3,003 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
A History of Opera in Boston
This thesis examines the cultural context of opera in Boston between the years 1620 to 2010. Specifically, I look at how the Boston Opera Company was founded, its existence, and its ultimate demise. The rise of opera in colonial Boston is also explored and especially how the immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries influenced the city. Around this time of changing demographics Eben D. Jordan, Jr., of Jordan Marsh Co. decided to build an opera house for the city of Boston.
The effects that Puritanism had on music and the culture of Boston during its early years are also explored. Then Boston musical independence is catalogued about how it relates to the unique form of music that did form during this time, starting with the First New England School.
During the mid to late nineteenth century massive immigration took place that changed this country, especially Boston. The modern United States was formed during this time, including its music. Boston, starting in the 1830’s had numerous societies and schools disseminating music to the populace. This in turn led to the creation of the Boston Opera Company in 1908.
The Boston Opera Company was founded by Eben D. Jordan of Jordan Marsh Co. He decided that the city of Boston needed a proper opera company, so he paid for the construction of the house and operation. Unfortunately, the populace soon lost interest and the company made in ill-fated trip to Paris in 1914. This trip, coupled with the start of WWI, forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 1915.
There are definite cultural considerations as to why the opera company was unable to make itself part of the fabric of the city, like the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is very much a part of the city and there is no reason why opera should not be with that part either.
Boston has a very large metropolitan area and with the proper guidance and determination, opera could be supported here year round. A new house would have to be built, since the original opera house was torn down in 1958. With the proper determination, however, it could be done for permanent opera in the city
On the calibration of the relation between geometric albedo and polarimetric properties for the asteroids
We present a new extensive analysis of the old problem of finding a
satisfactory calibration of the relation between the geometric albedo and some
measurable polarization properties of the asteroids. To achieve our goals, we
use all polarimetric data at our disposal. For the purposes of calibration, we
use a limited sample of objects for which we can be confident to know the
albedo with good accuracy, according to previous investigations of other
authors. We find a new set of updated calibration coefficients for the
classical slope - albedo relation, but we generalize our analysis and we
consider also alternative possibilities, including the use of other
polarimetric parameters, one being proposed here for the first time, and the
possibility to exclude from best-fit analyzes the asteroids having low albedos.
We also consider a possible parabolic fit of the whole set of data.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
The Complement System at the Embryo Implantation Site: Friend or Foe?
An inflammatory-like process and vascular remodeling represent the main changes that occur in decidua in the early phase of pregnancy. These changes are partly induced by trophoblast cells that colonize the decidua and are also contributed by the complement system, which can easily be activated as a result of tissue remodeling. Local control by several complement regulators including surface-bound and soluble molecules is critical to prevent complement-mediated tissue damage in normal pregnancy. C7 expressed on the endothelial cells (ECs) surface has been recognized as a novel complement regulator involved in the control of the proinflammatory effect of the terminal complement complex. The protective role of placental complement regulators in pregnancy is underscored by the recent finding of an association of preeclampsia with mutations in the genes encoding for some of these proteins. Complement components produced at feto-maternal interface serve an important function in placental development. C1q synthesized by decidual ECs and expressed on the cell surface is particularly important in this regard because it acts as a molecular bridge between endovascular trophoblast and ECs. C1q is also produced by extravillous trophoblast and is used to favor trophoblast migration through the decidua. Defective expression of C1q by trophoblast is associated with impaired trophoblast invasion of decidua and may have important implications in pregnancy disorders such as preeclampsia characterized by reduced vascular remodeling
Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE I: Preliminary Albedos and Diameters
We present initial results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
(WISE), a four-band all-sky thermal infrared survey that produces data well
suited to measuring the physical properties of asteroids, and the NEOWISE
enhancement to the WISE mission allowing for detailed study of Solar system
objects. Using a NEATM thermal model fitting routine we compute diameters for
over 100,000 Main Belt asteroids from their IR thermal flux, with errors better
than 10%. We then incorporate literature values of visible measurements (in the
form of the H absolute magnitude) to determine albedos. Using these data we
investigate the albedo and diameter distributions of the Main Belt. As observed
previously, we find a change in the average albedo when comparing the inner,
middle, and outer portions of the Main Belt. We also confirm that the albedo
distribution of each region is strongly bimodal. We observe groupings of
objects with similar albedos in regions of the Main Belt associated with
dynamical breakup families. Asteroid families typically show a characteristic
albedo for all members, but there are notable exceptions to this. This paper is
the first look at the Main Belt asteroids in the WISE data, and only represents
the preliminary, observed raw size and albedo distributions for the populations
considered. These distributions are subject to survey biases inherent to the
NEOWISE dataset and cannot yet be interpreted as describing the true
populations; the debiased size and albedo distributions will be the subject of
the next paper in this series.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. Online table to also appear on the publisher's
websit
WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Jovian Trojans: Preliminary Results
We present the preliminary analysis of over 1739 known and 349 candidate
Jovian Trojans observed by the NEOWISE component of the Wide-field Infrared
Survey Explorer (WISE). With this survey the available diameters, albedos and
beaming parameters for the Jovian Trojans have been increased by more than an
order of magnitude compared to previous surveys. We find that the Jovian Trojan
population is very homogenous for sizes larger than km (close to the
detection limit of WISE for these objects). The observed sample consists almost
exclusively of low albedo objects, having a mean albedo value of .
The beaming parameter was also derived for a large fraction of the observed
sample, and it is also very homogenous with an observed mean value of
. Preliminary debiasing of the survey shows our observed sample is
consistent with the leading cloud containing more objects than the trailing
cloud. We estimate the fraction to be N(leading)/N(trailing) , lower than the value derived by others.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal. Electronic table
will be available at the publishers websit
Recommended from our members
L-band ice-sheet brightness temperatures at Dome C, Antarctica: spectral emission modelling, temporal stability and impact of the ionosphere
The temporal thermal stability, size, structure and spatial uniformity of Antarctic Plateau regions such as Dome C make them ideal candidates for external calibration and validation, or radiometric performance monitoring of planned space-borne L-band radiometers such as the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) radiometer. As experimental observations do not exist at this frequency, a combination of historical Ka-, X- and C-band data are used together with electromagnetic and ionospheric models to extrapolate to this longer wavelength. Dome C is demonstrated to exhibit negligible seasonal variability (<0.1 K) and may prove to be a suitable candidate, provided the effects of atmospheric and ionospheric perturbations can be mitigated
Alternative production systems for high-value horticultural crops
As concern about the adverse effects of pesticides grows, interest in alternative production methods for horticultural crops is increasing. In this project, strawberries and tomatoes, two important fruit and vegetable crops in Iowa, were studied under several alternative production approaches to determine how yields, quality, and income for growers could be maintained in comparison with conventional growing practices. One approach used integrated crop management strategies; another employed organic practices. A third used corn gluten meal, a natural fertilizer and weed control material. Results indicate that alternative production systems can provide acceptable June-beaming strawberry and tomato crop yields, quality, and income for Iowa growers. If biological controls for tarnished plant bug can be developed, everbearing strawberries may have acceptable yields as well
- …