Exploring the Ways Arts and Culture Intersect with Public Safety: Identifying Current Practice and Opportunities for Further Inquiry

This report describes the range of activities at the intersection of public safety and arts and culture, outlines a theory of change, and provides recommendations for further consideration. Through interviews with experts in the field, this research found that art in the public safety sector promotes empathy and understanding, influences law and policy, provides career opportunities, supports well-being, and advances the quality of place

Agency in Tourism: A Narrative of Reclamation Found in the Public History of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian

This thesis covers the development of the tourism industry surrounding the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian in Western North Carolina, specifically the evolution of the outdoor historical drama Unto These Hills written by Kermit Hunter. The chapters to follow examine the development of the production in conjunction with the broader historical context, analyze Kermit Hunter’s original script contextualizing the material and Hunter’s narrative choices, and elucidate the history and representation of one of the production’s protagonists. All of this to demonstrate not only the misrepresentation and inaccuracy of the original production, but to discuss the production’s role on the reservation today. As other historians have argued, the installation of the tourism economy in the 1930s-40s was exploitative and undoubtedly altered the way Americans have come to understand and interact with Cherokee history and culture, and the people themselves. It is true that the economic realities the Band was placed in were designed by those with little care for historical accuracy or for the preservation and protection of the Cherokee people. When the tribe took over the Cherokee Historical Association, the entity responsible for the production, the tribe gained control of the narrative which had defined them for over fifty years. They tried creating entirely new narratives around which to center their public facing identity. They have chosen, however, to return to a narrative which was once used to silence their voices. They have reclaimed Kermit Hunter’s Unto These Hills, reclaimed the heroic figure of Tsali, and reclaimed the agency which was stripped from them in the creation of the original production. Through its careful analysis, this thesis argues that authenticity and historical accuracy is defined by the people represented by the display of public memory, and though the story may be littered with questions and curiosities, it is the Cherokee story to tell

THE CONCEPT OF KINEMATIC VARIABILITY AND THE LINK TO MOTOR SKILL OUTCOME

INTRODUCTION: There is continuing discourse in the biomechanics community relating to kinematic variability regarding whether successful athletes/performers exhibit large or small amounts of kinematic variability. A discrete motor skill, where the outcome of one performance does not affect the outcome of the second performance, may be associated with a large amount of kinematic variability; inter-trial efficiency is not important. For example, in javelin, if the performer does something outside his/her natural kinematic variability, then this may lead to a better than normal outcome

Magnetization Reversal in Ferromagnetic Films Patterned with Antiferromagnetic Gratings of Various Sizes

The magnetic switching behavior in continuous NiFe films patterned with IrMn gratings is investigated experimentally and with micromagnetic simulations. The samples made by a two-step deposition process consist of a 10-nm-thick NiFe layer on which is placed 10-nm-thick IrMn stripes with width from 100 to 500 nm and period from 240 nm to 1  μm. Exchange bias is introduced by field cooling in directions parallel or perpendicular to the IrMn stripes. The samples display a two-step hysteresis loop for higher stripe width and period, as the pinned and unpinned regions of the NiFe reverse independently but a one-step loop for lower stripe periods. The transition between these regimes is reproduced by micromagnetic modeling.National Science Foundation (U.S.)Semiconductor Research Corporation. Interconnect Focus Cente

Metabolic effects of a high-fat diet post-weaning after low maternal dietary folate during pregnancy and lactation

Scope Investigate the influence of low-folate supply during pregnancy and lactation on obesity and markers of the metabolic syndrome in offspring, and how provision of a high-fat diet post weaning may exacerbate the resultant phenotype. Methods and results Female C57Bl/6 mice were randomized to low or normal folate diets (0.4 or 2 mg folic acid/kg diet) prior to and during pregnancy and lactation. At 4 wk of age, offspring were randomized to high- or low-fat diets, weighed weekly and food intake assessed at 9 and 18 wk old. Adiposity was measured at 3 and 6 months. Plasma glucose and triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations were measured at 6 months. Maternal folate supply did not influence adult offspring body weight or adiposity. High-fat feeding post weaning increased body weight and adiposity at 3 and 6 months (p > 0.001). Maternal low folate lowered plasma glucose (p = 0.010) but increased plasma TAG (p = 0.048). High-fat feeding post weaning increased plasma glucose and TAG (p = 0.023, p = 0.049 respectively). Offspring from folate-depleted (but not folate-adequate) dams had 30% higher TAG concentration when fed the high-fat diet from weaning (p = 0.005 for interaction). Conclusion Inadequate maternal folate intake has long-term effects on offspring metabolism, manifested as increased circulating TAG, particularly in offspring with high-fat intake post weaning

Changing Farming Systems – Financial Implications for Farming Businesses

Future prosperity of farming businesses depends not only on immediate prospects, but also on the capability to adapt to changing circumstances. In looking to the future, farm managers need to assess where the current farming system is taking them, and whether changing to an alternative farming system might be more profitable. There are various techniques for assessing the profitability of alternative farming systems, but frequently the cost of transition is overlooked. The financial consequences of transition to a new farming system are assessed for two case study farms using a spreadsheet tool (STEP), developed by the authors. The tool assists farm managers in assessing the risk of transition strategies as well as comparing rotations.Farm Management,

Status epilepticus on the paediatric intensive care unit—the role of EEG monitoring

AbstractA pilot study was undertaken of the feasibility of continuous EEG monitoring of patients admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for management of status epilepticus or its immediate sequelae. Eight children were studied and seizure activity was recorded in four patients. Additional information influencing management was obtained: the bedside nurse considered decerebrate posturing in one patient to be a seizure: there were no epileptiform EEG changes. Another patient was considered to have seizures (clonic movements of both upper limbs) following cardiac arrest; the EEG showed electrocerebral silence, and thiopentone treatment was discontinued. In another patient, continuing epileptiform activity on EEG gave intensivists the confidence to use higher than usual doses of thiopentone. The problems encountered were delays in monitoring, once for a CT scan and once because of two admissions within hours of each other. We conclude that EEG monitoring on a PICU is feasible and provides clinically useful information

Plexcitons: Dirac points and topological modes

Plexcitons are polaritonic modes that result from the strong coupling between excitons and plasmons. We consider plexcitons emerging from the interaction of excitons in an organic molecular layer with surface plasmons in a metallic film. We predict the emergence of Dirac cones in the two-dimensional bandstructure of plexcitons due to the inherent alignment of the excitonic transitions in the organic layer. These Dirac cones may open up in energy by simultaneously interfacing the metal with a magneto-optical layer and subjecting the whole system to a perpendicular magnetic field. The resulting energy gap becomes populated with topologically protected one-way modes which travel at the interface of this plexcitonic system. Our theoretical proposal suggests that plexcitons are a convenient and simple platform for the exploration of exotic phases of matter as well as of novel ways to direct energy flow at the nanoscale

Prediction of interacting motifs within the protein subunits of Picornavirus capsids

The Picornaviridae family contains a number of pathogens which are economically important including Poliovirus, Coxsakievirus, Hepatitis A Virus, and Foot-and-Mouth-Disease-Virus. Recently the emergence of novel picornaviruses associated with gastrointestinal, neurological and respiratory diseases in humans has been reported. Although effective vaccines for viruses such as FMDV, PV and HAV have been developed there are currently no antivirals available for the treatment of picornavirus infections. Picornaviruses proteins are classified as: the structural proteins VP1, VP2, VP3 and VP4 which form the subunits of the viral capsid and the replication proteins which function as proteases, RNA-polymerases, primers and membrane binding proteins. Although the host specificity and viral pathogenicity varies across members of the family, the icosahedral capsid is highly conserved. The capsid consists of 60 protomers, each containing a single copy of VP1, VP2 and VP3. A fourth capsid protein, VP4, resides on the internal side of the capsid. Capsid assembly is integral to life-cycle of picornaviruses; however the process is complex and not fully-understood. The overall aim of the study was to broaden the understanding of the evolution and function of the structural proteins across the Picornaviridae family. Firstly a comprehensive analysis of the phylogenetic relationships amongst the individual structural proteins was performed. The functions of the structural proteins were further investigated by an exhaustive motif analysis. A subsequent structural analysis of highly conserved motifs was performed with respect to representative enteroviruses, Foot-and-Mouth-Disease-Virus and Theiler’s Virus. This was supplemented by the in silico prediction of interacting residues within the crystal structures of these protomers. Findings in this study suggest that the capsid proteins may be evolving independently from the replication proteins through possible inter-typic recombination of functional protein regions. Moreover the study predicts that protomer assembly may be facilitated through a network of multiple subunit-subunit interactions. Multiple conserved motifs and principle residues predicted to facilitate capsid subunit-subunit interactions were identified. It was also concluded that motif conservation may support the theory of inter-typic recombination between closely related virus sub-types. As capsid assembly is critical to the viral life-cycle, the principle interacting motifs may serve as novel drug targets for the antiviral treatment of picornavirus infections. Thus the findings in the study may be fundamental to the development of treatments which are more economically feasible or clinically effective than current vaccinations