Living in a box: Understanding acoustic parameters in the NICU environment

BackgroundIn the last years, a significant body of scientific literature was dedicated to the noisy environment preterm-born infants experience during their admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Nonetheless, specific data on sound characteristics within and outside the incubator are missing. Therefore, this study aimed to shed light on noise level and sound characteristics within the incubator, considering the following domain: environmental noise, incubator handling, and respiratory support.MethodsThe study was performed at the Pediatric Simulation Center at the Medical University of Vienna. Evaluation of noise levels inside and outside the incubator was performed using current signal analysis libraries and toolboxes, and differences between dBA and dBSPL values for the same acoustic noises were investigated. Noise level results were furthermore classed within previously reported sound levels derived from a literature survey. In addition, sound characteristics were evaluated by means of more than 70 temporal, spectral, and modulatory timbre features.ResultsOur results show high noise levels related to various real-life situations within the NICU environment. Differences have been observed between A weighted (dBA) and unweighted (dBSPL) values for the same acoustic stimulus. Sonically, the incubator showed a dampening effect on sounds (less high frequency components, less brightness/sharpness, less roughness, and noisiness). However, a strong tonal booming component was noticeable, caused by the resonance inside the incubator cavity. Measurements and a numerical model identified a resonance of the incubator at 97 Hz and a reinforcement of the sound components in this range of up to 28 dB.ConclusionSound characteristics, the strong low-frequency incubator resonance, and levels in dBSPL should be at the forefront of both the development and promotion of incubators when helping to preserve the hearing of premature infants

Guitar profiling technology in metal music production: public reception, capability, consequences and perspectives

This empirical study explores the guitar profiling technology and its consequences for metal music production. After briefly introducing this technology, the article investigates its public reception in reviews and online discussion boards to explore the subjective perspectives. A sub-sequent acoustic experiment tests the capability of the technology. The findings show that many guitar players and producers have been highly skeptical of digital amplification technology because of tonal shortcomings. However, meanwhile many musicians seem convinced of profil-ing technology due to its good sound quality that has been confirmed by the experiment too. Since for most metal music genres the sound quality of the electric guitar is very important, the creative practices and economic conditions of its production may likely be hugely affected by this technology. The article concludes by discussing the consequences of profiling technology regarding issues such as democratisation of production tools, changes in professional services, creative potentials and future applications of the technology that may radically change metal music production

Fatal Infection of a Pet Monkey with Human herpesvirus 1

Concerns have been raised about pet monkeys as a potential threat to humans. We report the opposite situation, a danger to pets that arises from humans. Similar to herpesvirus B (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1), which endangers humans but not its host species, Human herpesvirus 1 can act as a “killer virus” when crossing the species barrier to New World monkeys

Gradual polyploid genome evolution revealed by pan-genomic analysis of Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors

Our understanding of polyploid genome evolution is constrained because we cannot know the exact founders of a particular polyploid. To differentiate between founder effects and post polyploidization evolution, we use a pan-genomic approach to study the allotetraploid Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors. Comparative analysis suggests that most B. hybridum whole gene presence/absence variation is part of the standing variation in its diploid progenitors. Analysis of nuclear single nucleotide variants, plastomes and k-mers associated with retrotransposons reveals two independent origins for B. hybridum, ~1.4 and ~0.14 million years ago. Examination of gene expression in the younger B. hybridum lineage reveals no bias in overall subgenome expression. Our results are consistent with a gradual accumulation of genomic changes after polyploidization and a lack of subgenome expression dominance. Significantly, if we did not use a pan-genomic approach, we would grossly overestimate the number of genomic changes attributable to post polyploidization evolution

Decoding Plant–Environment Interactions That Influence Crop Agronomic Traits

To ensure food security in the face of increasing global demand due to population growth and progressive urbanization, it will be crucial to integrate emerging technologies in multiple disciplines to accelerate overall throughput of gene discovery and crop breeding. Plant agronomic traits often appear during the plants’ later growth stages due to the cumulative effects of their lifetime interactions with the environment. Therefore, decoding plant–environment interactions by elucidating plants’ temporal physiological responses to environmental changes throughout their lifespans will facilitate the identification of genetic and environmental factors, timing and pathways that influence complex end-point agronomic traits, such as yield. Here, we discuss the expected role of the life-course approach to monitoring plant and crop health status in improving crop productivity by enhancing the understanding of plant–environment interactions. We review recent advances in analytical technologies for monitoring health status in plants based on multi-omics analyses and strategies for integrating heterogeneous datasets from multiple omics areas to identify informative factors associated with traits of interest. In addition, we showcase emerging phenomics techniques that enable the noninvasive and continuous monitoring of plant growth by various means, including three-dimensional phenotyping, plant root phenotyping, implantable/injectable sensors and affordable phenotyping devices. Finally, we present an integrated review of analytical technologies and applications for monitoring plant growth, developed across disciplines, such as plant science, data science and sensors and Internet-of-things technologies, to improve plant productivity

Gradual polyploid genome evolution revealed by pan-genomic analysis of Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors

Our understanding of polyploid genome evolution is constrained because we cannot know the exact founders of a particular polyploid. To differentiate between founder effects and post polyploidization evolution, we use a pan-genomic approach to study the allotetraploid Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors. Comparative analysis suggests that most B. hybridum whole gene presence/absence variation is part of the standing variation in its diploid progenitors. Analysis of nuclear single nucleotide variants, plastomes and k-mers associated with retrotransposons reveals two independent origins for B. hybridum, ~1.4 and ~0.14 million years ago. Examination of gene expression in the younger B. hybridum lineage reveals no bias in overall subgenome expression. Our results are consistent with a gradual accumulation of genomic changes after polyploidization and a lack of subgenome expression dominance. Significantly, if we did not use a pan-genomic approach, we would grossly overestimate the number of genomic changes attributable to post polyploidization evolution

Performance test language for web services

Zsfassung in dt. SpracheWährend der Entwicklung von Web Services und deren Bereitstellung auf einem bestimmten Zielsystem sollte laufend überprüft werden, ob Web Service-Implementierung und Hardware die Qualitätsattribute, die in einem Service Level Agreement spezifiziert wurden, erfüllen können. Ein wichtiger Aspekt sind Performance-bezogene Attribute, wie Antwortzeiten, Durchsatz und die Skalierbarkeit eines Web Service. Typischerweise werden Tests verwendet, die ein bestimmtes Clientverhalten simulieren, um diese Attribute zu evaluieren.In dieser Diplomarbeit wird die domänen-spezifische Sprache QoSTIL (Quality of Service Test Instrumentation Language) vorgestellt. Sie ermöglicht die Definition von Tests und deren Komposition zur Erstellung von komplexen Testplänen. Diese Tests können verwendet werden um Web Service-Clientverhalten zu simulieren und Performance-bezogene Qualitätsattribute zu überprüfen. Sprachinstanzen werden automatisch zu ausführbarem Java-Code und Testreport-Ansichten transformiert. Diese können dafür eingesetzt werden um die definierten Tests auszuführen und die Testresultate graphisch anzuzeigen.Die Implementierung dieser domänen-spezifischen Sprache folgt dem Ansatz der modellgetriebenen Softwareentwicklung. Sowohl das Sprachmodell (die abstrakte Syntax), das auf dem vom Frag Modeling Framework definierten Metamodell basiert, als auch eine konkrete Syntax, sowie die Transformation zu ausführbarem Code werden im Detail erläutert. Außerdem beinhaltet die Arbeit einen Überblick der Technologien und Entwicklungswerkzeuge, die zur Implementierung der domänen-spezifischen Sprache und zur Generierung und Ausführung des Laufzeit-Systems eingesetzt wurden.Um den Nutzen und die Bedienbarkeit der entwickelten Sprache zu evaluieren, wurde eine Anzahl von Tests, die auf realistischen Business-Anwendungsfällen basieren, für die Messung von bestimmten Performance-bezogenen Qualitätsattributen definiert und implementiert.Nach der automatischen Transformation zu ausführbarem Code, wurden die Tests auf ein bestimmtes Web Service angewendet und die Ergebnisse werden in der Arbeit präsentiert und diskutiert. Weiters enthält die Diplomarbeit einen Vergleich mit ähnlichen Arbeiten innerhalb des Forschungsgebiets.During the development of Web services and their deployment to a specific target system, organizations need to evaluate if the Web service implementation and the hardware can meet the Quality of Service attributes specified in a Service Level Agreement. One important aspect are performance-related attributes, such as response time, throughput or scalability of the Web service. Typically tests which simulate client behavior are used to evaluate these attributes. In this thesis the domain-specific language QoSTIL (Quality of Service Test Instrumentation Language) is introduced. It allows for the definition of tests and the composition of these tests to create complex test plans which can be used to simulate Web service client behavior and evaluate performance-related quality of service attributes of Web services.Language instances are automatically transformed to executable Java code and result presentation views. These can be used to run the defined tests and visually display the test results. The implementation of the domain-specific language follows the Model-Driven Development approach.Both the language model (abstract syntax), which is based on the meta-model defined by the Frag modeling framework, the concrete syntax, as well as the transformation to executable code are explained in detail in the thesis. To evaluate the utility and usability of the language a number of tests which are based on realistic business use cases for assessing certain performance-related quality of service attributes are defined and implemented. After the automatic transformation to executable code, the tests are run for specific Web services and the results are presented and discussed.8