Sector search strategies for odor trail tracking

Ants, mice, and dogs often use surface-bound scent trails to establish navigation routes or to find food and mates, yet their tracking strategies remain poorly understood. Chemotaxis-based strategies cannot explain casting, a characteristic sequence of wide oscillations with increasing amplitude performed upon sustained loss of contact with the trail. We propose that tracking animals have an intrinsic, geometric notion of continuity, allowing them to exploit past contacts with the trail to form an estimate of where it is headed. This estimate and its uncertainty form an angular sector, and the emergent search patterns resemble a “sector search.” Reinforcement learning agents trained to execute a sector search recapitulate the various phases of experimentally observed tracking behavior. We use ideas from polymer physics to formulate a statistical description of trails and show that search geometry imposes basic limits on how quickly animals can track trails. By formulating trail tracking as a Bellman-type sequential optimization problem, we quantify the geometric elements of optimal sector search strategy, effectively explaining why and when casting is necessary. We propose a set of experiments to infer how tracking animals acquire, integrate, and respond to past information on the tracked trail. More generally, we define navigational strategies relevant for animals and biomimetic robots and formulate trail tracking as a behavioral paradigm for learning, memory, and planning.

Everyday Life Experiences of Swedes Age 70+ During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As many other countries Sweden has been hit hard by the Corona pandemic, with high numbers of dead in the older population. Since march 16, 2020, the authorities have encouraged people 70+ to voluntarily quarantine and avoid contacts outside the household. How has this affected older people’s everyday lives? This study reports on results from a web-survey on the everyday life experiences of Swedes 70+ carried out between May 28 and July 13, 2020 (n=1 926). The presentation focuses answers to an open-ended question: “Describe with your own words how your life has been affected by the Corona pandemic”. A qualitative content analysis was used to investigate changes in the everyday lives of the respondents and their appreciations of these changes. Results show that older Swedes have mostly adhered to public recommendations of self-isolation and withdrawn from social and family contacts, as well as paid and volunteer work. The vast majority (76%) of the respondents describe what they see as negative life changes, such as loss of structure in their everyday life, loss of contact with children/grandchildren and friends, loss of meaningful activities, loss of abilities due to forced unemployment and experiences of ageism. Experiences of loneliness, depression and drop in quality of life are common. Some positive changes were reported. We argue that the experience of the 70+ population during Corona needs to be understood in relation to the promise of the third age, where everyday restrictions are experienced as a forced disengagement into a fourth age life style.

Harnessing technology to enable all women mobility in labour and birth: feasibility of implementing beltless non-invasive fetal ECG applying the NASSS framework

Background A new wireless and beltless monitoring device utilising fetal and maternal electrocardiography (ECG) and uterine electromyography, known as ‘non-invasive fetal ECG’ (NIFECG) was registered for clinical use in Australia in 2018. The safety and reliability of NIFECG has been demonstrated in controlled settings for short periods during labour. As far as we are aware, at the time our study commenced, this was globally the first trial of such a device in an authentic clinical setting for the entire duration of a woman’s labour. Methods This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using NIFECG fetal monitoring for women undergoing continuous electronic fetal monitoring during labour and birth. Women were eligible to participate in the study if they were at 36 weeks gestation or greater with a singleton pregnancy, planning to give birth vaginally and with obstetric indications as per local protocol (NSW Health Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring Guideline GL2018_025. 2018) for continuous intrapartum fetal monitoring. Written informed consent was received from participating women in antenatal clinic prior to the onset of labour. This single site clinical feasibility study took place between January and July 2020 at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to inform the analysis of results using the NASSS (Non-adoption, Abandonment, Scale up, Spread and Sustainability) framework, a validated tool for analysing the implementation of new health technologies into clinical settings. Results Women responded positively about the comfort and freedom of movement afforded by the NIFECG. Midwives reported that when no loss of contact occurred, the device enabled them to focus less on the technology and more on supporting women’s physical and emotional needs during labour. Midwives and obstetricians noticed the benefits for women but expressed a need for greater certainty about the reliability of the signal. Conclusion The NIFECG device enables freedom of movement and positioning for labouring women and was well received by women and the majority of clinicians. Whilst measurement of the uterine activity was reliable, there was uncertainty for clinicians in relation to loss of contact of the fetal heart rate. If this can be ameliorated the device shows potential to be used as routinely as cardiotocography (CTG) for fetal monitoring. This is the first time the NASSS framework has been used to synthesise the implementation needs of a health technology in the care of women during labour and birth. Our findings contribute new knowledge about the determinants for implementation of a complex technology in a maternity care setting. Trial registration The Universal Trial Number is reU1111-1228-9845 and the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registration Number is 12619000293167p. Trial registration occurred on the 20 February, 2019. The trial protocol may be viewed at http://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=377027

Inequality and psychological well-being in times of COVID-19: evidence from Spain

Using two novel online surveys collected in May and November 2020, we study the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on Spanish households. We document a large and negative effect on household income. By May 2020, the average individual lived in a household that had lost 16% of their pre-pandemic monthly income. Furthermore, this drop was highly unequal: while households in the richest quintile lost 6.8% of their income, those in the poorest quintile lost 27%. We also document that the pandemic deepened the gender-income gap: on average, women experienced a three-percentage point larger income loss than men. While this is consistent with previous findings in the literature, in this paper we document that this effect is driven by women from middle-income households with kids. Finally, we provide evidence that Spanish individuals experienced moderate declines in their levels of psychological well-being. This effect is not different for individuals living in rich or poor households, but the reasons behind well-being losses do differ: richer individuals are more concerned about loss of contact with dear ones, while low-income individuals are more likely to mention loss of income and employment as a key source of emotional distress.

Anthropological Crisis in the Social Realities of the 21st Century

The article examines the modern anthropological crisis in the context of various social phenomena. The author identifies key features of this crisis and reveals its causes. The article, addressing such philosophical concepts as time, space, happiness, motivation, analyzes the theories on the essence of this crisis. The author discusses the issues of self-alienation in an accelerating and polarizing world, of dialectical antagonism, of contradiction between the Self and the Other. The article critically analyzes the modern forms of consumerism, the consumer society, and the liberal worldview. Written in the essay form, the article poses the questions to the reader: How and why does man lose and acquire his meanings? What role do words and silence play in that? Who wins in the existential race “man versus society”? The author argues that a person does not see his absolute, since his expanding outer space narrows the inner space. The stratification of internal and external space (which is advisable to understand as a consequence of the loss of contact with reality) is the cause of lies, violence, and aggression. Liberal form of worldview is interpreted in a dialectical form: as the opposition of slavery, preserving its original vices. The article demonstrates how progress can lead to chaos in social life. Distinguishing three types of personality (directive, democratic, and liberal-permissive), it is concluded that the latter type of personality forms a border between the external and internal world. This kind of gap is the source of growing social and psycho-logical chaos. The concludes with a discussion of the possibility of happiness in modern social conditions.

Influence of shape-memory stent grafts on local aortic compliance

The effect of repair techniques on the biomechanics of the aorta is poorly understood, resulting in significant levels of postoperative complications for patients worldwide. This study presents a computational analysis of the influence of Nitinol-based devices on the biomechanical performance of a healthy patient-specific human aorta. Simulations reveal that Nitinol stent-grafts stretch the artery wall so that collagen is stretched to a straightened high-stiffness configuration. The high-compliance regime (HCR) associated with low diastolic lumen pressure is eliminated, and the artery operates in a low-compliance regime (LCR) throughout the entire cardiac cycle. The slope of the lumen pressure–area curve for the LCR post-implantation is almost identical to that of the native vessel during systole. This negligible change from the native LCR slope occurs because the stent-graft increases its diameter from the crimped configuration during deployment so that it reaches a low-stiffness unloading plateau. The effective radial stiffness of the implant along this unloading plateau is negligible compared to the stiffness of the artery wall. Provided the Nitinol device unloads sufficiently during deployment to the unloading plateau, the degree of oversizing has a negligible effect on the pressure–area response of the vessel, as each device exerts approximately the same radial force, the slope of which is negligible compared to the LCR slope of the native artery. We show that 10% oversizing based on the observed diastolic diameter in the mid descending thoracic aorta results in a complete loss of contact between the device and the wall during systole, which could lead to an endoleak and stent migration. 20% oversizing reaches the Dacron enforced area limit (DEAL) during the pulse pressure and results in an effective zero-compliance in the later portion of systole.

RISK FACTORS OF SKIZOFRENIA IN THE PUSKESMAS SELAT PANJANG, MERANTI ISLANDS DISTRICT

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness in the form of loss of contact with reality and difficulty in distinguishing between real and non-real. The mortality rate of schizophrenic sufferers is 8 times higher than the number of population deaths in general. The prevalence of schizophrenia in Riau Province in the past 5 years has also continued to increase. quantitative with case-control design. Research Locations at Selat Panjang Health Center. The sample in this study consisted of 90 respondents from 45 cases and 45 controls. Sampling was carried out by purposive sampling. The measuring instrument in this study was an interview with a questionnaire guide, recording and direct observation of the surrounding environment. Data analysis was univariate and bivariate using the Chi Square test. The results showed that there was a relationship between heredity OR 2.813 (95% CI: 1.117-6.721), personality type with OR 12, 364 (95% CI: 4.558-33.536), economic status with OR value 3.077 (95% CI = 1,286-7,336), precipitating factors with OR 4.054 b (95% CI = 1.678-9.798) with the incidence of schizophrenia. There is no relationship between residence and the incidence of schizophrenia. It is hoped that families can improve mentoring and supervision and increase self-confidence for family members who are at risk of schizophrenia, as well as Puskesmas to increase mental health promotion to the community as well as increase empowerment programs and increase skills for the community as well as synergize with other sector lists including religious and community leaders.

Multifaceted Effects of Lycopene: A Boulevard to the Multitarget-Based Treatment for Cancer

Lycopene is a pigment belonging to the group of carotenoids and it is among the most carefully studied antioxidants found especially in fruit and vegetables. As a carotenoid, lycopene exerts beneficial effects on human health by protecting lipids, proteins, and DNA from damage by oxidation. Lycopene is a powerful oxygen inactivator in the singlet state. This is suggestive of the fact that lycopene harbors comparatively stronger antioxidant properties over other carotenoids normally present in plasma. Lycopene is also reported to hinder cancer cell proliferation. The uncontrolled, rapid division of cells is a characteristic of the metabolism of cancer cells. Evidently, lycopene causes a delay in the progression of the cell cycle, which explains its antitumor activity. Furthermore, lycopene can block cell transformation by reducing the loss of contact inhibition of cancer cells. This paper collects recent studies of scientific evidence that show the multiple beneficial properties of lycopene, which acts with different molecular and cellular mechanisms.

Novel Network Public Opinion Prediction and Guidance Model Based on “S-Curve”: Taking the Loss of Contact with “Malaysia Airlines”

It is of great significance for the government to control the network public opinion in time and maintain social stability to predict the network public opinion in emergency. This paper proposes a novel improvement method to “S-curve” theory in the context of big data and establishes three novel network public opinion prediction models. These models take into account the proliferation trend of initial and follow-up network public opinion over a long period of time when emergencies are formed and the objective environment suddenly changes, based on the information diffusion model conforming to the traditional “S-curve” theory. The novel improvement and establishment allow our model to have more accurate predictions than other scholars’ models that mainly study the first network public opinion in a shorter period of time. And it is more applicable to real social conditions, in line with the public’s cognition of reality, and provides more reference for the government to take preventive and corresponding positive guiding measures in advance. To better establish the model, we obtained the 24-day Weibo data associated with the incident of “Malaysia Airlines” loss of contact from big data for model establishment, public opinion prediction, and comprehensive evaluation. The result innovatively shows that, in addition to the initial public opinion that is worthy of attention, the follow-up public opinion is also noteworthy and proves that our model has more practical value.