Martin Puryear: 40 Years Since Sentinel

Artist Martin Puryear’s commitment to seeing objects as connected to history and culture resonates with a moment when Gettysburg College reflected on the significance of its own historical place and time. As the College approached the sesquicentennial anniversary of its founding, it decided to mark the occasion not with a ball or parade, but with “an intelligent artifact,” a permanent marker that both recognizes its maker and offers its own history. In 1980, Associate Dean of the College Robert Nordvall suggested to President Charles Glassick that they ought to commission a monumental sculpture on campus. Glassick then created the Ad Hoc Sculpture Committee and appointed Nordvall, who became chairman of the committee, Biology Professor A. Ralph Cavaliere, Art Professor and sculptor Alan Paulson, Trustee Samuel A. Schreckengaust, and, at Professor Paulson’s recommendation, student Nicholas Micros, class of 1982. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1037/thumbnail.jp

Rocky Mountain Moon

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6721/thumbnail.jp

Targeting the cannabinoid receptor CB2 in a mouse model of l-dopa induced dyskinesia.

L-dopa induced dyskinesia (LID) is a debilitating side-effect of the primary treatment used in Parkinson's disease (PD), l-dopa. Here we investigate the effect of HU-308, a cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist, on LIDs. Utilizing a mouse model of PD and LIDs, induced by 6-OHDA and subsequent l-dopa treatment, we show that HU-308 reduced LIDs as effectively as amantadine, the current frontline treatment. Furthermore, treatment with HU-308 plus amantadine resulted in a greater anti-dyskinetic effect than maximally achieved with HU-308 alone, potentially suggesting a synergistic effect of these two treatments. Lastly, we demonstrated that treatment with HU-308 and amantadine either alone, or in combination, decreased striatal neuroinflammation, a mechanism which has been suggested to contribute to LIDs. Taken together, our results suggest pharmacological treatments with CB2 agonists merit further investigation as therapies for LIDs in PD patients. Furthermore, since CB2 receptors are thought to be primarily expressed on, and signal through, glia, our data provide weight to suggestion that neuroinflammation, or more specifically, altered glial function, plays a role in development of LIDs

PEMBERDAYAAN WARGA BINAAN LEMBAGA PEMASYARAKATAN DALAM PEMANFAATAN POTENSI BUNGA MELATI UNTUK PRODUK AROMATERAPI

Abstrak: Aromaterapi dari minyak atsiri bunga melati memiliki manfaat untuk mengurangi stress, depresi dan kecemasan pada masyarakat, salah satunya akibat pandemi COVID-19. Tanaman melati memiliki peluang besar untuk dikembangkan dalam pemenuhan bahan baku produk aromaterapi. Warga binaan Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (LP) kelas 1 Surabaya memiliki potensi dalam pengembangan ini karena diprogramkan untuk kegiatan kewirausahaan, selain itu lahan di LP yang baik untuk dimanfaatkan dalam bidang pertanian, khususnya tanaman melati. Namun, pemahaman warga binaan terhadap budidaya tanaman melati masih kurang, dan belum memiliki keterampilan pembuatan produk aromaterapi. Dari potensi dan permasalahan tersebut, maka dilakukan program kegiatan dengan tujuan peningkatan pengetahuan dan keterampilan warga binaan dalam pemanfaatan potensi bunga melati di LP kelas 1 Surabaya. Kegiatan dilakukan melalui penyuluhan dan pelatihan kepada 10 warga binaan dan dievaluasi menggunakan metode pretest dan posttest. Hasil evaluasi setelah dilakukan kegiatan pemberdayaan adalah peningkatan pemahaman warga binaan terkait budidaya tanaman melati mencapai 51,28%, sedangkan pemahaman terkait ekstraksi dan aromaterapi mencapai 21,26%, selain itu warga binaan juga melanjutkan panerapan budidaya setelah kegiatan selesai. Harapan dari program ini antara lain, ilmu dan keterampilan yang sudah diperoleh warga binaan, dapat diajarkan kepada warga binaan lainnya, dan dapat dimanfaatkan dalam bidang wirausaha ketika selesai masa pembinaan.Abstract: Aromatherapy from jasmine flower essential oil has benefits for reducing stress, depression, and anxiety in society due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The jasmine plant has an excellent opportunity to be developed as a raw material for aromatherapy products. The inmates of the Surabaya Class 1 Correctional Institution (LP) have the potential for this development because it is programmed for entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, the LP's land is suitable for the agricultural sector, especially jasmine plants. However, the inmates' understanding of jasmine cultivation is less, and they do not have the skills to make aromatherapy products. Based on these potentials and problems, a program was carried out to increase inmates' knowledge and skills in utilizing the potential of jasmine flowers in Surabaya Class 1 LP. Activities are carried out through counseling and training for ten inmates, which is evaluated using pretest and posttest methods. The results of empowerment activities showed an increase in the understanding of the inmates regarding the cultivation of jasmine plants, reaching 51.28%, and the understanding regarding extraction and aromatherapy reached 21.26%. Moreover, the inmates continued to practice cultivation after completing the activity. Expectations from implementing this program are that the knowledge and skills that the inmates have acquired can be taught to other inmates and utilized in the field of entrepreneurship when the inmate period is completed

A Lost Mycenaean Fresco Fragment Re-examined

This article examines an important wall painting fragment purportedly found in the megaron of the Late Bronze Age palace at Mycenae in 1893. Originally published in Russian in 1897, the fragment depicts a right-facing mid-size male figure with stylistic affinities to processional figures subsequently excavated on Crete and the Greek mainland. Despite its apparent iconographic and historic al significance, the painting has received limited attention in Aegean literature. Below, the thrilling yet murky history of the fragment’s discovery is assembled from public and private testimonies by the eminent individuals involved. Possible reconstruction s of the fragment are presented, and its iconography is explored in light of current chronologies and known comparanda. It is argued that, while many details of the fragment’s biography remain ambiguous, the potential value of the find as a rare representation of a processing man in a mainland palatial context is substantial

Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL. I - Classification of bright mid-IR sources in a test field

Context: The stellar populations in the central region of the Galaxy are poorly known because of the high visual extinction and very great source density in this direction. Aims: To use recent infrared surveys for studying the dusty stellar objects in this region. Methods: We analyse the content of a 20x20 arcmin^2 field centred at (l,b)=(-0.27,-0.06) observed at 7 and 15 microns as part of the ISOGAL survey. These ISO observations are more than an order of magnitude better in sensitivity and spatial resolution than the IRAS observations. The sources are cross-associated with other catalogues to identify various types of objects. We then derive criteria to distinguish young objects from post-main sequence stars. Results: We find that a sample of about 50 young stellar objects and ultra-compact HII regions emerges, out of a population of evolved AGB stars. We demonstrate that the sources colours and spatial extents, as they appear in the ISOGAL catalogue, possibly complemented with MSX photometry at 21 microns, can be used to determine whether the ISOGAL sources brighter than 300 mJy at 15 microns (or [15] < 4.5 mag) are young objects or late-type evolved stars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Stochastic series expansion method for quantum Ising models with arbitrary interactions

A quantum Monte Carlo algorithm for the transverse Ising model with arbitrary short- or long-range interactions is presented. The algorithm is based on sampling the diagonal matrix elements of the power series expansion of the density matrix (stochastic series expansion), and avoids the interaction summations necessary in conventional methods. In the case of long-range interactions, the scaling of the computation time with the system size N is therefore reduced from N^2 to Nln(N). The method is tested on a one-dimensional ferromagnet in a transverse field, with interactions decaying as 1/r^2.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Paranoid thinking, cognitive bias and dangerous neighbourhoods: implications for perception of threat and expectation of victimisation

Background: Paranoid thinking is prevalent in the non-clinical population and cognitive mechanisms of heuristic reasoning and jumping to conclusions bias contributes to its formation and maintenance. Aims: This study investigated the degree to which paranoia, perceived environmental risk, heuristic reasoning and jumping to conclusions bias (measured with the beads task) contribute to misinterpretation of neutral stimuli, and whether this informed judgements regarding vulnerability to threat and crime. It is also investigated whether impulsiveness is a confounding factor on the beads task. Methods: Two hundred participants were recruited using a snowball-sampling method for a quantitative cross-sectional study. Participants reported demographic information, three psychometric questionnaires and two experimental tasks via an online paradigm hosted by the Bristol Online Survey tool. Results: Participants with high paranoia scores perceived their environment to be more dangerous than those with low scores. Participants with high paranoia scores also overestimated threat in neutral stimuli and had high expectations of future victimisation. Jumping to conclusions on the beads task did not predict fear of crime outcomes, but was predicted by impulsivity. Conclusion: Participants who demonstrated paranoid thinking were more likely to reside in perceived dangerous neighbourhoods and overestimate threat. While this could indicate a paranoid heuristic, it is a potentially rational response to prior experiences of crime and victimisation. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed