A Performance Analysis of Scriabin’s Early Piano Works: \u3ci\u3eSonata-Fantaisie\u3c/i\u3e (1886), \u3ci\u3eAllegro Appassionato\u3c/i\u3e, \u3ci\u3eAllegro De Concert\u3c/i\u3e, and \u3ci\u3eFantaisie\u3c/i\u3e

The piano works of the fascinating and enigmatic Alexander Scriabin have become an integral part of twentieth-century concert repertoire. A prolific composer, these works span his entire compositional life beginning from his adolescent years. Scriabin’s output consists of more than a hundred works for solo piano, mostly miniatures in the form of mazurkas, poems, preludes, waltzes, etudes, nocturnes, impromptus, character pieces, and dances. The ten sonatas have found an enduring place in the repertoire, and have been championed by pianistic giants of the twentieth century, including Horowitz, Rachmaninoff, and Richter. There have been numerous recordings and research devoted to the works of Scriabin, in particular the Sonatas, Preludes, Op. 11, Etudes, Op. 8, as well as a shorter works from his later period, such as the Vers la flamme, Op. 72. However, with the exception of the Preludes, Op. 11, Etudes, Op. 8, and the early sonatas, very little attention, both in the way of recordings and scholarly writings, have been garnered by his other works from his early period up to 1900. Often dismissed as too Chopinesque and yet lacking an individual voice, four substantial sonata-inspired opuses from his younger years will be explored in this dissertation, ranging from 1886-1900: Sonata-Fantaisie in G -sharp minor, Op. posth. (1886), Allegro Appassionato, Op. 4 (1894), Allegro de Concert, Op. 18 (1896), and the Fantasie in B minor, Op. 28 (1900). These pieces have remained relatively unknown and thus have been neglected in recital programs and in educational settings. Each chapter will be devoted to one of these works. A brief introduction and pertinent background of the piece will be presented, followed by performance analysis, which will focus on the design and architecture of the work, notable and unusual material (harmonic, motivic, and dynamic), resulting interpretative and technical challenges, and references and relationships to other works – particularly those of Chopin

Reappraisal of the toxicity test method using the green alga Ulva pertusa Kjellman (Chlorophyta),

This study was aimed to develop an objective way of quantifying the reproductive status of the green macroalga, Ulva pertusa using a vital stain and programmed automated analysis (by Image J program). The EC50 values (with 95% CI), the concentrations of toxicants inducing a reduction of 50% in sporulation after 96 h exposure, from the newly developed method were similar to those obtained by the conventional method: 0.651 (0.598-0.705) mg l(-1) for Cd, 0.144 (0.110-0.162) mg l(-1) for Cu, 0.180 (0.165-0.195) mg l(-1) for atrazine, 0.076 (0.049-0.094) mg l(-1) for diuron and 30.6 (26.5-34.4) ml l(-1) for DMSO, respectively. When the EC50 values from this study were compared to that those from literatures, the sensitivity for some toxicants was similar or higher than that of U. fasciata (1.930 mg l(-1) for germination for Cd), U. armoricana (0.250 mg l(-1) for Fv/Fm for Cu), U. reticulata (0.126-1.585 mg l(-1) for growth for Cu), and U. intestinalis (0.650 mg l(-1) for Fv/Fm for atrazine). The subjective views of the experimental performers can be eliminated using the newly developed method. The Ulva method gave consistent responses to Cu and Cd of internationally allowable ranges for effluents, implying that the method is a useful tool for monitoring industrial wastewaters containing these metals

Comparison of extended reality and conventional methods of basic life support training: protocol for a multinational, pragmatic, noninferiority, randomised clinical trial (XR BLS trial)

Abstract Background Conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for the general public involves the use of a manikin and a training video, which has limitations related to a lack of realism and immersion. To overcome these limitations, virtual reality and extended reality technologies are being used in the field of medical education. The aim of this study is to explore the efficacy and safety of extended reality (XR)-based basic life support (BLS) training. Methods This study is a prospective, multinational, multicentre, randomised controlled study. Four institutions in 4 countries will participate in the study. A total of 154 participants will be randomly assigned to either the XR group or the conventional group stratified by institution and sex (1:1 ratio). Each participant who is allocated to either group will be sent to a separate room to receive training with an XR BLS module or conventional CPR training video. All participants will perform a test on a CPR manikin after the training. The primary outcome will be mean compression depth. The secondary outcome will be overall BLS performance, including compression rate, correct hand position, compression, and full release and hands-off time. Discussion Using virtual reality (VR) to establish a virtual educational environment can give trainees a sense of realism. In the XR environment, which combines the virtual world with the real world, trainees can more effectively learn various skills. This trial will provide evidence of the usefulness of XR in CPR education. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04736888. Registered on 29 January 202

Systemic Analysis of Heat Shock Response Induced by Heat Shock and a Proteasome Inhibitor MG132

The molecular basis of heat shock response (HSR), a cellular defense mechanism against various stresses, is not well understood. In this, the first comprehensive analysis of gene expression changes in response to heat shock and MG132 (a proteasome inhibitor), both of which are known to induce heat shock proteins (Hsps), we compared the responses of normal mouse fibrosarcoma cell line, RIF- 1, and its thermotolerant variant cell line, TR-RIF-1 (TR), to the two stresses. The cellular responses we examined included Hsp expressions, cell viability, total protein synthesis patterns, and accumulation of poly-ubiquitinated proteins. We also compared the mRNA expression profiles and kinetics, in the two cell lines exposed to the two stresses, using microarray analysis. In contrast to RIF-1 cells, TR cells resist heat shock caused changes in cell viability and whole-cell protein synthesis. The patterns of total cellular protein synthesis and accumulation of poly-ubiquitinated proteins in the two cell lines were distinct, depending on the stress and the cell line. Microarray analysis revealed that the gene expression pattern of TR cells was faster and more transient than that of RIF-1 cells, in response to heat shock, while both RIF-1 and TR cells showed similar kinetics of mRNA expression in response to MG132. We also found that 2,208 genes were up-regulated more than 2 fold and could sort them into three groups: 1) genes regulated by both heat shock and MG132, (e.g. chaperones); 2) those regulated only by heat shock (e.g. DNA binding proteins including histones); and 3) those regulated only by MG132 (e.g. innate immunity and defense related molecules). This study shows that heat shock and MG132 share some aspects of HSR signaling pathway, at the same time, inducing distinct stress response signaling pathways, triggered by distinct abnormal proteins

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries.

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emic-etic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Evaluating features of periphytic diatom communities as biomonitoring tools in fresh, brackish and marine waters

The aims of this study were to assess the biodiversity of periphytic diatom assemblages in fresh, brackish and marine waterbodies of Korea, and to assess the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors on parameters such as the quantity and biovolume of lipid bodies and deformations of diatoms as early warning measures of anthropogenic impact. Diatom samples were collected from 31 sites (14 freshwater, 10 brackish and 7 marine), which included less impacted (upstream) and impacted (downstream) sites in each water type. Our results showed higher abundance and biodiversity of periphytic diatoms at the less impacted sites in terms of species richness, Shannon index, cell count and biovolume of the communities than at the impacted sites for freshwater and estuarine sites, but not for marine sites. 84 diatom species were noted in freshwater, 80 in brackish water and 40 in marine waters. In comparison to diatoms of the impacted sites, those of less impacted freshwater, brackish and marine sites had less lipid bodies (also less biovolume) and a lower percentage of teratological frustules, and showed more mobile forms in the community. Principal component analysis (PCA) also showed clear segregation of impacted from less impacted sites by the extent of the presence of lipid bodies (higher both in number and biovolume) and deformities in diatom frustules. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that lipid body induction and deformities were positively correlated with metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) and nutrients (total phosphorus and total nitrogen), whereas they showed negative correlation with salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended solutes and pH. Life-forms, lipid bodies and deformities in diatoms may be an effective biomonitoring tool for assessing biological effects of pollutants in non-marine aquatic ecosystems in Korea

River water quality assessment based on a multi-descriptor approach including chemistry, diatom assemblage structure, and non-taxonomical diatom metrics

In the present study, the ecological status of four major South Korean rivers flowing near industrial complexes is assessed using physico-chemical analyses and various descriptors based on benthic diatom assemblages. Principal component analysis conducted with physical and chemical variables singled-out four sites as more severely impacted (higher concentration of metals and total nitrogen, higher conductivity and biological oxygen demand), while the remaining 12 sites indicated less impacted conditions, although showing nutrient enrichment. Less-contaminated sites based on physico-chemical properties showed higher cell densities, higher richness and diversity, a larger proportion of live and healthy-looking diatoms, lower production of lipid bodies (in terms of number and size) and fewer teratologies than more-contaminated sites. Non-taxonomical metrics (cell heath status, cell size, lipid bodies and valve deformities) were in good agreement with traditional taxonomical metrics (assemblage structure, richness, diversity). Overall, water quality assessment based on diatom assemblages and diatom-based metrics had a good fit with the available physico-chemical data and agreed on the most impacted sites. However, additional sites showed signs of degradation based on the diatom metrics used. This suggests that the use of biotic indicators provides useful complementary information on the health status at the selected sites