Digital Commons Network^™

Emergent Auditory Feature Tuning In A Real-Time Neuromorphic Vlsi System., Sadique Sheik, Martin Coath, Giacomo Indiveri, Susan L. Denham, Thomas Wennekers, Elisabetta Chicca

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Many sounds of ecological importance, such as communication calls, are characterized by time-varying spectra. However, most neuromorphic auditory models to date have focused on distinguishing mainly static patterns, under the assumption that dynamic patterns can be learned as sequences of static ones. In contrast, the emergence of dynamic feature sensitivity through exposure to formative stimuli has been recently modeled in a network of spiking neurons based on the thalamo-cortical architecture. The proposed network models the effect of lateral and recurrent connections between cortical layers, distance-dependent axonal transmission delays, and learning in the form of Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP), which …

Infrared Divergences In Plane Wave Backgrounds, Victor Dinu, Thomas Heinzl, Anton Ilderton

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Sigma Terms And Strangeness Content Of The Nucleon With N F  = 2 + 1 + 1 Twisted Mass Fermions, Simon Dinter, Vincent Drach, Roberto Frezzotti, Gregorio Herdoiza, Karl Jansen, Giancarlo Rossi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Abstract We study the nucleon matrix elements of the quark scalar-density operator using maximally twisted mass fermions with dynamical light (u,d), strange and charm degrees of freedom. We demonstrate that in this setup the nucleon matrix elements of the light and strange quark densities can be obtained with good statistical accuracy, while for the charm quark counterpart only a bound can be provided. The present calculation which is performed at only one value of the lattice spacing and pion mass serves as a technical feasibility study for a future computation of the scalar quark content of the nucleon with a …

Evaluation Of Disconnected Contributions Using Gpus, C Alexandrou, V Drach, K Hadjiyiannakou, K Jansen, G Koutsou, A Strelchenko, A Vaquero

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We calculate on GPUs the disconnected diagrams associated with the nucleon form factors and moments of generalized parton distributions using Nf=2+1+1 twisted mass fermions. We employ the truncated solver method (TSM) for estimating the all-to-all propagators. Due to the fact that the TSM involves many low precision stochastic estimators, the usage of GPUs is essential to perform efficiently the contractions and the inversions.

Neurofibromatosis 2011: A Report Of The Children's Tumor Foundation Annual Meeting., Michel Kalamarides, Maria T. Acosta, Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic, Olli Carpen, Karen Cichowski, Dg Evans, Filippo Giancotti, Co Hanemann, David Ingram, Alison C. Lloyd, Debra A. Mayes, Ludwine Messiaen, Helen Morrison, Kathryn North, Roger Packer, Duojia Pan, Anat Stemmer-Rachamimov, Meena Upadhyaya, David Viskochil, Margret R. Wallace, Kim Hunter-Schaedle, Nancy Ratner

Peninsula Medical School

The 2011 annual meeting of the Children's Tumor Foundation, the annual gathering of the neurofibromatosis (NF) research and clinical communities, was attended by 330 participants who discussed integration of new signaling pathways into NF research, the appreciation for NF mutations in sporadic cancers, and an expanding pre-clinical and clinical agenda. NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis collectively affect approximately 100,000 persons in US, and result from mutations in different genes. Benign tumors of NF1 (neurofibroma and optic pathway glioma) and NF2 (schwannoma, ependymoma, and meningioma) and schwannomatosis (schwannoma) can cause significant morbidity, and there are no proven drug treatments for any form …

Speech Development: Toddlers Don't Mind Getting It Wrong, Piers Messum, Ian S. Howard

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Concert Recording 2012-12-01a, Tomoko Kashiwagi, Amy Frenzel, Patrick Bellah

Concert Recordings & Programs

Sonata for cello and piano in D minor / Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) -- Cello concerto in B minor, op. 104. / Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)

Editorial Of E-Book On Action And Language Integration, A Cangelosi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Increasing theoretical and experimental research on action and language processing in humans and animals clearly demonstrates the strict interaction and co-dependence between language and action. This has been extensively demonstrated in neuroscientific investigations (e.g., Rizzolatti and Arbib, 1998; Cappa and Perani, 2003; Pulvermuller, 2003), psychology experiments (e.g., Glenberg and Kaschak, 2002; Pecher and Zwaan, 2005; Barsalou, 2008), evolutionary psychology (e.g., Corballis, 2002), and computational modeling (e.g., Cangelosi and Parisi, 2004; Massera et al., 2007; Cangelosi, 2010). All these studies have important implication both for the understanding of the action basis of cognition in natural and artificial cognitive systems, as well …

Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnostic Test Accuracy For Fetal Sex Using Cell-Free Dna A Review And Meta-Analysis, Caroline F. Wright, Yinghui Wei, Julian Pt Higgins, Gurdeep S. Sagoo

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

AbstractBackgroundCell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) can be detected in maternal blood during pregnancy, opening the possibility of early non-invasive prenatal diagnosis for a variety of genetic conditions. Since 1997, many studies have examined the accuracy of prenatal fetal sex determination using cffDNA, particularly for pregnancies at risk of an X-linked condition. Here we report a review and meta-analysis of the published literature to evaluate the use of cffDNA for prenatal determination (diagnosis) of fetal sex. We applied a sensitive search of multiple bibliographic databases including PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, the Cochrane library and Web of Science.ResultsNinety studies, incorporating 9,965 pregnancies and 10,587 …

Producing Multimedia Resources For Teaching Medical Students About The Social Context Of Medicine: A Partnership Approach, Tracey Collett, Priska Schoenborn

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Undergraduate Background As A Critical Factor In The Learning Capacity And Skills Of Chinese Master's Degree Students, J. Xu, P. Megicks, D. Mckeith

Plymouth Business School

The project, a pilot study, was based on Chinese MSc students in the Plymouth Business School (PBS), with the aim of identifying learning differences and support needs between groups of Chinese master’s students with different learning backgrounds in terms of where and how they completed their undergraduate studies.

The project focused on identification of disparities between different categories of students in terms of academic performance, learning, research and communication skills and the resulting data, although based on a small sample, identified specific academic support requirements for Chinese students.

The internationalisation of higher education has resulted in increasing numbers of overseas …

Segmentation Cues In Spontaneous Speech: Robust Semantics And Fragile Phonotactics., L White, Sl Mattys, L Wiget

School of Psychology

Multiple cues influence listeners’ segmentation of connected speech into words, but most previous studies have used stimuli elicited in careful readings rather than natural conversation. Discerning word boundaries in conversational speech may differ from the laboratory setting. In particular, a speaker’s articulatory effort – hyperarticulation vs. hypoarticulation (H&H) – may vary according to communicative demands, suggesting a compensatory relationship whereby acoustic-phonetic cues are attenuated when other information sources strongly guide segmentation.We examined how listeners’ interpretation of segmentation cues is affected by speech style (spontaneous conversation vs. read), using cross-modal identity priming. To elicit spontaneous stimuli, we used a map task …

Molecular Diversity Of Maerl-Forming Corallines (Corallinales, Rhodophyta), Jj Hernandez-Kantun, F Rindi, R Riosmena-Rodriguez, Ca Maggs, Jm Hall-Spencer, V Pena

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Climate Change And Trophic Coupling Across Four Trophic Levels In The Celtic Sea., Valentina Lauria, Martin J. Attrill, John K. Pinnegar, Andrew Brown, Martin Edwards, Stephen C. Votier

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Climate change has had profound effects upon marine ecosystems, impacting across all trophic levels from plankton to apex predators. Determining the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems requires understanding the direct effects on all trophic levels as well as indirect effects mediated by trophic coupling. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of climate change on the pelagic food web in the Celtic Sea, a productive shelf region in the Northeast Atlantic. Using long-term data, we examined possible direct and indirect 'bottom-up' climate effects across four trophic levels: phytoplankton, zooplankton, mid-trophic level fish and seabirds. During …

Guided Self-Help Concreteness Training As An Intervention For Major Depression In Primary Care: A Phase Ii Randomized Controlled Trial., E. R. Watkins, R. S. Taylor, R. Byng, C. Baeyens, R. Read, K. Pearson, L. Watson

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: The development of widely accessible, effective psychological interventions for depression is a priority. This randomized trial provides the first controlled data on an innovative cognitive bias modification (CBM) training guided self-help intervention for depression. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-one consecutively recruited participants meeting criteria for current major depression were randomly allocated to treatment as usual (TAU) or to TAU plus concreteness training (CNT) guided self-help or to TAU plus relaxation training (RT) guided self-help. CNT involved repeated practice at mental exercises designed to switch patients from an unhelpful abstract thinking habit to a helpful concrete thinking habit, thereby targeting …

Statins In Unconventional Secretion Of Insulin-Degrading Enzyme And Degradation Of The Amyloid-Β Peptide, K Glebov, J Walter

Peninsula Medical School

Population-based studies demonstrated that statins might decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Statins inhibit the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase and thereby de novo synthesis of cholesterol. Cell culture and animal studies indicated that cholesterol affects the proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein and the generation of amyloid-β (Aβ). Recently, we have demonstrated that statins can also stimulate the degradation of Aβ. The statin-induced clearance of Aβ could be attributed to increased release of the insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) via an exosome-related unconventional secretory pathway. Interestingly, this statin-induced secretion of exosome-associated IDE was independent of cellular cholesterol concentrations, but rather caused …

Exploring The Effect Of Pelvic Belt Configurations Upon Athletic Lumbopelvic Pain, Leanne Sawle, Jennifer Freeman, Jonathan Marsden, M Mathews

School of Health Professions

No abstract provided.

Non-Linear Global Pooling In The Discrimination Of Circular And Non-Circular Shapes, Gunnar Schmidtmann, Graeme J. Kennedy, Harry S. Orbach, Gunter Loffler

School of Health Professions

No abstract provided.

Walking As A Meaningful Leisure Occupation: The Implications For Occupational Therapy, R Wensley, A Slade

School of Health Professions

Introduction: In response to growing interest in leisure in occupational therapy and the importance of understanding how occupations maintain, enhance and promote health and wellbeing, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the experiences of walking for leisure. Method: Six healthy student participants, identified as regular walkers, were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Data were analysed following interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology. Findings: Participants expressed how and why walking was meaningful to them; the four main themes were social connectedness, wellbeing, connection to nature and achievement from a challenge. Findings suggest that occupational therapists could use walking and leisure occupations …

Palaeolimnological Evidence For An East-West Climate See-Saw In The Mediterranean Since Ad 900, Neil Roberts, Ana Moreno, Bl Valero-Garces, Corella J Pablo, Matthew Jones, Samantha Allcock, Jessie Woodbridge, M Morellon, Juerg Luterbacher, Elena Xoplaki, M Turkes

More Faculty of Science and Engineering Research

No abstract provided.

Oral Health And Pathology: A Macrophage Account., Rebecca Merry, Louise Belfield, Paul Mcardle, Andrew Mclennan, Stjohn Crean, Andrew Foey

School of Biomedical Sciences

Macrophages are present in healthy oral mucosa and their numbers increase dramatically during disease. They can exhibit a diverse range of phenotypes characterised as a functional spectrum from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory (regulatory) subsets. This review illustrates the role of these subsets in the oral inflammatory disease lichen planus, and the immunosuppressive disease oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We conclude that the role of macrophages in driving progression in oral disease identifies them as potential therapeutic targets for a range of oral pathologies.

Syllable Effects In A Fragment-Detection Task In Italian Listeners., Caroline Floccia, Jeremy Goslin, Jjd Morais, Régine Kolinsky

School of Psychology

In the line of the monitoring studies initiated by Mehler et al. (1981), a group of Italian listeners were asked to detect auditory CV and CVC targets in carrier words beginning with a CV, a CVC, or a CVG (G = geminate) syllable with variable initial syllable stress. By slowing participants reaction times (RTs), using both catch and foil trials, a syllable effect was found, partially modulated by participants' speed and stress location. When catch trials were removed in a second experiment the syllable effect was not observed, even if RTs were similar to that of the first experiment. We …

Assessing The Congruence Of Thermal Niche Estimations Derived From Distribution And Physiological Data. A Test Using Diving Beetles., David Sánchez-Fernández, Pedro Aragón, David T. Bilton, Jorge M. Lobo

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

A basic aim of ecology is to understand the determinants of organismal distribution, the niche concept and species distribution models providing key frameworks to approach the problem. As temperature is one of the most important factors affecting species distribution, the estimation of thermal limits is crucially important for inferring range constraints. It is expectable that thermal physiology data derived from laboratory experiments and species' occurrences may express different aspects of the species' niche. However, there is no study systematically testing this prediction in a given taxonomic group while controlling by potential phylogenetic inertia. We estimate the thermal niches of twelve …

Community-Level Response Of Coastal Microbial Biofilms To Ocean Acidification In A Natural Carbon Dioxide Vent Ecosystem., Ian Lidbury, Vivienne Johnson, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Colin B. Munn, Michael Cunliffe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The impacts of ocean acidification on coastal biofilms are poorly understood. Carbon dioxide vent areas provide an opportunity to make predictions about the impacts of ocean acidification. We compared biofilms that colonised glass slides in areas exposed to ambient and elevated levels of pCO(2) along a coastal pH gradient, with biofilms grown at ambient and reduced light levels. Biofilm production was highest under ambient light levels, but under both light regimes biofilm production was enhanced in seawater with high pCO(2). Uronic acids are a component of biofilms and increased significantly with high pCO(2). Bacteria and Eukarya denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis …

Global Habitat Suitability Of Cold-Water Octocorals, Chris Yesson, Michelle L. Taylor, Derek P. Tittensor, Andrew J. Davies, John Guinotte, Amy Baco, Julie Black, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Alex D. Rogers

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

210Pb-226Ra Chronology Reveals Rapid Growth Rate Of Madrepora Oculata And Lophelia Pertusa On World's Largest Cold-Water Coral Reef, P. Sabatier, J. L. Reyss, J. M. Hall-Spencer, C. Colin, N. Frank, N Tisnerat-Laborde, L. Bordier, E. Douville

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Marine Bivalve Shell Geochemistry And Ultrastructure From Modern Low Ph Environments: Environmental Effect Versus Experimental Bias, S. Hahn, R. Rodolfo-Metalpa, E. Griesshaber, W. W. Schmahl, D. Buhl, J. M. Hall-Spencer, C. Baggini, K. T. Fehr, A. Immenhauser

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Sea Anemones May Thrive In A High Co2 World, David J. Suggett, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Riccardo Rodolfo-Metalpa, Toby G. Boatman, Ross Payton, Dt Pettay, Vivienne R. Johnson, Mark E. Warner, Tracy Lawson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Artificial Seed Production From Encapsulated Microshoots Of Cauliflower (Brassica Oleraceae Var Botrytis), Hz Rihan, Mp Fuller, M Al-Issawi, S Burchett

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

A cost effective protocol for the production of cauliflower microshoots suitable for encapsulation was designed. Microshoots were encapsulated in sodium chloride matrices. The use of 2% of sodium alginate and 15 g/L of dehydrate calcium chloride produced the optimal quality of artificial seeds (rigidity, conversion rate and viability). Of the various plant growth regulator combinations used with the microshoot liquid culture medium, the use of 1 mg/L of IBA (indole butyric acid) and 1 mg/L Kinetin was found to be optimal in terms of the conversion rate and viability of artificial seeds. To standardize a medium composition of artificial endosperm …

Anticipation Of Action Intentions In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Matthew Hudson, Hollie G. Burnett, Tjeerd Jellema

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.