Violin and voice as partners in three early twentieth-century English works for voice and violin.

The purpose of this study is to examine three works for the unusual combination of violin and voice. Chamber music for violin and keyboard and violin and other instruments has been extant since the Baroque period. However, three English composers found a unique chamber grouping in the first decades of the twentieth century: Gustav Holst (1874-1934), Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979), and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) each wrote works for violin and voice. Holst's Four Songs for Voice and Violin, Op. 35 (1917), Vaughan Williams' Along the Field, Eight Housman Songs for Voice and Violin (1927, revised 1954), and Clarke's Three Old English Songs (1924) each utilize the combination of violin and voice. The violin in each is not relegated to accompaniment but is instead a true partner. This study will investigate these works. A history of each composition will be chronicled. An analytical discussion of formal organization and significant style features will include consideration of the musical structure, harmonic language, and the use of text in select movements of each work. Finally, performance suggestions pertaining to technical and artistic issues offer specific recommendations as an aid in performance preparation. In order to provide historical and musical context, a brief overview of Late Romantic and early Twentieth-Century chamber music with strings and voice will be given. This overview will help to illuminate the uniqueness of the pairing of violin and voice. Discovery of the works discussed here makes possible an expanded repertoire of good music for both violinists and vocalists. It is also hoped that through the performance of these works a spark might be set with composers to create more pieces for this most intimate of duos

Computed tomography in veterinary medicine: currently published and tomorrow’s vision

The utilisation of Computed Tomography (CT) in veterinary practice has been increasing rapidly in line with reduced cost, improved availability and the increase in expertise and technology. This review briefly examines the recent technological advancements in imaging in the veterinary sector, and explores how CT and micro-CT (μCT) have furthered basic understanding and knowledge, and influenced clinical practice and medicine. The uses of CT technology in veterinary research, especially in relation to bone, vasculature and soft tissues, are explored and compared in relation to the different species. CT is essential not only for the diagnosis and treatment of many disorders, but it is now being used to understand areas ranging from drug delivery and surgical advancements through to anatomical and educational uses throughout the world

The Anatomy, Histology and Physiology of the Healthy and Lame Equine Hoof

Satisfactory investigations of the equine foot appear to be limited by the histo-morphological complexity of internal hoof structures. Foot lameness is considered to be one of the most debilitating pathological disorders of the equine foot. In most species, foot lameness is traditionally linked to hoof deformity, and a set of molecular events have been defined in relation to the disease. So far, there is controversy regarding the incidence of foot lameness in horses, as it is unclear whether it is foot lameness that triggers hoof distortions or vice-versa. In order to develop a better understanding of foot lameness, we review both the healthy and lame foot anatomy, cell biology and vascularisation and using micro-computed tomography show new methods of visualising internal structures within the equine foot

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent counterflow nonpremixed flames

This paper presents our recent progress in terascale three-dimensional simulations of turbulent nonpremixed flames in the presence of a mean flow strain and fine water droplets. Under the ongoing university collaborative project supported by the DOE SciDAC Program [1] along with the INCITE 2007 Project [2], the study aims at bringing the state-of-the-art high-fidelity simulation capability to the next level by incorporating various advanced physical models for soot formation, radiative heat transfer, and lagrangian spray dynamics, to an unprecedented degree of detail in high-fidelity simulation application. The targeted science issue is fundamental characteristics of flame suppression by the complex interaction between turbulence, chemistry, radiation, and water spray. The high quality simulation data with full consideration of multi-physics processes will allow fundamental understanding of the key physical and chemical mechanisms in the flame quenching behavior. In this paper, recent efforts on numerical algorithms and model development toward the targeted terascale 3D simulations are discussed and some preliminary results are presented.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58180/2/jpconf7_78_012029.pd

Anatomy, histology, development and functions of Ossa cordis: A review

This systematic review highlights the similarities and variations in Ossa cordis prevalence, histology and anatomical location between differing veterinary species and in humans. In addition, it also identifies associated factors such as aging and cardiovascular disease for each species in relation to functional roles and developmental mechanisms that these bone structures may play. The potential functions of Ossa cordis are presented, ranging from aiding cardiac contraction and conduction, providing cardiac structure, and protecting components of the heart, through to counteracting high mechanical stress. Furthermore, this review discusses the evidence and rationale behind the theories regarding the formation and development of Ossa cordis in different veterinary species and in people

“A very orderly retreat”: Democratic transition in East Germany, 1989-90

East Germany's 1989-90 democratisation is among the best known of East European transitions, but does not lend itself to comparative analysis, due to the singular way in which political reform and democratic consolidation were subsumed by Germany's unification process. Yet aspects of East Germany's democratisation have proved amenable to comparative approaches. This article reviews the comparative literature that refers to East Germany, and finds a schism between those who designate East Germany's transition “regime collapse” and others who contend that it exemplifies “transition through extrication”. It inquires into the merits of each position and finds in favour of the latter. Drawing on primary and secondary literature, as well as archival and interview sources, it portrays a communist elite that was, to a large extent, prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and capable of learning from “reference states” such as Poland. Although East Germany was the Soviet state in which the positions of existing elites were most threatened by democratic transition, here too a surprising number succeeded in maintaining their position while filing across the bridge to market society. A concluding section outlines the alchemy through which their bureaucratic power was transmuted into property and influence in the “new Germany”

Physics of animal health: on the mechano-biology of hoof growth and form

Global inequalities in economic access and agriculture productivity imply that a large number of developing countries rely on working equids for transport/agriculture/mining. Therefore, the understanding of hoof conditions/shape variations affecting equids' ability to work is still a persistent concern. To bridge this gap, using a multi-scale interdisciplinary approach, we provide a bio-physical model predicting the shape of equids’ hooves as a function of physical and biological parameters. In particular, we show (i) where the hoof growth stress originates from, (ii) why the hoof growth rate is one order of magnitude higher than the proliferation rate of epithelial cells and (iii) how the soft-to-hard transformation of the epithelium is possible allowing the hoof to fulfil its function as a weight-bearing element. Finally (iv), we demonstrate that the reason for hoof misshaping is linked to the asymmetrical design of equids' feet (shorter quarters/long toe) together with the inability of the biological growth stress to compensate for such an asymmetry. Consequently, the hoof can adopt a dorsal curvature and become ‘dished’ overtime, which is a function of the animal's mass and the hoof growth rate. This approach allows us to discuss the potential occurrence of this multifaceted pathology in equids

Chemical and Pb Isotope Composition of Phenocrysts from Bentonites Constrains the Chronostratigraphy around the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary in the Hell Creek Region, Montana

An excellent record of environmental and paleobiological change around the CretaceousPaleogene boundary is preserved in the Hell Creek and Fort Union Formations in the western Williston Basin of northeastern Montana. These records are present in fluvial deposits whose lateral discontinuity hampers long-distance correlation. Geochronology has been focused on bentonite beds that are often present in lignites. To better identify unique bentonites for correlation across the region, the chemical and Pb isotopic composition of feldspar and titanite has been measured on 46 samples. Many of these samples have been dated by 40Ar/39Ar. The combination of chemical and isotopic compositions of phenocrysts has enabled the identification of several unique bentonite beds. In particular, three horizons located at and above the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary can now be traced—based on their unique compositions—across the region, clarifying previously ambiguous stratigraphic relationships. Other bentonites show unusual features, such as Pb isotope variations consistent with magma mixing or assimilation, that will make them easy to recognize in future studies. This technique is limited in some cases by more than one bentonite having compositions that cannot be distinguished, or bentonites with abundant xenocrysts. The Pb isotopes are consistent with a derivation from the Bitterroot Batholith, whose age range overlaps that of the tephra. These data provide an improved stratigraphic framework for the Hell Creek region and provide a basis for more focused tephrostratigraphic work, and more generally demonstrate that the combination of mineral chemistry and Pb isotope compositions is an effective technique for tephra correlation

An unusual testicular mass : a case of desmoplastic small round cell tumour

Desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT) is a rare, aggressive, mesenchymal malignancy of uncertain differentiation with both a characteristic chromosomal translocation and immunohistochemical profile. It most commonly presents with vague abdominal symptoms, most often in young, Caucasian males. Advanced disease on diagnosis with multiple intra-abdominal lesions is common. While typically an intra-abdominal malignancy, cases of DSRCT arising from lung, central nervous system, nasal sinus and paratesticular lesions have been reported rarely. Presentation as a primary testicular mass is exceedingly rare and poses a diagnostic challenge both in the clinical and pathological setting, as this tumour can mimic many other entities