Između izvedbe i istraživanja: razmišljanja o prinosima Istočnoeuropskog ansambla na Sveučilištu u Pittsburgu

Taking as an example the Carpathian Music Ensemble at the University of Pittsburgh, this article acknowledges the central role that performance practice plays in research. It attempts to fill a gap in ethnomusicological literature regarding the role of the world music ensemble in the undergraduate curriculum, particularly as it influences and shapes undergraduate research. The world music ensemble has moved far beyond its original goal to offer experience and insights into the practice of foreign musical traditions. Rather, the ensemble today is the jumping off point for broader engagement with music readily available on the Internet and offers confidence to students wishing to engage with a region that is of scholarly interest for them. This interest is fostered through undergraduate publications, research presentations, and other activities that help deepen student relationships to the topics at hand. Thus, performance and research co-exist on a continuum. And the success of this co-existence relies fully on the student’s willingness to move between these points with open-mindedness and ease.Uzimajući za primjer Karpatski glazbeni ansambl (Carpathian Music Ensemble) na Sveučilištu u Pittsburghu, članak pokazuje kako izvedbena praksa igra središnju ulogu u istraživanju. Pokušava nadomjestiti manjak etnomuzikološke literature o ulozi ansambala posvećenih glazbama svijeta u dodiplomskoj nastavi, posebice s obzirom na to kako oblikuju i utječu na dodiplomsko istraživanje. Takvi su se ansambli uvelike odmakli od izvornog svog cilja da pruže iskustvo i uvid u praksu stranih glazbenih tradicija. Radije, danas su odskočnom točkom za angažiranje oko glazbe koja je lako dostupna na internetu, i pružaju uporište studentima koji se žele angažirati u vezi s regijom koja je predmetom njihova znanstvenog interesa. Taj se interes dalje njeguje putem dodiplomskih publikacija, predstavljanja istraživanja i drugih aktivnosti koje pomažu produbljivanju povezanosti studenata s odabranim temama. Time izvedba i istraživanje koegzistiraju u kontinuumu, a uspjeh koegzistencije ovisi o spremnosti studenata da se među tim dvjema sferama kreću s otvorenošću i lakoćom

The Cyberpolitics of Music in Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution

Between November 21 and December 26, 2004, nearly one million people protested in Kyiv against election fraud, media censorship, mass government corruption, and oligarchic market reforms. These large-scale peaceful protests have become widely known as the Orange Revolution, named after the campaign colors of Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate who ran against Viktor Yanukovych, a politician with a criminal record who was backed by Moscow and the sitting Ukrainian government. In analyzing the relationship between music, social movements, and technology, I draw on the paradigm proposed by Ron Eyerman and Andrew Jamison who argue that "social movements lead to a reconstruction of processes of social interaction and collective identity formation". Though I will present some of the new popular music styles favored by anti-government organizers during the Orange Revolution, particularly one that I call TAK-techno, I am less concerned with the content on the Internet than with the Internet's use as a vital communication tool within socio-political events and music's function within that framework. In this analysis of the relationship between the Internet, music, and politics in post -socialist Ukraine, I argue that technology is not culturally or politically neutral. Rather, cybermusicality was undeniably vital to the Orange Revolution, drawing millions of Internet users into new online communities

Između izvedbe i istraživanja: razmišljanja o prinosima Istočnoeuropskog ansambla na Sveučilištu u Pittsburgu

Taking as an example the Carpathian Music Ensemble at the University of Pittsburgh, this article acknowledges the central role that performance practice plays in research. It attempts to fill a gap in ethnomusicological literature regarding the role of the world music ensemble in the undergraduate curriculum, particularly as it influences and shapes undergraduate research. The world music ensemble has moved far beyond its original goal to offer experience and insights into the practice of foreign musical traditions. Rather, the ensemble today is the jumping off point for broader engagement with music readily available on the Internet and offers confidence to students wishing to engage with a region that is of scholarly interest for them. This interest is fostered through undergraduate publications, research presentations, and other activities that help deepen student relationships to the topics at hand. Thus, performance and research co-exist on a continuum. And the success of this co-existence relies fully on the student’s willingness to move between these points with open-mindedness and ease.Uzimajući za primjer Karpatski glazbeni ansambl (Carpathian Music Ensemble) na Sveučilištu u Pittsburghu, članak pokazuje kako izvedbena praksa igra središnju ulogu u istraživanju. Pokušava nadomjestiti manjak etnomuzikološke literature o ulozi ansambala posvećenih glazbama svijeta u dodiplomskoj nastavi, posebice s obzirom na to kako oblikuju i utječu na dodiplomsko istraživanje. Takvi su se ansambli uvelike odmakli od izvornog svog cilja da pruže iskustvo i uvid u praksu stranih glazbenih tradicija. Radije, danas su odskočnom točkom za angažiranje oko glazbe koja je lako dostupna na internetu, i pružaju uporište studentima koji se žele angažirati u vezi s regijom koja je predmetom njihova znanstvenog interesa. Taj se interes dalje njeguje putem dodiplomskih publikacija, predstavljanja istraživanja i drugih aktivnosti koje pomažu produbljivanju povezanosti studenata s odabranim temama. Time izvedba i istraživanje koegzistiraju u kontinuumu, a uspjeh koegzistencije ovisi o spremnosti studenata da se među tim dvjema sferama kreću s otvorenošću i lakoćom

"On stage, everyone loves a Black": Afro-Ukrainian Folk Fusion, Migration, and Racial Identity in Ukraine

In the harsh snowy days of late November, 2004, I joined hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Independence Square in Kyiv, to protest the unfair presidential election which had been rigged in favor of the corrupt government -sponsored candidate. I was there as an international election observer and was simultaneously researching the role that Ukrainian-language popular and folk music were playing in the protests, dubbed as the Orange Revolution (Helbig 2006). Music has had such a long history of politicization in Ukraine that newspapers printed the names of Ukraine's most well-known musicians and the candidate they supported, either the opposition candidate or the government -sponsoredone (Klid 2007). These affiliations were based less on political ideology as they were ruled by ethnic identity, language choice between Ukrainian and Russian, regional identity, and religious identity. Among the performers on Maidan Nezalezhnosti were an African-Jamaican duo calling themselves "Chornobryvtsi" (Black -Browed), performing Ukrainian folk songs dressed in Ukrainian folk garb for the crowd. The passion with which the crowd embraced Chornobryvtsi made it clear that outsider validation of Ukrainian ethnic identity and culture was at the root of the protests. The crowds' chants of "Chor-no-bryv-tsi! Chor-no-bryv-tsi!" signaled an embrace of nonUkrainians who supported Ukrainian language and culture, perceived by protestors to be under threat by the Russian -oriented policies of the political regime. The role of African and Jamaican musicians in that critical historical moment also brought forth the role of migrants and foreigners living in Ukraine in Ukraine's ongoing political and cultural identity struggles, in terms of its vacillating leanings between more pro-Russian and pro-Western ideologies and policies. Since the 2004 Orange Revolution, the highly mediatized involvement of African musicians in Ukraine's pop-folk music scenes has broadened the contemporary public sphere beyond the ongoing ethnic Russian and ethnic Ukrainian culture wars since Ukrainian independence in 1991. The continued popularity of African musicians helps foreground issues of pluralism and multiculturalism that reinforce the notion of Ukraine as a patchwork quilt made up of many different ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups, including ethnic Russians, Russian-speaking Ukrainians, ethnic Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, Roma ( Gypsies), Armenians, and Jews. African folk musicians' appearances on talk shows, at folk music festivals, at public city events, in newspapers and on the Internet, have influenced the ways that people speak about ethnicity and race, albeit with a greater sense of conflation of identities as regards people with dark skin. It is common for locals to refer to musicians from Africa as African American or to use "African" and "African American" or "Afro-American" interchangeably when speaking or writing about performers from the African continent in the media. Musicians from Africa capitalize upon the popularity of u.s. popular music genres associated with African Americans, conflating the widely marketed stereotype of "African American as musician" to localize their social acceptance via Ukrainian folk music idioms. Are Africans accepted in their own right or only to the extent that they adhere to more localized cultural norms, such as participation in Ukrainian folk-influenced music? How do Soviet -era and contemporary attitudes regarding Africans and African Americans influence levels of inclusion for African migrants in post-Orange Revolution Ukraine

A new animal model for delayed osseous union secondary to osteitis

Background: The treatment of infection-related delayed bone unions is still very challenging for the orthopedic surgeon. The prevalence of such infection-related types of osteitis is high in complex fractures, particularly in open fractures with extensive soft-tissue damage. The aim of this study was to develop a new animal model for delayed union due to osteitis. Methods. After randomization to infected or non-infected groups 20 Sprague–Dawley rats underwent a transverse fracture of the midshaft tibia. After intramedullary inoculation with staphylococcus aureus (103 CFU) fracture stabilization was done by intramedullary titanium K-wires. After 5 weeks all rats were euthanized and underwent biomechanical testing to evaluate bone consolidation or delayed union, respectively. Micro-CT scans were additionally used to quantitatively evaluate the callus formation by the score of Lane and Sandhu. Blood samples were taken to analyze infectious disease markers (day 1, 14 and 35). Results: Biomechanical testing showed a significant higher maximum torque in the non-infected group 5 weeks postoperatively compared with the infected group (p < 0.001). According to the Lane and Sandhu score a significantly higher callus formation was found in the non-infected group (p < 0.001). Similarly, the leucocyte count in the infected group was significantly higher than in the non-infected group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Here we have established a new animal model for delayed osseous union secondary to osteitis. The animal model appears to be appropriate for future experimental studies to test new therapeutic strategies in these difficult to treat bone healing complications

Bone morphogenetic proteins − 7 and − 2 in the treatment of delayed osseous union secondary to bacterial osteitis in a rat model

Background: Bone infections due to trauma and subsequent delayed or impaired fracture healing represent a great challenge in orthopedics and trauma surgery. The prevalence of such bacterial infection-related types of delayed non-union is high in complex fractures, particularly in open fractures with additional extensive soft-tissue damage. The aim of this study was to establish a rat model of delayed osseous union secondary to bacterial osteitis and investigate the impact of rhBMP-7 and rhBMP-2 on fracture healing in the situation of an ongoing infection. Methods: After randomization to four groups 72 Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a transverse fracture of the midshaft tibia stabilized by intramedullary titanium K-wires. Three groups received an intramedullary inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus (103 colony-forming units) before stabilization and the group without bacteria inoculation served as healing control. After 5 weeks, a second surgery was performed with irrigation of the medullary canal and local rhBMP-7 and rhBMP-2 treatment whereas control group and infected control group received sterile saline. After further 5 weeks rats were sacrificed and underwent biomechanical testing to assess the mechanical stability of the fractured bone. Additional micro-CT analysis, histological, and histomorphometric analysis were done to evaluate bone consolidation or delayed union, respectively, and to quantify callus formation and the mineralized area of the callus. Results: Biomechanical testing showed a significantly higher fracture torque in the non-infected control group and the infected rhBMP-7- and rhBMP-2 group compared with the infected control group (p &lt; 0.001). RhBMP-7 and rhBMP-2 groups did not show statistically significant differences (p = 0.57). Histological findings supported improved bone-healing after rhBMP treatment but quantitative micro-CT and histomorphometric results still showed significantly more hypertrophic callus tissue in all three infected groups compared to the non-infected group. Results from a semiquantitative bone-healing-score revealed best bone-healing in the non-infected control group. The expected chronic infection was confirmed in all infected groups. Conclusions: In delayed bone healing secondary to infection rhBMP treatment promotes bone healing with no significant differences in the healing efficacy of rhBMP-2 and rhBMP-7 being noted. Further new therapeutic bone substitutes should be analyzed with the present rat model for delayed osseous union secondary to bacterial osteitis

Pathogenic SPTBN1 variants cause an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental syndrome

SPTBN1 mutations cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, language and motor delays, autism, seizures and other features. The variants disrupt beta II-spectrin function and disturb cytoskeletal organization and dynamics. SPTBN1 encodes beta II-spectrin, the ubiquitously expressed beta-spectrin that forms micrometer-scale networks associated with plasma membranes. Mice deficient in neuronal beta II-spectrin have defects in cortical organization, developmental delay and behavioral deficiencies. These phenotypes, while less severe, are observed in haploinsufficient animals, suggesting that individuals carrying heterozygous SPTBN1 variants may also show measurable compromise of neural development and function. Here we identify heterozygous SPTBN1 variants in 29 individuals with developmental, language and motor delays;mild to severe intellectual disability;autistic features;seizures;behavioral and movement abnormalities;hypotonia;and variable dysmorphic facial features. We show that these SPTBN1 variants lead to effects that affect beta II-spectrin stability, disrupt binding to key molecular partners, and disturb cytoskeleton organization and dynamics. Our studies define SPTBN1 variants as the genetic basis of a neurodevelopmental syndrome, expand the set of spectrinopathies affecting the brain and underscore the critical role of beta II-spectrin in the central nervous system