An empirical investigation of the concept of memes in music using mass data analysis of string quartets

Dawkins introduced the concept of the meme as the cultural equivalent to the gene (1989, pp. 189-201). To illustrate the concept, Dawkins cited ‘tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes, fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches’ (1989, p. 192) as examples of memes. All of Dawkins’ examples are elements of culture that have evolved over time. Because music is a part of culture, then under Dawkins’ hypothesis, memes should exist in music. After all, the first of Dawkins’ examples was a ‘tune’. Jan expanded on Dawkins’ ideas with a thorough investigation into memes in music (2007). This was done on a number of different levels within music, from melodic lines to overall structure, using a range of examples within music. Whilst providing a strong case for memes, Jan was not able to provide evidence from an analysis encompassing a large dataset of music. However, Jan does provide a number of possible methodologies for analysing memes in music, including investigating memes across time periods using single lines of notes (2007, p. 211). The present research expands on Jan’s suggested methodology by looking at short monophonic three- to eleven-note patterns in music across five different non-traditional musicological time periods within a large dataset of string quartets. A search for memes in music is conducted using a range of scores. These are converted to MusicXML documents, which are then imported into a relational database. Data mining is then implemented on the resultant dataset to produce a series of ranking positions for monophonic note patterns within the music based upon the relative frequencies of their appearances within specified time periods. Additionally, a similarity algorithm is used to investigate the possible ancestral relationships between different monophonic note patterns. Within the limitations of the working definitions and assumptions made in the research, it was shown that there is evidence for the evolutionary properties of selection, replication and variation, and the replicator properties of longevity, fecundity and copying fidelity for some monophonic note patterns within the dataset

Phase Behavior of Amphiphilic Diblock Co-oligomers with Nonionic and Ionic Hydrophilic Groups

The synthesis of a series of co-oligomer amphiphiles by RAFT and their self-assembly behavior in water is described. These novel amphiphiles, comprised of styrene, butyl acrylate, and alkyl hydrophobes together with ionic acrylic acid and nonionic hydroxyethylacrylate hydrophilic moieties and with a total degree of polymerization from 5 to 17, represent a new class of small-molecule surfactants that can be formed from the immense potential library of all polymerizable monomers. Examples of micellar solutions and discrete cubic, hexagonal, lamellar, and inverted hexagonal lyotropic phases, as well as vesicle dispersions and coexisting lamellar phases, are reported and characterized by small-angle scattering. The variation of self-assembly structure with co-oligomer composition, concentration, and solution conditions is interpreted by analogy with the surfactant packing parameter used for conventional small-molecule amphiphil

Mechanical properties of Ropaque hollow nanoparticles

The elastic properties and strength upon compression of commercial Ropaque polystyrene hollow particles were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). These particles are commonly used in paints as opacifying agents, as their internal air void effectively scatters light. A sharp AFM tip was used to apply a point load to the particle surface, and increased to probe both the elastic and plastic deformation of the shell, and then further until the shell broke. For small deformations, the deformation increased linearly with applied force. The Young’s modulus was calculated by accounting for the effect of the rigid substrate, and compare the modulus obtained from the Reissner and Hertz models. The minimum stress needed to destroy the integrity of the shell was extracted and found to be smaller than or close to that of silica hollow particles with different shell thickness tested in the literature.Australian Research Council and DuluxGroup Australia through Linkage gran

Tunable and noncytotoxic PET/SPECT-MRI multimodality imaging probes using colloidally stable ligand-free superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Physiologically stable multimodality imaging probes for positron emission tomography/single-photon emission computed tomography (PET/SPECT)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were synthesized using the superparamagnetic maghemite iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (SPIONs). The SPIONs were sterically stabilized with a finely tuned mixture of diblock copolymers with either methoxypolyethylene glycol (MPEG) or primary amine NH2 end groups. The radioisotope for PET or SPECT imaging was incorporated with the SPIONs at high temperature. 57Co2+ ions with a long half-life of 270.9 days were used as a model for the radiotracer to study the kinetics of radiolabeling, characterization, and the stability of the radiolabeled SPIONs. Radioactive 67Ga3+ and Cu2+-labeled SPIONs were also produced successfully using the optimized conditions from the 57Co2+-labeling process. No free radioisotopes were detected in the aqueous phase for the radiolabeled SPIONs 1 week after dispersion in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). All labeled SPIONs were not only well dispersed and stable under physiological conditions but also noncytotoxic in vitro. The ability to design and produce physiologically stable radiolabeled magnetic nanoparticles with a finely controlled number of functionalizable end groups on the SPIONs enables the generation of a desirable and biologically compatible multimodality PET/SPECT-MRI agent on a single T2 contrast MRI probe. © 2017 Dove Press Ltd.This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License

Extending the Niio Family: Solvothermal Synthesis and Magnetic Studies of a Decametallic Ni" System

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