24 research outputs found
Vernacular Liturgy in England and Armenia from the Fifth to the Eleventh Centuries
No full textThe article examines the language of liturgies in England and Armenia from the fifth to the eleventh centuries. Drawing parallels between the Armenian and English histories the author points out that unlike Armenians who performed the liturgy in Armenian, the language of the liturgy in England was Latin. The author tries to analyze the extralinguistic factors which conditioned the situation of the period
‘Shining a spotlight on Armenians: exchanges on the Silk Road’. Review of: Christiane Esche-Ramshorn, East-West Artistic Transfer through Rome, Armenia and the Silk Road: Sharing St. Peter’s, London and New York: Routledge, 2022, 224 pp., 38 b/w figs, 20 col. figs, £120, ISBN 9781409403067.
No full textThis beautifully and effectively illustrated book explains the various contacts, and their contexts, between Armenians and persons from western Europe, especially Italy, in the period of the Crusades and Renaissance, in Italy and Armenia, and especially in Armenian Cilicia. These included an Armenian compound at St. Peter’s, Rome, Roman Catholic missionary establishments in Armenian lands, and trade. Armenian involvement in the production of, and international trade in, luxury fabrics is emphasised. The author shows that western scholars of art history and of artistic transfer have largely neglected the role of Armenians in this, as also in the history of luxury textiles. She offers a discussion of ‘mutual cultural knowledge’ considering Italian influences on Armenians, and a series of case studies dated between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, mostly paintings, in which international artistic transfer is demonstrable. Attention is drawn to the use of foreign alphabets and inscriptions/pseudo-inscriptions in artworks
Beyond the Text: Capturing the Reality of the Image
No full textThroughout musical history composers have responded to extra musical influences, whether the setting of texts, responses to paintings, religion or political situations. On occasion the structure of a poem such as Haiku or iambic pentameter has directly influenced the structure of the music. However, the nature of this relationship is often some kind of close representation or emotional response.
My own work as a composer has been similarly informed by a wide range of extra musical sources; the work of author/poets Samuel Beckett and Paul Celan, painters Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter, or the theories of the philosopher Jacques Derrida among others; and further, the notion of artistic resistance from a political point of view in relation to the work of the poet Alina Vitukhnovskaya or the writings of playwrights Edward Bond and Peter Weiss. What might be the meaningful links between music, poetry, painting, philosophy and politics, beyond more direct forms of expression, such as text setting, narrative, or figurative painting? How might issues of language problematize such creative discourses and by connecting border areas of representation access new modes of expression and meaning? Further, how might such issues relate to composition, in terms of what lies beyond the text, and the concept of material? This paper will address such issues in relation to my own work as a composer and how such interconnections have informed my practice
CAMIRA: Correction Advances for Myocardial Imaging using Registration Algorithms
No full textIntroduction: Myocardial perfusion imaging uses a gamma camera to image the perfusion of the heart to evaluate the presence of coronary artery disease. The Discovery NM 530c dedicated solid state cardiac gamma camera (DNM 530c) is an inherently three-dimensional imaging system that is different in design, and uses different acquisition parameters, compared to Anger gamma cameras.
Aim: To determine the extent and frequency of patient and respiratory motion artefacts on myocardial perfusion images acquired on the DNM 530c and develop data driven motion estimation and correction techniques that utilise the three-dimensional nature of the system.
Method: The effect of motion on myocardial perfusion images acquired on the DNM 530c was evaluated on phantom studies, and planar and three-dimensional techniques implementing image registration were developed for patient motion estimation. The technique was adapted to incorporate principal component analysis to facilitate the measurement of respiratory motion. Validation was performed on phantom simulations and explored through patient studies. Motion correction was applied by registering reconstructed binned data.
Results: Patient motion ≥10mm that is present for ≥17% of the acquisition introduced significant motion artefacts. There was no significant difference (P=0.258) between the planar and three-dimensional patient motion estimation
techniques. Motion correction removed artefacts from 9/10 phantom simulations. Cranio-caudal motion ≥8mm was measured on 10% of patient studies and 5% were affected by motion. No significant patient motion was identified in the lateral or ventral-dorsal directions. A strong correlation was demonstrated between the respiratory motion signal generated using the respiratory motion estimation technique and measured using an external device for two out of eight validation patients, with one patient demonstrating motion artefacts. Significant cranio-caudal respiratory motion was identified on 45% of patient images, with 4% demonstrating
motion artefacts. Respiratory motion ≥15mm introduced artefacts. A quality index of ≥0.7 can be used to identify images that would benefit from motion correction; this
would result in 1 in 3 patients undergoing correction.
Conclusions: Data driven motion estimation techniques for both patient and respiratory motion on the DNM 530c have been developed. It has been demonstrated that patient motion ≥10mm that is present for ≥17% of the acquisition
and respiratory motion ≥15mm can introduce artefacts into clinical scans.
Acknowledgements: This report is independent research arising from a NIHR/CSO Healthcare Scientist Doctoral Research Fellowship supported by the National Institute for Health Research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health
Wallace and I: cognition, consciousness, and dualism in David Foster Wallace’s fiction
No full textThough David Foster Wallace is well known for declaring that “Fiction’s about what it is to be a fucking human being” (Conversations 26), what he actually meant by the term “human being” has been quite forgotten. It is a truism in Wallace studies that Wallace is a posthuman writer whose characters are devoid of any kind of inner interiority or soul. This is a misreading of Wallace’s work.
My argument is that Wallace’s work and his characters—though they are much neglected in Wallace studies—are animated by the tension between materialism and essentialism, and this dualism is one of the major ways in which Wallace bridges postmodern fiction with something new. My project is itself part of this post-postmodern turn, a contribution to the emerging field of cognitive literary studies which has tried to move beyond postmodernism by bringing a renewed focus on the sciences of mind to literary criticism. As yet, this field has largely focused on fiction published before the twentieth century. I expand the purview of cognitive literary studies and give a rigorous and necessary account of Wallace’s humanism.
In each chapter I discuss a particular concern that Wallace shares with his predecessors (authorship; selfhood; therapy; free will), and explore how Wallace’s dualism informs his departure from postmodernism. I begin by setting out the key scientific sources for Wallace, and the embodied model of mind that was foundational to his writing and his understanding, especially after Barthes’s “Death of the Author,” of the writing process. In chapter 2, I unravel the unexamined but hugely significant influence of René Descartes on Wallace’s ghost stories, showing that Wallace’s work is not as posthuman as it is supposed to be. In chapter 3, I discuss the dualist metaphors that Wallace consistently uses to describe an individual’s experience of sickness. Focusing on the interior lives of both therapist and patient in Wallace’s work, I show that Wallace’s therapy fictions are a critical response to postmodern anti-psychiatry. Finally, in chapter 4, I reconcile Wallace’s dualist account of material body and essential mind by setting his work against both the history of the philosophy of free will and postmodern paranoid fiction.
If Wallace’s fiction is about what it is to be a human being, this thesis is about the human ‘I’ at the heart of Wallace’s work
A Meta-Analysis of Studies of Treatments for Feline Urine Spraying
No full textFeline urine spraying inside the home is a common problem behaviour that owners seek advice for from veterinarians. Individual trials relating to a variety of interventions produce variable results, and to date, no consensus on the value of different treatments has emerged. This study therefore aimed to meta-analyse, current data from appropriate published clinical trials that evaluate treatments for feline urine spraying. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study selection were predefined and methodological quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. Ten studies in nine publications that either evaluated pharmacotherapy or pheromonatherapy (the use of a synthetic analogue of the F3 facial fraction in the cat) were suitable for analysis. There was a significant (P<0.001) association between the use of any intervention and the number of cats that ceased or reduced urine spraying by at least 90%. Analysis by intervention type indicated that fluoxetine, clomipramine and pheromonatherapy may each assist in managing urine spraying beyond a placebo based intervention. This is the first time meta-analytical techniques have been used and reported to evaluate the efficacy of interventions used in veterinary behavioural medicine, and it has established confidence in the value of both conventional treatments (pharmacotherapy) and a more recently developed treatment modality (pheromonatherapy) as an adjunct to the management of this problem. It is suggested that future research into treatment efficacy for this problem uses the benchmark standard of randomised, controlled trials lasting for at least 8 weeks, with the outcome criteria of cessation of feline urine spraying or reduction by at least 90%
Using a realist approach in understanding youth offending service delivery requirements for young people who offend with speech, language and communication needs in England
No full text\ua9 2022, The Author(s). Research consistently demonstrates the over-representation of young people with speech, language and communication needs within the youth criminal justice system, with estimates suggesting this population accounts for up to 90% of young people who offend. Acknowledgement and understanding of these individual-based needs, along with identified service delivery adaptation(s) (where necessary) are required to ensure all young people, regardless of needs experienced, can effectively engage with, and have their voices heard, within the context of Youth Offending Services. By using a realist approach, qualitative interviews with stakeholders (n = 15) are used to explore service conditions required to incorporate speech, language and communication provision within a Youth Offending Service. Specifically, the research provides original and significant insights into the interconnections between understanding of speech, language and communication, service delivery models and engagement with young people. Seven themes pertaining to delivery requirements within youth offending settings were identified. From these themes, explanations in the form of programme theories are postulated detailing core service delivery conditions required in youth offending settings to address speech, language and communication need. These include, increased understanding of speech, language and communication; unpicking terminology and becoming communication friendly; staff cohesion prompting learning together; and co-construction approach to service delivery. The core approach underpinning these postulated programme theories was an increased awareness of speech, language and communication issues by youth offending staff. This increased awareness is evidenced to lead to an adaptation of behaviours and practices by staff which in turn increases engagement with young people
A meta-analysis of studies of treatments for feline urine spraying
No full textFeline urine spraying inside the home is a common problem behaviour that owners seek advice for from veterinarians. Individual trials relating to a variety of interventions produce variable results, and to date, no consensus on the value of different treatments has emerged. This study therefore aimed to meta-analyse, current data from appropriate published clinical trials that evaluate treatments for feline urine spraying.Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study selection were predefined and methodological quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. Ten studies in nine publications that either evaluated pharmacotherapy or pheromonatherapy (the use of a synthetic analogue of the F3 facial fraction in the cat) were suitable for analysis. There was a significant (P 0.001) association between the use of any intervention and the number of cats that ceased or reduced urine spraying by at least 90%. Analysis by intervention type indicated that fluoxetine, clomipramine and pheromonatherapy may each assist in managing urine spraying beyond a placebo based intervention.This is the first time meta-analytical techniques have been used and reported to evaluate the efficacy of interventions used in veterinary behavioural medicine, and it has established confidence in the value of both conventional treatments (pharmacotherapy) and a more recently developed treatment modality (pheromonatherapy) as an adjunct to the management of this problem. It is suggested that future research into treatment efficacy for this problem uses the benchmark standard of randomised, controlled trials lasting for at least 8 weeks, with the outcome criteria of cessation of feline urine spraying or reduction by at least 90%.</p
A meta-analysis of studies of treatments for feline urine spraying
No full textFeline urine spraying inside the home is a common problem behaviour that owners seek advice for from veterinarians. Individual trials relating to a variety of interventions produce variable results, and to date, no consensus on the value of different treatments has emerged. This study therefore aimed to meta-analyse, current data from appropriate published clinical trials that evaluate treatments for feline urine spraying.Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study selection were predefined and methodological quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. Ten studies in nine publications that either evaluated pharmacotherapy or pheromonatherapy (the use of a synthetic analogue of the F3 facial fraction in the cat) were suitable for analysis. There was a significant (P 0.001) association between the use of any intervention and the number of cats that ceased or reduced urine spraying by at least 90%. Analysis by intervention type indicated that fluoxetine, clomipramine and pheromonatherapy may each assist in managing urine spraying beyond a placebo based intervention.This is the first time meta-analytical techniques have been used and reported to evaluate the efficacy of interventions used in veterinary behavioural medicine, and it has established confidence in the value of both conventional treatments (pharmacotherapy) and a more recently developed treatment modality (pheromonatherapy) as an adjunct to the management of this problem. It is suggested that future research into treatment efficacy for this problem uses the benchmark standard of randomised, controlled trials lasting for at least 8 weeks, with the outcome criteria of cessation of feline urine spraying or reduction by at least 90%.</p
