Processing of rhythmical acoustic patterns in the domestic chicks. A behavioral exploration

The spontaneous tendency to synchronize with a\ua0musical\ua0beat is\ua0a human universal. Recently, it has been convincingly observed also in some non-human species [1-4]. However, why synchronization ability would be present in animals is still not clear. One possibility is that synchronized behavior may have been shaped by evolution because of the predictability of rhythmic locomotion sounds [5].\ua0 In humans, organisms\u2019 locomotion is encoded either by listening to the sound of rhythmic footsteps [6], or by the visual analysis of rhythmically walking animals described by simple point-light displays [7]. Such visual point-light displays are recognized also by non-human animals as biologically-relevant stimuli [8]. Hence, raw mechanisms for visual recognition of living organisms, available at birth and shared across species [9], could be accompanied by\ua0universal acoustic building blocks of sounds of moving animals. To address this possibility, we presented 50 chicks (Gallus gallus) with rhythmic and a-rhythmic\ua0acoustic patterns of either 120BPM\ua0or 80BPM. In a circular semi-dark environment, 4 symmetrical speakers delivered sequentially, in circular transition, the stimuli. Chicks responded to rhythmic and a-rhythmic acoustic patterns in a comparable fashion, by following\ua0the circular presentation of the 120BPM acoustic patterns but not that of 80BPM. This result is in line with chicks\u2019 spontaneous preference for normal rate of maternal clucking at about 120-130BPM [10] meaning that faster rhythmic and a-rhythmic patterns are both associated with recognition of living organism. In a separate condition, chicks placed within the same experimental environment could listen to a continuous modulated sound. We observed a total diminution in motor activity. In the absence of pauses or accents defining an acoustic structure, chicks do not identify the presence of an organism that is worth following

Slow and fast beat sequences are represented differently through space

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) suggests the existence of an association between number magnitude and response position, with faster left-hand responses to small numbers and faster right-hand responses to large numbers. Recent studies have revealed similar spatial association effects for non-numerical magnitudes, such as temporal durations and musical stimuli. In the present study we investigated whether a spatial association effect exists between music tempo, expressed in beats per minutes (bpm), and response position. In particular, we were interested whether this effect is consistent through different bpm ranges. We asked participants to judge whether a target beat sequence was faster or slower than a reference sequence. Three groups of participants judged beat sequences from three different bpm ranges, a wide range (40, 80, 160, 200 bpm) and two narrowed ranges (“slow” tempo, 40, 56, 88, 104 bpm; “fast” tempo 133, 150, 184, 201 bpm). Results showed a clear SNARC-like effect for music tempo only in the narrowed “fast” tempo range, with faster left-hand responses to 133 and 150 bpm and faster right-hand responses to 184 and 201 bpm. Conversely, a similar association did not emerge in the wide nor in the narrowed "slow" tempo ranges. This evidence suggests that music tempo is spatially represented as other continuous quantities, but its representation might be narrowed to a particular range of tempi. Moreover, music tempo and temporal duration might be represented across space with an opposite direction

Octave bias in an absolute pitch identification task

Octave errors are common within musicians, even among absolute pitch possessors. Overall, evidence shows pitch class and octave to be perceived in a different way, even if they are highly connected. We investigated whether pitch class perception, in an absolute pitch identification task, can be influenced by the octave context, examined among two consecutive octaves. Participants, all musicians with formal musical education, showed different response patterns in the two octaves even if the octave context was explicitly told to be task irrelevant. The direction of errors revealed a consistent tendency to underestimate pitch height in the lowest octave and to overestimate pitch height in the highest octave. Thus, pitch class identification showed to be biased by the octave context. These results are discussed in terms of polarity and pitch enhancement

The Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum (T-RECS) simulation II: HI emission and continuum-HI cross-correlation

In this paper we extend the Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation (T-RECS) to include HI emission. The HI T-RECS model is based on the most recent HI mass function estimates, combined with prescriptions to convert HI mass to total integrated HI flux. It further models source size, morphology and kinematics, including rotational velocity and HI line width. The continuum T-RECS model is updated to improve the agreement with deeper number counts available at 150\,MHz. The model for star-forming galaxies (SFGs) is also modified according to the most recent indications of a star formation rate (SFR)--radio luminosity relation, which depends primarily on stellar mass rather than redshift. We further introduce prescriptions to associate an HI mass to the T-RECS radio continuum SFG and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) populations. This gives us a way to meaningfully associate counterparts between HI and continuum catalogues, thus building HI $\times$ continuum simulated observations. Clustering properties of the sources in both HI and continuum are reproduced by associating the galaxies to dark matter haloes of a cosmological simulation. We deliver a set of mock catalogues, as well as the code to produce them, which can be used for simulating observations and predicting results from radio surveys with existing and forthcoming radio facilities, such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted by MNRA

Temporal speed prevails on interval duration in the SNARC-like effect for tempo

The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is evidence of an association between number magnitude and response position, with faster left-key responses to small numbers and faster right-key responses to large numbers. Similarly, recent studies revealed a SNARC-like effect for tempo, defined as the speed of an auditory sequence, with faster left-key responses to slow tempo and faster right-key responses to fast tempo. In order to address some methodological issues of previous studies, in the present study we designed an experiment to investigate the occurrence of a SNARC-like effect for tempo, employing a novel procedure in which only two auditory beats in sequence with a very short interstimulus interval were used. In the "temporal speed" condition, participants were required to judge the temporal speed (slow or fast) of the sequence. In the "interval duration" condition, participants were required to judge the duration of the interval between the two beats (short or long). The results revealed a consistent SNARC-like effect in both conditions, with faster left-hand responses to slow tempo and faster right-hand responses to fast tempo. Interestingly, the consistency of the results across the two conditions indicates that the direction of the SNARC-like effect was influenced by temporal speed even when participants were explicitly required to focus on interval duration. Overall, the current study extends previous findings by employing a new paradigm that addresses potential confounding factors and strengthens evidence for the SNARC-like effect for tempo

Novel α-actin gene mutation p.(ala21val) causing familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, myocardial noncompaction, and transmural crypts. clinical-pathologic correlation

.Background: Mutations of α-actin gene (ACTC1) have been phenotypically related to various cardiac anomalies, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular (LV) myocardial noncompaction. A novel ACTC mutation is reported as cosegregating for familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and LV myocardial noncompaction with transmural crypts. Methods and results: In an Italian family of 7 subjects, 4 aged 10 (II-1), 14 (II-2), 43 (I-4) and 46 years (I-5), presenting abnormal ECG changes, dyspnea and palpitation (II-2, I-4, and I-5), and recurrent cerebral ischemic attack (I-5), underwent 2-dimensional echo, cardiac magnetic resonance, Holter monitoring, and next-generation sequencing gene analysis. Patients II-2 and I-5 with ventricular tachycardia underwent a cardiac invasive study, including coronary with LV angiography and endomyocardial biopsy. In all the affected members, ECG showed right bundle branch block and left anterior hemiblock with age-related prolongation of QRS duration. Two-dimensional echo and cardiac magnetic resonance documented LV myocardial noncompaction in all and in I-4, I-5, and II-2 a progressive LV hypertrophy up to 22-mm maximal wall thickness. Coronary arteries were normal. LV angiography showed transmural crypts progressing to spongeous myocardial transformation with LV dilatation and dysfunction in the oldest subject. At histology and electron microscopy detachment of myocardiocytes were associated with cell and myofibrillar disarray and degradation of intercalated discs causing disanchorage of myofilaments to cell membrane. Next-generation sequencing showed in affected members an unreported p.(Ala21Val) mutation of ACTC. Conclusions: Novel p.(Ala21Val) mutation of ACTC1 causes myofibrillar and intercalated disc alteration leading to familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and LV myocardial noncompaction with transmural crypt

Long-term follow-up for bimanual microincision cataract surgery: Comparison of results obtained by surgeons in training and experienced surgeons

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of bimanual microincision cataract surgery (B-MICS) performed by surgeons in training, evaluating clinical results, posterior capsule opacification (PCO) incidence, and clear corneal incision (CCI) architecture in a long-term follow-up and comparing results with those obtained by experienced surgeons. Patients and methods: Eighty eyes of 62 patients operated on by three surgeons in training who used B-MICS technique for the first time were included in the study (Group A). Eighty eyes of 59 patients who underwent B-MICS by three experienced surgeons were included as a control group (Group B). Best corrected visual acuity, astigmatism, corneal pachymetry, and endothelial cell count were evaluated before surgery and at 1 month and 18 months after surgery. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography images were obtained to study the morphology of CCIs. PCO incidence was evaluated using EPCO2000 software. Results: Out of 160 surgeries included in the study, mean best-corrected visual acuity improvement at 18 months was 0.343\ub10.246 logMAR for Group A, and 0.388\ub10.175 logMAR for Group B, respectively. We found no statistically significant induced astigmatism nor corneal pachymetry changes in either group, while we noticed a statistically significant endothelial cell loss postoperatively in both groups (P < 0.05). In Group A, mean PCO score was 0.163\ub10.196, while for Group B, it was 0.057\ub10.132 (P=0.0025). Mean length and inclination of the CCIs for Group A and Group B were, respectively, 1,358\ub1175 \ub5m and 1,437\ub1256 \ub5m and 141.8\ub0\ub16.4\ub0 and 148.7\ub0\ub15.1\ub0. As regards corneal architecture in the 320 CCIs considered, we found posterior wound retractions and endothelial gaps, respectively, 9.8% and 11.6% for Group A and 7.8% and 10.8% for Group B. Conclusion: B-MICS performed by surgeons in training is an effective surgical technique even when assessed after a long-term follow-up. PCO incidence resulted in being higher for less experienced surgeons. Corneal incisions were shorter and less angled in surgeons in training in comparison with results obtained by expert surgeons

Results and complications of surgeons-in-training learning bimanual microincision cataract surgery

PURPOSE: To evaluate visual outcomes and complications of bimanual microincision cataract surgery performed by surgeons in training. SETTING: Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. DESIGN: Prospective case series. METHODS: The corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), astigmatism, corneal pachymetry, and endothelial cell count were evaluated before and 7 and 30 days after bimanual MICS performed by surgeons in training. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were also recorded. RESULTS: Three surgeons in training performed bimanual MICS in 150 eyes of 131 patients. There were 18 intraoperative complications (12.0%) (10 iris traumas [6.6%]; 4 capsule ruptures without vitreous loss [2.7%]; 3 capsule ruptures with vitreous loss [2.0%]; 1 intraocular lens [IOL] implantation in the sulcus due to zonular laxity [0.7%]). There were 5 postoperative complications (3.3%) (2 iris prolapses [1.3%]; 1 IOL loop malposition [0.7%]; 1 narrowing of anterior chamber [0.7%]; 1 capsulorhexis phimosis [0.7%]). Thirty days postoperatively, the mean CDVA improvement was 0.53 ± 0.20 (Snellen decimal) (P &lt; .05), the mean decrease in astigmatism was 0.09 ± 0.54 diopter (P = .29), and the mean increase in corneal pachymetry was 7.42 ± 22.01 μm (P = .12). There was statistically significant endothelial cell loss (mean 496.50 ± 469.66 cells/mm(2)) (P &lt; .05). CONCLUSIONS: Bimanual MICS performed by surgeons in training was safe and effective. Visual outcomes and complication rates were similar to those reported for coaxial cataract surgery performed by surgeons in training

A SNARC-like effect for music tempo

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) suggests the existence of an association betweennumber magnitude and response position, with faster left-hand responses to small numbers and faster righthandresponses to large numbers (Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993). Moreover, Rusconi, Kwan, Giordano, Umiltà,& Butterworth (2006) showed that the internal representation of pitch height is spatially organized, especially inparticipants with formal musical education (i.e., Spatial Musical Association of Response Codes: the SMARC effect).In the present study we investigated whether a similar association exists between music tempo (beats per minutes)and the spatial position of response execution. Participants were all musically untrained persons. To test ourhypothesis they performed both an order-relevant task (i.e., time comparison task) and an order-irrelevant task (i.e.,timbre judgment task). Results showed a global trend with faster left-hand responses to slower beat sequences andfaster right-hand responses to faster beat sequences. From this evidences we can finally conclude that a SNARC-likeeffect exists for music tempo similar as for pitch height and numbers