1,916 research outputs found
Humour as social dreaming:Stand-up comedy as therapeutic performance
Stand-up comedy binds dramatic cultural spectacle to ritualised, intimate exposure. Examining ‘case’ examples from live comic performance, this paper describes stand-up as a kind of social dreaming. The article proposes a theoretical frame drawing on Thomas Ogden’s notion of ‘talking as dreaming’ and psychoanalytic accounts connecting humour and melancholia. Locating the stand-up comedian’s propensity for humour in a specialist capacity to hone, display and process traumata, the paper characterises stand-up as a performative oscillation evoking paranoid-schizoid and depressive anxieties. A psychosocial gloss places stand-up as a cultural resource in the service of the popular-as-therapeutic. The paper articulates complementarities between Henri Bergson’s formulations on the function of laughter and an emergent object relations account in order to help to recognise ‘containing’ and ‘cultural-restorative’ aspects of much stand-up, understood as contemporary psychosocial ritual
A relaxationless demonstration of the Quantum Zeno Paradox on an individual atom
The driven evolution of the spin of an individual atomic ion on the
ground-state hyperfine resonance is impeded by the observation of the ion in
one of the pertaining eigenstates. Detection of resonantly scattered light
identifies the ion in its upper ``bright'' state. The lower ``dark'' ion state
is free of relaxation and correlated with the detector by a null signal. Null
events represent the straightforward demonstration of the quantum Zeno paradox.
Also, high probability of survival was demonstrated when the ion, driven by a
fractionated pulse, was probed {\em and monitored} during the
intermissions of the drive, such that the ion's evolution is completely
documented.Comment: 7 page
Coalescing neutron stars - a step towards physical models III. Improved numerics and different neutron star masses and spins
(Abridged) In this paper we present a compilation of results from our most
advanced neutron star merger simulations, including a description of the
employed numerical procedures and a more complete overview over a large number
of computed models. The three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations were done
with a code based on the Piecewise Parabolic Method with up to five levels of
nested Cartesian grids. The simulations are basically Newtonian, but
gravitational-wave emission and the corresponding back-reaction are taken into
account. The use of a physical nuclear equation of state allows us to follow
the thermodynamic history of the stellar medium and to compute the energy and
lepton number loss due to the emission of neutrinos. The computed models differ
concerning the neutron star masses and mass ratios, the neutron star spins, the
numerical resolution expressed by the cell size of the finest grid and the
number of grid levels, and the calculation of the temperature from the solution
of the entropy equation instead of the energy equation. Our simulations show
that the details of the gravitational-wave emission are still sensitive to the
numerical resolution, even in our highest-quality calculations. The amount of
mass which can be ejected from neutron star mergers depends strongly on the
angular momentum of the system. Our results do not support the initial
conditions of temperature and proton-to-nucleon ratio assumed in recent work
for producing a solar r-process pattern for nuclei around and above the A
approx 130 peak. The improved models confirm our previous conclusion that
gamma-ray bursts are not powered by neutrino emission during the dynamical
phase of the merging of two neutron stars.Comment: accpeted by A&A; some clarifying text changes due to referee comment
Triglyceride-Rich Lipoproteins Modulate the Distribution and Extravasation of Ly6C/Gr1low Monocytes
Monocytes are heterogeneous effector cells involved in the maintenance and restoration of tissue integrity. However, their response to hyperlipidemia remains poorly understood. Here, we report that in the presence of elevated levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, induced by administration of poloxamer 407, the blood numbers of non-classical Ly6C/Gr1(low) monocytes drop, while the number of bone marrow progenitors remains similar. We observed an increased crawling and retention of the Gr1(low) monocytes at the endothelial interface and a marked accumulation of CD68(+) macrophages in several organs. Hypertriglyceridemia was accompanied by an increased expression of tissue, and plasma CCL4 and blood Gr1(low) monocyte depletion involved a pertussis-toxin-sensitive receptor axis. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that a triglyceride-rich environment can alter blood monocyte distribution, promoting the extravasation of Gr1(low) cells. The behavior of these cells in response to dyslipidemia highlights the significant impact that high levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins may have on innate immune cells
Non-polynomial Worst-Case Analysis of Recursive Programs
We study the problem of developing efficient approaches for proving
worst-case bounds of non-deterministic recursive programs. Ranking functions
are sound and complete for proving termination and worst-case bounds of
nonrecursive programs. First, we apply ranking functions to recursion,
resulting in measure functions. We show that measure functions provide a sound
and complete approach to prove worst-case bounds of non-deterministic recursive
programs. Our second contribution is the synthesis of measure functions in
nonpolynomial forms. We show that non-polynomial measure functions with
logarithm and exponentiation can be synthesized through abstraction of
logarithmic or exponentiation terms, Farkas' Lemma, and Handelman's Theorem
using linear programming. While previous methods obtain worst-case polynomial
bounds, our approach can synthesize bounds of the form
as well as where is not an integer. We present
experimental results to demonstrate that our approach can obtain efficiently
worst-case bounds of classical recursive algorithms such as (i) Merge-Sort, the
divide-and-conquer algorithm for the Closest-Pair problem, where we obtain
worst-case bound, and (ii) Karatsuba's algorithm for
polynomial multiplication and Strassen's algorithm for matrix multiplication,
where we obtain bound such that is not an integer and
close to the best-known bounds for the respective algorithms.Comment: 54 Pages, Full Version to CAV 201
Ice chemistry in massive Young Stellar Objects: the role of metallicity
We present the comparison of the three most important ice constituents
(water, CO and CO2) in the envelopes of massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs),
in environments of different metallicities: the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic
Cloud (LMC) and, for the first time, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We
present observations of water, CO and CO2 ice in 4 SMC and 3 LMC YSOs (obtained
with Spitzer-IRS and VLT/ISAAC). While water and CO2 ice are detected in all
Magellanic YSOs, CO ice is not detected in the SMC objects. Both CO and CO2 ice
abundances are enhanced in the LMC when compared to high-luminosity Galactic
YSOs. Based on the fact that both species appear to be enhanced in a consistent
way, this effect is unlikely to be the result of enhanced CO2 production in
hotter YSO envelopes as previously thought. Instead we propose that this
results from a reduced water column density in the envelopes of LMC YSOs, a
direct consequence of both the stronger UV radiation field and the reduced
dust-to-gas ratio at lower metallicity. In the SMC the environmental conditions
are harsher, and we observe a reduction in CO2 column density. Furthermore, the
low gas-phase CO density and higher dust temperature in YSO envelopes in the
SMC seem to inhibit CO freeze-out. The scenario we propose can be tested with
further observations.Comment: accepted by MNRAS Letters; 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Isotope shift in the dielectronic recombination of three-electron ^{A}Nd^{57+}
Isotope shifts in dielectronic recombination spectra were studied for Li-like
^{A}Nd^{57+} ions with A=142 and A=150. From the displacement of resonance
positions energy shifts \delta E^{142,150}(2s-2p_1/2)= 40.2(3)(6) meV
(stat)(sys)) and \delta E^{142,150}(2s-2p_3/2) = 42.3(12)(20) meV of 2s-2p_j
transitions were deduced. An evaluation of these values within a full QED
treatment yields a change in the mean-square charge radius of ^{142,150}\delta
= -1.36(1)(3) fm^2. The approach is conceptually new and combines the
advantage of a simple atomic structure with high sensitivity to nuclear size.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
Risk factors for high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) in black, HIV-1 negative South African cancer patients: a case control study
Background: Infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is the necessary causal agent in the
development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Infection with HIV-1, male gender and older age all increase
risk for KS. However, the geographic distribution of HHV-8 and KS both prior to the HIV/AIDS
epidemic and with HIV/AIDS suggest the presence of an additional co-factor in the development of
KS.
Methods: Between January 1994 and October 1997, we interviewed 2576 black in-patients with
cancer in Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa. Blood was tested for antibodies against HIV-1
and HHV-8 and the study was restricted to 2191 HIV-1 negative patients. Antibodies against the
latent nuclear antigen of HHV-8 encoded by orf73 were detected with an indirect
immunofluorescence assay. We examined the relationship between high anti-HHV-8 antibody
titers (≥1:51,200) and sociodemographic and behavioral factors using unconditional logistic
regression models. Variables that were significant at p = 0.10 were included in multivariate analysis.
Results: Of the 2191 HIV-1 negative patients who did not have Kaposi's sarcoma, 854 (39.0%)
were positive for antibodies against HHV-8 according to the immunofluorescent assay. Among
those seropositive for HHV-8, 530 (62.1%) had low titers (1:200), 227 (26.6%) had medium titers
(1:51,200) and 97 (11.4%) had highest titers (1:204,800). Among the 2191 HIV-1 negative patients,
the prevalence of high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) was independently associated with
increasing age (ptrend = 0.04), having a marital status of separated or divorced (p = 0.003), using
wood, coal or charcoal as fuel for cooking 20 years ago instead of electricity (p = 0.02) and
consuming traditional maize beer more than one time a week (p = 0.02; p-trend for increasing
consumption = 0.05) although this may be due to chance given the large number of predictors
considered in this analysis.
Conclusions: Among HIV-negative subjects, patients with high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers are
characterized by older age. Other associations that may be factors in the development of high anti-
HHV-8 titers include exposure to poverty or a low socioeconomic status environment and
consumption of traditional maize beer. The relationship between these variables and high anti-
HHV-8 titers requires further, prospective study
Yours ever (well, maybe): Studies and signposts in letter writing
Electronic mail and other digital communications technologies seemingly threaten to end the era of handwritten and typed letters, now affectionately seen as part of snail mail. In this essay, I analyze a group of popular and scholarly studies about letter writing-including examples of pundits critiquing the use of e-mail, etiquette manuals advising why the handwritten letter still possesses value, historians and literary scholars studying the role of letters in the past and what it tells us about our present attitudes about digital communications technologies, and futurists predicting how we will function as personal archivists maintaining every document including e-mail. These are useful guideposts for archivists, providing both a sense of the present and the past in the role, value and nature of letters and their successors. They also provide insights into how such documents should be studied, expanding our gaze beyond the particular letters, to the tools used to create them and the traditions dictating their form and function. We also can discern a role for archivists, both for contributing to the literature about documents and in using these studies and commentaries, suggesting not a new disciplinary realm but opportunities for new interdisciplinary work. Examining a documentary form makes us more sensitive to both the innovations and traditions as it shifts from the analog to the digital; we can learn not to be caught up in hysteria or nostalgia about one form over another and archivists can learn about what they might expect in their labors to document society and its institutions. At one time, paper was part of an innovative technology, with roles very similar to the Internet and e-mail today. It may be that the shifts are far less revolutionary than is often assumed. Reading such works also suggests, finally, that archivists ought to rethink how they view their own knowledge and how it is constructed and used. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Strange nuclear matter within Brueckner-Hartree-Fock Theory
We have developed a formalism for microscopic Brueckner-type calculations of
dense nuclear matter that includes all types of baryon-baryon interactions and
allows to treat any asymmetry on the fractions of the different species (n, p,
, , , , and ). We present
results for the different single-particle potentials focussing on situations
that can be relevant in future microscopic studies of beta-stable neutron star
matter with strangeness. We find the both the hyperon-nucleon and
hyperon-hyperon interactions play a non-negligible role in determining the
chemical potentials of the different species.Comment: 36 pages, LateX, includes 8 PostScript figures, (submitted to PRC
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