Delayed Decision-making in Real-time Beatbox Percussion Classification

This is an electronic version of an article published in Journal of New Music Research, 39(3), 203-213, 2010. doi:10.1080/09298215.2010.512979. Journal of New Music Research is available online at: www.tandfonline.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=1744-5027&volume=39&issue=3&spage=20

Curvature-Induced Defect Unbinding in Toroidal Geometries

Toroidal templates such as vesicles with hexatic bond orientational order are discussed. The total energy including disclination charges is explicitly computed for hexatic order embedded in a toroidal geometry. Related results apply for tilt or nematic order on the torus in the one Frank constant approximation. Although there is no topological necessity for defects in the ground state, we find that excess disclination defects are nevertheless energetically favored for fat torii or moderate vesicle sizes. Some experimental consequences are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 15 eps figure

Alteration of pulmonary immunity to Listeria monocytogenes by diesel exhaust particles (DEPs). I. Effects of DEPs on early pulmonary responses.

It has been hypothesized that diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) aggravate pulmonary bacterial infection by both innate and cell-mediated immune mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of DEP exposure on the functions of alveolar macrophages (AMs) and lymphocytes from lung-draining lymph nodes using a rat Listeria monocytogenes infection model. In the present study, we focused on the effects of DEP exposure on AM functions, including phagocytic activity and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. The Listeria infection model was characterized by an increase in neutrophil count, albumin content, and acellular lactate dehydrogenase activity in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid at 3 and 7 days postinfection. Short-term DEP inhalation (50 and 100 mg/m(3), 4 hr) resulted in a dose-dependent suppression of lung clearance of Listeria, with the highest bacteria count occurring at day 3. This aggravated bacterial infection was consistent with the inhibitory effect of DEPs on macrophage functions. DEPs suppressed phagocytosis and Listeria-induced basal secretion of interleukin-1ss (IL-1ss) and IL-12 by AMs in a dose-dependent manner. The amount of IL-1ss and IL-12 in the BAL fluid was also reduced by DEP exposure. In addition, DEPs decreased Listeria-induced lipopolysaccharide-stimulated secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1ss, and IL-12 from AMs. These results suggest that DEPs retard bacterial clearance by inhibiting AM phagocytosis and weaken the innate immunity by inhibiting AM secretion of IL-1ss and TNF-alpha. DEPs may also suppress cell-mediated immunity by inhibiting AM secretion of IL-12, a key cytokine for the initiation of T helper type 1 cell development in Listeria infection

Alteration of intracellular cysteine and glutathione levels in alveolar macrophages and lymphocytes by diesel exhaust particle exposure.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) on thiol regulation in alveolar macrophages (AM) and lymphocytes. We obtained AM and lymph node (thymic and tracheal) cells (LNC) (at different time points) from rats exposed intratracheally to DEP (5 mg/kg) or saline, and measured inflammatory markers, thiol levels, and glutathione reductase (GSH-R) activity. DEP exposure produced significant increases in neutrophils, lactate dehydrogenase, total protein, and albumin content in the lavage fluid. AM from DEP-exposed rats showed a time-dependent increase in intracellular cysteine (CYSH) and GSH. In LNC the intracellular GSH reached peak level by 24 hr, declining toward control levels by 72 hr after exposure. LNC-CYSH and AM-CYSH and GSH were increased at both 24 and 72 hr. Both Sprague-Dawley and Brown Norway rats showed similar trends of responses to DEP exposure as per measurement of the inflammatory markers and thiol changes. AM and, to a lesser degree, LNC were both active in cystine uptake. The DEP exposure stimulated GSH-R activity and increased the conversion of cystine to CYSH in both cell types. The intracellular level of GSH in DEP-exposed AM was moderately increased compared with the saline control, and was further augmented when cells were incubated with cystine. In contrast, the intracellular level of GSH in DEP-exposed LNC was significantly reduced despite the increased CYSH level and GSH-R activity when these cells were cultured for 16 hr. DEP absorbed 23-31% of CYSH, cystine, and GSH, and only 8% of glutathione disulfide when incubated in cell free media. These results indicate that DEP exposure caused lung inflammation and affected thiol levels in both AM and LNC

A stochastic evolutionary model for capturing human dynamics

The recent interest in human dynamics has led researchers to investigate the stochastic processes that explain human behaviour in various contexts. Here we propose a generative model to capture the dynamics of survival analysis, traditionally employed in clinical trials and reliability analysis in engineering. We derive a general solution for the model in the form of a product, and then a continuous approximation to the solution via the renewal equation describing age-structured population dynamics. This enables us to model a wide range of survival distributions, according to the choice of the mortality distribution. We provide empirical evidence for the validity of the model from a longitudinal data set of popular search engine queries over 114 months, showing that the survival function of these queries is closely matched by the solution for our model with power-law mortality

Goal disruption theory, military personnel, and the creation of merged profiles: A mixed method investigation

The present study provides an example of the integrated data analysis technique of creating and interpreting merged profiles. By using this approach to merging data sources, we gained unique insight into goal disruption theory (GDT). Qualitative data suggest that military personnel harbor a wide range of desired end-states. Quantitative data support a component of GDT, suggesting that participants who have a strong need for desired end-state displayed greater purposive harm endurance. Interpretation of merged profiles revealed caveats to this relationship, in particular that not all end-states are equally motivating. Results illustrate the benefits of the integrated data analysis technique of creating and interpreting merged profiles. Utilization of the merged profiles illuminated relationships that would not have been exposed otherwise

Limits on the ultra-bright Fast Radio Burst population from the CHIME Pathfinder

We present results from a new incoherent-beam Fast Radio Burst (FRB) search on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Pathfinder. Its large instantaneous field of view (FoV) and relative thermal insensitivity allow us to probe the ultra-bright tail of the FRB distribution, and to test a recent claim that this distribution's slope, $\alpha\equiv-\frac{\partial \log N}{\partial \log S}$, is quite small. A 256-input incoherent beamformer was deployed on the CHIME Pathfinder for this purpose. If the FRB distribution were described by a single power-law with $\alpha=0.7$, we would expect an FRB detection every few days, making this the fastest survey on sky at present. We collected 1268 hours of data, amounting to one of the largest exposures of any FRB survey, with over 2.4\,$\times$\,10$^5$\,deg$^2$\,hrs. Having seen no bursts, we have constrained the rate of extremely bright events to $<\!13$\,sky$^{-1}$\,day$^{-1}$ above $\sim$\,220$\sqrt{(\tau/\rm ms)}$ Jy\,ms for $\tau$ between 1.3 and 100\,ms, at 400--800\,MHz. The non-detection also allows us to rule out $\alpha\lesssim0.9$ with 95$\%$ confidence, after marginalizing over uncertainties in the GBT rate at 700--900\,MHz, though we show that for a cosmological population and a large dynamic range in flux density, $\alpha$ is brightness-dependent. Since FRBs now extend to large enough distances that non-Euclidean effects are significant, there is still expected to be a dearth of faint events and relative excess of bright events. Nevertheless we have constrained the allowed number of ultra-intense FRBs. While this does not have significant implications for deeper, large-FoV surveys like full CHIME and APERTIF, it does have important consequences for other wide-field, small dish experiments

Evaluation of a Multidrug Assay for Monitoring Adherence to a Regimen for HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis in a Clinical Study, HIV Prevention Trials Network 073

ABSTRACT Daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-emtricitabine (FTC) is a safe and effective intervention for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We evaluated the performance of a qualitative assay that detects 20 antiretroviral (ARV) drugs (multidrug assay) in assessing recent PrEP exposure (detection limit, 2 to 20 ng/ml). Samples were obtained from 216 Black men who have sex with men (208 HIV-uninfected men and 8 seroconverters) who were enrolled in a study in the United States evaluating the acceptability of TDF-FTC PrEP (165 of the uninfected men and 5 of the seroconverters accepted PrEP). Samples from 163 of the 165 HIV-uninfected men who accepted PrEP and samples from all 8 seroconverters were also tested for tenofovir (TFV) and FTC using a quantitative assay (detection limit for both drugs, 0.31 ng/ml). HIV drug resistance was assessed in seroconverter samples. The multidrug assay detected TFV and/or FTC in 3 (1.4%) of the 208 uninfected men at enrollment, 84 (40.4%) of the 208 uninfected men at the last study visit, and 1 (12.5%) of the 8 seroconverters. No other ARV drugs were detected. The quantitative assay confirmed all positive results from the multidrug assay and detected TFV and/or FTC in 9 additional samples (TFV range, 0.65 to 16.5 ng/ml; FTC range, 0.33 to 14.6 ng/ml). Resistance mutations were detected in 4 of the 8 seroconverter samples. The multidrug assay had 100% sensitivity and specificity for detecting TFV and FTC at drug concentrations consistent with daily PrEP use. The quantitative assay detected TFV and FTC at lower levels, which also might have provided protection against HIV infection

Highly Active Ice-Nucleating Particles at the Summer North Pole

The amount of ice versus supercooled water in clouds is important for their radiative properties and role in climate feedbacks. Hence, knowledge of the concentration of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is needed. Generally, the concentrations of INPs are found to be very low in remote marine locations allowing cloud water to persist in a supercooled state. We had expected the concentrations of INPs at the North Pole to be very low given the distance from open ocean and terrestrial sources coupled with effective wet scavenging processes. Here we show that during summer 2018 (August and September) high concentrations of biological INPs (active at\ua0&gt;−20\ub0C) were sporadically present at the North Pole. In fact, INP concentrations were sometimes as high as those recorded at mid-latitude locations strongly impacted by highly active biological INPs, in strong contrast to the Southern Ocean. Furthermore, using a balloon borne sampler we demonstrated that INP concentrations were often different at the surface versus higher in the boundary layer where clouds form. Back trajectory analysis suggests strong sources of INPs near the Russian coast, possibly associated with wind-driven sea spray production, whereas the pack ice, open leads, and the marginal ice zone were not sources of highly active INPs. These findings suggest that primary ice production, and therefore Arctic climate, is sensitive to transport from locations such as the Russian coast that are already experiencing marked climate change

Highly Active Ice‐Nucleating Particles at the Summer North Pole

The amount of ice versus supercooled water in clouds is important for their radiative properties and role in climate feedbacks. Hence, knowledge of the concentration of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is needed. Generally, the concentrations of INPs are found to be very low in remote marine locations allowing cloud water to persist in a supercooled state. We had expected the concentrations of INPs at the North Pole to be very low given the distance from open ocean and terrestrial sources coupled with effective wet scavenging processes. Here we show that during summer 2018 (August and September) high concentrations of biological INPs (active at >−20°C) were sporadically present at the North Pole. In fact, INP concentrations were sometimes as high as those recorded at mid-latitude locations strongly impacted by highly active biological INPs, in strong contrast to the Southern Ocean. Furthermore, using a balloon borne sampler we demonstrated that INP concentrations were often different at the surface versus higher in the boundary layer where clouds form. Back trajectory analysis suggests strong sources of INPs near the Russian coast, possibly associated with wind-driven sea spray production, whereas the pack ice, open leads, and the marginal ice zone were not sources of highly active INPs. These findings suggest that primary ice production, and therefore Arctic climate, is sensitive to transport from locations such as the Russian coast that are already experiencing marked climate change