9 research outputs found
An equivalent formulation of the Fan-Raspaud Conjecture and related problems
No full textIn 1994, it was conjectured by Fan and Raspaud that every simple bridgeless cubic graph has three perfect matchings whose intersection is empty. In this paper we answer a question recently proposed by Mkrtchyan and Vardanyan, by giving an equivalent formulation of the Fan-Raspaud Conjecture. We also study a possibly weaker conjecture originally proposed by the first author, which states that in every simple bridgeless cubic graph there exist two perfect matchings such that the complement of their union is a bipartite graph. Here, we show that this conjecture can be equivalently stated using a variant of Petersen-colourings, we prove it for graphs having oddness at most four and we give a natural extension to bridgeless cubic multigraphs and to certain cubic graphs having bridges
MSJ860304_supplemental_material – Supplemental material for Multiple sclerosis relapse risk in the postoperative period: Effects of invasive surgery and anesthesia
No full textSupplemental material, MSJ860304_supplemental_material for Multiple sclerosis relapse risk in the postoperative period: Effects of invasive surgery and anesthesia by Lindsey B De Lott, Samantha Zerafa, Kerby Shedden, Galit Levi Dunietz, Michelle Earley, Benjamin M Segal and Tiffany J Braley in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
The life and music of Benigno Zerafa (1726-1804) : a mid-18th century Maltese composer of sacred music
No full textThe aim of the following thesis is to provide a study of the life and music
of Benigno Zerafa (1726-1804), a mid-18th-century Maltese composer of
sacred music. As a model adopted in this dissertation, research on
Benigno Zerafa is divided into four categories which the author chose as
important points of evidence in musicology:
i) biographical, historical and literary studies (based mainly on official
documents, the musical documents, and the informative
descriptions of performances at the Cathedral, all housed in the
archives of the Cathedral Museum) dealing with the composer's
life, the environment in which he was brought up and in which he
worked, the liturgy and local religious life, the texts he used for his
vocal works, performance practice, the reception of his music, and
its performance history; these are given in chapters one, two, three
and four;
ii) source studies - (i) gathering the sources, (ii) identifying the
composer's musical and textual handwriting, (iii) determining the
authenticity of works attributed to him - involving documentary
or external evidence, provenance, paper studies of handwriting,
watermarks and staving (rastrography), methods of dating, etc.:
these are discussed in chapter four and the thematic catalogue;
iii) style analysis concerned with internal evidence deriving from the
music itself, and ultimately confronting questions of eesthetics, the
place of the composer in music history and, especially, his influence
on the development of the Maltese Baroque style - chapters five,
six and seven. Empirical methods involving analysis of motifs,
phrase structure, harmony, style characteristics, texture, form and
word-painting are all considered. The arguments presented
demonstrate how topoi, rhetorical figures and systematic overall
planning are essential features of Zerafa's works in general;
iv) a thematic catalogue of Zerafa's 148 works - volumes three and
four - in chronological order concludes this study; a general preface
and various indexes to facilitate quick reference are also included.
A critical edition of Zerafa's Z116, Nisi Dominus for soprano solo, is
presented as appendix A. Other appendices (B to G) follow as aids to the
main text.
To the best of my knowledge (as of 31 October 2001), no critical editions,
books, papers and theses on the composer have yet been published and
are in the process of being published. The present author's critical edition
of Z2, Messa a due cori (1743), has appeared as part-fulfilment of
requirements for the M. Mus. degree (Liverpool, 1997) in a computerised
version, and was performed professionally in four locations in France in
1998 under the direction of French conductor Jean-Marc Labylle .
One or two dissertations on Zerafa have now appeared. A doctoral thesis
by Franco Bruni (Sorbonne, 1998) entitled La Cappella musicale della
Cattedrale di Malta nel diciasettesimo e diciottesimo secolo presents a
detailed study of the Cappella Musicale of the Cathedral up to the 18th
century; a concise biographical note on Benigno Zerafa and an analysis of
watermarks of the manuscript paper used are included. There is also a
brief analysis of a small number of works, followed by a general thematic
catalogue of the works according to manuscript number.
The aims of this thesis and the results achieved lie within the context of .
the composer's life and career, and are intended to promote a better
understanding of the man and his music
Application of passive-acoustic telemetry to explore the behaviour of ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) in commercial Scottish salmon sea-pens
No full textA passive-acoustic telemetry system was used for the first time for the fine-scale, three-dimensional tracking of individual cleaner fish in commercial Scottish salmon sea-pens in full commercial operation. The aim was to test the system performance and provide baseline data on the comparative distribution and swimming activity of individual ballan wrasse and lumpfish under standard farm practices with the long-term aim of informing stocking and husbandry strategies. In March 2015, wild ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) (115 ± 20 g; n = 13) and farmed lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) (281 ± 42 g; n = 13) previously deployed in June–October 2014 were recaptured, implanted with acoustic tags pinging every 6–12 s and released into their original sea cage holding Atlantic salmon (Q2 2014; 2059 ± 35 g mean-weight). Control tags were deployed in cleaner fish hides to validate the system performance. Positional data from nine specimens per species were analysed from March 24th to June 1st 2015, during which time water temperature rose from 7.2 to 9.1 °C and water salinity averaged 26.8 ± 1.5 ppt at 4 m depth. The accuracy of the acoustic positions averaged 0.6 m across the three dimensions of all control tags and was < 1 m in 93% of all cases. Significant differences in the distribution and activity of ballan wrasse and lumpfish were observed. Ballan wrasses spent 60 ± 2% of the day-time at or below 15 m, were positioned at significantly shallower depths at night and seldom used the hides provided despite an apparent resting behaviour at the pen bottom and corners. In comparison, lumpfish spent over 80% of the time above 10 m, used hides extensively and preferentially at night (50.1 ± 2.1% at night), but to a lesser extent when the water temperature increased. The acoustic tracking system proved to be an effective tool for visualising cleaner fish behaviour under challenging farm conditions, and the study highlights the critical role of hides in cleaner fish husbandry. Overall, the study quantified species-specific cleaner fish distribution in salmon net-pens supporting distinct interactions with the salmon stock and seasonal behaviour profiles. The results support the current commercial strategy of using two cleaner fish species against sea lice and the need for species-specific management strategies to optimise delousing activity
Pre-deployment acclimatisation of farmed ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) to sea-cage conditions promotes behaviour analogous to wild conspecifics when used as cleaner fish in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) farms
No full textBallan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) are used as cleaner fish in commercial Atlantic salmon farming to remove ectoparasitic sea lice. While the delousing performance of wild wrasse is usually good, that of farmed wrasse is variable, possibly because of different conditions in hatcheries and sea cages. In this study, three passive-acoustic telemetry (PAT) trials were conducted at a salmon farm to compare the behaviour of wild and farmed wrasse and test the effect of acclimatising farmed wrasse to sea-cage conditions before deployment. Up to 40 fish were monitored simultaneously for 60–124 days by triangulating tag positions within a hydrophone array every 6–10 s. This data was used to assess fish depth and preferred cage locations and calculate activity, orientation and home ranges. Wild wrasse occupied shallower depths (13.3 ± 2.4 m) than farmed wrasse, which remained near the bottom of the cages (18.2 ± 1.7 m). Swimming activity was higher in wild wrasse with significant diurnal variations due to nocturnal quiescence on 68% of observed days. Wild wrasse rapidly developed large home ranges (616.8 ± 110.1 m2), preferring cage corners. Hatchery-and-sea-cage acclimatisation improved the behaviour of farmed wrasse; they rapidly moved up the water column (9.08 ± 2.05 m after 1 week) and established home ranges (514.3 ± 146.6 m2), and they developed diurnal activity patterns, which may indicate a positive response to acclimatisation. Acclimatising farmed ballan wrasse to sea-cage conditions positively improved and encouraged behaviours similar to those seen in wild wrasse, including diurnal rhythms and the establishment of home ranges, and is recommended for all farmed wrasse prior to deployment to improve delousing performance
An equivalent formulation of the Fan-Raspaud Conjecture and related problems
No full textIn 1994, it was conjectured by Fan and Raspaud that every simple bridgeless cubic
graph has three perfect matchings whose intersection is empty. In this paper we answer
a question recently proposed by Mkrtchyan and Vardanyan, by giving an equivalent formulation of the Fan-Raspaud Conjecture. We also study a possibly weaker conjecture
originally proposed by the first author, which states that in every simple bridgeless cubic
graph there exist two perfect matchings such that the complement of their union is a bipartite graph. Here, we show that this conjecture can be equivalently stated using a variant of
Petersen-colourings, we prove it for graphs having oddness at most four and we give a natural extension to bridgeless cubic multigraphs and to certain cubic graphs having bridges.peer-reviewe
Multiple sclerosis relapse risk in the postoperative period: Effects of invasive surgery and anesthesia.
No full textPro-inflammatory signaling by IL-10 and IL-22: bad habit stirred up by interferons?
No full textInterleukin (IL)-10 and IL-22 are key members of the IL-10 cytokine family that share characteristic properties such as defined structural features, usage of IL-10R2 as one receptor chain, and activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3 as dominant signaling mode. IL-10, formerly known as cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor, is key to deactivation of monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells. Accordingly, pre-clinical studies document its anti-inflammatory capacity. However, the outcome of clinical trials assessing the therapeutic potential of IL-10 in prototypic inflammatory disorders has been disappointing. In contrast to IL-10, IL-22 acts primarily on non-leukocytic cells, in particular epithelial cells of intestine, skin, liver, and lung. STAT3-driven proliferation, anti-apoptosis, and anti-microbial tissue protection is regarded a principal function of IL-22 at host/environment interfaces. In this hypothesis article, hidden/underappreciated pro-inflammatory characteristics of IL-10 and IL-22 are outlined and related to cellular priming by type I interferon. It is tempting to speculate that an inherent inflammatory potential of IL-10 and IL-22 confines their usage in tissue protective therapy and beyond that determines in some patients efficacy of type I interferon treatment
Characterisation of T cell defects in acute myeloid leukaemia
No full textPhDUnderstanding the immune system in patients with cancer and how it interacts with malignant cells is critical for the development of successful immunotherapeutic strategies at a time when novel cancer treatment approaches are required. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) results in widespread interaction between the malignant cells and T cells and as such, offers an opportunity to study these interactions. A flow cytometric analysis of T cells in the peripheral blood of patients presenting with AML illustrated that the absolute number of T cells is increased in AML compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, a large population of CD3+56+ cells was identified. These cells are not natural killer T cells but effector T cells that may represent a failing immunosurveillance mechanism. Two technical issues were explored: how to separate T cells from the peripheral blood of newly diagnosed AML patients and the impact of the method of immunomagnetic cell separation on the gene expression profile of healthy T cells. Gene expression profiling was subsequently performed on T cells from AML patients compared with healthy controls. Global differences in transcription were observed suggesting aberrant T cell activation patterns in AML. As differentially regulated genes involved in actin cytoskeletal formation were noted, a functional assessment of the ability of T cells from AML patients to form immunological synapses was performed. This illustrated that although T cells from AML patients can form conjugates with autologous blasts, their ability to form immune synapses and recruit phosphotyrosine signalling molecules to that signalling interface is impaired. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that numerically T cells are plentiful in AML however they are abnormal in terms of the genes they are transcribing and in their interactions with tumour cells. Targeting immunological synapse formation may represent an important means of improving T cell recognition of tumour cells across a range of cancers
