The Detail Behind Web-Scale: Selecting and Configuring Web-Scale Discovery Tools to Meet Music Information Retrieval Needs.

Web-scale discovery tools are rapidly gaining popularity as a purported "one-stop search" for discovering library information. Music, particularly printed music and recordings, presents unique information retrieval needs. This article identifies, explores, and makes recommendations regarding key music-related aspects to consider when selecting and implementing a discovery tool, considering scope, metadata, and interface

Vision Screening Assessment (VISA) tool: diagnostic accuracy validation of a novel screening tool in detecting visual impairment among stroke survivors

PURPOSE:Screening for visual problems in stroke survivors is not standardised. Visual problems that remain undetected or poorly identified can create unmet needs for stroke survivors. We report the validation of a new Vision Impairment Screening Assessment (VISA) tool intended for use by the stroke team to improve identification of visual impairment in stroke survivors. METHODS:We conducted a prospective case cohort comparative study in four centres to validate the VISA tool against a specialist reference vision assessment. VISA is available in print or as an app (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulatory approved); these were used equally for two groups. Both VISA and the comprehensive reference vision assessment measured case history, visual acuity, eye alignment, eye movements, visual field and visual inattention. The primary outcome measure was the presence or absence of visual impairment. RESULTS:Two hundred and twenty-one stroke survivors were screened. Specialist reference vision assessment was by experienced orthoptists. Full completion of screening and reference vision assessment was achieved for 201 stroke survivors. VISA print was completed for 101 stroke survivors; VISA app was completed for 100. Sensitivity and specificity of VISA print was 97.67% and 66.67%, respectively. Overall agreement was substantial; K=0.648. Sensitivity and specificity of VISA app was 88.31% and 86.96%, respectively. Overall agreement was substantial; K=0.690. Lowest agreement was found for screening of eye movement and near visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS:This validation study indicates acceptability of VISA for screening of potential visual impairment in stroke survivors. Sensitivity and specificity were high indicating the accuracy of this screening tool. VISA is available in print or as an app allowing versatile uptake across multiple stroke settings

Degradation of a quantum directional reference frame as a random walk

We investigate if the degradation of a quantum directional reference frame through repeated use can be modeled as a classical direction undergoing a random walk on a sphere. We demonstrate that the behaviour of the fidelity for a degrading quantum directional reference frame, defined as the average probability of correctly determining the orientation of a test system, can be fit precisely using such a model. Physically, the mechanism for the random walk is the uncontrollable back-action on the reference frame due to its use in a measurement of the direction of another system. However, we find that the magnitude of the step size of this random walk is not given by our classical model and must be determined from the full quantum description.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. Comments are welcome. v2: several changes to clarify the key results. v3: journal reference added, acknowledgements and references update

The Seismic Noise Environment of Antarctica

This characterization of the seismic noise environment of Antarctica, documentation of instrument performance, and comparisons of installation conditions (e.g., ice vaults vs. rock sites) is intended to facilitate optimization of future seismological deployments in such environments. We analyze data from a range of recent experiments to provide a broad geographical characterization of Antarctica’s seismic noise environment, which can now include more substantial observations from regions that are free from anthropogenic noise contamination

Microparticle surface layering through dry coating: impact of moisture content and process parameters on the properties of orally disintegrating tablets

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of process parameters during dry coating on particle and dosage form properties upon varying the surface adsorbed moisture of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a model filler/binder for orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs). Methods: The moisture content of MCC was optimised using the spray water method and analysed using thermogravimetric analysis. Microproperty/macro-property assessment was investigated using atomic force microscopy, nano-indentation, scanning electron microscopy, tablet hardness and disintegration testing. Key findings: The results showed that MCC demonstrated its best flowability at a moisture content of 11.2% w/w when compared to control, comprising of3.9% w/w moisture. The use of the composite powder coating process (without air) resulted in up to 80% increase in tablet hardness, when compared to the control. The study also demonstrated that surface adsorbed moisture can be displaced upon addition of excipients during dry processing circumventing the need for particle drying before tabletting. Conclusions: It was concluded that MCC with a moisture content of 11% w/w provides a good balance between powder flowability and favourable ODT characteristics

Intersection between metabolic dysfunction, high fat diet consumption, and brain aging

Deleterious neurochemical, structural, and behavioral alterations are a seemingly unavoidable aspect of brain aging. However, the basis for these alterations, as well as the basis for the tremendous variability in regards to the degree to which these aspects are altered in aging individuals, remains to be elucidated. An increasing number of individuals regularly consume a diet high in fat, with high‐fat diet consumption known to be sufficient to promote metabolic dysfunction, although the links between high‐fat diet consumption and aging are only now beginning to be elucidated. In this review we discuss the potential role for age‐related metabolic disturbances serving as an important basis for deleterious perturbations in the aging brain. These data not only have important implications for understanding the basis of brain aging, but also may be important to the development of therapeutic interventions which promote successful brain aging.Fil: Uranga, Romina Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Bruce Keller, Annadora J.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Morrison, Christopher D.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Fernandez Kim, Sun Ok. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Ebenezer, Philip J.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Zhang, Le. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Dasuri, Kalavathi. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Keller, Jeffrey N.. State University of Louisiana; Estados Unido

Genetic diversity and distribution of Peromyscus-borne hantaviruses in North America.

The 1993 outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the southwestern United States was associated with Sin Nombre virus, a rodent-borne hantavirus; The virus' primary reservoir is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Hantavirus-infected rodents were identified in various regions of North America. An extensive nucleotide sequence database of an 139 bp fragment amplified from virus M genomic segments was generated. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that SNV-like hantaviruses are widely distributed in Peromyscus species rodents throughout North America. Classic SNV is the major cause of HPS in North America, but other Peromyscine-borne hantaviruses, e.g., New York and Monongahela viruses, are also associated with HPS cases. Although genetically diverse, SNV-like viruses have slowly coevolved with their rodent hosts. We show that the genetic relationships of hantaviruses in the Americas are complex, most likely as a result of the rapid radiation and speciation of New World sigmodontine rodents and occasional virus-host switching events

Extra-pair parentage and personality in a cooperatively breeding bird

Why so much variation in extra-pair parentage occurs within and among populations remains unclear. Often the fitness costs and benefits of extra-pair parentage are hypothesised to explain its occurrence; therefore, linking extra-pair parentage with traits such as personality (behavioural traits that can be heritable and affect reproductive behaviour) may help our understanding. Here, we investigate whether reproductive outcomes and success are associated with exploratory behaviour in a natural population of cooperatively breeding Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island. Exploratory behaviour correlates positively with traits such as risk-taking behaviour and activity in other wild bird species and might promote extra-pair mating by increasing the rate at which potential extra-pair partners are encountered. We therefore predicted that fast-exploring individuals would have more extra-pair offspring. There is also a potential trade-off between pursuing extra-pair parentage and mate guarding in males. We therefore also predicted that fast-exploring males would be more likely to pursue extra-pair parentage and that this would increase the propensity of their mate to gain extra-pair parentage. We found that neither the total number of offspring nor the number of extra-pair offspring were associated with a male’s or female’s exploratory behaviour. However, there was a small but significant propensity for females to have extra-pair fertilisations in pairs that were behaviourally disassortative. Overall, we conclude that, due to the small effect size, the association between exploratory behaviour and extra-pair paternity is unlikely to be biologically relevant. Significance statement: True genetic monogamy is rare, even in socially monogamous systems, and multiple factors, such as behaviour, social structure, morphology and physiology, determined by the biological system can cause variation in extra-pair parentage (EPP). Therefore, investigating the inherent differences in these factors among individuals could be informative. We investigated whether reproductive outcomes/success are associated with differences in the propensity to explore novel environments/objects in a promiscuous, island-dwelling cooperatively breeding bird, the Seychelles warbler. Our results showed that exploratory behaviour was not associated with the number of offspring produced by an individual, and thus the long-term fitness consequences of different exploratory tendencies did not differ. We also found that the propensity to engage in EPP in females was higher in dissimilar behavioural pairs, but due to the small effect size, we hesitate to conclude that there are personality-dependent mating outcomes in the population

Serial PIB and MRI in normal, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: implications for sequence of pathological events in Alzheimer's disease

The purpose of this study was to use serial imaging to gain insight into the sequence of pathologic events in Alzheimer's disease, and the clinical features associated with this sequence. We measured change in amyloid deposition over time using serial 11C Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) positron emission tomography and progression of neurodegeneration using serial structural magnetic resonance imaging. We studied 21 healthy cognitively normal subjects, 32 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 8 with Alzheimer's disease. Subjects were drawn from two sources—ongoing longitudinal registries at Mayo Clinic, and the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). All subjects underwent clinical assessments, MRI and PIB studies at two time points, approximately one year apart. PIB retention was quantified in global cortical to cerebellar ratio units and brain atrophy in units of cm3 by measuring ventricular expansion. The annual change in global PIB retention did not differ by clinical group (P = 0.90), and although small (median 0.042 ratio units/year overall) was greater than zero among all subjects (P < 0.001). Ventricular expansion rates differed by clinical group (P < 0.001) and increased in the following order: cognitively normal (1.3 cm3/year) <  amnestic mild cognitive impairment (2.5 cm3/year) <  Alzheimer's disease (7.7 cm3/year). Among all subjects there was no correlation between PIB change and concurrent change on CDR-SB (r = −0.01, P = 0.97) but some evidence of a weak correlation with MMSE (r =−0.22, P = 0.09). In contrast, greater rates of ventricular expansion were clearly correlated with worsening concurrent change on CDR-SB (r = 0.42, P < 0.01) and MMSE (r =−0.52, P < 0.01). Our data are consistent with a model of typical late onset Alzheimer's disease that has two main features: (i) dissociation between the rate of amyloid deposition and the rate of neurodegeneration late in life, with amyloid deposition proceeding at a constant slow rate while neurodegeneration accelerates and (ii) clinical symptoms are coupled to neurodegeneration not amyloid deposition. Significant plaque deposition occurs prior to clinical decline. The presence of brain amyloidosis alone is not sufficient to produce cognitive decline, rather, the neurodegenerative component of Alzheimer's disease pathology is the direct substrate of cognitive impairment and the rate of cognitive decline is driven by the rate of neurodegeneration. Neurodegeneration (atrophy on MRI) both precedes and parallels cognitive decline. This model implies a complimentary role for MRI and PIB imaging in Alzheimer's disease, with each reflecting one of the major pathologies, amyloid dysmetabolism and neurodegeneration