Trends in Cultural Journalism

Various studies report that cultural journalism increasingly focuses on service and entertainment instead of serious arts coverage. The press prioritizes popular culture over traditional high arts to growing extent. However, this shift in journalistic attention doesn’t necessarily signify a straightforward decline in aesthetic standards, as popular cultural forms like film have developed along the lines of high art principles in the past decades. This article charts trends in American, Dutch, French, and German film journalism between 1955 and 2005. It demonstrates that coverage is typified by a serious aesthetic approach from the 1970s onwards. The principles of art are seen to steer journalists’ attention to an important degree: the review remains the predominant journalistic genre, and newspapers devote more attention to films by prestigious directors than strictly commercial moviemakers. As such, film’s prominence in the press doesn’t seem to indicate a decline in serious cultural journalism but rather a revaluation of a popular cultural form

First experiences with the ATLAS Pixel Detector Control System at the Combined Test Beam 2004

Detector control systems (DCS) include the read out, control and supervision of hardware devices as well as the monitoring of external systems like cooling system and the processing of control data. The implementation of such a system in the final experiment has also to provide the communication with the trigger and data acquisition system (TDAQ). In addition, conditions data which describe the status of the pixel detector modules and their environment must be logged and stored in a common LHC wide database system. At the combined test beam all ATLAS subdetectors were operated together for the first time over a longer period. To ensure the functionality of the pixel detector a control system was set up. We describe the architecture chosen for the pixel detector control system, the interfaces to hardware devices, the interfaces to the users and the performance of our system. The embedding of the DCS in the common infrastructure of the combined test beam and also its communication with surrounding systems will be discussed in some detail.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, Pixel 2005 proceedings preprin

Optical Readout in a Multi-Module System Test for the ATLAS Pixel Detector

The innermost part of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, CERN, will be a pixel detector. The command messages and the readout data of the detector are transmitted over an optical data path. The readout chain consists of many components which are produced at several locations around the world, and must work together in the pixel detector. To verify that these parts are working together as expected a system test has been built up. In this paper the system test setup and the operation of the readout chain is described. Also, some results of tests using the final pixel detector readout chain are given.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, Pixel 2005 proceedings preprin

Validation Studies of the ATLAS Pixel Detector Control System

The ATLAS pixel detector consists of 1744 identical silicon pixel modules arranged in three barrel layers providing coverage for the central region, and three disk layers on either side of the primary interaction point providing coverage of the forward regions. Once deployed into the experiment, the detector will employ optical data transfer, with the requisite powering being provided by a complex system of commercial and custom-made power supplies. However, during normal performance and production tests in the laboratory, only single modules are operated and electrical readout is used. In addition, standard laboratory power supplies are used. In contrast to these normal tests, the data discussed here was obtained from a multi-module assembly which was powered and read out using production items: the optical data path, the final design power supply system using close to final services, and the Detector Control System (DCS). To demonstrate the functionality of the pixel detector system a stepwise transition was made from the normal laboratory readout and power supply systems to the ones foreseen for the experiment, with validation of the data obtained at each transition.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, proceedings for the Pixel2005 worksho

Dietary L-carnitine supplementation modifies blood parameters of mid-lactating dairy cows during standardized lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation

L-carnitine, available as feed additive, is essential for the beta-oxidation of free fatty acids in the mitochondrial matrix. It provides energy to immune cells and may positively impact the functionality of leukocytes during the acute phase response, a situation of high energy demand. To test this hypothesis, German Holstein cows were assigned to a control group (CON, n = 26) and an L-carnitine supplemented group (CAR, n = 27, rumen-protected L-carnitine product: 125 g/cow/d, corresponded to total L-carnitine intake: 25 g/cow/d, supplied with concentrate) and received an intravenous bolus injection of lipopolysaccharides (LPS, 0.5 µg/kg body weight, E. coli) on day 111 postpartum as a model of standardized systemic inflammation. Blood samples were collected from day 1 ante injectionem until day 14 post injectionem (pi), with frequent sampling through an indwelling venous catheter from 0.5 h pi to 12 h pi. All parameters of the white blood cell count responded significantly to LPS, while only a few parameters were affected by L-carnitine supplementation. The mean eosinophil count, as well as the percentage of basophils were significantly higher in CAR than in CON over time, which may be due to an increased membrane stability. However, phagocytosis and production of reactive oxygen species by leukocytes remained unchanged following L-carnitine supplementation. In conclusion, although supplementation with 25 g L-carnitine per cow and day resulted in increased proportions of specific leukocyte populations, it had only minor effects on the functional parameters studied in mid-lactating dairy cows during LPS-induced inflammation, and there was no evidence of direct improvement of immune functionality

Towards the final ATLAS Pixel Detector Control System

The innermost part of the ATLAS experiment is a pixel detector, built by 1744 individual detector modules. To operate the modules, readout electronics, and other detector components, a complex power supply and detector control system (DCS) is necessary. This includes a large number of crates, which house the different hardware components as well as a PC net where the different control projects are running. To test the final detector after its assembly before it is installed in the ATLAS cavern, a large test system has been set up at CERN, which allows to operate ca. 10 % of the detector in parallel. Since autumn 2006 this system is in permanent operation. As nearly everywhere the final control hardware is used, its reliability could be investigated and the performance of the control software could be studied. After an overview on our DCS hardware, we report on the experience with the control software

Detoxifying deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated feedstuff : consequences of sodium sulphite (SoS) treatment on performance and blood parameters in fattening pigs

A 10-week feeding experiment was carried out examining the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated maize treated with different sodium sulphite (SoS) concentrations on performance, health and DON-plasma concentrations in fattening pigs. Two maize batches were used: background-contaminated (CON, 0.73 mg/kg maize) and Fusarium-toxin contaminated (DON, 44.45 mg/kg maize) maize. Both were wet preserved at 20% moisture content, with one of three (0.0, 2.5, 5.0 g/kg maize) sodium sulphite concentrations and propionic acid (15%). Each maize batch was then mixed into a barley-wheat-based diet at a proportion of 10%, resulting in the following 6 feeding groups: CON− (CON + 0.0 g SoS/kg maize), CON2.5 (CON + 2.5 g SoS/kg maize), CON5.0 (CON + 5.0 g SoS/kg maize), DON- (DON + 0.0 g SoS/kg maize), DON2.5 (DON + 2.5 g SoS/kg maize) and DON5.0 (DON + 5.0 g SoS/kg maize). Dietary DON concentration was reduced by ~ 36% in group DON2.5 and ~ 63% in group DON5.0. There was no impact on ZEN concentration in the diets due to SoS treatment. Pigs receiving diet DON- showed markedly lower feed intake (FI) compared to those fed the control diets. With SoS-treatment of maize, FI of pigs fed the DON diet (DON5.0: 3.35 kg/d) were comparable to that control (CON−: 3.30 kg/day), and these effects were also reflected in live weight gain. There were some effects of SoS, DON or their interaction on serum urea, cholesterol and albumin, but always within the physiological range and thus likely negligible. SoS wet preservation of Fusarium-toxin contaminated maize successfully detoxified DON to its innocuous sulfonates, thus restoring impaired performance in fatteners

Machine-assisted cultivation and analysis of biofilms

Biofilms are the natural form of life of the majority of microorganisms. These multispecies consortia are intensively studied not only for their effects on health and environment but also because they have an enormous potential as tools for biotechnological processes. Further exploration and exploitation of these complex systems will benefit from technical solutions that enable integrated, machine-assisted cultivation and analysis. We here introduce a microfluidic platform, where readily available microfluidic chips are connected by automated liquid handling with analysis instrumentation, such as fluorescence detection, microscopy, chromatography and optical coherence tomography. The system is operable under oxic and anoxic conditions, allowing for different gases and nutrients as feeding sources and it offers high spatiotemporal resolution in the analysis of metabolites and biofilm composition. We demonstrate the platform’s performance by monitoring the productivity of biofilms as well as the spatial organization of two bacterial species in a co-culture, which is driven by chemical gradients along the microfluidic channel

Enhanced external counter pulsation in treatment of refractory angina pectoris: two year outcome and baseline factors associated with treatment failure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive treatment option for patients with refractory angina pectoris ineligible to further traditional treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of EECP on patients at a Scandinavian medical centre and to investigate if outcome can be predicted by analysing baseline factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>86 consecutive patients (70 male, 16 female) were treated with EECP and followed for two years post treatment. Canadian cardiovascular society (CCS) class was analysed, and medication and adverse clinical events were researched prior to EECP, at the end of the treatment, and at six, 12 and 24 months thereafter. Patients responding to therapy by improving at least one CCS class were compared with those who failed to respond. Any differences in background factors were recorded and analysed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>79% of the patients responded to therapy by improving at least one CCS class. In general, the CCS class improved by one class after EECP treatment (3.05 before versus 2.14 after treatment). A total of 61.5% of the initial responders showed sustained improvement at the 12 month follow-up while 29% presented sustained improvement after 24 months. Treatment was most effective among patients suffering from CCS class III-IV angina pectoris, while patients suffering from CCS class II angina pectoris improved transiently but failed to show sustained improvement after the 12 month follow-up. Diabetes mellitus and calcium channel antagonists were more common among the non-responders (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study confirms the safety and efficiency of EECP as a treatment option for patients suffering from refractory angina pectoris. The therapy is most beneficial in patients suffering from severe angina (CCS III-IV) while sustained response to therapy could not be verified among patients suffering from CCS class II angina pectoris.</p