Memory and the Experience of Hearing Music

We report five experiments in which listeners heard the beginnings of classical minuets (or similar dances). The phrase in either measures 1-2 or measures 3-4 was selected as a target, tested at the end of the excerpt. A beep indicated the test item, which was a continuation of the minuet as written. Test items were targets (repetitions of the selected phrase), similar lures (imitations of targets), or different lures, and occurred after delays of 4-5, 15, or 30 s. We estimated the proportion of correct discriminations of targets from similar lures and targets from different lures. In Experiment 1, discrimination of targets from similar lures (but not of targets from different lures) improved between 5 and 15 s. Experiment 2 extended this result to a delay of 30 s. Discrimination of targets from similar lures improved over time, especially for second-phrase targets. This improvement was due mainly to decreasing false alarms to similar lures. Experiments 3 and 4 replaced the continuous music with silence and with a repetitive oom-pah-pah pattern, and the improvement in discrimination of targets from similar lures disappeared. Experiment 5 removed listeners\u27 expectations of being tested, and the improvement also disappeared. Results are considered in the framework of current theories of memory, and their implications for the listener\u27s experience of hearing music are discussed

Striking a Chord: Dementia and Song

We have co-written this piece to relay what can be achieved with song and music in familial and non-familial settings when caring for a person with dementia. This article started as a conversation we had in the Wellcome Collection cafe in London to catch up with each other while Prabhjot was en route from Canada to India, to meet her father. We shared how dementia was becoming a part of our parents’ lives. This article is dedicated to the chords Prabhjot Parmar has struck with her father, Major Harbhajan Singh (25 Dec 1925 – 16 April 2018) and Nirmal Puwar has had the pleasure of sharing with her mother, Kartar Kaur. Both of us have been drawn to understanding how our own performance of song with our respective parent enabled them and us to maintain a register of connection. Song became a means of trying to keep striking a parental and musical chord. We aimed to connect by engendering ‘therapeutic atmospheres’ (Sonntag 2016) through song. We use song and music interchangeably, operating with performance as an umbrella term that includes gesture, utterance, dance, singing and playing musical instruments, for example. Two autoethnographic relational contributions provide a substantive basis to our article, each written by a researcher-carer-daughter, seeking to sustain contact with what remains in her parent living with dementia

Genome-Wide Association Analysis in Asthma Subjects Identifies SPATS2L as a Novel Bronchodilator Response Gene

Bronchodilator response (BDR) is an important asthma phenotype that measures reversibility of airway obstruction by comparing lung function (i.e. FEV1) before and after the administration of a short-acting β2-agonist, the most common rescue medications used for the treatment of asthma. BDR also serves as a test of β2-agonist efficacy. BDR is a complex trait that is partly under genetic control. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BDR, quantified as percent change in baseline FEV1 after administration of a β2-agonist, was performed with 1,644 non-Hispanic white asthmatic subjects from six drug clinical trials: CAMP, LOCCS, LODO, a medication trial conducted by Sepracor, CARE, and ACRN. Data for 469,884 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to measure the association of SNPs with BDR using a linear regression model, while adjusting for age, sex, and height. Replication of primary P-values was attempted in 501 white subjects from SARP and 550 white subjects from DAG. Experimental evidence supporting the top gene was obtained via siRNA knockdown and Western blotting analyses. The lowest overall combined P-value was 9.7E-07 for SNP rs295137, near the SPATS2L gene. Among subjects in the primary analysis, those with rs295137 TT genotype had a median BDR of 16.0 (IQR = [6.2, 32.4]), while those with CC or TC genotypes had a median BDR of 10.9 (IQR = [5.0, 22.2]). SPATS2L mRNA knockdown resulted in increased β2-adrenergic receptor levels. Our results suggest that SPATS2L may be an important regulator of β2-adrenergic receptor down-regulation and that there is promise in gaining a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of differential response to β2-agonists through GWAS

Semi-natural habitats support biological control, pollination and soil conservation in Europe:A review

Semi-natural habitats are integral to most agricultural areas and have the potential to support ecosystem services, especially biological control and pollination by supplying resources for the invertebrates providing these services and for soil conservation by preventing erosion and run-off. Some habitats are supported through agri-environment scheme funding in the European Union, but their value for ecosystem service delivery has been questioned. An improved understanding of previous research approaches and outcomes will contribute to the development of more sustainable farming systems, improve experimental designs and highlight knowledge gaps especially for funders and researchers. Here we compiled a systematic map to allow for the first time a review of the quantity of evidence collected in Europe that semi-natural habitats support biological control, pollination and soil conservation. A literature search selected 2252 publications, and, following review, 270 met the inclusion criteria and were entered into the database. Most publications were of pest control (143 publications) with less on pollination (78 publications) or soil-related aspects (31). For pest control and pollination, most publications reported a positive effect of semi-natural habitats. There were weaknesses in the evidence base though because of bias in study location and the crops, whilst metrics (e.g. yield) valued by end users were seldom measured. Hedgerows, woodland and grassland were the most heavily investigated semi-natural habitats, and the wider landscape composition was often considered. Study designs varied considerably yet only 24% included controls or involved manipulation of semi-natural habitats. Service providers were commonly measured and used as a surrogate for ecosystem service delivery. Key messages for policymakers and funders are that they should encourage research that includes more metrics required by end users, be prepared to fund longer-term studies (61% were of only 1-year duration) and investigate the role of soils within semi-natural habitats in delivering ecosystem services

A genome-wide association study of bronchodilator response in asthmatics

Reversibility of airway obstruction in response to β2-agonists is highly variable among asthmatics, which is partially attributed to genetic factors. In a genome-wide association study of acute bronchodilator response (BDR) to inhaled albuterol, 534,290 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were tested in 403 white trios from the Childhood Asthma Management Program using five statistical models to determine the most robust genetic associations. The primary replication phase included 1397 polymorphisms in three asthma trials (pooled n=764). The second replication phase tested 13 SNPs in three additional asthma populations (n=241, n=215, and n=592). An intergenic SNP on chromosome 10, rs11252394, proximal to several excellent biological candidates, significantly replicated (p=1.98×10−7) in the primary replication trials. An intronic SNP (rs6988229) in the collagen (COL22A1) locus also provided strong replication signals (p=8.51×10−6). This study applied a robust approach for testing the genetic basis of BDR and identified novel loci associated with this drug response in asthmatics