Nonlinear Changes in the Rhythm of European Art Music: Quantitative Support for Historical Musicology

Research has used the normalized pairwise variability index (nPVI) to examine relationships between musical rhythm and durational contrast in composers’ native languages. Applying this methodology, linearly increasing nPVI in Austro-German, but not Italian music has recently been ascribed to waning Italian and increasing German influence on Austro-German music after the Baroque Era. The inapplicability of controlled experimental methods to historical data necessitates further replication with more sensitive methods and new repertoire. Using novel polynomial modelling procedures, we demonstrate an initial increase and a subsequent decrease in nPVI in music by 34 French composers. Moreover, previous findings for 21 Austro-German (linear increase) and 15 Italian composers (no change) are replicated. Our results provide promissory quantitative support for accounts from historical musicology of an Italian-dominated Baroque (1600-1750), a Classical Era (1750-1820) with Austro-German centres of gravity (e.g., Mannheim, Vienna), and a Romantic Era (1820-1900) with greater national independence. Future studies should aim to replicate these findings with larger corpora with greater historical representability

I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T: increasing reading independence for students with dyslexia

Due to their unique brain profile, children with dyslexia struggle with acquiring basic literacy skills. Even after basic reading skills have been learned students with dyslexia may still struggle greatly with generalizing their skills to new contexts. Researchers have found that 75 percent of children identified with reading problems in third grade still struggle with reading in ninth grade. Based on federal, state, and local test data, early reading interventions have not been highly successful for students who are at risk for reading failure, many of whom are showing indicators of dyslexia. The brain studies have shown us the why; we now know the neural signature for dyslexia. 80 percent of children who are struggling with learning to read have dyslexia. Extensive reviews of reading research have shown us the what: we know that effective literacy programs must include the instruction of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension strategies. And lastly, we looked to the brain researchers and the teachers who have been highly trained in the Orton-Gillingham principles to show us the how to effectively teach children with dyslexia. Our national, state, and local problem: Too many children with dyslexia struggle with becoming proficient, independent readers. This improvement initiative explored the addition of Peer-Assistive Literacy Strategies (PALS) to an existing evidence-based literacy program; this research has built on the why, what, and how of literacy instruction by adding an additional learning tool that helped foster the generalization of reading skills that led to greater independence for dyslexic children

Identifying the binding sequence of Teflon, a protein required for autosomal homolog conjunction during meiosis I in Drosophila melanogaster males

Teflon (Tef) is a gene required for paired autosomes to maintain connections until Anaphase I in male Drosophila melanogaster. The protein contains three canonical zinc finger motifs, which are typically involved in sequence-specific DNA binding, suggesting that Tef binds DNA directly. Towards identifying Tef binding sequences, we have overexpressed Tef fused to Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in salivary glands, and have used anti-GFP antibodies to localize Tef-GFP to 62 different cytogenetic regions. Using duplications we mapped one of these sites to a 27 kb region on the X chromosome. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we have further defined Tef binding sequences within this region. It has been proposed that Tef may function as either a transcriptional regulator or as a physical bridging complex that holds homologs together. Transcriptional analysis by qRT-PCR of salivary gland and testis mRNA has revealed that Tef does not alter gene expression in the proximity of a Tef binding site. Nor did we observe any ability of Tef binding regions to enhance segregation of X duplications from their X homolog at meiosis I. Independent of the presence or absence of Tef binding sites, however, we found that a subset of X duplications segregate from an rDNA-deficient X chromosome in males. This suggests X sequences other than the rDNA have the ability to pair in male meiosis

An analysis of influences on choral performance adjudicators’ rating decisions of choral performance

The purpose of this study was to (a) examine influences on choral music adjudicators’ rating decisions of choral performance quality and (b) to see if differences existed among those influences by participants’ years of adjudication experience and academic training (degree focus). Part One of the study included eight randomly selected participants (N = 8), comprised of choral adjudication experts, to aid in the construction of the data collection instrument. Part Two of the study included a convenience sample (N = 71) comprised of choral music performance adjudicators within the southeastern United States.For the primary purpose, the Choral Adjudicator Preference Scale (CAPS), a researcher-constructed data-gathering instrument, was developed to determine influences on choral adjudicators’ rating decisions of choral performance. A Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha measure of internal consistency was calculated to establish reliability of the CAPS data collection instrument. A coefficient of .934 was found for the CAPS, which indicated a high level of internal consistency. Validity for the data-gathering instrument was established through three sources, (a) an open-ended questionnaire sent to the eight choral adjudicators, (b) a thorough review of the related literature and (c) verification by choral activities chairpersons among the southeastern states. For research question one (What factors influence adjudicators’ decisions when adjudicating choirs?) a principal component analysis revealed 23 items that coalesced among four factors of influence: (a) the ensemble’s performance, (b) visual aspects, (c) extra-musical aspects, and (d) the conductor’s contributions. These four factors accounted for 61.49 percent of the total variance in participants’ responses. For the secondary purpose, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was calculated to determine if differences existed among factors of influence by participants’ years of adjudication experience and academic training (degree focus). For research question two (Do differences exist among adjudicators’ influences on rating decisions by years of adjudication experience?) a significant main effect was found for the factors, F (3, 189) = 216.581, p = .000, ?2 = .775; however, there was no main effect for years of adjudication experience, nor an interaction effect among the factors and years of adjudication experience. For research question three (Do differences exist among adjudicators’ influences on rating decisions by academic training?) a significant main effect was found for the factors, F (3, 201) = 195.326, p = .000, ?2 = .745; however, there was no main effect for academic training, nor an interaction effect among the factors and academic trainingA discussion of the influences on choral adjudicators’ rating decisions was presented. Recommendations for future research were suggested regarding music performance adjudication, influences on rating decisions, and characteristics of evaluators

The relationship between child care program administration, organizational climate, and global quality

"The current study explores the relationship between child care program administration, organizational climate, and global quality. The newly developed Program Administration Scale (PAS; Talan & Bloom, 2005) was utilized in the study. Both program administration and organizational climate were found to be positively correlated with preschool classroom global quality. There was a significant relationship between organizational climate and a language/interaction factor of the ECERS-R. Director education was related to higher quality administrative practices and not-for-profit centers scored significantly better than for-profit centers. Additionally, a relationship between the PAS and the Parents and Staff Subscale was found. Based on this finding, it is recommended that research and Quality Rating Systems using the Environment Rating Scales incorporate the Parents and Staff Subscale in final scores. Discussion including policy implications of the current findings and future research is included."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Musical prediction error responses similarly reduced by predictive uncertainty in musicians and non-musicians

Abstract Auditory prediction error responses elicited by surprising sounds can be reliably recorded with musical stimuli that are more complex and realistic than those typically employed in EEG or MEG oddball paradigms. However, these responses are reduced as the predictive uncertainty of the stimuli increases. In this study, we investigate whether this effect is modulated by musical expertise. Magnetic mismatch negativity (MMNm) responses were recorded from 26 musicians and 24 non-musicians while they listened to low-and high-uncertainty melodic sequences in a musical multi-feature paradigm that included pitch, slide, intensity, and timbre deviants. When compared to non-musicians, musically trained participants had significantly larger pitch and slide MMNm responses. However, both groups showed comparable reductions of pitch and slide MMNm amplitudes in the high-uncertainty condition compared to the low-uncertainty condition. In a separate, behavioral deviance detection experiment, musicians were more accurate and confident about their responses than non-musicians, but deviance detection in both groups was similarly affected by the uncertainty of the melodies. In both experiments, the interaction between uncertainty and expertise was not significant, suggesting that the effect is comparable in both groups. Consequently, our results replicate the modulatory effect of predictive uncertainty on prediction error; show that it is present across different types of listeners; and suggest that expertise-related and stimulus-driven modulations of predictive precision are dissociable and independent

Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects cyclic vole population regulation processes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Musicianship and melodic predictability enhance neural gain in auditory cortex during pitch deviance detection

When listening to music, pitch deviations are more salient and elicit stronger prediction error responses when the melodic context is predictable and when the listener is a musician. Yet, the neuronal dynamics and changes in connectivity underlying such effects remain unclear. Here, we employed dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to investigate whether the magnetic mismatch negativity response (MMNm)—and its modulation by context predictability and musical expertise—are associated with enhanced neural gain of auditory areas, as a plausible mechanism for encoding precision-weighted prediction errors. Using Bayesian model comparison, we asked whether models with intrinsic connections within primary auditory cortex (A1) and superior temporal gyrus (STG)—typically related to gain control—or extrinsic connections between A1 and STG—typically related to propagation of prediction and error signals—better explained magnetoencephalography responses. We found that, compared to regular sounds, out-of-tune pitch deviations were associated with lower intrinsic (inhibitory) connectivity in A1 and STG, and lower backward (inhibitory) connectivity from STG to A1, consistent with disinhibition and enhanced neural gain in these auditory areas. More predictable melodies were associated with disinhibition in right A1, while musicianship was associated with disinhibition in left A1 and reduced connectivity from STG to left A1. These results indicate that musicianship and melodic predictability, as well as pitch deviations themselves, enhance neural gain in auditory cortex during deviance detection. Our findings are consistent with predictive processing theories suggesting that precise and informative error signals are selected by the brain for subsequent hierarchical processing

How predation and landscape fragmentation affect vole population dynamics

Background: Microtine species in Fennoscandia display a distinct north-south gradient from regular cycles to stable populations. The gradient has often been attributed to changes in the interactions between microtines and their predators. Although the spatial structure of the environment is known to influence predator-prey dynamics of a wide range of species, it has scarcely been considered in relation to the Fennoscandian gradient. Furthermore, the length of microtine breeding season also displays a north-south gradient. However, little consideration has been given to its role in shaping or generating population cycles. Because these factors covary along the gradient it is difficult to distinguish their effects experimentally in the field. The distinction is here attempted using realistic agent-based modelling. Methodology/Principal Findings: By using a spatially explicit computer simulation model based on behavioural and ecological data from the field vole (Microtus agrestis), we generated a number of repeated time series of vole densities whose mean population size and amplitude were measured. Subsequently, these time series were subjected to statistical autoregressive modelling, to investigate the effects on vole population dynamics of making predators more specialised, of altering the breeding season, and increasing the level of habitat fragmentation. We found that fragmentation as well as the presence of specialist predators are necessary for the occurrence of population cycles. Habitat fragmentation and predator assembly jointly determined cycle length and amplitude. Length of vole breeding season had little impact on the oscillations. Significance: There is good agreement between our results and the experimental work from Fennoscandia, but our results allow distinction of causation that is hard to unravel in field experiments. We hope our results will help understand the reasons for cycle gradients observed in other areas. Our results clearly demonstrate the importance of landscape fragmentation for population cycling and we recommend that the degree of fragmentation be more fully considered in future analyses of vole dynamics