Large-scale network organization in the avian forebrain: a connectivity matrix and theoretical analysis

Many species of birds, including pigeons, possess demonstrable cognitive capacities, and some are capable of cognitive feats matching those of apes. Since mammalian cortex is laminar while the avian telencephalon is nucleated, it is natural to ask whether the brains of these two cognitively capable taxa, despite their apparent anatomical dissimilarities, might exhibit common principles of organisation on some level. Complementing recent investigations of macro-scale brain connectivity in mammals, including humans and macaques, we here present the first large-scale wiring diagram for the forebrain of a bird. Using graph theory, we show that the pigeon telencephalon is organised along similar lines to that of a mammal. Both are modular, small-world networks with a connective core of hub nodes that includes prefrontal-like and hippocampal structures. These hub nodes are, topologically speaking, the most central regions of the pigeon's brain, as well as being the most richly connected, implying a crucial role in information flow. Overall, our analysis suggests that indeed, despite the absence of cortical layers and close to 300 million years of separate evolution, the connectivity of the avian brain conforms to the same organisational principles as the mammalian brain

Mature students in occupational therapy education and practice

This research study investigated age as a predictor of success in the academic outcome and early professional performance of recent occupational therapy graduates. The study was divided into two parts. The analysis of age and academic performance in occupational therapy education initially provided a picture of mature student success when compared with the performance of younger students, but this finding was negated when the confounding variable of entry qualification was added to the analysis. The mature student data were strongly influenced by the superior academic performance of the students who had a previous degree on entry to occupational therapy education. When these degree-level entrants were removed from the age analysis, the academic performance of the remaining mature students did not differ significantly from that of the younger students. This result indicates that entry qualifications, in particular a previous degree, have a positive predictive affect on academic performance in occupational therapy education. The second part of the study investigated the impact of age on the early professional performance of recent occupational therapy graduates using a competency questionnaire adapted from the curriculum framework document for occupational therapy in the UK (COT, 1998). The hypotheses that age is a value-added factor in the early professional performance and level of threshold competence after graduation was partially upheld in the graduate self-ratings of competence but not in the employer ratings of new graduates in practice. No age differences were observed in the employer ratings of graduate abilities but academic performance at university was related to perceived levels of. competence. When graduates rated their self-perceived levels of competence, it was the mature graduates who consistently rated themselves as being more competent than their younger peers. The type of occupational therapy programme undertaken did not relate to either the employer or graduate ratings of competence. All respondents were provided with an opportunity to comment on the issue of professional competence. Mature students expressed high expectations of their professional competence yet were no different to all other new graduates in reporting stress when making the transition between being a student and qualified practitioner. A discrepancy in expectations of threshold competence was observed between the employer and the graduate comments

Using electrostatic potentials to predict DNA-binding sites on DNA-binding proteins

A method to detect DNA-binding sites on the surface of a protein structure is important for functional annotation. This work describes the analysis of residue patches on the surface of DNA-binding proteins and the development of a method of predicting DNA-binding sites using a single feature of these surface patches. Surface patches and the DNA-binding sites were initially analysed for accessibility, electrostatic potential, residue propensity, hydrophobicity and residue conservation. From this, it was observed that the DNA-binding sites were, in general, amongst the top 10% of patches with the largest positive electrostatic scores. This knowledge led to the development of a prediction method in which patches of surface residues were selected such that they excluded residues with negative electrostatic scores. This method was used to make predictions for a data set of 56 non-homologous DNA-binding proteins. Correct predictions made for 68% of the data set

The Novel as Drama: Staging Theatrical Aspects of the Narrative in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park

Of Jane Austen\u27s full-length novels, Mansfield Park deals most directly with theatrical subjects, yet it is the least frequently adapted for the stage. Plots, themes, and characters in the novel echo those of the popular late eighteenth century play Lovers\u27 Vows, and the first volume includes a performance of that play as part of a home theatrical. ·In 2011, I completed a workshop adaptation and staging of Mansfield Park. I used the method of Chamber Theatre founded by Robert Breen, a technique of literary adaptation that retains the narrative voice by use of an embodied narrative and assignment of narrative passages to characters in direct address with the audience. A physical enactment of the relationship of the narrator to the central figure of Fanny Price revealed a dramatic component at the heart of the narrative point of view and in progression. This method illuminated a performance-based structure to the novel and rendered it remarkably well-suited to theatrical adaptation

Un-blocking Hedda and Medea through Feminist “Play” with Traditional Staging Forms

Hedda walks to the center of the room clutching to her belly a gun wrapped loosely in red and gold leaves. She sinks to the floor, her black satin dress ballooning around her. Only feet away, the audience can see her expression and interpret her thought process. Hedda looks vaguely around the space for an exit. She responds to Judge Brack (Ibsen 246), her focus less on him than on the gun which she lets rise to her line of vision, trailing leaves as it comes. She raises it slowly to her head and pulls the trigger, then falls gently to the floor. Red leaves fall from her pelvis, stark in contrast against the black of her dress. —Hedda Gabler, act 4, Loyola University Chicago (2006) As Jason races to the front door for revenge, Medea takes control of a camera filming the event. Her image is projected in large dimension across the house façade. Jason rails and beats the wall, but he cannot touch or hurt her. Defeated, Jason crumples in despair and the action downstage suspends. Medea\u27s image fades and she stands in the doorway of her home clutching two bloody babies to her belly. She walks slowly across her yard, beyond the front gate of the white fence, off the stage and up the aisle of the auditorium. The door of the theatre slams behind her as the chorus chants its final ode, reminding us that the gods do not give us what we expect. —Medea, final scene, MacAninich Arts Center, College of DuPage (2007