Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Bogolanfini

2018 Pattern Research Project Kassiah Skipwith – Bogolanfini The Pattern Research Project involves research and analysis of contemporary patterns found in the textiles and wallcoverings of the built interior environment. Patterns use motif, repetition, color, geometry, craft, technology, and space to communicate place, time, and concept. Through this research and analysis, built environments - their designers, occupants, construction, and context - can be better understood. Kassiah Skipwith, VCU Interior Design BFA 2021, selected the Bogolanfini pattern for the 2018 Pattern Research Project. The text below is excerpted from the student’s work: “During the time period when the fabric was only available where the cloth was produced it was for more of the community and a traditional thing not just for fashion and how the design itself looks. The cloth was intentionally used for the hunters as a camouflage and as a ritual for protection. The women also wear it as for their initiation into their adulthood and also after childbirth. The cloth is believed to have a power to absorb all negative energy that’s released. Each design is meant to tell a story, but 2 designs are never meant to be thought of as the same. Some designs and motifs are to be thought of as protective attributes.”https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/1012/thumbnail.jp

Sir Peyton Skipwith to James Brown, December 15, 1796

Sir Peyton Skipwith in [Prestwould] wrote to James Brown, addressed to Richmond, VA. This letter detailed the commercial dealings in the late 18th century. Goods discussed included pork and tobacco. People included: Mr. Burton, Mr. Hill.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1790s/1461/thumbnail.jp

Interventions for reducing unplanned paediatric admissions: an observational study in one hospital

Objective Evidence on how best to intervene to improve paediatric acute care and therefore reduce unplanned hospital admissions is weak. We describe service evaluation work at one hospital to assess interventions at critical clinical and service decision points.Design We conducted an observational study using routine daily-collected data (April 2009–December 2015) from a medium-sized district general hospital in south-west UK, using before-and-after comparisons of admissions-related data to evaluate two interventions implemented in April and November 2014, respectively: (1) an advice and guidance (A&G) phone line, where a senior paediatrician is available for general practitioners (GPs) and emergency department (ED) and (2) a Short Stay Paediatric Assessment Unit (SSPAU). We analysed data on all admitted children (<18 years) in the catchment area (population estimate 27 740 in 2015). Outcomes were GP-referred attendances, ward admissions, less than 1 day admissions and length of stay.Results A&G phone line was associated with a reduction in the mean number of less than 1 day admissions per month (difference in means before and after intervention −16.6 (95% CI −0.2 to −32.9)) and an increase in overall monthly bed-days (difference 72.5 (95% CI 21.0 to 124.0)), but there was little evidence of a change in GP-referred attendances or ward admissions. SSPAU was associated with a reduction in the mean number of monthly ward admissions (difference −34.6 (95% CI –21.3 to −48.0)) and less than 1 day admissions (difference in means −21.7 (95% CI −8.4 to −35.1)) and a reduction in the mean number of overall bed-days per month (difference −50.2 (95% CI −12.1 to −88.3)).Conclusions Interventions for reducing time taken to senior clinician review may be effective in better managing paediatric acute care. Further work should explore results by age, condition and injury/illness status

Sir Peyton Skipwith to Alexander Donald, October 22, 1785

Sir Peyton Skipwith wrote from Richmond, VA to Alexander Donald, address not included. The letter is regarding the shipping of some tobacco to City point. He wrote that his manager at Hog Island had found the old tobacco unfavorable and therefore he will be shipping less than originally planned.https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/lhc_1780s/1333/thumbnail.jp

Regulation of Adamts13 Function in Hemostasis by Cofactor and Substrate Exosite interactions

ADAMTS13 (A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease with ThromboSpondin type1 repeats-13) is an enzyme that is mainly synthesized in the liver and secreted into the blood stream. In plasma, ADAMTS13 cleaves ultra large (UL) von Willebrand factor (VWF) newly released from stimulated and/or injured endothelial cells. It also cleaves soluble UL-VWF and VWF in flowing blood or at the site of growing thrombi under high shear stress. The basic enzymology and structure-function of the ADAMTS13-VWF interaction have presented many interesting questions, particularly in the context of physiological cofactors and fluid shear stress. The relatively poor understanding of this system reflects the complex assessment of VWF proteolysis, as VWF in solution exhibits a conformation that does not actively engage with ADAMTS13. It has been unclear whether force-induced unfolding of VWF is the only mechanism to enhance proteolysis by ADAMTS13, or if interactions of ADAMTS13 and VWF with cofactors ideally position ADAMTS13 on VWF multimers for enhanced cleavage. We demonstrated that coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) and blood platelets cooperatively accelerate proteolytic cleavage of soluble VWF by ADAMTS13 through an alteration of VWF substrate conformation under physiologically relevant fluid shear stresses. In addition, we have established the critical role of the VWF propeptide and FVIII- and platelet-binding domains of VWF in regulating proteolysis of VWF by ADAMTS13 under physiologically relevant shear stress. Through site-directed mutagenesis, kinetic analyses, and peptide inhibition assays we have identified a substrate-binding exosite containing ADAMTS13 residues Arg659, Arg660 and Tyr661 that exhibits an important role in proteolytic cleavage of VWF under both non-physiological and physiological conditions. In addition, modification of this exosite region of ADAMTS13 yielded ADAMTS13 variants with reduced inhibition by autoantibodies and enhanced specific activity. Finally, we have demonstrated that infusion of ADAMTS13 and a truncated variant into ADAMTS13-/- mice can restore the thrombus composition and kinetics of fibrin and platelet accumulation in an arterial thrombosis model. Together, these results suggest an important physiological role of cofactor binding to VWF and VWF interactions with ADAMTS13 exosites in regulating ADAMTS13 function in hemostasis

A Technologist’s Identity: Fostering Diversity in Learning

Concurrent Session

Old lineage on an old island : Pixibinthus, a new cricket genus endemic to New Caledonia shed light on gryllid diversification in a hotspot of biodiversity

Few studies have focused on the early colonization of New Caledonia by insects, after the re-emergence of the main island, 37 Myr ago. Here we investigate the mode and tempo of evolution of a new endemic cricket genus, Pixibinthus, recently discovered in southern New Caledonia. First we formally describe this new monotypic genus found exclusively in the open shrubby vegetation on metalliferous soils, named 'maquis minier', unique to New Caledonia. We then reconstruct a dated molecular phylogeny based on five mitochondrial and four nuclear loci in order to establish relationships of Pixibinthus within Eneopterinae crickets. Pixibinthus is recovered as thesister clade of the endemic genus Agnotecous, mostly rainforest-dwellers. Dating results show that the island colonization by their common ancestor occurred around 34.7 Myr, shortly after New Caledonia re-emergence. Pixibinthus and Agnotecous are then one of the oldest insect lineages documented so far for New Caledonia. This discovery highlights for the first time two clear-cut ecological specializations between sister clades, as Agnotecous is mainly found in rainforests with 19 species, whereas Pixibinthus is found in open habitats with a single documented species. The preference of Pixibinthus for open habitats and of Agnotecous for forest habitats nicely fits an acoustic specialization, either explained by differences in body size or in acoustic properties of their respective habitats. We hypothesize that landscape dynamics, linked to major past climatic events and recent change in fire regimes are possible causes for both present-day low diversity and rarity in genus Pixibinthus. The unique evolutionary history of this old New Caledonian lineage stresses the importance to increase our knowledge on the faunal biodiversity of 'maquis minier', in order to better understand the origin and past dynamics of New Caledonian biota

Biography and Homoeopathy in Bengal: Colonial lives of a European heterodoxy

AbstractDespite being recognized as a significant literary mode in understanding the advent of the modern self, biographies as agenrehave received relatively little attention from South Asian historians. Likewise, histories of science and healing in British India have largely ignored the colonial trajectories of those sectarian, dissenting, supposedly pseudo-sciences and medical heterodoxies that have flourished in Europe since the late eighteenth century. This article addresses these gaps in the historiography to identify biographies as a principal mode through which an incipient, ‘heterodox’ Western science like homoeopathy could consolidate and sustain itself in Bengal. In recovering the cultural history of a category that the state archives render largely invisible, this article argues that biographies are more than a mere repository of individual lives, and in fact are a veritable site of power. In bringing histories of print and publishing, histories of medicine, and histories of life writing practices together, it pursues two broad themes: first, it analyses the sociocultural strategies and networks by which scientific doctrines and concepts are translated across cultural borders. It explores the relation between medical commerce, print capital, and therapeutic knowledge to illustrate that acculturation of medical science necessarily drew upon and reinforced local constellations of class, kinship, and religion. Second, it simultaneously reflects upon the expanding genre of homoeopathic biographies published since the mid-nineteenth century: on their features, relevance, and functions, examining in particular the contemporary status of biography vis-à-vis ‘history’ in writing objective pasts.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from CUP at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X1400057

A Conformation-Sensitive Monoclonal Antibody against the A2 Domain of von Willebrand Factor Reduces Its Proteolysis by ADAMTS13

The size of von Willebrand factor (VWF), controlled by ADAMTS13-dependent proteolysis, is associated with its hemostatic activity. Many factors regulate ADAMTS13-dependent VWF proteolysis through their interaction with VWF. These include coagulation factor VIII, platelet glycoprotein 1bα, and heparin sulfate, which accelerate the cleavage of VWF. Conversely, thrombospondin-1 decreases the rate of VWF proteolysis by ADAMTS13 by competing with ADAMTS13 for the A3 domain of VWF. To investigate whether murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human VWF affect the susceptibility of VWF to proteolysis by ADAMTS13 in vitro, eight mAbs to different domains of human VWF were used to evaluate the effects on VWF cleavage by ADAMTS13 under fluid shear stress and static/denaturing conditions. Additionally, the epitope of anti-VWF mAb (SZ34) was mapped using recombinant proteins in combination with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis. The results indicate that mAb SZ34 inhibited proteolytic cleavage of VWF by ADAMTS13 in a concentration-dependent manner under fluid shear stress, but not under static/denaturing conditions. The binding epitope of SZ34 mAb is located between A1555 and G1595 in the central A2 domain of VWF. These data show that an anti-VWF mAb against the VWF-A2 domain (A1555-G1595) reduces the proteolytic cleavage of VWF by ADAMTS13 under shear stress, suggesting the role of this region in interaction with ADAMTS13