Abstract
AbstractWe advance Mixmash-AIS, a multimodal optimization music mashup creation model for loop recombination at scale. Our motivation is to (1) tackle current scalability limitations in state-of-the-art (brute force) computational mashup models while enforcing the (2) compatibility of audio loops and (3) a pool of diverse mashups that can accommodate user preferences. To this end, we adopt the artificial immune system (AIS) opt-aiNet algorithm to efficiently compute a population of compatible and diverse music mashups from loop recombinations. Optimal mashups result from local minima in a feature space representing harmonic, rhythmic, and spectral musical audio compatibility. We objectively assess the compatibility, diversity, and computational performance of Mixmash-AIS generated mashups compared to a standard genetic algorithm (GA) and a brute force (BF) approach. Furthermore, we conducted a perceptual test to validate the objective evaluation function within Mixmash-AIS in capturing user enjoyment of the computer-generated loop mashups. Our results show that while the GA stands as the most efficient algorithm, the AIS opt-aiNet outperforms both the GA and BF approaches in terms of compatibility and diversity. Our listening test has shown that Mixmash-AIS objective evaluation function significantly captures the perceptual compatibility of loop mashups (p < .001).

Abstract
Stress-ribbon footbridges are often prone to excessive vibrations induced by environmental phenomena (e.g., wind) and human actions (e.g., walking). This paper studies a stress-ribbon footbridge at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) in Portugal, where different degrees of vertical vibrations are perceptible in response to human actions. We adopt sonification techniques to create a sonic manifestation that shows the footbridge’s dynamic response to human interaction. Two distinct sonification techniques – audification and parameter mapping – are adopted to provide intuitive access to the footbridge dynamics from low-level acceleration data and higher-level spectral analysis. In order to evaluate the proposed sonification techniques in exposing relevant information about human actions on the footbridge, an online perceptual test was conducted to assess the understanding of the three following dimensions: 1) the number of people interacting with the footbridge, 2) their walking speed, and 3) the steadiness of their pace. The online perceptual test was conducted with and without a short training phase. Results of n= 23 participants show that parameter mapping sonification is more effective in promoting an intuitive understating of the footbridge dynamics compared to audification. Furthermore, when exposed to a short training phase, the participants’ perception improved in identifying the correct dimensions. © 2023, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

Abstract
FluidHarmony is an algorithmic method for defining a hierarchical harmonic lexicon in equal temperaments. It utilizes an enharmonic weighted Fourier transform space to represent pitch class set (pcsets) relations. The method ranks pcsets based on user-defined constraints: the importance of interval classes (ICs) and a reference pcset. Evaluation of 5,184 Western musical pieces from the 16th to 20th centuries shows FluidHarmony captures 8% of the corpus's harmony in its top pcsets. This highlights the role of ICs and a reference pcset in regulating harmony in Western tonal music while enabling systematic approaches to define hierarchies and establish metrics beyond 12-TET.

Abstract
The extraction of harmonic information from musical audio is fundamental for several music information retrieval tasks. In this paper, we propose novel harmonic audio features based on the perceptually-inspired tonal interval vector space, computed as the Fourier transform of chroma vectors. Our contribution includes mid-level features for musical dissonance, chromaticity, dyadicity, triadicity, diminished quality, diatonicity, and whole-toneness. Moreover, we quantify the perceptual relationship between short- and long-term harmonic structures, tonal dispersion, harmonic changes, and complexity. Beyond the computation on fixed-size windows, we propose a context-sensitive harmonic segmentation approach. We assess the robustness of the new harmonic features in style classification tasks regarding classical music periods and composers. Our results align with, slightly outperforming, existing features and suggest that other musical properties than those in state-of-the-art literature are partially captured. We discuss the features regarding their musical interpretation and compare the different feature groups regarding their effectiveness for discriminating classical music periods and composers. © F. Almeida, G. Bernardes, and C. Weiû.

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic places unique challenges to medical rescuers’ occupational health. Thus, it is crucial to assess its direct and indirect impacts on key psychological outcomes and adaptation strategies. This study aims to analyse the impact of this pandemic on medical rescuers’ coping and emotion regulation strategies, and their levels of work-related psychological outcomes, such as burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth. Additionally, it aims to analyse the contribution of coping and emotion regulation strategies, employed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, on burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth. A sample of 111 medical rescuers answered the Brief Cope, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory. Medical rescuers resorted moderately to coping and emotion regulation strategies, since the beginning of COVID-19. They presented moderate burnout and post-traumatic growth and low trauma. Coping presented a higher weight on burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth, than emotion regulation. Expressive suppression and dysfunctional coping predicted burnout and trauma, and problem and emotion-focused coping predicted post-traumatic growth. Dysfunctional coping mediated and, thus, exacerbated the effect of expressive suppression on burnout and on trauma. Practitioners should pay closer attention to professionals with higher burnout and trauma. Occupational practices should focus on reducing dysfunctional coping and expressive suppression and promoting problem-focused coping.

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic places unique challenges to medical rescuers’ occupational health. Thus, it is crucial to assess its direct and indirect impacts on key psychological outcomes and adaptation strategies. This study aims to analyse the impact of this pandemic on medical rescuers’ coping and emotion regulation strategies, and their levels of work-related psychological outcomes, such as burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth. Additionally, it aims to analyse the contribution of coping and emotion regulation strategies, employed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, on burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth. A sample of 111 medical rescuers answered the Brief Cope, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory. Medical rescuers resorted moderately to coping and emotion regulation strategies, since the beginning of COVID-19. They presented moderate burnout and post-traumatic growth and low trauma. Coping presented a higher weight on burnout, trauma and post-traumatic growth, than emotion regulation. Expressive suppression and dysfunctional coping predicted burnout and trauma, and problem and emotion-focused coping predicted post-traumatic growth. Dysfunctional coping mediated and, thus, exacerbated the effect of expressive suppression on burnout and on trauma. Practitioners should pay closer attention to professionals with higher burnout and trauma. Occupational practices should focus on reducing dysfunctional coping and expressive suppression and promoting problem-focused coping. © 2022, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada. All rights reserved.