Presence Of Forms Research Articles

Temporalities of Assembling Transport Systems: Presences and Absences in a Planning Process

Presences and absences, both in material and discursive shapes, provide insights into the social and political dimensions of infrastructures and their planning and implementation process. Taking the case of a transport system in Dar es Salaam (DART), this article illustrates how the bus system exists in a constant (re‑)making by its (non‑)human actors. Due to translations of ideals, social interactions, and negotiations of power and by the presences and absences of material components and appearances, behaviours and discourses DART’s objects temporarily have different shapes. The text concludes with the idea that the various forms of presence and absence – expressed in different scripts – shape the assembling of this technological system.

Temporalities of Assembling Transport Systems: Presences and Absences in an Intermittent Process (revised version)

Present absences and absent presences, both in material and discursive shapes, provide insights into the social and political dimensions of infrastructures and their processes of planning, implementing and stabilising. Taking the case of a transport system in Dar es Salaam (DART) whose planning and implementation process is highly intermittent, this article illustrates how the bus system exists in a constant (re‑)making by its (non‑)human actors. Due to translations of ideals, social interactions, and negotiations of power and by the presences and absences of material components and appearances, behaviours and discourses DART’s objects temporarily have different shapes. The text concludes with the idea that the various forms of presence and absence – expressed in different scripts – shape the technological system and intermittent process.

The Poetic Timestamp of Digital Erotic Objects

Upon describing the temporal qualities of analog and digital platforms existent during copresent and online psychotherapy, I propose that the medium of interaction influences the manner by which analog and digital erotic introjects are represented and used, lending different textures to erotic transference. The digital cyberobject is introjected as searchable rather than losable such that the transference becomes less about indexing the past in narrative than articulating novel forms of presence. The two types of introjects splice together in reveries that take a mixed analog/digital character during our efforts to formulate erotic experience.

Collagen XIII secures pre- and postsynaptic integrity of the neuromuscular synapse.

Both transmembrane and extracellular cues, one of which is collagen XIII, regulate the formation and function of the neuromuscular synapse, and their absence results in myasthenia. We show that the phenotypical changes in collagen XIII knock-out mice are milder than symptoms in human patients, but the Col13a1-/- mice recapitulate major muscle findings of congenital myasthenic syndrome type 19 and serve as a disease model. In the lack of collagen XIII neuromuscular synapses do not reach full size, alignment, complexity and function resulting in reduced muscle strength. Collagen XIII is particularly important for the preterminal integrity, and when absent, destabilization of the motor nerves results in muscle regeneration and in atrophy especially in the case of slow muscle fibers. Collagen XIII was found to affect synaptic integrity through binding the ColQ tail of acetylcholine esterase. Although collagen XIII is a muscle-bound transmembrane molecule, it also undergoes ectodomain shedding to become a synaptic basal lamina component. We investigated the two forms' roles by novel Col13a1tm/tm mice in which ectodomain shedding is impaired. While postsynaptic maturation, terminal branching and neurotransmission was exaggerated in the Col13a1tm/tm mice, the transmembrane form's presence sufficed to prevent defects in transsynaptic adhesion, Schwann cell invagination/retraction, vesicle accumulation and acetylcholine receptor clustering and acetylcholinesterase dispersion seen in the Col13a1-/- mice, pointing to the transmembrane form as the major conductor of collagen XIII effects. Altogether, collagen XIII secures postsynaptic, synaptic and presynaptic integrity, and it is required for gaining and maintaining normal size, complexity and functional capacity of the neuromuscular synapse.

Nanocellulose-assisted low-temperature synthesis and supercapacitor performance of reduced graphene oxide aerogels

Abstract Here, we have synthesized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels using a nanocellulose-assisted low temperature (less than 500 °C) thermal treatment route where nanocelluloses promote the gelation of graphene oxide (GO) solution that benefits the fabrication of GO aerogels from low concentration dispersion (2.85 mg mL−1), and after their thermal decomposition the residual nanofibers act as spacer both prevent the re-stacking of graphene sheets and integrate with rGO sheets to give a particular kind of carbon-based aerogel along with numerous defects (holes). Thermal decomposition of nanocellulose appears to be complete beyond 350 °C thus its presence in form of amorphous carbon nanofibers in rGO sheets. The rGO aerogels synthesized at 350 °C provide the best balance in terms of wide interlayer spacing, high content of CO-type functional groups, and high defects content. This translates into a high discharge capacitance of 270 F g−1 at a current rate of 1 A g−1 for compressed rGO aerogels without any binder or conductive additive. Detailed electrochemical tests using 6 M KOH electrolyte establish the fact that pseudocapacitance component has substantial contribution towards the overall capacitance; closely approaching the contribution of the double layer capacitance that is the most dominant capacitance component.

Simultaneous estimation of Ofloxacin and Cefixime in tablet form in presence of the inactive Ofloxacin USP Related compound A

A sensitive, precise and simple HPLC method have been developed, optimized and validated for the determination of Ofloxacin and Cefixime in presence of the inactive Ofloxacin USP Related compound A. Ofloxacin Related compound A is stated to be inactive thus its presence in the preparation will affect its potency. An isocratic separation was achieved using hypersil BDS C18 column with flow rate of 0.8mLmin−1 and UV detection at 294nm. The mobile phase consists of 0.1M ammonium acetate (pH 6.0 adjusted using glacial acetic acid) and acetonitrile in the ratio of (35:65, v/v). The method was linear over the range of 1.00×10−4mgmL−1 to 0.1mgmL−1 (r=0.9999), 2.00×10−4mgmL−1 to 0.1mgmL−1 (r=0.9998) and 1.00×10−4mgmL−1 to 0.01mgmL−1 (r=0.9999) for Ofloxacin, Cefixime and Ofloxacin Related compound A, respectively. The limit of detection and quantitation for Ofloxacin Related compound A are 2.45×10−6 and 7.45×10−6μgmL−1, respectively.The suggested method was validated in compliance with the ICH guidelines and was successfully applied for the quantification of Ofloxacin, Cefixime and Ofloxacin Related compound A in their commercial tablets. The method was also statistically compared to reference methods with no significant differences in performance.

Developing the Oral Skill in Online English Courses Framed by the Community of Inquiry

Over the last decade, the community of inquiry framework has proved successful for online learning experiences in diverse disciplines, although studies in the teaching of English as a foreign language arena are still scarce. In this vein, this article reports a preliminary study about the development of the oral skill in a Basic English online course, uncovering the relationship between the community of inquiry framework (with its three forms of presence: teaching, cognitive, and social) and some indicators of the oral skill. Findings, based on learners’ perceptions, confirmed the existence of such framework and suggest that the teaching presence fosters grammar, accuracy, and vocabulary. Discussion of findings, limitations of the study and future possible research actions conclude this report.

Deciding equivalence with sums and the empty type

The logical technique of focusing can be applied to the λ-calculus; in a simple type system with atomic types and negative type formers (functions, products, the unit type), its normal forms coincide with βη-normal forms. Introducing a saturation phase gives a notion of quasi-normal forms in presence of positive types (sum types and the empty type). This rich structure let us prove the decidability of βη-equivalence in presence of the empty type, the fact that it coincides with contextual equivalence, and with set-theoretic equality in all finite models.

Structural transition of kidney cystatin induced by silicon dioxide nanoparticles: An implication for renal diseases

Nanotechnology is one of the fastest growing fields of science owing to use of nanomaterials in industries and medicine across the globe. Currently silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) are one of the most popular nanomaterials owing to their inert toxicity profile and hence exposure to SiO2 nanoparticles is on the increase. Cystatins are thiol proteinase inhibitors (TPIs) ubiquitously distributed in plants and animals and they are now at the heed of a number of normal and pathological conditions and shouldn’t be regarded solely as TPIs. Up till now many studies have targeted the potential toxicity of NPs on pulmonary target; although little focus is given to kidney which is a secondary target organ. The objective of this work is to study the structural changes in buffalo kidney cystatin (BKC) induced by SiO2 NPs. UV and Fluorescence spectroscopy shows BKC transformation from native to non-native form evident by decreased absorbance and increased fluorescence. FTIR and CD spectroscopy further confirmed secondary structure disruption of BKC. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and microscopy were resorted to visualize interaction between SiO2 NPs and BKC. Comet assay and MTT assay were utilized to perceive the toxicity of SiO2 NPs incubated BKC; decreased cell viability clearly suggesting toxicity of SiO2 NPs incubated BKC. Our work suggests that SiO2 NPs have a deteriorating effect on BKC thereby causing a decrease in its ability to inhibit papain and hence less functionality. This study also shows that BKC transforms to a toxic non-native form in presence of SiO2 NPs.

Free hydrogen-hydrocarbon gases from the Lovozero loparite deposit (Kola Peninsula, NW Russia)

The Lovozero nepheline-syenite massif in the north-eastern Fennoscandian Shield, well-known to mineralogists and petrologists, is also interesting with its high contents of hydrogen-hydrocarbon gases in different forms of presence, which is untypical of magmatic rocks. The article systematizes and generalizes little known and unpublished data on the composition, location, character and scale (intensity) of the free gases (FG) emission within a major loparite deposit confined to the massif. СН4 and Н2 are dominant in the FG composition. The molecular weight distribution of hydrocarbon gas components corresponds to the classic Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution with a steep gradient. Carbon and hydrogen of the gases are characterized by rather heavy isotope compositions, becoming lighter from the transition of methane to ethane. The FG volume has been estimated as 0.2–1.6 m3 of gas per 1 m3 of undisturbed rock. The gas recovery of walls in underground workings has been up to 0.2 ml/min/m2 for СН4 and 0.5 ml/min/m2 for Н2 in several years after their heading. The discharge of some shot holes that characterizes the gas emission intensity (1.8–2 m deep and 40 mm in diameter) is up to 300 ml/min, but its 1–2 orders lesser values dominate. The discharge time in some sections varies from several days to 20 years. The overpressure of gases towards the air mainly does not increase 100 hPa, sometimes reaching 120 kPa. It has been defined, that FG distribute irregularly (at the distance of centimeters to hundreds of meters) and their composition and particularly emission intensity perform different temporal fluctuations. The abiogenic origin of FG has been proposed, with FG appearing as a mixture of gases in various proportions: (a) gases remaining in microfissures at the massif's consolidation after the capture by fluid inclusions and those lost during degassing and (b) gases occurred in mechanic-chemical reactions, partial emission and concentration of occluded and diffusely scattered gases under the unstable stress-strain mode of the rock mass. Combustible and explosive hydrogen-hydrocarbon FG can accumulate in the air of underground workings and cause accidents, disrupting the workflow. The background for using characteristics of spatial-temporal variations of the FG emission as precursors of dangerous geodynamic phenomena has been indicated.

Future life will be synthetic: About the emergence of engineered life, its promises, prophecies and the formal causalities needed to make sense of them

This article proposes to reflect on the promises of synthetic biology through fieldwork carried out in 2014–15 with a group of bioartists in Helsinki, Finland. It narrates the author’s experience of three one-week gatherings leading to the production of a piece titled Your Synthetic Future, an ironic apparatus appearing as an oracular machine. This reflection leads us to understand that the true originality of synthetic biology resides in its ability to breach the once clear and impenetrable frontier that has kept apart the analogue and digital modes of existence. In turn, this renewed understanding of what is at stake with the current state of the field of synthetic biology leads us to focus on the unfolding of new forms of presence across the analogue/digital divide. It argues for a renewed perspective on causality that was first intuited by Marshall McLuhan as an original insight on the question of the medium.

Conventional and microwave-assisted synthesis, characterization, DFT calculations, in vitro DNA binding and cleavage studies of potential chemotherapeutic diorganotin(IV) mandelates

Diorganotin(IV) complexes of the general formulae {[R2Sn(L)]2O}(R=Me (1), n-Bu (2), and n-Oct (3); L=anion of mandelic acid) and {[R2Sn(L)]2Cl2}(R=Ph (4)) have been synthesized by conventional thermal method (1a–3a), except 4a and by microwave-assisted reactions (1b–4b). The elemental analysis, IR, NMR (1H, 13C and 119Sn) and ESI-MS/DART-mass spectral studies revealed that dimeric 1:1 complexes with SnOSn bridges (1–3) are formed possessing distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry around the Sn atoms, except 4b which exhibits octahedral geometry with SnClSn bridges. The proposed geometries have been validated by density functional theory calculations. Thermal behavior of 1b–4b, studied by using thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) techniques, indicated that all except 4b are stable up to 200°C. In vitro interaction studies of 1b–4b with CT-DNA were performed by UV–Vis, fluorescence titrations and results suggest that the complexes are binding to DNA via an intercalative mode. The binding affinity and quenching ability were quantified in terms of intrinsic binding constant (Kb) (3.74×104M−1, 2b; >3.67×104M−1, 4b; >3.03×104M−1, 3b; >0.72×104M−1, 1b) and Stern-Volmer quenching constant (Ksv) (2.16×105, 2b; >1.73×105, 4b; >1.66×1053b; >1.51×105, 1b) which showed high binding affinity of 2b with CT-DNA. The cleavage studies of 1b–4b with pBR322 plasmid DNA was ascertained by agarose gel electrophoresis. They exhibited effective cleavage of supercoiled plasmid DNA into its nicked form (1b, 3b, 4b) and even into its linear form in presence of 2b.

New Metastable Packing Polymorph of Donepezil Grown on Stable Polymorph Substrates

We obtained a new metastable packing polymorph of donepezil, designated as form K, epitaxially grown on substrate crystals of the more stable form F, or solely by increasing the concentration. Although donepezil is a highly flexible molecule, crystal structure analysis reveals that the molecular conformation is the same as in form F. Donepezil does not form hydrogen bonds and has no appreciable electrostatic interactions. Form K crystals can be grown homogeneously, i.e., without seeds, from highly supersaturated solutions (S > 12). However, in the presence of form F substrates, formation of form K is observed at supersaturations as low as S ≈ 2–3. This suggests form F can serve as a template to form K crystals. Both polymorphs share a structurally identical, common feature of inversion-related molecules. The structures differ in their translational symmetry; hence, they are packing polymorphs. By superimposing the structures and conducting structure fragment calculation using the XPac program, a common tw...

Determination of dimenhydrinate and cinnarizine in combined dosage form in presence of cinnarizine impurity

Three accurate, sensitive and time saving spectrophotometric methods have been developed and validated for determination of mixture of dimenhydrinate (DMH) and cinnarizine (CIN) in presence of cinnarizine impurity (1-(diphenylmethyl)piperazine) (IMP). In method A; dimenhydrinate was determined by measuring 1 D amplitudes at 292.0 nm while cinnarizine and its impurity were determined by 1 DD method at 256.2 and 219.6 nm, respectively, using standard spectrum of 20 µg/mL of dimenhydrinate as a divisor. Method B depends on dividing spectrum of ternary mixture by standard spectrum of 20 µg/mL of dimenhydrinate and then cinnarizine and its impurity were determined in the obtained ratio spectrum by ratio difference method using the difference between 219.0 and 237.2 nm and between 230.0 and 264.0 nm, respectively. On the other hand dimenhydrinate could be determined by dividing spectrum of ternary mixture by standard spectrum of 20 µg/mL of cinnarizine and then it were determined at the obtained ratio spectrum by ratio difference method using the difference between 216.8 and 232.8 nm. Method C is the mean cantering of ratio spectra method (MCR) where the amplitudes at 234.8, 240.0 and 233.6 nm in the second mean centering ratio spectra were used for determination of dimenhydrinate, cinnarizine and its impurity, respectively. The developed methods were validated according to ICH guidelines regarding good accuracy and precision, and they were successfully applied to pharmaceutical formulation and laboratory prepared mixtures. The results were statistically compared with those obtained by reported method and no significant difference was found.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children Sexsual Abuse

The aim of this study is to research deeply on the post-traumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children. Proving the presence of forms of the disorder in children and the their treatment mode will be in the center of the study. The methods used to conduct this study will be a literature review on the focused issue referring to reviews of articles which focus on the defined peer group. For the purpose we have selected only articles focusing on sexually abused children treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. The results of the study reveal that all forms of abuse could bring consequences on children, even more, post-traumatic stress is the language with which the victims communicate their sorrow in the most typical mode. Sexual abuse as one of the major forms of abuse, is among the most severe which cause irreversible consequences over a category of children. In conclusion we can assume that post-traumatic stress in sexually abused children might appear through the most severe forms of psychiatric and psychological symptoms and for the recovery and rehabilitation of the child in many cases the pharmacological treatment seems as the best choice for the child. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3s1p455

Ghost Dance: Derrida, Stiegler, and Film as Phantomachia

Against Bernard Stiegler’s ontological claim, following Roland Barthes, that in photography the photographic referent “was there,” present at one time in the past, Jacques Derrida proposes in Ken McMullen’s film Ghost Dance that the photographic referent is self-divided and “never had the form of presence,” making film “a phantomachia.”

Flexible Use of Mutual Exclusivity in Word Learning

ABSTRACTFrom an early age, children apply the mutual exclusivity (ME) assumption, demonstrating preference for one-to-one mappings between words and their referents. However, for the acquisition of referentially overlapping terms, ME use must be suspended. We test whether contextual cues to intended meaning, in the form of presence of a speaker, may be critical for flexible ME application. Four- to five-year-old children were tested on two word learning tasks requiring flexible use of ME, respectively. In Experiment 1, children saw video recordings of the speakers introducing the novel labels. All children successfully applied ME and succeeded in accepting lexical overlap. In Experiment 2, with audio recordings of speakers only, children were unsuccessful at accepting lexical overlap. Thus, flexible use of ME relies on a developing ability to utilise the contextual information present in communicative interactions.

Foreign direct investment in transition economies: the regional structure and peculiarities of development in Belarus

The spatial structure of the world economy is divided into countries of economic center,semi-periphery and periphery. Changes of the spatial structure of the world economy and globalizationtrends are marked. A key element of the growing of globalization process is foreign direct investment(FDI) and activities of transnational corporations. Declining trend in foreign direct investmentis marked in conditions of instability of world economic development, shifts in FDI regional structureand their impact on countries with developing market economies. On the basis of the regional monitoringof the foreign direct investment the CIS market is described, in particular of the countries ofthe Customs Union and Belarus. The volumes of the Belarusian direct investment abroad are outlined,the forms of presence in foreign markets are indicated, the development of the commodity distributionnetworks, created by Belarusian enterprises and geography of inflow and outflow of FDI, is analyzed.The directions of improving the investment climate in Belarus and improve its position in the worldrankings are marked.

‘SHOOT HIM NOW!!!’ Anonymity, accountability and online spectatorship in Wafaa Bilal's Domestic Tension

This essay seeks to examine new modes of spectatorship in intermedial performance art. Using Wafaa Bilal's durational performance Domestic Tension as a case study, it explores how Internet participation reconfigures notions of presence, community and the individual. Bilal spent 31 days under video surveillance in a gallery room with a remotely controlled paintball gun. Participants of the performance could take part by either visiting the gallery or a website, from where they could steer and fire the paintball gun. The website also contained a chat room, which gave willing participants the chance to enter into a conversation with the artist and other online participants. Bilal staged his performance to draw attention to a growing disconnect between those perpetrating violence and those being subjected to it. By doing so he simultaneously created a platform for human connection and discussion to occur. This performance serves as an example to show what agency and identity look like in a digitally present society, and how they are challenged by various modes of perception resulting from different forms of presence. I analyze these online spectators’ potentiality for action within the set-up of the performance in terms of four vectors: namely, telepresence, communal spectatorship, virtual subjectivity and the posthuman. All of these respectively speak to the online participant's relationship with the performer, other participants, their own subjectivity, and the gun itself. Ultimately, I argue that action-based participation and anonymous interaction can offer the spectators a place to reflect on modern surveillance and warfare technologies.

Quantum effects in topological and Schwarzschild de Sitter brane: Aspects of torsion on $(D\!{\bar D})_4$-brane

We investigate an effective torsion curvature in a second-order formalism underlying a two-form world-volume dynamics in a D5-brane. In particular, we consider the two form in presence of a background (open string) metric in a U(1) gauge theory. Interestingly the formalism may be viewed via a noncoincident pair of [Formula: see text]-brane with a global Nereu–Schwarz (NS) two form on an anti-brane and a local two form on a brane. The energy–momentum tensor is computed in the six-dimensional (6D) conformal field theory (CFT). It is shown to source a metric fluctuation on a vacuum created pair of [Formula: see text]-brane at a cosmological horizon by the two-form quanta in the gauge theory. The emergent gravity scenario is shown to describe a low-energy (perturbative) string vacuum in 6D with a nonperturbative (NP) quantum correction by a lower (p < 5) dimensional Dp-brane or an anti-brane in the formalism. A closed string exchange between a pair of [Formula: see text]-brane, underlying a closed/open string duality, is argued to describe the Einstein vacuum in a low-energy limit. We obtain topological de Sitter (TdS) and Schwarzschild brane universe in six dimensions. The brane/anti-brane geometries are analyzed to explore some of their characteristic and thermal behaviors in presence of the quantum effects. They reveal an underlying nine-dimensional type IIA and IIB superstring theories on S1.