(Dis‑)Harmony in movement: effects of musical dissonance on movement timing and form

While the origins of consonance and dissonance in terms of acoustics, psychoacoustics and physiology have been debated for centuries, their plausible effects on movement synchronization have largely been ignored. The present study aims to address this by investigating whether, and if so how, consonant/dissonant pitch intervals affect the spatiotemporal properties of regular reciprocal aiming movements. We compared movements synchronized either to consonant or to dissonant sounds, and showed that they were differently influenced by the degree of consonance of the sound presented. Interestingly, the difference was present after the sound stimulus was removed. In this case, the performance measured after consonant sound exposure was found to be more stable and accurate, with a higher percentage of information/movement coupling (tau-coupling) and a higher degree of movement circularity when compared to performance measured after the exposure to dissonant sounds. We infer that the neural resonance representing consonant tones leads to finer perception/action coupling which in turn may help explain the prevailing preference for these types of tones.

Finding revelation in anthropology: Alexander Winchell, William Robertson Smith and the heretical imperative

Anthropological inquiry has often been considered an agent of intellectual secularization. Not least is this so in the sphere of religion, where anthropological accounts have often been taken to represent the triumph of naturalism. This metanarrative however fails to recognise that naturalistic explanations could sometimes be espoused for religious purposes and in defence of confessional creeds. This essay examines two late nineteenth-century figures – Alexander Winchell in the United States, and William Robertson Smith in Britain – who found in anthropological analysis resources to bolster rather than undermine faith. In both cases these individuals found themselves on the receiving end of ecclesiastical censure and were dismissed from their positions at church-governed institutions. But their motivation was to vindicate divine revelation, in Winchell’s case from the physical anthropology of human origins and in Smith’s from the cultural anthropology of Semitic ritual.

A Syntactic Approach to Revising Epistemic States with Uncertain Inputs

Revising its beliefs when receiving new information is an important ability of any intelligent system. However, in realistic settings the new input is not always certain. A compelling way of dealing with uncertain input in an agent-based setting is to treat it as unreliable input, which may strengthen or weaken the beliefs of the agent. Recent work focused on the postulates associated with this form of belief change and on finding semantical operators that satisfy these postulates. In this paper we propose a new syntactic approach for this form of belief change and show that it agrees with the semantical definition. This makes it feasible to develop complex agent systems capable of efficiently dealing with unreliable input in a semantically meaningful way. Additionally, we show that imposing restrictions on the input and the beliefs that are entailed allows us to devise a tractable approach suitable for resource-bounded agents or agents where reactiveness is of paramount importance.

Authenticity, Identity and Sustainability in Post-war Iraq: Reshaping the Urban Form of Erbil City

Issues of authenticity and identity are particularly significant in cities where social and cultural change is shaping active transformation of its urban fabric and structure in the post-war condition. In search of sustainable future, Iraqi cities are stretched between the two ends of the spectrum, authentic quarters with its traditional fabric and modern districts with their global sense of living. This paper interrogates the reciprocal influences, distinct qualities and sustainable performance of both authentic and modern quarters of Erbil, the
capital of the Iraqi province of Kurdistan, as factors in shaping sustainable urban forms for Iraqi cities. In doing so, the paper, firstly, seeks to highlight the urban identity as an effective factor in relation to sustainable urban form. Secondly, the city of Erbil in Iraq has been chosen as a field study, due to its regional, social, political and historical role in the region. Thirdly, the study emphasises the dynamic activities and performance of residential projects according to rational sustainable criteria. The research concludes that urban identity and the sense of place in traditional and historical places should inform design strategies in order to achieve a more sustainable urban context.

Spatial turnover in the global avifauna

Despite its wide implications for many ecological issues, the global pattern of spatial turnover in the occurrence of species has been little studied, unlike the global pattern of species richness. Here, using a database on the breeding distributions of birds, we present the first global maps of variation in spatial turnover for an entire taxonomic class, a pattern that has to date remained largely a matter of conjecture, based on theoretical expectations and extrapolation of inconsistent patterns from different biogeographic realms. We use these maps to test four predictions from niche theory as to the form that this variation should take, namely that turnover should increase with species richness, towards lower latitudes, and with the steepness of environmental gradients and that variation in turnover is determined principally by rare (restricted) species. Contrary to prediction, we show that turnover is high both in areas of extremely low and high species richness, does not increase strongly towards the tropics, and is related both to average environmental conditions and spatial variation in those conditions. These results are closely associated with a further important and novel finding, namely that global patterns of spatial turnover are driven principally by widespread species rather than the restricted ones. This complements recent demonstrations that spatial patterns of species richness are also driven principally by widespread species, and thus provides an important contribution towards a unified model of how terrestrial biodiversity varies both within and between the Earth's major land masses.

A metapopulation model of species boundaries

The majority, if not all, species have a limited geographic range bounded by a distribution edge. Violent ecotones such as sea coasts clearly produce edges for many species; however such ecotones, while sufficient for the formation of an edge, are not always necessary. We demonstrate this by simulation in discrete time of a spatially structured finite size metapopulation subjected to a spatial gradient in per-unit-time population extinction probability together with spatially structured dispersal and recolonisation. We find that relatively sharp edges separating a homeland or main geographical range from an outland or zone of relatively sparse and ephemeral colonisation can form in gradual environmental gradients. The form and placing of the edge is an emergent property of the metapopulation dynamics. The sharpness of the edge declines with increasing dispersal distance, and is dependent on the relative scales of dispersal distance and gradient length. The space over which the edge develops is short relative to the potential species range. The edge is robust against changes in both the shape of the environmental gradient and to a lesser extent to alterations in the kind of dispersal operating. Persistence times in the absence of environmental gradients are virtually independent of the shape of the dispersal function describing migration. The common finding of bell shaped population density distributions across geographic ranges may occur without the strict necessity of a niche mediated response to a spatially autocorrelated environment.

Finding Merit in Judicial Appointments: NIJAC and the Search for a New Judiciary in Northern Ireland

The post-Agreement constitutional architecture has produced a new legal space in Northern Ireland. While the court structure has largely endured in a recognisable format there are perhaps now new expectations of how it will function in the next stage of Northern Ireland’s transition from a society in conflict. These expectations come into focus around the nature and role of the judiciary that is to oversee this new legal space. At the same time there are other, wider forces pressing upon the judiciary across the United Kingdom and these are being acted out in the various appointment commissions and regimes that have been created to modernise the judiciary. This all contributes to establishing a dynamic context for considering whether and/or how the judiciary in Northern Ireland is changing, and the forces that may be conditioning any change. This chapter looks at some of the expectations that might arise for the judiciary. It focuses both on some ideas about what might be the role of a judge in a transitional context, and the debate about how judges generally should be appointed across the United Kingdom where the idea of “merit” emerges as governing concept. Next consideration is given to how this idea of merit plays out in the Northern Ireland context and, in particular, how it impacts on the appointment of women to senior judicial roles which has emerged as the central concern in the new dispensation. Here the chapter draws on two pieces of research: the first looking at the issues surrounding judicial appointments and attitudes towards seeking such posts in the Northern Ireland context, and a second project where the idea of “merit” as a governing factor in judicial appointment was further explored in focus groups and interviews. Finally the chapter looks ahead at the challenges around judicial appointment that remain and suggests that notion of ‘merit’ has not provided the robust foundation which its proponents imagined it would.

Effect of monovalent cations on the kinetics of hypoxic conformational change of mitochondrial complex i

Mitochondrial complex I is a large, membrane-bound enzyme central to energy metabolism, and its dysfunction is implicated in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. An interesting feature of mammalian complex I is the so-called A/D transition, when the idle enzyme spontaneously converts from the active (A) to the de-active, dormant (D) form. The A/D transition plays an important role in tissue response to ischemia and rate of the conversion can be a crucial factor determining outcome of ischemia/reperfusion. Here, we describe the effects of alkali cations on the rate of the D-to-A transition to define whether A/D conversion may be regulated by sodium.At neutral pH (7–7.5) sodium resulted in a clear increase of rates of activation (D-to-A conversion) while other cations had minor effects. The stimulating effect of sodium in this pH range was not caused by an increase in ionic strength. EIPA, an inhibitor of Na+/H+antiporters, decreased the rate of D-to-A conversion and sodium partially eliminated this effect of EIPA. At higher pH (> 8.0), acceleration of the D-to-A conversion by sodium was abolished, and all tested cations decreased the rate of activation, probably due to the effect of ionic strength.The implications of this finding for the mechanism of complex I energy transduction and possible physiological importance of sodium stimulation of the D-to-A conversion at pathophysiological conditions in vivo are discussed.

Finding a way: Long term care homes to support dementia

An ageing demographic has increased the number of people with dementia. Although dementia is commonly associated with memory loss, other early symptoms include difficulty with wayfinding. Dementia alters visuo-spatial perception and the processes used to interpret the physical environment. The role of the design of the physical environment for people with dementia has gained increased recognition. Despite this, design for dementia is often overlooked, focusing on issues relating to physical impairment. This paper presents the results of a PhD study and aims to examine the role of the design of the physical environment in supporting wayfinding for people with dementia living in long-term care settings in Northern Ireland. Mixed methods combined the observation of wayfinding walks and conversational style interviews to elicit perspectives and experiences of residents with dementia. The findings aim to promote well-being for those with dementia living in long-term care settings.

Epidermolysis bullosa:evidence for linkage to genetic markers on chromosome 1 in a family with the autosomal dominant simplex form

DNA from members of a three-generation pedigree of Irish origin, displaying an autosomal dominant simplex form of epidermolysis bullosa of the epidermolytic, simplex, or Koebner variety (EBS2), was analyzed for linkage with a set of markers derived from the long arm of chromosome 1. Two-point analysis revealed positive lod scores for five of these markers, AT3 (Z = 2.107, theta = 0), APOA2 (Z = 1.939, theta = 0.15), D1S66 (Z = 1.204, theta = 0), D1S13 (Z = 1.026, theta = 0.15), and D1S65 (Z = 0.329, theta = 0.15). Multilocus analysis, incorporating the markers D1S19, D1S16, D1S13, APOA2, D1S66, AT3, and D1S65, resulted in a lod score of 3 maximizing at AT3. These data strongly support previous tentative indications of linkage between EBS2 and genetic markers on the long arm of chromosome 1.

Performance Limits of MIMO Systems with Nonlinear Power Amplifiers

The development of 5G enabling technologies brings new challenges to the design of power amplifiers (PAs). In particular, there is a strong demand for low-cost, nonlinear PAs which, however, introduce nonlinear distortions. On the other hand, contemporary expensive PAs show great power efficiency in their nonlinear region. Inspired by this trade-off between nonlinearity distortions and efficiency, finding an optimal operating point is highly desirable. Hence, it is first necessary to fully understand how and how much the performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems deteriorates with PA nonlinearities. In this paper, we first reduce the ergodic achievable rate (EAR) optimization from a power allocation to a power control problem with only one optimization variable, i.e. total input power. Then, we develop a closed-form expression for the EAR, where this variable is fixed. Since this expression is intractable for further analysis, two simple lower bounds and one upper bound are proposed. These bounds enable us to find the best input power and approach the channel capacity. Finally, our simulation results evaluate the EAR of MIMO channels in the presence of nonlinearities. An important observation is that the MIMO performance can be significantly degraded if we utilize the whole power budget.