Conformal Kaehler submanifolds

This paper presents two results in the realm of conformal Kaehler submanifolds. These are conformal immersions of Kaehler manifolds into the standard flat Euclidean space. The proofs are obtained by making a rather strong use of several facts and techniques developed by S. Chion and M. Dajczer for the study of isometric immersions of Kaehler manifolds into the standard hyperbolic space

Holomorphicity of real Kaehler submanifolds

Let $f\colon M^{2n}\to\mathbb{R}^{2n+p}$ denote an isometric immersion of a Kaehler manifold of complex dimension $n\geq 2$ into Euclidean space with codimension $p$. If $2p\leq 2n-1$, we show that generic rank conditions on the second fundamental form of the submanifold imply that $f$ has to be a minimal submanifold. In fact, for codimension $p\leq 11$ we prove that $f$ must be holomorphic with respect to some complex structure in the ambient space.Comment: 18 page

Conformal Kaehler Euclidean submanifolds

Let $f\colon M^{2n}\to\mathbb{R}^{2n+\ell}$, $n \geq 5$, denote a conformal immersion into Euclidean space with codimension $\ell$ of a Kaehler manifold of complex dimension $n$ and free of flat points. For codimensions $\ell=1,2$ we show that such a submanifold can always be locally obtained in a rather simple way, namely, from an isometric immersion of the Kaehler manifold $M^{2n}$ into either $\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}$ or $\mathbb{R}^{2n+2}$, the latter being a class of submanifolds already extensively studied.Comment: 13 Page

Inside the Loop: The Audio Functionality of Inside

The manner in which soundscapes evolve and change during gameplay can have many implications regarding player experience. INSIDE (Playdead in INSIDE. Released on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and iOS, 2016) features a gameplay section in which rhythmic audio cues loop continuously both during gameplay and after player death. This paper uses this aspect of the soundtrack as a case study, examining the effects of looping sound effects and abstract musical cues on player immersion, ludic functionality, and episodic engagement. The concept of spectromorphology proposed by Smalley (Organised Sound 2(2):107–126, 1997) is used to analyse the way in which musical cues can retain ludic functionality and promote immersion in the absence of diegetic sound design. The “musical suture” (Kamp, in: Ludomusicology: approaches to video game music, Equinox, Sheffield, 2016) created by continuously looping audio during death and respawn is also examined with regards to immersing the player within an evolving soundscape

Beyond language and the subject: machinic enslavement in contemporary European cinema

Contemporary subjection, notes Maurizio Lazzarato, has two very different dimensions, subjectivation (our production as subjects) and machinic enslavement (the way in which sub- and supra-individual human elements are put to work as cogs in complex machineries that are never simply technical machines). Although the latter form of subjection is increasingly dominant, critical theory almost always focuses on the former. With its intrinsically machinic functioning, cinema seems ideally placed to open up our machinic subjection to scrutiny. Can it become the Vertovian self-consciousness of a collective, machinic subject, or is it simply condemned to anticipate and embody the way in which consumer capitalism puts the human psyche and affectivity to work? Suggesting that such a polarised set of alternatives is too schematic, this article probes four contemporary, and very dissimilar, European films, sounding out their capacity to bring the machinic into view and make it available for self-reflexive engagement. The article draws its main theoretical inspiration from the work of contemporary social theorist, Maurizio Lazzarato, but also draws on other thinkers where relevant. The films discussed are Ma part du gâteau (Klapisch, 2011), Abenland (Geyrhalter, 2011), Lucy (Besson, 2014) and Vers Madrid: the Burning Bright (George, 2012)

Marked elevation in plasma osteoprotegerin constitutes an early and consistent feature of cerebral malaria

Adherence of infected erythrocytes to vascular endothelium causes acute endothelial cell (EC) activation during Plasmodium falciparum infection. Consequently, proteins stored in Weibel-Palade (WP) bodies within EC are secreted into the plasma. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) binds to VWF and consequently is stored within WP bodies. Given the critical role of EC activation in the pathogenesis of severe malaria, we investigated plasma OPG levels in children with P. falciparum malaria. At presentation, plasma OPG levels were significantly elevated in children with cerebral malaria (CM) compared to healthy controls (means 16.0 vs 0.8 ng/ml; p<0.01). Importantly, OPG levels were also significantly higher in children with CM who had a fatal outcome, compared to children with CM who survived. Finally, in children with CM, plasma OPG levels correlated with other established prognostic indices (including plasma lactate levels and peripheral parasite density). To further investigate the relationship between severe malaria and OPG, we utilised a murine model of experimental CM in which C57BL/6J mice were infected with P. berghei ANKA. Interestingly, plasma OPG levels were increased 4.6 fold within 24 hours following P. berghei inoculation. This early marked elevation in OPG levels was observed before any objective clinical signs were apparent, and preceded the development of peripheral blood parasitaemia. As the mice became increasingly unwell, plasma OPG levels progressively increased. Collectively, these data suggest that OPG constitutes a novel biomarker with prognostic significance in patients with severe malaria. In addition, further studies are required to determine whether OPG plays a role in modulating malaria pathogenesis

Audiovisual annotation procedure for multi-view field recordings

Audio and video parts of an audiovisual document interact to produce an audiovisual, or multi-modal, perception. Yet, automatic analysis on these documents are usually based on separate audio and video annotations. Regarding the audiovisual content, these annotations could be incomplete, or not relevant. Besides, the expanding possibilities of creating audiovisual documents lead to consider different kinds of contents, including videos filmed in uncontrolled conditions (i.e. fields recordings), or scenes filmed from different points of view (multi-view). In this paper we propose an original procedure to produce manual annotations in different contexts, including multi-modal and multi-view documents. This procedure, based on using both audio and video annotations, ensures consistency considering audio or video only, and provides additionally audiovisual information at a richer level. Finally, different applications are made possible when considering such annotated data. In particular, we present an example application in a network of recordings in which our annotations allow multi-source retrieval using mono or multi-modal queries

Sialylation on O-linked glycans protects von Willebrand factor from macrophage galactose lectin mediated clearance

Terminal sialylation determines the plasma half-life of von Willebrand factor (VWF). A role for macrophage galactose lectin (MGL) in regulating hyposialylated VWF clearance has recently been proposed. In this study, we showed that MGL influences physiological plasma VWF clearance. MGL inhibition was associated with a significantly extended mean residence time and 3-fold increase in endogenous plasma VWF antigen levels (P<0.05). Using a series of VWF truncations, we further demonstrated that the A1 domain of VWF is predominantly responsible for enabling the MGL interaction. Binding of both full-length and VWF-A1-A2-A3 to MGL was significantly enhanced in the presence of ristocetin (P<0.05), suggesting that the MGL-binding site in A1 is not fully accessible in globular VWF. Additional studies using different VWF glycoforms demonstrated that VWF O-linked glycans, clustered at either end of the A1 domain, play a key role in protecting VWF against MGLmediated clearance. Reduced sialylation has been associated with pathological, increased clearance of VWF in patients with von Willebrand disease. Herein, we demonstrate that specific loss of α2-3 linked sialylation from O-glycans results in markedly increased MGL-binding in vitro, and markedly enhanced MGL-mediated clearance of VWF in vivo. Our data further show that the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) does not have a significant role in mediating the increased clearance of VWF following loss of O-sialylation. Conversely however, we observed that loss of N-linked sialylation from VWF drives enhanced circulatory clearance predominantly via the ASGPR. Collectively, our data support the hypothesis that in addition to regulating physiological VWF clearance, the MGL receptor works in tandem with ASGPR to modulate enhanced clearance of aberrantly sialylated VWF in the pathogenesis of von Willebrand disease

I will leave you now and this loudspeaker will take my place

Notions of ‘presence’ and ‘liveness’ run through academic theories and popular conceptions of sound mediation generally, and mediation of voice in particular. This article looks at experimental video that engages with these questions, particularly around the notion of the ‘authentic’ voice and vocal ‘presence’. We will demonstrate how these different experimental approaches explore the interaction between voice, vocal technique and audio-visual technology, thus challenging and interrogating conventions of how the soundtrack represents the voice and (in conjunction with the moving image) the audio-visually mediated body. Presenting Anneke Kampman's work as an experimental practice-led research response to seminal theories of sound and the film soundtrack, we provide further context through engagement with key examples of earlier video art and sound art by Vladan Radovanović, Richard Serra, and Meredith Monk. Overall, the article intervenes by demonstrating how video art and sound art can address key theoretical questions concerning voice and body in a broader sound and moving image context, as well as adopting a sound-focussed approach to aesthetic analysis of video art