6,110 research outputs found
Nonstrangulating small colon obstruction caused by a submucosal haematoma
No full textS. Stahel, C. B. Riley, M. Wichtel and P.-Y. Daous
Use of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for the Diagnosis of Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity and Measurement of Immunoglobulin Concentrations in Horses
No full textBackground: The economic, accurate, and rapid screening of foals for failure of transfer of passive immunity (FPT) is essential to ensure timely intervention. Hypothesis: Infrared (IR) spectroscopy of foal sera and pattern recognition may be used to diagnose FPT and quantify serum IgG. Samples: Sera from 194 foals (24–72 hours) with serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations determined previously by radial immunodiffusion assay (RID) were used. Methods: IR spectra were recorded for the serum samples, and the data were randomly divided into training and independent test sets, each containing both FPT-positive (IgG <400 mg/dL) and non-FPT samples. A genetic optimal region selection algorithm and linear discriminant analysis were used to partition the training spectra, and the resulting classifier was then validated by comparing the IR-predicted FPT status for each of the test samples to that provided by the RID IgG assay. A quantitative IR-based assay for IgG was developed using partial least squares (PLS) and validated by testing its ability to predict IgG concentrations. Results: Specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy for the combined data were 92.5, 96.8, and 95.9%, respectively. Corresponding positive (88.1%) and negative predictive (98.0%) values determined a success rate of 95–97% as compared to RID-based IgG concentrations. The IR-based quantitative assay yielded correlation coefficients for IR spectroscopy versus RID-based IgG concentrations of 0.90 and 0.86 for the training and test sets, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The overall performance of the IR-based test was similar to that of the colorimetric assay and was superior and more economic than other available tests.Christopher B. Riley, J.T. McClure, Sarah Low-Ying, and R. Anthony Sha
Simulation modelling: Educational development roles for learning technologists
No full textSimulation modelling was in the mainstream of CAL development in the 1980s when the late David Squires introduced this author to the Dynamic Modelling System. Since those early days, it seems that simulation modelling has drifted into a learning technology backwater to become a member of Laurillard's underutilized, ‘adaptive and productive’ media. Referring to her Conversational Framework, Laurillard constructs a pedagogic case for modelling as a productive student activity but provides few references to current practice and available resources. This paper seeks to complement her account by highlighting the pioneering initiatives of the Computers in the Curriculum Project and more recent developments in systems modelling within geographic and business education. The latter include improvements to system dynamics modelling programs such as STELLA®, the publication of introductory textbooks, and the emergence of online resources. The paper indicates several ways in which modelling activities may be approached and identifies some educational development roles for learning technologists. The paper concludes by advocating simulation modelling as an exemplary use of learning technologies ‐ one that realizes their creative‐transformative potential
Characteristics of The Plautine Comic in Pseudolus
No full textTitus Maccius Plautus did not write an original work. The author from Sarsina himself acknowledged the Greek model of his plays. The ancients did not have a cult for originality, the way modernists do and Plautus makes no exception. All that the playwright aims to, regardless of the form, is laughter: “It is a comedy full of charm and humor: / You will roll in the aisles” . Through the analysis of “Pseudolus”, we have tried to outline several characteristics of ludus comicus, of the artistic modality to accomplish it, by the means of which the author from Sarsina managed to assert his uniqueness.ludus comicus, comic, Titus Maccius Plautus
Long-term outcome of catheter ablation for treatment of bundle branch re-entrant tachycardia
No full textAbstract not available.Rajeev K. Pathak, Joe Fahed, Pasquale Santangeli, Matthew C. Hyman, Jackson J. Liang, Maciej Kubala, Tatsuya Hayashi, Daniele Muser, Manina Pathak, Arshneel Kochar, Simon A. Castro, Fermin C. Garcia, David S. Frankel, Gregory E. Supple, Robert D. Schaller, David Lin, Michael P. Riley, Rajat Deo, Andrew E. Epstein, Erica S. Zado, Sanjay Dixit, David J. Callans, Francis E. Marchlinsk
Is uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis really a new method?
No full textFisher's linear discriminant analysis and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) are powerful methods in multivariate data analysis. Recently, a method called “uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA)” has attracted attention in the chemometrics community. It has been stated that the major difference between ULDA and LDA is that the discriminant vectors of ULDA must satisfy an “S-orthogonality” constraint. This has led to the impression that ULDA is a different method from LDA. A number of papers published in the chemometrics field and others have generally accepted this statement. However, it can be shown that the so-called ULDA method is equivalent to Fisher's linear discriminant analysis or one simple case of LDA. There is a need to resolve the confusion surrounding ULDA in the chemometrics community. This work clarifies this confusion from a mathematical perspective and demonstrates equivalence using real experimental data sets
Synthesis and Characterization of Phosphorus Containing Poly(arylene ether)s
No full textThe synthesis and characterization of phosphorus containing poly(arylene ether)s were investigated to determine the effect of phosphorus upon the thermal stability, mechanical strength, and fire resistance of thermoplastics. Phosphorus containing activated aromatic dihalides and bisphenols were synthesized in high purity. These monomers were successfully polymerized via nucleophilic aromatic substitution to afford high molecular weight polymers. It was determined that by incorporating the phosphine oxide moiety into the polymer backbone certain properties of the resulting poly(arylene ether)s were substantially improved, such as an increase in Tg, thermal stability in air, modulus, and char yield, compared with control poly(arylene ether sulfone)s. The high char yields obtained for these polymers in air, along with observed intumescence indicates that these materials have improved fire resistance. Preliminary cone calorimetry measurements support this conclusion.
In addition, the phosphine oxide group in the backbone was reduced to a phosphine and successfully converted to a phosphonium bromide ionomer. The resulting system was further chemically modified to ionically bond second-order nonlinear optical chromophores to the backbone of selected poly(arylene ether)s. Initial results on corona poling of cast film at low temperature produced stable second harmonic generation in these materials, indicating that they may have promise in nonlinear optical applications.Ph. D
Illusion / anti-illusion: the music of Steve Reich in context, 1965-1968
No full textThis dissertation situates the work of Steve Reich during the mid-to-late 1960s in its intricate socio-cultural context. Exploring biographical, hermeneutic, aesthetic, and political implications, it attempts to shed light on the composer’s early years. The historical narrative concentrates on the period between the first instantiation of the phase-shifting technique in 'It’s Gonna Rain, or, Meet Brother Walter in Union Square after Listening to Terry Riley' (1965) and the theoretical treatise ‘Music as a Gradual Process’ (1968). It reaches back, however, to the cultural nexus of San Francisco and ahead to the mercurial gallery scene in New York. In addition, modal compositions from 1966 and 1967 are subject to detailed analyses which question the boundary between ‘impersonal’ process and composerly intervention.
Chapter 1 deals with Reich’s relationship to Process art and Minimalism(s), paying particular attention to where he presented his work and with whom he was associated. Chapter 2 traces his involvement with the San Francisco Tape Music Center, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the filmmaker Robert Nelson; problematic issues surrounding race and representation are also considered. Chapter 3 critiques two transitional works: 'Melodica' and 'Reed Phase', the latter representing a striking omission from the accepted Reich canon. Chapter 4 is concerned with the relationship between musical teleology and consumer desire in post-war ‘affluent society’, building on the work of Robert Fink. The conclusion proposes that broader social contradictions of the 1960s can be detected in Reich’s music
Relational Art as Social Semiotic
No full textAbstract: This article, a revised and extended version of a presentation to the “6th International
Conference of the Arts in Society,” Berlin, May 2011, elaborates the dialectical relationship between
visual art forms and the social structures in which they are produced, by extending Robert Witkin’s
taxonomy first presented in his 1995 book “Art and Social Structure.” Witkin tracked the history of
visual art from pre-modern times, for which he invented the label “invocational art,” to the advent of
Modernism, described in terms of “evocational” and “provocational art.” The article then extrapolates
from Witkin’s model to include post-Modernism, for which the author ’s term “revocational art” has
been coined, and goes on to discuss Nicolas Bourriaud’s concept of “Altermodernism,” his term for
describing the relationship between contemporary art practices and the social conditions of today,
for which the author suggests an alternative-”convocational art”-a synonym for Bourriaud’s term
“relational art.” The paper then introduces a systemic-functional semiotic model for the analysis of
relational art, and concludes with a demonstration of the model as applied to the work of Anton Vidokle
Comparison of the effects of xylazine bolus versus medetomidine constant rate infusion on cardiopulmonary function and depth of anesthesia in horses anesthetized with isoflurane
No full textObjective—To compare the effects of xylazine bolus versus medetomidine constant rate infusion (MCRI) on cardiopulmonary function and depth of anesthesia in dorsally recumbent, spontaneously breathing, isoflurane-anesthetized horses.
Design—Prospective, randomized crossover study.
Animals—10 healthy adult Standardbreds.
Procedures—Horses were premedicated with xylazine or medetomidine IV. Anesthesia was induced with diazepam and ketamine and maintained with isoflurane for 150 minutes. For the xylazine treatment, end-tidal isoflurane concentration was maintained at 1.7%, and xylazine (0.2 mg/kg [0.09 mg/lb], IV) was administered as a bolus at the end of anesthesia. For the MCRI treatment, end-tidal isoflurane concentration was maintained at 1.4%, and medetomidine (0.005 mg/kg/h [0.0023 mg/lb/h], IV) was infused throughout anesthesia. Physiologic data (ie, heart rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, bispectral index, and electromyographic values) were compared between treatments with xylazine bolus versus MCRI.
Results—Heart rate was lower, but mean arterial blood pressure was higher from 20 to 40 minutes with MCRI treatment, compared with conventional treatment with xylazine. Respiratory rate and rectal temperature were greater with MCRI treatment. Bispectral index was lower with MCRI treatment from 80 to 150 minutes, and electromyographic values were lower with MCRI treatment from 30 to 150 minutes.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In isoflurane-anesthetized horses, premedication with medetomidine followed by administration of medetomidine as a constant rate infusion resulted in decreased heart rate, higher arterial blood pressure from 20 through 40 minutes after induction of anesthesia, and better preserved body temperature, compared with conventional treatment with xylazine. Greater depth of anesthesia and muscle relaxation were seen with MCRI treatment, despite the lower isoflurane concentration.Catherine M. Creighton, Kip A. Lemke, Leigh A. Lamont, Barbara S. Horney, Christopher B. Rile
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