Articulating the Dancefloor Examining site, interaction and participation in club culture through interdisciplinary creative practice

This folio of creative works is comprised of a set of installations and fixed-media audio works composed between January 2017 and December 2019. The works in the folio take inspiration from a variety of ideas in club cultures and visual arts that are hybridised to form my approach to creative practice. The motivation behind the creative work is to closely examine the similarities between club culture and the visual arts, particularly in relation to notions of site, interaction and participation. The resulting works employ a variety of materials and disciplines in their creation, including techniques from artistic practices and material gathered from participants, collaborators and sources of personal inspiration in music and the visual arts. The submitted work aims to create work that is not for the club, but about the club, through the lens of my own embodied experiences and those of participants in club spaces and club culture

Environmental control of harmful dinoflagellates and diatoms in a fjordic system

Fjordic coastlines provide an ideal protected environment for both finfish and shellfish aquaculture operations. This study reports the results of a cruise to the Scottish Clyde Sea, and associated fjordic sea lochs, that coincided with blooms of the diarrhetic shellfish toxin producing dinoflagellate Dinophysis acuta and the diatom genus Chaetoceros, that can generate finfish mortalities. Unusually, D. acuta reached one order of magnitude higher cell abundance in the water column (2840 cells L−1) than the more common Dinophysis acuminata (200 cells L−1) and was linked with elevated shellfish toxicity (maximum 601 ± 237 μg OA eq/kg shellfish flesh) which caused shellfish harvesting closures in the region. Significant correlations between D. acuta abundance and that of Mesodinium rubrum were also observed across the cruise transect potentially supporting bloom formation of the mixotrophic D. acuta. Significant spatial variability in phytoplankton that was related to physical characteristics of the water column was observed, with a temperature-driven frontal region at the mouth of Loch Fyne being important in the development of the D. acuta, but not the Chaetoceros bloom. The front also provided important protection to the aquaculture located within the loch, with neither of the blooms encroaching within it. Analysis based on a particle-tracking model confirms the importance of the front to cell transport and shows significant inter-annual differences in advection within the region, that are important to the harmful algal bloom risk therein

Reasoning up and down a food chain: Using an assessment framework to investigate students' middle knowledge

Being able to make claims about what students know and can do in science involves gathering systematic evidence of students' knowledge and abilities. This paper describes an assessment system designed to elicit information from students at many placements along developmental trajectories and demonstrates how this system was used to gather principled evidence of how students reason about food web and food chain disturbances. Specifically, this assessment system was designed to gather information about students' intermediary or middle knowledge on a pathway toward more sophisticated understanding. Findings indicate that in association with a curricular intervention, student gains were significant. However, despite overall gains, some students still struggled to explain what might happen during a disturbance to an ecosystem. In addition, this paper discusses the importance of having a cognitive framework to guide task design and interpretation of evidence. This framework allowed for the gathering of detailed information, which provided insights into the intricacies of how students reason about scientific scenarios. In particular, this assessment system allowed for the illustration of multiple types of middle knowledge that students may possess, indicating that there are multiple “messy middles” students may move through as they develop the ability to reason about complex scientific situations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 94: 259–281, 2010Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65025/1/20368_ftp.pd

Persistent elastic behavior above a megathrust rupture patch: Nias island, West Sumatra

We quantify fore-arc deformation using fossil reefs to test the assumption commonly made in seismic cycle models that anelastic deformation of the fore arc is negligible. Elevated coral microatolls, paleoreef flats, and chenier plains show that the Sumatran outer arc island of Nias has experienced a complex pattern of relatively slow long-term uplift and subsidence during the Holocene epoch. This same island rose up to 2.9 m during the Mw 8.7 Sunda megathrust rupture in 2005. The mismatch between the 2005 and Holocene uplift patterns, along with the overall low rates of Holocene deformation, reflects the dominance of elastic strain accumulation and release along this section of the Sunda outer arc high and the relatively subordinate role of upper plate deformation in accommodating long-term plate convergence. The fraction of 2005 uplift that will be retained permanently is generally <4% for sites that experienced more than 0.25 m of coseismic uplift. Average uplift rates since the mid-Holocene range from 1.5 to −0.2 mm/a and are highest on the eastern coast of Nias, where coseismic uplift was nearly zero in 2005. The pattern of long-term uplift and subsidence is consistent with slow deformation of Nias along closely spaced folds in the north and trenchward dipping back thrusts in the southeast. Low Holocene tectonic uplift rates provide for excellent geomorphic and stratigraphic preservation of the mid-Holocene relative sea level high, which was under way by ∼7.3 ka and persisted until ∼2 ka

Recycling of E-Cadherin: a potential mechanism for regulating cadherin dynamics

E-Cadherin plays critical roles in many aspects of cell adhesion, epithelial development, and the establishment and maintenance of epithelial polarity. The fate of E-cadherin once it is delivered to the basolateral cell surface, and the mechanisms which govern its participation in adherens junctions, are not well understood. Using surface biotinylation and recycling assays, we observed that some of the cell surface E-cadherin is actively internalized and is then recycled back to the plasma membrane. The pool of E-cadherin undergoing endocytosis and recycling was markedly increased in cells without stable cell-cell contacts, i.e., in preconfluent cells and after cell contacts were disrupted by depletion of extracellular Ca2+, suggesting that endocytic trafficking of E-cadherin is regulated by cell-cell contact. The reformation of cell junctions after replacement of Ca2+ was then found to be inhibited when recycling of endocytosed E-cadherin was disrupted by bafilomycin treatment. The endocytosis and recycling of E-cadherin and of the transferrin receptor were similarly inhibited by potassium depletion and by bafilomycin treatment, and both proteins were accumulated in intracellular compartments by an 18 degrees C temperature block, suggesting that endocytosis may occur via a clathrin-mediated pathway. We conclude that a pool of surface E-cadherin is constantly trafficked through an endocytic, recycling pathway and that this may provide a mechanism for regulating the availability of E-cadherin for junction formation in development, tissue remodeling, and tumorigenesis

The DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP) II. Observational Strategy and Design

We present the DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP) survey strategy including observing cadence for orbit determination, exposure times, field pointings and filter choices. The overall goal of the survey is to discover and characterize the orbits of a few thousand Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) Blanco 4 meter telescope. The experiment is designed to collect a very deep series of exposures totaling a few hours on sky for each of several 2.7 square degree DECam fields-of-view to achieve a magnitude of about 26.2 using a wide VR filter which encompasses both the V and R bandpasses. In the first year, several nights were combined to achieve a sky area of about 34 square degrees. In subsequent years, the fields have been re-visited to allow TNOs to be tracked for orbit determination. When complete, DEEP will be the largest survey of the outer solar system ever undertaken in terms of newly discovered object numbers, and the most prolific at producing multi-year orbital information for the population of minor planets beyond Neptune at 30 au.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures and 4 table

Developing health science students into integrated health professionals: a practical tool for learning

BACKGROUND:An integrated sense of professionalism enables health professionals to draw on relevant knowledge in context and to apply a set of professional responsibilities and ethical principles in the midst of changing work environments 12. Inculcating professionalism is therefore a critical goal of health professional education. Two multi-professional courses for first year Health Science students at the University of Cape Town, South Africa aim to lay the foundation for becoming an integrated health professional 3. In these courses a diagram depicting the domains of the integrated health professional is used to focus the content of small group experiential exercises towards an appreciation of professionalism. The diagram serves as an organising framework for conceptualising an emerging professional identity and for directing learning towards the domains of 'self as professional' 45.OBJECTIVE:This paper describes how a diagrammatic representation of the core elements of an integrated health professional is used as a template for framing course content and for organising student learning. Based on the assumption that all health care professionals should be knowledgeable, empathic and reflective, the diagram provides students and educators with a visual tool for investigating the subjective and objective dimensions of professionalism. The use of the diagram as an integrating point of reference for individual and small group learning is described and substantiated with relevant literature. CONCLUSION: The authors have applied the diagram with positive impact for the past six years with students and educators reporting that "it just makes sense". The article includes plans for formal evaluation. Evaluation to date is based on preliminary, informal feedback on the value of the diagram as a tool for capturing the domains of professionalism at an early stage in the undergraduate education of health professional students

The DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP) IV: Constraints on the shape distribution of bright TNOs

We present the methods and results from the discovery and photometric measurement of 26 bright (VR $>$ 24 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) during the first year (2019-20) of the DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP). The DEEP survey is an observational TNO survey with wide sky coverage, high sensitivity, and a fast photometric cadence. We apply a computer vision technique known as a progressive probabilistic Hough transform to identify linearly-moving transient sources within DEEP photometric catalogs. After subsequent visual vetting, we provide a photometric and astrometric catalog of our TNOs. By modeling the partial lightcurve amplitude distribution of the DEEP TNOs using Monte Carlo techniques, we find our data to be most consistent with an average TNO axis ratio b/a $<$ 0.5, implying a population dominated by non-spherical objects. Based on ellipsoidal gravitational stability arguments, we find our data to be consistent with a TNO population containing a high fraction of contact binaries or other extremely non-spherical objects. We also discuss our data as evidence that the expected binarity fraction of TNOs may be size-dependent

US Cancer Centers of Excellence Strategies for Increased Inclusion of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Clinical Trials

PURPOSE:: Participation of racial and ethnic minority groups (REMGs) in cancer trials is disproportionately low despite a high prevalence of certain cancers in REMG populations. We aimed to identify notable practices used by leading US cancer centers that facilitate REMG participation in cancer trials. METHODS:: The National Minority Quality Forum and Sustainable Healthy Communities Diverse Cancer Communities Working Group developed criteria by which to identify eligible US cancer centers-REMGs comprise 10% or more of the catchment area; a 10% to 50% yearly accrual rate of REMGs in cancer trials; and the presence of formal community outreach and diversity enrollment programs. Cancer center leaders were interviewed to ascertain notable practices that facilitate REMG accrual in clinical trials. RESULTS:: Eight cancer centers that met the Communities Working Group criteria were invited to participate in in-depth interviews. Notable strategies for increased REMG accrual to cancer trials were reported across five broad themes: commitment and center leadership, investigator training and mentoring, community engagement, patient engagement, and operational practices. Specific notable practices included increased engagement of health care professionals, the presence of formal processes for obtaining REMG patient/caregiver input on research projects, and engagement of community groups to drive REMG participation. Centers also reported an increase in the allocation of resources to improving health disparities and increased dedication of research staff to REMG engagement. CONCLUSION:: We have identified notable practices that facilitate increased participation of REMGs in cancer trials. Wide implementation of such strategies across cancer centers is essential to ensure that all populations benefit from advances in an era of increasingly personalized treatment of cancer