scholarly journals Using Piecewise Regression to Identify Biological Phenomena in Biotelemetry Datasets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wolfson ◽  
John Fieberg ◽  
David E Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Data Streams ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Piecewise Regression ◽  
Sandhill Crane ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Trumpeter Swan

Technological advances in the field of animal tracking have greatly expanded the potential to remotely monitor animals, opening the door to exploring how animals shift their behavior over time or respond to external stimuli. A wide variety of animal-borne sensors can provide information on an animal's location, movement characteristics, external environmental conditions, and internal physiological status. Here, we demonstrate how piecewise regression can be used to identify the presence and timing of potential shifts in a variety of biological responses using GPS telemetry and other biologging data streams. Different biological latent states can be inferred by partitioning a time-series into multiple segments based on changes in modeled responses (e.g., their mean, variance, trend, degree of autocorrelation) and specifying a unique model structure for each interval. We provide five example applications highlighting a variety of taxonomic species, data streams, timescales, and biological phenomena. These examples include a short-term behavioral response (flee and return) by a trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) immediately following a GPS collar deployment; remote identification of parturition based on movements by a pregnant moose (Alces alces); a physiological response (spike in heart-rate) in a black bear (Ursus americanus) to a stressful stimulus (presence of a drone); a mortality event of a trumpeter swan signaled by changes in collar temperature and Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration; and an unsupervised method for identifying the onset, return, duration, and staging use of sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) migration. We implement analyses using the mcp package in R, which provides functionality for specifying and fitting a wide variety of user-defined model structures in a Bayesian framework and methods for assessing and comparing models using information criterion and cross-validation measures. This approach uses simple modeling approaches that are accessible to a wide audience and is a straightforward means of assessing a variety of biologically relevant changes in animal behavior.

scholarly journals Preparing for the future: integrating spatial ecology into ecosystem-based management

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K Lowerre-Barbieri ◽  
Ignacio A Catalán ◽  
Anders Frugård Opdal ◽  
Christian Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Data Streams ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Sustainable Fisheries ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Analytical Power

Abstract Marine resource management is shifting from optimizing single species yield to redefining sustainable fisheries within the context of managing ocean use and ecosystem health. In this introductory article to the theme set, “Plugging spatial ecology into ecosystem-based management (EBM)” we conduct an informal horizon scan with leaders in EBM research to identify three rapidly evolving areas that will be game changers in integrating spatial ecology into EBM. These are: (1) new data streams from fishers, genomics, and technological advances in remote sensing and bio-logging; (2) increased analytical power through “Big Data” and artificial intelligence; and (3) better integration of social dimensions into management. We address each of these areas by first imagining capacity in 20 years from now, and then highlighting emerging efforts to get us there, drawing on articles in this theme set, other scientific literature, and presentations/discussions from the symposium on “Linkages between spatial ecology and sustainable fisheries” held at the ICES Annual Science Conference in September 2017.

Dealing With Data Streams

Methodology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 124-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianne Ippel ◽  
Maurits Kaptein ◽  
Jeroen Vermunt
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Streams ◽  
Gradient Descent ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Automatic Measurement ◽  
Stochastic Gradient Descent ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Complex Models ◽  
New Research

Abstract. Novel technological advances allow distributed and automatic measurement of human behavior. While these technologies provide exciting new research opportunities, they also provide challenges: datasets collected using new technologies grow increasingly large, and in many applications the collected data are continuously augmented. These data streams make the standard computation of well-known estimators inefficient as the computation has to be repeated each time a new data point enters. In this tutorial paper, we detail online learning, an analysis method that facilitates the efficient analysis of Big Data and continuous data streams. We illustrate how common analysis methods can be adapted for use with Big Data using an online, or “row-by-row,” processing approach. We present several simple (and exact) examples of the online estimation and discuss Stochastic Gradient Descent as a general (approximate) approach to estimate more complex models. We end this article with a discussion of the methodological challenges that remain.

scholarly journals The Rhetorical Consequences of Mr. Keynes: Intellectuals and the Communication of Economic Ideas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Larry Lepper
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Exchange Process ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Unique Style ◽  
Style Of Writing

<p>Economists interested in the communication of ideas often turn their attention to the importance of information to the economic exchange process and in so doing often focus on specific aspects of an economy. For example, economists who highlight the importance of institutions see information as an institution’s lifeblood, while economists interested in technology often see information as key to technological advances and economic development. This dissertation takes a broader view of information, by analysing Maynard Keynes’ The Economic Consequences of the Peace and focusing on the processes and ways in which economists successfully communicate their ideas, especially to non-economists. Keynes was particularly effective in communicating his ideas, especially following the publication of Economic Consequences in December 1919. At this time Keynes was already regarded as an eminent economist and his book helped cement his reputation and established him as a public intellectual. Despite its success, the book was a controversial work, critics often accusing Keynes of being more a political propagandist than a serious economist. Keynes was stung by the criticism and consistently maintained Economic Consequences was a serious work of economics. The conclusion of this dissertation is that Keynes was correct in his assertion. The key to this understanding can be largely attributed to his rhetoric. First, he provided a wide range of statistics, many from official sources, to support his central argument that if the terms of the Versailles Treaty were imposed on Germany, not only would Germany suffer, but all Europe would be reduced to an economic dark age and likely face further destructive warfare. Furthermore, his inductive and descriptive use of statistics was rhetorically successful as it provided a “factual, objective and neutral” authority for his arguments. The second way Keynes communicated his economic arguments was with his frequent and rich use of metaphors. By using the tools of literary criticism it is demonstrated that all Keynes’ arguments have an economic focus. His use of metaphors enabled him to reach a wide audience with persuasive rhetoric, unusual in a serious work of economics. The third indicator that Economic Consequences was a serious work of economics can be found in the economic and cultural contexts that surrounded Keynes. His writing style was influenced by his friendships in the Cambridge Apostles and Bloomsbury circles, especially those of Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf. These, and other influences such as Eton, Moore’s philosophy and psychological realism, help explain Keynes’ unique style of writing and why his explicit attempts at persuasion were often successful. The examination presented here of Keynes’ activities as a public intellectual, his use of statistics, a literary criticism of his prose, and the influences on his writing style, allow a re-reading of Economic Consequences and adds to our understanding of how economists can successfully communicate their ideas.</p>

scholarly journals Spatial Organization and Dynamics of Transcription Elongation and Pre-mRNA Processing in Live Cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Sánchez-Álvarez ◽  
Noemí Sánchez-Hernández ◽  
Carlos Suñé
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Mrna Processing ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Eukaryotic Nucleus ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Molecular Components

During the last 30 years, systematic biochemical and functional studies have significantly expanded our knowledge of the transcriptional molecular components and the pre-mRNA processing machinery of the cell. However, our current understanding of how these functions take place spatiotemporally within the highly compartmentalized eukaryotic nucleus remains limited. Moreover, it is increasingly clear that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” and that an understanding of the dynamic coregulation of genes is essential for fully characterizing complex biological phenomena and underlying diseases. Recent technological advances in light microscopy in addition to novel cell and molecular biology approaches have led to the development of new tools, which are being used to address these questions and may contribute to achieving an integrated and global understanding of how the genome works at a cellular level. Here, we review major hallmarks and novel insights in RNA polymerase II activity and pre-mRNA processing in the context of nuclear organization, as well as new concepts and challenges arising from our ability to gather extensive dynamic information at the single-cell resolution.

scholarly journals The Rhetorical Consequences of Mr. Keynes: Intellectuals and the Communication of Economic Ideas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Larry Lepper
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Exchange Process ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Unique Style ◽  
Style Of Writing

<p>Economists interested in the communication of ideas often turn their attention to the importance of information to the economic exchange process and in so doing often focus on specific aspects of an economy. For example, economists who highlight the importance of institutions see information as an institution’s lifeblood, while economists interested in technology often see information as key to technological advances and economic development. This dissertation takes a broader view of information, by analysing Maynard Keynes’ The Economic Consequences of the Peace and focusing on the processes and ways in which economists successfully communicate their ideas, especially to non-economists. Keynes was particularly effective in communicating his ideas, especially following the publication of Economic Consequences in December 1919. At this time Keynes was already regarded as an eminent economist and his book helped cement his reputation and established him as a public intellectual. Despite its success, the book was a controversial work, critics often accusing Keynes of being more a political propagandist than a serious economist. Keynes was stung by the criticism and consistently maintained Economic Consequences was a serious work of economics. The conclusion of this dissertation is that Keynes was correct in his assertion. The key to this understanding can be largely attributed to his rhetoric. First, he provided a wide range of statistics, many from official sources, to support his central argument that if the terms of the Versailles Treaty were imposed on Germany, not only would Germany suffer, but all Europe would be reduced to an economic dark age and likely face further destructive warfare. Furthermore, his inductive and descriptive use of statistics was rhetorically successful as it provided a “factual, objective and neutral” authority for his arguments. The second way Keynes communicated his economic arguments was with his frequent and rich use of metaphors. By using the tools of literary criticism it is demonstrated that all Keynes’ arguments have an economic focus. His use of metaphors enabled him to reach a wide audience with persuasive rhetoric, unusual in a serious work of economics. The third indicator that Economic Consequences was a serious work of economics can be found in the economic and cultural contexts that surrounded Keynes. His writing style was influenced by his friendships in the Cambridge Apostles and Bloomsbury circles, especially those of Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf. These, and other influences such as Eton, Moore’s philosophy and psychological realism, help explain Keynes’ unique style of writing and why his explicit attempts at persuasion were often successful. The examination presented here of Keynes’ activities as a public intellectual, his use of statistics, a literary criticism of his prose, and the influences on his writing style, allow a re-reading of Economic Consequences and adds to our understanding of how economists can successfully communicate their ideas.</p>

High-resolution measurement of birefringent fine structure in living cells using a new polarized light microscope

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 54-55
Author(s):  
Rudolf Oldenbourg
Keyword(s):  
Light Microscope ◽  
Fluorescent Dyes ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Video Camera ◽  
Molecular Organization ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Image Recording ◽  
Birefringent Crystal ◽  
Technological Advances

The recent renaissance of the light microsope is fueled in part by technological advances in components on the periphery of the microscope, such as the laser as illumination source, electronic image recording (video), computer assisted image analysis and the biochemistry of fluorescent dyes for labeling specimens. After great progress in these peripheral parts, it seems timely to examine the optics itself and ask how progress in the periphery facilitates the use of new optical components and of new optical designs inside the microscope. Some results of this fruitful reflection are presented in this symposium.We have considered the polarized light microscope, and developed a design that replaces the traditional compensator, typically a birefringent crystal plate, with a precision universal compensator made of two liquid crystal variable retarders. A video camera and digital image processing system provide fast measurements of specimen anisotropy (retardance magnitude and azimuth) at ALL POINTS of the image forming the field of view. The images document fine structural and molecular organization within a thin optical section of the specimen.

“Getting High Resolution Out of A High Voltage Microscope”

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 822-825
Author(s):  
David J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
High Voltage ◽  
Theoretical Limit ◽  
Voltage Electron ◽  
High Voltage Electron Microscope ◽  
High Voltage Electron ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Potential Improvement ◽  
Lower Voltage

The initial attractions of the high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) stemmed mainly from the possibility of considerable increases in electron penetration through thick specimens compared with conventional 100KV microscopes, although the potential improvement in resolution associated with the decrease in election wavelength had been fully appreciated for many years (eg. Cosslett, 1946)1, even if not realizable in practice. Subsequent technological advances enabled the performance of lower voltage machines to be brought closer to the theoretical limit, to be followed in turn by more recent projects which have been successful, eventually, in achieving even higher resolution with dedicated higher voltage instruments such as those at Kyoto (500KV)2, Munich (400KV)3, Ibaraki (1250KV)4 and Cambridge (600KV)5. It does not necessarily follow however that the performance of journal high voltage microscopes can be easily upgraded, retrospectively, to the same level, as will be discussed in detail below.

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