Joyful, Joyful! The Musical Significance of Beethoven\u27s Ninth

Almost everyone is familiar with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the famous four note motif that represents fate knocking at the door. His Third Symphony, or “The Heroic Symphony” that was originally written for Napoleon Bonaparte, enjoyed great success and helped shape the future of classical music. However, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which contains the well-known tune “Ode to Joy” most drastically impacted classical music’s future. Beethoven was a master at taking simple ideas and combining them with past musical traditions to create something extravagant and new. This is most evident in his Ninth Symphony. In this work, Beethoven did something that was never done before when he added vocal soloists and a choir into the last movement. This symphony was based on the poem by Friedrich Schiller that emphasized universal brotherhood and unity. To express this, Beethoven added the choir and solo voices, consequently impacting the music of future composers. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conclusively bridged the gap between classical and romantic music and set the standard for future composers through his use of the choral finale combined with past musical traditions

The Rise of Opera in Monteverdi\u27s \u3cem\u3eOrfeo\u3c/em\u3e

Late Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi is known by scholars as the father of opera. While Monteverdi did not directly invent the production, we honor him as the first to successfully produce three major operas that have survived to this day. His works set the stage for future opera composers, and he drastically influenced the rise of such a large scale production. He is most known for his opera Orfeo, which has continued to be adapted to the modern stage, and performed frequently in several opera houses. What led to the creation of such an extravagant production and never before heard musical ideas? The rise of the philosophy of humanism through discovered ancient Greco-Roman scrolls provided the foundation for new thoughts and perspectives on music and human life. Monteverdi meticulously and skillfully blended these new found ideas with rising Renaissance musical forms, creating an influential art form that is still being recreated to this day

Experimental Studies of Flow-Structure Interactions in Blast/Shock-Driven Complex Flows

Blast waves, which are generated by the sudden energy release in a finite space, are encountered in various situations. As the blast/shock waves propagate, any object in its path can be damaged by the combination of significant compression behind the shock front and the subsequent complex flow-structure interactions. Insufficient protection from blast loads has led to a significant loss of human lives and enormous structural damage and economic loss, highlighting the importance of developing effective blast/shock mitigation technologies. However, due to the lack of fundamental knowledge in the flow-structure interactions in various blast/shock conditions, the conventional methods of mitigating blast/shock have relied on the brutal use of various cladding rigid/soft materials where the coupling between the flow and structures is usually ignored. Challenges remain in understanding the complex flow-structure interactions driven by the rapidly-evolving nonlinear blast/shock waves. In this thesis, a series of experiments were carried out in the East Carolina University Advanced Blast Wave Simulator (ECU-ABWS) to characterize the flow-structure interactions (particularly the flow-airfoil interactions) under various blast/shock conditions. While the incident (side-on) pressures at multiple locations along the blast propagation were measured by using a temporally-resolved multi-point pressure sensing system, the time-evolutions of blast-airfoil interactions were also qualitatively revealed by using a high-speed Schlieren imaging system. A high-accuracy force/moment measurement system was also developed and used to determine the aerodynamic responses of the airfoil structure under various blast conditions. The understanding of these interactions allows for the further development of more efficient blast/shock mitigation techniques

Electrolyte disorders

Electrolyte disorders can result in life-threatening complications. The kidneys are tasked with maintaining electrolyte homoeostasis, yet the low glomerular filtration rate of neonatal kidneys, tubular immaturity, and high extrarenal fluid losses contribute to increased occurrence of electrolyte disorders in neonates. Understanding the physiologic basis of renal electrolyte handling is crucial in identifying underlying causes and initiation of proper treatment. This article reviews key aspects of renal physiology, the diagnostic workup of disorders of plasma sodium and potassium, and the appropriate treatment, in addition to inherited disorders associated with neonatal electrolyte disturbances that illuminate the physiology of renal electrolyte handling

Phase variation in salmonella : analysis of the controlling element of H2 gene expression : gene expression, recombinational control, phase variation, DNA inversion

In the phase variation system of Salmonella, the alternative expression of Hl and H2 flagella is controlled by a region of DNA adjacent to the H2 structural gene known as the Phase Determinant. The Phase Determinant regulates H2 gene activity via a site specific recombinational event. Electron microscopic evidence and restriction endonuclease site mapping indicate that the recombinational event results in an inversion of a region of DNA 800 bp (base pairs) in length. The inversion process does not depend on the RecA recombinational pathway of E. coli. Plasmids have been constructed in which the expression of non-related genes appear to be under phase variation control. These plasmids have provided evidence concerning the direction of transcription of the H2 structural gene and the position of the H2 promoter.JANINE ZIEG, MICHAEL SI LVERMAN, MARCIA HILMEN and MELVIN SIMON, Department of Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

A chemical genetic approach reveals distinct EphB signaling mechanisms during brain development.

EphB receptor tyrosine kinases control multiple steps in nervous system development. However, it remains unclear whether EphBs regulate these different developmental processes directly or indirectly. In addition, given that EphBs signal through multiple mechanisms, it has been challenging to define which signaling functions of EphBs regulate particular developmental events. To address these issues, we engineered triple knock-in mice in which the kinase activity of three neuronally expressed EphBs can be rapidly, reversibly and specifically blocked. We found that the tyrosine kinase activity of EphBs was required for axon guidance in vivo. In contrast, EphB-mediated synaptogenesis occurred normally when the kinase activity of EphBs was inhibited, suggesting that EphBs mediate synapse development by an EphB tyrosine kinase-independent mechanism. Taken together, our data indicate that EphBs control axon guidance and synaptogenesis by distinct mechanisms and provide a new mouse model for dissecting EphB function in development and disease

Syn-sedimentary to diagenetic Cu ± Co mineralization in Mesoproterozoic pyritic shale driven by magmatic-hydrothermal activity on the edge of the Great Falls tectonic zone – Black Butte, Helena Embayment, Belt-Purcell Basin, USA: Evidence from sulfide Re-Os isotope geochemistry

The ca. 1,500 to 1,325 Ma Mesoproterozoic Belt-Purcell Basin is an exceptionally preserved archive of Mesoproterozoic Earth and its paleo-environmental conditions. The Belt-Purcell Basin is also host to world-class base metal sediment-hosted mineralization produced in a variety of settings from the rift stage of basin evolution through to the subsequent influence of East Kootenay and Grenvillian orogenies. The mineral potential of this basin has not been fully realized yet. New rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) data presented here for chalcopyrite, pyrite and black shale contribute to refine a robust genetic model for the origin of the Black Butte copper ± cobalt ± silver (Cu ± Co ± Ag) deposit hosted by the ca. >1,475 Ma Newland Formation in the Helena Embayment of the Belt-Purcell Basin in Montana, USA. Chalcopyrite Re-Os data yield an isochron age (1,488 ± 34 Ma, unradiogenic initial 187Os/188 Os composition Osi-chalcopyrite = 0.13 ± 0.11) that overlaps with the geological age of the Newland Formation. Further, the Re-Os data of syn-sedimentary to diagenetic massive pyrite yield evidence of resetting with an isochron age (1,358 ± 42 Ma) coincident with the timing of the East Kootenay Orogeny. The unradiogenic Osi-chalcopyrite at ca. 1,488 Ma (0.13 ± 0.11) argues for derivation of Os from a magmatic source with a 187Os/188 Os isotopic composition inherited from the upper mantle in the Mesoproterozoic (Osmantle 1,475 Ma= 0.12 ± 0.02). The unradiogenic Osi-chalcopyrite also suggests limited contamination from a continental crustal source. This source of Os and our new sulfur isotopic signatures of chalcopyrite [–4.1 to +2.1 ‰ - VCDT] implies a dominantly magmatic source for metals. We integrate our new results and previously published geological and geochemical evidence to conceptualize a genetic model in which Cu and metals were largely contributed by moderate-temperature, reduced magmatic-hydrothermal fluids carrying reduced sulfur species with a magmatic origin and flowing as highly metalliferous fluids within the shale sequence. A subsidiary derivation of metals during thermally forced shale diagenesis is possible. Chalcopyrite mineralization replaced locally massive syn-3 sedimentary to diagenetic pyrite units close to the sediment-water interface, i.e., an ideal locus where magmatic-hydrothermal fluids could cool and the solubility of chalcopyrite would fall. We suggest that Cu mineralization was coeval with the timing of an enhanced thermal gradient in the Helena Embayment triggered until ca. 1,455 Ma by tholeiitic dike swarm that intruded into Archean basement rocks and intersected the NE–SW-trending Great Falls Tectonic Zone