On the Complex Network Structure of Musical Pieces: Analysis of Some Use Cases from Different Music Genres

This paper focuses on the modeling of musical melodies as networks. Notes of a melody can be treated as nodes of a network. Connections are created whenever notes are played in sequence. We analyze some main tracks coming from different music genres, with melodies played using different musical instruments. We find out that the considered networks are, in general, scale free networks and exhibit the small world property. We measure the main metrics and assess whether these networks can be considered as formed by sub-communities. Outcomes confirm that peculiar features of the tracks can be extracted from this analysis methodology. This approach can have an impact in several multimedia applications such as music didactics, multimedia entertainment, and digital music generation.Comment: accepted to Multimedia Tools and Applications, Springe

Atypical Neurophysiology Underlying Episodic and Semantic Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypicalities in episodic memory (Boucher et al. in Psychological Bulletin, 138 (3), 458-496, 2012). We asked participants to recall the colours of a set of studied line drawings (episodic judgement), or to recognize line drawings alone (semantic judgement). Cycowicz et al. (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 65, 171-237, 2001) found early (300 ms onset) posterior old-new event-related potential effects for semantic judgements in typically developing (TD) individuals, and occipitally focused negativity (800 ms onset) for episodic judgements. Our results replicated findings in TD individuals and demonstrate attenuated early old-new effects in ASD. Late posterior negativity was present in the ASD group, but was not specific to this time window. This non-specificity may contribute to the atypical episodic memory judgements characteristic of individuals with ASD

Artificial tektites: an experimental technique for capturing the shapes of spinning drops

Determining the shapes of a rotating liquid droplet bound by surface tension is an archetypal problem in the study of the equilibrium shapes of a spinning and charged droplet, a problem that unites models of the stability of the atomic nucleus with the shapes of astronomical-scale, gravitationally-bound masses. The shapes of highly deformed droplets and their stability must be calculated numerically. Although the accuracy of such models has increased with the use of progressively more sophisticated computational techniques and increases in computing power, direct experimental verification is still lacking. Here we present an experimental technique for making wax models of these shapes using diamagnetic levitation. The wax models resemble splash-form tektites, glassy stones formed from molten rock ejected from asteroid impacts. Many tektites have elongated or ‘dumb-bell’ shapes due to their rotation mid-flight before solidification, just as we observe here. Measurements of the dimensions of our wax ‘artificial tektites’ show good agreement with equilibrium shapes calculated by our numerical model, and with previous models. These wax models provide the first direct experimental validation for numerical models of the equilibrium shapes of spinning droplets, of importance to fundamental physics and also to studies of tektite formation

Helminth burden and ecological factors associated with alterations in wild host gastrointestinal microbiota

Infection by gastrointestinal helminths of humans, livestock and wild animals is common, but the impact of such endoparasites on wild hosts and their gut microbiota represents an important overlooked component of population dynamics. Wild host gut microbiota and endoparasites occupy the same physical niche spaces with both affecting host nutrition and health. However, associations between the two are poorly understood. Here we used the commonly parasitized European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) as a model wild host. Forty live adults from the same colony were sampled. Endoscopy was employed to quantify helminth infection in situ. Microbiota from the significantly distinct proventriculus (site of infection), cloacal and faecal gastrointestinal tract microbiomes were characterised using 16S rRNA gene-targeted high-throughput sequencing. We found increasingly strong associations between helminth infection and microbiota composition progressing away from the site of infection, observing a pronounced dysbiosis in microbiota when samples were partitioned into high- and low-burden groups. We posit this dysbiosis is predominately explained by helminths inducing an anti-inflammatory environment in the proventriculus, diverting host immune responses away from themselves. This study, within live wild animals, provides a vital foundation to better understand the mechanisms that underpin the three-way relationship between helminths, microbiota and hosts

Quality of life among symptomatic compared to PSA-detected prostate cancer survivors - results from a UK wide patient-reported outcomes study

Background: Quality of life among prostate cancer survivors varies by socio-demographic factors and treatment type received; however, less in known about differences in functional outcomes by method of presentation. We investigate differences in reported urinary, bowel, sexual and hormone-related problems between symptomatic and PSA-detected prostate cancer survivors. Methods: A UK wide cross-sectional postal survey of prostate cancer survivors conducted 18-42 months post-diagnosis. Questions were included on presentation method and treatment. Functional outcome was determined using the EPIC-26 questionnaire. Reported outcomes were compared for symptomatic and PSA-detected survivors using ANOVA and multivariable log-linear regression. Results: Thirty-five thousand eight hundred twenty-three men responded (response rate: 60.8%). Of these, 31.3% reported presenting via PSA test and 59.7% symptomatically. In multivariable analysis, symptomatic men reported more difficulty with urinary incontinence (Adjusted mean ratio (AMR): 0.96, 95% CI: 0.96-0.97), urinary irritation (AMR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.95-0.96), bowel function (AMR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.97-0.98), sexual function (AMR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.88-0.92), and vitality/hormonal function (AMR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.96-0.96) than PSA-detected men. Differences were consistent across respondents of differing age, stage, Gleason score and treatment type. Conclusion: Prostate cancer survivors presenting symptomatically report poorer functional outcomes than PSA-detected survivors. Differences were not explained by socio-demographic or clinical factors. Clinicians should be aware that men presenting with symptoms are more likely to report functional difficulties after prostate cancer treatment and may need additional aftercare if these difficulties persist. Method of presentation should be considered as a covariate in patient-reported outcome studies of prostate cancer

HSF1 Pathway Inhibitor Clinical Candidate (CCT361814/NXP800) Developed from a Phenotypic Screen as a Potential Treatment for Refractory Ovarian Cancer and Other Malignancies

CCT251236 1, a potent chemical probe, was previously developed from a cell-based phenotypic high-throughput screen (HTS) to discover inhibitors of transcription mediated by HSF1, a transcription factor that supports malignancy. Owing to its activity against models of refractory human ovarian cancer, 1 was progressed into lead optimization. The reduction of P-glycoprotein efflux became a focus of early compound optimization; central ring halogen substitution was demonstrated by matched molecular pair analysis to be an effective strategy to mitigate this liability. Further multiparameter optimization led to the design of the clinical candidate, CCT361814/NXP800 22, a potent and orally bioavailable fluorobisamide, which caused tumor regression in a human ovarian adenocarcinoma xenograft model with on-pathway biomarker modulation and a clean in vitro safety profile. Following its favorable dose prediction to human, 22 has now progressed to phase 1 clinical trial as a potential future treatment for refractory ovarian cancer and other malignancies

PRKCA Polymorphism Changes the Neural Basis of Episodic Remembering in Healthy Individuals

Everyday functioning relies on episodic memory, the conscious retrieval of past experiences, but this crucial cognitive ability declines severely with aging and disease. Vulnerability to memory decline varies across individuals however, producing differences in the time course and severity of memory problems that complicate attempts at diagnosis and treatment. Here we identify a key source of variability, by examining gene dependent changes in the neural basis of episodic remembering in healthy adults, targeting seven polymorphisms previously linked to memory. Scalp recorded Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were measured while participants remembered words, using an item recognition task that requires discrimination between studied and unstudied stimuli. Significant differences were found as a consequence of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in just one of the tested genes, PRKCA (rs8074995). Participants with the common G/G variant exhibited left parietal old/new effects, which are typically seen in word recognition studies, reflecting recollection-based remembering. During the same stage of memory retrieval participants carrying a rarer A variant exhibited an atypical pattern of brain activity, a topographically dissociable frontally-distributed old/new effect, even though behavioural performance did not differ between groups. Results replicated in a second independent sample of participants. These findings demonstrate that the PRKCA genotype is important in determining how episodic memories are retrieved, opening a new route towards understanding individual differences in memory

Electrocortical evidence for long-term incidental spatial learning through modified navigation instructions

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018. The use of Navigation Assistance Systems for spatial orienting has become increasingly popular. Such automated navigation support, however, comes with a reduced processing of the surrounding environment and often with a decline of spatial orienting ability. To prevent such deskilling and to support spatial learning, the present study investigated incidental spatial learning by comparing standard navigation instructions with two modified navigation instruction conditions. The first modified instruction condition highlighted landmarks and provided additional redundant information regarding the landmark (contrast condition), while the second highlighted landmarks and included information of personal interest to the participant (personal-reference condition). Participants’ spatial knowledge of the previously unknown virtual city was tested three weeks later. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data demonstrated enhanced spatial memory performance for participants in the modified navigation instruction conditions without further differentiating between modified instructions. Recognition performance of landmarks was better and the late positive complex of the event-related potential (ERP) revealed amplitude differences reflecting an increased amount of recollected information for modified navigation instructions. The results indicate a significant long-term spatial learning effect when landmarks are highlighted during navigation instructions

Demonstrating In-Cell Target Engagement Using a Pirin Protein Degradation Probe (CCT367766).

Demonstrating intracellular protein target engagement is an essential step in the development and progression of new chemical probes and potential small molecule therapeutics. However, this can be particularly challenging for poorly studied and noncatalytic proteins, as robust proximal biomarkers are rarely known. To confirm that our recently discovered chemical probe 1 (CCT251236) binds the putative transcription factor regulator pirin in living cells, we developed a heterobifunctional protein degradation probe. Focusing on linker design and physicochemical properties, we generated a highly active probe 16 (CCT367766) in only three iterations, validating our efficient strategy for degradation probe design against nonvalidated protein targets