A comedy of anguish: a study of the plays of Eugene Ionesco

The antithetical title A Comedy of Anguish has been selected to represent the ironic manner and tone in which Ionesco has sought to release from his subconscious fears, fears common to humanity in every age. His unmitigated anguish serves as a reminder of the consequences of that scientific discovery, made long before Nietzsche’s cry "God is dead", that we are confined to the limits of time and hence desperately need to relate to a substitute for the Almighty, beyond those limits. Confronted with this dilemma, he continues to be suggesting, from La Cantatrice chauve to L’Homme aux valises, we need to reconsider our concepts of culture and reality itself. This scepticism is reflected in the theatrical experience which he conceives of as being therapeutic and non-utilitarian. In his choice of themes (chapter l), he reduces his material to fundamentals, attaching overwhelming significance to personal anecdotes, dreams and the irrational as these alone appear to him to be representative of mankind as a whole. He rejects the forces of rationalism as essentially perverted. "Marionettes" for the most part replace conventional characters (chapter 3), whilst causal necessities of plot are abandoned in favour of a rhythm of proliferation (chapter k) and language based on rational logic is dismissed as the prerogative of concierges and corrupt politicians (chapter 5). Moreover, far from being dependent on any literary text, these plays have evocatively exploited all the resources of stagecraft (chapter 6). Long after the iconoclasm of the early 1950’s; his plays continue to enjoy success. His pessimism, traditionally associated with humorists, has not wained, nor has the consistency of his thought. Within a concise thematic framework he has retained a child-like simplicity and sense of exaggeration, best suited to express the latent paradoxes and aspirations of the contemporary age

Vibrational analysis of Ag3(PO2NH)3, Na3(PO2NH)3.H2O, Na3(PO2NH)3.4H2O, [C(NH2)3]3(PO2NH)3.H2O and (NH4)4(PO2NH)4.4H2O

FT IR and FT Raman spectra of Ag3(PO2NH), (Compound I), Na3(PO2NH)3.H2O (Compound II), Na3(PO2NH)3.4H2O (Compound III), [C(NH2)3]3(PO2NH)3.H2O (Compound IV) and (NH4)4(PO2NH)4.4H2O (Compound V) are recorded and analyzed on the basis of the anions, cations and water molecules present in each of them. The PO2NH− anion ring in compound I is distorted due to the influence of Ag+ cation. Wide variation in the hydrogen bond lengths in compound III is indicated by the splitting of the v2 and v3 modes of vibration of water molecules. The NH4 ion in compound V occupies lower site symmetry and exhibits hindered rotation in the lattice. The correlations between the symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations of P-N-P bridge and the P-N-P bond angle have also been discussed

Developing new approaches to measuring NHS outputs and productivity

The Centre for Health Economics and National Institute of Economic and Social Research have recently completed a project funded by the Department of Health to improve measurement of the productivity of the NHS. The researchers have suggested better ways of measuring both outputs and inputs to improve estimates of productivity growth. Past estimates of NHS output growth have not taken account of changes in quality. The CHE/NIESR team conclude that the routine collection of health outcome data on patients is vital to measure NHS quality. They also propose making better use of existing data to quality adjust output indices to capture improvements in hospital survival rates and reductions in waiting times. With these limited adjustments the team estimate that annual NHS output growth averaged 3.79% between 1998/99 and 2003/04.The research team has also developed improved ways of measuring NHS inputs, particularly by drawing on better information about how many people are employed in the NHS and by recognising that staff are becoming increasingly better qualified. There have been substantial increases in staffing levels, pharmaceutical use and investment in equipment and buildings since 1998/99. The net effect of this growth in both outputs and inputs is that, according to the research team’s estimates, NHS productivity declined by about 1.59% a year since 1998/99. This is not out of line with estimates of growth rates in other UK and US service sectors, including insurance and business services. Nor is it surprising that recent years have seen negative growth in the NHS. There are at least two reasons. First, there has been an unprecedented increase in NHS expenditure. The NHS has had to employ more staff to meet the requirements of the European Working Time Directive and hospital consultants and general practitioners, in particular, have benefited from new pay awards.Second, the NHS collects very little information about what actually happens to patients as a result of their contact with the health service. Until there is routine collection of health outcomes data, measurement of the quality of NHS output will remain partial and productivity growth is likely to be underestimated.

The shear-driven Rayleigh problem for generalised Newtonian fluids

We consider a variant of the classical ‘Rayleigh problem’ (‘Stokes’s first problem’) in which a semi-infinite region of initially quiescent fluid is mobilised by a shear stress applied suddenly to its boundary. We show that self-similar solutions for the fluid velocity are available for any generalised Newtonian fluid, regardless of its constitutive law. We demonstrate how these solutions may be used to provide insight into some generic questions about the behaviour of unsteady, non-Newtonian boundary layers, and in particular the effect of shear thinning or thickening on the thickness of a boundary layer

Ewing Brass Quintet: Herb Koerselman, Trumpet; Kirby Reese, Trumpet; Philip Hillstrom, Horn; Charles Stokes, Trombone; Ed Livingston, Tuba; April 13, 1976

Center for the Visual Arts, Art GalleryTuesday EveningApril 13, 19768:15 p.m

Ewing Brass Quintet: Herb Koerselman, Trumpet; Kirby Reese, Trumpet; John Rehm, Trombone; Charles Stokes, Trombone; Philip Hillstrom, Horn; October 26, 1975

Hayden AuditoriumSunday EveningOctober 26, 19758:15 p.m

From fly-by-wire to drive-by-wire: Safety implications of automation in vehicles

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the current trend in automobile engineering toward automation of many of the functions previously performed by the driver. Working on the assumption that automation in aviation represents the basic model for driver automation, the costs and benefits of automation in aviation are explored as a means of establishing where automation of drivers' tasks are likely to yield benefits. It is concluded that there are areas where automation can provide benefits to the driver, but there are other areas where this is unlikely to be the case. Automation per se does not guarantee success, and therefore it becomes vital to involve Human Factors into design to identify where automation of driver functions can be allocated with a beneficial outcome for driving performance

Versatile, Cheap, Readily Modifiable Sample Delivery Method for Analysis of Air-/Moisture-Sensitive Samples Using Atmospheric Pressure Solids Analysis Probe Mass Spectrometry

A cheap, versatile, readily modified, and reusable glass probe system enabling delivery of solid air-/moisture-sensitive samples for mass spectrometric (MS) analysis using an Atmospheric pressure Solids Analysis Probe (ASAP) is described. The simplicity of the design allows quick and easy ASAP MS analyses of sensitive solid and liquid samples without the need for any modifications to commercially available vertically loaded ASAP mass spectrometers. A comparison of ASAP mass spectra obtained for metal complexes under air and an inert atmosphere is given

SUPREME-HN: a retrospective biomarker study assessing the prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

BACKGROUND:Programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression on tumor cells (TCs) is associated with improved survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with immunotherapy, although its role as a prognostic factor is controversial. This study investigates whether tumoral expression of PD-L1 is a prognostic marker in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) HNSCC treated with standard chemotherapy. METHODS:This retrospective, multicenter, noninterventional study assessed PD-L1 expression on archival R/M HNSCC tissue samples using the VENTANA PD-L1 (SP263) Assay. PD-L1 high was defined as PD-L1 staining of ≥ 25% TC, with exploratory scoring at TC ≥ 10% and TC ≥ 50%. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the prognostic value of PD-L1 status in terms of overall survival (OS) in patients with R/M HNSCC. RESULTS:412 patients (median age, 62.0 years; 79.9% male; 88.2% Caucasian) were included from 19 sites in seven countries. 132 patients (32.0%) had TC ≥ 25% PD-L1 expression; 199 patients (48.3%) and 85 patients (20.6%) had TC ≥ 10% and ≥ 50%, respectively. OS did not differ significantly across PD-L1 expression (at TC ≥ 25% cutoff median OS: 8.2 months vs TC < 25%, 10.1 months, P = 0.55) or the ≥ 10% and ≥ 50% cutoffs (at TC ≥ 10%, median OS: 9.6 months vs TC < 10%, 9.4 months, P = 0.32, and at TC ≥ 50%, median OS 7.9 vs TC < 50%, 10.0 months, P = 0.39, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:PD-L1 expression, assessed using the VENTANA PD-L1 (SP263) Assay, was not prognostic of OS in patients with R/M HNSCC treated with standard of care chemotherapies. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02543476. Registered September 4, 2015

A theoretical study of the response of vascular tumours to different types of chemotherapy

In this paper we formulate and explore a mathematical model to study continuous infusion of a vascular tumour with isolated and combined blood-borne chemotherapies. The mathematical model comprises a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that describe the evolution of the healthy (host) cells, the tumour cells and the tumour vasculature, coupled with distribution of a generic angiogenic stimulant (TAF) and blood-borne oxygen. A novel aspect of our model is the presence of blood-borne chemotherapeutic drugs which target different aspects of tumour growth (cf. proliferating cells, the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature). We run exhaustive numerical simulations in order to compare vascular tumour growth before and following therapy. Our results suggest that continuous exposure to anti-proliferative drug will result in the vascular tumour being cleared, becoming growth-arrested or growing at a reduced rate, the outcome depending on the drug’s potency and its rate of uptake. When the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature are targeted by the therapy, tumour elimination can not occur: at best vascular growth is retarded and the tumour reverts to an avascular form. Application of a combined treatment that destroys the vasculature and the TAF, yields results that resemble those achieved following successful treatment with anti-TAF or anti-vascular therapy. In contrast, combining anti-proliferative therapy with anti-TAF or antivascular therapy can eliminate the vascular tumour. In conclusion, our results suggest that tumour growth and the time of tumour clearance are highly sensitive to the specific combinations of anti-proliferative, anti-TAF and anti-vascular drugs