Interactions in improvised music: people at play

Interactions in improvised music: people at play This project began as an open exploration of musical interactions in a trio in which I have played bass for many years. We gave three concerts for the project and I explored our interactions by talking with the pianist/bandleader and drummer after each concert. They described a broad range of interactions and explored a number of different conceptions of what entails a musical interaction. The musicians were keen to talk about the factors that motivate them to perform together, mainly the desire to play. Play, for them, is its own reward. They aim to collaborate in the moment of performance to create something fresh, rather than display their instrumental technique or present music that has been preconceived. An appreciation of this motivation is needed to understand their interactions in concert. Audience members were also interviewed after every performance. They each experienced the concerts differently, in a way that reflects their preoccupations and interests as much as it reflects the concert event. The research thus provides a view of individuals and their differences that contrasts with the body of music research focused on common experiences within particular musical cultures and the acquisition of the skills required to participate in those cultures. This practice-led research project was allowed to develop and find focus gradually in cycles of performances, interviews and analysis of interview transcripts, concurrent with an ongoing exploration of texts about doing research. Various interactions – during the performances and interviews, between the researcher and the interview transcripts and between the researcher and research texts – contributed to the project’s development. These interactions can be thought of as play between foreknowledge and the unknown. Accordingly, play as described by the musicians and as defined in hermeneutics, was actively pursued as a way of developing an appropriate methodology for the project

Evolution of the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Spain between March and November 2020: SEMI-COVID national registry

Objectives: Since the results of the RECOVERY trial, WHO recommendations about the use of corticosteroids (CTs) in COVID-19 have changed. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolutive use of CTs in Spain during the pandemic to assess the potential influence of new recommendations. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, and observational study was conducted on adults hospitalised due to COVID-19 in Spain who were included in the SEMI-COVID- 19 Registry from March to November 2020. Results: CTs were used in 6053 (36.21%) of the included patients. The patients were older (mean (SD)) (69.6 (14.6) vs. 66.0 (16.8) years; p < 0.001), with hypertension (57.0% vs. 47.7%; p < 0.001), obesity (26.4% vs. 19.3%; p < 0.0001), and multimorbidity prevalence (20.6% vs. 16.1%; p < 0.001). These patients had higher values (mean (95% CI)) of C-reactive protein (CRP) (86 (32.7-160) vs. 49.3 (16-109) mg/dL; p < 0.001), ferritin (791 (393-1534) vs. 470 (236- 996) µg/dL; p < 0.001), D dimer (750 (430-1400) vs. 617 (345-1180) µg/dL; p < 0.001), and lower Sp02/Fi02 (266 (91.1) vs. 301 (101); p < 0.001). Since June 2020, there was an increment in the use of CTs (March vs. September; p < 0.001). Overall, 20% did not receive steroids, and 40% received less than 200 mg accumulated prednisone equivalent dose (APED). Severe patients are treated with higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%. Conclusions: Patients with greater comorbidity, severity, and inflammatory markers were those treated with CTs. In severe patients, there is a trend towards the use of higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%