Stendhal: A Study in Philosophy

A review of critical opinion past and present demonstrates the degree to which Stendhal is perceived as the exponent of a clearly defined philosophical tradition. Generations of scholars have lent support to the assumption that Stendhal made his own the mechanistic materialism of Hobbes and the hedonistic utilitarianism of Helvetius, whilst rallying to the sensationalist Ideology of Destutt de Tracy. The contention of this study is that such a view has been too uncritically endorsed, and that the definition of Stendhal as a 'philosopher' calls for substantial revision. Stendhal is not a philosopher properly so called, namely one engaged in sustained argument; rather he is a philosopher in the popular sense of an intellectual, who brings philosophical concepts to bear upon a range of human, social and moral issues, and who addresses these concepts more from committed standpoints than detached reflection. The revision which the thesis attempts is, similarly, not a philosophical argument; it proceeds by documenting the concepts in question and by examining afresh the treatment which they receive in Stendhal's writings and in the accounts of his commentators

Departmental elections and the changing landscape of French politics

The departmental elections of March 2015 redrew the French political landscape, setting the new terms of electoral competition in advance of the regional elections of December 2015 and, more critically, the presidential election of April–May 2017. These elections saw the far-right National Front (FN) come top in both rounds only to be outmanoeuvred by the mainstream parties and prevented from winning a single department. As a case study in vote–seat distortion, the elections highlighted a voting system effective in keeping the FN out of executive power but deficient in terms of democratic representation and inadequate as a response to the new tripartite realities of France's changing political landscape

Epidemiology of glenohumeral dislocation and subsequent instability in an urban population

Background: Glenohumeral dislocation is the most commonly encountered adult joint instability. The epidemiology in the United Kingdom and worldwide is unclear and often limited to young, active groups that are not representative of general populations. Information regarding epidemiology and outcome from a first dislocation is useful for trauma service planning and patient counseling. We calculated the incidence of shoulder instability after a first dislocation in our urban population and investigated predictors of recurrent instability. Methods: A prospectively collected trauma database was retrospectively examined to identify patients with a first-time dislocation. Demographics, subsequent dislocation, and instability details were collected from electronic patient records. Results: In a 38-month study period, 329 first dislocations occurred in a population of 475,147 with mean follow-up 28.5 months (range, 10-50 months). The overall incidence for first-time dislocations in this population was 21.9 per 100,000 population, of which 7.9% sustained a redislocation and 6.1% had further symptomatic instability. There were 18.8% with associated greater tuberosity fractures, 8.8% sustained a nerve injury, and 2.7% were posterior dislocations. A bimodal distribution was observed for males (peak incidence per 100,000 of 42.1 and 50.9 in 15-24 and ≥85 age groups, respectively), and unimodal for females (peak 45.7 in the 65-74 age group). Conclusion: We demonstrate a previously unreported burden of dislocation in older age groups and suggest a rate of recurrence lower than previously reported in the United Kingdom. The group aged 15 to 19 years was at the highest risk of recurrent dislocation and instability. Gender was not a significant predictor of instability

Lean Implementation Considerations in Factory Operations of Low Volume/High Complexity Production Systems

The researchers of the Lean Aircraft Initiative developed a hypothesized lean implementation model seeking to provide its members guidance on implementing lean transitions in factory operations of low volume/high complexity production systems. The model features four phases: (1) building a lean infrastructure to support lean behavior, (2) redesigning the flow of products in the factory, (3) revamping the operations management and (4) fostering process improvement. An order of implementation is discussed and each phase has implementation steps as well. Following the development of the hypothesized lean implementation model, twelve case studies were used to test the model. This report details the model and analyzes the case studies using the model as a framework

A modulator-free quantum key distribution transmitter chip

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has convincingly been proven compatible with real life applications. Its wide-scale deployment in optical networks will benefit from an optical platform that allows miniature devices capable of encoding the necessarily complex signals at high rates and with low power consumption. While photonic integration is the ideal route toward miniaturisation, an efficient route to high-speed encoding of the quantum phase states on chip is still missing. Consequently, current devices rely on bulky and high power demanding phase modulation elements which hinder the sought-after scalability and energy efficiency. Here we exploit a novel approach to high-speed phase encoding and demonstrate a compact, scalable and power efficient integrated quantum transmitter. We encode cryptographic keys on-demand in high repetition rate pulse streams using injection-locking with deterministic phase control at the seed laser. We demonstrate record secure-key-rates under multi-protocol operation. Our modulator-free transmitters enable the development of high-bit rate quantum communications devices, which will be essential for the practical integration of quantum key distribution in high connectivity networks

Feasibility of a school-based physical activity intervention for adolescents with disability

Background: Adolescents with disability are less active and have lower levels of physical fitness than their typically developing peers. Schools are ideal settings to address this; however, few school-based interventions have been designed and evaluated among this group. Therefore, the aim of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of a time-efficient school-based physical activity intervention for adolescents with disability. Methods: A non-randomized pilot trial was conducted with adolescents in the special education unit at one secondary school in New South Wales, Australia. Sixteen grade 11 and 12 students (aged 17.3 ± 0.7 years) participated in the 2-month physical activity intervention. Two classroom teachers were trained to facilitate the delivery of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program, known as Burn 2 Learn adapted (B2La). Teachers were asked to deliver 2–3 weekly HIIT sessions for a period of 2 months. Four domains of feasibility (acceptability, implementation, adaptability, and practicality) were assessed using quantitative measures at the student and teacher levels (e.g., observations, process evaluation questionnaires, and heart rate [HR] monitoring). Data were also collected from three learning and support teachers who assisted classroom teachers with intervention delivery. Preliminary efficacy of the intervention on measures of adolescents’ functional capacity (6-min walk/run test) and muscular fitness (sit-to-stand test and modified push-up test) were analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Results: Moderate-to-high levels of program satisfaction were reported by both students (80% rated “Good” or “Excellent”) and teachers (100% rated “Good” or “Excellent”). Teachers reported delivering 2.5 ± 0.7 sessions per week during the study. Based on researcher session observations, the program was delivered effectively by teachers (14/20). However, HR data indicated session intensity was lower than intended. The program was considered “adaptable” by teachers, with several observed modifications to HIIT sessions to cater for the needs of adolescents with disability. No adverse events were reported. We observed improvements in preliminary efficacy measures. Conclusions: Our findings suggest it is feasible to train teachers to deliver a school-based HIIT program for adolescents with disability. Evaluation of B2La within a larger-scale effectiveness trial is warranted

Searching for an Intermediate Mass Black Hole in the Blue Compact Dwarf galaxy MRK 996

The possibility is explored that accretion on an intermediate mass black hole contributes to the ionisation of the interstellar medium of the Compact Blue Dwarf galaxy MRK996. Chandra observations set tight upper limits (99.7 per cent confidence level) in both the X-ray luminosity of the posited AGN, Lx(2-10keV)<3e40erg/s, and the black hole mass, <1e4/\lambda Msolar, where \lambda, is the Eddington ratio. The X-ray luminosity upper limit is insufficient to explain the high ionisation line [OIV]25.89\mu m, which is observed in the mid-infrared spectrum of the MRK996 and is proposed as evidence for AGN activity. This indicates that shocks associated with supernovae explosions and winds of young stars must be responsible for this line. It is also found that the properties of the diffuse X-ray emission of MRK996 are consistent with this scenario, thereby providing direct evidence for shocks that heat the galaxy's interstellar medium and contribute to its ionisation.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

Differential cytopathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus prototypic and clinical isolates in primary pediatric bronchial epithelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe respiratory disease in infants. Airway epithelial cells are the principle targets of RSV infection. However, the mechanisms by which it causes disease are poorly understood. Most RSV pathogenesis data are derived using laboratory-adapted prototypic strains. We hypothesized that such strains may be poorly representative of recent clinical isolates in terms of virus/host interactions in primary human bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To address this hypothesis, we isolated three RSV strains from infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis and compared them with the prototypic RSV A2 in terms of cytopathology, virus growth kinetics and chemokine secretion in infected PBEC monolayers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RSV A2 rapidly obliterated the PBECs, whereas the clinical isolates caused much less cytopathology. Concomitantly, RSV A2 also grew faster and to higher titers in PBECs. Furthermore, dramatically increased secretion of IP-10 and RANTES was evident following A2 infection compared with the clinical isolates.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prototypic RSV strain A2 is poorly representative of recent clinical isolates in terms of cytopathogenicity, viral growth kinetics and pro-inflammatory responses induced following infection of PBEC monolayers. Thus, the choice of RSV strain may have important implications for future RSV pathogenesis studies.</p