The DESAM toolbox: spectral analysis of musical audio

International audienceIn this paper is presented the DESAM Toolbox, a set of Matlab functions dedicated to the estimation of widely used spectral models for music signals. Although those models can be used in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) tasks, the core functions of the toolbox do not focus on any specific application. It is rather aimed at providing a range of state-of-the-art signal processing tools that decompose music files according to different signal models, giving rise to different ``mid-level'' representations. After motivating the need for such a toolbox, this paper offers an overview of the overall organization of the toolbox, and describes all available functionalities

Linear Mixing Models for Active Listening of Music Productions in Realistic Studio Conditions

International audienceThe mixing/demixing of audio signals as addressed in the signal processing literature (the "source separation" problem) and the music production in studio remain quite separated worlds. Scienti c audio scene analysis rather focuses on "natural" mixtures and most often uses linear (convolutive) models of point sources placed in the same acoustic space. In contrast, the sound engineer can mix musical signals of very di erent nature and belonging to di erent acoustic spaces, and exploits many audio e ects including non-linear processes. In the present paper we discuss these di erences within the strongly emerging framework of active music listening, which is precisely at the crossroads of these two worlds: it consists in giving to the listener the ability to manipulate the di erent musical sources while listening to a musical piece. We propose a model that allows the description of a general studio mixing process as a linear stationary process of "generalized source image signals" considered as individual tracks. Such a model can be used to allow the recovery of the isolated tracks while preserving the professional sound quality of the mixture. A simple addition of these recovered tracks enables the end-user to recover the full-quality stereo mix, while these tracks can also be used for, e.g., basic remix / karaoke / soloing and re-orchestration applications

Décompositions en éléments sonores et applications musicales

National audienceIn this paper is presented the DESAM project which was divided in two parts. The first one was devoted to the theoretical and experimental study of parametric and non-parametric techniques for decomposing audio signals into sound elements. The second part focused on some musical applications of these decompositions. Most aspects that have been considered in this project have led to the proposal of new methods which have been grouped together into the so-called DESAM Toolbox, a set of Matlab® functions dedicated to the estimation of widely used spectral models for music signals. Although those models can be used in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) tasks, the core functions of the toolbox do not focus on any specific application. It is rather aimed at providing a range of state-of-the-art signal processe soumission à Traitement du signalDans cet article sont présentés de manière synthétique les résultats du projet ANR DE-SAM (Décompositions en Éléments Sonores et Applications Musicales). Ce projet comportait deux parties, la première portant sur des avancées théoriques de techniques de décompositions de signaux audionumériques et la seconde traitant d'applications musicales de ces décompo-sitions. La plupart des aspects abordés dans le projet ont donné lieu à de nouvelles méthodes et algorithmes qui sont regroupés au sein d'une boîte à outils, la DESAM Toolbox. Celle-ci rassemble un ensemble de fonctions Matlab® dédiées à l'estimation de modèles spectraux très utilisés pour les signaux musicaux. Les méthodes étudiées dans ce projet peuvent bien sûr être utiles pour la recherche automatique d'informations dans les signaux musicaux, mais elles constituent avant tout une collection d'outils récents pour décomposer les signaux selon dif-férents modèles, avec pour résultat des représentations mi-niveau variées, pouvant être utiles dans d'autres domaines d'application

Regards croisés sur l’action des ONG en éducation au Sud

Des représentants d’ONG, de bailleurs, d’un ministère au Sud et des experts sont interrogés sur les évolutions qui ont caractérisé l’action et le positionnement des ONG actives au Sud dans le champ de l’éducation depuis dix ans, et sur les nouveaux rôles qui se dessinent pour elles à l’horizon 2020. Plusieurs thèmes sont abordés : la mobilisation de la société civile et la gestion locale de l’éducation ; la conception du rôle de l’État et les besoins en intervention non gouvernementale ; le renforcement du dialogue entre société civile et pouvoirs publics ; le passage d’une innovation à une politique publique ; la nécessité d’articuler les systèmes éducatifs avec les réalités économiques.Representatives of NGOs, sponsors, a Ministry of a Southern country and experts discussed the developments characterising the actions and positioning of NGOs active in the South over the last ten years in the field of education, and on the new roles they will come to play by the year 2020. A number of themes were tackled: the mobilisation of civil society and local management of education; the conception of the State’s role, and needs with regard to non-governmental intervention; the reinforcement of dialogue between civil society and the public authorities; the transition from innovation to public policy; the need to bring education systems in line with economic realities.Se les pregunta a los representantes de ONG, a financiadores internacionales, a un ministerio en el Sur y a expertos, qué evoluciones han caracterizado la acción y el posicionamiento de las ONG activas en el Sur en el campo de la educación desde hace diez años, y qué nuevas funciones se perfilan para ellas en el horizonte de 2020. Se abordan varios temas: la movilización de la sociedad civil y la gestión local de la educación; la concepción del papel del Estado y las necesidades en términos de intervención no gubernamental; el refuerzo del diálogo entre sociedad civil y poderes públicos; el paso de una innovación a una política pública; la necesidad de articular los sistemas educativos con las realidades económicas

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography–fluorescence detection for the analysis of glutathione and its precursor γ-glutamyl cysteine in wines and model wines supplemented with oenological inactive dry yeast preparations

El pdf del artículo es la versión pre-print.A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection methodology involving a pre-column derivatization procedure using 2,3-naphtalenedialdehyde in the presence of 5 and 0. 5 mM of dithiothreitol to determine total and reduced glutathione (GSH) and γ-glutamyl-cysteine (γ-glu-cys) in musts and wines has been set up and validated. The proposed method showed good linearity (R 2 >99% for reduced and total GSH, and R 2 >98% for γ-glu-cys) in synthetic wines, over a wide range of concentration (0-10 mg L -1). The limits of detection for reduced GSH in synthetic and real wines were almost the same (0. 13 and 0. 15 mg L -1, respectively) and slightly higher for γ-glu-cys (0. 24 mg L -1). The application of the method allowed knowing, for the first time, the amount of total and reduced GSH and γ-glu-cys released into synthetic wines by oenological preparations of commercial inactive dry yeast (IDY). In addition, the evolution of these three compounds during the winemaking and shelf life (0-9 months) of an industrially manufactured rosé wine supplemented with a GSH-enriched IDY showed that although GSH is effectively released from IDY, it is rapidly oxidized during alcoholic fermentation, contributing to the higher total GSH content determined in wines supplemented with GSH-enriched IDYs compared to control wines. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.IAO and JJRB acknowledge CAM and CSIC for their respective research grants. This work has been founded by PET2007-0134 project.Peer Reviewe

Standardizing Slimness: How Body Weight Quantified Beauty in the Netherlands, 1870–1940

This chapter investigates the history of one of the most powerful quantitative beauty standards: weight. The chapter argues that weight is neither a natural nor a neutral standard for the beauty ideals of slimness and fatness. It is shown first how, in late nineteenth-century Netherlands, weight had not yet become a standard of beauty but was rather a bodily curiosity, measured at fairgrounds. The chapter then analyses Dutch newspaper advertisements for slimming remedies to show that, by the 1930s, weight was strongly established as a standard of beauty, scales having ceased to be a fairground attraction. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the consequences of this new standard of beauty, which complicated its character by partially separating it from the visual

EU counter-terrorism offences

To several governments, modern international terrorism cannot be handled adequately within the ordinary criminal justice system. To fight terrorism (including the criminalization of certain “abstract danger”, preparatory activities such as terrorist training, membership in a terrorist organization) more effectively, criminal law had to be adapted

A Serum Factor Induces Insulin-Independent Translocation of GLUT4 to the Cell Surface which Is Maintained in Insulin Resistance

In response to insulin, glucose transporter GLUT4 translocates from intracellular compartments towards the plasma membrane where it enhances cellular glucose uptake. Here, we show that sera from various species contain a factor that dose-dependently induces GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, human adipocytes, myoblasts and myotubes. Notably, the effect of this factor on GLUT4 is fully maintained in insulin-resistant cells. Our studies demonstrate that the serum-induced increase in cell surface GLUT4 levels is not due to inhibition of its internalization and is not mediated by insulin, PDGF, IGF-1, or HGF. Similarly to insulin, serum also augments cell surface levels of GLUT1 and TfR. Remarkably, the acute effect of serum on GLUT4 is largely additive to that of insulin, while it also sensitizes the cells to insulin. In accordance with these findings, serum does not appear to activate the same repertoire of downstream signaling molecules that are implicated in insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation. We conclude that in addition to insulin, at least one other biological proteinaceous factor exists that contributes to GLUT4 regulation and still functions in insulin resistance. The challenge now is to identify this factor

Interaction between polymorphisms in aspirin metabolic pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk: A case-control study in unselected white European populations

Regular aspirin use is associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Variation in aspirin’s chemoprevention efficacy has been attributed to the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We conducted a meta-analysis using two large population-based case-control datasets, the UK-Leeds Colorectal Cancer Study Group and the NIH-Colon Cancer Family Registry, having a combined total of 3325 cases and 2262 controls. The aim was to assess 42 candidate SNPs in 15 genes whose association with colorectal cancer risk was putatively modified by aspirin use, in the literature. Log odds ratios (ORs) and standard errors were estimated for each dataset separately using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and study site, and dataset-specific results were combined using random effects meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed association between SNPs rs6983267, rs11694911 and rs2302615 with CRC risk reduction (All P<0.05). Association for SNP rs6983267 in the CCAT2 gene only was noteworthy after multiple test correction (P = 0.001). Site-specific analysis showed association between SNPs rs1799853 and rs2302615 with reduced colon cancer risk only (P = 0.01 and P = 0.004, respectively), however neither reached significance threshold following multiple test correction. Meta-analysis of SNPs rs2070959 and rs1105879 in UGT1A6 gene showed interaction between aspirin use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively); stratification by aspirin use showed an association for decreased CRC risk for aspirin users having a wild-type genotype (rs2070959 OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.68–0.86; rs1105879 OR = 0.77 95% CI = 0.69–0.86) compared to variant allele cariers. The direction of the interaction however is in contrast to that published in studies on colorectal adenomas. Both SNPs showed potential site-specific interaction with aspirin use and colon cancer risk only (Pinteraction = 0.006 and 0.008, respectively), with the direction of association similar to that observed for CRC. Additionally, they showed interaction between any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including aspirin) use and CRC risk (Pinteraction = 0.01 for both). All gene x environment (GxE) interactions however were not significant after multiple test correction. Candidate gene investigation indicated no evidence of GxE interaction between genetic variants in genes involved in aspirin pathways, regular aspirin use and colorectal cancer risk

A future for Hashima: pornography, representation and time

This article sets out to investigate the relationship between ruins, futurity, and ‘ruin porn’ - a visual mode of representation that all too often seeks to fix post-industrial ruins as mere aesthetic objects, devoid of history and/or temporality. It does so by focusing on performance, which, in this context, is understood as a processual mode of art-making that provides spectators with an experience of time. In this expanded definition of performance, as one may perhaps expect, the performativity of the object is not limited to the theatrical event alone; rather, it now inheres in sometimes uncanny durational aspects of both still and moving images. The essay proceeds in three stages. Part one provides a historical and theoretical overview of the type of performance inherent in ‘ruin porn’; part two critiques two images from Yves Marchand's and Romain Meffre's Gunkanjima (2013), a photo album that attempted to document the ruins of Hashima, an island situated 15 kilometres from Nagasaki City in the East China Sea; and part three investigates the very different aesthetic at work in Lee Hassall's film Return to Battleship Island (2013) which was made in response to AHRC- funded project, ‘The Future of Ruins: Reclaiming Abandonment and Toxicity on Hashima Island’ (2013). In this reading of Return to Battleship Island , the onus is on showing how Hassall's film, in its representation of Hashima's crumbling apartment blocks and industrial buildings, intentionally sought to contest the atemporal logic of ‘ruin porn’ by attempting to endow the viewing experience with a sense of futurity. Crucially, this does not mean that film represented the future as an object, but, on the contrary, tried to make it palpable, as something one undergoes physically in the very act of reception