170 research outputs found
In retrospect: Elective Affinities
No full textMatthew Bell reassesses German polymath Goethe's haunting 'chemical romance'
“Sohrab and Rustum” : Matthew Arnold’s spectacle
Full text linkAbstractThis thesis is, on the one hand, an investigation into Matthew Arnold’s (1822–1888) literary communications and, on the other hand, an attempt to mediate between his writings and a twenty-first century readership. Arnold’s oeuvre is substantial and varied, but this study focuses on his epic poetry, which has remained a neglected part of his body of work despite its significance both to the author himself and to developing an understanding of Arnold’s development as a poet, cultural critic, and iconic ‘Victorian sage’. Furthermore, it is his epic poetry that seems to most fully address the theme of communication, and thus these longer poems function as points of orientation for a broader inquiry into Arnold’s communications. Arnold himself was keenly aware of the complicated status of communicative acts, but these complications have not always been acknowledged by the generations of criticism that have emerged since his death. Critics have thus produced images of Arnold which have not always done justice to the complexity of his communications. Based on an understanding of ‘communicative’ as a position of mediation between writers and readers, this thesis addresses the need for a more balanced communicative framework for mediating between Arnold’s writings in general — and his epic poetry in particular — his critics, and present audiences.Original papersOriginal papers are not included in the electronic version of the dissertation.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2012). Towards a Dialogical Approach to Matthew Arnold. In Sell, Roger D. (Ed.) Literary Community-Making: The dialogicality of English Texts from the Seventeenth Century to the Present. (131 - 142) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2007). Sohrab and Rustum and Balder Dead – Communicating about Communication. In Nordic Journal of English Studies, 6(2), 47 - 64.Alarauhio, J.-P. (in press). Sohrab and Rustum – Matthew Arnold’s Spectacle. https://doi.org/10.1075/fillm.11.06alaSelf-archived versionTiivistelmäTässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan Matthew Arnoldin (1822–1888) kirjallista kommunikaatiota, pyrkien välittämään hänen kirjoitustensa merkityksiä 2000-luvun yleisölle. Arnoldin kirjallinen tuotanto on runsas ja monipuolinen, mutta tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään erityisesti hänen runoepiikkansa tulkintaan. Tämä osa hänen työstään on jäänyt tutkimuksessa verrattain vähäiseen asemaan huolimatta siitä, että Arnoldin kaksi lyhyttä runoeeposta olivat tärkeitä paitsi hänelle itselleen, mutta erityisesti osana hänen kehitystään runoilijana, kulttuurikriitikkona ja ikonisena viktoriaanisen ajan julkisena intellektuellina.Arnoldin runoepiikka vaikuttaa myös tutkivan kommunikaation teemaa laajemmin kuin hänen muut runonsa, ja toimii myös tällä tavoin keskiönä hänen oman kommunikaationsa laajemmalle tarkastelulle. Arnold oli varsin tietoinen kommunikaatiopyrkimystensä haasteista, mutta näitä ongelmia ei ole hänen kuolemansa jälkeen ilmestyneessä kritiikissä aina otettu huomioon. Näin on syntynyt monia Arnold-käsityksiä, jotka eivät välttämättä tee oikeutta hänen kommunikaationsa monivivahteisuudelle. Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii tuottamaan tasapainoisemman kommunikatiivisen lähestymistavan toimiakseen välittäjänä Arnoldin kirjoitusten, eritoten hänen eepostensa, ja nykylukijan välillä.OsajulkaisutOsajulkaisut eivät sisälly väitöskirjan elektroniseen versioon.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2012). Towards a Dialogical Approach to Matthew Arnold. In Sell, Roger D. (Ed.) Literary Community-Making: The dialogicality of English Texts from the Seventeenth Century to the Present. (131 - 142) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2007). Sohrab and Rustum and Balder Dead – Communicating about Communication. In Nordic Journal of English Studies, 6(2), 47 - 64.Alarauhio, J.-P. (in press). Sohrab and Rustum – Matthew Arnold’s Spectacle. https://doi.org/10.1075/fillm.11.06alaRinnakkaistallennettu versioAcademic dissertation to be presented with the assent of the Doctoral Training Committee of Human Sciences of the University of Oulu for public defence in the OP-auditorium (L10), Linnanmaa, on 26 January 2019, at 12 noonAbstract
This thesis is, on the one hand, an investigation into Matthew Arnold’s (1822–1888) literary communications and, on the other hand, an attempt to mediate between his writings and a twenty-first century readership. Arnold’s oeuvre is substantial and varied, but this study focuses on his epic poetry, which has remained a neglected part of his body of work despite its significance both to the author himself and to developing an understanding of Arnold’s development as a poet, cultural critic, and iconic ‘Victorian sage’. Furthermore, it is his epic poetry that seems to most fully address the theme of communication, and thus these longer poems function as points of orientation for a broader inquiry into Arnold’s communications. Arnold himself was keenly aware of the complicated status of communicative acts, but these complications have not always been acknowledged by the generations of criticism that have emerged since his death. Critics have thus produced images of Arnold which have not always done justice to the complexity of his communications. Based on an understanding of ‘communicative’ as a position of mediation between writers and readers, this thesis addresses the need for a more balanced communicative framework for mediating between Arnold’s writings in general — and his epic poetry in particular — his critics, and present audiences.Tiivistelmä
Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan Matthew Arnoldin (1822–1888) kirjallista kommunikaatiota, pyrkien välittämään hänen kirjoitustensa merkityksiä 2000-luvun yleisölle. Arnoldin kirjallinen tuotanto on runsas ja monipuolinen, mutta tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään erityisesti hänen runoepiikkansa tulkintaan. Tämä osa hänen työstään on jäänyt tutkimuksessa verrattain vähäiseen asemaan huolimatta siitä, että Arnoldin kaksi lyhyttä runoeeposta olivat tärkeitä paitsi hänelle itselleen, mutta erityisesti osana hänen kehitystään runoilijana, kulttuurikriitikkona ja ikonisena viktoriaanisen ajan julkisena intellektuellina.
Arnoldin runoepiikka vaikuttaa myös tutkivan kommunikaation teemaa laajemmin kuin hänen muut runonsa, ja toimii myös tällä tavoin keskiönä hänen oman kommunikaationsa laajemmalle tarkastelulle. Arnold oli varsin tietoinen kommunikaatiopyrkimystensä haasteista, mutta näitä ongelmia ei ole hänen kuolemansa jälkeen ilmestyneessä kritiikissä aina otettu huomioon. Näin on syntynyt monia Arnold-käsityksiä, jotka eivät välttämättä tee oikeutta hänen kommunikaationsa monivivahteisuudelle. Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii tuottamaan tasapainoisemman kommunikatiivisen lähestymistavan toimiakseen välittäjänä Arnoldin kirjoitusten, eritoten hänen eepostensa, ja nykylukijan välillä
Public perceptions and community issues
No full textThis paper is the seventh in a series of 8 that make up the evidence base for SDC report 'The role of nuclear power in a low carbon economy'.Publisher PD
Mechanical loss of fused silica fibres for use in gravitational wave detectors.
Full text linkThis thesis is an account of work carried out at the Institute for Gravitational Research (IGR), in the University of Glasgow between October 2010 and March 2014. The research presented contributes to the design of ultra-low mechanical loss suspensions for use in gravitational wave detectors and other kinds of interferometry. This thesis focuses on measuring the parameters of mechanical loss in fused silica suspensions that will limit the sensitivity of advanced gravitational wave detectors and other kinds of interferometers where fused silica suspensions are used. These investigations were carried out under the supervision of Dr Giles Hammond and Professor Sheila Rowan.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to gravitational wave astronomy and provides an insight into which astrophysical objects are able to emit gravitational radiation. The chapter goes on to describe current and future detection techniques that are used and planned in order to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves, noting some results and limits which have been achieved to date. The chapter also introduces the different noise sources that will limit the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors. The information detailed in this chapter has all been derived from previously published literature.
Chapter 2 introduces the theory of thermal noise and derives the relationship between the mechanical loss and thermal noise in fused silica suspensions via the fluctuation dissipation theorem. Discussion covers how this limits the sensitivity of a gravitational wave detector. The chapter includes the theory of loss mechanisms present in fused silica. Again the information contained in this chapter has all been derived from previously published literature.
Chapter 3 contains details and results of an experiment, where the expansion coefficient of fused silica fibres was measured under varying amounts of stress. Results demonstrate that the effective thermal expansion co-efficient of a fused silica fibre can be nulled by placing the fibre under a particular level of stress. This nulling of the effective thermal expansion coefficient should lower the thermoelastic noise contribution in silica suspensions, essential for allowing second generation gravitational wave detectors to reach their target thermal noise sensitivity of below 10^{-19}m/sqrt{Hz} at 10Hz. The experimental work in this chapter was conceived by Professor James Faller with a prototype demonstrated by Dr Stuart Reid. The set-up was then revised and modified by the author and Dr Giles Hammond to achieve the results presented in this thesis. Throughout this experiment Colin Craig helped with the machining of the invar set-up and Dr Kirill Tokmakov with suspending the silica fibres placed under large amounts of stress. Experimental measurements and analysis were carried out by the author.
Chapter 4 describes an experiment in which a fused silica fibre was held under tension and the harmonic violin mode losses over a range of frequencies were measured. The fibre was then cut and cantilever modes of the fibre measured. The contributions from excess losses were calculated and shown not to limit the experiment. A theoretical dilution factor was determined along with the modal strain distribution of the violin and cantilever modes from finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA was aided by Dr Rahul Kumar and Dr Alan Cumming. The data measured was then compiled with a loss model to give information about the loss contributions of fused silica such as thermoelastic loss, surface loss and weld loss. Designing of the silica pendulum system used in this experiment was helped by Russell Jones and the machining of the silica mass holders for CO2 welding was done by Steven Craig. Construction of the silica pendulum system was undertaken by Dr Giles Hammond and the author, who carried out the experimental measurements. Analysis of the data presented in this chapter was aided by Dr Matthew Pitkin who contributed a Markov Chain Monte Carlo regression fitting code.
Chapter 5 repeats the above experiment; where the author used a modified fused silica fibre to measure violin mode losses. The modified silica fibre allowed loss measurements to be made at a much lower frequency than in the previous violin mode set-up. In an attempt to study the nonlinear thermoelastic loss in more detail. The stress on the silica was also varied to observe the nulling of the effective thermal expansion coefficient directly through measurements of the mechanical loss. This experiment used many of the components described in chapter 4 and so the same people are acknowledged for their contribution. Construction of the silica pendulums used was carried out by Dr Giles Hammond, Dr Kirill Tokmakov and the author.
Chapter 6 focuses on measuring the mechanical loss of 20-30micron diameter fused silica fibres, for use in the Hannover AEI 10m prototype interferometer. This chapter illustrates the problems faced when trying to measure the mechanical losses of thin fibres. The mechanical loss data was then compiled with a loss and finite element model to give information about the loss contributions of fused silica such as thermoelastic, surface and weld loss in thin silica fibres. This experiment was constructed initially by Dr Stuart Reid with some of the welding being performed by Dr Kirill Tokmakov. All of the experimental measurements and analysis were the work of the author.
Chapter 7 details the conclusions that can be drawn from the various experiments in previous chapters.
The results will be be applicable across many areas of research where low mechanical thermal noise is required. More generally the results can be used as a basis for research that requires mechanical systems at room temperatures for example systems needed to produce stable optical cavities. A further important discovery emerging from this thesis is the ability to cancel and reverse the effective thermal expansion coefficient of fused silica by placing the silica under stress. This process allows stressed silica to be used in systems were low thermal expansion coefficient materials are needed. Thus fused silica can be used as an alternative to composite materials such as invar
De lo que puede suceder cuando te acercas a una obra de arte. 73 Tercera Época (2019) abril-julio. Gaceta de Museos. Museos de Arte
No full textAlderoqui, Silvia, “Educación en los museos del siglo xxi”, en Ciencia, arte y tecnología. Enfoques plurales para un abordaje multidisciplinar, Buenos Aires, Universidad Nacional de Lanús, 2015, p. 17.Burnham, Rika, y Elliot Kai-Kee, La enseñanza en el museo de arte. La interpretación como experiencia, México, Museo Nacional de San Carlos-INBA, 2012.Carbonell S., Jaume, Pedagogías del siglo XXI. Alternativas para la innovación educativa, Barcelona, Octaedro, 2016.Dewey, John, El arte como experiencia, Barcelona, Paidós Ibérica, 2008.Émond, Anne Marie, “Cómo los visitantes de los museos de arte se vinculan de manera positiva con el trabajo artístico”, Reencuentro. Análisis de problemas universitarios, núm. 46, agosto de 2006, recuperado de: oa?id=34004603ISSN>, consultada el 28 de diciembre de 2018.“Experiencias de creatividad e interacción en el arte”, Espacio Visual Europa (eve), 11 de octubre de 2017, recuperado de: experiencias-de-creatividad-e-interaccion-en-el-arte/>, consultada el 19 de junio de 2018.Lipman, Matthew, El lugar del pensamiento en la educación, Barcelona, Octaedro, 2016._____, Suki, Buenos Aires, Manantial, 2000._____, Pensamiento complejo y educación, Madrid, De la Torre, 1998.Nancy, Jean-Luc, El arte hoy, Buenos Aires, Prometeo, 2014.Sharp, Ann, “Experiencia, sentido y lo deseable: educar la imaginación”, conferencia en el marco de la XIII Conferencia Taller Internacional de Filosofía para Niños, 3-11 de enero de 2009.Pallasmaa, Juhani, Esencias, Barcelona, Gustavo Gili, 2018.Velasco, Mónica, “Filosofía para niños: una alternativa de resignificación de la experiencia”. tesis de doctorado, México, UIA, 2000
Case report: Isolation of Streptococcus suis from 2 lambs with a history of lameness
No full textStreptococcus suis was isolated postmortem from 2 lambs with a history of lameness. Identity of S. suis was confirmed by species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. One isolate was untypable by serotyping and non-encapsulated, while the other isolate was serotype 33. The lambs had come from the same farm, and there was no evidence of contact between the lambs and pigs. Although the natural niche for S. suis is considered to be the pig, a wide range of host species may be affected by this pathogen
Mechanistic investigations into pro-survival and pro-death neuronal Ca2+ signalling pathways
Full text linkCa2+ is an important second messenger which modulates a variety of signalling pathways in
both excitable and non-excitable cells. In the CNS, Ca2+ plays an important role in neurons
both physiologically and pathologically. Ca2+ influx following synaptic activity, is important
in development, plasticity, redox balance, as well as in neuroprotection, largely through
activation of pro-survival pathways downstream of synaptic NMDAR activation, including
upregulation of antioxidant defences. However, excessive Ca2+ influx in neurons leads to
neuronal damage and excitotoxicity, in which mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake through the
mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (Mcu) resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction is a key player.
Excitotoxicity occurs due to glutamate efflux from astrocytes following stroke, traumatic brain
injury and in chronic neurodegenerative diseases, leading to excessive neuronal NMDAR
activation and triggering of its downstream pro-death pathways. This thesis focuses on
understanding the pro-survival and pro-death effects of signalling pathways activated by Ca2+
in neurons, as well as the potential effect of neuronal synaptic activity on influencing
neuroprotective gene transcription in astrocytes.
I investigated the role of AMPK, a master regulator of metabolism, in NMDA excitotoxicity
in cortical neurons as a potential downstream effector of Mcu-dependent excitotoxic death;
and found the deletion of AMPKα1/2 to be neuroprotective against NMDA-mediated
excitotoxicity, however I found AMPK activation to be independent of Mcu. I also
investigated the expression pattern of Mcu and other mitochondrial calcium regulatory genes
(MCRGs), and found MCRGs to be differentially expressed in different neural cells (primary
neurons vs astrocytes), and neuronal subtypes (CA1 vs CA3 region of the hippocampus),
suggesting differing dependence on the various MCRGs in mitochondrial Ca2+ handling in
these cell types. A better functional understanding of these genes will allow for investigation
of their importance in mitochondrial Ca2+ handling, including their potential role in
excitotoxicity.
I next investigated the neuroprotective effects of synaptic activity induced Ca2+ influx,
focusing on antioxidant target genes of Nrf2, a transcription factor and major regulator of
antioxidant genes. I found that unlike astrocytes, neurons express very low levels of Nrf2.
However, synaptic activity increased the expression of several Nrf2 target genes in neurons,
independently of astrocytes and Nrf2. Additionally, I found no effect of synaptic activity on
increasing Nrf2 protein levels, despite previous reports in literature of Nrf2 pathway activation
following synaptic activity. Finally, using RNA-seq I identified a list of genes strongly
upregulated by a known Nrf2 activator in astrocytes, and found no evidence that neuronal
activity triggers expression of these genes independently of neurons, providing further
evidence that neuronal activity does not activate the Nrf2 pathway in astrocytes. This suggests
that synaptic activity via pathways activated by Ca2+ signalling provides neurons with cell-autonomous
antioxidant defences, independently of Nrf2; thus providing a distinct pathway
for antioxidant defences in neurons from the Nrf2 pathway, which is activated in astrocytes
providing neurons with non-cell autonomous antioxidant support.
These results give us further insight into the mechanisms that underlie synaptic and non-synaptic
Ca2+ signalling pathways mediating neuronal survival and death, which could help in
identifying therapeutic targets to combat excitotoxicity and oxidative stress in various
neurological diseases
Performance of a compact end-tidal forcing system
No full textThe purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a new compact, portable end-tidal forcing (ETF) system capable of reliably controlling end-tidal gases. The system consists of compressed gas sources (air, N 2 and CO 2) that are connected via three solenoid valves to a humidification chamber and an inspiratory reservoir bag from which the participant breathes. This computer-controlled system compares actual end-tidal gas partial pressures with target pressures and mixes the gases on a breath-by-breath basis. This leaves no unused exhaust gas and keeps gas requirements to a minimum. Eight participants underwent two different 30-min protocols that included each possible combination of end-tidal O 2 partial pressure ( PE T O 2 ) and end-tidal CO 2 partial pressure ( PE T C O 2 ) control at two different levels ( PE T O 2 at 55 and 75 mmHg; and PE T C O 2 at 4 and 7 mmHg above resting). The ETF system maintained the mean PE T C O 2 at 0.13 mmHg from the target values, with a pooled S.D. across conditions of ±0.91 mmHg and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of ±0.63 mmHg. The mean PE T O 2 was held at 0.49 mmHg from its target values, with a pooled S.D. across conditions of ±1.31 mmHg and a 95% CI of ±0.91 mmHg. To demonstrate suitability of this system for measuring chemosensitivity to hypoxia, hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) tests were conducted in a subset of five participants. During a 20-min HVR test both PE T C O 2 and PE T O 2 were not significantly different from their target values. These data demonstrate the performance of a portable, compact, economical system that controls PE T C O 2 within 1 mmHg and PE T O 2 within 2 mmHg of their respective target values.Peer reviewedFinal article publishedRespirationChemosensitivityControl of breathingHypoxiaIsocapni
The effects of lower body positive and negative pressure on the hypoxic ventilatory decline
No full textPurpose
Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) augments the acute hypoxic ventilatory response (AHVR) in humans, presumably through altered central integration of baro- and chemoreceptor afferents. This study investigated the effects of LBNP and lower body positive pressure (LBPP) on hypoxic ventilatory decline (HVD) in humans.
Methods
Nine individuals (4 females and 5 males) were tested in a supine position with the lower body supported inside a hypo/hyperbaric chamber. During each test the participant was exposed in a random order to LBNP at −37.5 mmHg, LBPP at +37.5 mmHg and to ambient pressure (LBAP) at 0 mmHg. Blood pressure, expired gases and haemoglobin O2 saturation were continuously recorded. Hypoxia was administered in a single step to a
of 50 mmHg for 20 min. For all tests
was maintained at the pre-hypoxic resting level.
Results
The peak ventilation was significantly greater during LBNP (36.0 ± 10.8 L min−1) than during ambient pressure (29.4 ± 8.1 L min−1; p = 0.032). However, peak ventilation was not significantly different between LBPP and ambient pressure. The HVD was not significantly different across the three conditions (p = 0.144). Both mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure were not affected by 37.5 mmHg of either LBPP (p = 0.941) or LBNP (p = 0.275). Baroreflex slope was decreased by both hypoxia and LBNP.
Conclusion
These data suggest that LBNP increases AHVR through an effect on the baroreflex, while LBPP has no effect on AHVR. Since LBNP increases AHVR without affecting HVD, these findings support that the mechanism accounting for the HVD includes afferent output originating from the peripheral rather than the central chemosensitive tissues.Peer reviewedFinal article published.Baroreflex sensitivityHypoxic ventilatory responseHypoxiaControl of breathingChemosensitivit
Estimating minute ventilation and air pollution inhaled dose using heart rate, breath frequency, age, sex and forced vital capacity: A pooled-data analysis
Full text linkAir pollution inhaled dose is the product of pollutant concentration and minute ventilation ([Formula: see text]). Previous studies have parameterized the relationship between [Formula: see text] and variables such as heart rate (HR) and have observed substantial inter-subject variability. In this paper, we evaluate a method to estimate [Formula: see text] with easy-to-measure variables in an analysis of pooled-data from eight independent studies. We compiled a large diverse data set that is balanced with respect to age, sex and fitness level. We used linear mixed models to estimate [Formula: see text] with HR, breath frequency (fB), age, sex, height, and forced vital capacity (FVC) as predictors. FVC was estimated using the Global Lung Function Initiative method. We log-transformed the dependent and independent variables to produce a model in the form of a power function and assessed model performance using a ten-fold cross-validation procedure. The best performing model using HR as the only field-measured parameter was [Formula: see text] = e-9.59HR2.39age0.274sex-0.204FVC0.520 with HR in beats per minute, age in years, sex is 1 for males and 2 for females, FVC in liters, and a median(IQR) cross-validated percent error of 0.664(45.4)%. The best performing model overall was [Formula: see text] = e-8.57HR1.72fB0.611age0.298sex-0.206FVC0.614, where fB is breaths per minute, and a median(IQR) percent error of 1.20(37.9)%. The performance of these models is substantially better than any previously-published model when evaluated using this large pooled-data set. We did not observe an independent effect of height on [Formula: see text], nor an effect of race, though this may have been due to insufficient numbers of non-white participants. We did observe an effect of FVC such that these models over- or under-predict [Formula: see text] in persons whose measured FVC was substantially lower or higher than estimated FVC, respectively. Although additional measurements are necessary to confirm this finding regarding FVC, we recommend using measured FVC when possible.Peer reviewedFinal article published
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