Lifeworld Inc. : and what to do about it

Can we detect changes in the way that the world turns up as they turn up? This paper makes such an attempt. The first part of the paper argues that a wide-ranging change is occurring in the ontological preconditions of Euro-American cultures, based in reworking what and how an event is produced. Driven by the security – entertainment complex, the aim is to mass produce phenomenological encounter: Lifeworld Inc as I call it. Swimming in a sea of data, such an aim requires the construction of just enough authenticity over and over again. In the second part of the paper, I go on to argue that this new world requires a different kind of social science, one that is experimental in its orientation—just as Lifeworld Inc is—but with a mission to provoke awareness in untoward ways in order to produce new means of association. Only thus, or so I argue, can social science add to the world we are now beginning to live in

Interacting finite-size magnons

We explicitly construct a large class of finite-volume two-magnon string solutions moving on R x S^2. In particular, by making use of the relationship between the O(3) sigma model and sine-Gordon theory we are able to find solutions corresponding to the periodic analogues of magnon scattering and breather-like solutions. After semi-classically quantizing these solutions we invert the implicit expressions for the excitation energies in certain limits and find the corrections for the multi-magnon states. For the breather-like solutions we express the energies directly in terms of the action variable whereas for the scattering solution we express the result as a combination of corrections to the dispersion relation and to the scattering phase.Comment: 45pages, 7figures, v2: simplified expressions for periods and angular momenta when elliptic modulus is greater than one, references added, typos correcte

Type I integrable defects and finite-gap solutions for KdV and sine-Gordon models

The main purpose of this paper is to extend results, which have been obtained previously to describe the classical scattering of solitons with integrable defects of type I, to include the much larger and intricate collection of finite-gap solutions defined in terms of generalised theta functions. In this context, it is generally not feasible to adopt a direct approach, via ansätze for the fields to either side of the defect tuned to satisfy the defect sewing conditions. Rather, essential use is made of the fact that the defect sewing conditions themselves are intimately related to Bäcklund transformations in order to set up a strategy to enable the calculation of the field on one side by suitably transforming the field on the other side. The method is implemented using Darboux transformations and illustrated in detail for the sine-Gordon and KdV models. An exception, treatable by both methods, indirect and direct, is provided by the genus 1 solutions. These can be expressed in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions, which satisfy a number of useful identities of relevance to this problem. There are new features to the solutions obtained in the finite-gap context but, in all cases, if a (multi)soliton limit is taken within the finite-gap solutions previously known results are recovered

Training the homo cellularis: attention and the mobile phone

Drawing on literature from philosophy of technology, mobile media studies, performer training as well as practice-based research, this article examines the use of mobile phones in performer training, through the notion of pharmakon and in relation to questions of attention. It reviews the work of other performer training practitioners who use mobile phones and examines underlying assumptions with regard to the nature of attention and the use of space. Although the aim of this article is neither to advocate nor apologise for mobile phone use, it argues that the mobile phone may invite a rethinking of the way attention is exercised and understood within performer training. By discussing an exercise developed by the author within a university-based theatre training context, this article argues that an ‘attention–distraction’ dichotomy in terms of the trainee’s attending capacity is no longer an adequate explanatory framework. It therefore suggests that attention should be approached as a multi-modal and synthesising process

Impact of aspirin on takotsubo syndrome: a propensity score-based analysis of the InterTAK Registry

Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of aspirin on prognosis in takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Methods and results: Patients from the International Takotsubo (InterTAK) Registry were categorized into two groups based on aspirin prescription at discharge. A comparison of clinical outcomes between groups was performed using an adjusted analysis with propensity score (PS) stratification; results from the unadjusted analysis were also reported to note the effect of the PS adjustment. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE: a composite of death, myocardial infarction, TTS recurrence, stroke or transient ischaemic attack) were assessed at 30-day and 5-year follow-up. A total of 1533 TTS patients with known status regarding aspirin prescription at discharge were included. According to the adjusted analysis based on PS stratification, aspirin was not associated with a lower hazard of MACCE at 30-day [hazard ratio (HR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50\u20133.04, P = 0.64] or 5-year follow-up (HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.78\u20131.58, P = 0.58). These results were confirmed by sensitivity analyses performed with alternative PS-based methods, i.e. covariate adjustment and inverse probability of treatment weighting. Conclusion: In the present study, no association was found between aspirin use in TTS patients and a reduced risk of MACCE at 30-day and 5-year follow-up. These findings should be confirmed in adequately powered randomized controlled trials. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01947621

Sexual dysfunction during treatment with serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants: Clinical description and the role of the 5-HTTLPR

Objectives. Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a frequently reported side-effect of antidepressant treatment, particularly of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In the multicentre clinical and pharmacogenetic GENDEP study (Genome-based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression), the effect of the serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR on sexual function was investigated during treatment with escitalopram (SSRI) and nortriptyline (tricyclic antidepressant). Methods. A total of 494 subjects with an episode of DSM-IV major depression were randomly assigned to treatment with escitalopram or nortriptyline. Over 12 weeks, depressive symptoms and SD were measured weekly with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the Antidepressant Side-Effect Checklist, the UKU Side Effect Rating Scale, and the Sexual Functioning Questionnaire. Results. The incidence of reported SD after 12 weeks of treatment was relatively low, and did not differ significantly between antidepressants (14.9% escitalopram, 19.7% nortriptyline). There was no significant interaction between the 5-HTTLPR and antidepressant on SD. Improvement in depressive symptoms and younger age were both associated with lower SD. The effect of age on SD may have been moderated by the 5-HTTLPR. Conclusions. In GENDEP, rates of reported SD during treatment were lower than those described in previous reports. There was no apparent effect of the 5-HTTLPR on the observed decline in SD. © 2011 Informa Healthcare.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe