Phylodynamic Patterns in Pathogen Ecology and Evolution.

The rapid evolution of viral pathogens requires us to consider epidemiological, ecological and evolutionary processes as coupled together and occurring at the same timescale. Rotavirus and influenza account for high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide and are two important examples of such dynamics. In this work, I investigate the different evolutionary and ecological processes that shape the antigenic structure and phylogenetic characteristics of these two viruses. In the first part of my work, I use a theoretical model of influenza A/H3N2 to identify the relative importance of antigenic novelty, competition between lineages, and changes in the susceptibility of the host population to circulating strains in determining the evolutionary and epidemiological trajectory of the virus. I develop this model further to correspond with patterns of immunity and infection observed in rotavirus, and investigate how reassortment, the swapping of gene segments between viruses, influences the formation and replacement of rotavirus genotypes through immune mediated processes. In the second part of my work, I use a tool (SeasMig), which I developed, to infer alternative stochastically generated migration and mutation events along phylogenetic trees in a Bayesian manner. Using SeasMig, I first show how the seasonality of A/H3N2 influenza incidence corresponds to rates of immigration and emigration of the virus. Subsequently, I tease out the different evolutionary and ecological processes, which drive changes in the US rotavirus population following onset of routine vaccination. My work has implications for identifying likely evolutionary mechanisms, which may lead to reduced vaccine efficacy, and for vaccine strain selection.PhDBioinformaticsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113494/1/dzinder_1.pd

“Strictly Come Dancing and the Postmodern Musical Aesthetic.”

Strictly Come Dancing sits neatly in the Guilty Pleasures category for many viewers due to its postmodern position as a talent show/reality show/Musical hybrid. While many of the series’ segments appear to celebrate and endorse thoughtless entertainment, Strictly actually maintains a structural sophistication hidden by its lightweight facade. In fact, the show stations itself to draw viewers into the “lives” of its contestants by swinging between reality-style segments related to the challenges of ballroom training as well as silly skits that remind the audience that the competition is all in fun, only to shift to Musical performances on the night of each competition. Through a close reading of the show, my paper will explain how the appeal of Strictly Come Dancing lies partly in its dependence on a narrative structure that recalls the classic Hollywood Musical, albeit with a postmodern spin. When Rick Altman defined the Hollywood Film Musical for a generation of scholars as having a double diegesis, he outlined the relationship between the story elements and the musical sequences in the classic film Musical. Altman’s theory can be taken to a new level when applied to Strictly Come Dancing, a series that has proven itself a highly viable substitute for the virtually extinct film Musical genre, by increasing the external audience’s interest in ballroom dancing through a structure I will define as a quadruple diegesis. Strictly’s episodic construction combines Musical sequences (the competitive dancing and special guest musical performances), with narrative (the scripted skits), reality show scenes (the training), and talent show segments (the judging by both internal and external audiences). This complex structure helps to account for the popularity of Strictly Come Dancing, a television series celebrated by a contemporary audience that long ago tired of Hollywood’s attempts to create Musical film fantasies

Crafting a Family

In this paper I uncover a set of conflicting desires within me. As I long for a family and community I am torn between accepted patience and frustrated impatience. I create objects for my descendants using historical craft techniques to connect to craftspeople of the past while reaching to future generations. I dream of the family who will one day join me at my table to use these objects, and for now, I begin my traditions proudly on my own

“The Dream it’s Always Been: Fractured Narratives in Awake.”

Michael Britton, the psychologically damaged protagonist of the NBC series Awake, creates his own alternate reality as a subconscious response to his grief following a car accident that took the life of either his wife or his son. In the series’ “Pilot”, the viewer learns through Britton’s visits to two separate therapists in two separate realities, that he lives with his wife until he goes to sleep, only to awake the next day a widow, living at home with his son. The series’ season-long mystery questions whether the world he experiences with his wife and his male therapist, or the one he experiences with his son and his female therapist, denotes true reality. Awake utilizes a complex narrative structure that mirrors Britton’s psyche as he undertakes separate investigations in each of his realities as a police detective. While the story design of Awake initially depends on a dual episodic case-of-the-week construct, where his potential dream(s) offer clues that assist him in solving the mysteries of individual police cases in two different realities, the viewer is led to question why Britton begins to experience hallucinations in each reality, and whether these visions infer that a psychological breakdown may be imminent. The proposed essay offers a close-reading of the narrative construct of Awake, considering how the series’ dystopic viewpoint counters the ambiguous thematic concerns of more popular media texts that include alternate realities, including Lost (2004 – 2010), Inception (2010) and Fringe (2008 – 2013)

“Osama bin Laden Ain’t Here: Justified as a Post-9/11 Western."

Justified, a postmodern televised Western narrative that unfolds in the contemporary South, utilizes character tropes defined by America’s response to the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. While the classic Western focuses on Anglo-American conflicts with the savage “Other” on the frontier, Raylan Givens, the protagonist of Justified, fights localized enemies with which he (and the viewer) can identify. As a US Marshal, Givens’ role as a Federal officer makes him an official of the American government, and his actions and the show’s representative criminals can be read as allegorical responses to America’s foreign and domestic policies since the 9-11 attacks. The proposed paper will give a close-reading of the two seasons of the FX series Justified, contextualizing the show’s character and narrative development as part of a new wave of Westerns released after 9-11 which engage morally ambivalent space

Common myths about electrosurgery

The electrosurgery device market is lucrative and highly competitive. Several device manufacturers exist, and many creative techniques are used to differentiate products. Some device manufacturers make claims in marketing campaigns that are difficult to reconcile with the laws of physics or basic physiology. The variety of claims may be confusing to surgeons desiring to purchase new electrosurgical products. Understanding a few basic principles of electrosurgery physics can allow a surgeon to be a more informed consumer of electrosurgical products. This article discusses the basic physics of electrosurgery and then addresses several common misconceptions about electrosurgery and electrosurgical device

In My Own Right

Jenny Silverston, the first female chairperson of a 176-year-old Orthodox Jewish Synagogue in Cheltenham, England, works with her close friend, Abigail Fisher, to save a religious community formerly dependent on men to survive

Espaces publics et médiations culturelles, les nouveau défis des territoires urbains: une étude comparative de l'influence des festivals Animai et Timages sur l'espace public veveysan

La prolifération d’actions culturelles et sociales innovantes dans les territoires urbains rend compte d’une désinstitutionnalisation des pratiques professionnelles. Celles-ci privilégiant de plus en plus l’espace public comme lieu de travail et mobilisant la culture comme outil d’intervention. Ce travail s’est donc intéressé à la relation existant entre des espaces publics et des projets culturels en basant l’analyse sur deux concepts théoriques. Premièrement, l’espace public, qui doit être compris à la fois comme un lieu formellement défini par des limites architecturales et informellement incarné dans les partages humains et les débats d’idées. Deuxièmement, la médiation culturelle, concept relativement jeune, faisant davantage référence, non pas à un cadre théorique clair, mais à des pratiques professionnelles travaillant les liens pouvant exister entre l’art et la participation sociale ainsi qu’entre la culture et le développement local

Um estudo sobre o contexto: aproximações entre psicanálise e semântica

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Literatura.Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar possíveis aproximações teóricas entre o método psicanalítico e a semântica cognitiva sobre a noção de contexto estabelecida a partir da pragmática de Sperber e Wilson, na Teoria de Relevância. Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre a psicanálise, a semântica e a Teoria de Relevância a fim de sustentar teoricamente o tema. Este estudo sustenta-se pela pesquisa bibliográfica e exploratória, como procedimentos metodológicos adotados. Verificou-se que, nos espaços de articulação identificados, existem pontos de convergência teórica entre as duas áreas do conhecimento, principalmente no que se refere à utilização da noção de contexto como uma ferramenta de auxílio para a interpretação psicanalítica. Porém, identificou-se também pontos de divergência teórica no que tange a relação entre o contexto e o ato psicanalítico. Sugere-se pesquisas que envolvam coleta de dados para fundamentar com maior fidedignidade os resultados deste estudo. This paper has as objective identify possible theoretical approaches between the psychoanalitical method and the cognitive semantics on the notion of context established from pragmatic of Sperber and Wilson, in the Theory of Relevance. Thus, it was made a literature revision about psychoanalysis, the semantics and the Theory of Relevance with the finality to support theoretically the theme. This study is supported by bibliographical and exploratory research, as methodological procedures. It was verified that in the articulation spaces identified, there are points of theoretical convergence between the two areas of knowledge, mainly about the utilization of the context notion as a tool to auxiliate the psychoanalytical interpretation. However, it was also identified points of theoretical divergence in what it refers about the relation between the context and the psychoanalitical act. Empirical researches to sustent with more reliability the results of this study are suggested