2,629 research outputs found
Data supporting Luciano et al. The influence of X chromosome variants on trait neuroticism.
No full textData supporting the paper Luciano M, Davies G, Summers KM, Hill WD, Hayward C, Liewald DC, Porteous DJ, Gale CR, McIntosh AM, Deary IJ (2019) The influence of X chromosome variants on trait neuroticism. Molecular Psychiatry doi:10.1038/s41380-019-0388-2
Rethinking live electronic music: a DJ perspective
No full textThe author critiques the conventional understanding of live electronic music through empirical research on his own DJ practice and investigates others working in the field. In reviewing the opinions of theorists and practitioners in both the live electronic music genre and DJ-ing he argues against the body/machine dialectic that has determined much of the thinking in the former. The author forms a notion of the DJ as a real-time composer working beyond traditional binary distinctions who brings the human body and machine into a mutual relationship. Through practice-led research he charts an investigation beginning in physical human gesture and culminating in digital machine repetition. He concludes that mechanical and digital repetition do not obscure human agency in the production of live works and that this concern is imaginary
hpDJ: An automated DJ with floorshow feedback
No full textMany radio stations and nightclubs employ Disk-Jockeys (DJs) to provide a continuous uninterrupted stream or “mix” of dance music, built from a sequence of individual song-tracks. In the last decade, commercial pre-recorded compilation CDs of DJ mixes have become a growth market. DJs exercise skill in deciding an appropriate sequence of tracks and in mixing 'seamlessly' from one track to the next. Online access to large-scale archives of digitized music via automated music information retrieval systems offers users the possibility of discovering many songs they like, but the majority of consumers are unlikely to want to learn the DJ skills of sequencing and mixing. This paper describes hpDJ, an automatic method by which compilations of dance-music can be sequenced and seamlessly mixed by computer, with minimal user involvement. The user may specify a selection of tracks, and may give a qualitative indication of the type of mix required. The resultant mix can be presented as a continuous single digital audio file, whether for burning to CD, or for play-out from a personal playback device such as an iPod, or for play-out to rooms full of dancers in a nightclub. Results from an early version of this system have been tested on an audience of patrons in a London nightclub, with very favourable results. Subsequent to that experiment, we designed technologies which allow the hpDJ system to monitor the responses of crowds of dancers/listeners, so that hpDJ can dynamically react to those responses from the crowd. The initial intention was that hpDJ would monitor the crowd’s reaction to the song-track currently being played, and use that response to guide its selection of subsequent song-tracks tracks in the mix. In that version, it’s assumed that all the song-tracks existed in some archive or library of pre-recorded files. However, once reliable crowd-monitoring technology is available, it becomes possible to use the crowd-response data to dynamically “remix” existing song-tracks (i.e, alter the track in some way, tailoring it to the response of the crowd) and even to dynamically “compose” new song-tracks suited to that crowd. Thus, the music played by hpDJ to any particular crowd of listeners on any particular night becomes a direct function of that particular crowd’s particular responses on that particular night. On a different night, the same crowd of people might react in a different way, leading hpDJ to create different music. Thus, the music composed and played by hpDJ could be viewed as an “emergent” property of the dynamic interaction between the computer system and the crowd, and the crowd could then be viewed as having collectively collaborated on composing the music that was played on that night. This en masse collective composition raises some interesting legal issues regarding the ownership of the composition (i.e.: who, exactly, is the author of the work?), but revenue-generating businesses can nevertheless plausibly be built from such technologies
Data supporting Luciano et al. The influence of X chromosome variants on trait neuroticism.
No full textData supporting the paper Luciano M, Davies G, Summers KM, Hill WD, Hayward C, Liewald DC, Porteous DJ, Gale CR, McIntosh AM, Deary IJ (2019) The influence of X chromosome variants on trait neuroticism. Molecular Psychiatry doi:10.1038/s41380-019-0388-2.Luciano, M; Davies, G; Summers, KM; Hill, WD; Hayward, C; Liewald, DC; Porteous, DJ; Gale, CR; McIntosh, AM. (2019). Data supporting Luciano et al. The influence of X chromosome variants on trait neuroticism., [dataset]. University of Edinburgh. Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/2566
Characterisation of DJ1 (PARK7) in human brain: possible involvement in idiopathic Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
No full textMutations in the DJ‐1 gene can induce the development of early‐onset Parkinson's disease
(PD) through a loss of protein function. Currently any possible role for DJ‐1 in sporadic PD
remains undetermined. To address this, we have studied the characteristics and activities of
DJ‐1 in post‐mortem human brain tissue in order to gain insights into its contribution to the
development of PD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Western blotting revealed DJ‐1 protein expression to be reduced in several brain regions
associated with PD pathology including nigra, striatum and frontal cortex. Similarly levels of
DJ‐1 mRNA were also shown to also be lower in PD striatum and frontal cortex suggesting a
transcriptional regulation of protein expression in human brain. Further analysis of DJ‐1
gene expression showed PD related changes to be variable throughout the brain, with
regions like the amygdala and entorhinal cortex displaying an up‐regulation. DJ‐1 protein
was also shown to undergo increased oxidation in PD cases, highlighting the elevated
oxidative stress conditions in PD. By using immunoprecipitation to investigate a possible role for DJ‐1 as an in vivo regulator
of translation, we found DJ‐1 protein associates with RNA transcripts for selenoproteins,
PTEN/Akt pathway components and mitochondrial subunits of complex 1. Protein levels for
a number of these transcripts were altered in PD tissue without any parallel change in
mRNA levels. DJ‐1 is reportedly involved in a diverse range of cellular activities and its
proclivity to associate with multiple RNA species provides a simple biochemical mechanism
for this. Moreover it demonstrates that under conditions of elevated oxidative stress, DJ‐1
can instigate a rapid and compartmentalised up‐regulation of pro‐survival proteins in a
transcriptionally independent manner.
Analysis of DJ‐1 in tauopathies showed co‐localisation with 3R and 4R tau, implicating a
possible chaperone function for DJ‐1. Unlike in PD, no altered expression of DJ‐1 mRNA and
protein was observed
Investigating the role of orphan GPR50 in normal brain function and mental illness
No full textG protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) form a link between the cell and their
environment when signaling pathways are activated upon ligand binding. However,
the ligands and functions for many GPCRs remain to be determined. G protein-coupled
receptor 50 (GPR50) is one such orphan, and its exact role is yet unknown.
There is however emerging functional and genetic evidence suggesting a function for
GPR50 in psychiatric illness and lipid metabolism. It was hypothesised that
investigating GPR50’s protein-protein interactions would lead to a greater
understanding of the role of GPR50 in normal brain functioning and in mental
illness. Putative protein interactors were initially isolated by a yeast two-hybid study
and were further tested here. To address GPR50’s links to mental illness, the
GPR50∆502-505 deletion variant associated with mood disorders was also investigated.
To test this hypothesis I sought to confirm some of the key yeast two-hybrid
interactions. Using co-immunoprecipitation and immunocytochemistry the
interaction of GPR50 with reticulon family members Nogo-A, Nogo-C and RTN3,
and with cell-cell adhesion molecule CDH8 and lipid-associated protein ABCA2
were validated.
In order to identify the location of interactions, subcellular fractionation of mouse
brain and rt-PCR and immunohistochemistry in developing and adult mouse brain
were performed. GPR50 and several interactors were found to be enriched at the
synapse by subcellular fractionation of whole adult brain, and at embryonic day 18
(E18) and 5 weeks by rt-PCR. Colocalisation of GPR50 and interactors was found in
the amygdala, hypothalamus, cortex and specific brain stem nuclei by
immunohistochemistry. The discovery of GPR50 expression in noradrenergic,
serotonergic and dopaminergic nuclei in the adult brain stem suggests a further role
for GPR50 in neurotransmitter signaling and stress.
To investigate the function of GPR50 two assays were performed that measure
processes which are known to be affected by Nogo and RTN3: The first assay was a
neurite outgrowth assay in Neuroscreen-1 cells, a PC12 cell clone. A significant
increase in neurite length was detected after transient overexpression of GPR50 and
this effect was increased in the GPR50∆502-505/T532A variant. Additionally GPR50-overexpression resulted in an increase in filopodia formation suggesting a role in
actin dynamics. As a second functional assay in vitro BACE1 activity assays were
performed in HEK293 cells. GPR50 but not GPR50∆502-505/T532A overexpression
resulted in a significant increase in BACE1 activity.
Lastly a final series of pilot experiments were performed to gain insight into the
secondary structure of the C-terminal domain and the effects of the polymorphisms
on structure. The 35kDa GPR50 C-terminal domain was purified and Circular
Dichroism studies indicated a predominantly unstructured protein with increased a-
helical content in the GPR50∆502-505 variant.
The results in this thesis indicate a role for GPR50 in neuronal development and
synaptic functioning. The results also strengthen an association with major mental
illness, with links to several disease mechanisms
Marioni_et_al_AD_GWAS_Sumstats_June2019_Correction - Data supporting Marioni et al. "GWAS on family history of Alzheimer's disease"
No full textData supporting the paper: Marioni, RE, Harris, SE, Zhang, Q, Mcrae, AF, Hagenaars, SP, Hill, WD, Davies, G, Ritchie, CW, Gale, CR, Starr, JM, Goate, AM, Porteous, DJ, Yang, J, Evans, KL, Deary, IJ, Wray, NR & Visscher, PM 2018, 'GWAS on family history of Alzheimer’s disease' Translational Psychiatry, vol. 8, no. 1. DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0150-6.
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Polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease is not associated with cognitive ability or cognitive aging in non-demented older people
No full textPeer reviewe
Interview of author Phenderson Dj\ue8l\ued Clark at the Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville, Florida
No full textAward winning author and founding member of FIYAH Literary Magazine, Phenderson Dj\ue8l\ued Clark, is interviewed by Grace Chun, project coordinator at University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, as part of the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville, Florida. Mr. Clark shares how his time in Trinidad, his exposure to afro-creole folktales, Hindu stories, Muslim festivals as well as his exposure to Twilight Zone and old horror movies from his parents nurtured a deep interest in the fantastic. Mr. Clark defines afrofuturism as something to do with the future, whether it is how Black people will exist in the future or futuristic ideas. He describes how his writing fits more with retro-afrofuturism, where you imbue the past with future elements and explore a past that never was. Mr. Clark says that afrofuturism offers a way to resist the kind of future in a world like now and how to form a resistance against it; it empowers people to imagine a different future, a possibility of a different future. He also talks about how afrofuturism extends beyond literary work into music and other creative forms
Identification of the recognition sequence and target proteins for DJ-1 protease
No full textDJ-1, the product of familial Parkinson's disease gene and an oncogene, is a cysteine protease which plays a role in anti-oxidative stress reaction. In this study, we identified the recognition sequence for DJ-1 protease by using recombinant DJ-1 and a peptide library. Protease activity of DJ-1 lacking C-terminal alpha-helix (DJ-1 Delta H9) was stronger than that of full-sized DJ-1, and the most susceptible sequence digested by DJ-1 Delta H9 was valine-lysine-valine-alanine (VKVA) under the optimal conditions of pH 5.5 and 0 mM NaCl. Divalent ions, especially Cu2+, were inhibitory to DJ-1's protease activity. c-abl oncogene 1 product (ABL1) and kinesin family member 1B (KIF1B) containing VKVA were digested by DJ-1 Delta H9. Structured summary of protein interactions: DJ-1 cleaves IUF1B by enzymatic study (View interaction) DJ-1 cleaves ABLI by enzymatic study (View interaction) (C) 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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