A reinforcement learning approach for reducing traffic congestion using deep Q learning.

Nowadays, traffic congestion is a significant issue globally. The vehicle quantity has grown dramatically, while road and transportation infrastructure capacities have yet to expand proportionally to handle the additional traffic effectively. Road congestion and traffic-related pollution have increased, which is detrimental to society and public health.

A social learning primacy trend in mate-copying: an experiment in .

Social learning is learning from the observation of how others interact with the environment. However, in nature, individuals often need to process serial social information and may favour either the most recent information (recency bias), constantly updating knowledge to match the environment, or the information that appeared first in the series (primacy bias), which may slow down adjustment to environmental change. Mate-copying is a widespread form of social learning in a mate choice context related to conformity in mate choice, and where a naive individual develops a preference for a given mate (or mate phenotype) seen being chosen by conspecifics.

A machine learning approach for vocal fold segmentation and disorder classification based on ensemble method.

In the healthcare domain, the essential task is to understand and classify diseases affecting the vocal folds (VFs). The accurate identification of VF disease is the key issue in this domain. Integrating VF segmentation and disease classification into a single system is challenging but important for precise diagnostics.

RETRACTED: Nobel et al. Modern Subtype Classification and Outlier Detection Using the Attention Embedder to Transform Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis. 2024, , 105-132.

The Editorial Office retracts the article "Modern Subtype Classification and Outlier Detection Using the Attention Embedder to Transform Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis" [...

SegX-Net: A novel image segmentation approach for contrail detection using deep learning.

Contrails are line-shaped clouds formed in the exhaust of aircraft engines that significantly contribute to global warming. This paper confidently proposes integrating advanced image segmentation techniques to identify and monitor aircraft contrails to address the challenges associated with climate change. We propose the SegX-Net architecture, a highly efficient and lightweight model that combines the DeepLabV3+, upgraded, and ResNet-101 architectures to achieve superior segmentation accuracy.

Modern Subtype Classification and Outlier Detection Using the Attention Embedder to Transform Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis.

Ovarian cancer, a deadly female reproductive system disease, is a significant challenge in medical research due to its notorious lethality. Addressing ovarian cancer in the current medical landscape has become more complex than ever. This research explores the complex field of Ovarian Cancer Subtype Classification and the crucial task of Outlier Detection, driven by a progressive automated system, as the need to fight this unforgiving illness becomes critical.

Observation of a temperature dependent anomaly in the UV translucency of milk useful for UV-C preservation techniques.

Milk fat globules and casein micelles are the dispersed particles of milk that are responsible for its typical white turbid appearance and usually make it difficult to treat with modern ultraviolet light (UV) preservation techniques. The translucency of milk depends largely on the refractive indices of the dispersed particles, which are directly affected by temperature changes, as incorporated triglycerides can crystallize, melt or transition into other polymorphs. These structural changes have a significant effect on the scattering properties and thus on the UV light propagation in milk, especially by milk fat globules.

Mate copying requires the coincidence detector Rutabaga in the mushroom bodies of .

Mate choice constitutes a major fitness-affecting decision often involving social learning leading to copying the preference of other individuals (i.e., mate copying).

No evidence for mate copying in Danio rerio.

The zebrafish Danio rerio is an important model organism, but little is known about its mating preferences and how these are influenced by personality traits like boldness. In this study, we tested two strains of zebrafish and addressed whether females used social information to build a mating preference, a behavior called mate copying, and whether this social learning was affected by boldness. Thus, we provided positive social information for small males to test whether female zebrafish changed their mate preference after observing a pair of a small and a large male with a demonstrator female next to the small one.

2-D sex images elicit mate copying in fruit flies.

Although the environment is three-dimensional (3-D), humans are able to extract subtle information from two-dimensional (2-D) images, particularly in the domain of sex. However, whether animals with simpler nervous systems are capable of such information extraction remains to be demonstrated, as this ability would suggest a functional generalisation capacity. Here, we performed mate-copying experiments in Drosophila melanogaster using 2-D artificial stimuli.

Uridine as a non-toxic actinometer for UV-C treatment: influence of temperature and concentration.

UV-C treatment is an effective method to inactivate microorganisms and therefore gets increasingly more attention in food industry, especially for liquid products. To test and monitor different UV-C reactor designs, a photochemical actinometer is required that gives reliable UV-C dose values and is non-toxic allowing frequent control of the production chain. Here, a variable concentrated aqueous uridine solution is tested as a photochemical actinometer.

Conformity in mate choice, the overlooked social component of animal and human culture.

Although conformity as a major driver for human cultural evolution is a well-accepted and intensely studied phenomenon, its importance for non-human animal culture has been largely overlooked until recently. This limited for decades the possibility of studying the roots of human culture. Here, we provide a historical review of the study of conformity in both humans and non-human animals.

The importance of population heterogeneities in detecting social learning as the foundation of animal cultural transmission.

High levels of within-population behavioural variation can have drastic demographic consequences, thus changing the evolutionary fate of populations. A major source of within-population heterogeneity is personality. Nonetheless, it is still relatively rarely accounted for in social learning studies that constitute the most basic process of cultural transmission.

Tailoring the Textural Characteristics of Fat-Free Fermented Concentrated Milk-Protein Based Microgel Dispersions by Way of Upstream, Downstream and Post-Production Thermal Inputs.

There is a growing demand for new strategies to tailor the texture of fat-free fermented concentrated milk products, also referred to as milk protein-based (MPb) microgel dispersions. Methods should be easy to incorporate into the production scheme, offer labelling without added components and be cost-efficient. Thermal treatments are traditionally used upstream (milk heating) and downstream (pre-concentration heating) in the production of these dispersions, though there is little knowledge as to the effects that combinations of different thermal input levels have on final texture.

Fat-free fermented concentrated milk products as milk protein-based microgel dispersions: Particle characteristics as key drivers of textural properties.

The popularity of fat-free fermented concentrated milk products, such as fresh cheeses and high-protein yogurt, has increased over the recent years, attributed to greater availability and improvements in taste and texture. These improvements have been achieved through modifications and new developments in processing technologies, for example, higher heat treatment intensities and incorporating different membrane filtration technologies. Though numerous processing parameters are discussed in the literature, as well as reasons behind the developments, detailed examinations of how process modifications affect the final textural attributes of these products are lacking.

Not by transmission alone: the role of invention in cultural evolution.

Innovation-the combination of invention and social learning-can empower species to invade new niches via cultural adaptation. Social learning has typically been regarded as the fundamental driver for the emergence of traditions and thus culture. Consequently, invention has been relatively understudied outside the human lineage-despite being the source of new traditions.

Tissue distribution of C-labelled perfluorooctanoic acid in adult mice after 1-5 days of dietary exposure to an experimental dose or a lower dose that resulted in blood levels similar to those detected in exposed humans.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a global environmental pollutant detected in both wildlife and human populations, has several pathophysiological effects in experimental animals, including hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and developmental toxicity. However, details concerning the tissue distribution of PFOA, in particular at levels relevant to humans, are lacking, which limits our understanding of how humans, and other mammals, may be affected by this compound. Therefore, we characterized the tissue distribution of C-PFOA in mice in the same manner as we earlier examined its analogues perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) in order to allow direct comparisons.

Response to Comment on "Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruitflies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions".

Thornquist and Crickmore claim that systematic experimental error may explain the results of Danchin and colleagues. Their claim rests on mistakes in their analyses, for which we provide corrections. We reassert that conformity in fruitflies predicts long-lasting mate-preference traditions.

Power ultrasound as a tool to improve the processability of protein-enriched fermented milk gels for Greek yogurt manufacture.

One approach to avoid production of acid whey during the manufacture of high-protein yogurt and related products is to concentrate the milk before fermentation. However, the resultant gels are firm so that stirring in the tank and further processing are difficult on an industrial scale. We hypothesize that power ultrasound (US) during fermentation softens the gel because sound waves cause cavitation and strong shear forces in the fluid.

It's in the eye of the beholder: visual lateralisation in response to the social environment in poeciliids.

The social environment offers fish complex information about the quality, performance, personality and other cues of potential mates and competitors simultaneously. It is likely, therefore, that the environmental information regarding the context of mate choice is perceived and processed differently in species and sexes in respect to lateralisation. The present study comparatively assessed visual lateralisation behaviour in response to different social or sexual stimuli in three closely related poeciliid species (P.

Dopamine and Serotonin Are Both Required for Mate-Copying in .

Mate-copying is a form of social learning in which the mate-choice decision of an individual (often a female) is influenced by the mate-choice of conspecifics. females are known to perform such social learning, and in particular, to mate-copy after a single observation of one conspecific female mating with a male of one phenotype, while the other male phenotype is rejected. Here, we show that this form of social learning is dependent on serotonin and dopamine.

Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruitflies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions.

Despite theoretical justification for the evolution of animal culture, empirical evidence for it beyond mammals and birds remains scant, and we still know little about the process of cultural inheritance. In this study, we propose a mechanism-driven definition of animal culture and test it in the fruitfly. We found that fruitflies have five cognitive capacities that enable them to transmit mating preferences culturally across generations, potentially fostering persistent traditions (the main marker of culture) in mating preference.

Effects of a sex ratio gradient on female mate-copying and choosiness in .

In many sexually reproducing species, individuals can gather information about potential mates by observing their mating success. This behavioral pattern, that we call mate-copying, was reported in the fruit fly where females choosing between 2 males of contrasting phenotypes can build a preference for males of the phenotype they previously saw being chosen by a demonstrator female. As sex ratio is known to affect mate choice, our goal was to test whether mate-copying is also affected by encountered sex ratios.

Test of the Deception Hypothesis in Atlantic Mollies -Does the Audience Copy a Pretended Mate Choice of Others?

Animals often use public information for mate-choice decisions by observing conspecifics as they choose their mates and then copying this witnessed decision. When the copier, however, is detected by the choosing individual, the latter often alters its behavior and spends more time with the previously non-preferred mate. This behavioral change is called the audience effect.

Vibration-induced particle formation during yogurt fermentation-Effect of frequency and amplitude.

Machinery such as pumps used for the commercial production of fermented milk products cause vibrations that can spread to the fermentation tanks. During fermentation, such vibrations can disturb the gelation of milk proteins by causing texture defects including lumpiness and syneresis. To study the effect of vibrations on yogurt structure systematically, an experimental setup was developed consisting of a vibration exciter to generate defined vibrational states and accelerometers for monitoring.