Sequential Complexity as a Descriptor for Musical Similarity

We propose string compressibility as a descriptor of temporal structure in audio, for the purpose of determining musical similarity. Our descriptors are based on computing track-wise compression rates of quantised audio features, using multiple temporal resolutions and quantisation granularities. To verify that our descriptors capture musically relevant information, we incorporate our descriptors into similarity rating prediction and song year prediction tasks. We base our evaluation on a dataset of 15500 track excerpts of Western popular music, for which we obtain 7800 web-sourced pairwise similarity ratings. To assess the agreement among similarity ratings, we perform an evaluation under controlled conditions, obtaining a rank correlation of 0.33 between intersected sets of ratings. Combined with bag-of-features descriptors, we obtain performance gains of 31.1% and 10.9% for similarity rating prediction and song year prediction. For both tasks, analysis of selected descriptors reveals that representing features at multiple time scales benefits prediction accuracy.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 8 tables. Accepted versio

Successful Treatment of a Panniculitis-Like Primary Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma of the α/β Type with Bexarotene

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTL) of the α/β type is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the skin. Although these tumors usually run an indolent course, disease-related morbidity is often severe. Clinical findings include subcutaneous tumors located on the extremities or trunk, often accompanied by systemic symptoms like fever or fatigue. Due to the low incidence of SPTL, no standardized therapy has been defined so far and there is currently no curative therapy available for this type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. By sharing our experience with bexarotene therapy, we present a safe and potentially improved treatment for patients with SPTL. In the case presented, bexarotene was able to induce remission even after recurrence of disease

Compact continuum source-finding for next generation radio surveys

We present a detailed analysis of four of the most widely used radio source finding packages in radio astronomy, and a program being developed for the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. The four packages; SExtractor, SFind, IMSAD and Selavy are shown to produce source catalogues with high completeness and reliability. In this paper we analyse the small fraction (~1%) of cases in which these packages do not perform well. This small fraction of sources will be of concern for the next generation of radio surveys which will produce many thousands of sources on a daily basis, in particular for blind radio transients surveys. From our analysis we identify the ways in which the underlying source finding algorithms fail. We demonstrate a new source finding algorithm Aegean, based on the application of a Laplacian kernel, which can avoid these problems and can produce complete and reliable source catalogues for the next generation of radio surveys.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Electrocardiographic alterations during intravascular application of three different test doses of bupivacaine and epinephrine: experimental study in neonatal pigs

Background Origin of electrocardiographic (ECG) alterations during intravascular injection of local anaesthetic solutions is controversial. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether epinephrine, bupivacaine or their combination is responsible for ECG alteration. Methods Forty-five piglets were randomized into three groups. After induction of general anaesthesia using sevoflurane and peripheral venous cannulation, the trachea was intubated, the lungs were artificially ventilated, and anaesthesia was maintained by sevoflurane. Under steady state 0.2 ml kg−1 and after 10 min 0.4 ml kg−1 of one of the following three test solutions was administered i.v.: bupivacaine 0.125% (Group 1), bupivacaine 0.125%+epinephrine 1:200 000 (Group 2), and plain epinephrine 1:200 000 (Group 3). The ECG was analysed for alterations in heart rate and T-elevation. Results After injection of 0.2 or 0.4 ml kg−1 test solution, an increase in heart rate of at least 10% was found in none of Group 1 and in all of Groups 2 and 3. After application of 0.2 ml kg−1 test solution, T-elevation was found in 7% of Group 1 and in 93% of Groups 2 and 3. The injection of 0.4 ml kg−1 revealed a T-elevation in 27%, 100%, and 100%, respectively, in Groups 1, 2, and 3. Conclusions This animal model demonstrated that increases in heart rate and T-elevation in the ECG during i.v. application of a common test dose (0.2 ml kg−1) of bupivacaine are caused by epinephrine addition. Whether higher doses of bupivacaine alone can cause similar ECG changes or not requires further studie

Glassy timescale divergence and anomalous coarsening in a kinetically constrained spin chain

We analyse the out of equilibrium behavior of an Ising spin chain with an asymmetric kinetic constraint after a quench to a low temperature T. In the limit T\to 0, we provide an exact solution of the resulting coarsening process. The equilibration time exhibits a `glassy' divergence \teq=\exp(const/T^2) (popular as an alternative to the Vogel-Fulcher law), while the average domain length grows with a temperature dependent exponent, \dbar ~ t^{T\ln 2}. We show that the equilibration time \teq also sets the timescale for the linear response of the system at low temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, includes two eps figures. Proof of energy barrier hierarchy added. Version to be published in Phys Rev Let

Electrocardiographic changes during continuous intravenous application of bupivacaine in neonatal pigs

Background It is controversial as to whether T-wave elevation is caused by local anaesthetics, epinephrine, or their combination. It has been shown that T-elevation after intravascular injection of a small bupivacaine test dose is caused by epinephrine and not by bupivacaine. The aim of this study was to investigate ECG changes with higher doses of i.v. bupivacaine. Methods Thirty neonatal pigs were anaesthetized with sevoflurane and their tracheas intubated and artificially ventilated. Under steady-state conditions, bupivacaine was continuously infused (flow rate 3.2 ml kg−1 min−1) by a syringe infusion pump through a central venous catheter. Group 1 received bupivacaine 0.125%, Group 2 bupivacaine 0.5%. The ECG was continuously printed and subsequently analysed for alterations in heart rate, ventricular de- and repolarization, and arrhythmias at 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg kg−1 bupivacaine infused. Results Sinus rhythm persisted in all pigs. Heart rate decreased progressively in both groups, but this was significantly more pronounced in Group 1. T-wave elevation occurred in 40% and 0% (Groups 1 and 2) at 1.25 mg kg−1, in 80% and 0% at 2.5 mg kg−1, and in 93% and 80% at 5 mg kg−1 bupivacaine infused. There were significant differences between the two groups at 1.25 and 2.5 mg kg−1 infused. Conclusions Higher doses of i.v. infused bupivacaine can cause T-elevation. With slower injection technique, T-elevation can already be detected at lower bupivacaine doses administere

Association between Antibodies to the MR 67,000 Isoform of Glutamate Decarboxylase (GAD) and Type 1 (Insulin-Dependent) Diabetes Mellitus with Coexisting Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome Type II

By using an immunoprecipitation assay, we analysed reactivity of autoantibodies to human recombinant GAD65 and GAD67 in sera from patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome Type II (APS II) with and without Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) compared to patients with organ-specific autoimmunity. Overall antibodies to GAD65 were correlated with IDDM in all study groups, whereas GAD67 antibodies were associated with IDDM when APS II coexists. Antibodies to GAD65 and GAD67 were detected in 13 (44.8%) and 7 (24.1%) out of 29 APS II patients with IDDM, but in only 4 (13.8%) and 2 (6.9%) out of 29 APS II patients without IDDM, respectively (p < 0.05). In short-standing IDDM (< 1 year), antibodies to GAD67 were significantly more frequent in patients with APS II (5 of 9 [55.6%] subjects) compared to matched diabetic patients without coexisting polyendocrinopathy (1 of 18 [5.6%] subjects) (p < 0.02). The levels of GAD65 (142 ± 90 AU) and GAD67 antibodies (178 ± 95 AU) were significantly higher in patients with polyglandular disease than in patients with isolated IDDM (91 ± 85 AU and 93 ± 57 AU) (p < 0.02). Interestingly, all 11 GAD67 antibody positive subjects also had GAD65 antibodies (p < 0.0001), and in 10 of 11 anti-GAD67 positive sera the GAD67 antibodies could be blocked by either GAD67 or GAD65, suggesting the presence of cross-reactive autoantibodies. No correlation was observed between GAD antibodies and age, sex or any particular associated autoimmune disease, besides IDDM. GAD antibodies were present in only 1 of 6 (16.7%) patients with APS Type I, in 1 of 26 (3.9%) patients with autoimmune thyroid disease but in none of the patients with Addison's disease (n = 16), pernicious anaemia (n = 7) or normal controls (n = 50). Our data suggest distinct antibody specificities reactive to GAD isoforms in APS II and IDDM, which might reflect different mechanisms of autoimmune response in IDDM with coexisting autoimmune polyendocrine autoimmunity

The Curious Case of the “Heartworm” Nebula

© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The curious Galactic features near G357.2−0.2 were observed with the MeerKAT radio interferometer array in the UHF and L bands (0.56–1.68 GHz). There are two possibly related features: a newly identified faint heart-shaped partial shell (the “heart”), and a series of previously known but now much better imaged narrow, curved features (the “worm”) interior to the heart. Polarized emission suggests that much of the emission is nonthermal and is embedded in a dense plasma. The filaments of the worm appear to be magnetic structures powered by embedded knots that are sites of particle acceleration. The morphology of the worm broadly resembles some known pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) but there is no known pulsar or PWN which could be powering this structure. We also present eROSITA observations of the field; no part of the nebula is detected in X-rays, but the current limits do not preclude the existence of a pulsar/PWN of intermediate spin-down luminosity.Peer reviewe