Religious Poetry and Musical Performance under King Hammurāpi of Babylon and His Successors

Mit Beginn des 2. Jt. v. Chr. erlebt Mesopotamien einen historischen Wandel auf politischer, sozialer und religiöser Ebene. Aus dem Westen einwandernde so genannte amurritische Dynastien übernehmen die politische Macht in Zentralbabylonien, wo sie ihr eigenes ,akkadi-sches‘ Erbe begründen. Ursprüngliche sumerische Traditionen Südmesopotamiens werden dabei entweder aufrechterhalten, überlagert oder aufgegeben. Vermehrt sind Neuerungen unter König Hammurāpi und seinen Nachfolgern zu verzeichnen. Basierend auf der keilschriftlichen Überlieferung werden in diesem Kapitel Wandlungsprozesse mit Auswirkungen auf die Tempel- und Hofmusik identifiziert und analysiert. Hierbei wird auch der Frage nach den Initiatoren solcher Prozesse und ihrer politischen wie kulturellen Motivation nachgegangen

Specimen poetics: botany, reanimation, and the Romantic collection

This essay argues that the modern literary anthology—and specifically its aspiration to delimit both aesthetic merit and historical representativeness—emerged as a response to changes in eighteenth-century botanical collecting, description, and illustration. A dramatic upsurge in botanical metaphors for poetic collections around 1800 was triggered by shifts in the geographies, aims, and representational practices of botany in the previous century. Yoking Linnaean taxonomy and Buffonian vitalism to Hogarth’s line of beauty, late eighteenth-century botanical illustrations imbued plucked, pressed specimens with a new vitality. Erasmus Darwin’s Botanic Garden (1789, 1791) translated the aesthetic reanimations of visual art into a collection of poetic specimens, spurring compilations that promote a vitalist standard of literary value. By rejecting aesthetic reanimation as the figurative ground for poetic collecting, Charlotte Smith and Robert Southey forward an alternative historical model of literary merit, one grounded in the succession and continuity of representative literary types. These competing metrics for selection and valuation underwrite the anthology as we know it today

Worlds apart: Pictorial semantics in the left and right cerebral hemispheres

The dominant view in neuropsychology fails to consider that the hemispheric "functional division of labor" in terms of language versus non-language reflects but one dimension of hemispheric differences. That is, specialization of language in the left hemisphere and of spatial orientation in the right represent only specific aspects of the general underlying hemispheric meaning systems. Indeed, we have found that there can be two full-blown meaning systems, one in the left and one in the right, which can operate separately and simultaneously in the normal brain.

The case for a relationship between human memory, hippocampus and corpus callosum

Unilateral brain damage which includes the hippocampus leads to memory impairments consistent with hemispheric specialization on the same side. Damage to the corpus callosum, the major connecting pathway between the left and right hemispheres, also leads to memory impairments. This suggests both hemispheric specialization on the hippocampal level and a critical role for the corpus callosum in memory functions. A complete hippocampal formation is present on either side of the brain but traditionally only one is studied. However, a comparison between the neuronal populations in the hippocampus on both sides revealed asymmetry in connectivity among hippocampal subfields. The profile of memory impairments of commissurotomy (‘split-brain’) patients is described. The results are discussed in terms of a relationship between hippocampus and corpus callosum in humans. As hemispheric specialization evolved, inter-hippocampal connections became less important and the corpus callosum became prominent in memory functions

Quantitative morphology of human hippocampus early neuron development

Background: Previous findings in adults revealed significant hemispheric asymmetry in size of neuronal somata in hippocampal subfield CA2 (the “resistant sector”) with no age-related changes. Paucity of quantitative data on the developmental status of these “protected” neurons has led to the investigation of their morphology in comparison to neurons in adjacent subfield CA3, bilaterally. Methods: Bilateral coronal sections from postmortem hippocampus, 24 and 76 weeks postmenstrual age (gestational age plus postnatal age) were studied. The neurons were digitized and measured on a computer. Results: Soma size correlated positively and significantly with age in CA2 and CA3, bilaterally. CA2 somata were significantly larger (left 34%, right 32%) than adjacent CA3 somata. Variability in soma form or size increased appreciably with age, in both subfields, bilaterally, while variability in soma orientation was weakly correlated with brain growth. Conclusions: The results suggest that in early development there are similarities in hemispheric growth patterns in CA2 and CA3. Large CA2 soma size implies axonal connectivity to distantly located targets very early in development. The results have functional implications, including memory, to brain developmen

A view of the world from a split-brain perspective

The extent to which observed behavior in the complete commissurotomy patients is supported by only one hemisphere would depend on individual differences interacting with a variety of factors such as genetics, intelligence, and so on. The lesson imparted here is that there is sufficient functional redundancy in the neocortex so that the capacity to maintain a wide range of abilities is within the control of one hemisphere. And, yet, as seen in what is missing in the patients' behavior, one hemisphere is not quite enough. Nature seems to have intended that the two hemispheres complement each other, that the full range of human behavior be best accomplished through interaction between the left and right hemispheres

PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN EKSTRAK TEH HIJAU (Camellia sinensis) PADA PEMBUATAN SABUN TRANSPARAN

Pengaruh Penambahan Ekstrak Teh Hijau(Camellia sinensis) pada Pembuatan Sabun Transparan Oleh :Dahlia Pembimbing :Ir. Sahadi Didi Ismanto, M.Si dan TutyAnggraini, STP, MP, PhD ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penambahan ekstrak the hijau terhadap karakteristik sabun transparan dan aktivitas antioksidan serta untuk mengetahui penambahan konsentrasi ekstrak teh hijau terbaik. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) terdiri dari 5 perlakuan dan 3 kali ulangan. Data dianalisa secara statistic dengan menggunakan ANOVA dan dilanjutkan dengan uji Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (DNMRT) pada taraf 5%. Perlakuan pada peneltian ini adalah penambahan ekstrak the hijau sebesar 0%; 0,5%; 1%; 1,5%; dan 2%. Pengamatan pada produk sabun transparan yang dihasilkan adalah uji organoleptik, uji iritasi, uji antimikroba, uji antioksidan, dan sifat kimia yang meliputi kadar air, pH, jumlah asam lemak, fraksi tak tersabunkan, alkali bebas /asam lemak bebas, dan bagian tak larut alkohol. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perbedaan konsentrasi ekstrak the hijau pada sabun transparan berpengaruh nyata terhadap bagian tak larut alkohol, aktivitas antioksidan, dan antimikroba, tetapi tidak berpengaruh nyata terhadap kadar air, jumlah asam lemak, kadar fraksi tak tersabunkan, asam lemak bebas, pH, kekerasan, dan banyak busa. Pengaruh penambahan ekstrak the hijau pada pembuatan sabun transparan pada perlakuan E (Penambahan ekstrak the hijau 2%) merupakan produk terbaik dengan hasil rata-rata uji organoleptik pada tingkat suka dan sangat suka adalah warna 25%, aroma 50%, transparansi 20%, kekerasan 35%, dan banyak busa 70%. Hasil analisis produk E (Penambahan ekstrak the hijau 2%) adalah kekerasan 2,90 N/cm2; banyak busa 48,95%; kadar air 35,35%; jumlah asam lemak 29,78%; fraksi tak tersabunkan 12,87%; asam lemak bebas 0,23%; nilai pH 9,78; bagian tak larut alkohol 2,08%; nilai iritasi 0; aktivitas antioksidan 15,21%;dan diameter anti mikroba 42 mm; dan sabun transparan dengan penambahan ekstrak teh hijau layak untuk dikembangkan. Kata Kunci : ekstrak teh hijau, sabun transpara

Optimal Gossip with Direct Addressing

Gossip algorithms spread information by having nodes repeatedly forward information to a few random contacts. By their very nature, gossip algorithms tend to be distributed and fault tolerant. If done right, they can also be fast and message-efficient. A common model for gossip communication is the random phone call model, in which in each synchronous round each node can PUSH or PULL information to or from a random other node. For example, Karp et al. [FOCS 2000] gave algorithms in this model that spread a message to all nodes in $\Theta(\log n)$ rounds while sending only $O(\log \log n)$ messages per node on average. Recently, Avin and Els\"asser [DISC 2013], studied the random phone call model with the natural and commonly used assumption of direct addressing. Direct addressing allows nodes to directly contact nodes whose ID (e.g., IP address) was learned before. They show that in this setting, one can "break the $\log n$ barrier" and achieve a gossip algorithm running in $O(\sqrt{\log n})$ rounds, albeit while using $O(\sqrt{\log n})$ messages per node. We study the same model and give a simple gossip algorithm which spreads a message in only $O(\log \log n)$ rounds. We also prove a matching $\Omega(\log \log n)$ lower bound which shows that this running time is best possible. In particular we show that any gossip algorithm takes with high probability at least $0.99 \log \log n$ rounds to terminate. Lastly, our algorithm can be tweaked to send only $O(1)$ messages per node on average with only $O(\log n)$ bits per message. Our algorithm therefore simultaneously achieves the optimal round-, message-, and bit-complexity for this setting. As all prior gossip algorithms, our algorithm is also robust against failures. In particular, if in the beginning an oblivious adversary fails any $F$ nodes our algorithm still, with high probability, informs all but $o(F)$ surviving nodes

Guidance on the principles of language accessibility in National Curriculum Assessments : research background

This review accompanies the document, which describes the principles which should guide the development of clear assessment questions. The purpose of the review is to present and discuss in detail the research underpinning these principles. It begins from the standpoint that National Curriculum assessments, indeed any assessments, should be: - appropriate to the age of the pupils - an effective measure of their abilities, skills and concept development - fair to all irrespective of gender, language, religion, ethnic or social origin or disability. (Ofqual, 2011) The Regulatory Framework for National Assessments: National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage (Ofqual, 2011) sets out a number of common criteria which apply to all aspects of the development and implementation of National Assessments. One of these criteria refers to the need for assessment procedures to minimise bias: “The assessment should minimise bias, differentiating only on the basis of each learner’s ability to meet National Curriculum requirements” (Section 5.39, page 16). The Framework goes on to argue that: “Minimising bias is about ensuring that an assessment does not produce unreasonably adverse outcomes for particular groups of learners” (Annex 1, page 29). This criterion reinforces the guiding principle that any form of assessment should provide information about the knowledge and understanding of relevant content material. That is to say that the means through which this knowledge and understanding is examined, the design of the assessment and the language used should as far as possible be transparent, and should not influence adversely the performance of those being assessed. There is clearly a large number of ways in which any given assessment task can be presented and in which questions can be asked. Some of these ways will make the task more accessible – that is, easier to complete successfully – and some will get in the way of successful completion. Section 26 of the Fair Access by Design (Ofqual, 2010) document lists a number of guiding principles for improving the accessibility of assessment questions, although the research basis for these principles is not made completely clear in that document. The aim of the current review is to examine the research background more closely in order to provide a more substantial basis for a renewed set of principles to underpin the concept of language accessibility. In the review, each section will be prefaced by a statement of the principles outlined in Guidance on the Principles of Language Accessibility in National Curriculum Assessments and then the research evidence underpinning these principles will be reviewed