The influences of musical training and spectral centroid on perceptual interactions of pitch and timbre

Perceptual interactions of pitch and timbre have frequently been observed, and the nature of these interactions differs between musicians and nonmusicians. Yet, few researchers have investigated which aspects of timbre or musical training contribute to such interactions. Recently, Becker and Hall (2014) demonstrated that the spectral centroid contributed to pitch-timbre interactions in missing-F0 experiments, particularly for nonmusicians. The present experiment investigated whether the centroid also accounted for previously observed interactions between pitch and timbre (see Pitt, 1994) in a Garner speeded classification task designed to evaluate the perceptual independence of dimensions. There were two sets of synthetic stimuli involving orthogonal combinations of A4 and D#4 tones derived from violin and trumpet. Timbres in one set varied with respect to spectral envelope, amplitude envelope, and spectral centroid, whereas the other equated spectral centroids through slight manipulations of spectral slope. Tones with the same centroid were expected to reduce the magnitude of observed interference and redundancy gain effects. Contrary to hypotheses, such an effect was not observed, suggesting that the spectral centroid was not the aspect of timbre driving perceptual interactions in the current investigation. While musical training has been proposed to enhance the ability to distinguish pitch from timbre changes, the aspect of training that contributes to such enhancement remains unclear. This is complicated by most studies only considering total years of experience as a means of categorizing musicians versus nonmusicians, which directly impacts conclusions regarding statistical significance. The current investigation addressed these issues by introducing a musical training survey that measures a more diverse range of musical experiences (e.g., ensemble performance, recency/frequency of practice, level of coursework) in a more continuous manner (i.e., without fixed response options). This permitted statistically appropriate (regression) analyses of the relationship between years of training and perceptual independence of timbre and pitch, which was intended to identify relevant experiences for observed interactions. Increased amounts of musical training in general were associated with smaller interference effects with the adjusted stimulus set. Although specific experiences were not identified in the current investigation due to high correlations between musical predictor variables, such correlations raise the possibility that a single factor may be underlying the musical training items examined in this study. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pitch and timbre perceptually interact regardless of level of musical training, although training can reduce the size of the interference effect in certain conditions. Additionally, rather than the spectral centroid being the attribute of timbre responsible for perceptual interactions, current results suggest that the spectral envelope may have a stronger influence

Humoral immune responses to Pneumocystis jirovecii antigens in HIV-infected and uninfected young children with pneumocystis pneumonia

BACKGROUND: Humoral immune responses in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and uninfected children with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) are poorly understood. METHODS: Consecutive children hospitalized with acute pneumonia, tachypnea, and hypoxia in South Africa were investigated for PcP, which was diagnosed by real-time polymerase chain reaction on lower respiratory tract specimens. Serum antibody responses to recombinant fragments of the carboxyl terminus of Pneumocystis jirovecii major surface glycoprotein (MsgC) were analyzed. RESULTS: 149 children were enrolled of whom 96 (64%) were HIV-infected. PcP occurred in 69 (72%) of HIV-infected and 14 (26%) of HIV-uninfected children. HIV-infected children with PcP had significantly decreased IgG antibodies to MsgC compared to HIV-infected patients without PcP, but had similar IgM antibodies. In contrast, HIV-uninfected children with PcP showed no change in IgG antibodies to MsgC, but had significantly increased IgM antibodies compared to HIV-uninfected children without PCP. Age was an independent predictor of high IgG antibodies, whereas PcP was a predictor of low IgG antibodies and high IgM antibodies. IgG and IgM antibody levels to the most closely related MsgC fragments were predictors of survival from PcP. CONCLUSIONS: Young HIV-infected children with PcP have significantly impaired humoral immune responses to MsgC, whereas HIV-uninfected children with PcP can develop active humoral immune responses. The children also exhibit a complex relationship between specific host factors and antibody levels to MsgC fragments that may be related to survival from PcP

Kids Share 2022: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children through 2021 and Future Projections

Public spending on children represents an effort to invest in the nation's future. Investments supporting children's healthy development and human potential can promote their well-being and help them grow into the next generation of adults and workers, leading to a stronger workforce and economy.To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 16th edition of the annual Kids' Share report provides an updated analysis of federal expenditures on children from 1960 to 2021. It also offers an updated view of public expenditures made in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Projections of federal expenditures on children through 2032 give a sense of how budget priorities are scheduled to unfold over the longer term under current law

Testing annual asthma reviews for those who fail to attend: proof-of-concept study

Introduction: Suboptimal asthma care is related to increased morbidity and mortality. As a result, GP surgeries provide annual reviews for people with asthma. A high proportion of asthma patients do not attend their review but still collect asthma treatment from their community pharmacy. The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to evaluate the provision of patient non-attendance lists to community pharmacies who subsequently offered the review Method: Five GP surgeries and ten community pharmacies were recruited in the east of England. Non-attender details were provided to community pharmacies from GP surgeries directly over a six-month period. Asthma reviews, funded by the medicines use review scheme, were delivered using standardised methodological approaches and electronic recording systems. Relevant routinely collected data were obtained before and after service provision. Stakeholder meetings were held to obtain feedback after service completion. Results: A total of 27 patients received the service, with data collected on 26 patients. High levels of satisfaction with the service were identified. Pharmacist training, pharmacy accessibility and pharmacist competence were seen as service enablers. The pharmacy consultation room, GP surgery organisation and different IT systems were seen as barriers. A high level of satisfaction was identified, with the recommendation that the service should be offered to all patients with asthma irrespective of attendance. Discussion and conclusion: This service model, which involved integrated working between GPs and community pharmacies and enabled asthma review non-attenders to be targeted, is in line with the recommendations of the Murray Review. Stakeholders recommended that community pharmacists should provide yearly asthma reviews and that these should be performed in close collaboration with GP surgeries

Transcriptional regulation of PNPLA3 and its impact on susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver Disease (NAFLD) in humans

The increased expression of PNPLA3148M leads to hepatosteatosis in mice. This study aims to investigate the genetic control of hepatic PNPLA3 transcription and to explore its impact on NAFLD risk in humans. Through a locus-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping in two human liver sample sets, a PNPLA3 intronic SNP, rs139051 A>G was identified as a significant eQTL (p = 6.6×10-8) influencing PNPLA3 transcription, with the A allele significantly associated with increased PNPLA3 mRNA. An electrophoresis mobility shift assay further demonstrated that the A allele has enhanced affinity to nuclear proteins than the G allele. The impact of this eQTL on NAFLD risk was further tested in three independent populations. We found that rs139051 did not independently affect the NAFLD risk, whilst rs738409 did not significantly modulate PNPLA3 transcription but was associated with NAFLD risk. The A-G haplotype associated with higher transcription of the disease-risk rs738409 G allele conferred similar risk for NAFLD compared to the G-G haplotype that possesses a lower transcription level. Our study suggests that the pathogenic role of PNPLA3148M in NAFLD is independent of the gene transcription in humans, which may be attributed to the high endogenous transcription level of PNPLA3 gene in human livers

Distributed Subnetworks of Depression Defined by Direct Intracranial Neurophysiology

Major depressive disorder is a common and disabling disorder with high rates of treatment resistance. Evidence suggests it is characterized by distributed network dysfunction that may be variable across patients, challenging the identification of quantitative biological substrates. We carried out this study to determine whether application of a novel computational approach to a large sample of high spatiotemporal resolution direct neural recordings in humans could unlock the functional organization and coordinated activity patterns of depression networks. This group level analysis of depression networks from heterogenous intracranial recordings was possible due to application of a correlational model-based method for inferring whole-brain neural activity. We then applied a network framework to discover brain dynamics across this model that could classify depression. We found a highly distributed pattern of neural activity and connectivity across cortical and subcortical structures that was present in the majority of depressed subjects. Furthermore, we found that this depression signature consisted of two subnetworks across individuals. The first was characterized by left temporal lobe hypoconnectivity and pathological beta activity. The second was characterized by a hypoactive, but hyperconnected left frontal cortex. These findings have applications toward personalization of therapy

Team-Based Integrated Knowledge Translation for Enhancing Quality of Life in Long-term Care Settings: A Multi-method, Multi-sectoral Research Design

Multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary health research is increasingly recognizing integrated knowledge translation (iKT) as essential. It is characterized by diverse research partnerships, and iterative knowledge engagement, translation processes and democratized knowledge production. This paper reviews the methodological complexity and decision-making of a large iKT project called Seniors - Adding Life to Years (SALTY), designed to generate evidence to improve late life in long-term care (LTC) settings across Canada. We discuss our approach to iKT by reviewing iterative processes of team development and knowledge engagement within the LTC sector. We conclude with a brief discussion of the important opportunities, challenges, and implications these processes have for LTC research, and the sector more broadly

Vascular complications of prosthetic inter-vertebral discs

Five consecutive cases of prosthetic inter-vertebral disc displacement with severe vascular complications on revisional surgery are described. The objective of this case report is to warn spinal surgeons that major vascular complications are likely with anterior displacement of inter-vertebral discs. We have not been able to find a previous report on vascular complications associated with anterior displacement of prosthetic inter-vertebral discs. In all five patients the prosthetic disc had eroded into the bifurcation of the inferior vena cava and the left common iliac vein. In three cases the aortic bifurcation was also involved. The fibrosis was so severe that dissecting out the arteries and veins to provide access to the relevant disc proved impossible. Formal division of the left common iliac vein and artery with subsequent repair was our solution. Anterior inter-vertebral disc displacement was associated with severe vascular injury. Preventing anterior disc displacement is essential in disc design. In the event of anterior displacement, disc removal should be planned with a Vascular Surgeon