384 research outputs found
Control of stochastic and induced switching in biophysical networks
Noise caused by fluctuations at the molecular level is a fundamental part of
intracellular processes. While the response of biological systems to noise has
been studied extensively, there has been limited understanding of how to
exploit it to induce a desired cell state. Here we present a scalable,
quantitative method based on the Freidlin-Wentzell action to predict and
control noise-induced switching between different states in genetic networks
that, conveniently, can also control transitions between stable states in the
absence of noise. We apply this methodology to models of cell differentiation
and show how predicted manipulations of tunable factors can induce lineage
changes, and further utilize it to identify new candidate strategies for cancer
therapy in a cell death pathway model. This framework offers a systems approach
to identifying the key factors for rationally manipulating biophysical
dynamics, and should also find use in controlling other classes of noisy
complex networks.Comment: A ready-to-use code package implementing the method described here is
available from the authors upon reques
Agents of Change – Lessons Learned From the Nation’s First Undergraduate Civil Rights Advocacy Clinic
How can universities support their students in pursuing civil rights activism? In doing so, how can universities prioritize students from marginalized communities who are most affected by justice issues? This paper will explore lessons learned from the nation’s first civil rights clinic at the undergraduate level. Responding to the urgency of our time, the University of Southern California, Dornsife College, launched Agents of Change: Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative” in January 2021 to support students in addressing civil rights challenges in the Los Angeles community. This paper will discuss the importance of the civil rights activism clinical model at the college level. It will also cover challenges and best practices in creating a college-level civil rights program that incorporates hands-on field work, community partnerships, mentorship, and custom-tailored curricular classes and modules
Rising to the challenge: London's housing crisis
The capital’s most pressing problem is how to accelerate the production of new housing, which has been stubbornly unresponsive to market and demographic pressures. Over the past two years LSE London has been conducting a wide-ranging academic and practical inquiry into the issues and the possible solutions. Over the course of the project we held discussions in council chambers, architects’ studios and City offices, donned hard hats to tour construction sites and pored over financial models. This document presents our findings and recommendations. In the boxes five key players on the London development scene speak frankly (and anonymously) about the challenges they face
Accelerating housing production in London: main findings
Over the last year LSE London organised a series of seminars, round tables and site visits around this the question of how to accelerate new housing development in the capital. Together with practitioners we have analysed barriers to increasing the pace of development in London and explored possible solutions. Participants at our events have included architects, developers and academics, as well as representatives of central government, boroughs, the GLA and housing advocacy groups. More detailed reports can be found at lselondonhousing.org/
The psychology of scams: Provoking and committing errors of judgement
According to the Office of Fair Trading (2006), 3.2 million adults in the
UK fall victim to mass marketed scams every year, and collectively lose
ÂŁ3.5 billion. Victims of scams are often labelled as 'greedy' or 'gullible'
and elicit the reaction, 'How on earth could anyone fall for that?'
However, such labels are unhelpful and superficial generalisations that
presume all of us are perfectly rational consumers, ignoring the fact that
all of us are vulnerable to a persuasive approach at one time or another.
Clearly, responding to a scam is an error of judgement – so our research
sought to identify the main categories of decision error that typify
victim responses, and to understand the psychology of persuasion
employed by scammers to try to provoke such errors.UK Office of Fair Tradin
A serological investigation of caseous lymphadenitis in four flocks of sheep
A double antibody sandwich ELISA developed by ID-DLO, Lelystad to detect Corynebocterium pseudotuberculosis infection was used on 329 sheep from four pedigree Suffolk flocks in which clinical cases of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) had occurred. At subsequent necropsy, typical CLA lesions were seen in 133 sheep, and the diagnosis was confirmed on culture. Lesions were most commonly seen in lungs (n = 46), parotid lymph nodes (n = 44), prescapular lymph nodes (n = 38) and mediastinal lymph nodes (n = 31). The sensitivity of the ELISA test for detecting culture-positive sheep was 0.88, while the specificity of the test was 0.55. The antibody ELISA detected 87.5 per cent of sheep that had CLA lesions restricted to internal organs only. It was concluded that the ELISA test has a valuable role in detecting sheep with both clinical and subclinical CLA
Soldados Nunca Mais: Child soldiers, football and social change in Rio de Janeiro's favelas
Abstract not availabl
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