Solomon Wangboje’s Creative Work: The Romance of the Headload Series and Festival of the Gods

Solomon Wangboje has, without doubt, excelled in his artistic craftsmanship which reached a very advanced stage. He has contributed immensely to the development of printmaking in Nigeria through the application and exposure of various themes, techniques and media in his creative work. This paper will examine Wangboje’s prints, namely “Romance of the Headload” (Series II, III, IV) and “Festival of the Gods”, with a view to highlighting the socio-cultural and religious themes projected by the artist, among them the promotion of entrepreneurial development through artistic endeavours in “Romance of the Headload” series and religion and culture in “Festival of the Gods”. The paper will also analyze the techniques applied by the artist to enhance and project these themes. Keywords: romance, printmaking, headload technique

A Study of Selected Mixed Media Paintings by Jimoh Buraimoh

Jimoh Buraimoh’s artworks make a meaningful statement in the development of mosaic bead painting in Nigeria. His art forms are symbolic and associated with themes derived from the culture and daily activities of the Yorubas and Edos. This paper will examine selected art works from Buraimoh’s mosaic mixed media bead paintings, namely, “Obatala and Devil”, “Installation of an Oba”, “Romance of the Headload”, “Endless World” and “Ere Ibeji”. Buraimoh’s works reflect the formalist approach which is largely evident in the styles and techniques of his painting. This study will focus on the description, interpretation and evaluation of his works against the backdrop of modern art in Nigeria. Keywords: mixed media, beads, mosaic, art forms

Oil: Visual Metaphors in Paintings of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

The discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri in the Niger Delta of Nigeria in 1956,  served as a doorway to the discovery of several oil wells in Port Harcourt.  Unfortunately, oil exploration activities have led to major changes in the  historical, political and socio-economic dynamics of the area. Inevitably, these changes have resulted in social transformations which have inspired artists to produce artistic works - visual images that tell the stories of oil communities and people of Port Harcourt. These stories revolve around environmental  degradation, conflict and the struggle for socio-political and economic  development. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the narrative metaphors which unfold within selected paintings that reveal the impact of oil exploration activities on Port Harcourt and its people, and the significance of these paintings in modern Nigerian art.Key Words: Oil, Port Harcourt, environmental degradation, conflict, paintin

Bruce Onobrakpeya: Categorization of Mythical Realism Period: 1959 to 1966

Bruce Onobrakpeya is a renowned Nigerian master printmaker, whose work has been categorized into various periods, one of which is the mythical realism period. This period (1959-1966) witnessed the creation af artwork inspired by ideas he acquired in college, as well as in workshops he attended. It is also a period which highlighted the growth of his style and techniques which manifested in the creation of artistic narratives of myth and folklore expressed in semi-reality, naturalistic and abstract forms. Most of the themes of these works were also influenced by his environment, particular that of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and his people the Urhobos. This article focused on various aspects of Onobrakpeya’s work of the mythical realism period, their impact on his growth as an artist and on the development of contemporary art in Nigeria and Africa.Key Words: Onobrakpeya, mythical realism, art, developmen

Brustkrebs- und Mammographiescreening in Japan

Diese Masterarbeit widmete sich dem Thema Brustkrebs- und Mammographiescreening in Japan. Die Ausgangspunkte dafür bildeten drei Besonderheiten in Japan, die sich auf die medizinischen Umstände, soziale Aspekte und das Vertrauen in Informationen aus dem Internet bezogen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde daher eine Analyse von japanischen Informationswebseiten zum Thema Brustkrebs durchgeführt und der Frage nachgegangen, wie sich die Ziele der unterschiedlichen Interessensgruppen im Informationsangebot im Internet über Brustkrebs und Brustkrebsvorsorge in Japan widerspiegeln. Die durchgeführte Analyse umfasste 35 japanischsprachige Webseiten und ließ folgende Interessensgruppen erkennen: das Gesundheitsministerium und damit verbundene Forschungsinstitutionen, die Profiteure der medizinischen Versorgungskette, Patientinnen sowie NPOs und Gesundheitsplattformen. Durch die Analyse konnte gezeigt werden, dass das Informationsangebot der Interessensgruppen an die Besonderheiten in Japan angepasst und bestimmte Themen immer wieder aufgegriffen wurden. Außerdem ließ sich erkennen, dass der Schwerpunkt der Informationsarbeit eher auf allgemeinen Informationen über Brustkrebs und den Untersuchungen lag und weniger auf der gezielten Information zum Mammographiescreening. Weiters konnte festgestellt werden, dass die gesundheitlichen und medizinischen Informationen im Internet noch Verbesserungsbedarf haben im Bereich der Qualität und der Qualitätskontrolle. (Print: DVD mit den gespeicherten Webseiten beigelegt

Nurses' perceptions of using an evidence-based care bundle for initial emergency nursing management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury: A qualitative study.

Evidence to guide initial emergency nursing care of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Thailand is currently not available in a useable form. A care bundle was used to summarise an evidence-based approach to the initial emergency nursing management of patients with severe TBI and was implemented in one Thai emergency department. The aim of this study was to describe Thai emergency nurses' perceptions of care bundle use. A descriptive qualitative study was used to describe emergency nurses' perceptions of care bundle use during the implementation phase (Phase-One) and then post-implementation (Phase-Two). Ten emergency nurses participated in Phase-One, while 12 nurses participated in Phase-Two. In Phase-One, there were five important factors identified in relation to use of the care bundle including quality of care, competing priorities, inadequate equipment, agitated patients, and teamwork. In Phase Two, participants perceived that using the care bundle helped them to improve quality of care, increased nurses' knowledge, skills, and confidence. Care bundles are one strategy to increase integration of research evidence into clinical practice and facilitate healthcare providers to deliver optimal patient care in busy environments with limited resources

Preclinical In Vitro

Molecular imaging probes such as PET-tracers have the potential to improve the accuracy of tumor characterization by directly visualizing the biochemical situation. Thus, molecular changes can be detected early before morphological manifestation. The A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) is described to be highly expressed in colon cancer cell lines and human colorectal cancer (CRC), suggesting this receptor as a tumor marker. The aim of this preclinical study was the evaluation of [F]FE@SUPPY as a PET-tracer for CRC using in vitro imaging and in vivo PET imaging. First, affinity and selectivity of FE@SUPPY and its metabolites were determined, proving the favorable binding profile of FE@SUPPY. The human adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29 was characterized regarding its hA3AR expression and was subsequently chosen as tumor graft. Promising results regarding the potential of [F]FE@SUPPY as a PET-tracer for CRC imaging were obtained by autoradiography as 2.3-fold higher accumulation of [F]FE@SUPPY was found in CRC tissue compared to adjacent healthy colon tissue from the same patient. Nevertheless, first in vivo studies using HT-29 xenografts showed insufficient tumor uptake due to (1) poor conservation of target expression in xenografts and (2) unfavorable pharmacokinetics of [F]FE@SUPPY in mice. We therefore conclude that HT-29 xenografts are not adequate to visualize hA3ARs using [F]FE@SUPPY.(VLID)481541

Validation of cardiac image-derived input functions for functional PET quantification

Purpose: Functional PET (fPET) is a novel technique for studying dynamic changes in brain metabolism and neurotransmitter signaling. Accurate quantification of fPET relies on measuring the arterial input function (AIF), traditionally achieved through invasive arterial blood sampling. While non-invasive image-derived input functions (IDIF) offer an alternative, they suffer from limited spatial resolution and field of view. To overcome these issues, we developed and validated a scan protocol for brain fPET utilizing cardiac IDIF, aiming to mitigate known IDIF limitations. Methods: Twenty healthy individuals underwent fPET/MR scans using [18F]FDG or 6-[18F]FDOPA, utilizing bed motion shuttling to capture cardiac IDIF and brain task-induced changes. Arterial and venous blood sampling was used to validate IDIFs. Participants performed a monetary incentive delay task. IDIFs from various blood pools and composites estimated from a linear fit over all IDIF blood pools (3VOI) and further supplemented with venous blood samples (3VOIVB) were compared to the AIF. Quantitative task-specific images from both tracers were compared to assess the performance of each input function to the gold standard. Results: For both radiotracer cohorts, moderate to high agreement (r: 0.60–0.89) between IDIFs and AIF for both radiotracer cohorts was observed, with further improvement (r: 0.87–0.93) for composite IDIFs (3VOI and 3VOIVB). Both methods showed equivalent quantitative values and high agreement (r: 0.975–0.998) with AIF-derived measurements. Conclusion: Our proposed protocol enables accurate non-invasive estimation of the input function with full quantification of task-specific changes, addressing the limitations of IDIF for brain imaging by sampling larger blood pools over the thorax. These advancements increase applicability to any PET scanner and clinical research setting by reducing experimental complexity and increasing patient comfort

On the relationship of first-episode psychosis to the amphetamine-sensitized state: a dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist radioligand study.

Schizophrenia is characterized by increased behavioral and neurochemical responses to dopamine-releasing drugs. This prompted the hypothesis of psychosis as a state of "endogenous" sensitization of the dopamine system although the exact basis of dopaminergic disturbances and the possible role of prefrontal cortical regulation have remained uncertain. To show that patients with first-episode psychosis release more dopamine upon amphetamine-stimulation than healthy volunteers, and to reveal for the first time that prospective sensitization induced by repeated amphetamine exposure increases dopamine-release in stimulant-naïve healthy volunteers to levels observed in patients, we collected data on amphetamine-induced dopamine release using the dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist radioligand [11C]-(+)-PHNO and positron emission tomography. Healthy volunteers (n = 28, 14 female) underwent a baseline and then a post-amphetamine scan before and after a mildly sensitizing regimen of repeated oral amphetamine. Unmedicated patients with first-episode psychosis (n = 21; 6 female) underwent a single pair of baseline and then post-amphetamine scans. Furthermore, T1 weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the prefrontal cortex was performed. Patients with first-episode psychosis showed larger release of dopamine compared to healthy volunteers. After sensitization of healthy volunteers their dopamine release was significantly amplified and no longer different from that seen in patients. Healthy volunteers showed a negative correlation between prefrontal cortical volume and dopamine release. There was no such relationship after sensitization or in patients. Our data in patients with untreated first-episode psychosis confirm the "endogenous sensitization" hypothesis and support the notion of impaired prefrontal control of the dopamine system in schizophrenia