A Cordial Sync: Going Beyond Marginal Policies for Multi-Agent Embodied Tasks

Autonomous agents must learn to collaborate. It is not scalable to develop a new centralized agent every time a task's difficulty outpaces a single agent's abilities. While multi-agent collaboration research has flourished in gridworld-like environments, relatively little work has considered visually rich domains. Addressing this, we introduce the novel task FurnMove in which agents work together to move a piece of furniture through a living room to a goal. Unlike existing tasks, FurnMove requires agents to coordinate at every timestep. We identify two challenges when training agents to complete FurnMove: existing decentralized action sampling procedures do not permit expressive joint action policies and, in tasks requiring close coordination, the number of failed actions dominates successful actions. To confront these challenges we introduce SYNC-policies (synchronize your actions coherently) and CORDIAL (coordination loss). Using SYNC-policies and CORDIAL, our agents achieve a 58% completion rate on FurnMove, an impressive absolute gain of 25 percentage points over competitive decentralized baselines. Our dataset, code, and pretrained models are available at https://unnat.github.io/cordial-sync .Comment: Accepted to ECCV 2020 (spotlight); Project page: https://unnat.github.io/cordial-syn

Nestedness of Ectoparasite-Vertebrate Host Networks

Determining the structure of ectoparasite-host networks will enable disease ecologists to better understand and predict the spread of vector-borne diseases. If these networks have consistent properties, then studying the structure of well-understood networks could lead to extrapolation of these properties to others, including those that support emerging pathogens. Borrowing a quantitative measure of network structure from studies of mutualistic relationships between plants and their pollinators, we analyzed 29 ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks—including three derived from molecular bloodmeal analysis of mosquito feeding patterns—using measures of nestedness to identify non-random interactions among species. We found significant nestedness in ectoparasite-vertebrate host lists for habitats ranging from tropical rainforests to polar environments. These networks showed non-random patterns of nesting, and did not differ significantly from published estimates of nestedness from mutualistic networks. Mutualistic and antagonistic networks appear to be organized similarly, with generalized ectoparasites interacting with hosts that attract many ectoparasites and more specialized ectoparasites usually interacting with these same “generalized” hosts. This finding has implications for understanding the network dynamics of vector-born pathogens. We suggest that nestedness (rather than random ectoparasite-host associations) can allow rapid transfer of pathogens throughout a network, and expand upon such concepts as the dilution effect, bridge vectors, and host switching in the context of nested ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks

The role of cow urine in the oviposition site preference of culicine and Anopheles mosquitoes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemical and behavioural ecology of mosquitoes plays an important role in the development of chemical cue based vector control. To date, studies available have focused on evaluating mosquito attractants and repellents of synthetic and human origins. This study, however, was aimed at seasonal evaluation of the efficiency of cow urine in producing oviposition cues to <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>s.l. and <it>Culex quinquefasciatus </it>in both laboratory and field conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Oviposition response evaluation in laboratory conditions was carried out in mosquito rearing cages. The oviposition substrates were located in parallel or in diagonal positions inside the cage. Urine evaluation against gravid females of <it>An. arabiensis </it>and <it>Cx. quinquefasciatus </it>was carried out at Day 1, Day 3 and Day 7. Five millilitres (mls) of cow urine was added to oviposition substrate while de-chlorinated water was used as a control. In field experiments, 500 mls of cow urine was added in artificial habitats with 2500 mls of de-chlorinated water and 2 kgs of soil. The experiment was monitored for thirty consecutive days, eggs were collected daily from the habitats at 7.00 hrs. Data analysis was performed using parametric and non-parametric tests for treatments and controls while attraction of the oviposition substrate in each species was presented using Oviposition Activity Index (OAI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The OAI was positive with ageing of cattle urine in culicine species in both laboratory and field experiments. The OAI for anopheline species was positive with fresh urine. The OAI during the rainy season was positive for all species tested while in the dry season the OAI for culicine spp and <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>s.l., changed with time from positive to negative values.</p> <p>Based on linear model analysis, seasons and treatments had a significant effect on the number of eggs laid in habitats, even though the number of days had no effect.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Oviposition substrates treated with cow urine in both laboratory and field conditions have shown that cow urine left to age from 1-7 days has an influence on oviposition behavioural response in mosquitoes. The analysis of microbial colonies for decaying urine should be investigated along with its associated by-products.</p

Epidemiology of Invasive Fungal Infections in Latin America

The pathogenic role of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) has increased during the past two decades in Latin America and worldwide, and the number of patients at risk has risen dramatically. Working habits and leisure activities have also been a focus of attention by public health officials, as endemic mycoses have provoked a number of outbreaks. An extensive search of medical literature from Latin America suggests that the incidence of IFIs from both endemic and opportunistic fungi has increased. The increase in endemic mycoses is probably related to population changes (migration, tourism, and increased population growth), whereas the increase in opportunistic mycoses may be associated with the greater number of people at risk. In both cases, the early and appropriate use of diagnostic procedures has improved diagnosis and outcome

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017—and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions—was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing—and in some countries reversal—of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories

Ideal and relative sweetness of high intensity sweeteners in mango nectar

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)The aim of this study was to analyse the ideal and relative sweetness of mango nectar with high intensity sweeteners. The ideal sweetness of the samples sweetened with sucrose at 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15%, was analysed using an acceptance test with a just-about-right (JAR) scale and 100 consumers of mango nectar. The magnitude estimation method was then used to determine the relative sweetness of the high intensity sweeteners. Six samples were prepared and one sweetener added to each: sucrose, sucralose, 100:50:1 acesulfame-K/sucralose/neotame blend, 1:1 thaumatin/sucralose blend and stevia with 97% of rebaudioside. The ideal sweetness analysis revealed that 6.84% was the ideal concentration of sucrose. The relative sweetness analysis showed that neotame presented the highest sweetening power, being 6026 times sweeter than sucrose with respect to the mango nectar containing 7% of sucrose, followed by sucralose (627), thaumatin/sucralose blend 1:1 (549), acesulfame-K/sucralose/neotame blend 100:50:1 (259) and stevia (134).475991996Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Sensory profile and physicochemical characteristics of mango nectar sweetened with high intensity sweeteners throughout storage time

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The objective of this study was to determine the physicochemical characteristics and sensory profile of mango nectar sweetened with different high intensity sweeteners throughout storage time. The mango nectar samples were sweetened with: acesulfame-K/sucralose/neotame blend (100:50:1), sucrose, stevia with 97% rebaudioside, neotame, sucralose and a thaumatin/sucralose blend (1:1). The physicochemical analyses carried out included color (L*, a*, b*), pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids (degrees Brix) and ratio (Brix/titratable acidity). The sensory profile was studied using the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA). All analyses were carried out at Day zero, 60 days and 120 days of storage. The sensory descriptive and physicochemical data were correlated with an acceptance test by Partial least square (PLS) regression and External preference map (PREFMAP). Changes in sensory profile during storage time were also evaluated using Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) and agreement between configurations was evaluated by Rv coefficient. Sucralose was shown to be the best substitute for sucrose when compared with the other high intensity sweeteners at both zero time and after 120 days of storage. The sample sweetened with sucralose showed acceptance (mean at storage time 6.4) and sensory profile equal to control (sucrose). In addition, the sweeteners stevia with 97% rebaudioside did not show off-flavor and the thaumatin/sucralose blend (1:1) also presented similar acceptance (6.16 at Day zero) and sensory profile in relation to control. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.54216701679Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Survival analysis methodology to predict the shelf-life of probiotic flavored yogurt

The feasibility of survival analysis methodology was used to determine the shelf-life of probiotic strawberry flavored yogurt supplemented with Bifidobacteirum animalis DN 173010 W was investigated. The quality parameters of probiotic yogurts were related to storage conditions which they are submitted. The consumers were shown sensitive to changes towards sensory characteristics introduced into the products. Using the survival analysis and considering 25% and 50% probability of consumer rejection, the shelf-life of the probiotic yogurt was estimated at 38 and 53 days, respectively. The findings of this research highlighted the feasibility this technique to determine the shelf-life of foods, in particular, functional foods, as probiotic yogurts. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.4351444144

Monitoring the authenticity of low-fat yogurts by an artificial neural network

The growing consumption of low- and reduced-fat dairy products demands routine control of their authenticity by health agencies. The usual analyses of fat in dairy products are very simple laboratory methods; however, they require manipulation and use of reagents of a corrosive nature, such as sulfuric acid, to break the chemical bounds between fat and proteins. Additionally, they generate chemical residues that require an appropriate destination. In this work, the use of an artificial neural network based on simple instrumental analyses, such as pH, color, and hardness (inputs) is proposed for the classification of commercial yogurts in the low- and reduced-fat categories (outputs). A total of 108 strawberry-flavored yogurts (48 probiotic low-fat, 36 low- fat, and 24 full-fat yogurts) belonging to several commercial brands and from different batches were used in this research. The statistical analysis showed different features for each yogurt category; thus, a database was built and a neural model was trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm by using the neural network toolbox of the software MATLAB 7.0.1. Validation with unseen data pairs showed that the proposed model was 100% efficient. Because the instrumental analyses do not require any sample preparation and do not produce any chemical residues, the proposed procedure is a fast and interesting approach to monitoring the authenticity of these products.92104797480

PARAFAC: Adjustment for modeling consumer study covering probiotic and conventional yogurt

The feasibility of the parallel factors model (PARAFAC) as a modeling tool for consumer sensory acceptance data of complex food matrices was investigated. The attributes of aroma, flavor, taste, texture, and overall liking of probiotic and conventional yogurts were evaluated by 120 consumers using a 9-point hedonic hybrid scale. Six yogurt samples were used: three were prototypes supplemented with a glucose oxidase/glucose system, which is a potential oxygen scavenging system, and the other three were commercial yogurts. The yogurts supplemented with the glucose oxidase/glucose system presented similar sensory acceptance towards commercial probiotic and conventional yogurts (p>0.05), besides having garnered lower mean scores for the sensory attributes. Appearance and overall liking were the most significant attributes for the first two components of the PARAFAC model. Finally, the advantage of using this method to explore the intrinsic nature of consumer sensory data is discussed and compared to principal component analysis (PCA). (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.45121121