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This article discusses two separate books that explore different aspects of music history. The first book focuses on interwar symphonies in the year 1933 and examines the works of composers such as Weill, Pfitzner, Harris, Copland, Honegger, and Price. The author argues that symphonies can provide insight into composers' relationships with society and explores the tension between the individual and the collective. The second book examines French art song from 1870 to 1914 and challenges the perception that it is inferior to other musical forms. The author explores the experimentation and significance of the genre within French musical life and presents it as a form of "new music" deserving of recognition and study. [Extracted from the article]

The last decade on the 19th century saw a major crisis of identity in what is known today as Finland. Having emerged from under centuries of Swedish rule and being incorporated into the Russian Empire, the population turned to its true ethnic roots. The compilation and the publishing of the Kalevala set in motion a series of cultural and artistic events which resonated deeply with the political aspirations of the moment. Amidst this effervescence came the young Jean Sibelius to present one of his earliest monumental works, Kullervo Op 7. Often mislabeled as a symphonic poem, this programmatic symphony draws upon the story of the Kalevala's 6th cycle. The unfolding plot is a typical tragic hero story set in a very Finnish framework. The composer had therefore to solve the task of presenting a particular version of a universal archetype and to create a symphony that can be both a testament to the struggles of his own time and a monument within the history of universal music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the end of his tenure with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1901, Gustav Mahler conducted more concerts than ever outside the imperial capital, including two performances of his Symphony No. 1 as part of the Philharmonic Society of Lemberg's first season in 1903. In Lemberg, today the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, the symphony received an overall favourable and, perhaps unknowingly, perceptive critical reception, in contrast to the notoriously harsh reviews penned by critics in Vienna three years earlier. As a means of exploring such different responses in the centre and on the periphery of the Habsburg empire, I suggest that a common language of pluralities, which Mahler shared with the region of Galicia's quotidian heterogeneity and emerging modernist movements, allowed the Leopolitan public to be ahead of Vienna in their openness to the early modernist modes of expression that would soon dominate European culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern precision sequencing techniques have established humans as a holobiont that live in symbiosis with the microbiome. Microbes play an active role throughout the life of a human ranging from metabolism and immunity to disease tolerance. Hence, it is of utmost significance to study the eukaryotic host in conjunction with the microbial antigens to obtain a complete picture of the host-microbiome crosstalk. Previous attempts at profiling host-microbiome interactions have been either superficial or been attempted to catalogue eukaryotic transcriptomic profile and microbial communities in isolation. Additionally, the nature of such immune-microbial interactions is not random but spatially organised. Hence, for a holistic clinical understanding of the interplay between hosts and microbiota, it's imperative to concurrently analyze both microbial and host genetic information, ensuring the preservation of their spatial integrity. Capturing these interactions as a snapshot in time at their site of action has the potential to transform our understanding of how microbes impact human health. In examining early-life microbial impacts, the limited presence of communities compels analysis within reduced biomass frameworks. However, with the advent of spatial transcriptomics we can address this challenge and expand our horizons of understanding these interactions in detail. In the long run, simultaneous spatial profiling of host-microbiome dialogues can have enormous clinical implications especially in gaining mechanistic insights into the disease prognosis of localised infections and inflammation. This review addresses the lacunae in host-microbiome research and highlights the importance of profiling them together to map their interactions while preserving their spatial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although scholars have typically studied the Nazi concentration camp system through a political and military analysis, another approach is to consider how composers depicted the Holocaust. This article places two works about concentration camps in relation to human rights issues: Hanns Eisler's German Symphony (1935-58) and his mentor Arnold Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw (1947). Both compositions rely heavily on texts to communicate their message. The article integrates Mark Philip Bradley's idea about the 'global human rights imagination': how nonstate actors, such as creative artists, could contribute to discussions about human rights through their art form or profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are accustomed to hearing the Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth Symphony played as an elegy, appropriate for state funerals and the like. But Wilhelm Mengelberg, once Mahler's assistant, claimed that the movement was composed as a love letter to Alma, and his performance offers an almost-too-explicit scenario of love making. In this article, I will return to Mengelberg's argument for this interpretation, then examine the ways his performance decisions produce simulations of erotic interactions. But his reading raises questions concerning historical performance practices: how prevalent were Mengelberg's tempo fluctuations and portamenti in the early twentieth century? To what extent should these practices inform our readings of other repertories of the time? And why might later conductors have chosen the elegaic mode, despite the fact that they thereby obscure what might be an important trace of Mahler's erotic sensibilities? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mahler's use of the contralto voice in his Second and Third Symphonies and in Das Lied von der Erde is commonly observed but little examined. The contralto sound in the "Urlicht" movement of the Second Symphony and the "Midnight Song" of the Third remains to be thought through; so does the return of the contralto a decade later in Das Lied. Why this voice? What expressive and cultural force does it bear? And why does Mahler in the Third Symphony and again in Das Lied explicitly assign a female voice to a male narrator? The starting point for answers to these questions is the unique status of the contralto voice in Mahler's musical world. Between roughly the 1820s and the 1920s, this rarest of all voice types enjoyed a transcendental mystique. Traces of its elevation, linked to its rarity, persist into the present, as does the descriptive language that the voice attracts. The transcendental character of the contralto, however, did not lead from the earth but to it. This is the case even in the "Urlicht" movement, which might seem to go the other way. And "lead" is a key term: the voice belongs to an unforeseen guide who leads the listener to a more acute sense of earthly existence. Mahler's model here was almost surely the contralto role of Erda--a guide who loses her own way--in Wagner's Ring cycle. But Mahler changes the contralto's gender, or, more exactly, makes the contralto guide a hybrid being who belongs to no gender, much like the angels in Rainer Maria Rilke's near-contemporaneous Duino Elegies of 1912--22. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion of Mahler and his music in the context of eroticism is rare. He is often personally contrasted with his wife Alma in terms of cultural interests and behavior. Evidence reveals, however, that he was more romantically experienced than Alma indicated at the time of their marriage. Mahler's music seems less overtly erotic than that of many of his important contemporaries. But he spent a career bringing some of the most sexually charged operatic repertoire to the stage as conductor. His patriarchal views on the idea of "Eros" as having both bodily and spiritually creative aspects of the "Common Eros" and the "Heavenly Eros" deriving from Plato's The Symposium, and the Wunderhorn song "Verlorne Müh'!" (1892) provide ways of understanding this stylistic shift and the exalted erotic at play in Mahler's music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the openness to ideas about sexuality, not least in music, in post-Wagnerian turnof- the-century Vienna, Mahler's outwardly rather guarded and seemingly conservative approach to sexual experience is examined in the light of more recent biographical research (as in the German edition of Mahler's letters to Anna von Mildenburg). Discussion focuses upon a reconsidered approach to the evidence of his first two extended musical works: Das klagende Lied (a copy of whose score he gifted to von Mildenburg at the end of their relationship and to Alma Schindler at the beginning of theirs) and the First Symphony. Aspects of the critical reception of both works--presented in Vienna for the first time by Mahler, in reverse order, in 1900 and 1901--revealed the disapproval of more conservative commentators and their implicitly anti-Semitic interpretation of the works' questionable audience appeal in terms of a kind of mass-culture critique. The link between the evasion of or indulgence in musical representations of sexuality and changing attitudes toward musical taste and reception might heighten our awareness of how the complex modernity of those works was tending in a quite different direction to that of the nascent modernism of Mahler's younger contemporaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrene, a renowned aromatic hydrocarbon, continues to captivate researchers due to its versatile properties and potential applications across various scientific domains. Among its derivatives, bromopyrenes stand out for their significance in synthetic chemistry, materials science, and environmental studies. The strategic functionalisation of pyrene at non-K region and nodal positions is crucial for expanding its utility, allowing for diverse functionalisation strategies. Bromo-substituted precursors serve as vital intermediates in synthetic routes; however, the substitution pattern of bromoderivatives significantly impacts their subsequent functionalisation and properties, posing challenges in synthesis and purification. Understanding the distinct electronic structure of pyrene is pivotal, dictating the preferential electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions at specific positions. Despite the wealth of literature, contradictions and complexities persist in synthesising suitably substituted bromopyrenes due to the unpredictable nature of substitution reactions. Building upon historical precedents, this study provides a comprehensive overview of bromine introduction in pyrene derivatives, offering optimised synthesis conditions based on laboratory research. Specifically, the synthesis of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrabromopyrene isomers at non-K positions (1-, 3-, 6-, 8-) and nodal positions (2-, 7-) is systematically explored. By elucidating efficient synthetic methodologies and reaction conditions, this research contributes to advancing the synthesis and functionalisation strategies of pyrene derivatives, unlocking new possibilities for their utilisation in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document explores the application of Neo-Riemannian Theory (NRT) to wind band literature, specifically analyzing a theme from Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1, The Lord of the Rings. NRT is a contemporary music theory that focuses on nonfunctional triadic progressions. The document discusses the effectiveness of NRT for analyzing music within the wind band genre and highlights its interpretive utility for conductors and performers. It provides an overview of NRT concepts, a close reading of the analyzed theme, and a list of other wind band works where NRT could be useful. The document also mentions the relationship between NRT and film music analysis. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on Corrado D'Errico's The Path of Our Heroes (Il cammino degli eroi), a 1936 compilation documentary comprising footage shot by the Istituto Luce's East Africa Film Unit operators. By reconstructing the production history of the film, it draws attention to the integration of cinema into the Second Italian-Ethiopian war (and later the empire) and the influence of cinematic and artistic avant-gardes in the making of the imperial documentary. Through a formal analysis, the essay proposes the notion of "empire symphony film" to examine how the film strives to render visible, while being fully integrated to, the infrastructure of the empire. In doing so, it invites a reconsideration of 1930s Italian documentary cinema in light of the reconfiguration of militancy, film culture, and aesthetics prompted by the Ethiopian war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the commencement of a new production of Wagner's "Ring" cycle in Basel. The production features performances of "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre," with "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung" scheduled for the future. The director, Benedikt von Peter, presents the action from the perspective of Brünnhilde, with the adult Brünnhilde appearing alongside her younger self in "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre." The staging collapses Wagner's timeline, and the production includes spoken reflections by Brünnhilde during pauses in the music. The performances were generally strong, with notable performances by the singers and a smooth orchestral accompaniment. [Extracted from the article]

This article analyzes formal fusion in the first movements of Schumann's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 and the finale of his Overture, Scherzo, and Finale. Within these pieces, fusion results from what Julian Horton (2015) calls "conflation"—that is, a process in which previously distinct formal levels collapse into each other—resulting in two new categories of sonata expositions I term bipartite and undivided. These categories help explain some of the unique features of Schumann's orchestral music and provide new tools toward understanding nineteenth-century form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review navigates the evolving landscape of N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) research approaches, emphasizing the importance of advanced technology in understanding RNA epigenetics. Beginning with the fundamentals of m6A and the need for high‐ throughput methods, the investigation progresses from low‐throughput approaches to high‐throughput technologies, encompassing antibody‐dependent and antibody‐free sequencing methods, as well as nanopore‐based direct mRNA sequencing and computation methods for m6A detection. Spatial techniques and imaging tools for m6A are also introduced in addition. The discussion of their special applications emphasizes the biological significance of absolute quantification, single‐nucleotide resolution, single‐molecule detection, and single‐cell profiling. The review concludes with a vision of ideal approaches that combine current technologies for comprehensive m6A sequencing, with the potential to further our understanding of gene regulation, cellular diversity, and their roles in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finale of Mahler's Ninth Symphony is saturated with turn figures. More than a traditional Baroque embellishment, in this movement the turn establishes a densely motivic role while simultaneously, on three occasions, functioning as an allusion to the Heilandsklage motive (the "Savior's Lament") of Wagner's Parsifal. Yet despite the wealth of literature on Mahler's Ninth Symphony, the turn figure has been almost entirely overlooked in Mahler studies, both as motivic device and intertextual reference. This article fills this gap and provides a detailed investigation into the role of the turn in the finale of Mahler's Ninth Symphony as both a motive and allusion to Wagner's Heilandsklage. It begins by exploring Mahler's relationship with Wagner's last drama before examining the appearance of the Heilandsklage motive in Mahler's songs and symphonies more broadly. Following this, it embarks on a detailed investigation into the turn in the finale of the Ninth Symphony and offers a fundamental rethinking of the turn, not simply as a musical ornament, but as a tool for musical and intertextual meaning in Mahler's and Wagner's works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the discipline of political philosophy and its relevance in society. While political philosophy is often seen as disconnected from the real world and not widely consulted by non-specialists, it can still provide insights into the attitudes of philosophers and the societal context in which they exist. The article discusses the shift in political philosophy towards a focus on ethics and the normative turn, where ethics is prioritized over other considerations. It compares the approaches of philosophers like John Locke and John Rawls, highlighting the move towards more abstract and theoretical arguments in contemporary political philosophy. The text also explores the potential elitism of political philosophy, but argues that its focus on rights and limitations on government power prevent it from becoming a ruling class. It suggests that political philosophy reflects the preferences of the middle class, who prioritize expertise and abstract justice. Ultimately, the aim of political philosophy is to assert its own status and elevate the role of the referee above that of the participant. [Extracted from the article]

Somatic and sympathetic tones fluctuate together seamlessly across daily behaviors. In this issue of Cell , Zhang et al. describe populations of spinal projecting neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla (rVMM) that harmonize somatic motor function and sympathetic activation. The coordinated regulation plays a vital role in supporting behaviors associated with various arousal states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the interiors of stars can be gleaned from their pulsations. Pulsation modes, which are determined by the internal state and structure of a star, are typically considered stable over short timescales. These independent pulsation modes have been used in asteroseismology to determine the interior structures of stars. Here, we report the discovery of peculiar pulsation mode interactions in the high-amplitude δ Scuti star KIC 6382916 (J19480292+4146558) that challenge the reliability of independent pulsation modes as indicators of a star's internal structure. Through analysis of archival data, we find distinct variations in the amplitudes and frequencies of three independent pulsation modes and their harmonics and combinations over approximately 20 days. These variations can reach amplitudes of about 140% and frequency variations of about 12%. Correlation analysis of amplitude and frequency variations reveal additional pulsation mode interaction details and patterns. Notably, our findings regarding the phenomena related to the harmonics of independent pulsation modes challenge the traditional understanding in this area. These discoveries serve as cornerstones for future research and advance nonlinear asteroseismology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the evolution of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Western Australia between the 1920s and the 1960s, covering the introduction and spread of radio and then television. It considers the visits of ABC commissioners and management to Perth, the appointment of commissioners from Western Australia, the building of radio and television studios, the creation of the ABC's first state Advisory Committee in 1935, and the operations—in Perth—of the broadcaster's last surviving capital city Television Viewers' Committee. It examines local innovations in drama and in children's, women's and current affairs programming; the development of a broadcast news service and a symphony orchestra; and the work of key broadcasting figures, including Basil Kirke and Cathering King. The article argues that the history of the ABC in Western Australia was distinctive because of the state's isolation and sparse population and, crucially, its time difference from the east coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparse tensor algorithms are becoming widespread, particularly in the domains of deep learning, graph and data analytics, and scientific computing. Current high-performance broad-domain architectures, such as GPUs, often suffer memory system inefficiencies by moving too much data or moving it too far through the memory hierarchy. To increase performance and efficiency, proposed domain-specific accelerators tailor their architectures to the data needs of a narrow application domain, but as a result cannot be applied to a wide range of algorithms or applications that contain a mix of sparse and dense algorithms. This article proposes Symphony, a hybrid programmable/specialized architecture that focuses on the orchestration of data throughout the memory hierarchy to simultaneously reduce the movement of unnecessary data and data movement distances. Key elements of the Symphony architecture include (1) specialized reconfigurable units aimed not only at roofline floating-point computations but also at supporting data orchestration features, such as address generation, data filtering, and sparse metadata processing; and (2) distribution of computation resources (both programmable and specialized) throughout the on-chip memory hierarchy. We demonstrate that Symphony can match non-programmable ASIC performance on sparse tensor algebra and provide 31× improved runtime and 44× improved energy over a comparably provisioned GPU for these applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Simon Rattle's new recording of the third opera in Wagner's "Ring" cycle, "Siegfried." The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Rattle deliver a compelling rendition of the opera, showcasing their artistic partnership. The orchestra's playing is highlighted, demonstrating imagination and vibrant orchestral color. While the overall standard of playing is high, there are moments where the orchestra's energy wavers. The cast is a mixed bag, with standout performances from Michael Volle and Peter Hoare, but Simon O'Neill falls short in the title role. Overall, the recording offers compelling playing and vocal performances, leaving the audience eagerly anticipating the next chapter in this collaboration. [Extracted from the article]

Key Clinical Message: Isolated agenesis of pulmonary arteries with congenital lung hypoplasia is rare. It can be found in childhood or adulthood if asymptomatic. We present a patient with congenital right lung hypoplasia with an absent right pulmonary artery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physics presents us with a symphony of natural constants: , ℏ , , and so forth. Up to this point, constants have received comparatively little philosophical attention. In this article, I provide an account of dimensionful constants, in particular the gravitational constant. I propose that they represent interquantity structure in the form of relations between quantities with different dimensions. I use this account of to settle a debate over whether mass scalings are symmetries of Newtonian gravitation. I argue that they are not, but only if we interpret mass anti-quidditistically. This is analogous to anti-haecceitism in the presence of spacetime symmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document explores the use of Boomwhackers, a musical instrument, as a teaching tool for physics concepts related to sound waves. The author suggests using Boomwhackers to play Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and then delving into the speed of sound. The focus is on the relationship between sound frequency and tube length, as well as the concepts of pitch and octaves. The document provides a step-by-step procedure for conducting experiments with Boomwhackers to help students grasp these concepts. It concludes that students can learn about fundamental frequency, pitch, octave, and the speed of sound through this activity, even without prior knowledge of physics. [Extracted from the article]

Understanding biological systems in terms of scientific materialism has arguably reached a frontier, leaving fundamental questions about their complexity unanswered. In 1998, Friedrich Cramer proposed a general resonance theory as a way forward. His theory builds on the extension of the quantum physical duality of matter and wave to the macroscopic world. According to Cramer' theory, agents constituting biological systems oscillate, akin to musical soundwaves, at specific eigenfrequencies. Biological system dynamics can be described as "Symphonies of Life" emerging from the resonance (and dissonance) of eigenfrequencies within the interacting collective. His theory has potential for studying biological problems of increasing complexity in a fast‐changing Anthropocene from a new and transdisciplinary angle. Despite data becoming increasingly available for analyses, Cramer's theory remains ignored and therefore untested a quarter century after its publication. This paper discusses how the theory can move to quantitative assessments and application. Cramer's general resonance theory deserves revival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between church and state in the Orthodox world has taken various forms at different historical periods and contexts. However, there is a constant feature characterizing these church-state relations diachronically, namely a closeness between church and state in various forms including a religious coloring of the public sphere. An exemplary case of this closeness is found in the Byzantine ideal of a symphony (συμφωνία) between church and state, which has left a strong and indelible mark upon Orthodox history as the most appropriate arrangement of church-state relations, claiming fidelity to the genuine Orthodox tradition. A closer look behind contemporary Orthodox discourses on symphony reveals quite divergent visions about church-state relations and the role of the church in the modern world. This article aims to deconstruct the different meanings that the symphonic tradition has acquired mainly in Orthodox majority countries. We argue that these meanings function as tools to justify specific arrangements of church-state relations, based on certain ideological, political and other preferences. They also serve to secure or advance particular interests (e.g., symbolic and financial). Despite their substantial differences, the various options share a common ground: They all are responses to the modern secular developments, irrespective if they rhetorically reject them or attempt to adjust to them via different paths. In fact, the involved Orthodox actors engage with varying degrees of success with modernity and re-imagine symphony in a way that is expected to best serve their orientations, ideals, aims and interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British conductor Paul Mann is a regular guest with many major orchestras throughout Europe, the US, Australia, and the Far East. Orchestras with which he has worked include the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic, RAI Torino, Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona; the BBC Orchestras, City of Birmingham Symphony, Hallé, among many others. Mr Mann has guest-conducted extcollaborations with USA and is a regular guest with the New York City Ballet. Projects with the LSO included collaborations the legendary rock group Deep Purple in two widely acclaimed performances of Jon Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, the live DVD and CD of which remain international bestsellers. Paul Mann was chief conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark until 2008 and has made numerous critically acclaimed recordings for such labels as Bridge, Warner Classics, Da Capo, EMI, and Toccata Classics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the two surviving performances of Brahms's Third Symphony conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler and contextualizes them as part of the reception of cultural tradition and national music in Germany during the early and mid-twentieth century. Many of the conductor's performance choices appear motivated by a desire to project the narratives of heroism, nostalgia and nationalism invented for Brahms's Third by critics in the decades after its premiere. Through his copious writings on aesthetics, as well as critical commentaries on his performance style, particularly those of Theodor Adorno, Furtwängler emerges as a living manifestation of the historical sublime. Sublime aesthetics formed the basis of many contemporary assessments of Furtwängler. He was personified as an inspired orator in the classical tradition, one with special insight into the symphonic repertory, but particularly as an interpreter with a significant connection to the musical past of Central Europe. Perceptions of Furtwängler's »lateness« stemmed from those who identified him as one of the last proponents of the Espressivo style of music making. From this vantage point he was seen as a key protector of tradition and by extension, as the defender of a rapidly disappearing national hegemony of music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Androgen receptor (AR) signaling have been frequently targeted for treating prostate cancer (PCa). Even though primarily patients receive a good therapeutic outcome by targeting AR signaling axis, eventually it emerges resistance by altering the genetic makeup of prostate cells. However, to develop an effective therapeutic regime, it is essential to recognize key genetic alterations in PCa. The most common genetic alterations that give rise to distinct androgen different differentiation states are gene fusion of TMPRSS2 with ETS family genes, deletion, or mutation of tumor suppressor PTEN and TP53 gene, amplification or splicing of AR, altered DNA repair genes. In this review, we describe key genes and genetic changes that have been recognized to contribute to altered prostate environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]