Risk, creative spaces and creative identity in creative technologies research (or why it's okay for academic creative technology outputs to look scrappy and be buggy)

In this chapter, I will draw on over ten years of practice-based research that applies emerging technologies, algorithms and code as a creative medium in the areas of music performance, music composition and media art installation. I will consider the competing demands of making things work technically and artistically, and the nature of collaborative work. I will consider my own recent research and that of a current PhD student as case studies in how this works in an academic context. Two concepts will structure the discussion. The first considers the question of time commitment and risk when undertaking specific activities, in relation to expected outcomes. I will look at how a practitioner handles the risk of an idea not working out at all and the more pragmatic risk of unexpected barriers to success. The second considers how much effort goes into setting up a creative space, through prior technical work and design thinking. I will look at examples of building creative freedom into a tool

Efficacy and tolerability of eperisone versus tizanidine in patients suffering from low back pain with muscle spasm

Background: Low back pain (LBP), a high prevalent condition, is usually associated with 'muscle spasm' that is responsible for giving rise to pain. Eperisone hydrochloride is widely used for treatment associated muscle stiffness and pain. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of eperisone tablets 50 mg three times daily versus tizanidine 2 mg tablets thrice daily for the treatment of low back pain with muscle spasm.Methods: The study was carried in 50 patients from a private hospital at Mumbai. Only patients satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled into the study. Subjects suffering from low back pain with spasm were divided in two groups. The patients were then followed up on Day-14.Results: Patients receiving eperisone showed a mean value of 16.48±1.15 in the Roland Morris low back pain and disability questionnaire both groups on day 1 and was reduced to 7.92±1.15 (51.94%) on day 7 and 2.56±1.53 (84.46%) on day 14. Similarly, the patients in tizanidine group had mean value of 15.96±1.62 on day 1, which was reduced to 6.76±1.66 (57.64%) on day 7, and 2.88±1.92 (81.95%) on day 14, as similar to eperisone group. There was no statistical significant difference between the two groups, (p>0.05) for pain at rest, pain at night, restriction of movement, changes in stiffness, changes in numbness and changes in tenderness. There was statistical significant difference between the two groups, (p<0.05) for pain on movement and kinesalgia.Conclusions: Eperisone was found to be comparable to Tizanidine in improving the signs and symptoms of changes in pain Self-assessment by the patient on different applied parameters

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. This paper expands on prior research into the generation of audio through the evolution of Continuous Time Recurrent Neural Networks (CTRNNs). CTRNNs are a type of recurrent neural network that can be used to model dynamical systems and can exhibit many different characteristics that can be used for music creation such as the generation of non-linear audio signals which unfold with a level of generative agency or unpredictability. Furthermore, their compact structure makes them ideal for use as an evolvable genotype for musical search as a finite set of CTRNN parameters can be manipulated to discover a vast audio search space. In prior research, we have successfully evolved CTRNNs to generate timbral and melodic content that can be used for electronic music composition. However, although the initial adopted CTRNN algorithm produced oscillations similar to some conventional synthesis algorithms and timbres reminiscent of acoustic instruments, it was hard to find configurations that produced the timbral and temporal richness we expected. Within this paper, we look into modifying the currently used tanh transfer function by modulating it with a sine function to further enhance the idiosyncratic characteristics of CTRNNs. We explore to what degree they can aid musicians in the search for unique sounds and performative dynamics in which some creative control is given to a CTRNN agent. We aim to measure the difference between the two transfer functions by discovering two populations of CTRNNs using a novelty search evolutionary algorithm, each utilising a different transfer function. The effect that each transfer function has on the respective novelty of each CTRNN population is compared using quantitative analysis as well as through a compositional study

Long-term muon measurements to track density changes at La Soufrière de Guadeloupe volcano

International audienceVolcanoes in the Caribbean often host extremely developed hydrothermal systems. These result from the interaction of large amount of water, infiltered in the system thanks to strong precipitation regimes, with the magmatic gases and liquids rising from the magmatic chamber. Volcanic hydrothermal systems give rise to unpredictable hazards such as hydrothermal explosions, partial edifice collapse, mudflows and sudden emission of toxic gases. Characterizing the dynamics of these systems is thus critical for developing efficient risk assessment.At La Soufriere de Guadeloupe volcano, a pioneer network of muon telescopes has been installed to assess the potential of this technology to monitor the volcano's dynamic hydrothermal system. Muon imaging has emerged as a powerful method to complement standard geophysical methods in volcanology. Muon measurements yield a radiography of the average density along the muon path, allowing to image large volumes of a geological body from a single observation point. When multiple muon detectors surrounding the volcano are available, it is possible to invert these data to retrieve the 3-D density distribution in the volcano. Long-term measurements of the muon flux allow to infer density changes in the system. In the context of volcanic hydrothermal systems, this approach helps to characterize zones of steam formation, condensation, water infiltration and storage.Here we present the use of continuous muon measurements at La Soufrière de Guadeloupe volcano as a novel methodology to characterize the spatio-temporal dynamics of its hydrothermal system. In this work a set of more than 1.5 years of continuous measurements simultaneously acquired with two muon detectors is analyzed. The two telescopes scan two different zones of the dome with large overlapping volumes. The changes observed are consistent among the two detectors, thus pointing to a common source of density changes inside the volcano. The method is thus a reliable tool to monitor shallow activity in the volcano and may be used in other "wet volcanoes" in combination with standard monitoring methods to quantification internal processes of mass and heat transfer in the system

Centrality, rapidity and transverse momentum dependence of J/ψJ/\psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The inclusive J/$\psi$ nuclear modification factor ($R_{AA}$) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=2.76TeV has been measured by ALICE as a function of centrality in the $e^+e^-$ decay channel at mid-rapidity |y| < 0.8 and as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity in the $\mu^+\mu^-$ decay channel at forward-rapidity 2.5 < y < 4.The J/$\psi$ yields measured in Pb-Pb are suppressed compared to those in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions.The $R_{AA}$ integrated over a centrality range corresponding to 90% of the inelastic Pb-Pb cross section is 0.72 +- 0.06 (stat.) +- 0.10 (syst.) at mid-rapidity and 0.57 +- 0.01 (stat.) +- 0.09 (syst.) at forward-rapidity. At low transverse momentum, significantly larger values of $R_{AA}$ are measured at forward-rapidity compared to measurements at lower energy.These features suggest that a contribution to the J/$\psi$ yield originates from charm quarks (re)combination in the deconfined partonic medium.The inclusive J/ψ nuclear modification factor ( RAA ) in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV has been measured by ALICE as a function of centrality in the e+e− decay channel at mid-rapidity ( |y|<0.8 ) and as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity in the μ+μ− decay channel at forward-rapidity ( 2.5<y<4 ). The J/ψ yields measured in Pb–Pb are suppressed compared to those in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. The RAA integrated over a centrality range corresponding to 90% of the inelastic Pb–Pb cross section is 0.72±0.06(stat.)±0.10(syst.) at mid-rapidity and 0.58±0.01(stat.)±0.09(syst.) at forward-rapidity. At low transverse momentum, significantly larger values of RAA are measured at forward-rapidity compared to measurements at lower energy. These features suggest that a contribution to the J/ψ yield originates from charm quark (re)combination in the deconfined partonic medium.The inclusive $J/\psi$ nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=2.76 TeV has been measured by ALICE as a function of centrality in the e$^+$e$^-$ decay channel at mid-rapidity $|y|<0.8$ and as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity in the $\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ decay channel at forward-rapidity $2.5<y<4$.The $J/\psi$ yields measured in Pb-Pb are suppressed compared to those in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. The $R_{\rm AA}$ integrated over a centrality range corresponding to 90% of the inelastic Pb-Pb cross section is $0.72\pm0.06$ (stat.) $\pm0.10$ (syst.) at mid-rapidity and $0.57 \pm 0.01$ (stat.) $\pm0.09$ (syst.) at forward-rapidity. At low transverse momentum, significantly larger values of $R_{\rm AA}$ are measured at forward-rapidity compared to measurements at lower energy. These features suggest that a contribution to the $J/\psi$ yield originates from charm quarks (re)combination in the deconfined partonic medium