...like a decay in our bones

My art practice is a blend of academic research and installation of large-scale figurative ceramic pieces within sacred architectural environments. My work is a reaction to the fragmented representations of women in the Catholic Bible. Popular culture, political legislation and network news outlets have adopted the tactics of the Bible to continue the control of women. The figures are manifestations of the effects of biblical rhetoric on the lives and psyches of Catholic women, and those who have survived sexual trauma. I use pornography, pop culture, and biblical narratives to inform my sculptures and installations. I distort these works to conflate the grotesque and the enticing in ways that are similar to the representations of women within the biblical narratives. Below, I will expand on how …like a decay in our bones uses this research

Scattering length of the ground state Mg+Mg collision

We have constructed the X 1SIGMAg+ potential for the collision between two ground state Mg atoms and analyzed the effect of uncertainties in the shape of the potential on scattering properties at ultra-cold temperatures. This potential reproduces the experimental term values to 0.2 inverse cm and has a scattering length of +1.4(5) nm where the error is prodominantly due to the uncertainty in the dissociation energy and the C6 dispersion coefficient. A positive sign of the scattering length suggests that a Bose-Einstein condensate of ground state Mg atoms is stable.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, Submitted Phys. Rev.

Risk assessment due to terrorist actions on public transportation networks : a case study in Portugal

The work presented in this paper was performed in collaboration with one of the largest Public Transportation Operator in Portugal and addresses the problem of risk assessment due to terrorist actions involving explosions at different levels. First, a region of the Operator is selected. The elements in the Operator's network with the highest associated risk are highlighted for each threat using the COUNTERACT guidelines. Subsequently, from the group of elements with the highest associated risk, an element is selected for structural safety evaluation under blast loading. Through numerical analysis, different explosion scenarios are studied and the behavior of the structure is presented.This work was performed under Project CH-SECURE, with reference PTDC/ECM/120118/2010, funded by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology - FCT. The authors acknowledge the support. The first author also acknowledges the support from his PhD FCT grant with the reference SFRH/BD/45436/2008

Role of the FUL-SHP network in the evolution of fruit morphology and function

Arabidopsis research in the last decade has started to unravel the genetic networks directing gynoecium and fruit patterning in this model species. Only recently, the work from several groups has also started to address the conservation of these networks in a wide number of species with very different fruit morphologies, and we are now beginning to understand how they might have evolved. This review summarizes recent advances in this field, focusing mainly on MADS-box genes with a well-known role in dehiscence zone development, while also discussing how these studies may contribute to expand our views on fruit evolution.The work in the laboratory of Ferrándiz is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (grant no. BIO2012-32902 to CF) and the EU (FP7-PEOPLE-PIRSES-2009–247589).Ferrandiz Maestre, C.; Fourquin, C. (2014). Role of the FUL-SHP network in the evolution of fruit morphology and function. Journal of Experimental Botany. 65(16):4505-4513. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ert479S45054513651

Do Jobs Programs Work?: A Review Article

During the 109th Congress (2003-2004), policymakers in Washington plan to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which is the primary authorization legislation for employment and training programs operated by the U.S. Department of Labor. The literature evaluating the effectiveness of federal employment and training programs casts considerable doubt on the ability of these programs to improve par-ticipants' incomes. The policy debate is centered on procedural changes to the delivery of the same job training services that performed inadequately in the past. Thus, current reforms are hobbled by remnants of previously failed federal employment and training programs.

Mangrove Forest Distributions and Dynamics in Madagascar (1975–2005)

Mangrove forests of Madagascar are declining, albeit at a much slower rate than the global average. The forests are declining due to conversion to other land uses and forest degradation. However, accurate and reliable information on their present distribution and their rates, causes, and consequences of change have not been available. Earlier studies used remotely sensed data to map and, in some cases, to monitor mangrove forests at a local scale. Nonetheless, a comprehensive national assessment and synthesis was lacking. We interpreted time-series satellite data of 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005 using a hybrid supervised and unsupervised classification approach. Landsat data were geometrically corrected to an accuracy of ± one-half pixel, an accuracy necessary for change analysis. We used a postclassification change detection approach. Our results showed that Madagascar lost 7% of mangrove forests from 1975 to 2005, to a present extent of ~2,797 km2. Deforestation rates and causes varied both spatially and temporally. The forests increased by 5.6% (212 km2) from 1975 to 1990, decreased by 14.3% (455 km2) from 1990 to 2000, and decreased by 2.6% (73 km2) from 2000 to 2005. Similarly, major changes occurred in Bombekota Bay, Mahajamba Bay, the coast of Ambanja, the Tsiribihina River, and Cap St Vincent. The main factors responsible for mangrove deforestation include conversion to agriculture (35%), logging (16%), conversion to aquaculture (3%), and urban development (1%)

USO TERAPEUTICO DELLA CANNABIS: LUCE E OMBRA.

La Cannabis come medicina è stata utilizzata prima dell'era cristiana in Asia, soprattutto in India. L'introduzione della cannabis nella medicina occidentale si è verificata nel bel mezzo del XIX secolo, raggiungendo il culmine nell'ultimo decennio del secolo, con la disponibilità e l'utilizzo di estratti di cannabis o tinture. Nei primi decenni del XX secolo, l'uso medico della cannabis occidentale è significativamente diminuito in gran parte a causa delle difficoltà ad ottenere risultati coerenti da lotti di materiale vegetale di variabile potenza nei suoi principi attivi. Dal 1965, l'identificazione della struttura chimica dei componenti della cannabis e la possibilità di ottenerli puri erano legati ad un significativo aumento dell’interesse scientifico nei confronti di questa pianta. Questo interesse è stato rinnovato nel 1990 con la descrizione dei recettori cannabinoidi e l'identificazione di un sistema cannabinoide endogeno nel cervello. Ha così inizio l'utilizzo di derivati della cannabis a scopo farmaceutico, dal momento che l'efficacia del trattamento e la sicurezza trovano riscontri positivi nella ricerca scientifica (Zuardi, 2006). Le proprietà medicinali benefiche della cannabis, soprattutto per alleviare il dolore, sono ampiamente riconosciute. Eppure, il suo principale principio attivo, il Δ-9-tetraidrocannabinolo, è indicato come una droga illecita nel programma sugli stupefacenti della Convenzione Unica delle Nazioni Unite. Tale stato delle cose ha ostacolato l'uso medico della marijuana, che ha spinto i pazienti ed i medici a fare pressione sui governi al fine di approvare il suo utilizzo per il trattamento del dolore cronico ed altre patologie. Questo a sua volta ha innescato un intenso dibattito tra i governi, le autorità di regolamentazione e le forze dell'ordine da una parte, e medici e pazienti dall'altra, sulla legalizzazione di una droga la cui produzione, il possesso e l'utilizzo risultano ancora illegali in molti paesi (Bifulco e Pisanti, 2015) Gli evidenti problemi che emergono, riguardano proprio l’illegalità di una serie di sostanze derivate da una pianta le cui proprietà benefiche sono note all’uomo sin dall’alba dei secoli e l’opportunità di restituire a un farmaco proibito la sua dignità di farmaco etimologicamente noto (dall’egiziano “mak”) come “la cura”. Se con “cura” si intende ciò che è in grado di allontanare il male, di lenire il dolore, allora il farmaco di per sè non può essere proibito, dato che lo Stato non dovrebbe essere dalla parte del dolore e del male, ma piuttosto dalla parte del paziente che soffre