A Home for Heroes: The Incredibles Domestic Design

In the animated film The Incredibles (2004) a dysfunctional family of superheroes is forced to go undercover and to refrain from practising heroic deeds and demonstrating their special powers. In an attempt to give it the image of normalcy this fictional family is placed within a stylishly designed modernist home filled with 1950s furniture, futuristic appliances and pastel colours and located in suburbia somewhere in North America. Deprived of doing what they really love this imposed lifestyle becomes quite frustrating for them. Inevitably, behind closed doors, in this fashionably designed domestic environment their special powers are occasionally expressed in mundane situations such as doing the housework, attending school or participating in the family dinner. This paper examines the design and animation process involved in the construction of this private living space and its links to the imaginary world of comic books and superheroes. The thinking on animation and design theorists such as Cholodenko, Clark, Furniss, Buchanan, Margolin and Csikszentmihalyi is applied to this scenario in particular and to animation in general and a wider argument for the placement of animation within Film Studies is also enunciated

ABSTRACT Nos. 1-11

Director of the Master of Animation course, Dr. Michael Hill, exhibited results of a visual research project undertaken during his Professional Experience Program from March 16-April 5. The exhibition, titled ABSTRACT NOS. 1-11 consists of nearly 300 small prints constructed in the Japanese sosaku hanga (creative print) mode. The prints in each edition are all monotypes and sequential and offer the potential for the production of an animated sequence at some future stage

The Effect of Barium Content on the Crystallization and Microhardness of Barium Fluormica Glass-Ceramics

Mica glass-ceramics are easily machined due to their “House-of-Cards” microstructure. Barium fluormica glass-ceramics were developed and indicated good mechanical properties. This work studies the effect of varying barium content on the crystallization and microhardness of mica glass-ceramics. Four glasses were produced with different baria contents, then converted to mica glass-ceramics using a two-step heat treatment. They were characterized using Differential Scanning Calorimetry [DSC], X-ray Diffraction [XRD], Scanning electron microscopy [SEM] and Vickers microhardness. DSC showed some formulations indicated bulk crystallisation as the dominant mechanism. XRD showed the crystallization of Barium fluorphlogopite in all the compositions with minor secondary phases. SEM showed the formation of “House-of-Cards” microstructures and with an increase in BaO content, a decrease in contrast was observed in back scattered mode. Exceptionally low hardness values (<2 GPa) were obtained for longer heat treatments/holding times and are related to the well-developed house-of-cards microstructures formed

Safety culture and the 5 steps to safer surgery: an intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Improvements in safety culture have been postulated as one of the mechanisms underlying the association between the introduction of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist with perioperative briefings and debriefings, and enhanced patient outcomes. The 5 Steps to Safer Surgery (5SSS) incorporates pre-list briefings, the three steps of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) and post-list debriefings in one framework. We aimed to identify any changes in safety culture associated with the introduction of the 5SSS in orthopaedic operating theatres. METHODS: We assessed the safety culture in the elective orthopaedic theatres of a large UK teaching hospital before and after introduction of the 5SSS using a modified version of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire - Operating Room (SAQ-OR). Primary outcome measures were pre-post intervention changes in the six safety culture domains of the SAQ-OR. We also analysed changes in responses to two items regarding perioperative briefings. RESULTS: The SAQ-OR survey response rate was 80% (60/75) at baseline and 74% (53/72) one yr later. There were significant improvements in both the reported frequency (P<0.001) and perceived importance (P=0.018) of briefings, and in five of the six safety culture domain scores (Working Conditions, Perceptions of Management, Job Satisfaction, Safety Climate and Teamwork Climate) of the SAQ-OR (P<0.001 in all cases). Scores in the sixth domain (Stress Recognition) decreased significantly (P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the 5SSS was associated with a significant improvement in the safety culture of elective orthopaedic operating theatres

CD4+:CD8+T Cell Ratio Normalization and the Development of AIDS Events in People with HIV Starting Antiretroviral Therapy

We identify factors associated with the normalization of the CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio among UK Collaborative HIV Cohort study participants, and describe the association of the CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts and the CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio, with the risk of new AIDS events among individuals who achieve a suppressed viral load. Participants initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) after 2006 with a CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio 500 vs. ≤200 cells/mm3, adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 7.93 (6.97–9.01)], low CD8+ T cell count [>1,150 vs. ≤500 cells/mm3: 0.18 (0.16–0.21)], and low CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio [>0.8 vs. 500 vs. ≤200 cells/mm3: adjusted rate ratio 0.24 (0.16–0.34)] and CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio [>0.8 vs. <0.2: 0.33 (0.21–0.52)] were independently associated with a new AIDS event. One third of study participants experienced ratio normalization after starting cART. CD4+ T cell count and CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratio are both individually associated with ratio normalization and the development of new AIDS events after cART

Truncating tau reveals different pathophysiological actions of oligomers in single neurons

Tau protein is involved in maintaining neuronal structure. In Alzheimer's disease, small numbers of tau molecules can aggregate to form oligomers. However, how these oligomers produce changes in neuronal function remains unclear. Previously, oligomers made from full-length human tau were found to have multiple effects on neuronal properties. Here we have cut the tau molecule into two parts: the first 123 amino acids and the remaining 124-441 amino acids. These truncated tau molecules had specific effects on neuronal properties, allowing us to assign the actions of full-length tau to different regions of the molecule. We identified one key target for the effects of tau, the voltage gated sodium channel, which could account for the effects of tau on the action potential. By truncating the tau molecule, we have probed the mechanisms that underlie tau dysfunction, and this increased understanding of tau's pathological actions will build towards developing future tau-targeting therapies

Pruritus is a common feature in sheep infected with the BSE agent.

BACKGROUND: The variability in the clinical or pathological presentation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in sheep, such as scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has been attributed to prion protein genotype, strain, breed, clinical duration, dose, route and type of inoculum and the age at infection. The study aimed to describe the clinical signs in sheep infected with the BSE agent throughout its clinical course to determine whether the clinical signs were as variable as described for classical scrapie in sheep. The clinical signs were compared to BSE-negative sheep to assess if disease-specific clinical markers exist. RESULTS: Forty-seven (34%) of 139 sheep, which comprised 123 challenged sheep and 16 undosed controls, were positive for BSE. Affected sheep belonged to five different breeds and three different genotypes (ARQ/ARQ, VRQ/VRQ and AHQ/AHQ). None of the controls or BSE exposed sheep with ARR alleles were positive. Pruritus was present in 41 (87%) BSE positive sheep; the remaining six were judged to be pre-clinically infected. Testing of the response to scratching along the dorsum of a sheep proved to be a good indicator of clinical disease with a test sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 98% and usually coincided with weight loss. Clinical signs that were displayed significantly earlier in BSE positive cases compared to negative cases were behavioural changes, pruritic behaviour, a positive scratch test, alopecia, skin lesions, teeth grinding, tremor, ataxia, loss of weight and loss of body condition. The frequency and severity of each specific clinical sign usually increased with the progression of disease over a period of 16-20 weeks. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BSE in sheep presents with relatively uniform clinical signs, with pruritus of increased severity and abnormalities in behaviour or movement as the disease progressed. Based on the studied sheep, these clinical features appear to be independent of breed, affected genotype, dose, route of inoculation and whether BSE was passed into sheep from cattle or from other sheep, suggesting that the clinical phenotype of BSE is influenced by the TSE strain more than by other factors. The clinical phenotype of BSE in the genotypes and breed studied was indistinguishable from that described for classical scrapie cases

Tourists' perceptions of the free-roaming dog population in Samoa

A study was undertaken to establish how visiting tourists to Samoa perceived free-roaming dogs (Canis familiaris) and their management, additionally some factors that influence their perceptions were assessed. Questionnaires were administered to 281 tourists across Samoa over 5 weeks. Free-roaming dogs were seen by 98.2% (n = 269/274) of respondents, with 64.9% (n = 137/211) reporting that their presence had a negative effect on overall holiday experience. Respondents staying in the Apia (capital city) area were more likely to consider dogs a problem (p < 0.0001), and there was a significant association between whether the respondent owned a dog and if they thought dogs were a nuisance in Samoa (p < 0.003). Forty-four percent (20/89) of non-dog owners agreed that dogs were a nuisance compared to 22% (80/182) of dog owners. The majority felt that dogs required better control and management in Samoa (81%, n = 222) and that there were too many “stray” dogs (67.9%, n = 188). More respondents were negatively affected by the dogs’ presence (64.9%, 137/211), and felt that the dogs made their holiday worse, than respondents that felt the dogs’ presence improved their holiday experience (35.1%, 74/211). Most respondents stated that the dogs had a low impact (one to three; 68%, 187/275) on their stay in Samoa, whilst 24% (65/275) and 8% (23/275) stated they had a medium or high impact, respectively, on their stay. Respondents showed strong support for humane population management. Free-roaming dogs present a complex problem for Samoa and for its tourism industry in particular. The findings of this study further support the need for more discussion and action about the provision of veterinary services and population management for dogs in Samoa. It also provides information complementing an earlier study of the attitudes of local Samoans

Effect of topiramate and zonisamide on fMRI cognitive networks.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of topiramate (TPM), zonisamide (ZNS), and levetiracetam (LEV) on cognitive network activations in patients with focal epilepsy using an fMRI language task. METHODS: In a retrospective, cross-sectional study, we identified patients from our clinical database of verbal fluency fMRI studies who were treated with either TPM (n = 32) or ZNS (n = 51). We matched 62 patients for clinical measures who took LEV but not TPM or ZNS. We entered antiepileptic comedications as nuisance variables and compared out-of-scanner psychometric measures for verbal fluency and working memory between groups. RESULTS: Out-of-scanner psychometric data showed overall poorer performance for TPM compared to ZNS and LEV and poorer working memory performance in ZNS-treated patients compared to LEV-treated patients. We found common fMRI effects in patients taking ZNS and TPM, with decreased activations in cognitive frontal and parietal lobe networks compared to those taking LEV. Impaired deactivation was seen only with TPM. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that TPM and ZNS are associated with similar dysfunctions of frontal and parietal cognitive networks, which are associated with impaired performance. TPM is also associated with impaired attenuation of language-associated deactivation. These studies imply medication-specific effects on the functional neuroanatomy of language and working memory networks. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class III evidence that in patients with focal epilepsy, TPM and ZNS compared to LEV lead to disruption of language and working memory networks