54 research outputs found
On the existence of infinitely many universal tree-based networks
No full textAbstractA tree-based network on a set X of n leaves is said to be universal if any rooted binary phylogenetic tree on X can be its base tree. Francis and Steel showed that there is a universal tree-based network on X in the case of n = 3, and asked whether such a network exists in general. We settle this problem by proving that there are infinitely many universal tree-based networks for any n>1
Gastvrijheid in het Albert Schweitzer ziekenhuis
No full textHet ASz bestaat uit ziekenhuizen in Sliedrecht, Zwijndrecht en Dordrecht. Bij het ASz mogen de patiënten de juiste zorg op het juiste moment en de juiste plaats met de juiste middelen door de juiste persoon met het juiste resultaat verwachten. Maar wat is juist? Als het gaat om (medisch inhoudelijke) kwaliteitseisen en normen, dan vertrouwen patiënten erop dat het ASz daaraan voldoet. Deze aspecten zijn door de patiënt echter moeilijk inhoudelijk te beoordelen. Het verblijf en de bejegening, de gastvrijheidsaspecten, zijn door de patiënt wel te beoordelen. De vraag wat de patiënt op gastvrijheidsniveau verwacht tijdens het verblijf in het ziekenhuis is aanleiding geweest voor nader onderzoek door Momoko Visions Trends Concepts, TU Delft, de Hogeschool Rotterdam en de Haagse Hogeschool.Real Estate and Housin
Preventive effect of mesenchymal stem cell culture supernatant on luminal stricture after endoscopic submucosal dissection in the rectum of pigs
No full textBackground: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are valuable in regenerative medicine, and MSC culture supernatant (MSC-CS) reportedly inhibits inflammation and fibrosis. We investigated whether colorectal luminal stricture develops after circumferential endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in the colorectum, and whether the development of luminal stricture could be prevented by using MSC-CS enema. Methods: In the first experiment, we performed circumferential ESD in the rectums or distal colons of pigs (n = 4 in each group). We sacrificed the pigs on Day 22 and measured the degree of luminal stricture. In the second experiment, we performed circumferential ESD in the rectums of pigs and administered an MSC-CS gel or a control gel enema after ESD for 4 days. We sacrificed the pigs on Day 8 (n = 3 in each group) or 22 (n = 3 in each group) to measure the degree of luminal stricture, and performed histological analysis. Results: Severe luminal stricture was observed in the rectum but not in the distal colon. Moreover, fiber accumulation in the submucosa and hypertrophy of the muscularis propria were observed in the rectum but not in the distal colon. The degree of luminal stricture in the rectum was significantly lower in the MSC-CS group than in the control group. Furthermore, MSC-CS attenuated myofibroblast activation and hypertrophy of the muscularis propria on Day 22, and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration on Day 8. Conclusions: Luminal stricture after ESD developed only in the rectum because of the difference in myofibroblast activation and fiber accumulation. In addition, MSC-CS enema prevented luminal stricture after ESD, possibly by inhibiting the inflammatory reaction and fibrosis
Preference for biological motion in domestic chicks: sex-dependent effect of early visual experience
No full textTo examine the effects of early visual experience on preference for biological motion (BM), newly hatched chicks were exposed to a point-light animation (a visual stimulus composed of identical light points) depicting the following features of a hen: a walking hen (a BM stimulus), a rotating hen (a non-BM stimulus), a pendulum stimulus, a random motion stimulus and a stationary pattern. Chicks were then tested in a binary choice task, choosing between walking-hen and rotating-hen stimuli. Males exhibited a preference for BM if they had been trained with any animation except the stationary pattern stimulus, suggesting that the BM preference was not learned, but induced by motion stimuli. We found a significant positive correlation between the number of approaches in training and the preference in the test, but locomotion alone did not cause preference for BM. In contrast, females exhibited a particularly strong preference for walking-hen stimuli, but only when they had been trained with it. Furthermore, females (but not males) trained with random motion showed a preference for walking hen over walking cat (a biological motion animation depicting a cat), possibly suggesting that females are choosier than males. Chicks trained with a stationary pattern and untrained controls did not show a significant preference. The induction of BM preference is discussed in terms of possible ecological background of the sex differences
The Percussion Music of Toshi Ichiyanagi: A Performance Guide of Select Works from 1984-2002
No full textabstract: This document examines select percussion works of Toshi Ichiyanagi (b. 1933), in order to create a resource that brings exposure and sparks interest in his percussion music. Ichiyanagi has long been one of Japan’s leading composers. However, despite having a successful career since the 1960s, he is not well-known in the United States. Furthermore, his close associations with celebrated American avant-garde composers and performers like John Cage, David Tudor, and La Monte Young, make Ichiyanagi’s virtual obscurity in the United States even more striking. Particularly, for a field birthed in the avant-garde, it is surprising that many of his percussion compositions avoid mainstream recognition.
For the study, the author prepared and performed a recital of the five works that are discussed: Wind Trace (1984), Trio Interlink (1990), Rhythm Gradation (1993), Perspectives II (1996), and Ballade (2002). The document is a performance guide that also provides background information on each piece. The guide discusses technical and interpretative issues uncovered through firsthand preparation and performance, and provides suggestions to solve them. At the conclusion, the author draws connections between these pieces, to highlight similarities that will be helpful to consider when preparing performances of any of his works involving percussion. Finally, an exhaustive catalog of known Ichiyanagi percussion works is provided as a resource for further performance and research.
Ichiyanagi has been writing for percussion since the 1970s. His catalog includes solos, chamber pieces, ensemble pieces, mixed-chamber pieces, and concerti. With recent compositions like Marimba Scenery (2011), Concerto for marimba and orchestra (2012), and the duo Two Dimensions (2012), Ichiyanagi continues to write for percussion. Virtuosi such as Sumire Yoshihara, Atsushi Sugahara, Momoko Kamiya, and Mutsuko Taneya have commissioned and premiered works by the composer. These pieces are on par with the challenging repertoire that has dominated percussion literature since the mid-twentieth century. Nonetheless, the author has found no existing document that is fully devoted to Ichiyanagi’s percussion work.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Music 201
Oral administration of conditioned medium obtained from mesenchymal stem cell culture prevents subsequent stricture formation after esophageal submucosal dissection in pigs
No full textBackground and Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for esophageal cancer often causes postoperative stricture when more than three fourths of the circumference of the esophagus is dissected. Mesenchymal stem cells are a valuable cell source in regenerative medicine, and conditioned medium (CM) obtained from mesenchymal stem cells reportedly inhibits inflammation. In this study we evaluated whether CM could prevent esophageal stricture after ESD. Methods: We resected a semi-circumference of pig esophagus by ESD. We prepared CM gel by mixing with 5% carboxymethyl cellulose and endoscopically applied it onto the wound bed immediately after ESD and on days 8 and 15 (weekly CM group) or administered it orally from days 1 to 4 (daily CM group). We also injected triamcinolone acetonide into the remaining submucosa immediately after ESD (steroid group). We killed the pigs on day 8 or day 22 to measure the stricture rate and to perform histologic analysis. Results: Stricture rate in weekly and daily CM groups and steroid groups were significantly lower than in the control group on day 22. Moreover, CM significantly attenuated the number of activated myofibroblasts and fiber thickness on day 22. CM also significantly decreased the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages compared with the control group on day 8. Conclusions: CM gel prevents esophageal stricture formation by suppressing myofibroblast activation and fibrosis after the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages. Oral administration of CM gel is a promising treatment for the prevention of post-ESD stricture
Shōki
No full textHand-drawn manuscriptDimension: 26 x 52 1/2 in.Date: ca. 1897-1903Shōki (Chinaese, Zhong Kui) is an example of Chinese legend that was adapted in Japan and became a part of Japanese folklore.
Shōki is a “demon queller,” whose image is often included in the decoration for Japan’s May 5th festival . Although May 5th was believed to be the most harmful day in China, Japanese came to celebrate the day as “boys’ day.”
According to one legend, Shōki received first place on the highest level of the civil service examination, but committed suicide because the emperor Minghuang (712-756) did not honor him. Shōki’s appearance offended the emperor. Another legend tells that he failed to pass the exam and committed suicide. In either case, Shōki appeared in the dream of the sick emperor Minghuang and killed a demon who was about to steal the emperor’s flute and his consort Yan Guifei’s incense bag. When the emperor awoke from the dream, his sickness was gone. The emperor appreciated Shōki’s loyalty, and ordered Wu Daozi (active c. 710-760), a master of figure painting, to draw an image of Shōki as he appeared in the emperor’s dream.
Momoko Welch
Source:
Oda, Eiichi. Chagake no gadai o shiru jiten: kaiga kakemono ni yomigaeru tōyō no kokoro. Kyoto: Kawara shoten, 2008, p.216.
Bartholomew, Terese Tse. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art. San Francisco: The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, pp. 281 and 285
Sturen op een gastvrij Albert Schweitzer ziekenhuis: Invloed van de gebouwde omgeving
No full textDe beleving van gastvrijheid door patiënten en bezoekers van ziekenhuizen wordt door veel aspecten beïnvloed: de bejegening door het personeel, de kwaliteit en keuzevrijheid in eten en drinken, de kwaliteit van het gebouw als geheel, de indeling en inrichting van de afzonderlijke ruimten, en de beschikbare diensten en middelen. Omdat gastvrijheidsbeleving een belangrijke waarde is, zowel op zich zelf als in concurrentie met andere zieken-huizen, is het Albert Schweitzer ziekenhuis (ASz) in Dordrecht en Zwijndrecht een project gestart om de gastvrij-heidsbeleving waar mogelijk te optimaliseren, te beginnen met de verpleegafdelingen. Wielinga Consultancy bereidt een advies voor over het aspect eten en drinken. Monique Willemse van Momoko Visions Trends Con-cepts concentreert zich op de wensen en voorkeuren van de patiënten. Aan de faculteit Bouwkunde van de TU Delft is gevraagd om een onderzoek uit te voeren naar de invloed van het gebouw. De gastvrijheidsbeleving van patiënten staat hierin centraal. Door de samenwerking met verschillende partijen hoopt het Albert Schweitzer ziekenhuis bouwstenen aangereikt te krijgen voor een integraal gastvrijheidsbeleid waarin de wensen van pati-ënten, facilitaire ondersteuning, personeel en fysieke ruimte samenkomen. Dit rapport beschrijft de bevindingen uit het onderzoek van de TU Delft.Real Estate and Housin
Combined predisposed preferences for colour and biological motion make robust development of social attachment through imprinting
No full textTo study how predisposed preferences shape the formation of social attachment through imprinting, newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) were simultaneously exposed to two animations composed of comparable light points in different colours (red and yellow), one for a walking motion and another for a linear motion. When a walking animation in red was combined with a linear one in yellow, chicks formed a learned preference for the former that represented biological motion (BM). When the motion-colour association was swapped, chicks failed to form a preference for a walking in yellow, indicating a bias to a specific association of motion and colour. Accordingly, experiments using realistic walking chicken videos revealed a preference for a red video over a yellow one, when the whole body or the head was coloured. On the other hand, when the BM preference had been pre-induced using an artefact moving rigidly (non-BM), a clear preference for a yellow walking animation emerged after training by the swapped association. Even if the first-seen moving object was a nonbiological artefact such as the toy, the visual experience would induce a predisposed BM preference, making chicks selectively memorize the object with natural features. Imprinting causes a rapid inflow of thyroid hormone in the telencephalon leading to the induction of the BM preference, which would make the robust formation of social attachment selectively to the BM-associated object such as the mother hen
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