Decontextualizing contextual inversion

Contextual inversion, introduced as an analytical tool by David Lewin, is a concept of wide reach and value in music theory and analysis, at the root of neo-Riemannian theory as well as serial theory, and useful for a range of analytical applications. A shortcoming of contextual inversion as it is currently understood, however, is, as implied by the name, that the transformation has to be defined anew for each application. This is potentially a virtue, requiring the analyst to invest the transformational system with meaning in order to construct it in the first place. However, there are certainly instances where new transformational systems are continually redefined for essentially the same purposes. This paper explores some of the most common theoretical bases for contextual inversion groups and considers possible definitions of inversion operators that can apply across set class types, effectively decontextualizing contextual inversions.Accepted manuscrip

Improving uptake and completion of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD with lay health workers: feasibility of a clinical trial

This paper presents independent research funded by the NIHR under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number PB-PG-0214-30052)

The distribution of pond snail communities across a landscape: separating out the influence of spatial position from local habitat quality for ponds in south-east Northumberland, UK

Ponds support a rich biodiversity because the heterogeneity of individual ponds creates, at the landscape scale, a diversity of habitats for wildlife. The distribution of pond animals and plants will be influenced by both the local conditions within a pond and the spatial distribution of ponds across the landscape. Separating out the local from the spatial is difficult because the two are often linked. Pond snails are likely to be affected by both local conditions, e.g. water hardness, and spatial patterns, e.g. distance between ponds, but studies of snail communities struggle distinguishing between the two. In this study, communities of snails were recorded from 52 ponds in a biogeographically coherent landscape in north-east England. The distribution of snail communities was compared to local environments characterised by the macrophyte communities within each pond and to the spatial pattern of ponds throughout the landscape. Mantel tests were used to partial out the local versus the landscape respective influences. Snail communities became more similar in ponds that were closer together and in ponds with similar macrophyte communities as both the local and the landscape scale were important for this group of animals. Data were collected from several types of ponds, including those created on nature reserves specifically for wildlife, old field ponds (at least 150 years old) primarily created for watering livestock and subsidence ponds outside protected areas or amongst coastal dunes. No one pond type supported all the species. Larger, deeper ponds on nature reserves had the highest numbers of species within individual ponds but shallow, temporary sites on farm land supported a distinct temporary water fauna. The conservation of pond snails in this region requires a diversity of pond types rather than one idealised type and ponds scattered throughout the area at a variety of sites, not just concentrated on nature reserves

Can We Systematically Review Studies That Evaluate Complex Interventions?

In three Viewpoints, Sasha Shepperd and colleagues, Geoff Wong, and Aziz Sheikh explore various approaches to help systematic reviewers who wish to review complex health interventions

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 14: Organising and using policy dialogues to support evidence-informed policymaking

This article is part of a series written for people responsible for making decisions about health policies and programmes and for those who support these decision makers

Immune or Genetic-Mediated Disruption of CASPR2 Causes Pain Hypersensitivity Due to Enhanced Primary Afferent Excitability

Human autoantibodies to contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2) are often associated with neuropathic pain, and CASPR2 mutations have been linked to autism spectrum disorders, in which sensory dysfunction is increasingly recognized. Human CASPR2 autoantibodies, when injected into mice, were peripherally restricted and resulted in mechanical pain-related hypersensitivity in the absence of neural injury. We therefore investigated the mechanism by which CASPR2 modulates nociceptive function. Mice lacking CASPR2 (Cntnap2-/-) demonstrated enhanced pain-related hypersensitivity to noxious mechanical stimuli, heat, and algogens. Both primary afferent excitability and subsequent nociceptive transmission within the dorsal horn were increased in Cntnap2-/-mice. Either immune or genetic-mediated ablation of CASPR2 enhanced the excitability of DRG neurons in a cell-autonomous fashion through regulation of Kv1 channel expression at the soma membrane. This is the first example of passive transfer of an autoimmune peripheral neuropathic pain disorder and demonstrates that CASPR2 has a key role in regulating cell-intrinsic dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron excitability

Experience of sexual coercion and risky sexual behavior among Ugandan university students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Growing worldwide evidence shows that the experience of sexual coercion is fairly prevalent among young people and is associated with risky sexual behavior thereafter. The causal mechanisms behind this are unclear but may be dependent on specific contextual determinants. Little is known about factors that could buffer the negative effects of coercion. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the experience of sexual coercion and risky sexual behavior among university students of both sexes in Uganda.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2005, 980 (80%) out of a total of 1,220 students enrolled in Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda participated in a self-administered questionnaire covering socio-demographic and religious factors, social capital, mental health, alcohol use, and sexual behavior. A validated scale of six items was used to assess the experience of sexual coercion. Logistic regression analyses were applied to control for confounders. Potential buffering factors were analyzed by testing for effect modification.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-nine percent of those who responded had previously had sexual intercourse. Among the male students 29.0%, and among the female students 33.1% reported having had some experience of sexual coercion. After controlling for age, gender, and educational level of household of origin, role of religion and trust in others sexual coercion was found to be statistically significantly associated with previously had sex (OR 1.6, 95% CI; 1.1-2.3), early sexual debut (OR 2.4, 95% CI; 1.5-3.7), as well as with having had a great number of sexual partners (OR 1.9, 95% CI; 1.2-3.0), but not with inconsistent condom use.</p> <p>Scoring low on an assessment of mental health problems, reporting high trust in others, or stating that religion played a major role in one's family of origin seemed to buffer the negative effect that the experience of sexual coercion had on the likelihood of having many sexual partners.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings of this study suggest that the experience of sexual coercion is common among youth/young adults in Uganda and is subsequently associated with risky sexual behavior in both sexes. The existence of individual and contextual factors that buffer the effects mentioned was also demonstrated. In the Ugandan context, this has implications for policy formulation and the implementation of preventive strategies for combating HIV/AIDS.</p