The infinite subiect: the transcendence of subjectivity from Descartes to Derrida.

The aim of this thesis is to describe how the concept of the subject and subjectivity, in its necessary relation to the concept of infinity, is envisaged in the work of Jaques Derrida. His idea of deconstruction has challenged accepted notions of the subject, giving rise to new ways of describing the production of knowledge and meaning. Thus his interpretations of the subject, in its various forms, have been used to construct a representation of the subject which cannot be reduced to its traditional conceptualisation. The thesis consists of a series of "deconstructive" readings based on Derrida's earlier, more theoretical essays on the interpretation of the subject and subjectivity. This set of readings is meant both to describe the logical possibilities of thinking the concept of the subject offered by deconstruction, and to trace the movement of thought that Derrida's early writings instigate. The thesis consists of an introduction which outlines the theoretical problems and approaches to thinking the concept of the subject and subjectivity. The main body comprises four sections, the first being a short conceptual history of the subject from Descartes, Kant and Hegel. The second describes the possibility of establishing a relation of the subject to an objective world, and centres on Husserl's concept of the phenomenological subject. The third describes the possibility of establishing an objective sense in relation to subjective thought, and deals with Foucault's socio-historical account of the Cartesian Cogito. The fourth describes the possibility of providing a true description of the subject's meaning in a reading of Lacan. The thesis concludes with a description of the necessary relation of the concept of the subject to the concept of a transcendent infinity, and how this relation makes possible, and is more "original" than, traditional conceptions of the subject

Mechanisms underlying extremely fast muscle V˙O2 on-kinetics in humans.

The time constant of the primary phase of pulmonary V˙O2 on-kinetics (τp ), which reflects muscle V˙O2 kinetics during moderate-intensity exercise, is about 30 s in young healthy untrained individuals, while it can be as low as 8 s in endurance-trained athletes. We aimed to determine the intramuscular factors that enable very low values of t0.63 to be achieved (analogous to τp , t0.63 is the time to reach 63% of the V˙O2 amplitude). A computer model of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in skeletal muscle was used. Muscle t0.63 was near-linearly proportional to the difference in phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration between rest and work (ΔPCr). Of the two main factors that determine t0.63 , a huge increase in either OXPHOS activity (six- to eightfold) or each-step activation (ESA) of OXPHOS intensity (>3-fold) was needed to reduce muscle t0.63 from the reference value of 29 s (selected to represent young untrained subjects) to below 10 s (observed in athletes) when altered separately. On the other hand, the effect of a simultaneous increase of both OXPHOS activity and ESA intensity required only a twofold elevation of each to decrease t0.63 below 10 s. Of note, the dependence of t0.63 on OXPHOS activity and ESA intensity is hyperbolic, meaning that in trained individuals a large increase in OXPHOS activity and ESA intensity are required to elicit a small reduction in τp . In summary, we postulate that the synergistic action of elevated OXPHOS activity and ESA intensity is responsible for extremely low τp (t0.63 ) observed in highly endurance-trained athletes

A cellulose-based bioassay for the colorimetric detection of pathogen DNA

Cellulose-paper-based colorimetric bioassays may be used at the point of sampling without sophisticated equipment. This study reports the development of a colorimetric bioassay based on cellulose that can detect pathogen DNA. The detection was based on covalently attached single-stranded DNA probes and visual analysis. A cellulose surface functionalized with tosyl groups was prepared by the N,N-dimethylacetamide-lithium chloride method. Tosylation of cellulose was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Sulfhydryl-modified oligonucleotide probes complementary to a segment of the DNA sequence IS6110 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were covalently immobilized on the tosylated cellulose. On hybridization of biotin-labelled DNA oligonucleotides with these probes, a colorimetric signal was obtained with streptavidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase catalysing the oxidation of tetramethylbenzamidine by H2O2. The colour intensity was significantly reduced when the bioassay was subjected to DNA oligonucleotide of randomized base composition. Initial experiments have shown a sensitivity of 0.1 μM. A high probe immobilization efficiency (more than 90 %) was observed with a detection limit of 0.1 μM, corresponding to an absolute amount of 10 pmol. The detection of M. tuberculosis DNA was demonstrated using this technique coupled with PCR for biotinylation of the DNA. This work shows the potential use of tosylated cellulose as the basis for point-of-sampling bioassays.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Using Laguerre functions to improve the tuning and performance of predictive functional control

This paper proposes a novel modification to the predictive functional control (PFC) algorithm to facilitate significant improvements in the tuning efficacy. The core concept is the use of an alternative parameterisation of the degrees of freedom in the PFC law. Building on recent insights into the potential of Laguerre functions in traditional MPC (Rossiter et al., 2010; Wang, 2009), the paper develops an appropriate framework for PFC and then demonstrates that these functions can be exploited to allow easier and more effective tuning in PFC as well as facilitating strong constraint handling properties. The proposed design approach and the associated tuning methodology are developed and their efficacy is demonstrated with a number of numerical examples

Towards an Improved Gain Scheduling Predictive Control Strategy for a Solar Thermal Power Plant

This paper improves a recently proposed gain scheduling predictive control strategy for the ACUREX distributed solar collector field at the Plataforma Solar de Almería, in south-east Spain. Measured disturbances are an integral part of the plant and while simple classical, series and parallel, feedforward approaches have been proposed and used extensively in the literature, the proposed approach incorporates a feedforward systematically into the predictive control strategy by including the effects of the measured disturbances of the ACUREX plant into the predictions of future outputs. Models of the measured disturbances are estimated around a family of operating points directly from input-output data and using a subspace identification method while taking into account the frequency response of the plant. Input-output data are obtained from a validated nonlinear simulation model of the plant rather than the plant itself. The nonlinear simulation model is validated here against measured data obtained from the ACUREX plant and the effectiveness of the proposed control approach is evaluated in the same nonlinear simulation environment. The paper also considers related issues like the significance of sufficient modelling of the measured disturbances of the ACUREX plant and the impact of incorporating the expected future behaviour of a measured disturbance along a given prediction horizon, a theme which has received little attention in the literature

Geographical scales and functions: the case of the Midlands Engine

This paper addresses the question: What functions or activities does it make sense to discharge at a pan-regional level? It addresses this question from the specific perspective of the Midlands Engine. The introductory section outlines the changing nature of interest in regional geographies over time and some key underlying concepts related to them. It also outlines the concept of the Midlands Engine as a pan-region between the regional and national scales. The next section details the geography of the Midlands, setting out its spatial and economic development, highlighting its polycentric nature and associated implications. Attention shifts to boundaries, governance and jurisdiction design in the following section. The final section considers links between functions and activities at different geographical scales and sets out which might be most appropriate at Midlands Engine level

Input shaping for PFC: how and why?

Predictive functional control (PFC) is a highly successful strategy within industry, but for cases with challenging dynamics the most effective tuning approaches are still an active research area. This paper shows how one can deploy some insights from the more traditional model predictive control literature in order to enable systematic tuning and in particular, to ensure that the key PFC tuning parameter, that is the desired closed-loop time constant, is effective. In addition to enabling easier and more effective tuning, the proposed approach has the advantage of being simple to code and thus retaining the simplicity of implementation and tuning that is a key selling point of PFC. This paper focuses on design for open-loop unstable and also processes with significant under-damping in their open-loop behaviour

Computing the autopilot control algorithm using predictive functional control for unstable model

This paper discusses the computing development of a control algorithm using Predictive Functional Control (PFC) for model-based that having one or more unstable poles. One basic Ballistic Missile model (10) is used as an unstable model to formulate the control law algorithm using PFC. PFC algorithm development is computationally simple as a controller and it is not very complicated as the function of a missile will explode as it reaches the target. Furthermore, the analysis and issues of the implementation relating linear discrete-time unstable process are also being discussed. Hence, designed PFC algorithm need to find the suitable tuning parameters as its play an important part of the designing the autopilot controller. Thus, the tuning of the desired time constant, 'I' and small coincidence horizon n1 in a single coincidence point shows that the PFC control law is built better in the dynamic pole of the unstable missile mode. As a result, by using a trajectory set-point, some positive results is presented and discussed as the missile follow its reference trajectory via some simulation using MATLAB 7.0

Digital Storytelling in Adult Education: Toward a Conceptual Framework

Interest in digital storytelling in a multitude of settings has burgeoned in recent years. Although digital storytelling is not new in the world of educational technology, so far it has received little attention in the literature of adult learning. Our aim in this paper is to explore elements of a conceptual framework for the use of digital storytelling in adult education

Wat onthoudt een consument van een tv-commercial? Een kijkje in het brein met neuro-imaging technieken

Met een nieuwe neuro-imaging techniek om de activiteit in de hersenen te meten, de zogenaamde steady-state probe topography (SSPT), kan opgespoord worden welke scènes uit een tv-commercial door consumenten goed herinnerd worden. Uit een experiment blijkt dat scènes die langer dan 1,5 seconde duren en scènes die een snelle activatie in de linkerhersenhelft veroorzaken, een week later beter herkend worden. Door het toepassen van SSPT kunnen commercials gepretest worden om de herkenning en herinnering zo hoog mogelijk te maken