The Oldest High School Band in America: The Christian Brothers Band of Memphis, 1872-1947

The purpose of this research is to present a detailed history of the Christian Brothers Band in Memphis, Tennessee from 1872 to 1947, the first seventy-five years of the program. In this research Iam also exploring the possibility that the band may be the oldest high school band in America, outliving bands before it and having a continuous existence since its founding (based mainly on its lineage of band directors). Furthermore, the project provides a comprehensive history of the Christian Brothers music programs, including band, choir and orchestra rosters, music awards given throughout the years, works performed by musical groups on and off the campus, and the traditions that were held by the band in its early years.Additionally, the research explores the questions of why the oldest high school band in America was founded in Memphis, and why it was allowed to prosper in this city. The study investigates bands of other early Christian Brothers Schools in America, high school bands that existed before the Christian Brothers Band in Memphis, the condition of musical life in the city of Memphis (primarily band music), and historical events that molded the band throughout its first seventy-five years

Staat; Stadt; Subjekt: The Body and the City in Contemporary Austrian Fiction

Since the publication in 1960 of Hans Lebert’s, Die Wolfshaut, Austrian fiction has been dominated by the so-called Anti-Heimatroman or ‘critical regional novel’, which deploys the provincial setting as a key vehicle for the socially-critical representation of the Austrian nation. Such is the dominance of the Anti-Heimatroman that critics have identified a concern with regional Austria as one of the few constants of post-war Austrian writing. In the vast majority of the literature produced since the 1960s, therefore, Vienna has no role to play; the capital has occupied only a marginal position on Austria’s literary landscape. Recently, however, critics have acknowledged a return to the city in Austrian fiction. This thesis provides the first detailed account of this ‘urban turn’, focussing on the question of how the literary text’s socially-critical function has evolved as a result of the transition from province to metropolis. Placing its focus at the intersection of the body and (primarily urban) space, it provides readings of five novels published during the 1990s and 2000s. Its five case studies draw on the work of Michel Foucault and Walter Benjamin to explore the role that the subject’s interaction with urban topographies plays in contemporary literature’s critical engagement with Austrian realities. Chapter One challenges the established view that the Anti-Heimatroman became obsolete during the 1980s. It examines the construction of the gendered Heimat in Norbert Gstrein’s Das Register (1992), and explores in particular the extent to which Gstrein’s work draws on the generic norms of the Anti-Heimatroman. Turning to novels that are set in Vienna, subsequent chapters isolate two phases in the evolution of literature’s engagement with the realities of present-day and historical Austria. Readings of Lilian Faschinger’s Wiener Passion (1999) and Doron Rabinovici’s Suche nach M. (1997) show that during the 1990s, the city replaces the province as a privileged backdrop for critical engagement with the problematic discourses that structure Austria’s post-war identity politics. By contrast, the post-Jahrtausendwende texts discussed here, Arno Geiger’s Es geht uns gut (2005) and Thomas Stangl’s Ihre Musik (2006), are marked by a turn inward, as writers become more interested in the emotional, psychological and existential orientation of the urban subject. But this turn inward results ultimately in a shift outward, enabling Austrian writers to focus on more universal socio-political issues. This thesis explores the development of literary engagement with Austrian realities during two decades of Austria’s literary history that remain conspicuously under-researched. The contemporaneity of the urban turn demands a critical focus on younger authors who have traditionally stood in the long shadows cast by their better-established colleagues. This unconventional approach, which leads away from the Austrian canon, is the source of second contribution that this thesis makes to Austrian Studies. By engaging explicitly with novels produced by younger authors, this thesis asks what the work of newer constellations of Austrian writers can tell us about the changing status of literature, and of its relationship to the society of which it is a product

An investigation of the effect of rapid slurry chilling on blown pack spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef primals

The aim of this study was to investigate if rapid slurry chilling would retard or prevent blown pack spoilage (BPS) of vacuum-packaged beef primals. Beef primals were inoculated with Clostridium estertheticum subspp. estertheticum (DSMZ 8809), C. estertheticum subspp. laramenise (DSMZ 14864) and C. gasigenes (DSMZ 12272), and vacuum-packaged with and without heat shrinkage (90°C for 3 s). These packs were then subjected to immediate chilling in an ice slurry or using conventional blast chilling systems and stored at 2°C for up to 100 days. The onset and progress of BPS was monitored using the following scale; 0-no gas bubbles in drip; 1-gas bubbles in drip; 2-loss of vacuum; 3-‘blown’; 4-presence of sufficient gas inside the packs to produce pack distension and 5-tightly stretched, ‘overblown’ packs/packs leaking. Rapid slurry chilling (as compared to conventional chilling) did not significantly affect (P > 0.05) the time to the onset or progress of BPS. It was therefore concluded that rapid chilling of vacuum-packaged beef primals, using an ice slurry system, may not be used as a control intervention to prevent or retard blown pack spoilage. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study adds to our growing understanding of blown pack spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef primals and suggests that rapid chilling of vacuum-packaged beef primals is not a control option for the beef industry. The results suggest that neither eliminating the heat shrinkage step nor rapid chilling of vacuum-packaged beef retard the time to blown pack spoilage

From Global Savings Glut to Financing Infrastructure

This paper proposes an institutional solution that can help unlock the flow of low yielding longterm savings towards high-return infrastructure investments. The solution is to transform public-private partnerships in infrastructure and the classic model of multilateral development banks. Instead of thinking of public-private partnerships as bilateral contracts between a private concession operator and a government agency, we argue that they should be conceived as partnerships that also involve a development bank and long-term institutional investors as partners. We propose a new model for development banks, which is to transform themselves into originate-and-distribute banks for PPP infrastructure projects. This way they can conserve their valuable capital and leverage their expertise and capabilities by making them available to longterm institutional investors

Repeated Closed Head Injury in Mice Results in Sustained Motor and Memory Deficits and Chronic Cellular Changes

Millions of mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur every year in the United States, with many people subject to multiple head injuries that can lead to chronic behavioral dysfunction. We previously reported that mild TBI induced using closed head injuries (CHI) repeated at 24h intervals produced more acute neuron death and glial reactivity than a single CHI, and increasing the length of time between injuries to 48h reduced the cumulative acute effects of repeated CHI. To determine whether repeated CHI is associated with behavioral dysfunction or persistent cellular damage, mice receiving either five CHI at 24h intervals, five CHI at 48h intervals, or five sham injuries at 24h intervals were evaluated across a 10 week period after injury. Animals with repeated CHI exhibited motor coordination and memory deficits, but not gait abnormalities when compared to sham animals. At 10wks post-injury, no notable neuron loss or glial reactivity was observed in the cortex, hippocampus, or corpus callosum. Argyrophilic axons were found in the pyramidal tract of some injured animals, but neither silver stain accumulation nor inflammatory responses in the injury groups were statistically different from the sham group in this region. However, argyrophilic axons, microgliosis and astrogliosis were significantly increased within the optic tract of injured animals. Repeated mild CHI also resulted in microgliosis and a loss of neurofilament protein 200 in the optic nerve. Lengthening the inter-injury interval from 24h to 48h did not effectively reduce these behavioral or cellular responses. These results suggest that repeated mild CHI results in persistent behavioral dysfunction and chronic pathological changes within the visual system, neither of which was significantly attenuated by lengthening the inter-injury interval from 24h to 48h

Impact of direct and indirect heating systems in broiler units on environmental conditions and flock performance

peer-reviewedThis study compared the impact of three indirect heating systems to direct gas flame heaters on a selection of flock performance and environmental indicators in commercial broiler units. No statistically significant differences (P≥0.05) were found in flock mortality rates, bird weight, water consumption, stress response, carbon dioxide, ammonia, temperature, relative humidity, litter quality, within-flock Campylobacter levels or mean Campylobacter counts when flock data from any of the three indirect heating systems were compared to flocks reared in houses with direct heating systems. Differences in litter quality were observed between upper and lower litter layers in all houses, regardless of heating type, which may have implications for bird health and welfare. Carbon dioxide concentrations in houses with direct heating systems were significantly higher than those in houses with indirect heating systems during the first 10 days of bird life (P≤0.05). This was due to the increased use of heating systems during this period of the flock cycle. Differences in CO2 concentrations had no effect on flock performance, possibly due to the fact that concentrations did not exceed known safe levels. A statistically significant increase in stress response was observed in birds as a result of partial depopulation (thinning) within houses, irrespective of heating system type used (P≤0.05). Stress associated with thinning may have consequences for bird welfare and food safety. In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that indirect heating systems do not appear to negatively impact on flock performance, stress response, within-flock Campylobacter levels or mean Campylobacter counts and do not appear to significantly alter environmental conditions within broiler houses when compared to houses equipped with direct heating systems. Indirect systems are a viable alternative for heating broiler houses in terms of flock performance, bird welfare and food safety

Response of black ash wetland gaseous soil carbon fluxes to a simulated emerald ash borer infestation

The rapid and extensive expansion of emerald ash borer (EAB) in North America since 2002 may eliminate most existing ash stands, likely affecting critical ecosystem services associated with water and carbon cycling. To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the coupled response of black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marsh.) wetland water tables, soil temperatures, and soil gas fluxes to an EAB infestation. Water table position, soil temperature, and soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes were monitored in nine depressional headwater black ash wetlands in northern Michigan. An EAB disturbance was simulated by girdling (girdle) or felling (ash-cut) all black ash trees with diameters greater than 2.5 cm within treated wetlands (n = 3 per treatment). Soil gas fluxes were sensitive to water table position, temperature, and disturbance. Soil CO2 fluxes were significantly higher, and high soil CH4 fluxes occurred more frequently in disturbed sites. Soil CH4 fluxes in ash-cut were marginally significantly higher than girdle during post-treatment, yet both were similar to control sites. The strong connection between depressional black ash wetland study sites and groundwater likely buffered the magnitude of disturbance-related impact on water tables and carbon cycling

Controlling Blown Pack Spoilage Using Anti-Microbial Packaging

peer-reviewedActive (anti-microbial) packaging was prepared using three different formulations; Auranta FV; Inbac-MDA and sodium octanoate at two concentrations (2.5 and 3.5 times their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC, the lowest concentration that will inhibit the visible growth of the organisms) against Clostridium estertheticum, DSMZ 8809). Inoculated beef samples were packaged using the active packaging and monitored for 100 days storage at 2 °C for blown pack spoilage. The time to the onset of blown pack spoilage was significantly (p < 0.01) increased using Auranta FV and sodium octanoate (caprylic acid sodium salt) at both concentrations. Moreover, sodium octanoate packs had significantly (p < 0.01) delayed blown pack spoilage as compared to Auranta FV. It was therefore concluded that Auranta FV or sodium octanoate, incorporated into the packaging materials used for vacuum packaged beef, would inhibit blown pack spoilage and in the case of the latter, well beyond the 42 days storage period currently required for beef primalsDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marin