Chorusing, synchrony, and the evolutionary functions of rhythm

A central goal of biomusicology is to understand the biological basis of human musicality. One approach to this problem has been to compare core components of human musicality (relative pitch perception, entrainment, etc.) with similar capacities in other animal species. Here we extend and clarify this comparative approach with respect to rhythm. First, whereas most comparisons between human music and animal acoustic behavior have focused on spectral properties (melody and harmony), we argue for the central importance of temporal properties, and propose that this domain is ripe for further comparative research. Second, whereas most rhythm research in non-human animals has examined animal timing in isolation, we consider how chorusing dynamics can shape individual timing, as in human music and dance, arguing that group behavior is key to understanding the adaptive functions of rhythm. To illustrate the interdependence between individual and chorusing dynamics, we present a computational model of chorusing agents relating individual call timing with synchronous group behavior. Third, we distinguish and clarify mechanistic and functional explanations of rhythmic phenomena, often conflated in the literature, arguing that this distinction is key for understanding the evolution of musicality. Fourth, we expand biomusicological discussions beyond the species typically considered, providing an overview of chorusing and rhythmic behavior across a broad range of taxa (orthopterans, fireflies, frogs, birds, and primates). Finally, we propose an “Evolving Signal Timing” hypothesis, suggesting that similarities between timing abilities in biological species will be based on comparable chorusing behaviors. We conclude that the comparative study of chorusing species can provide important insights into the adaptive function(s) of rhythmic behavior in our “proto-musical” primate ancestors, and thus inform our understanding of the biology and evolution of rhythm in human music and language

Targeting the protein tyrosine phosphatase, SHP2, and PI3K in FLT3-ITD+ leukemia

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Internal tandem duplications in the fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor (FLT3-ITDs) cause constitutive activation of the receptor and confer a poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We hypothesized that Shp2 interacts with FLT3-ITD via protein complexes at tyrosine (Y) 768, 955, and/or 969 and that Shp2 and PI3K work cooperatively to promote FLT3-ITD-induced leukemogenesis. Consistently, mutation of N51-FLT3 tyrosine 768 to phenylalanine reduced proliferation and levels of phospho-Erk compared to N51-FLT3-expressing cells while having no effect on levels of phospho-STAT5. In transplants, C3H/HeJ mice injected with either WT-FLT3-, N51-FLT3-, or N51-Y768F-expressing cells showed that mutation of Y768 had no effect on overall survival. In addition, pharmacologic inhibition of Shp2 with II-B08 or PI3K with GDC-0941 in N51-FLT3-expressing cells and primary patient samples showed decreased proliferation. A possible mechanistic explanation for reduced proliferation and selective reduction of P-Erk levels in the N51-FLT3-Y768-expressing cells is through decreased recruitment of Grb2, which participates with son of sevenless, SOS, to activate the RAS-Erk signaling pathway. The lack of improvement in overall survival could be due to preserved STAT5 signaling, as observed during in vitro experiments. Collectively, these data suggest that the tyrosine 768 residue plays an important role in phospho-Erk signaling in N51-FLT3-expressing cells, and that pharmacologic therapy with Shp2 or PI3K inhibitors may provide a novel treatment approach for FLT3-ITD positive AML. For future directions, we plan to treat mice with the Shp2 inhibitor, II-B08, the PI3K inhibitor, GDC-0941, or a combination to determine the effect on overall survival

Are We Helping? A Discussion of the Effects of TRIO Program Intervention on K - 12 Appalachian Seniors: RESEARCH

Postsecondary education is quickly becoming a requirement for many flourishing and emerging career fields. Because of this, an increased focused on postsecondary enrollment and attainment has been seen in the education community, particularly in K-12 education systems. To that end, a large number of programs and organizations have begun to provide academic and college preparation assistance to these students in the form of academic advising, college coaching, and personal enrichment. Since the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, there has been a burgeoning population of such programs like the TRIO family. This article focuses on a group of graduating high school students who were participants in such a TRIO program. Their academic metrics as well as factors like demographics and TRIO program participation were examined, and although these results will not be a component of this work, they prompted additional questions concerning what could be done to provide more effective support for these students. Concurrently, suggestions for policy were provided and include an increased focus on individual student contact and mentoring relationships, as well as a stronger focus on academic preparation in line with the academic metrics measured in this study

Methane emissions from western Siberian wetlands: heterogeneity and sensitivity to climate change

The prediction of methane emissions from high-latitude wetlands is important given concerns about their sensitivity to a warming climate. As a basis for the prediction of wetland methane emissions at regional scales, we coupled the variable infiltration capacity macroscale hydrological model (VIC) with the biosphere–energy-transfer–hydrology terrestrial ecosystem model (BETHY) and a wetland methane emissions model to make large-scale estimates of methane emissions as a function of soil temperature, water table depth, and net primary productivity (NPP), with a parameterization of the sub-grid heterogeneity of the water table depth based on TOPMODEL. We simulated the methane emissions from a 100 km × 100 km region of western Siberia surrounding the Bakchar Bog, for a retrospective baseline period of 1980–1999 and have evaluated their sensitivity to increases in temperature of 0–5 °C and increases in precipitation of 0–15%. The interactions of temperature and precipitation, through their effects on the water table depth, played an important role in determining methane emissions from these wetlands. The balance between these effects varied spatially, and their net effect depended in part on sub-grid topographic heterogeneity. Higher temperatures alone increased methane production in saturated areas, but caused those saturated areas to shrink in extent, resulting in a net reduction in methane emissions. Higher precipitation alone raised water tables and expanded the saturated area, resulting in a net increase in methane emissions. Combining a temperature increase of 3 °C and an increase of 10% in precipitation to represent climate conditions that may pertain in western Siberia at the end of this century resulted in roughly a doubling in annual emissions

Chorusing, synchrony and the evolutionary functions of rhythm

A central goal of biomusicology is to understand the biological basis of human musicality. One approach to this problem has been to compare core components of human musicality (relative pitch perception, entrainment, etc.) with similar capacities in other animal species. Here we extend and clarify this comparative approach with respect to rhythm. First, whereas most comparisons between human music and animal acoustic behavior have focused on spectral properties (melody and harmony), we argue for the central importance of temporal properties, and propose that this domain is ripe for further comparative research. Second, whereas most rhythm research in non-human animals has examined animal timing in isolation, we consider how chorusing dynamics can shape individual timing, as in human music and dance, making group behavior key to understand the adaptive functions of rhythm. To illustrate the interdependence between individual and chorusing dynamics, we present a computational model of chorusing agents relating individual call timing with synchronous group behavior. Third, we distinguish and clarify mechanistic and functional explanations of rhythmic phenomena, often conflated in the literature, arguing that this distinction is key for understanding the evolution of musicality. Fourth, we expand biomusicological discussions beyond the species typically considered, providing an overview of chorusing and rhythmic behavior across a broad range of taxa (orthopterans, fireflies, frogs, birds, and primates). Finally, we propose an "Evolving Signal Timing" hypothesis, suggesting that similarities between timing abilities in biological species will be based on comparable chorusing behaviors. We conclude that the comparative study of chorusing species can provide important insights into the adaptive function(s) of rhythmic behavior in our "proto-musical" primate ancestors, and thus inform our understanding of the biology and evolution of rhythm in human music and language

The Emergence of Norms via Contextual Agreements in Open Societies

This paper explores the emergence of norms in agents' societies when agents play multiple -even incompatible- roles in their social contexts simultaneously, and have limited interaction ranges. Specifically, this article proposes two reinforcement learning methods for agents to compute agreements on strategies for using common resources to perform joint tasks. The computation of norms by considering agents' playing multiple roles in their social contexts has not been studied before. To make the problem even more realistic for open societies, we do not assume that agents share knowledge on their common resources. So, they have to compute semantic agreements towards performing their joint actions. %The paper reports on an empirical study of whether and how efficiently societies of agents converge to norms, exploring the proposed social learning processes w.r.t. different society sizes, and the ways agents are connected. The results reported are very encouraging, regarding the speed of the learning process as well as the convergence rate, even in quite complex settings

Settling the Reward Hypothesis

The reward hypothesis posits that, "all of what we mean by goals and purposes can be well thought of as maximization of the expected value of the cumulative sum of a received scalar signal (reward)." We aim to fully settle this hypothesis. This will not conclude with a simple affirmation or refutation, but rather specify completely the implicit requirements on goals and purposes under which the hypothesis holds

Mode Bifurcation and Fold Points of Complex Dispersion Curves for the Metamaterial Goubau Line

In this paper the complex dispersion curves of the four lowest-order transverse magnetic modes of a dielectric Goubau line ($\epsilon>0, \mu>0$) are compared with those of a dispersive metamaterial Goubau line. The vastly different dispersion curve structure for the metamaterial Goubau line is characterized by unusual features such as mode bifurcation, complex fold points, both proper and improper complex modes, and merging of complex and real modes

Ablation debris control by means of closed thick film filtered water immersion

The performance of laser ablation generated debris control by means of open immersion techniques have been shown to be limited by flow surface ripple effects on the beam and the action of ablation plume pressure loss by splashing of the immersion fluid. To eradicate these issues a closed technique has been developed which ensured a controlled geometry for both the optical interfaces of the flowing liquid film. This had the action of preventing splashing, ensuring repeatable machining conditions and allowed for control of liquid flow velocity. To investigate the performance benefits of this closed immersion technique bisphenol A polycarbonate samples have been machined using filtered water at a number of flow velocities. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the closed immersion technique: a 93% decrease in debris is produced when machining under closed filtered water immersion; the average debris particle size becomes larger, with an equal proportion of small and medium sized debris being produced when laser machining under closed flowing filtered water immersion; large debris is shown to be displaced further by a given flow velocity than smaller debris, showing that the action of flow turbulence in the duct has more impact on smaller debris. Low flow velocities were found to be less effective at controlling the positional trend of deposition of laser ablation generated debris than high flow velocities; but, use of excessive flow velocities resulted in turbulence motivated deposition. This work is of interest to the laser micromachining community and may aide in the manufacture of 2.5D laser etched patterns covering large area wafers and could be applied to a range of wavelengths and laser types

Exercise Training to Target Gait Unsteadiness in People with Diabetes

Balance impairment and an associated high fall rate in people with diabetes is common, and a huge burden to quality of life and healthcare systems. Causes of impaired balance are commonly attributed to both sensory and motor deficits, which includes impaired muscle strength and function. This study investigated the effects of resistance exercise training on balance control during walking over level ground and on stairs. Ten DM people (age: 62 years, BMI: 29kg/m2, VPT: 9V) and 6 DM people with DPN (age: 59 years, BMI: 27kg/m2, VPT: 31V) performed a 16-week intervention of weekly resistance exercise training to increase ankle and knee extensor muscle strength. Six DM controls did not take part in the intervention (age: 50 years, BMI: 26kg/m2, VPT: 12V). Balance during gait was quantified before and after the intervention, by separation between the body centre-of-mass and centre-of-pressure under the feet during both level and stair walking. Knee and ankle extensor muscle strength was assessed using a dynamometer. The exercise intervention increased strength of ankle plantar flexors (22%) and knee extensors (30%). Despite the increases in lower limb muscle strength produced by the intervention, no improvements in balance were seen post training. However, gait speed did increase by 8%, which previous research has shown to be associated with quality of life. Controls showed no training effects in any variables. Although this exercise intervention had a positive effect on gait by increasing walking speed, there was no effect on the control of balance. Previous research has identified that medio-lateral (side-to-side) balance is impaired in people with DPN. The muscles exercised in the present study mainly control the major sagittal plane (forwards-backwards) movements that occur during gait. Interventions targeting the lateral stabilising muscles of the hip and trunk, may show greater potential efficacy in redressing the balance impairment of this population