Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poorer auditory sensitivity is related to stronger visual enhancement of the human auditory mismatch negativity (MMNm)

Multisensory processing facilitates perception of our everyday environment and becomes particularly important when sensory information is degraded or close to the discrimination threshold. Here, we used magnetoencephalography and an audiovisual oddball paradigm to assess the complementary role of visual information in subtle pitch discrimination at the neural level of participants with varying levels of pitch discrimination abilities, i.e., musicians and nonmusicians. The amplitude of the auditory mismatch negativity (MMNm) served as an index of sensitivity. The gain in amplitude resulting from compatible audiovisual information was larger in participants whose MMNm amplitude was smaller in the condition deviating only in the auditory dimension, in accordance with the multisensory principle of inverse effectiveness. These findings show that discrimination of even a sensory-specific feature as pitch is facilitated by multisensory information at a pre-attentive level, and they highlight the importance of considering inter-individual differences in uni-sensory abilities when assessing multisensory processing.
Male-female differences and survival in patients undergoing isolated mitral valve surgery: a nationwide cohort study in the Netherlands.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to compare male-female differences with respect to baseline characteristics and short-term outcome in a contemporary nationwide cohort of patients who underwent isolated mitral valve (MV) surgery. METHODS All patients [N = 3411; 58% males (N = 1977)] who underwent isolated MV surgery (replacement: N = 1048, 31%; reconstruction: N = 2364, 69%) in the Netherlands between January 2007 and December 2011 were included in this study. Differences in patient and procedural characteristics and in-hospital outcome were compared between male and female patients. RESULTS Female patients were generally older (mean age, 64 vs 61 years, P < 0.001), presented more often with pulmonary hypertension (P = 0.03) and had higher logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) I (P < 0.001). Male patients presented more often with prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (P < 0.001) and active endocarditis (P = 0.002). Female patients underwent MV replacement more often (P < 0.001) and, in case of replacement, received stented bioprostheses more often (P < 0.001). In-hospital mortality rates after MV replacement were 7% (n = 33) and 7% (n = 40) in male and female patients, respectively (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.67-1.75; P = 0.75). In-hospital mortality rates after MV reconstruction were 1.4% (n = 21) and 1.3% (n = 11) in male and female patients, respectively (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.42-1.84; P = 0.74). CONCLUSIONS There are substantial male-female differences in patient presentation and procedural aspects in isolated MV surgery in the Netherlands. Female patients are older, have more severe disease at the time of surgery and undergo valve repair less often. Future studies are needed to identify potentially modifiable patient factors to improve the outcome of female patients with MV disease.
Building Domain-Specific Languages for Model-Driven Development

Today, the popularity of dynamic languages such as Python and Ruby is growing beyond their use as scripting languages. In fact, Sun, Microsoft, and other companies are supporting some dynamic languages on their development platforms. Developers increasingly find that dynamic languages' features help them enhance their productivity, while common misconceptions about them, such as poor performance and reliability, are disappearing. Embedding domain-specific language in a dynamic language rather than constructing a compiler or interpreter can improve program readability and development time.
Support Disciplines for Systems Development in SMEs - A Conceptual Map

Abstract: Both software configuration management (SCM) and project management (PM) involve applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques which support the development of software systems (SS). Developing an effective project management plan, which minimizes risks and restrictions inherent to the project, becomes more difficult as time goes on. Achieving an effective balance between the scope, timeframe, and costs associated with the project is also a complex task. This task is equally challenge for the small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). SCM is a powerful tool for the administration and control of the life cycle of the SS, and it is linked to the process of quality assurance. This article presents the first results of an ongoing research whose purpose is to develop a framework which incorporates the methodological aspects of PM and SCM for SMEs. The first step for the design of this framework was to build a conceptual model that would be used as a systemic vision of the semantic basis to unify and support the relationships between these concepts.
Enriching Wikidata with Frame Semantics

Wikidata is a large-scale, multilingual and freely available knowledge base. It contains more than 14 million facts, however, it is still missing linguistic information. In this paper, we aim to bridge this gap by aligning Wikidata with FrameNet lexicon. We propose an approach based on word embedding to identify a mapping between Wikidata relations, called properties, and FrameNet frames and to annotate the arguments of each relation with the semantic roles of the matching frames. Early empirical results show the advantage of our approach compared to other baseline methods.
Dispersant affects the cellular influences of single-wall carbon nanotube: the role of CNT as carrier of dispersants

Abstract The application of carbon nanotube (CNT) as a functional material to engineering and life sciences is advanced. In order to evaluate the cytotoxicity of CNT in vitro, some chemical and biological reagents are used for dispersants. In the present study, the cellular influences of six kinds of chemical or biological reagents used as dispersants were examined. Pluronic F-127, Pluronic F-68, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), pulmonary surfactant preparation Surfacten®, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Tween 80 were used in the preparation of CNT-medium dispersants. The influences of each reagent on cell viability in human lung carcinoma A549 cells were small. However, Pluronic F-127, DPPC, Surfacten® and Tween 80 induced an increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Next, CNT-medium dispersions were prepared, using each reagent as a dispersant and applied to A549 cells. The cellular influences depended on the kind of dispersant. Cells exposed to CNT dispersion including Pluronic® F-127, Surfacten®, DPPC and Tween 80 showed LDH release to the culture supernatant. Induction of intracellular ROS level was observed in cells exposed to CNT dispersion including each reagent except BSA. These results suggest that the adsorbed dispersant reagents on the surface of the CNT affect its cellular influences, particularly the induction of oxidative stress.
Detecting malicious modifications of data in third-party intellectual property cores

Globalization of the system-on-chip (SoC) design flow has created opportunities for rogue elements in the intellectual property (IP) vendor companies to insert malicious circuits (a.k.a. hardware Trojans) into their IPs. We propose to formally verify third party IPs (3PIPs) for unauthorized corruption of critical data such as secret key. Our approach develops properties to identify corruption of critical registers. Furthermore, we describe two attacks where computations can be performed on corrupted data without corrupting the critical register. We develop additional properties to detect such attacks. We validate our technique using Trojans in 8051 and RISC processors and AES designs from Trust-Hub.
EndoNet: an information resource about endocrine networks

EndoNet is a new database that provides information about the components of endocrine networks and their relations. It focuses on the endocrine cell-to-cell communication and enables the analysis of intercellular regulatory pathways in humans. In the EndoNet data model, two classes of components span a bipartite directed graph. One class represents the hormones (in the broadest sense) secreted by defined donor cells. The other class consists of the acceptor or target cells expressing the corresponding hormone receptors. The identity and anatomical environment of cell types, tissues and organs is defined through references to the CYTOMER® ontology. With the EndoNet user interface, it is possible to query the database for hormones, receptors or tissues and to combine several items from different search rounds in one complex result set, from which a network can be reconstructed and visualized. For each entity, a detailed characteristics page is available. Some well-established endocrine pathways are offered as showcases in the form of predefined result sets. These sets can be used as a starting point for a more complex query or for obtaining a quick overview. The EndoNet database is accessible at .
Fossil Acropora prolifera (Lamarck, 1816) reveals coral hybridization is not only a recent phenomenon

Abstract. Acropora prolifera is an ecologically distinctive western Atlantic reef-building coral that originates from hybridization and back-crossing between A. palmata and A. cervicornis. It has been suggested that A. prolifera might be a recent product of precipitous decline in the abundance of the two parent species, forcing hybridization where both it and its product might not otherwise be prevalent phenomena. We present evidence that A. prolifera has a fossil record dating back to at least the late Pleistocene, and that it was ecologically significant prior to the region-wide die-back of acroporid corals. These data, when taken collectively, reveal that hybridization in the Caribbean acroporids is historically rooted and not a recent artifact of changes in Caribbean reef ecology. It is becoming apparent that hybrid taxa likely play an important but underappreciated role in coral reef ecology and reef-building more generally. This is consistent with recent recognition that interspecific hybridization can drive evolutionary innovation and cladogenesis in animals as well as plants.
Multipath code casting for wireless mesh networks

Designing high throughput wireless mesh networks involves solving interrelated scheduling, routing, and interference problems. In this paper, we exploit the broadcast properties and the path diversity of wireless meshes to implement an efficient multipath routing protocol, Multipath Code Casting (MC2). In contrast to prior work in opportunistic routing, which required strong coordination across nodes to prevent information repetition, our design is based on network coding and does not require node coordination. Moreover, it provides a unified framework to deal with data transmissions across multiple and, often, unreliable transmission paths. Our design also includes a novel rate-scheduling algorithm that guarantees (proportionally) fair allocation of resources across multiple (multipath) flows, ensures that data use the paths with the best performance, and prevents information overflow by controlling the data rate across each path. Using simulations and a prototype implementation, we show that our algorithms provide over 30% performance improvement compared to traditional singlepath approaches when applied to realistic and other exemplar topologies; in some scenarios, our approach can even double the throughput. Our approach also performs better than 20% compared to other multipath routing schemes.
Extraction of Tree Adjoining Grammars from a Treebank for Korean

We present the implementation of a system which extracts not only lexicalized grammars but also feature-based lexicalized grammars from Korean Sejong Treebank. We report on some practical experiments where we extract TAG grammars and tree schemata. Above all, full-scale syntactic tags and well-formed morphological analysis in Sejong Treebank allow us to extract syntactic features. In addition, we modify Treebank for extracting lexicalized grammars and convert lexicalized grammars into tree schemata to resolve limited lexical coverage problem of extracted lexicalized grammars.
Cell volume homeostatic mechanisms: effectors and signalling pathways

Cell volume homeostasis and its fine‐tuning to the specific physiological context at any given moment are processes fundamental to normal cell function. The understanding of cell volume regulation owes much to August Krogh, yet has advanced greatly over the last decades. In this review, we outline the historical context of studies of cell volume regulation, focusing on the lineage started by Krogh, Bodil Schmidt‐Nielsen, Hans‐Henrik Ussing, and their students. The early work was focused on understanding the functional behaviour, kinetics and thermodynamics of the volume‐regulatory ion transport mechanisms. Later work addressed the mechanisms through which cellular signalling pathways regulate the volume regulatory effectors or flux pathways. These studies were facilitated by the molecular identification of most of the relevant channels and transporters, and more recently also by the increased understanding of their structures. Finally, much current research in the field focuses on the most up‐ and downstream components of these paths: how cells sense changes in cell volume, and how cell volume changes in turn regulate cell function under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
Child Abuse as a Predictor of Alcohol Consumption Among Brazilian University Students

Alcohol use among university students has received considerate attention in recent years due to its serious consequences. There is insufficient data in terms of the relationship between child abuse history and future use of alcohol in such a group. In addition, little is known about the effects of polyvictimization (lifetime multiple victimization experiences) on the consumption of these young adults. This study has examined whether a history of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and/or child abuse is related to alcohol consumption. Particular attention was given to different forms of victimization (physical, psychological, sexual abuse, and exposure to IPV) occurring over the life of the individual. A questionnaire that underwent a process of adaptation in two pilot studies, incorporating the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and questions about child abuse history, was used. The questionnaire was applied to 1,452 students in Brazil. Child abuse and polyvictimization were related to higher alcohol intake and binge consumption in the last 3 months. Physical, psychological, and exposure to IPV were polyvictimization forms with the most impact on alcohol consumption. The study points out the need to initiate prevention strategies among Brazilian university students for a decrease of harmful alcohol consumption, as well as prevention of family violence.
Finite-State Markov Chains Channel Model for CubeSats Communication Uplink

This paper proposes a channel model to be applied to the communications systems of CubeSats. The model considers the low earth orbit geometry when a satellite is passing over a ground station, and the propagation surrounding multiple paths of the ground station location in urban areas. The geometry was used to define the deterministic factors, which contribute to the fading of the communication signal, such as Doppler effect and loss in free space. These are parameters that change as a function of time and elevation angle. Thus, a complete digital communication system, at the link layer level, is presented, using Markov Chains to model the previously cited effects in the form of a finite-state Markov channel. The proposed model was used as an uplink channel between a ground station and a CubeSat, both implementing a protocol stack, following the consultative committee for space data systems (CCSDS) recommendations. The ground station and the proposed communication channel were implemented through a functional simulation model and a telecommand and telemetry unit, implemented in hardware, was used as a case study for the CubeSat. Through the analysis of the simulated system, with telecommands sent by the station and responses sent by the hardware unit (in a hardware-in-the-loop setup), it was possible to demonstrate the operation of the proposed channel together with the retransmission mechanism suggested in the CCSDS recommendations, in order to mitigate communication issues.
Natural and Flexible Error Recovery for Generated Modular Language Environments

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) increase programmer productivity, providing rapid, interactive feedback based on the syntax and semantics of a language. Unlike conventional parsing algorithms, scannerless generalized-LR parsing supports the full set of context-free grammars, which is closed under composition, and hence can parse languages composed from separate grammar modules. To apply this algorithm in an interactive environment, this article introduces a novel error recovery mechanism. Our approach is language independent, and relies on automatic derivation of recovery rules from grammars. By taking layout information into consideration it can efficiently suggest natural recovery suggestions.
ADaPPT: Enterprise Architecture Thinking for Information Systems Development

Enterprises have architecture: whether it is visible or invisible is another matter. An enterprises’ architecture determines the way in which it works to deliver its business objectives and the way in which it can change to continue to meet its evolving business objectives. Enterprise architectural thinking can facilitate effective strategic planning and information systems development. This paper reviews enterprise architecture (EA) and its concepts. It briefly considers EA frameworks. It describes the ADaPPT (Aligning Data, People, Processes and Technology) EA approach as a means to managing organisational complexity and change. Future research directions are discussed.
Targeted disruption of the alpha isoform of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gene in mice results in abolishment of the pleiotropic effects of peroxisome proliferators

To gain insight into the function of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) isoforms in rodents, we disrupted the ligand-binding domain of the alpha isoform of mouse PPAR (mPPAR alpha) by homologous recombination. Mice homozygous for the mutation lack expression of mPPAR alpha protein and yet are viable and fertile and exhibit no detectable gross phenotypic defects. Remarkably, these animals do not display the peroxisome proliferator pleiotropic response when challenged with the classical peroxisome proliferators, clofibrate and Wy-14,643. Following exposure to these chemicals, hepatomegaly, peroxisome proliferation, and transcriptional-activation of target genes were not observed. These results clearly demonstrate that mPPAR alpha is the major isoform required for mediating the pleiotropic response resulting from the actions of peroxisome proliferators. mPPAR alpha-deficient animals should prove useful to further investigate the role of this receptor in hepatocarcinogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, and cell cycle regulation.
Global risk of cardiovascular disease

UK death rates from coronary heart disease are among the highest in the world. This is because the UK has high levels of standard risk factors and a low level of intervention on those risk factors. The most important modifiable cardiovascular risk factors are dyslipidaemia (particularly high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol), smoking, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and central obesity. Intervention strategies that do not target those individuals at highest cardiovascular risk are likely to be less cost effective. Global risk estimation is increasingly recognised by management guidelines as a clinically and cost effective means of guiding treatment. However, an over reliance on short term absolute risk may result in under treatment of young people (particularly women) at high relative risk and over treatment of older people (particularly men) at low relative risk.
The uniformity of phagosome maturation in macrophages

Many studies of endocytosis and phagocytosis presume that organelles containing a single kind of internalized particle exhibit invariant patterns of protein and phospholipid association as they mature inside cells. To test this presumption, fluorescent protein chimeras were expressed in RAW 264.7 macrophages, and time-lapse ratiometric fluorescence microscopy was used to measure the maturation dynamics of individual phagosomes containing IgG-opsonized erythrocytes. Quantitative analysis revealed consistent patterns of association for YFP chimeras of β-actin, Rab5a, Rab7, and LAMP-1, and no association of YFP chimeras marking endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi. YFP-2xFYVE, recognizing phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P), showed two patterns of phagosome labeling. Some phagosomes increased labeling quickly after phagosome closure and then lost the label within 20 min, whereas others labeled more slowly and retained the label for several hours. The two patterns of PI(3)P on otherwise identical phagosomes indicated that organelle maturation does not necessarily follow a single path and that some features of phagosome maturation are integrated over the entire organelle.
Snap Target: Investigating an Assistance Technique for Mobile Magic Lens Interaction With Large Displays

Modern handheld devices can act as “magic lenses” for public displays and enable camera-based real-time interaction with their contents, thus allowing for manifold interactive applications in public space. To learn more about the characteristics of common techniques and to provide guidelines for new ones, a comparative user study was conducted. With regard to two basic task types (selection and translation) and two typical devices (smartphone and tablet), three interaction techniques in-depth were evaluated: direct touch-based input (Touch), cross-hair targeting (Target), and a new technique based on a dynamic cross-hair on the screen that snaps to visible nearby screen objects (Snap Target). The study results indicate that successful interaction with the Touch technique strongly depends on the usage context: Although Touch enables fast selection, it incurs many errors when small targets have to be selected on a smartphone. Target supports such difficult selections better, but Snap Target proved to be most robust in both investigated task types. Also, users stated that they felt best supported by the latter technique. Cross-hair-based techniques, especially Snap Target, were found to be well suitable for scenarios where several device types need to be supported under similar conditions. Implications and further work are discussed.