Non score-dependency: Theory and assessment

Untrained listeners demonstrate implicit knowledge of syntactic patterns and principles. Untrained generative music ability, for example singing, humming, and whistling, is a largely unconscious or intuitive application of these patterns and principles. From the viewpoint of embodied cognition, listening to music should evoke an internal representation or motor image which, together with the perception of organized music, should form the basis of musical cognition. Indeed, that is what listeners demonstrate when they sing, hum, or whistle familiar and unfamiliar tunes or when they vocally or orally improvise continuations to interrupted phrases. Research on vocal improvisation using continuations sung to an interrupted musical phrase, has shown that one’s cultural background influences the music generated. That should be the case for instrumentalists as well: when they play familiar or unfamiliar tunes by ear in different keys (transposition) or when they improvise variations, accompaniments, or continuations to interrupted phrases, the music they generate should reflect the same cognitive structures as their oral improvisations. This study is attempting to validate a test of (non) scoredependency that will enable assessment of the music student’s implicit knowledge of these structures during performance on the principal instrument

Analysis of acid-stressed Bacillus cereus reveals a major oxidative response and inactivation-associated radical formation

Acid stress resistance of the food-borne human pathogen Bacillus cereus may contribute to its survival in acidic environments, such as encountered in soil, food and the human gastrointestinal tract. The acid stress responses of B. cereus strains ATCC 14579 and ATCC 10987 were analysed in aerobically grown cultures acidified to pH values ranging from pH 5.4 to pH 4.4 with HCI. Comparative phenotype and transcriptome analyses revealed three acid stressinduced responses in this pH range: growth rate reduction, growth arrest and loss of viability. These physiological responses showed to be associated with metabolic shifts and the induction of general stress response mechanisms with a major oxidative component, including upregulation of catalases and superoxide dismutases. Flow cytometry analysis in combination with the hydroxyl (OH center dot) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-)-specific fluorescent probe 3'-(phydroxyphenyl) fluorescein (HPF) showed excessive radicals to be formed in both B. cereus strains in bactericidal conditions only. Our study shows that radicals can indicate acid-induced malfunctioning of cellular processes that lead to cell death

Numerical comparison of pipe-column-separation models

Results comparing six column-separation numerical models for simulating localized vapor cavities and distributed vaporous cavitation in pipelines are presented. The discrete vapor-cavity model (DVCM) is shown to be quite sensitive to selected input parameters. For short pipeline systems, the maximum pressure rise following column separation can vary markedly for small changes in wave speed, friction factor, diameter, initial velocity, length of pipe, or pipe slope. Of the six numerical models, three perform consistently over a broad number of reaches. One of them, the discrete gas-cavity model, is recommended for general use as it is least sensitive to input parameters or to the selected discretization of the pipeline. Three models provide inconsistent estimates of the maximum pressure rise as the number of reaches is increased; however, these models do give consistent results provided the ratio of maximum cavity size to reach volume is kept below 10%.Angus R. Simpson and Anton Bergan

The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children's externalizing behavior: A meta-analytic study

This study addresses the extent to which insecure and disorganized attachments increase risk for externalizing problems using meta-analysis. From 69 samples (N = 5,947), the association between insecurity and externalizing problems was significant, d = 0.31 (95% CI: 0.23, 0.40). Larger effects were found for boys (d = 0.35), clinical samples (d = 0.49), and from observation-based outcome assessments (d = 0.58). Larger effects were found for attachment assessments other than the Strange Situation. Overall, disorganized children appeared at elevated risk (d = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.50), with weaker effects for avoidance (d = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.21) and resistance (d = 0.11, 95% CI: −0.04, 0.26). The results are discussed in terms of the potential significance of attachment for mental health

Chronic constipation in the elderly: an unusual presentation of colonic dysmotility in an elderly patient.

Introduction. Chronic constipation is common in the elderly, and often no underlying pathology is found. Primary colonic dysmotility has been described in children but is rare in the elderly. Case report. We present an 82-year-old female with long standing constipation presenting acutely with large bowel obstruction. Laparotomy and Hartman's procedure was performed, and a grossly distended sigmoid colon was resected. Histology revealed a primary myopathic process. Conclusion. Primary colonic myopathy should be considered in elderly patients presenting with large bowel obstruction and a long preceding history of constipation, particularly when previous endoscopic examinations were normal

Molecular characterization of the CmbR activator-binding site in the metC-cysK promoter region in Lactococcus lactis

The metC-cysK operon involved in sulphur metabolism in Lactococcus lactis is positively regulated by the LysR-type protein CmbR. Transcription from the metC promoter is activated when concentrations of methionine and cysteine in the growth medium are low. The metC promoter region contains two direct and three inverted repeats. Deletion analysis indicated that direct repeat 2 (DR2) is required for activation of the metC promoter by CmbR. Gel mobility shift assays confirmed that CmbR binds to a 407 bp DNA fragment containing the rnetC promoter. This binding was stimulated by O-acetyl-L-serine. Competition experiments with deletion variants of the metC promoter showed that CmbR binding only occurred with fragments containing an intact DR2, confirming that DR2 is the CmbR binding site within the metC promoter

Exopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Lactococcus lactis : a molecular characterisation

Lactic acid bacteria are Gram-positive bacteria which are used for industrial food fermentation processes. Some have the ability to form exopolysaccharides (EPSs) and these bacteria or the produced EPSs can be used to enhance the structural properties of food products. Furthermore, these EPSs are claimed to be health beneficial. This thesis describes the results of a study on the biosynthesis of these polymers in Lactococcus lactis strains.Chapter 1 provides an overview of the current knowledge of cell-surface polysaccharide biosynthesis, the glycosyltransferases involved, and export and polymerisation processes. Special attention is paid to genetics, regulation, and EPSs produced by LAB.Chapter 2 describes the characterisation of EPS production by L. lactis NIZO B40. The strain produces an extracellular phosphopolysaccharide containing galactose, glucose, and rhamnose. The EPS production is encoded on a 40-kb plasmid, which was isolated after conjugation and subsequent plasmid curing. On this plasmid, a 12-kb region containing 14 genes with the order epsRXABCDEFGHIJKL was identified encoding putative gene products which shared sequence homologies with gene products involved in cell-surface polysaccharide biosynthesis of other bacteria. Based on these homologies, predicted functions as regulation ( epsR ), polymerisation and export ( epsA , epsB , epsI , epsK ), or biosynthesis of the repeating unit ( epsD , epsE / epsF , epsG , epsH ) could be assigned. The eps genes are co-ordinately expressed and transcribed as a single 12-kb mRNA from a promoter upstream of epsR . Heterologous expression of epsD in Escherichia coli showed that its gene product is the so-called priming glucosyltransferase, linking the first sugar of the repeating unit to the lipid carrier.Chapter 3 describes the functional analysis of the glycosyltransferase genes of the NIZO B40 eps gene cluster. The genes were cloned and expressed in E. coli and L. lactis to determine their function and the sugar-specificity of the encoded enzymes. The EPS consists of repeating units containing a trisaccharide backbone of two glucose and one galactose moieties. The epsDEFG gene products are involved in the synthesis of this trisaccharide, linking glucose to a lipid carrier in the membrane (EpsD), glucose to lipid-linked glucose (EpsE/EpsF), and galactose to lipid-linked cellobiose (EpsG), respectively. The epsJ gene product was found to be involved in the biosynthesis of EPS and is likely to act either as a galactosyl phosphotransferase or as an enzyme which releases the backbone oligosaccharide from the lipid carrier.Chapter 4 describes the variety of EPS production by L. lactis . Sixteen EPS-producing L. lactis strains were analysed and based on the chemical composition of the EPSs they formed and the genotype of their eps genes, they were grouped in three major groups and two unique strains. Representatives of the three major groups were studied in detail. Group I comprises strain NIZO B40 which was characterised in the previous chapters. Fragments of the eps gene clusters of strains NIZO B35 (group II) and NIZO B891 (group III) were cloned and these encoded the NIZO B35 priming galactosyltransferase, the NIZO B891 priming glucosyltransferase, and the NIZO B891 galactosyltransferase involved in the second step of repeating unit synthesis.First successful attempts for genetic engineering of the EPS production were achieved by replacing the NIZO B40 priming glucosyltransferase gene, epsD , by an erythromycin resistance gene which resulted in the loss of EPS production and the complementation of the EPS-producing phenotype by controlled expression of priming glycosyltransferase genes from Gram-positive organisms with known function and substrate specificity.In Chapter 5 the regions involved in replication and mobilisation of the NIZO B40 EPS-plasmid pNZ4000 were characterised. The plasmid contains four highly conserved replication regions that belong to the lactococcal theta replicon family and all are functional and compatible in L. lactis . Plasmid pNZ4000 was shown to be a mobilisation plasmid and two regions involved in mobilisation were identified. Both regions contained a functional origin of transfer ( oriT ). One oriT sequence was followed by a mobA gene, coding for a trans -acting protein involved in conjugative transfer and likely to be the relaxase nicking the nic sites of the oriT sequences.Chapter 6 describes the complete nucleotide sequence of the EPS-plasmid pNZ4000, which amounts to 42810 bp and represents one of the largest sequenced plasmids in LAB to date. Apart from the regions involved in EPS biosynthesis, replication, and mobilisation, described in Chapters 2 and 5, two regions potentially involved in transport of divalent cations were localised on pNZ4000.In Chapter 7 the results of the previous chapters are discussed and their implications on practical applications and in particular the perspectives for polysaccharide engineering are described

Can the evolution of music be analyzed in a quantitative manner?

We propose a methodology to study music development by applying multivariate statistics on composers characteristics. Seven representative composers were considered in terms of eight main musical features. Grades were assigned to each characteristic and their correlations were analyzed. A bootstrap method was applied to simulate hundreds of artificial composers influenced by the seven representatives chosen. Afterwards we quantify non-numeric relations like dialectics, opposition and innovation. Composers differences on style and technique were represented as geometrical distances in the feature space, making it possible to quantify, for example, how much Bach and Stockhausen differ from other composers or how much Beethoven influenced Brahms. In addition, we compared the results with a prior investigation on philosophy. Opposition, strong on philosophy, was not remarkable on music. Supporting an observation already considered by music theorists, strong influences were identified between composers by the quantification of dialectics, implying inheritance and suggesting a stronger master-disciple evolution when compared to the philosophy analysis.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, added references for sections 1 and 4.C, better mathematical description on section 2. New values and interpretation, now considering a bootstrap metho

Neural responses to children’s faces: Test–retest reliability of structural and functional MRI

Introduction: Functional MRI (fMRI) is commonly used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying psychological processes and behavioral responses. However, to draw well‐founded conclusions from fMRI studies, more research on the reliability of fMRI is needed. Methods: We invited a sample of 41 female students to participate in two identical fMRI sessions, separated by 5 weeks on average. To investigate the potential effect of left‐handedness on the stability of neural activity, we oversampled left‐handed participants (N = 20). Inside the scanner, we presented photographs of familiar and unfamiliar children's faces preceded by neutral and threatening primes to the participants. We calculated intraclass correlations (ICC