In Part I of this thesis, I examine the use of Latin American rituals, ceremonies, and traditional folklore as conceptual and compositional material; studying and re-contextualizing concepts, cultures, and ideologies, and introducing them to foreign audiences. I explore issues such as laptop improvisation, interaction with other performance forces, and the utilization of the social elements of non-western celebrations, as explored in Clestrinye, a work for live and fixed electronics, mixed ensemble, dancers, and painters.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Bacterial biofilm on tooth surfaces is the primary initiator of periodontal disease. Various factors contribute to the severity of periodontal disease including the different virulence factors of the bacteria within the biofilm. In the progression of periodontal disease, the microflora evolves from a predominantly Gram positive microbial population to a mainly Gram negative population. Specific gram negative bacteria with pronounced virulence factors have been implicated in the etiology and pathogenesis of periodontal disease, namely Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola which form the red complex of bacteria. The orange complex bacteria become more dominant in the maturation process of dental plaque and act to bridge the early colonizers of plaque with the later more dominant red complex bacterial and consists of such bacteria as Campylobacter showae, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Prevotella intermedia. Perhaps the most investigated contributing factor is the relationship between smoking and periodontal disease. When examining the association between cigarette smoking and interproximal bone loss, greater bone loss is associated with higher cigarette consumption, longer duration (i.e., pack year history) and higher lifetime exposure. The presence of various virulence factors such as the production of a capsular material, as well as the proteolytic activity of the various periopathodontic bacteria has been associated with the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Even though many different enzymes are produced in large quantities by these periodontal bacteria, trypsin-like enzymes, chymotrypsin-like enzymes and elastase-like enzymes, as well as dipeptidyl peptidase-like enzymes, have been thought to increase the destructive potential of the bacterium and mediate destruction of the periodontal apparatus. More specifically, it is hypothesized that the proteolytic activity of other clinically important periodontal pathogens, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia and Porphyromonas assacharolyticus, is increased in the presence of nicotine. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of nicotine on F. nucleatum, P. intermedia and P. assacharolyticus proteolytic activity. Cultures were maintained on anaerobic blood agar plates containing 3% sheep blood. Bacterial cells were harvested from the plates and washed. Washed F. nucleatum, P. intermedia and P. assacharolyticus cells were incubated with 1 mg/ml of nicotine. Bacterial cells not incubated with nicotine were used as positive controls. Secreted enzymatic activity was measured using the synthetic chromogenic substrates glycyl-L-proline-p-nitroanilide (GPPNA), N-succinyl-L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-alanyl-p-nitroanilide (SAAAPNA), N-succinyl-alanine-alanine-proline-phenylalanine-p-nitroanilide (SAAPPPNA) and N-α-benzoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (L-BAPNA) (Sigma-Aldrich Products, St. Louis, MO, USA). Appropriate means and standard deviations were determined for each of the enzymatic activities measured and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the groups utilizing a 5% significance level for all comparisons. Results demonstrated that after 60 minutes of incubation of F. nucleatum, P. intermedia and P. assacharolyticus cells with 1 mg/ml of nicotine and the various synthetic substrates, had the following proteolytic activity for GPPNA: 0.83 ± 0.14, 0.72 ± 0.03 and 0.67 ± 0.10, respectively; SAAAPNA: 0.82 ± 0.06, 0.76 ± 0.05 and 0.68 ± 0.08, respectively; SAAPPPNA: 0.90 ± 0.13, 0.85 ± 0.17 and 0.72 ± 0.03, respectively; and BAPNA: 0.81 ± 0.15, 0.74 ± 0.13 and 0.74 ± 0.16, respectively. In conclusion, the results indicate that in the presence of 1 mg/ml of nicotine, the proteolytic activity of F. nucleatum and P. assacharolyticus was increased with all of the synthetic substrates (with statistical significance seen only in the increases with F. nucleatum and GPPNA, SAAAPNA and BAPNA). The proteolytic activity exhibited an increasing trend in activity for P. intermedia with SAAPPPNA and BAPNA but a decreasing trend in activity with GPPNA and SAAAPNA when incubated with 1 mg/ml of nicotine, once again demonstrating no statistical significance for any of the substrates. Therefore, it could be concluded that based on these results nicotine at a concentration of 1 mg/ml may increase the proteolytic activity of periodontal pathogens and thus may increase periodontal disease activity and subsequent periodontal breakdown. Further studies are needed to validate these results utilizing different concentrations of nicotine.

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The Cuban-born artist Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) created the Silueta Series during the 1970s and ‘80s. It consists of earth-body works in situ featuring the silhouette of the artist's body fashioned from mud, plants, rocks, gunpowder and other materials. Underlying the creation of the Silueta Series is Mendieta's belief that the elements are sentient and powerful beings. This perception is particularly strong in the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria, a creolized form of the Òrìsà tradition of the Yoruba of West Africa introduced to the Americas during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While scholars have noted Mendieta's incorporation of Santeria in her art, a thorough analysis of the iconographical references to the deities have yet to be explored. This thesis aims to provide such an analysis of Mendieta's works; thus enriching the current discourse on the Silueta Series.

Since 1950s, the concept of Kongwu (空無, Emptiness, Nothingness) has migrated into American-European experimental performances, including those of John Cage and Cage-influenced artists who developed Happenings, Fluxus, and intermedia practices. This research-through-practice investigates how the concept of kongwu, an intercultural synthesis of Chinese Daoism and Indian Buddhism, may shape the principles underlying performance making and how performance may, in turn, elucidate Kongwu way of making sense the world. The installation-performance, Poem without Language contemplates Kongwu’s distrust of language by undermining the communicative purpose of writing and responds to Nam June Paik’s approach to media language. The research practice, One Street, Three Persons, Different Narratives, and Different Memories responds to John Cage’s use of silence to revise time and measurement, and exposes the habit, how we experience the ‘present’ as accumulations of the past, and how we order experiences as a linear continuity, which we call ‘time’. My performance, … is Present suggests different definitions of the ‘meditative mind’ and ‘being-here-and-now’ and critiques the relationship between embodiment and identity in Marina Abramović’s construction of ‘suchness’. Three works offer one response to the poetics and politics of intercultural encounters in the context of Chan/Zen in intermedia performance. My research-through-practice sheds light on Kongwu way of experiencing, particularly Kongwu’s attitude towards language, time, and self.

The seven compositions that comprise this dissertation are represented by the following files: text file (pdf), seven video performances (mp4), and corresponding zipped files of custom software and affiliated files (various file types). / This Digital Portfolio Dissertation centers on a collection of seven digital videos of performances of original electroacoustic compositions that feature data-driven instruments. The dissertation also includes a copy of the original software and affiliated files used in performing the portfolio of music, and a text document that analyzes and describes the following for each of the seven compositions: (1) the design and implementation of each of the seven complete data-driven instruments; (2) the musical challenges and opportunities provided by data-driven instruments; (3) the performance techniques employed; (4) the compositional structure; (5) the sound synthesis techniques used, and (6) the data-mapping strategies used. The seven compositions demonstrate a variety of electroacoustic and performance techniques and employ a range of interface devices as front-ends to the data-driven instruments. The seven interfaces that I chose to use for my compositions include the Wacom Tablet, the Leap Motion device for hand and finger detection, the Blue Air infrared sensor device for distance measurements, the Nintendo Wii Remote wireless game controller, the Gametrak three-dimensional, position tracking system, the eMotion™ Wireless Sensor System, and a custom sensor-based interface that I designed and fabricated. The title of this dissertation derives from the extra-musical impulses that drove the creative impulses of the seven original electroacoustic compositions for data-driven instruments. Of the seven compositions, six of the pieces have connections to literature. Despite the fact there is a literary sheen to these musical works, the primary impulses of these compositions arise from the notion of absolute music – music for music’s sake, music that is focused on sound and the emotional and intellectual stimulus such sound can produce when humans experience it. Thus, I simultaneously work both sides of the musical street with my compositions containing both extra-musical and absolute musical substance.

Understanding transmedial storytelling is particularly important to fairy-tale studies. Monomedial views have long been unable to account for all of fairy tale tradition. Although the form originated in oral culture, it has long been a liminal, hybrid form that retains aspects of orality even while its principal mode of transference for some time has been something other than face-to-face communication. Transformations and adaptations across different media and contexts has resulted in a system of fairy-tale tradition that is massively intertextual and transmedial. No one medium can claim primary control over the fairy-tale tradition. Throughout time, oral tellings have inspired literary adaptations; literary renditions have influenced oral and theater performances; oral, print, and theater performances have spawned any number of retellings and adaptations within audiovisual media. This case study, investigates one example of adaptation to social media and integration across media: Tim Manley's satirical blog Fairy Tales for Twenty-somethings and his book Alice in Tumblr-land. In Manley's fairy tale creations, we see an instance of what Henry Jenkins calls convergence culture. This convergence should be of particular interest to folklorists because corporate and mass-media systems continue to influence and integrate with existing forms of interaction. Manley's overall narrative approach integrates two media, which permits him to use fairy tales to express a broader range of narrative impulses than would a project tied to only one medium. Media integration is an important concept to recognize and investigate because so many individuals see different media as inherently combative rather than mutually beneficial systems. Just as intertextuality has become a foundational concept in many humanistic studies, intermediality needs to enter the folklorist's discussions as well. With only some media under consideration, we only get some of the message.

Political blogs have emerged as a new journalistic format that has gained influence on the political discourse in the United States. Previous research has shown that this influence stems mainly from attention given to blogs by traditional news media. Based on the concepts of intermedia agenda setting and agenda building, this study explored the source interaction between 10 elite traditional news media and 10 political filter blogs during the 2006 Congressional Midterm Elections. An analysis of 2587 sources used in the election context found that traditional news media frequently cited blogs in their election coverage, but that the source attributions to the blogs were vague. Blogs, on the other hand, heavily cited traditional news media, but the analysis revealed that conservative blogs cited elite traditional news media less than did liberal blogs. Conservative blogs relied more on conservative media outlets in their election coverage. A case study of the dominant election topic, the Mark Foley scandal, showed that the daily interaction between the two media formats was driven by the use of breaking news elements as well as controversial opinions. The findings of this study show that the blog agenda is strongly influenced by traditional news media sources and that blogs at the same time have become part of the routine newsgathering process of traditional news media journalists. However, the findings also raise questions about changes in the standard journalistic research and attribution procedures as both media formats often rely on each other as sources rather than on original reporting.

The abundance of Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) in the southeastern Edwards Plateau of Texas has declined since the late 1970s. Because knowledge of reproductive rates is important to understanding the dynamics of a population, radio-tagged hens were monitored during the 2005–2007 reproductive seasons to evaluate and compare reproductive parameters from areas with both declining and stable population trends. During January–March of 2005–2007, turkey hens were captured and radiotagged on 4 study areas; 2 within a region of stable turkey populations, and 2 within a region of declining populations. Monitoring occurred from January–July each season to determine nest- site locations. Nesting attempts, nest fate, clutch size, initiation date, and nest age were recorded. Nests were monitored ≥3 times weekly in order to estimate production parameters and daily nest survival. Poults were captured by hand and fitted with a 1.2 glue-on transmitter and monitored daily to estimate daily survival. Estimates show production was greater in stable regions than declining regions of the Edwards Plateau. Eighty-four percent of hens attempted to nest in the stable region and 67% attempted in the declining region. Eighteen of 102 nests were successful (≥1 egg hatched), in the stable region and 7 of 60 nests were successful in the declining region. Nest-survival analysis showed an influence of temporal variation within years, yet no differences in nest survival were detected between stable and declining regions. Poult survival also showed no difference between regions. The 2 overall objectives of this study were to determine if nesting parameters and nest survival were limiting factors in Rio Grande wild turkey abundance in the Edwards Plateau. Regional differences in production suggest the cause of the decline in the southeastern portion of the Edwards Plateau could be associated with lower reproductive output and consequently, success. Regional differences in nest survival were not detected, thus not likely to cause differences in turkey abundance between regions.

[pt] O século XXI é o século das cidades. Atualmente, o processo de urbanização é um fenômeno acelerado e em escala planetária, com ritmos desiguais e caminhos diferentes, mas que conduzem a uma mesma realidade: a construção de um planeta de cidades. Apesar da progressiva concentração da população nas grandes urbes, a maior parte da população mundial mora em centros urbanos de porte médio e pequeno. Nesse universo de cidades, no contexto da globalização e o uso intensivo de informação e conhecimento em redes, sobressaem, as cidades intermédias. Entendidas não como pontos isolados na rede urbana, as cidades intermédias têm aparecido nos estudos recentes como importantes nós nas redes, exigindo uma análise que considere as relações entre a cidade e a região e entre as cidades de diferentes níveis hierárquicos, em forma de cidade-rede-região. A presença de cidades de importância regional de porte médio em áreas afetadas historicamente pelo conflito armado sugere que tais cidades devem exercer um rol significativo em seus respetivos espaços geográficos no período do pós-conflito. Desta forma, a partir de uma análise histórico-geográfica do desenvolvimento do conflito armado e fundamentada no conceito de cidade intermédia, a pesquisa pretende identificar aquelas cidades que apresentam o potencial de liderar essa nova fase de transição na procura de atingir o desenvolvimento sustentável das regiões. / [en] Urbanization is a global phenomenon and occurs on a planetary scale, with unequal rhythms and different paths, but leading to the same complex and diverse reality: the construction of a planet of cities. Nowadays, we see a process of urbanization that we can describe as global and accelerated, but it does not develop in a balanced and efficient way on the territory. The progressive concentration of the population in large urban agglomerations, the accelerated and sometimes uncontrolled growth of megacities are spatial effects of the current process and trends of urbanization. Nevertheless, the majority of the world urban population lives in small and medium-sized cities and forecasts indicate that these centers will continue to increase their population. In the last decades, it has been observed that in several Latin American countries, the settlement model is changing and there are areas of economic importance, where decades ago, they used to be entities without much population dynamism. Despite this, there are not many international or regional studies on the smaller cities in urban systems.