The Temporal Dimensions of the London Art Auction, 1780–1835

The rush of activity among London’s auction houses in the first few weeks of summer has long been a familiar occurrence that persists even today. However, this intense seasonal concentration of sales was not always so. This paper draws on quantitative methods to explore the gradual emergence of a tightly scheduled auction season in London at the turn of the nineteenth century, focusing on the sale of paintings. By analysing historical art auction catalogue data, the paper traces the ways in which this shift varied across different segments of the auction market, as well as between individual auction houses. As our study shows, the temporal clustering of painting auctions had specific business advantages, but it also played a key role in enhancing the social import of these auctions, demarcating an annual, weeks- long “event” looked to with anticipation and excitement by auctioneers and buyers alike

'A world of trouble': Joseph Wright of Derby in Bath, 1775-1777

Between November 1775 and June 1777, Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) spent two social `seasons' in the resort town of Bath. Shortly after returning from two years in Rome, Wright left Derby with his new wife and child in hopes of becoming the premier portrait painter in Bath, filling the void left by Thomas Gainsborough's departure the previous year. Rather than achieving success, Wright found himself ill-equipped for the complex social interactions of his new city and severely wanting for commissions. In light of Wright's professional failure in Bath, particularly contrasted with the artist's highly successful 1768-1771 Liverpool period, the Bath period has become a forgotten episode in critical literature on Wright. This thesis examines Wright's life during those two years, collecting for the first time all of his published Bath works and correspondence and exploring the dramatic effects of the experience on his career

The Great House of Benjamin West: Family, Workshop, and National Identity in Late Georgian England

Anglo-American painter Benjamin West (1738-1820) holds a unique position in the history of Western art. Active during the foundational periods of not one, but two, national schools of art to which he could rightfully claim membership, West recognized his inimitable position in the development of English and American art and sought to position himself at the forefront of each nation. This dissertation examines his fluid national and artistic identities over the course of his instructional relationships with his American students, and the shifting personal and professional goals harbored by each party. While scholars have acknowledged the relation of West's pedagogical practice to his identity as an artist, this study presents an organic account of the relationships between teacher and students as an embodiment of West's ongoing and unprecedented attempts at fame, fortune, and legacy. This legacy was central to Benjamin West's identity as an artist. His professional career was dedicated to the self-aggrandizement of his identities as an (exotic) American, a prolific painter of high-minded scenes of history and religion, and the head of a workshop teeming with artists who shared his heritage, though not always his aesthetic inclinations. Over his career he cultivated a reputation as a welcoming instructor, always willing to give advice or lessons to any artist who approached him. This was not solely an act of altruism. Instead, it was the cornerstone of his construction of a proverbial House of West, a workshop-family whose members and their works would reflect back on the genius of the master, just as strongly as his own oeuvre. Through the examination of four case studies of his instruction of American students – that of Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, and a circle of students led by Washington Allston – this study integrates Benjamin West's teaching practice with his career aspirations, positioning his pedagogy within the greater framework of his self-presentation. In doing so, it presents a history painter engrossed in the promulgation of his name throughout history, through his own artistic output and those of his children and students, as the progenitor of American artists working in the European tradition

Faculty and Administrative Partnerships: Disciplinary Differences in Perceptions of Civic Engagement and Service-Learning at a Large, Research-Extensive University

In recent years, considerable energy has been expended attempting to define, evaluate and promote active learning pedagogies such as civic engagement and service-learning. Yet much of this scholarship treats civic engagement and service-learning at either a macroscopic level (studying an entire university system) or microscopic level (studying a particular course or project). There has been comparably less research examining how different disciplinary cultures influence the conceptualization and implementation of active learning pedagogies within individual institutions. This study draws on quantitative survey methodologies to examine faculty perceptions of civic engagement and service-learning at a major public research university within and across four disciplines: the Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and the Applied Professions. Quantitative results reveal significant variance in disciplinary approaches to civic engagement and service-learning across a variety of measures including advocacy, concerns, and goals for active learning pedagogies. The findings suggest several strategies for recognizing disciplinary differences and encouraging collaboration among faculty and between disciplines on civic engagement and service-learning approaches in higher education

PLZF induces an intravascular surveillance program mediated by long-lived LFA-1–ICAM-1 interactions

PLZF-expressing NKT cells establish residence at intravascular locations, failing to enter the circulation because of constitutive interactions with LFA-1 and ICAM-1

Calcium Homeostasis and Cone Signaling Are Regulated by Interactions between Calcium Stores and Plasma Membrane Ion Channels

Calcium is a messenger ion that controls all aspects of cone photoreceptor function, including synaptic release. The dynamic range of the cone output extends beyond the activation threshold for voltage-operated calcium entry, suggesting another calcium influx mechanism operates in cones hyperpolarized by light. We have used optical imaging and whole-cell voltage clamp to measure the contribution of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) to Ca2+ homeostasis and its role in regulation of neurotransmission at cone synapses. Mn2+ quenching of Fura-2 revealed sustained divalent cation entry in hyperpolarized cones. Ca2+ influx into cone inner segments was potentiated by hyperpolarization, facilitated by depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores, unaffected by pharmacological manipulation of voltage-operated or cyclic nucleotide-gated Ca2+ channels and suppressed by lanthanides, 2-APB, MRS 1845 and SKF 96365. However, cation influx through store-operated channels crossed the threshold for activation of voltage-operated Ca2+ entry in a subset of cones, indicating that the operating range of inner segment signals is set by interactions between store- and voltage-operated Ca2+ channels. Exposure to MRS 1845 resulted in ∼40% reduction of light-evoked postsynaptic currents in photopic horizontal cells without affecting the light responses or voltage-operated Ca2+ currents in simultaneously recorded cones. The spatial pattern of store-operated calcium entry in cones matched immunolocalization of the store-operated sensor STIM1. These findings show that store-operated channels regulate spatial and temporal properties of Ca2+ homeostasis in vertebrate cones and demonstrate their role in generation of sustained excitatory signals across the first retinal synapse

Urban coral reefs: Degradation and resilience of hard coral assemblages in coastal cities of East and Southeast Asia

© 2018 The Author(s) Given predicted increases in urbanization in tropical and subtropical regions, understanding the processes shaping urban coral reefs may be essential for anticipating future conservation challenges. We used a case study approach to identify unifying patterns of urban coral reefs and clarify the effects of urbanization on hard coral assemblages. Data were compiled from 11 cities throughout East and Southeast Asia, with particular focus on Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Naha (Okinawa). Our review highlights several key characteristics of urban coral reefs, including “reef compression” (a decline in bathymetric range with increasing turbidity and decreasing water clarity over time and relative to shore), dominance by domed coral growth forms and low reef complexity, variable city-specific inshore-offshore gradients, early declines in coral cover with recent fluctuating periods of acute impacts and rapid recovery, and colonization of urban infrastructure by hard corals. We present hypotheses for urban reef community dynamics and discuss potential of ecological engineering for corals in urban areas

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Exploratory information searching in the enterprise: A study of user satisfaction and task performance

No prior research has been identified which investigates the causal factors for workplace exploratory search task performance. The impact of user, task and environmental factors on user satisfaction and task performance was investigated through a mixed methods study with 26 experienced information professionals using enterprise search in an oil and gas enterprise. Some participants found 75% of high value items, others found none with an average of 27%. No association was found between self-reported search expertise and task performance, with a tendency for many participants to overestimate their search expertise. Successful searchers may have more accurate mental models of both search systems and the information space. Organizations may not have effective exploratory search task performance feedback loops, a lack of learning. This may be caused by management bias towards technology not capability, a lack of systems thinking. Furthermore, organizations may not ‘know’ they ‘don’t know’ their true level of search expertise, a lack of knowing. A metamodel is presented identifying the causal factors for workplace exploratory search task performance. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with search staff from the Defence, Pharmaceutical and Aerospace sectors indicates the potential transferability of the finding that organizations may not know their search expertise levels