14 research outputs found

    Image Processing: towards a System on Chip

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    Nineteenth Annual Conference on Manual Control

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    Postmodernism and historicity : narrative forms in the contemporary novel

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    This study proposes that modernity is constitutively based upon a synchronic temporality which perpetuates the present of the ego. Within this matrix, history is subject to the processes of subjectivization and the `otherness' of the past disappears. Postmodernism, it is argued, designates the attempt to disinter a properly historical thinking, or historicity, from the recursive temporality of the modern. This attempt is predicated upon the retroactive temporality of the future perfect which, whilst also a synchrony, arises from a productive tension between the past, the present and the future. The self-divisive time of the future perfect expedites the discomfiture of the ego and its concomitant subjectivization of the past and, by so doing, registers the historicity of that past. The relation between the modern and the postmodern forms of temporality is expressed by the Lacanian distinction between the imaginary and symbolic orders. It is argued, moreover, that this distinction is manifest in the narrative forms of the contemporary novel. Whilst the modern form of the contemporary novel replicates the structures of an egocentric repletion of synchrony, the postmodern novel displaces this imaginary problematic to the symbolic. By employing a variety of techniques founded upon retroactivity, postmodern novels are thereby shown to foster a disclosure of the structure of historicity. Within this rubric five novels are given extended consideration: William Gibson's Neuromancer, Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and John Banville's Doctor Copernicus

    Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Aesthetics, Possible Worlds of Contemporary Aesthetics Aesthetics Between History, Geography and Media

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    The Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade and the Society for Aesthetics of Architecture and Visual Arts of Serbia (DEAVUS) are proud to be able to organize the 21st ICA Congress on “Possible Worlds of Contemporary Aesthetics: Aesthetics Between History, Geography and Media”. We are proud to announce that we received over 500 submissions from 56 countries, which makes this Congress the greatest gathering of aestheticians in this region in the last 40 years. The ICA 2019 Belgrade aims to map out contemporary aesthetics practices in a vivid dialogue of aestheticians, philosophers, art theorists, architecture theorists, culture theorists, media theorists, artists, media entrepreneurs, architects, cultural activists and researchers in the fields of humanities and social sciences. More precisely, the goal is to map the possible worlds of contemporary aesthetics in Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia. The idea is to show, interpret and map the unity and diverseness in aesthetic thought, expression, research, and philosophies on our shared planet. Our goal is to promote a dialogue concerning aesthetics in those parts of the world that have not been involved with the work of the International Association for Aesthetics to this day. Global dialogue, understanding and cooperation are what we aim to achieve. That said, the 21st ICA is the first Congress to highlight the aesthetic issues of marginalised regions that have not been fully involved in the work of the IAA. This will be accomplished, among others, via thematic round tables discussing contemporary aesthetics in East Africa and South America. Today, aesthetics is recognized as an important philosophical, theoretical and even scientific discipline that aims at interpreting the complexity of phenomena in our contemporary world. People rather talk about possible worlds or possible aesthetic regimes rather than a unique and consistent philosophical, scientific or theoretical discipline

    Estudio de la relación entre los hábitos de vida, las variaciones del ritmo circadiano y los trastornos metabólicos en la obesidad infantil

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    Numerosos estudios realizados en trabajadores del turno de noche evidencian una relación entre la alteración de los ritmos circadianos y los trastornos metabólicos. En paralelo, otras investigaciones realizadas principalmente en modelos animales o en adultos humanos, muestran una relación entre los hábitos de vida, la duración insuficiente y la mala calidad del sueño, y el desarrollo de la obesidad y sus comorbilidades. Sin embargo, se sabe poco sobre el papel que desempeñan estos mecanismos en la actual epidemia de obesidad infantil. Por ello, desarrollamos un estudio de la relación entre los hábitos de vida, los ritmos circadianos de la melatonina y el metabolismo, en el contexto de la obesidad infantil. Como complemento, también estudiamos in vitro el impacto de la melatonina en el ritmo circadiano de la expresión genética de los adipocitos. M&M: Se realizó un estudio transversal y analítico en 203 niños de entre 7 y 16 años, asignados al grupo control o al grupo de sobrepeso y obesidad. Se recogieron las características antropométricas y clínicas, se midieron los marcadores metabólicos e inflamatorios en el plasma. La melatonina se evaluó por inmunoensayo en la saliva que los participantes recogieron en casa en tres momentos 4h antes de dormir, 2h antes de dormir y después de 1h de dormir. Se utilizaron cuestionarios para recoger información sobre los hábitos de vida, el cronotipo y el entorno vital. El estudio in vitro se realizó en adipocitos subcutáneos humanos, después de 24 horas en cultivo con o sin suplemento de melatonina, se extrajo el ARN en cuatro puntos temporales y se cuantificó por rtqPCR para los genes del reloj y los genes metabólicos. Resultados: Se observó una menor tasa de aumento de la melatonina alrededor de la hora del sueño en los niños con sobrepeso y obesidad. Paralelamente, el estudio in vitro demostró que los adipocitos estimulados con melatonina presentan una mayor amplitud en la expresión circadiana de los genes del reloj y los genes metabólicos. En los niños, las correlaciones y los análisis multivariantes mostraron interrelaciones entre variables de todas las categorías: antropometría, clínica, metabolismo, inflamación, ritmos circadianos, cronotipo, hábitos de vida y entorno. Un análisis de agrupación posterior mostró que, entre los individuos del grupo de obesidad, un subgrupo de individuos presentaba una mejor salud metabólica en paralelo a unos hábitos de vida más tempranos y una mayor duración del sueño. Un algoritmo mostró que, entre los parámetros estudiados, la mala calidad y duración del sueño y el retraso en el horario de las comidas eran los predictores más fuertes de la obesidad. Otro algoritmo mostró que la tasa de aumento nocturno de la melatonina era un biomarcador de obesidad tan importante como los marcadores clásicos como la adiponectina, la omentina, la grelina o la glucosa. Discusión: Los presentes hallazgos apoyan que existe, en la obesidad infantil, una relación entre los hábitos de vida, los ritmos circadianos de la melatonina y el metabolismo. Observamos que los cronotipos y los hábitos de vida tardíos, la corta duración del sueño, la mala calidad del sueño y el hecho de comer tarde se asocian con peores resultados de salud metabólica, paralelamente a un aumento alterado de la melatonina nocturna. Además, la presencia de dispositivos de pantalla en el entorno del sueño, así como los bajos niveles de educación de los padres y la situación laboral precaria del padre, aparecen como factores de riesgo para los niños en términos de jetlag social, sueño corto, hábito de vida tardío, pero también de obesidad y sus alteraciones metabólicas. Estos nuevos hallazgos enfatizan la importancia de abordar el sueño, el horario de los hábitos de vida y el entorno vital, en el desarrollo de medidas de prevención y tratamiento de la obesidad.Introduction: Numerous studies on nightshift workers evidence a link between circadian rhythms disruption and metabolic disorders. In parallel, other investigations mainly carried out on animal models or in human adults, show a link between the timing of life habits, insufficient duration and poor quality of sleep, and the development of obesity and its comorbidities. Nevertheless, little is known about the role played by these mechanisms in the current epidemic of childhood obesity. Therefore, we developed a study of the relationship between life habits, circadian rhythms of melatonin, and metabolism, in the context of childhood obesity. In complement, we also studied in vitro the impact of melatonin on the circadian rhythm of the genetic expression of adipocytes. M&M: A transversal and analytical study was performed on 203 children between 7 and 16 years old, assigned to the control group or the overweight and obesity group. Anthropometric and clinical characteristics were collected, metabolic and inflammatory markers were measured in the plasma. Melatonin was assessed by immunoassay in saliva that was collected by the participants at home at three time points: 4h before sleep time, 2h before sleep time and after 1h of sleep. Questionnaires were used to collect information about life habits, chronotype, and life environment. The in vitro study was performed on human subcutaneous adipocytes, after 24h in culture with or without melatonin supplementation, RNA was extracted at four time points and quantified by rtqPCR for clock genes and metabolic genes. Results: A lower increase rate of melatonin around sleep time was observed in children with overweight and obesity. In parallel, the in vitro study showed that adipocytes stimulated with melatonin present a greater amplitude in the circadian expression of clock genes and metabolic genes. In children, correlations and multivariate analysis showed interrelationships between variables from all the different categories: anthropometry, clinic, metabolism, inflammation, circadian rhythms, chronotype, life habits, and environment. A subsequent clustering analysis showed that among the individuals from the obesity group, a subgroup of individuals presented a better metabolic health in parallel of earlier life habits and a longer sleep duration. An algorithm showed that, among the parameters studied, poor sleep quality and duration and late meal timing were the strongest predictors of obesity. Another algorithm showed that melatonin nocturnal increase rate was as much a biomarker of obesity as classic markers such as adiponectin, omentin, ghrelin, or glucose. Discussion: The present findings support that there is, in childhood obesity, a relationship between life habits, circadian rhythms of melatonin and metabolism. We observed that late chronotypes and life habits, short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and eating more in the later part of the day, are associated to poorer metabolic health outcomes, in parallel of an altered nocturnal melatonin rise. Plus, the presence of screen devices in the sleep environment, as well as low education levels of the parents and precarious work situation of the father, appear as risk factors for the children in term of social jetlag, short sleep, late life habit, but also obesity and its metabolic alterations. These new findings emphasize the importance to address sleep, life habits timing, and life environment, in the development of measures of prevention and treatment of obesity

    General Ecology: The New Ecological Paradigm

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    Ecology has become one of the most urgent and lively fields in both the humanities and sciences. In a dramatic widening of scope beyond its original concern with the coexistence of living organisms within a natural environment, it is now recognized that there are ecologies of mind, information, sensation, perception, power, participation, media, behavior, belonging, values, the social, the political… a thousand ecologies. This proliferation is not simply a metaphorical extension of the figurative potential of natural ecology: rather, it reflects the thoroughgoing imbrication of natural and technological elements in the constitution of the contemporary environments we inhabit, the rise of a cybernetic natural state, with its corresponding mode of power. Hence this ecology of ecologies initiates and demands that we go beyond the specificity of any particular ecology: a general thinking of ecology which may also constitute an ecological transformation of thought itself is required. In this ambitious and radical new volume of writings, some of the most exciting contemporary thinkers in the field take on the task of revealing and theorizing the extent of the ecologization of existence as the effect of our contemporary sociotechnological condition: together, they bring out the complexity and urgency of the challenge of ecological thought-one we cannot avoid if we want to ask and indeed have a chance of affecting what forms of life, agency, modes of existence, human or otherwise, will participate-and how-in this planet's future. - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/general-ecology-9781350014695/#sthash.6WXDqoeE.dpu

    Irreversible Noise: The Rationalisation of Randomness and the Fetishisation of Indeterminacy

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    This thesis aims to elaborate the theoretical and practical significance of the concept of noise with regard to current debates concerning realism, materialism, and rationality. The scientific conception of noise follows from the developments of thermodynamics, information theory, cybernetics, and dynamic systems theory; hence its qualification as irreversible. It is argued that this conceptualization of noise is entangled in several polemics that cross the arts and sciences, and that it is crucial to an understanding of their contemporary condition. This thesis draws on contemporary scientific theories to argue that randomness is an intrinsic functional aspect at all levels of complex dynamic systems, including higher cognition and reason. However, taking randomness or noise as given, or failing to distinguish between different descriptive levels, has led to misunderstanding and ideology. After surveying the scientific and philosophical context, the practical understanding of randomness in terms of probability theory is elaborated through a history of its development in the field of economics, where its idealization has had its most pernicious effects. Moving from the suppression of noise in economics to its glorification in aesthetics, the experience of noise in the sonic sense is first given a naturalistic neuro-phenomenological explanation. Finally, the theoretical tools developed over the course of the inquiry are applied to the use of noise in music. The rational explanation of randomness in various specified contexts, and the active manipulation of probability that this enables, is opposed to the political and aesthetic tendencies to fetishize indeterminacy. This multi-level account of constrained randomness contributes to the debate by demystifying noise, showing it to be an intrinsic and functionally necessary condition of reason and consequently of freedom
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