1,209 research outputs found
Dissonance in multi-semiotic landscapes in the work of Donna Leishman
No full textI come to the field of digital literature from the position of a visual artist. My formative training in illustration grounded an interest in sequential art and literary themes. My work draws on literary subject matters, contains chronological cause and effect, and strongly features protagonists. I am a thematic recycler similar to that described by Wozniak (2008) a re-framer of often folkloric motifs - with an aim to renew, revitalises, or debunk, the pre-existing content. Visualality, the auteur interface, and folk narratives are fundamental features in the communication of my aesthetic. How then these aspects function and their importance in terms creating a meta dissonance will be detailed and discussed in the paper with reference to how such an approach sits within the context of interactive literary art
African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) as an environmental weed in eastern Australia: a review
No full textAfrican Olive, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata (Wall. ex G.Don) Cif. (family Oleaceae) is a dense-crowned tree introduced into Australia for horticulture in the mid 19th century. In recent decades, African Olive has become an aggressive woody weed, capable of forming a dense and permanent canopy in a wide range of vegetation types in south-west Sydney and beyond. Characteristics of African Olive invasion in south-west Sydney, and its seed dispersal by frugivorous birds are consistent with experience from Norfolk Island and Hawaii. We use records and aerial photographs from Mount Annan Botanic Garden and other bushland areas in south-west Sydney to describe the invasion stages and impacts of African Olive. The capacity for African Olive to establish in both temperate and subtropical zones, underlie the potential for spread well beyond current distribution in New South Wales. Research is now required to further develop control techniques and ecological restoration strategies for areas of heavy African Olive infestation. Mapping of current locations and a coordinated control strategy for African Olive is required to prevent future permanent loss of native plant diversity
Dissecting the contribution of innate and antigen-specific pathways to the breach of self-tolerance observed in a murine model of arthritis
No full textThe relative roles of innate immunity and antigen-specific T cells in rheumatoid arthritis remain controversial. Previous studies demonstrated that Th1 cells of irrelevant antigen (Ag)-specificity (ovalbumin; OVA) induced a transient arthritis in BALB/c mice which recapitulates many of the pre-articular and articular features of human disease and is associated with emergence of autoreactive T and B cell responses to joint specific antigens. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon were unclear. The aim of this study was to dissect the relative contribution of innate and heterologous antigen specific pathways to the breach of self-tolerance and pathology observed in this model and how this may result from modified T and B cell interactions. To address this issue, experimental arthritis was elicited either by a non-specific inflammatory stimulus alone, by activation of T cells of an irrelevant specificity or a combination of both. The non-specific inflammatory response generated by LPS led to articular inflammation and cartilage erosion, but did not break tolerance to joint-specific antigens. In contrast, local activation of T cells of an irrelevant specificity produced a similar pathological picture but, in addition, induced T cell responses to unrelated joint-specific Ags with associated activation of autoreactive B cells. These effects could be further potentiated by addition of LPS. These data demonstrate that non-specific inflammation alone is insufficient to breach self-tolerance. In contrast, T cells of an irrelevant specificity, when triggered locally in an antigen-specific manner, can breach self-tolerance leading to arthritis and autoantibody production which can then be amplified in a non-specific manner
The potential impact of reforms to the essential parameters of the council tax
No full textCouncil Tax was introduced in Britain in 1993 and represents a unique international property tax. There is a growing belief that it is time to reform the number and structure of council tax bands but such views have a minimal empirical base. This paper sets out to assess the impact on personal and local government finances, and extends the analysis to the role of the tax multipliers linked to each band. The research is based on the experience of a representative sample of local authorities in Scotland. A statistical revaluation for 2000 is estimated for the existing eight band system, and from this base a ten band system is calculated. Financial implications are then simulated for each local authority taking account of central resource equalisation mechanisms. The results indicate that increases in bands will have little impact on the burden of the council tax compared with regular revaluations. Changing the tax multiplier range has the greatest impact on local authority finances and council tax payments
Validation of the Beddoes-Leishman Dynamic Stall Model for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines using MEXICO data
No full textThe aim of this study is to assess the load predicting capability of a classical Beddoes-Leishman dynamic stall model in a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) environment, in the presence of yaw-misalignment. The dynamic stall model was tailored to the HAWT environment, and validated against unsteady thick airfoil data. Subsequently, the dynamic stall model was implemented in a blade element-momentum (BEM) code for yawed flow, and the results were compared with aerodynamic measurements obtained in the MEXICO (Model Rotor Experiments under Controlled Conditions ) project on a wind turbine rotor placed in a large scale wind tunnel. In general, reasonable to good agreement was found between the BEM model and MEXICO data. When large yawmisalignments were imposed, poor agreement was found in the downstroke of the movement between the model and the experiment. Still, over a revolution the maximum normal force coefficient predicted was always within 8% of experimental data at the inboard stations, which is encouraging especially when blade fatigue calculations are being considered.Control & OperationsAerospace Engineerin
Front
No full textLeishman’s work “Front” is a pre-programmed Facebook parody that addresses the major issues of social media – privacy and voyeurism. Front’s interface whilst mimicking the immersive, interaction rich promise of social media, instead reminds us of where the power structures lie, and what is often freely given up by the user/viewer.
Originally launched as an installation as part of the New Media Scotland: Alt-W showcase exhibition in 2014 for the Edinburgh Art Festival. Venue: Evolution House, Aug 1st - Sat 30 Aug. The project has also been peer selected for 'Interventions: Engaging the Body Politic.' Venue: the cultural centre USF Verftet, Georgernes Verft 12, 5011 BERGEN, Norway. This exhibition was part of the Electronic Literature Organization 2015: The End(s) of Electronic Literature. Aug 4th - 7th 2015
Protocol for a semi-quantitative approach to identify protein S-palmitoylation in cultured cells by acyl biotin exchange assay
No full textSummary: Palmitoylation is a post-translational lipid modification in which palmitic acid is conjugated predominantly to cysteine residues of target proteins, allowing them to tether to cell membranes. Here, we describe a protocol to perform a stepwise acyl biotin exchange assay to identify protein S-palmitoylation. We describe steps for initial blocking of free thiols in protein lysates, subsequent replacement of thioester-linked palmitate groups with a biotin tag for affinity enrichment, and identification of palmitoylated proteins by SDS-PAGE.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Leishman et al.1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics
Caracterizaci\uf3n enzim\ue1tica y variabilidad gen\ue9tica de aislados c\ufanicos de Leishman\ueda del Estado, Lara, Venezuela
No full textLa Leishmaniasis constituye un problema de salud p\ufablica en Venezuela siendo el Estado Lara el m\ue1s afectado. Estudios anteriores en esta \ue1rea end\ue9mica han mostrado que varias especies del g\ue9nero Leishmania pueden circular simpatr\uedcamente.
El objetivo general de este estudio fue caracterizar cepas de Leishmania aislados de casos cl\uednicos de Leishmaniasis Tegumentaria Americana (LTA) o Leishmaniasis v\uedsceral (LV) del Estado Lara, utilizando eletroforesis de enzimas (MLEE). Adem\ue1s de esto, la variabilidad gen\ue9tica fue evaluada a trav\ue9s de la polymerase chain reaction (PCR), compar\ue1ndolos con los perfiles de las cepas referencias sugeridas por la Organizaci\uf3n Mundial de la Salud.
Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio, apezar del peque\uf1o n\ufamero de aislados analizados, confirman que existe simpatr\ueda entre diferentes especies de Leishmania, en la \ue1rea estudiada, habiendo sido detectado h\uedbridos entre Leishman\ueda braziliensis y Leishman\ueda guyanensis y, por la primera vez en esta \ue1rea, Leishmania colombiensis. El an\ue1lisis de los resultados por MLEE, permiti\uf3 discriminar entre las especies y demostrar una peque\uf1a diferencia entre la cepa referencia del colombiensis y los aislados del Estado Lara, mas sin correlaci\uf3n con la forma cl\uednica de la enfermedad, ya que estos fueron provenientes tanto de LTA como LV. Los datos del an\ue1lisis de los IRT (RFLPITSrRNA) confirmaron la diferencia entre la cepa de referencia y los aislados de L. colombiensis. Mientras que Rarridon Amplified Polimorphic DNA present\uf3 un mayor poder discriminativo, no solo diferenciando las especies, sino tambi\ue9n presentando bandas especificas, relacionadas tanto con la especie L. colombiensis como con la cepa de\ua1 par\ue1sito asociado a la forma visceral da enfermedad. Estas bandas pueden ser importantes en el diagn\uf3stico diferencial, ya que muestran la relaci\uf3n entre un marcador gen\ue9tico y la expresi\uf3n cl\uednica de la enfermedad.
Vale resaltar que Leishman\ueda chagasi ha sido considerada como agente etiol\uf3gico de LV en Venezuela y que el principal vector del \ue1rea de procedencia de los aislados de LV de este estudio es Lut:zomyla longipalpis.
Los datos actuales junto con los relatos de la literatura muestran que la especie L. colombiensis presenta una distribuci\uf3n geogr\ue1fica relativamente amplia (Colombia, Panam\ue1 y Venezuela), con caracter\uedsticas biol\uf3gicas particulares (semejantes a la de otras especies) como la plasticidad presentada por los par\ue1sitos para infectar distintos vectores (Lu. gomezi, Lu. Hartmani y Lu. Panamens\ueds) o en el comportamiento cl\uednico - patol\uf3gico diverso (tropismo tegumentario y visceral) expresado en los casos humanos de donde fueron aislados las cepas estudiadas
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