Real-time Percussive Technique Recognition and Embedding Learning for the Acoustic Guitar

Real-time music information retrieval (RT-MIR) has much potential to augment the capabilities of traditional acoustic instruments. We develop RT-MIR techniques aimed at augmenting percussive fingerstyle, which blends acoustic guitar playing with guitar body percussion. We formulate several design objectives for RT-MIR systems for augmented instrument performance: (i) causal constraint, (ii) perceptually negligible action-to-sound latency, (iii) control intimacy support, (iv) synthesis control support. We present and evaluate real-time guitar body percussion recognition and embedding learning techniques based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and CNNs jointly trained with variational autoencoders (VAEs). We introduce a taxonomy of guitar body percussion based on hand part and location. We follow a cross-dataset evaluation approach by collecting three datasets labelled according to the taxonomy. The embedding quality of the models is assessed using KL-Divergence across distributions corresponding to different taxonomic classes. Results indicate that the networks are strong classifiers especially in a simplified 2-class recognition task, and the VAEs yield improved class separation compared to CNNs as evidenced by increased KL-Divergence across distributions. We argue that the VAE embedding quality could support control intimacy and rich interaction when the latent space's parameters are used to control an external synthesis engine. Further design challenges around generalisation to different datasets have been identified.Comment: Accepted at the 24th Int. Society for Music Information Retrieval Conf., Milan, Italy, 202

Building an IDE for an embedded system using web technologies

Implementing an understandable, accessible and effective user interface is a major challenge for many products in the microcontroller and embedded computing community. Bela, an embedded system for ultra-low latency audio and sensor processing, features a browser-based integrated development environment (IDE) using web technologies (Node.js, HTML5 and CSS). This methodology has allowed us to create an IDE that is simplified and intuitive for beginners while still being useful to those more advanced, thus supporting users as they evolve in expertise

Individualised pelvic floor muscle training in women with pelvic organ prolapse: a multicentre randomised controlled trial

<br>Background: Pelvic organ prolapse is common and is strongly associated with childbirth and increasing age. Women with prolapsed are often advised to do pelvic floor muscle exercises, but supporting evidence is limited. Our aim was to establish if one-to-one individualised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is effective in reducing prolapse symptoms.</br> <br>Methods: A parallel‐group multicentre randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN35911035) in female outpatients with newly-diagnosed, symptomatic stage I, II or III prolapse, comparing five PFMT appointments over 16 weeks (n=225) versus a lifestyle advice leaflet (n=222). Treatment allocation was by remote computer allocation using minimisation. Our primary endpoint was participants’ self-report of prolapsed symptoms at 12 months. Group assignment was masked from outcome assessors. We compared outcomes between trial groups in an intention-to-treat analysis. The cost of PFMT and savings on subsequent treatments were calculated to estimate cost-effectiveness.</br> <br>Findings: Compared to the control group, the intervention group reported fewer prolapse symptoms at 12 months (mean difference between groups in change score 1.52, 95% CI [0.46, 2.59], p=0.0053); reported their prolapse to be “better” more often (57.2% versus 44.7%, difference 12.6%, 95% CI [1.1%, 24.1%], p=0.0336); and had an increased but non-significant odds of having less severe stage of prolapse at their 6-month clinical examination, (OR 1.47, 95% CI [0.97, 2.27], p=0.07). The control group had a greater uptake of other prolapse treatment (49.6% versus 24.1%, difference 25.5%, 95% CI [14.5%, 36.0%], p <0.0001). Findings were robust to missing data. The net cost of the 25 intervention was £131.61 per woman and the cost per one-point reduction in the symptom score was £86.59, 95% CI [£50.81, £286.11]. </br&gt

Buttons, Handles, and Keys: Advances in Continuous-Control Keyboard Instruments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Buttons, Handles, and Keys: Advances in Continuous-Control Keyboard Instruments, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/COMJ_a_00297. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with MIT Press Journal's Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. © 2015, MIT Press Journal

Music and HCI

Music is an evolutionarily deep-rooted, abstract, real-time, complex, non-verbal, social activity. Consequently, interaction design in music can be a valuable source of challenges and new ideas for HCI. This workshop will reflect on the latest research in Music and HCI (Music Interaction for short), with the aim of strengthening the dialogue between the Music Interaction community and the wider HCI community. We will explore recent ideas from Music Interaction that may contribute new perspectives to general HCI practice, and conversely, recent HCI research in non-musical domains with implications for Music Interaction. We will also identify any concerns of Music Interaction that may require unique approaches. Contributors engaged in research in any area of Music Interaction or HCI who would like to contribute to a sustained widening of the dialogue between the distinctive concerns of the Music Interaction community and the wider HCI community will be welcome

Endothelial Gata5 transcription factor regulates blood pressure

Despite its high prevalence and economic burden, the aetiology of human hypertension remains incompletely understood. Here we identify the transcription factor GATA5, as a new regulator of blood pressure (BP). GATA5 is expressed in microvascular endothelial cells and its genetic inactivation in mice (Gata5-null) leads to vascular endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. Endothelial-specific inactivation of Gata5 mimics the hypertensive phenotype of the Gata5-null mice, suggestive of an important role for GATA5 in endothelial homeostasis. Transcriptomic analysis of human microvascular endothelial cells with GATA5 knockdown reveals that GATA5 affects several genes and pathways critical for proper endothelial function, such as PKA and nitric oxide pathways. Consistent with a role in human hypertension, we report genetic association of variants at the GATA5 locus with hypertension traits in two large independent cohorts. Our results unveil an unsuspected link between GATA5 and a prominent human condition, and provide a new animal model for hypertension

Homophily and Contagion Are Generically Confounded in Observational Social Network Studies

We consider processes on social networks that can potentially involve three factors: homophily, or the formation of social ties due to matching individual traits; social contagion, also known as social influence; and the causal effect of an individual's covariates on their behavior or other measurable responses. We show that, generically, all of these are confounded with each other. Distinguishing them from one another requires strong assumptions on the parametrization of the social process or on the adequacy of the covariates used (or both). In particular we demonstrate, with simple examples, that asymmetries in regression coefficients cannot identify causal effects, and that very simple models of imitation (a form of social contagion) can produce substantial correlations between an individual's enduring traits and their choices, even when there is no intrinsic affinity between them. We also suggest some possible constructive responses to these results.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures. V2: Revised in response to referees. V3: Ditt