Markers and meaning of authenticity : narratives of Mosuo, Bhutan and Harris Tweed weavers

This research aimed to discover whether weavers could identify markers of authenticity of their own community-based and culturally bound hand-woven textiles. If so, how do they do it? What is the nature and meaning of these markers? Three case studies were selected that represented communities making such textiles at different levels of institutionalisation. The first case focused on the non-insitutionalised Mosuo hand-woven textiles, a minority group in southwest China. This is contrasted with the fully legally institutionalised and branded Harris Tweed of Scotland. In between these two extremes, a study on Bhutanese kiras where the design and weaving of textiles are culturally institutionalised without a legal framework or a commercial brand. A pilot study phase informed the use of an ethnographic approach to field research conducted at the three sites employing a diverse range of methods including face-to-face interviews based on semi-structured questionnaires. When opportunities arose, indirect methods were included such as unobtrusive observations, examinations of exemplar textiles, and review through 'thick' descriptions in reflective journals. Data from these qualitative studies were distilled and confirmed through quantitative follow-up methods. The results indicated that for the Mosuo weavers, it is her experience of being a Mosuo weaver and the spirit in which the textiles are woven that determined authenticity. For culturally structured societies such as in Bhutan, authenticity was dependent on the contexts in which the kira was meant to be worn, reflected in turn through the physical characteristics of the kira. The markers of authenticity of Harris Tweed relied on objective characteristics including the geographical site where the cloth is produced. Central to the experience of the weaver in all three studies was the pride in weaving the textile, a finding which identifies this element as a common marker of its authenticity

On the optimal arrangement of 2d2d lines in Cd\mathbb{C}^d

We show the optimal coherence of $2d$ lines in $\mathbb{C}^{d}$ is given by the Welch bound whenever a skew Hadamard of order $d+1$ exists. Our proof uses a variant of Hadamard doubling that converts any equiangular tight frame of size $\tfrac{d-1}{2} \times d$ into another one of size $d \times 2d$. Among $d < 150$, this produces equiangular tight frames of new sizes when $d = 11$, $35$, $39$, $43$, $47$, $59$, $67$, $71$, $83$, $95$, $103$, $107$, $111$, $119$, $123$, $127$, $131$, and $143$

Nomadic becomings : narrative accounts of predictive genetic testing for Huntington's disease : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

This thesis constructs three narratives of my experiences of Predictive Genetic Testing (PGT) for Huntington’s Disease. Not content with ideals of normative thought, illustrating the unitary subject of representation navigating the challenges of a testing process, I write how one might undertake the PGT process, if only to provide further possibilities unimaginable to me outside the limits of this thesis. Informed with Rosi Braidotti’s nomadic theory, the narratives are written with a multiplicity of dispersed selves forming with the molecular possibilities of human, non-human, and more-than-human forces and flows, tracing non-normative subjectivities of becoming-other. Privileging intensive differences of affective change and motion, nomadic narrative creates rhizomatic figurations able to traverse the limits of normative thought with non-linear thinking. Written with affective memories of my experiences of difference, narratives of the PGT process form multiplicities of nomadic subjects inhabiting the time of Aion, embodied with the mindless, generative and affirmative vitality of Braidotti’s Life as Zoe. Addressing issues of sustainability and endurance with nomadic ethics, nomadic narratives escape binary dialectics and excluded-other of representational thought, affirming a multiplicity of empowering witness-able accounts of the PGT process. I engage political philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, amongst other theoretical ontologies, providing understandings of processes I experience writing with nomadic subjects. I explore the limits of nomadic narrative, in the creation of smooth space that challenges normative social, cultural, and academic practices exceeding past the confines of this thesis

Cytomegalovirus Hepatitis During Pregnancy

Background: Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an uncommon cause of viral hepatitis during pregnancy, a definitive diagnosis is important because of the potential for congenital CMV. In the case reported here, a diagnosis of hepatitis caused by CMV was made after the more common viral pathogens had been ruled out

Investigation of varying louver angles and positions on cross ventilation in a generic isolated building using CFD simulation

Louvers are an integral component of natural ventilation. This study presents a numerical analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) on cross ventilation in an isolated building equipped with louvers. Opening configurations of (i) center-center, (ii) top-top, (iii) bottom-bottom, (iv) top-bottom and (v) bottom-top (whereby the configurations are defined as ‘windward’-‘leeward’) with varying louver configurations of No-Louver (NL), 0◦, 15◦, 30◦ and 45◦ are studied. Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) condition is applied at the inlet of the flow domain and Renormalization Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model with enhanced wall function (EWT) is employed for the numerical simulations. Grid sensitivity analysis is performed using Grid Convergence Index (GCI) whilst model validation is performed using Factor of two of observation (FAC2) analysis. The highest dimensionless flow rate (DFR) is achieved by configuration top-top without louvers at 0.719. The highest air exchange efficiency (AEE) is obtained by louver angle of 15◦ for center-center configuration at 53.4%. The lowest AEE obtained is obtained at louver angle of 0◦ for top-top configuration at 20%, indicating short-circuiting of air. For configuration bottom-bottom with louver angle of 30◦, high AEE is obtained but at the cost of reduced DFR. The optimal balance between AEE and DFR can be obtained by factor-optimization (α) as presented in this paper. The study concludes that opening position alongside louver angle plays an integral role on the internal airflow, pressure coefficient, DFR and AEE in natural cross ventilation

Getting under the skin: children's health disparities as embodiment of social class

Social class gradients in children’s health and development are ubiquitous across time and geography. The authors develop a conceptual framework relating three actions of class—material allocation, salient group identity, and inter-group conflict—to the reproduction of class-based disparities in child health. A core proposition is that the actions of class stratification create variation in children’s mesosystems and microsystems in distinct locations in the ecology of everyday life. Variation in mesosystems (e.g., health care, neighborhoods) and microsystems (e.g., family structure, housing) become manifest in a wide variety of specific experiences and environments that produce the behavioral and biological antecedents to health and disease among children. The framework is explored via a review of theoretical and empirical contributions from multiple disciplines and high-priority areas for future research are highlighted

1-Hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridinone-Based Chelators with Potential Catechol O-Methyl Transferase Inhibition and Neurorescue Dual Action against Parkinson’s Disease

Two analogues of tolcapone where the nitrocatechol group has been replaced by a 1-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridinone have been designed and synthesised. These compounds are expected to have a dual mode of action both beneficial against Parkinson’s disease: they are designed to be inhibitors of catechol O-methyl transferase, which contribute to the reduction of dopamine in the brain, and to protect neurons against oxidative damage. To assess whether these compounds are worthy of biological assessment to demonstrate these effects, measurement of their pKa and stability constants for Fe(III), in silico modelling of their potential to inhibit COMT and blood–brain barrier scoring were performed. These results demonstrate that the compounds may indeed have the desired properties, indicating they are indeed promising candidates for further evaluation

Identifying a typology of men who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS)

Abstract: Background: Despite recognition that the Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) using population is diverse, empirical studies to develop theories to conceptualise this variance in use have been limited. Methods: In this study, using cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression, we identify typologies of people who use AAS and examine variations in motivations for AAS use across types in a sample of 611 men who use AAS. Results: The cluster analysis identified four groups in the data with different risk profiles. These groups largely reflect the ideal types of people who use AAS proposed by Christiansen and colleagues (2016): Cluster 1 (You Only Live Once (YOLO) type, n=68, 11.1%) were younger and motivated by fat loss; Cluster 2 (Well-being type, n=236, 38.6%) were concerned with getting fit; Cluster 3 (Athlete type, n=155, 25.4%) were motivated by muscle and strength gains; Cluster 4 (Expert type, n=152, 24.9%) were focused on specific goals (i.e. not 'getting fit'). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate the need to make information about AAS accessible to the general population and to inform health service providers about variations in motivations and associated risk behaviours. Attention should also be given to ensuring existing harm minimisation services are equipped to disseminate information about safe intra-muscular injecting and ensuring needle disposal sites are accessible to the different types