Louis XIV: Art as Persuasion Supporting the Dominance of France in 17th Century Europe

In 17th century France there was national funding combined with strict controls placed on the arts and all areas of the administration of Louis XIV. This was imperative to present the country as one of the greatest European powers of its time. It was done by creating personas of Louis as the Sun King, sole administrator of France or “\u27L\u27etat c\u27 est moi” (I am the State) and conqueror. All were reinforced and often invented in rigid confines through state funded propaganda. His name has become synonymous with the French arts of the 17th century through significant investments in all forms of media, from poetry, music and theatre to painting, sculpture and architecture. In this essay we will take a look at select works done during Louis XIV reign to reinforce this position. The goal is to shine a light on the strategic approach Louis took starting with the earliest days of his coming of age and how he reinforced his role as protector of the arts in France that led to his dominance in the 17th century

Osteoblast Precursors Respond to Cyclic Mechanical Compressive and Tensile Strains at the Bone-Implant Interface

Stromals cells, W-20-17, were subjected to daily 30 minute doses of 800microstrain at 1Hz for six consecutive days on a commercially pure titanium substrate with a custom 4-point-bend cell strain system to simulate the bone-implant interface in vivo. The loading schemes include continuous and intermittent (15minutes of strain, 15 minutes of rest, 15 minutes of strain) dosing in both compresssive and tensile strain. Cell lysates and media were collected after 12hrs on the plate and after 1, 3, and 6 days of straining. DNA, total protein, and ALP concentrations were assayed to assess the results of the different strains. Overall the strained cells proliferated similiarly to the unstrained control but produced increased concentrations of ALP, when compared to the unstrained control, suggersting that the cells are undergoing differentiation. Compressive strains had little effect on cell proliferation and only a small impact on ALP activity. Interestingly, tensile strains resulted in the largest normalized ALP activities, 68% increased response to continuous tension over unstrained control, with the leaste amount of proliferation. These data suggest that the relationship between tensile and compressive responses may be complicated and depend on the other straining parameters. Also the W-20-17 cells under the strain conditions of this study chose to differentiate rather than proliferate in response to the tensile strain following the tendency for bones to remodel to minimize tensile strains. Intermittently straining the cells did not appear to cause an increased response when compared to continuous strain

Prison staff perceptions of their role in the rehabilitation & desistance support of prisoners

Date on title page (2019) is incorrect. Date of award is 2020.The principle objective of my ethnographical investigation was to interrogate prison staff perceptions in a Scottish prison to their role in affecting positive change, how this integrates into regular regimes of security and care and how they are trained to be positive agents of change. Research literature concludes that prison officers are the mainstay of the prison system, but rehabilitation and desistance support for prisoners is secondary to their primary role of security and care. In response to the Scottish Government's expectation that prisons reduce recidivism, the Scottish Prison Service introduced two strategies: (i) to positively transform the provision for prisoners internally and with community reintegration externally; (ii) to professionalise prison officer's service to transform how they facilitate positive change and desistance support for prisoners. I believe my empirical research has added to the knowledge of rehabilitation and desistance support in a penal environment through the lens of prison officers using a unique combination of video recordings of training and focus groups and audio recordings of one-to-one interviews which augment my observations, notes and interview responses, and provide an ontological perspective of a prison officer's occupation. My findings identify perspectival dichotomies and suggest that: training only provides new recruits with the bare essentials to undertake their primary function of security and care, positively conditions them to violence, but also conditions them to view prisoners negatively; poor intra- and inter-communication between different teams and groups of prison officers limits and impedes support of a prisoner's desistance journey; the architectural design of the prison has created a divide metaphorically and physically, so much so that rehabilitative support is seen as a formal process operating in specific areas of the prison away from the residential wings where a prisoner is likely to spend the majority of time incarcerated. What is claimed to be an holistic approach across the whole of the prison is unattainable due to the centralisation and concentration of 'support' in areas separated from the residential wings, and where prison staff have to make stark choices on who they can protect and support. Thus, strategies for the facilitation of rehabilitation, I contend, are not fundamentally meeting the needs of prisoners but the strategic goals of the Government, courts and prison service, where what is processed can be tangibly accountable through KPIs, contractual obligations and be fiscally affordable.The principle objective of my ethnographical investigation was to interrogate prison staff perceptions in a Scottish prison to their role in affecting positive change, how this integrates into regular regimes of security and care and how they are trained to be positive agents of change. Research literature concludes that prison officers are the mainstay of the prison system, but rehabilitation and desistance support for prisoners is secondary to their primary role of security and care. In response to the Scottish Government's expectation that prisons reduce recidivism, the Scottish Prison Service introduced two strategies: (i) to positively transform the provision for prisoners internally and with community reintegration externally; (ii) to professionalise prison officer's service to transform how they facilitate positive change and desistance support for prisoners. I believe my empirical research has added to the knowledge of rehabilitation and desistance support in a penal environment through the lens of prison officers using a unique combination of video recordings of training and focus groups and audio recordings of one-to-one interviews which augment my observations, notes and interview responses, and provide an ontological perspective of a prison officer's occupation. My findings identify perspectival dichotomies and suggest that: training only provides new recruits with the bare essentials to undertake their primary function of security and care, positively conditions them to violence, but also conditions them to view prisoners negatively; poor intra- and inter-communication between different teams and groups of prison officers limits and impedes support of a prisoner's desistance journey; the architectural design of the prison has created a divide metaphorically and physically, so much so that rehabilitative support is seen as a formal process operating in specific areas of the prison away from the residential wings where a prisoner is likely to spend the majority of time incarcerated. What is claimed to be an holistic approach across the whole of the prison is unattainable due to the centralisation and concentration of 'support' in areas separated from the residential wings, and where prison staff have to make stark choices on who they can protect and support. Thus, strategies for the facilitation of rehabilitation, I contend, are not fundamentally meeting the needs of prisoners but the strategic goals of the Government, courts and prison service, where what is processed can be tangibly accountable through KPIs, contractual obligations and be fiscally affordable

microRNA expression in peripheral blood cells following acute ischemic stroke and their predicted gene targets.

BackgroundmicroRNA (miRNA) are important regulators of gene expression. In patients with ischemic stroke we have previously shown that differences in immune cell gene expression are present. In this study we sought to determine the miRNA that are differentially expressed in peripheral blood cells of patients with acute ischemic stroke and thus may regulate immune cell gene expression.MethodsmiRNA from peripheral blood cells of forty-eight patients with ischemic stroke and vascular risk factor controls were compared. Differentially expressed miRNA in patients with ischemic stroke were determined by microarray with qRT-PCR confirmation. The gene targets and pathways associated with ischemic stroke that may be regulated by the identified miRNA were characterized.ResultsIn patients with acute ischemic stroke, miR-122, miR-148a, let-7i, miR-19a, miR-320d, miR-4429 were decreased and miR-363, miR-487b were increased compared to vascular risk factor controls. These miRNA are predicted to regulate several genes in pathways previously identified by gene expression analyses, including toll-like receptor signaling, NF-κβ signaling, leukocyte extravasation signaling, and the prothrombin activation pathway.ConclusionsSeveral miRNA are differentially expressed in blood cells of patients with acute ischemic stroke. These miRNA may regulate leukocyte gene expression in ischemic stroke including pathways involved in immune activation, leukocyte extravasation and thrombosis

Architecture of incarceration

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-53).Crime-fighting has become one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Consequently, the construction of facilities which serve as the end-product of that fight, prisons, has become one of the nation's fastest growing industries as well. The architecture of those facilities, which logically would fall somewhere in the middle, has yet to catch up. The intention of this project is to begin to explore the possibility for architecture within the context of the prison. It investigates ideas of space-making within a building which combines programmatic complexity with a requirement for security and control. It addresses notions of individual versus collective within the culture of the prison. It questions the relationship of the public to the imprisoned, of outside to inside.by Robert Matthew Noblett.M.Arch

Chinese porcelain and other orientalia and exotica in Spain during the Habsburg dynasty

The reception of Chinese and Japanese export porcelain in Europe and the Americas has been the subject of much research, many publications and a number of exhibitions. The scholars and researchers involved could base themselves on a solid corpus of data, gathered in the past from a miscellany of sources. Although Spain was one of the most important commercial and colonial powers in the East during the 16th and 17th centuries, its role in the porcelain trade was far from clear, mainly due to the lack of research in the relevant primary sources. In fact, Spain was more or less a blank spot on the Western map relating to imports of Oriental porcelain.1 This thesis aims to make a modest start to rectify this situation, offering an eclectic survey of hitherto unknown or unused sources, as well as a large collection of new data.Medieval and Early Modern Studie

An Intervention to Monitor and Reduce Fall Rates Among Adults with Intellectual Disability (ID)

Courtney Noblett-Dutra, Alexandra Bonardi, Emily Lauer and Sharon Oxx present their research on fall rates among adults with intellectual disabilities and possible ways to reduce them. Presented at the 2012 International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability (IASSID) World Congress

A Review of the Pikes Peak Batholith, Front Range, Central Colorado: A Type Example of A-Type Granitic Magmatism

The N 1.08-Ga Pikes Peak composite batholith of central Colorado is a type example of an Atype granitic system. From the 1970s through the 1990s, details of the field relations, mineralogy, major and trace element compositions, and isotopic geochemistry of Pikes Peak rocks were documented, and they reveal the existence of two chemical groups, a potassic and a sodic series. The potassic series (~64-78 wt % SiO2) includes the Pikes Peak Granite, which is mostly coarse-grained biotite f hornblende syenogranite and minor monzogranite that dominates the batholith. The potassic series also includes fine- to medium-grained biotite granite found in numerous, small, late-stage plutons throughout the batholith. The sodic series is found in seven plutons comprised of a wide range of rock types ( N 44-78 wt % SiO2), including gabbro, diabase, syenite/quartz syenite, and fayalite and sodic amphibole granite. Differences in petrologic and geochemical characteristics between the sodic and potassic series indicate different petrogenetic histories. Major and trace element and strontium and oxygen isotopic data were used by some workers to hypothesize that mantle-derived alkali basalt underwent crystal fractionation and reaction with lower crustal rocks to generate syenitic magmas of the sodic series, which subsequently underwent further fractionation to produce sodic granites. Recent studies involving estimates of oxygen fugacities, along with additional trace element and neodymium isotopic data, also support a basalt fractionation model for the sodic series, but suggest only minor crustal involvement. Gabbros and diabase dikes associated with the sodic series appear to have been derived from mantle sources that previously had been affected by a subduction event, based on neodymium isotopic and trace element data. Some workers propose that the potassic series also formed by fractionation of syenitic and/ or basaltic magmas coupled with reaction with intermediate rather than lower crust. Other workers propose a model in which genesis of the potassic series was dominated by partial melting involving tonalitic sources, with fractionation and-perhaps magma mixing playing subordinate roles in generating compositional diversity among the potassic granitoids. The Pikes Peak batholith thus formed by emplacement of at least two petrogenetically different granite types, which were emplaced close together in space and time and which exhibit geochemical characteristics typical of A-type granites

Indigenous Languages Programmes in Australian Schools - A Way Forward

Currently, over 16,000 Indigenous students and 13,000 non-Indigenous students located in 260 Australian schools are involved in an Indigenous language program. More than 80 different Indigenous languages are taught. This project sought to present practice which would strengthen the quality of Indigenous language programs in schools. The report consists of a literature review, a mapping exercise to document current practices relating to Indigenous languages in Australian schools, an analysis of existing models of teacher preparation, and six case studies of good practice examples

Effect of intraoperative fluid optimisation on renal function in patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery; a randomised controlled pilot study (ISRCTN 11799696) Fluid optimisation for emergency surgery

<b>Background:</b> Emergency abdominal surgery carries a high risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Goal directed therapy has been advocated to improve outcome in high-risk surgery. The aim of the present pilot study was to examine the effect of goal directed therapy using fluid alone on postoperative renal function and organ failure score in patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. <b>Methods:</b> This prospective randomised pilot study included patients over the age of 50 undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. In the intervention group pulse pressure variation measurements were used to guide fluid boluses of 6% Hydroxyethylstarch 130/0.4. The control group received standard care. Serum urea, creatinine and cystatin C levels were measured prior to and at the end of surgery and postoperatively on day 1, day 3 and day 5. <b>Results:</b> Thirty patients were recruited. One patient died prior to surgery and was excluded from the analysis. The intervention group received a median of 750ml of hydroxyethylstarch. The peak values of postoperative urea were 6.9 (2.7–31.8) vs. 6.4 (3.5–11.5)mmol/l (p=0.425), creatinine 100 (60–300) vs. 85 (65–150) μmol/l (p=0.085) and cystatin C 1.09 (0.66–4.94) vs. 1.01 (0.33–2.29)mg/dl (p=0.352) in the control and intervention group, respectively. <b>Conclusions:</b> In the present pilot study replacing the identified fluid deficit was not associated with a change in renal function. These results do not preclude that goal directed therapy using fluid alone may have an effect on renal function but they would suggest that the effect size of fluid optimisation alone on renal function is small