Skills for Children's Liberation: An Applied Sociomusicology for Echologists

Ethnomusicology in Educatio

\u3cem\u3emPeriod2\u3csup\u3eBrdm1\u3c/sup\u3e\u3c/em\u3e and Other Single \u3cem\u3ePeriod\u3c/em\u3e Mutant Mice Have Normal Food Anticipatory Activity

Animals anticipate the timing of food availability via the food-entrainable oscillator (FEO). The anatomical location and timekeeping mechanism of the FEO are unknown. Several studies showed the circadian gene, Period 2, is critical for FEO timekeeping. However, other studies concluded that canonical circadian genes are not essential for FEO timekeeping. In this study, we re-examined the effects of the Per2Brdm1 mutation on food entrainment using methods that have revealed robust food anticipatory activity in other mutant lines. We examined food anticipatory activity, which is the output of the FEO, in single Period mutant mice. Single Per1, Per2, and Per3 mutant mice had robust food anticipatory activity during restricted feeding. In addition, we found that two different lines of Per2 mutant mice (ldc and Brdm1) anticipated restricted food availability. To determine if FEO timekeeping persisted in the absence of the food cue, we assessed activity during fasting. Food anticipatory (wheel-running) activity in all Period mutant mice was also robust during food deprivation. Together, our studies demonstrate that the Period genes are not necessary for the expression of food anticipatory activity

Universal sign control of coupling in tight-binding lattices

We present a method of locally inverting the sign of the coupling term in tight-binding systems, by means of inserting a judiciously designed ancillary site and eigenmode matching of the resulting vertex triplet. Our technique can be universally applied to all lattice configurations, as long as the individual sites can be detuned. We experimentally verify this method in laser-written photonic lattices and confirm both the magnitude and the sign of the coupling by interferometric measurements. Based on these findings, we demonstrate how such universal sign-flipped coupling links can be embedded into extended lattice structures to impose a Z2-gauge transformation. This opens a new avenue for investigations on topological effects arising from magnetic fields with aperiodic flux patterns or in disordered systems

A GA2LEN Study

Background: Flavonoids exert anti-inflammatory properties and modulate oxidative stress in vitro, suggesting a protective effect on lung function, but epidemiological studies examining this association are scarce. Methods: A stratified random sample was drawn from the GA2LEN screening survey, in which 55,000 adults aged 15 to 75 answered a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. Post-bronchodilator spirometry was obtained from 2850 subjects. Forced vital capacity (FVC), the ratio between the forced exhaled volume in 1 second (FEV1) and FVC (FEV1/FVC), FVC below lower limit of normal (FVC < LLN), and FEV1/FVC < LLN were calculated. Intake of the six main subclasses of flavonoids was estimated using the GA2LEN Food Frequency Questionnaire. Adjusted associations between outcomes and each subclass of flavonoids were examined with multivariate regressions. Simes’ procedure was used to test for multiple comparisons. Results: A total of 2599 subjects had valid lung function and dietary data. A lower prevalence of FVC < LLN (airway restriction) was observed in those with higher total flavonoid (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), higher vs. lowest quintile intake 0.58; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.36, 0.94), and pro-anthocyanidin intakes (aOR 0.47; 95% CI 0.27, 0.81). A higher FEV1/FVC was associated with higher intakes of total flavonoids and pro- anthocyanidins (adjusted correlation coefficient (a β-coeff 0.33; 0.10, 0.57 and a β-coeff 0.44; 95% CI 0.19, 0.69, respectively). After Simes’ procedure, the statistical significance of each of these associations was attenuated but remained below 0.05, with the exception of total flavonoids and airway restriction. Conclusions: This population-based study in European adults provides cross-sectional evidence of a positive association of total flavonoid intake and pro-anthocyanidins and ventilatory function, and a negative association with spirometric restriction in European adults. View Full-Tex

Habitats as predictors in species distribution models: Shall we use continuous or binary data?

The representation of a land cover type (i.e. habitat) within an area is often used as an explanatory variable in species distribution models. However, it is possible that a simple binary presence/absence of the suitable habitat might be the most important determinant of the presence/absence of some species and, thus, be a better predictor of species occurrence than the continuous parameter (area). We hypothesize that the binary predictor is more suitable for relatively rare habitats (e.g. wetlands) while for common habitats (e.g. forests) the amount of the focal habitat is a better predictor. We used the Third Atlas of Breeding Birds in the Czech Republic as the source of species distribution data and CORINE Land Cover inventory as the source of the landcover information. To test our hypothesis, we fitted generalized linear models of 32 water and 32 forest bird species. Our results show that for water bird species, models using binary predictors (presence/absence of the habitat) performed better than models with continuous predictors (i.e. the amount of the habitat); for forest species, however, we observed the opposite. Thus, future studies using habitats as predictors of species occurrences should consider the prevalence of the habitat in the landscape, and the biological role of the habitat type in the particular species' life history. In addition, performing a preliminary comparison of the performance of the binary and continuous versions of habitat predictors (e.g. using information criteria) prior to modelling, during variable selection, can be beneficial. These are simple steps that will improve explanatory and predictive performance of models of species distributions in biogeography, community ecology, macroecology and ecological conservation

Effect of terroir on the glucosinolate content of Moringa oleifera grown in three agro-ecological zones of Ghana

Environmental factors and cultural practices significantly influence the secondary metabolites in plants, e.g., glucosinolates, depending on the cultivar of each species. The present study analyzed the influence of specific environmental factors (e.g., temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity), elevation, and fertilization (i.e., nitrogen and sulfur) on the glucosinolate content in leaves of wild-grown Moringa oleifera from three agro-ecological zones in Ghana and selected M.oleifera accessions cultivated under semi-controlled field conditions. The results showed that climate did not significantly influence total glucosinolate content in leaves of both wild-grown and cultivated accessions of M.oleifera, while elevation significantly influenced the total glucosinolate content of wild-grown plants. Fertilization had no significant impact on the total glucosinolate content of the cultivated accessions. Furthermore, wild-collected M.oleifera leaves from the three agro-ecological zones did not reveal a significant difference in their total glucosinolate content. For the cultivated accessions of M.oleifera, the agro-ecological zone, harvest time, and accession and the interactions among these factors significantly influenced the total glucosinolate content. The results suggest that selecting suitable accessions, choosing suitable locations, and applying appropriate cultivation practices could contribute to optimizing the production of health-promoting Moringa plants with special emphasis on glucosinolate content

Latent class analysis reveals clinically relevant atopy phenotypes in 2 birth cohorts

Phenotypes of childhood-onset asthma are characterized by distinct trajectories and functional features. For atopy, definition of phenotypes during childhood is less clear.; We sought to define phenotypes of atopic sensitization over the first 6 years of life using a latent class analysis (LCA) integrating 3 dimensions of atopy: allergen specificity, time course, and levels of specific IgE (sIgE).; Phenotypes were defined by means of LCA in 680 children of the Multizentrische Allergiestudie (MAS) and 766 children of the Protection against allergy: Study in Rural Environments (PASTURE) birth cohorts and compared with classical nondisjunctive definitions of seasonal, perennial, and food sensitization with respect to atopic diseases and lung function. Cytokine levels were measured in the PASTURE cohort.; The LCA classified predominantly by type and multiplicity of sensitization (food vs inhalant), allergen combinations, and sIgE levels. Latent classes were related to atopic disease manifestations with higher sensitivity and specificity than the classical definitions. LCA detected consistently in both cohorts a distinct group of children with severe atopy characterized by high seasonal sIgE levels and a strong propensity for asthma; hay fever; eczema; and impaired lung function, also in children without an established asthma diagnosis. Severe atopy was associated with an increased IL-5/IFN-γ ratio. A path analysis among sensitized children revealed that among all features of severe atopy, only excessive sIgE production early in life affected asthma risk.; LCA revealed a set of benign, symptomatic, and severe atopy phenotypes. The severe phenotype emerged as a latent condition with signs of a dysbalanced immune response. It determined high asthma risk through excessive sIgE production and directly affected impaired lung function