The Birth of the Eternal for String Orchestra, Piano and Percussion

Title from PDF of title page, viewed February 22, 2017Dissertation advisor: Chen YiVitaThesis (D.M.A.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2016The Birth of the Eternal is a one-movement composition for string orchestra, piano and percussion. It is written as a centennial commemoration of the 1915 Armenian Genocide and honors the memory of the victims of the Genocide. The piece symbolizes rebirth and revival and accentuates the power of belief. The main aspects that contribute to the realization of the idea of the piece are its instrumentation, form, harmonic language and texture. In the piece, instrumental timbres play specific roles in regard to the message of remembering. The chimes, representing church bells, symbolize the undying memory of the martyrs of the Genocide. The static nature and the stretched sounds of the string section aim to create a feeling of the eternal and work in combination with the chimes. The piano serves as a narrator and through this part I express my own feelings and look to the past. The vibraphone aims to create a feeling of spiritual awakening in combination with the strings. It also supports the narrative function of the piano. The piece has a sectional, sequential structure that is similar to liturgy. The absence of contrasts and dramatic conflict is explained by the spiritual nature of the composition. The musical language is tonal and is based mostly on minor keys. A major key is established for the first time only at the very end of the piece, thus highlighting its main concept – moving through darkness to light. The texture is mostly light, transparent and ethereal, in accordance with the main message of the composition.Abstract -- Instrumentation -- Program notes -- The birth of the eternal -- Vit

Sustainable tourism development and monitoring in developing countries : the case of Armenia

Mestrado em Turismo, Inovação e Desenvolvimento na Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloIn the last two decades sustainability has become a central matter in tourism, giving rise to more proactive development strategies from destination management organizations, to more responsible attitudes from the tourism industry, and increased awareness and concerns from consumers. Particularly in developed countries a great emphasis has been placed on the identification of indicators that enable to understand sustainable tourism development processes and its implications. However, in developing countries, sustainability with regard to tourism is still an emerging issue. This research addresses the process of the sustainable tourism assessment in developing countries, with particular reference to Armenia, namely which indicators can be put into practice in order to help tourism organizations and tourism businesses to meet sustainability requirements and to gain the confidence of tourism markets. Secondary data analysis was conducted, both to identify the theoretical background and conceptual framework as well as to identify available data on the practical assessments carried out throughout the world with regards to tourism sustainability assessment. This research concludes by proposing the set of indicators that best fit the specific context of Armenia

Chlamydia trachomatis in women with full-term deliveries and women with abortion

Problem statement: There are some documents which support the role of some certain infections such as Chlamydia trachomatis in spontaneous abortion. As there were not data about role this bacterium in abortion in this area of IRAN, this study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in women with abortion and compare it with healthy women with no previous history of abortion. Approach: This case-control study was carried out in Shariatee hospital of Hormozgan University of medical sciences, during 2004-2005. A number of 220 women with definite diagnosis of previous abortion and 200 matched women with normal full term delivery and negative history of miscarriage as controls were studied as case and control groups. All obtained PAP smears from the case and the control groups were then tested using Immunoflourescent method for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. Data was analyzed, using SPSS software (chi square and t-test). Results: The prevalence of positive direct immunofluorescent test on PAP smears indicating the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis was 56 (25.45) in women with abortion comparing to 13 (5.20) in women in control group, the difference was significant (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: This study showed Chlamydia trachomatis is an important causative agent for abortion in this area of IRAN. © 2010 Science Publications

Temperature dependent characteristics of La2O2S: Ln [Ln = Eu,Tb] with various Ln concentrations over 5-60 ºC

This research is aimed at developing an optical sensor for remotely measuring human skin temperature in electromagnetically hostile environments, such as within a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. In this feasibility study, various concentrations of europium doped lanthanum oxysulphide (La2O2S: Eu- 0.1-15 mol % (m/o)) and terbium doped lanthanum oxysulphide (La2O2S: Tb - 0.005-50 m/o) have been investigated in terms of crystallinity, photoluminescent (PL) spectral and decay time characteristics. For both phosphors, X-ray diffraction (XRD) has shown that as dopancy increases, the (100) and (002) reflections merge and there is a reduction in the c-axis parameter as well as the crystallite size. Photoluminescent characterisation (337 nm excitation) has also shown a dependency to dopant concentration through variance of peak intensity. Temperature dependent decay time measurements were carried out over a low temperature range of 5 to 60 °C. Optimum brightness of these temperature dependent lines is achieved at concentrations of 1 and 10 m/o for La2O2S: Eu and La2O2S: Tb respectively. However, optimum temperature dependency is achieved at lower concentration for La2O2S: Eu, specifically at 0.1 m/o. In comparison to conventional phosphor temperature dependent characteristic, La2O2S: Tb showed an increase in decay time with respect to temperature for concentrations above 2 m/o

Иммуногистохимический анализ экспрессии белка PRAME как прогностический фактор у больных увеальной меланомой

The study objective is to analyze the prognostic significance of PRAME protein expression in patients with uveal melanoma using immunohistochemical assay.Materials and methods. A total of 30 patients with uveal melanoma were examined and treated. The average age of patients at the time of treatment was 51.3 ± 11.8 years. In all cases, enucleation was performed according to the indications. A routine clinical-morphological, molecular-genetic, and immunohistochemical assay study was performed (n = 29). The immunohistochemical study was performed using antibodies to PRAME (clone 6H8, dilution 1: 50). The median follow-up period was 86.3 ± 2.9 months.Results. Of the 29 samples studied, staining was determined in 16, which was 55.2 %. Weak intensity of 1+ staining (from 10 to 20 % of tumor cells) was detected in 7 uveal melanoma samples, medium intensity of 2+ (from 10 to 20 % of tumor cells) – also in 7, and strong intensity of 3+ (30 % of tumor cells) – in 2 tumor samples. When assessing the seven-year survival, the cumulative survival rate in the group without PRAME expression was 0.857, while in the group with PRAME expression it was significantly lower and amounted to 0.357 (p = 0.0001). The PRAME protein expression was significantly correlated with the epithelioid cell type of the tumor (p = 0.041) and with the total and partial monosomy of chromosome 3 (p = 0.013).Conclusion. This paper presents the world’s first study of the prognostic significance of PRAME protein expression by immunohistochemical analysis in patients with uveal melanoma. A significant association of PRAME-positive patients with an unfavorable vital prognosis was shown.Цель исследования – анализ прогностической значимости экспрессии белка PRAME у пациентов с увеальной меланомой с помощью иммуногистохимического исследования.Материалы и методы. Были обследованы и пролечены 30 пациентов с увеальной меланомой, которым с марта по декабрь 2012 г. проведена терапия в стационаре Национального медицинского исследовательского центра глазных болезней им. Гельмгольца Минздрава России. Средний возраст больных на момент исследования составил 51,3 ± 11,8 года. Во всех случаях по показаниям выполнена энуклеация. Проведены рутинное клиникоморфологическое, молекулярно-генетическое и иммуногистохимическое исследования (n = 29). Иммуногистохимическое исследование выполнено с использованием антител к PRAME (клон 6Н8, разведение 1 : 50). Медиана наблюдения составила 86,3 ± 2,9 мес.Результаты. Из 29 исследованных образцов увеальной меланомы окрашивание определено в 16 (55,2 %). Слабая интенсивность окрашивания 1+ (от 10 до 20 % опухолевых клеток) выявлена в 7 образцах, средняя интенсивность 2+ (от 10 до 20 % опухолевых клеток) – также в 7, сильная интенсивность 3+ (30 % опухолевых клеток) – в 2 образцах. При оценке 7-летней выживаемости накопленная доля выживших в группе без экспрессии PRAME составила 0,857, в то время как в группе с наличием экспрессии PRAME она была значимо ниже и составила 0,357 (p = 0,0001). Показана значимая взаимосвязь экспрессии белка PRAME, эпителиоидноклеточного типа опухоли (p = 0,041) и полной и частичной моносомии хромосомы 3 (p = 0,013).Заключение. В настоящей работе представлено первое в мировой практике исследование прогностической значимости экспрессии белка PRAME методом иммуногистохимического анализа у пациентов с увеальной меланомой. PRAME-положительный статус опухоли значимо ассоциирован с неблагоприятным витальным прогнозом

The Pediatric Choroidal and Ciliary Body Melanoma Study A Survey by the European Ophthalmic Oncology Group

Purpose: To collect comprehensive data on choroidal and ciliary body melanoma (CCBM) in children and to validate hypotheses regarding pediatric CCBM: children younger than 18 years, males, and those without ciliary body involvement (CBI) have more favorable survival prognosis than young adults 18 to 24 years of age, females, and those with CBI. Design: Retrospective, multicenter observational study. Participants: Two hundred ninety-nine patients from 24 ocular oncology centers, of whom 114 were children (median age, 15.1 years; range, 2.7-17.9 years) and 185 were young adults. Methods: Data were entered through a secure website and were reviewed centrally. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of females, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, cell type, and melanoma-related mortality. Results: Cumulative frequency of having CCBM diagnosed increased steadily by 0.8% per year of age between 5 and 10 years of age and, after a 6-year transition period, by 8.8% per year from age 17 years onward. Of children and young adults, 57% and 63% were female, respectively, which exceeded the expected 51% among young adults. Cell type, known for 35% of tumors, and TNM stage (I in 22% and 21%, II in 49% and 52%, III in 30% and 28%, respectively) were comparable for children and young adults. Melanoma-related survival was 97% and 90% at 5 years and 92% and 80% at 10 years for children compared with young adults, respectively (P = 0.013). Males tended to have a more favorable survival than females among children (100% vs. 85% at 10 years; P = 0.058). Increasing TNM stage was associated with poorer survival (stages I, II, and III: 100% vs. 86% vs. 76%, respectively; P = 0.0011). By multivariate analysis, being a young adult (adjusted hazard rate [HR], 2.57), a higher TNM stage (HR, 2.88 and 8.38 for stages II and III, respectively), and female gender (HR, 2.38) independently predicted less favorable survival. Ciliary body involvement and cell type were not associated with survival. Conclusions: This study confirms that children with CCBM have a more favorable survival than young adults 18 to 25 years of age, adjusting for TNM stage and gender. The association between gender and survival varies between age groups. (C) 2016 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.Peer reviewe