Tempo Of Change Research Articles

Videos posted on the internet provide evidence for joint rushing in naturalistic social interactions

When people engage in rhythmic joint actions, they unintentionally increase their tempo. However, this phenomenon of joint rushing has so far been investigated only under very specific and somewhat artificial conditions. Therefore, it remains unclear whether joint rushing generalizes to other instances of rhythmic joint action. In this study our aim was to investigate whether joint rushing can also be observed in a wider range of naturalistic rhythmic social interactions. To achieve this, we retrieved videos of a wide range of rhythmic interactions from an online video-sharing platform. The data suggest that joint rushing indeed can also be observed in more naturalistic social interactions. Furthermore, we provide evidence that group size matters for how tempo unfolds in social interactions with larger groups showing a stronger tempo increase than smaller groups. Comparing the data from naturalistic interactions with data collected in a lab study further showed that unintended tempo changes in social interactions are reduced in naturalistic interactions compared to interactions in a lab context. It is an open question which factors led to this reduction. One possibility is that humans might have come up with strategies to reduce the effects of joint rushing.

Scenarios of maternal mortality reduction by 2030 in the Americas: insights from its tempo

BackgroundThe enduring threat of maternal mortality to health worldwide and in the Americas has been recognized in the global and regional agendas and their targets to 2030. To inform the direction and amount of effort needed to meet those targets, a set of equity-sensitive regional scenarios of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) reduction based on its tempo or speed of change from baseline year 2015 was developed.MethodsRegional scenarios by 2030 were defined according to: i) the MMR average annual rate of reduction (AARR) needed to meet the global (70 per 100,000) or regional (30 per 100,000) targets and, ii) the horizontal (proportional) or vertical (progressive) equity criterion applied to the cross-country AARR distribution (i.e., same speed to all countries or faster for those with higher baseline MMR). MMR average and inequality gaps –absolute (AIG), and relative (RIG)– were scenario outcomes.ResultsAt baseline, MMR was 59.2 per 100,000; AIG was 313.4 per 100,000 and RIG was 19.0 between countries with baseline MMR over twice the global target and those below the regional target. The AARR needed to meet the global and regional targets were -7.60% and -4.54%, respectively; baseline AARR was -1.55%. In the regional MMR target attainment scenario, applying horizontal equity would decrease AIG to 158.7 per 100,000 and RIG will remain invariant; applying vertical equity would decrease AIG to 130.9 per 100,000 and RIG would decrease to 13.5 by 2030.ConclusionThe dual challenge of reducing maternal mortality and abating its inequalities will demand hefty efforts from countries of the Americas. This remains true to their collective 2030 MMR target while leaving no one behind. These efforts should be mainly directed towards significantly speeding up the tempo of the MMR reduction and applying sensible progressivity, targeting on groups and territories with higher MMR and greater social vulnerabilities, especially in a post-pandemic regional context.

Neural entrainment underpins sensorimotor synchronization to dynamic rhythmic stimuli

Neural entrainment, defined as unidirectional synchronization of neural oscillations to an external rhythmic stimulus, is a topic of major interest in the field of neuroscience. Despite broad scientific consensus on its existence, on its pivotal role in sensory and motor processes, and on its fundamental definition, empirical research struggles in quantifying it with non-invasive electrophysiology. To this date, broadly adopted state-of-the-art methods still fail to capture the dynamic underlying the phenomenon.Here, we present event-related frequency adjustment (ERFA) as a methodological framework to induce and to measure neural entrainment in human participants, optimized for multivariate EEG datasets. By applying dynamic phase and tempo perturbations to isochronous auditory metronomes during a finger-tapping task, we analyzed adaptive changes in instantaneous frequency of entrained oscillatory components during error correction. Spatial filter design allowed us to untangle, from the multivariate EEG signal, perceptual and sensorimotor oscillatory components attuned to the stimulation frequency.Both components dynamically adjusted their frequency in response to perturbations, tracking the stimulus dynamics by slowing down and speeding up the oscillation over time. Source separation revealed that sensorimotor processing enhanced the entrained response, supporting the notion that the active engagement of the motor system plays a critical role in processing rhythmic stimuli. In the case of phase shift, motor engagement was a necessary condition to observe any response, whereas sustained tempo changes induced frequency adjustment even in the perceptual oscillatory component. Although the magnitude of the perturbations was controlled across positive and negative direction, we observed a general bias in the frequency adjustments towards positive changes, which points at the effect of intrinsic dynamics constraining neural entrainment.We conclude that our findings provide compelling evidence for neural entrainment as mechanism underlying overt sensorimotor synchronization, and highlight that our methodology offers a paradigm and a measure for quantifying its oscillatory dynamics by means of non-invasive electrophysiology, rigorously informed by the fundamental definition of entrainment.

Tri desaťročia transformácie plodnosti v Česku a na Slovensku v prierezovom a generačnom pohľade

Since the beginning of the 1990s, there have been significant changes in fertility quantum and tempo in Czechia and Slovakia. We are also witnessing significant age pluralization of reproduction. These and other transformational changes can be observed not only in a cross-sectional view but also in a cohort perspective. The main goal of the article is to analyse the main changes in the fertility process in Czechia and Slovakia after 1989. We focus on changes in the intensity and timing of childbirth and the age distribution of fertility. We identify the development trajectories of the two countries and the similarities and differences between them brought about by the transformation period. By analysing the process of the postponement and recuperation of cohort fertility, we also try to point out the future development of completed cohort fertility and the parity structure of women born in the second half of the 1970s and 1980s.

Poor synchronization yet adequate tempo-keeping in adults with autism.

Sensorimotor synchronization to external events is fundamental to social interactions. Adults with autism spectrum condition (ASC) have difficulty with synchronization, manifested in both social and non-social situations, such as paced finger-tapping tasks, where participants synchronize their taps to metronome beats. What limits ASC's synchronization is a matter of debate, especially whether it stems from reduced online correction of synchronization error (the "slow update" account) or from noisy internal representations (the "elevated internal noise" account). To test these opposing theories, we administered a synchronization-continuation tapping task, with and without tempo changes. Participants were asked to synchronize with the metronome and continue the tempo when it stopped. Since continuation is based only on internal representations, the slow update hypothesis predicts no difficulty, whereas the elevated noise hypothesis predicts similar or enhanced difficulties. Additionally, tempo changes were introduced, to assess whether adequate updating of internal representations to external changes is possible when given a longer temporal window for updating. We found that the ability to keep the metronome's tempo after it stopped did not differ between ASC and typically developing (TD) individuals. Importantly, when given a longer period to adapt to external changes, keeping a modified tempo was also similar in ASC. These results suggest that synchronization difficulties in ASC stem from slow update rather than elevated internal noise.

Brain networks for temporal adaptation, anticipation, and sensory-motor integration in rhythmic human behavior

Human interaction often requires the precise yet flexible interpersonal coordination of rhythmic behavior, as in group music making. The present fMRI study investigates the functional brain networks that may facilitate such behavior by enabling temporal adaptation (error correction), prediction, and the monitoring and integration of information about ‘self’ and the external environment. Participants were required to synchronize finger taps with computer-controlled auditory sequences that were presented either at a globally steady tempo with local adaptations to the participants' tap timing (Virtual Partner task) or with gradual tempo accelerations and decelerations but without adaptation (Tempo Change task). Connectome-based predictive modelling was used to examine patterns of brain functional connectivity related to individual differences in behavioral performance and parameter estimates from the adaptation and anticipation model (ADAM) of sensorimotor synchronization for these two tasks under conditions of varying cognitive load. Results revealed distinct but overlapping brain networks associated with ADAM-derived estimates of temporal adaptation, anticipation, and the integration of self-controlled and externally controlled processes across task conditions. The partial overlap between ADAM networks suggests common hub regions that modulate functional connectivity within and between the brain's resting-state networks and additional sensory-motor regions and subcortical structures in a manner reflecting coordination skill. Such network reconfiguration might facilitate sensorimotor synchronization by enabling shifts in focus on internal and external information, and, in social contexts requiring interpersonal coordination, variations in the degree of simultaneous integration and segregation of these information sources in internal models that support self, other, and joint action planning and prediction.

The relationship between tempo changes and relative ratio of timing in music performance

속도변화에 따라 타이밍의 상대적 비율이 유지되는가에 대해서 지금까지 서로 상반되는 입장이 있었다. 하나는 ‘상대적 비율 불변의 법칙’이라는 입장과 다른 하나는 ‘속도-특화 가설’로서 속도에 따라 상대적 비율이 달라진다는 입장이다. 본 연구에서는 양 입장을 각각 대표하는 2개의 논문을 자세히 검토한 뒤, 개선점을 도출하여 연구하였다. 음 추출의 정확도를 확보한 Disklavier(ahepfaud: DC3X ENPRO)라는 새로운 방식의 피아노를 사용하여 타이밍을 추출하였으며, 빠르고 템포가 일정한 바로크 양식의 악곡과 템포가 유동적인 낭만주의 악곡을 비교 연구하였다는 점이 기존 연구와 다른 점이다. 그로부터 얻어진 결론은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 템포가 일정하지만 빠른 바흐의 음악에서는 모든 속도 변화에서 음길이의 상대적 비율 간 일치도가 낮게 나타난 반면, 템포가 유동적인 쇼팽의 경우는 속도 변화에도 불구하고 상당히 일치도가 높았다. 그러므로 속도가 변화하면 타이밍의 비율적 관계가 유지되는가라는 질문에 대하여 모든 음악 혹은 모든 연주적 행동이 다 그렇다고 말할 수 없다. 이는 ‘상대적 비율 불변의 법칙’이 맞지 않다는 증거이다. 둘째, 속도가 느려지는가 아니면 빨라지는가에 따라 일정한 경향성을 보이면서 비율이 변화한다. 속도가 빨라지면 타이밍 변화의 폭이 늘어나고 속도가 느려지면 타이밍 변화의 폭이 줄어드는 경향을 보였다. 이는 ‘템포-특화 가설’이 맞다는 증거이다. 셋째, 음악 특징적 측면에서 빠르고 스타카토가 많은 부분이 느리고 레가토가 많은 부분에 비해 시간적 비율관계가 잘 유지되기 힘들었다. 이는 인간이 인지적으로 통제할 수 있는 부분에서는 시간의 상대적 비율관계가 속도 변화의 영향을 받지 않고 비교적 잘 유지되는 반면, 인지적인 통제의 범위를 넘어서서 신체 움직임의 한계에 종속될 수 밖에 없는 부분에서는 상대적 비율관계가 잘 유지되기 어렵다는 것을 보여준다. 그러므로 시사점으로 이러한 류의 연구에서 원곡의 본래 속도와 연주기법적 특징이 중요하게 고려되어야 한다는 점을 얻을 수 있었다. 속도변화에 따른 시간적 비율관계의 유지 여부의 문제는 다른 요소들보다도 행동의 콘트롤 여부와 관련이 있기 때문이다.Until now, there have been opposing positions as to whether the relative ratio of timing is maintained or changed according to tempo changes. One is the position in support of the law of ‘relational invariance’, and the other is the position advocating the ‘tempo-specific hypothesis’. In this study, two papers representing both positions were reviewed in detail, and improvement points were derived. This study is different from previous studies in that the timing was extracted using a new acoustic piano called DISKLAVIER(DC3X ENPRO), which has secured the accuracy of sound extraction, and a comparative study was conducted between a fast, constant-tempo baroque-style piece(Bach’s prelude no.3, BWV.848) and a fluid-tempo romantic piece (Chopin’s Nocturne, op.9 no.2). The conclusions are as follows. First, in Bach's music with a constant tempo but fast, the correlations between tempo-different versions were low in all speed changes, whereas in the case of Chopin, which had a flexible tempo, the correlations were quite high despite the speed change. Therefore, to the question of whether the proportional relationship of timing is maintained when speed changes, it cannot be said that all music or all performance actions are the same. This is proof that the “law of relative invariance” is not true. Second, the ratio changes with a certain tendency depending on whether the tempo is decreasing or increasing. As the tempo increased, the variety of the timing change increased, and when the speed decreased, the variety of the timing change decreased. This is proof for ‘tempo-specific hypothesis’. Third, in terms of musical characteristics, the temporal ratio relationship in the parts that were fast and had a lot of staccato dose not remained well, compared to the part that were slow and had a lot of legato. This is that, in the part that humans can control cognitively, the relative ratio of time is not affected by the change in speed and is maintained relatively well, whereas in the part where it is bound to be subordinated to the limits of body movement, it shows that the temporal proportion is difficult to maintain well. Therefore, the original tempo and performance technique of pieces should be considered as important. This is because the question of whether to maintain the temporal ratio relationship according to the tempo change is more related to the control of behavior than other factors.

Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex.

Recent research has made great strides clarifying the chronology, temporal span, and geographic and technological patterning of the Acheulian in eastern Africa. However, highland occurrences of the Acheulian remain under-represented and their relationship to cultural dynamics in the Rift are still poorly understood. Recently, a stratified sequence of four archaeological layers, recording Acheulian occupations dated between ~1.6 Ma and ~1.3 Ma, has been discovered in locality MW2 of the Melka Wakena site-complex (south-central Ethiopian highlands). This database enabled a systematic exploration of the question of tempo and mode of technological changes at a local sequence, allowing, for the first time, comparison with other highland sites as well as in the Rift. The detailed techno-economic study presented in this study shows that the early Acheulian at the locality was characterized by the co-existence of lithic reduction sequences for small debitage and for flake-based Large Cutting Tool production. In the early, ~1.6 Ma assemblage, a strategy of variable raw material exploitation and technological emphasis on small debitage were coupled with production of few crude bifacial elements. These shifted at ~1.4 Ma towards a preferential and intensive exploitation of a highly knappable glassy ignimbrite and emphasis on Large Cutting Tool production, including higher investment in their techno-morphological aspects. The MW2 sequence tracks lithic technological trends observed in the Rift, with only a short time lag. Diachronic changes in the raw material economy and land use patterns may have occurred at MW2 earlier than previously reported for the Acheulian on the highlands. The behavioral dynamics gleaned from the early Acheulian assemblages at MW2 are important for our understanding of the diachronic changes in the abilities of Acheulian hominins to exploit the diverse geographic and ecological habitats of eastern Africa and beyond.

Investigating the Effect of Jo-Ha-Kyū on Music Tempos and Kinematics across Cultures: Animation Design for 3D Characters Using Japanese Bunraku Theater

Abstract Bunraku theater is a traditional Japanese performing art. Bunraku puppeteering can invoke deep unconscious affective reactions from the audience, overcoming what is known as the uncanny valley effect. The authors analyze Bunraku plays, showing that the music tempo and puppet movements follow the Jo-Ha-Kyū principle, which refers to recursive and fractal artistic modulations such as changes of tempo and rhythm breaks. The authors then illustrate the difference between Bunraku and European dance and finally propose the application of Jo-Ha-Kyū in character animation design.

I want to celebrate as hymns acculturation of i will sing of my redeemer (an analysis on a Sangihe Masamper song)

This research aims to analyze the acculturation process through the hymn <em>I will sing of my Redeemer, which became </em>Hymn Masamper<em>I Want To Celebrate. </em>I will use a qualitative approach to explore the perspective of ethnomusicology and hymnology through observation, interviews, and literature review. Observations have been made for a long time because the researcher is also the artist of Masamper Art. But the focus of observation from 2008 until now has been Observations were made on various Masamper performances in the Sangihe community in the Sangihe Islands and the Sangihe diaspora community on the mainland of North Sulawesi in the city of Manado. The results of the analysis found that the existence of the song "I want to be grateful," Masamper's singing in the Sangihe community, is the result of acculturation from the Hymn. song<em>I will sing of my Redeemer works by Philip </em>Paul Bliss. The results of this acculturation found that there was a change in form from a 3 stanza strophic form to a 1 stanza strophic form, but it is done repeatedly. The bars have also changed from 9/8 bars for the original song to bars for mourning (Masamper Sabuah) and 4/4 bars during party performances or competitions (Mebawalase). The tempo changes from fast to slow but uses stress on each word. Meanwhile, the meter still uses the 8.7.8.7 CM (Common Meter) pattern except for the refrain. The syllabic pattern, or singing with one note for one syllable, is still carried out, but new developments have emerged in the Sangihe community, namely the Manahola singing style, or singing before the main song word, the Mamaranca style of singing repeating words in the verse that are currently being sung, and the Yora style of singing while singing. Do word stresses on the refrain or repetition of the song, which is usually done while dancing.

Mosaic Evolution of the Skull in Labrid Fishes Involves Differences in Both Tempo and Mode of Morphological Change.

Modularity is a ubiquitous feature of organismal design that plays an important role in structuring patterns of morphological diversification. Modularity can facilitate evolutionary changes by allowing subsets of traits to coevolve as integrated units and follow quasi-independent evolutionary trajectories, a pattern that may be particularly consequential in the case of highly complex morphological structures. Here we examine modularity in a complex and highly kinetic structure, the teleost skull, and ask if a modular organization of the skull has influenced the diversification dynamics of the shapes of its osteological components across the labrid phylogeny. We compiled one of the largest 3D morphological data sets of fishes to date and used geometric morphometrics to quantify patterns of cranial shape evolution across 184 species of wrasses (Labridae). We then tested several hypotheses of modularity inspired by functional and developmental relationships between cranial bones and compared phenotypic rates among modules. We also compared the fit of models of trait evolution for the entire skull and the various articulated bones that it comprises. Our analyses indicated strong support for a 2-module hypothesis, one that encompasses the oral and pharyngeal jaws and another module comprised of the neurocranium, hyoid apparatus, and operculum. This functional hypothesis yielded one of the highest significant rate differentials across modules, yet we also found that the best-fitting models of trait evolution differed among skull bones. These results suggest that modularity can influence morphological diversification in complex biological structures via differences in both the tempo and mode of evolutionary change. [3D geometric morphometrics, cranial morphology, evolutionary modularity, Labridae, phenotypic rates, structural complexity.].

Phenological research based on natural history collections: Practical guidelines and a lepidopteran case study

Abstract Natural history collections (NHCs) have been indispensable to understanding longer‐term trends of the timing of seasonal events. Massive‐scale digitization of specimens promises to further enable phenological research, especially the ability to move towards a deeper understanding of drivers of change and how trait–environment interactions shape phenological sensitivity. Despite the promise of NHCs to answer fundamental phenology questions, the use of these data resources presents unique and often overlooked challenges requiring specialized workflow steps, such as assembling multisource data, accounting for date imprecision and making decisions about trade‐offs between data density and spatial resolution. We provide a set of key best practice recommendations and showcase these via a case study that utilizes NHC data to test hypotheses about spatiotemporal trends in adult Lepidoptera (i.e. butterflies and moths) flight timing across North America. Our case study is a worked example of these best practices, helping practitioners recognize and overcome potential pitfalls at each step, from data acquisition and cleaning, to delineating spatial units and proper estimation of phenological metrics and associated uncertainty, to building appropriate models. We confirm and extend the critical importance of voltinism and diapause strategy, but less‐so daily activity patterns, for predicting Lepidoptera phenology spatiotemporal trends. Our case study also showcases the unique power of NHC data to test existing hypotheses and generate new insights about temporal phenological trends. Specifically, migratory species and species that enter diapause as adults are advancing the start of flight periods in more recent years, even after accounting for climate context. These results highlight the physiological and adaptive differences between species with different overwintering strategies. We close by noting the value of partnerships between data scientists, museum experts and ecological modellers to fully harness the power of digital data resources to address pressing global change challenges. These partnerships can extend approaches for integrating multiple data types to fully unlock our understanding of the tempo, mode, drivers and outcomes of phenological changes at greater spatial, temporal and taxonomic scales. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Dissociable effects of music and white noise on conflict-induced behavioral adjustments.

Auditory stimuli, encompassing a continually expanding collection of musical genres and sonic hues, present a safe and easily administrable therapeutic option for alleviating cognitive deficits associated with neuropsychological disorders, but their effects on executive control are yet to be completely understood. To better understand how the processing of certain acoustic properties can influence conflict processing, we had a large of cohort of undergraduate students complete the Stroop colour and word test in three different background conditions: classical music, white noise, and silence. Because of pandemic guidelines and the necessity to run the experiment remotely, participants also completed the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), so that the reliability and consistency of acquired data could be assessed. We found that white noise, but not classical music increased the response time difference between congruent (low conflict) and incongruent (high conflict) trials (conflict cost), hence impairing performance. Results from the WCST indicated that home-based data collection was reliable, replicating a performance bias reported in our previous laboratory-based experiments. Both the auditory stimuli were played at a similar intensity, thus their dissociable effects may have resulted from differing emotional responses within participants, where white noise, but not music elicited a negative response. Integrated with previous literature, our findings indicate that outside of changes in tempo and valence, classical music does not affect cognitive functions associated with conflict processing, whilst white noise impairs these functions in a manner similar to other stressors, and hence requires further research before its implementation into neuropsychiatric care.

Fast‐paced city life? Tempo and mode of phenotypic changes in urban birds from Switzerland

Humans' large influence on the environment has constructed many new ecological niches, such as in urban areas. Phenotypic changes, including morphological ones related to human influence, are known from a small number of bird species. The amount of change in a given time period, that is, the rate of change, may vary. Rates of change (both evolutionary and through phenotypic plasticity) are reportedly rapid in human-influenced settings, although this is disputed. We present new data on changes in beak dimensions and rates of change over historical time periods in four urban bird species (Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Blackbird, House Sparrow) from three Swiss cities (Basel, Bern, Geneva). Our study shows that beak dimensions have changed little in most investigated urban bird populations over the past century. Only in Genevan Blackbirds there was evidence for an increase in beak length over the past 65 years; Bernese Chaffinches appear to be trending toward a decrease in beak width over the past 55 years. Rates of change in our sample in comparison with literature records showed that compared to populations less influenced by humans, urban evolutionary rates appear to be similar. Although in accordance with previous findings about other urban bird species, our study exemplifies the difficulty to find universal patterns in tempo and mode of phenotypic evolution in urban areas, even when considering the same taxa. Our data contribute to the expanding field of urban evolutionary biology, which is particularly important regarding the growing urban habitats worldwide.

N400 Indexing the Motion Concept Shared by Music and Words.

The two event-related potentials (ERP) studies investigated how verbs and nouns were processed in different music priming conditions in order to reveal whether the motion concept via embodiment can be stimulated and evoked across categories. Study 1 (Tasks 1 and 2) tested the processing of verbs (action verbs vs. state verbs) primed by two music types, with tempo changes (accelerating music vs. decelerating music) and without tempo changes (fast music vs. slow music) while Study 2 (Tasks 3 and 4) tested the processing of nouns (animate nouns vs. inanimate nouns) in the same priming condition as adopted in Study 1. During the experiments, participants were required to hear a piece of music prior to judging whether an ensuing word (verb or noun) is semantically congruent with the motion concept conveyed by the music. The results show that in the priming condition of music with tempo changes, state verbs and inanimate nouns elicited larger N400 amplitudes than action verbs and animate nouns, respectively in the anterior regions and anterior to central regions, whereas in the priming condition of music without tempo changes, action verbs elicited larger N400 amplitudes than state verbs and the two categories of nouns revealed no N400 difference, unexpectedly. The interactions between music and words were significant only in Tasks 1, 2, and 3. Taken together, the results demonstrate that firstly, music with tempo changes and music without tempo prime verbs and nouns in different fashions; secondly, action verbs and animate nouns are easier to process than state verbs and inanimate nouns when primed by music with tempo changes due to the shared motion concept across categories; thirdly, bodily experience differentiates between music and words in coding (encoding and decoding) fashion but the motion concept conveyed by the two categories can be subtly extracted on the metaphorical basis, as indicated in the N400 component. Our studies reveal that music tempos can prime different word classes, favoring the notion that embodied motion concept exists across domains and adding evidence to the hypothesis that music and language share the neural mechanism of meaning processing.

Loss-of-heterozygosity facilitates a fitness valley crossing in experimentally evolved multicellular yeast.

Determining how adaptive possibilities do or do not become evolutionary realities is central to understanding the tempo and mode of evolutionary change. Some of the simplest evolutionary landscapes arise from underdominance at a single locus where the fitness valley consists of only one less-fit genotype. Despite their potential for rapid evolutionary change, few such examples have been investigated. We capitalized on an experimental system in which a significant evolutionary shift, the transition from uni-to-multicellularity, was observed in asexual diploid populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae experimentally selected for increased settling rates. The multicellular phenotype results from recessive single-locus mutations that undergo loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) events. By reconstructing the necessary heterozygous intermediate steps, we found that the evolution of multicellularity involves a decrease in size during the first steps. Heterozygous genotypes are 20% smaller in size than genotypes with functional alleles. Nevertheless, populations of heterozygotes give rise to multicellular genotypes more readily than unicellular genotypes with two functional alleles, by rapid LOH events. LOH drives adaptation that may enable rapid evolution in diploid yeast. Together these results show discordance between the phenotypic and genotypic multicellular transition. The evolutionary path to multicellularity, and the adaptive benefits of increased size, requires initial size reductions.

МЕТОДИКА РОЗВИТКУ ВИРАЗНОГО МОВЛЕННЯ ДІТЕЙ ДОШКІЛЬНОГО ВІКУ

The article considers some methodological techniques, aimed at the preschoolers' correct understanding of the literary work sense and the expressive reading skills formation (logical stresses, tempo, corresponding movements, gestures, and body posture work) and suggests necessary training exercises. Priority of a modern preschool institution work is the development and up-bringing of a creative child, who feels and understands sensitively a poetic word, the sense and emotional potential of a literary work (a poem, a fairy-tale or a short story), controls and accurately transfers their own emotions and understands other people's feelings, has empathy; who is able to freely and skillfully control their body, posture, movements and gestures. The educational programme for children-preschoolers provides for the development of the pupils' creative abilities: expressive reading of a poem, fairy-tales telling, using elements of staging, dramatization, participating in theatrical and game activities. To develop children-preschoolers' expressive speech, it is important to work at the logical stress. The effective exercises for the logical stress mastering by the children are the techniques: logical stress «Tug», / a simulation exercise/, «Question – Answer»/, an analytical exercise/. By doing such exercises, children are learning to distinguish the word with a strong logical stress and will be able to hear , which variant sounds the best. Working at the poem tempo is also efficient, as children should understand that a literary work tempo is the characteristics of events, poetic characters' actions. The article suggests some exercises for observing a poem tempo, tempo changes, tempo functions in the semantic structure of a poem. Expressive reading is the combination of facial expressions, intonation, voice characteristics, as well as of gestures, movements, and body posture. Children-preschoolers often imitate gestures of an adult, an educator, that is why their gestures are not natural or sincere. The appropriate exercises will help children to develop a skill of mastering gestures and movements freely, and to choose a body posture correctly. Gesture, movements, body posture will become natural and sincere only when a child comprehends the sense of a poem and understands its emotional potential.

Neural correlates with individual differences in temporal prediction during auditory-motor synchronization.

Temporal prediction ability is vital for movement synchronization with external rhythmic stimuli (sensorimotor synchronization); however, little is known regarding individual variations in temporal prediction ability and its neural correlates. We determined the underlying neural correlates of temporal prediction and individual variations during auditory-motor synchronization. We hypothesized that the non-primary motor cortices, such as the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area, are the key brain regions that correlate individual variations in prediction ability. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (7T) was performed for 18 healthy volunteers who tapped to 3 types of auditory metronome beats: isochronous, tempo change, and random. The prediction ability was evaluated using prediction/tracking ratios that were computed based on cross-correlations between tap timing and pacing events. Participants with a higher prediction/tracking ratio (i.e. stronger predictive tendency) tapped to metronome beats more accurately and precisely. The prediction/tracking ratio was positively correlated with the activity in the bilateral dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), suggesting that the bilateral PMd explains the individual variation in prediction ability. These results indicate that the PMd is involved in generating a model for temporal prediction of auditory rhythm patterns and its activity would reflect model accuracy, which is critical for accurate and precise sensorimotor synchronization.

Development of Convolutional Neural Network for Classification of Amplitude-Frequency Characteristics of Audio Signals

This paper studies the application of deep convolutional neural networks for the processing of audio files, particularly for classifying amplitude-frequency characteristics of audio signals. The mapping of audio fragments to each other is reduced to verifying objects by their representation. A large representative sample of audio signals was collected and supplemented with a satisfying Free Music Archive dataset to produce a dataset for training a deep convolutional neural network. The CQT-Net architecture is taken as a predictive model with cosine similarity being used to compare feature vectors. Four types of augmentation, including Gaussian noise, reverberation, change in pitch frequency, and change in tempo of the audio signal, are used to prevent retraining of the predictive model. The verification quality of the predictive model is tested on two separate datasets consisting of 1500 audio recordings excluded from the training dataset. Detection error tradeoff curves are plotted for all datasets, including testing ones with a changed pace and with a changed "pitch." Equal Error Rate is used as a model quality metric. The probability of identification of commonly used distortions of audio signals in the amplitude-frequency domain is evaluated to be higher than 92%. It signifies the reliability of the developed model.

Meeting Design Supporting Sustainability in Early Planning Practice: A Combination of ‘Hard and Soft’ Characteristics

While research on the sustainable built environment has acknowledged the need to integrate multidisciplinary perspectives in the early planning phases, few studies have focused on early-phase meetings and how these can support such co-creation of sustainability. In this study, a set of “characteristics” for collaborative meetings integrating multidisciplinary perspectives was tested in 16 meetings that took place in the early phase. An action research insider perspective was used, where a researcher was also the facilitator of these 16 meetings. The cases provide insights into the early-phase processes where the building industry can achieve sustainable impacts on the built environment. This was exemplified by two of the cases becoming demonstration projects in terms of sustainability. Empirical material was gathered through discussions and surveys with meeting participants and was analyzed through the lens of the meeting design characteristics. The findings show that processes with ‘soft’ interpersonal characteristics (expressing emotions, tempo change during dialogue, engaging in social interaction, moving the body) support the development of a shared understanding of sustainability that integrates multidisciplinary perspectives. For larger groups and in digital meetings, a combination of ‘soft’ (interpersonal) and ‘hard’ (digital communication tools and platforms) characteristics were found to be supportive, especially when the meeting time was limited. This research suggests a revision of the design of multidisciplinary early-phase meetings towards including social, emotional, bodily, and collaborative exercises supported by digital tools.