Aging and Spatio-temporal Vision: Effects of Blur on Localization Task Performance

The aim of this project was to examine age-related declines in the processing of spatial frequency information. Some current theories of spatial vision state that humans process high spatial frequency information separately or differently from low spatial frequency information. There is also evidence that normal aging may affect the processing of some spatial frequencies more than others. Specifically, it has been proposed that older adults have deficits in their ability to process low spatial frequency information, and that older adults process visual information more slowly in general than young adults. Eight observers in each of three age groups were tested on a localization task. The spatial frequency content of distractors presented in the visual field was varied along with speed of presentation and clarity of the display. A progressive loss in the extent of the functional visual field was demonstrated. Results were consistent with the position that older adults experience declines in their ability to process temporal information, and that older adults do process visual information at a slower rate than young adults

Photoreactivation of Lethal Damage Induced in Hamster X Xenopus Hybrid Cells and Their Parentals by UV Light

A85 Xenopus cells that exhibited a high level of photoreactivation (PR) and V79B2 hamster cells that exhibited little PR were fused to produce the V79B2 x A85 cell line — a hybrid line which possessed a relatively stable karyotype, with most cells containing the entire V79B2 and A85 genomes. UV and UV plus PR fluence-survival relations were then determined and compared for the hybrid and parental lines in a first attempt to elucidate interactions of the parental PR mechanisms in the hybrid. It was anticipated that the A85 genome in the hybrid would produce PR enzyme in sufficient concentration and of such a nature as to efficiently PR UV-induced lethal damage in both A85 and V79B2 DNA, and little difference would be observed in the levels of PR exhibited by the V79B2 x A85 and A85 lines. To the contrary, the level of PR observed for the hybrid was substantially below that observed for the A85 line. To assist in the interpretation of this unexpected observation, three additional preliminary studies were carried out: 1) Comparison of the optimum PR schemes for the A85 and hybrid lines, 2) examination of relations between the PR and dark UV repair mechanisms possessed by these lines, and 3) comparison of the levels of PR of chromatid deletions induced by UV in selected V79B2 and A85 chromosomes of the hybrid. The results suggested that the relatively low level of PR manifested by the hybrid cells was a consequence of their inability to efficiently PR pyrimidine dimers induced by UV in V79B2 DNA

Discourse, policy and the environment: hegemony, statements and the analysis of UK airport expansion

Building on the work of Laclau and Mouffe and others, this article develops a distinctively poststructuralist approach to the analysis of policy discourse in the field of environmental politics. Despite advances, there remain persistent critiques of the approach. Some claim that its theoretical assumptions are either too ideational or insufficiently attuned to the linguistic aspect of discourse analysis. Others pinpoint methodological difficulties in operationalizing the approach and generating effective research strategies. Addressing such critiques, we seek to articulate elements of Laclau and Mouffe?s post-Marxist theory of hegemony with insights gleaned from Foucault?s archaeology of discourse, more specifically his idea of the statement. When supplemented with the logic of hegemony, we argue that describing and mapping statements of various types, as they appear and disappear, circulate and change, in relation to particular policy problems in specific historical contexts, provides vital clues for delimiting competing discursive formations. It also enables researchers to detect and explicate the underlying rules that brought them into being. We illustrate such claims through an empirical analysis of three exemplary statements in aviation policy in the United Kingdom, demonstrating how the critical evaluation of these statements offers a lens through which to examine the continuities and discontinuities of on-going hegemonic struggles

Pharmacologic inhibition of RGD-binding integrins ameliorates fibrosis and improves function following kidney injury

Fibrosis is a final common pathway for many causes of progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). Arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-binding integrins are important mediators of the pro-fibrotic response by activating latent TGF-β at sites of injury and by providing myofibroblasts information about the composition and stiffness of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, blockade of RGD-binding integrins may have therapeutic potential for CKD. To test this idea, we used small-molecule peptidomimetics that potently inhibit a subset of RGD-binding integrins in a murine model of kidney fibrosis. Acute kidney injury leading to fibrosis was induced by administration of aristolochic acid. Continuous subcutaneous administration of CWHM-12, an RGD integrin antagonist, for 28 days improved kidney function as measured by serum creatinine. CWHM-12 significantly reduced Collagen 1 (Col1a1) mRNA expression and scar collagen deposition in the kidney. Protein and gene expression markers of activated myofibroblasts, a major source of extracellular matrix deposition in kidney fibrosis, were diminished by treatment. RNA sequencing revealed that inhibition of RGD integrins influenced multiple pathways that determine the outcome of the response to injury and of repair processes. A second RGD integrin antagonist, CWHM-680, administered once daily by oral gavage was also effective in ameliorating fibrosis. We conclude that targeting RGD integrins with such small-molecule antagonists is a promising therapeutic approach in fibrotic kidney disease

The politics of Estonia’s offshore wind energy programme: Discourse, power and marine spatial planning

There is growing recognition that Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is an inherently political process marked by a clash of discourses, power and conflicts of interest. Yet there are very few attempts to make sense of and explain the political practices of MSP protests in different contexts, especially the way that planners and developers create the conditions for the articulation of objections, and then develop new strategies to negotiate and mediate community resistance. Using poststructuralist discourse theory, the article analyzes the politics of a proposed offshore wind energy (OWE) project in Estonia within the context of the country’s MSP processes. First, through the lens of politicization, it explores the strategies of political mobilization and the rival discourses of expertise and sustainability through which residents and municipal actors have contested the OWE project. Secondly, through the lens of depoliticization, it explains the discursive and legalistic strategies employed by developers, planners and an Administrative Court to displace – spatially and temporally – the core issues of contestation, thus legitimizing the OWE plan. We argue that the spaces created by the pre-planning conjuncture offered the most conducive conditions for residents to voice concerns about the proposed project in a dialogical fashion, whereas the MSP and post-planning phases became mired in a therapeutic-style consultation, set alongside rigid and unreflexive interpretations and applications of legality. We conclude by setting out the limits of the Estonian MSP as a process for resolving conflicts, while offering an alternative model of handling such public controversies, which we call pragmatic adversarialism

The Logics and Limits of ‘Collaborative Governance’ in Nantes: Myth, Ideology and the Politics of New Urban Regimes

This article characterizes and evaluates a paradigm case of urban collaborative governance: the so-called ‘Nantes model’. Stressing its positioning in the particular tradition of French politics, and drawing on poststructuralist discourse theory, this article demonstrates how the myth of the ‘jeu à la Nantaise’ (the “Nantes game”) informs a discourse of urban collaborative governance with a distinctive triad of policy goals. In the context of fiscal tightening and multiple crises, this governance practice involves various strategies designed to incorporate neighbourhoods and communities in the co-production of public policies in a pragmatic way. Analyzing the grammar and forms of these practices reveals that ‘co-governance’ in Nantes functions as a ‘doctrinal abridgement’, leading to a growing managerialization in an increasingly codified system of community participation. We thus conclude that one line of flight in the ‘Nantes model’ signifies a movement away from an image of collaborative pragmatism as a complex praxis of governing to an ideology that conceals the complications and messiness of governing in a collaborative manner

Adopting Virtualized 10GBE Ethernet ISCSI SAN for Mission Critical Applications

The presentation will provide insight into the decision to move from a fibre channel SAN solution, the resulting performance metrics and financial savings seen by Marshall University. Presented at The Ohio Higher Education Computing Council (OHECC) March 23, 2011

The Mentor Series

This series of sculptural wall figures relies heavily on an understanding of mythology. When I first began to review some of the Greek myths and plays Iwas amazed at their apparent contemporary relevance. They have a quality which even today seems to "ring true". And, after looking over current trends in the art world, I recognized that mythology and myth-making are very contemporary concerns. My first inclination with this body of work was to give form to specific characters from the myths. Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes, and Aegisthus have all been represented in earlier work. But I realized that I was not actually interested in the characters as personalities. Rather, I became interested in those things that gave those personalities mythic stature. The gods and mortals of Greek mythology were not modeled after real Greeks. Instead, these characters were coined by the Greeks to represent certain personality traits or attitudes. They were symbols for the potential of these things. Among themselves, these gods presented idealized versions of those traits and attitudes. In their relationships with Mortals they often come to signify the failure of the ideal. As this series of work evolved I questioned my own motivation for doing the work. I felt that my interest in mythology was only part of the reason for making these figures. I began to draw on personal experiences in order to understand the form that the work was taking. Each figure had three separate stages to it's completion. First, they were proportionately sketched out and then scaled up to size with a grid. Next, the component pieces were traced, cut out of styrofoam, and glued together. Finally, each figure was gessoed, underpainted with latex paints, and finished with alkyds. Between each stage I tried to "characterize" the figures so that I could understand how as a mentor has been undoubtably honored. Looking back at my reasons for entering graduate school, I realize now that one of the things that I hoped to find was a mentor. Before graduate schooLI had a good studio and a supportive job, but I was floundering as an artist for lack of direction. I have'nt found a mentor here, but I did find direction. And, several people have acted as mentors here at appropriate times. I 5 think that iw:, hope of finding that unique student-teacher relationship was unrealistic. It seems that a university system could not support that kind of relationship. It's not efficient enough, and couldn't be made financially feasible. It has also occu.red to me that graduate school, at best, may recognize this and attempt to train students to be their own mentors. &nbsp;</p

So Close, but so Far? The Davies Commission and the Contested Politics of UK Airport Expansion

Aviation expansion and the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport is firmly back on the political agenda. Yet, the stark fact remains that a growing list of British governments has been unable to engineer a partial or temporary policy settlement in aviation. Exploring the challenges of reaching such a settlement, this article characterises the shifting and contested political and policy contexts of UK aviation. It begins by exploring the ‘wicked issue’ of aviation expansion before foregrounding how the politics of air travel is riven by competing policy frames, fragmented governance and the absence of gatekeepers. It argues that the Davies Commission and its efforts to remove aviation from the domain of partisan politics provided little more than a temporary respite for government. It thus concludes by questioning whether the May government’s expansion proposals will succeed this time around, outlining how the contributions in this collection address the themes and issues of this overriding policy puzzle