The Evolution and Decline of the Traditional Recording Studio

This thesis studies the development of the British recording studio from the early- 1930s to the present day (2015). This is an area of academic study that has received relatively little attention within popular music studies. Recording studios feature in artist biographies and in studies of music production, and attention has often been focused on iconic studios that are associated with successful artists from the rock canon, rather than exploring the wider sector. Human and economic geographers have focused on specific aspects of the studio sector, such as working practices, the impact of software and the impact of digital technology. This thesis seeks to bridge the gap between the work of popular music scholars and geographical researchers by utilizing a holistic approach, which examines the evolution of the sector using the production of culture perspective, specifically the six-facet model. The development of the recording studio in the UK has been shaped by the interplay between technological innovations, developments in audio production, changes in popular culture, and the structure and financial success of the recording industry. These factors have had a significant effect upon the development of the sector and the cultural products produced within it, consequently any nuanced understanding of the sector has to take all of these factors into account simultaneously. This study draws on a body of oral interviews conducted by the author with engineers, producers, studio owners, technology manufacturers and musicians. It also integrates published materials from a variety of disciplines. The growth and decline of the sector is explored chronologically; from its industrial beginnings as part of the manufacturing process, the emergence of an independent sector, the standardization of recording studios, the introduction of digital technology, and the evolution of the networked digital studio. Technological innovation in the recording sector is examined throughout the thesis and the development of the professional audio industry is also explored. The thesis examines how the studio sector evolved in tandem with the growth of the market for popular music, and explores the impact of digitization on the sector. A combination of affordable digital recording technology and a crisis in the market for recorded music has significantly reshaped the studio sector in the 21st century. The traditional recording studio is now no longer the main site of production, as small Internet connected DAW-based studios are the new studio paradigm. Consequently, the thesis examines how digital technologies and shifting market dynamics have influenced and shaped the current studio sector. Historicizing the evolution and subsequent contraction of the professional recording sector informs understanding of the recording sector in general, and offers an insight into the interplay between technology, practice and the market

Chryseobacterium indologenes infection in a newborn: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p><it>Chryseobacterium indologenes </it>is an uncommon human pathogen. Most infections have been detected in hospitalized patients with severe underlying diseases who had indwelling devices implanted. Infection caused by <it>C. indologenes </it>in a newborn has not been previously reported.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a case of ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by <it>C. indologenes </it>in a full-term Caucasian newborn baby boy with congenital heart disease who was successfully treated with piperacillin-tazobactam.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>C. indologenes </it>should be considered as a potential pathogen in newborns in the presence of invasive equipment or treatment with long-term broad-spectrum antibiotics. Appropriate choice of effective antimicrobial agents for treatment is difficult because of the unpredictability and breadth of antimicrobial resistance of these organisms, which often involves resistance to many of the antibiotics chosen empirically for serious Gram-negative infections.</p

The multiscale hierarchical structure of Heloderma suspectum osteoderms and their mechanical properties

Osteoderms are hard tissues embedded in the dermis of vertebrates and have been suggested to be formed from several different mineralized regions. However, their nano architecture and micro mechanical properties had not been fully characterized. Here, using electron microscopy, µ-CT, atomic force microscopy and finite element simulation, an in-depth characterization of osteoderms from the lizard Heloderma suspectum, is presented. Results show that osteoderms are made of three different mineralized regions: a dense apex, a fibre-enforced region comprising the majority of the osteoderm, and a bone-like region surrounding the vasculature. The dense apex is stiff, the fibre-enforced region is flexible and the mechanical properties of the bone-like region fall somewhere between the other two regions. Our finite element analyses suggest that when combined into the osteoderm structure, the distinct tissue regions are able to shield the body of the animal by dampening the external forces. These findings reveal the structure-function relationship of the Heloderma suspectum osteoderm in unprecedented detail

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis transcriptomics reveals immunological effects of low-dose interleukin-2

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease causing upper and lower motor neuron loss and currently no effective disease-modifying treatment is available. A pathological feature of this disease is neuroinflammation, a mechanism which involves both CNS-resident and peripheral immune system cells. Regulatory T-cells are immune-suppressive agents known to be dramatically and progressively decreased in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Low-dose interleukin-2 promotes regulatory T-cell expansion and was proposed as an immune-modulatory strategy for this disease. A randomized placebo-controlled pilot phase-II clinical trial called Immuno-Modulation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was carried out to test safety and activity of low-dose interleukin-2 in 36 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients (NCT02059759). Participants were randomized to 1MIU, 2MIU-low-dose interleukin-2 or placebo and underwent one injection daily for 5 days every 28 days for three cycles. In this report, we describe the results of microarray gene expression profiling of trial participants' leukocyte population. We identified a dose-dependent increase in regulatory T-cell markers at the end of the treatment period. Longitudinal analysis revealed an alteration and inhibition of inflammatory pathways occurring promptly at the end of the first treatment cycle. These responses are less pronounced following the end of the third treatment cycle, although an activation of immune-regulatory pathways, involving regulatory T-cells and T helper 2 cells, was evident only after the last cycle. This indicates a cumulative effect of repeated low-dose interleukin-2 administration on regulatory T-cells. Our analysis suggested the existence of inter-individual variation amongst trial participants and we therefore classified patients into low, moderate and high-regulatory T-cell-responders. NanoString profiling revealed substantial baseline differences between participant immunological transcript expression profiles with the least responsive patients showing a more inflammatory-prone phenotype at the beginning of the trial. Finally, we identified two genes in which pre-treatment expression levels correlated with the magnitude of drug responsiveness. Therefore, we proposed a two-biomarker based regression model able to predict patient regulatory T-cell-response to low-dose interleukin-2. These findings and the application of this methodology could be particularly relevant for future precision medicine approaches to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Gene Flow and Hybridization between Numerically Imbalanced Populations of Two Duck Species in the Falkland Islands

Interspecific hybridization is common in plants and animals, particularly in waterfowl (Anatidae). One factor shown to contribute to hybridization is restricted mate choice, which can occur when two species occur in sympatry but one is rare. The Hubbs principle, or “desperation hypothesis,” states that under such circumstances the rarer species is more likely to mate with heterospecifics. Here we report interspecific hybridization between two waterfowl species that coexist in broad sympatry and mixed flocks throughout southern South America. Speckled teal (Anas flavirostris) and yellow-billed pintails (Anas georgica) are abundant in continental South America, but in the Falkland Islands speckled teal outnumber yellow-billed pintails approximately ten to one. Using eight genetic loci (mtDNA and 7 nuclear introns) coupled with Bayesian assignment tests and relatedness analysis, we identified a speckled teal x yellow-billed pintail F1 hybrid female and her duckling sired by a male speckled teal. Although our sample in the Falkland Islands was small, we failed to identify unequivocal evidence of hybridization or introgression in a much larger sample from Argentina using a three-population “isolation with migration” coalescent analysis. While additional data are needed to determine if this event in the Falkland Islands was a rare singular occurrence, our results provide further support for the “desperation hypothesis,” which states that scarcity in one population and abundance of another will often lead to hybridization

Aggregated a-synuclein and complex I deficiency: exploration of their relationship in differentiated neurons

α-Synuclein becomes misfolded and aggregated upon damage by various factors, for example, by reactive oxygen species. These aggregated forms have been proposed to have differential toxicities and their interaction with mitochondria may cause dysfunction within this organelle that contributes to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In particular, the association of α-synuclein with mitochondria occurs through interaction with mitochondrial complex I and importantly defects of this protein have been linked to the pathogenesis of PD. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between aggregated α-synuclein and mitochondrial dysfunction, and the consequences of this interaction on cell survival. To do this, we studied the effects of α-synuclein on cybrid cell lines harbouring mutations in either mitochondrial complex I or IV. We found that aggregated α-synuclein inhibited mitochondrial complex I in control and complex IV-deficient cells. However, when aggregated α-synuclein was applied to complex I-deficient cells, there was no additional inhibition of mitochondrial function or increase in cell death. This would suggest that as complex I-deficient cells have already adapted to their mitochondrial defect, the subsequent toxic effects of α-synuclein are reduced

K70Q Adds High-Level Tenofovir Resistance to “Q151M Complex” HIV Reverse Transcriptase through the Enhanced Discrimination Mechanism

HIV-1 carrying the “Q151M complex” reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations (A62V/V75I/F77L/F116Y/Q151M, or Q151Mc) is resistant to many FDA-approved nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs), but has been considered susceptible to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TFV-DF or TDF). We have isolated from a TFV-DF-treated HIV patient a Q151Mc-containing clinical isolate with high phenotypic resistance to TFV-DF. Analysis of the genotypic and phenotypic testing over the course of this patient's therapy lead us to hypothesize that TFV-DF resistance emerged upon appearance of the previously unreported K70Q mutation in the Q151Mc background. Virological analysis showed that HIV with only K70Q was not significantly resistant to TFV-DF. However, addition of K70Q to the Q151Mc background significantly enhanced resistance to several approved NRTIs, and also resulted in high-level (10-fold) resistance to TFV-DF. Biochemical experiments established that the increased resistance to tenofovir is not the result of enhanced excision, as K70Q/Q151Mc RT exhibited diminished, rather than enhanced ATP-based primer unblocking activity. Pre-steady state kinetic analysis of the recombinant enzymes demonstrated that addition of the K70Q mutation selectively decreases the binding of tenofovir-diphosphate (TFV-DP), resulting in reduced incorporation of TFV into the nascent DNA chain. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that changes in the hydrogen bonding pattern in the polymerase active site of K70Q/Q151Mc RT may contribute to the observed changes in binding and incorporation of TFV-DP. The novel pattern of TFV-resistance may help adjust therapeutic strategies for NRTI-experienced patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) mutations

Diffractive Dijet Production at sqrt(s)=630 and 1800 GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron

We report a measurement of the diffractive structure function $F_{jj}^D$ of the antiproton obtained from a study of dijet events produced in association with a leading antiproton in $\bar pp$ collisions at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The ratio of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV to $F_{jj}^D$ obtained from a similar measurement at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV is compared with expectations from QCD factorization and with theoretical predictions. We also report a measurement of the $\xi$ ($x$-Pomeron) and $\beta$ ($x$ of parton in Pomeron) dependence of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV. In the region $0.035<\xi<0.095$, $|t|<1$ GeV$^2$ and $\beta<0.5$, $F_{jj}^D(\beta,\xi)$ is found to be of the form $\beta^{-1.0\pm 0.1} \xi^{-0.9\pm 0.1}$, which obeys $\beta$-$\xi$ factorization.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

A Study of B0 -> J/psi K(*)0 pi+ pi- Decays with the Collider Detector at Fermilab

We report a study of the decays B0 -> J/psi K(*)0 pi+ pi-, which involve the creation of a u u-bar or d d-bar quark pair in addition to a b-bar -> c-bar(c s-bar) decay. The data sample consists of 110 1/pb of p p-bar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV collected by the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider during 1992-1995. We measure the branching ratios to be BR(B0 -> J/psi K*0 pi+ pi-) = (8.0 +- 2.2 +- 1.5) * 10^{-4} and BR(B0 -> J/psi K0 pi+ pi-) = (1.1 +- 0.4 +- 0.2) * 10^{-3}. Contributions to these decays are seen from psi(2S) K(*)0, J/psi K0 rho0, J/psi K*+ pi-, and J/psi K1(1270)