Quantitative Comparison of Abundance Structures of Generalized Communities: From B-Cell Receptor Repertoires to Microbiomes

The \emph{community}, the assemblage of organisms co-existing in a given space and time, has the potential to become one of the unifying concepts of biology, especially with the advent of high-throughput sequencing experiments that reveal genetic diversity exhaustively. In this spirit we show that a tool from community ecology, the Rank Abundance Distribution (RAD), can be turned by the new MaxRank normalization method into a generic, expressive descriptor for quantitative comparison of communities in many areas of biology. To illustrate the versatility of the method, we analyze RADs from various \emph{generalized communities}, i.e.\ assemblages of genetically diverse cells or organisms, including human B cells, gut microbiomes under antibiotic treatment and of different ages and countries of origin, and other human and environmental microbial communities. We show that normalized RADs enable novel quantitative approaches that help to understand structures and dynamics of complex generalize communities

The Physicist's Guide to the Orchestra

An experimental study of strings, woodwinds (organ pipe, flute, clarinet, saxophone and recorder), and the voice was undertaken to illustrate the basic principles of sound production in music instruments. The setup used is simple and consists of common laboratory equipment. Although the canonical examples (standing wave on a string, in an open and closed pipe) are easily reproduced, they fail to explain the majority of the measurements. The reasons for these deviations are outlined and discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures (jpg files). Submitted to European Journal of Physic

Suspensions Thermal Noise in the LIGO Gravitational Wave Detector

We present a calculation of the maximum sensitivity achievable by the LIGO Gravitational wave detector in construction, due to limiting thermal noise of its suspensions. We present a method to calculate thermal noise that allows the prediction of the suspension thermal noise in all its 6 degrees of freedom, from the energy dissipation due to the elasticity of the suspension wires. We show how this approach encompasses and explains previous ways to approximate the thermal noise limit in gravitational waver detectors. We show how this approach can be extended to more complicated suspensions to be used in future LIGO detectors.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

Mozart is still blue: a comparison of sensory and verbal scales to describe qualities in music

An experiment was carried out in order to assess the use of non-verbal sensory scales for evaluating perceived music qualities, by comparing them with the analogous verbal scales. Participants were divided into two groups; one group (SV) completed a set of non-verbal scales responses and then a set of verbal scales responses to short musical extracts. A second group (VS) completed the experiment in the reverse order. Our hypothesis was that the ratings of the SV group can provide information unmediated (or less mediated) by verbal association in a much stronger way than the VS group. Factor analysis performed separately on the SV group, the VS group and for all participants shows a recurring patterning of the majority of sensory scales versus the verbal scales into different factors. Such results suggest that the sensory scale items are indicative of a different semantic structure than the verbal scales in describing music, and so they are indexing different qualities (perhaps ineffable), making them potentially special contributors to understanding musical experience

Supporting your instrument in a body-friendly manner : a comparative approach

ABSTRACT The purpose of this monograph was two-fold: (1) to bring together a scattered array of literature about performance injury prevention (related to violin/viola support) into one source, organize and synthesize this literature with the intention of identifying principal issues, compare coverage and recommendations, and identify consistencies and inconsistencies; and (2) to assess the perceptions of upper string musicians and teachers about injury prevention in the context of the literature. For the first purpose, a comprehensive bibliography of relevant literature was developed. For the second purpose, a survey based on information revealed through the literature was developed and distributed. Total respondents (N = 61) divided as follows: college professors (n = 20), teachers of pre-college string students (n = 27), and college violin and viola majors (n = 14). The research question was answered by comparing perspectives from the literature to respondents’ perspectives. Five principal issues were identified: medical problems; general considerations; customizing instrument placement; customizing shoulder rests; customizing chin rests. Their coverage was extensive in most sources. Consistencies were revealed regarding the majority of the issues. Inconsistencies were revealed relative to customizing shoulder rests and chin rests. Generally, between literature and survey there was more consistency than expected; in most areas, respondents seem to be aware of problems and possible solutions. Inconsistency was found in details regarding head positioning, and the specific approach used to customize. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended that performance injury and its prevention receive formal, targeted attention in the college curricula of music majors—especially string players and prospective string teachers; that chin rests be sold separately from instruments; that string players’ and teachers’ training include field experiences exposing setup challenges among a variety of student musicians—challenges possibly requiring astute observation, critical thinking, and problem solving; that teachers of large string groups find ways of making meaningful contact with individual students, to remediate setup. Future research might investigate how performers and teachers actually use their knowledge and beliefs in personal practice and in the teaching of students

MEPSA: a flexible peak search algorithm designed for uniformly spaced time series

We present a novel algorithm aimed at identifying peaks within a uniformly sampled time series affected by uncorrelated Gaussian noise. The algorithm, called "MEPSA" (multiple excess peak search algorithm), essentially scans the time series at different timescales by comparing a given peak candidate with a variable number of adjacent bins. While this has originally been conceived for the analysis of gamma-ray burst light (GRB) curves, its usage can be readily extended to other astrophysical transient phenomena, whose activity is recorded through different surveys. We tested and validated it through simulated featureless profiles as well as simulated GRB time profiles. We showcase the algorithm's potential by comparing with the popular algorithm by Li and Fenimore, that is frequently adopted in the literature. Thanks to its high flexibility, the mask of excess patterns used by MEPSA can be tailored and optimised to the kind of data to be analysed without modifying the code. The C code is made publicly available.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Computin

Experience and Consciousness: Enhancing the Notion of Musical Understanding

Disagreeing with Jerrold Levinson's claim that being conscious of broad-span musical form is not essential to understanding music, I will argue that our awareness of musical architecture is significant to achieve comprehension. I will show that the experiential model is not incompatible with the analytic model. My main goal is to show that these two models can be reconciled through the identification of a broader notion of understanding. After accomplishing this reconciliation by means of my new conception, I will close the paper by discussing some reasons to accept an enhancing notion of musical understanding that includes levels and degrees of understanding. /// En desacuerdo con la afirmación de Jerrold Levinson: que ser consciente de la forma musical a gran escala no es esencial para comprender la música, sostendré que nuestra conciencia de la estructura musical es significante para alcanzar comprensión. Mostraré que el modelo experiencial no es incompatible con el modelo analítico y que ambos pueden ser reconciliados mediante una noción de comprensión más amplia. Después de llevar a cabo está reconciliación mediante la nueva concepción que propongo, concluiré discutiendo algunas razones para aceptar una noción de comprensión musical enriquecida que incluye niveles y grados de comprensión