Inspecting the teaching of singing in the teacher training colleges of England, Wales and Scotland 1883-1899

This paper investigates the links between the teaching of singing, training and inspection during the late Victorian era. It utilises as a primary source the annual inspection reports of the music inspector, Sir John Stainer. More specifically it focuses upon the musical background of the students in the training colleges of England, Wales and Scotland, the methods employed to teach sight singing and voice production, the vocal repertoire and preparation for the teaching of singing in schools. Finally, some comparison is made with the present day and the relationship between the teaching of singing, training and inspection.

Regulation of expression of the rat orthologue of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) by H2O2-induced oxidative stress in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes.

The Mdm2 ubiquitin ligase is an important regulator of p53 abundance and p53-dependent apoptosis. Mdm2 expression is frequently regulated by a p53 Mdm2 autoregulatory loop whereby p53 stimulates Mdm2 expression and hence its own degradation. Although extensively studied in cell lines, relatively little is known about Mdm2 expression in heart where oxidative stress (exacerbated during ischemia-reperfusion) is an important pro-apoptotic stimulus. We demonstrate that Mdm2 transcript and protein expression are induced by oxidative stress (0.2 mm H(2)O(2)) in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. In other cells, constitutive Mdm2 expression is regulated by the P1 promoter (5' to exon 1), with inducible expression regulated by the P2 promoter (in intron 1). In myocytes, H(2)O(2) increased Mdm2 expression from the P2 promoter, which contains two p53-response elements (REs), one AP-1 RE, and two Ets REs. H(2)O(2) did not detectably increase expression of p53 mRNA or protein but did increase expression of several AP-1 transcription factors. H(2)O(2) increased binding of AP-1 proteins (c-Jun, JunB, JunD, c-Fos, FosB, and Fra-1) to an Mdm2 AP-1 oligodeoxynucleotide probe, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed it increased binding of c-Jun or JunB to the P2 AP-1 RE. Finally, antisense oligonucleotide-mediated reduction of H(2)O(2)-induced Mdm2 expression increased caspase 3 activation. Thus, increased Mdm2 expression is associated with transactivation at the P2 AP-1 RE (rather than the p53 or Ets REs), and Mdm2 induction potentially represents a cardioprotective response to oxidative stress.

Aligning asset allocation and real estate investment: some lessons from the last cycle

Asset allocation is concerned with the development of multi--‐asset portfolio strategies that are likely to meet an investor’s objectives based on the interaction of expected returns, risk, correlation and implementation from a range of distinct asset classes or beta sources. Challenges associated with the discipline are often particularly significant in private markets. Specifically, composition differences between the ‘index’ or ‘benchmark’ universe and the investible universe mean that there can often be substantial and meaningful deviations between the investment characteristics implied in asset allocation decisions and those delivered by investment teams. For example, while allocation decisions are often based on relatively low--‐risk diversified real estate ‘equity’ exposure, implementation decisions frequently include exposure to higher risk forms of the asset class as well as investments in debt based instruments. These differences can have a meaningful impact on the contribution of the asset class to the overall portfolio and, therefore, lead to a potential misalignment between asset allocation decisions and implementation. Despite this, the key conclusion from this paper is not that real estate investors should become slaves to a narrowly defined mandate based on IPD / NCREIF or other forms of benchmark replication. The discussion suggests that such an approach would likely lead to the underutilization of real estate in multi--‐asset portfolio strategies. Instead, it is that to achieve asset allocation alignment, real estate exposure should be divided into multiple pools representing distinct forms of the asset class. In addition, the paper suggests that associated investment guidelines and processes should be collaborative and reflect the portfolio wide asset allocation objectives of each pool. Further, where appropriate they should specifically target potential for ‘additional’ beta or, more marginally, ‘alpha’.

Detection of nitroaromatic vapours with diketopyrrolopyrrole thin films: exploring the role of structural order and morphology on thin film properties and fluorescence quenching efficiency

Sensitive optical detection of nitroaromatic vapours with diketo-pyrrolopyrrole thin films is reported for the first time and the impact of thin film crystal structure and morphology on fluorescence quenching behaviour demonstrated.

Helen of Four Gates

A new edition of Ethel Carnie Holdsworth's bestselling novel, Helen of Four Gates (1917), with an introduction by Pamela Fox.