The ethical challenge of Touraine's 'living together'

In Can We Live Together? Alain Touraine combines a consummate analysis of crucial social tensions in contemporary societies with a strong normative appeal for a new emancipatory 'Subject' capable of overcoming the twin threats of atomisation or authoritarianism. He calls for a move from 'politics to ethics' and then from ethics back to politics to enable the new Subject to make a reality out of the goals of democracy and solidarity. However, he has little to say about the nature of such an ethics. This article argues that this lacuna could usefully be filled by adopting a form of radical humanism found in the work of Erich Fromm. It defies convention in the social sciences by operating from an explicit view of the 'is' and the 'ought' of common human nature, specifying reason, love and productive work as the qualities to be realised if we are to move closer to human solidarity. Although there remain significant philosophical and political differences between the two positions, particularly on the role to be played by 'the nation', their juxtaposition opens new lines of inquiry in the field of cosmopolitan ethics

F-GAMMA: On the phenomenological classification of continuum radio spectra variability patterns of Fermi blazars

The F-GAMMA program is a coordinated effort to investigate the physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) via multi-frequency monitoring of Fermi blazars. In the current study we show and discuss the evolution of broad-band radio spectra, which are measured at ten frequencies between 2.64 and 142 GHz using the Effelsberg 100-m and the IRAM 30-m telescopes. It is shown that any of the 78 sources studied can be classified in terms of their variability characteristics in merely 5 types of variability. It is argued that these can be attributed to only two classes of variability mechanisms. The first four types are dominated by spectral evolution and can be described by a simple two-component system composed of: (a) a steep quiescent spectral component from a large scale jet and (b) a time evolving flare component following the "Shock-in-Jet" evolutionary path. The fifth type is characterised by an achromatic change of the broad band spectrum, which could be attributed to a different mechanism, likely involving differential Doppler boosting caused by geometrical effects. Here we present the classification, the assumed physical scenario and the results of calculations that have been performed for the spectral evolution of flares.Comment: Proceedings of the conference: "The Central Kiloparsec in Galactic Nucleic: Astronomy at High Angular Resolution 2011", August 29 - September 2, 2011, Bad Honnef, German

Kinetics of propagation of bystander effects in human cells cultures exposed to low fluences of high LET radiations

International audienceWe and others have previously shown, in confluent cell cultures exposed to low fluences of a particles, that the proportion of cells that upregulate stress-inducible proteins is much higher that the number of cells irradiated. This phenomenon, called bystander effect, is now well accepted and is thought to impact the health risks of exposure to ionizing radiation. Here, we investigate the kinetics of propagation of signaling events that lead to induction of DNA damage in bystander cells in confluent normal human AG1522 fibroblasts exposed to a mean dose of 0.2 cGy from 3.2 MeV a particles (LET ; 124 keV/lm) or 1 GeV/n iron ions (LET ; 151 keV/lm). We evaluated the formation of 53BP1 foci (p53 binding protein 1), which localizes at sites of DNA double strand breaks, as a function of time after irradiation. The fraction of cells whose nuclei were traversed by an irradiating particle was derived from Poisson statistics and estimates of cell geometry, particle fluence and energy loss. At a mean dose of 0.2 cGy, only 1.4% and 1.2% of the cells are traversed through the nucleus by a particle or iron ion tracks, respectively. The number of 53BP1 foci in control cells was ; 0.61 foci per cell. In a particle-irradiated cell cultures, the mean number of foci per cell was 0.73 (p,0.001) at 15 min; it reached 0.90 by 3h (p,0.001) after irradiation, following which a decrease was observed. The same trend was detected when the fraction of cells with foci was considered: it reached 61% at 3h which is higher than the expected 47.4% of the cells (46% in control + 1.4% traversed). The increase in foci formation over the expected value was eliminated when the cells were incubated with a specific inhibitor of ATM (Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated protein). Analyses of bystander effects in iron ion-irradiated cell cultures and the effect of partial oxygen tension on the kinetic of 53BP1 foci formation in low fluences alpha particle-irradiated cell populations are in progress

The rebirth of Natural Fibers? Analysis of market potential for fique (furcraea andina) production in Santander, Colombia

Natural fibers extracted from the leaves of the fique plant (Furcraea andina) are currently used by the Colombian market mainly for the manufacture of coffee sacks and crafts. However, the economy associated with the cultivation of fique in the department of Santander is weak and optimal production practices have greatly been abandoned by farmers because of poor market demand in the last two decades. However, new market demand for natural, eco-friendly fibers to replace plastic opens up better opportunities for fique producers. The objective of this study was to provide a macro view of the current fique market in Colombia and its potential in modern markets. The study of production aspects, economic situation and market potential was conducted with 25 producing families where relevant information to characterize the current situation was obtained. Data on production practices, market access and economic situation was collected. The results revealed that fique production can help improve the economic situation of rural families in Santander, but that the production system can be improved and optimized to generate a higher income. Currently, there is a market potential in natural fibers, but more investments need to be made to train farmers in sustainable production practices and compliance with new standards and certifications. Additionally, local artisans need to improve the products they produce with the fiber to meet the new demands in the eco-friendly, natural fiber market. A set of strategies and recommendations for improved market access for small-scale producers and artisans using both modern and traditional techniques was drawn

On the phenomenological classification of continuum radio spectra variability patterns of Fermi blazars

The F-GAMMA program is a coordinated effort to investigate the physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) via multi-frequency monitoring of {\em Fermi} blazars. The current study is concerned with the broad-band radio spectra composed of measurement at ten frequencies between 2.64 and 142 GHz. It is shown that any of the 78 sources studied can be classified in terms of their variability characteristics in merely 5 types of variability. The first four types are dominated by spectral evolution and can be reproduced by a simple two-component system made of the quiescent spectrum of a large scale jet populated with a flaring event evolving according to Marscher & Gear (1985). The last type is characterized by an achromatic change of the broad-band spectrum which must be attributed to a completely different mechanism. Here are presented, the classification, the assumed physical system and the results of simulations that have been conducted.Comment: 2011 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C11050

Non-targeted Stressful Effects in Normal Human Fibroblast Cultures Exposed to Low Fluences of High Charge, High-Energy (HZE) Particles: Kinetics of Biologic Responses and Significance of Secondary Radiations.

International audienceThe induction of nontargeted stressful effects in cell populations exposed to low fluences of high-charge (Z) and high-energy (E) particles is relevant to estimates of the health risks of space radiation. We investigated the up-regulation of stress markers in confluent normal human fibroblast cultures exposed to 1,000 MeV/u iron ions [linear energy transfer (LET) ∼151 keV/μm] or 600 MeV/u silicon ions (LET ∼50 keV/μm) at mean absorbed doses as low as 0.2 cGy, wherein 1-3% of the cells were targeted through the nucleus by a primary particle. Within 24 h postirradiation, significant increases in the levels of phospho-TP53 (serine 15), p21(Waf1) (CDKN1A), HDM2, phospho-ERK1/2, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation were detected, which suggested participation in the stress response of cells not targeted by primary particles. This was supported by in situ studies that indicated greater increases in 53BP1 foci formation, a marker of DNA damage. than expected from the number of primary particle traversals. The effect was expressed as early as 15 min after exposure, peaked at 1 h and decreased by 24 h. A similar tendency occurred after exposure of the cell cultures to 0.2 cGy of 3.7 MeV α particles (LET ∼109 keV/μm) that targets ∼1.6% of nuclei, but not after 0.2 cGy from 290 MeV/u carbon ions (LET ∼13 keV/μm) by which, on average, ∼13% of the nuclei were hit, which highlights the importance of radiation quality in the induced effect. Simulations with the FLUKA multi-particle transport code revealed that fragmentation products, other than electrons, in cell cultures exposed to HZE particles comprise <1% of the absorbed dose. Further, the radial spread of dose due to secondary heavy ion fragments is confined to approximately 10-20 μm. Thus, the latter are unlikely to significantly contribute to stressful effects in cells not targeted by primary HZE particles

Concave Plasmonic Particles: Broad-Band Geometrical Tunability in the Near Infra-Red

Optical resonances spanning the Near and Short Infra-Red spectral regime were exhibited experimentally by arrays of plasmonic nano-particles with concave cross-section. The concavity of the particle was shown to be the key ingredient for enabling the broad band tunability of the resonance frequency, even for particles with dimensional aspect ratios of order unity. The atypical flexibility of setting the resonance wavelength is shown to stem from a unique interplay of local geometry with surface charge distributions

On the evaluation of some three-body variational integrals

Stable recursive relations are presented for the numerical computation of the integrals $$\int d{\bf r}_1 d{\bf r}_2 r_1^{l-1} r_2^{m-1} r_{12}^{n-1} \exp{\{-\alpha r_1 -\beta r_2 -\gamma r_{12}\}}$$ ($l$, $m$ and $n$ integer, $\alpha$, $\beta$ and $\gamma$ real) when the indices $l$, $m$ or $n$ are negative. Useful formulas are given for particular values of the parameters $\alpha$, $\beta$ and $\gamma$.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure (PS) and 3 tables. Old figures 2 and 3 replaced by Tables I and III. A further table added. Paper enlarged giving some tips on the convergence of quadrature

Transport Modelling of a pyro-convection event in Alaska

International audienceSummer 2004 saw severe forest fires in Alaska and the Yukon Territory that were mostly triggered by lightning strikes. The area burned (>2.7×106 ha) in the year 2004 was the highest on record to date in Alaska. Pollutant emissions from the fires lead to violation of federal standards for air quality in Fairbanks. This paper studies deep convection events that occurred in the burning regions at the end of June 2004. The convection was likely enhanced by the strong forest fire activity (so-called pyro-convection) and penetrated into the lower stratosphere, up to about 3 km above the tropopause. Emissions from the fires did not only perturb the UT/LS locally, but also regionally. POAM data at the approximate location of Edmonton (53.5° N, 113.5° W) show that the UT/LS aerosol extinction was enhanced by a factor of 4 relative to unperturbed conditions. Simulations with the particle dispersion model FLEXPART with the deep convective transport scheme turned on showed transport of forest fire emissions into the stratosphere, in qualitatively good agreement with the enhancements seen in the POAM data. A corresponding simulation with the deep convection scheme turned off did not result in such deep vertical transport. Lidar measurements at Wisconsin on 30 June also show the presence of substantial aerosol loading in the UT/LS, up to about 13 km. In fact, the FLEXPART results suggest that this aerosol plume originated from the Yukon Territory on 25 June