Arrow of time across five centuries of classical music

The concept of time series irreversibility—the degree by which the statistics of signals are not invariant under time reversal—naturally appears in nonequilibrium physics in stationary systems which operate away from equilibrium and produce entropy. This concept has not been explored to date in the realm of musical scores as these are typically short sequences whose time reversibility estimation could suffer from strong finite size effects which preclude interpretability. Here we show that the so-called horizontal visibility graph method—which recently was shown to quantify such statistical property even in nonstationary signals—is a method that can estimate time reversibility of short symbolic sequences, thus unlocking the possibility of exploring such properties in the context of musical compositions. Accordingly, we analyze over 8000 musical pieces ranging from the Renaissance to the early Modern period and show that, indeed, most of them display clear signatures of time irreversibility. Since by construction stochastic processes with a linear correlation structure (such as 1 / f noise) are time reversible, we conclude that musical compositions have a considerably richer structure, that goes beyond the traditional properties retrieved by the power spectrum or similar approaches. We also show that musical compositions display strong signs of nonlinear correlations, that nonlinearity is correlated to irreversibility, and that these are also related to asymmetries in the abundance of musical intervals, which we associate to the narrative underpinning a musical composition. These findings provide tools for the study of musical periods and composers, as well as criteria related to music appreciation and cognition

Transmedia Narratives and Social Networks: Peaky Blinders' Television Fiction

Digital media expanded the scenarios in which people watch television and the communication contexts where fans comment on their content. This work focuses on the conversations between Spanish speakers that take place on the Internet about the Peaky Blinders TV series. We focus on analysis of the discourse generated from the series’ content in social networks, where spectators converse with one another and on analysis of other, creative practices, which help to develop the transmedia narrative but are generated by the spectators themselves. This is known as fan fiction, cosplay or crossover. We combine big data (Kitchin, 2014), to extract digital texts, and small data to analyze the construction of meanings from the perspective of discourse analysis (Gee, 2014). Big data were collected during the recent premiere of the fifth season in Spain, from 14 March to 15 June 2020 (3 months of which coincided with Covid-19 lockdown).The texts appeared on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as in forums, comments, and other digital information. We dynamically defined 268 categories during the data collection stage. This study includes only those that the research team considered were more relevant, facilitating in-depth analysis of the conversations through discourse analysis. The results discuss how participants construct narratives that we interpret from a triple model. First, digital and situated storytelling (Ryan, 2019) through reconstruction of the contents and formats of the series by fans (Lacasa, 2020). Second, digital media and the presence of multi-platforms, which have generated transmedia strategies (Kavoori et al., 2017 (Kavoori, 2017)). The study establishes the relationships between these multiple platforms and how audiences are present there. Third, digital contexts that generate conversations, creating dialogue between cultural industries and TV series followers

Guided participation in youth media practices

Youth has to deal with some digital practices and develop media discourses on their own. Our study aims to deepen these concepts from the point of view of the guided participation, understood in this case as a collaborative process of media literacy based on culturally significant activities. Our data comes from a series of workshops that took place at the Telefonica Flagship Store (Madrid, Spain) with teens between eight and 14 years old. The evidence was collected by qualitative research techniques such as observation, conversation and descriptive analysis. The results give us some preliminary ideas for discussion: 1) social media practices enable youth to connect their online and offline activities with their interests; 2) the generation of collaborative learning scenarios based on the interaction between young people becomes a fundamental element of media literacy and 3) user-generated content emerges as an identity and habits depiction in media, especially among young people.Os jovens têm de lidar com algumas práticas digitais e desenvolver discursos mediáticos por conta própria. O objetivo do nosso estudo é aprofundar estes conceitos do ponto de vista da participação guiada, compreendida, neste caso, como um processo colaborativo de literacia mediática baseado em atividades culturalmente significativas. Os nossos dados provêm de uma série de workshops realizados na Telefonica Flagship Store (Madrid, Espanha) com adolescentes entre os oito e os 14 anos de idade. As observações foram recolhidas através de técnicas de pesquisa qualitativa, como a observação, conversação e análise descritiva. Os resultados fornecem-nos algumas ideias preliminares para discussão: 1) as práticas nas redes sociais permitem que os jovens liguem as suas atividades online e offline aos seus interesses; 2) a geração de cenários de aprendizagem colaborativa baseados na interação entre jovens torna-se um elemento fundamental da literacia mediática; e 3) o conteúdo gerado pelo utilizador surge como uma identidade e representação de hábitos nos media, especialmente entre os jovens

Effect of Dietary Coenzyme Q10 Plus NADH Supplementation on Fatigue Perception and Health-Related Quality of Life in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Coenzima Q10; Mitocondrias; Encefalomielitis miálgicaCoenzyme Q10; Mitochondria; Myalgic encephalomyelitisCoenzim Q10; Mitocondris; Encefalomielitis miàlgicaMyalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex, multisystem, and profoundly debilitating neuroimmune disease, probably of post-viral multifactorial etiology. Unfortunately, no accurate diagnostic or laboratory tests have been established, nor are any universally effective approved drugs currently available for its treatment. This study aimed to examine whether oral coenzyme Q10 and NADH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) co-supplementation could improve perceived fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and health-related quality of life in ME/CFS patients. A 12-week prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 207 patients with ME/CFS, who were randomly allocated to one of two groups to receive either 200 mg of CoQ10 and 20 mg of NADH (n = 104) or matching placebo (n = 103) once daily. Endpoints were simultaneously evaluated at baseline, and then reassessed at 4- and 8-week treatment visits and four weeks after treatment cessation, using validated patient-reported outcome measures. A significant reduction in cognitive fatigue perception and overall FIS-40 score (p < 0.001 and p = 0.022, respectively) and an improvement in HRQoL (health-related quality of life (SF-36)) (p < 0.05) from baseline were observed within the experimental group over time. Statistically significant differences were also shown for sleep duration at 4 weeks and habitual sleep efficiency at 8 weeks in follow-up visits from baseline within the experimental group (p = 0.018 and p = 0.038, respectively). Overall, these findings support the use of CoQ10 plus NADH supplementation as a potentially safe therapeutic option for reducing perceived cognitive fatigue and improving the health-related quality of life in ME/CFS patients. Future interventions are needed to corroborate these clinical benefits and also explore the underlying pathomechanisms of CoQ10 and NADH administration in ME/CFS.J.C.-M. received financial support and honoraria from Vitae Health Innovation Co., S.L. (Montmeló, Barcelona, Spain). This study was partially supported by the Vall d’Hebron Hospital Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain). Vitae Health Innovation Co. supplied both treatments (Coenzyme Q10 and NADH supplement tablets and placebo)

Los medios de comunicación entran en las aulas

En este artículo se presenta reflexiones acercade las investigaciones realizadas por el grupode investigación Imágenes, Palabras e Ideas quehan permitido introducir medios distintos a losutilizados en las aulas, pero bien conocidos porlos niños y niñas que asisten a ellas. Así estosmedios se convirtieron en nuevos vehículos ymotivaciones para el aprendizaje de la escrituray para nuevas formas de comprender. Las teoríasque inspiraron este trabajo fueron las de John-Steiner para los conceptos de aprendizaje, Geepara entornos virtuales y videojuegos, Jemkinspara las nuevas formas de alfabetización

Effect of genetic background on resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in pepper

[SPA] En pimiento (Capsicum annuum L.) los genes mayores Me1, Me3 y N confieren resistencia cualitativa frente a M. incognita (principal nematodo patógeno de solanáceas). Sin embargo se han encontrado poblaciones del nematodo virulentas a algunos de estos genes que comprometen la eficacia de estas resistencias. No obstante se ha constatado una mayor durabilidad de estos genes mayores cuando se introgresan en fondos genéticos parcialmente resistentes. El objetivo fue explorar la influencia del fondo genético del pimiento controlando la resistencia parcial cuando se combina con los genes Me1 y Me3, su estabilidad y su modo de herencia. Se utilizaron líneas puras de pimiento susceptibles, parcialmente resistentes y portadoras de Me1 o Me3, y se construyeron diversos híbridos F1. Este material vegetal se testó frente a 3 aislados de M. incognita (dos de éstos virulentos a Me3), y se comparó su nivel de resistencia. Los resultados mostraron diferencias de tipo cuantitativo en la resistencia a M. incognita debidas al efecto del fondo genético, que se expresaron tanto en ausencia como en presencia de genes mayores de resistencia. Esta resistencia cuantitativa se mostró estable frente a los distintos aislados del patógeno y presentó un modo de herencia intermedio. [ENG] In pepper, three major genes –Me1, Me3 and N–confer qualitative resistance against Meloidogyne incognita (main pathogen nematode of Solanaceae). However, nematode virulent populations to some of these genes have been found, threatening the effectiveness of these resistances. Nevertheless higher durability of these major genes has been found when these are introgressed in partially resistant genetic background. The aim was to explore the influence of pepper genetic background controlling partial resistance when combined with Me1 and Me3 genes, its stability and its mode of inheritance. Some pepper inbred lines susceptible, partially resistant or resistant (that carriers Me1 or Me3) were used, and several hybrids F1 were built. This plant material was tested against 3 M. incognita isolates (two virulent to Me3), and their level of resistance was compared. The results showed quantitative differences in resistance to M. incognita due to the effect of genetic background, which was expressed both in presence and absence of qualitative resistance genes. This quantitative resistance was stable against different isolates of the pathogen and presented an intermediate inheritance mode.El equipo de Horticultura (IMIDA) y el Dr. A. Palloix (INRA) proporcionaron el material vegetal. Estudio financiado a través del Proyecto INIA RTA2009-0058 participado con Fondos FEDER. F. Sánchez ha disfrutado de una beca FPI-INIA

Young creators in open spaces: digital ethnography

The goal of this paper is to analyze the creative processes undertaken in a community of teenagers participating in entertainment workshops designed to develop digital literacies. The main goal is to outline support strategies to generate digital literacy among young people who participate in social networks. We adopt an ethnographic and action research approach to explore the creative process undertaken in an informal educational environment. Methodologically, narrative reconstructions are combined with an analytical approach. The results obtained were three-fold: 1) Specific audiovisual content depends on the material and social context in which it was generated. 2) When multimodal discourses are used, their use is conditioned by the mobile applications that young people use and the need to integrate different modes. 3) The conversations and practices that take place in the workshop focus young people’s attention on creative and critical practices when using social networks such as Vine and Instagram

Automatic supervision of temperature, humidity, and luminance with an Assistant Personal Robot

Smart environments and Ambient Intelligence (AmI) technologies are defining the future society where energy optimization and intelligent management are essential for a sustainable advance. Mobile robotics is also making an important contribution to this advance with the integration of sensors and intelligent processing algorithms. This paper presents the application of an Assistant Personal Robot (APR) as an autonomous agent for temperature, humidity, and luminance supervision in human-frequented areas. The robot multiagent capabilities allow gathering sensor information while exploring or performing specific tasks and then verifying human comfortability levels. The proposed methodology creates information maps with the distribution of temperature, humidity, and luminance and interprets such information in terms of comfort and warns about corrective actuations if required