Modelling Musical Structures

Modelling musical structures is a research field prominent among mathematicians and computer scientists as well as musicologists, psychomusicologists and musicians. Constraint programming has been proved to be a highly appropriate technique in this field. For the task of automated music composition, in particular, constraints have been shown to describe composition principles in a declarative, natural, and, above all, efficient way since music composition knowledge is in fact a collection of conditions rather than a sort of cookery-book.Unfortunately, many approaches stress the technical aspects of applying constraints and do not think about the concrete role of constraints, i.e. about what music really should be. In general, the composer as an artist is more concerned about what he wants to say through his music than with theoretically (or socially or psychologically) established rules. This means that automated music composition needs practical goals in order to make sense. The role of those goals as well as musical constraints and constraint technologies that help to realize the goals are to be shown in this article. As a modelling example the system COPPELIA is introduced. It generates music on the basis of the structures, goals, and contents of given multimedia presentations. In this relatively young field of constraint application that does not supply such ideal, well-defined and closed sets of conditions as technical applications do, we find it very important to also present general thoughts about the sense of our application, about the development of composition constraints and the conditions under which these constraints work effectively.     

Enterprise-University Co-operation and the Role of Public Research Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems

The paper analyses the co-operative relationships that public research institutions in Germany have developed with manufacturing firms and with each other. We find that collaboration with firms is highly concentrated on regional partners. Research institutions contribute significantly to innovation processes in the respective regions by absorbing knowledge from beyond the region and making it available to local companies. In respect of co-operation between public research institutions themselves, we find that spatial proximity still matters, but to a lesser degree.     

Modifications of the Heliosat procedure for irradiance estimates from satellite images

Images taken by geostationary satellites may be used to estimate solar irradiance fluxes at the earth's surface. The Heliosat method is a widely applied procedure for this task. It is based on the empirical correlation between a satellite derived cloud index and the irradiance at the ground. Modifications to this procedure that may reduce the temporal variability of the correlation are presented. The modified method may open the way to the use of a generic relation of cloud index and global irradiance.     

Chp, a homologue of the GTPase Cdc42Hs, activates the JNK pathway and is implicated in reorganizing the actin cytoskeleton

The p21-activated protein kinases (PAKs) are activated through direct interaction with the GTPases Rac and Cdc42Hs, which are implicated in the control of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton [1-3]. The exact role of the PAK proteins in these signaling pathways is not entirely clear. To elucidate the biological function of Pak2 and to identify its molecular targets, we used a novel two-hybrid system, the Ras recruitment system (RRS), that aims to detect protein-protein interactions at the inner surface of the plasma membrane (described in the accompanying paper by Broder et al. [4]). The Pak2 regulatory domain (PakR) was fused at the carboxyl terminus of a RasL61 mutant protein and screened against a myristoylated rat pituitary cDNA library. Four clones were identified that interact specifically with PakR and three were subsequently shown to encode a previously unknown homologue of the GTPase Cdc42Hs. This approximately 36 kDa protein, designated Chp, exhibits an overall sequence identity to Cdc42Hs of approximately 52%. Chp contains two additional sequences at the amino and carboxyl termini that are not found in any known GTPase. The amino terminus contains a polyproline sequence, typically found in Src homology 3 (SH3)-binding domains, and the carboxyl terminus appears to be important for Pak2 binding. Results from the microinjection of Chp into cells implicated Chp in the induction of lamellipodia and showed that Chp activates the JNK MAP kinase cascade.     

Abnormal Hue-Angle change of the gemstone tanzanite between CIE illuminants d65 and a in CIELAB color space

The blue-to-purple color appearance change observed in some rare specimens of the gemstone tanzanite between daylight and incandescent light is contrary to the hue-angle change calculated between CIE illuminants D65 and A in CIELAB color space. This abnormal calculated hue-angle change for tanzanite can be corrected by using the spectral sensitivity functions of the three kinds of cone photoreceptors to directly calculate color. This study suggests that the cone spectral sensitivity functions are more fundamental in color calculations than the CIE color-matching functions.     

Supporting visual and verbal learning preferences in a second-language multimedia learning environment.

English-speaking college students who were enrolled in a German course read a 762-word German language story presented by a computer program. For key words in the story, students could choose to see a translation on the screen in English (i.e., verbal annotation) or view a picture or video clip representing the word (i.e., visual annotation), or both. Students remembered word translations better when they had selected both visual and verbal annotations during learning than only 1 or no annotation; students comprehended the story better when they had the opportunity to receive their preferred mode of annotation. Results are consistent with a generative theory of multimedia learning that assumes that learners actively select relevant verbal and visual information, organize the information into coherent mental representations, and integrate these newly constructed visual and verbal representations with one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empfindliche Bestimmung von Lysinoalanin und 2,3-Diaminopropions?ure durch fluorimetrische Detektion mit ortho-Phthaldialdehyd

Summary A highly sensitive fluorometric method for simultaneous determination of lysinoalanine (LAL) anddl-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (DAP) was developed. After acid hydrolysis (6 N HCl/23 h/110 °C) and direct neutralization of the hydrolysate with sodium citrate/sodiumhydroxide — solution LAL, DAP, ornithine, amino sugars and normal basic amino acids were completely separated by means of an amino acid analyzer technique (0.2 M sodium citrate buffer pH 4.50/60 °C) described by the authors in another publication for LAL-ninhydrin detection. LAL and DAP were eluted after 45 min and 67 min resp.; the whole procedure inclusive regeneration and equilibration of the resin took about 90 min. Compared to the colorimetric ninhydrin method a considerable increase in sensitivity and accuracy was achieved with fluorometric detection using an o-phthalaldehyde-reagent (1 M potassium borate buffer pH 10.0; 3.73 mM o-phthaldialdehyde; 2.86 mM mercaptoethanol; 2 ml Brij 35 30% solution/l). Normally 4 pmole DAP (0.4 ng) and 7 pmole LAL (1.6 ng) could be detected in protein hydrolysates; 50 pmole amounts were recovered at 100 ± 3%. In complex foods the minimum detectable level for LAL and DAP was 1–5 ppm in the protein, in some protein isolates generally used for model experiments detection was possible also in the ppb-range. A very short reaction coil corresponding to a short reaction time was responsible for a more sensitive detection of LAL and DAP, whereas — in the interest of the described method — amino sugars, neutral and acidic amino acids reacted to a lesser extent; lysine and ornithine produced a nearly unchanged fluorescence. Up to now DAP had only been found in dietetic formulated protein concentrates containing granulated milk protein (0–50 ppm DAP in the protein) and in whipping protein products originating from milk protein (1,660–3,660 ppm in the protein) and from soy protein (10,270 ppm).Zusammenfassung Es wurde ein hochempfindliches Fluorescenzverfahren für die gleichzeitige Bestimmung von Lysinoalanin (LAL) unddl-2,3-Diaminopropionsäure (DAP) erarbeitet. Nach salzsaurer Eiweißhydrolyse (6n-HCl/23 Std/110 °C) und Direktneutralisation des Hydrolysates mit Natriumcitrat-Natriumhydroxid-Lösung ermöglichte ein von den Autoren an anderer Stelle für Ninhydrindetektion beschriebenes Aminosäureanalysator-Ionenaustauschprogramm (0,2 m-Na-Citrat-Puffer pH 4,50/60 °C) die eindeutige Auftrennung von LAL, DAP und Ornithin sowie von Aminozuckern und normalen basischen Aminosäuren. LAL und DAP wurden nach 45 min bzw. 67 min eluiert, der Zeitbedarf für eine Analyse einschließlich Regenerierung und Äquilibrieren betrug etwa 90 min. Durch Fluorescenzdetektion mit dem OPA-Reagens (m-Kalium-Boratpuffer pH 10,0; 3,73 mmol ortho-Phthaldialdehyd, 2,86 mmol Mercaptoethanol, 2 ml Brij 35-Lösung/l), wurde eine beträchtliche Empfindlichkeits-und Genauigkeitssteigerung im Vergleich zur colorimetrischen Ninhydrinmethode erreicht. Mit vertretbarem Aufwand konnten noch 4 pmol (0,4 ng) und 7 pmol LAL (1,6 ng) im Eiweißhydrolysat erfaßt werden, die Analysen von 50 pmol-Mengen waren zu 100±3% reproduzierbar. Bei komplizierter Probenmatrix lag das Detektionslimit bei 1–5 ppm LAL und DAP im Eiweiß, in einigen für Modellversuche üblichen Proteinisolaten konnte auch im ppb-Bereich erfaßt werden. Eine sehr kurze Reaktionsspirale, entsprechend einer geringen Reaktionszeit, führte bei gleichbleibender Fluorescenzintensität von Lysin und Ornithin zu einem empfindlicheren Nachweis von LAL und DAP, während Aminozucker, aromatische, neutrale und saure Aminosäauren — unter diesen Umständen nur vorteilhaft-in weitaus geringerem Maße mit OPA reagierten. In Lebensmitteln wurde DAP bis jetzt nur in Diatformula-Proteinkonzentraten aus granuliertem Milcheiweiß (0–50 ppm DAP) uand in Schaumproteinerzeugnissen aus Milcheiweiß (1660–3660 ppm im Protein) sowie aus Soyaeiweiß (10270 ppm) gefunden.