Network Growth with Feedback

Existing models of network growth typically have one or two parameters or strategies which are fixed for all times. We introduce a general framework where feedback on the current state of a network is used to dynamically alter the values of such parameters. A specific model is analyzed where limited resources are shared amongst arriving nodes, all vying to connect close to the root. We show that tunable feedback leads to growth of larger, more efficient networks. Exact results show that linear scaling of resources with system size yields crossover to a trivial condensed state, which can be considerably delayed with sublinear scaling.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Real-Time Synthesis is Hard!

We study the reactive synthesis problem (RS) for specifications given in Metric Interval Temporal Logic (MITL). RS is known to be undecidable in a very general setting, but on infinite words only; and only the very restrictive BRRS subcase is known to be decidable (see D'Souza et al. and Bouyer et al.). In this paper, we precise the decidability border of MITL synthesis. We show RS is undecidable on finite words too, and present a landscape of restrictions (both on the logic and on the possible controllers) that are still undecidable. On the positive side, we revisit BRRS and introduce an efficient on-the-fly algorithm to solve it

Stress and stressors experienced by the parents of high-risk neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit: Systematic review and meta-analysis evidence available from India

The aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the stress and stressors experienced by the parents of high-risk neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in India. We included both quantitative and qualitative studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist and Critical Appraisal Skill Programme checklist were used to assess the quality of included studies. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, EBSCOhost, Web of Science, ProQuest, Microsoft Academic, DOAJ, Indian Citation Index, and J-Gate to identify relevant studies. Additionally, online hand searching was performed on Indian websites of relevant institutions, women and child health departments, repositories, registries, and paediatric journals. Twelve of the 21 quantitative studies found that maternal stress was higher than fathers due to the separation from their babies and the medical condition of the neonate. One qualitative study reported that financial burden, alterations in the parenting role, and concern over domestic issues are significant causes of fathers' stress. A meta-analysis of the included studies assessed the prevalence of maternal, paternal, and parental stress and reported that mothers experienced higher stress levels than fathers across all subscales. The most typical stressors for parents were changes in neonatal looks, behaviour, and altered parental roles. Beyond the immediate NICU care and interactions, other triggering factors of stress among parents must be considered to design multicomponent interventions in a local (Indian) context. Moreover, parental psychological support and regular counselling can be incorporated into the standard neonatal intensive care policy

JWalk: a tool for lazy, systematic testing of java classes by design introspection and user interaction

Popular software testing tools, such as JUnit, allow frequent retesting of modified code; yet the manually created test scripts are often seriously incomplete. A unit-testing tool called JWalk has therefore been developed to address the need for systematic unit testing within the context of agile methods. The tool operates directly on the compiled code for Java classes and uses a new lazy method for inducing the changing design of a class on the fly. This is achieved partly through introspection, using Java’s reflection capability, and partly through interaction with the user, constructing and saving test oracles on the fly. Predictive rules reduce the number of oracle values that must be confirmed by the tester. Without human intervention, JWalk performs bounded exhaustive exploration of the class’s method protocols and may be directed to explore the space of algebraic constructions, or the intended design state-space of the tested class. With some human interaction, JWalk performs up to the equivalent of fully automated state-based testing, from a specification that was acquired incrementally

Reproductive tract infection, inflammation and male infertility

Infection or inflammation in the reproductive tract either via pathogenic intrusion or systemic diseases, reportedly are closely associated with deterioration in male fertility parameters. There are various proposed mechanisms to explain how reproductive tract infection or inflammation may curb male fecundity. One of the prominent mechanisms is via the over‐production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inducing testicular oxidative stress (OS). In normal conditions, testicular cells produce ROS at modest levels to maintain physiological functions. However, in inflammatory state, the surge of pro‐inflammatory mediators, cytokines lead to infiltration of immune cells (as observed by increased seminal leukocytes number) and these leukocytes serve as major contributors in the increased seminal plasma ROS levels that overwhelm the testicular antioxidant capacities. This initiates oxidative damage to the testicular cells to impair sperm production, as well as sperm membrane damage, disruption of essential signaling cascades, sperm mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage and thereby impairing overall sperm functions. There are number of studies reporting diversified hypothesis of infection/inflammation‐induced male reproductive problems. This article aims to review the available information and present a precise overview of possible mechanisms relating male reproductive tract inflammation and male infertility

Generic meta-modelling with concepts, templates and mixin layers

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16145-2_2Proceedings of 13th International Conference, MODELS 2010, Oslo, Norway, October 3-8, 2010.Meta-modelling is a key technique in Model Driven Engineering, where it is used for language engineering and domain modelling. However, mainstream approaches like the OMG’s Meta-Object Facility provide little support for abstraction, modularity, reusability and extendibility of (meta-)models, behaviours and transformations. In order to alleviate this weakness, we bring three elements of generic programming into meta-modelling: concepts, templates and mixin layers. Concepts permit an additional typing for models, enabling the definition of behaviours and transformations independently of meta-models, making specifications reusable. Templates use concepts to express requirements on their generic parameters, and are applicable to models and meta-models. Finally, we define functional layers by means of meta-model mixins which can extend other meta-models. As a proof of concept we also report on MetaDepth, a multi-level meta-modelling framework that implements these ideas.Work sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science, project TIN2008-02081 and mobility grants JC2009-00015 and PR2009-0019, and by the R&D programme of the Community of Madrid, project S2009/TIC-165

FluCell-SELEX Aptamers as Specific Binding Molecules for Diagnostics of the Health Relevant Gut Bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila

Based on their unique properties, oligonucleotide aptamers have been named a gift of biological chemistry to life science. We report the development of DNA aptamers as the first high-affinity binding molecules available for fast and rapid labeling of the human gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila with a certain impact on Alzheimer´s disease. Fast and reliable analyses of the composition of microbiomes is an emerging field in microbiology. We describe the molecular evolution and biochemical characterization of a specific aptamer library by a FluCell-SELEX and the characterization of specific molecules from the library by bioinformatics. The aptamer AKK13.1 exerted universal applicability in different analysis techniques in modern microbiology, including fluorimetry, confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry. It was also functional as a specific binding entity hybridized to anchor primers chemically coupled via acrydite-modification to the surface of a polyacrylamide-hydrogel, which can be prototypically used for the construction of affinity surfaces in sensor chips. Together, the performance and methodological flexibility of the aptamers presented here may open new routes not only to develop novel Akkermansia-specific assays for clinical microbiology and the analyses of human stool samples but may also be an excellent starting point for the construction of novel electronic biosensors