This thesis focuses on the analysis and modeling of scratching, in other words, the DJ (disk jockey) practice of using the turntable as a musical instrument. There has been experimental use of turntables as musical instruments since their invention, but the use is now mainly ascribed to the musical genre hip-hop and the playing style known as scratching. Scratching has developed to become a skillful instrument-playing practice with complex musical output performed by DJs. The impact on popular music culture has been significant, and for many, the DJ set-up of turntables and a mixer is now a natural instrument choice for undertaking a creative music activity. Six papers are included in this thesis, where the first three approach the acoustics and performance of scratching, and the second three approach scratch modeling and the DJ interface. Additional studies included here expand on the scope of the papers. For the acoustics and performance studies, DJs were recorded playing both demonstrations of standard performance techniques, and expressive performances on sensor-equipped instruments. Analysis of the data revealed that there are both differences and commonalities in playing strategies between musicians, and between expressive intentions. One characteristic feature of scratching is the range of standard playing techniques, but in performances it seems DJs vary the combination of playing techniques more than the rendering of these techniques. The third study describes some of the acoustic parameters of typical scratch improvisations and looks at which musical parameters are typically used for expressive performances. Extracted acoustic and performance parameters from the data show the functional ranges within which DJs normally play. Unlike traditional musical instruments, the equipment used for scratching was not intended to be used for creating music. The interface studies focus on traditional as well as new interfaces for DJs, where parameter mappings between input gestures and output signal are described. Standard performance techniques have been modeled in software called Skipproof, based on results from the first papers. Skipproof was used for testing other types of controllers than turntables, where complex DJ gestures could be manipulated using simplified control actions, enabling even non-experts to play expressively within the stylistic boundaries of DJ scratching. The last paper describes an experiment of using an existing hardware platform, the Reactable, to help designing and prototyping the interaction between different sound models and instrument interfaces, including scratching and Skipproof. In addition to the included papers, studies were conducted of expressivity, description of the emotional contents of scratching, DJ playing activities, and the coupling between playing techniques and sample. The physical affordances of the turntable, mixer and samples, as well as genre conventions of hip-hop, are assumed to explain some of the findings that distinguish scratching from other instrumental sounds or practices. / QC20100729

The intent of this research was to identify if the degenerative changes within arteries in the endometrium (endometrial angiopathies) correlate with degenerative changes in the uterine arteries and can be used as a predictor of increased risk for uterine artery rupture (UAR). With this objective specimens from 20 mares that died from uterine artery rupture and 21 control mares that died from unrelated causes were obtained from cases submitted to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL) over a two-year period. Postmortem specimens of each mare were collected from the left and right uterine arteries at the origin, bifurcation, and distal to the bifurcation as well as full thickness uterine wall sections at five different sites. An additional sample was taken from the uterine artery at the site of rupture in the affected mares. Tissue samples were immersed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, routinely processed, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson’s Trichrome, and Verhoeff´s Van Gieson histochemical stains as well as a smooth muscle-actin immunohistochemical marker. Elastosis, fibrosis, and vascular smooth muscle cell degeneration were identified in this study as potential contributors of vascular degeneration and a scoring system was developed to differentiate the degrees of severity of these specific degenerative changes within the intima and media of the vascular wall. Based on the scoring system, sections of uterine arteries and endometrial arterioles were blindly examined and the scored changes recorded for statistical analysis. Although the degenerative changes in endometrial and uterine arteries were similar within each group, the results could not not be used to predict an increased risk for UAR. Furthermore, we determined the major changes in vascular pathology of the affected uterine arteries and show there is a significant difference in degenerative changes between specific layers of the vascular wall.

The mevalonate pathway is an important biosynthetic pathway, found in all cells of virtually all known pro- as well as eukaryotic organisms. This thesis is an investigation into the use of two drugs, originally developed for different applications, but both affecting the mevalonate pathway, in to models of fracture repair. Using two different rodent models of fracture repair, a commonly used cholesterol lowering drug (statin) and two drugs used to treat osteoporosis (bisphosphonate) were applied both systemically as well as locally in order to enhance fracture repair. Papers I and II investigate the potential of simvastatin to improve the healing of femoral fractures in mice. Papers III and IV explore the use of two bisphosphonates to improve early fixation of stainless steel screws into rat bone. The statin simvastatin lead to an increased strength of the healing cellus. The application of bisphosphonates increased early screw fixation. It seems clear that both drugs have uses in orthopaedic applications. One interesting avenue of further research would be to combine the two classes of drugs and see if we can get the benefits while at the same time diminishing the drawbacks.

Human body lice, Pediculus humanus humanus, and head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, have been hematophagous ectoparasites of humans for thousands of years. Despite being ecotypes, only body lice are known to transmit bacterial diseases to humans, and it appears that lower humoral and cellular immune responses allow body lice to possess a higher vector competence. We previously observed that the transcription level of the defensin 1 gene was up-regulated only in head lice following oral challenge of Bartonella quintana, a causative agent of trench fever, and also that body lice excreted more viable B. quintana in their feces. In this study, we first investigated this differential immune response by performing RNAi to knockdown defensin 1 by dsRNA injection. B. quintana was orally infected 72 h after injection and proliferation was compared at 2 hours (day 0) and day 4 post-infection. At day 0, bacterial cell numbers increased 1.5-fold in defensin 1 (Def1(-)) knocked down head lice compared with non-knocked down, pQE30-dsRNA injected, head lice control. At day 4, Def1(-) knocked down head lice had 2.55-fold more bacterial cells than control head lice and 1.65-fold greater than body lice, indicating that defensin 1 was active in reducing B. quintana cell number in non-knocked down head lice. Second, the levels of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the epithelial cells of the alimentary tract were measured using two general indictors of ROS in both body and head lice at day 1 and day 4 following B. quintana challenge. Challenged body lice showed a 42% and 34% increase in ROS, whereas head lice showed a 70% and 22% increase at day 1 using CM-H2DCFDA and HPF as general indicators, respectively. On day 4, all challenged lice showed similar ROS levels except for body lice which maintained their ROS levels (40% increase using CM-H2DCFDA). Head lice are likely to have multiple immune and/or non-immune factors that suppress B. quintana proliferation, and the production of sustained ROS levels and/or the single knockdown of Defensin 1 is not enough to increase B. quintana proliferation in head lice to that seen in body lice.