Good night, sleep tight (remix)

Good Night, Sleep Tight is an interactive virtual reality performance created by theatre and digital arts company ZU-UK. It was previewed at Gerry’s Kitchen in July 2017. Combining VR and binaural technologies, participants are put to bed and transported to a dreamscape composed of childhood imagery and aerial cityscapes. This artistic position remixes the audience’s experience and the artistic processes of Good Night, Sleep Tight to proffer a critical engagement with the aesthetics of VR. Theories pertaining to VR and theatre are emerging but not yet fully established. The discourse between technologists and artists is key to understanding how VR is a new artistic medium requiring a language not solely redolent of gaming or theatre. The format of this article reflects ZU-UK’s contention that VR experiences are best designed as collaborations between artists and audiences who construct an imaginary world through interactive media. The seven scenes below concentrate on different aspects of the rehearsal process and the final performance from the perspectives of the ZU-UK directors, VR technologists, and participants. Interspersed throughout the article are fragments from the Good Night, Sleep Tight script and a description of the piece from the reader’s perspective, who acts as ZU-UK’s imaginary audience member

Analysis of Possible Quantum Metastable States in Ballistic Graphene-based Josephson Junctions

Graphene is a relatively new material (2004) made of atomic layers of carbon arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Josephson junction devices are made from graphene by depositing two parallel superconducting leads on a graphene flake. These devices have hysteretic current-voltage characteristics with a supercurrent branch and Shapiro steps appear when irradiated with microwaves. These properties motivate us to investigate the presence of quantum metastable states similar to those found in conventional current-biased Josephson junctions. We present work investigating the nature of these metastable states for ballistic graphene Josephson junctions. We model the effective Washboard potential for these devices and estimate parameters, such as energy level spacing and critical currents, to deduce the design needed to observe metastable states. We propose devices consisting of a parallel on-chip capacitor and suspended graphene. The capacitor is needed to lower the energy level spacing down to the experimentally accessible range of 1-20 GHz. The suspended graphene helps reduce the noise that may otherwise come from two-level states in the insulating oxide layer. Moreover, back-gate voltage control of its critical current introduces another knob for quantum control. We will also report on current experimental progress in the area of fabrication of this proposed device.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity from ASC 2010. Additional figures, additional calculation

Differential Conductance Measurements of MgB2-Based Josephson Junctions Below 1 Kelvin

Magnesium diboride has many intriguing characteristics, including its relatively high critical temperature and two-band nature. Most prior studies of MgB2 thin film Josephson junctions have been conducted above 2 Kelvin. We report results of sub-1 Kelvin experiments of MgB2/insulator/Pb junctions whose a-b plane is exposed for electron tunneling. By measuring differential conductance at low temperature, new details in the structure of the sigma- and pi-band gaps are observed in this data, consistent with theoretical predictions.Comment: ASC 2010 Conferenc

Biophysical Characterization of Synthetic Imidazole and Pyrrole Containing Analogues of Netropsin and Distamycin that Target Specific DNA Sequences for the Treatment of Various Diseases

The development of small-molecules which target nucleic acids, more specifically the minor groove of DNA, in a sequence specific manner and control gene expression are currently being investigated as potential therapeutic compounds for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, as well as viral and bacterial infections. The naturally occurring compounds netropsin and distamycin have been shown to demonstrate antitumor and antibacterial properties. Currently, there are synthetic efforts to create pyrrole and imidazole-containing polyamide derivatives of netropsin and distamycin that show potential as medicinal agents. Synthetic pyrrole and imidazole-containing polyamides are potentially useful for targeting and modulating the expression of genes, including those associated with cancer cell growth. The key challenges that must be overcome to realize this goal of using synthetic polyamides in the treatment of disease are the development of polyamides with low molar mass so the molecules can readily diffuse into cells and concentrate in the nucleus. In addition, the molecules must have appreciable water solubility, bind DNA sequence specifically, and with high affinity. As part of a systematic study within the authors’ laboratory, our goal is to develop polyamides which can be synthesized readily yet possess excellent sequence specificity, stronger binding affinity, high solubility in biological media and enhanced cell penetration and nuclear localization properties. There is a need to develop a library of modified polyamides which target DNA and exhibit improved biological properties. The present study is a systematic examination of the binding properties of various modified synthetic polyamide compounds. The synthetic polyamide derivatives presented have more potential as therapeutic candidates over other synthetic polyamides because of their increased water solubility, smaller molecular weights, and molecular design, thus, allowing them to penetrate into cells and localize in the nucleus

SPAIN’S CITIZENSHIP SCHEME: HOW EXCEPTIONS BASED ON HISTORICAL PRECEDENT LEAVE OUT WESTERN SAHARA AND RECENT CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT RESPONSES

Research focused on the inconsistencies in Spain’s citizenship scheme exceptions states Spain’s political parties will not address the exclusion of Western Sahara from the scheme until there is a Sahrawi referendum for self-determination. My thesis uses documents from 2016, 2017, and 2018 to show that parties within the lower chamber of Spanish Parliament have begun to consistently address the issue, calling into question the belief that the issue will remain unresolved until a future referendum. My research first explains to the reader the exceptions created in Spain’s citizenship scheme to favor applicants from post-colonial space and applicants who have close blood ties to Spain, then shows how this historical link should include Western Sahara. I employ the works of previous researchers and government documents to show why this exclusion has historically occurred, then use the past three years of government action to show how the Spanish government indeed has begun to address the issue, making it impossible to definitively conclude that Spain will continue to deny Sahrawi applicants for Spanish citizenship the expedited process granted to other applicants from post-colonial space.Master of Art

Campanha de prevenção do AVC : doença carotídea extracerebral na população da grande Florianópolis

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Curso de Medicina. Departamento de Clínica Cirúrgica

University Students Development Of Emotional Intelligence Skills For Leadership

The study was conducted to add to the knowledge base and further the understanding of Emotional Intelligence and leadership theory. Freshmen business students enrolled in BUAD 1201: Principles of Business Administration and graduating senior business students enrolled in MGMT 4325: Decision Making and Business Policy class provided the data for the descriptive study of student profiles. Some interesting and relevant findings were found in developing both the first-year freshmen profiles and graduating senior student profiles. When examining the range in which first-year freshmen students and graduating seniors fell, the results indicated that both groups of students fell within the same range for all areas of the Personal Excellence Map (PEM), which were develop, strengthen, and enhance categories of personal excellence and leadership. The data provided a general benchmark of Emotional Intelligence skills as described by the PEM. With the exception of Positive Influence area of skill, the PEM skill areas in the five dimensions were in strengthen and enhance categories of development for first-year freshmen and graduating senior students. This study developed benchmarks of development and a rationale for initiating development of Personal Excellence skills for university students in business

Tamm states and nonlinear surface modes in photonic crystals

We predict the existence of surface gap modes, known as Tamm states for electronic systems, in truncated photonic crystals formed by two types of dielectric rods. We investigate the energy threshold, dispersion, and modal symmetries of the surface modes, and also demonstrate the existence and tunability of nonlinear Tamm states in binary photonic crystals with nonlinear response.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Optics Communication

Una estrategia de desarrollo a partir de los complejos productivos en torno a los recursos naturales

Incluye BibliografíaLa tesis de este artículo es que el desarrollo acelerado de América Latina y el Caribe, una región rica en recursos naturales, dependerá de la rapidez con que aprenda a industrializar y a procesar sus recursos naturales, así como a desarrollar las actividades proveedoras de insumos, servicios de ingeniería y equipos para ellos. Será, pues, un desarrollo basado no tanto en la extracción de recursos naturales, como ahora, sino a partir de los recursos naturales y las actividades que naturalmente tienden a formarse y aglutinarse en torno a ellos (los complejos productivos o clusters);. Diferirá, por tanto, de la experiencia de los países asiáticos de industrialización reciente escasos en recursos naturales. Más bien se asemejará al de los países actualmente desarrollados con abundante dotación de recursos naturales, como los nórdicos, Canadá, Australia y Nueva Zelandia