New developments in Pleistocene art

Research on Pleistocene art is a dynamic and thriving area. Many new advances and discoveries have been made since the last major review of this topic.¹ Indeed, thanks to the introduction of direct dating and detailed analysis of pigments, the last few years can arguably be described as the most exciting and most important phase in Ice Age art studies since such art was first discovered and validated.     

High art as tourist art,tourist art as high art: Comparing the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford University and Sepik River tourist art

This paper compares two contemporary aesthetic expressions: tourist art from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea and the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford University. Both aesthetic expressions undermine the conventional categories that classify art. Sepik River tourist art is motivated not by the drive to lend individual, subjective experience a material expression but by monetary desire. The New Guinea Sculpture Garden was expressly created so that Sepik artisans could expand beyond the confines of village traditions and create unfettered aesthetic expressions. But seemingly inauthentic Tourist Art actually represents many of the ideals normally ascribed to Western masterpieces, or High Art. Conversely, the High Art of the Sculpture Garden in many respects resembles inauthentic reproductions and the tenacity of traditional forms. Both tourist art and the sculpture Garden, however, have one key quality in common: they rupture conventional artistic cattegories.     

Occupational hazards in window cleaning.

Accidental falls involving window cleaners treated at the Middlesex Hospital over five years are reviewed. Failure to use safety belts and the lack of suitable anchorage points were contributary factors in all 20 patients. The use of protective equipment and the provision of anchorage points should be enforced. While the doctor''s duty is to treat injuries he also has the opportunity to draw attention to their prevention.     

Time window analysis and sorting.

Flow cytometric hardware and procedures were developed to continuously analyse and to sort a particular time window in a kinetic response. The technique uses balanced air pressure to drive a stimulus-bead mixture from a vial to a t-junction where it mixes passively with cells. The t-junction is distanced from the flow cell and air pressure regulated so that the stimulation occurs at a fixed and adjustable time before the cells are interrogated by the laser beam. Practical applications of the device demonstrate utility with cells whose responses are seen in seconds or minutes. The device is easily implemented on any sorting flow cytometer.     

New Taxa of Chinese Aristolochia L.

Four new species of the genus Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) are described as new from China. They are Aristolochia austrochinensis C. Y. Cheng & J. S. Ma, A. caulialata C. Y. Wu, A. salweenensis C. Y. Cheng & J. S. Ma, and A. kunmingensis C. Y. Cheng &J. S. Ma. A naturalized species, A. ringens Vahl is also reported.