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Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens
Get PDFThere is increasing focus on how to induce and measure positive affective states in animals and the development of social license to operate has brought this to the forefront within equestrianism. This study aimed to utilise a range of methods to induce and measure positive affect in horses in real-world settings. Twenty healthy horses were scored for personality, exposed to four induction methods (wither scratching, high value food provision, positive reinforcement training and the addition of an affiliative conspecific), and data collected on their behaviour (QBA and ethograms) and physiology (heart and respiratory rate, heart rate variability, eye and ear thermography and salivary cortisol). Analyses identified potentially sensitive and specific behavioural (ear and eye position, QBA items, frustration items) and physiological (RR mean, HF power, LF power, LF/HF ratio, mean HR, RMSSD and pNN50) measures of affective state across the four quadrants of core affect. Individual difference effects were found, and personality traits such as unfriendly, nervous and unresponsive were associated with differing responses to induction stimuli indicating that all four induction stimuli are potentially useful for inducing positive affect depending on their salience to the individual. Research measuring and inducing positive affect in animals rarely considers personality, but this study underscores its importance. The dimensional approach taken allowed for assessment of the broad arousal and valence components of affect without ascribing measures to discrete emotions. Accurate, real-world measures of affect could benefit 116 million equines globally, and exploring ways to promote positive affect in horses can significantly enhance their welfare
Weighted 2D-kernel density estimations provide a new probabilistic measure for epigenetic age
Get PDFEpigenetic aging signatures provide insights into human aging, but traditional clocks rely on linear regression of DNA methylation levels, assuming linear trajectories. This study explores a non-parametric approach using 2D-kernel density estimation to determine epigenetic age. Our weighted model achieves similar predictive accuracy as conventional clocks and provides a variation score reflecting the inherent variability of age-related epigenetic changes within samples. This score is significantly increased in various diseases and associated with mortality risk in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. Thus, weighted 2D-kernel density estimation facilitates accurate epigenetic age predictions and offers an additional variable for biological age estimation
Unsupervised neural-implicit laser absorption tomography for quantitative imaging of unsteady flames
Get PDFThis paper presents a novel neural-implicit approach to laser absorption tomography (LAT) with an experimental demonstration. A coordinate neural network is used to represent thermochemical state variables as continuous functions of space and time. Unlike most existing neural methods for LAT, which rely on prior simulations and supervised training, our approach is based solely on LAT measurements, utilizing a differentiable observation operator with line parameters provided in a standard spectroscopy database format. Although reconstructing scalar fields from multi-beam absorbance data is an inherently ill-posed, nonlinear inverse problem, our continuous space–time parameterization supports physics-inspired regularization strategies and enables data assimilation. Synthetic and experimental tests are conducted to validate the method, demonstrating robust performance and reproducibility. We show that our neural-implicit approach to LAT can capture the dominant spatial modes of unsteady flames from very sparse measurement data, indicating its potential to reveal combustion instabilities in measurement domains with minimal optical access. Novelty and Significance Statement Industrial environments, such as gas turbine test beds, present significant diagnostic challenges due to harsh operating conditions and limited optical access. In this work, we demonstrate the first long-time-horizon reconstructions of simultaneous 2D temperature and water vapor mole fraction fields in laboratory burners using neural-implicit laser absorption tomography (NILAT). We characterize NILAT's performance through a synthetic phantom study featuring a realistic mean profile, broadband fluctuations, and tonal dynamics, highlighting its robustness and reconstruction accuracy. We also validate the applicability of established regularization parameter selection methods. This sensing framework extends beyond controlled laboratory conditions and offers potential for deployment in extreme environments where direct measurements are impractical.</p
Staff and service user perspectives of a co-located homelessness centre in Scotland:a mixed-methods evaluation
No full textBackgroundCo-location and integration of services within a psychologically-informed environment is recommended for people experiencing homeless but there are few examples of this in the UK. Such a centre opened in Scotland in November 2021. AimTo evaluate progress of the new centre. Design and SettingMixed-methods pre-post-test design before (baseline) and two years after (follow-up).MethodsBaseline and follow-up staff surveys measured knowledge of trauma-informed care, well-being, team climate, and job satisfaction. The follow-up staff survey also evaluated staff support and service improvements. In-depth staff interviews were conducted at baseline (n=25) and follow-up and analysed thematically. A service users survey was also conducted. ResultsThe staff survey showed significant improvements between baseline and follow-up in trauma-informed care, burnout, and team climate, together with improvements in support, service integration, and service user care. Service users reported high satisfaction with the new centre. Staff interviews identified a more psychologically-informed environment, better staff support, and improved opportunistic multidisciplinary working over the two years of the centre opening. However, a number of barriers were also identified relating to the building and the IT systems. Further work on the centre’s vision; short- and long-term integration plans; workload, and sustainability were felt to be needed. ConclusionCo-location of services for people experiencing homelessness in Scotland has led to improvements in staff burn-out and team climate, and service users’ satisfaction over the first two years of opening. However, barriers remain and full integration requires a clearer vision and ‘road map’, requiring collaborative leadership and sustainable funding. KeywordsIntegrated Care, Homelessness, Psychologically Informed Environment.<br/
Refining the evaluation of speech synthesis:A summary of the Blizzard Challenge 2023
No full textThe Blizzard Challenge has benchmarked progress in Text-to-Speech (TTS) since 2005. The Challenge has seen important milestones passed, with results suggesting that synthetic speech was indistinguishable from natural speech in terms of intelligibility in 2021 and that by that same year it was perhaps even indistinguishable in naturalness. The high quality of synthetic speech generated by the latest TTS systems has thus revealed limitations with ITU-T P.800.1 Mean Opinion Score (MOS) in detecting the remaining differences between synthetic and natural speech. Yet, it was the only method used in previous Challenges and is still the most popular method in the field for speech synthesis evaluation. In the 2023 Challenge, we addressed observed limitations of past Challenges by incorporating state-of-the-art speech synthesis evaluation techniques to refine the evaluation of speech quality, speaker similarity and intelligibility. For speech quality, a relative comparison of the systems receiving the best MOS was able to discover a greater number of significant differences between systems. Regarding speaker similarity, we demonstrated that there is a strong bias depending on whether the listeners are familiar with the target voice or not. As for intelligibility, the evaluation of language-specific phenomena, such as the pronunciation of homographs, better highlighted system limits compared to global transcription tasks of synthesised utterances. In addition to reporting results for the 18 entries to the 2023 Challenge, we extend the results analysis to type of TTS module to provide some insights on the most recent advances in model design. Overall, this year’s results demonstrate the need for a shift towards new methods for refining TTS evaluation to shed light on increasingly smaller and localised differences between synthesised and natural speech
Path Signature-Based Life Prognostics of Li-ion Battery Using Pulse Test Data
No full textCommon models predicting the End of Life (EOL) and Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of Li-ion cells make use of long cycling data samples. This is a bottleneck when predictions are needed for decision-making but no historical data is available. A machine learning model to predict the EOL and RUL of Li-ion cells using only data contained in a single Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization (HPPC) test is proposed. The model ignores the cell’s prior cycling usage and is validated across nine different datasets each with its cathode chemistry. A model able to classify cells on whether they have passed EOL given an HPPC test is also developed. The underpinning data-centric modeling concept for feature generation is the notion of ‘path signature’ which is combined with an explainable tree-based machine learning model and an in-depth study of the models is provided. Model validation across different SOC ranges shows that data collected from the HPPC test across a 20% SOC window suffices for effective prediction. The EOL and RUL models achieve 85 and 91 cycles MAE respectively while the classification model has an accuracy of 94% on the test data. Code for data processing and modelling is publicly available
Endochondral ossification: insights into the cartilage mineralization processes achieved by an anhydrous freeze substitution protocol
Get PDFGrowth plate cartilage (GP) serves as a dynamic site of active mineralization and offers a unique opportunity to investigate the cell-regulated matrix mineralization process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides a means for the direct observation of these mechanisms, offering the necessary resolution and chemical analysis capabilities. However, as mineral crystallinity is prone to artifacts using aqueous fixation protocols, sample preparation techniques are critical to preserve the mineralized tissue in its native form. We optimized cryofixation by high-pressure freezing followed by freeze substitution in anhydrous acetone containing 0.5 % uranyl acetate to prepare murine GP for TEM analysis. This sample preparation workflow maintains cellular and extracellular protein structural integrity with sufficient contrast for observation and without compromising mineral crystallinity. By employing appropriate sample preparation techniques, we were able to observe two parallel mineralization processes driven by chondrocytes: 1) intracellular- and 2) extracellular-originating mineralized vesicles. Both mechanisms are based on sequestering calcium phosphate (CaP) within a membrane-limited structure, albeit originating from different compartments of the chondrocytes. In the intracellular originating pathway, CaP accumulates within mitochondria as globular CaP granules, which are incorporated into intracellular vesicles (500–1000 nm) and transported as granules to the extracellular matrix (ECM). In contrast, membrane budding vesicles with a size of approximately 100–200 nm, filled with needle-shaped minerals were observed only in the ECM. Both processes transport CaP to the collagenous matrix via vesicles, they can be differentiated based on the vesicle size and mineral morphologies. Their individual importance to the cartilage mineralization process is yet to be determined. Statement of Significance: We do not fully understand the process by which epiphyseal cartilage mineralizes - a vital step in endochondral bone formation. Previous work has proposed that mitochondria and intracellular vesicles are storage sites for the delivery of mineral to collagen fibrils. However, these concepts are founded on results from in vitro models of mineralization; no prior work has observed mineral-containing intracellular vesicles or mitochondria in developing epiphyseal cartilage. Here we developed a new cryofixation preparation route for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging that has disclosed a cell-regulated process of mineralization in epiphyseal cartilage. High resolution TEM images revealed an involvement of mitochondria and intracellular and extracellular vesicles in delivering transient mineral phases to the collagen fibrils to promote cartilage mineralization.</p
How does the rise of Asia reshape international financial affairs?
Get PDFThe rules, norms and procedures that govern contemporary cross-border money and finance were put in place by western powers after the end of the Bretton Woods era. The recent rise of novel, often state-linked, Asian financial actors and practices poses questions for the continued centrality of liberal and free-market ideas in global finance. This special section asks: how do Asian financial actors integrate into the global financial system? Do they contest, co-opt or comply with liberal norms of market organization? Conversely, how do global financial actors interact with Asian financial systems? And what are the geopolitical and geo-economic implications of these developments? We offer three avenues of investigation: first, while Asian forms of financial capitalism remain distinct, their resilience in the face of liberal global norms has not hindered a dynamic transformation as local financial systems internationalize and interact with the global order. Second, the internationalization of Asian finance has introduced novel financial practices into the global system that rewrite existing practices in areas as diverse as debt, development and exchange rate management, demonstrating the growing agency of Asian countries in regional and global financial affairs. Third, in these activities Asian finance is seen from the outside at times as a friendly competitor and at other times as an outright threat, creating potential fault-lines subject to growing geopolitical contestations. Through these insights, we move beyond the existing literature that continues to see Asia, and countries within Asia, merely as respondents to financial change and globalization, rather than as increasingly powerful agents in their own right.</p
Human ACE2 transgenic pigs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and develop COVID-19-like disease
Get PDFAnimal models that accurately reflect COVID-19 are vital for understanding mechanisms of disease and advancing development of improved vaccines and therapeutics. Pigs are increasingly recognized as valuable models for human disease due to their genetic, anatomical, physiological, and immunological similarities to humans, and they present a more ethically viable alternative to non-human primates. However, pigs are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection which limits their utility as a model. To address this, we have developed transgenic pigs expressing human ACE2 that are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Following challenge, clinical signs consistent with COVID-19, including fever, coughing and respiratory distress were observed, with virus replication detected in the nasal turbinates, trachea and lungs up to the study endpoint, seven days post-infection. Notably, examination of tissues revealed immunopathology in the lungs consistent with histological changes observed in fatal human COVID-19 cases. This study establishes human ACE2 transgenic pigs as a large animal model that accurately reflects many aspects of COVID-19 disease.</p
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