An introduction to aspect-oriented music representation

This paper introduces Aspect Oriented Music Representation (AOMR), and its application to create tools offering new kinds of flexibility to musicians. Psychologists have demonstrated the diversity of composers' approaches, but existing computer-based tools support this diversity poorly. Current tools generally require musicians to work with pre-established abstractions and operations. AOMR systematically allows composers to create and work with musical viewpoints of their choice. This paper uses simple case studies to analyse a prototype AOMR implementation and characterise the new kinds of flexibility it affords to musicians

Policy Brief: UNSCR 1325: The Challenges of Framing Women’s Rights as a Security Matter

While UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 has certainly increased awareness among international actors about women’s and gender issues in armed conflict, opened new spaces for dialogue and partnerships from global to local levels, and even created opportunities for new resources for women’s rights, successes remain limited and notably inconsistent. To understand some of these shortcomings and think creatively about how to move the women, peace and security agenda forward, it is essential to understand the conceptual assumptions underscoring UNSCR 1325

Association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been associated with exposures in the workplace. We aimed to assess the association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from 28 823 adults (≥40 years) in 34 countries. We considered 11 occupations and grouped them by likelihood of exposure to organic dusts, inorganic dusts and fumes. The association of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheeze, dyspnoea, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/FVC with occupation was assessed, per study site, using multivariable regression. These estimates were then meta-analysed. Sensitivity analyses explored differences between sexes and gross national income. Results Overall, working in settings with potentially high exposure to dusts or fumes was associated with respiratory symptoms but not lung function differences. The most common occupation was farming. Compared to people not working in any of the 11 considered occupations, those who were farmers for ≥20 years were more likely to have chronic cough (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19–1.94), wheeze (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.16–1.63) and dyspnoea (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.53–2.20), but not lower FVC (β=0.02 L, 95% CI −0.02–0.06 L) or lower FEV1/FVC (β=0.04%, 95% CI −0.49–0.58%). Some findings differed by sex and gross national income. Conclusion At a population level, the occupational exposures considered in this study do not appear to be major determinants of differences in lung function, although they are associated with more respiratory symptoms. Because not all work settings were included in this study, respiratory surveillance should still be encouraged among high-risk dusty and fume job workers, especially in low- and middle-income countries.publishedVersio

Cohort Profile: Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study was established to assess the prevalence of chronic airflow obstruction, a key characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and its risk factors in adults (≥40 years) from general populations across the world. The baseline study was conducted between 2003 and 2016, in 41 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Oceania, and collected high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry from 28 828 participants. The follow-up study was conducted between 2019 and 2021, in 18 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. At baseline, there were in these sites 12 502 participants with high-quality spirometry. A total of 6452 were followed up, with 5936 completing the study core questionnaire. Of these, 4044 also provided high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry. On both occasions, the core questionnaire covered information on respiratory symptoms, doctor diagnoses, health care use, medication use and ealth status, as well as potential risk factors. Information on occupation, environmental exposures and diet was also collected

Ancora un tatuaggio?... O un pearcing? Come rispondono i giovani? Da un'indagine longitudinale la propensione dei giovani a ripetere l'esperienza delle modificazioni corporee

I giovani hanno diverse propensioni e atteggiamenti rispetto ai tatuaggi e piercing. Molte sono le informazioni in possesso e descritte in letteratura relative alle tipologie e costumi in questo ambito ma spesso ci si domanda anche: averne uno facilita averne altri o resta comunque un \u201cblocco \u201c da superare come la prima volta? A queste e altre domande si \ue8 cercato cn questa ricerca di dare una risposta argomentata. Nel presente lavoro si cercher\ue0 di utilizzare le informazioni raccolte nelle due epoche diverse al fine di cercare di capire se l\u2019arco temporale di quasi dieci mesi ha comportato dei sensibili cambiamenti \u2013 relativamente ai tatuaggi e piercing \u2013 fra i ragazzi con diversi atteggiamenti o stili di vita rispetto alle modificazioni corporee

Dynamic Component Gluing

. We present the dynamic composite adapter design pattern to achieve modular, dynamic, non-invasive component adaptation. The pattern allows a clean separation between an abstract framework component and a concrete application component, while supporting the dynamic "gluing" of the two. This allows the different system concerns to be carved into separate components, which may then be dynamically composed. We also present a scoping construct for succinctly defining the dynamic gluing of Java components. A collaboration can be implemented as a white-box framework, i.e. a set of abstract classes, a set of abstract primitive operations, and a set of concrete template methods that define the collaboration skeleton. The abstract framework model is easily customized by an application through static subclassing. However, this solution is invasive in that it requires modification of the application classes. It is also not modular, as the framework deployment is scattered among the appli..