Hypercreature Rhizome: A Performative Work

This writing is an experiment, created primarily out of a synergy of rhizome, flesh, concept and hypercreature, although there are also infinite others resonating through the work. This writing is not, however, a ‘rhizomic’ or ‘fleshy’ work: it is neither faithful, nor does it seek to represent; it is not a rhizomic performance, but rather the writing is performative of hypercreature, rhizome and flesh. It is not a duplicity, but a multiplicity: this writing is an evolution or perhaps a ‘creative involution’ of these concepts

Optimization of Optical and Mechanical Properties of Real Architecture for 3-Dimensional Tissue Equivalents: Towards Treatment of Limbal Epithelial Stem Cell Deficiency

Limbal epithelial stem cell (LESC) deficiency can cause blindness. Transplantation of cultured human limbal epithelial cells (hLE) on human amniotic membrane (HAM) can restore vision but clinical graft manufacture can be unreliable. We have developed a reliable and robust tissue equivalent (TE) alternative to HAM, Real Architecture for 3D Tissue (RAFT). Here, we aimed to optimize the optical and mechanical properties of RAFT TE for treatment of LESC deficiency in clinical application. The RAFT TE protocol is tunable; varying collagen concentration and volume produces differing RAFT TEs. These were compared with HAM samples taken from locations proximal and distal to the placental disc. Outcomes assessed were transparency, thickness, light transmission, tensile strength, ease of handling, degradation rates and suitability as substrate for hLE culture. Proximal HAM samples were thicker and stronger with poorer optical properties than distal HAM samples. RAFT TEs produced using higher amounts of collagen were thicker and stronger with poorer optical properties than those produced using lower amounts of collagen. The ‘optimal’ RAFT TE was thin, transparent but still handleable and was produced using 0.6 ml of 3 mg/ml collagen. Degradation rates of the ‘optimal’ RAFT TE and HAM were similar. hLE achieved confluency on ‘optimal’ RAFT TEs at comparable rates to HAM and cells expressed high levels of putative stem cell marker p63α. These findings support the use of RAFT TE for hLE transplantation towards treatment of LESC deficiency

Statelessness: a forgotten dimension of the Syrian refugee emergency

The Syrian civil war continues to cause asylum seekers to flee in search of safety and security. People hastily leave their homes and begin the treacherous journey across the continent. This has presented a number of difficulties for those in search of sanctuary, which is exacerbated as children are born and brought up abroad, creating a subset of stateless people

Quadrilatère transatlantique : sources de légitimité politique de l’usage de la force militaire au Canada

Quelles sont les sources de légitimité de l’usage de la force militaire au Canada? L’identification des conditions jugées nécessaires par les élites politiques canadiennes pour recourir à la force militaire à l’étranger est primordiale pour une meilleure compréhension de l’évolution des pratiques militaires du Canada depuis la fin de la guerre froide. Ce texte postule que la France exerce une influence centrale sur la culture stratégique du Canada, au point que l’on doive rectifier l’analogie du Triangle nord-atlantique pour celui du « Quadrilatère ». A la lumière de ceci, les dilemmes stratégiques auxquels risque de se confronter le Canada apparaissent plus clairs.What are the sources of legitimacy for the use of military force in Canada? Identifying the conditions that the Canadian political elite views as necessary to justify the use of military force abroad is essential for a better understanding of the evolution of Canada's military practices following the Cold War. This article posits that France exercises a central influence on Canada's strategic culture, to such a point that the analogy of a North Atlantic Triangle should be changed to that of a North Atlantic "Quadrilateral". Viewed in this light, the potential strategic dilemmas facing Canada may be easier to understand

Country Views

Over the years I have created many different images and explored a variety of media along my artistic journey. Similar images continue to occur in my work - images from my life as a child and as an adult in rural settings. I lived on a poultry farm and was involved in working with my parents there. When I married, my husband was a cattle farmer so I continued to live on a farm and use rural images in my work. Living in the country makes me constantly aware of the relationship between God, nature and man. I believe that we can find beauty in the most ordinary objects or places. My artwork is intended to help others find this beauty