Threshold Strategy-Proofness: On Manipulability in Large Voting Problems

In voting problems where agents have well behaved (Lipschitz continuous) utility functions on a multidimensional space of alternatives, a voting rule is threshold strategy-proof if any agent can only obtain a limited utility gain by not voting for a most preferred alternative,given that the number of agents is large enough. For anonymous voting rules it is shown that this condition is not only implied by but in fact equivalent to the influence of any single agent reducing to zero as the number of agents grows. If there are at least five agents, the mean rule (taking the average vote) is shown to be the unique anonymous and unanimous voting rule that meets a lower bound with respect to the number of agents needed to obtain threshold strategy-proofness.Economics ;

Towards an artificial therapy assistant: Measuring excessive stress from speech

The measurement of (excessive) stress is still a challenging endeavor. Most tools rely on either introspection or expert opinion and are, therefore, often less reliable or a burden on the patient. An objective method could relieve these problems and, consequently, assist diagnostics. Speech was considered an excellent candidate for an objective, unobtrusive measure of emotion. True stress was successfully induced, using two storytelling\ud sessions performed by 25 patients suffering from a stress disorder. When reading either a happy or a sad story, different stress levels were reported using the Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD). A linear regression model consisting of the high-frequency energy, pitch, and zero crossings of the speech signal was able to explain 70% of the variance in the subjectively reported stress. The results demonstrate the feasibility of an objective measurement of stress in speech. As such, the foundation for an Artificial Therapeutic Agent is laid, capable of assisting therapists through an objective measurement of experienced stress

Is Classical Christian Education Compatible with a Reformed Christian Perspective on Education?

Is the growing classical Christian education movement, based on Dorothy Sayers’ trivium methodology, compatible to a Reformed Christian perspective on education? The classical Christian position claims that children progress through three stages of development and that the three components of the trivium complement these natural learning stages. The first stage involves memorizing facts through chants, stories and songs. In the second stage students learn how to argue and analyze by means of formal training in logic. The third stage focuses on learning to express knowledge persuasively and elegantly. When compared to the Reformed understanding of covenant children as well as Reformed purposes and methods of education, classical Christian education is found to be too intellectualistic and elitist to be compatible with a Reformed Christian perspective on education

Systemic defense priming by Pseudomonas putida KT2440 in maize depends on benzoxazinoid exudation from the roots

Exudation of benzoxazinoid metabolites from roots of young maize seedlings recruits the rhizobacterial strain Pseudomonas putida KT2440 from the soil to the rhizosphere. In this study, we have investigated whether these rhizobacteria are beneficial for maize by eliciting systemic defense priming. Root colonization of the maize hybrid cultivar Delprim by P. putida primed wound- and jasmonic acid (JA)-inducible emission of aromatic and terpenoid volatiles, but not the emission of the green leaf volatile (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. Furthermore, root colonization by P. putida primed stress-inducible transcription of the JA-dependent gene SerPIN, whereas JA-dependent induction of the MPI gene was unaffected. Systemic priming of SerPIN by P. putida only occurred in benzoxazinoid-producing plants, and was absent in benzoxazinoid-deficient plants. The results from this study suggest that root colonization by P. putida primes a selection of JA-dependent defenses in Maize, which is reliant on benzoxazinoid exudation from the roots

Transfer Learning from Audio Deep Learning Models for Micro-Doppler Activity Recognition

This paper presents a mechanism to transform radio micro-Doppler signatures into a pseudo-audio representation, which results in significant improvements in transfer learning from a deep learning model trained on audio. We also demonstrate that transfer learning from a deep learning model trained on audio is more effective than transfer learning from a model trained on images, which suggests machine learning methods used to analyse audio can be leveraged for micro-Doppler. Finally, we utilise an occlusion method to gain an insight into how the deep learning model interprets the micro-Doppler signatures and the subsequent pseudo-audio representations

Cloning and in vitro expression of ferredoxin-I from Capsicum annuum L

Ferredoxin is a ubiquitous protein among living organisms involved in many fundamental metabolic processes. The contribution of plant ferredoxin-I to bacterial disease resistance of plants has been proven, with the emphasis on the central role of the iron binding domain. Iron accumulation by ferredoxin-I may play an important role in limiting the growth of invading bacteria. The N-terminal signal peptide of the protein may also have an effect on the anti-microbial activity of the protein by directing the protein into chloroplasts instead of maintaining it in the cytoplasm. The objective of this study was to clone the ferredoxin gene from Capsicum leaves and investigate the expression of this cloned genes in E. coli. The gene isolation was based on the published nucleotide sequence for the plant ferredoxin-like protein AF03662. Isolated sequences of ferredoxins both with and without signal sequence (Pflp and T-Pflp, respectively) were sub-cloned into pGEM-T Easy vector and DNA sequence was determined. The expression vectors for these gene sequences were constructed with the use of pRSET B expression system. The protein expressions that utilized BL21(DE3)pLysS as the host cells were inducted with 1 mM IPTG for 6 hour before the cell lyse with the sonicator. His-tagged proteins were purified from 6-hour cell lysate through PolyPrep conlumn containing Ni-NTA under native conditions with the use of immidazole. The protein expressions and purifications were evaluated by SDS-PAGE analysis followed by either Coomassie staining and immunodetection

Contribution analysis of a Bolivian innovation grant fund: mixing methods to verify relevance, efficiency and effectiveness

We used contribution analysis to verify the key assumption in the intervention logic of an innovation fund in Bolivia directed to economic farmer organisations to develop value-added activities. We focused the research on three sub-components of the intervention logic: relevance of the farmer groups for local economic development, effectiveness of the fund in strengthening these group, and efficiency of the grant allocation mechanism. We used a case-based comparative analysis to assess effectiveness: improved market access for members, strengthened organisational capacities and the capacity to pay organisational costs. We showed that the grants to already well-endowed organisations were particularly unsuccessful

Spatial Distribution of Defect Luminescence in ZnO Nanorods: An Investigation by Spectral Cathodoluminescence Imaging

© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim The spatial distribution of ubiquitous green luminescence (GL) in ZnO nanorods is investigated using cathodoluminescence (CL) spectral imaging. The vertically aligned, single-crystal nanorods exhibit a strong GL emission at 2.42 eV at 80 K, attributable to oxygen vacancies. The spectral imaging reveals the GL emission is predominantly located in the surface layer of nanorods; the thickness and intensity of this layer decreases rapidly at elevated temperatures. On the other hand, the near-band-edge emission is weakest near the nanorod edges. The temperature-dependent CL maps are consistent with the properties of a model in which singly ionized oxygen vacancies are stabilized by the surface band bending, which leads to the GL enhancement at the expense of near-band-edge emission. These results demonstrate the utility of spectral CL imaging to map the spatial distribution of defect luminescence in nanostructured materials