Code or (Not Code): Separating Formal and Natural Language in CS Education

This paper argues that the "institutionalised understanding" of pseudo-code as a blend of formal and natural languages makes it an unsuitable choice for national assessment where the intention is to test program comprehension skills. It permits question-setters to inadvertently introduce a level of ambiguity and consequent confusion. This is not in keeping with either good assessment practice or an argument developed in the paper that CS education should be clearly fostering the skills needed for understanding formal, as distinct from natural, languages. The argument is backed up by an analysis of 49 questions drawn from the national school CS examinations of a single country, spanning a period of six years and two phases -- the first in which no formal pseudo-code was defined, the second in which a formal reference language, referred to as a "formally-defined pseudo-code", was provided for teachers and exam setters. The analysis demonstrates that in both phases, incorrect, confusing or ambiguous code was presented in questions. The paper concludes by recommending that the term reference language should be used in place of pseudo-code, and an appropriate formally-defined language specified, in national exam settings where a common language of assessment is required. This change of terms emphasises the characteristics required of a language to be used for assessment of program comprehension. The reference language used in the study is outlined. It was designed by the authors for human readability and also to make absolutely explicit the demarcation between formal and informal language, in such a way that automated checking can be carried out on programs written in the language. Formal specifications and a checker for the language are available

Lipid remodelling: unravelling the response to cold stress in Arabidopsis and its extremophile relative Eutrema salsugineum

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Crown Copyright © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.Environmental constraints limit the geographic distribution of many economically important crops. Cold stress is an important abiotic stress that affects plant growth and development, resulting in loss of vigour and surface lesions. These symptoms are caused by, among other metabolic processes, the altered physical and chemical composition of cell membranes. As a major component of cell membranes lipids have been recognized as having a significant role in cold stress, both as a mechanical defence through leaf surface protection and plasma membrane remodelling, and as signal transduction molecules. We present an overview integrating gene expression and lipidomic data published so far in Arabidopsis and its relative the extremophile Eutrema salsugineum. This data enables a better understanding of the contribution of the lipidome in determining the ability to tolerate suboptimal temperature conditions. Collectively this information will allow us to identify the key lipids and pathways responsible for resilience, enabling the development of new approaches for crop tolerance to stress.Peer reviewe

Tailoring seed oil composition in the real world: optimising omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid accumulation in transgenic Camelina sativa

There is considerable interest in the de novo production of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), not least of all given the importance of these fatty acids in both aquaculture and human nutrition. Previously we have demonstrated the feasibility of using metabolic engineering in transgenic plants (Camelina sativa) to modify the seed oil composition to now include EPA and/or DHA. In this study, we further tailored the seed oil profile to reduce the omega-6 content, and evaluated the performance of such GM plants under field conditions (i.e. environmental releases), in terms of agronomic performance and also the lipidomic profile of seed oil. We used MALDI- mass spectrometry imaging to identify discrete tissue-types in the seed in which these non-native fatty acids preferentially accumulated. Collectively, these data provide new insights into the complexity of plant lipid metabolism and the challenges associated with predictive manipulation of these pathways. However, this study identified the likely dispensable nature of a Δ12-desturase activity in our omega-3 metabolic engineering rationales for Camelina

Reality Hackers: The Next Wave of Media Revolutionaries

Just as the printing press gave rise to the nation-state, emerging technologies are reshaping collective identities and challenging our understanding of what it means to be human. Should citizens have the right to be truly anonymous on-line? Should we be concerned about the fact that so many people are choosing to migrate to virtual worlds? Are injectible microscopic radio-frequency ID chips a blessing or a curse? Is the use of cognitive enhancing nootropics a human right or an unforgivable transgression? Should genomic data about human beings be hidden away with commercial patents or open-sourced like software? Should hobbyists known as biohackers be allowed to experiment with genetic engineering in their home laboratories? The time-frame for acting on such questions is relatively short, and these decisions are too important to be left up to a small handful of scientists and policymakers. If democracy is to continue as a viable alternative to technocracy, the average citizen must become more involved in these debates. To borrow a line from the computer visionary Ted Nelson, all of us can -- and must -- understand technology now. Challenging the popular stereotype of hackers as ciminal sociopaths, reality hackers uphold the basic tenets of what Steven Levy (1984) terms the hacker ethic. These core principles include a commitment to: sharing, openness, decentralization, public access to information, and the use of new technologies to make the world a better place.https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/mono/1000/thumbnail.jp

Body Mass Index, PAM50 Subtype, and Outcomes in Node-Positive Breast Cancer: CALGB 9741 (Alliance)

Obesity at diagnosis is associated with poor prognosis in women with breast cancer, but few reports have been adjusted for treatment factors

Simplicity in Visual Representation: A Semiotic Approach

Simplicity, as an ideal in the design of visual representations, has not received systematic attention. High-level guidelines are too general, and low-level guidelines too ad hoc, too numerous, and too often incompatible, to serve in a particular design situation. This paper reviews notions of visual simplicity in the literature within the analytical framework provided by Charles Morris' communication model, specifically, his trichotomy of communication levels—the syntactic, the semantic, and the pragmatic. Simplicity is ultimate ly shown to entail the adjudication of incompatibilities both within, and between, levels.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68281/2/10.1177_105065198700100103.pd

The choroid plexus as a sex hormone target: Functional implications

The choroid plexuses (CPs) are highly vascularized branched structures that protrude into the ventricles of the brain, and form a unique interface between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In recent years, novel functions have been attributed to this tissue such as in immune and chemical surveillance of the central nervous system, brain development, adult neurogenesis and circadian rhythm regulation. Sex hormones (SH) are widely recognized as modulators in several neurodegenerative diseases, and there is evidence that estrogens and androgens regulate several fundamental biological functions in the CPs. Therefore, SH are likely to affect the composition of the CSF impacting on brain homeostasis. This review will look at implications of the CPs' sex-related specificities.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal – http://www.fct.pt) project grants (PTDC/SAU-NEU/114800/2009); and by FEDER funds through the POCI – COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalisation in Axis I – Strengthening research, technological development and innovation (Project No. 007491) and National Funds by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Project UID/Multi/00709). Joana Tomás was supported by a grant from CENTRO-07-ST24-FEDER-002015. Telma Quintela is a recipient of a FCT fellowship (SFRH/BPD/70781/2010). The work at ICVS/3B’s has the support of Portuguese North Regional Operational Program (ON.2 – O Novo Norte) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Fernanda Marques is a recipient of a FCT Investigator award (IF/00231/2013) of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hypothesis-driven genome-wide association studies provide novel insights into genetics of reading disabilities

Peer reviewe

Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people

The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on the trait. The genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, but investigations of contributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were thus far underpowered. We present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures (word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition) in samples of 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5 to 26 y. We identified genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, P = 1.098 x 10(-8)) at a locus that has not been associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits showed robust SNP heritability, accounting for 13 to 26% of trait variability. Genomic structural equation modeling revealed a shared genetic factor explaining most of the variation in word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, which only partially overlapped with genetic variation contributing to nonword repetition, intelligence, and educational attainment. A multivariate GWAS of word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness maximized power for follow-up investigation. Genetic correlation analysis with neuroimaging traits identified an association with the surface area of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus, a brain region linked to the processing of spoken and written language. Heritability was enriched for genomic elements regulating gene expression in the fetal brain and in chromosomal regions that are depleted of Neanderthal variants. Together, these results provide avenues for deciphering the biological underpinnings of uniquely human traits.Peer reviewe