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The paper points to the disappearance of the division of art into 'high' and 'popular', with a particular emphasis on popular music, which under given circumstances adopts certain aesthetic standards of classical music forms. The authors also analyse the reverse process: the popularisation of classical music, in the composing-arranging and the performing sense. Particular attention is paid to the role, status and reach of popular culture/art in contemporary postmodern ventures. In this context, the Beatles represent a paradigmatic example, due to the fact that they used a plethora of postmodern creative procedures. The authors conduct an analysis of two characteristic Beatles' albums (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles, known as 'The White Album') that incorporate the key principles of postmodern aesthetics.

There is an extensive modification of the functional organization of the brain in the congenital blind human, although there is little understanding of the structural underpinnings of these changes. The visual system of macaque has been extensively characterized both anatomically and functionally. We have taken advantage of this to examine the influence of congenital blindness in a macaque model of developmental anophthalmia. Developmental anophthalmia in macaque effectively removes the normal influence of the thalamus on cortical development leading to an induced “hybrid cortex (HC)” combining features of primary visual and extrastriate cortex. Here we show that retrograde tracers injected in early visual areas, including HC, reveal a drastic reduction of cortical projections of the reduced lateral geniculate nucleus. In addition, there is an important expansion of projections from the pulvinar complex to the HC, compared to the controls. These findings show that the functional consequences of congenital blindness need to be considered in terms of both modifications of the interareal cortical network and the ascending visual pathways.

There is extensive modification of the functional organization of the brain in the congenital blind human, although there is little understanding of the structural underpinnings of these changes. The visual system of macaque has been extensively characterized both anatomically and functionally. We have taken advantage of this to examine the influence of the congenital blindness in macaque resulting from the removal of the retina during in utero development. Developmental anophthalmia in macaque effectively removes the normal influence of the thalamus on cortical development leading to an induced hybrid cortex (HC) combining features of primary visual and extrastriate cortex. Here we show that retrograde tracers injected in early visual areas including hybrid cortex reveals a drastic reduction of cortical projections of the reduced lateral geniculate nucleus. In addition, there is an important expansion of projections from the pulvinar complex to the hybrid cortex, compared to the controls. These findings show that the functional consequences of congenital blindness need to be considered in terms of both modifications of the inter-areal cortical network and the ascending visual pathways.

The processes which are responsible for breakdown initiation in nitrogen-filled tube at 6.6×102 Pa (6.6 mbar) and inter electrode gap 0.1 mm have been investigated. These processes have been monitored based on experimental data of electrical breakdown time delay td as a function of relaxation time τ. It was shown that, for τ 150 s breakdown is initiated by cosmic rays. Also, it was shown that the increase in applied voltage and glow current, as well as presence of external radiation, lead to the decrease of td value.

The laminar location of the cell bodies and terminals of interareal connections determines the hierarchical structural organization of the cortex and has been intensively studied. However, we still have only a rudimentary understanding of the connectional principles of feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) pathways. Quantitative analysis of retrograde tracers was used to extend the notion that the laminar distribution of neurons interconnecting visual areas provides an index of hierarchical distance (percentage of supragranular labeled neurons [SLN]). We show that: 1) SLN values constrain models of cortical hierarchy, revealing previously unsuspected areal relations; 2) SLN reflects the operation of a combinatorial distance rule acting differentially on sets of connections between areas; 3) Supragranular layers contain highly segregated bottom-up and top-down streams, both of which exhibit point-to-point connectivity. This contrasts with the infragranular layers, which contain diffuse bottom-up and top-down streams; 4) Cell filling of the parent neurons of FF and FB pathways provides further evidence of compartmentalization; 5) FF pathways have higher weights, cross fewer hierarchical levels, and are less numerous than FB pathways. Taken together, the present results suggest that cortical hierarchies are built from supra- and infragranular counterstreams. This compartmentalized dual counterstream organization allows point-to-point connectivity in both bottom-up and top-down directions.

SummaryRecent advances in neuroscience have engendered interest in large-scale brain networks. Using a consistent database of cortico-cortical connectivity, generated from hemisphere-wide, retrograde tracing experiments in the macaque, we analyzed interareal weights and distances to reveal an important organizational principle of brain connectivity. Using appropriate graph theoretical measures, we show that although very dense (66%), the interareal network has strong structural specificity. Connection weights exhibit a heavy-tailed lognormal distribution spanning five orders of magnitude and conform to a distance rule reflecting exponential decay with interareal separation. A single-parameter random graph model based on this rule predicts numerous features of the cortical network: (1) the existence of a network core and the distribution of cliques, (2) global and local binary properties, (3) global and local weight-based communication efficiencies modeled as network conductance, and (4) overall wire-length minimization. These findings underscore the importance of distance and weight-based heterogeneity in cortical architecture and processing.

Our understanding of cortical electrophysiology and anatomy at the single-cell level has led to the present day insight in to the function of connections linking cortical areas. This made it possible to elaborate the cortical hierarchy in the early 1990s and was a prerequisite for the development of present day generative models of perception. These computational hierarchical models make strong predictions concerning the roles of feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) pathways, including their segregation and topographical precision in both directions. This shows that instead of a single stream in the upper and lower compartments of the cortex there is in fact a bi-directional counter-stream in each compartment of the cortex. A significant advance in this field will require more detailed anatomy hand in hand with a network analysis of the directed and weighted cortical matrix.

The processes responsible for initiation of electrical breakdown in xenon-filled tube with two spherical iron electrodes at 2.7-mbar pressure have been analyzed. The analysis is based on the experimental data of electrical breakdown time delay as a function of afterglow period. It is shown that positive ions remaining from previous discharge, as well as positive ions created in mutual collisions of metastable atoms in afterglow, have a dominant role in secondary emission of electrons from the cathode which lead to initiation of breakdown in early afterglow. In late afterglow, dominant role in initiation of breakdown is taken by N(4S) atoms formed during the discharge by dissociation of ground state nitrogen molecules that are present as impurities in xenon. When the concentration of N(4S) atoms decreases sufficiently, the initiation of breakdown is caused by cosmic radiation. Small doses of gamma-ray irradiation also contribute to the initiation of breakdown, but only for large values of the afterglow period.

This is the final peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication in Organic Preparations and Procedures International. Citation of the published version is: Organic Preparations and Procedures International48:425–467, 2016.

The purpose of this experimental study was to determine the effects of vertical and horizontal models of plyometric training explosive strength development in cadet volleyball cadets. Forty -four participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: vertical plyometric (Е1; n=20; BH=185.5 ± 7.02 cm; BM=71.1 ± 7.44 kg), horizontal plyometric (Е2; n=24; BH=183.8 ± 7.79 cm; BM=68.7 ± 8.69 kg). The training programs lasted 6 weeks and it consisted of two training sessions per week. All subjects were tested for each of the following jumps: squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ) and continous jumps (CJ). After a 6-week plyometric training some of the tested parameters of SJ increased in the vertical plyometrics group (Hmax 13.7%; Fmax 3.4%; Vmax 6.2%; IMPcon 4.1%; Pmax_con 10.2%), as well as in the horizontal plyometrics group (Hmax12.2%; Fmax 5.1%; Fmax/TT 6.0%; Vmax 5.9%; IMPcon 3.7%; Pmax_con 9.5%). Some of the tested parameters of CMJ increased in the vertical plyometrics group (Hmax 9.8%; Vmax 1.5%; IMPcon 7.2%; IMPuk 2.0%; Pmax_con 2,8%), as well as in the horizontal plyometric group (Hmax 10.1%; Vmax 3.4%; IMPcon 8.5%; IMPuk 5.0%; Pmax_con 3.9%), while lower values compared to the initial measurement were recorded in Fmax/TМ (5.2%) in the vertical plyometric group. In DJ some of the tested parameters increased in the vertical plyometric group (Hmax 15.7%; Tcon 14.9%; Vmax 9.9%; IMPcon 14.4%; Pmax_con 10.4%), as well as in the horizontal plyometrics group (Hmax 23.4%; Vmax 10.6%; Pmax_con 11.9%), while lower values compared to the initial measurement were recorded in parameter Pmax_exc (13.3%) in horizontal plyometric group. The CJ parameters showed in the vertical plyometrics group increased (Hmax 8.2%; IMPuk 6.8%; Pmax_uk 4.8%), as well as in the horizontal plyometrics group (Hmax 14.5%; Texc 6.0%; IMPexc 12.2%; IMPuk 7.5%; Pmax_exc 13.8; Pmax_uk 6.2%). The results of this thesis showed that there were no significant differences in the effects of different models of plyometric program in tested parameters, except for CMJ, in favor of horizontal plyometric group. The results suggest that both training programs were effective in the development of various parameters of jumping ability. In practice exercises from these plyometric training program should be combined due to a greater effect on certain parameters of jumps.

This paper presents the experimental data of breakdown voltage and electrical breakdown time delay for air-filled tube at p = 0.7 mbar pressure. The breakdown voltage was measured for product p·d (d is inter-electrode gap) from 0.005 to 0.2 mbar cm, i.e. when breakdown was a consequence of gas and vacuum mechanisms combined. It was shown that the static breakdown voltage, which was determined from experimental data of the dynamic breakdown voltage, retains approximately constant value. The shape of the memory curve, which displays the mean value of electrical breakdown time delay t ¯ d vs. relaxation time τ, is very similar to that previously obtained in the case of breakdown induced by Townsend's mechanism alone. UV and gamma radiation lead to the decrease of t ¯ d values for values τ > 30 ms and this decrease is larger in the presence of UV radiation. UV and gamma radiation shorten the relaxation time needed for memory curve to reach saturation. On the basis of exponential and Gaussian distributions of experimental data, the contribution of the statistical time delay and the formative time to total electrical breakdown time delay for different values of relaxation time is considered.

The paper analyzes the works of Umberto Eco and John Fiske, which are dedicated to the consideration of the audience of popular culture/arts. It is a comparative analysis performed from a sociological-aesthetic standpoint. The author of this paper claims that the oeuvres of these two theoreticians differ in both their scopes and their theoretical aspirations. However, they are close in at least one thing, and that is the relation toward the audience of popular culture. Eco's 'open' or 'empty' form of literary and artistic works allows for the activity of the audience in the communication process, while Fiske finds that the activity of the recipients of popular culture is not merely allowed but also compelling. On the one hand, Umberto Eco examines art in the wider sense, touching upon the phenomenon of the popular as well (pop-art, beat literature, film, television), while John Fiske, on the other, dedicated his entire body of work to popular culture - understanding the popular, reading the popular, the audience of the popular. They treat it as free, active and creative, and believe that it, more or less, participates in the act of creation and final shaping of a work. The audience, therefore, not only receives the aesthetic messages but also creates them. For Fiske, the study of popular culture is the study of the circulation of a text meaning, and each act of cultural consumption an act of meaning production as well. However, while Eco does not observe 'openness' as indeterminacy and creation in the chaos of uncontrolled freedom, Fiske gives the audience total freedom in the selection of meanings and pleasures. He excludes any value (aesthetic and moral) criteria, and deems the activity of the audience subversive in relation to the mainstream culture. Finally, the author provides a critical review of Eco's and Fiske's notions of the audience of popular culture. The critique implies emphasizing both the negative and the positive aspects of the analyzed theoretical concepts. The paper also contains the opinions of other theoreticians of popular culture who criticize Fiske's anti-aestheticism and 'cultural populism'.

Retrograde tracer injections in 29 of the 91 areas of the macaque cerebral cortex revealed 1,615 interareal pathways, a third of which have not previously been reported. A weight index (extrinsic fraction of labeled neurons [FLNe]) was determined for each area-to-area pathway. Newly found projections were weaker on average compared with the known projections; nevertheless, the 2 sets of pathways had extensively overlapping weight distributions. Repeat injections across individuals revealed modest FLNe variability given the range of FLNe values (standard deviation

We investigated the influence of interareal distance on connectivity patterns in a database obtained from the injection of retrograde tracers in 29 areas distributed over six regions (occipital, temporal, parietal, frontal, prefrontal, and limbic). One-third of the 1,615 pathways projecting to the 29 target areas were reported only recently and deemed new-found projections (NFPs). NFPs are predominantly long-range, low-weight connections. A minimum dominating set analysis (a graph theoretic measure) shows that NFPs play a major role in globalizing input to small groups of areas. Randomization tests show that ( i ) NFPs make important contributions to the specificity of the connectivity profile of individual cortical areas, and ( ii ) NFPs share key properties with known connections at the same distance. We developed a similarity index, which shows that intraregion similarity is high, whereas the interregion similarity declines with distance. For area pairs, there is a steep decline with distance in the similarity and probability of being connected. Nevertheless, the present findings reveal an unexpected binary specificity despite the high density (66%) of the cortical graph. This specificity is made possible because connections are largely concentrated over short distances. These findings emphasize the importance of long-distance connections in the connectivity profile of an area. We demonstrate that long-distance connections are particularly prevalent for prefrontal areas, where they may play a prominent role in large-scale communication and information integration.

Glioblastoma is the most frequent and malignant human brain tumor. High level of genomic instability detected in glioma cells implies that numerous genetic alterations accumulate during glioma pathogenesis. We investigated alterations in AP-PCR DNA profiles of 30 glioma patients, and detected specific changes in 11 genes not previously associated with this disease: LHFPL3, SGCG, HTR4, ITGB1, CPS1, PROS1, GP2, KCNG2, PDE4D, KIR3DL3, and INPP5A. Further correlations revealed that 8 genes might play important role in pathogenesis of glial tumors, while changes in GP2, KCNG2 and KIR3DL3 should be considered as passenger mutations, consequence of high level of genomic instability. Identified genes have a significant role in signal transduction or cell adhesion, which are important processes for cancer development and progression. According to our results, LHFPL3 might be characteristic of primary glioblastoma, SGCG, HTR4, ITGB1, CPS1, PROS1 and INPP5A were detected predominantly in anaplastic astrocytoma, suggesting their role in progression of secondary glioblastoma, while alterations of PDE4D seem to have important role in development of both glioblastoma subtypes. Some of the identified genes showed significant association with p53, p16, and EGFR, but there was no significant correlation between loss of PTEN and any of identified genes. In conclusion our study revealed genetic alterations that were not previously associated with glioma pathogenesis and could be potentially used as molecular markers of different glioblastoma subtypes. Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia [III41031]

International audience; Small-world networks provide an appealing description of cortical architecture owing to their capacity for integration and segregation combined with an economy of connectivity. Previous reports of low-density interareal graphs and apparent small-world properties are challenged by data that reveal high-density cortical graphs in which economy of connections is achieved by weight heterogeneity and distance-weight correlations. These properties define a model that predicts many binary and weighted features of the cortical network including a core-periphery, a typical feature of self-organizing information processing systems. Feedback and feedforward pathways between areas exhibit a dual counterstream organization, and their integration into local circuits constrains cortical computation. Here, we propose a bow-tie representation of interareal architecture derived from the hierarchical laminar weights of pathways between the high-efficiency dense core and periphery.