Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Kathinkas Gesang als Luzifers Requiem presents mental, physical, and musical challenges that go beyond the usual expectations of an instrumentalist, extending and redefining the traditional idea of virtuosity. Using firsthand performance experience, score and recording study, and flutist interviews, this document explores the effects of some of these heightened demands and argues that the particular performance situation presented by Kathinkas Gesang brings up critical questions about the performer’s role, the nature of performance and of the musical work, and the existence of an authoritatively “authentic” interpretation. Employing an expanded definition of virtuosity that includes interpretation and encompasses both choices and actions, the document discusses the extensions of virtuosity into two main areas: first, memory; and second, staging and movement, covering both practical suggestions and larger implications. Finally, it examines how the performer’s negotiation of these challenges relates to questions about authenticity and agency. Performance is defined here as a creative and collaborative act, not attempting to duplicate previous performances or recordings, but rather to give the best realization of the piece possible in the given circumstances, according to the individual’s interpretation of the score’s directions. There is no single “authentic” interpretation, but rather a rich multiplicity of possibilities, and the performer’s creative agency and personal authenticity are necessary for the full realization of the work.

This comprehensive study of Thea Musgrave's Orfeo I is the basis for a lecture-recital performed on March 20, 1989, at the University of North Texas, as part of DMA dissertation requirements. It includes: brief bio-background of Musgrave and Orfeo; historical background of both the Orpheus legend and some landmark dramatic works based on it; general development of Musgrave's dramatic language and specific ways in which she uses it in this composition; analysis of the work; performance guide; and annotated appendix listing Musgrave's published and recorded chamber works which include flute. Orfeo I is a major work for flute and electronic tape comprised entirely of manipulated flute sounds. It was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation for James Galway, who recorded the taped material and was the featured performer in the 1976 London premier. An alternate version, Orfeo II, with fifteen strings in place of electronic tape, was premiered by David Shostac in 1976 in Los Angeles, and conducted by the composer. Orfeo's form is programmatically designed, divided into six sections based on Musgrave's "Scenario"of the Orpheus myth. Characters are dramatically depicted through means of "motifs"; that of Orpheus in solo flute, and all others in tape sounds. Musgrave uses quotations from Gluck's opera, Orfeo ed Euridice and Stravinsky's ballet, Orpheus, as basic compositional models. Using her own harmonic language, she combines tonal and chromatic elements in a linear compositional style which ties flute and tape together. Through "controlled aleatory," the soloist is allowed to shape certain aspects of the work. Use of electronic tape places Orfeo I in the realm of intermedia. In addition, Musgrave offers a versatile range of performance possibilities, from highly dramatic (including lighting instructions, option of ballet choreography for solo male dancer, costuming, etc.) to a straight concert rendition.

Rete Mirabile is my new installation piece combining scientific principles with live computer generated music. The title is a Latin term meaning "Wonderful Net," which I use to refer to the highly convoluted network of biological data that drives my installation. The sonification of data, computer modeling of biological processes, kinetic sculptures, and user interactivity are central parts of the installation. The paper is organized as follows: First, brief history of the forerunners that inspired my work is given. This includes a short discussion on how John Cage and David Tudor influenced current artists works, and how those works have influenced my own work. Then I review current installation works that share similarities with my own. Finally, a detailed discussion and analysis of the construction and function concludes the paper.

The practice of “listening with the eyes” has a remarkably long history, which in the Western tradition of notated music can be traced back to at least the 16th century. The usage of musical figures or extramusical references leading to literature or fine art or even drawing with melodic lines could be considered a common effect of this practice. Music history, after intermedia and multimedia development in the 20th century, is now heading towards code-based performance. The crucial questions are: What is being performed: music, notation, or the process of creation? And who is the performer and who is the audience?

No description available.

Musica Speculativa is a final project in two parts in which I explore, through both theory and practice, the role of metaphors in our understanding of reality with special attention given to the use of visual representation in multimedia concert works that employ electroacoustics. Part I, entitled, "Imaginary Cognition: Interpreting the Topoi of Intermedia Electroacoustic Concert Works," explores how metaphors play a core role in our musical experience and how aural metaphors can be enhanced by and ultimately interact with visual metaphors to create a contrapuntal intermedia experience. Part II, "Musica Speculativa: A Multimedia Concert in Five Movements and Three Intermezzi," for mezzo-soprano, flute, B-flat bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, a percussionist performing an array of lightning bottles, a dancer with a gesture-sensing wand, and a technologist operating interactive audio and video processing, focuses on the medieval philosophy of Musica Speculativa and how it relates to our current understanding of the world. In part I explore the heightened experience of metaphorical exchange through the utilization of multimedia. The starting point is the expansion of visual enhancement in electroacoustic compositions due to the widespread availability of projection in concert halls and the multimedia expectations created through 21st-century Western culture. With the use of visual representation comes the potential to map musical ideas onto visual signs, creating another level of cognition. The subsequent unfolding of visual signifiers offers a direct visual complement and subsequent interaction to the unfolding of aural themes in electroacoustic compositions. The paper surveys the current research surrounding metaphorical thematic recognition in electroacoustic works whose transformational processes might be unfamiliar, and which in turn create fertile ground for the negotiation of meaning. The interaction of media and the differences created among the various signs within the music and the visual art create a heightened concert experience that is familiar to and in many ways expected by contemporary listeners. Composers such as Jaroslaw Kapuscinski have sought to use multimedia as a means to enhance the concert experience, giving movement to the acousmatic presence in their electroacoustic works. In turn, these works create a concert experience that is more familiar to the 21st-century audience. Through examining Kapuscinski's recent work, Oli's Dream, in light of cognitive research by Zbikowski (1998 & 2002), topic theory by Agawu (1991 & 2009), and multimedia research by Cook (1998), I propose a theory for analyzing contrapuntal meaning in multimedia concert works. The themes explored in Part I, regarding the use of metaphor to interpret both visual and aural stimuli, ultimately creating a metaphor for a reality never fully grasped due to the limits of human understanding, are further explored artistically in the multimedia concert work, Musica Speculativa. The medieval philosophy of Musica Speculativa suggests that music as it is understood today (musica instrumentalis) is the only tangible form of the metaphysical music ruling human interactions (musica humana) and ordering the cosmos (musica mundana). I found the concept of Musica Speculativa to be a fitting metaphor for how music and art allude to our own perception of reality and our place within that world. The project as a whole re-examines the concept of Musica Speculativa in light of our current technological landscape to gain a deeper understanding of how we interact with the world around us. / Music Composition / Accompanied by one .pdf score: Musica Speculativa.

Objectives: Systemic antibiotics are generally recognized as providing a beneficial impact in treatment of both aggressive and chronic periodontitis. Since strains of periodontal pathogens among periodontitis patients may vary in their antibiotic drug resistance, the American Academy of Periodontology recommends antimicrobial susceptibility testing of suspected periodontal pathogens prior to administration of systemic periodontal antibiotic therapy, to reduce the risk of a treatment failure due to pathogen antibiotic resistance. E-test and MIC Test Strip assays are two in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems employing plastic- and paper-based, respectively, carriers loaded with predefined antibiotic gradients covering 15 two-fold dilutions. To date, no performance evaluations have been carried out comparing the Etest and MIC Test Strip assays in their ability to assess the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of periodontal bacterial pathogens. As a result, the purpose of this study was to compare the in vitro performance of E-test and MIC Test Strip assays in assessing minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of four antibiotics frequently utilized in systemic periodontal antibiotic therapy against 11 fresh clinical subgingival isolates of the putative periodontal pathogen, Prevotella intermedia/ nigrescens, and to compare the distribution of P. intermedia/ nigrescens strains identified with interpretative criteria as "susceptible" and "resistant" to each of the four antibiotics using MIC values determined by the two antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. Methods: Standardized cell suspensions, equivalent to a 2.0 McFarland turbidity standard, were prepared with 11 fresh clinical isolates of P. intermedia/nigrescens, each recovered from the subgingival microbiota of United States chronic periodontitis subjects, and plated onto to the surfaces of culture plates containing enriched Brucella blood agar. After drying, pairs of antibiotic-impregnated, quantitative, gradient diffusion strips from two manufacturers (E-test, bioMérieux, Durham, NC, USA, and MIC Test Strip, Liofilchem s.r.l., Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy) for amoxicillin, clindamycin, metronidazole, and doxycycline were each placed apart from each other onto the inoculated enriched Brucella blood agar surfaces, so that an antibiotic test strip from each manufacturer was employed per plate against each P. intermedia/ nigrescens clinical isolate for antibiotic susceptibility testing. After 48-72 hours anaerobic jar incubation, individual MIC values for each antibiotic test strip against P. intermedia/nigrescens were read in μg/ml at the point where the edge of the bacterial inhibition ellipse intersected with the antibiotic test strip. MIC50, MIC90, and MIC range were calculated and compared for each of the test antibiotics, with essential agreement (EA) values determined per test antibiotic for the level of outcome agreement between two antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. In addition, the identification of antibiotic "susceptible" and "resistant" strains among the P. intermedia/nigrescens clinical isolates was determined for each test antibiotic using MIC interpretative criteria from the MIC interpretative standards developed by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) for gram-negative anaerobic bacteria for amoxicillin, clindamycin, and metronidazole findings, and from the French Society of Microbiology breakpoint values for anaerobic disk diffusion testing for doxycycline data. Results: For amoxicillin, higher MIC50 and MIC90 values against the P. intermedia/ nigrescens strains were found with the MIC Test Strip assay than with E-test strips, resulting in a relatively low EA value of 45.5% between the two susceptibility testing methods. A higher percentage of amoxicillin "resistant" P. intermedia/nigrescens strains (72.7%) were identified by MIC Test Strips as compared to E-test strips (54.5%), although both methods found the same proportion of amoxicillin "susceptible" strains (27.3%). For clindamycin, both susceptibility testing methods provided identical MIC values (EA value = 100%), and exactly the same distributions of "susceptible" and "resistant" strains of P. intermedia/nigrescens. For metronidazole, only very poor agreement (EA value = 9.1%) was found between the two susceptibility testing methods, with MIC Test Strips exhibiting markedly higher MIC50 and MIC90 values against P. intermedia/nigrescens as compared to E-test strips. However, the distribution of "susceptible" and "resistant" P. intermedia/ nigrescens were identical between the two susceptibility testing methods. For doxycycline, relatively good agreement (EA value = 72.7%) was found in MIC concentrations between the two susceptibility testing methods, although generally lower MIC values were associated with MIC Test Strips. In addition, identical distributions of "susceptible" and "resistant" P. intermedia/nigrescens were provided by both susceptibility testing methods. Conclusions: Relative to MIC values measured against periodontal strains of P. intermedia/nigrescens, MIC Test Strips gave higher MIC values with amoxicillin and metronidazole, equal MIC values with clindamycin, and lower MIC values with doxycycline, as compared to MIC values measured with the E-test assay. Relative to the identification of antibiotic "susceptible" periodontal P. intermedia/ nigrescens strains, both susceptibility testing methods provided identical findings, suggesting that both methods appear to be interchangeable for clinical decision making in regard to identification of antibiotic-sensitive strains of periodontal P. intermedia/nigrescens. However, for epidemiologic surveillance of drug susceptibility trends, where exact MIC values are important to track over time, the relatively higher proportion of non-exact MIC differences between the two susceptibility testing methods argues against using them interchangeably. Instead, one or the other method should be used consistently for such studies. Further comparative studies of the E-test and MIC Test Strip assays are indicated using other periodontopathic bacterial species besides P. intermedia/ nigrescens, and to assess the reproducibility of MIC values provided by both in vitro susceptibility testing methods over time. / Oral Biology

Qualitative and quantitative sampling was conducted along a 165 km reach of the river from PRKM 269.4 near Dryden, VA to PRKM 104.8 near Harrogate, TN. Twenty-nine species were observed throughout the entire river, and the highest diversity of 23 species was collected at PRKM 152.6. Mussel abundances (mussels/person-h and mussels/m2) ranged from 0.33 to 21.98 mussels/person-h and 0.00 to 2.24 mussels/m2. Recent recruitment (individuals < 40 mm, depending on the species) was observed for 15 species, including the endangered Epioblasma brevidens, Lemiox rimosus, and Quadrula intermedia. The greatest number of species (6) with evidence of recent recruitment also was found at PRKM 152.6. Data from the quantitative survey were used to simulate several sampling protocols that could be used to develop a long-term monitoring program for the Powell River. Five sites, PRKMs 197.9, 171.4, 159.6, 152.6, and 129.4, were selected for long-term monitoring because of high mussel densities and species richness. Six sampling protocols were simulated using the statistical program MONITOR to determine which protocols, if any, could monitor statistically significant changes in mussel abundance at rates + 10%. Each of the simulated sampling protocols lasted between 15 and 30 y, and employed quantitative sampling at 3 to 5 y intervals. None of the sampling protocols simulated during this study were able to detect declines in mussel abundance < 10%. Two sampling programs were able to detect increases in mussel abundance > 6% when the level of significance was > 0.10, and four sampling programs were able to detect a density increase of > 8% when the level of significance was 0.05. Despite the inability to monitor declines in mussel abundances, a long-term monitoring program is needed for the Powell River. Because qualitative sampling has been repeatedly shown to document species presence more effectively than quantitative sampling, it should be used to monitor changes in species presence and distribution. Quantitative sampling should be employed to monitor juvenile recruitment and changes in size-class structure of populations. Quantitative sampling also should be conducted to monitor overall mussel abundance at sites. Despite the inability to statistically detect changes in mussel density in the Powell River, quantitative sampling can provide valuable information, and the data collected can be used to qualitatively monitor changes in total density at sites. Both species share a similar distribution in the Powell River. Eighteen specimens of Quadrula sparsa were collected between PRKM 230.9 and 152.6, and 68 individuals of Q. intermedia were collected between PRKM 230.9 and 129.4. The highest density of each species was collected at PRKM 152.6, and recent recruitment was observed at PRKMs 152.6 and 153.4. Fresh-dead and relic shells of both species were thin-sectioned to determine individual growth rate and life span. These species complete the majority of their growth during the first 10 y of life, and likely live for a total of 40 to 50 y. One gravid female of Q. intermedia was collected during this study, but no gravid females of Q. sparsa were observed. / Master of Science

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2018-02-15T16:51:53Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Tamara Nascimento Ferreira.pdf: 2375661 bytes, checksum: 1a03fafd92daf583c5befdc68482ada8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-15T16:51:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Tamara Nascimento Ferreira.pdf: 2375661 bytes, checksum: 1a03fafd92daf583c5befdc68482ada8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / A tolerância oral é definida como uma supressão a respostas imunológicas específicas após imunização com um antígeno que foi previamente administrado por via oral. Esse método tem sido estudado, nas últimas décadas, como uma ferramenta na redução de respostas imunes humorais e celulares envolvidas em doenças autoimunes e alergias e parece ser uma alternativa para reduzir ou retardar a rejeição de transplantes. Neste estudo investigamos o potencial das toxinas dermonecróticas recombinantes do veneno da aranha marrom Loxosceles intermedia em induzir estado de tolerância de mucosas em modelo animal, avaliando os mecanismos celulares envolvidos e a resposta imune do animal tolerante frente a estímulos imunológicos específicos e inespecíficos. As toxinas recombinantes utilizadas para indução da tolerância oral foram a LiRecDT1 (com atividade dermonecrótica) e sua forma mutada, LiRecDT1H12A, (com atividade dermonecrótica residual). Para indução de tolerância oral foi utilizado protocolo com baixas doses de antígeno, onde foram tolerizados camundongos adultos Swiss, tratados oralmente com as toxinas recombinantes durante 21 dias, num total de 90g por animal. Para investigar possíveis mecanismos envolvidos na tolerância oral, foi avaliada a expressão fator de transcrição Foxp3 e da citocina TGF-β. Após o protocolo de tolerização os linfonodos mesentéricos foram processados para ensaio de western blotting e a expressão do fator de transcrição Foxp3 e da citocina TGF-β foram avaliados. Os grupos tolerizados com ambas as toxinas mostraram um aumento na expressão dos dois componentes, demonstrando que um dos mecanismos de tolerância oral no nosso modelo pode envolver aumento na população de linfócitos T regulatórios. Esse resultado pode ser reforçado pela dimimuição de edema de pata em camundongos naive que receberam, via intravenosa, esplenócitos de animais tolerizados com a toxina LiRecDT1 H12A (transferência adotiva). Além disso, pudemos observar que a tolerância induzida pela toxina LiRecDT1 H12A se estendeu a antígenos não relacionados (tolerância cruzada) com diminuição na produção de anticorpos IgG específicos e edema de pata em animais desafiados com veneno da vespa Polybia paulista. A tolerância oral induzida pela toxina LiRecDT1 H12A também permitiu aparente redução da resposta imunológica do animal tolerante frente ao enxerto alogênico de camundongos C57BL/6. Considerando os resultados obtidos é possível concluir que a tolerância oral induzida pelas toxinas LiRecDT1 e LiRecDT1 H12A pode envolver aumento na população de linfóticos T regulatórios cuja produção de citocinas anti-inflamatórias, pelo menos na tolerância induzida pela toxina LiRecDT1 H12A, pode reduzir a resposta imune a antígenos específicos e inespecíficos na tolerância cruzada e na redução de rejeição a transplantes. / Oral tolerance refers to physiologic induction of immunosuppression that occurs in mucosal induced by oral administration of an antigen. This method has been used to induce reduction of humoral and cellular responses involved in autoimmune diseases, allergies and may be an alternative to reduce transplant rejection. We investigated potential of dermonecrotic recombinant toxins of brown spider Loxosceles intermedia specie to induce a state of mucosal tolerance in a animal model. We did this by assessing the cellular mechanisms involved and the immune response of tolerant animals against specific and nonspecific immune stimulation. Dermonecrotic toxin LiRecDT1 and its mutated form, LiRecDT1 H12A (with residual dermonecrotic activity), has been used. Mice were treated with recombinant toxins, orally, for 21 days, with a total of 90g per animal. After oral tolerance protocol, mesenteric lymph nodes were processed for western blotting and the expression of nuclear transcription factor Foxp3 and cytokine Tgf-β were analyzed. LiRecDT1 and LiRecDT1 H12A tolerant groups showed an increase in expression of both proteins, which could be related to a increase in regulatory T-cells population. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes to naive mice from LiRecDT1 H12A tolerated group induced paw edema reduction, with supports this theory (adoptive transfer). Our results also demonstrated a bystander tolerance when LiRecDT1 H12A tolerated mice showed a decrease in IgG production and paw edema induction by Polybia paulista wasp venom. LiRecDT1 H12A tolerance also showed an apparent reduction in skin allograft rejection using C57BL/6 mice as donor and tolerated Swiss mice as receptor. Considering the results we concluded that oral tolerance induced by LiRecDT1 and LiRecDT1 H12A toxins could be involve increase in Tregs and non-inflammatory cytokines, and LiRecDT1 H12A tolerance can reduce specific and non specific immunology responses and allografts transplants rejection.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:15:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 raquel_1protegido.pdf: 1527650 bytes, checksum: 01d14d9db4f87a9a3c035f5fee2cdf94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-10-15 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This work aims to analyse hypertext writing through the software Storyspace, as well as two works in that application, Michael Joyce’s Afternoon, a story (1992), and Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl (1995). We think that since hypertext is a writing technology, it must be understood from this technical aspects, and the new poetics that it is able to produce. The first chapter presents Storyspace, the software, talking about its technical aspects, and how that collaborates in the literary creation. Second chapter intends to define digital poetics, bringing up some aspects, like intermedia, or conceptual fusion and the materiality of writing. Third chapter makes an analysis of Michael Joyce's Afternoon, a story, observing some aspects, like its originality. Fourth chapter brings Shelley Jackson's Patchwork Girl, and examines some features, like hypertext which talk about hypertext, or, in other words, the work which asks for its own inscription technology. / Este trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar a escrita em hipertexto através de um programa de computador, o Storyspace, e de duas obras com ele criadas: Afternoon, a story (Michael Joyce, 1992) e Patchwork Girl (Shelley Jackson, 1995). Entendemos que, como tecnologia de escrita, o hipertexto deve ser estudado do ponto de vista de suas características técnicas e de como elas influenciam as escritas nos meios digitais e as novas poéticas desses meios. O primeiro capítulo apresenta o programa Storyspace, discorrendo sobre suas características no sentido de como elas interferem na criação. O segundo capítulo procura definir poéticas digitais, levantando especificidades, tais como a intermídia ou fusão conceitual, a materialidade da escrita e a metalinguagem. O terceiro capítulo faz uma análise de Afternoon, a story, de Michael Joyce, observando particularidades como seu pioneirismo na criação de ficção em hipertexto. O quarto e último capítulo traz Patchwork Girl, de Shelley Jackson, examinando algumas de suas características, como a obra que interroga sua própria tecnologia de inscrição.