extraction from the essence of pure power

This thesis examines the intersections of bodybuilding and performance through a masculine lens. Much like theater, the body builder is activated by staging. In an investigation of its history and a sampling of its theories, we can challenge the hyper-masculine identity which is supported through the gym culture and gender constructs. The arena of the gym contains cues contributing to the artworks listed, and the icons of the gym itself are brought into the studio to transform not only the objects, but the actions themselves. The work challenges the ideals surrounding the superhero, godlike persona cultivated through media tropes. These tropes can be damaging to the fluidity of gender performance as well as the male body image. To diminish ones bodily functionality for the sake of standards made by a dysfunctional culture creates a disparity between its health an appearance. While the strategies problematize the masculine identity, they bring frontally the body as a method of making. The outward, physical struggle between the artist and the object is similar to the internalized struggle of performing male. The task is designed to push the performer to his limits. The performance is based in truth and can be described as theatrical realism

Analogical problem evolution in biologically inspired design

Biologically inspired design (BID) is a widespread and growing movement in modern design, pulled in part by the need for environmentally sustainable design and pushed partly by rapid advances in biology and the desire for creativity and innovation in design. Yet, our current understanding of cognition in BID is limited and at present there are few computational methods or tools available for supporting its practice. In this dissertation, I develop a cognitive model of BID, build computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, and describe results from deploying the methods and the tools in a Georgia Tech BID class. One key and novel finding in my cognitive study of BID is the surprisingly large degree to which biological analogues influence problem formulation and understanding in addition to generation of design solutions. I call the process by which a biological analogue influences the evolution of the problem formulation analogical problem evolution. I use the method of grounded theory to develop a knowledge schema called SR.BID (for structured representations for biologically inspired design) for representing design problem formulations. I show through case study analysis that SR.BID provides a useful analytic framework for understanding the two-way interaction between problems and solutions. I then develop two tools based on the SR.BID schema to scaffold the processes of problem formulation and analogue evaluation in BID. I deployed the two tools, the four-box method of problem specification and the T-chart method of analogical evaluation, in a Georgia Tech BID class. I show that with minimal training, the four-box method was used by students to complete design problem specifications in 2011 and 2012 with 75% of students achieving better than 80% accuracy. Finally I describe a web-based application for interactively supporting BID practice including problem formulation and analogue evaluation. Thus, my dissertation develops a cognitive model of analogical problem evolution in BID, a knowledge schema for representing problem formulations, a computational technique for evaluating biological analogues, and an interactive web-based tool for supporting BID practice. Through a better cognitive understanding of BID and computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, it also contributes to computational creativity.Ph.D

Evaluating Biological Systems for Their Potential in Engineering Design

A team of biologists, engineers, and cognitive scientists has been working together for the past five years, teaching an upper level undergraduate course in biologically inspired design where half the class of forty students are biologists and other physical scientists and the other half are engineers (mechanical, materials, industrial, others). From this experience, we provide insights on how to teach students to evaluate biological systems for their potential in engineering design. We have found that at first, students are not familiar with developing their own question since, in most engineering design classes, the problem is prescribed along with clients who would like to have them solved. In our class, we challenge the students with defining a significant problem. The students with common challenges then are placed together in an interdisciplinary team with at least one biologist and one engineer. A detailed problem decomposition follows, identifying the hierarchy of systems and clearly specifying functions. This is essential for the next step of analogical reasoning. Analogical reasoning as applied to BID is a process of matching biological functions to engineered functions and transferring functions and mechanisms from biology to engineering. For each desired function, students may ask: what mechanisms does nature use for achieving the function? This question guides the exploration of the wealth of knowledge in biology by asking them to clearly define the function of interest, then search for natural processes that perform this function. To expand on this search space, the students next make a list of the same function performed by other organisms for a comparative analysis to deepen their understanding and extract key biological principles. Students then invert the function and identify keywords to search. They also must refer to general biology books to identify key organisms that perform the function the best (and hence are included in textbooks). Using databases, such as the Web of Science functions, they can try to select the ‘best’ articles. If one is lucky, a single biological system may serve as a near perfect match to lead to a successful BID. However, some of the most innovative designs are built from more than one biological system, something that evolution cannot always do. We call these compound analogies. At this point, the design iteration can take on a different approach, namely solution based rather than problem based. Here, the team takes a natural system and asks, how can this biological principle improve an engineered design or function. These twin processes: solution vs problem-based approaches both have led to innovative and creative design concepts in this interdisciplinary class. Key words: Biological systems; engineering design; interdisciplinary clas

Analysis of ceiling effects occurring with speech recognition tests in adult cochlear-implanted patients

This article presents a simple method of analysing speech test scores which are biased through ceiling effects. Eighty postlingually deafened adults implanted with a MED-EL COMBI 40/40+ cochlear implant (CI) were administered a numbers test and a sentence test at initial device activation and at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months thereafter. As a measure for speech recognition performance, the number of patients who scored at the `ceiling level' (i.e. at least 95% correct answers) was counted at each test interval. Results showed a quick increase in this number soon after device activation as well as a continuous improvement over time ( numbers test: 1 month: 51%; 6 months: 73%; 24 months: 88%; sentence test: 1 month: 33%; 6 months: 49%; 24 months: 64%). The new method allows for the detection of speech recognition progress in CI patient samples even at late test intervals, where improvement curves based on averaged scores are usually assuming a flat shape. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Modeling the repetitions-in-reserve-velocity relationship:a valid method for resistance training monitoring and prescription, and fatigue management

Establishing a relationship between repetitions left in reserve and the mean absolute velocity (RIR-velocity relationship) during resistance training (RT) could allow for objective monitoring, prescription, and real-time adjustment of the training load and set-volume. Therefore, we examined the goodness of fit and prediction accuracy of general and individual RIR-velocity relationships in the free-weight back squat exercise. The effects of sex, training status and history, as well as personality traits, on the goodness of fit and the accuracy of these relationships were also investigated. Forty-six resistance-trained people (15 females and 31 males) performed a one-repetition maximum (1RM) test, and two repetitions to failure (RTF) tests 72 h apart. We found greater goodness of fit of individual RIR-velocity relationships compared to general RIR-velocity relationships. Individual, but not general RIR-velocity relationships established in the first testing session yielded acceptable prediction accuracy of RIR (mean error <2 repetitions) in the subsequent testing session, regardless of the load used. Similar results were obtained when both general and individual RIR-velocity relationships were averaged across the loads, suggesting that a single RIR-velocity relationship covering a range of loads can be used instead of traditional RT methods, potentially allowing for better fatigue management and more efficient adaptation

Consistency and Timing of Marital Transitions and Survival During Midlife: the Role of Personality and Health Risk Behaviors

Background Marital status is associated with survival. Purpose The aims of this study are to evaluate marital history and timing on mortality during midlife, test the role of pre-marital personality, and quantify the role of health risk behaviors. Methods Cox proportional hazard models were run with varying classifications of marital history and sets of covariates. Results In fully adjusted models compared to the currently married, lifetime marital history predicts premature mortality with never married at 2.33 times risk of death and ever married at 1.64 risk of death. Midlife marital history shows that not having a partner during midlife (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.10 formerly married; HR = 2.59 remaining single) has the highest risk of death. Controlling for personality and health risk behaviors reduces but does not eliminate the impact of marital status. Conclusion Consistency of marital status during midlife suggests that lack of a partner is associated with midlife mortality

Velocity loss is a flawed method for monitoring and prescribing resistance training volume with a free-weight back squat exercise

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the goodness of fit, prediction accuracy, and stability of general and individual relationships between velocity loss and the percentage of completed repetitions out of maximum possible (VL-%repetitions) in the free-weight back squat exercise. The effects of sex, training status and history, as well as personality traits, on the goodness of fit and the accuracy of these relationships were also investigated. Methods: Forty-six resistance-trained people (15 females and 31 males) performed a one-repetition maximum (1RM) test, and two repetitions to failure (RTF) tests, 72 h apart. RTF tests were performed with 70, 80, and 90% of 1RM with 10 min inter-set rest. Results: The findings question the utility of using general and individual VL-%repetitions relationships to prescribe training volume with free-weight back squats as (1) the agreement in the %repetitions completed until reaching a given velocity loss threshold across two consecutive testing sessions was unacceptable, regardless of the load used; and (2) the ability of general and individual VL-%repetitions relationships to predict %repetitions in a subsequent testing session were poor (absolute errors > 10%). Sex, training status and history, and personality traits did not affect the goodness of fit of general and individual VL-%repetitions relationships or their prediction accuracy, suggesting potential generalisability of those findings among resistance-trained populations. Conclusions: VL-%repetitions relationships do not seem to provide any additional benefits compared to costless, traditional methods and hence should not be used for monitoring and prescribing resistance training with a free-weight back squat exercise

The transcriptome of utricle hair cell regeneration in the avian inner ear

Sensory hair cell loss is the major cause of hearing and balance disorders. Mammals are incapable of sustained hair cell regeneration, but lower vertebrates can regenerate these mechano-electrical transducers. We present the first comprehensive transcriptome (by mRNA-Seq) of hair cell regeneration in the chick utricle. We provide pathway and pattern annotations and correlate these with the phenotypic events that occur during regeneration. These patterns are surprisingly synchronous and highly punctuated. We show how these patterns are a new resource for identifying components of the hair cell transcriptome and identify 494 new putative hair-cell-specific genes and validate three of these (of three tested) by immunohistochemical staining. We describe many surprising new components and dynamic expression patterns, particularly within NOTCH signaling. For example, we show that HES7 is specifically expressed during utricle hair cell regeneration and closely parallels the expression of HES5. Likewise, the expression of ATOH1 is closely correlated with HEYL and the HLH inhibitory transcription factors ID1, ID2, and ID4. We investigate the correlation between fibroblast growth factor signaling and supporting cell proliferation and show that FGF20 inhibits supporting cell proliferation. We also present an analysis of 212 differentially expressed transcription factor genes in the regenerative time course that fall into nine distinct gene expression patterns, many of which correlate with phenotypic events during regeneration and represent attractive candidates for future analysis and manipulation of the regenerative program in sensory epithelia and other vertebrate neuroepithelia