Machine learning of symbolic compositional rules with genetic programming: dissonance treatment in Palestrina

We describe a method for automatically extracting symbolic compositional rules from music corpora. Resulting rules are expressed by a combination of logic and numeric relations, and they can therefore be studied by humans. These rules can also be used for algorithmic composition, where they can be combined with each other and with manually programmed rules. We chose genetic programming (GP) as our machine learning technique, because it is capable of learning formulas consisting of both logic and numeric relations. GP was never used for this purpose to our knowledge. We therefore investigate a well understood case in this study: dissonance treatment in Palestrina’s music. We label dissonances with a custom algorithm, automatically cluster melodic fragments with labelled dissonances into different dissonance categories (passing tone, suspension etc.) with the DBSCAN algorithm, and then learn rules describing the dissonance treatment of each category with GP. Learning is based on the requirement that rules must be broad enough to cover positive examples, but narrow enough to exclude negative examples. Dissonances from a given category are used as positive examples, while dissonances from other categories, melodic fragments without dissonances, purely random melodic fragments, and slight random transformations of positive examples, are used as negative examples

To the Field of Stars : Stable isotope analysis of Medieval pilgrims and populations along the Camino de Santiago in Navarre and Aragon, Spain

The Camino de Santiago emerged in the first half of the 9th century CE following the reported discovery of the remains of the Apostle St James by the bishop of Iria-Flavia, Teodomiro. Since then, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have walked from different parts of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe, and further afield to Santiago de Compostela's Cathedral. This route was particularly important to the populations of Navarre and Aragon, two kingdoms in northern Spain that rose to prominence with the resurgence of Christianity from the 11th century onwards. Here, we present multidisciplinary analysis of medieval individuals buried in Navarre and Aragon at a time when the Camino de Santiago was reaching its peak of popularity (11th-15th centuries CE). We use stable isotope analysis (δ15N, δ13C, δ18O, and δ13Cap) and radiocarbon dating to investigate a total of 82 human individuals together with 42 fauna samples from 8 different archaeological sites located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty of these individuals were buried with a scallop shell, a symbol of a pilgrim who had completed the Camino de Santiago. Our data corroborate the use of the pilgrim's shell since at least the 11th century CE. Moreover, our results suggest that the pilgrimage was mainly an urban phenomenon for populations from the northern Iberian Peninsula, conducted equally by women and men, although with indications that female pilgrims may have had greater access to animal protein than their male counterparts. Our results represent the largest isotopic dataset of medieval individuals linked to the Camino de Santiago, allowing us to further investigate the origins and diets of potential pilgrims and, more generally, other sampled portions of northeastern Iberian society

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p<0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (<1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (<1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

Le bassin de l'Orgeval (et Avenelles)

Tâche

Le bassin de l'Orgeval (et Avenelles)

Tâche

Richesse créée, rémunération et transformations du travail en systèmes laitiers économes et autonomes en agriculture biologique

National audienceFrom 2004 to 2015, 2 organic, autonomous, and cost-effective dairy systems were designed, step by step, at the INRA ASTER-Mirecourt experimental facility. One was a grazing-based system, and the other was a mixed crop-livestock system. Posteriori analysis of the economics and work patterns of the 2 systems showed that there was a marked decrease in operational and structural costs compared to the non-cost-efficient system that preceded them. The 2 new systems were highly economically specialised on milk production. On average, the grassland-based system (80 ha) was able to remunerate 1.9 workers (at 1.5 times the minimum wage). The mixed crop-livestock system (140 ha) could remunerate 3.0 workers. During the transition, there was a clear shift in what the experimenters were doing, what they worked on, and what their issues of importance were, as well as in the distribution of tasks within the team.Deux systèmes de production économes, autonomes et certifiés en agriculture biologique ont été conçus pas-à-pas sur l’installation expérimentale INRA ASTER-Mirecourt de 2004 à 2015 : un système laitier herbager et un système de polyculture élevage laitier. Ils sont comparés via 2 indicateurs économiques : la valeur ajoutée et le résultat social. L’analyse a posteriori des résultats économiques et des transformations du travail à l’œuvre dans ces 2 systèmes mettent en évidence une forte réduction des charges opérationnelles et de structure par rapport au système non économe qui leur précédait, une très forte spécialisation économique des 2 systèmes sur le lait. En moyenne, le système herbager (80 ha) a permis de rémunérer 1,9 travailleur (salaire minimum garanti 1,5) et le système de production laitière mixte (140 ha) 3,0 travailleurs. Au cours de la transition, on a noté une transformation de ce que les expérimentateurs font, ce sur quoi ils travaillent, ce qui est important pour eux, et une réorganisation du partage des tâches au sein de l’équipe

Distribution of Estrogen Receptor-lmmunoreactive Cells in the Brain of the Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

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