Deviant

ABSTRACT I create portraits and self-portraits that explore the dualities of the western human condition, namely the deviant and the ideal, the refined and the unrefined, and the perfect and the flawed. Drawing on personal experiences with people considered outsiders or social deviants, I construct figures that embody the conflicting ideas inherent in these dualities. I explore these conflicts in drawings that are constructed with marks and shapes that are both basic and refined, and in photographs that use analytic documentation to describe social turmoil. I reference artists both contemporary and historical, such as Egon Schiele, Robert Longo, Kathe Kollwitz, Shepard Fairey and Eadweard Muybridge, and use a process that is both intellectual and intuitive in order to create work that is multivalent in nature with a foundation in the visual language of figurative art. My work becomes an open invitation for viewers to explore the tensions and conflicts that make up the contemporary human condition through the frozen actions of a figure

Plesiosaur Body Shape and its Impact on Hydrodynamic Properties

Despite the variability of cross-sectional body shape within Plesiosauria, its impact on plesiosaur buoyancy and stability has never been investigated. This study focused on Tatenectes, Cryptoclidus, and Muraenosaurus due to their variable body morphologies. Reconstructions were created based on measurements and photographs from fossil remains. The ability of computer models, based upon the reconstructions, to reach equilibrium after submersion, sink via lung deflation, and recover from a lateral roll was tested. For the computer models, Muraenosaurus was replaced with Thalassomedon, which had a similar morphology. Cryptoclidus and Thalassomedon recovered from submersion faster than Tatenectes. All models achieved negative buoyancy with 85-95% lung deflation. Tatenectes and Cryptoclidus recovered from lateral roll quickly, 10 and 12 cycles respectively, compared to Thalassomedon (25 cycles). The findings suggest that dorsoventrally compressed plesiosaurs, such as Tatenectes and Cryptoclidus, inhabited shallow-waters and deep-bodied genera, such as Thalassomedon and Muraenosaurus, inhabited deep-water environments

Prevention of secondary stroke in VA: Role of occupational therapists and physical therapists

Occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) have the opportunity and obligation to advocate secondary stroke prevention via health promotion (HP) behaviors. This prospective survey of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) OTs and PTs determined whether they know about VA stroke rehabilitation guidelines and whether they integrate secondary stroke prevention into poststroke rehabilitation care. Questions revolved around knowledge of VA guidelines, inclusion of stroke risk-factor modification, and HP education to patients. Thirty-four surveys (45%) were returned from six facilities. Participants included 12 OTs and 22 PTs. Half (53%) of the therapists were aware of the VA guidelines and nearly half (48%) provided HP activities to patients; PTs were significantly more likely to do so than OTs (p = 0.02). Half of the queried therapists were unaware of the VA guidelines; increasing therapists’ education about the guidelines and the necessity of HP and secondary stroke prevention may reduce veterans’ risk of a second stroke. Because many stroke risk factors are modifiable and stroke survivors spend a great deal of time with the rehabilitation therapist, OTs and PTs can and should provide such education to reduce the risk of a second stroke

Impact Evaluation of a Central Australian Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training Program for Health Professionals and Students

The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the impact of a Central Australian cultural awareness training program for health care staff. A mixed methods approach was used. Program participants completed a baseline and post-program questionnaire, which included an attitude scale assessing cultural safety, critical thinking and transformative unlearning, and open-ended questions. An online follow-up survey two months later repeated these questions. Mean scale scores were compared using paired and unpaired t-tests. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Baseline scale mean was 45.7. At post-program it had statistically significantly increased to 47.3, using both the paired (p=\u3c 0.01) and unpaired t-test (p=\u3c 0.03). At the two-month follow-up it had decreased to 42.2. This was not statistically different from the baseline score with a paired (n=11) t-test (p=\u3c 0.37), however the difference was statistically significant with an unpaired t-test (p=\u3c 0.01) which included an additional eight respondents. Qualitative feedback was consistently positive. Many respondents learnt new information about the negative effects of colonisation on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, and how this continues to affect current health. Learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultures, kinship relationships and systems, and communication styles was identified as directly relevant to work practices. A cultural education program produced positive short-term changes in attitudes and was highly valued by participants. However, it is unclear if these changes are maintained in the medium term

A new skeleton of the cryptoclidid plesiosaur Tatenectes laramiensis reveals a novel body shape among plesiosaurs

Current knowledge of plesiosaurs of clade Cryptoclidia is constrained by a lack of fossils from outside the Oxford Clay deposits of England. Recent fieldwork in the Sundance Formation of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, has resulted in the recovery of significant new fossils of cryptoclidid plesiosaurs, including the small-bodied form Tatenectes laramiensis. A new partial skeleton of this taxon is reported here; it is the most complete and best-preserved example of the taxon found to date, comprising a complete dorsal vertebral series, many ribs and gastralia, and a complete pelvic girdle. This skeleton illuminates several unique features of the taxon, including a novel pattern of midline pachyostosis in the gastralia. In addition, a range of both axial and appendicular morphological features reveals that Tatenectes had a body shape unique among known plesiosaurs, characterized by extreme dorsoventral compression, and modest anteroposterior reduction. The combination of the new skeleton with information from previous finds allows the first reconstruction of the taxon. Tatenectes had a dorsoventrally compressed, oblate spheroid body shape, with a high skeletal mass concentration in the ventral elements. We hypothesize that these features were adaptations for increased near-surface stability, perhaps allowing access to above normal wave base, inshore environments in the shallow Sundance Seaway

A functional bacteria-derived restriction modification system in the mitochondrion of a heterotrophic protist

The overarching trend in mitochondrial genome evolution is functional streamlining coupled with gene loss; therefore, gene acquisition by mitochondria is considered to be exceedingly rare. Selfish elements in the form of self-splicing introns occur in many organellar genomes, but the wider diversity of selfish elements, and how they persist in the DNA of organelles, has not been explored. In the mitochondrial genome of a marine heterotrophic katablepharid protist, we identify a functional type II restriction modification (RM) system originating from a horizontal gene transfer (HGT) event involving bacteria related to flavobacteria. This RM system consists of an HpaII-like endonuclease and a cognate cytosine methyltransferase (CM). We demonstrate that these proteins are functional by heterologous expression in both bacterial and eukaryotic cells. These results suggest that a mitochondrial-encoded RM system can function as a toxin-antitoxin selfish element and that such elements could be co-opted by eukaryotic genomes to drive biased organellar inheritance.Peer reviewe

Estimating water requirements for beef cows

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Designing Digital Materials with Volumetric Gradients

Next-generation engineering designs could be digitally conceived as vast constellations of material dots in space and physically fabricated with advanced Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. AM is already transforming how we create physical objects across a wide range of manufacturing industries. However, recent advances in multi-material AM make it possible to envision a form of three-dimensional pointillism, whereby complex structures are designed and assembled on a micron-by-micron basis through the precise placement of different material “dots” within three-dimensional space. In line with traditional pointillism techniques, different compositions of many small dots would collectively give rise to higher-level properties such as colour and geometry, but also physical properties such as: topology, stiffness, flexibility, and transparency. This paper first describes exciting challenges and opportunities associated with designing multi-material objects as constellations of material dots, then outlines initial experiments which explore data-driven volumetric gradients to design and fabricate physical objects using advanced PolyJet technologies