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KU researchers on the global stage

Two Khalifa University mathematics researchers who recently published a study on the reliability of models for financial markets have been tapped to contribute to two of the world’s leading statistical societies.

Emilio Porcu, a theoretical statistician and data scientist, and Marcos López de Prado, professor of practice and the global head of Quantitative Research and Development at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, recently contributed to a high-level panel discussion on “Regression for Compositional Data in the Era of Data Science” for the Royal Statistical Society in London.

The topic is timely, as compositional data are increasingly central in modern applications involving complex, constrained and high-dimensional datasets.

Porcu and López de Prado have also been invited to review “Random Patterns and Structures in Spatial Data” by Radu S. Stoica for the American Statistical Association. The review should be published by the end of July.

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Mold matters

Plant-based diets and grocery products have taken the world by storm the past few years, but a recent study indicates that there’s more to your veggie burger than just plants.

The UK study published in Food Control concluded that of the 212 plant-based products tested, all of them contained at least one mycotoxin — a toxic compound naturally produced by molds. The tests included a wide range of products including dairy-free milks and alternative meats made with soy, oat and nuts.

Most of the toxin levels were within the UK limits, but many of the products tested contained more than one toxin, the highest levels found in plant-based meat substitutes. Oat-based drinks also contained higher levels of certain grain-related toxins.

The researchers say there’s no reason to panic as mycotoxins are found in many common food products like coffee and spices, but as the plant-based food industry grows, it does highlight the need for manufacturers and regulators to pay closer attention to testing and food safety.

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