Der steirische Barockarchitekt Johann Georg Stengg (1689 - 1753)

Die vorliegende Dissertation befasst sich mit dem Leben und Werk des steirischen Barockarchitekten Johann Georg Stengg. Stengg zählt zu den innovativsten Architektenpersönlichkeiten des österreichischen Spätbarocks. Er entstammte einer Baumeistersippe, die, begründet von seinem Vater Andreas Stengg, das architektonische Geschehen in der steirischen Landeshauptstadt Graz sowie in den umliegenden Regionen (inkl. der im heutigen Slowenien liegenden ehemaligen Untersteiermark/Štajerska) im 18. Jahrhundert maßgeblich prägte und die Grazer Maurerzunft über Jahrzehnte beherrschte. Ein biographischer Abriss fasst ältere und neue Erkenntnisse zu den einzelnen Mitgliedern der Baumeisterfamilie Stengg, mit besonderem Augenmerk auf Johann Georg Stengg und seinem Vater Andreas, zusammen. Weitere Schwerpunkte sind das Grazer Zunftwesen und die Organisation der einzelnen Werkstätten innerhalb der Stadt, sowie die verschiedenen offiziellen Ämter, die ein Grazer Baumeister im Rahmen seiner Tätigkeit in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts ausüben konnte. Johann Georg Stengg, der 1716 die Meisterschaft erlangte, stand in Graz einer großen Werkstatt vor, die bis zu 45 Gesellen gleichzeitig Arbeit bot. Die Werkstatt führte sämtliche zum Maurerhandwerk gehörenden Arbeiten durch, von einfachen Instandhaltungen bis zur Errichtung monumentaler Gebäude. Im Unterschied zu ausschließlich entwerfend tätigen Architekten, wie etwa Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt oder Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, zeichnete Stengg mit seiner Werkstatt auch für die Ausführung seiner Entwürfe verantwortlich. Auch als entwerfender Architekt war er sehr erfolgreich. Der zweite Teil der vorliegenden Dissertation befasst sich ausführlich mit den wichtigsten Werken des Architekten, von denen bislang kein einziges monographisch erfasst war. Von seiner Hand stammen entwicklungsgeschichtlich so bedeutende Bauten wie die Klosterkirche der Barmherzigen Brüder in Graz (1735 – 1742) oder die Kirche des Zisterzienserstiftes Rein (1737 – 1747). In diesen Arbeiten werden die Eindrücke seiner langjährigen Wanderschaft durch Italien, Deutschland und Böhmen spürbar, die er mit lokalen Einflüssen und Traditionen verband. Wollte ein Bauherr in den 1720er und 1730er Jahren in Graz überregional und modern bauen, so empfahl sich Stengg zweifellos mit seinen Kenntnissen des aktuellsten Baugeschehens in Italien und Süddeutschland als erstrangiger Kandidat. Kenntnisse der böhmischen, der ober- und niederösterreichischen sowie der Wiener Architektur spiegeln sich ebenfalls in seinem Werk wider. Er war damit, verglichen mit seinen unmittelbaren Konkurrenten in Graz, der am weitesten gereiste und mit dem umfassendsten Wissen über das damals modernste Baugeschehen ausgestattete Künstler. Für die Kunstgeschichte bedeutsam wurden Johann Georg Stenggs Arbeiten vor allem durch die Einführung des von Borrominis Architektur beeinflussten Typus der geschwungenen Fassade, der bis dahin in der Steiermark nicht vorkam. Beide oben genannten Kirchenbauten weisen eine geschwungene Fassade auf, wobei Stengg zwischen einem dreifach konkaven und einem konkav-konvex-konkaven Schwung variiert. Auch am Schloss Schielleiten (nach 1717 – 1731) wandte Stengg die geschwungene Fassade an. Die einzigen ihrem Wesen nach vergleichbaren Fassadenschöpfungen auf österreichischem Gebiet stammen von Matthias Steinl (Pfarrkirche von Laxenburg, Fassade ab 1715, und Fassade der Stiftskirche von Zwettl, ab 1722). Das Werkverzeichnis enthält alle mit Johann Georg Stengg nach derzeitigem Wissensstand in Verbindung zu bringende Arbeiten, das sind urkundlich gesicherte Werke, Zuschreibungen aus älteren Publikationen, sowie weitere ihm aufgrund stilistischer Überlegungen zuzuschreibende Werke. Es repräsentiert den aktuellsten Forschungsstand. Hier werden auch jene Werkgruppen und kleineren Bauaufgaben dargestellt, die Stengg in großer Zahl ausführte: Kirchtürme, Portale, Fassadengestaltungen und Altäre. 1741 gelang es Stengg, seine Laufbahn durch die Ernennung zum Grazer Hofmaurermeister zu krönen. Die zu dieser Funktion gehörenden Aufgaben hatte er bereits mehrere Jahre lang in Vertretung seines Vaters Andreas Stengg wahrgenommen.This doctoral thesis deals with the life and work of the Styrian baroque architect Johann Georg Stengg. Stengg is one of the most innovative personalities among the Austrian late baroque period architects. He was part of a family of architects, which was started by his father Andreas Stengg. The Stengg family had a large impact on the architectural events in the Styrian capital Graz as well as in the surrounding regions (including the once called Untersteiermark, now called Štajerska in Slovenia) during the 18th century and also dominated the guild of the brick layers in Graz over decades. A biographic survey gives a summary of older and new knowledge about the family members Stengg, with special attention to Johann Georg Stengg and his father Andreas. Other focal points are the guild system in Graz and the organisation of the several brick layer workshops, as well as the various functions which a master craftsman could officiate in Graz during the first half of the 18th century. Johann Georg Stengg, who became master craftsman in 1716, managed a big workshop, which was able to employ up to 45 brick layers. The workshop realised all works related with the handcraft of a brick layer, simple repairs as well as the construction of monumental buildings. Unlike the exclusively designing architects, as for example Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt or Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Stengg took – together with his workshop – also the responsibility of the building constructions of his projects. Stengg beyond that was also successful as designing architect. The second part of this doctoral thesis pays attention to the most important buildings of the architect. So far existed no monographic works about this buildings. He designed two very important churches, the minster of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God in Graz (1735 – 1742) and the collegiate church of the Cistercian Monastery of Rein (1737 – 1747). This buildings reflect the impressions he was able to receive during his longtime journeyman’s travel through Italy, Germany and Bohemia, which he combined with local influences and traditions. If a principal wanted to built supraregional and modern in Graz in the 1720s and 1730s, the architect Stengg with his knowledge of the current way of building in Italy and the south of Germany was undoubtedly a first-class candidate. His œuvre also shows that he was fully aware of the Bohemian, Upper and Lower Austrian and Viennese architecture of his time. In comparison with his competitors in Graz, at his time he was the most widely traveled and best educated architect. For the history of art his works mainly became relevant because of his by Borromini influenced initiations of the curved facades, which did not exist in Styria prior to his designs. Both of the above mentioned churches have a curved facade. Stengg diversifies between a triple concave curve and a concave-convex-concave curve. A curved facade was also applied at the castle Schielleiten (c. 1717 – 1731). The only facade designs in Austria which are comparable concerning their character are designed by Matthias Steinl (the parish church of Laxenburg, facade c. 1715, and the facade of the collegiate church of Zwettl, c. 1722). The catalogue raisonné includes all with Johann Georg Stengg linked works up to the present knowledge, that means documented works as well as old and new attributions. It represents the up-to-date state of research. The catalogue raisonné addresses also to smaler groups of his work, which were realised in bigger quantities: steeples, portals, facade decorations and altars. In the year 1741, as highlight of his career, Stengg managed to be named master craftsman of the court in Graz, after administrating the duties of this function already some years on behalf of his father Andreas Stengg

Acute sensitivity of the oral mucosa to oncogenic K-ras.

Mouse models of cancer represent powerful tools for analysing the role of genetic alterations in carcinogenesis. Using a mouse model that allows tamoxifen-inducible somatic activation (by Cre-mediated recombination) of oncogenic K-ras(G12D) in a wide range of tissues, we observed hyperplasia of squamous epithelium located in moist or frequently abraded mucosa, with the most dramatic effects in the oral mucosa. This epithelium showed a sequence of squamous hyperplasia followed by squamous papilloma with dysplasia, in which some areas progressed to early invasive squamous cell carcinoma, within 14 days of widespread oncogenic K-ras activation. The marked proliferative response of the oral mucosa to K-ras(G12D) was most evident in the basal layers of the squamous epithelium of the outer lip with hair follicles and wet mucosal surface, with these cells staining positively for pAKT and cyclin D1, showing Ras/AKT pathway activation and increased proliferation with Ki-67 and EdU positivity. The stromal cells also showed gene activation by recombination and immunopositivity for pERK indicating K-Ras/ERK pathway activation, but without Ki-67 positivity or increase in stromal proliferation. The oral neoplasms showed changes in the expression pattern of cytokeratins (CK6 and CK13), similar to those observed in human oral tumours. Sporadic activation of the K-ras(G12D) allele (due to background spontaneous recombination in occasional cells) resulted in the development of benign oral squamous papillomas only showing a mild degree of dysplasia with no invasion. In summary, we show that oral mucosa is acutely sensitive to oncogenic K-ras, as widespread expression of activated K-ras in the murine oral mucosal squamous epithelium and underlying stroma can drive the oral squamous papilloma-carcinoma sequence

2015-2016 BAK Piano Showcase and Performance Workshop with Dr. Roberta Rust

https://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_otherseasonalconcerts/1002/thumbnail.jp

Rural congestive heart failure mortality among US elderly, 1999–2013: Identifying counties with promising outcomes and opportunities for implementation research

Objective Describe modern trends in congestive heart failure (CHF) among elderly (\u3e65 years of age) in the United States, to identify potentially successful rural areas. Compare CHF mortality using multiple- (MCOD) versus underlying-(UCOD) cause of death data. Methods U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality files (WONDER internet site). Results Using MCOD data, overall mortality rates/100,000 population (and 95% confidence intervals) for CHF among persons \u3e65 years of age (1999–2013) were 482.0 (481.2–482.8) for large central and large fringe metropolitan (LCLF) counties, 549.6 (548.6–550.7) in small and medium metropolitan (SM) counties, and 652.6 (650.9–654.0) in micropolitan and non-core, non-metropolitan (MNCNM) counties. Twenty positive deviance NCNM counties (collectively including 198,581 residents \u3e65 years of age) had an overall CHF rate of 300.9 (275.0–326.9) in 2013. This was significantly lower than the LCLF rate for 2013 (482.0 [481.2–482.8]), and represented a reduction of 47% since 1999. Overall CHF occurrence as estimated with MCOD was 3.4-fold higher than that obtained with UCOD. Conclusion These data illustrate underestimation of CHF by UCOD data and the importance of correct death certification. Rural CHF mortality rates are higher than urban rates, but some positive deviance counties demonstrate that this is not inevitable. Further research is needed to understand the relative contribution of research innovation, medical care, and public health to rural-urban disparities and the relative success of positive deviance counties

Bon Marché: um grupo de agentes móveis para o comércio na internet

The beginning of Internet as commercial usage with its easy graphic interface originated an enormous increase of users ' quantity as well as a great variety of available services during the last years. Nowadays the majority of priva te and public institutions are prepared to provide any kind of information or service through the Internet. Considering this fact, the present work proposes the development of a mobile and intelligent multiagent auxiliary software to the electronic market in order to make easier the Internet's purchases. The proposed system is based on a group of agents that try to find simultaneously the users' interest products in the several virtual places known by them, presenting the results in an homogeneous way. The techniques applied to the development of the system will be the IBM 's mobile agent framework and the rule-driven inferences mechanism. This paper discusses the architecture of the project and emphasizes, in a first phase, the results obtained with a prototype built with a configuration more simplified that implements the mobility. In a second phase, it will be built the intelligent module to transform the Bon Marché group of agents into a more autonomous and able group to achieve more appurated queries and recomendations.A abertura da Internet para uso comercial com sua interface gráfica de fácil uso gerou um enorme crescimento na quantidade de usuários e variedade de serviços disponíveis nestes últimos anos. Atualmente, grande parte das instituições públicas e privadas fornecem algum tipo de informação ou serviço através da Internet. Tendo em vista este cenário, o presente trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de um software auxiliar multiagente, móvel e inteligente para o mercado eletrônico visando tornar as compras na Internet mais fáceis para o usuário. O sistema proposto é baseado em uma sociedade de agentes que tentam encontrar os produtos pretendidos pelo usuário em paralelo nas várias lojas que estão a eles associadas, apresentando os resultados de uma maneira uniforme e organizada. Para tanto, serão utilizados uma técnica de Inteligência Artificial que se baseia em um mecanismo de inferências a partir de regras e o ambiente para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de agentes móveis, Aglets Software Development Kit, desenvolvido pela IBM Tóquio. Este artigo discute a arquitetura deste projeto e ressalta os resultados obtidos em uma primeira fase onde foi construído um protótipo de configuração mais simples que implementa a mobilidade. Numa segunda fase, será implementado o módulo de inteligência o qual tornará o grupo de agentes Bon Marché mais autonômo e capaz de realizar consultas e recomendações mais refinadas

N-Cofilin Can Compensate for the Loss of ADF in Excitatory Synapses

Actin plays important roles in a number of synaptic processes, including synaptic vesicle organization and exocytosis, mobility of postsynaptic receptors, and synaptic plasticity. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control actin at synapses. Actin dynamics crucially depend on LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1) that controls the activity of the actin depolymerizing proteins of the ADF/cofilin family. While analyses of mouse mutants revealed the importance of LIMK1 for both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms, the ADF/cofilin family member n-cofilin appears to be relevant merely for postsynaptic plasticity, and not for presynaptic physiology. By means of immunogold electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry, we here demonstrate the presence of ADF (actin depolymerizing factor), a close homolog of n-cofilin, in excitatory synapses, where it is particularly enriched in presynaptic terminals. Surprisingly, genetic ablation of ADF in mice had no adverse effects on synapse structure or density as assessed by electron microscopy and by the morphological analysis of Golgi-stained hippocampal pyramidal cells. Moreover, a series of electrophysiological recordings in acute hippocampal slices revealed that presynaptic recruitment and exocytosis of synaptic vesicles as well as postsynaptic plasticity were unchanged in ADF mutant mice. The lack of synaptic defects may be explained by the elevated n-cofilin levels observed in synaptic structures of ADF mutants. Indeed, synaptic actin regulation was impaired in compound mutants lacking both ADF and n-cofilin, but not in ADF single mutants. From our results we conclude that n-cofilin can compensate for the loss of ADF in excitatory synapses. Further, our data suggest that ADF and n-cofilin cooperate in controlling synaptic actin content

2015-2016 Mostly Music: Johannes Brahms

https://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_mostlymusic/1024/thumbnail.jp

Nogo-A is secreted in extracellular vesicles, occurs in blood and can influence vascular permeability

Nogo-A is a transmembrane protein with multiple functions in the central nervous system (CNS), including restriction of neurite growth and synaptic plasticity. Thus far, Nogo-A has been predominantly considered a cell contact-dependent ligand signaling via cell surface receptors. Here, we show that Nogo-A can be secreted by cultured cells of neuronal and glial origin in association with extracellular vesicles (EVs). Neuron- and oligodendrocyte-derived Nogo-A containing EVs inhibited fibroblast spreading, and this effect was partially reversed by Nogo-A receptor S1PR2 blockage. EVs purified from HEK cells only inhibited fibroblast spreading upon Nogo-A over-expression. Nogo-A-containing EVs were found in vivo in the blood of healthy mice and rats, as well as in human plasma. Blood Nogo-A concentrations were elevated after acute stroke lesions in mice and rats. Nogo-A active peptides decreased barrier integrity in an in vitro blood-brain barrier model. Stroked mice showed increased dye permeability in peripheral organs when tested 2 weeks after injury. In the Miles assay, an in vivo test to assess leakage of the skin vasculature, a Nogo-A active peptide increased dye permeability. These findings suggest that blood borne, possibly EV-associated Nogo-A could exert long-range regulatory actions on vascular permeability