4,942 research outputs found
Once more, with feeling : an enquiry into The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's exhibition Gallipoli: the scale of our war : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Museum Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
This thesis examines The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewaâs exhibition Gallipoli: The scale of our war. Conceived in partnership with Weta Workshop and formulated during a period of institutional uncertainty, Gallipoli was ostensibly created to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. This research investigates what this exhibition and the methodologies and practices deployed in its development reveals about how Te Papa interprets its public service role, and concludes that Gallipoli signals an intensification of its hegemonic function.
Marked by a discursive engagement with critical museology and theoretical perspectives pertaining to the ethics of memorialisation and practices of governmentality, in this thesis a transdisciplinary approach is adopted. Employing a qualitative and grounded theory methodology and inductive processes, anchoring the research are interviews with Te Papa staff and Gallipoli visitors, documentary evidence, exhibition âtextâ analysis and autoethnographic reflections.
This thesis suggests that Gallipoli is characterised by a distinctive âaffective public pedagogyâ. Further to this, it is argued that Gallipoli not only has significant implications for Te Papaâs pedagogical functions, but also for conceptions of subjectivity, citizenship and nationhood in New Zealand in the twenty-first century. It is contended that recent developments at Te Papa have further problematized its exogenous and endogenous relations of power, and that the ritualised practices of affect afforded by Gallipoli are ideologically prescribed. It is also determined that Te Papaâs legislative responsibility to be a âforum for the nationâ requires reconsidering
Epidermal growth factor-mediated T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor transcriptional activity is essential but not sufficient for cell cycle progression in nontransformed mammary epithelial cells
Because beta-catenin target genes such as cyclin D1 are involved in cell cycle progression, we examined whether beta-catenin has a more pervasive role in normal cell proliferation, even upon stimulation by non-Wnt ligands. Here, we demonstrate that epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (Tcf/Lef) transcriptional activity in nontransformed mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A) and that its transcriptional activity is essential for EGF-mediated progression through G(1)/S phase. Thus, expression of dominant-negative Tcf4 blocks EGF-mediated Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity and bromodeoxyuridine uptake. In fact, the importance of EGF-mediated Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity for cell cycle progression may lie further upstream at the G(1)/S phase transition. We demonstrate that dominant-negative Tcf4 inhibits a reporter of cyclin D1 promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, dominant-negative Tcf4 suppresses EGF- mediated cell cycle activity specifically by thwarting EGF- mediated Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity, not by broader effects on EGF signaling. Thus, although expression of dominant-negative Tcf4 blocks EGF- mediated TOPFLASH activation, it has no effect on either EGF receptor or ERK phosphorylation, further underscoring the fact that Tcf/ Lef-mediated transcription is essential for cell cycle progression, even when other pro-mitogenic signals are at normal levels. Yet, despite its essential role, Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity alone is not sufficient for cell cycle progression. Serum also stimulates Tcf/ Lef transcriptional activation in MCF-10A cells but is unable to promote DNA synthesis. Taken together, our data support a model wherein EGF promotes Tcf/ Lef transcriptional activity, and this signal is essential but not sufficient for cell cycle activity
A new approach to onset detection: towards an empirical grounding of theoretical and speculative ideologies of musical performance
This article assesses aspects of the current state of a project which aims, with the help of computers
and computer software, to segment soundfiles of vocal melodies into their component notes, identifying
precisely when the onset of each note occurs, and then tracking the pitch trajectory of each
note, especially in melodies employing a variety of non-standard temperaments, in which musical
intervals smaller than 100 cents are ubiquitous. From there, we may proceed further, to describe
many other âmicro-featuresâ of each of the notes, but for now our focus is on the onset times and
pitch trajectories
Saving life and brain with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A single-center analysis of in-hospital cardiac arrests.
OBJECTIVE: Despite advances in medical care, survival to discharge and full neurologic recovery after cardiac arrest remains less than 20% after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An alternate approach to traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation is extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which places patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and provides immediate cardiopulmonary support when traditional resuscitation has been unsuccessful. We report the results from extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the Thomas Jefferson University.
METHODS: Between 2010 and June 2014, 107 adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation procedures were performed at the Thomas Jefferson University. Patient demographics, survival to discharge, and neurologic recovery of patients who underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation were retrospectively analyzed with institutional review board approval.
RESULTS: A total of 23 patients (15 male and 8 female; mean age, 46 ± 12 years) underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. All patients who met criteria were placed on 24-hour hypothermia protocol (target temperature 33°C) with initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The mean duration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support was 6.2 ± 5.5 days. Nine patients died while on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from the following causes: anoxic brain injury (4), stroke (4), and bowel necrosis (1). Two patients with anoxic brain injury on extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation donated multiple organs for transplant. The survival to discharge was 30% (7/23 patients) with approximately 100% full neurologic recovery.
CONCLUSIONS: The extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedure provided reasonable patient recovery. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation also allowed for neurologic recovery and made multiorgan procurement possible. On the basis of the survival, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be considered when determining the optimal treatment path for patients who need cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The proper use of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation improved the hospital outcomes for patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest
Property A and exactness of the uniform Roe algebra
In this short note, prepared for the volume of conjectures to celebrate Guido Mislin's retirement, we outline the conjecture that a uniformly discrete bounded geometry metric space X has property A if and only if the uniform Roe algebra C^?(X ) is exact
The role of renal transporters and novel regulatory interactions in the TAL that control blood pressure
Hypertension (HTN), a major public health issue is currently the leading factor in the global burden of disease, where associated complications account for 9.4 million deaths worldwide every year (98). Excessive dietary salt intake is among the environmental factors that contribute to HTN, known as salt sensitivity. The heterogeneity of salt sensitivity and the multiple mechanisms that link high salt intake to increases in blood pressure are of upmost importance for therapeutic application. A continual increase in the kidney's reabsorption of sodium (Na+) relies on sequential actions at various segments along the nephron. When the distal segments of the nephron fail to regulate Na+, the effects on Na+ homeostasis are unfavourable. We propose that the specific nephron region where increased active uptake occurs as a result of variations in Na+ reabsorption is at the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle (TAL). The purpose of this review is to urge the consideration of the TAL that contributes to the pathophysiology of salt sensitive HTN. Further research in this area will enable development of a therapeutic application for targeted treatment
A microtonal wind controller building on Yamahaâs technology to facilitate the performance of music based on the â19-EDOâ scale
We describe a project in which several collaborators adapted an existing instrument to make
it capable of playing expressively in music based on the microtonal scale characterised by equal
divsion of the octave into 19 tones (â19-EDOâ). Our objective was not just to build this instrument,
however, but also to produce a well-formed piece of music which would exploit it
idiomatically, in a performance which would provide listeners with a pleasurable and satisfying
musical experience. Hence, consideration of the extent and limits of the playing-techniques of
the resulting instrument (a âWind-Controllerâ) and of appropriate approaches to the composition
of music for it were an integral part of the project from the start. Moreover, the intention
was also that the piece, though grounded in the musical characteristics of the 19-EDO scale,
would nevertheless have a recognisable relationship with what Dimitri Tymoczko (2010) has
called the âExtended Common Practiceâ of the last millennium. So the article goes on to consider
these matters, and to present a score of the resulting new piece, annotated with comments
documenting some of the performance issues which it raises. Thus, bringing the project to
fruition involved elements of composition, performance, engineering and computing, and the
article describes how such an inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary collaboration
was co-ordinated in a unified manner to achieve the envisaged outcome. Finally, we
consider why the building of microtonal instruments is such a problematic issue in a contemporary
(âhigh-techâ) society like ours
Comparison of simulated and reconstructed variations in East African hydroclimate over the last millennium
The multi-decadal to centennial hydroclimate changes in East Africa over the last millennium are studied by comparing the results of forced transient simulations by six general circulation models (GCMs) with published hydroclimate reconstructions from four lakes: Challa and Naivasha in equatorial East Africa, and Masoko and Malawi in southeastern inter-tropical Africa. All GCMs simulate fairly well the unimodal seasonal cycle of precipitation in the Masoko-Malawi region, while the bimodal seasonal cycle characterizing the Challa-Naivasha region is generally less well captured by most models. Model results and lake-based hydroclimate reconstructions display very different temporal patterns over the last millennium. Additionally, there is no common signal among the model time series, at least until 1850. This suggests that simulated hydroclimate fluctuations are mostly driven by internal variability rather than by common external forcing. After 1850, half of the models simulate a relatively clear response to forcing, but this response is different between the models. Overall, the link between precipitation and tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over the pre-industrial portion of the last millennium is stronger and more robust for the Challa-Naivasha region than for theMasoko-Malawi region. At the inter-annual timescale, last-millennium Challa-Naivasha precipitation is positively (negatively) correlated with western (eastern) Indian Ocean SST, while the influence of the Pacific Ocean appears weak and unclear. Although most often not significant, the same pattern of correlations between East African rainfall and the Indian Ocean SST is still visible when using the last-millennium time series smoothed to highlight centennial variability, but only in fixed-forcing simulations. This means that, at the centennial timescale, the effect of (natural) climate forcing can mask the imprint of internal climate variability in large-scale teleconnections
Simple new risk score model for adult cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: simple cardiac ECMO score.
BACKGROUND: Although the use of cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasing in adult patients, the field lacks understanding of associated risk factors. While standard intensive care unit risk scores such as SAPS II (simplified acute physiology score II), SOFA (sequential organ failure assessment), and APACHE II (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II), or disease-specific scores such as MELD (model for end-stage liver disease) and RIFLE (kidney risk, injury, failure, loss of function, ESRD) exist, they may not apply to adult cardiac ECMO patients as their risk factors differ from variables used in these scores.
METHODS: Between 2010 and 2014, 73 ECMOs were performed for cardiac support at our institution. Patient demographics and survival were retrospectively analyzed. A new easily calculated score for predicting ECMO mortality was created using identified risk factors from univariate and multivariate analyses, and model discrimination was compared with other scoring systems.
RESULTS: Cardiac ECMO was performed on 73 patients (47 males and 26 females) with a mean age of 48 ± 14 y. Sixty-four percent of patients (47/73) survived ECMO support. Pre-ECMO SAPS II, SOFA, APACHE II, MELD, RIFLE, PRESERVE, and ECMOnet scores, were not correlated with survival. Univariate analysis of pre-ECMO risk factors demonstrated that increased lactate, renal dysfunction, and postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock were risk factors for death. Applying these data into a new simplified cardiac ECMO score (minimal risk = 0, maximal = 5) predicted patient survival. Survivors had a lower risk score (1.8 ± 1.2) versus the nonsurvivors (3.0 ± 0.99), P \u3c 0.0001.
CONCLUSIONS: Common intensive care unit or disease-specific risk scores calculated for cardiac ECMO patients did not correlate with ECMO survival, whereas a new simplified cardiac ECMO score provides survival predictability
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