742 research outputs found
Inherent noise can facilitate coherence in collective swarm motion
Among the most striking aspects of the movement of many animal groups are their sudden coherent changes in direction. Recent observations of locusts and starlings have shown that this directional switching is an intrinsic property of their motion. Similar direction switches are seen in self-propelled particle and other models of group motion. Comprehending the factors that determine such switches is key to understanding the movement of these groups. Here, we adopt a coarse-grained approach to the study of directional switching in a self-propelled particle model assuming an underlying one-dimensional Fokker–Planck equation for the mean velocity of the particles. We continue with this assumption in analyzing experimental data on locusts and use a similar systematic Fokker–Planck equation coefficient estimation approach to extract the relevant information for the assumed Fokker–Planck equation underlying that experimental data. In the experiment itself the motion of groups of 5 to 100 locust nymphs was investigated in a homogeneous laboratory environment, helping us to establish the intrinsic dynamics of locust marching bands. We determine the mean time between direction switches as a function of group density for the experimental data and the self-propelled particle model. This systematic approach allows us to identify key differences between the experimental data and the model, revealing that individual locusts appear to increase the randomness of their movements in response to a loss of alignment by the group. We give a quantitative description of how locusts use noise to maintain swarm alignment. We discuss further how properties of individual animal behavior, inferred by using the Fokker–Planck equation coefficient estimation approach, can be implemented in the self-propelled particle model to replicate qualitatively the group level dynamics seen in the experimental data
Endocrine disruptors and testis development.
There is currently much debate as to which in vivo tests should be selected for the
detection of adverse effects of endocrine disruptors in test animals. As co-authors of a much-cited article in Environmental Health Perspectives. which described small (but significant) decreases in testicular weight of
adult rats that had been exposed developmentally to either of two environmental
estrogens, we would like to bring certain of our experiences to the attention of readers of EHP and to those involved in framing and implementing regulatory guidelines in this area
Evolutionary optimisation of neural network models for fish collective behaviours in mixed groups of robots and zebrafish
Animal and robot social interactions are interesting both for ethological
studies and robotics. On the one hand, the robots can be tools and models to
analyse animal collective behaviours, on the other hand, the robots and their
artificial intelligence are directly confronted and compared to the natural
animal collective intelligence. The first step is to design robots and their
behavioural controllers that are capable of socially interact with animals.
Designing such behavioural bio-mimetic controllers remains an important
challenge as they have to reproduce the animal behaviours and have to be
calibrated on experimental data. Most animal collective behavioural models are
designed by modellers based on experimental data. This process is long and
costly because it is difficult to identify the relevant behavioural features
that are then used as a priori knowledge in model building. Here, we want to
model the fish individual and collective behaviours in order to develop robot
controllers. We explore the use of optimised black-box models based on
artificial neural networks (ANN) to model fish behaviours. While the ANN may
not be biomimetic but rather bio-inspired, they can be used to link perception
to motor responses. These models are designed to be implementable as robot
controllers to form mixed-groups of fish and robots, using few a priori
knowledge of the fish behaviours. We present a methodology with multilayer
perceptron or echo state networks that are optimised through evolutionary
algorithms to model accurately the fish individual and collective behaviours in
a bounded rectangular arena. We assess the biomimetism of the generated models
and compare them to the fish experimental behaviours.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Individual rules for trail pattern formation in Argentine ants (Linepithema humile)
We studied the formation of trail patterns by Argentine ants exploring an
empty arena. Using a novel imaging and analysis technique we estimated
pheromone concentrations at all spatial positions in the experimental arena and
at different times. Then we derived the response function of individual ants to
pheromone concentrations by looking at correlations between concentrations and
changes in speed or direction of the ants. Ants were found to turn in response
to local pheromone concentrations, while their speed was largely unaffected by
these concentrations. Ants did not integrate pheromone concentrations over
time, with the concentration of pheromone in a 1 cm radius in front of the ant
determining the turning angle. The response to pheromone was found to follow a
Weber's Law, such that the difference between quantities of pheromone on the
two sides of the ant divided by their sum determines the magnitude of the
turning angle. This proportional response is in apparent contradiction with the
well-established non-linear choice function used in the literature to model the
results of binary bridge experiments in ant colonies (Deneubourg et al. 1990).
However, agent based simulations implementing the Weber's Law response function
led to the formation of trails and reproduced results reported in the
literature. We show analytically that a sigmoidal response, analogous to that
in the classical Deneubourg model for collective decision making, can be
derived from the individual Weber-type response to pheromone concentrations
that we have established in our experiments when directional noise around the
preferred direction of movement of the ants is assumed.Comment: final version, 9 figures, submitted to Plos Computational Biology
(accepted
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Pulmonary embolism following complex trauma: UK MTC observational study.
OBJECTIVES: To describe the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in a critically ill UK major trauma centre (MTC) patient cohort. METHODS: A retrospective, multidataset descriptive study of all trauma patients requiring admission to level 2 or 3 care in the East of England MTC from 1 November 2014 to 1 May 2017. Data describing demographics, the nature and extent of injuries, process of care, timing of PE prophylaxis, tranexamic acid (TXA) administration and CT scanner type were extracted from the Trauma Audit and Research Network database and hospital electronic records. PE presentation was categorised as immediate (diagnosed on initial trauma scan), early (within 72 hours of admission but not present initially) and late (diagnosed after 72 hours). RESULTS: Of the 2746 trauma patients, 1039 were identified as being admitted to level 2 or 3 care. Forty-eight patients (4.6%) were diagnosed with PE during admission with 14 immediate PEs (1.3%). Of 32.1% patients given TXA, 6.3% developed PE compared with 3.8% without TXA (p=0.08). CONCLUSION: This is the largest study of the incidence of PE in UK MTC patients and describes the greatest number of immediate PEs in a civilian complex trauma population to date. Immediate PEs are a rare phenomenon whose clinical importance remains unclear. Tranexamic acid was not significantly associated with an increase in PE in this population following its introduction into the UK trauma care system
Accelerated Design of Block Copolymers: An Unbiased Exploration Strategy via Fusion of Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Machine Learning
Star block copolymers (s-BCPs) have potential applications as novel
surfactants or amphiphiles for emulsification, compatbilization, chemical
transformations and separations. s-BCPs are star-shaped macromolecules
comprised of linear chains of different chemical blocks (e.g., solvophilic and
solvophobic blocks) that are covalently joined at one junction point. Various
parameters of these macromolecules can be tuned to obtain desired surface
properties, including the number of arms, composition of the arms, and the
degree-of-polymerization of the blocks (or the length of the arm). This makes
identification of the optimal s-BCP design highly non-trivial as the total
number of plausible s-BCPs architectures is experimentally or computationally
intractable. In this work, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations coupled
with reinforcement learning based Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) to identify
s-BCPs designs that minimize the interfacial tension between polar and
non-polar solvents. We first validate the MCTS approach for design of small-
and medium-sized s-BCPs, and then use it to efficiently identify sequences of
copolymer blocks for large-sized s-BCPs. The structural origins of interfacial
tension in these systems are also identified using the configurations obtained
from MD simulations. Chemical insights on the arrangement of copolymer blocks
that promote lower interfacial tension were mined using machine learning (ML)
techniques. Overall, this work provides an efficient approach to solve design
problems via fusion of simulations and ML and provide important groundwork for
future experimental investigation of s-BCPs sequences for various applications
Identifying Complex Dynamics in Social Systems: A New Methodological Approach Applied to Study School Segregation
It is widely recognized that segregation processes are often the result of complex nonlinear dynamics. Empirical analyses of complex dynamics are however rare, because there is a lack of appropriate empirical modeling techniques that are capable of capturing complex patterns and nonlinearities. At the same time, we know that many social phenomena display nonlinearities. In this article, we introduce a new modeling tool in order to partly fill this void in the literature. Using data of all secondary schools in Stockholm county during the years 1990 to 2002, we demonstrate how the methodology can be applied to identify complex dynamic patterns like tipping points and multiple phase transitions with respect to segregation. We establish critical thresholds in schools’ ethnic compositions, in general, and in relation to various factors such as school quality and parents’ income, at which the schools are likely to tip and become increasingly segregated
Symmetry restoring bifurcation in collective decision-making.
How social groups and organisms decide between alternative feeding sites or shelters has been extensively studied both experimentally and theoretically. One key result is the existence of a symmetry-breaking bifurcation at a critical system size, where there is a switch from evenly distributed exploitation of all options to a focussed exploitation of just one. Here we present a decision-making model in which symmetry-breaking is followed by a symmetry restoring bifurcation, whereby very large systems return to an even distribution of exploitation amongst options. The model assumes local positive feedback, coupled with a negative feedback regulating the flow toward the feeding sites. We show that the model is consistent with three different strains of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, choosing between two feeding sites. We argue that this combination of feedbacks could allow collective foraging organisms to react flexibly in a dynamic environment
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