Trends in Contemporary Art Discourse: Using Topic Models to Analyze 25 years of Professional Art Criticism

In this article, we use topic modeling to systematically explore topics discussed in contemporary art criticism. Analyzing 6965 articles published between 1991 and 2015 in Frieze, a leading art magazine, we find a plurality of topics characterizing professional discourse on contemporary art. Not surprisingly, media- or genre-specific topics such as film/cinema, photography, sculpture/installations, etc. emerge. Interestingly, extra-artistic topics also characterize contemporary art criticism: there is room for articles on new digital technology and on art and philosophy; there is also growing interest in the relationship between art and society. Our analysis shows that despite evolutions in the field of contemporary art – such as the ‘social turn’, in which contemporary art starts paying more attention to social forms and content – the prevalence of certain topics in contemporary art criticism has barely changed over the past 25 years. With this article, we demonstrate the unique value of topic modeling for cultural sociology: it is both a powerful computational technique to generate a bird’s-eye view of a huge text corpus and a heuristic device that locates key texts for further close reading

PCBs in cod (<i>Gadus morhua</i>), flounder (<i>Platichthys flesus</i>), blue mussel (<i>Mytilus edulis</i>) and brown shrimp (<i>Crangon crangon</i>) from the Belgian Continental Shelf: relation to biological parameters and trend analysis

PCB levels in cod, flounder, mussel and shrimp, covering a ten-year period, were assessed for temporal trends and their relation to biological parameters. A significant relation was found between the PCB levels on a wet weight basis and the total lipid content. Normalising on the total lipid content reduced the differences in PCB levels between the organisms and between different tissues within the organisms. A general downward trend was observed for the PCB levels on the Belgian continental shelf

PCBs in cod (<i>Gadus morhua</i>), flounder (<i>Platichthys flesus</i>), blue mussel (<i>Mytilus edulis</i>) and brown shrimp (<i>Crangon crangon</i>) from the Belgian Continental Shelf: relation to biological parameters and trend analysis

PCB levels in cod, flounder, mussel and shrimp, covering a ten-year period, were assessed for temporal trends and their relation to biological parameters. A significant relation was found between the PCB levels on a wet weight basis and the total lipid content. Normalising on the total lipid content reduced the differences in PCB levels between the organisms and between different tissues within the organisms. A general downward trend was observed for the PCB levels on the Belgian continental shelf

Heat-shock mediated overexpression of HNF1β mutations has differential effects on gene expression in the Xenopus pronephric kidney.

The transcription factor HNF1B, encoded by the TCF2 gene, plays an important role in the organogenesis of vertebrates. In humans, heterozygous mutations of HNF1B are associated with several diseases, such as pancreatic β-cell dysfunction leading to maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY5), defective kidney development, disturbed liver function, pancreas atrophy, and malformations of the genital tract. The African claw frog Xenopus laevis is an excellent model to study the processes involved in embryogenesis and organogenesis, as it can be manipulated easily with a series of methods. In the present study, we overexpressed HNF1β mutants in the developing Xenopus embryo to assess their roles during organogenesis, particularly in the developing pronephric kidney. Towards this goal, we developed a heat-shock inducible binary Cre/loxP system with activator and effector strains. Heat-shock activation of the mutant HNF1B variants P328L329del and A263insGG resulted in malformations of various organs and the affected larvae developed large edemas. Defects in the pronephros were primarily confined to malformed proximal tubules. Furthermore, the expression of the proximal tubule marker genes tmem27 and slc3a1, both involved in amino acid transport, was affected. Both P328L329del and A263insGG downregulated expression of slc3a1. In addition, P328L329del reduced tmem27 expression while A263insGG overexpression decreased expression of the chloride channel clcnk and the transcription factor pax2. Overexpression of two mutant HNF1B derivatives resulted in distinct phenotypes reflected by either a reduction or an enlargement of pronephros size. The expression of selected pronephric marker genes was differentially affected upon overexpression of HNF1B mutations. Based on our findings, we postulate that HNF1B mutations influence gene regulation upon overexpression in specific and distinct manners. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that the newly established Cre/loxP system for Xenopus embryos is an attractive alternative to examine the gene regulatory potential of transcription factors in developing pronephric kidney as exemplified here for HNF1B

Assessment of processing technologies which may improve the nutritional composition of dairy products – Overview of progress

Among consumers there is a growing demand for food products with a natural nutritional-physiological advantage over comparable conventional products. As part of an EU funded project, ALP is examining the possible impact of processing on nutritionally valuable milk components, using the example of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). The extent to which processing influences the CLA content of the end product was determined by literature research and own investigations of organic and conventional butter. Furthermore, new chemical, sensory-based and bio crystallization methods were evaluated by ALP and the University of Kassel to determine the oxidation stability of butter. In a further step the storage stability of CLA enriched and conventional butter was examined and the different methods will be compared. As a third objective a process for low-input CLA enrichment of milk fat (with a focus on alpine butter) has been developed. Since the process selected for the work is a physical enrichment process, it is accepted by international organic farming and food groups. Among the many benefits ascribed to CLA, it is believed to be an effective agent against cancer. The demand for foods with properties that promote human health is growing. The dairy industry has the opportunity to meet this demand by developing new dairy products with a nutritional-physiological function for the functional food market