The symbiosis of improvised and rehearsed elements in the creation of contemporary jazz ensemble music

This research investigates the symbiotic relationship between composition and improvisation and the notion of improvisation itself. With a specific interest in developing, extending and experimenting with the relationship of improvisation within predetermined structures, the creative work component of this research involved composing six new works with varying approaches for The Andrea Keller Quartet and guest improvisers, for performance on a National Australian tour. This is documented in the CD recording Galumphing Round the Nation - Collaborations Tour 2009. The exegesis component is intended to run alongside the creative work and discusses the central issues surrounding improvisation in an ensemble context and the subject of composing for improvisers. Specifically, it questions the notion that when music emphasises a higher ratio of spontaneous to pre-determined elements, and is exposed to the many variables of a performance context, particularly through its incorporation of visitant improvisers, the resultant music should potentially be measurably altered with each performance. This practice-led research demonstrates the effect of concepts such as individuality, variability within context, and the interactive qualities of contemporary jazz ensemble music. Through the analysis and comparison of the treatment of the six pieces over thirteen performances with varying personnel, this exegesis proposes that, despite the expected potential for spontaneity in contemporary jazz music, the presence of established patterns, the desire for familiarity and the intuitive tendency towards accepted protocols ensure that the music which emerges is not as mutable as initially anticipated.

Occurrence of LINE, gypsy-like, and copia-like retrotransposons in the clonally propagated sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

Retrotransposons are a class of transposable elements that represent a major fraction of the repetitive DNA of most eukaryotes. Their abundance stems from their expansive replication strategies. We screened and isolated sequence fragments of long terminal repeat (LTR), gypsy-like reverse transcriptase (rt) and gypsy-like envelope (env) domains, and two partial sequences of non-LTR retrotransposons, long interspersed element (LINE), in the clonally propagated allohexaploid sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) genome. Using dot-blot hybridization, these elements were found to be present in the ~1597 Mb haploid sweet potato genome with copy numbers ranging from ~50 to ~4100 as observed in the partial LTR (IbLtr-1) and LINE (IbLi-1) sequences, respectively. The continuous clonal propagation of sweet potato may have contributed to such a multitude of copies of some of these genomic elements. Interestingly, the isolated gypsy-like env and gypsy-like rt sequence fragments, IbGy-1 (~2100 copies) and IbGy-2 (~540 copies), respectively, were found to be homologous to the Bagy-2 cDNA sequences of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Although the isolated partial sequences were found to be homologous to other transcriptionally active elements, future studies are required to determine whether they represent elements that are transcriptionally active under normal and (or) stressful conditions.

An empirical study of applying ISO 9001 elements in large size Indonesian contractors

The effective implementation of such an ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) in construction companies requires a proper and full implementation of the system to allow companies to improve the way they operate, by this means increasing profitability and market share, producing innovative and sustainable construction products, or improving employee and customer satisfaction. In light of this, this paper discusses the current status of QMS implementation, particularly related to the twenty elements of ISO 9001 within the grade 7 (G-7) category of Indonesian construction companies. A survey was conducted involving 403 respondents from 77 companies, to solicit an evaluation of the current implementation levels of the ISO 9001 elements. The survey findings indicated that for a large percentage of the sector surveyed they had ‘not so fully implemented’ the elements. Scrutiny of the data had also indicated elements that are ‘minimally implemented’, whilst none of the elements fell in the category of ‘fully implemented’. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the G-7 contractors may need to fully commit to practicing control of customer-supplied product and statistical techniques in order to enhance an effective implementation of ISO 9001 elements for ensuring better quality performance. These two elements are recognized as the least implemented of the quality elements.

CDKN2A is not the principal target of deletions on the short arm of chromosome 9 in neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma of the skin

The majority of small-cell lung cancers (SCLCs) express p16 but not pRb. Given our previous study showing loss of pRb in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC)/neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin and the clinicopathological similarities between SCLC and MCC, we wished to determine if this was also the case in MCC. Twenty-nine MCC specimens from 23 patients were examined for deletions at 10 loci on 9p and 1 on 9q. No loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was seen in 9 patients including 2 for which tumour and cell line DNAs were examined. Four patients had LOH for all informative loci on 9p. Ten tumours showed more limited regions of loss on 9p, and from these 2 common regions of deletion were determined. Half of all informative cases had LOH at D9S168, the most telomeric marker examined, and 3 specimens showed loss of only D9S168. A second region (IFNA-D9S126) showed LOH in 10 (44%) cases, and case MCC26 showed LOH for only D9S126, implicating genes centromeric of the CDKN2A locus. No mutations in the coding regions of p16 were seen in 7 cell lines tested, and reactivity to anti-p16 antibody was seen in all 11 tumour specimens examined and in 6 of 7 cell lines from 6 patients. Furthermore, all cell lines examined reacted with anti-p14(ARF) antibody. These results suggest that neither transcript of the CDKN2A locus is the target of deletions on 9p in MCC and imply the existence of tumour-suppressor genes mapping both centromeric and telomeric of this locus.

Quantifying in-plane deformation of plate elements using vibration characteristics

Plate elements are used in many engineering applications. In-plane loads and deformations have significant influence on the vibration characteristics of plate elements. Numerous methods have been developed to quantify the effects of in-plane loads and deformations of individual plate elements with different boundary conditions based on their natural frequencies. However, these developments cannot be applied to the plate elements in a structural system as the natural frequency is a global parameter for the entire structure. This highlights the need for a method to quantify in-plane deformations of plate elements in structural framing systems. Motivated by this gap in knowledge, this research has developed a comprehensive vibration based procedure to quantify in-plane deformation of plate elements in a structural framing system. This procedure with its unique capabilities to capture the influence of load migration, boundary conditions and different tributary areas is presented herein and illustrated through examples.

Elements pour adapter les systemes de recherche d'information aux dyslexiques [Elements to adapt information retrieval systems to dyslexic users]

RÉSUMÉ. La prise en compte des troubles de la communication dans l’utilisation des systèmes de recherche d’information tels qu’on peut en trouver sur le Web est généralement réalisée par des interfaces utilisant des modalités n’impliquant pas la lecture et l’écriture. Peu d’applications existent pour aider l’utilisateur en difficulté dans la modalité textuelle. Nous proposons la prise en compte de la conscience phonologique pour assister l’utilisateur en difficulté d’écriture de requêtes (dysorthographie) ou de lecture de documents (dyslexie). En premier lieu un système de réécriture et d’interprétation des requêtes entrées au clavier par l’utilisateur est proposé : en s’appuyant sur les causes de la dysorthographie et sur les exemples à notre disposition, il est apparu qu’un système combinant une approche éditoriale (type correcteur orthographique) et une approche orale (système de transcription automatique) était plus approprié. En second lieu une méthode d’apprentissage automatique utilise des critères spécifiques , tels que la cohésion grapho-phonémique, pour estimer la lisibilité d’une phrase, puis d’un texte. ABSTRACT. Most applications intend to help disabled users in the information retrieval process by proposing non-textual modalities. This paper introduces specific parameters linked to phonological awareness in the textual modality. This will enhance the ability of systems to deal with orthographic issues and with the adaptation of results to the reader when for example the reader is dyslexic. We propose a phonology based sentence level rewriting system that combines spelling correction, speech synthesis and automatic speech recognition. This has been evaluated on a corpus of questions we get from dyslexic children. We propose a specific sentence readability measure that involves phonetic parameters such as grapho-phonemic cohesion. This has been learned on a corpus of reading time of sentences read by dyslexic children.