Broadway in the desert: Defining success for the Broadway musical on the Las Vegas Strip

This thesis will focus on the Broadway musical and its introduction onto the Las Vegas Strip, its growth in popularity as a viable entertainment choice for the tourist industry, and its current affiliation with specific resorts. Several Broadway musicals will be examined in an effort to discover elements contributing toward their success. I will briefly reflect upon the history of Broadway musicals as related to the Las Vegas Strip. Next I will explore the recent trend of resort casinos investing in venues aimed at housing a specific musical. The majority of my research information will be obtained from interviews, local periodicals and the Las Vegas Visitor and Convention Center. When this data is compiled and evaluated, I hope that I will be able to define the elements responsible for the success or lack thereof, the Broadway musical on the Las Vegas Strip

Reducing Anxiety in Colposcopy Patients: The Effects of Matching Level of Information and Preferred Coping Style

Preparatory information does not always reduce anxiety in patients scheduled for a stressful medical procedure. This study assessed the effects of information-based interventions presented intra-procedurally and monitoring coping style on distress and anxiety in patients undergoing an invasive diagnostic procedure to examine pre-cancerous cervical lesions. One hundred and fifty five first-time colposcopy patients were randomly assigned to an information-avoidant (relaxation or cognitive distraction), information-high (video colposcopy), or a control condition. Main outcome measures included state anxiety, mood, physiological and observational measures of distress. Psychophysiological measures of anxiety significantly reduced over time, with the highest measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and heart rate obtained at baseline. A mixed analysis of variance demonstrated a significant time × information condition × monitoring status interaction on SBP, F(6, 294) = 4.01, p = .001. During colposcopy, low monitors exhibited significantly lower SBP than high monitors in the control condition, and high monitors displayed significantly lower SBP in the relaxation condition and the video colposcopy condition than in the control condition. There were no significant interactions between coping style and level of information on self-report measures of distress, although state anxiety and negative affect was significantly reduced following colposcopy. The results confirm that matching preferred coping style to level of information reduces physiological arousal associated with an invasive medical procedure, but mainly for patients with high monitoring coping style. Low monitors may have greater coping flexibility than high monitors, and may be able to utilise a variety of coping strategies

Effect of Communication Ability on Cardiovascular Reactivity to a Speech Task

Objectives To assess whether individuals with different levels of communication ability react differently to a speech task with regards to their cardiovascular responses, and whether communication ability has a buffering effect for cardiovascular reactivity. Methods Fifty-six female undergraduate students assessed as either high or low in communication ability on the re-standardised version of the Norton Communicator Style Questionnaire participated. After an initial resting period where baseline measures of heart rate and blood pressure were established, participants were exposed to a speech stressor which required them to prepare (3 minutes) and deliver (5 minutes) a speech about a hypothetical situation. Heart rate and blood pressure measures were recorded throughout. Results The speech task was successful in eliciting stress for all cardiovascular parameters, such that heart rate and blood pressure increased during the speech task (P=0.000). No significant interaction effects were found for effective communication ability on any of the cardiovascular measures (P> 0.05), and no significant differences were observed between high and low effective communicators on pulse or blood pressure reactivity (P> 0.05). Regarding dominant communication ability, no significant interaction effects were found for any of the cardiovascular measures (P> 0.05), nor were any significant differences observed between high and low dominant communicators on pulse or blood pressure reactivity (P> 0.05). Conclusions While the speech task was effective in eliciting stress, no stress buffering effects were found for communication ability. This suggests that the stress response was moderated by some other variable. Trait anxiety, extraversion/introversion, communication apprehension, and evaluation apprehension may have influenced the degree of reactivity. Further studies are needed to examine the role of communication ability in cardiovascular reactivity

Deconstructing active region AR10961 using STEREO, HINODE, TRACE and SOHO

Active region 10961 was observed over a five day period (2007 July 2-6) by instrumentation on-board STEREO, Hinode, TRACE and SOHO. As it progressed from Sun centre to the solar limb a comprehensive analysis of the EUV, X-ray and magnetic field data reveals clearly observable changes in the global nature of the region. Temperature analyses undertaken using STEREO EUVI double filter ratios and XRT single and combined filter ratios demonstrate an overall cooling of the region from between 1.6 - 3.0 MK to 1.0 - 2.0 MK over the five days. Similarly, Hinode EIS density measurements show a corresponding increase in density of 27%. Moss, cool (1 MK) outer loop areas and hotter core loop regions were examined and compared with potential magnetic field extrapolations from SOHO MDI magnetogram data. In particular it was found that the potential field model was able to predict the structure of the hotter X-ray loops and that the larger cool loops seen in 171 Angstrom images appeared to follow the separatrix surfaces. The reasons behind the high density moss regions only observed on one side of the active region are examined further

Bildungshaus Mariatrost offenes Forum für Weiterbildung und Dialog der Diözese Graz-Seckau

Basilika Mariatrost und Bildungshaus Mariatros

Streptococcus pneumoniae NanC. Structural insights into the specificity and mechanism of a sialidase that produces a sialidase inhibitor

This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) and the Medical Research Council (UK).Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important human pathogen that causes a range of disease states. Sialidases are important bacterial virulence factors. There are three pneumococcal sialidases: NanA, NanB, and NanC. NanC is an unusual sialidase in that its primary reaction product is 2-deoxy-2,3-didehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac2en, also known as DANA), a nonspecific hydrolytic sialidase inhibitor. The production of Neu5Ac2en from α2-3-linked sialosides by the catalytic domain is confirmed within a crystal structure. A covalent complex with 3-fluoro-β-N-acetylneuraminic acid is also presented, suggesting a common mechanism with other sialidases up to the final step of product formation. A conformation change in an active site hydrophobic loop on ligand binding constricts the entrance to the active site. In addition, the distance between the catalytic acid/base (Asp-315) and the ligand anomeric carbon is unusually short. These features facilitate a novel sialidase reaction in which the final step of product formation is direct abstraction of the C3 proton by the active site aspartic acid, forming Neu5Ac2en. NanC also possesses a carbohydrate-binding module, which is shown to bind α2-3- and α2-6-linked sialosides, as well as N-acetylneuraminic acid, which is captured in the crystal structure following hydration of Neu5Ac2en by NanC. Overall, the pneumococcal sialidases show remarkable mechanistic diversity while maintaining a common structural scaffold.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Comparing the effects of an acute bout of physical exercise with an acute bout of interactive mental and physical exercise on electrophysiology and executive functioning in younger and older adults

Background Physical exercise has been shown to improve cognitive and neural functioning in older adults. Aims and methods The current study compared the effects of an acute bout of physical exercise with a bout of interactive mental and physical exercise (i.e., “exergaming”) on executive (Stroop) task performance and event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes in younger and older adults. Results Results revealed enhanced executive task performance in younger and older adults after exercise, with no differences in performance between exercise conditions. Stroop (RT) performance in older adults improved more than in younger adults from pre- to post-exercise. A significant increase in EEG amplitude from pre- to post-exercise was found at the Cz site from 320 to 700 ms post-stimulus for both younger and older adults, with older adults demonstrating a larger Stroop interference effect. While younger adults exhibited overall greater EEG amplitudes than older adults, they showed no differences between congruent and incongruent trials (i.e., minimal interference). Compared to peers with higher BMI (body mass index), older adults with lower BMI showed a greater reduction in Stroop interference effects from pre- to post-exercise. Discussion and conclusions The beneficial effects of an acute bout of physical exercise on cognitive and neural functioning in younger and older adults were confirmed, with no difference between standard exercise and exergaming. Findings suggest that BMI, sometimes used as a proxy for fitness level, may modulate benefits that older adults derive from an acute bout of exercise. Findings have implications for future research that seeks to investigate unique effects of exergaming when compared to standard physical exercise

Measuring psychological health in the perinatal period: workshop consensus statement, 19 March 2013

This consensus statement is the result of an invited workshop funded by the society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology on Measuring Psychological Health in the Perinatal Period which was held in Oxford on the 19th March 2013. The details of those who participated in the workshop can be found at the end of the consensus statement. The workshop evolved out of recognition that a major limitation to research and practice in the perinatal period is identifying valid, reliable and clinically relevant measures of psychological health