bayesynergy: flexible Bayesian modelling of synergistic interaction effects in in-vitro drug combination experiments

The effect of cancer therapies is often tested pre-clinically via in-vitro experiments, where the post-treatment viability of the cancer cell population is measured through assays estimating the number of viable cells. In this way, large libraries of compounds can be tested, comparing the efficacy of each treatment. Drug interaction studies focus on the quantification of the additional effect encountered when two drugs are combined, as opposed to using the treatments separately. In the bayesynergy R package, we implement a probabilistic approach for the description of the drug combination experiment, where the observed dose response curve is modelled as a sum of the expected response under a zero-interaction model and an additional interaction effect (synergistic or antagonistic). The interaction is modelled in a flexible manner, using a Gaussian process formulation. Since the proposed approach is based on a statistical model, it allows the natural inclusion of replicates, handles missing data and uneven concentration grids, and provides uncertainty quantification around the results. The model is implemented in the Stan programming language providing a computationally efficient sampler, a fast approximation of the posterior through variational inference, and features parallel processing for working with large drug combination screens.

EFFECTS OF FEEDING GRADED LEVELS OF ALTERNATIVE LOCALLY PRODUCED NATURAL VITAMIN PREMIX ON THE PERFORMANCE OF LAYING HENS

One hundred and twenty (120) Harco laying hens were randomly allocated to diets containing graded levels (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%) of locally produced Natural vitamin premix (LPNVP) with the sole objective of its assessing influence on the laying performance of the hens. Feed intake, percentage Hen-day production (HDP), feed utilization efficiency (FUE), egg weight (EW), egg specific gravity (ESG), egg shell thickness (EST), Haugh unit (HU) and estimated gross profit. (EGP) were not influenced (P < 0.05) by the type of premix used (synthetic or natural). Inclusion of LPNVP in layers’ feed at dietary levels 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% resulted in better egg quality and estimated economic returns than observed in birds fed with the diet containing reference synthetic vitamin premix (SVP)

Rational Cohomology Algebra of Mapping Spaces between Complex Grassmannians

We consider the complex Grassmannian Grk,n of k-dimensional subspaces of ℂn. There is a natural inclusion in,r:Grk,n↪Grk,n+r. Here, we use Sullivan models to compute the rational cohomology algebra of the component of the inclusion in,r in the space of mappings from Grk,n to Grk,n+r for r≥1 and in particular to show that the cohomology of mapGrn,k,Grn,k+r;in,r contains a truncated algebra ℚx/xr+n+k2−nk, where x=2, for k≥2 and n≥4.

Postulating the Theory of Experience and Chance

The aim of the paper is the axiomatic justification of the theory of experience and chance, one of the dual halves of which is the Kolmogorov probability theory. The author’s main idea was the natural inclusion of Kolmogorov’s axiomatics of probability theory in a number of general concepts of the theory of experience and chance. The main result of this work is the axiom of co~event, intended for the sake of constructing a theory formed by dual theories of believabilities and probabilities, each of which itself is postulated by its own Kolmogorov system of axioms. Of course, other systems of postulating the theory of experience and chance can be imagined, however, in this work a preference is given to a system of postulates that is able to describe in the most simple manner the results of what I call an experienced-random experiment

“Spirituality” in Psychology: a Philosophical and Methodological Analysis

The article problematizes the use of the concept of “spirituality” in psychological discourse, which loses its nuclear cultural meaning here while meeting the requirements of science. The author shows that this loss occurs in a necessary way and is connected with the epistemological foundations of modern science, namely, with the understanding (“model”) of “truth”. Consequently, a constructive prerequisite for the natural inclusion of “spirituality” in any discursive system may be a different model of truth in comparison with science. M. Foucault reveals three historical types of discursive practices where “spirituality” (unlike scientific discourse) was not a foreign concept: there ‘truth’ was defined as directly related to the sociocultural production of human subjectivity. Such discourses always implied anthropopraxis, where the condition for the attainment of truth was the “transformation” of its very subject — here ‘truth’ was semantically closely intertwined with the ethical category of “the good”.

Movement and teaching-motor activities in children with ADHD

ADHD is a neurobiological disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity and motor hyperactivity. Generally, a child with ADHD, it’s always not meta-cognitive, inattentive to the procedure implementation to resolve any problem, and it is not sufficiently strategic. Physical activity is for the person with ADHD, the celebration of what it does and what it can be, allowing in this way, a natural inclusion of training skills, knowledge and personal resources.