Deciphering Network Community Structure by Surprise

The analysis of complex networks permeates all sciences, from biology to sociology. A fundamental, unsolved problem is how to characterize the community structure of a network. Here, using both standard and novel benchmarks, we show that maximization of a simple global parameter, which we call Surprise (S), leads to a very efficient characterization of the community structure of complex synthetic networks. Particularly, S qualitatively outperforms the most commonly used criterion to define communities, Newman and Girvan's modularity (Q). Applying S maximization to real networks often provides natural, well-supported partitions, but also sometimes counterintuitive solutions that expose the limitations of our previous knowledge. These results indicate that it is possible to define an effective global criterion for community structure and open new routes for the understanding of complex networks.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

The effects of socioeconomic status and indices of physical environment on reduced birth weight and preterm births in Eastern Massachusetts

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Air pollution and social characteristics have been shown to affect indicators of health. While use of spatial methods to estimate exposure to air pollution has increased the power to detect effects, questions have been raised about potential for confounding by social factors.Methods: A study of singleton births in Eastern Massachusetts was conducted between 1996 and 2002 to examine the association between indicators of traffic, land use, individual and area-based socioeconomic measures (SEM), and birth outcomes ( birth weight, small for gestational age and preterm births), in a two-level hierarchical model.Results: We found effects of both individual ( education, race, prenatal care index) and area-based ( median household income) SEM with all birth outcomes. The associations for traffic and land use variables were mainly seen with birth weight, with an exception for an effect of cumulative traffic density on small for gestational age. Race/ethnicity of mother was an important predictor of birth outcomes and a strong confounder for both area-based SEM and indices of physical environment. The effects of traffic and land use differed by level of education and median household income.Conclusion: Overall, the findings of the study suggested greater likelihood of reduced birth weight and preterm births among the more socially disadvantaged, and a greater risk of reduced birth weight associated with traffic exposures. Results revealed the importance of controlling simultaneously for SEM and environmental exposures as the way to better understand determinants of health.This work is supported by the Harvard Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Center, Grants R827353 and R-832416, and National Institute for Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) ES-0002

Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. DESIGN: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. METHODS: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. RESULTS: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. CONCLUSION: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Motivating Emotional Intelligence: A Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) Perspective

Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) is generally associated with positive outcomes and can inform clinical and social interventions. We investigated the sub-factors of trait EI: Wellbeing, Self-control, Emotionality, and Sociability, in the context of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) of motivation. In Study 1, participants (N = 247) completed Carver and White’s (1994) BIS/BAS scales and a measure of trait EI. All EI sub-factors were positively associated with BAS Drive and negatively with BIS. Study 2 (N = 382) employed a new questionnaire based on revised RST (Corr & Cooper, 2016). All trait EI factors were positively associated with BAS Goal-Drive Persistence and Reward Interest, and negatively with the BIS. Self-control showed negative associations with BAS Impulsivity and was the only factor not to correlate with BAS Reward Reactivity. Results suggest that high trait EI individuals are goal driven, sensitive to reward and lower in avoidance motivation and negative emotion. This motivational basis to trait EI further explicates its structure

Variable star classification across the Galactic bulge and disc with the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey

We present VIVACE, the VIrac VAriable Classification Ensemble, a catalogue of variable stars extracted from an automated classification pipeline for the Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) infrared survey of the Galactic bar/bulge and southern disc. Our procedure utilises a two-stage hierarchical classifier to first isolate likely variable sources using simple variability summary statistics and training sets of non-variable sources from the Gaia early third data release, and then classify candidate variables using more detailed light curve statistics and training labels primarily from OGLE and VSX. The methodology is applied to point-spread-function photometry for ∼490 million light curves from the VIRAC v2 astrometric and photometric catalogue resulting in a catalogue of ∼1.4 million likely variable stars, of which ∼39, 000 are high-confidence (classification probability >0.9) RR Lyrae ab stars, ∼8000 RR Lyrae c/d stars, ∼187, 000 detached/semi-detached eclipsing binaries, ∼18, 000 contact eclipsing binaries, ∼1400 classical Cepheid variables and ∼2200 Type II Cepheid variables. Comparison with OGLE-4 suggests a completeness of around 90  per cent for RRab and ≲ 60 per cent for RRc/d, and a misclassification rate for known RR Lyrae stars of around 1 per cent for the high confidence sample. We close with two science demonstrations of our new VIVACE catalogue: first, a brief investigation of the spatial and kinematic properties of the RR Lyrae stars within the disc/bulge, demonstrating the spatial elongation of bar-bulge RR Lyrae stars is in the same sense as the more metal-rich red giant population whilst having a slower rotation rate of ∼40 km s−1kpc−1; and secondly, an investigation of the Gaia EDR3 parallax zeropoint using contact eclipsing binaries across the Galactic disc plane and bulge

Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being

Wild and managed pollinators provide a wide range of benefits to society in terms of contributions to food security, farmer and beekeeper livelihoods, social and cultural values, as well as the maintenance of wider biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Pollinators face numerous threats, including changes in land-use and management intensity, climate change, pesticides and genetically modified crops, pollinator management and pathogens, and invasive alien species. There are well-documented declines in some wild and managed pollinators in several regions of the world. However, many effective policy and management responses can be implemented to safeguard pollinators and sustain pollination services

VVV-WIT-04: An extragalactic variable source caught by the VVV Survey

We report the discovery of VVV-WIT-04, a near-infrared variable source towards the Galactic disk located ~0.2 arcsec apart from the position of the radio source PMN J1515-5559. The object was found serendipitously in the near-IR data of the ESO public survey VISTA Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea (VVV). Our analysis is based on variability, multicolor, and proper motion data from VVV and VVV eXtended surveys, complemented with archive data at longer wavelengths. We suggest that VVV-WIT-04 has an extragalactic origin as the near-IR counterpart of PMN J1515-5559. The Ks-band light-curve of VVV-WIT-04 is highly variable and consistent with that of an Optically Violent Variable (OVV) quasar. The variability in the near-IR can be interpreted as the redshifted optical variability. Residuals to the proper motion varies with the magnitude suggesting contamination by a blended source. Alternative scenarios, including a transient event such as a nova or supernova, or even a binary microlensing event are not in agreement with the available data.R.K.S. acknowledges support from CNPq/Brazil through projects 308968/2016-6 and 421687/2016-9. P.W.L. is supported by STFC Consolidated Grant ST/R000905/1. Support for the authors is provided by the BASAL CONICYT Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (CATA) through grant AFB-170002, and the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism, Programa Iniciativa Cient´ıfica Milenio through grant IC120009, awarded to the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS). D.M. acknowledges support from FONDECYT through project Regular #1170121

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments

Microplastics (<5 mm particles) occur within both engineered and natural freshwater ecosystems, including wastewater treatment plants, lakes, rivers, and estuaries. While a significant proportion of microplastic pollution is likely sequestered within freshwater environments, these habitats also constitute an important conduit of microscopic polymer particles to oceans worldwide. The quantity of aquatic microplastic waste is predicted to dramatically increase over the next decade, but the fate and biological implications of this pollution are still poorly understood. A growing body of research has aimed to characterize the formation, composition, and spatiotemporal distribution of microplastic-associated (“plastisphere”) microbial biofilms. Plastisphere microorganisms have been suggested to play significant roles in pathogen transfer, modulation of particle buoyancy, and biodegradation of plastic polymers and co-contaminants, yet investigation of these topics within freshwater environments is at a very early stage. Here, what is known about marine plastisphere assemblages is systematically compared with up-to-date findings from freshwater habitats. Through analysis of key differences and likely commonalities between environments, we discuss how an integrated view of these fields of research will enhance our knowledge of the complex behavior and ecological impacts of microplastic pollutants

Evaluation of DSD training schools organized by cost action BM1303 "DSDnet"

Abstract Background The Differences of Sex Development network (DSDnet) aims to establish interactive relationships between clinicians, scientists, support groups and people with a difference of sex development (DSD) to improve the overall care for people affected by such condition. DSDnet has hosted three Training Schools (TSs) in Ghent, Bologna and Budapest between 2015 and 2017 with the primary purpose of providing multidisciplinary training to young professionals and encouraging ongoing activity in the field of DSD. The aim of our study was to evaluate the success and long-term effect effectiveness of these three TSs. Methods and results Eighty-seven trainees (70 women, 17 men) attended one of three TSs. The distribution of trainees according to their professional field was: 47 (54.0%) from Pediatrics/Endocrinology, 13 (14.9%) from Biology/Genetics, 12 (13.8%) from Psychology/Psychiatry and 15 (17.2%) from Surgical Professions. All trainees were asked to complete an evaluation form on the last day of the TS to gain feedback on how to improve the next one. A further survey was sent at the end of 2017 to provide information about the overall long-term impact of the TSs. Seventy-eight (89.7%) trainees completed evaluation forms at the end of the respective TSs. Replies to the subsequent survey were received from 76 (87.4%) of trainees. A total of 72/76 (94.7%) responders reported that they continue to be active in the field of DSD. The vast majority (64/68, 94.1%) reported that the TSs had enlarged their professional networks. Among the 76 respondent trainees, 11.8% (n = 9) had applied for a research grant and 10.5% (n = 8) had received a fellowship related to DSD since their TS attendance. Conclusions According to our results, the majority of TS participants continue to be active in the field of DSD and have enlarged their professional networks following participation at the TS. These findings indicate the need of this type of educational program and justify ongoing efforts to provide postgraduate multidisciplinary training in rare diseases such as DSD