bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coarse-Grained, Shoreline-Attached, Marginal Marine Parasequences
of the Viking Formation, Joffre Field, Alberta, Canada
Authors: Maceachern James A. , Zaitlin Brian A. , Pemberton S. George
Published: November 2010

The Viking Formation of the Joffre Field area comprises parts of three discrete sequences. The reservoir facies lies within the lower part of Sequence 3, interpreted to reflect shoreline-attached, marginal marine deposits. Sequence 3 was initiated by a fall of relative sea level with associated subaerial exposure and erosional scour, generating a sequence boundary. This sequence boundary was erosionally modified by ravinement during the ensuing transgression, to form a broad NW-SE trending asymmetric incision at Joffre, referred to as basal discontinuity 2 (BD-2).

BD-2 is mantled by conglomeratic lags and biorurbated, glauconitic transgressive sand sheets (Facies A). These are overlain by moderately burrowed, trough and low angle planar cross-stratified sandstone, pebbly sandstone and conglomerate, concentrated along the southern (landward) margin of BD-2, and interpreted to reflect distributary channels (Facies B/C/D). These channels fed sediment to prograding bay-head delta fronts, which coalesced to form broad, NW-SE trending coarse clastic aprons (Facies B/C/D and F). Each bay-head delta apron progressively interfingers with, and ultimately passes into weakly burrowed interbedded sandstone and mudstone (Facies E). These fine-grained deposits contain oscillation ripples, storm-generated wavy parallel laminations, and low diversity trace fossil suites, and are interpreted as brackish-water bay deposits.

Fluctuations in the rate of transgression resulted in the shifting of brackish-water bay deposits over channel/bay-head delta complexes, delineating three discrete marginal marine parasequences. Each parasequence trends northwest-southeast, onlaps relief on BD-2 along its landward (southwestern) margin, and offlaps/downlaps to the northeast. Resumed regional transgression generated a flooding surface (FS) with associated ravinement, that terminated brackish-water deposition and returned the study area to fully marine, offshore conditions.
Introduction to Fractals
Authors: Plotnick Roy E.
Published: November 2010

The incorporation of fractal concepts into the natural sciences, especially physics, has been swift. This growth has also occurred, albeit at a much slower pace, in the earth sciences, including geomorphology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and petroleum geology (Korvin, 1992; Turcotte, 1992, 1994a; Barton and LaPointe 1995a,b). Nevertheless, many earth scientists remain unfamiliar with fractal concepts and applications and are perhaps even suspicious that it is a fad. In this chapter we will demonstrate that fractal models and methods allow the geologist to quantify many concepts that have long been intuitive, while also providing new and fruitful ways of looking at data. In addition, as we will show in later chapters, fractals are important in the interpretation of chaos and nonlinear dynamics. We believe that fractal methods will eventually become part of the standard toolkit of any quantitatively oriented geologist, to the same extent that calculus or statistics are currently.
Introduction to Nonlinear Models
Authors: Middleton Gerard V. , Rubin David M.
Published: November 2010

In the following discussion we will use the term “model” as a short form of “mathematical model”, that is, a set of equations that are designed to represent some aspect of the real world. We recognize that other types of models are possible, e.g., conceptual models that cannot be exactly quantified, or physical models, that are generally models built of real materials, but at a smaller scale than the real phenomenon. We can recognize two different extreme types of mathematical models.
Forecasting Techniques, Underlying Physics, and Applications
Authors: Rubin David M.
Published: November 2010

Science is based on the principle of repeatability: each time a system experiences similar conditions—both internal to the system and forces exerted externally on the system—we expect the system to exhibit a similar response. Forecasting exploits this principle by using the observed behavior of a system to predict behavior when similar conditions recur. Even if the equations describing a system are unknown, we can nevertheless use forecasting to learn about the system. For some purposes— such as weather forecasting, financial forecasting, or noise reduction—predicting the future is the primary goal of the forecasting. For the purpose of characterizing system dynamics, in contrast, predictions are made in an exploratory manner to learn what kinds of models perform best.

For a preview of how the forecasting procedure works, we can consider the Lorenz system described in Chapter 2. Three approaches could be used to predict the future of this 85-system. First, we could measure the initial conditions (nonlinearity of vertical temperature gradient, temperature difference between rising and falling fluid, and intensity of convection) and use the three coupled equations (Equations 2.13) to predict the values of the three variables for successive steps in time.

A second approach could be employed if the governing equations were unknown, but sequential observations of the system were available. We could use the sequential observations to plot the 3-dimensional attractor (Figure 2.1), locate each predictee (a point whose three coordinates are given by the three variables that define the state of the system), identify nearby points on
Equilibrium and Kinetic Modelling of Astrazon Yellow Adsorption by Sawdust: Effect of Important Parameters
Authors: Ouazene Naima , Sahmoune Mohamed Nasser
Published: November 2010

This paper aims to investigate the sorption of Astrazon yellow (A.Y.) onto sawdust (Aleppo pine tree), a forest waste as that acts as a low-cost adsorbent. In our experiments, the batch sorption is studied with respect to solute concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose, particle size and pH. The adsorption process attains equilibrium within 300 minutes. The extent of dye removal decreased with increasing particle size and increased with increasing contact time, adsorbent dose and pH. The equilibrium data were analysed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The characteristic parameters for each isotherm were determined. By considering the experimental results and adsorption models applied in this study, it can be concluded that equilibrium data were represented well by the Langmuir isotherm equation. Maximum adsorption capacity calculated at 293K was 81.8 mg/g. Five kinetic models (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, fractional power, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion kinetic equations) were used to predict the adsorption rate constants. The kinetics of adsorption of the basic dye followed both Elovich and pseudo-second order kinetics, and intraparticle diffusion was not the sole rate-controlling step. The effective diffusion of Astrazon yellow in sawdust according to Boyd Model was 24.22 .10-12 m2/S. In order to reveal the adsorption characteristic of sawdust samples, SEM and FTIR spectra analyses were carried out. The results show that sawdust (Aleppo pine tree) can be an alternative low-cost adsorbent for removing cationic dyes from wastewater.
Synthesis and Characterization of Pt-Sn Incorporated MCM-41 and Pt Incorporated Sn-SiO2 Type Mesoporous Catalysts for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell
Authors: Varisli Dilek , Rona Tugba , Tapan Niyazi Alper
Published: November 2010

In this study, Pt-Sn incorporated mesoporous silicate materials were synthesized and characterized, and their activities in ethanol electro-oxidation reaction were tested by cyclic voltammetry. Two groups of catalysts were prepared. In the first group, Pt@MCM-41 and Pt-Sn@MCM-41 were prepared by impregnation of Pt and Sn onto MCM-41 support, which was synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method. We adjusted the Pt/Sn molar ratio of 2 in the synthesis solution, and the Pt-Sn alloy formation was recognized beside large platinum particles for Pt-Sn@MCM-41. In the second group of catalysts, Sn-SiO2 was prepared by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis procedure with a Sn/Si molar ratio of 0.014 and was used as support material for Pt. Tin oxide phase was well dispersed through silicate structure and only large Pt particles were found in the XRD analysis of Pt@Sn-SiO2, in which the Pt/Sn ratio was 2. In order to see the effect of Pt/Sn molar ratio on the structural and catalytic activity of the catalyst, Pt@Sn-SiO2(3:2) was prepared by changing the Pt/Sn ratio to 3/2 and obtaining smaller particles for the later one. After electrochemical activity tests in 0.5M H2SO4 and 0.5M H2SO4 + 0.5M C2H5OH electrolyte environments, it was seen that Pt@MCM-41, Pt-Sn@MCM-41, Pt-@Sn-SiO2(3:2) and Pt@Sn-SiO2, exhibit different ethanol electro-oxidation behavior, which is assumed to be due to different pore and crystalline size. Sn-SiO2 supported Pt showed the highest oxidation currents after 0.6V vs. RHE. An ethanol oxidation behavior of Pt@Sn-SiO2(3:2) and polycrystalline Pt was very close at 0.6V vs. RHE.
Requiem for Keynes, Ideology and Reform: A Keynote on Transformative Practice
Authors: Mohan Brij
Published: November 2010

In a BP‐belied, Wall Street weary, Afghanistan anguished world, reality is hopelessly fraught with post‐ideological angst and apogee. Policy innovations are prescient plans for a dubious 21st Century. We examine the interface of social change and policy innovations and argue for a global renaissance. However, in the wake of recent meltdowns—from Darfur to the Gulf of Mexico—it's time to revisit civic culture, modernity and social development in light of their cumulative impact on inter‐ and intra‐societal relationships. The implications of this analysis validate innovative policy intervention as key to social transformation.
Upper bound for the energy of strongly connected digraphs
Authors: Ayyaswamy Singaraj , Balachandran Selvaraj , Gutman Ivan
Published: November 2010

The energy of a digraph D is defined as E(D) = ?n,i=1 ?Re(zi)?, where z1, z2,
..., zn are the (possibly complex) eigenvalues of D . We show that if D
is a strongly connected digraph on n vertices, a arcs, and c2 closed walks
of length two, such that Re(z1) ? (a + c2)=(2n) ? 1 , then E(D) ? n(1 +
?n)=2. Equality holds if and only if D is a directed strongly regular graph
with parameters (n, n+?n/2, 3n+2?n/8, n+2?n/8, n+2?n/8). This bound
extends to digraphs an earlier result [J. H. Koolen, V. Moulton:, Maximal
energy graphs. Adv. Appl. Math., 26 (2001), 47-52], obtained for simple
graphs.
Word Emotionality and the Structure of the Old Testament Book of Ruth
Authors: Whissell Cynthia
Published: November 2010

Words in the World English Bible version of the book of Ruth were studied in terms of their emotional implications using the Dictionary of Affect in Language which matched 2,225 (89%) of the words. The use of extremely Passive/Unpleasant words and that of extremely Pleasant words gave evidence of a V and inverse-V structure, respectively. Ruth was gentle in tone, containing 188% of the normative proportion of Pleasant/Passive words and approximately 50% of the normative proportion of various active and unpleasant categories of words.
Livelihood Strategies of Food-Insecure Poor, Female-Headed Families in Rural Alabama
Authors: Zekeri Andrew A.
Published: November 2010

Previous studies suggest that households headed by single women in general, and particularly those by African-American females, are at greater risk for food insecurity and hunger. However, questions remain about how single mothers cope with food insecurity. This study examined how food-insecure, poor single mothers get food for themselves and their children. 100 African-American single mothers from rural Alabama were recruited and interviewed about their livelihood strategies up to two times during a 1-yr. period. The findings show that most of the mothers used numerous strategies to make sure that there was an adequate amount of food for the family. These strategies included work, government assistance such as food stamps, cash assistance from relatives and friends, food from food banks and churches, cohabiting, coresiding with a friend or relative, eating at a Senior Meal Program, and eating less. Psychological aspects of food insecurity included feeling depressed, feeling sad, feeling lonely, having trouble sleeping, and having trouble concentrating. These results suggest that preventive measures to reduce food insecurity among single mothers should remain a priority, and referrals to psychological counseling might help assist them in coping during this difficult time in their lives.
Some Effects of Reputation on Alliance Formation
Authors: Warner Alfred G. , Thoms Peg
Published: November 2010

Using an experimental approach with 108 MBA students, effects of reputation on the quantity and quality of offers from other players to enter a transaction as well as a player's behavior toward protection against a partner's defection were tested. A purely cooperative strategy generated more and better offers but behavior nearly as consistently reliable was no better rewarded than a pure defection strategy. Also, players with work experience tended to mistrust even strong reputation signals.
Cognitive Function in Older Diabetic Subjects with a History of Alcohol Abuse
Authors: Hudetz Judith A. , Warltier David C.
Published: November 2010

Either diabetes or alcohol abuse can impair cognitive function, especially at older ages. Whether a history of alcohol abuse increases the risk for cognitive impairment in diabetic patients has not been examined. Cognitive function of type 2 diabetic subjects with a history of alcohol abuse was expected to be more impaired than that of subjects with either diabetes or alcohol abuse alone. Men, >55 years of age, were categorized as 15 alcoholic-diabetic; 15 alcoholic-nondiabetic; 15 nonalcoholic-diabetic; 15 nonalcoholic-nondiabetic, and matched on age, sex, and education. Participants' verbal memory, visuospatial memory, and executive functions were assessed using a neurocognitive test battery. Significant interactions of diabetes and alcoholism for Visual Delayed Recall, Story Immediate Recall, and Story Delayed Recall implied that diabetes and alcohol abuse enhanced each other's effect in lowering cognitive test scores. Alcohol abuse history in older diabetic subjects presents an increased risk for cognitive impairment.
Age Differences in Knowledge about HIV Transmission among African-American Men and Women
Authors: Burlew Ann Kathleen
Published: November 2010

To test whether knowledge about HIV transmission may be one contributing factor to the disproportionately high rates of HIV and AIDS cases among older African Americans, this study examined data from 448 African-American men and women, who completed the AIDS Knowledge and Awareness Scale. Overall the findings supported the hypothesis that older African Americans were not as knowledgeable as their younger counterparts. However, the analyses also indicated older (age 61+) African-American women were significantly less knowledgeable about HIV transmission than the younger women. However, the difference between older and younger men was not significant. One implication is that older African Americans, especially women, should be targets of educational efforts.
Effects of a Smile: Reciprocation and Compliance with a Request
Authors: Vrugt Anneke
Published: November 2010

In this study, 639 native Dutch shoppers (279 men and 360 women) entering a department store, supermarket, or mall were approached with a request to sign a petition for animal welfare. The request was accompanied by a smile or a neutral expression displayed by a woman or a man. Results showed that a smile was reciprocated with a smile, especially by female participants. Participants were more likely to comply with the request of a woman than of a man. It was also found that smiling of the participant and compliance were related and that the reciprocation of a smile increased the likelihood of compliance with the request.
Nanomechanics of new materials — AFM and computer modelling studies of trichoptera silk
Authors: Strzelecki Janusz , Strzelecka Joanna , Mikulska Karolina , Tszydel Mariusz , Balter Aleksander , Nowak Wiesław
Published: November 2010

Caddisfly (Trichopera) can glue diverse material underwater with a silk fiber. This makes it a particularly interesting subject for biomimetcs. Better understanding of silk composition and structure could lead to an adhesive capable to close bleeding wounds or to new biomaterials. However, while spiderweb or silkworm secretion is well researched, caddisfly silk is still poorly understood. Here we report a first nanomechanical analysis of H. Angustipennis caddisfly silk fiber. An Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) imaging shows dense 150 nm bumps on silk surface, which can be identified as one of features responsible for its outstanding adhesive properties. AFM force spectroscopy at the fiber surface showed, among others, characteristic saw like pattern. This pattern is attributed to sacrificial bond stretching and enhances energy dissipation in mechanical deformation. Similarities of some force curves observed on Tegenaria domestica spiderweb and caddisfly silk are also discussed. Steered Molecular Dynamics simulations revealed that the strength of short components of Fib-H HA species molecules, abundant in Trichoptera silk is critically dependent on calcium presence.
Assessing carnivore diet by faecal samples and stomach contents: a case study with Alpine red foxes
Authors: Balestrieri Alessandro , Remonti Luigi , Prigioni Claudio
Published: November 2010

Research on the feeding habits of mammalian carnivores relies mainly on the analysis of stomach contents and faecal samples, but the outcomes of these two methods have only been compared in a few studies, with contrasting conclusions. In an Alpine area of NW Italy, we analysed both fox faeces collected along standardised transects, and the stomach contents of road-killed individuals. Faecal analysis involved the identification of macroscopic fragments, the identification of earthworm chaetae, and the assessment of relative volumes using Kruuk and Parish’s technique. Use of both methods indicated that the diet of the red fox included mainly fruit and mammals, but quantitative differences emerged. Garbage, birds, and cultivated fruit were overrepresented in the stomach contents, while earthworms, mammals, and wild fruit prevailed in the faecal samples. Logistic Regression Analysis suggested that the method of analysis was the main factor in determining the occurrence of food items in fox diet. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that road-killed foxes may include a disproportionately high percentage of synanthropic individuals and therefore be biased towards anthropogenic food. Results suggest that by using Kruuk and Parish’s technique, the main limitation of faecal analysis, i.e. the inaccurate estimation of the relative volume of each food item, can be overcome.
The distribution of Chrysanthemum Segetum L. (Asteraceae) in Poland
Authors: Sobisz Zbigniew
Published: November 2010

The distribution of Chrysanthemum Segetum L. (Asteraceae) in Poland

The distribution of Chrysanthemum segetum L. in Poland, based on a field research, herbarium materials, literature and unpublished data, is described with a list of localities. Altogether, 352 localities (210 ATPOL squares) for this species have been identified. Most localites are concentrated in North and West parts of Poland.
Biochemical assessment of in vitro and in vivo culture of Tylophora indica (Burm. F.) Merr
Authors: Kaushik Antaryami , Gurnani Chandra , Sunder Shyam , Dhingra Abha , Chimpa Vikram
Published: November 2010

Tylophora indica (Burm. F.) Merr is an endangered plant which can be protected from extinction by its large scale production. Nodal segments of healthy plants are used as explants and cultured on MS Basal medium fortified with different growth regulators. Optimum shoot induction conditions from explants were established. In vitro and in vivo phytochemical test were done by using standard methods for chlorophyll, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and starch. 3mg/l 2, 4 D showed maximum and success full callus production. Shoot initiation started in 7 days and best shoot regeneration reported with 3 mg/ml BAP in Basal medium. Combination of IBA and NAA in concentration 2 and 4 mg/l respectively proved to be best for root initiation. Concentration of chlorophyll, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and starch in vitro and in vivo culture are investigated. DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i2.4005Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6. No II, November, 2010, pp.1-5
Indigenous approach in organic solid waste management in Guyana (South America)
Authors: Ansari Abdullah Adil
Published: November 2010

Organic waste posses a serious environmental problem globally. This can be solved by combination of effective technologies like Biodung composting and Vermitech (incorporating earthworms for the production of vermicompost). The present work was carried out during the year 2006-2007 at University of Guyana, Georgetown to recycle grass clippings, water hyacinth and cattle dung by using Eisenia fetida the locally available surface species of earthworm. The results indicated that the organic waste (grass clipping s and water hyacinth) were successfully processed through partial biodung composting and vermicomposting during the period of 60 days. The temperature study during biodung composting showed two peak rise of temperature resulting in destruction of harmful microbes. Subsequent vermicomposting resulted in production of vermicompost confirming to the excellent nutrient status recorded in earlier experiments. The temperature study during vermicomposting showed that fluctuation was restricted to +0.83. Keywords: Organic waste; biodung composting; vermitech; vermicompost; earthworms DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i2.4012Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6. No II, November, 2010, pp.54-59
Foundation of vortex gravitation, cosmology and cosmogony
Authors: Orlov SA
Published: November 2010

A hypothesis is proposed concerning the cause of the origin of universal gravitation. This cause consists in a system of the ether vortex rotations. Physical and mathematical grounds are described and the formula for the determination of the space gravitation forces is deduced. On the basis of the vortex gravitation, the principles of creation and existence of the celestial bodies are shown. Methods of the use of the vortex gravitation properties for the space flight projection are proposed. Keywords: Ether Theory; Vortex Gravitation; Cosmology; Cosmogony DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i2.4023Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6. No II, November, 2010, pp.142-169
Exploring Young Carers’ Agency
Authors: Smyth Ciara , Michail Samia
Published: November 2010

The recognition of children and young people as active agents, not merely passive subjects, has become a cornerstone of much research undertaken in the social sciences over the last three decades. Reflecting on research with young carers, this paper describes the research techniques employed to actively engage these children and young people in order to gain insight into their experiences of providing care. It concludes with a discussion of the benefits and disadvantages of the research methods, and the issues of ethics and consent.
Towards the preparation of highest quality medical professionals
Authors: Khan Mohammad Iqbal
Published: November 2010

Training of medical professionals being carried out since centuries, where quality of physician depends upon the quality and accreditation of the training system in place. Quality is the means through which an institution can guarantee, with confidence and certainty that the standards of its educational objectives maintained and enhanced. Quality in higher education is a dynamic process which is the outcome of interaction of multiple factors that determine the state of equilibrium reached at various levels. These include, inter alia, leadership, quality of faculty, quality of students, infrastructure, facilities, research and learning environment, governance, strategic planning, assessment procedures, market forces and several other factors depending upon the type, nature and level of educational processes. Quality Medical Education is a comprehensive concept, which consists of a number of ideas and systematic processes. The basic requirements of Quality Medical Education include a well-planned system of education aimed at achieving the goals and objectives set for it and a comprehensive quality infrastructure for the productive implementation and systematic evaluation of that system. In essence Medical Education has to be of the highest quality to produce doctors capable of giving the highest quality of medical care by not only satisfying the consumers i.e. patients, their families, community and employers but offering a service better than their expectations. Such education will need to adopt more than what is called al Quality culture in the institution. Keywords: Quality control; quality assurance; medical education; accreditation; Ihsan.  DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i3.6465Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.3 July 2010, pp.116-123
Reconstruction of oral mucosal defect with Oven Dried Human Amniotic Membrane graft: A case report
Authors: Sikder MA , Khan ASMD Alam , Ferdousi F , Pradhan L , Tareq BN Hasan
Published: November 2010

A case of premalignant lesion- leukoplakia of the left buccal mucosa, was excised and defect was reconstructed with human amniotic membrane graft. We evaluated the effectiveness of HAM as a grafting material for the reconstruction of oral mucosal defect after surgical excision of leukoplakia. After 4 weeks of grafting procedure, mucosal defect was restored successfully without any complications. Keywords: Leukoplakia; Buccal mucosal defect; Human amniotic membrane. DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i3.6480Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.3 July 2010, pp.170-173
Encephalomyelopathy in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had received radiotherapy and intrathecal chemotherapy
Authors: Çelik N , Kara S , Toksoy HB , Içagasioglu D , Büyükkayhan D , Bulut O
Published: November 2010

Encephalomyelopathy is a rare complication of chemotherapy and radiotherapy , and it is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in the children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).A fifteen years old girl, who was diagnosed with ALL 3 years ago, developed CNS relapse 2 years after diagnosis and undertook CNS relapse protocol ( 2400 cGy cranial + 1500 cGy spinal radiotherapy, meanwhile intrathecal chemotherapy with MTX + ARA-C + Prednisone 5 times). Eight months later from radiotherapy, firstly right hemiparesy consequently quadriplegia and quadriparestesia developed, stool and urine incontinence occured, respiration problems started and progressively increased, so she exitus due to respiration deficiency. Key Words: Leukemia; Encephalopmyelopathy; Radiation Myelitis.DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i3.6481Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.3 July 2010, pp.174-176
The Secret of Theory
Authors: Colebrook Claire
Published: November 2010

This article focuses on the concept of the secret in Deleuze and Guattari's philosophy, with specific attention to the related concepts of becoming-woman and literature. It contrasts Deleuze and Guattari's immanent mode of reading with oedipal theories of the text and hermeneutics. Whereas Deleuze and Guattari argue for the positivity of the secret, where there is content that is not disclosed and that therefore creates lines of perception and interpretation, the oedipal mode of reading regards the secret as a (negative) effect of reading.
The Empty Square of the Occupation
Authors: Svirsky Marcelo
Published: November 2010

This paper is an attempt to implement Gilles Deleuze's theory of the series and the event, and the related function of the empty square (as formulated primarily in The Logic of Sense), in relation to the geopolitical regime comprising ‘Israel proper’ and the system of occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The purpose of this exercise is to help establish a practical access to Deleuze's philosophies, and to offer a clinical account of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Deleuze, Mann and Modernism: Musical Becoming in Doctor Faustus
Authors: Bogue Ronald
Published: November 2010

Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus traces the life of the composer Adrian Leverkühn, whose career culminates in the compositions Apocalipsis cum figuris and The Lamentation of Doctor Faustus. Mann treats Apocalipsis as the endpoint of a dangerous modernism allied to fascism, and The Lamentation as its partial antidote. From Deleuze and Guattari's perspective, however, Apocalipsis is a positive musical becoming-other and The Lamentation a regression. Crucial to the contrasting interpretations of Apocalipsis are two very different conceptions of modernity and fascism, that of Deleuze and Guattari providing a means of valorising becoming as a mode of aesthetic and political invention and redefining modernism and fascism.
Desire, Apathy and Activism
Authors: Bignall Simone
Published: November 2010

This paper explores the themes of apathy and activism by contrasting the conventionally negative concept of motivational desire-lack with Deleuze and Guattari's positive concept of ‘desiring-production’. I suggest that apathy and activism are both problematically tied to the same motivational force: the conventional negativity of desire, which results in a ‘split subject’ always already ‘undone’ by difference. The philosophy of positive desiring-production provides alternative concepts of motivation and selfhood, not characterised by generative lack or alienation. On the contrary, this alternative ontology describes an identity that is not primarily ‘undone’ by difference, but ‘done’ or ‘made’ through the complex and piecemeal relations it forges with various aspects of the bodies it encounters. Understood as a complex multiplicity, the self or community accordingly has a primary, immediate and active interest in the quality of its multifaceted relations with others. Finally, I argue that some contemporary forms of activism can be read as practices aimed at creating and safeguarding the social conditions that foster the complex relational composition of selves and communities.
‘To Believe In This World, As It Is’: Immanence and the Quest for Political Activism
Authors: Thiele Kathrin
Published: November 2010

In What is Philosophy?, Deleuze and Guattari make the claim that ‘[i]t may be that believing in this world, in this life, becomes our most difficult task, or the task of a mode of existence still to be discovered on our plane of immanence today. This is the empiricist conversion.’ What are we to make of such a calling? The paper explicates why and in what sense this statement is of exemplary significance both for an appropriate understanding of Deleuze's political thought and for a most timely conceptualisation of politics in a world so clearly defined by immanence, and nothing but immanence. I argue that Deleuze's rigorously constructive approach to the world is not beyond politics, as some recent readings have declared (e.g. those of Badiou and Hallward). Rather, we have to appreciate that in Deleuze and Guattari's demand for a ‘belief in this world’ the political intersects with the dimension of the ethical in such a way that our understanding of both is transformed. Only after this ‘empiricist conversion’ can we truly think of a Deleuzian politics that does justice to a plane of immanence ‘immanent only to itself’.
The Common as Body Without Organs
Authors: Thorsteinsson Vidar
Published: November 2010

The paper explores the relation of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's work to that of Deleuze and Guattari. The main focus is on Hardt and Negri's concept of ‘the common’ as developed in their most recent book Commonwealth. It is argued that the common can complement what Nicholas Thoburn terms the ‘minor’ characteristics of Deleuze's political thinking while also surpassing certain limitations posed by Hardt and Negri's own previous emphasis on ‘autonomy-in-production’. With reference to Marx's notion of real subsumption and early workerism's social-factory thesis, the discussion circles around showing how a distinction between capital and the common can provide a basis for what Alberto Toscano calls ‘antagonistic separation’ from capital in a more effective way than can the classical capital–labour distinction. To this end, it is demonstrated how the common might benefit from being understood in light of Deleuze and Guattari's conceptual apparatus, with reference primarily to the ‘body without organs’ of Anti-Oedipus. It is argued that the common as body without organs, now understood as constituting its own ‘social production’ separate from the BwO of capital, can provide a new basis for antagonistic separation from capital. Of fundamental importance is how the common potentially invents a novel regime of qualitative valorisation, distinct from capital's limitation to quantity and scarcity.
Activist Materialism
Authors: Papadopoulos Dimitris
Published: November 2010

This paper explores a form of activism that operates with and within matter. For more than 150 years materialism has informed activist practice through materialist conceptions of history and modes of production. The paper discusses the ambivalences of these previous configurations of activism and materialism and explores possibilities for enacting activist interventions in conditions where politics is not only performed as a politics of history but as the fundamental capacity to remake and transform processes of matter and life. What is activism when politics is increasingly performed as a politics of matter? What is activism when it comes to a materialist understanding of matter itself?
Politics in the Middle: For a Political Interpretation of the Dualisms in Deleuze and Guattari
Authors: Nunes Rodrigo
Published: November 2010

The paper identifies three recent lines of interpretation of the politics that can be derived from Deleuze and Guattari, all of which share a way of reading the dualisms in their work that can be traced back to how they understand the actual/virtual partition, and to an alleged pre-eminence of the virtual over the actual. It is argued that this reading is not only inaccurate, but obscures the political dimension of Deleuze and Guattari's work. Clarifying the latter requires a reinterpretation of the dualisms involved (as dyads rather than binaries), of the relation between virtual and actual (as a formal distinction where one acts back upon the other), and the drawing of a clear distinction between what Deleuze calls a ‘transcendent exercise’ of thought and sensibility and the properly metaphysical exercise that sets up the distinction between virtual and actual. What then appears is an image of Deleuze's and Guattari's thought that is far more concerned with practical questions and with a situated political practice of intervention.
Impact of the New Malaysian Cigarette Pack Warnings on Smokers’ Awareness of Health Risks and Interest in Quitting Smoking
Authors: Fathelrahman Ahmed I. , Omar Maizurah , Awang Rahmat , Cummings K. Michael , Borland Ron , Samin Ahmad Shalihin Bin Mohd
Published: November 2010

The objective of this research was to compare the response of adult smokers in Malaysia to newly proposed pictorial cigarette warnings against the current text-only warnings. The study population included 140 adult male smokers who were enrolled in a randomized trial to view either the new pictorial warnings (intervention) or the old text-only warnings (control). Participants completed pre-exposure and post-exposure questionnaires that assessed their awareness of the health risks of smoking, response to the package warnings, and interest in quitting smoking. Exposure to the pictorial warnings resulted in increased awareness of the risks of smoking, stronger behavioral response to the warnings and increased interest in quitting smoking. The new warnings in Malaysia will increase smokers’ knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking and have a positive effect on interest in quitting.
Functional Toxicogenomics: Mechanism-Centered Toxicology
Authors: North Matthew , Vulpe Chris D.
Published: November 2010

Traditional toxicity testing using animal models is slow, low capacity, expensive and assesses a limited number of endpoints. Such approaches are inadequate to deal with the increasingly large number of compounds found in the environment for which there are no toxicity data. Mechanism-centered high-throughput testing represents an alternative approach to meet this pressing need but is limited by our current understanding of toxicity pathways. Functional toxicogenomics, the global study of the biological function of genes on the modulation of the toxic effect of a compound, can play an important role in identifying the essential cellular components and pathways involved in toxicity response. The combination of the identification of fundamental toxicity pathways and mechanism-centered targeted assays represents an integrated approach to advance molecular toxicology to meet the challenges of toxicity testing in the 21st century.
SAXS Studies of TiO2 Nanoparticles in Polymer Electrolytes and in Nanostructured Films
Authors: Turković Aleksandra , Dubček Pavo , Juraić Krunoslav , Drašner Antun , Bernstorff Sigrid
Published: November 2010

Polymer electrolytes as nanostructured materials are very attractive components for batteries and opto-electronic devices. (PEO)8ZnCl2 polymer electrolytes were prepared from PEO and ZnCl2. The nanocomposites (PEO)8ZnCl2/TiO2 themselves contained TiO2 nanograins. In this work, the influence of the TiO2 nanograins on the morphology and ionic conductivity of the nanocomposite was systematically studied by transmission small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) simultaneously recorded with wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at the synchrotron ELETTRA. Films containing nanosized grains of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are widely used in the research of optical and photovoltaic devices. The TiO2 films, prepared by chemical vapor deposition and e-beam epitaxy, were annealed in hydrogen atmospheres in the temperature range between 20 °C and 900 °C in order to study anatase-rutile phase transition at 740 °C. Also, grazing-incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) spectra for each TiO2 film were measured in reflection geometry at different grazing incident angles. Environmentally friendly galvanic cells, as well as solar cells of the second generation, are to be constructed with TiO2 film as working electrode, and nanocomposite polymer as electrolyte.
Synthesis of Seco-Chlorinated Derivatives of Phenanthroindolizidine Precursors via Friedel-Crafts Reaction
Authors: Li Songtao , Han Li , Liu Jiang , Hu Yihan , Zheng Dan , Fu Yingbo , Huang Xueshi
Published: November 2010

In the course of synthesizing 3-demethyltylophorine (1) by Lewis acid catalyzed intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction starting from N-(3-hydroxy-2,6,7-trimethoxy-phenanthr-9-ylmethyl)-2-chloromethylpyrrolidine, two chlorinated phenanthrene derivatives N-(4,10-dichloro-3-hydroxy-2,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthr-9-ylmethyl)-2-chloromethylpyrrolidine (4) and N-(4-chloro-3-hydroxy-2,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthr-9-ylmethyl)-2-chloromethylpyrrolidine (5) were obtained. The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis.
Les aspects politiques des réformes économiques en Europe de l'Est
Authors: Korbonski Andrzej
Published: November 2010

Cet article entend examiner les réformes économiques en Europe de l'Est essentiellement en tant que phénomène politique plutôt qu'économique. Les réformes elles-mêmes sont analysées de deux points de vue : comme variable dépendante ou résultat final d'une série de processus politiques, économiques et sociaux se produisant dans divers pays est-européens et comme variable indépendante ou composante majeure du processus de changement politique et de modernisation.

Les réformes économiques en tant que variable dépendante sont la conséquence de transformations survenues dans certains secteurs fondamentaux et qu'on peut résumer sous les rubriques suivantes : « divisions au sein du parti », « assouplissement politique» et «difficultés économiques». L'auteur analyse de manière assez détaillée les changements apparus dans ces domaines et tente en même temps d'en délimiter les causes principales.

Puisqu'il serait irréaliste de considérer les réformes uniquement comme une fin en soi ou comme un phénomène isolé, il faut aussi les examiner en relation avec les différents processus qui constituent ensemble le processus de développement politique ou de modernisation. Ainsi, les réformes sont analysées au niveau interne dans le contexte de trois aspects du développement politique — participation, différenciation structurelle et autonomie des sous-systèmes — et sur le plan externe dans le cadre des alliances politiques, en insistant sur le Pacte de Varsovie et le Comecon.

Aux questions posées par cette étude — qui s'est produite la première : la libéralisation économique ou politique ? Existait-il véritablement en Europe de l'Est une dichotomie entre les réformes économiques et politiques? — on répondra qu'en règle générale, l'assouplissement politique et la libéralisation économique se sont produits plus ou moins simultanément. Les variables qui ont influencé la libéralisation économique ont aussi contribué au progrès de l'assouplissement politique et vice versa.

Cependant, il semble utile de considérer que le phénomène de libéralisation économique et politique se compose de deux étapes ou cycles, liés l'un à l'autre par les réformes économiques qui constituent 1' « événement-clé ». La différence essentielle entre les deux étapes n'est pas tant l'apparition de nouvelles variables que la possibilité pour les variables initiales d'exercer une influence accrue et par là de renforcer les transformations subies par les conditions de départ, transformations qui ont déclenché le processus de modernisation en Europe de l'Est.
Concept et sondages d'opinion publique en Union Soviétique
Authors: Mink Georges
Published: November 2010

Concept and Public Opinion Polls in the Soviet Union.

It was not until the sixties that the concept of «public opinion» (obshchestven- noe mnenie) as a sociological phenomenon meriting analysis and perhaps differing from the accepted socialist doctrines in vigor began to be accepted in the USSR, under the impulsion of social scientists such as Uledov, Grishin and others. Although research in this field has been officially carried on since that time, the present study attempts to demonstrate that it is an «imported concept», adapted to the needs of Marxist-Leninist doctrine.

Economic growth and the emergence of new social strata have engendered economic and social conflicts which in turn require sociological diagnosis.

Although the State remains the spokesman of the public will, a certain degree of autonomy and variety in public opinion are tolerated which modifies the structural relationship between power and the social conscience. To this new approach changes are implicit, first, on the scientific level — the development of empirical research — and second, in socio-economic practice — the perception of social differentiations, reservations regarding the dogma of collective will identity from the point of view of the individual, as well as that of the State.

Via such research, even though limited as it is, the outlines of the society take form; homo sovieticus with his beliefs, stereotypes and behavior appears for the first time. It becomes possible to assess his perception of the world, understand a little better the reasons for his dissidence or his non-conformity.

One of the motives behind the development of public opinion polls today, directed under the aegis of the power in command, is that when the communist stage is attained, public opinion should theoretically be self-disciplined and capable of replacing State machinery.

The working hypothesis of this study is the attempt to ascertain whether research in this area will be impaired and arbitrarily limited if dissent regarding the dogma, which has been existant for more than fifty years, should appear too great.
La fixation des prix en Allemagne de l'Est : les occasions manquées d'une réforme
Authors: Bryson Phillip J.
Published: November 2010

East German Pricing: the Lost Opportunities of Miscarried Reform.

Economists have long evaluated the pricing structures of the socialist countries to be irrational, since pricing institutions in those countries have given rise to rigid, non-scarcity prices. Utilization of the Marxian approach to price formulation with its emphasis on average (rather than marginal) costs of production and a given, "surplus-value" profit markup has combined with other sources of bias in socialist pricing.

Baumol and Bradford have demonstrated that the inevitability of some enterprise deficits and other state revenue needs will imply some kind of taxation on nationalized industries necessitating departures from marginal-cost pricing. Ideally, the resultant "quasi-optimal" prices will deviate from marginal values in magnitudes inversely related to the elasticity of demand.

In the 1960s, East Germany initiated a formal discussion on the requirements for successful price reforms, began a massive price revision and introduced its "New Economic System". It appeared, before the arrival of this decade, that new approaches to the problem of price formulation, greater decentralization of price-setting prerogatives, and more substantial reliance upon the price mechanism to control consumption patterns could bring about a more favorable price structure and more favorable institutions in East Germany. At the height of the reform era there seemed to be tendencies (1) to pay more attention to considerations of demand elasticity, (2) to encourage profit maximization in greater segments of industry, (3) to seek greater social revenues for public purposes through turnover taxes (applied with an eye to price elasticity of demand) and (4) to use the price mechanism to direct consumption patterns. These trends gave the appearance of a tâtonnement process toward pricing practices reminiscent of the Baumol- Bradford "quasi-optimality" theory.

By 1970 the G.D.R. had begun to despair of their system of economic reforms. Insufficiently developed conceptually, and incompletely and inconsistently implemented, reform measures provided only disappointing outcomes. As the competition for investment resources (arising from the disparity of structural preferences of managers and planners) began to threaten central control over aggregate development processes, the reform endeavor was largely abandoned. Pricing discretion was restored to the Office of Pricing of the Ministerial Council, and the flow of economic literature on pricing essentially ceased.