Rethingking the orality-literacy paradigm in musicology

This paper poses questions regarding the implications of mainstream orality-literacy research on musicological perspectives, and the relevance of musicological research for orality-literacy studies. First, why has musical scholarship been ignored in the mainstream of orality-literacy studies? The two major schools of thought in orality studies offer two different springboards for discussion where musicology might have both contributed to and benefited from interdisciplinary exchanges. Second, what have been the casualties of lost connections with the academic mainstream discussions on orality and literacy? Finally, what are the possible unique contributions of musicological research to the overarching questions of the orality-literacy problematic, particularly in the electronic world? Issues raised in Birkerts' book, The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age (2006), exemplify the kinds of questions musicologists could be discussing with mainstream academia about the challenges we face regarding our multiple literacies--musical as well as literary.Not

Drivers for Change: A Study of Distributed Leadership and Performance Adaptation During Policy Innovation Implementation

Scaling up innovation in the instructional core remains a vexing proposition. Such disruptive innovations require teachers to engage in performance adaptation. Schools vary in their capacity to support changes in teachers’ day-today work. By comparing distributed instructional leadership practices of “odds-beating” schools with those at “typically performing schools,” this study identified four qualities of distributed instructional leadership that drive teacher performance adaptation: collective goal setting, instructional feedback, collective guided learning, and trusting relationships. These findings reiterate the need for policy to go beyond standards and accountability mandates to focus on the right drivers of change: capacity building, and opportunities for collaboration in tandem with pedagogical improvement

The Role of District and School Leaders\u27 Trust and Communications in the Simultaneous Implementation of Innovative Policies

This mixed-method multiple case study investigated nine elementary schools. Six “odds-beating schools, which serve relatively high numbers of economically disadvantaged children, achieved higher than predicted performance on state assessments when compared with three typically performing schools. The overarching research question guiding this study was: What forces, factors, and actors account for odds-beating schools\u27 better outcomes? The trust-communication connection provided one answer. Relational trust in odds-beating schools is an intraorganizational phenomenon, and it is accompanied by interorganizational trust (reciprocal trust). These two kinds of trust are accompanied by intraschool and district office-school communication mechanisms. Trust and communications are mutually constitutive as innovations are implemented. This connection is also an implementation outcome. When today\u27s innovation implementation initiatives reinforce this trust–communication connection, it becomes an organizational resource for future innovation implementation

HST/ACS Photometry of Old Stars in NGC 1569: The Star Formation History of a Nearby Starburst

(abridged) We used HST/ACS to obtain deep V- and I-band images of NGC 1569, one of the closest and strongest starburst galaxies in the Universe. These data allowed us to study the underlying old stellar population, aimed at understanding NGC 1569's evolution over a full Hubble time. We focus on the less-crowded outer region of the galaxy, for which the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) shows predominantly a red giant branch (RGB) that reaches down to the red clump/horizontal branch feature (RC/HB). A simple stellar population analysis gives clear evidence for a more complicated star formation history (SFH) in the outer region. We derive the full SFH using a newly developed code, SFHMATRIX, which fits the CMD Hess diagram by solving a non-negative least squares problem. Our analysis shows that the relative brightnesses of the RGB tip and RC/HB, along with the curvature and color of the RGB, provide enough information to ameliorate the age-metallicity-extinction degeneracy. The distance/reddening combination that best fits the data is E(B-V) = 0.58 +/- 0.03 and D = 3.06 +/- 0.18 Mpc. Star formation began ~ 13 Gyr ago, and this accounts for the majority of the mass in the outer region. However, the initial burst was followed by a relatively low, but constant, rate of star formation until ~ 0.5-0.7 Gyr ago when there may have been a short, low intensity burst of star formation.Comment: 50 pages, including 17 figures. Accepted for publication in A

Thioredoxin-regulated β-amylase (BAM1) triggers diurnal starch degradation in guard cells, and in mesophyll cells under osmotic stress

BAM1 is a plastid-targeted β-amylase of Arabidopsis thaliana specifically activated by reducing conditions. Among eight different chloroplast thioredoxin isoforms, thioredoxin f1 was the most efficient redox mediator, followed by thioredoxins m1, m2, y1, y2, and m4. Plastid-localized NADPH-thioredoxin reductase (NTRC) was also able partially to restore the activity of oxidized BAM1. Promoter activity of BAM1 was studied by reporter gene expression (GUS and YFP) in Arabidopsis transgenic plants. In young (non-flowering) plants, BAM1 was expressed both in leaves and roots, but expression in leaves was mainly restricted to guard cells. Compared with wild-type plants, bam1 knockout mutants were characterized by having more starch in illuminated guard cells and reduced stomata opening, suggesting that thioredoxin-regulated BAM1 plays a role in diurnal starch degradation which sustains stomata opening. Besides guard cells, BAM1 appears in mesophyll cells of young plants as a result of a strongly induced gene expression under osmotic stress, which is paralleled by an increase in total β-amylase activity together with its redox-sensitive fraction. Osmotic stress impairs the rate of diurnal starch accumulation in leaves of wild-type plants, but has no effect on starch accumulation in bam1 mutants. It is proposed that thioredoxin-regulated BAM1 activates a starch degradation pathway in illuminated mesophyll cells upon osmotic stress, similar to the diurnal pathway of starch degradation in guard cells that is also dependent on thioredoxin-regulated BAM1

Differential effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on heart rate

Abstract While glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are known to increase heart rate (HR), it is insufficiently recognized that the extent varies greatly between the various agonists and is affected by the assessment methods employed. Here we review published data from 24-h time-averaged HR monitoring in healthy individuals and subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with either short-acting GLP-1 RAs, lixisenatide or exenatide, or long-acting GLP-1 RAs, exenatide LAR, liraglutide, albiglutide, or dulaglutide (N\ua0=\ua01112; active-treatment arms). HR effects observed in two independent head-to-head trials of lixisenatide and liraglutide (N\ua0=\ua0202; active-treatment arms) are also reviewed. Short-acting GLP-1 RAs, exenatide and lixisenatide, are associated with a transient (1\u201312\ua0h) mean placebo- and baseline-adjusted 24-h HR increase of 1\u20133\ua0beats per minute (bpm). Conversely, long-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with more pronounced increases in mean 24-h HR; the highest seen with liraglutide and albiglutide at 6\u201310\ua0bpm compared with dulaglutide and exenatide LAR at 3\u20134\ua0bpm. For both liraglutide and dulaglutide, HR increases were recorded during both the day and at night. In two head-to-head comparisons, a small, transient mean increase in HR from baseline was observed with lixisenatide; liraglutide induced a substantially greater increase that remained significantly elevated over 24\ua0h. The underlying mechanism for increased HR remains to be elucidated; however, it could be related to a direct effect at the sinus node and/or stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, with this effect related to the duration of action of the respective GLP-1 RAs. In conclusion, this review indicates that the effects on HR differ within the class of GLP-1 RAs: short-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with a modest and transient HR increase before returning to baseline levels, while some long-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with a more pronounced and sustained increase during the day and night. Findings from recently completed trials indicate that a GLP-1 RA-induced increase in HR, regardless of magnitude, does not present an increased cardiovascular risk for subjects with T2DM, although a pronounced increase in HR may be associated with adverse clinical outcomes in those with advanced heart failure

Nonhumans in participatory design

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This article examines the role that nonhumans play in participatory design. Research and practice concerned with participatory design mostly focuses on human participants, however nonhumans also participate in the design process and can play a significant role in shaping the process. This article focuses on how nonhumans participate in the design process. An empirical case study is used to illustrate how humans and nonhumans assemble to form networks in order to effect a design. Nonhumans increase the level of participation in a design process. The case study reveals how nonhumans help to maintain, destroy or strengthen networks by substituting, mediating and communicating with humans and often, in doing so, making human actors more or less visible in the process. Nonhumans play a part in configuring the social. Revealing the presence and roles of nonhumans is an important means through which to increase the democracy within the design process

Comparative Genomic Analysis of six Glossina Genomes, Vectors of African Trypanosomes

Background: Tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) are the vectors of human and animal trypanosomiasis throughout subSaharan Africa. Tsetse flies are distinguished from other Diptera by unique adaptations, including lactation and the birthing of live young (obligate viviparity), a vertebrate blood-specific diet by both sexes, and obligate bacterial symbiosis. This work describes the comparative analysis of six Glossina genomes representing three sub-genera: Morsitans (G. morsitans morsitans, G. pallidipes, G. austeni), Palpalis (G. palpalis, G. fuscipes), and Fusca (G. brevipalpis) which represent different habitats, host preferences, and vectorial capacity. Results: Genomic analyses validate established evolutionary relationships and sub-genera. Syntenic analysis of Glossina relative to Drosophila melanogaster shows reduced structural conservation across the sex-linked X chromosome. Sex-linked scaffolds show increased rates of female-specific gene expression and lower evolutionary rates relative to autosome associated genes. Tsetse-specific genes are enriched in protease, odorant-binding, and helicase activities. Lactation-associated genes are conserved across all Glossina species while male seminal proteins are rapidly evolving. Olfactory and gustatory genes are reduced across the genus relative to other insects. Visionassociated Rhodopsin genes show conservation of motion detection/tracking functions and variance in the Rhodopsin detecting colors in the blue wavelength ranges. Conclusions: Expanded genomic discoveries reveal the genetics underlying Glossina biology and provide a rich body of knowledge for basic science and disease control. They also provide insight into the evolutionary biology underlying novel adaptations and are relevant to applied aspects of vector control such as trap design and discovery of novel pest and disease control strategies