532 research outputs found
Fran Davis Razor and Vicki Van Winkle Craycraft: Dayton Music History Project
No full textVideo interview with Fran Davis Razor and Vicky Van Winkle Craycraft, members of 1960’s rock band, Vicki and the Rest, discussing their band and experiences in the Dayton music scene in 1960’s
Vicky Vogue Photo Album 3
No full textThe third in a series of photo albums of Buffalo\u27s Drag Mamma Vicky Vogue (Danny Winter).https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/mdalbums/1003/thumbnail.jp
Vicky Vogue Photo Album 2
No full textThe second in a series of photo albums of Buffalo\u27s Drag Mamma Vicky Vogue (Danny Winter).https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/mdalbums/1002/thumbnail.jp
Vicky Henderson
No full textthis paper. The second author is supported by an Advanced Fellowship from the EPSRC. The third author acknowledges partial financial support from DAAD, EPSRC and KW
Bayesian mixture estimation for perceptual grouping
No full textPerceptual grouping is the process by which a set of image elements is divided into distinct “objects” or components. In this dissertation I propose a Bayesian framework for understanding perceptual grouping, in which the goal of the computation is to estimate the organization that best explains the observed configuration of image elements. I formalize the problem of perceptual grouping as a mixture estimation problem, where it is assumed that the configuration of elements is generated by a set of distinct components (or ”objects”), whose underlying parameters one seeks to estimate. In the first part of this dissertation I will propose a simplified version of the framework and show how it can be used to estimate the number of objects, more specifically clusters of dots, present in the image. Across two experiments I show how the model gives an accurate and quantitatively precise account of subjects’ numerosity judgments, while at the same time outperforming more standard accounts for dot clustering. In the second part of the dissertation this simplified framework is expanded to estimate a hierarchical representation of the image elements. This framework can easily be adjusted to different subproblems of perceptual grouping. Here I will show how an instantiation of our framework for contour integration, part decomposition, and shape completion can account for several key perceptual phenomena and previously collected human subject data.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Vicky Froye
Stafford, Vicky
No full textAn email from Brenda Davis about appointment of Dr. John Lucich as Medical Director.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/pa_20anniversary/1164/thumbnail.jp
Confronting Existential Dilemmas: An In-Depth Analysis of Vicky Cristina Barcelona through the Philosophies of Sartre and Camus
No full textIn this paper, the author analyzes Woody Allen's film Vicky Cristina Barcelona through an existential lens, drawing parallels with the philosophies of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The characters Vicky, Cristina, Juan Antonio, and María Elena embody existential dilemmas, exploring themes of individual freedom, choice, and the search for meaning in an indifferent world. The analysis delves into Sartrean concepts of bad faith and radical freedom, contrasting Vicky's societal conformity with Cristina's Camusian pursuit of meaning through experiences. The characters' interactions reflect the unpredictable and absurd nature of human relationships, echoing Camus's exploration of the absurdity of emotions. The non-linear narrative structure aligns with existential themes, emphasizing life's unpredictability, and Barcelona serves as a metaphor for the complexities of existence. Woody Allen's narrative and artistic choices invite viewers to reflect on the intricate interplay of love, desire, and chance encounters in the context of existentialism
From Pausanias to Baedeker and Trip Advisor: Textual proto-tourism and the engendering of tourism distribution channels
No full textThe key aim of this article is to provide an interdisciplinary look at tourism and its diachronic textual threads bequeathed by the ‘proto-tourist’ texts of the Greek travel author Pausanias. Using the periegetic, travel texts from his voluminous Description of Greece (2nd century CE) as a springboard for our presentation, we intend to show how the textual strategies employed by Pausanias have been received and still remain at the core of contemporary series of travel guides first authored by Karl Baedeker (in the 19th century). After Baedeker, Pausanias’ textual travel tropes, as we will show, still inform the epistemology of modern-day tourism; the interaction of travel texts with travel information and distribution channels produces generic hybrids, and the ancient Greek travel authors have paved the way for the construction of networks, digital storytelling and global tourist platforms
Expression of the fibrillin gene family in the development, differentiation and maintenance of mesenchyme cell types
No full textConnective tissue initially arises from embryonic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) that
originate from the mesoderm during embryogenesis and are capable of differentiating
into connective tissue lineages such as adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and
fibroblasts. Connective tissue is composed of cells held together by the extracellular
matrix (ECM). The fibrillins and latent transforming growth factor binding proteins form
a superfamily of ECM proteins characterised by the presence of a unique domain, the 8-
cysteine transforming growth factor beta binding domain (TGFß). The fibrillin proteins
(fibrillin-1, fibrillin-2 and fibrillin-3 in most vertebrates, encoded by the FBN1, FBN2
and FBN3 genes respectively), are major components of the 10nM microfibrils found in
ECM of many tissue types, for example mesenchyme-derived connective tissues.
Fibrillin-1 and fibrillin-2 are also thought to be required for stabilization and storage of
latent TGFβ complexes. Mutations in FBN1 cause Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue
disorder characterised by abnormalities in the microfibrils resulting in musculoskeletal,
ocular, cardiovascular and other complications. FBN2 mutations lead to congenital
contractural arachnodactyly, which has a musculoskeletal phenotype similar to Marfan
syndrome. There are currently no known diseases associated with FBN3 mutations.
In this project, the expression of fibrillins was investigated using human cell lines during
early development, mesenchymal stem cell differentiation and in further differentiated
mesenchymal cell lines, for example in osteocytes (osteosarcomas), chondrocytes and
fibroblast lineage. Immunocytochemistry was used to examine protein expression, real-time
PCR and expression microarrays to determine mRNA synthesis and RNAi
suppression of gene expression to determine possible functions of fibrillins and
associated ECM proteins. In addition, a genome wide bioinformatics evaluation was
performed of transcription start sites for the fibrillin gene family utilising the information
obtained from the FANTOM5 consortium.
The three fibrillin genes showed differing expression patterns in cell lines depending on
the stage of development/differentiation. During embryogenesis, expression of FBN3,
FBN2 and FBN1 increased sequentially in that order. Expression of FBN3 followed the
same pattern as expression of known pluripotency markers, while expression of FBN2
correlated with expression of markers for later stages of mesoderm differentiation. FBN1
expression was associated with mesenchymal markers, and this was supported by a study
of mesenchymal stem cells differentiation to the adipose lineage. Fibrillin-1 microfibrils
and RNA expression were present early in primary adult human MSC differentiating to
adipocytes, suggesting that a fibrillin matrix is required for initial MSC attachment. As
differentiation proceeded, fibrillin -1 expression decreased, with rapid degradation of the
microfibrils. Fibrillin-2 expression increased following differentiation and fibrillin-3 was
not expressed. These results suggest that fibrillin-1 plays an important structural and
regulatory role in the early stages of connective tissue development but is not required to
maintain the differentiated state.
Many genes showed the same expression pattern as FBN1. To better understand the
importance of fibrillin-1 and its interaction with these coexpressing genes, fibrillin-1 was
knocked down using siRNA in fibroblast, chondrocyte and osteosarcoma cell lines. There
were little to no effects identified in chondrocyte and osteosarcoma cell lines, and only a
few genes were altered following the reduction of fibrillin-1 mRNA in fibroblasts,
suggesting that fibrillin-1 is not a central regulator but an endpoint. This was surprising
given its potential role in controlling bioavailability of TGFβ, a key regulator of
mesenchymal cells.
In addition, the evolution of the fibrillin gene family was studied and it was found that
the gene structure, amino acid sequence and genomic positions of each gene are widely
conserved across vertebrates, suggesting an important role in vertebrate body structure.
However, the differences in gene structure and sequence between the three fibrillin genes
suggest divergent function. Fibrillin-1 mutations with the most severe phenotypes are
located in regions that are highly conserved. This study shows that there is a clear
developmental and evolutionary distinction between the three fibrillins. Fibrillin-3 was
associated with pluripotency and its presence in differentiating foetal liver and brain may
suggest that there are residual pluripotent cells in these developing tissues. Fibrillin-2
appeared to be a marker for the mesodermal stage and its role in adult cells is currently
not clear. Fibrillin-1 was present in cells already predetermined to go to mesenchymal
lineages, but it was minimal in the advanced stages of differentiation suggesting that it
may be a marker for relatively plastic mesenchymal cells prior to commitment to a
specific lineage.
These results will assist in the understanding of disorders resulting from fibrillin gene
mutations and have identified coexpressed proteins, potential modifiers that could be the
targets of gene therapy and candidates for similar connective tissue
Anna Colin Lebedev, Le cœur politique des mères, Analyse du mouvement des mères de soldats en Russie
No full textIn this valuable piece of sociological research Anna Colin Lebedev scrutinizes the modus operandi of a non‑governmental organisation of women activists taking on the essentially male domain of the military authorities in post‑Soviet Russia. With no dearth of academic studies stressing the lack of effective action from below in modern Russia, the author deems the Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia atypical, based on its assistance for over twenty years to individual families wh..
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