Reining over Reality: Power and Performance in Shakespeare\u27s Henry VIII and Richard III

Plots. Hidden motives. Subtlety, falseness, treachery: Richard III, Wolsey—each of these leaders engage in the craft of deception, in subtle avenues of power-wielding, to preserve authority. Wolsey flatters, double deals, and eliminates other favorites with King Henry VIII in his desire to achieve the papacy. Similarly, Richard III lies, betrays, kills, and flatters his way to the throne. William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII and Richard III each, in following its respective monarch, examine performance as it’s used to gain, maintain, and wield power. As the term “performance” carries with it many definitions and connotations, I will define it here as deliberate behaviors by some characters to manipulate the way others perceive reality; fiction-making. My argument will often use the terms “performance” and “deception” interchangeably, on the basis of my categorization of deceit as a type of performance. I have done so to emphasize Shakespeare’s consciousness of the theatricality of power, to accentuate both the performative and ambitious elements of the behaviors I’m examining. With an exploration of performance’s capacity to influence audience, this piece focuses on the thoughts, emotions, and circumstances of characters—their “realities.” Again, the broadness and complexity of the term “reality” necessitates a more concrete definition. Here, reality means “existence” or “truth.” It’s an aspect or version of truth; possibility. My definition of reality therefore includes the existence of ideas, including the concept of ideas as potential. With this in mind, my argument demonstrates that control over a person’s realities represents the ultimate control over that individua

Efficiency of first-trimester uterine artery Doppler, A-disintegrin and metalloprotease 12, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, and maternal characteristics in the prediction of preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the efficiency of first-trimester uterine artery Doppler, A-disintegrin and metalloprotease 12 (ADAM12), pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and maternal characteristics in the prediction of pre-eclampsia. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of patients presenting for first-trimester aneuploidy screening between 11-14 weeks’ gestation. Maternal serum ADAM12 and PAPP-A levels were measured by immunoassay, and mean uterine artery Doppler pulsatility indices (PI) were calculated. Outcomes of interest included pre-eclampsia, early pre-eclampsia, defined as requiring delivery at <34 weeks’ gestation, and gestational hypertension. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the prediction of pre-eclampsia using ADAM12 multiples of the median (MoM), PAPP-A MoM, and uterine artery Doppler PI MoM, either individually or in combination. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUC) were used to compare the screening efficiency of the models using non-parametric U-statistics. RESULTS: Of 578 patients with complete outcome data, there were 54 (9.3%) cases of preeclampsia and 13 (2.2%) cases of early pre-eclampsia. Median ADAM12 levels were significantly lower in patients who developed pre-eclampsia compared to those who did not. (0.81 v. 1.01 MoMs; p<0.04) For a fixed false positive rate (FPR) of 10%, ADAM12, PAPP-A, and uterine artery Doppler in combination with maternal characteristics identified 50%, 48%, and 52% of patients who developed pre-eclampsia, respectively. Combining these first-trimester parameters did not improve the predictive efficiency of the models. CONCLUSION: First-trimester ADAM12, PAPP-A, and uterine artery Doppler are not sufficiently predictive of pre-eclampsia. Combinations of these parameters do not further improve their screening efficiency

Advanced Maternal Age and the Risk of Major Congenital Anomalies

Objective This study aims to determine if advanced maternal age (AMA) is a risk factor for major congenital anomalies, in the absence of aneuploidy. Study Design Retrospective cohort study of all patients with a singleton gestation presenting for second trimester anatomic survey over a 19-year study period. Aneuploid fetuses were excluded. Study groups were defined by maternal age ≤ 34 and ≥ 35 years. The primary outcome was the presence of one or more major anomalies diagnosed at the second trimester ultrasound. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of major anomalies in AMA patients. Results Of 76,156 euploid fetuses, 2.4% (n = 1,804) were diagnosed with a major anomaly. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of major fetal anomalies with increasing maternal age until the threshold of age 35 (p < 0.001). Being AMA was significantly associated with an overall decreased risk for major fetal anomalies (adjusted odds ratio: 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.52–0.66). The subgroup analysis demonstrated similar results for women ≥ 40 years of age. Conclusion AMA is associated with an overall decreased risk for major anomalies. These findings may suggest that the “all or nothing” phenomenon plays a more robust role in embryonic development with advancing oocyte age, with anatomically normal fetuses being more likely to survive

Two Centuries of Relative Sea-Level Rise in Dublin, Ireland, Reconstructed by Geological Tide Gauge

We demonstrate the utility and reproducibility of the saltmarsh foraminifera-based ‘geological tide gauge’ (GTG) approach by developing two independent records of relative sea-level (RSL) change for Dublin, Ireland. Our records, recovered from two different saltmarshes, indicate that RSL rose at a century-scale rate of 1.5 ± 0.9 mm yr–1 over the last 200 years. This compares favourably with the shorter, but more precise, mean sea level (MSL) record from the Dublin Port tide gauge, which indicates long-term (1953–2016 CE) rise at a rate of 1.1 ± 0.5 mm yr–1. When corrected for the influence of glacio-isostatic adjustment our saltmarsh-based reconstruction suggests sea levels in Dublin rose at a rate of 1.6 ± 0.9 mm yr–1 since the start of the 19th century, which is in excellent agreement with the regional value of MSL rise over the same period (1.5 ± 0.2 mm yr–1) calculated from a compilation of tide gauge records around Britain. Whilst our record has decadal-scale temporal resolution (1 sample every 8 years), we are currently unable to resolve multidecadal-scale variations in the rate of sea-level rise which are masked by the size of the vertical uncertainties (± 20 cm) associated with our reconstruction of palaeomarsh-surface elevation. We discuss the challenges of applying the GTG approach in the typically minerogenic saltmarshes of the NE Atlantic margin and outline potential solutions that would facilitate the production of Common Era RSL reconstructions in the region

Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California

The magnitude of future climate change depends substantially on the greenhouse gas emission pathways we choose. Here we explore the implications of the highest and lowest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emissions pathways for climate change and associated impacts in California. Based on climate projections from two state-of-the-art climate models with low and medium sensitivity (Parallel Climate Model and Hadley Centre Climate Model, version 3, respectively), we find that annual temperature increases nearly double from the lower B1 to the higher A1fi emissions scenario before 2100. Three of four simulations also show greater increases in summer temperatures as compared with winter. Extreme heat and the associated impacts on a range of temperature-sensitive sectors are substantially greater under the higher emissions scenario, with some interscenario differences apparent before midcentury. By the end of the century under the B1 scenario, heatwaves and extreme heat in Los Angeles quadruple in frequency while heat-related mortality increases two to three times; alpine subalpine forests are reduced by 50–75%; and Sierra snowpack is reduced 30–70%. Under A1fi, heatwaves in Los Angeles are six to eight times more frequent, with heat-related excess mortality increasing five to seven times; alpine subalpine forests are reduced by 75–90%; and snowpack declines 73–90%, with cascading impacts on runoff and streamflow that, combined with projected modest declines in winter precipitation, could fundamentally disrupt California’s water rights system. Although interscenario differences in climate impacts and costs of adaptation emerge mainly in the second half of the century, they are strongly dependent on emissions from preceding decades

A unique recipe for glass beads at Iron Age Sardis

In large parts of the Mediterranean recipes for the earliest man-made glass changed from melting mixtures of crushed quartz pebbles and halophytic plant ashes in the Late Bronze Age to the use of quartz sands and mineral soda during the Early Iron Age. Not much is known about this transition and the experimental materials which would inevitably have been connected to such technological change. In this paper we present a unique snapshot of developments in glass technology in Anatolia during the Middle Iron Age, when glass is still a relatively rare commodity. The present work focusses on black glass beads decorated with yellow trails from eighth to seventh century BCE Sardis, glass beads that are very rare for this period, and on this site. A full elemental analysis of the beads was made, and Sr, Pb and B isotope ratios were determined. This study reveals the use of a combination of a previously unknown source of silica and of mineral soda, giving rise to elevated (granite-like) Sr isotope signatures, as well as high alumina and B concentrations. The yellow trails of glass on the beads consist of lead-tin yellow type II, lead stannate, showing the earliest occurrence of this type of opacifier/colourant so far, predating any other findings by at least four centuries. The production of these glass beads may be local to Sardis and experimental in nature. It is therefore suggested that Sardis may have played its role in the technological development of the glass craft during the Iron Age