256 research outputs found
The Paradox of Beheading Risk: Specifically Clear and Sublimely Chaotic
In this paper, I will investigate repetition and accuracy in the simplicity and complexity of the following thesis roles: Tour Guide, Aunt, Female Doctor, and Attendant #2 performed in Middletown by Will Eno. I will develop my own actor process which will facilitate a greater sense of clarity, embodiment, and authenticity. With an end goal of identifying an effective approach for both artistic and pedagogical application. The following specific methods that I have performed and studied will be applied: Authentic Movement, Syntonics, Laban/Bartenieff Movement, and Coordination Patterns. I will examine body, mind, and spirit through concepts of authenticity, clarity and embodiment (ACE)
Expression of membrane-associated proteins within single emulsion cell facsimiles
MreB is a structural membrane-associated protein which is one of the key components of the bacterial cytoskeleton. Although it plays an important role in shape maintenance of rod-like bacteria, the understanding of its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. This study shows how segmented flow and microdroplet technology can be used as a new tool for biological in vitro investigation of this protein. In this paper, we demonstrate cell-free expression in a single emulsion system to express red fluorescence protein (RFP) and MreB linked RFP (MreBâRFP). We follow the aggregation and localisation of the fusion protein MreBâRFP in this artificial cell-like environment. The expression of MreBâRFP in single emulsion droplets leads to the formation of micrometer-scale protein patches distributed at the water/oil interface
A case for interfering with freedom of contract? An empirically-informed study of bans of assignment
Do "bans on assignment" of trade receivables cause serious problems with receivables financing? Should Government render them ineffective? Two empirical investigations suggest that though there are good reasons for using BoAs, they cause disproportionate problems to SMEs needing to factor their debts, and there is a good case for interventio
A case for interfering with freedom of contract? An empirically-informed study of bans on assignment
This article is about clauses in the contracts between a business and its customer which prohibit the supplier assigning receivables arising under the contracts. These clauses are sometimes called âprohibitions on assignmentâ, sometimes âanti-assignment clausesâ; but in the industry it seems most common to call them âbans on assignmentsâ or BoAs. This is how we will refer to them in this article. There is an argument that BoAs do little for the customer while posing a serious problem for small suppliers, and only appear when the customer has the bargaining power to dictate the terms of the contract. This paper draws on empirical work to consider whether, notwithstanding English lawâs commitment to commercial partiesâ freedom to agree their own terms, there is a case for legislation to render BoAs in contracts for the supply of goods and services ineffective
Population dynamics of rodents and their parasite communities in a naturally fragmented landscape
An island system with corresponding mainland sites, was used to study
woodland rodent dynamics and their parasite communities within a naturally
fragmented landscape. The study site, hosts and parasite species investigated
within this thesis allowed the investigation of how natural fragmentation affects
demographic and population dynamics of rodents (chapter 3). Reduced habitat
connectivity is known to affect nearly every process in biology. Low degrees of
fragmentation and high connectivity between habitats have been shown to
provide the most stable conditions for populations to persist, as movement of
organisms is less restricted. It is shown that in contrast to previous studies on
fragmented populations, the fragmented landscape of the islands had little
effect on the demographic characteristics of rodent populations in comparison to
those on the mainland. There were few difference found in the demographics of
wood mice and bank voles when compared to mainland sites. The results from
this study then allowed the broader question of how parasites dynamics are
affected by the spatial structure of a host population to be addressed.
Theory predicts that parasites are unable to persist in small, isolated host
populations, due to small host population size as well as potential genetic
factors increasing the risk of extinction. However parasites may become more
prevalent in isolated populations as hosts may have a reduced ability to deal
with infection. It is shown (chapter 4) that within this study system that despite
some island populations being extremely small, there is no overall reduction in
parasite species found within fragmented habitats. Furthermore, extinction of
the parasites investigated within wood mice and bank voles is unlikely due to the
direct life cycle of these parasites. Variation was seen in the prevalence of
infection, however the majority of the parasite species on islands did not show a
reduced prevalence of infection compared to mainland sites.
Finally parasite co-infection and co-aggregation and their dependency on
host characteristics in woodland rodents (chapter 5) were investigated. Parasite
species infecting hosts are normally studied individually, however this is not
what is seen within natural populations. Co-infection is an important concept
within natural systems as there is a vast diversity of parasite species that create ample opportunity for concurrent infections. Therefore, it is proposed that
studies should be focused on parasite interactions, as within host interactions
can in turn affect the abundance and distribution at the level of the host
population. This study focused on seven parasite taxa, and it was found that the
maximum number of parasite species any individual was found to be infected
with was five, with the mean number for both host species at around two.
Parasites associations were also more common than expected within the same
functional groups with co-occurrence being more common between parasite
species associated with ectoparasites. Within this study, host aggregation was
positively correlated with differing parasite taxa. Furthermore, looking at
patterns of co-aggregation could aid in our understanding of parasite
interactions within hosts. The nature of these interactions will determine
whether aggregation is positively or negatively correlated across different
parasite taxa. A small number of hosts maybe responsible for transmitting the
majority of infections (20/80 rule). Identifying these individuals would be
informative in helping to control disease spread. Host characteristics have been
found to be informative in terms of single parasite species infections. Within this
study it was found that juvenile bank voles were more likely to be co-infected
than those within other age classes. No host characteristic explained patterns of
co-infection in wood mice.
In conclusion I found that natural fragmentation does not have an overall
negative effect on rodent host dynamics nor does it reduce the number or
prevalence of infection of parasite species able to infect hosts. This thesis has
highlighted the importance for using natural wildlife systems in empirical
studies, and the need to further address multiple parasite interactions within a
host community
The use and prescription of epicene pronouns : a corpus-based approach to generic he and singular they in British English
In English the personal pronouns are morphologically marked for grammatical number, whilst the third-person singular pronouns are also obligatorily marked for gender. As a result, the use of any singular animate antecedent coindexed with a third-person pronoun forces a choice between he and she, whether or not the biological sex of the intended referent is known. This forced choice of gender, and the corresponding lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun where gender is not formally marked, is the primary focus of this thesis. I compare and contrast the use of the two main candidates for epicene status, singular they and generic he, which are found consistently opposed in the wider literature. Using corpus-based methods I analyse current epicene usage in written British English, and investigate which epicene pronouns are given to language-acquiring children in their L1 input. I also consider current prescriptions on epicene usage in grammar texts published post-2000 and investigate whether there is any evidence that language-external factors impact upon epicene choice. The synthesis of my findings with the wider literature on epicene pronouns leads me to the conclusion that, despite the restrictions imposed on the written pronoun paradigm evident in grammatical prescriptivism, singular they is the epicene pronoun of British English.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Non-sexist Language Policy and the Rise (and Fall?) of Combined Pronouns in British and American Written English
This paper focuses on the use of combined pronouns (s/he, his or her, him/her, etc.) as an example of late twentieth-century non-sexist language reform which had an overt democratizing aim. Within the scope of second-wave feminism, the use of combined pronouns increased the visibility of women in discourse by encouraging the use of feminine pronouns (she, her, hers) alongside masculine pronouns (he, him, his). Despite their promotion, however, the use of combined pronouns is relatively rare. This paper uses the LOB and Brown families of corpora to diachronically and synchronically study patterns in the use of combined pronouns in written American (AmE) and British English (BrE) from the 1930s to the early 2000s. The analysis not only determines what forms these patterns take, but questions whether combined pronouns are influenced by (a combination of) syntax and/or semantics, and questions whether combined pronouns are really democratic at all
Promoting influenza vaccine for children
This autumn influenza vaccine will again be offered to all 2- and 3-year-olds in general practice. In addition, all children in clinical risk groups aged 6 months and above should be offered the vaccine. Children in primary school years from reception class to year 4 will also be offered the vaccine as part of the on-going extension of influenza vaccination to healthy children. Since the start of the paediatric programme, transmission of influenza has reduced across all age groups in those parts of the country vaccinating all children of primary school age. Children under 5 years of age have the highest rate of hospital admissions for influenza. However, many parents do not think that influenza is a serious illness and it is the vaccine they are most likely to decline. Health professionals are the most trusted source of advice and information about vaccination, so staff in general practice have a crucial role to play in recommending this vaccine to parents. Health professionals are the most trusted source of advice and information about vaccination, so practice nurses have a crucial role to play in recommending the influenza vaccine to parents and increasing uptake </jats:p
Systematic review of scales for measuring infectious disease-related stigma
Infectious disease outbreaks are associated with substantial stigma, which can have negative effects on affected persons and communities and on outbreak control. Thus, measuring stigma in a standardized and validated manner early in an outbreak is critical to disease control. We reviewed existing scales used to assess stigma during outbreaks. Our findings show that many different scales have been developed, but few have been used more than once, have been adequately validated, or have been tested in different disease and geographic contexts. We found that scales were usually developed too slowly to be informative early during an outbreak and were published a median of 2 years after the first case of an outbreak. A rigorously developed, transferable stigma scale is needed to assess and direct responses to stigma during infectious disease outbreaks
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