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Sentire is a body–machine interface that sonifies motor behaviour in real time and a participatory, interactive performance in which two people use their physical movements to collaboratively create sound while constantly being influenced by the results. Based on our informal observation that basal social behaviours emerge during Sentire performances, the present article investigates our principal hypothesis that Sentire can foster basic mechanisms underlying non-verbal social interaction. We illustrate how coordination serves as a crucial basic mechanism for social interaction, and consider how it is addressed by various therapeutic approaches, including therapeutic use of real-time auditory feedback. Then we argue that the implementation of Sentire may be fruitful in healthcare contexts and in promoting general well-being. We describe how the Sentire system has been developed further within the scope of the research project ‘Social interaction through sound feedback–Sentire’ that combines human–computer interaction, sound design and real-world research, against the background of the relationship between sound, sociality and therapy. The question concerning how interaction is facilitated through Sentire is addressed through the first results of behavioural analysis using structured observation, which allows for a quasi-quantitative sequential analysis of interactive behaviour., Peer Reviewed

Mapping social interaction through sound: Conceptual framework, technological development, and real-world studies (November 27–28, 2020)

A recent paradigm shift in music research has allowed scholars to examine the macro- and micro-processes taking place within musical performance and underlying cognitive processes. Tying in with phenomenological theories of embodied perception and cognition, this paper focuses on bodily musical activity relevant to the acquisition of instrumental musical skills – the process of learning music. Dynamic interaction with musical instruments, accompanied by the interplay of action and passion, involves body image and body schema, whose status oscillates in different phases of the acquisition of instrumental musical skills; this interaction allows humans to direct attention from their bodily states – the proximal – to the quality of musical sounds and a unity of musical experience – the distal. It is thus argued that shaping music by means of playing a musical instrument can be conceived of as an embodied process, of understanding the forms of one’s own experience as related to the musical world that is created by one’s bodily activity., Peer Reviewed

Current findings from anthropology, genetics, prehistory, cognitive and neuroscience indicate that human nature is grounded in a co-evolution of tool use, symbolic communication, social interaction and cultural transmission. Digital information technology has recently entered as a new tool in this co-evolution, and will probably have the strongest impact on shaping the human mind in the near future. A common effort from the humanities, the sciences, art and technology is necessary to understand this ongoing co- evolutionary process. Interactivity is a key for understanding the new relationships formed by humans with social robots as well as interactive environments and wearables underlying this process. Of special importance for understanding interactivity are human-computer and human-robot interaction, as well as media theory and New Media Art. "Paradoxes of Interactivity" brings together reflections on "interactivity" from different theoretical perspectives, the interplay of science and art, and recent technological developments for artistic applications, especially in the realm of sound.

A recent paradigm shift in music research has allowed scholars to examine the macro- and micro-processes taking place within musical performance and underlying cognitive processes. Tying in with phenomenological theories of embodied perception and cognition, this paper focuses on bodily musical activity relevant to the acquisition of instrumental musical skills – the process of learning music. Dynamic interaction with musical instruments, accompanied by the interplay of action and passion, involves body image and body schema, whose status oscillates in different phases of the acquisition of instrumental musical skills; this interaction allows humans to direct attention from their bodily states – the proximal – to the quality of musical sounds and a unity of musical experience – the distal. It is thus argued that shaping music by means of playing a musical instrument can be conceived of as an embodied process, of understanding the forms of one’s own experience as related to the musical world that is created by one’s bodily activity., Peer Reviewed

BackgroundGenetic markers are tools that can facilitate molecular breeding, even in species lacking genomic resources. An important class of genetic markers is those based on orthologous genes, because they can guide hypotheses about conserved gene function, a situation that is well documented for a number of agronomic traits. For under-studied species a key bottleneck in gene-based marker development is the need to develop molecular tools (e.g., oligonucleotide primers) that reliably access genes with orthology to the genomes of well-characterized reference species.ResultsHere we report an efficient platform for the design of cross-species gene-derived markers in legumes. The automated platform, named CSGM Designer (URL: http://tgil.donga.ac.kr/CSGMdesigner), facilitates rapid and systematic design of cross-species genic markers. The underlying database is composed of genome data from five legume species whose genomes are substantially characterized. Use of CSGM is enhanced by graphical displays of query results, which we describe as "circular viewer" and "search-within-results" functions. CSGM provides a virtual PCR representation (eHT-PCR) that predicts the specificity of each primer pair simultaneously in multiple genomes. CSGM Designer output was experimentally validated for the amplification of orthologous genes using 16 genotypes representing 12 crop and model legume species, distributed among the galegoid and phaseoloid clades. Successful cross-species amplification was obtained for 85.3% of PCR primer combinations.ConclusionCSGM Designer spans the divide between well-characterized crop and model legume species and their less well-characterized relatives. The outcome is PCR primers that target highly conserved genes for polymorphism discovery, enabling functional inferences and ultimately facilitating trait-associated molecular breeding.

BackgroundGenetic markers are tools that can facilitate molecular breeding, even in species lacking genomic resources. An important class of genetic markers is those based on orthologous genes, because they can guide hypotheses about conserved gene function, a situation that is well documented for a number of agronomic traits. For under-studied species a key bottleneck in gene-based marker development is the need to develop molecular tools (e.g., oligonucleotide primers) that reliably access genes with orthology to the genomes of well-characterized reference species.ResultsHere we report an efficient platform for the design of cross-species gene-derived markers in legumes. The automated platform, named CSGM Designer (URL: http://tgil.donga.ac.kr/CSGMdesigner), facilitates rapid and systematic design of cross-species genic markers. The underlying database is composed of genome data from five legume species whose genomes are substantially characterized. Use of CSGM is enhanced by graphical displays of query results, which we describe as "circular viewer" and "search-within-results" functions. CSGM provides a virtual PCR representation (eHT-PCR) that predicts the specificity of each primer pair simultaneously in multiple genomes. CSGM Designer output was experimentally validated for the amplification of orthologous genes using 16 genotypes representing 12 crop and model legume species, distributed among the galegoid and phaseoloid clades. Successful cross-species amplification was obtained for 85.3% of PCR primer combinations.ConclusionCSGM Designer spans the divide between well-characterized crop and model legume species and their less well-characterized relatives. The outcome is PCR primers that target highly conserved genes for polymorphism discovery, enabling functional inferences and ultimately facilitating trait-associated molecular breeding.

BackgroundGenetic markers are tools that can facilitate molecular breeding, even in species lacking genomic resources. An important class of genetic markers is those based on orthologous genes, because they can guide hypotheses about conserved gene function, a situation that is well documented for a number of agronomic traits. For under-studied species a key bottleneck in gene-based marker development is the need to develop molecular tools (e.g., oligonucleotide primers) that reliably access genes with orthology to the genomes of well-characterized reference species.ResultsHere we report an efficient platform for the design of cross-species gene-derived markers in legumes. The automated platform, named CSGM Designer (URL: http://tgil.donga.ac.kr/CSGMdesigner), facilitates rapid and systematic design of cross-species genic markers. The underlying database is composed of genome data from five legume species whose genomes are substantially characterized. Use of CSGM is enhanced by graphical displays of query results, which we describe as "circular viewer" and "search-within-results" functions. CSGM provides a virtual PCR representation (eHT-PCR) that predicts the specificity of each primer pair simultaneously in multiple genomes. CSGM Designer output was experimentally validated for the amplification of orthologous genes using 16 genotypes representing 12 crop and model legume species, distributed among the galegoid and phaseoloid clades. Successful cross-species amplification was obtained for 85.3% of PCR primer combinations.ConclusionCSGM Designer spans the divide between well-characterized crop and model legume species and their less well-characterized relatives. The outcome is PCR primers that target highly conserved genes for polymorphism discovery, enabling functional inferences and ultimately facilitating trait-associated molecular breeding.

Compositional reasoning on hierarchical scheduling systems is a well-founded formal method that can construct schedulable and optimal system configurations in a compositional way. However, a compositional framework formulates the resource requirement of a component, called an interface, by assuming that a resource is always supplied by the parent components in the most pessimistic way. For this reason, the component interface demands more resources than the amount of resources that are really sufficient to satisfy sub-components. We provide two new supply bound functions which provides tighter bounds on the resource requirements of individual components. The tighter bounds are calculated by using more information about the scheduling system. We evaluate our new tighter bounds by using a model-based schedulability framework for hierarchical scheduling systems realized as Uppaal models. The timed models are checked using model checking tools Uppaal and Uppaal SMC, and we compare our results with the state of the art tool CARTS.

Stimmungen des Todes scheinen einer Bestimmung zu widerstreben. Dennoch eignet ihnen eine Bestimmtheit, die über den Tod oft mehr preiszugeben vermag als das diskursive Wissen. Lassen sich Stimmungen des Todes bestimmen? Die Rede über Stimmungen ist meist abstrakt und allgemein, gekennzeichnet von diffuser Metaphorik. Doch sind Stimmungen etwas sehr Präzises. Oft genügt eine unmerkbare Nuance einer Geste, eines Tonfalls, in der Beleuchtung eines Raumes, um eine Stimmung umschlagen zu lassen. So lassen sich praktische Kompetenzen ausbilden, mit Stimmungen umzugehen, sie zu evozieren – auch, wenn es um ein so sensibles und schwer fassbares Phänomen wie den Tod geht. Der Band lässt in Interviews alltägliche Arbeit mit Todesstimmungen auf philosophische Theorie, künstlerischen Umgang auf abstrakte Durchdringung treffen.

Stimmungen des Todes scheinen einer Bestimmung zu widerstreben. Dennoch eignet ihnen eine Bestimmtheit, die über den Tod oft mehr preiszugeben vermag als das diskursive Wissen. Lassen sich Stimmungen des Todes bestimmen? Die Rede über Stimmungen ist meist abstrakt und allgemein, gekennzeichnet von diffuser Metaphorik. Doch sind Stimmungen etwas sehr Präzises. Oft genügt eine unmerkbare Nuance einer Geste, eines Tonfalls, in der Beleuchtung eines Raumes, um eine Stimmung umschlagen zu lassen. So lassen sich praktische Kompetenzen ausbilden, mit Stimmungen umzugehen, sie zu evozieren – auch, wenn es um ein so sensibles und schwer fassbares Phänomen wie den Tod geht. Der Band lässt in Interviews alltägliche Arbeit mit Todesstimmungen auf philosophische Theorie, künstlerischen Umgang auf abstrakte Durchdringung treffen.

Cross-species translation of genomic information may play a pivotal role in applying biological knowledge gained from relatively simple model system to other less studied, but related, genomes. The information of abiotic stress (ABS)-responsive genes in Arabidopsis was identified and translated into the legume model system, Medicago truncatula. Various data resources, such as TAIR/AtGI DB, expression profiles and literatures, were used to build a genome-wide list of ABS genes. tBlastX/BlastP similarity search tools and manual inspection of alignments were used to identify orthologous genes between the two genomes. A total of 1,377 genes were finally collected and classified into 18 functional criteria of gene ontology (GO). The data analysis according to the expression cues showed that there was substantial level of interaction among three major types (i.e., drought, salinity and cold stress) of abiotic stresses. In an attempt to translate the ABS genes between these two species, genomic locations for each gene were mapped using an in-house-developed comparative analysis platform. The comparative analysis revealed that fragmental colinearity, represented by only 37 synteny blocks, existed between Arabidopsis and M. truncatula. Based on the combination of E-value and alignment remarks, estimated translation rate was 60.2% for this cross-family translation. As a prelude of the functional comparative genomic approaches, in-silico gene network/interactome analyses were conducted to predict key components in the ABS responses, and one of the sub-networks was integrated with corresponding comparative map. The results demonstrated that core members of the sub-network were well aligned with previously reported ABS regulatory networks. Taken together, the results indicate that network-based integrative approaches of comparative and functional genomics are important to interpret and translate genomic information for complex traits such as abiotic stresses.

Jin Hyun Kim,1,* Hyun Hoon Chung,2,* Min Sook Jeong,1 Mi Ryoung Song,1 Keon Wook Kang,3,4 Jun Sung Kim1 1R&D Center, Biterials Co, Ltd, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women as a result of late diagnosis. For survival rates to improve, more sensitive and specific methods for earlier detection of ovarian cancer are needed. This study presents the development of rapid and specific one-step circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection using flow cytometry in a whole-blood sample with fluorescent silica nanoparticles. We prepared magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)-SiO2(rhodamine B isothiocyanate [RITC]) (MNP-SiO2[RITC] incorporating organic dyes [RITC, λmax(ex/em) = 543/580 nm]) in the silica shell. We then controlled the amount of organic dye in the silica shell of MNP-SiO2(RITC) for increased fluorescence intensity to overcome the autofluorescence of whole blood and increase the sensitivity of CTC detection in whole blood. Next, we modified the surface function group of MNP-SiO2(RITC) from –OH to polyethylene glycol (PEG)/COOH and conjugated a mucin 1 cell surface-associated (MUC1) antibody on the surface of MNP-SiO2(RITC) for CTC detection. To study the specific targeting efficiency of MUC1-MNP-SiO2(RITC), we used immunocytochemistry with a MUC1-positive human ovarian cancer cell line and a negative human embryonic kidney cell line. This technology was capable of detecting 100 ovarian cancer cells in 50 µL of whole blood. In conclusion, we developed a one-step CTC detection technology in ovarian cancer based on multifunctio

Jin Hyun Kim,1,* Hyun Hoon Chung,2,* Min Sook Jeong,1 Mi Ryoung Song,1 Keon Wook Kang,3,4 Jun Sung Kim1 1R&D Center, Biterials Co, Ltd, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women as a result of late diagnosis. For survival rates to improve, more sensitive and specific methods for earlier detection of ovarian cancer are needed. This study presents the development of rapid and specific one-step circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection using flow cytometry in a whole-blood sample with fluorescent silica nanoparticles. We prepared magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)-SiO2(rhodamine B isothiocyanate [RITC]) (MNP-SiO2[RITC] incorporating organic dyes [RITC, λmax(ex/em) = 543/580 nm]) in the silica shell. We then controlled the amount of organic dye in the silica shell of MNP-SiO2(RITC) for increased fluorescence intensity to overcome the autofluorescence of whole blood and increase the sensitivity of CTC detection in whole blood. Next, we modified the surface function group of MNP-SiO2(RITC) from –OH to polyethylene glycol (PEG)/COOH and conjugated a mucin 1 cell surface-associated (MUC1) antibody on the surface of MNP-SiO2(RITC) for CTC detection. To study the specific targeting efficiency of MUC1-MNP-SiO2(RITC), we used immunocytochemistry with a MUC1-positive human ovarian cancer cell line and a negative human embryonic kidney cell line. This technology was capable of detecting 100 ovarian cancer cells in 50 µL of whole blood. In conclusion, we developed a one-step CTC detection technology in ovarian cancer based on multifunctio

We report the annotation and analysis of the draft genome sequence of Brassica rapa accession Chiifu-401-42, a Chinese cabbage. We modeled 41,174 protein coding genes in the B. rapa genome, which has undergone genome triplication. We used Arabidopsis thaliana as an outgroup for investigating the consequences of genome triplication, such as structural and functional evolution. The extent of gene loss (fractionation) among triplicated genome segments varies, with one of the three copies consistently retaining a disproportionately large fraction of the genes expected to have been present in its ancestor. Variation in the number of members of gene families present in the genome may contribute to the remarkable morphological plasticity of Brassica species. The B. rapa genome sequence provides an important resource for studying the evolution of polyploid genomes and underpins the genetic improvement of Brassica oil and vegetable crops.

We report the annotation and analysis of the draft genome sequence of Brassica rapa accession Chiifu-401-42, a Chinese cabbage. We modeled 41,174 protein coding genes in the B. rapa genome, which has undergone genome triplication. We used Arabidopsis thaliana as an outgroup for investigating the consequences of genome triplication, such as structural and functional evolution. The extent of gene loss (fractionation) among triplicated genome segments varies, with one of the three copies consistently retaining a disproportionately large fraction of the genes expected to have been present in its ancestor. Variation in the number of members of gene families present in the genome may contribute to the remarkable morphological plasticity of Brassica species. The B. rapa genome sequence provides an important resource for studying the evolution of polyploid genomes and underpins the genetic improvement of Brassica oil and vegetable crops.

We report the annotation and analysis of the draft genome sequence of Brassica rapa accession Chiifu-401-42, a Chinese cabbage. We modeled 41,174 protein coding genes in the B. rapa genome, which has undergone genome triplication. We used Arabidopsis thaliana as an outgroup for investigating the consequences of genome triplication, such as structural and functional evolution. The extent of gene loss (fractionation) among triplicated genome segments varies, with one of the three copies consistently retaining a disproportionately large fraction of the genes expected to have been present in its ancestor. Variation in the number of members of gene families present in the genome may contribute to the remarkable morphological plasticity of Brassica species. The B. rapa genome sequence provides an important resource for studying the evolution of polyploid genomes and underpins the genetic improvement of Brassica oil and vegetable crops.