Motion towards the center : an essay on reality as expressed in fourteen paintings

At the center of man's world stands his god, his utmost reality. His whole life is a struggle to draw nearer to this reality. It is the aim of art to comprehend reality in so far as it is humanly possible and express it. Thus, art is one of the highest forms of human endeavor, because it enables man to approach God. This essay seeks to define in words what has been stated in paint in the fourteen pictures it examines. Since the media of writing and painting are independent, irreducible activities, it is apparent that the efforts will not be identical or even equal because of personal limitations. In addition, in order to confine the field of study so that a more intensive search could be made, it was decided to limit the consideration of reality to abstract painting. Abstract painting is here understood as an attempt to reduce ideas, emotions, or objects to an essential or universal aspect as interpreted by the painter

Foucault's contributions for understanding power relations in British classical political economy

© 2015 National Association of Postgraduate Centers in Economics, ANPEC This paper analyzes the strategic role played by British classical political economy in constructing new technologies of power. Michel Foucault drew attention to a change that political economists promoted concerning the role of the state, which has been overlooked by historians of economic thought. This paper explores the main arguments provided by the most important British political economists of the 18th and 19th centuries on what concerns population management, State's role and economic dynamics in order to examine Foucault's considerations. Although British classical political economy consolidated the mechanism of markets and economic individuality, thus creating a system of truth that changed economic norms and practices, its discourse also established a political conduct that was responsible for creating mechanisms of control that disseminated new forms of power relations

Comprehensive characterisation of transcriptional activity during influenza A virus infection reveals biases in cap-snatching of host RNA sequences.

Macrophages in the lung detect and respond to influenza A virus (IAV), determining the nature of the immune response. Using terminal-depth cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE), we quantified transcriptional activity of both host and pathogen over a 24-h time course of IAV infection in primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). This method allowed us to observe heterogenous host sequences incorporated into IAV mRNA, "snatched" 5' RNA caps, and corresponding RNA sequences from host RNAs. In order to determine whether capsnatching is random or exhibits a bias, we systematically compared host sequences incorporated into viral mRNA ("snatched") against a complete survey of all background host RNA in the same cells, at the same time. Using a computational strategy designed to eliminate sources of bias due to read length, sequencing depth, and multimapping, we were able to quantify overrepresentation of host RNA features among the sequences that were snatched by IAV. We demonstrate biased snatching of numerous host RNAs, particularly small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), and avoidance of host transcripts encoding host ribosomal proteins, which are required by IAV for replication. We then used a systems approach to describe the transcriptional landscape of the host response to IAV, observing many new features, including a failure of IAV-treated MDMs to induce feedback inhibitors of inflammation, seen in response to other treatments.IMPORTANCE Infection with influenza A virus (IAV) infection is responsible for an estimated 500,000 deaths and up to 5 million cases of severe respiratory illness each year. In this study, we looked at human primary immune cells (macrophages) infected with IAV. Our method allows us to look at both the host and the virus in parallel. We used these data to explore a process known as "cap-snatching," where IAV snatches a short nucleotide sequence from capped host RNA. This process was believed to be random. We demonstrate biased snatching of numerous host RNAs, including those associated with snRNA transcription, and avoidance of host transcripts encoding host ribosomal proteins, which are required by IAV for replication. We then describe the transcriptional landscape of the host response to IAV, observing new features, including a failure of IAV-treated MDMs to induce feedback inhibitors of inflammation, seen in response to other treatments

Values of souvenirs as commodities

Although souvenirs have received increased research interest in tourism studies, sociological research in this field still remains limited. This exploratory study aspires to overcome past research negligence on the values identified in social theory for commodities, such as Marx’s use and exchange values and Baudrillard’s sign-value, as well as introducing an additional one, the spiritual-value. By using a sample of twenty respondents in Veria, a small city in Northern Greece, this study attempts to interpret souvenirs as commodities with certain values and to identify the functions that tourists expect to perceive when purchasing them. Despite its limitations, this study provided a theoretical understanding of the sociological aspects of souvenirs’ consumption in relation to the four values

Violence, security and democracy: perverse interfaces and their implications for states and citizens in the global South

How does violence affect the everyday lives of citizens in the global South? Researching this theme under the aegis of the Violence, Participation and Citizenship group of the Citizenship DRC coordinated by IDS, we generated some answers, but also more questions, which this paper starts to explore. Why have democratisation processes failed to fulfil expectations of violence reduction in the global South? How does violence affect democracy and vice versa? Why does security practice in much of the global South not build secure environments? When examined empirically from the perspectives of poor Southern citizens, the interfaces between violence, security and democracy – assumed in conventional state and democratisation theory to be positive or benign – are often, in fact, perverse. Empirically-based reflection on these questions leads us to two propositions, which the paper then explores through the use of secondary literature. In essence: Proposition 1: Violence interacts perversely with democratic institutions, eroding their legitimacy and effectiveness. Democracy fails to deliver its promise of replacing the violence with accommodation and compromise, and democratic process is compromised, with citizens reacting by withdrawing from public spaces, accepting the authority of non-state actors, or supporting hard-line responses. Proposition 2: Security provision is not making people feel more secure. State responses to rising violence can strengthen state and non-state security actors committed to reproducing violence, disproportionately affecting the poorest communities

At the heart of morality lies neuro-visceral integration: lower cardiac vagal tone predicts utilitarian moral judgment

To not harm others is widely considered the most basic element of human morality. The aversion to harm others can be either rooted in the outcomes of an action (utilitarianism) or reactions to the action itself (deontology). We speculated that the human moral judgments rely on the integration of neural computations of harm and visceral reactions. The present research examined whether utilitarian or deontological aspects of moral judgment are associated with cardiac vagal tone, a physiological proxy for neuro-visceral integration. We investigated the relationship between cardiac vagal tone and moral judgment by using a mix of moral dilemmas, mathematical modeling and psychophysiological measures. An index of bipolar deontology-utilitarianism was correlated with resting heart rate variability (HRV)—an index of cardiac vagal tone—such that more utilitarian judgments were associated with lower HRV. Follow-up analyses using process dissociation, which independently quantifies utilitarian and deontological moral inclinations, provided further evidence that utilitarian (but not deontological) judgments were associated with lower HRV. Our results suggest that the functional integration of neural and visceral systems during moral judgments can restrict outcome-based, utilitarian moral preferences. Implications for theories of moral judgment are discussed

Combined in vitro and in silico approaches to the assessment of stimulant properties of novel psychoactive substances – The case of the benzofuran 5-MAPB

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are increasingly prevalent world-wide although their pharmacological characteristics are largely unknown; those with stimulant properties, due to interactions with the dopamine transporter (DAT), have addictive potential which their users may not realise. We evaluated the binding of 1-(1-benzofuran-5-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine (5-MAPB) to rat striatal DAT by means of quantitative autoradiography with [125I]RTI-121, and the effects of 5-MAPB on electrically-evoked dopamine efflux by fast-cyclic voltammetry in rat brain slices. 5-MAPB displaced [125I]RTI-121 in a concentration-dependent manner, with significant effects at 10 and 30 μM. The voltammetry data suggest that 5-MAPB reduces the rate of dopamine reuptake; while the peak dopamine efflux was not increased, the area under the curve was augmented. 5-MAPB can also cause reverse dopamine transport consistent with stimulant properties, more similar to amphetamine than cocaine. Molecular modelling and docking studies compared the binding site of DAT in complex with 5-MAPB to dopamine, amphetamine, 5-APB, MDMA, cocaine and RTI-121. This structural comparison reveals a binding mode for 5-MAPB found in the primary binding (S1) site, central to transmembrane domains 1, 3, 6 and 8, which overlaps with the binding modes of dopamine, cocaine and its analogues. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations further show that, when in complex with 5-MAPB, DAT can exhibit conformational transitions that spontaneously isomerize the transporter into inward-facing state, similarly to that observed in dopamine-bound DAT. These novel insights, offered by the combination of computational methods of biophysics with neurobiological procedures, provide structural context for NPS at DAT and relate them with their functional properties at DAT as the molecular target of stimulants

Communicating Auditory Impairments Using Electroacoustic Composition

Changes in human sensory perception can occur for a variety of reasons. In the case of distortions or transformations in the human auditory system, the aetiology may include factors such as medical conditions affecting cognition or physiology, interaction of the ears with mechanical waves, or stem from chemically induced sources, such the consumption of alcohol. These changes may be permanent, intermittent, or temporary. In order to communicate such effects to an audience in an accessible, and easily understood manner, a series of electroacoustic compositions were produced. This concept follows on from previous work on the theme of representing auditory hallucinations. Specifically, these compositions relate to auditory impairments that humans can experience due to tinnitus or through the consumption of alcohol. In the case of tinnitus, whilst much is known about the causes and symptoms, the experience of what it is like to live with tinnitus is less explored and those who have acquired the condition may often feel frustration when trying to convey the experience of ‘what it is like’ for them. In terms of impairment from alcohol consumption, whilst there is much hearsay, little research exists on the immediate and short-term effects of alcohol consumption on the human auditory system, despite over half of the UK population reported as consuming alcohol in 2017. The methodology employed to design these compositions draws upon scientific research findings, including experimental and explorative studies involving human participants, coupled with electroacoustic composition techniques. The pieces are typically constructed by mixing field recordings with synthesised materials and incorporating a range of temporal and frequency domain manipulations to the elements therein. In this way, the listener is able to experience the phenomenon in a recognisable context, where distortions of reality can be emulated to varying degrees. It is intended that these compositions can serve as easily accessible and understood examples of auditory impairments and that they might find utility in the communication of symptoms to those who have never experienced the underlying causes or conditions. This presents opportunities for pieces like these to be used in scenarios such as education and public health awareness campaigns

Why a successful task substitution in glaucoma care could not be transferred from a hospital setting to a primary care setting: A qualitative study

Background: Healthcare systems are challenged by a demand that exceeds available resources. One policy to meet this challenge is task substitution-transferring tasks to other professions and settings. Our study aimed to explore stakeholders' perceived feasibility of transferring hospital-based monitoring of stable glaucoma patients to primary care optometrists.Methods: A case study was undertaken in the Rotterdam Eye Hospital (REH) using semi-structured interviews and document reviews. They were inductively analysed using three implementation related theoretical perspectives: sociological theories on professionalism, management theories, and applied political analysis.Results: Currently it is not feasible to use primary care optometrists as substitutes for optometrists and ophthalmic technicians working in a hospital-based gl