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In this paper we investigate the retrieval performance of monophonic and polyphonic queries made on a polyphonic music database. We extend the n-gram approach for full-music indexing of monophonic music data to polyphonic music using both rhythm and pitch information. We define an experimental framework for a comparative and fault-tolerance study of various n-gramming strategies and encoding levels. For monophonic queries, we focus in particular on query-by-humming systems, and for polyphonic queries on query-by-example. Error models addressed in several studies are surveyed for the fault-tolerance study. Our experiments show that different n-gramming strategies and encoding precision differ widely in their effectiveness. We present the results of our study on a collection of 6366 polyphonic MIDI-encoded music pieces

The role of macronutrients in the evolution of sex differences in reproduction and lifespan: lessons from novel holidic, medium-based diets

Life-history traits form an integral part of evolutionary biology as they closely relate to an individual’s fitness. There is a huge archive of empirical research that has shown diet influences the expression of nearly all life-history traits, ranging from immune response to sperm number. Exactly how diet actually influences the expression of important life-history traits, however, is often poorly understood, as traditionally diet has been viewed in a one-dimensional context, namely energy or calories. More recent research has begun to challenge this notion, by suggesting that it is actually the intake of specific nutrients that influences trait expression and fitness. Clearly, our understanding of the role of diet is shifting, yet more empirical studies are needed, which focus on how the intake of specific nutrients influence key life-history traits, whether these regulate life-history trade-offs and how this may impact an individual’s fitness. In this thesis, I use the Geometric Framework (GF) of nutrition to examine the role nutrition plays in the expression of key life-history traits (reproduction and lifespan) and any trade-offs that may exist between them. Historically, the type of diet used in some nutritional studies has been suboptimal, with some researchers proposing that CAFÉ assays, in particular, effect trait expression in Drosophila melanogaster. This is because they are a foreign substrate for the fly to feed from and thus it is difficult for flies to acquire the nutrients they need to function properly. Therefore, I formulated novel diets that represent the smallest deviation from natural feeding conditions, when compared to previous nutritional research, for D. melanogaster. I used these diets to focus on the effect two macronutrients, protein and carbohydrate, have on lifespan and reproduction in male and female D. melanogaster. I found that both protein and carbohydrates play a role in the expression of these traits, and not calories per se, and that there are divergent nutritional demands for reproduction between the sexes. I also found evidence that implies the type of diet (liquid versus medium-based) used to study nutritional effects on life-history traits could influence findings, with flies fed a medium-based diet living longer and having greater reproductive success. This could possibly be due to greater nutrient acquisition by flies fed medium-based diets. Overall, my thesis highlights that nutrition is multifaceted and complex, which is paramount to understanding life-history trait expression and the trade-offs that may exist between them. My work challenges the central dogma that calories are responsible for changes in trait expression and life-history trade-offs, and advances our understanding of diet composition and also the way that diet is delivered to organisms. In addition, it opens the door to new questions relating to how the type of diet and nutrient composition effect not only lifespan and reproduction but other life-history and sexually selected traits as well

Factors Affecting Growth Rates and Preferred Body Temperatures in Hatchling Gopher Tortoises, Gopherus Polyphemus: Clutch and Sex

Post hatching growth rates in tortoises can affect size at sexual maturity This study looks at what affect clutch and sex has on hatchling tortoises from these two sites as this data is lacking/insufficient from two populations in Southeast Georgia. Eggs were allowed to incubate in natural nests and then were collected between August 19-21, 2015 and hatched in an incubator in the lab. When they hatched, the tortoises were kept in a single room with a rearing temperature that averaged 26.9° C. Sex was determined using laparoscopy at the end of the study to ensure gonad development and to reduce stress throughout the study. Preferred body temperature was determined using a thermal gradient the first summer after hatching. Clutch had a significant effect on growth rate of mass and straight carapace length (F(1,68) = 2.9491, p \u3c 0.0002; F(12,57) = 3.08347, p \u3c 0.0021) while sex did not. Clutch and sex had no effect on preferred Tb in the lab. Preferred body temperature for the tortoises averaged 30.14° C ± 0.6364° The significant maternal effects on growth rates could be an effect on the genotype of these tortoises or an effect caused by egg quality as a result of maternal investment into the egg

Review of The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and Their Circle

A review of Colin Duriez, The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and Their Circle (Oxford: Lion Hudson Books, 2015). 296 pages, including full-color photograph inserts, “An Inklings Gallery,” and “A Select Inklings Chronology.” $16.95. ISBN 9780745956343

Post COVID 19 and food pathways to sustainable transformation

International audienc

Measurements of thermal properties of icy Mars regolith analogs

In a series of laboratory experiments, we measure thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity of icy regolith created by vapor deposition of water below its triple point and in a low pressure atmosphere. We find that an ice-regolith mixture prepared in this manner, which may be common on Mars, and potentially also present on the Moon, Mercury, comets and other bodies, has a thermal conductivity that increases approximately linearly with ice content. This trend differs substantially from thermal property models based of preferential formation of ice at grain contacts previously applied to both terrestrial and non-terrestrial subsurface ice. We describe the observed microphysical structure of ice responsible for these thermal properties, which displaces interstitial gases, traps bubbles, exhibits anisotropic growth, and bridges non-neighboring grains. We also consider the applicability of these measurements to subsurface ice on Mars and other solar system bodies