Trajectories of human breast cancer cells moving on one-dimensional circular tracks are modeled by thenon-Markovian version of the Langevin equation that includes an arbitrary memory function. When averagedover cells, the velocity distribution exhibits spurious non-Gaussian behavior, while single cells are characterizedby Gaussian velocity distributions. Accordingly, the data are described by a linear memory model whichincludes different random walk models that were previously used to account for various aspects of cell motilitysuch as migratory persistence, non-Markovian effects, colored noise, and anomalous diffusion. The memoryfunction is extracted from the trajectory data without restrictions or assumptions, thus making our approachtruly data driven, and is used for unbiased single-cell comparison. The cell memory displays time-delayedsingle-exponential negative friction, which clearly distinguishes cell motion from the simple persistent randomwalk model and suggests a regulatory feedback mechanism that controls cell migration. Based on the extractedmemory function we formulate a generalized exactly solvable cell migration model which indicates thatnegative friction generates cell persistence over long timescales. The nonequilibrium character of cell motionis investigated by mapping the non-Markovian Langevin equation with memory onto a Markovian model thatinvolves a hidden degree of freedom and is equivalent to the underdamped active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process

Complex eco-evolutionary dynamics induced by the coevolution of predator–prey movement strategies

The coevolution of predators and prey has been the subject of much empirical and theoretical research that produced intriguing insights into the interplay of ecology and evolution. To allow for mathematical analysis, models of predator–prey coevolution are often coarse-grained, focussing on population-level processes and largely neglecting individual-level behaviour. As selection is acting on individual-level properties, we here present a more mechanistic approach: an individual-based simulation model for the coevolution of predators and prey on a fine-grained resource landscape, where features relevant for ecology (like changes in local densities) and evolution (like differences in survival and reproduction) emerge naturally from interactions between individuals. Our focus is on predator–prey movement behaviour, and we present a new method for implementing evolving movement strategies in an efficient and intuitively appealing manner. Throughout their lifetime, predators and prey make repeated movement decisions on the basis of their movement strategies. Over the generations, the movement strategies evolve, as individuals that successfully survive and reproduce leave their strategy to more descendants. We show that the movement strategies in our model evolve rapidly, thereby inducing characteristic spatial patterns like spiral waves and static spots. Transitions between these patterns occur frequently, induced by antagonistic coevolution rather than by external events. Regularly, evolution leads to the emergence and stable coexistence of qualitatively different movement strategies within the same population. Although the strategy space of our model is continuous, we often observe the evolution of discrete movement types. We argue that rapid evolution, coexistent movement types, and phase shifts between different ecological regimes are not a peculiarity of our model but a result of more realistic assumptions on eco-evolutionary feedbacks and the number of evolutionary degrees of freedom

Ideal free distribution of unequal competitors:Spatial assortment and evolutionary diversification of competitive ability

Ideal free distribution theory attempts to predict the distribution of well-informed (‘ideal’) and unconstrained (‘free’) foragers in space based on adaptive individual decisions. When individuals differ in competitive ability, a whole array of equilibrium distributions is possible, and it is unclear which of these distributions are most likely. In the first part of our study, we show that strong competitors have an intrinsically stronger preference for highly productive habitat patches than poor competitors. This leads to an equilibrium distribution where the average competitive ability on a patch is strongly correlated with the productivity of the patch. In the second part of our study, we consider what happens if differences in competitive ability are heritable and, hence, subject to natural selection. Under constant environmental conditions, selection eliminates such differences: a single strategy prevails that optimally balances the costs and benefits associated with competitive ability. If the productivity of patches changes during the lifetime of individuals, the spatial assortment of competitors of equal competitive ability gives poor competitors a systematic advantage in times of environmental change, while good competitors benefit from equilibrium conditions. Using evolutionary individual-based simulations, we demonstrate that environmental change may then lead to the diversification of competitive ability

Social and economic conditions of student life in Europe: synopsis of indicators; eurostudent V; 2012-2015

The EUROSTUDENT V - Synopsis of Indicators is the central publication of the EUROSTUDENT project and the result of the collaboration of a European-wide network including researchers, data collectors, representatives of national ministries, and other stakeholders. It comprises data from student surveys conducted in 29 countries in the European Higher Education Area during the fifth round of the EUROSTUDENT project. Adopting a broad, comparative perspective, the EUROSTUDENT V - Synopsis of Indicators provides information on topic areas such as access to higher education, study conditions, as well as international student mobility, assessment of studies, and future plans with the aim of inspiring policy debates and laying the ground for further research.Der Bericht zu sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen des Studiums ist die wohl wichtigste Publikation des Projekts EUROSTUDENT. Die Sozialerhebung ist das Ergebnis einer Zusammenarbeit zwischen Forschern, Datensammlern, Vertretern nationaler Ministerien und anderer Akteure aus ganz Europa. Im Zuge der fünften Phase des Projekts wurden im Europäischen Hochschulraum Studentenbefragungen in 29 Ländern durchgeführt. Die Publikation beleuchtet die Ergebnisse dieser Erhebung. Dabei vergleicht die Analyse ein breites Spektrum an Informationen und erörtert den Zugang zu höherer Bildung, Studienbedingungen, die internationale Mobilität der Studierenden, die Qualität von Studiengängen und geplante Programme. Ziel der Erhebung ist es, bildungspolitische Debatten anzuregen und den Grundstein für künftige Forschungsarbeit zu legen

Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe

"The EUROSTUDENT V - Synopsis of Indicators is the central publication of the EUROSTUDENT project and the result of the collaboration of a European-wide network including researchers, data collectors, representatives of national ministries, and other stakeholders. It comprises data from student surveys conducted in 29 countries in the European Higher Education Area during the fifth round of the EUROSTUDENT project. Adopting a broad, comparative perspective, the EUROSTUDENT V - Synopsis of Indicators provides information on topic areas such as access to higher education, study conditions, as well as international student mobility, assessment of studies, and future plans with the aim of inspiring policy debates and laying the ground for further research.

Details matter when modelling the effects of animal personality on the spatial distribution of foragers

By means of a simulation study, DiNuzzo & Griffen [1] investigate whether individual variation in a personality trait can explain ‘undermatching’, an often-observed deviation from the ideal free distribution (IFD). Here, we raise five points of concern about this study, regarding (i) the interpretation of the results in terms of personality variation; (ii) deficiencies in the technical implementation of the model, leading to wrong conclusions; (iii) the effects of population size on deviations from the IFD; (iv) the measure used for quantifying deviations from the IFD and (v) the analysis of the mud crab data. Finally, we provide an overview of the evolutionary ramifications of the relation between animal personality and the IFD

Size Dependence of Steric Shielding and Multivalency Effects for Globular Binding Inhibitors

Competitive binding inhibitors based on multivalent nanoparticles have shown great potential for preventing virus infections. However, general design principles of highly efficient inhibitors are lacking as the quantitative impact of factors such as virus concentration, inhibitor size, steric shielding, or multivalency effects in the inhibition process is not known. Based on two complementary experimental inhibition assays we determined size- dependent steric shielding and multivalency effects. This allowed us to adapt the Cheng–Prusoff equation for its application to multivalent systems. Our results show that the particle and volume normalized IC50 value of an inhibitor at very low virus concentration predominantly depends on its multivalent association constant, which itself exponentially increases with the inhibitor/virus contact area and ligand density. Compared to multivalency effects, the contribution of steric shielding to the IC50 values is only minor, and its impact is only noticeable if the multivalent dissociation constant is far below the virus concentration, which means if all inhibitors are bound to the virus. The dependence of the predominant effect, either steric shielding or multivalency, on the virus concentration has significant implications on the in vitro testing of competitive binding inhibitors and determines optimal inhibitor diameters for the efficient inhibition of viruses