Pre-existing Film Research Articles

Navigating Stereotypes: Portrayal of Hinduism in OTT Web Series, 2018-2020

OTT or “over-the-top” platforms, which facilitate the distribution of film and TV content over the internet, have gained tremendous popularity in India in the last few years. In addition to streaming pre-existing films and TV shows, they produce new original content in the form of web series and other newer formats. Given that the OTT segment is not subject to governmental regulations, content creators can offer varied and innovative content tailored to distinct audience demographics. In addition to entertainment, Indian web series makers also focus on social issues likes patriarchy, racism, inter-religious conflicts, sexuality among others, and portray their stories against the backdrop of certain religious symbolisms, customs and markers. Often, however, in their zeal to locate social evils in the prevalent social milieu, they end up negatively stereotyping Hindus. Through a critical analysis of three popular web series between 2018-2020, this paper investigates the representations of different dimensions of Dharmic religions, especially Hinduism. Using a structural film theoretic approach, the paper specifically attempts to explore to what degree the portrayal of Hindu symbolism and motifs reinforce or dispel specific negative stereotypes against Hindus. The analysis uncovers a consistent trend of negative portrayal of Hinduism in terms of structural elements like camera composition, facial expressions, body language, rituals, and other elements. While absence of regulation allows for greater creative freedom in the OTT space, it also opens the door to content that can be offensive to certain communities, and hence there is a need for responsible content creation by web series developers.

Polyphonie als Nymphomanie

Using Bach's »Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ« in NYMPHOMANIAC as an example and drawing on metaphor theory, the paper shows that pre-existing music in film comprises simultaneously a cinematic recontextualization of music and its musical editing for the film. Following this, the idea of an »inexistent pre-existence« is presented as a corrective antithesis to the conventional designations of this phenomenon such as »pre-composed music«, »pre-existing music« or »musical quotations«. The concept of »inexistent pre-existence« intends to correct the approach whereby pre-existing film music is reduced to its extra-filmic text (musical scores or extant musical records). Instead, the paper argues for understanding and focusing on the differences between textual variants as a productive music-analytical challenge.

High-speed impact of micron-sized diesel drop trains—Splashing dynamics, secondary droplet formation, and effects of pre-existing film thickness

This work investigates surface impingement of monodispersed diesel drop trains using computational simulations. The three-dimensional simulations include high-speed impact of micrometer-sized fuel drops onto initially dry and wetted stainless steel substrates. The drop size and impact velocity are representative of fuel injection conditions in internal combustion engines (ICEs). The drop trains serve as a simplified representation of fuel spray. To accurately capture the film that naturally develops on initially dry substrates, a dynamic diesel-stainless steel contact angle model was developed using experiments of single drop impact under ICE representative temperature. Simulations are presented for a highly splashing case and the effects of a pre-existing film on splashing dynamics were investigated, including the temporal evolution of splashed mass and film thickness. It was concluded that for thin films, the effect of pre-existing film thickness is less significant than in single drop impingement. Secondary droplet characterization was performed on simulation results, leading to instantaneous and time-averaged distributions of secondary droplet size, velocity magnitude, and trajectory angle. It was found that for each drop impingement, approximately 58% of the splashed mass is from the impinging drop itself, while the remainder of the splashed mass is composed of film liquid. From a high resolution case, details of secondary droplet formation are observed and three distinct phases of secondary droplet formation are identified. The detailed analysis of drop train impingement under engine-relevant conditions serves as a first step toward a robust understanding of fuel impingement and the development of cleaner and more efficient ICEs.

Interfacial phenomena in impact of droplet array on liquid film

This paper studied interfacial phenomena associated with droplet array impacting on liquid film with aid of high-speed photography. Aside from liquid humps following droplet array coalescing with liquid film under low impact velocity, crowns and an uprising central liquid sheet can be observed under high velocity. This central sheet finally evolves into two liquid columns as its middle part descends in advance, and its lifetime is improved by increasing the pre-existing film thickness. The time delay between two droplets leads to the site of central sheet being close to the leading droplet impact point, and the central sheet is tilted toward the trailing droplet rather than evolving vertically. Droplet vertical or horizontal spacing and liquid film thickness have a non-monotonous effect on the crown height, while impact velocity poses a positive effect. The crown diameter has a weak dependence on droplet vertical spacing and film thickness. While horizontal spacing has a positive effect on the crown diameter, impact velocity presents a negative effect in the later stage, which can be attributed to the inward tilting of crown wall. The height of the central sheet increases monotonously with decreasing droplet vertical or horizontal spacing. Impact velocity and film thickness produce positive effects on the evolution of central sheet height. This study provides a fundamental understanding for applications involving droplets impact.

Surfactant-induced spreading of nanoparticles is inhibited on mucus mimetic surfaces that model native lung conditions

We investigated the ability of surfactant-induced spreading to promote nanoparticle distribution on model mucus hydrogels. The hydrogels were formulated with viscoelastic properties and surface tensions that match those of native lung mucus. Nanoparticle-containing droplets with or without surfactant were deposited on the mucus surface and spreading patterns were monitored by time-course fluorescence imaging. Overall, surfactant-induced spreading of nanoparticles required an appropriate balance between Marangoni forces and viscoelastic subphase resistance. Spreading was enhanced on bare gels by increasing the concentration of surfactant in the droplets or reducing the viscoelastic properties of the subphase. However, with a pre-existing film of pulmonary surfactant on the mucus surface, spreading was dramatically inhibited as the surface tension gradient between the droplets and the surrounding subphase decreased. A complete lack of spreading was observed at surface tensions that matched those in the tracheobronchial region of the lungs, even with full-concentration Infasurf. These studies demonstrate that the magnitude of spreading on lung mucus-like surfaces is limited by native mucosal properties.

Role of Reversed Austenite Behavior in Determining Microstructure and Toughness of Advanced Medium Mn Steel by Welding Thermal Cycle.

Reversed austenite transformation behavior plays a significant role in determining the microstructure and mechanical properties of heat affected zones of steels, involving the nucleation and growth of reversed austenite. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) was used in the present work to in situ observe the reversed austenite transformation by simulating welding thermal cycles for advance 5Mn steels. No thermal inertia was found on cooling process after temperature reached the peak temperature of 1320 °C. Therefore, too large grain was not generated in coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ). The pre-existing film retained austenite in base metal and acted as additional favorable nucleation sites for reversed austenite during the thermal cycle. A much great nucleation number led to the finer grain in the fine-grained heat-affected zone (FGHAZ). The continuous cooling transformation for CGHAZ and FGHAZ revealed that the martensite was the main transformed product. Martensite transformation temperature (Tm) was higher in FGHAZ than in CGHAZ. Martensite transformation rate was higher in FGHAZ than in CGHAZ, which is due to the different grain size and assumed atom (Mn and C) segregation. Consequently, the softer martensite was measured in CGHAZ than in FGHAZ. Although 10~11% austenite retained in FGHAZ, the possible Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) effect at −60 °C test temperature may lower the impact toughness to some degree. Therefore, the mean absorbed energy of 31, 39 and 42 J in CGHAZ and 56, 45 and 36 J in FGHAZ were exhibited at the same welding heat input. The more stable retained austenite was speculated to improve impact toughness in heat-affected zone (HAZ). For these 5Mn steels, reversed austenite plays a significant role in affecting impact toughness of heat-affected zones more than grain size.

Numerical analysis and insight of drop impacting dynamics upon a liquid film

A single liquid drop impinging onto very thin spherical films was observed with the aid of a high-speed digital camera at $$10^{4}$$ frames per second. The liquid sheet produced at a high impact velocity was mainly concerned. Also more features and insights of the sheet were numerically studied using the coupled level set and volume of fluid method, considering effects of four non-dimensional parameters: Reynolds number, Weber number, dimensionless film thickness and drop–film curvature ratio. Results reveal that splashing can be suppressed by decreasing Reynolds number and Weber number. An increase in both the dimensionless film thickness and the film–drop curvature ratio is adverse to splashing onset. In addition, these four parameters can also greatly affect the geometrical shape and diameter of the sheet. In the second part, the air gap generated in the sheet–film contact neck region was investigated. It was noted that gas and liquid vortices produced near the liquid film surface render the film liquid to sink to form the air gap. Meanwhile, liquid accumulates inside the liquid sheet base gradually. Analysis in the velocity field suggests that the very thin preexisting film should be responsible for the vortex generation and the curvature ratio has minor effects on it, which is confirmed quantitatively as well.

Catechol-derived sealant biomaterials at air-water interfaces

Catechol-derived sealant biomaterials at air-water interfaces

Trespassing Hollywood: Property, Space, and the “Appropriation Film”

In the two decades since the first exhibition of Douglas Gordon's 24 Hour Psycho (1993), “appropriation”—a mainstay of visual art since the mid-twentieth century—has also become a mainstay of experimental filmmaking and artists' film and video. Montages, collages, found-footage documentaries, essay films, and diverse other works made from pre-existing moving images now feature regularly at film festivals, in museum cinematheques, and in art galleries. Yet beyond the protective walls of these cultural institutions, a global copyright war is raging. Over recent years, media owners have become ever more assertive of their intellectual property rights, while activists have become ever bolder in their demands for radical open access. How have film and video artists responded to these differing views about what constitutes our cultural commons? This article explores the question by focusing on two test cases: Thom Andersen's essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) and Christian Marclay's video collage The Clock (2011). Both involve unlicensed reuse of pre-existing film and television material. However, in their overall conception, methods of production, and distribution and exhibition, Andersen's and Marclay's works provide opposing models for how to engage with media property. The article concludes by suggesting that the two works' differences raise urgent ethical question about how (and where) contemporary artists' film and video is exhibited.

A model for subglacial flooding through a preexisting hydrological network during the rapid drainage of supraglacial lakes

AbstractIncreasingly large numbers of supraglacial lakes form and drain every summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Some of these lakes drain rapidly within the timescale of a few hours, and the vertical discharge of water during these events may find a preexisting film of water potentially within a distributed drainage system of linked cavities. Here we present a model for subglacial flooding applied specifically to such circumstances. One of many interesting results we find is that water flows in from the far field prior to the arrival of flooding. We systematically evaluate the effect of initial ice/bed opening on the degree of perturbation to the subglacial system. Of particular importance, we find that floods propagate much faster and vertical displacements are much greater for larger openings. For 10 and 1 cm of initial opening, for example, floods travel about 68% and 50% farther than in the fully coupled ice/bed scenario after 2 h of drainage, respectively. For the same choices of initial opening, the elastostatic displacement at the injection point is about 1.39 and 1.26 times that of the fully coupled scenario. Using the framework with a preexisting water film results in avoiding the pressure singularity that is inherent to classical hydrofracture models, thus opening an avenue for integrating the likes of our model within continuum subglacial hydrological models. Furthermore, we foresee that the theory presented can be used to potentially infer subglacial hydrological conditions from surface observables.

Physical Characterization of Cathodically-Activated Corrosion Filaments on Magnesium Alloy AZ31B

In this study, the filiform-like corrosion behavior of Mg alloy AZ31B was characterized using analytical microanalysis. Recent electrochemical measurements have shown that the corrosion filaments on AZ31B support enhanced cathodic reaction kinetics, but there has been little strong physical evidence published to explain this behavior. Hence, the specific aim of the investigation was to contribute to the understanding of the physical origin of the “cathodic activation” of the corrosion filaments. Highlights of this investigation include the presence of through-thickness cracks within the corrosion filaments, Al-Mn particles (identified as Al11Mn4 with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) quantification) in the preexisting films and filament corrosion products, and a significant enrichment of Zn at the corrosion filament/metal interface after aging of the filament. Diffraction patterns of the corrosion filaments indicated they were composed of nanocrystalline magnesium oxide (MgO), which was suggested...

Plasma electrolytic oxidation of an Al-Cu-Li alloy in alkaline aluminate electrolytes: A competition between growth and dissolution for the initial ultra-thin films

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of an Al-Cu-Li alloy has been carried out with a pulsed-bipolar current regime in alkaline sodium aluminate electrolytes. Thick coatings can be developed under plasma discharges in electrolytes of 5g l−1 NaAlO2+1g l−1 KOH and 24g l−1 NaAlO2+1g l−1 KOH. In contrast, the alloy exhibits a conventional anodization behavior with the occurrence of galvanoluminescence in concentrated aluminate electrolyte of 32g l−1 NaAlO2+1g l−1 KOH, resulting in extremely thin nanoporous films and macropits on the alloy surface. It is proposed that, in the latter case, chemical attack from the electrolyte caused severer thinning of the original oxide film, paticularly at the weak sites of anodic constituent particles or precipitates, which then triggers strong field-assisted dissolution of the oxide film, preventing the further growth of the coating. However, after the formation of a thin pre-existing film(∼ 1-2μm) on the alloy in less concentrated electrolytes, then thick coatings develop more rapidly in 32g l−1 NaAlO2+1g l−1 KOH, since the field-assisted dissolution is only prevalent in extremely thin films and retreats quickly as the film thickens. Long-term immersion in aluminate electrolytes can eliminate all the weak points on the alloy surface and the oxide film is repaired, thus thicker PEO coatings can also be developed in concentrated electrolytes.

A study of a single liquid drop impact on inclined wetted surfaces

Experimental observations concerning various outcomes during a single liquid drop impact on inclined wetted surfaces are performed using a high-speed digital camera. A 30 vol% glycerol/water solution, butanol and heptane are adopted as the fluids. At an impact angle ranging in 28.0°–74.7°, outcomes after impact including spreading, the jet sheet and splashing definitely emerge in succession with the Weber number increasing, whereas both rebound and partial rebound are random through numerous repeatable tests and they can only be observed at smaller impact angle, lower Weber number and higher viscosity. The increment in the Ohnesorge number results in smaller spreading factors, and its effect becomes weak at the small impact angle. The decrement in the impact angle leads to a rising front spreading factor, while the back one shows the opposite trend. In addition, the front spreading factor also can be increased by increasing the Weber number, but the back one varies less. Finally, several three-dimensional simulations are undertaken. Results reveal that the spreading factor in the normal direction can be decreased by reducing the impact angle, whereas the Weber number influences are minor. Also the decrement in the impact angle will enhance the pressure accumulation in the front direction inside the pre-existing film. This research provides some basic particularities for a drop impact on inclined surfaces.

Parallelization of Lattice Boltzmann method using MPI domain decomposition technology for a drop impact on a wetted solid wall

Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is a new attractive computational approach for simulating isothermal multi-phase flows in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). It is based on the kinetic theory and easy to be parallelized. This study aims to analyze the performance of parallel LBM programming for the incompressible two-phase flows at high density and viscosity ratio. For this purpose, a liquid drop impact on a wetted wall with a pre-existing thin film of the same liquid is simulated by using the parallel LBM code. During the simulations, the domain decomposition, data communication and parallelization of the LBM code using the message passing interface (MPI) library have been investigated. The computational results show that the parallel LBM code exhibits a good high performance computing (HPC) on the parallel speed-up.

Recrystallization as a nucleation mechanism for whiskers and hillocks on thermally cycled Sn-alloy solder films

Abstract Direct evidence was obtained for the nucleation of surface grains through recrystallization and their growth into whiskers and hillocks during thermal cycling of Sn-alloy films. Shallow grains with low dislocation densities nucleated at pre-existing film grain boundaries and grew at the expense of deformed parent grains. Micro-diffraction analysis showed that parent grains have a high grain orientation spread, subgrain formation, and high dislocation density. The whisker and hillock grains have different orientations from the parent grains. A crystallographic orientation relationship between a surface defect grain and one of the parent grains was demonstrated with the misorientation axis lying in the active slip planes of the parent grain.

Effect of local NH3/CH4 gas injection on the formation of carbon layers on a limiter surface in the SOL of TEXTOR by means of in situ QMB measurements

Ammonia injection in the afterglow region of the divertor plasma has been proposed for the inhibition of tritium/carbon co-deposits in remote areas of ITER when operated with carbon-based divertor targets. Supporting experiments in the PILOT-PSI divertor simulator plasma device and in a RF methane plasma were presented in the last PSI Conference. In this work we address the effect of ammonia injection in TEXTOR, a limiter tokamak. Mixtures of hydrogenated methane and ammonia were puffed into D plasmas at the Quartz MicroBalance (QMB) location, a lock limiter 7 cm away from the LCFS. The scavenger effect and erosion of the growing or pre-existing films could play a similar role in the observed behavior. In both mechanisms, eroded carbon is mostly converted into HCN. The observed strong erosion opens up the possibility of controlling T inventory in the plasma-exposed surfaces by direct ammonia seeding in ITER plasmas, implying water-free conditions.

The Accelerated Late Adsorption of Pulmonary Surfactant

The rate at which surfactants lower surface tension (γ) during adsorption to an air/water interface normally slows progressively as γ falls. With vesicles of pulmonary surfactant, the slope of the γ-time isotherm initially decreases, but it then becomes steeper just before reaching the equilibrium γ. To determine the mechanisms that produce the accelerated drop in γ, we tested whether the steeper slopes reflected later time or lower γ. Adsorption at constant γ and to preexisting films showed that the steeper slope depended on γ rather than time, indicating that the acceleration resulted from changes in the film rather than in the adsorbing material. Compositional studies tested how removing cholesterol, the anionic phospholipids, and the hydrophobic proteins affected the late acceleration. Only the absence of the proteins eliminated the late adsorption. Vesicles of phospholipid with dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine, however, which, like the surfactant proteins, promotes fusion between vesicles, also demonstrated the accelerated late adsorption. These results suggest that the late acceleration occurs when vesicles that adsorb by fusion with the nascent film can interact more readily with a more densely packed monolayer. (Small angle x-ray diffraction studies conducted at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.)

A double injection ADSA-CSD methodology for lung surfactant inhibition and reversal studies

This paper presents a continuation of the development of a drop shape method for film studies, ADSA-CSD (Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis-Constrained Sessile Drop). ADSA-CSD has certain advantages over conventional methods. The development presented here allows complete exchange of the subphase of a spread or adsorbed film. This feature allows certain studies relevant to lung surfactant research that cannot be readily performed by other means. The key feature of the design is a second capillary into the bulk of the drop to facilitate addition or removal of a secondary liquid. The development will be illustrated through studies concerning lung surfactant inhibition. After forming a sessile drop of a basic lung surfactant preparation, the bulk phase can be removed and exchanged for one containing different inhibitors. Such studies mimic the leakage of plasma and blood proteins into the alveolar spaces altering the surface activity of lung surfactant in a phenomenon called surfactant inhibition. The resistance of the lung surfactant to specific inhibitors can be readily evaluated using the method. The new method is also useful for surfactant reversal studies, i.e. the ability to restore the normal surface activity of an inhibited lung surfactant film by using special additives. Results show a distinctive difference between the inhibition when an inhibitor is mixed with and when it is injected under a preformed surfactant film. None of the inhibitors studied (serum, albumin, fibrinogen, and cholesterol) were able to penetrate a preexisting film formed by the basic preparation (BLES and protasan), while all of them can alter the surface activity of such preparation when mixed with the preparation. Preliminary results show that reversal of serum inhibition can be easily achieved and evaluated using the modified methodology.

Influence of surfactant upon air entrainment hysteresis in curtain coating

The onset of air entrainment for curtain coating onto a pre-wetted substrate was studied experimentally in similar parameter regimes to commercial coating (Re = ρQ/μ = O(1), We = ρQ u c /σ = O(10), Ca = μU/σ = O(1)). Impingement speed and viscosity were previously shown to be critical parameters in correlating air entrainment data with three qualitatively different regimes of hydrodynamic assist identified (Marston et al. in Exp Fluids 42(3):483–488, 2007a). The interaction of the impinging curtain with the pre-existing film also led to a significant hysteretic effect throughout the flow rate-substrate speed parameter space. For the first time, results considering the influence of surfactants are presented in attempt to elucidate the relative importance of surface tension in this inertia-dominated system. The results show quantitative and qualitative differences to previous results with much more complex hysteretic behaviour which has only been reported previously for rough surfaces.

Effect of Pre-Existing Oxide Film on the Electrochemical Fabrication of Nanoporous Alumina Film

Different thickness of barrier-type oxide film was intentionally grown on the Al metal surface and the effect of barrier film on the formation of nanoporous aluminum oxide film during anodization was investigated to control the nanopore structure. Analysis of potential transients during anodization indicated that anodic oxide film is initially overlaid on the barrier film but the anodic film is more facile to dissolve than barrier film. As the thickness of barrier film increases, both nanopore diameter and density decrease but the pore length is irrespective of barrier-film thickness.