Modelling Emotional Effects of Music: Key Areas of Improvement

Modelling emotions perceived in music and induced by music has garnered increased attention during the last five years. The present paper attempts to put together observations of the areas that need attention in order to make progress in the modelling emotional effects of music. These broad areas are divided into theory, data and context, which are reviewed separately. Each area is given an overview in terms of the present state of the art and promising further avenues, and the main limitations are presented. In theory, there are discrepancies in the terminology and justifications for particular emotion models and focus. In data, reliable estimation of high-level musical concepts and data collection and evaluation routines require systematic attention. In context, which is the least developed area of modelling, the primary area of improvement is incorporating musical context (music genres) into the modelling emotions. In a broad sense, better acknowledgement of music consumption and everyday life context, such as the data provided by social media, may offer novel insights into the modelling emotional effects of music

Motor control accuracy: A consequential probe of individual differences in emotion regulation.

Two studies (total N = 147) sought to model emotion-regulation processes in cognitive-motoric terms. Hostile or nonhostile thoughts were primed and, immediately following, individuals held a joystick as accurately as possible on a presented visual target. Study 1 revealed that the activation of hostile thoughts impaired motor control at low levels of agreeableness but facilitated motor control at high levels of agreeableness, consistent with emotion-regulation views of this trait. Study 2 did not assess the trait of agreeableness but rather sought to determine whether better motor control following activated hostile thoughts would predict lesser reactivity to stressors in an experience-sampling protocol. It did, and relevant results are reported for daily anger, negative affect, and positive affect. In addition, and consistent with the agreeableness findings of Study 1, better motor control that follows hostile thoughts predicted greater empathy on high-stress days. Motor control probes of the present type thus appear consequential in understanding emotion-regulation processes and successes in emotion regulation

Negative affect and illicit substance use: The moderating role of self-control

Theories of substance use have historically focused on the role of negative affect and self-control, yet few studies have examined distinct aspects of self-control as moderators of link between negative affect and substance use in the participant’s natural environment. The primary goal of this study was to examine whether different aspects of self-control (monitoring, adjusting, and persisting) measured using multiple methods (self-report, psychophysiological, behavior) moderate the relation between momentary negative affect and illicit substance use in a sample of current substance users with a history of substance use disorders. I predicted that the adjusting and persisting, but not the monitoring aspects of self-control would moderate the relation between momentary negative affect and substance use, such that negative affect would be positively related to substance use at low levels of monitoring and adjusting. Of the hypotheses, the best support was for the moderating role of the adjusting aspects of self-control in the negative affect - substance use relation. Specifically, negative affect was positively related to substance use at low levels of adjusting, but negatively related substance use at high levels of adjusting. My other hypotheses received limited support. This project makes several clear additions to the substance use literature that will inform future research. Most important is the finding that the adjusting aspects of self-control seem particularly important for understanding for whom negative affect may promote substance use. Persons who adjust well, in the face of errors, may be resilient to mood-dependent substance use. The null results for the other aspects of self-control (i.e., monitoring and persistence) may suggest that these aspects are less important than adjusting among current substance users

Loss of the candidate tumor suppressor ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) in Sézary syndrome

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a group of incurable extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas that develop from the skin-homing CD4+ T cell. Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are the most common histological subtypes. Although next-generation sequencing data provided significant advances in the comprehension of the genetic basis of this lymphoma, there is not uniform consensus on the identity and prevalence of putative driver genes for this heterogeneous group of tumors. Additional studies may increase the knowledge about the complex genetic etiology characterizing this lymphoma. We used SNP6 arrays and GISTIC algorithm to prioritize a list of focal somatic copy-number alterations in a dataset of multiple sequential samples from 21 Sézary syndrome patients. Our results confirmed a prevalence of significant focal deletions over amplifications: single well-known tumor suppressors, such as TP53, PTEN, and RB1, are targeted by these aberrations. In our cohort, ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) spans a deletion having the highest level of significance. In a larger group of 43 patients, we found that ZEB1 is affected by deletions and somatic inactivating mutations in 46.5% of cases; also, we found potentially relevant ZEB1 germline variants. The survival analysis shows a worse clinical course for patients with ZEB1 biallelic inactivation. Multiple abnormal expression signatures were found associated with ZEB1 depletion in Sézary patients we verified that ZEB1 exerts a role in oxidative response of Sézary cells. Our data confirm the importance of deletions in the pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The characterization of ZEB1 abnormalities in Sézary syndrome fulfils the criteria of a canonical tumor suppressor gene. Although additional confirmations are needed, our findings suggest, for the first time, that ZEB1 germline variants might contribute to the risk of developing this disease. Also, we provide evidence that ZEB1 activity in Sézary cells, influencing the reactive oxygen species production, affects cell viability and apoptosis

T Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma 1A is essential for mouse epidermal keratinocytes proliferation promoted by insulin-like growth factor 1

T Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma 1A is expressed during B-cell differentiation and, when overexpressed, acts as an oncogene in mouse (Tcl1a) and human (TCL1A) B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL). Furthermore, in the murine system Tcl1a is expressed in the ovary, testis and in pre-implantation embryos, where it plays an important role in blastomere proliferation and in embryonic stem cell (ESC) proliferation and self-renewal. We have also observed that Tcl1-/-adult mice exhibit alopecia and deep ulcerations. This finding has led us to investigate the role of TCL1 in mouse skin and hair follicles. We have found that TCL1 is expressed in the proliferative structure (i.e.The secondary hair germ) and in the stem cell niche (i.e.The bulge) of the hair follicle during regeneration phase and it is constitutively expressed in the basal layer of epidermis where it is required for the correct proliferative-differentiation program of the keratinocytes (KCs). Taking advantage of the murine models we have generated, including the Tcl1-/-and the K14-TCL1 transgenic mouse, we have analysed the function of TCL1 in mouse KCs and the molecular pathways involved. We provide evidence that in the epidermal compartment TCL1 has a role in the regulation of KC proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In particular, the colony-forming efficiency (CFE) and the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1)-induced proliferation are dramatically impaired, while apoptosis is increased, in KCs from Tcl1-/-mice when compared to WT. Moreover, the expression of differentiation markers such as cytokeratin 6 (KRT6), filaggrin (FLG) and involucrin (IVL) are profoundly altered in mutant mice (Tcl1-/-). Importantly, by over-expressing TCL1A in basal KCs of the K14-TCL1 transgenic mouse model, we observed a significant rescue of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of the mutant phenotype. Finally, we found TCL1 to act, at least in part, via increasing phospho-ERK1/2 and decreasing phospho-P38 MAPK. Hence, our data demonstrate that regulated levels of Tcl1a are necessary for the correct proliferation and differentiation of the interfollicular KC

Statistics of random quasi 1D Hamiltonian with slowly varying parameters. Painlev\'{e} again.

The statistics of random band--matrices with width and strength of the band slowly varying along the diagonal is considered. The Dyson equation for the averaged Green function close to the edge of spectrum is reduced to the Painlev\'{e} I equation. The analytical properties of the Green function allow to fix the solution of this equation. The former appears to be the same as that arose within the random--matrix regularization of 2d-gravity.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures

Phase Shift in the Whitham Zone for the Gurevich-Pitaevskii Special Solution of the Korteweg-de Vries Equation

We get the leading term of the Gurevich-Pitaevskii special solution to the KdV equation in the oscillation zone without using averaging methods.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

NordicSMC:A Nordic University Hub on Sound and Music Computing

Sound and music computing (SMC) is still an emerging field in many institutions, and the challenge is often to gain critical mass for developing study programs and undertake more ambitious research projects. We report on how a long-term collaboration between small and medium-sized SMC groups have led to an ambitious undertaking in the form of the Nordic Sound and Music Computing Network (NordicSMC), funded by the Nordic Research Council and institutions from all of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). The constellation is unique in that it covers the field of sound and music from the “soft” to the “hard,” including the arts and humanities, the social and natural sciences, and engineering. This pa- per describes the goals, activities, and expected results of the network, with the aim of inspiring the creation of other joint efforts within the SMC community

Successful long-term outcome after renal transplantation in a patient with atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome with combined membrane cofactor protein CD46 and complement factor I mutations

Background: Atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is often associated with a high risk of disease recurrence and subsequent graft loss after isolated renal transplantation. Evidence-based recommendations for a mutation-based management after renal transplantation in aHUS caused by a combined mutation with complement factor I (CFI) and membrane cofactor protein CD46 (MCP) are limited. Case-diagnosis/Treatment: We describe a 9-year-old boy with a first manifestation of aHUS at the age of 9months carrying combined heterozygous mutations in the CFI and MCP genes. At the age of 5years, he underwent isolated cadaveric renal transplantation. Fresh frozen plasma was administered during and after transplantation, tapered and finally stopped after 3years. Conclusions: During the 5-year follow-up after transplantation there have been no signs of aHUS recurrence and graft function has remained good. The combination of heterozygous MCP and CFI mutations with aHUS might have a positive impact on the post-transplant course, possibly predicting a lower risk of aHUS recurrence after an isolated cadaveric renal transplantatio