bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantification of spiral artery remodelling using an Adobe Photoshop-based technique
Authors: Otun H A , Innes B A , Lash G E , Schiessl B , Ball E , Searle R F , Robson S C , Bulmer J N
Published: August 2019

Uterine spiral arteries undergo remodelling in normal pregnancy, with replacement of the musculoelastic arterial media by fibrinoid containing extravillous trophoblast cells. Deficient spiral artery remodelling is associated with several adverse pregnancy outcomes. Although there are distinct components of spiral artery remodelling, assessment is subjective and often based on an overall impression of morphology. We aimed to develop a quantitative approach for assessment of uterine spiral artery remodelling. Placental bed biopsies were immunostained using smooth muscle markers, digital images of spiral arteries were captured and Adobe Photoshop was used to analyse positive immunostaining. The method was then used to investigate variation in the same vessel at different levels within a paraffin block, and the effect of parity, pre-eclampsia or miscarriage on vascular smooth muscle cell content. Results were also compared with a more subjective morphology-based assessment system. There was good intra- and interobserver agreement and the method correlated well with the more subjective assessment system. There was an overall reduction in vascular smooth muscle, as detected by caldesmon 1 (h-caldesmon) immunopositivity, with increasing gestational age from 8 weeks to term. A previous pregnancy did not affect the amount of spiral artery smooth muscle. Comparison of pre-eclampsia and late miscarriage samples with controls of the appropriate gestational age demonstrated increased medial smooth muscle in pathological samples. This technique provides a simple, rapid, reproducible and inexpensive approach to quantitative assessment of spiral artery remodelling in normal and pathological human pregnancy, a process which although fundamental for successful pregnancy, is still incompletely understood.
Comparison of SYNTAX Score I and SYNTAX Score II for Predicting Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
Authors: Ozturk Semi , Kalyoncuoglu Muhsin , Sahin Mazlum
Published: August 2019

Background: Atrial fibrillation is a frequent cause of morbidity following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). SYNTAX score II (SSII) is associated with outcomes in patients undergoing coronary revascularization. We investigated the relationship between SSII and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in patients undergoing CABG.
Methods: Records of 461 consecutive patients who underwent elective isolated CABG were retrospectively reviewed. Characteristics of patients with and without POAF were compared.
Results: POAF developed in 51 (11.1%) patients. Patients with POAF were older (61.8 ± 7.8 versus 58.4±7.7; P = .003). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and history of coronary artery disease (CAD) were more frequent in patients with POAF whereas the frequency of hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM), and smoking did not differ. CRP was significantly higher in patients with POAF. Left atrial diameter (LAD),  EuroSCORE II, SSI and SSII were greater in patients with POAF (P < .001 for all). Age, history of CAD, LAD, SSI, and SSII were independent predictors of POAF in multivariate regression analysis. In ROC analysis, SSII was more accurate than SSI for predicting POAF, albeit statistically insignificant [difference between AUC: 0.0483, 95% CI (-0.0411) - (0.138); z statistic:1.059, P = .29)]. In-hospital MACE (3.2% versus 9.8%, P = .038) and one-year mortality (4.6% versus 13.5%, P = .008) of patients with POAF were significantly higher.
Conclusion: POAF occurred in more than one-tenth of patients undergoing CABG, and it is associated with in-hospital MACE and one-year mortality. Age, history of CAD, LAD, SSI, and SSII are independent predictors of POAF. SSII seems to be more accurate than SSI for predicting POAF.
Film Lovers' Delight
Authors: Uhde Jan
Published: August 2019

ANYBODY looking for an English DVD of the classic masterpiece combining Oscar Wilde's razor-sharp comments on Victorian society's hypocrisy with Lubitsch's cinematic sense and mise-en-scène had, until recently, limited options: He could purchase the 2007 Synergy Archives Series disc, described as a "very truncated and damaged edition", or buy the More Treasures From American Film Archives 1894-1931 set of three DVDs that includes a good transfer of the Lubitsch period drama. The latter is a valuable collection selling for USD 79.95 which nevertheless may be somewhat steep for somebody interested only in one film from the large collection....
Czech Surrealism and Czech New Wave Realism
Authors: Frank Alison
Published: August 2019

CZECH SURREALISM AND CZECH NEW WAVE REALISM: THE IMPORTANCE OF OBJECTS AbstractThis article examines a major difference between French and Czech Surrealism as exemplified by their attitudes to film. It engages in a close analysis of three films by documentary-influenced Czech New Wave directors whom the Prague Surrealist group admired: Miloš Forman, Ivan Passer and Jan Němec. The analysis focuses on the way in which objects in these films can take on multiple meanings depending on their context. It concludes that such objects suggest a broadening of possibilities in everyday life and in this respect correspond to both Surrealist goals and to the experience of living in a society in the process of political liberalization. The Paris Surrealist group's favourite Czech New Wave film was Věra Chytilová's highly experimental Sedmikrásky (Daisies, 1966); the Prague group, by contrast, preferred the documentary-style approach of Miloš Forman and Ivan Passer...
Inside The Room and Beyond
Authors: Stoneman Rod
Published: August 2019

INSIDE THE ROOM AND BEYOND A cult film like The Room challenges our unquestioning acceptance of well-made mainstream cinema. When The Room first screened in Los Angeles in 2003, apparently people were rolling in the aisles within the first ten minutes; Variety's review described it as "so hopelessly amateurish that auds [sic] reportedly walked out" and it was quickly and hyperbolically dismissed as "the worst film ever made". Since then this very strange film has gradually been discovered by cult audiences around the world. Tommy Wiseau is producer, director, writer, and actor - he plays the central role of Johnny - the film emanates from a single source, he allegedly paid $6 million to have it made....
Toronto International Film Festival 2011
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2011 Programming for TIFF's 36th edition (8-18 September 2011) was suitably taut and continued its pragmatic fixation on politically dominant cinemas, but the routine also allowed some room for bold selections, notably in the inclusion of Mark Cousins' epic 15-hour documentary, The Story of Film: An Odyssey, along with Lav Diaz's challenging 6-hour drama, Century of Birthing. In its third year, the 'City to City' section looked to Buenos Aires and premiered ten new titles to highlight the vigour of contemporary Argentine cinema. And although Toronto rashly abandoned its short-lived Southeast Asian section some years ago, it was ironic that Southeast Asia enjoyed its best presence ever at the festival. For the first time by sheer coincidence, the event's extensive line-up berthed at least one representative film from (or about) the region's largest states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam....
Pierre Étaix 5-DVD SET
Authors: Uhde Jan
Published: August 2019

PIERRE ÉTAIX 5-DVD SET The heyday of the slapstick is long past but this comedy form, perhaps the most filmic of all motion picture genres has not really disappeared. Some of its finest post-WWII accomplishments exist in the work of two famous French film comedians: Jacques Tati (1907-82), the creator of the unforgettable Monsieur Hulot and a generation younger, Pierre Étaix (b. 1928) - the master of subtle visual humour recalling Buster Keaton and Max Linder, the French genius of pre-WWI slapstick, and an inspiration of Chaplin. Étaix was undeniably influenced by Tati whom he met in 1954 and worked with for several years; he was assistant-director in Tati's MyUncle where he also played a minor role....
The Films of Julian Schnabel
Authors: Britton Alex
Published: August 2019

CHARACTERIZATION, REVISIONISM AND MISREPRESENTATION IN THE FILMS OF JULIAN SCHNABEL A few years ago after viewing the 2007 film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the third film by contemporary director and (former) star painter Julian Schnabel, a friend of New York Review of Books writer Sanford Schwartz prophetically announced to the critic, "Apparently it's easier to make a great movie than a great painting."(1) Indeed, Schnabel's ascension to art stardom has taken a truly enigmatic path. Initially conjuring his success as a painter within the elitist landscape of the late 20th century New York City art market, today we find Schnabel strutting down the red carpet of the Cannes and Toronto international film festivals after writing and directing three films while armed with seemingly zero experience in the field of filmmaking or screenwriting. As a painter, Schnabel's work is largely classified as "Neo-Expressionist", belonging to Postmodernism's timely...
The Primacy of Practice?
Authors: Bell Desmond
Published: August 2019

CRITICAL SOURCES FOR MAKING SENSE OF THE THEORY-PRACTICE DIVIDE IN FILM AND VISUAL STUDIES SynopsisIn this paper I explore the theory-practice nexus as it manifests itself within film and visual studies. Starting from an institutional history of the troubled relation between film theory and the teaching and conduct of imaging practice, I locate this disjuncture in a broader analysis of the social division between intellectual and manual labour within capitalist society. I discuss Aristotle's distinctions between theoria, praxis and techne and relate this to the contemporary divisions between the theoretical, critical and technical elements of teaching film. I argue that a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice within film and the visual arts is best approached by a serious consideration of the 'politics of theory'. The ProblemThe last twenty years has seen a massive growth in film, media and communication studies within further and higher...
Notes on Buster Keaton’s Motion
Authors: Smith Michael T.
Published: August 2019

NOTES ON BUSTER KEATON'S MOTION The origin of cinema was in motion. In 1879, Eadweard Muybridge completed his "zoopraxiscope," named from "zoo" (a combining form meaning 'living being' or 'animal'),"praxis" (the Greek práxis, meaning 'action'), and "scope" (from the Greek skopion, meaning 'to look at carefully'). Muybridge built his contraption at the behest of railroad baron Leland Stanford (founder of Stanford University), who took an active interest in the then-emerging scientific field of Motion Studies. In essence, Stanford challenged Muybridge with a bet as to whether or not he could answer the mystery of whether a horse removes all four legs off the ground at some point while galloping. Using a battery of twelve cameras, Muybridge captured a running horse and projected said images from a rotating glass disk in rapid succession to give the impression of motion: he found a horse does, in fact, lift all four feet...
Toronto 2012
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2012 Trends at TIFF’s 37th edition (6-16 September 2012) weren’t hard to spot. While its strength in sampling established global cinemas prevailed, it also strove to profile nascent filmmaking movements. The festival chose...
Reversal of Gender Roles in Twin Peaks and Fire Walk with Me
Authors: Sanna Antonio
Published: August 2019

LAURA PALMER WAS BOB'S MASCULINE DAUGTER: REVERSAL OF GENDER ROLES IN TWIN PEAKS AND FIRE WALK WITH ME AbstractIn my paper I shall analyse the cult TV series Twin Peaks through a gender perspective. I shall argue that Laura Palmer could actually be seen as BOB's daughter because she impersonates male predatory sexuality and attitudes. I shall also argue that the behaviour of BOB could be seen as very similar to that of all of his victims through the same masculine attitudes they exhibit. In my reading, the series and the film will be considered as an unfolding narrative resulting from the comprehensive work of both its creators David Lynch and Mark Frost and the team of its writers and directors. THE CONTROVERSIAL and much-debated TV series Twin Peaks by David Lynch and Mark Frost was divided in two seasons which were aired between 1990 and 1991; it...
Adana 2011
Authors: Dönmez-Colin Gönül
Published: August 2019

INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN BOLL FILM FESTIVAL ADANA The pulse of Turkish cinema beats in Adana, the provincial southern town that is the birthplace of several notable filmmakers and writers, among whom perhaps Yılmaz Güney and Yaşar Kemal are the most prominent representatives. While political conflicts have been marring the prestigious Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which has served as a forum for the national film industry for several decades, Adana (17-25 September 2011) has renewed itself both at the national and international levels, attracting national production companiess with attractive cash prizes....
Vesoul 2012
Authors: Dönmez-Colin Gönül
Published: August 2019

18th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE CINEMAS OF ASIA (FICA) - VESOUL The only Asian film festival in France that stretches the boundaries from the Middle East to the Far East and from Central Asia to China and India, FICA-Vesoul (14-21 February 2012), opened the curtain this year with the most recent film of renowned Japanese filmmaker, Koreeda Hirokazu, Kiseki (I Wish, 2011) about two brothers separated after the divorce of their parents- one living with his unemployed mother and the other, with his bohemian musician father. Played with charm by two real life brothers, who are often more sensible than the adults around them, the film tenderly reflected the emotions of children, who are happiest when the family is together. The festival honoured KoreEda with the Golden Cycle, screening all his films including his documentaries such as Kare no ina hachigatsu ga (August Without Him, 1994) about the first...
A New Significance of Blood as a Symbol for Both Contagion and Salvation in the Underworld Films
Authors: Sanna Antonio
Published: August 2019

A NEW SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD AS A SYMBOL FOR BOTH CONTAGION AND SALVATION IN THE UNDERWORLD FILMS AbstractIn this paper I shall examine the critical debates on the symbolism of blood in Gothic literary stories and horror films in order to apply them to the cinematographic tetralogy of Underworld. I shall specifically argue that, similarly to their predecessors, this recent tetralogy presents blood as the vehicle for the contagion of a victim with an incurable condition and, thus, as an allegory for contemporary terminal illnesses such as AIDS. Nevertheless, blood could be simultaneously interpreted also as a means for physical recovery from injuries and as a transmitter of information on personal and communal history, of individual memories and hereditary concerns for the well-being of a community. According to several of its literary and cinematographic representations, a vampire mainly reproduces through the exchange of blood: it transforms another...
Shanghai 2013
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

SHANGHAI 2013 Shanghai is playing an interesting hand early into its tenure as China’s most established festival, shaped by the Chinese film industry’s dynamic growth and the Beijing International Film Festival’s upstart claim for national preeminence. It could play its ace in promoting Mainland Chinese films, yet Shanghai hasn’t exploited this potential. This leaves Asian programming as its next best card, but Asian films at its 16th edition (15–23 June 2013) lacked range and vigour, especially in its fevered Japanese and Thai line-ups. Retrospectives felt more visible this year: apart from ones dedicated to Alfred Hitchcock, Ozu Yasujiro, Oliver Stone and Tang Xiaodan, Shanghai paid a nine-film tribute to the late singer-actor Leslie Cheung on his tenth anniversary. But organizers denied the same courtesy to Anita Mui, an equally talented hyphenate who also died in 2003, and whose amity and working rapport with Cheung certainly justified a shared tribute....
Toronto 2013
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALToronto’s 38th edition (5–15 September 2013) was as big and diverse as its ambitions allowed, but its stubborn public image partial to Euro-American content continues to weaken its “international” status. The festival hasn’t struck a respectable balance between indulging the puffery of dominant film industries and supporting lesser-known cinemas. Indeed, this year’s milestones went largely unplugged. There were encores: at least five directors – Hong Sang-soo, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Kim Ki-duk, Brillante Mendoza and Sono Sion – returned with films for the second year running. There was discontinuity: Miyazaki Hayao and Tsai Ming-liang delivered what could be their last features after retiring. There was politics that ordained merit: no film was as insincerely hyped as 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen’s take on Solomon Northup’s 1853 autobiography about chattel slavery – a lifeless adaptation writ large given this skeleton’s dead weight. On the other hand,...
A Brief History of the USDA Motion Picture Service to 1943
Authors: Winn J. Emmett
Published: August 2019

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE USDA MOTION PICTURE SERVICE TO 1943 The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) began producing films in the early 1900s and continued for decades. Millions saw these films in a wide variety of venues, including public schools, colleges and universities, civic meeting halls, libraries, church halls, and even open fields. Over the period of several decades, from the silent-movie era through the 1950s, the USDA was a significant government filmmaking organization, touting itself to be not only the first government agency to organize a filmmaking division but also the most prolific. The USDA motion picture branch was internationally respected, and the distribution of its films was high for US government institutions, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s. The USDA showed its films practically anywhere extension workers or others could gather a small group or a large crowd. The role of the films varied,...
Interview with Singapore Film Director Ken Kwek
Authors: Uhde Jan
Published: August 2019

INTERVIEW WITH SINGAPORE FILM DIRECTOR KEN KWEKKen Kwek is a Singapore filmmaker whose fresh satirical comedy Sex.Violence.FamilyValues (2012) stirred the relatively calm waters of the city-state’ s film production. It consists of three stories: “Cartoons,” “Porn Masala” and “The Bouncer”. In “Cartoons”, a mother is called by the kindergarten teacher concerning the drawings of her son; the “Porn Masala” is about the shooting of a pornographic film about a middle-aged Indian man having sex with a young virgin; in “The Bouncer”, a nightclub bouncer becomes anxious when he realizes his daughter is about to perform as a pole dancer there. The three stories challenge, through irony and unexpected twists of the plot, some conventional per- ceptions of contemporary Singapore society. Apparently misunderstood by some, the movie was banned in Singapore after its scheduled premiere in October 2012, but was eventually re-released in March 2013. ...
Toronto 2014
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2014 Although Toronto raised the stakes in the bloodsport of festival politics by saving its prime opening weekend slots only for world premieres, it's still early to tell if it can be kingmaker of the US awards season. Ironically, interest in the opening weekend haul of its 39th edition (4 - 14 September 2014) was muted, while films tipped as derby favourites had premiered elsewhere. In this game of give-and-take, a win for Toronto's ego can mean less exposure to important films. Away from Hollywood buzz, several directors returned with new works for the second year running: Peter Chan, Lav Diaz, Hong Sang-soo, Sono Sion, Johnnie To and Tsai Ming-liang (for Hong and Sono, it's their third year running). And for its sixth 'City to City' program, Toronto chose Seoul with eight titles spanning the genre variety that has sustained South Korean...
Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still (Part II)
Authors: Kozlovic Anton Karl
Published: August 2019

ROBERT WISE'S THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL PART II: KLAATU AS ALIEN MESSIAH AbstractIn Part I, the author had documented how the SF cult classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) was traditionally perceived as a UFO film with Artificial Intelligence (AI), political, police and philosophical dimensions, and arguing that it is best understood as a profoundly religious film. In Part II, the critical literature was revisited and textually-based, humanist film criticism was again utilized as the guiding analytical lens to explicate the subtextual construction of Klaatu as an alien Messiah within an SF Passion picture. It is argued that Klaatu is the Christ-figure of 1950s science fiction cinema. IntroductionIn the Fall 2013 issue of Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media, the author closely examined the classic black-and-white UFO film The Day the Earth Stood Still. He highlighted the film's anti-nuclear political theme, its...
Science-Fiction and Cognition
Authors: Mather Philippe
Published: August 2019

SCIENCE-FICTION AND COGNITION Science-fiction (SF) is a paradoxical genre insofar as it combines realism (scientific verisimilitude) and fantasy (free speculations about estranged worlds). It represents a kind of impossible marriage between reason (science) and emotion (fiction). This tension is evoked by an image of the android Roy Batty from Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1982), which appears on the front cover of a collection of essays edited in 1999 by Carl Plantinga and Greg Smith, titled Passionate Views: Film, Cognition, and Emotion. Thus SF has a cognitive dimension, which can be linked primarily to its scientific ideology, as well as an affective dimension, that expresses itself through feelings of estrangement and wonder. How can one account for the semiotic mechanisms that produce meaning and emotion in SF film, in a way that explains the interaction between these two apparently antithetical components? This essay will compare a selection...
The Influence of Adopting Widescreen Televisions on Egyptian Audience's Viewing Practice
Authors: Yousry Mustafa Mahmoud
Published: August 2019

WIDESCREEN TELEVISION IN THE EGYPTIAN LIVING ROOM: THE INFLUENCE OF ADOPTING WIDESCREEN TELEVISION SETS ON EGYPTIAN AUDIENCE'S VIEWING PRACTICE AbstractWidescreen television sets represent today a large share of the home television viewing market in Egypt with more viewers adopting them everyday and discarding their old traditional televisions. This study, therefore, investigates the rising adoption of widescreen televisions in Egypt and its influence on audience's viewing practice, attitude and enjoyment of viewing. The study covers such areas of knowledge as characteristics of widescreen televisions, media consumption, attention and social contexts within the frame of widescreen television viewing. To complement the data gathered through the literature review, the empirical phase of the study employed an interview data collection technique. Interviews with 16 Egyptian viewers who watch widescreen televisions at their homes were held. The findings of both the literature review and the interviews suggested that widescreen televisions could make...
A USDA Sound Documentary about Southern African American Farmers
Authors: Winn J. Emmett
Published: August 2019

This article is available in Print edition of KINEMA...
The Philosopher Cameo
Authors: Riel Trine
Published: August 2019

THE PHILOSOPHER CAMEO Within current film studies a distinction is made between what are termed respectively "philosophy of film" and "film as philosophy" (or in some extreme cases "filmosophy").(1) While philosophy of film refers to a philosophical study of films, "a discussion of philosophical problems related to film, its nature, effects, and value", film as philosophy proposes the medium of film itself as a mode of philosophising, a way of doing philosophy.(2) What the film as philosophy thesis proposes, in short, is that some works of film "through means exclusive to cinema" can be understood to make concrete, epistemological contributions to philosophy that are just as rigorous as traditional philosophical propositions expressed linguistically.(3) And further, that it is not by citation of existing philosophical texts, or by having a recognised philosopher talk on screen, that a film can be said to align itself with philosophical activity:...
Toronto International Film Festival 2015
Authors: Wee Brandon
Published: August 2019

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015 The print ads and trailers for Toronto's 40th edition (10-20 September 2015) showed a striking motif of a powdered explosion at reduced speed varying only by colour scheme - a nice metaphor for the celebratory blast of diversity that any healthy entity turning forty ought to enjoy. But far from being complacent, Toronto humbly adapted to a competitive festival circuit by tweaking key strategies (all but retreating from 2014's decision permitting only world premieres to screen on its opening weekend), while also launching new ideas (the inauguration of a juried feature film competition eponymously named after Jia Zhangke's 2000 film Platform). On a related note, Sinophone content dominated this year's skinny selection of about two dozen Asian films, about half of which came from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Elsewhere, the Philippines and...
P. Ramlee and Neorealism
Authors: Uhde Jan
Published: August 2019

P. RAMLEE AND NEOREALISM P. Ramlee was one of the legendary filmmakers of Southeast Asia a multifaceted artist considered to be the most important creative asset of the "golden age" of cinema of Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s and 60s. Born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh in Penang, the Straits Settlements (now Malaysia) in 1929, he spent most of his professional career in Singapore, then a regional film production centre, working for the Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Productions. In 1964 he returned to Malaysia to work for its fledgling Merdeka (Independence) Film Productions in Kuala Lumpur. During his lifetime, P.Ramlee directed 34 features and acted in more than 60 films. The singular contribution of P. Ramlee to the development of cinema and other art forms of Singapore and Malaysia is unquestioned. In his time, he was tremendously popular and today, four decades after his premature death in...
The Female Double
Authors: Stojanova Christina
Published: August 2019

THE FEMALE DOUBLE: SUBJECTIVITY BETWEEN ALLEGORY, FACTICITY AND MARIVAUDAGE 'What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind'George Berkeley (1685-1753) It is certainly significant that in two subsequent years Cristian Mungiu's film, Beyond the Hills (Dupa dealuri, Romania-France-Belgium, 2012) - or BTH - and Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue Is the Warmest Colour (aka La vie d'Adèle, France-Belgium-Spain, 2013) - or BITWC - were nominated for the highest award at the Cannes film festival, which the latter did get, while Mungiu (who got the Palme D'Or in 2007 for his 4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 Days/ 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile) had to settle for the Best Screenplay award. But even more remarkable is that the duos of principal actresses - the Romanians Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan, and the French Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos - became recipients of the Best...
Singapore International Film Festival 2014
Authors: Chiu Alfonse
Published: August 2019

NOTES FROM A SLIGHTLY SMALL ISLAND: SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Following a two-year hiatus that included a complete revamping of its structure and organization, the Singapore International Film Festival returned for its 25th edition (4-14 December 2014) bigger and better than ever, with a re-branding effort that changed the former 'SIFF' into its current 'SGIFF'. A part of the inaugural Singapore Media Festival, SGIFF featured over 147 films from 50 countries spread over ten days and eleven sections, with a team headed by executive director Wahyuni Hadi and director-programmer Zhang Wenjie. It may be safe to say that the revitalized SGIFF heralds a new golden age of Singaporean and Southeast Asian, cinema....
On the backward bifurcation of a vaccination model with nonlinear incidence
Authors: Buonomo B. , Lacitignola D.
Published: August 2019

A compartmental epidemic model, introduced by Gumel and Moghadas [1], is considered. The model incorporates a nonlinear incidence rate and an imperfect preventive vaccine given to susceptible individuals. A bifurcation analysis is performed by applying the bifurcation method introduced in [2], which is based on the use of the center manifold theory. Conditions ensuring the occurrence of backward bifurcation are derived. The obtained results are numerically validated and then discussed from both the mathematical and the epidemiological perspective.
Vectorization of human pelvis objects in X-ray images
Authors: Juozapavičius Algimantas , Markauskas Ramūnas
Published: August 2019

In medical diagnostics visual evaluation of an object or its image is necessary but time consuming operation. Well-known computer vision algorithms or their compilation, or even some new methods should be the right tool in increasing the speed and reliability of this process. This paper introduces situation in this domain and some experiments and their results in extraction of biomechanical parameters of human pelvis from x-ray images using combination of Hough transform for a line, for a circle (arc) and Canny edge detector. The main idea of an algorithm, which was created during this experiment, is to use different levels of noise filter thus making a balance between leaving too much noise and removing too much actual data. The basic steps would be: filter out most of noise and noisy objects using high filter’s threshold value; find sharp and clear objects; narrow the set of possible parameters of noisy objects; apply noise filter with lower threshold value to the original image; find noisy objects. Experiment shows that algorithm works but it needs to be tested on reliability and some bindings with actual biomechanical parameters should be done (see [1–6]).
On a boundary value problem to third order PDE with multiple characteristics
Authors: Apakov Yusufjon P. P. , Rutkauskas Stasys
Published: August 2019

In the paper the second boundary value problem in a rectangular domain to equation uxxx − uyy = f(x, y) with the multiple characteristics is considered. The considered equation is closely related with nonlinear equation uxxx + uyy −(ν/y)uy = uxuxx, which describes transonic flow of a gas around a revolution bodies. Using the fundamental solutions of corresponding homogeneous equation the Green function of analyzed problem is composed and thereby this problem is solved.
On the numerical solution of chaotic dynamical systems using extend precision floating point arithmetic and very high order numerical methods
Authors: Sarra Scott A. A. , Meador Clyde
Published: August 2019

Multiple results in the literature exist that indicate that all computed solutions to chaotic dynamical systems are time-step dependent. That is, solutions with small but different time steps will decouple from each other after a certain (small) finite amount of simulation time. When using double precision floating point arithmetic time step independent solutions have been impossible to compute, no matter how accurate the numerical method. Taking the well-known Lorenz equations as an example, we examine the numerical solution of chaotic dynamical systems using very high order methods as well as extended precision floating point number systems. Time step independent solutions are obtained over a finite period of time. However even with a sixteenth order numerical method and with quad-double floating point numbers, there is a limit to this approach.
Unsteady three dimensional flow of couple stress fluid over a stretching surface with chemical reaction
Authors: Hayat Tasawar , Awais Muhammad , Safdar Ambreen , Hendi Awatif A. A.
Published: August 2019

The unsteady three-dimensional flow of couple stress fluid over a stretched surface is investigated. Analysis has been performed in the presence of mass transfer and chemical reaction. Nonlinear flow analysis is computed by a homotopic approach. Plots are presented and analyzed for the various parameters of interest. A comparative study with existing solutions in a limiting sense is made.
Analysis of equations arising in gyrotron theory
Authors: Cepıtis Janis , Dumbrajs Olgerts , Kalis Harijs , Reinfelds Andrejs , Strautins Uldis
Published: August 2019

The gyrotron is a microwave source whose operation is based on the stimulated cyclotron radiation of electrons oscillating in a static magnetic field. Powerful gyrotrons can be used to heat nuclear fusion plasma. In addition, they have found a wide utility in plasma diagnostics, plasma chemistry, radars, extra-high-resolution spectroscopy, high-temperature processing of materials, medicine, etc. However, the main application of gyrotrons is in electron cyclotron resonance heating in tokamaks and stellarators. Equations describing gyrotron operation are ordinary differential equations and Schrödinger type partial differential equations. The present paper provides a survey of the analytical and numerical results concerning these equations obtained by our group in the last decade.
Influence of thermal radiation on non-Darcian natural convection in a square cavity filled with fluid saturated porous medium of uniform porosity
Authors: Mahapatra Tapas Ray Ray , Pal Dulal , Mondal Sabyasachi
Published: August 2019

Influence of thermal radiation on natural-convection flow in a square cavity filled with a porous medium of uniform porosity having isothermal vertical walls and adiabatic horizontal walls, has been studied numerically by using finite-difference method with staggered grid distribution. The simulation is performed by considering both Darcian and non-Darcian models. Governing momentum and energy equations are solved numerically to obtain velocity and temperature fields for various values of different physical parameters. It is seen that increasing the thermal radiation parameter enhances the local Nusselt number on the left vertical wall whereas the reverse effects are observed due to increase in the heat generating parameter when Ra = 109. The temperature at the mid-horizontal plane decreases with increase in the value of Rayleigh number up to a certain distance from the left vertical wall and beyond that distance the opposite trend is observed. The temperature at the mid-horizontal plane increases with increase in the value of heat generating parameter.
Optimal control of an epidemic model with a saturated incidence rate
Authors: Laarabi Hassan , Labriji El Houssine Houssine , Rachik Mostafa , Kaddar Abdelilah
Published: August 2019

In this study we consider a mathematical model of an SIR epidemic model with a saturated incidence rate. We used the optimal vaccination strategies to minimize the susceptible and infected individuals and to maximize the number of recovered individuals. We work in the nonlinear optimal control framework. The existence result was discussed. A characterization of the optimal control via adjoint variables was established. We obtained an optimality system that we sought to solve numerically by a competitive Gauss–Seidel like implicit difference method.
Exact solutions of the Kudryashov–Sinelshchikov equation and nonlinear telegraph equation via the first integral method
Authors: Mirzazadeh Mohammad , Eslami Mostafa
Published: August 2019

In this article we find the exact traveling wave solutions of the Kudryashov–Sinelshchikov equation and nonlinear telegraph equation by using the first integral method. This method is based on the theory of commutative algebra. This method can be applied to nonintegrable equations as well as to integrable ones.
Linear and nonlinear stability in nuclear reactors with delayed effects
Authors: Bučys Kostas , Švitra Donatas , Vilkytė Ramunė
Published: August 2019

The research of a nuclear reactor model has been observed, where the system consists of two differential equations with one delay. A linear analysis has been performed, the asymptotic stability model of the area D0 and D2 has been defined, in which a stable periodic solution of one frequency appears. In the nonlinear analysis the analytical expression of the solution is presented with the help of bifurcation theories. In the numerical experiment using the scientific simulation program “Model Maker” numerical Runge–Kutta IV series method asymptotically stable solution and a stable periodic solution has been received and compared to the stable periodic solution received in nonlinear analysis with the help of bifurcation theories.
Optimal management of a renewable resource utilized by a population with taxation as a control variable
Authors: Dubey Balram , Patra Atasi
Published: August 2019

A dynamical model is proposed and analyzed to discuss the effect of population on a resource biomass by taking into account the crowding effect. It is assumed that the resource biomass, which has commercial importance, is subjected to harvesting. The harvesting effort is assumed to be a dynamical variable and taxation is being used as a control variable. The optimal harvesting policy is discussed using the Pontryagin’s maximum principle.
Modeling nonlinear stochastic kinetic system and stochastic optimal control of microbial bioconversion process in batch culture
Authors: Wang Lei , Feng Enmin , Xiu Zhilong
Published: August 2019

In this paper, we analyze a stochastic model representing batch fermentation in the process of glycerol bio-dissimilation to 1,3-propanediol by klebsiella pneumoniae. The stochasticity in the model is introduced by parameter perturbation which is a standard technique in stochastic population modelling. Thus, based on the nonlinear deterministic dynamical system of glycerol bioconversion to 1,3-propanediol in batch culture, we present the stochastic version of the batch fermentation process driven by a five-dimensional Brownian motion and Lipschitz coefficients, which is suitable for the factual fermentation. Subsequently, we study the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the stochastic system as well as the boundedness and Markov property of solutions. Moveover a stochastic optimal control model is constructed and the sufficient and necessary conditions for optimality are proved via dynamic programming principle. Finally we present computer simulation for the stochastic system by using Stochastic Euler–Maruyama scheme. Compared with the results from the deterministic system, numerical results reveal the peculiar role of stochasticity in the dynamical responses of the batch culture.
Soliton solution and conservation laws of the Zakharov equation in plasmas with power law nonlinearity
Authors: Morris Richard , Kara Abdul Hamid Hamid , Biswas Anjan
Published: August 2019

This paper studies the Zakharov equation with power law nonlinearity. The traveling wave hypothesis is applied to obtain the 1-soliton solution of this equation. The multiplier method from Lie symmetries is subsequently utilized to obtain the conservation laws of the equations. Finally, using the exact 1-soliton solution, the conserved quantities are listed.
Phenomenological model of bacterial aerotaxis with a negative feedback
Authors: Skakauskas Vladas , Katauskis Pranas , Šimkus Remigijus , Ivanauskas Feliksas
Published: August 2019

A phenomenological model for the suspension of the aerotactic swimming microorganisms placed in a chamber with its upper surface open to air is presented. The model was constructed to embody some complexity of the aerotaxis phenomenon, especially, changes in the average bacteria drift velocity under changing environmental conditions. It was assumed that effective forces applied to the cell (gravitational, drag, and thrust) should be essential for the overall system dynamics; and that bacterial propulsion force, but not their swimming velocity, is proportional to the gradient of the oxygen concentration. Mathematically, the model consists of three coupled equations for the oxygen dynamics; for the cell conservation; and for the balance of forces acting on bacteria. An analytical steady-state solution is given for the shallow and deep layers and numerical results are given for the steady-state and initial value problems which are compared with corresponding ones to the Keller–Segel model.
Multi-objective optimization aided to allocation of vertices in aesthetic drawings of special graphs
Authors: Varoneckas Audrius , Žilinskas Antanas , Žilinskas Julius
Published: August 2019

A problem of drawing specific graphs is considered emphasizing aesthetic appeal of the visualization. We focus on graphs related to the management of business processes. A particular problem of the aesthetic drawing is considered where the aesthetic allocation of vertices is aimed. The problem is stated as a problem of bi-objective optimization where the objectives are the length of connectors and the compatibility of the sequence flows with the favorable top-down, left-right direction. An algorithm based on the branch-and-bound approach is proposed.
A komputer által létrehozott virtuális valóság pszichológiai mechanizmusai: téri reprezentációs sajátosságok
Authors: Kállai János
Published: August 2019

A virtuális valóságban (VR) végzett gyógyászati és oktatási tevékenység iránt megnövekedett érdeklődés szükségessé teszi a VR-re vonatkozó pszichológiai értelmezési keretek egy csoportjának bemutatását. Az összefoglalóban – szakirodalmi ismeretekre hagyatkozva – a belemerülés (immersion), valamint a jelenlét (presence) fogalmak rövid bemutatását követően a virtuális valóság mentális modelljei közül elsősorban a téri reprezentációra vonatkozó komponenseket fogom bemutatni. Az áttekintés a VR-ben megjelenő multiszenzoros koherencia, tudatos jelenlét, kapcsolat és leválás, átmeneti jelenlét és a különböző affordanciák szerepének ismertetésére koncentrál. Az alkalmazások fejezetrészben pedig néhány, az egészségügyben és az oktatásügyben alkalmazott, és várhatóan az eddigi gyakorlathoz viszonyítva szélesebb körben hazánkban is alkalmazandó VR-alapú eljárások ismertetésére kerül sor. A digitális oktatás és a pszichoterápiás ellátás iránti érdeklődés ellentmondásos. Sokan a klienssel vagy a tanulóval való személyes kapcsolat elvesztésének fenyegető veszélyétől féltik az orvosokat és a pedagógusokat. A betegek és a diákok részéről azonban egyre sürgetőbb az igény a VR-hez kötődő módszerek bevezetésére. A bemutatott összefoglaló tovább erősíti az új digitális eszközök alkalmazásával kapcsolatos igényeket, de ugyanakkor felhívja a figyelmet, hogy szükség van olyan technikai és szaktudományi infrastruktúra megteremtésére, amely kritikus elemzést követően képes elősegíteni a jelenlegi, konfliktusokkal terhes ellátási és oktatási formák fejlődését. Az új VR-módszerek bevezetése a tudomány és a gyakorlat közös feladata.
A fenyegető ingerek hatására fellépő figyelmi torzítások és változások a fenntartott figyelmi folyamatokban: Áttekintés
Authors: Zsidó N. András
Published: August 2019

Áttekintő cikkemben a fenyegető ingerek által kiváltott figyelmi torzítások hosszabb távú figyelmi feldolgozásra gyakorolt hatását vizsgálom. Elsőként sorra veszem a fenyegető ingerek következtében fellépő figyelmi torzításokat, s kitérek ezek lehetséges idegrendszeri hátterére. Ezt követően körüljárom a torzítások adaptivitásának lehetőségeit evolúciós pszichológiai elméleti keretben. Tárgyalom ezen torzítások lehetséges hatásait az inger megjelenése utáni információfeldolgozásra, hangsúlyt fektetve a fenyegető ingerek hosszú távú figyelmet facilitáló mechanizmusaira. Végül kitérek az észlelő személyéhez köthető olyan faktorokra az ingerfeldolgozás során, melyek gyakran merülnek fel a fenyegető ingerekkel végzett kutatások során. Bemutatom a szorongás és specifikus fóbiák hatásait, valamint hogy az idősek körében végzett vizsgálatok miként segíthetnek megválaszolni még függőben lévő, a fenyegető ingerek hatásaira vonatkozó kérdéseket. Az áttekintett kutatások eredményei alapján az körvonalazódik, hogy a figyelmi torzító folyamatok nem kizárók egymásra nézve, s a fenyegető ingereknek jelentős, többnyire facilitáló hatása van az ingert követő kognitív feldolgozásra. A kutatási terület fontosságát hangsúlyozza, hogy az eredmények nagyban hozzájárulhatnak a szorongásos zavarok terápiás hatékonyságának növeléséhez.
From the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Krakow to the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow. Part 1: 1954-1982
Authors: Marecki Józef
Published: August 2019

In 1954, arbitrarily and without consulting with the Catholic Church, the communist authorities transferred the Faculties of Theology of the Jagiellonian University and the University of Warsaw to a new university that they had created without a canonical mandate – the Academy of Catholic Theology in Warsaw. Instead of accepting the Polish communists’ unilateral decision, the Holy See transferred the rights of the Faculty of Theology in Krakow to the Archdiocesan Major Seminary, whose faculty eventually was given the right to have the adjective “Pontifical” in its title. Although it did not have authority from the state, it continued to offer post-secondary education and bestow academic titles upon its graduates. On the basis of this, Pope John Paul II, who as the Archbishop of Krakow was not only officially its great chancellor but also its promoter and special custodian, established the Pontifical Academy of Theology in 1981. This article presents the history of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in 1954-1982. Its activity in later years as the Pontifical Academy of Theology, which in 2009 became the Pontifical University of John Paul II, will be presented in the second part of this text.
John Paul II’s Theology of the Suffering Body
Authors: Swantek Zachary
Published: August 2019

This article evaluates the experience of suffering and its redemptive value in the light of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It begins by exploring how man was created in “the beginning,” before the experience of evil and sin. Man’s “original experiences” of solitude, unity and nakedness help man to understand himself as a being who is always in relation and is called to transcendence. These experiences continue to resonate within man, though sin can blind him from interpreting them correctly. Instead of man’s body opening him to relations and receiving the love of God and neighbor as a gift, he often experiences shame for his disordered desires, which enclose man within himself. While shame can be a negative experience, it is also a “boundary experience,” in that it points man to an original goodness that is now lacking due to the experience of evil. Suffering, likewise, can be a boundary experience that opens man, through his vulnerability, to recognizing his need for communion with God and neighbor. Christ, therefore, does not eliminate suffering but redeems it, transforming it into a revelation of God’s love. Suffering has become a path to conversion, to rebuilding goodness in man’s heart, and to liberation from evil. Redemption occurs when man freely opens himself to Christ’s love in the midst of suffering, making up for what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering: our participation. Suffering isn’t a problem to be solved so much as a mystery to enter into. Through participation in Christ’s suffering, not only is man able to experience his own redemption, he can also offer his body with Christ for the redemption of the world.