3,636 research outputs found
The effects of antibiotic therapy on Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with cystic fibrosis
No full textHeritability and Linkage Analysis of Appendicitis Utilizing Age at Onset
No full textAppendicitis usually afflicts the young, but there is a large tail in the distribution of onset age. The genetics of this disease are still not well understood. A heritability analysis and genome wide linkage analysis of a large twin dataset was undertaken. Treating age of onset of appendicitis as a censored survival trait revealed a heritability of 0.21, and found evidence of linkage to Chromosome 1p37.3. Author(s): Christopher Oldmeadow 1 * | Kerrie Mengersen 2 | Nicholas Martin 3 | David L. Duffy
Christopher Smart and A Song to David
No full textThe purpose of this study is to throw light upon what the author feels to be one of the greatest lyric poems of the eighteenth century and upon the character and mind of its creator. Both A Song to David and its author, Christopher Smart, have long been regarded as enigmas. That “mad” Smart should have been capable of writing the strange and beautiful Song has captured the imagination of romantic and realist alike. The Song has been considered almost always as an isolated miracle, as the mysterious and impassioned product of a man who went mad because he took prayer too seriously. One of the foci of this study will be the relating of the Song to the Smart canon generally. This relation will disprove, it is hoped, the concept of the isolatedness and uniqueness of the Song; it will be seen to be a culmination rather than a literary curiosity
Cult: A Composite Novel
No full textCult (redacted)
The first component of the thesis is a composite novel called Cult which falls into two parts with seven narratives in each. Part 1 tracks the protagonist, Ellen, from her first involvement with the cult through to her eventually leaving it. Although fiction, the first half of the book answers the kinds of questions the author is asked when people discover that she was once a sannyasin (a follower of the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). While the experiences of meditation, group therapy and communal living are all faithfully rendered within the stories, the need for strong characters, narrative drive and a lightness of touch takes precedence.
Part 2 picks up Ellen’s story some twenty or so years later and explores what becomes of her in middle age. It also looks at other groups in society, such as academia, the law and the internet dating community which each have their own jargon, hierarchies, rituals and rules but are not considered to be cults.
The book examines the question raised in the Epigraph, ‘how do we be together when we feel so alone’ with a focus on relationships other than the familial and the romantic.
Collisions, Chasms and Connections: a Performative Exploration of the Composite Novel Form
The second part of the thesis is both a critical and creative response to three contemporary American books: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan; and Legend of a Suicide by David Vann. The critical element comprises a close reading of the three books; a chronological reconstruction of their overarching storylines; and a consideration of what their authors have said about writing the books. It concludes that, in the composite novel, the simultaneous presentation of multiple views and storylines operate much like a 3D image to give the impression of depth to the characters and situations rendered. The creative element of the essay is a playful and personal response to the texts
Dopaminergic sensitivity in the prefrontal cortex is associated with variations in general cognitive abilities and is a target for working memory training
No full textAn individual’s performance across diverse tests of cognitive ability tends to co-vary, indicative of a common source of underlying variance (i.e., "general intelligence"). Recent evidence indicates that the processing efficacy of working memory predicts the level of general intelligence in humans and general cognitive abilities (GCA) in non-human animals (e.g. rodents and monkeys). One component of working memory, namely selective attention, has been reported to highly co-vary with general intelligence, and evidence suggests that dopamine D1 signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) critically modulates attentional abilities. Here, we characterized the GCA of 48 CD-1 outbred mice based on their aggregate performance across five diverse tests of learning. Using immunohistochemical techniques following administration of a D1 agonist (SKF82958, 1 mg/kg), we examined the relationship between GCA and endogenous sensitivity of D1 receptors in the mPFC, the dlPFC, and the striatum. Results indicate a differential sensitivity of D1 receptors in the mPFC (but not the dlPFC or striatum) between animals of high GCA and low GCA (quantified by cFos activation in response to the D1 agonist). In Experiment 2, we assessed whether the enhancement in D1 receptor sensitivity levels were the result of an increased amount of D1 receptors in the mPFC. Results indicated that animals of high GCA and low GCA express no differences in the density of D1 receptors in the mPFC. Subsequently we examined whether the imposition of a working memory training regimen (with a high demand on selective attention) modulates the same dopaminergic signaling mechanisms that were associated with innate GCA. Working memory training promoted an increase in animals’ GCA and enhanced the sensitivity of D1 receptors in the mPFC. These findings suggest that the sensitivity (but not number) of D1 receptors in the mPFC may both regulate GCA and may be a target for working memory training that promotes GCA.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Christopher David Was
The role of the imagination in Hume's science of man
No full textIn recent years there has been an explosion of writing on
David Hume. His scepticism, his writings on morality, politics,
and religion, have all received substantial attention. What I
attempt to do in this thesis is to suggest that his
revolutionary contributions in all these fields can be better
understood if we consider his attempt to found the sciences on
the imagination.
What little work there is on the imagination in Hume's
writings is almost all concerned with Book I of the Treatise.
As regards Book I, I suggest that Hume's overarching problem is
to argue that belief is dependent on the imagination, whilst
still keeping a contrast with the whims of the 'fancy'. He
wants to disabuse us of the idea that we believe on account of
reason; but he wants to distinguish the claims of science from
the claims of poets.
But I also examine why he thinks his explanation of the
production of passions support his conclusions about belief.
And I argue that his former account guides conclusions found in
other genres. So for example, I examine certain essays and
letters about politics, and his explanation of religious events
in the History of England.
Why do men falsely believe that they are distinguished from
the animals through possessing reason? On the one hand Hume
tries to explain the origin of the sciences; on the other hand,
he tries to show how men have come to have a false conception
of themselves. A central aim of the thesis is to bring out
these themes through showing the use Hume makes of principles
of the imagination. I pay special attention to Hume's attempt
to argue that Christianity plays a major role in the sustaining
of the false view
University-affiliated retirement development : a resource for universities
No full textThesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, Center for Real Estate, 2004 [first author]; and, (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, Center for Real Estate, 2004 [second author].This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references.by Christopher B. Helsaback & David B. Ritchey.S.M.in Real Estate Developmen
Poverty, Income Distribution, and Growth: Are They Still Connected
No full textmacroeconomics, poverty, income distribution, growth
Control aspects of synchronous machines in power systems applications
No full textDevelopments in control design methods for power systems have continually been made during the last ten years, and the present thesis seeks to make its contribution to this pattern of work. In so doing, it develops electrical machine mathematical models on which the subsequent designs are based. The formulations relate specifically to those from which computer programs may be readily developed and particular importance has been attached to the systematic marshalling of plant and network equations for the subsequent and efficient solution by computer methods. Methods of model reduction and state transformation are described and these are used to manipulate the system models into the form appropriate to the regulator design algorithm. The regulator-design algorithm is described in which a systematic numerical technique is used to predetermine the performance criterionJ = C(xtQx + u )dt. The constraints imposed on the system response by the design specification are associated with the movement of the eigenvalue locations to give actual values for the elements of Q. The algorithm described, for the linear single-input system, is based on the sensitivity of the elements of Q to shifts in the eigenvalue locations to produce a performance criterion for improved system stability. The resulting algorithm is applied to the design of an a.c. turbo generator excitation control and is shown to give a system that has advantages over a controller designed using conventional techniques. The thesis is supported by four published papers in which the author of the present thesis is joint author. One reports on the development of the design algorithm and the others deal with computational aspects of control design and its-application to power systems; computer listings are presented in the papers. In addition, the author's work has been presented at two conferences for which published records exist.</p
Hong Kong cinema 1982-2002 : the quest for identity during transition
No full textElectronic redacted version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holderThis thesis seeks to interpret the cinematic representations of Hong Kongers’ identity quest during a transitional state/stage related to the sovereignty transfer. The Handover transition considered is an ideological one, rather than the overnight polity change on the Handover day. This research approaches contemporary Hong Kong cinema on two fronts and the thesis is structured accordingly: Upon an initial review of the existing Hong Kong film scholarship in the Introduction, and its 1997-related allegorical readings, Part I sees new angles (previously undeveloped or underdeveloped) for researching Hong Kong films made during 1982-2002. Arguments are built along the ideas of Hong Kongers’ situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’ because Hong Kong has lacked a cultural/national centrality. This part of research is informed by the ideas of Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha and Stuart Hall, and the diasporic experiences of Ien Ang, Rey Chow and Ackbar Abbas. With these new research angles and references to the circumstances, Part II reads critically the text of eight Hong Kong films made during the Handover transition. In chronological order, they are Boat People (Hui, 1982), Song of the Exile (Hui, 1990), Days of Being Wild (Wong, 1990), Happy Together (Wong, 1997), Made in Hong Kong (Chan, 1997), Ordinary Heroes (Hui, 1999), Durian Durian (Chan, 2000), and Hollywood Hong Kong (Chan, 2002). They meet several criteria related to the undeveloped / underdeveloped areas in the existing Hong Kong film scholarship. Hamid Naficy’s ‘accented cinema’ paradigm gives the guidelines to the film analysis in Part II. This part shows that Hong Kongers’ self-transformation during transition is alterable, indeterminate, and interminable, due to the people’s situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’. This thesis thus contributes to Hong Kong cinema scholarship in interpreting films with new research angles, and generating new insights into this cinematic tradition and its wider context
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