The Cochlea Unwound: A case study for a listening aid using a sonic crystal

In September 2008, liminal (architect Frances Crow and myself) were awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust for the research phase of our project Tranquillity is a State of Mind: Listening Aids for a Listening Impaired Society. Working in partnership with Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, we brought together a research team comprising two acousticians, a computational neuroscientist and a clinical audiologist in order to develop a proposal for a ‘listening aid’: a device that might facilitate contemplation on the act of listening itself. Our proposal, The Cochlea Unwound, is for a permanent acoustic intervention that would be sited between the weir at Diglis Island, Worcester and the footpath that runs alongside it. The Cochlea Unwound utilises the acoustic technology of sonic crystals to sculpt the noise of the weir into a sound composition that unfolds according to both the speed that the visitor passes the structure and their proximity to it. An overview of the Tranquillity is a State of Mind project as a whole is beyond the scope of this paper, but what follows is a commentary on the thinking behind The Cochlea Unwound and an introduction to the acoustic principles on which it is based

Crystal structures of N ′-Aminopyridine-2-carboximidamide and N ′-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide

© Eya'ane Meva et al. 2017. The crystal structures of N,-Aminopyridine-2-carboximidamide (C 6 H 8 N 4 ), 1, and N,-{[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]amino}pyridine-2-carboximidamide (C 13 H 13 N 5 ), 2, are described. The non-H atoms in compound 1 are nearly planar (r.m.s. deviation from planarity = 0.0108 Å ), while 2 is twisted about the central N-N bond by 17.8 (2)-. Both molecules are linked by intermolecular N-H·N hydrogen-bonding interactions; 1 forms a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network and for 2 the network is a one-dimensional chain. The bond lengths of these molecules are similar to those in other literature reports of azine and diimine systems

A Neo-Institutional Assessment of Cooperative Evolution: Comparing the Australian Wheat Board and the Fonterra Dairy Group

Agribusiness,

Glancing at host adaptation in Ralstonia solanacearum through comparative genomics of host-adapted lineages

Ralstonia solanacearum is a vascular soil-born plant pathogen with an unusually broad host range. This globally distributed, economically destructive organism has thousands of distinct lineages within a heterogeneous and taxonomically disputed species complex. Some of those lineages can be assigned to ecotypes that include highly host-adapted strains such as the banana Moko disease-causing strains, the cold-tolerant potato brown rot strains (R3bv2) and the recently emerged NPB strains (Not Pathogenic to Banana). The polyphyletic nature of the Moko ecotype and the unexpected closeness of some its lineages to the paraphyletic brown-rot and NPB ecotypes make those highly adapted strains a robust model for study of host adaptation and speciation in general (Cellier, Remenant et al.2012). Genomes of 10 new strains were produced to complement the 12 publicly available ones. Using a panel of bioinformatics methods, we looked for genetic or evolutionary features that discriminate between ecotypes. There were relatively few divergent features. Those related to known virulence factors were further analyzed for functional clues about host adaptation and ecotype emergence mechanisms. These analyses yield no clear signal, suggesting that the large biological differences between these closely related strains result from differences in gene expression rather than from differences in gene content. Transcriptomic analyses of these strains during host infection are underway to test this hypothesis

Diamonds are Forever

We defend the thesis that every necessarily true proposition is always true. Since not every proposition that is always true is necessarily true, our thesis is at odds with theories of modality and time, such as those of Kit Fine and David Kaplan, which posit a fundamental symmetry between modal and tense operators. According to such theories, just as it is a contingent matter what is true at a given time, it is likewise a temporary matter what is true at a given possible world; so a proposition that is now true at all worlds, and thus necessarily true, may yet at some past or future time be false in the actual world, and thus not always true. We reconstruct and criticize several lines of argument in favor of this picture, and then argue against the picture on the grounds that it is inconsistent with certain sorts of contingency in the structure of time

Synthesis, structures and cytotoxicity studies of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene lanthanide complexes

A number of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene complexes of the lanthanides (Tb, Gd, and Eu) have been prepared, some in the presence of tetraazamacrocycle 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (DO3A), and fully characterised. Crystal structure determinations reveal lanthanide coordination at the sulfonate group, bridging several calixarene units, giving coordination polymers. All complexes in this study have been determined to be relatively non-toxic using in vitro cell assays with CC₅₀ values in the range 30–170 μM

Field of Play:End of the Game

Field of Play: End of the Game is part of a wider research theme that David Prior and Frances Crow have been developing that considers the impact of ubiquitous sounds on our perception of our landscapes and as part of our cultural heritage. Many of the sounds that we associate with particular places or communities are being lost and through this research question we consider how these intangible forms of heritage - ‘soundmarks’ might be remembered. In Field of Play:End of the Game Liminal created a memorial for a lost soundmark. Field of Play:End of the Game memorialises the sound of the football crowd at Cambridge City Football Club's Milton Road ground following the construction of 106 new homes by Crest Nicholson. An engraved, brass whistle encased in a box is hung in each new home built on the site of the old Cambridge City football ground. The whistle remains silent except for once, annually, when it may be blown from 3pm within a 90-minute period on the Saturday closest to the 27 April. This is the day in 2013 on which the last Cambridge City game was played at the Milton Road football ground. End of the Game is part of Field of Play which was the inaugural community event held on Saturday 30th April 2016, to mark the final match played at Milton Road Football Ground and to celebrate the new community at Mitchams Park. It was conceived by Liminal to contribute to Zoe Chamberlain’s KickstArt Project, funded by Crest Nicholson. ADeC coordinated the event, in collaboration with Zoe Chamberlain, Liminal and Kathryn Rowland. CAMBRIDGE KICKSTART Cambridge KickstART is a programme of public art projects celebrating the creation of over 100 new homes at Mitchams Park, the former site of Cambridge City Football Club. Field of Play is part of the KickstART programme developed by artist and producer Zoё Chamberlain, supported by award-winning house builders Crest Nicholson Plc. KickstART incorporates a variety of cross art-form collaborations to help foster community pride and enhance a sense of place within the neighbourhood of the new development. As part of the earlier work Zoe had undertaken, the surrounding community identified the loss of the sound of the football crowd as something they would miss. End of the Game remembers this lost ‘soundmark’. The sound of the crowd for us, signified the coming together of the wider community, whether they watched the game or only heard it from a distance. At 3pm every Saturday, on ‘the whistle,’ play began. Now only those who used to live around the Milton Road ground when Cambridge City played, remember the sound. With the new housing, came a new community and the question we were asked to address was how to create a memorial for this lost soundmark

¿Son las nuevas empresas internacionales más eficientes que las domésticas en un periodo de crisis?

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo determinar si las nuevas empresas internacionales, establecidas en un período de crisis, son más eficientes que las nuevas empresas domésticas creadas en ese mismo período. Con esta finalidad, se aplica el Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA) y regresiones por cuantiles para más de 12.000 nuevas empresas españolas de diferentes industrias, creadas entre 2008 y 2010. Los resultados más relevantes sugieren que las empresas de temprana internacionalización tienen mejores niveles de eficiencia en comparación con las nuevas empresas domésticas en este período

Treatment of Clostridium difficile infection: a national survey of clinician recommendations and the use of faecal microbiota transplantation

Adherence to Clostridium difficile infection treatment guidelines is associated with lower recurrence rates and mortality as well as cost savings. Our survey of Irish clinicians indicates that patients are managed using a variety of approaches. FMT is potentially underutilised despite its recommendation in national and European guidelines