51,626 research outputs found
A prospective study of neurofibromatosis type 1 cancer incidence in the UK
No full textNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition affecting around one in 3000 live births. The manifestations of this condition are extremely variable, even within families, and genetic counselling is consequently difficult with regard to prognosis. Individuals with NF1 are acknowledged to be at increased risk of malignancy. Several studies have previously attempted to quantify this risk, but have involved relatively small study populations. We present prospective data from 448 individuals with NF1 with a total of 5705 years of patient follow-up. These data have been collected via the UK NF1 association for patients. Demographic information on the affected individuals was cross-referenced with UK cancer registry data by the UK Office of National Statistics. The overall risk of cancer was 2.7 times higher in this cohort of NF1 patients than in the general population (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-3.7). The cumulative risk of a malignancy by age 50 years was 20% (95% CI 14-29%); beyond this age, the risk of cancer was not significantly elevated (P=0.27). The most frequent types of cancer were connective tissue (14% risk by age 70, 95% CI 7.8-24%) and brain tumours (7.9, 95% CI 3.9-16%). There was no statistically significant excess of cancers at other sites (P=0.22
Developing the formal structures of artistic practice-as-research
No full textIn this article I discuss a topic that is emerging as a valuable paradigm for creative practitioners - practice-as-research. There is some controversy over this term that, I believe, goes to the heart of our understanding of the nature of knowledge. The controversy relates to the idea that practice and research are two inherently different types of activity and therefore that it impossible to engage in one ‘as’ the other. Tim Ingold’s (2011) work on the anthropology of knowledge and skill alongside a broader stream of work on cognition and perception (see for example Lakoff & Johnson 2003 and Gibson 1979) suggests that both artistic practice and academic research involve ‘puzzle-solving… carried on within the context of involvement in a real world of persons, objects and relations.’ (Ingold 2011, p.419). The argument revolves around the notion that there is no such thing as disembodied or abstract knowledge and that all knowledge is both embodied and personally related to the world one inhabits. As such, the written word provides a schematic system for representing the much richer communication processes of speech and bodily experience. The written word, however, can only be understood through reference to our lived experience. Lave (1990, p.310) has termed this ‘understanding in practice’ as a knowledge ‘based on rich expectations generated over time about its shape’ (Lave 1990, p.323). Scholarly research outputs and their modes of publication are still firmly entrenched in the printed word. I will explore strategies for communicating the non-verbal knowledge that forms the basis of much practice-as-research
Speculu[m] exemploru[m] ex diuersis libris in vnu[m] laboriose collectu[m].
No full textEerste blad (blanco) ontbreektThe author is probably Johannes Busch (CIBN)Titel uit incipit. Drukker en datum uit colofonBMC: Catalogue of books printed in the XVth century now in the British Museum I 226bGesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke ; M42951Machiels, J. Catalogus van de boeken gedrukt vóór 1600 ; S 488Polain, M.-L. Catalogue des livres imprimé au 15e siècle ... ; 3574Europeana-GoogleBook
The long-wavelength view of GG Tau A: rocks in the ring world
No full textWe present the first detection of GG Tau A at centimetre wavelengths, made with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array at a frequency of 16 GHz (λ = 1.8 cm). The source is detected at >6 σrms with an integrated flux density of S16GHz = 249 ± 45 µJy. We use these new centimetre-wave data, in conjunction with additional measurements compiled from the literature, to investigate the long-wavelength tail of the dust emission from this unusual protoplanetary system. We use an MCMC-based method to determine maximum likelihood parameters for a simple parametric spectral model and consider the opacity and mass of the dust contributing to the microwave emission. We derive a dust mass of Md ~ 0.1 Msun, constrain the dimensions of the emitting region and find that the opacity index at λ > 7 mm is less than unity, implying a contribution to the dust population from grains exceeding ~4 cm in size. We suggest that this indicates coagulation within the GG Tau A system has proceeded to the point where dust grains have grown to the size of small rocks with dimensions of a few centimetres. Considering the relatively young age of the GG Tau association in combination with the low derived disc mass, we suggest that this system may provide a useful test case for rapid core accretion planet formation models
Formation of Literary Image of I. M. Muravyov-Apostol
No full textThe formation of the literary image of Ivan Matveyevich Muravyov-Apostol is discussed, who entered the history of Russian literature as the author of a journalistic series “Letters from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod” and “The Journey in Tauris in 1820.” It is noted that I. M. Muravyov-Apostol is famous for being “a scholar and lover of antiquity.” The author of the article explores the translation activity of I. M. Muravyov-Apostol, his enthusiasm for the work of the Roman poet Horace. It is shown how the translations of satirical works and odes of Horace by Muravyov-Apostol influenced the formation of his literary interests and, accordingly, the creation of the literary image of the writer. The critical works devoted to the translation activity of Muravyov-Apostol are considered. The role of friendship is noted between the writer and G. R. Derzhavin with whom they were united by similar attitude to the literary and civil issues, as well as interest in ancient culture and translation of satirical works and odic poetry of Horace. Excerpts from their correspondence are given, as well as opinions of other writers about the creative activities of Muravyov-Apostol. The author concludes that special influence on the formation of Muravyov-Apostol’s literary image had self-presentation of his translations at meetings of the society “Beseda lyubiteley russkogo slova.
Long-term wind-driven X-ray spectral variability of NGC 1365 with Swift
No full textWe present long-term (months–years) X-ray spectral variability of the Seyfert 1.8 galaxy NGC 1365 as observed by Swift, which provides well-sampled observations over a much longer time-scale (six years) and a much larger flux range than is afforded by other observatories. At very low luminosities, the spectrum is very soft, becoming rapidly harder as the luminosity increases and then, above a particular luminosity, softening again. At a given flux level, the scatter in hardness ratio is not very large, meaning that the spectral shape is largely determined by the luminosity. The spectra were therefore summed in luminosity bins and fitted with a variety of models. The best-fitting model consists of two power laws, one unabsorbed and another, more luminous, which is absorbed. In this model, we find a range of intrinsic 0.5–10.0 keV luminosities of approximately 1.1–3.5 erg s?1, and a very large range of absorbing columns, of approximately 1022–1024 cm?2. Interestingly, we find that the absorbing column decreases with increasing luminosity, but that this result is not due to changes in ionization. We suggest that these observations might be interpreted in terms of a wind model in which the launch radius varies as a function of ionizing flux and disc temperature and therefore moves out with increasing accretion rate, i.e. increasing X-ray luminosity. Thus, depending on the inclination angle of the disc relative to the observer, the absorbing column may decrease as the accretion rate goes up. The weaker, unabsorbed, component may be a scattered component from the wind
Mitochondrial DNA Backgrounds Might Modulate Diabetes Complications Rather than T2DM as a Whole
No full textMitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in rare and common forms of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Additionally, rare mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been shown to be causal for T2DM pathogenesis. So far, many studies have investigated the possibility that mtDNA variation might affect the risk of T2DM, however, when found, haplogroup association has been rarely replicated, even in related populations, possibly due to an inadequate level of haplogroup resolution. Effects of mtDNA variation on diabetes complications have also been proposed. However, additional studies evaluating the mitochondrial role on both T2DM and related complications are badly needed. To test the hypothesis of a mitochondrial genome effect on diabetes and its complications, we genotyped the mtDNAs of 466 T2DM patients and 438 controls from a regional population of central Italy (Marche). Based on the most updated mtDNA phylogeny, all 904 samples were classified into 57 different mitochondrial sub-haplogroups, thus reaching an unprecedented level of resolution. We then evaluated whether the susceptibility of developing T2DM or its complications differed among the identified haplogroups, considering also the potential effects of phenotypical and clinical variables. MtDNA backgrounds, even when based on a refined haplogroup classification, do not appear to play a role in developing T2DM despite a possible protective effect for the common European haplogroup H1, which harbors the G3010A transition in the MTRNR2 gene. In contrast, our data indicate that different mitochondrial haplogroups are significantly associated with an increased risk of specific diabetes complications: H (the most frequent European haplogroup) with retinopathy, H3 with neuropathy, U3 with nephropathy, and V with renal failure
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
Col·laboradores de la Fundació Bernat Metge: Anna M. de Saavedra i Adela M. Trepat, traductores d'Ovidi
No full textAquest article s'inscriu en el Grup d'Estudi de la Traducció Catalana Contemporània (GETCC) (2009, SGR 1294), reconegut i finançat per l'Agència de Gestió i Ajuts Universitaris de la Generalitat de Catalunya, i en el projecte "La traducción en el sistema literario catalán; exilio, género e ideología (1939-2000)", amb el número de referència FFI2010-19851-C02-01, finançat pel Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.En la primera etapa de la seva existència, entre el 1923 i el final de la guerra civil, la Fundació Bernat Metge només va comptar amb dues col·laboradores femenines: les llatinistes Anna M. de Saavedra i Adela M. Trepat. La seva aportació conjunta es va limitar a un únic autor, Ovidi, del qual van publicar les Heroides en 1927 i Les metamorfosis en tres volums entre 1930 i 1932. De la mà de Joaquim Balcells i de Carles Riba van establir el text llatí i van girar l'autor més erudit de l'antiguitat llatina. Una anàlisi de les correccions i de les reformulacions de Riba ens descobreix els criteris fabrians que aplicà el corrector i la important aportació de les traduccions al sistema literari català i a la fixació de la llengua.In the whole of its earlier period, from 1923 to the end of the Spanish Civil War, the Bernat Metge Foundation had only two female collaborators: the Latinists Anna M. de Saavedra and Adela M. Trepat. Their joint contribution was restricted to one author, Ovid, of whom they published the Heroides in 1927 and the Metamorphoses, in 3 volums, between 1930 and 1932. With the assistance of Joaquim Balcells and Carles Riba they established the Latin text and translated this most erudite of Latin authors. An analysis of Riba's emendations and alternative solutions reveals the Fabrian linguistic criteria he applied and the significant contribution translations made to the creation of modern literary Catalan
S-Nitrosylation in Organs of Mice Exposed to Low or High Doses of γ-Rays: The Modulating Effect of Iodine Contrast Agent at a Low Radiation Dose
No full textThe covalent addition of nitric oxide (NO•) onto cysteine thiols, or S-nitrosylation, modulates the activity of key signaling proteins. The dysregulation of normal S-nitrosylation contributes to degenerative conditions and to cancer. To gain insight into the biochemical changes induced by low-dose ionizing radiation, we determined global S-nitrosylation by the “biotin switch” assay coupled with mass spectrometry analyses in organs of C57BL/6J mice exposed to acute 0.1 Gy of cesium-137 γ-rays. The dose of radiation was delivered to the whole body in the presence or absence of iopamidol, an iodinated contrast agent used during radiological examinations. To investigate whether similar or distinct nitrosylation patterns are induced following high-dose irradiation, mice were exposed in parallel to acute 4 Gy of cesium-137 γ rays. Analysis of modulated S-nitrosothiols (SNO-proteins) in freshly-harvested organs of animals sacrificed 13 days after irradiation revealed radiation dose- and contrast agent-dependent changes. The major results were as follows: (i) iopamidol alone had significant effects on S-nitrosylation in brain, lung and liver; (ii) relative to the control, exposure to 0.1 Gy without iopamidol resulted in statistically-significant SNO changes in proteins that differ in molecular weight in liver, lung, brain and blood plasma; (iii) iopamidol enhanced the decrease in S-nitrosylation induced by 0.1 Gy in brain; (iv) whereas a decrease in S-nitrosylation occurred at 0.1 Gy for proteins of ~50 kDa in brain and for proteins of ~37 kDa in liver, an increase was detected at 4 Gy in both organs; (v) mass spectrometry analyses of nitrosylated proteins in brain revealed differential modulation of SNO proteins (e.g., sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase subunit beta-1; beta tubulins; ADP-ribosylation factor 5) by low- and high-dose irradiation; and (vi) ingenuity pathway analysis identified major signaling networks to be modulated, in particular the neuronal nitric oxide synthase signaling pathway was differentially modulated by low- and high-dose γ-irradiation.Peer reviewe
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