Terrorism, millenarianism, and death: A study of Hezbollah and Aum Shinrikyo

The relationship ·between death and the millennium is not an area of scholarship that has received adequate attention. Millenarian groups desire the creation of a paradise in the temporal world. The world is seen as corrupt and evil without hope of reform. This viewpoint leads millenarians to conclude that the temporal world must be completely destroyed and created a new, eliminating the corrupt and providing a utopia where the faithful can exist in peace. Hezbollah and Aum Shinrikyo are two terrorist groups which share this worldview, and believe that they can hasten the millennium by eliminating their enemies. This thesis explores the ways in which Hezbollah and Aum Shinrikyo understand death, not only as it relates to their enemies, but also as it relates to group members. Hezbollah uses suicide bombings as a tool for eliminating enemies and furthering their millenarian goals. Yet if suicide bombers no longer exist in the temporal world, they are unable to experience the millennium they are fighting for once it has been achieved. Similarly, when members of Aum Shinrikyo began to die unexpectedly, or were intentionally killed by other group members, Asahara (the group\u27s leader) needed to explain such deaths within the context of Aum\u27s millenarian worldview. In addition to locating the problem of \u27death\u27 within existing millenarian research, this thesis also questions the very nature of millenarian aspirations within Hezbollah and Aum Shinrikyo. In the case of Hezbollah, it is argued that establishing the millennium is not the ultimate goal of the group\u27s terrorist activities. Whilst it claims to be fighting on behalf of the Shiite population in Lebanon, it is actually exploiting them to secure a somewhat different objective aimed at the personal salvation of Hezbollah\u27s members in the afterlife. Although the study of \u27death\u27 does not contradict Aum\u27s millenarian nature in the same manner as Hezbollah, it is clear that \u27death\u27 contributes to our understanding of millenarian groups in a way which should not be ignored to the extent that it has been in the existing literature.\u27· Millenarian research performs an important role when studying terrorism, illuminating the beliefs and motivations of such groups. Ignoring the element of \u27death\u27 when researching the millenarian nature of terrorist groups can, in some cases, lead to a misrepresentation of the groups\u27 true character

Collaborative Artificial Intelligence in Music Production

The use of technology has revolutionized the process of music composition, recording, and production in the last 30 years. One fusion of technology and music that has been longstanding is the use of artificial intelligence in the process of music composition. However, much less attention has been given to the application of AI in the process of collaboratively composing and producing a piece of recorded music. The aim of this project is to explore such use of artificial intelligence in music production. The research presented here includes discussion of an auto ethnographic study of the interactions between songwriters, with the intention that these can be used to model the collaborative process and that a computational system could be trained using this information. The research indicated that there were repeated patterns that occurred in relation to the interactions of the participating songwriters

Making an Argument in the Arts: Using Genre Analysis to Inform Embedded Academic Writing Support in a UK Arts University

Students entering art and design courses in UK higher education come from a range of educational and cultural backgrounds. These students frequently report finding academic writing challenging. Expectations as to the nature of description, analysis and criticality can also differ across subject areas. As a result, students need support in developing their ability to communicate appropriately within their disciplines – their academic literacies. This study applies genre analysis to identify ways in which students express critical thinking in undergraduate Visual Effects Design and Production essays. The findings highlight common ways of linking ideas through exemplification, drawing conclusions from grounds, and challenging the validity of assumptions. Ways of expressing the strength of claims and indicating the writer’s attitude are also frequently used in the sample. The findings are then integrated into a practical model for impromptu teaching of writing by subject lecturers. The article confirms understandings of the way students express criticality in essays, and aligns insights from genre analysis and academic literacies in a novel way. The outcome is a proposal for a practical, low-preparation approach to teaching academic writing within the disciplines

Relationship Between Atheroma Regression and Change in Lumen Size After Infusion of Apolipoprotein A-I Milano

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the relationship between atheroma regression and arterial wall remodeling.BackgroundInfusion of reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL) containing recombinant apolipoprotein A-I Milano (AIM) has been reported to promote rapid regression of coronary atherosclerosis. The current study analyzed intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to define the changes that take place in the arterial wall that accompanied atheroma regression in this study.MethodsForty-seven patients, ages 30 to 75 years, after an acute coronary syndrome were randomized to receive five weekly infusions of placebo or rHDL containing either low- or high-dose AIM. External elastic membrane (EEM) and lumen volumes were compared between coronary IVUS studies at baseline and follow-up.ResultsIn comparison with baseline, infusion of rHDL was associated with a 4.6% reduction in EEM volume. Lumen volume did not change. In 10-mm arterial subsegments with the greatest plaque burden at baseline, atheroma volume regressed by 10.9% with a similar reduction in EEM volume but with no change in lumen size. In contrast, EEM and atheroma volume did not change in the 10-mm segments containing the least plaque burden. The reduction in EEM in the most diseased segments was only apparent in subjects who underwent plaque regression. Reduction in EEM volume correlated with the decreased atheroma volume (r = 0.62), but there was no correlation between change in lumen size and change in plaque volume.ConclusionsRemodeling of the arterial wall is a focal and heterogeneous process. After infusion of rHDL containing AIM, regression of coronary atherosclerosis is accompanied by reverse remodeling of the EEM, resulting in no change in luminal dimensions

Examining the relationship between autistic spectrum disorder characteristics and structural brain differences seen in anorexia nervosa

Cortical differences have been reported in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) compared with healthy controls (HC); however, it is unclear if Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) characteristics are related to these cortical differences. The aim of this study was to examine if structural measures were correlated to ASD traits in AN. In total 184 female participants participated in the study; 57 acutely underweight AN participants (AAN), 59 weight-restored participants (WR) and 68 HC. Participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging as well as completing the Autism Diagnostic Observation schedule, second edition to examine ASD characteristics. Group differences in curvature, gyrification, surface area, thickness, global grey matter and white matter were measured. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to examine the relationship between cortical measures and ASD characteristics. Two decreased gyrification clusters in the right post central and supramarginal gyrus and decreased global grey matter were observed in the AAN group compared to HC and WR. No correlations between ASD traits and structural measures existed. Our results suggest structural differences seen in individuals with AN do not appear to be related to ASD characteristics

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction in mood, breast- and endocrine-related quality of life, and well-being in stage 0 to III breast cancer : a randomized, controlled trial

Purpose To assess the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for mood, breast- and endocrine-specific quality of life, and well-being after hospital treatment in women with stage 0 to III breast cancer. Patients and Methods A randomized, wait-listed, controlled trial was carried out in 229 women after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for breast cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to the 8-week MBSR program or standard care. Profile of Mood States (POMS; primary outcome), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast (FACT-B), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Endocrine Symptoms (FACT-ES) scales and the WHO five-item well-being questionnaire (WHO-5) evaluated mood, quality of life, and well-being at weeks 0, 8, and 12. For each outcome measure, a repeated-measures analysis of variance model, which incorporated week 0 measurements as a covariate, was used to compare treatment groups at 8 and 12 weeks. Results There were statistically significant improvements in outcome in the experimental group compared with control group at both 8 and 12 weeks (except as indicated) for POMS total mood disturbance (and its subscales of anxiety, depression [8 weeks only], anger [12 weeks only], vigor, fatigue, and confusion [8 weeks only]), FACT-B, FACT-ES, (and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy subscales of physical, social [8 weeks only], emotional, and functional well-being), and WHO-5. Conclusion MSBR improved mood, breast- and endocrine-related quality of life, and well-being more effectively than standard care in women with stage 0 to III breast cancer, and these results persisted at three months. To our knowledge, this study provided novel evidence that MBSR can help alleviate long-term emotional and physical adverse effects of medical treatments, including endocrine treatments. MBSR is recommended to support survivors of breast cancer

In situ oligonucleotide synthesis on poly(dimethylsiloxane): a flexible substrate for microarray fabrication

In this paper, we demonstrate in situ synthesis of oligonucleotide probes on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchannels through use of conventional phosphoramidite chemistry. PDMS polymer was moulded into a series of microchannels using standard soft lithography (micro-moulding), with dimensions <100 μm. The surface of the PDMS was derivatized by exposure to ultraviolet/ozone followed by vapour phase deposition of glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and reaction with poly(ethylene glycol) spacer, resulting in a reactive surface for oligonucleotide coupling. High, reproducible yields were achieved for both 6mer and 21mer probes as assessed by hybridization to fluorescent oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotide surface density was comparable with that obtained on glass substrates. These results suggest PDMS as a stable and flexible alternative to glass as a suitable substrate in the fabrication and synthesis of DNA microarrays

Influence of Bulk Microphysics Schemes upon Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Version 3.6.1 Nor'easter Simulations

This study evaluated the impact of five single- or double-moment bulk microphysics schemes (BMPSs) on Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations of seven intense wintertime cyclones impacting the mid-Atlantic United States; 5-day long WRF simulations were initialized roughly 24 hours prior to the onset of coastal cyclogenesis off the North Carolina coastline. In all, 35 model simulations (five BMPSs and seven cases) were run and their associated microphysics-related storm properties (hydrometer mixing ratios, precipitation, and radar reflectivity) were evaluated against model analysis and available gridded radar and ground-based precipitation products. Inter-BMPS comparisons of column-integrated mixing ratios and mixing ratio profiles reveal little variability in non-frozen hydrometeor species due to their shared programming heritage, yet their assumptions concerning snow and graupel intercepts, ice supersaturation, snow and graupel density maps, and terminal velocities led to considerable variability in both simulated frozen hydrometeor species and radar reflectivity. WRF-simulated precipitation fields exhibit minor spatiotemporal variability amongst BMPSs, yet their spatial extent is largely conserved. Compared to ground-based precipitation data, WRF simulations demonstrate low-to-moderate (0.217 to 0.414) threat scores and a rainfall distribution shifted toward higher values. Finally, an analysis of WRF and gridded radar reflectivity data via contoured frequency with altitude (CFAD) diagrams reveals notable variability amongst BMPSs, where better performing schemes favored lower graupel mixing ratios and better underlying aggregation assumptions