234 research outputs found
Dr. Woody Holton – Faculty Author Interview
No full textDr. Woody Holton, Associate Professor of History and American Studies, discusses his book, Abigail Adams, an engaging biography that reinterprets Mrs. Adam’s life story and reexamines women’s roles in the creation of the republic. Published by Simon and Schuster in November 2009, “Abigail Adams” was a “New York Times Book Review” Editor’s Choice and is one of three winners of the 2010 Bancroft Prize, considered among the most prestigious awards in the field of American history writing
Documenting kinship systems in eastern Indonesia
No full textKinship represents one of the most complex and rich domains of language knowledge. However, linguists often lack the tools with which to approach kinship documentation, while at the same time the study of kinship systems has fallen out of favor within mainstream anthropology. Yet, kinship systems are among the first semantic domains to erode under conditions of language shift. Classificatory systems are easily calqued onto languages of wider communication, leading to reanalysis and loss. Hence, the documentation of kinship systems must be a priority for endangered language documentation efforts (Dousset 2012).
This paper presents a tentative typology of kinship classification in the languages of the Alor-Pantar family of eastern Indonesia, drawing on data from three years of collaborative field work. Comparing sibling, cousin, and parents’ sibling classifications across four of these languages reveals a significant degree of variation, even between closely related, neighboring languages. The most elaborated systems reflect a cross-cousin pattern in which siblings and children of parent’s same-sex sibling are classed together and opposed to children of parent’s opposite-sex sibling. Additional distinctions are made based on relative age and relative gender. However, some languages have much less elaborated systems which collapse some of these distinctions. Based on these comparisons it is possible to draw some conclusions about the historical evolution of kinship systems in Alor-Pantar languages, as well as possible language contact scenarios, augmenting recent work in historical phonology of the family (Author et al. 2012).
Finally, this paper discusses two significant challenges which face field workers documenting kinship systems in endangered languages. First, kinship terms must be understood as an interrelating semantic system rather than a set of lexical items. In this sense the documentation of kinship is analogous to the documentation of ethnobiological domains, where it is not just the lexical items but also the underlying taxonomy which is important. Second, ongoing shift from indigenous languages to languages of wider communication, as well as increasing intermarriage between language groups, leads to interference from second languages. Such interference may be difficult to detect when original lexical items have been retained but the kinship system itself has shifted semantically. The paper concludes by suggesting several strategies for overcoming these challenges
A proteomic discovery study of cerebrospinal fluid after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
No full textBackground: proteomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has the potential to provide insight into the pathophysiology of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and target trials to improve outcome. The aim of this study was to perform a definitive proteomic analysis of CSF following aSAH to identify proteins associated with neurological injury.Methods: retrospective proteomic analysis of CSF was collected at neurosurgical centers in the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2023 either from external ventricular drain or lumbar puncture on day 7 after aSAH. Adults with confirmed aSAH were included. Exclusions were pregnancy, severe comorbidities, inability to follow-up, and those not expected to survive 24 hours. Proteomic analysis was performed using mass spectrometry to identify CSF proteins differentially expressed between patients with good (modified Rankin Scale score of 0–2) and poor (modified Rankin Scale score of 3–6) outcomes at 6 months following aSAH. Controlling for CSF albumin (a marker of blood-brain interface permeability and volume of hemorrhage), differentially expressed proteins were identified. Differential pathway activity was explored using protein interaction, gene set enrichment and TopMD analyses.Results: a total of 152 patients were included (101 good and 51 poor outcome), and 4952 unique proteins were identified across all samples. The CSF proteomic profile differed between good and poor outcome individuals as evidenced by clustering of individuals by outcome using topological data analysis. Controlling for CSF albumin 16 intracellular and secreted proteins were differentially expressed between good and poor outcome patients. Two cellular pathways were identified to have differential activity by all 3 pathway analysis approaches: the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis.Conclusions: in this study, 16 proteins were differentially expressed between good and poor outcome aSAH patients. The proteomic evidence, both on an individual protein and pathway level highlights that inflammation and oxidative injury are associated with the pathophysiology of neurological injury following aSAH. These results support the exploration of treatments targeting these pathways to improve outcome after aSAH
Farwell ancestral memorial. Henry Farwell, of Concord and Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and all his descendants to the fifth generation: to which are added three branches--the families of Daniel⁵, of Groton and Fitchburg, Mass., 1740-1815; Bethiah⁵, of Mansfield, Conn., ad Westminster, Vt., 1747-1813; Elizabeth⁵, of North Charlestown, N. H., 1751-1840, and their descendants to 1879.
No full textMode of access: Internet
A randomised controlled trial of SFX-01 after subarachnoid haemorrhage - the SAS study
No full textSFX-01 is a novel drug for clinical delivery of sulforaphane (SFN). SFN is a potent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 activator that reduces inflammation and oxidation, improving outcomes after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in animal models. This was a multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group randomised clinical trial to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of 28 days of SFX-01 300 mg BD in patients aged 18-80 with spontaneous SAH and high blood load on CT. Primary outcomes were (1) safety, (2) plasma and CSF SFN and metabolite levels and (3) vasospasm on transcranial doppler ultrasound. Secondary outcomes included CSF haptoglobin and malondialdehyde and clinical outcome on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and SAH outcome tool (SAHOT). A total of 105 patients were randomised (54 SFX-01, 51 placebo). There were no differences in adverse events other than nausea (9 SFX-01 (16.7%), 1 placebo (2.0%)). SFN, SFN-glutathione and SFN-N-acetyl-cysteine AUClast were 16.2, 277 and 415 h × ng/ml. Plasma SFN was higher in GSTT1 null individuals (t = 2.40, p = 0.023). CSF levels were low with many samples below the lower limit of quantification and predicted by the CSF/serum albumin ratio (R2 = 0.182, p = 0.039). There was no difference in CSF haptoglobin (1.981 95%CI 0.992-3.786, p = 0.052) or malondialdehyde (1.12 95%CI 0.7477-1.687, p = 0.572) or middle cerebral artery flow velocity (1.04 95%CI 0.903-1.211, p = 0.545) or functional outcome (mRS 1.647 95%CI 0.721-3.821, p = 0.237, SAHOT 1.082 95%CI 0.464-2.525, p = 0.855). SFX-01 is safe and effective for the delivery of SFN in acutely unwell patients. SFN penetrated CSF less than expected and did not reduce large vessel vasospasm or improve outcome
Malignant middle cerebral artery syndrome with thrombotic thrombocytopenia following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2
No full textCases of thromboses at unusual sites with thrombocytopenia have been reported following vaccination against Sars-CoV-2. This new syndrome, christened vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), mainly results in venous thromboses. We report the case of a young woman with a right middle cerebral artery stroke following vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. A diagnosis of VITT was made and platelet counts began to recover shortly after commencing treatment with argatroban, intravenous immunoglobulins and corticosteroids. On day 6 following admission, the patient deteriorated neurologically and decision made to proceed with decompressive hemicraniectomy. There were no perioperative complications and anticoagulation with argatroban was reinitiated on the first postoperative day. VITT is a rare condition resembling auto-immune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. All critical care staff should be aware of the rare link between vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and VITT and the need to rapidly commence both anticoagulation, using heparin alternatives, and immunomodulation
Rebranding and repositioning the Broadbent Theatre Exhibition
No full textThe Broadbent Theatre situated in the village of Wickenby in rurl Lincolnshire, United Kingdom is home to Lindsey Rural Players who originated from the Holton Players, founded by a small community of conscientious objectors at Holton-cum-Beckering, Lincolnshire. They saw themselves as a ‘redemptive minority, committed to a higher order of morality (as opposed to war) but also, to pointing the way, towards a 'new order' through a communal, agricultural way of life. Despite little or no electricity and few wirelesses (Radios) during the war, evening entertainment involved musical evenings, singing, poetry and play reading; everyone was welcomed, whether they were from Holton or not. After the war the Holton Players converted an abandoned Nissen hut into a theatre (The Country Theatre) which sadly, met a fiery end. The Players continued to meet in the magnificent drawing room of Holton Hall staging their productions in the bay window and making their entrances and exits through the sliding sashes. Building on this rich history, this exhibition reflects some of the rebranding and Heritage Mining (commodification of heritage) solutions produced through an iterative, consultative (Action Research) approach, ignited through an intention to rebrand and reinvigorate theatre prior to the onset of the Covid19 Pandemic in 2020.</p
2013-2014: Distinguished Visiting Author, Howard Norman
No full textStudent Fellows: Leah Catania, Caitlin Holton, Katie Lowerre, Fiona Schlageterhttps://docs.rwu.edu/bermont-fellowship/1003/thumbnail.jp
2013-2014: Distinguished Visiting Author, Howard Norman
No full textStudent Fellows: Leah Catania, Caitlin Holton, Katie Lowerre, Fiona Schlageterhttps://docs.rwu.edu/bermont-fellowship/1003/thumbnail.jp
Contributos para a compreensão do sucesso da cosmologia do big bang : uma análise themática à luz de Gerald Holton
No full textTese de doutoramento, História e Filosofia das Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2016Esta dissertação é constituída por duas partes: a primeira, de natureza teórica, incide sobre uma clarificação dos fundamentos conceptuais da análise thematica, ferramenta de análise proposta pelo historiador da ciência Gerald Holton; a segunda, de natureza empírica, refere-se a um estudo de caso que consiste na aplicação da análise thematica à cosmologia contemporânea, incidindo particularmente na questão do sucesso da cosmologia do big bang dentro e fora das suas fronteiras disciplinares. Começa-se por um estudo do corpus textual de Holton, tentando compreender e delimitar o conceito de thema, procurando os themata identificados por Holton nos estudos de caso que desenvolveu no âmbito das ciências físicas e dissecando de forma crítica as teses deste autor acerca das características e dos modos de funcionamento dos themata na produção e na difusão do saber. Desta análise resulta uma taxonomia dos themata, para a qual são aqui propostas duas listas classificativas. Complementando esse estudo do corpus textual de Holton, segue-se um estudo comparativo que envolve outros conceitos propostos por diversos autores do século XX e que, de alguma forma, podem ser relacionados com os themata e com a análise thematica, nomeadamente os conceitos de paradigma, de Thomas Kuhn, de arquétipo, de Carl Jung, de obstáculo epistemológico, de Gaston Bachelard, de episteme, de Michel Foucault, e de Pathosformel, de Aby Warburg. Deste trabalho prévio de clarificação do conceito de thema resulta uma síntese necessariamente provisória que acaba por ser enriquecida pelo estudo de caso aqui proposto e no qual se procura identificar, descrever e compreender os principais themata da cosmologia do big bang com o objetivo de contribuir para a compreensão do seu sucesso. O estudo desenvolve-se pela análise thematica de textos que foram fundamentais na construção da cosmologia do big bang, nomeadamente artigos e livros de Alexandre Friedmann, Georges Lemaître e George Gamow, textos que cobrem três décadas de importantes desenvolvimentos desta cosmologia (1922-1952) e que contêm as suas linhas conceptuais essenciais. A análise thematica destes textos da cosmologia do big bang é complementada pela análise thematica dos dois textos fundadores da sua cosmologia rival, a cosmologia do steady-state, nomeadamente um artigo de H. Bondi e T. Gold e um artigo de Fred Hoyle, ambos publicados em 1948. A análise dos textos de todos estes autores procura identificar e compreender os principais themata envolvidos nas duas cosmologias. Permite também proceder a uma comparação thematica das mesmas, a que se segue uma análise, de um ponto de vista thematico, da intensa disputa que as opôs. O estudo de caso concorre para a busca de possíveis fundamentos thematicos do atual sucesso da cosmologia do big bang, tendo por base uma tripla natureza dos themata – psicológica, transversal e histórica. Aqui se averigua, relativamente aos themata mais relevantes e característicos da cosmologia do big bang, os enraizamentos históricos, as transversalidades disciplinares e epocais, assim como as seduções psicológicas, que podem contribuir favoravelmente para o sucesso desta cosmologia. A conclusão desta dissertação retoma o essencial da clarificação do conceito de thema, desenvolvida e apresentada ao longo da primeira parte, mas acrescenta alguns importantes contributos que o estudo de caso oferece à própria análise thematica: não apenas se confirmam algumas teses de Holton, como também se revelam alguns novos e interessantes aspetos relativamente aos themata e à análise thematica. Além disso, o estudo de caso mostra que há características thematicas na cosmologia do big bang que podem ajudar a compreender o seu grande sucesso, por inscreverem fortemente a cosmologia do big bang em tradições de pensamento bem-sucedidas, assim como no contexto histórico contemporâneo e naquilo que, em termos holtonianos, poderemos entender como estilo de pensamento da nossa época. A análise desenvolvida no estudo de caso revela ainda o contributo desses importantes themata para a atração psicológica e até para um certo fascínio que a hipótese do big bang exerceu e continua atualmente a exercer, quer dentro, quer fora da cosmologia.This thesis consists of two parts: the first part, theoretical, concerns the clarification of the conceptual foundations of thematic analysis, an analytical tool proposed by the historian of science Gerald Holton; the second part, empirical, is a case study consisting in the application of thematic analysis to the contemporary cosmology, particularly focusing on the question of the success of the big bang cosmology in and out of their disciplinary boundaries. The research begins with a study of the textual corpus of Holton, trying to understand and define the concept of thema, looking for themata identified by Holton in numerous case studies developed within the physical sciences and critically dissecting the theses of this author about features and operating modes of themata in the production and dissemination of knowledge. This analysis results in a taxonomy of themata for which are proposed two classification lists. The study of the textual corpus of Holton is followed by a comparative study involving other concepts proposed by several authors of the twentieth century and that can be somehow related to the themata and the thematic analysis, namely the concepts of paradigm (Thomas Kuhn), archetype (Carl Jung), epistemological obstacle (Gaston Bachelard), episteme (Michel Foucault) and Pathosformel (Aby Warburg). This previous work of clarification of concept of thema results in a necessarily provisional synthesis, enriched by the case study proposed here, which seeks to identify, describe and understand the main themata of the big bang cosmology in order to contribute to the understanding of its success. The study is developed by thematic analysis of texts that were fundamental in building of the big bang cosmology, namely articles and books of Alexander Friedmann, Georges Lemaître and George Gamow, covering three decades of important developments of this cosmology (1922-1952) and containing the essential conceptual lines of this. The thematic analysis of the big bang cosmology texts is complemented by thematic analysis of the two founding texts of his rival cosmology, the steady-state cosmology, namely a H. Bondi and T. Gold article and a Fred Hoyle article, both published in 1948. The analysis of the texts of all these authors seeks to identify and understand the main themata involved in two cosmologies. It also allows a thematic comparison of these cosmologies and an analysis, under a thematic point of view, of the intense dispute which opposed each other. The entire case study contributes to the search for possible thematic foundations of the current success of big bang cosmology based on a threefold nature of themata - psychological, transversal and historical. For the most important and characteristic themata of the big bang cosmology, there are historical rootedness, disciplinary and epochal transversalities, and some psychological seductions that seem to contribute positively to the success of this cosmology. The conclusion of this thesis includes the essential of the clarification of thema developed and presented during the first part, but adds some important contributions offered by the case study to the thematic analysis: in fact, this case study, not only confirm some theses of Holton, but also reveals some new and interesting aspects regarding the themata and the thematic analysis. The case study also shows that there are some thematic features of the big bang cosmology that can help to understand it great success. Indeed, the analysis developed in the case study reveals a set of themata that strongly inscribes the big bang cosmology in successful traditions of thought, as well in the contemporary historical context and in what, in Holton terms, we can name the style of thought of our time. The analysis also reveals the contribution of these important themata for psychological attraction and even a certain fascination that the big bang hypothesis exercised and currently continues to exercise, either within or outside of cosmology
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