Automata for context-dependent connectors

Recent approaches to component-based software engineering employ coordinating connectors to compose components into software systems. For maximum flexibility and reuse, such connectors can themselves be composed, resulting in an expressive calculus of connectors whose semantics encompasses complex combinations of synchronisation, mutual exclusion, non-deterministic choice and state-dependent behaviour. A more expressive notion of connector includes also context-dependent behaviour, namely, whenever the choices the connector can take change non-monotonically as the context, given by the pending activity on its ports, changes. Context dependency can express notions of priority and inhibition. Capturing context-dependent behaviour in formal models is non-trivial, as it is unclear how to propagate context in- formation through composition. In this paper we present an intuitive automata-based formal model of context-dependent connectors, and argue that it is superior to previous attempts at such a model for the coordination language Reo

A model of context-dependent component connectors

Recent approaches to component-based software engineering employ coordinat- ing connectors to compose components into software systems. For maximum flexibility and reuse, such connectors can themselves be composed, resulting in an expressive calculus of connectors whose semantics encompasses complex combinations of synchronisation, mutual exclusion, non-deterministic choice and state-dependent behaviour. A more expressive notion of connector includes also context-dependent behaviour, namely, whenever the choices a connector can take change non-monotonically as the context, given by the pending activity on its ports, changes. Context dependency can express notions of priority and inhi- bition. Capturing context-dependent behaviour in formal models is non-trivial, as it is unclear how to propagate context information through composition. In this paper we present an intuitive automata-based formal model of context- dependent connectors, and argue that it is superior to previous attempts at such a model for the coordination language Reo

Gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH) prevents the ‘priming’ effect of estradiol-17β

GnIH  inhibits  GnRH-stimulated  gonadotropin  secretion  in  the  sheep  by action on the pituitary gonadotropes. Estradiol-17β(E2) also acts at the level of the  pituitary  gonadotrope  to  exert  negative  and  positive  feedback  effects  on gonadotropin secretion. The positive effect facilitates the estrogen-induced surge in  gonadotropin  releasing  hormone  (GnRH)  and  LH.  This  study  was  undertaken to  determine  whether  this  ‘priming’  effect  of  E2  is  prevented  by  GnIH.  Cultured pituitary  cells  were  treated  with  GnRH  or  vehicle  every  4  h  for  24  h  with  and without  GnIH  and  E2 treatment.  GnRH  stimulated  (LH)  and  follicle  stimulating hormone  (FSH)  secretion  was  increased  by  E2 treatment.  The  effect  of  E2  was overcomes  by  the  inhibitory  effect  of  GnIH.  We  conclude  that  GnIH  may counteract the priming effect of E2 on pituitary gonadotropes.Key words:Gonadotropin, gonadotrope, gonadotropin inhibitoryhormone, estradio

True value: Calculating and communicating the value of library labor

We have seen a multitude of methods used to calculate and communicate the value of libraries to society. However, most of the existing techniques—such as return on investment or individual receipts that provide cost savings information to patrons—focus on the value of resources and services: that is, the products provided to library users and related stakeholders. None of these calculations quantitatively consider the value inherent in the labor necessary to provide those resources and services and make them available. This project draws on critical design (Dunne 1999; Bardzell & Bardzell 2013)—a specific form of activist research inquiry that uses the creation of provocative artifacts to challenge established assumptions, shift perspectives, and think in new ways—to uncover and communicate the value of library labor. Using the results of a nationwide survey distributed to librarians and library workers in varying contexts, we are creating an interactive website that will allow library users and other stakeholders to calculate the value of library services, including the value of labor. Without this fundamental consideration, librarianship will always lack successful communication of true calculation of value—one that may lead to increased understanding of the full range of what libraries offer society

Rarely acknowledged and often unrecognized: Exploring emotional labor across library work tasks

In the seminal work on emotional labor (EL), Arlie Hochschild (1983, 2012) defines EL as “the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display.” EL is “sold for a wage” (Hochschild, 2012). To date, there have been a few studies on emotional labor in librarianship. Julien and Genuis (2009) found EL to have a central place in the experiences of instructional librarians. Shuler and Morgan (2013) interviewed reference librarians, finding they are expected to perform EL yet are not formally trained to do so. Matteson and Miller (2013) surveyed librarians nationwide, with statistical analysis confirming EL present in librarianship. Matteson et al. (2015) asked MLIS holders to reflect via diary entries on performed EL. The results of these studies have clearly demonstrated EL as a part of librarianship. To further advance the study of EL in librarianship, our work offers a quantitative perspective on EL across different types of library labor. We used a nationwide survey, recording types of library work performed, EL labor relative to task performed, with a section for open-ended comments. We sought to include all library workers, with a shorter questionnaire that still covers the established components of EL, such as hiding negative emotion. We will discuss how EL happens across the librarianship, with specific attention to differences to EL amongst various library tasks and between academic and public libraries based on the results of the survey, and implications for future studies

Semantic object processing is modulated by prior scene context

Objects that are congruent with a scene are recognised more efficiently than objects that are incongruent. Further, semantic integration of incongruent objects elicits a stronger N300/N400 EEG component. Yet, the time course and mechanisms of how contextual information supports access to semantic object information is unclear. We used computational modelling and EEG to test how context influences semantic object processing. Using representational similarity analysis, we established that EEG patterns dissociated between objects in congruent or incongruent scenes from around 300 ms. By modelling the semantic processing of objects using independently normed properties, we confirm that the onset of semantic processing of both congruent and incongruent objects is similar (∼150 ms). Critically, after ∼275 ms, we discover a difference in the duration of semantic integration, lasting longer for incongruent compared to congruent objects. These results constrain our understanding of how contextual information supports access to semantic object information

Towards real-world neuroscience using mobile EEG and augmented reality

AbstractOur visual environment impacts multiple aspects of cognition including perception, attention and memory, yet most studies traditionally remove or control the external environment. As a result, we have a limited understanding of neurocognitive processes beyond the controlled lab environment. Here, we aim to study neural processes in real-world environments, while also maintaining a degree of control over perception. To achieve this, we combined mobile EEG (mEEG) and augmented reality (AR), which allows us to place virtual objects into the real world. We validated this AR and mEEG approach using a well-characterised cognitive response—the face inversion effect. Participants viewed upright and inverted faces in three EEG tasks (1) a lab-based computer task, (2) walking through an indoor environment while seeing face photographs, and (3) walking through an indoor environment while seeing virtual faces. We find greater low frequency EEG activity for inverted compared to upright faces in all experimental tasks, demonstrating that cognitively relevant signals can be extracted from mEEG and AR paradigms. This was established in both an epoch-based analysis aligned to face events, and a GLM-based approach that incorporates continuous EEG signals and face perception states. Together, this research helps pave the way to exploring neurocognitive processes in real-world environments while maintaining experimental control using AR.</jats:p