Semi-Living: Tissue Culture & Art Project\u27s Challenge to New Museum Theory

With the rising visibility of modern innovations in biotechnology that have been defining factors in the turn into the twenty-first century, it is not surprising that artists would engage and critique the implications of these scientific advancements. One artistic partnership working to raise awareness through the critique of biotechnological progressions in their work is the collaboration Tissue Culture & Art Project (TC&A) comprised of artists Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr. Working to bridge the gap between the fields of arts and sciences, TC&A employ living and growing cells as the foundation for their semi-living sculptures and manipulate and coach the tissues into specific shapes. Through the display of their semi-living sculptures in exhibitions, TC&A present the museum-going public with biotechnological advancements and hopefully instigate conversations about future implications of scientific development. In the contemplation of these works, viewers also consider their living quality and its relationship to their own. In evaluating the building blocks of life and the characteristics that define it, observers begin to form relationships with the objects based on the added value they place on these living beings. In this thesis, I examine the exhibition of three Tissue Culture & Art Project works, Pig Wings, Tissue Culture & Art(ificial) Wombs, and Victimless Leather, and the ways their living qualities interrupt the museum environment. I explore the required changes to the roles and expectations of the artists, curators, and visitors based on the sculptures’ semi-subjectivity. I argue that the alterations made based on the work’s demands reveal the limits of the new museum theory framework and necessitate a new approach to displaying TC&A’s semi-living works

Rolling Out a Database Review: Initiating a Comprehensive Database Review at the University of Maryland Libraries

The University of Maryland Libraries (UMD) has experienced a static collection budget for over 14 years. Despite the best efforts of the Collection Development and Acquisitions departments to mitigate the continuing effect of serials inflation, it became evident in the summer of 2015 that budgetary expenses would have to be curtailed in order to meet increasing serials costs. In the fall of 2015, the libraries initiated the first-ever comprehensive database review across all subject areas. The review involved subject specialists as well as acquisitions and collection development personnel. This paper describes the process undertaken to develop the review process, who was involved, what information was provided, how cancellation decisions were made and communicated, and the steps taken to publicize those resources selected for cancellation

Sumoylation silences the plasma membrane leak K+ channel K2P1.

Reversible, covalent modification with small ubiquitin-related modifier proteins (SUMOs) is known to mediate nuclear import/export and activity of transcription factors. Here, the SUMO pathway is shown to operate at the plasma membrane to control ion channel function. SUMO-conjugating enzyme is seen to be resident in plasma membrane, to assemble with K2P1, and to modify K2P1 lysine 274. K2P1 had not previously shown function despite mRNA expression in heart, brain, and kidney and sequence features like other two-P loop K+ leak (K2P) pores that control activity of excitable cells. Removal of the peptide adduct by SUMO protease reveals K2P1 to be a K+-selective, pH-sensitive, openly rectifying channel regulated by reversible peptide linkage

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a recessive genetically heterogeneous disorder of motile cilia with chronic otosinopulmonary disease and organ laterality defects in ∼50% of cases. The prevalence of PCD is difficult to determine. Recent diagnostic advances through measurement of nasal nitric oxide and genetic testing has allowed rigorous diagnoses and determination of a robust clinical phenotype, which includes neonatal respiratory distress, daily nasal congestion, and wet cough starting early in life, along with organ laterality defects. There is early onset of lung disease in PCD with abnormal airflow mechanics and radiographic abnormalities detected in infancy and early childhood

Evaluation of a rehabilitation support service after acute stroke: Feasibility and patient/carer benefit

Background: Stroke survivors returning home after discharge from hospital and their carers require support to meet their rehabilitation needs (independence in Activities of Daily Living, exercise, psychosocial support). Voluntary or charitable care providers may be able to address some of these needs. Objective: To explore the feasibility of delivering and evaluating enhanced support to stroke survivors and their carers, with a Rehabilitation Support Worker (RSW). Methods: 16 consecutive stroke survivors and their carers were included. All participants received usual hospital care. Seven of these patients and their carers were also allocated an RSW from a charitable care provider. The RSW accompanied therapy training sessions with the patient, carer and therapist in hospital. On discharge, the RSW visited the patient and carer at home over the initial 6 week post-discharge period to support them in practising rehabilitation skills. Patient function (Barthel Index) and patient/carer confidence were independently assessed at discharge (Week 0). The above assessments and patient/carer mood (GHQ-12) and Carer Giver Strain were also assessed at Weeks 1, 6 and 12. RSWs were interviewed for their views about the service. Results: Participants’ functional ability at Week 1 post-discharge was significantly higher in the RSW group. At 6 and 12 weeks post-discharge, functional ability was not significantly different between groups. Carers in the intervention group were less confident at all time points, however, this was not significant. There was no significant effect on carer strain or well-being. Interviews with RSWs highlighted areas of their training that could be enhanced and the need for greater clarity as to their role. Conclusions: The results showed that a definitive trial of rehabilitation support is feasible. A number of obstacles however would need to be overcome including: difficulty in identifying suitable patients, clarity of the RSW role, and appropriate training content

The effectiveness and harms of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of delirium in adults admitted into the intensive care unit after cardiac surgery: a systematic review

Background: Patients who undergo cardiac surgery are at high risk of delirium (incidence: 50-90%), increasing the risk of death and adversely affecting recovery. Clinical interventional trials have been conducted to prevent and treat postoperative delirium pharmacologically including antipsychotics and sedatives. These trials have provided some evidence about efficacy and influenced clinical decision making. However, much reporting is incomplete and provides biased assessments of efficacy; benefits are emphasised while harms are inadequately reported. The purpose of this study was to undertake a systematic review using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology that aimed at identifying and synthesising the best available evidence about the effectiveness and harms of pharmacological interventions in the treatment of delirium in adult intensive care patients after cardiac surgery. Inclusion Criteria: Types of participants: Participants were ≥ 16 years, any gender or ethnicity, who were treated postoperatively in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit (ICU) following cardiac surgery and identified as having delirium. Types of interventions: Any pharmacological intervention for the treatment of delirium was included, regardless of drug classification, dosage or frequency of administration. Types of comparators: Studies that compared any pharmacological interventions for the treatment of delirium in patients who were admitted in the ICU after cardiac surgery. No limitations were placed on drug classification, dosage of the medications or frequency of administration. Types of outcomes: This systematic review examined eleven primary and five secondary outcomes of interest. The primary outcomes of interest included: mortality, duration and severity of delirium, use of physical restraints, quality of life, family members satisfaction with delirium management, duration/severity of the aggressive episode, associated falls, severity of accidental self-harm, pharmacological harms, and harms related to over-sedation. Types of studies: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were considered first and in their absence, non-RCTs and quasi-experimental would have been considered followed by analytical observational studies. Search Strategy: A comprehensive search was conducted across seven databases, three clinical trial registers and a database for dissertations and theses as well as a hand search for published primary studies. Methodological quality: Two reviewers assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using standardised critical appraisal instruments from JBI and McMaster University. Data extraction: Quantitative data were extracted using the standardised JBI data extraction tool. A meta-analysis was not performed as there was too much clinical and methodological heterogeneity in the included studies. Results have been presented in a narrative form. Standard GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) evidence assessment of outcomes has been reported. Results: Three RCTs investigating morphine vs haloperidol (n=53), ondansetron vs haloperidol (n=72) and dexmedetomidine vs midazolam (n=80) were included. Overall the methodological quality of these studies was found to be low. There is currently insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the effectiveness of morphine compared with haloperidol, ondansetron compared with haloperidol or dexmedetomidine compared with midazolam for reducing the duration or severity of hyperactive delirium in the postoperative cardiac surgical patient treated in the ICU. Additionally, this review found reporting of harms to be inadequate for all three studies and did not meet the required standards for harms reporting. Conclusions: This review was unable to draw any valid conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the included pharmacological interventions in treating delirium after cardiac surgery. This is due to the low number of studies, the poor methodological quality in conducting and reporting and the heterogeneity between the studies. Implications for practice: There is insufficient evidence to support the use of morphine, ondansetron or dexmedetomidine as effective pharmacological agents in treating delirium. It is imperative that clinicians remain vigilant to the known indications, contraindications and harms of the pharmacological agents that are being administered and to understand the implications of such drugs on cardiac performance in the initial postoperative recovery phase after cardiac surgeryThesis (MClinSc) -- University of Adelaide, The Joanna Briggs Institute, 201

Life in the hub - A study of the lifestyles and identities of Irish and "coloured" people in Boston in the early 1920s

The purpose of researching this subject was to create a picture of the lives of the Irish and Coloured people of Boston, both as a group and as individuals. Although there is an array of literary material available on the subject of Boston and its peoples, the 1920s as a decade remains almost untouched by historians. Furthermore, the Irish and Coloured people themselves feature infrequently in the literature on Boston, which makes a need for a study all the more essential. The primary source research for this work was undertaken during a four month research trip to Boston. The material from which this work takes its focus, is the Marriage Records for the city of Boston during 1921 and the newspapers which were published for each group during the decade. The Guardian and The Pilot. The aim of this work is to conduct a study into the lifestyles and identities of these groups within Boston society. The MR provide the statistical data from which to gain an understanding of these people by considering their jobs, their place of birth, their neighbourhoods and their religion. The newspapers are the cultural tool which allows the information within the MR to be put into context. Analysis of the newspapers enables a picture to be created of what kinds of messages and information these groups were receiving from their press. The outcome of this research has been to provide an insight into what kinds of jobs individuals in Boston were doing in the 1920s, it has also been to gain more of an understanding of their religion and to what extent this affected issues such as divorce and marriage. The lifestyles and identities of these groups have been shaped and influenced by what they read and by where they came from. The intention of this work has been to provide an understanding of these factors and how they affected those involved

Processes Influencing the Diversity of Middle Permian Brachiopods in the Bell Canyon Formation of the Delaware Basin (West Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park)

A fundamental question of long standing in the study of life on Earth is, “Why are there so many species?” This question concerns the distribution of and relationships among species in the present day, but also requires an understanding of the history of diversity. Patterns of diversity result from multiple, interconnected ecological processes operating at different spatial scales. The goal of this research is to gain knowledge about processes that control diversity by using fossil data to provide a temporal perspective that is unavailable when studying modern ecological communities. The fossil record provides the only natural historical account of changes in the diversity of ecological communities in Earth’s past. This research examines the taxonomic composition and diversity of brachiopod paleocommunities in the Delaware Basin of west Texas (Guadalupe Mountains National Park). The study interval is the Bell Canyon Formation, a 5.4-Myr interval of upper Middle Permian (Capitanian) siliciclastic and carbonate rocks deposited on the toe-ofslope of the basin. Silicified brachiopods extracted from the carbonate rocks provide the basis to test two hypotheses: (1) the taxonomic composition of local fossil brachiopod paleocommunities remains uniform, and (2) the changes in diversity of local fossil brachiopod paleocommunities reflects the relative importance of regional processes. Multivariate analyses of clustering analysis and ordination, diversity partitioning, and rank abundance plots are used to evaluate brachiopod taxonomic composition and diversity within an ecological framework. Sequence stratigraphic analysis provides the means to place the results within an environmental context related to sea-level changes. Results indicate that the reorganization of brachiopod paleocommunity structure coincides with major basinal-scale disruptions. Large disruptions allowed rare taxa and invaders from outside the basin to become dominant within paleocommunities. The dynamics within paleocommunities do not appear to prevent the replacement of the incumbent taxa with new taxa. The importance of these findings indicate that paleocommunities are not static through this interval and can be perturbed into configurations with new dominant taxa. Therefore, ecological responses of paleocommunities are resolvable at the geological time scale