104 research outputs found
Anna Cora Mowatt as Rosalind
No full textEngraving of Anna Cora Mowatt as Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie was an author, playwright, public reader, and actres
Anna Cora Mowatt as Rosalind
No full textEngraving of Anna Cora Mowatt as Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It. 'Tis he; slink by, & note him.' Act 5, Sc.2. Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie was an author, playwright, public reader, and actres
The Rhetoric of Self-Fashioning in the Works of Anna Cora Mowatt.
No full textAnna Cora Mowatt, the subject of this study, was a nineteenth century American author, actress, playwright, novelist, and poet. The purpose of this study is to investigate the rhetoric of surviving artifacts of Mowatt\u27s life in order to explore the ways in which Mowatt created a public self through these works. Mowatt\u27s nonfictional Autobiography of an Actress, her novel Mimic Life, her experience with mesmerism, her comedy Fashion, and her poem My Life are examined in depth along with the context of each creation within contemporary Victorian society. The course of Mowatt\u27s self-fashioning was not smooth. She did not choose a clear cut plan and follow it consistently. Her life and works reflect a constant process of negotiation, sometimes even involving the simultaneous playing of conflicting roles. Mowatt was successful in her quest to create through rhetorical/textual strategies an authoritative voice in her varied works. In these works, Mowatt fashioned a public voice for herself without appearing to her auditors to be a cunning, manipulative, usurper of masculine power. Stephen Greenblatt\u27s definition of the process of self-fashioning is used. Self-fashioning is the process of shaping of a distinctive personality, a characteristic address to the world, a consistent mode of behaving. The term self-fashioning suggests representation of one\u27s nature or intention in speech or actions. Appendices include a chronology of Mowatt\u27s life and career, a listing of significant contemporary events and a selected list of contemporaries in Literature and Drama
André Brasilier : In Search of the Invisible
No full textThe author evokes Brasilier's love of landscape and horses and the role of the artist's wife as inspiration for his work. Biographical notes
Academic authorship: who, why and in what order?
No full textWe are frequently asked by our colleagues and students for advice on authorship for scientific articles. This short paper outlines some of the issues that we have experienced and the advice we usually provide. This editorial follows on from our work on submitting a paper1 and also on writing an academic paper for publication.2 We should like to start by noting that, in our view, there exist two separate, but related issues: (a) authorship and (b) order of authors. The issue of authorship centres on the notion of who can be an author, who should be an author and who definitely should not be an author, and this is partly discipline specific. The second issue, the order of authors, is usually dictated by the academic tradition from which the work comes. One can immediately envisage disagreements within a multi-disciplinary team of researchers where members of the team may have different approaches to authorship order
Optical coherence tomography for the monitoring of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review
No full textTopic: To compare the accuracy of optical coherence tomography (OCT) with alternative tests for monitoring neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and detecting disease activity among eyes previously treated for this condition.Clinical Relevance: Traditionally, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) has been considered the reference standard to detect nAMD activity, but FFA is costly and invasive. Replacement of FFA by OCT can be justified if there is a substantial agreement between tests.Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. The index test was OCT. The comparator tests were visual acuity, clinical evaluation (slit lamp), Amsler chart, color fundus photographs, infrared reflectance, red-free images and blue reflectance, fundus autofluorescence imaging, indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), preferential hyperacuity perimetry, and microperimetry. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, Biosis, Science Citation Index, the Cochrane Library, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, MEDION, and the Health Technology Assessment database. The last literature search was conducted in March 2013. We used the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) to assess risk of bias.Results: We included 8 studies involving more than 400 participants. Seven reported the performance of OCT (3 time-domain [TD] OCT, 3 spectral-domain [SD] OCT, 1 both types) and 1 reported the performance of ICGA in the detection of nAMD activity. We did not find studies directly comparing tests in the same population. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of TD OCT and SD OCT for detecting active nAMD was 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 72%–93%) and 48% (95% CI, 30%–67%), respectively. One study reported ICGA with sensitivity of 75.9% and specificity of 88.0% for the detection of active nAMD. Half of the studies were considered to have a high risk of bias.Conclusions: There is substantial disagreement between OCT and FFA findings in detecting active disease in patients with nAMD who are being monitored. Both methods may be needed to monitor patients comprehensively with nAMD
An evaluation of the microbiological assay technique for the determination of the amino acids
No full textThe microbiological techniques employed for the determination of amino acids have been examined critically, particularly with respect to the limitations of the method in the assay of natural products. The efficiency of the method in recovering given amounts of an added amino acid when subjected to the conditions of hydrolysis in the presence of purified protein with and without added carbohydrate was investigated. A study of the methods employed for hydrolysis in relation to the results obtained by the microbiological assay technique for these amino acids was also undertaken. The technique was applied to the assaying of a natural product.
The microbiological method of Stokes and Gunness was found particularly advantageous in the case of lysine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, threonine and tryptophane released hydrolytically from casein. Good recovery results were also obtained in the case of arginine, histidine and phenylalanine but in the presence of added carbohydrate the results for these amino acids were considerably lower. Irregular results were obtained in the case of tyrosine.
The use of titanous chloride in the acid digestion mixture permitted the intact release of tryptophane during acid hydrolysis. The amount of tryptophane released was shown to be dependent upon the concentration of acid, temperature and time of hydrolysis.
The rate of hydrolysis in the presence of titanous chloride was shown to be lower than that brought about by acid in its absence. In the case of a tryptophane solution evidence was obtained indicating that this amino acid is not racemized when treated with five normal sodium hydroxide at 120˚C. The extent to which tryptophane from the alkaline hydrolysis of a protein undergoes racemization is a matter which warrants further investigation.
Except in the case of histidine excellent results were obtained for the recovery of added amino acids from a dehydrated sample of meat.
The use of 2 ml. and 3 ml. portions of basal medium in place of the 5 ml. quantities usually employed gave irregular results.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat
Optical coherence tomography for the diagnosis, monitoring and guiding of treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and economic evaluation
No full textBackground: Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of sight impairment in the UK. In neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), vision worsens rapidly (over weeks) due to abnormal blood vessels developing that leak fluid and blood at the macula.Objectives: To determine the optimal role of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing people newly presenting with suspected nAMD and monitoring those previously diagnosed with the disease.Data sources: Databases searched: MEDLINE (1946 to March 2013), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (March 2013), EMBASE (1988 to March 2013), Biosciences Information Service (1995 to March 2013), Science Citation Index (1995 to March 2013), The Cochrane Library (Issue 2 2013), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (inception to March 2013), Medion (inception to March 2013), Health Technology Assessment database (inception to March 2013).Review methods: Types of studies: direct/indirect studies reporting diagnostic outcomes. Index test: time domain optical coherence tomography (TD-OCT) or spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Comparators: clinical evaluation, visual acuity, Amsler grid, colour fundus photographs, infrared reflectance, red-free images/blue reflectance, fundus autofluorescence imaging, indocyanine green angiography, preferential hyperacuity perimetry, microperimetry. Reference standard: fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). Risk of bias was assessed using quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies, version 2. Meta-analysis models were fitted using hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves. A Markov model was developed (65-year-old cohort, nAMD prevalence 70%), with nine strategies for diagnosis and/or monitoring, and cost–utility analysis conducted. NHS and Personal Social Services perspective was adopted. Costs (2011/12 prices) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were discounted (3.5%). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.Results: In pooled estimates of diagnostic studies (all TD-OCT), sensitivity and specificity [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 88% (46% to 98%) and 78% (64% to 88%) respectively. For monitoring, the pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) was 85% (72% to 93%) and 48% (30% to 67%) respectively. The FFA for diagnosis and nurse-technician-led monitoring strategy had the lowest cost (£39,769; QALYs 10.473) and dominated all others except FFA for diagnosis and ophthalmologist-led monitoring (£44,649; QALYs 10.575; incremental cost-effectiveness ratio £47,768). The least costly strategy had a 46.4% probability of being cost-effective at £30,000 willingness-to-pay threshold.Limitations: Very few studies provided sufficient information for inclusion in meta-analyses. Only a few studies reported other tests; for some tests no studies were identified. The modelling was hampered by a lack of data on the diagnostic accuracy of strategies involving several tests.Conclusions: Based on a small body of evidence of variable quality, OCT had high sensitivity and moderate specificity for diagnosis, and relatively high sensitivity but low specificity for monitoring. Strategies involving OCT alone for diagnosis and/or monitoring were unlikely to be cost-effective. Further research is required on (i) the performance of SD-OCT compared with FFA, especially for monitoring but also for diagnosis; (ii) the performance of strategies involving combinations/sequences of tests, for diagnosis and monitoring; (iii) the likelihood of active and inactive nAMD becoming inactive or active respectively; and (iv) assessment of treatment-associated utility weights (e.g. decrements), through a preference-based study.Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42012001930.Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.<br/
Heritage, public history, and social justice in sport and leisure
No full textThis chapter explores the relationship between sport, leisure, heritage, and social justice, using the United Kingdom and the United States as its geographic pivots. It begins by discussing different definitions of the terms ‘heritage’ and ‘public history’, including the author’s own. The chapter continues by situating heritage within the organisations where it is based, including sporting organisations, national governing bodies, and private philanthropic collections keen to emphasise exclusive and often exclusionary narratives of the history and purpose of sport (especially when paying lip service to inclusion). It also considers non-sporting museums and institutions reliant on the public purse, whose ability to tell nuanced, multi-layered stories about regions’ pasts is continually hampered by austerity and well-organised (and well-funded) political reaction. In the final third, the chapter discusses efforts both within and outside sporting organisations and heritage to address representation and offer alternative narratives of the sporting past. This involves research by curators, archivists, and even hobbyists on the participation of women, the working class, and minorities in sport, and how, even with scant and contradictory evidence, these new stories can sometimes offer powerful alternatives to established narratives. However, the author also questions whether the search for and memorialisation of ‘sporting firsts’ feeds another more conservative desire for an overly narrative history
- …
