Generalized minority games with adaptive trend-followers and contrarians

We introduce a simple extension of the minority game in which the market rewards contrarian (resp. trend-following) strategies when it is far from (resp. close to) efficiency. The model displays a smooth crossover from a regime where contrarians dominate to one where trend-followers dominate. In the intermediate phase, the stationary state is characterized by non-Gaussian features as well as by the formation of sustained trends and bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Investigating the veracity of self-reported post-traumatic growth: a profile analysis approach

Research into posttraumatic growth—positive psychological change that people report in their relationships, priorities in life, and self-perception after experiences of adversity—has been severely critiqued. We investigated the degree to which community members’ friends and relatives corroborated targets’ self-perceived positive and negative changes as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-42. We found corroboration only for negative changes when we examined overall (averaged) scores. However, using a profile analysis procedure, we found significant participant–informant agreement on the domains of change that had relatively higher scores in the target’s profile and those that had relatively lower scores. Our results demonstrate that informants were able to observe that targets had changed and were sensitive to the idiosyncratic ways in which these changes had manifested in targets’ behavior

First multi-target application of exclusion net in nectarine orchards: Effectiveness against pests and impact on beneficial arthropods, postharvest rots and fruit quality

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of alternative pest control strategies to reduce environmental impact. In this contest, exclusion nets have been evaluated as a sustainable alternative to pesticides. In this study, the use of a photoselective exclusion net was investigated in semi-field conditions as a potential strategy to protect nectarine orchards from different pests (i.e., fruit moths, Halyomorpha halys and Drosophila suzukii) in NW Italy. The presence and abundance of pest populations inside and outside the net, as well as the damage they caused on fruits, were evaluated. Moreover, any possible effects of the net on beneficial arthropods, postharvest rots and fruit quality and nutraceutical parameters were considered. The exclusion net significantly reduced pest populations. At harvest, fruit damage caused by Grapholita molesta and H. halys in netted plots was reduced up to 90% and to 78%, respectively, compared with insecticide-treated plots. The exclusion net allowed the production of healthier fruits with a strong reduction of insecticide treatments (up to seven less) and of their related costs without any negative impact on postharvest rots, neither fruit quality nor nutraceutical properties

A Pair Polarimeter for Linearly Polarized High Energy Photons

A high quality beam of linearly polarized photons of several GeV will become available with the coherent bremsstrahlung technique at JLab. We have developed a polarimeter which requires about two meters of the beam line, has an analyzing power of 20% and an efficiency of 0.02%. The layout and first results of a polarimeter test on the laser back-scattering photon beam at SPring-8/LEPS are presented

Study of the bacterial community affiliated to Hyalesthes obsoletus, the insect vector of “bois noir” phytoplasma of grape

Grape yellows caused by phytoplasmas afflict several important wine-producing areas of Europe. A grape yellows with increasingincidence in European vineyards is “bois noir” (BN), caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. Its vector is the planthopperHyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (Hemiptera Cixiidae), occasionally feeding on grapevine. An innovative strategy for reducing thediffusion of the disease could be symbiotic control, exploiting the action of symbiotic microorganisms of the insect host. To investigatethe occurrence of possible microbial candidates for symbiotic control we performed a molecular characterization of thebacteria associated to H. obsoletus. Length heterogeneity PCR was applied for a preliminary population screening. Taxonomicaffiliations of the bacterial species were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, showing, within the microbial diversity,the intracellular reproductive parasite Wolbachia pipientis and a Bacteroidetes symbiont with 92% nt identity with ‘CandidatusSulcia muelleri’. PCR essays specific for these bacteria showed they co-localize in several organs of H. obsoletus. Fluorescentin situ hybridization was performed to assess the distribution of these microorganisms within the insect body, showing interestinglocalization patterns, particularly in insect gonads and salivary glands. These results could be a starting point for a deeper investigationof functions and relationships between microbial species

Balanços de energia e proteína metabolizável de ovelhas em pastagem de capim-tanzânia.

Resumo: O uso do pasto como única fonte de alimentação pode não ser suficiente para atender as exigências nutricionais em todo o ciclo de produção. As exigências nutricionais podem mudar conforme a fase fisiológica e há necessidade em determinar e quantificar quais nutrientes são limitantes e em que época é necessário à intervenção com a suplementação alimentar. Objetivou-se, com este estudo, avaliar o balanço de energia e proteína de ovelhas em diferentes estados fisiológicos, em pastagem de capim-tanzânia, utilizando o pastejo simulado e o software Small Ruminant Nutrition System (SRNS). Foram utilizadas 90 ovelhas mestiças entre as raças Santa Inês e Somalis Brasileira, com distintos graus de sangue, manejadas em uma área de três hectares de pastagem de capim-tanzânia irrigada e adubada no período seco. As ovelhas foram acompanhadas durante todo o ciclo de produção para contemplar as variações de exigências nutricionais ao longo do ano. Para estimativa da qualidade da dieta de ovinos foram coletadas amostras por meio da simulação de pastejo. Para a simulação dos balanços de energia e proteína foi utilizado o SRNS. Os balanços negativos de energia e proteína ocorreram principalmente nas fases de gestação e lactação, fases onde ocorrem as maiores exigências nutricionais. Houve um déficit de 53,38% das exigências de energia metabolizável (EM) e de 147,45% das exigências de proteína metabolizável (PM) do final da gestação para início da lactação. Em relação às exigências de EM e PM no período de gestação, o déficit foi de 91,55% das necessidades de EM e de 90,32% para PM de ovelhas no início da gestação para o final da gestação. Nestes períodos são necessárias estratégias de suplementação alimentar como forma de corrigir estes balanços negativos. Nos demais meses, que corresponderam às ovelhas no início da gestação e animais não gestantes/não lactantes, os ajustes em termos de proteína e energia são mínimos, sendo que o próprio animal, por meio de sua fisiologia, pode mobilizar suas reservas corporais ou fazer a reciclagem do nitrogênio para tentar atender estas exigências. Conclui-se que O SRNS mostrou-se sensível para predizer os balanços nutricionais nas condições deste estudo e que a proteína é o nutriente mais limitante neste tipo de sistema de criação. [Nutritional balance of metabolizable energy and protein of ewes grazing tanzânia grass]. Abstract: The use of pasture as a only source of nutrients of grazing ruminants may not be sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements throughout the production cycle. The nutritional requirements may change as the physiological stage. Therefore, there is a need to determine and quantify which nutrients are limiting and the intervention with dietary supplementation is needed. This experiment was carried out to assess the nutritional balance of energy and protein for sheep in different physiological states, grazing tanzania grass, using the hand plucked forage and simulations using the software Small Ruminant Nutrition System (SRNS). Ninety crossbred ewes between Santa Inês and Brasilian Somalis, with different, were assigned an area of three hectares of tanzania grass pasture, irrigated and fertilized during the dry season. The data collect was carried out throughout whole physiological cycle to encompass changes in nutritional requirements throughout the year. The negative balance of energy and protein occurred mainly in stages of gestation and lactation phases, when the ewes experienced the greatest demands of nutrients. There was a deficit of 53.38% of the metabolizable energy (ME) and 147.45% of metabolizable protein (PM) at the end of gestation to early lactation. Regarding EM and PM requirements during pregnancy, there was a deficit of 91.55% of the requirements of EM and 90.32% of PM for the ewes from early to late pregnancy. During these periods supplemental feeding strategies is required to correct these deficits. In the other months, which corresponded to ewes in early pregnancy and non-pregnant animals / non-lactating, adjustments in terms of protein and energy were minimal, and the animal itself, through its physiology, can mobilize their body reserves or increasing recycling of nitrogen probably will be able to meet these requirements. The SRNS was sensitive to predict the nutritional balance in the conditions of this study. Protein is the main limiting nutrient in this raising system

Brain Plasticity in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 1A Patients? A Combined Structural and Diffusion MRI Study

Central nervous system involvement has been described in peripheral neuropathies, including different forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. The aim of our study was to systematically investigate possible brain structural modifications in CMT1A patients, using volumetric MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). In this prospective cross-sectional study, from May 2017 to May 2019, we acquired 3T MRI brain scans of genetically confirmed CMT1A patients and age- and sex-comparable healthy controls. Patients also underwent clinical and electrophysiological examinations assessing motor and sensory domains. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analyses were performed using a non-parametric approach based on permutations, including age and sex (and total intracranial volume for VBM) as nuisance covariates. When between-group differences emerged at VBM or TBSS analyses, the first eigenvariate was extracted from the cluster and its age- and sex-adjusted standardized residuals tested for correlation with clinical and electrophysiological variables. Twenty CMT1A patients (34.5 ± 11.1 years; M/F:11/9) were enrolled, along with 20 healthy controls (30.1 ± 10.2 years; M/F:11/9). The VBM analysis revealed clusters of significantly increased GM volume in CMT1A patients compared to healthy controls, encompassing the bilateral cerebellar lobules III-VI and the left hippocampus (all ps = 0.04), with no differences in terms of DTI metrics at the TBSS analysis. A negative correlation (r = −0.502, p = 0.03) emerged between ulnar compound motor action potential and the z-scores corresponding to the right cerebellar cluster of augmented GM volume. Our data show evidence of structural reorganization in the brain of CMT1A patients, possibly reflecting neural plasticity mechanisms in response to peripheral nerve pathology and modulating the effect of axonal degeneration on functional impairment

The energetic efficiency of growing lambs fed highconcentrate diets with different roughages.

Abstract presented at ADSA-PSA-AMPA-ASAS Joint Annual Meeting, July, 2012, Phoenix, Arizona