Beyond the stomp: the Nobbs Suzuki Praxis as an Australian variant of the Suzuki method of actor training

This article provides a brief overview of the Nobbs Suzuki Praxis (NSP), an Australian variant of the Suzuki Method of Actor Training (SMAT) developed by John Nobbs in collaboration with Jacqui Carroll from the mid-1990s onwards. After a brief introduction to SMAT and the context in which NSP evolved from it, the article outlines NSP’s key differences in exercise practice and design, particularly in the use of signature physical and vocal tools, and the increased use of structured improvisation within NSP formats. It goes on to examine two concepts specific to NSP—‘feeling’ and ‘opposites and paradox’—and outlines how these enable advanced engagement with the training, especially the cultivation of a heightened awareness of self and the performance environment. The article concludes (with reference to Crothers [2021]) by suggesting that NSP adds softness to and is a more playful version of SMAT. By providing room for invention and creativity, NSP embeds creative application of SMAT’s principles within the training itself, rather than seeing it as part of a separate rehearsal process

We Are Forgotten. Framing Disaster via Twitter in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria: Implications for Social Work Policy Practice

This work presents a comprehensive study of the disaster discourses generated by key social media user groups in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria, the third most destructive hurricane in American history, resulted in billions of dollars in damage and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. Disasters result in widespread geophysical impacts as well as social, political, and economic upheavals for individuals, families, communities, and nation-states in the storm’s wake. The discourses that emerge on social media are significant in how they frame public narratives in the aftermath of disaster. The social construction of disaster points to the contested nature of these frames as they vie for dominance in the public sphere, including social media communicative spaces. The literature suggests that there are numerous key interpretive communities and narratives present at any given time. The current study explores six of these communities (individuals, government, military, media, nonprofits, and others) and their corresponding disaster narratives as communicated via Twitter. By utilizing a social constructionist/critical theoretical framework, the prevalent frames embedded in the disaster discourses are identified. These frames include the political frame, destruction frame, victim/hero frame, military/humanitarian aid frame, and counter-narratives

Retrieval of total ozone quantity from high resolution infrared spectra : influence of spectroscopic and physical parameters

In this work, we present the results obtained for total ozone quantity from Jungfraujoch observatory spectrometer using 3 different spectral region

An Exploratory Research of the Potential Strategic Benefits of Specialising in Riesling Grape: A Case Study from the Niagara Wine Region

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current business strategy of the Niagara wine region and to explore the potential of the Niagara wine region to specialise in Riesling grape variety. Questionnaires were administered to a range of different types of experts with a specialty in wine. Quantitative data from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario supplemented the core interviews. The results of this study indicate that differentiation through specialisation is the best strategy to develop the Niagara wine region. However, the structure of the wine industry encourages wineries to produce a vast array of grape varieties to cater to the needs of the domestic market. This has resulted in a loss of identity for the region. Though because Niagara Riesling is differentiable, world class, the most consistently awarded grape and unreproducible elsewhere, it is the prime candidate to become the representative grape for the region. By developing the Niagara style of Riesling and focusing on exporting small amounts of the variety, the region would benefit by developing an identity and increasing consumer confidence and sales. Keyword

Development of a real-time PCR for the specific detection of Waddlia chondrophila in clinical samples

Waddlia chondrophila is considered as an emerging human pathogen likely involved in miscarriage and lower respiratory tract infections. Given the low sensitivity of cell culture to recover such an obligate intracellular bacteria, molecular-based diagnostic approaches are warranted. We thus developed a real-time PCR that amplifies Waddlia chondrophila DNA. Specific primers and probe were selected to target the 16S rRNA gene. The PCR specifically amplified W. chondrophila but did not amplify other related-bacteria such as Parachlamydia acanthamoebae, Simkania negevensis and Chlamydia pneumoniae. The PCR exhibited a good intra-run and inter-run reproducibility and a sensitivity of less than ten copies of the positive control. This real-time PCR was then applied to 32 nasopharyngeal aspirates taken from children with bronchiolitis not due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Three samples revealed to be Waddlia positive, suggesting a possible role of this Chlamydia-related bacteria in this settin

Quand l'information échappe à ses créateurs : le cas de l'artificialisation des terres agricoles en Languedoc-Roussillon

International audienceThis article aims to describe how the quantification of a phenomenon in relation to a specific worldview spreads and is distorted. This project has been supported by a regional public authority in Languedoc-Roussillon (France), and consisted in the production of information so to quantify and qualify the farmland decrease due to urban sprawl. The paper is based on Latour's actor-network theory; it characterizes the process of enrolment, and the development of dissidences. Identifying contradictory logics and dissidences help questioning the complexity of ‘closing the black-box' regarding information production and of sensemaking between heterogeneous actants involved in a supposed-to-be public debate.Cet article vise à spécifier comment la quantification d'un phénomène fondée sur une certaine vision du monde se propage et se déforme. Ce projet a été porté par une direction déconcentrée de l'Etat soucieuse de l'emprise croissante du bâti sur les terres agricoles en Languedoc-Roussillon. Le cadre théorique mobilisé, la sociologie de la traduction, permet d'identifier les grandes étapes d'intéressement, d'enrôlement, ainsi que le développement de controverses. Les difficultés rencontrées interrogent sur la complexité de clôture de processus innovants s'agissant de production d'information et de co-construction de sens associant des actants hétérogènes impliqués dans des procédures de débat public

Ancestral genome estimation reveals the history of ecological diversification in Agrobacterium

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is considered as a major source of innovation in bacteria, and as such is expected to drive adaptation to new ecological niches. However, among the many genes acquired through HGT along the diversification history of genomes, only a fraction may have actively contributed to sustained ecological adaptation. We used a phylogenetic approach accounting for the transfer of genes (or groups of genes) to estimate the history of genomes in Agrobacterium biovar 1, a diverse group of soil and plant-dwelling bacterial species. We identified clade-specific blocks of cotransferred genes encoding coherent biochemical pathways that may have contributed to the evolutionary success of key Agrobacterium clades. This pattern of gene coevolution rejects a neutral model of transfer, in which neighboring genes would be transferred independently of their function and rather suggests purifying selection on collectively coded acquired pathways. The acquisition of these synapomorphic blocks of cofunctioning genes probably drove the ecological diversification of Agrobacterium and defined features of ancestral ecological niches, which consistently hint at a strong selective role of host plant rhizospheres

СУЧАСНІ ПОГЛЯДИ НА ПАТОГЕНЕЗ ЕКСТРАГЕНІТАЛЬНОГО ЕНДОМЕТРІОЗУ (Огляд літератури)

SUMMARY. Endometriosis is a chronic benign hormone-dependent condition in which endometrium spreads and grows outside the uterine mucosa, with identical to eutopic endometrium morphological and functional properties. This review is dedicated to modern view on pathogenesis of extragenital endometriosis. The article presents both the theory of etiology and pathogenesis of this pathology and possible mechanisms that can potentially be considered as the key to pathogenetic therapy. Endometriosis is detected in 50 % of women with dysmenorrhea, in 50–80 % of patients with chronic pelvic pain and in 25–40 % of women with infertility, and in the structure of gynecological disease, endometriosis ranks third after inflammatory processes and uterine fibroids. Сonsidering the not-too-high effectiveness of treatment, a significant percentage of recurrence of the disease, the issue of updating views on pathogenetic mechanisms in order to optimize the therapeutic endometriosis tactic still remains relevant. The aim – to conduct the literature analysis in order to identify contemporary views on the pathogenesis of extragenital endometriosis and possible points of application in the development of targeted therapy. Conclusions. The most widely accepted theory of pathogenesis of endometriosis is the theory of retrospective menstruation of Sampson. This theory suggests that viable fragments of the endometrial tissue disintegrate into the peritoneal cavity or into the pelvic organs. The most probable evolution of this theory should be the theory of angiogenesis on the background of immune dysfunction, which contributes to the primary implantation of endometrioid ectopic and their subsequent development. Modern literature points to the role of angiogenesis in the formation and development of lesions, but at the same time, there is an immune dysfunction, which probably leads to the predominance of angiogenic factors locally.РЕЗЮМЕ. Эндометриоз – это хроническое доброкачественное гормонозависимое состояние, при котором за пределами слизистой оболочки матки происходит разрастание ткани, по морфологическим и функциональным свойствам идентичной эндометрию. Приведены данные обзора литературы, посвященные современным взглядам относительно патогенеза экстрагенитального эндометриоза. В статье приведены как теории этиологии и патогенеза данной патологии, так и возможные механизмы, которые могут рассматриваться как ключ к патогенетической терапии. Эндометриоз обнаруживают у 50 % женщин с дисменореей, у 50–80 % пациенток с хронической тазовой болью и у 25–40 % женщин с бесплодием, а в структуре гинекологической заболеваемости эндометриоз занимает третье место после воспалительных процессов и миомы матки. Учитывая не слишком высокую эффективность лечения, значительный процент рецидивов заболевания вопрос актуализации взглядов на патогенетические механизмы с целью оптимизации лечебной тактики эндометриоза до сих пор остается актуальным. Цель – провести анализ литературы с целью выявления современных взглядов относительно патогенеза екстрагениатльного эндометриоза и возможных точек приложения при разработке таргетной терапии. Выводы. Наиболее широко принятой теорией патогенеза эндометриоза является теория ретроградной менструации Сэмпсона. Данная теория предполагает, что жизнеспособные фрагменты эндометрия ткани дисеминируються в перитонеальную полость или в органы малого таза. Наиболее вероятным эволюционированием данной теории следует считать теорию ангиогенеза на фоне иммунной дисфункции, которая способствует первичной имплантации эндометриоидных эктопий и их дальнейшему развитию. Современные данные литературы ставят во главу угла роль ангиогенеза в становлении и развитии поражений, в то же время имеет место иммунная дисфункция, которая, вероятно, приводит к преобладанию ангиогенных факторов локально.РЕЗЮМЕ. Ендометріоз – це хронічний доброякісний гормонозалежний стан, при якому за межами слизової оболонки матки відбувається розростання тканини, за морфологічними та функціональними властивостями ідентичної ендометрію. Наведені дані огляду літератури присвячені сучасним поглядам на патогенез екстрагенітального ендометріозу. В статті висвітлені теорії щодо етіології та патогенезу цієї патології, а також описані можливі механізми, які потенційно можна розглядати як ключ до патогенетичної терапії. Ендометріоз виявляють у 50 % жінок з дисменореєю, у 50–80 % пацієнток із хронічним тазовим болем та у 25–40 % жінок із безпліддям, а в структурі гінекологічної захворюваності ендометріоз посідає третє місце після запальних процесів та міоми матки. Враховуючи не надто високу ефективність лікування та значний відсоток рецидивування захворювання питання актуалізації поглядів на патогенетичні механізми з метою оптимізації лікувальної тактики ендометріозу й досі залишається актуальним. Мета – провести аналіз літератури з метою виявлення сучасних поглядів щодо патогенезу екстрагеніатльного ендометріозу та можливі точки прикладання при розробці таргетної терапії. Висновки. Найширше прийнятою теорією патогенезу ендометріозу є теорія ретроградної менструації Семпсона. Ця теорія припускає, що життєздатні фрагменти ендометріальної тканини дисемінуються в перитонеальну порожнину або в органи малого таза. Найімовірнішим еволюціонуванням даної теорії слід вважати теорію ангіогенезу на тлі імунної дисфункції, яка сприяє первинній імплантації ендометріоїдних ектопій та їх подальшому розвитку. Сучасні дані літератури ставлять на чільне місце в становленні та розвитку уражень роль ангіогенезу, водночас має місце імунна дисфункція, яка, ймовірно, призводить до переважання ангіогенних факторів локально

Prevalence and diversity of Chlamydiales and other amoeba-resisting bacteria in domestic drinking water systems.

A growing number of human infections incriminate environmental bacteria that have evolved virulent mechanisms to resist amoebae and use them as a replicative niche. These bacteria are designated amoeba-resisting bacteria (ARB). Despite the isolation of these ARB in various human clinical samples, the possible source of infection remains undetermined in most cases. However, it is known that the ARB Legionella pneumophila, for instance, causes a respiratory infection in susceptible hosts after inhalation of contaminated water aerosols from various sources. The Chlamydiales order contains many ARB, such as Parachlamydia acanthamoebae or Simkania negevensis, previously implicated in human respiratory infections with no identified contamination sources. We thus investigated whether domestic water systems are a potential source of transmission of these Chlamydiales to humans by using amoebal culture and molecular methods. Other important ARB such as mycobacteria and Legionella were also investigated, as were their possible amoebal hosts. This work reports for the first time a very high prevalence and diversity of Chlamydiales in drinking water, being detected in 35 (72.9%) of 48 investigated domestic water systems, with members of the Parachlamydiaceae family being dominantly detected. Furthermore, various Legionella and mycobacteria species were also recovered, some species of which are known to be causal agents of human infections